Top Stories category, Page 749
Monessen school board: Penguins’ offer to pay for girls basketball team bus appreciated, not necessary
Efforts to pay for a charter bus to transport the Monessen girls basketball team to a PIAA playoff game — a movement that included the Pittsburgh Penguins Foundation offering to foot the bill — were appreciated but not necessary, the district solicitor said at the Monessen school board meeting Tuesday...
Pittsburgh man charged in theft of church bell
A Pittsburgh man faces criminal charges in connection with the theft of a 1,000-pound church bell. Matthew Pistelli, 54, was arrested Monday night by Pittsburgh police plainclothes detectives in connection with the Feb. 12 theft of the bell from Turner Cemetery in the Squirrel Hill/Greenfield area. Pistelli faces charges of...
Water issue closes Pittsburgh zoo, but it should reopen Wednesday
The Pittsburgh Zoo & Aquarium closed Tuesday because of what it described as a water issue, but the facility is expecting to reopen to guests Wednesday, officials said. The issue was located outside of zoo grounds but was impacting the zoo with “intermittent service,” said Alex Cauley, the zoo’s public...
Shapiro’s $44.4B budget pitch keeps Pa. spending relatively flat, preserves some pandemic benefits
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 — In his first budget proposal as Pennsylvania’s chief executive, Gov. Josh Shapiro is calling for $1 billion in new...
Lawsuit: Western Psych staff mistook nurse’s disabilities, injected him with antipsychotic meds
A former charge nurse at Pittsburgh’s Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic has filed a lawsuit alleging that colleagues mistook symptoms of his disabilities for substance abuse and injected him with an antipsychotic medication before trying to have him involuntarily committed. Aaron Diamond, now of Lehigh County, had worked as a...
Goodwill to end use of plastic bags in Southwestern Pa.
Goodwill of Southwestern Pennsylvania is joining the plastic bag ban. The regional nonprofit chain of 34 Goodwill thrift stores will eliminate the use of plastic shopping bags later this month. Shoppers are encouraged to use a free box from the store, bring their own reusable bag, or buy a Goodwill...
U.S. sues to block JetBlue from buying Spirit Airlines
The Biden administration sued on Tuesday to block JetBlue Airways’ $3.8 billion purchase of Spirit Airlines, saying the deal would reduce competition and drive up air fares for consumers. The Justice Department said the tie-up would especially hurt cost-conscious travelers who depend on Spirit to find cheaper options than they...
2 Americans dead, 2 rescued from violent Mexico kidnapping
CIUDAD VICTORIA, Mexico —A road trip to Mexico for cosmetic surgery ended with two Americans dead — and two others found alive in a rural area near the Gulf coast — after a violent shootout and abduction that was captured on video, officials said Tuesday. The surviving Americans were back...
Pittsburgh’s police officers ratify contract with raises, new disciplinary structure
The union representing Pittsburgh’s police officers has ratified a contract with the city that includes pay increases and a new structure for disciplining officers, officials said Tuesday. Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey said rank-and-file officers voted Monday night to approve the deal by a vote of 572 to 13. The head...
Springdale power plant property could be rezoned residential
Riverfront property in Springdale could look vastly different if council moves forward with a proposal to rezone a coveted piece of land. The partially dismantled Cheswick Generating Station, which is on 56 acres and includes an adjoining 27-acre parcel, will be the focus of discussion during a meeting Wednesday of...
Leechburg fire chief hopes to improve safety rating by replacing old equipment
Sometimes less is more. Especially when it comes to ISO fire safety ratings. Leechburg Volunteer Fire Company Chief John Foster hopes to reduce the company’s Insurance Services Office (ISO) rating from a 6 to a lower number, after receiving a one-point increase during the last ISO inspection in 2020. The...
16 Pa. GOP female lawmakers call on Democratic Rep. Mike Zabel accused of sexual harassment to resign
Pressure continues to mount on a Delaware County Democratic Rep. Mike Zabel to resign in the wake of the sexual harassment accusations leveled against him with the latest call for him to step down coming from a group of 16 House Republican lawmakers. In a letter sent on Monday to...
Fetterman ‘on his way to recovery,’ chief of staff says
U.S. Sen. John Fetterman’s staff said Monday that he is being briefed on activity and discussing updates on legislation and other priorities, several weeks after he checked himself into the hospital for treatment of clinical depression. Fetterman’s chief of staff Adam Jentleson said he had a productive morning with Fetterman...
Gas prices trending upward as annual change to summer blends is underway
The average gasoline price in the Pittsburgh area came down slightly in the past week while the national average increased as the transition to summer gas has started across the entire country, an industry analyst said Monday. Pittsburgh’s average was $3.72 per gallon, according to price-tracking service GasBuddy and its...
Corbet Street demolition will disrupt traffic in Tarentum
Demolition of a building in the heart of the Tarentum business district will interrupt traffic for a few days this week. A three-story brick building at 215 Corbet St. is scheduled to come down, beginning Tuesday. The project is expected to last two to three days. Borough Manager Dwight Boddorf...
Twitter glitches as links, logins fail
Twitter experienced a bevy of glitches Monday for a time being as links stopped working, some users were unable to log in and images were not loading for others. The company, which has experienced an uptick instability and bugs in recent months after Elon Musk cut its staff sharply, said...
Norfolk Southern to pay $7M to reimburse Pa. agencies, fire departments, create relief fund
The train company responsible for last month’s derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, has agreed to pay more than $7 million to cover costs incurred by Pennsylvania agencies and fire departments and establish a relief fund for residents and businesses, Gov. Josh Shapiro said Monday. Shapiro said he demanded Norfolk Southern...
Pa. game commission seeking genetic info on ‘tame’ ruffed grousesVideo
Have you been harassed by Pennsylvania’s state bird? The game commission wants to know. No, seriously. In the spring and fall, some ruffed grouses exhibit what wildlife experts refer to as “tame” behavior. Despite being completely wild animals, they show very little fear around people and will sometimes even act...
What to expect from Pa. Gov. Josh Shapiro’s first budget proposal
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 — As Gov. Josh Shapiro prepares to pitch his first state budget, he’s doling out a few hints about what...
Robert Bowers appears in federal court as prospective jurors complete questionnaires in Tree of Life case
The man accused of killing 11 people at the Tree of Life synagogue in 2018 appeared in a federal courtroom Monday morning for the first time in more than four years. Robert Bowers, 50, of Baldwin, was present in the eighth-floor courtroom of U.S. District Judge Robert Colville for the...
Wildlife livestream helps ‘bring the outdoors in’ for Saint Vincent studentsVideo
Bill Powers of Murrysville is on the lookout for a pileated woodpecker nest somewhere on his property. And Saint Vincent biology professor Jim Kellam is just the man to help him find it. Their mutual appreciation for wildlife has led to the installation of a TV at the Dupre Science...
Fox libel defense at odds with top GOP presidential foesVideo
NEW YORK — Fox News is on an unlikely collision course with two leading contenders for the Republican presidential nomination over the rights of journalists. In defending itself against a massive defamation lawsuit over how it covered false claims surrounding the 2020 presidential election, the network is relying on a...
Biden reelection bid faces resistance from some Democrats
LACONIA, N.H. — Steve Shurtleff was at Joe Biden’s side in 2019 when he filed papers in the New Hampshire State House to run for president. He repeatedly trekked across the state with Biden to court primary voters. And when Biden ultimately won the presidency, it was Shurtleff, then the...
Snow has been a no-show for some traditionally wintry cities
BOSTON — Growing up in New England, Leah Ofsevit’s most cherished childhood memories were blanketed in snow. She remembers running barefoot outside with her brother at the first sign of it, building snowmen and ice castles most winters, strapping on skis as a toddler. Ofsevit and her husband, Jeremy Garczynski,...
Mon Incline reopens after 7 months of upgrades
The Monongahela Incline was reopened at 7 a.m. Monday after having been shut down since Aug. 1. Mechanical issues delayed plans to restart service at 5:30 a.m., according to a spokesman for Pittsburgh Regional Transit. The incline has been undergoing a $8.2 million renovation project to modernize the mechanical controls...
