Jeff Himler stories, Page 126

The Laurel Highlands 2019 Destination Guide is a new size and a new style. Produced by the Laurel Highlands Visitors Bureau, this year’s annual tourism publication for Westmoreland, Fayette and Somerset counties has arrived with smaller dimensions than past versions and with a shift in presentation from a directory-style resource...

Pennsylvanians, like most Americans, will set their clocks ahead one hour by 2 a.m. Sunday, as the nation switches to daylight saving time. If House member Russ Diamond, a Lebanon County Republican, has his way, it will be the last time Keystone State residents “spring forward.” He intends to sponsor...

A state fire marshal has ruled a blaze that damaged a Youngwood toy business Thursday night was intentionally set, according to state police spokesman Trooper Stephen Limani. Youngwood Fire Chief Lloyd Crago said the owners of Gene and Troy’s Toys, who live nearby, had not been in the South Seventh...

No one was injured Thursday night when fire gutted a stone farmhouse in East Huntingdon. Firefighters battled the blaze from outside since the building was fully engulfed when units arrived, East Huntingdon Fire Chief Brian Kite said. Half of the second floor collapsed, he said. The fire was reported around...

A state police fire marshal will investigate the cause of a fire Thursday night that destroyed an adjoining storage shed and caused mostly interior smoke damage at a Youngwood toy business. According to Youngwood Fire Chief Lloyd Crago, the owners of Gene and Troy’s Toys, who live nearby, had not...

The Allegheny County Health Department has issued a consumer alert for a mouse infestation at the Family Dollar on Chartiers Avenue in Pittsburgh’s Crafton Heights neighborhood. An inspector on Wednesday found “too many rodent droppings to count” throughout the store, “under every shelf checked.” Droppings also were found on top...

Saint Vincent College faculty member Michael Urick has released a book addressing generational stereotypes and myths in the business world. More than a decade of research and two years of writing went into “The Generation Myth: How to Improve Intergenerational Relationships in the Workplace.” Published by Business Expert Press, it...

Pennsylvania State Police issued 2,065 citations and 295 written warnings to commercial vehicle drivers who ignored emergency traffic restrictions on several major roadways during three recent winter storms. State troopers also responded to 31 crashes involving commercial vehicles on roads where restrictions on such vehicles and a reduced speed limit...

Penn State Extension is encouraging the state’s residents to step up for fitness this spring, by taking part in the Everybody Walk Across PA program. The free eight-week program challenges participants to form teams of five, with each member covering an average of 15 miles per week — through walking...

Four banks based in Southwestern Pennsylvania are included among the 60 U.S. financial institutions that made Forbes magazine’s 2019 list of the World’s Best Banks. For this inaugural listing, the magazine partnered with research firm Statista, which surveyed more than 40,000 customers in order to rate banks in 23 countries...

The public is invited to explore Latrobe Art Center’s recently renovated galleries during an open house from 5 to 7 p.m., March 14. Located in three adjacent connected storefronts at 819 Ligonier St., at the corner of Latrobe’s Main Street, the center and its café were closed from Dec. 21...

Autism Speaks is planning its 20th annual Pittsburgh fundraising walk this summer and will hold a kickoff event on March 24. Registration is required to attend the kickoff event, set for 9 a.m. to noon at Dave & Buster’s at The Waterfront in Homestead. The event will allow participants in...

Drug charges against a Jeannette man accused of abandoning his three children for more than a week in a bug-infested Greensburg home were held for court this week. Ryan Jay Mason, 39, pleaded not guilty to charges of possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia and possession with...

Registration is under way for the 19th Annual Rabbit Race 5K run and walk April 20 at Latrobe’s Memorial Stadium. This year’s event benefits Latrobe-Greater Latrobe School District Parks & Recreation and local faith-based human service organization Faith Forward and its Angel Arms program that assists infants born into addiction....

Jeannette American Legion Post 344 will celebrate its 100th anniversary with a March 16 dinner. Doors will open at 5 p.m. at the post hall, a former movie theater at 109 S. Fifth St., Jeannette. The $30 cost includes dinner, catered by local restaurant DeNunzio’s, at about 7 p.m., and...

Susan Sniezek had a zest for life that was contagious. When she and her husband, Martin, hosted parties at their Greensburg home, guests were reluctant to leave. “She made everybody happy when she was around,” daughter Jennifer Ciafre said. “Everybody loved hugging her.” Susan Ruth Sniezek of Greensburg died Monday,...

Motorists will encounter a series of single-lane closures on sections of Route 119 and adjoining streets in Youngwood beginning next week. According to PennDOT, daytime traffic restrictions will occur as needed on weekdays, allowing crews to conduct test borings in preparation for planned reconstruction of the roadway beginning in 2020....

A male victim was listed in critical condition at a local trauma center after suffering stab wounds Thursday night in White Oak, according to Allegheny County police. Allegheny County 911 was notified at about 9:50 p.m. of the stabbing in the 3600 block of Sherbine Way. First responders arrived and...

As state officials investigate a January pressure drop at a Washington Township deep gas well that affected other shallow wells near Beaver Run Reservoir, local environmental advocacy groups are calling for an end to all well drilling and fracking near the public water source in northern Westmoreland County. The groups...

Emergency crews were dispatched to assist multiple patients in a two-vehicle crash Wednesday evening in Penn Township. The crash occurred shortly before 7 p.m. on Route 130 near Pine Hollow Road, in the Level Green area. A van and a sport utility vehicle were involved in the wreck, which was...

U.S. motorists are spending more time on the road these days, adding about 20 minutes per week of drive time since 2014, according to a study by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. Released this week, the study compares results of two editions of the foundation’s American Driving Survey, from...

As officials move forward with a Hempfield housing project, funded in part through state tax credits, a proposed Latrobe housing development remains on deck — with word of its own hoped-for tax credits still pending. The nonprofit Homes Build Hope expects in May to hear if the Pennsylvania Housing Finance...

Pennsylvania’s courts increased their annual disbursements of collected fees, fines and restitution by more than $29 million over the past decade, a trend explained in part by use of case management computer systems, state judicial officials say. According to the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts, those disbursements jumped from $453.8...

No injuries were reported when a fire broke out Tuesday evening in a mobile home in Loyalhanna Township. The fire was reported just before 7:30 p.m. along Mercer Hill Road when a resident returned home and discovered smoke in the dwelling, according to a Westmoreland County 911 dispatcher. Firefighters from...

Single-lane traffic restrictions will go into effect beginning Wednesday on a section of the Pennsylvania Turnpike between the Pittsburgh exit in Monroeville and the Irwin exit in North Huntingdon, to allow for crews to remove old bridge abutments. Weather permitting, the single-lane pattern will apply to eastbound motorists between 6...