Western PA Local News category, Page 1324
Westmoreland residents can help map next phase of broadband expansion through survey
Westmoreland residents over the next several months will be asked to help map out an expansion of broadband internet in the county. Officials this week announced the kickoff of a survey of the existing broadband infrastructure and service areas as part of an effort to enhance accessibility throughout the more...
New Kensington native to patrol Ohio River as part of Fish & Boat Commission’s newest officer class
Tyler Balla knew he wanted a career in law enforcement when he was growing up in New Kensington. “My uncle was a police officer in St. Petersburg, Fla., and he was my buddy,” Balla said. “Every time he’d come home, he’d always tell law enforcement stories. He passed away from...
Westmoreland DA to add information officer, fiscal coordinator/grant writer
Westmoreland County District Attorney Nicole Ziccarelli said three new jobs in her office will improve transparency and enhance the prosecutor’s efforts to secure additional public funding for services. The county’s salary board, which includes the three commissioners and Controller Jeffrey Balzer, signed off on Ziccarelli’s plan to create the new...
Kecksburg UFO Festival returns to Earth following pandemic complications
After a two-year absence, the annual Kecksburg UFO Festival is set to return July 22 to 24 to the volunteer fire department grounds. Ronnie Struble, president and chairman of the festival, said this year’s event will have the same amount of activities as previous years — plus more. “It’s a...
Jury to get case in deadly 2018 Penn Hills home invasion
The prosecutor acknowledged that it could be a series of coincidences that made the defendant look guilty. Maybe the eyewitness got the identification wrong. And maybe Charles Pershing really did have bruises all over his body from allegedly getting into a fight that same day, like he claimed. But what...
Baldwin valedictorian credits South Hills Interfaith Movement with helping her navigate education, a new country
“Who you become is way more important than the work you do.” Those words were spoken by Kritika Timsina, valedictorian at Baldwin High School, at graduation in June. “The person you become is more impactful on the world,” Timsina said. “You can be inspired by someone who has grit, and...
California artist paints giant Mac Miller mural on side of Etna recording studioVideo
California artist Gustavo Zermeño Jr. was happy he waited three years to paint a giant mural of Mac Miller at I.D. Labs, where the late rapper and Pittsburgh native recorded his music in Etna. Zermeño painted a mural for Miller, whose real name is Malcolm James McCormick, on the side...
Pittsburgh features LGBTQIA+ artists, local photographers in Gainey’s office
Local photographers and artists representing the LGBTQIA+ community gathered in Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey’s office Wednesday to see their work on display. The Pittsburgh Paints initiative — a project led by Gainey’s wife, Michelle — is a rotating art exhibition that features art meant to showcase Pittsburgh’s diversity. Each month,...
Pittsburgh launching new Office of Financial Empowerment
Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey’s administration is using grant funding to launch a new Office of Financial Empowerment. “Overall, the purpose of the office is to help improve the financial resilience and well-being of residents through various financial empowerment initiatives,” Gainey spokesperson Maria Montaño said. The office will attempt to expand...
Federal judge unswayed by Unity man’s gun possession claim, sentences him to federal prison
A Unity man was sentenced Wednesday to seven years and three months in federal prison in a gun case, and the judge rejected claims that the defendant was unaware he was prohibited from having the weapons because of past felony convictions. “(Thomas G. Stanko) acted consistently with somebody who knew...
Pittsburgh opens cooling centers during heat wave
With temperatures expected to reach the 90s Wednesday around the area, Pittsburgh CitiParks is activating five Healthy Active Living Centers as cooling centers for those seeking refuge from the heat. In addition, 10 CitiParks Recreation Centers are being kept open into the evening and seven Healthy Active Living Senior Centers...
Donatelli’s Italian grocery in Bloomfield announces impending closure
After an unsuccessful attempt to sell off the family business, Donatelli’s Italian grocery store in Pittsburgh’s Bloomfield neighborhood announced Wednesday that it will be closing sometime in August. The storefront has sat on Liberty Avenue in Pittsburgh’s Little Italy for more than 90 years. In 2021, owner/operator Russell Donatelli announced...
North Hills churches schedule joint service at Hartwood Acres
The Elfinwild, Parkwood, and Hampton Presbyterian churches will host a combined worship service outdoors at the Hartwood Acres Park Amphitheatre on Sunday, Aug. 7 at 10 a.m. The service will be led by the pastors of the participating churches. The Hampton praise band and the Parkwood praise members will provide...
Another closing of Logans Ferry Road in Plum to detour thousands for up to 3 months
Work to repair a landslide will close a section of Logans Ferry Road in Plum for up to three months. The stretch between Entrance Drive and Columbia Road, near the border of Plum and New Kensington, tentatively is scheduled to close beginning Aug. 2. PennDOT spokesman Steve Cowan said, if...
Former Elizabeth police chief who stole heroin from department now faces federal charge
The former Elizabeth Borough police chief who admitted to stealing thousands of bags of heroin from his department’s evidence room to feed his own addiction has been indicted by a federal grand jury. Timothy L. Butler Jr., 45, of Finleyville, is charged with a single count of theft of government...
Tull Family Foundation not renewing Sewickley theater sponsorship
The Tull Family Foundation will not renew naming rights for a movie theater that’s become a cultural destination in Sewickley. Sponsorship of The Tull Family Theater, as the independent non-profit movie house has been known since it opened in February of 2017, will expire at the end of the year....
Police: Pair face felony charge for stabbing each other with fork during dispute
Two people from Springdale were charged with a felony after each of them told police the other person stabbed them with a fork. Gary Joseph Turner, 64, and Theresa Marie Smiesko, 50, both of the 600 block of Lincoln Avenue, were charged with a felony count of aggravated assault in...
Remember When: Fur trader Peter Chartier laid roots in Alle-Kiski Valley in 1700s
Business owners dream of having a captive audience for their products. But in the mid-18th century, a businessman had the Alle-Kiski Valley and much of Western Pennsylvania to himself. Pierre (Peter) Chartier was a trapper who set up a fur trading post in 1734 near where Chartiers Run empties into...
Bethel Park’s Vintage Radio Players take listeners back in time
When you listen to them talk, you can just picture it. Just like in the good old days. Members of the Vintage Radio Players re-enact scenes from the time there were no televisions. People gathered around and listened to shows rather than watch them. To picture it, think of those...
Bethel Park-based Keystone Chorus brings old-time tunes to life
In the basement of Hamilton Presbyterian Church in Bethel Park is the sound of music. Familiar songs such as “The Lion Sleeps Tonight,” “Under the Boardwalk” and “When I’m Sixty-Four” conjure up memories of tunes reminiscent of the days of barbershop quartets. On this night it’s a group of singers:...
4th annual Officer Brian Shaw Foundation Concert Series to rock Lower Burrell
The fourth annual Officer Brian Shaw Foundation Concert Series will feature six live bands and more than 140 auction baskets Saturday at Mogie’s Irish Pub in Lower Burrell. Admission is $10 for the event, which runs from 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. Shaw, of Lower Burrell, was a New Kensington...
Lower Burrell couple charged with fraud over insurance claim on jewelry
A Lower Burrell couple face fraud charges after police say they filed an insurance claim for gold and diamond jewelry and a Louis Vuitton handbag they reported stolen after selling the items. William Leonard Klems II, 41, and Kaylyn Leeann Klems, 31, of the 100 block of Chippawa Drive, each...
How I moved, lost my dog and regained faith in humanity over 5 days in July
Sometime late last fall, my husband, two sons and I decided to move. We’d lived for 17 years in Brentwood — front-row seats to the best Fourth of July parade around — but wanted a house with two bathrooms, maybe a game room and a bigger yard for the boys...
Westmoreland happenings: Flea market, hot dog sale, reunions
Submissions from nonprofit organizations for Briefly Speaking can be emailed to cpinto-smith@triblive.com or mailed to Briefly Speaking, 210 Wood St., Tarentum, PA 15084. Include a complete address and daytime phone number. Submissions are due at least two weeks before the event. Each announcement is printed once; there is no fee....
Shaler Area School District hires new middle school principal
A new and familiar face is at the helm of Shaler Area Middle School. Dr. Shannon Howard, who has been serving as the interim principal at the school since Eric Stennett went on leave in January, was formally hired by the Shaler Area School District at the June 15 school...
