Top Stories category, Page 626
Another alligator sighting in the Kiski River reported to authorities
There appears to be a reptile repeat of sorts along the Kiski River in Kiski Township. After a weeklong search and rescue of an alligator from the river near Apollo in August, a group of six kayakers reported spotting another alligator swimming in the Kiski on Sunday afternoon, about a...
Latrobe police investigating shooting in the city
A male was brought to Latrobe Area Hospital on Sunday with a gunshot wound, according to Latrobe police. Detectives interviewed him at the hospital, but he was either unable or unwilling to provide details of the shooting, according to a post on the Latrobe police department’s Facebook page. He was...
Burning Man flooding strands tens of thousands at Nevada siteVideo
BLACK ROCK DESERT, Nev. — An unusual late-summer storm turned a week-long counterculture fest into a sloppy mess with tens of thousands of partygoers stuck in foot-deep mud and with no working toilets in the northern Nevada desert. But some Burning Man revelers said Sunday that their spirits remained unbroken....
Penn’s Colony Festival abruptly canceled in Clinton Township because of staffing shortage
Penn’s Colony Festival organizers have canceled their regional dayslong festival, mere weeks from its scheduled kickoff date of Sept. 16. The event typically runs on two weekends and showcases the French-and-Indian-era history of Western Pennsylvania. It offers an expansive outdoor village featuring period craftsmen, demonstrations, live music, food, battle reenactments...
For at least a day, all the world is ‘Margaritaville’ in homage to Jimmy Buffett
KEY WEST, Florida — All the world was “Margaritaville” on Saturday, from Key West to New York City and beyond, as legions of fans mourned the passing of beach-bum balladeer Jimmy Buffett at the age of 76. Buffett’s eponymous hit song has long been the anthem of Florida’s Key West,...
Amazon challenge: Finding workers to fill hundreds of jobsVideo
When Amazon casts a net for workers to receive and distribute consumer goods at its new 1-million-square-foot warehouse in New Stanton, it will be doing so in a tight labor market. “That is one of the big challenges,” because of the loss of workers in Southwestern Pennsylvania, said James Futrell,...
East Allegheny is latest school district to install cameras to catch bus safety violatorsVideo
East Allegheny School District officials say they are tired of motorists ignoring state law prohibiting them from passing stopped school buses. Through a partnership with local law enforcement and the safety company BusPatrol, the district now has measures in place to identify the license plates of drivers who put students...
Liquor Control Board sets hearing for noise exemption in East Deer
The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board will hold a hearing next week on a proposal that, if approved, would allow East Deer to enforce its own noise regulations, and not the state’s. The Wednesday hearing before the LCB will give the public a chance to comment on a proposal from East...
New Kensington man dies at scene of Route 28 crash in Fawn
A New Kensington man died at the scene of a crash at the Tarentum interchange on Route 28 early Saturday, according to state police. State police identified the driver as Dominic E. Montemurro, 28. According to state police, the single-vehicle crash happened shortly after 4 a.m. on the southbound Route...
‘More than just a woman’s fight’: Stories of the Equal Pay Act
It was pretty obvious there was something wrong with the newspaper job listings. The postings were separated between men and women — the latter often advertising lower-paid gigs. It was a common practice until a 1973 U.S. Supreme Court ruling said job listings could no longer be segregated. “I learned...
Equal Pay Act turns 60, but wage gaps remain between men and women
Phylliss Ewell was a home health aide who loved caring for people in need. She was a single mother who worked two, sometimes three, jobs to support herself and two children she raised in Duquesne in the 1970s. Despite Ewell’s multiple jobs, the family still qualified for programs such as...
Phil Jurkovec leads Pitt to 45-7 victory against Wofford
Long before kickoff, Pat Narduzzi and everybody in the crowd of 45,096 at Acrisure Stadium knew Pitt would defeat tiny Wofford on Saturday. Clean execution and careful planning had plenty to do with the 45-7 victory that, in reality, was easier than the final score indicated. Wofford, an FCS team...
Plum fire trucks among vehicles at food truck rally, touch-a-truck event benefiting Rustic Ridge
Three of the Plum fire trucks that responded to the Rustic Ridge house explosion Aug. 12 were out in the community for a different, but related, reason on Saturday. Ladder trucks from the Holiday Park and Unity fire departments and an engine from the Renton company were among the vehicles...
Bill Richardson, a former governor and UN ambassador who worked to free detained Americans, dies
WASHINGTON — Bill Richardson, a two-term Democratic governor of New Mexico and an American ambassador to the United Nations who also worked for years to secure the release of Americans detained by foreign adversaries, has died. He was 75. The Richardson Center for Global Engagement, which he founded and led,...
Killer who escaped suburban Philadelphia prison is spotted on surveillance cameras
WEST CHESTER — A recently convicted murderer who’s been on the run for days after escaping a suburban Philadelphia prison was spotted shortly after midnight Saturday by residential security cameras in an area not far from the prison, authorities said. Authorities haven’t disclosed the circumstances of how Danelo Cavalcante, 34,...
Futules’ Harmar House gives update on Facebook
Nick Futules Jr. offered thanks to various people Saturday and gave an update on the aftermath of a fire Wednesday, Aug. 30 that destroyed Futules’ Harmar House banquet hall and downstairs lounge and apartments. In a Facebook post, Nick Futules Jr. began by thanking everyone who offered their condolences and...
Biden is surveying hurricane’s toll from the sky and ground in Florida
LIVE OAK, Fla. — President Joe Biden got a look Saturday from the sky at Hurricane Idalia’s impact across a swath of Florida before setting out on a walking tour of a city recovering from the storm. Notably absent from his schedule was any time with Gov. Ron DeSantis, a...
Children hit hardest by the pandemic are now the big kids at school. Many still need reading help
They were the kids most disrupted by the pandemic, the ones who were still learning to write their names and tie their shoes when schools shut down in the spring of 2020. Now, they’re the big kids at elementary schools across the United States. Many still need profound help overcoming...
Madison, a town without a working government, gets court intervention to pay bills
Joe Borkovich doesn’t pay much attention to the inner workings of his hometown. He just knows tiny Madison Borough remains a nice place to live. Standing in the driveway of his home that overlooks the town’s park and playground, Borkovich, 81, said he sees no signs of Madison’s stagnant government...
‘Margaritaville’ singer Jimmy Buffett, who turned beach-bum life into an empire, dies at 76
NEW YORK — Singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett, who popularized beach bum soft rock with the escapist Caribbean-flavored song “Margaritaville” and turned that celebration of loafing into a billion-dollar empire of restaurants, resorts and frozen concoctions, has died. He was 76. “Jimmy passed away peacefully on the night of September 1st surrounded...
First roundabout in Alle-Kiski Valley aims to decrease vehicle crashes in Allegheny TownshipVideo
A newly completed roundabout is operating smoothly in Allegheny Township, officials say. The roundabout, the first of its kind in the Alle-Kiski Valley, is at the intersection of Route 356 and La Belle Vue Road. A roundabout is a one-way type of circular intersection that does not require vehicles to...
Motorcyclist killed in Route 119 motorcycle crash in Salem
A Salem man was killed Friday night when his motorcycle hit a utility pole’s guy wire along Route 119 in Salem, Westmoreland County Coroner Tim Carson said. The victim, William Earl Rager, 44, was driving the Harley Davidson motorcycle southbound when he lost control and hit a drainage culvert on...
As workers scramble to finish upscale student high-rise in Pittsburgh, college students scattered in temporary housing
Hailey Garza, a Carnegie Mellon University sophomore, envisioned herself this fall in luxury high-rise student housing just off campus on Forbes Avenue — a complex with a 24-hour fitness center, coffee bar and hot tub. Instead, she’s in Shadyside — in a basement Airbnb that sometimes has a subterranean smell...
Federal loan to support $500M expansion at Eos Energy’s Mon Valley facility
New Jersey-based battery company Eos Energy is expanding at its Mon Valley facility and creating a $500 million program that elected officials say will create hundreds of jobs locally. U.S. Rep. Summer Lee, D-Swissvale, announced Thursday that the U.S. Department of Energy has made a conditional commitment on a nearly...
NexTier, Mars Bancorp banks reach merger agreement
Two local banks have agreed to merge. Butler-based NexTier Inc. plans to acquire Mars Bancorp Inc., according to a joint announcement by the two companies. The Mars-based bank will operate under NexTier’s brand. “We believe the merger with Mars Bank provides NexTier the opportunity to provide additional banking services to...
