Top Stories category, Page 598
Arnold formalizes firing of city manager, names temporary replacement
Arnold Council approved starting a search for a new city manager Tuesday after firing its former manager and hiring a temporary replacement. Council voted 4-1 to fire Mario Bellavia, with Councilman Phil McKinley casting the only vote against. While McKinley previously said Bellavia had been fired on Sept. 20, city...
Derry council disbands police dog program as residents vent anger over K-9 incident
Derry Borough residents had a lot of questions but didn’t get any answers from council members Tuesday night after they met for the first time since the Westmoreland County District Attorney’s office announced evidence does not support a criminal charge in the death of the borough’s police dog, Smoke. Several...
Allegheny County Executive Fitzgerald proposes $3B budget with no tax increases
Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald presented his 12th and final budget and comprehensive fiscal plan Tuesday, touting the economic growth of the region under his tenure and shoring up the county’s finances by dramatically increasing its rainy day fund. Fitzgerald’s 2024 budget proposes a total of about $3 billion, which...
Court hearing set for Hempfield students in school gun case
Three Hempfield Area High School students charged last week with possessing guns on school property are scheduled to appear in court this month. They are being prosecuted in the juvenile court system and are scheduled to appear for adjudication hearings Oct. 26 before Westmoreland County Common Pleas Judge Michele Bononi....
Rep. George Santos faces new charges he stole donor IDs, made unauthorized charges to their credit cards
NEW YORK — A new indictment filed Tuesday charged U.S. Rep. George Santos with stealing the identities of donors to his campaign and then using their credit cards to ring up tens of thousands of dollars in unauthorized charges. Prosecutors said some of that stolen money ended up in his...
Attorney: Charges withdrawn against Springdale woman for not cutting grass since June implosion of smokestacks
The attorney for a Springdale woman who lives across from the former Cheswick Generating Station says the woman didn’t cut her grass because, if she did, it would reexpose arsenic and other toxins from the June 2 implosion of the plant’s smokestacks. Brittni Bair, 33, received two summary offenses in...
PNC laying off employees, exact amount not announced
PNC Bank is laying off an undisclosed number of employees, according to a statement from the company. It remains unclear how many workers will be let go. The banking giant based in Downtown Pittsburgh said in a statement that it is reviewing its organizational structure and “have identified an opportunity...
Palestinians scramble for safety as Israel pounds sealed-off Gaza Strip to punish HamasVideo
JERUSALEM — Israeli warplanes hammered the Gaza Strip neighborhood by neighborhood on Tuesday, reducing buildings to rubble and sending people scrambling to find safety in the tiny, sealed-off territory now suffering severe retaliation for the deadly weekend attack by Hamas militants. Humanitarian groups pleaded for the creation of corridors to...
Over-the-counter voting begins for Allegheny County election
Voters in Allegheny County can vote early in the upcoming general election starting Tuesday in Downtown Pittsburgh. Registered voters can complete a mail-in ballot application, get approved, and then fill out and turn in their ballot on the spot at the County Office Building in Downtown Pittsburgh. A kiosk is...
Gainey-Zappala dispute escalates as DA election nears
Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey is upping the ante in his public dispute with Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr. In an interview with Tribune-Review editors and reporters last week, Gainey pushed back on criticism he has received from Zappala and said the district attorney is not present enough...
Giant Eagle to donate money from paper bag sales to charities as plastic ban takes effect
Giant Eagle will donate money from the sale of paper bags at its Pittsburgh stores to local nonprofits. This is set to start on Saturday, the same date Pittsburgh’s plastic bag ban goes into effect. The ordinance bars most single-use plastic bags and requires stores charge a 10-cent fee for...
Tim Benz: Biggest questions in need of answers heading into Penguins’ opening night
The Pittsburgh Penguins open their season Tuesday night at PPG Paints Arena against Connor Bedard and the Chicago Blackhawks. It’s the first of 82 games and the start of six months worth of angst, tension, excitement and agony. That’s why we love it. Here are the five biggest questions I...
Pennsylvania universities are still waiting for state subsidies. It won’t make them more affordable
HARRISBURG — Four of Pennsylvania’s universities are plugging budget gaps while they await hundreds of millions of dollars in aid that has been snarled in a partisan dispute among lawmakers in a state that has one of the nation’s most abysmal records for funding higher education. Education advocates argue that...
Some Plum residents, activists push back against additional injection well
Some Plum residents, officials and local activists are continuing to push against the possibility of a second injection well in the borough. Delmont-based Penneco Environmental Solutions is looking to launch a second injection well on a site off Old Leechburg Road, where the company has had one Sedat injection well...
Pittsburgh to celebrate Indigenous Peoples’ Day starting next year
Beginning next year, the second Monday in October will be recognized as Indigenous Peoples’ Day in the city of Pittsburgh. This comes despite concerns from some council members that the day is also known as Columbus Day in honor of Christopher Columbus, who has become a controversial figure. Some people...
TSA stops 35th gun at Pittsburgh airport, tying single-year record
Transportation Security Administration officers last weekend seized the fifth gun in seven days at Pittsburgh International Airport, bringing the total number of guns confiscated this year to 35. Saturday’s gun catch ties Pittsburgh’s all-time record number of guns seized in a year, TSA spokeswoman Lisa Farbstein said. The 35-gun total...
Chicken for breakfast: Raising Cane’s opens in Oakland
Alexis Komperda didn’t sleep Monday night — she wanted to be awake so she didn’t miss the opening of Raising Cane’s in Oakland. By 5:30 a.m., she and her friend Crystal Savko, freshmen at La Roche University in McCandless, were the first two in line for the 8:30 a.m. opening....
Ollie’s plans grand opening in Allegheny Township — 1st in A-K Valley
Matt Cevario of Hyde Park was ready for some bargain shopping Monday, but he’ll have to wait a few weeks. Cevario stood near the entrance to the new Ollie’s Bargain Outlet, checking out the employees bustling about, in anticipation of the store’s grand opening scheduled for Oct. 25. “It’s exciting...
Hempfield Area parents question school’s response to gun incident
Several Hempfield Area residents and student leaders shared their concerns at Monday’s school board meeting about the district’s response to an incident last week involving guns at the high school. Resident Lindsay Stevens expressed frustration that much of the discussion about school security has been behind the scenes in executive...
Morning roundup: Teen shot in Ross; Jefferson Hills road closes for 6 months
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Tuesday, Oct. 10: Teen shot during fight in Ross, 4 others in custody Police said they took five teenagers in custody after one of them was shot during a fight early Tuesday morning. Officers responding to a report of...
Powerball jackpot soars to $1.73 billion as lottery losing streak continues
DES MOINES, Iowa — The Powerball jackpot climbed to an estimated $1.73 billion after no one matched the game’s six numbers Monday and won the giant prize. The winning numbers announced were: 16, 34, 46, 55, 67 and the Powerball 14. There has been no winner for 35 consecutive drawings,...
Biden interviewed as part of special counsel investigation into handling of classified documents
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden has been interviewed as part of an independent investigation into his handling of classified documents, the White House said late Monday. It’s a possible sign that the investigation is nearing its end. Special counsel Robert Hur is examining the improper retention of classified documents by...
Projecting the Penguins’ season-opening lineup
The Pittsburgh Penguins announced their season-opening roster Monday, and with the exception of the occasions injuries or other factors interceded, it includes franchise pillars Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang for the 18th consecutive year. But there are plenty of new faces on almost every line, pairing and even...
Semper Fi camp teaches Greensburg Salem educators to control stress, emphasize goals
Kristin Dinkel, a first grade teacher at Greensburg Salem’s Nicely Elementary School, jumped from atop a platform 30 feet above the floor of a tall outbuilding, launched herself across a 5-foot gap and used both hands to grab hold of a bar suspended in midair. Before attempting that Leap of...
Pittsburgh looks to add protection for renters experiencing domestic violence
Pittsburgh City Council will consider a measure to offer additional protection for renters who face domestic violence in the city. This bill would require landlords to permit domestic abuse victims to exit their leases early without penalty and would require them to change victims’ locks within five days upon request....
