Top Stories category, Page 655
‘Not your grandmother’s center’: Seniors centers evolve with Pilates, pickleball and pub burgers
Strong coffee and bingo are enough to draw Betty Delaney to the Highlands Area Senior Center every day. But her “partner in crime,” Christine Drane, said there’s a spicier reason to check out the Tarentum facility. “The meatballs are exceptionally good,” said Drane of Natrona Heights. “The lunches can’t be...
Greensburg WWII veteran braved armed foes, harsh jungle conditions with Merrill’s Marauders
(Editor’s Note: This is part of a series about Westmoreland County residents who have been honored as Hometown Heroes.) Walter Krautz Greensburg 1919-1986 Walter Krautz survived the jungle, but the sacrifices he made during a World War II mission behind enemy lines in Southeast Asia didn’t end once he was...
Oregon hospital security guard dies after being shot in hospital; police later kill suspect
PORTLAND, Ore. — A security guard died after being shot at an Oregon hospital Saturday, and the suspect was later killed by police in a nearby community, authorities said. Police responded to reports that a person with at least one firearm fired shots inside Legacy Good Samaritan Medical Center in...
Israel’s Netanyahu goes to hospital for pacemaker, says he will push ahead with judicial overhaul
JERUSALEM — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was rushed to the hospital early Sunday for an emergency procedure to implant a pacemaker, plunging the country into deeper turmoil after widespread protests overt his contentious judicial overhaul plan. Netanyahu’s office said that he would be placed under sedation and that a top...
Victim impact testimony, gunman’s troubled past highlight 6th week of Pittsburgh synagogue shooting trial
They were grandparents and siblings, children and spouses. They were doctors and dentists, nurses and accountants. They were 11 people who were supposed to be safe in a place that they loved. Last week marked the start of the final, sentence-selection phase in the trial of Robert G. Bowers, 50,...
Kecksburg UFO festival: ‘quintessentially American’
Little Everly Yencha of South Huntingdon was holding onto the carving of a green wooden cryptid — an alien’s head — that her mother, Holly Yencha, had just bought her Saturday at the Kecksburg UFO Festival. What attracted 5-year-old Everly to prompt her mother to buy her the odd item?...
Kenny Pickett enters Steelers camp at the head of the table
For the second consecutive year, the Pittsburgh Steelers will have the same three quarterbacks in training camp. Kenny Pickett, though, will no longer arrive as an invited guest when the Steelers report to Saint Vincent College. He has a seat firmly placed at the head of the table. Third on...
$50M grant to fund Bedford Dwellings redevelopment project in Hill District
A $50 million federal grant will allow Pittsburgh officials to complete a major revitalization project in the city’s Hill District. The neighborhood revitalization grant will be used to rehabilitate the Bedford Dwellings housing complex, create additional affordable housing and make other investments in the Hill District community, officials said. Pittsburgh...
Popular summer day camp at Hempfield challenged with finding staff
Hempfield’s summer day camp has expanded in popularity, but it is struggling to field enough staff to keep up with demand. “We’re providing a service that is in great need,” Parks and Recreation Director Marissa Haynes said at a township supervisors meeting this week. “We are maxed out everyday, and...
Beaver County communities to receive $5 million from Shell cracker settlement
Beaver County will receive $5 million as part of a settlement over air quality violations at Shell Chemical Appalachia’s cracker plant to use for community projects. The funding is due to a consent order announced in May in which Shell Chemicals Appalachia agreed to pay nearly $10 million for air...
Expanded Picklesburgh continues this weekend in Downtown PittsburghVideo
Pickle lovers and brine chuggers rejoice, for this is your weekend to be in Downtown Pittsburgh. Picklesburgh, the three-time No. 1 best specialty food festival in the nation, has begun. Festivities kicked off around noon Friday along the Boulevard of the Allies, between Stanwix and Smithfield streets. Tens of thousands...
Pittsburgh police arrest suspect in double stabbing in East Liberty
Pittsburgh police have arrested a suspect in a double stabbing Friday afternoon in the city’s East Liberty neighborhood. The stabbings were reported at 3:15 p.m. in the 6400 block of Centre Avenue. One female victim, who had superficial wounds to her arm, provided officers a description of a female suspect...
Covid infections ‘a much less scary beast’ now for region, health experts say
Hospital systems and experts say covid-19’s impact on health care and everyday lives is decreasing, while cautioning that the virus is and will remain present in Western Pennsylvania. New Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data shows that nationally, the number of people dying in the United States every week...
Car slams into building in downtown New Kensington
A car struck a building in downtown New Kensington on Friday afternoon, leaving the vehicle totaled and some damage to the building. Crews responded to the corner of 11th and Barnes streets in New Kensington for the crash at around 4:45 p.m. Assistant Fire Chief B.J. Kersey said the car...
Ligonier Valley police justified in fatal shooting of man with machete, DA says
Police were justified in their fatal shooting of a man armed with a machete in a July 2 domestic incident in Ligonier Township, Westmoreland County District Attorney Nicole W. Ziccarelli said Friday. Westmoreland County detectives said Robbie Thomas Saunders, 59, aggressively approached two Ligonier Valley Police Department officers and was...
Penn Avenue getting upgrades, bike lane improvements in Pittsburgh
Penn Avenue in Downtown Pittsburgh is set to see upgrades that will improve bike lanes and update loading zones, city officials said Friday. A $150,000 mobility enhancement project will update the corridor from Point State Park to 11th Street. Work is expected to include repaving Penn Avenue from 9th Street...
Pleasant Hills woman’s passion for Barbie dolls inspired by her late mother
Dressed in bold red, bright green and shimmery pink ball gowns, Kim Bennear Fancsali’s Barbies are perched atop two shelves in the corner of the room. Some have sparkling tiaras, others are adorned with colorful capes and puffy faux fur. Fancy necklaces and earrings complete the look. They are from...
2 teens captured after carjacking Uber driver in Pittsburgh, police say
A Homewood teen cut off his probation ankle monitor and joined a second teen to carjack an Uber driver early Thursday, before leading Pittsburgh police on a high-speed chase that ended in Penn Hills with their capture, officials said. Police charged Patrick Beatty, 16, with robbery of a motor vehicle,...
Murders down this year in Pittsburgh, many U.S. cities, report says
Pittsburgh’s homicide rate is down in 2023 but still higher than its pre-pandemic levels, a trend mirrored in violent crime rates in 37 U.S. cities, according to a report from the Council on Criminal Justice. Homicides in the city plunged 34% in the first half of 2023, compared to the...
Pa.’s latest attempt to regulate cyber charter schools would lower tuition payments, increase transparency
Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan newsroom powered by The Philadelphia Inquirer in partnership with PennLive/The Patriot-News, TribLIVE/Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, and WITF Public Media. Sign up for our free newsletters. HARRISBURG — A bill making its way through the Pennsylvania legislature would cap the amount of money public school districts send...
Salem barn destroyed by fire following lightning strikeVideo
Ed Immel was getting ready for bed on Thursday night when a loud clap nearly shook him out from under the covers. “I thought it was just thunder,” he said. A few minutes later, he saw a dull orange glow out the window and knew that his barn was on...
Sara Innamorato’s state House exit triggers Allegheny County special election
Allegheny County will see another special election this September, the fourth time in 2023 that voters in the county will pick a replacement for state representative. With State Rep. Sara Innamorato, D-Lawrenceville, resigning to focus on her run for Allegheny County Executive, the 21st state House District is vacant and...
Officers begin added South Side patrols
Pittsburgh police has deployed a dedicated unit patrolling the entertainment district in the city’s South Side neighborhood on weekends. The unit includes seven Pittsburgh police officers Thursdays through Sundays, Police Chief Larry Scirotto told the Tribune-Review last week. That effort has started this week, public safety spokesperson Cara Cruz said...
Pa. antlerless deer license sales double last year’s pace as 2nd round nears
The second round of 2023-24 antlerless deer license sales begins at 8 a.m. Monday as the Pennsylvania Game Commission tries to catch up with a huge increase in the number of permits sold during the first round. The agency is allowing antlerless deer licenses to be purchased anywhere hunting licenses...
Judge sets a trial date for May 2024 in Trump’s classified documents case in Florida
WASHINGTON — A federal judge in Florida has scheduled a trial date for next May for former President Donald Trump in a case charging him with illegally retaining hundreds of classified documents. The May 20, 2024, trial date, set Friday by U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, is a compromise between...
