Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 664
West Virginia University faculty express symbolic no confidence in President E. Gordon Gee
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — West Virginia University faculty approved a symbolic motion on Wednesday expressing no confidence in President E. Gordon Gee as the university addresses a $45 million budget shortfall. The university is struggling with the financial toll of dwindling enrollment, revenue lost during the covid-19 pandemic and an increasing...
Pitt Seed program invests in projects proposed by faculty, staff
Boosting the teacher pipeline in Pennsylvania and helping marginalized students succeed in college are among the five projects that have been selected for investment by the University of Pittsburgh. The program, called Pitt Seed, provides internal financial support for pilot projects that have growth potential and could have direct impact...
Pittsburgh approves limited deer hunting program in city parks
Limited archery hunting will be permitted in two Pittsburgh parks this year. City Council on Wednesday approved legislation that will clear the way for limited deer hunting to address a deer population that officials have said has grown too large. Mayor Ed Gainey’s administration will host a pilot program in...
Pittsburgh food bank warns of scammers after phony solicitations at Rib Fest
The Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank is warning people of potential scammers who have been posing as food bank representatives at several large events, including Rib Fest last weekend on the North Shore. The food bank said Pittsburgh police are investigating potential fraud following several reports of people posing as...
Pirates’ Andrew McCutchen likely out for remainder of season with partial Achilles tearVideo
In all likelihood, Pittsburgh Pirates designated hitter Andrew McCutchen’s 2023 campaign is over. The club’s director of sports medicine, Todd Tomczyk, relayed Wednesday afternoon that McCutchen suffered a partial tear of his left Achilles tendon. McCutchen had been removed mid-game Monday night against the Brewers with Achilles tightness. After an...
DA: State police justified in fatally shooting Fawn man last October
Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr. said Wednesday that state police were justified in fatally shooting a Fawn man who brandished a gun last fall after troopers responded to a domestic disturbance report. Zachary John Cervice, 50, was killed on Shamrock Lane as he got out of a...
Coroner identifies Allegheny County man killed in ‘police-involved shooting’ in North Huntingdon
An Allegheny County man was identified as the person who was killed Tuesday in North Huntingdon during a narcotics investigation involving agents from the state Attorney General’s Office. Dontae D. Warner, 30, of McKeesport “became involved in an interaction with multiple police departments” and died in a parking lot behind...
Proposed affordable housing development to cater to LGBTQ+ seniors in South Oakland
An affordable housing development proposed in Pittsburgh’s South Oakland would cater to LGBTQ+ seniors. The proposed six-story apartment complex on Forbes Avenue would include 48 units, 24 off-street parking spaces and 22 bicycle parking spots, according to plans presented Tuesday to the city’s planning commission. All of the units would...
State police in region investigated 153 crashes on Labor Day weekend
State troopers in three local troops were busy during the Labor Day weekend as they investigated five fatalities in four crashes, including ones in Allegheny, Fayette and Westmoreland, according to statistics released by the agency. That amounted to half of the fatalities on the roads statewide that were investigated by...
Mark Madden: Here’s what Penguins should do with new broadcast team
As the Pittsburgh Penguins piece together their new broadcast teams, they’re likely debating whether to cling to nostalgia or move forward. A trend toward the latter has already started with the dismissal of Bob Errey from TV color commentary. For years, the Penguins’ three main analysts have been from their...
Extended lane closures on Route 28 in Harmar begin Friday
Extended, weekendlong lane closures on Route 28 in Harmar will begin Friday, according to PennDOT. The single-lane restrictions will occur in both directions on Route 28 on two bridges, as crews work on expansion dam replacement and approach road reconstruction. Work on the northbound lanes is set to begin at...
Belle Vernon votes to hire controversial former Plum superintendent
The Belle Vernon Area School District voted Tuesday evening to hire former Plum superintendent Timothy Glasspool. Some parents at the school board meeting voiced opposition to the decision, citing a grand jury report that condemned Plum School District officials following a sexual assault scandal involving a former teacher, according to...
Southmoreland middle-schooler awaits heart transplant
Eleven-year-old Marshall Fee has already formed some strong opinions: waffles over pancakes at breakfast time and, at the park with his friends, the slide over swings. Early morning starts at summer camp? A definite no. When people see the Southmoreland middle schooler’s endless curiosity and lively spirit, they would not...
Morning Roundup: Transformer fire damages homes in Pittsburgh’s North Side
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Wednesday, Sept. 6: North Side transformer fire shuts down power A transformer on Pittsburgh’s North Side caught fire Tuesday night, causing damage to adjacent homes and shutting down power throughout the neighborhood. The fire started around 10 p.m. in...
Owners of unfinished Pittsburgh luxury student high rise release updated move-in dates
Owners of an unfinished 10-story luxury student high-rise in Oakland that is weeks behind its planned opening are giving tentative move-in dates between late September and later October — starting with the lowest floors. In the meantime, the owners of Here Pittsburgh say they are providing alternative housing for 463...
Planning commission approves plan to renovate Upper Lawrenceville firehouse plus mixed-income housing, retail
Pittsburgh’s planning commission on Tuesday approved plans for a development that will revitalize a former firehouse and bring mixed-income housing and other amenities. Illinois-based Albion Residential is planning to bring to new life a former firehouse on Butler Street and add a new 354,000-square-foot apartment complex on a site that...
WVU cuts come into focus as no-confidence vote for President E. Gordon Gee is set for Wednesday
An expected decision by West Virginia University’s governing board on which academic programs to cut has come into sharper focus as a potential vote of no-confidence in president E. Gordon Gee looms Wednesday. The preliminary recommendations from WVU administrators involving two dozen academic departments were made public Aug. 11. They...
Pittsburgh man wanted for shooting in West End arrested in NYC
A Pittsburgh man who was wanted in connection with a shooting in the West End was arrested early Tuesday morning in New York City. Richard Worley was wanted for shooting a woman in the hand and leg at Wabash Street and Sawmill Run Boulevard on Aug. 20. The woman was...
Pittsburgh appeals decision to reduce punishment for officer who skipped funeral where 5 were shot
Two Pittsburgh police officers and their supervisor were disciplined last fall after they failed to provide a police presence at a Brighton Heights funeral in October where five people were shot. Those details were revealed last week in an arbitration appeal in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court after one of...
PUC rules public utility equipment not at fault in 2022 Plum home explosion
A Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission ruling that an April 2022 home explosion in Plum was not caused by public utility equipment does not eliminate the possibility that natural gas caused the explosion. In a statement released Tuesday, the PUC’s safety division found no evidence that public utility natural gas equipment...
Deputy had cocaine in system when responding to Garfield standoff, sheriff says
Allegheny County Sheriff Kevin M. Kraus said Tuesday that he fired a deputy who tested positive for cocaine just after responding to the six-hour standoff in Garfield that ended with the gunman’s death. The deputy, a seven-year veteran who Kraus declined to name, was one of 13 officers tested by...
Suspect fatally shot by a law-enforcement officer near Route 30 in North Huntingdon, investigation continues
A law enforcement officer fatally shot a suspect in North Huntingdon on Tuesday afternoon while agents with the state Attorney General’s Office were conducting a narcotics investigation, according to officials. The Westmoreland County District Attorney’s Office released a joint statement on behalf of the state police that said that, after...
Altoona woman chases fame after Pittsburgh porta-potty fight video goes viral
Don’t call her Dalanie. Call her Romper Stomper. An Altoona-bred college student is cashing in on her 15 minutes of fame after a viral video from country star Morgan Wallen’s Aug. 31 performance at PNC Park showed her violently defending her mother at the concert’s porta-potties. Dozens of clips of...
Defense attorneys consent to gag order proposed by Zappala following video briefing
An Allegheny County judge on Tuesday granted a request for a gag order by District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr. stemming from a video he made in which he commented on pending cases. The gag order covers a homicide case from August 2022, as well as the attempted homicide of...
Police say New Stanton Manor fire was intentionally set during argument
A Hempfield man is accused by state police of setting a fire in his apartment Sunday morning, prompting the evacuation of the building, according to court papers. Frank M. Starr, 45, is being held at the Westmoreland County Prison on $50,000 bail. Troopers were called to New Stanton Manor at...
