Top Stories category, Page 434
Man killed, woman injured in Summit Township crash
A 26-year-old man died Sunday afternoon when his motorcycle collided with a vehicle in Summit Township, Butler County, according to Pennsylvania State Police. At 1:20 p.m. Sunday, a woman was driving a 2013 Ford Fusion west on Route 422 in the left lane and began to turn left on Geibel...
Donations accepted, benefit planned for displaced residents of Avonmore fire
The Avonmore community is rallying around those who lost everything after a fire at My Buddy’s Place on Saturday. Crews from nearly 30 surrounding volunteer fire companies responded to the bar at 407 Indiana Ave. to put out a fire that started Saturday afternoon. The scene was cleared early Sunday,...
Robinson-based Sabika jewelry closing after 23 years
Endings create new beginnings. That philosophy inspired Karin Mayr to launch Sabika, a Pittsburgh-based, woman-owned jewelry company. For 23 years, the business has sold sparkling necklaces, earrings, bracelets and rings through stylists who specialize in knowledge of the brand. That beginning has now reached an end. Mayr and her daughters,...
Fire in McKeesport destroys 1 house, damages 4 others
An overnight fire in McKeesport destroyed one house and damaged four surrounding buildings Sunday — and fire crews are working to address the situation. Though the fire is no longer active, McKeesport Fire Department’s deputy chief, T.J. Perciavalle, said it’s still smoldering. A closer look at the McKeesport fire, which...
YMCA executive director seeks a pardon in 1994 drug conviction
Dressed in a blue suit and bow tie, Aaron Gibson looked pensive. It was finally his turn to appear before the Pennsylvania Board of Pardons. The regional executive director of three Pittsburgh YMCA branches — who oversaw the $7.4 million transformation of the Centre Avenue Y into housing for at-risk...
Maine police kill armed man after a night of gunfire, burned homes
AUBURN, Maine — A Maine State Police tactical team fatally shot a man on a rooftop early Saturday after an hourslong standoff in which authorities said he opened fire at officers, two homes burned down, and a person who fought with him apparently died. Police issued a shelter-in-place order, evacuated...
Shooting at splash pad in Detroit suburb injures 8, including 2 children
ROCHESTER HILLS, Mich. — Eight people were injured after a shooter opened fire at a splash pad in a Detroit suburb where families gathered to escape the summer heat Saturday, authorities said. Law enforcement tracked a suspect to a home, where the person died by suicide. At least two of...
Fire destroys longtime Avonmore bar — the 3rd one to burn in 6 yearsVideo
An Avonmore bar was destroyed Saturday in a blaze that a fire official said might have started in the kitchen. My Buddy’s Place, at 407 Indiana Ave., was open when the fire broke out shortly after 4:30 p.m., but no one was reported to be injured. A dog was unaccounted...
North Huntingdon police say missing 16-year-old girl has been found
North Huntingdon Township Police say a 16-year-old girl they were urgently searching for Saturday has been found. Police on Saturday had put out a plea for the public to help find Cassie Nowalk, who had left her home overnight. Police said Nowalk has a medical condition, which they did not...
Somerset County man charged with homicide in death of brother by crossbow
A Somerset Township man is behind bars after, state troopers say, he fatally shot his brother with a crossbow. Police charged Travis Scott Shearer, 32, with criminal homicide in connection with the death of his brother, Eric Miller, on Friday night. Shearer is being held in the Somerset County Jail....
Pa. state senator and Bridgeville man help FedEx driver after collapse
For Mark Macala, the past two days have been a whirlwind of emotions. He was working from his Bridgeville home Thursday and in the middle of a lunch meeting when his doorbell rang. It was FedEx with a large shipment he had ordered, but he wasn’t expecting it until next...
Second Avenue Commons residents to relocate to temporary North Side location
Allegheny County has found a new location on Pittsburgh’s North Side to relocate about 100 homeless people who had been staying at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center after a fire closed the Second Avenue Commons homeless shelter. Erin Dalton, the county’s human services director, said Saturday that displaced residents...
Pittsburgh cyclist in critical condition after overnight collision
A vehicle and an electric bike collided overnight at Fort Duquesne Boulevard and Ninth Street in Pittsburgh — leaving the cyclist in critical condition. Pittsburgh police, fire and EMS responded to the scene around 2 a.m. The vehicle involved was traveling through a green light on Ninth Street when the...
Rare drop in summer gas prices doesn’t eliminate pain at the pump
Mary Ann Hoss paid a few cents less for gas this week as she fueled up for a road trip from Lower Burrell to her camp a few hours away. But that was due more to global circumstances than anything Hoss did. While the nation is experiencing a rare summertime...
Arnold woman pleads for time to move before city tears down her home
An Arnold woman was sobbing as she asked city officials how much time she’d have to move out of her home before they tear it down. During a board of health hearing Tuesday, Ellen Stern said she’s been looking for a place for herself, her two sons and boyfriend to...
New Stanton home brewer opens taproom in the borough
A longtime home brewer in New Stanton is taking the plunge into the beer business and opening a brewery in the borough, the only one between Greensburg and West Newton. “This has always been my dream. I had a five-gallon batch system in my kitchen, then a 20-gallon system in...
Jay-Z enters one of Pa.’s messiest political fights
Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan, and nonprofit newsroom producing investigative and public-service journalism that holds power to account and drives positive change in Pennsylvania. HARRISBURG — A series of events intended to get Philadelphians to support using taxpayer money to fund private school vouchers is bankrolled by an unexpected...
Can the pool at Ligonier Beach be saved? Township spending $100K to find out
Is it feasible to reopen Ligonier Beach as a swimming pool? Ligonier Township officials may know before Mackin Engineers & Consultants finishes a master plan for the former resort. The Pittsburgh-based consultant indicated it should be able to advise the township before the plan is done whether it’s feasible to...
‘I basically was running on Dunkin’ and adrenaline for most of yesterday,’ pastor says after Monroeville arson
In the wake of an arson Thursday at a Monroeville Catholic church rectory, the Rev. Michael Conway has been busy. As pastor of Christ the Divine Shepherd Parish, he’s been rushing between its locations in Monroeville and Penn Hills, meeting with parishioners and leadership and trying to make plans for...
Justice Department won’t prosecute Garland for contempt, says refusal to provide audio wasn’t crime
WASHINGTON — Attorney General Merrick Garland will not be prosecuted for contempt of Congress because his refusal to turn over audio of President Joe Biden’s interview in his classified documents case “did not constitute a crime,” the Justice Department said Friday. In a letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson, a...
$284M would help child care issues in Pa., advocates say
The staff of 25 at JB’s Bright Beginnings in North Huntingdon has their hands full, encouraging the development of 100 children while parents work. They could do more — the child care center is licensed for 350 children — but a lack of staff for a job that has wages...
Woman arrested in connection with Pittsburgh man’s 2022 overdose death
A Homestead woman illegally sold oxycodone pills that caused a Pittsburgh man to fatally overdose in 2022 with fentanyl levels in his blood that were gauged as double a lethal dose, authorities say. Sharon Holt, 51, was arrested by Pittsburgh police Thursday on charges including drug delivery resulting in death,...
Bigfoot gains supporters in Derry as Sasquatch sightings surge on Chestnut Ridge
Bigfoot could be the next big thing in Derry. The town annually has celebrated its historic association with Pennsylvania Railroad trains and engine houses. But what about the looming presence of Bigfoot? Council members this week floated the idea of creating an installation that could draw visitors interested in the...
Ashley Kertes memorial fund aims to help Greensburg area as she tried to do
Ashley Kertes had a love for the Greensburg community and a desire to make it better. Kertes served as executive director of the Greensburg Community Development Corp. and, in March 2022, shifted to associate administrator to the superintendent and community outreach in the Greensburg Salem School District. After Kertes’ unexpected...
Supreme Court strikes down Trump-era ban on bump stocks, gun accessories used in 2017 massacre
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Friday struck down a Trump-era ban on bump stocks, the rapid-fire gun accessories used in the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history, in a ruling that threw firearms back into the nation’s political spotlight. The high court’s conservative majority found that the Trump...
