Top Stories category, Page 532
‘This is what money smells like:’ $2.2M fine is latest entry in Clairton’s air pollution history
Melanie Meade monitors plumes of pollution. Her hilltop home overlooks Clairton Coke Works, the largest coke-manufacturing facility in North America — and Allegheny County’s top source of air pollution. From that tree-dotted perch, Meade uses her iPhone almost daily to photograph emissions spewing from the 123-year-old plant’s coke ovens. Then...
1 killed, 2 hurt during gunfire at baby shower in Pittsburgh
A 19-year-old man was killed Saturday evening and two others were hurt when gunfire broke out during a baby shower in Pittsburgh, according to police and the Allegheny County Medical Examiner. City police said they were called to a location on Broadhead Fording Road in the Fairywood neighborhood at 6:15...
Gatto’s Cycle Shop celebrates 60 years in Tarentum, opens Marine Center
George Gatto is riding the wave of change. As his family-owned Gatto Cycle Shop marks its 60th year in Tarentum, it’s shifting focus to the growing popularity of boating in the Alle-Kiski Valley. Gatto’s opened a Marine Center on Saturday in its former Harley-Davidson storefront along East Sixth Avenue. “The...
Hempfield woman faces homicide by vehicle charge in connection with 2022 crash
When Betty Tinsley Wagner turned 73 in August 2022, her birthday wish was good health for her family, daughter Kim McMullen remembered. It was the last one she’d spend with them — Wagner was killed about six weeks later in a two-vehicle crash on Arona Road in Hempfield. The loss...
Fayette County man charged in fatal Redstone Township stabbing
A Fayette County man was jailed Thursday in connection with a fatal stabbing in Redstone Township. State police said Sylvester K. Conaway Jr., 54, of East Millsboro, is accused in the death of Shawn Hriscisce, 24, at a home in Redstone Township. Conaway was denied bail. He is charged with...
High school financial literacy requirement long overdue, experts say
Rina Foley would like to see some of her peers boost their personal finance prowess. “I honestly don’t think this generation has a good knowledge of how to handle their finances,” said Foley, 21, of Leechburg, who is a senior at Seton Hill University. That’s bad for young adults and...
U.S., Britain begin new strikes on Yemen’s Houthis, retaliating for attacks by Iran-backed militants
WASHINGTON — The United States and Britain struck at least 30 Houthi targets in Yemen on Saturday in a second wave of assaults meant to further disable Iran-backed groups that have relentlessly attacked American and international interests in the wake of the Israel-Hamas war, U.S. officials told The Associated Press....
New Kensington gun store reopens; owners hope stolen guns will be recovered
The damage to Roy Berg’s New Kensington gun shop is largely fixed, and authorities say they’ve arrested the men who broke in. But the thing Berg wants most hasn’t happened yet — 22 of the guns stolen from RC Firearms on Jan. 22 remain missing and, Berg worries, may be...
Experts say voters will have the final say on register of wills’ job performance
Voters ultimately will decide whether embattled Register of Wills Sherry Magretti Hamilton can remain in her post beyond her current four-year term that started in January, political experts say. Westmoreland County judges this week intervened in the oversight of Hamilton’s courthouse office — which processes adoption and estate records —...
Harrison man accused of stealing $3,000 worth of items from Lowe’s, man’s truck
Frazer police have filed charges against a Harrison man accused of stealing more than $3,000 worth of items from the Pittsburgh Mills Lowe’s and a man’s truck in the parking lot. Terrance Guy Cichello, 49, is charged with retail theft, receiving stolen property and theft from a motor vehicle —...
Plum School District expands police force, hires retired borough officer
Plum School District is expanding its police force by adding a longtime borough officer who retired last year. The school board approved hiring Mike DeMarco, 51, of Monroeville. He will be paid $28 per hour. His start date had not been determined as of Thursday. His hiring increases the district’s...
‘Nostalgia’ bands draw reliable crowds, spur economic activity
Classic rock band The Guess Who took the stage last night at The Palace Theatre in Greensburg, belting out hits such as “American Woman” and “These Eyes.” Nostalgia is the primary draw for bands of a certain vintage who are looking to capitalize on the magic of classic rock’s heyday....
Referee collapses during basketball game at Mt. Pleasant, dies
A referee collapsed during halftime of a junior varsity boys basketball game at Mt. Pleasant and died Friday night. Michael Roebuck, 45, a first-year official from New Stanton, was about to take the court for the second half of a game between Yough and Mt. Pleasant when he dropped to...
Greensburg man accused of video recording in bathroom stall at Hempfield restaurant
A Greensburg man was jailed this week after state police said he set up a cell phone to record inside a stall in a women’s restroom at a Hempfield restaurant. Victor Perez, 28, was denied bail during an arraignment Thursday on charges of child pornography, invasion of privacy and related...
Worthington man killed in 2-vehicle crash in Manor Township
Officials have identified a man killed Friday night in a two-vehicle accident along Route 66 in Manor Township. The victim was Herbert Wagner, 76, of Worthington, according to Armstrong County Coroner Brian Myers. Myers said an autopsy will be performed Monday. Wagner was killed “when the vehicle he was driving...
Pittsburgh police: Suspect in Hill District hit-and-run turns himself in
Pittsburgh police said the man behind the wheel of a SUV that hit a 4-year-old boy in the city’s Hill District has turned himself in. James Phelps, 74, of Pittsburgh was taken to the Allegheny County Jail without incident Saturday. Phelps is charged with aggravated assault, accidents involving injury, careless...
U.S. hits militias in Iraq and Syria, beginning retaliation for fatal drone attack
WASHINGTON — The U.S. military launched an air assault on dozens of sites in Iraq and Syria used by Iranian-backed militias and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard on Friday in the opening salvo of retaliation for the drone strike that killed three U.S. troops in Jordan last weekend. President Joe Biden...
Biden honors troops killed in Jordan as remains returned to U.S.
President Joe Biden honored three U.S. service members killed in a recent attack in Jordan as their remains were returned at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware on Friday. The president was joined by members of their families for what is known as a dignified transfer — a solemn occasion...
Homicide charge dropped against teen in 2022 fatal shooting in New Kensington
Westmoreland County prosecutors on Friday dismissed murder charges against a Pittsburgh teenager and allowed him to plead guilty to lesser charges in connection to a fatal shooting 19 months ago in New Kensington. Avian Molter, 16, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit robbery and the illegal possession of a firearm...
Pittsburgh International Airport passenger traffic nears pre-pandemic levels
Travelers are embracing flying out of Pittsburgh at rates close to pre-pandemic levels. The Allegheny Airport Authority, which runs Pittsburgh International Airport, recently announced that 2023 saw nearly 9.2 million passengers, which is 94% of the traffic that Pittsburgh’s airport saw in 2019. Last year’s passenger traffic leaped more than...
Water service restored at Hempfield Towers
Water service was restored Friday afternoon to residents of the 272-unit Hempfield Towers after a line break had shut off water since early Thursday morning, a housing authority official said. The Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County had repaired a waterline break near the building and had the water service restored...
Duquesne woman to stand trial on charges of killing infant son
A Duquesne woman who police say tried to blame her infant son’s death on her 3-year-old daughter will face trial on charges that she killed the baby during a night of drinking. Alisha L. Parker, 26, was held for court Friday on homicide and child endangerment charges after a preliminary...
Arnold woman tells judge fatal overdose ‘could have been me’
A Pittsburgh man was ordered to serve up to eight years in prison for providing fentanyl-laced heroin to a Lower Burrell woman who died from an overdose in 2021. Otis L. Henley, 47, pleaded guilty to drug delivery resulting in death and other related offenses in connection to the May...
Actor Carl Weathers, who starred in ‘Rocky’ movies and ‘The Mandalorian,’ diesVideo
NEW YORK — Carl Weathers, a former NFL linebacker who became a Hollywood action movie and comedy star, playing nemesis-turned-ally Apollo Creed in the “Rocky” movies, facing off against Arnold Schwarzenegger in “Predator” and teaching golf in “Happy Gilmore,” has died. He was 76. Matt Luber, his manager, said Weathers...
Pittsburgh launches no-cost EMT training academy that will pay recruits, provide jobs
When Amera Gilchrist wanted to pursue a career in emergency medical services more than two decades ago, paying for the necessary education was a challenge. As a single mother “just trying to make ends meet,” the $40 fee for EMT school was a hurdle. Cash was so tight that her...
