Traffic to be studied on Westland Drive in Hempfield, with an eye on improving safety
Hempfield officials are planning to examine Westland Drive to see if improvements could remedy residents’ concerns about speeding in the neighborhood. Township supervisors this week approved seeking proposals for a traffic study on the road that spans the Wendover and West Point neighborhoods. “It’s one of the neighborhood routes that...
Hempfield eyes sidewalks for Mt. Pleasant Road
Hempfield is eyeing sidewalk installation along sections of Mt. Pleasant Road to bolster pedestrian safety near the area’s neighborhoods, businesses, Pitt campus and future Weatherwood Park. The first phase of a proposed project, which could start in 2027, would add 13,000 square feet of 6-foot-wide sidewalk along the county-owned road...
1 flown to trauma center after motorcycle crash in Lower Burrell
An adult patient was airlifted by medical helicopter to an area trauma center after a crash involving a motorcycle Friday evening in Lower Burrell, according to first responders. The crash occurred on Route 56 in the vicinity of Hill Crest Country Club. Chief Brennan Sites said Lower Burrell Volunteer Fire...
Arrests, ICE detention of Beaver County immigrants, spark protest; 2 observers charged
Advocates have expressed alarm about the arrests of at least 10 people Thursday evening in Ambridge in a roundup involving Ambridge police and federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. In a statement released Friday, Casa San José — a Pittsburgh community center that advocates for Latinos — accused Ambridge...
Steelers fans at Latrobe festival enjoy close encounters with players, exotic critters
Visitors to this year’s Steelers Fest in Latrobe got to meet a member of the team’s 1970s Super Bowl dynasty and some members of the wild kingdom as well. Well over 100 people lined up at mid-afternoon Friday at the city’s Legion Keener Park to get an autograph from John...
500K in Pa. face soaring health care premiums as insurers seek rate hikes
Nearly 500,000 Pennsylvanians could see their health insurance premiums spike next year. Insurers selling coverage on the state’s Affordable Care Act marketplace, Pennie, want to raise premiums by an average of 19% for customers who buy their own insurance and 13% for small businesses, the Pennsylvania Insurance Department announced Friday....
Penn Hills School District nets $136,495 rebate from Duquesne Light for lighting upgrades
Leaders from the Penn Hills community, school district, Duquesne Light Co. and Constellation Energy gathered July 31 at Linton Middle School’s Senator Jay Costa Media Center to present the school district with a nearly $136,500 rebate from Duquesne Light Company. The district successfully completed lighting retrofit projects across its elementary,...
Plum homeowners shocked to be named plaintiffs in Rustic Ridge explosion lawsuits
Several homeowners in Plum were shocked Friday to learn they were listed as plaintiffs in two lawsuits filed a day earlier by insurance companies in connection with a fatal 2023 house explosion in the Rustic Ridge neighborhood. The lawsuits, filed in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court on behalf of Erie...
Is Trump’s revival of fitness test ‘bold effort’ or ‘one more thing’ to add to students stress levels?
President Donald Trump is the latest occupant of the Oval Office to be dismayed by the physical fitness of American youth. Trump’s approach to the issue is to hearken back to the Cold War and revive the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness and Nutrition and the Presidential Fitness Award. He...
Deluzio demands answers on VA town hall cancellations
U.S. Rep. Chris Deluzio is investigating whether the Trump administration axed a regional town hall tour for veterans to obscure the impact of staff cuts on their health care. In a letter sent Thursday to Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins, Deluzio demanded answers as to who called off the events...
2 shot in Pittsburgh’s Cultural District, workers concerned about safety Downtown
When Thomas Lewis, a parking attendant at the lot on the corner of Penn Avenue and Ninth Street, heard gunshots Friday afternoon, his heart started racing. “I heard three shots and walked behind the booth of my job to get out of the line of sight of anything potential and...
Connellsville man to serve jail sentence for sharing explicit photo of teen
A Connellsville man was ordered this week to serve nearly two years in jail for recording and possessing a sexually explicit image of a local girl. Jonathan Adam Dulaney, 30, was convicted by a Westmoreland County jury in May of three felony offenses, including two counts of sexual abuse of...
Ex-Greensburg police chief set for Monday court appearance in county theft case
Former Greensburg police chief Shawn Denning is back in Westmoreland County. Denning, 44, of Delmont was transferred this week to the county jail to await a court appearance Monday, when he is expected to consider a possible guilty plea to misdemeanor charges in connection with allegations that he stole evidence...
Carnegie Science Center’s Miniature Railroad and Village getting new addition
The votes are in — the Andrew Bayne Memorial Library will be the next historical landmark to be commemorated in the Carnegie Science Center’s Miniature Railroad and Village model. “We were very gung-ho,” said Ellen Goodman, director of the Andrew Bayne Memorial Library in Bellevue. Nikki Wilhelm, manager for the...
SilverSneakers instructor in Pine a finalist for national award; voting runs through Aug. 11
The Pine Community Center is spreading the word that Leslie Basilone, one of its SilverSneakers instructors, has been named a finalist for the 2025 SilverSneakers Member of the Year Inspiration Award. Basilone, 66, of Pine is among five finalists competing for the honor through votes from the public. The other...
Bedbug outbreak disrupts tenants at Jeannette high rise
Kristina Trent said Friday her father hasn’t been able to be at home much over the last two weeks amid another outbreak of bedbugs at a Jeannette high-rise apartment building. “My dad has to stay with me. He can’t go home to a house where he is still paying rent,”...
2 men arrested, 2 more sought in suspected drug, firearms trafficking ring
Four men are accused in what the state Attorney General’s Office described as a drug and firearms trafficking ring in Westmoreland County. Two of the suspects — Shelton Andrew Payne, 34, of Monongahela, and David Darryle Jeffries, 34, of Monessen — were arrested Thursday. Warrants were issued for two other...
Atria’s, Juniper Grill coming to Strip District
Just moments before taking the podium at a town hall for the State of the Strip 2025 report, Pamela Austin learned that two new restaurants would be opening in the first half of 2026 in the Cork Factory Lofts garage in the Strip District. Austin, president of Strip District Neighbors,...
Roots Natural Kitchen debuts in Scott
What was once Bruegger’s Bagels in Scott Township is now a new, fast-casual, healthy-food restaurant. Roots Natural Kitchen opened at 1644 Cochran Road in late July. The Scott location has a drive-thru window; dining room; and delivery, catering and pickup options. “Roots Natural Kitchen is a fast-casual, salads and grain...
Westmoreland commissioners OK updated land development ordinance
Fees for Westmoreland planners to review development proposals will increase after commissioners approved a revision of the county’s decade-old subdivision ordinance. Commissioners signed off on the updated guidelines that officials said could spur future growth and development. Fees paid by developers and property owners for the county to review plans...
School start times pushed back for Valley High School students
Valley Jr.-Sr. High School students can hit the snooze button a few more times before heading off to school. The New Kensington-Arnold School District announced a new start time — 30 minutes later — for Valley Jr.-Sr. High School students for the upcoming school year. Buses will begin arriving at...
Stinky mess: Gainey’s office, controller clash over Pittsburgh trash collection
The Gainey administration on Thursday blamed Pittsburgh’s controller for delays in garbage collection, leading to a squabble on Grant Street over why trash isn’t being picked up in some parts of the city. Olga George, a spokesperson for Mayor Ed Gainey, accused Controller Rachael Heisler of not paying the city’s...
Harrison seeks 1st Ward resident to fill commissioner’s vacancy
Harrison residents who live in the 1st Ward can apply to fill a vacancy on the township’s board of commissioners. Longtime board member Chuck Dizard submitted his resignation Monday, leaving an unexpired term of about 2½ years. Anyone interested in the term must submit a letter of interest and an...
Westmoreland County OKs drug lawsuit settlement
Westmoreland County has signed on to the settlement of a federal lawsuit with the makers of Oxycontin. The $7 billion overall resolution to the litigation filed against Purdue Pharma and its owners, the Sackler family, was approved earlier this year. It is expected to result in $200 million earmarked for...
Brackenridge festival making B.I.G. return after covid
Belly dancers and Brazilian drummers will take center stage at the B.I.G. Fair in Brackenridge, which returns this month after a five-year covid-related break. Brackenridge Avenue will close from Morgan Street to Locust Lane while live bands entertain crowds along the quarter-mile stretch. The smell of gyros, hot sausage and...
