Top Stories category, Page 478
Westmoreland looks to shed label of being a sanctuary for undocumented immigrants
Westmoreland officials say they are looking to shed a label that the county is a sanctuary for undocumented immigrants. The Center for Immigration Studies declared Westmoreland a sanctuary county in 2014. The Washington, D.C., think tank promotes reduced immigration into the United States. Westmoreland was one of 14 Pennsylvania counties...
No injuries reported in fire at Robert Morris University dormitory
A fire was contained to the roof of a Robert Morris University dormitory Tuesday in Moon, according to a university spokesman. Firefighters were called at about 8:30 p.m. to G Tower of Washington Hall. No one was injured, but some students will be provided with alternative accommodations as the fire...
‘Complete devastation’: Crescent fire chief confirms 2 dead in house explosion
Shock gripped Blanche Heidengren on Tuesday morning when she learned in a group text that her prayer circle was seeking divine help for longtime friend Ann Matey. A house had exploded on Matey’s street, Riverview Road in Crescent, right next door to the log-cabin home of Matey’s parents, David Mitchell,...
Credit rating agencies bullish on Pittsburgh’s $62M bond issue, deem outlook ‘stable’
Two credit rating agencies declared that Pittsburgh’s financial outlook is “stable,” officials announced Tuesday, even as some city leaders have raised alarms about the city’s finances. The city received AA- ratings from S&P Global and Fitch. Mayor Ed Gainey said the administration was “proactive in our work to have a...
Pittsburgh council gripes about Gainey but passes his housing plan
Members of Pittsburgh City Council on Tuesday renewed their complaints that Mayor Ed Gainey’s administration didn’t communicate with them about a plan to spend $8 million in federal funds meant to address homelessness and affordable housing. Council ultimately approved the spending plan, despite pleas from exasperated council members for better...
Pittsburgh closing Downtown homeless encampment
Pittsburgh officials are tearing down a Downtown homeless encampment amid concerns that the people living there are living in dangerous conditions. People living at the homeless camp along Fort Pitt Boulevard near Grant Street will have to leave by 5 p.m. Wednesday, said Emily Bourne, a spokeswoman for the city’s...
Pittsburgh to start sending parking tickets by mail
City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved allowing the Public Parking Authority to ticket by mail. It’s a measure that aims to improve safety and efficiency for the authority’s parking enforcers, said David Onorato, the authority’s executive director. The move comes as the authority continues to struggle with staffing since the...
Is it time to replace the Mon Incline? Officials ponder its future
Pittsburgh Regional Transit officials are discussing what the future of the 154-year-old Monongahela Incline will look like, including the possibility it could be replaced by more modern technology. The incline has been closed for a total of 39 weeks in the last two years due to repairs and upgrades. Pittsburgh...
MacDonald ends topsy-turvy campaign, pulls plug on GOP write-in effort for Summer Lee’s seat
Laurie MacDonald has ended her bid for a seat in the U.S. House. Last week, MacDonald dropped out of the Democratic primary for Pennsylvania’s 12th Congressional District in the face of a challenge to her nominating petition signatures, but then announced a write-in effort in the Republican primary shortly after....
5 arrested in connection with 2023 raid at Murrysville vape shop
Two owners of a Murrysville vape shop and three employees are facing charges after authorities said they were selling illegal substances out of the business. In court papers filed Tuesday, police listed six occasions between January and March 2023 when undercover officers bought items from PA Vapor & Glassroom that...
Crescent house explosion marks 3rd in Western Pa. since summer
The fatal house explosion in Crescent on Tuesday morning marks the third in Western Pennsylvania since August. Emergency crews responded to the scene just before 9 a.m. at the 1400 block of Riverview Road,. The Crescent explosion is exactly seven months after the Aug. 12 house explosion in Plum’s Rustic...
‘Complete devastation.’ Crescent fire chief confirms 2 dead in house explosion
Two people were killed Tuesday morning in a house explosion in Crescent, authorities said. The fatalities were confirmed by Crescent Fire Chief Andrew Tomer. He did not identify the adult victims but said one was a man and the other a woman. He added that authorities had been in contact...
Congressional hearing on Biden classified documents probe turns into proxy campaign battle
WASHINGTON — Lawmakers turned a Tuesday hearing on President Joe Biden’s handling of classified documents into a proxy battle between the Democratic president and Republican front-runner Donald Trump, as a newly released transcript of Biden’s testimony last fall showed that he repeatedly insisted he never meant to retain classified information...
Police: Dispute between brothers led to fatal shooting at Jefferson County Walmart; 1 in custody
State police are investigating a shooting that left one person dead at a Walmart in Jefferson County. The shooting happened at a store in Young Township, according to a press release issued by police shortly after noon on Monday. Police said a dispute between two brothers led to a physical...
Water use restrictions lifted as Beaver Run Reservoir levels return to normal
About 56,000 Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County customers are free to use water as they choose as levels at the Beaver Run Reservoir have bounced back. The authority on Tuesday ended its voluntary conservation order, days after the state lifted its drought watch for the county. The reservoir stood at...
Greensburg could demolish shuttered parking garage near Westmoreland Hospital this summer
The shuttered J. Edward Hutchinson Parking Garage in Greensburg could be demolished and replaced with a new parking lot by the end of the summer, if the state approves the city’s request to repurpose funding. Greensburg City Council approved an agreement Monday with Independence Health System Westmoreland Hospital to repurpose...
Morning Roundup: 2 injured in Brookline crash; $890K lottery ticket sold in Irwin
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Tuesday, March 12: 2 injured in crash in Brookline Two men were injured and transported to the hospital early Monday after the vehicle they were riding in crashed into a building in Pittsburgh. The crash happened at about 12:30...
‘I’m excited’: Donnie Iris ready to hit the stage a year after cancer diagnosisVideo
It’s been more than a year since Donnie Iris last got to play a concert, but he isn’t nervous. Not after the year he’s had. “No, I’m excited,” Iris said in a phone call last week. “I’m excited more than anything.” Iris, who just turned 81 on Feb. 28, finally...
License plate readers becoming more common, helpful to police
Springdale is set to be the latest community to use license plate readers at its intersections. The borough’s police department adopted the Automated National Noninvasive Insurance Enforcement (ANNIE) program, Chief Derek Dayoub said. Dayoub said ANNIE is a community policing and problem-solving program for police departments to address a nationwide...
Daylight saving time got you feeling beat? You’re not alone
Are you feeling extra exhausted after the weekend? A likely explanation could be your body’s response to the daylight saving time switch, according to Dr. Brian Lamb, internal medicine physician at Allegheny Health Network. From Saturday night into Sunday morning, an hour of sleep was lost — to offset the...
Repairs to fire truck could cost Plum’s Unity Volunteer Fire Department $60,000
Repairs to one of the five vehicles at Plum’s Unity Volunteer Fire Department will wipe out the department’s budget for repairs this year, its chief says. Fixing the 25-year-old Freightliner could also eat up most, if not all, of what’s left of the $35,000 the borough budgeted for repairs for...
Rep. Frankel seeks details about imminent closure of UPMC Montefiore dental center
A UPMC decision to close its Montefiore dental center has state Rep. Dan Frankel, D-Squirrel Hill, worried about how many patients will be displaced and the potential impact on their care. Frankel sought an explanation for the closure in a letter sent Friday to UPMC, a copy of which was...
Tenants face deadline to move as Latrobe condemns bug-infested apartment building
In two weeks, Vanessa Jordan is supposed to be moved out of the Latrobe apartment she’s called home for the past 11 years. A few dozen of her closest neighbors are in the same situation because the city condemned the six-story apartment building they share at 333 Main St. “I...
White Oak woman dies after crash on East Carson Street
A woman was killed Monday afternoon in a multi-vehicle crash that also seriously injured a second woman in Pittsburgh’s South Side Flats. Mary Alice Bendick, 60, of White Oak was pronounced dead at about 3:30 p.m., according to the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office. The crash happened at about 1...
Election testing underway in Westmoreland County
More than 19,000 ballots are being cast and counted this week in Westmoreland County. The date of Pennsylvania’s primary election hasn’t been moved up. The unofficial test ballots are being cast and counted to ensure the accuracy of the county’s voting machines in advance of the April 23 primary. “At...
