Top Stories category, Page 976
Penn Hills School District residents sound off on potential mascot change
The Penn Hills School Board listened to residents, students, alumni and staff April 13 regarding the possibility of changing the name of their mascot from the Indians. No vote was taken, and the school directors did not speak or answer questions. Instead, the board listened, took notes and made audio...
Washington County contractor pleads guilty to bilking 16 victims, ordered to pay $400K
A Washington County man has pleaded guilty in Allegheny County Court to bilking 16 Pittsburgh area victims out of hundreds of thousands of dollars through uncompleted construction projects and payments owed to subcontractors and suppliers. Daniel Michael Bull, 39, of Washington pleaded guilty Tuesday to two counts of theft by...
Pennsylvania Senate votes to end drop boxes, outside money for elections
HARRISBURG — Drop boxes for depositing mail-in and absentee ballots would be banned and donations to run elections would no longer be permitted from groups outside government under bills approved Wednesday by the Pennsylvania Senate. Senators voted 37-12, a potentially veto-proof margin, to prohibit the types of grants issued during...
Teen shot in Stowe Township expected to survive
A 15-year-old boy is expected to survive after being shot Wednesday in Stowe Township. The Allegheny County Police Homicide Unit responded to reports of a shooting at 3:50 p.m. on Ninth Street and Bennwood Avenue, according to a press release. Police said first responders found the victim had been shot...
Westmoreland County hires back former Shuman Juvenile Detention Center director
Westmoreland commissioners rehired the man who ran the county’s juvenile detention center nearly a decade ago before he took the helm of the of the now-shuttered Shuman Juvenile Detention Center in Pittsburgh. His new salary will pay him 64% more than the woman he is replacing. Rich Gordon served as...
Presidents from countries on Russia’s doorstep visit UkraineVideo
KYIV, Ukraine — The presidents of four countries on Russia’s doorstep visited Ukraine on Wednesday and underscored their support for the embattled country, where they saw heavily damaged buildings and demanded accountability for what they called war crimes carried out by Russian forces. The visit by the presidents of Poland,...
Kiski Township police identify and are looking for suspect who led them on a chase Friday
Kiski Township police identified a Leechburg man who they say led them on a car chase last Friday, April 8. Police say that Jeffrey Nedley, 39, has been identified as the man driving a white Mitsubishi Endeavor that nearly struck a marked police car along Garvers Ferry Road in Kiski...
New Kensington-Arnold teachers accept new contract
New Kensington-Arnold School District’s teachers ratified a new contract Wednesday, a representative of the Pennsylvania State Education Association said. The teachers union and the school district reached a tentative five-year agreement Friday night, averting a strike that the teachers had announced would begin Monday. According to a joint statement from...
Motion to censure Allegheny County Councilman withdrawn
A motion to censure an Allegheny County councilman for words he directed at another councilman following a meeting last month led to more fighting Tuesday as tempers flared among members before the censure motion was withdrawn. Councilman DeWitt Walton, angry over the motion made to censure Councilman Thomas Duerr, D-Bethel...
Biden approves $800M in new military assistance for Ukraine
WASHINGTON — In anticipation of a new Russian offensive in eastern Ukraine, President Joe Biden on Wednesday approved an $800 million package of military assistance, including additional helicopters and the first provision of American artillery. The Ukrainians also will receive armored personnel carriers, armored Humvees, naval drone vessels used in...
Arnold Council approves plan for Freeport Road gas station, convenience store
Arnold Council has approved plans for a gas station and convenience store on Freeport Road. Following a public hearing Tuesday, council voted unanimously in favor of a conditional use that Mike Thakkar, owner of Yashvi Oil, needs to turn the former auto repair shop at 1610 Freeport Road into a...
2 Duquesne Light employees shocked during pole replacement in McCandless
Two Duquesne Light employees were shocked by a power line Wednesday during work in McCandless, officials said. The employees were working on a utility pole along Brandywine Drive at the time, said Duquesne Light spokeswoman Ashley Macik. Both were taken to the hospital, she said. Macik said around 30 customers...
Pittsburgh City Council condemns proposed Save Women’s Sports Act
Pittsburgh City Council voted Tuesday to condemn efforts in the state legislature to ban transgender girls from competing in female youth sports. The council measure, known as a will of council, comes in response to the proposed Save Women’s Sports Act, which would bar transgender athletes in youth sports from...
Brooklyn subway suspect Frank James tipped off police to his locationVideo
NEW YORK — The man accused of shooting 10 people on a Brooklyn subway train was arrested Wednesday and charged with a federal terrorism offense after the suspect himself called police to come get him, law enforcement officials said. Frank R. James, 62, was taken into custody about 30 hours...
Allegheny County health officials have no plans to reinstate mask mandate
Allegheny County health officials said Wednesday they have no plans to reinstate a mask mandate locally as officials in Philadelphia did. “Cases in Allegheny County continue to be low, particularly when compared to the omicron surge in late December and January,” said health department spokesman Chris Togneri. He said there...
2 people carjacked in Hill District, police say — with 1 person still inside
Pittsburgh police said two people were carjacked early Wednesday in the city’s Hill District neighborhood. Police said they were alerted at 1:15 a.m. about the incident on the 2900 block of Bedford Avenue. A woman in the car was able to exit the vehicle before the three suspects drove off,...
Pittsburgh police: 15-year-old boy safe following search
A 15-year-old boy reported missing Saturday evening in Pittsburgh’s Northview area has been found and is safe, according to city police. Police thanked those who spread the word Tuesday about a search that was on for La’niere Little....
3 shot in Pittsburgh’s Hill District
Three people were injured in a shooting Tuesday afternoon in Pittsburgh’s Hill District, police said. The city’s ShotSpotter notification system alerted police to 26 rounds fired near the intersection of Mahon and Watt streets in the Middle Hill around 4:40 p.m., according to police spokesman Maurice Matthews. Two men were...
Biden: Russia war a ‘genocide,’ trying to ‘wipe out’ UkraineVideo
DES MOINES, Iowa — President Joe Biden on Tuesday said Russia’s war in Ukraine amounted to genocide,” accusing President Vladimir Putin of trying to “wipe out the idea of even being a Ukrainian.” Speaking in Iowa shortly before boarding Air Force One to return to Washington, Biden said he meant...
Former PWSA supervisor pleads guilty to Clean Water Act violations in sludge releases
A former supervisor at the Aspinwall Drinking Water Treatment Plant pleaded guilty Tuesday in federal court to allegations that he and other employees dumped sludge directly into the Allegheny River in violation of the Clean Water Act. Glenn Lijewski, 71, of Brookline, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to...
Jake Corman is staying in the Republican race for Pennsylvania governor after moving to drop out
Pennsylvania state Senate leader Jake Corman was dropping out of the Republican primary for governor. Then he changed his mind. Shortly after filing a petition in state court Tuesday to remove his name from the ballot for the primary election on May 17, Corman released a statement saying he wasn’t...
Port Authority fires 17 employees for not complying with covid-19 vaccine mandate
Seventeen Port Authority of Allegheny County employees have been fired for failing to comply with the authority’s covid-19 vaccine mandate that went into effect nearly a month ago, officials said. The mandate went into effect March 16, with Port Authority officials warning ahead of time of possible widespread service disruptions,...
Derry Township woman accused by troopers of providing 3 youths with alcohol during ATV theft
A Derry Township woman awaiting hearings on accusations of providing false information to a firearms dealer and falsely telling troopers it was stolen was jailed without bond Monday after she was accused of corruption of minors. Tina Marie Rose, 41, of the village of Brenizer, was arrested by state police...
Pirates Opening Day sights and soundsVideo
Warm temperatures. A touch of sun. Tailgates. Baseball. Opening Day has arrived in Pittsburgh. Fans made their way down to the North Shore Tuesday afternoon hours before the 4:12 p.m. scheduled first pitch against the Chicago Cubs. Some were hopeful. Some were realistic. Others hoped for a .500 record. Pitcher’s...
Westmoreland’s plan for $105 million in covid relief funds remains elusive
Nearly a year after Westmoreland County received the first half of its $105 million coronavirus relief fund allocation, there is still no consensus on how that money should be spent. Commissioners said Monday that internal discussions are continuing in an effort to craft a comprehensive blueprint to use the funds. And,...
