Top Stories category, Page 545
Plum residents worried, angry as council approves nearly 40% increase in property tax rate
Plum residents voiced concerns and, at one point, erupted in anger as council approved a nearly 40% increase in borough property taxes Wednesday. Council voted 6-1, with Dave Vento against, to increase the borough’s 2024 property tax rate by 1.85 mills, from 4.78 mills to 6.63 mills. It will support...
Beaver County police officer charged in 2022 death of bystander at shooting scene
A Beaver County police officer accused of assaulting a man who later died is facing an involuntary manslaughter charge, according to the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office. A grand jury recommended charging former Center police officer John J. Hawk, 37, with involuntary manslaughter, aggravated assault, simple assault, reckless endangerment and perjury....
2 girls hit by vehicle on the North Side; 1 in critical condition
Two 11-year-old girls are hospitalized after being hit by a vehicle Wednesday afternoon in the North Side neighborhood of Pittsburgh. Allegheny County dispatchers confirmed that two people were hit and taken by medics to the hospital after the incident, which was reported shortly after 4:30 pm. Police said one girl...
House approves impeachment inquiry into President Biden as Republicans rally behind investigation
WASHINGTON — The House on Wednesday authorized the impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden, with every Republican rallying behind the politically charged process despite lingering concerns among some in the party that the investigation has yet to produce evidence of misconduct by the president. The 221-212 party-line vote put the...
Judge in Trump election case pauses court deadlines as appeal is heard on presidential immunity
WASHINGTON — Donald Trump’s 2020 election interference case in Washington will be put on hold while the former president further pursues his claims that he is immune from prosecution, a judge ruled Wednesday. U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, who is overseeing the case, agreed in a three-page order to pause...
Neighbor describes ‘war’-like explosion that destroyed Sewickley Heights cottage
Rich Engler was sitting with a friend in his Sewickley Heights home when the neighborhood shook. “All of a sudden, this immense blast took place — we thought something had hit our place,” said Engler, 77, a local music producer who’s lived among the borough’s massive estates and rolling hills...
PPG expands in Europe with new facility in France
Pittsburgh-based paint and coatings company PPG has opened a facility in France to improve its operations in Southern Europe and North Africa. The $17 million aerospace application support center in Toulouse, France, will provide filling and packaging capabilities for aerospace materials, including coatings and sealants for aircraft, according to the...
Pittsburgh to use money from anti-violence trust fund on parks, recreation
Money from Pittsburgh’s anti-violence trust fund can now be used on parks and recreation projects. City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to allow up to 10% of the money in the Stop the Violence trust fund to go to the city’s Department of Parks and Recreation. Councilman R. Daniel Lavelle, D-Hill...
New home for 2nd ‘Red Zone’ 33-foot ketchup bottle to be unveiled at Heinz History Center
The other half of “Heinz Red Zone” has moved across the river. A new home has been found for the second 33-foot Heinz ketchup bottle that for two decades “poured” into the scoreboard when the Pittsburgh Steelers reached the opponent’s 20 yard-line during home games. One was hung outside of...
Pirates join SportsNet Pittsburgh with Penguins to televise gamesVideo
The Pittsburgh Pirates found a new television home by becoming joint owners of SportsNet Pittsburgh with the Pittsburgh Penguins, a partnership that begins at the start of the new year. The Pirates announced Wednesday morning that they have entered an agreement to jointly own SportsNet Pittsburgh, which previously carried their...
3rd person accused of failing to keep gators from escaping in Kiski Township
Another person is facing charges in the case of wayward alligators in Kiski Township. Stephanie A. Suman, 26, of the 1300 block of Brownstown Road in Kiski Township, was charged via summons last month with two misdemeanor counts each of reckless endangerment and cruelty to animals. Police say she risked...
House set for key vote on Biden impeachment inquiry as Republicans unite behind investigation
WASHINGTON — The House is pushing toward a vote Wednesday to formally authorize the impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden as Republicans rally behind the charged process despite lingering concerns among some in the party that the investigation has yet to produce evidence of misconduct by the president. The vote...
After shooting trooper, Damian Bradford gets additional 10 years in killing of Mercer County urologist
A Pittsburgh man formerly of Beaver County will have to spend another 10 years in federal prison for killing a Mercer County urologist in 2005 while having an affair with his wife. The additional time was imposed on Damian Bradford, 42, after a judge determined that he violated his release...
Indiana Township ambulance service closing after 28 years
After working under the same roof for almost three years, employees with Seneca Area Emergency Services soon will be working as West Deer EMS Service. Seneca Area EMS announced Tuesday night that it will close as of Jan. 1, after operating for 28 years. Seneca Area EMS covers the western...
Morning Roundup: Police say woman used Taser on pregnant woman; man shot in Pittsburgh; 73-year-old scammed
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Wednesday, Dec. 13: Police say woman used Taser on pregnant woman A Greensburg woman is accused of using a Taser stun gun on a pregnant woman on the stomach Saturday, according to court papers. City police said Lillian G....
3-month-old boy dies in Brighton Heights, police investigating
A 3-month-old boy died Monday at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh after first responders were notified that the infant was in distress in Brighton Heights. Kyrie Robert Mitchell was unresponsive when first responders arrived at the infant’s Davis Avenue home around 8:20 p.m., city police said. Detectives are investigating. The...
Man dies after altercation, shooting in Elliott
A Pittsburgh man died after being shot late Tuesday in the city’s Elliott neighborhood, police said. The man was found with several gunshot wounds around 10:30 p.m. inside a home off Wilna Way in the area of Lorenz Avenue, city police said. He was taken to Allegheny General Hospital, where...
Woman killed in head-on crash in Shaler
Allegheny County Police said a woman was killed late Tuesday when the SUV she was driving crashed into an oncoming pickup in Shaler. The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office has not identified the woman. The crash was reported just after 10 p.m. on Mt. Royal Boulevard. A preliminary investigation showed...
Just Be Claus: Group dishes $900 tip to Springdale Township waitress
Kayla Webster was working a hectic Saturday, waiting tables at David’s Diner when a surprise stopped her in her tracks. “I thought she was going to hit the floor,” diner co-owner Pam Morrow-Wolfe said Tuesday, recalling the moment Webster stumbled into the kitchen, pale and appearing in shock, clutching a...
Springdale residents’ attorneys pleased with court decision that orders more community involvement with power plant demolition
Attorneys representing the residents seeking to block an implosion of the boiler house say they’re “thrilled” with a recent court decision that sets procedure before the demolition can be considered. “The court determined that the plaintiffs were all harmed by the June 2 implosion, suffering harm to their homes, damage...
Greater Latrobe halts multimillion-dollar revitalization plan
Greater Latrobe School Board did an about-face Tuesday and halted its multimillion-dollar revitalization plan that was set to raise taxes significantly through 2039 — thanks to a majority vote by directors who won successful write-in campaigns last month. The motion at Tuesday’s board meeting rescinded two resolutions passed during previous...
Zelenskyy pleads for Ukraine aid at Capitol and White House, says to U.S.: Our fight is yoursVideo
WASHINGTON — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told America his country was fighting for “our freedom and yours” as he made an impassioned plea Tuesday for Congress to approve more assistance to fight Russia’s invasion. But prospects for additional U.S. aid to Ukraine appeared seriously delayed, if not in grave doubt,...
Housing juveniles charged with crimes a growing issue in Pa.
When a 16-year-old charged with second-degree murder fled from house arrest in November, Westmoreland County authorities scrambled to find a place to house him. The county’s juvenile detention center had closed temporarily in June amid staffing shortages. Calls to numerous private and publicly owned facilities throughout Pennsylvania that house children...
Company proposes underground limestone mine in Washington County
A Clarion County company is hoping to expand its limestone mining operations in Washington County. A public meeting will be held Wednesday night to discuss a proposal for the underground facility. The 336.7-acre mine, proposed by Neiswonger Construction Inc., would be dug beneath the Maggie Lynn Quarry that the company...
Washington County Controller April Sloane accused of starving her dog to death
Washington County Controller April Sloane faces felony charges of aggravated cruelty to animals after police said she starved her dog to death. The dog, Thor, had been adopted in April 2021. Police said they found his body in the garage of Sloane’s home on Dec. 6. He had been dead...
