Delmont mother denies murder claims, testifies husband inflicted adopted son’s fatal injuries
A defiant Delmont mother told a Westmoreland County jury Wednesday her husband raped and emotionally controlled her and that he was the person responsible for the injuries that caused her adopted 5-year-old son Landon Maloberti’s death in early 2023. Lauren Maloberti, 36, testified she suspected Jacob Maloberti beat her child...
3rd graders compete in annual Rotary Club spelling bee
The Greensburg Rotary Club’s annual spelling bee for third grade students was held at Aquinas Academy in Greensburg. Students from the Hempfield Area and Greensburg Salem school districts and Aquinas Academy participated. The Greensburg Rotary Club started the spelling bee to expand on a literary program it launched more then...
IUP can begin admitting students into new medical school
Indiana University of Pennsylvania can officially begin recruiting students into its College of Osteopathic Medicine. IUP received “pre-accreditation status” this week from the American Osteopathic Association’s Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation. That means IUP can begin recruiting and admitting students to its College of Osteopathic Medicine and begin medical instruction...
Residency requirement among changes proposed to Greensburg home rule charter
Four referendum questions could be on the ballot for Greensburg voters this fall. City council this week introduced a bill that would seek to amend Greensburg’s home rule charter which was written in 1988. Councilman Randy Finfrock proposed the amendments: • eliminating the residency requirement for the city administrator and...
Scottdale motorcyclist killed in East Huntingdon crash
A Scottdale man was killed Tuesday afternoon in a two-vehicle crash in East Huntingdon. According to a report from the Westmoreland County Coroner’s Office, Mark Hixson was driving his motorcycle on Porter Avenue a little before 3 p.m. when he reportedly rear ended an SUV in front of him. The...
Fallen officers honored at annual ceremony at the courthouse
The Westmoreland County District Attorney’s Office held its 5th annual Law Enforcement Memorial Service on Wednesday at the courthouse. The service was held inside the entrance to the courthouse under threatening skies. The district attorney’s office last year unveiled a granite memorial to 28 police officers who died in the...
Natural gas pipeline hearing draws fierce pushback over Homer City data center project
Dozens of environmental advocates and Indiana County residents — gripping signs protesting a data center slated for a 3,200-acre site outside Homer City — trickled into the Indiana Theater late afternoon Tuesday to voice concerns to the state Department of Environmental Protection. The department held a hearing at the Indiana...
Jeannette Community Band kicks off 38th season with Memorial Day weekend performance
The Jeannette Community Band will kick off its 38th season on May 24 with a spring Memorial Day weekend concert. It will be at 7 p.m. at the Jeannette American Legion, 109 South Fifth Street. The band is made up of more than 60 volunteer musicians from Jeannette and the...
Ligonier Valley Farmers Market to start in June on Loyalhanna Watershed Association property
The Ligonier Valley Farmers Market is set for an opening day June 13 after Ligonier Township supervisors on Tuesday approved a special event permit. The decision was met with cheers and applause from those in attendance at the supervisors’ meeting. Supervisor Stephanie Verna praised the group behind the proposal and...
Expert: Delmont child might have survived if he received prompt medical attention
A Westmoreland County jury heard evidence Tuesday that while 5-year-old Landon Maloberti was tortured by his parents, he still might have survived his injuries if he had received prompt medical attention. Dr. Lori Frasier, a pediatrician at the Penn State Hershey Medical Center who specializes in diagnosis of child abuse...
Rising fuel costs, asphalt prices, salt usage strain local road budgetsVideo
A combination of record-breaking salt usage, soaring fuel costs and rising asphalt prices is straining road budgets and forcing some municipalities to scale back their spring paving plans. The price for a ton of finished asphalt has climbed about $5 since last spring. The increase has coincided with a spike...
Ligonier Country Market may move to Arnold Palmer Regional Airport in Unity
Ligonier Country Market might have finally found a new home for the season. Westmoreland County Airport Authority board members Tuesday approved drafting a lease agreement to send to market officials that would allow vendors to set up in a parking lot at Arnold Palmer Regional Airport in Unity. Board Vice...
25 workers laid off at Arnold Palmer Regional Airport after Spirit Airlines exit
Last week, 25 workers at Arnold Palmer Regional Airport were laid off amid fallout from Spirit Airlines’ abrupt closure, said Moe Haas, director of the Westmoreland County Airport Authority. Two other employees have seen their hours cut, he said, and the Transportation Security Administration has given the Unity airport a...
Latrobe Art Center seeks new café operator after Ricolita’s closes
The Latrobe Art Center is seeking a new operator for its in-house café following the announced retirement of longtime partner Rita Witte. Witte’s business, Ricolita’s Café, is scheduled to close at the end of May. The Art Center, located at 819 Ligonier St., is inviting chefs, restaurateurs and coffee professionals...
Ligonier Country Market on hold as Latrobe council delays decision on hostingVideo
Latrobe city council tabled a motion Monday night to host the Ligonier Country Market in the city’s downtown, leaving the popular Saturday event without a venue just days before its scheduled season opener. The 4-3 vote to table the agreement marks the third time in recent weeks that a local...
‘I lost complete trust,’ Delmont husband testifies against wife charged with adopted son’s murder
Jacob Maloberti took the witness stand Monday to testify against his wife, telling a Westmoreland County jury he only began to question how the couple’s 5-year-old adopted son died after they were both arrested and charged with his murder. Testifying before Westmoreland County Common Pleas Judge Scott Mears, the 36-year-old...
Homer City power plant water usage remains unclear
Finding the amount of water the proposed Homer City natural gas-fired power plant and hyperscale data centers will draw from Two Lick Creek remains an unanswered question as state officials prepare for a public hearing Tuesday. During the past six months, the Pittsburgh Water Collaboratory at the University of Pittsburgh...
Sheetz on Route 30 in Hempfield set to open
A new Sheetz gas station and convenience store is set to open at 8 a.m. Thursday along Route 30 in Hempfield. A grand opening event will start at 9 a.m. outside the store followed by a ribbon-cutting at 10:45. Customers can have free self-serve coffee and soda all day, according...
Greensburg woman optimistic about facing 3rd kidney transplant
Judith “Judy” Hansen O’Toole is in a familiar place. For the past 15 months, the Greensburg resident has undergone kidney dialysis three days a week while awaiting a kidney transplant — 24 years after receiving her first one. “I’m generally an optimistic person,” said O’Toole, 72, who served as the...
Franklin Regional students join Pittsburgh Youth Symphony Orchestra’s tour to GreeceVideo
AJ Schmidt loves playing the flute. He also loves traveling. Last year, Schmidt, 18, of Murrysville, combined the two when he toured Portugal with the Pittsburgh Youth Symphony Orchestra. In a few weeks, Schmidt will be joined by two fellow Franklin Regional students as they pack their bags to tour...
New farmers market proposed for former Ligonier Country Market siteVideo
A special event permit application with Ligonier Township indicates the site previously used by Ligonier Country Market could be filled on Saturdays this summer after all. The Loyalhanna Watershed Association is seeking a permit to use the 9-acre field it owns for a twice-monthly farmers market that would focus on...
Nonprofit to host conversation series at Flight 93 National Memorial in advance of 25th anniversary
A nonprofit will host a conversation series at the Flight 93 National Memorial in Somerset County beginning this month in advance of the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The memorial honors the 40 passengers and crew members who died when United Airlines Flight 93 crashed in a field...
Mt. Pleasant library will host 3rd annual local author expo
Local storytelling will be on full display Saturday, when 11 regional authors will take part in the third annual Local Authors Expo at the Mt. Pleasant Free Public Library. “I’m always excited to meet people who love to read,” said Don Ammon, 62, an author from Monroeville who will take...
Hand-painted baseballs on display at Westmoreland Museum of American Art
A new exhibit at The Westmoreland Museum of American Art focuses on the intricate artwork of a native Pittsburgher who used America’s pastime as his canvas. Sixty hand-painted baseballs are on display at the Greensburg museum, honoring George Sosnak, a self-taught artist whose work turned an ordinary object into detailed...
From rye whiskey to hearth-baked bread, West Overton market blends history with craft
Little dust gathered Saturday morning on the $50 bottles of freshly bottled rye whiskey — a concoction clear as water but packed with a 100-proof punch — that Patrick A. Bochy served and peddled during a spring market at West Overton Village. It turned out a second drink — the...
