Top Stories category, Page 679
‘It’s always there’: Families of synagogue shooting victims reflect on what’s lost
There’s a weed growing in a bucket on Pittsburgh police SWAT Officer Tim Matson’s porch. It saved his life. Months after he was shot multiple times responding to an active shooter at the Tree of Life synagogue building in Squirrel Hill, Matson said Wednesday, he remained in a dark place....
Pittsburgh police chief says staffing ‘not in crisis’ despite officer shortage
Pittsburgh Police Chief Larry Scirotto said the police bureau’s staffing levels are “not in crisis,” as officials on Wednesday released the bureau’s first staffing study in more than a decade. According to the study, conducted by California-based Matrix Consulting Group, the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police has an “exceptional” response time...
Sara Innamorato resigns from state House amid budget impasse
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 — The state House will once again be tied at 101-101 following the resignation of a Western Pennsylvania Democrat. State...
Magisterial District Judge Mik Pappas resigns
The magisterial district judge for several of Pittsburgh’s East End neighborhoods has resigned, according to a letter obtained by the Tribune-Review. Mik Pappas was elected to Allegheny County’s 31st magisterial district in 2017, and announced last year that he would not seek reelection. District 31 includes the city’s Bloomfield, East...
Overnight closures of Andy Warhol Bridge end; work on Clemente underway
Overnight closures of the Andy Warhol Bridge have ended, Allegheny County officials said Tuesday. The closures, which began in late April, allowed for crews to install an enhanced lighting system on the span. There will be periodic single-lane closures during the day on the Andy Warhol and Rachel Carson bridges...
Fear, distrust, and an ethics office in chaos erode Penn State’s post-Sandusky reforms
This story was produced by the State College regional bureau of Spotlight PA, an independent, nonpartisan newsroom dedicated to investigative and public-service journalism for Pennsylvania. Sign up for our regional newsletter, Talk of the Town. STATE COLLEGE — John Champagne submitted his report just before noon on Oct. 28, 2021....
Dog gets $2,000 reward for helping capture escaped Pennsylvania inmate Michael Burham
A chocolate Lab mix in Warren County is getting spoiled after his owners were presented Tuesday with $2,000, part of a reward authorities had offered for information leading to the apprehension of jail escapee Michael Burham. Ron and Cindy Ecklund were given $2,000 cash from Warren County Crime Stoppers for...
Photos: Pittsburgh’s Wiz Khalifa, Snoop Dogg perform sold-out show at Star Lake
Rappers Snoop Dogg and Pittsburgh’s own Wiz Khalifa brought the High School Reunion tour Tuesday night to the Pavilion at Star Lake in Burgettstown. The show was sold out. Snoop, a noted Pittsburgh Steelers fan, gained prominence on the rap scene in 1992 from appearances with Dr. Dre. He’s since...
Pitt’s new chancellor begins her tenure with some questions for students, staff
College and university leaders who are new in their job almost always arrive on campus promising some form of a listening tour to take the pulse of the place. At the University of Pittsburgh, Chancellor Joan Gabel is taking things a bit further in her first week. She emailed Pitt’s...
Morning Roundup: Police say juvenile injured in Braddock shooting
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Wednesday, July 19: Police say juvenile injured in Braddock shooting Pennsylvania State Police said one person was injured in a shooting early Wednesday morning in Braddock. Emergency dispatchers said police were called to the 200 block of 6th Street...
‘He will serve his country,’ but first, Pirates have high hopes for Paul SkenesVideo
During Paul Skenes’ two years at the Air Force Academy, there was little he loved more than folding his 6-foot, 6½-inch, 260-pound frame into an F-15 fighter aircraft. Even if it meant hitting his head on the roof of the cockpit and enduring 9 Gs of force, or about nine...
PennDOT announces detours, shuttle service for 6-week closure of New Kensington Bridge
A six-week closure of the New Kensington Bridge will start Monday, PennDOT confirmed Tuesday. The bridge spanning the Allegheny River between East Deer and New Kensington is scheduled to close to all traffic around 9 a.m. Monday and remain closed through Sept. 4. The nearly century-old bridge is being closed...
Up in the air: The cost of auto repair, insurance climbing
Following suit with rising costs and inflation, the costs of automobile ownership, insurance and necessary repairs have soared in recent years and are expected to continue. Frank Ferra, president of Ferra’s Automotive Services in Sharpsburg, says expenses including wages, rent, taxes, equipment and insurance, along with the costs for parts,...
2 Westmoreland men indicted in federal Snapchat hacking case
Two Westmoreland County men are among seven people who were indicted by a federal grant jury in Erie alleging they conspired to hack into Snapchat accounts, steal explicit photos and videos and distribute them on the web, federal prosecutors said. Edward Michael Grabb, 31, of Jeannette and Michael Paul Yackovich,...
West Mifflin Council unanimously condemns former Century III Mall
West Mifflin Council voted unanimously Tuesday to condemn the former Century III Mall. The vote was 6-0 with Councilman Anthony Topolnak absent. Attorney Nicole Nino, filling in for borough Solicitor Phil DiLucente, said the property owner, Moonbeam Capital Investments, has 30 days to appeal. She said she could not comment...
Jill Biden touts airport funding, workforce development during Western Pa. visit
Flanked by scores of cranes, first lady Jill Biden visited the Pittsburgh region Tuesday in an effort to remind the region that the Biden administration supports, and provided funding for, many of its largest infrastructure projects. In a speech just outside of Pittsburgh International Airport, she praised Western Pennsylvania for...
Michigan charges 16 fake electors for Donald Trump with election law and forgery feloniesVideo
LANSING, Mich. — Michigan’s attorney general filed felony charges Tuesday against 16 Republicans who acted as fake electors for then-President Donald Trump in 2020, accusing them of submitting false certificates confirming they were legitimate electors despite Joe Biden’s victory in the state. Attorney General Dana Nessel, a Democrat, announced Tuesday...
Pennsylvania Turnpike motorists to be hit with 5% toll hike next year
Pennsylvania Turnpike travelers will see a 5% toll hike in January, continuing a 15-year trend of annual rate increases by the Turnpike Commission. The new toll rates are scheduled to take effect Jan. 7, equaling the most recent percentage increase, imposed earlier this year. Next year, the most common toll...
Mercer Co. woman who used bullhorn to direct Capitol rioters is convicted
A Mercer County woman who used a bullhorn to direct rioters attacking the U.S. Capitol was convicted on Tuesday of charges that she joined the mob in an attempt to keep President Joe Biden out of the White House. U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth heard testimony without a jury before...
Trib Total Media recognized as one of America’s best small employers by Forbes magazine
Trib Total Media has earned a spot on Forbes magazine’s inaugural list of America’s Best Small Employers. The Trib was ranked No. 69 out of 300 small businesses featured on the list, which was released Tuesday to highlight the top companies that employ nearly half of the American workforce. “We...
Car crashes into Longhorn Steakhouse in McCandless
A car crashed into the vestibule of the McCandless Longhorn Steakhouse on Tuesday around 1 p.m., pinning a 17-year-old female employee underneath the vehicle. First responders rescued the employee using the Jaws of Life. The driver, an 81-year-old woman, and the employee were taken to a nearby hospital with moderate...
Hays Woods officially designated a Pittsburgh park
Hays Woods is officially a Pittsburgh park. City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved legislation that officially recognizes the 624-acre site — which includes city-owned land in Pittsburgh’s Hays and St. Clair neighborhoods as well as Baldwin — as a park. The sprawling wooded area will be the second-largest park in...
McKees Rocks man sentenced in death of woman found in a refrigerator
A man charged with homicide in a case involving a woman found dead in a refrigerator in McKees Rocks in 2020 was sentenced to voluntary manslaughter and abuse of a corpse. Daryl Jones, 44, of McKees Rocks, pleaded guilty but mentally ill to felony voluntary manslaughter and misdemeanor abuse of...
Downtown Pittsburgh’s last McDonald’s to become a Huntington National Bank
Huntington National Bank is slated to take over the Stanwix Street site that formerly housed Downtown Pittsburgh’s last McDonald’s. The fast food restaurant in the spring opted not to renew its lease at the location just outside Market Square. The Golden Arches had been at the site for about 50...
Family members describe ‘profound’ loss of victims in Pittsburgh synagogue shooting
Dr. Jerry Rabinowitz believed it was better to be kind than right. Bernice and Sylvan Simon could have been the poster children for a happy marriage. Joyce Fienberg doted so much she reminded her son of Mary Poppins. Rose Mallinger loved to do the chicken dance. Irv Younger was so...
