Top Stories category, Page 617
Ligonier Highland Games showcases music, sports with Scottish flair
Palmer Shonk felt right at home Saturday as he joined fellow pipers to play skirling march tunes on the main field of the Ligonier Highland Games. Shonk, of Avalon, led an ad hoc band of 12 bagpipe players and six drummers in competition in the 64th games at Idlewild and...
Land transfers from Urban Redevelopment Authority to Land Bank look to bolster affordable housing, small businesses
For three years, Raynise Kelly and her sister have operated a small business in Pittsburgh’s Beltzhoover neighborhood where they produced food for their community. They’ve hosted garden supply giveaways and summer camps since launching Soil Sisters, a seedling business “growing garden vegetable plants that focuses on food production,” Kelly said....
Assault reported near University of Pittsburgh campus
Pittsburgh police are investigating an aggravated assault early Saturday near the University of Pittsburgh campus. Police responded at about 2:10 a.m. to the 100 block of Oakland Avenue for reports of a robbery and assault. The victim was punched in the head, according to an alert issued by Pitt police....
Boil water advisory lifted for Leechburg, neighboring municipalities
A boil water advisory has been lifted for people in Leechburg, West Leechburg, Hyde Park and parts of Allegheny Township. The Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County issued an alert early Saturday that relieved a five-day boil advisory for the authority’s nearly 3,890 customers. “We are pleased to report that the...
Saltsburg man killed in Avonmore motorcycle crash
A Saltsburg man was fatally injured when his motorcycle crashed early Saturday in Avonmore. Westmoreland County Coroner Tim Carson said Tate Matthew Kaleda, 27, was riding east on Route 56 when he failed to negotiate a right-hand curve in the road at about 2:15 a.m. The motorcycle crossed into the...
Jeannette man charged with fleeing Greensburg traffic stop, narrowly missing state trooper
A Jeannette man is charged with aggravated assault and reckless endangerment after leading troopers on a high-speed chase Friday night in Greensburg and Hempfield, state police said. During the chase that began shortly before 10 p.m., suspect Paul Raymond Good IV, 41, crashed his Chevy Silverado pickup truck into a...
TV Talk: Royce Jones exits KDKA-TV, Penguins on Channel 19
KDKA-TV reporter/anchor Royce Jones, who anchored the 10 p.m. news on KDKA-TV sister-station WPKD-TV, Channel 19, is no longer employed by the stations. In a two-sentence email sent to staff this week, KDKA/WPKD news director Shawn Hoder wrote, “FYI Royce Jones is no longer employed with CBS News Pittsburgh, KDKA/WPKD....
Fetterman says he supports Gainey’s efforts to address problems in Downtown Pittsburgh
U.S. Sen. John Fetterman said Friday he supports Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey’s efforts to tackle problems that Downtown has faced since the pandemic. Fetterman, speaking with the Tribune-Review after a service workers’ conference at the DoubleTree Hotel in Downtown, said he backs Gainey’s efforts to address public safety, combat vagrancy...
Westmoreland increases pay in move to reopen juvenile detention center
Westmoreland County’s shuttered juvenile detention center could reopen as early as next month, officials said Thursday. The 16-bed detention program at the Regional Youth Services Center in Hempfield has been closed since early June amid staffing shortages and multiple state investigations. New hires, along with an elevated pay scale approved...
Wife, daughter of Plum explosion victim Kevin Sebunia speak out about losing an ‘amazing man’ and the investigation
The wife and daughter of Kevin Sebunia, one of the victims in the fatal Aug. 12 home explosion in Plum, are sharing their story just over a month since the man they say had a “heart of gold” passed away. Kelly Sebunia, Kevin’s wife, and their daughter, Emily Brizee, sat...
Auto workers strike could hit consumers — if it lasts long enough
It’s hard to say where people will feel the biggest ripples from the United Auto Workers’ strike that started Friday, according to Ray Gibney, a professor of human capital and management at Penn State University-Harrisburg. For one, get ready for some sticker shock. Union leaders say labor accounts for about...
‘Pittsburgh Potty’ project adds public restrooms Downtown
Public restrooms are being added Downtown as part of what officials are calling the Pittsburgh Potty Initiative. Mayor Ed Gainey and the nonprofit Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership on Friday announced the six-month pilot project to provide the temporary public bathrooms. The first public bathroom opened early Friday afternoon at the Gateway...
Puerto Rican students visit Pittsburgh to honor Roberto Clemente through volunteerism
A group of six Puerto Rican students is visiting Pittsburgh this week to celebrate national hero Roberto Clemente and honor the baseball legend and humanitarian’s legacy through volunteerism. The Pittsburgh nonprofit Amizade (named for the Portuguese word for friendship) and Puerto Rican nonprofit Caras con Causa (which translates to ‘faces...
Missing Saltsburg hunter found dead in Indiana County
A missing Saltsburg-area man was found dead in Indiana County by state police Friday evening. Bryan John Bialas, 45, was reported missing by coworkers on Wednesday after he told them Monday that he planned to go hunting with his two dogs and then didn’t show up for work. State police...
Latrobe’s Adelphoi to take over operations of Shuman Center when it reopens in January
Allegheny County’s court system announced Friday that the Latrobe nonprofit Adelphoi will take over providing juvenile detention services at the now-closed Shuman Center as soon as January. The Shuman Juvenile Detention Center was closed in September 2021 after the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services revoked its license over a history...
West Virginia University will make wide-ranging cuts to academic programs and faculty
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — West Virginia University will make wide-ranging cuts to academic programs and faculty positions as it addresses a $45 million budget shortfall, with the board’s vote Friday culminating an impassioned back-and-forth between the campus community, students and officials. The state’s largest university will drop 28 of its majors,...
5 things to do in Pittsburgh this weekend: Sept. 15-17
We’ve made it to the middle of September. Here are some ways to spend this weekend. Rocktoberfest Beers of the Burgh and Zero Fossil Energy are teaming up for Rocktoberfest from 4 to 10 p.m. Saturday at Town Square in SouthSide Works. The music festival features live music on two...
Roundup: Warehouse fire causes traffic issues in Butler County
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Friday, Sept. 15: Warehouse fire causes traffic issues in Butler County An abandoned, three-story warehouse caught fire Friday morning in Butler. Calls came in about 3:30 a.m. for a large fire on South Cliffton Street, according to Butler County...
5 things to watch in WPIAL Week 3: Preseason contenders cope with 0-3 starts
West Mifflin started the season ranked second in WPIAL Class 3A, but the Titans are still winless after three weeks. So, now what? That 0-3 record might cause panic inside some locker rooms, but coach Rod Steele said he hasn’t seen any from his players. In fact, they’ve held onto...
About 13,000 workers go on strike seeking better wages and benefits from Detroit’s 3 automakers
DETROIT — About 13,000 U.S. auto workers stopped making vehicles and went on strike Friday after their leaders couldn’t bridge a giant gap between union demands in contract talks and what Detroit’s three automakers are willing to pay. Members of the United Auto Workers union began picketing at a General...
Artwork seized from Carnegie Museum was believed to have been stolen during Holocaust
NEW YORK — A work of art believed to have been stolen during the Holocaust from a Jewish art collector and entertainer was seized Wednesday from the Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh’s Oakland neighborhood by New York law enforcement authorities. “Portrait of a Man,” a pencil-on-paper drawing valued at...
Sentencing in $15 million tax fraud involving Bell Acres mansion will continue Monday
When Joe Nocito built his 51,000-square-foot Bell Acres mansion he named Villa Noci, an IRS agent said Thursday, every check and payment he made on it was illegally expensed to one of his companies. For the builder, nearly $900,000 in invoices between 2006 and 2012 were classified through Nocito’s companies...
After days of heavy rain and flash flooding in New England, Hurricane Lee is up nextVideo
PORTLAND, Maine — Days of wild weather that produced torrential rain, flooding, sinkholes and a tornado in New England could be a prelude to something more dangerous lurking offshore — Hurricane Lee. As the Category 1 system swirled southwest of Bermuda, Maine Gov. Janet Mills on Thursday declared a state...
Republican David McCormick plans to run for U.S. Senate again in Pennsylvania
HARRISBURG — Republican David McCormick is expected to announce his second bid for U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania, according to people familiar with his plans, taking on Democratic Sen. Bob Casey after narrowly losing an expensive and bruising GOP primary last year to a Donald Trump-endorsed rival. McCormick, 58, has strong...
Allegheny County exec candidate Joe Rockey unveils economic plan
Republican candidate for Allegheny County executive Joe Rockey lamented the county’s loss of jobs in a press conference Thursday and called for an economic renaissance plan to address it. Rockey, a former PNC executive from Ohio Township, said Allegheny County has lost 50,000 jobs over the last five years. He...
