Top Stories category, Page 977
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,...
Pa. Supreme Court to rule if life sentence appropriate in 2016 fatal N. Versailles crash
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court heard arguments Tuesday morning on whether a man convicted of killing a family of three in a fiery Thanksgiving 2016 crash in North Versailles ought to be sentenced to a mandatory term of life in prison. Demetrius Coleman, 28, of Pittsburgh’s Homewood neighborhood, was accused of...
Pittsburgh to ban plastic bags next year
Single-use plastic bags will be banned in Pittsburgh, beginning next year. City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved a measure to ban most single-use plastic bags, though there are exceptions for produce bags, meat packaging, pharmacy bags and bags used to wrap flowers or similar items. Garbage bags and pet waste...
Police searching for man accused of sexually assaulting teen during Crafton Heights break-in
Pittsburgh police issued a warrant over the weekend for a man accused of breaking into a Crafton Heights home last month and assaulting a teenage girl as she slept on a couch. Robert Huggins, 21, faces more than a dozen charges ranging from involuntary deviate sexual intercourse and corruption of...
Scottdale woman accused of beating, running over pedestrian
A Scottdale woman was jailed Monday night after police said she beat a woman with a wooden baseball bat and ran her over with a car before fleeing, according to court papers. Authorities said Nicole L. Moore, 25, became angry after she saw the woman video recording a 3-year-old child...
Police focus on van renter in Brooklyn subway shooting probeVideo
NEW YORK — A gunman in a gas mask and construction vest set off a smoke grenade and fired a barrage of at least 33 bullets in a rush-hour subway train, shooting at least 10 people Tuesday, authorities said. Police were scouring the city for the shooter and trying to...
Bill proposal would allow medical marijuana edibles in Pa. dispensaries
Pennsylvania medical cannabis patients currently have access to tinctures, pills, oils, topicals, and dry leaf to vaporize. A new bill will soon be introduced by state Sen. Dan Laughlin, R-Erie, to possibly expand those options and allow patients to purchase medical cannabis edibles. Launglin said that 25 other states already...
U.S. inflation jumped 8.5% in past year, highest since 1981
WASHINGTON — Inflation soared over the past year at its fastest pace in more than 40 years, with costs for food, gasoline, housing and other necessities squeezing American consumers and wiping out the pay raises that many people have received. The Labor Department said Tuesday that its consumer price index...
Proposed Lawrenceville food hall wins zoning appeal, hopes to open in 2023
Lawrence Hall, a proposed food hall on Butler Street in Lawrenceville, has been held up for about three years, unable to clear challenges to a zoning variance sought by the owners. The main issue was the hall was four off-street parking spaces short of regulations, and despite mitigation efforts —...
Here’s what you need to know if you’re attending the Bucs home opener
Getting things started in true ’Burgh fashion for the Pittsburgh Pirates’ opening day will be two of the city’s own celebrities named Joe. Recording artist Joe Grushecky will sing the national anthem and actor Joe Manganiello, a Mt. Lebanon native who attended Carnegie Mellon University, will throw out the ceremonial...
Building the Valley: Ales on 6th to bring extensive beer, entertainment options to Tarentum
A new bar and grill is set to open this spring along East Sixth Avenue in Tarentum. Ales on 6th, housed on the ground level of the Tarentum Hotel, is the venture of five cousins with ties to the Alle-Kiski Valley. “We want to bring something fun and new to...
Gilbert Gottfried, standup comic and actor, dies at 67
LOS ANGELES — Gilbert Gottfried, the actor and legendary standup comic known for his raw, scorched voice and crude jokes, has died. He was 67. Gottfried died from a rare genetic muscle disease that can trigger a dangerously abnormal heartbeat, his publicist and longtime friend Glenn Schwartz said in a...
Norwin proposes policies to handle tricky topics like critical race theory
Norwin School Board unveiled a proposed “controversial issues” policy Monday to act as a guide for teachers on matters of race and other topics. The proposed policy comes after several months of debate among board members, students and residents about whether critical race theory is being taught in some lessons....
Biden aims at ‘ghost gun’ violence with new federal ruleVideo
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Monday took fresh aim at ghost guns, the privately made firearms without serial numbers that are increasingly cropping up in violent crimes, as he struggles to break past gun-control opposition to address firearm deaths. Speaking at the White House, Biden highlighted the Justice Department’s...
Former Virginia police officer convicted of storming Capitol to disrupt Congress
WASHINGTON — A federal jury on Monday convicted a former Virginia police officer of storming the U.S. Capitol with another off-duty officer to obstruct Congress from certifying President Joe Biden’s 2020 electoral victory. Jurors convicted former Rocky Mount police officer Thomas Robertson of all six counts he faced stemming from...
4th lawsuit filed against Westmoreland County over Giant Slide
A New York woman claims she was injured on the Giant Slide at Westmoreland County’s Mammoth Park when she stopped by for a ride in July 2020. Nicole Freiburger of Lockport, N.Y., near Buffalo, suffered substantial foot and leg injuries as a result of riding the 100-foot steel racing slide...
Allegheny County councilman says he’d wear censure ‘like a badge of honor’
An Allegheny County councilman facing a possible censure for verbally attacking a colleague following a meeting last month has apologized for his behavior but said he would wear the “censure like a badge of honor.” Councilman Thomas Duerr, D-Bethel Park, approached council Vice President John Palmiere, D-Pleasant Hills, following a...
What Trump’s Mehmet Oz endorsement means for the Pennsylvania Senate race
Just how much power does Donald Trump’s endorsement have in Pennsylvania’s U.S. Senate race? The former president, who backed celebrity surgeon Mehmet Oz late Saturday in the Republican primary, is undoubtedly the most popular figure in GOP politics. But there’s debate about how much his word sways Republican voters, and...
Pair face hundreds of animal cruelty charges after nearly 50 horses found starving in West Deer
Close to 300 charges were filed against the owners of nearly 50 horses, donkeys and a pig that humane agents said were starving, had serious medical problems and were living in squalid conditions in a West Deer barn. Authorities who visited the property to confiscate the neglected animals said they...
Forecast for Pirates’ home opener calls for near-perfect weather
Opening day weather for the Pirates has largely been hit-and-miss over the last decade or so. More often than not, the high temperature hasn’t reached 60 degrees. But Tuesday’s forecast calls for mostly sunny skies and temperatures near 70 for the game between the Pirates and the Chicago Cubs at...
Philadelphia to restore indoor mask mandate amid case surge
Philadelphia became the first major U.S. city to reinstate its indoor mask mandate on Monday after reporting a sharp increase in coronavirus infections, with the city’s top health official saying she wanted to forestall a potential new wave driven by an omicron subvariant. Confirmed covid-19 cases have risen more than...
Kiski Area winter guard team captures gold medal at world championships
A Kiski Area School District color guard team struck gold during a recent international competition last weekend in Ohio. The 18-member Kiski Area Scholastic Open Winter Guard made history, winning a gold medal in the 2022 WGI (Winter Guard International) World Championships. “We could not be more proud of the...
Analyst: Average gas price likely to fall under $4 nationally this week, Pa. may take longer
The national average price for a gallon of gasoline is likely to fall under $4 this week, an industry analyst said Monday. “Gas prices have continued to move in the right direction — down — saving Americans approximately $100 million every day compared to when prices peaked about a month...
Frontier CEO talks about Spirit Airlines merger, travel outlook
DALLAS — Barry Biffle is juggling his day job as CEO of Frontier Airlines while also working to save a proposed merger with Spirit Airlines that would create the nation’s fifth-biggest carrier by some measures. This figures to be a bounce-back year for airlines like Frontier that cater to leisure...
Kenyatta criticizes Fetterman over 2013 Black jogger incident in virtual Senate forum
State representative and U.S. Senate candidate Malcolm Kenyatta called out challenger Lt. Gov. John Fetterman this past weekend over a 2013 incident in which Fetterman, shotgun in hand, confronted a Black jogger he suspected of being involved in nearby gunfire. Kenyatta’s criticism occurred during a virtual forum held by statewide...
