Western PA Local News category, Page 1610
Proposed tax credit program could spur development at Pennsylvania airports
Planners at Arnold Palmer Regional Airport are looking to a future that could include businesses opening along the old runway. Pennsylvania legislators are considering a new program that could help entice companies to move their operations to the airport in Unity or to any of 121 other airports across the...
Blighted old brewery complex in Jeannette the ‘last big piece’ to city’s rebuild
Bob and Lola Barton see the decrepit remains of the former Fort Pitt Brewery every time they leave home. The West Jeannette couple said the crumbling, red-brick complex attracts rodents and troublemaking kids who have thrown rocks from the roof. The Bartons have lived on 11th Street for about 25...
Trolleys were mass transit mainstays in Westmoreland Co. for half-century
Many Westmoreland County residents rely on public buses to get around. Electric-powered trolleys — or streetcars — previously provided that function from the late 19th century through the mid-20th century. “Greensburg was one of the earliest communities to have this innovative form of mass transport,” Robert Van Atta noted in...
Freeport Area School District tweaks covid-19 rules in the wake of recent events
The Freeport Area School Board is adjusting its health and safety plan regarding covid-19 once again in order to match up with recent developments. The board approved the revisions unanimously Thursday, including removing the requirement students wear masks in school. Board President Adam Toncini said that is being done to...
County, local officials set sights on blight in Greensburg, Latrobe and Monessen
Of the more than 15,000 properties across Greensburg, Latrobe and Monessen, 516 — nearly 3.5% — are blighted, an inventory conducted by county officials found. The data is the result of a partnership between each city and Westmoreland County to provide a detailed look at individual properties within each planning...
Local stores, recycling centers to offer specialty recycling for Christmas lights
While most people are familiar with recycling their Christmas trees, they might not be as familiar with options to recycle tangled strings of lights that no longer work. Although the lights can be disposed of in the trash, some bulbs contain small amounts of mercury — a toxic substance that...
St. Margaret Foundation announces more than $721,000 in grants to help patient services, education, transportation
The St. Margaret Foundation announced Dec. 14 that it will award $721,688 in grants to benefit patient access and education and to improve patient experience. The largest award — $309, 940 — will go to the Rod Rutkowski Bed Fund and to patient transportation through Care Management services. The Care...
Former Westmoreland County judge David Regoli remembered as passionate, friendly, fair
David A. Regoli was in his mid-20s and fresh out of law school when he took on Frank Woiewodski as one of his first civil clients. The pair had met while lifting weights at the then-Powerhouse Gym in the Parnassus section of New Kensington. Right away, Woiewodski was struck by...
McKees Rocks man arrested for possession of 20 bricks of heroin after traffic stop in West End, deputies say
A 26-year-old McKees Rocks man was arrested Friday by Allegheny County Sheriff’s deputies for possession of 20 “bricks” of heroin after a traffic stop in the West End. The sheriff’s department said Jaron Allen was stopped about 8:30 p.m. for driving erratically including crossing over the double-yellow line on multiple...
Experts join discussion about potential plastic bag ban in Pittsburgh
Experts weighed in on City Council’s proposal to ban plastic bags in Pittsburgh, a measure the legislation’s sponsor said will likely be held till next year. Councilwoman Erika Strassburger introduced the legislation, which would ban plastic bags in most scenarios and implement a fee for paper bags, in November. Rather...
Wreaths Across America effort expands through Westmoreland County
Vietnam veteran Tim Brennan was among the few dozen volunteers who turned out on Dec. 19, 2020 — after a blizzard dumped 9 inches of snow on the region — to lay wreaths on 660 veteran grave sites in two Jeannette cemeteries in the inaugural Wreaths Across America event held...
Man shot in leg outside of Uptown bar, Pittsburgh police say
Pittsburgh police said a man is in stable condition after being shot in his leg Saturday afternoon in the 1300 block of Fifth Avenue. Police reported that officers responded to a Shotspotter alert for multiple shots fired in the area just after 2:30 p.m. Responding officers learned the wounded man...
Truck driver killed in crash on Route 22 in Salem, coroner says
A 32-year-old Fayette County man was killed Friday in a two-vehicle collision along Route 22 in Salem Township, according to the Westmoreland County Coroner’s Office. Ian C. Praster Sr. of Brownsville was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash, which occurred just before 7 a.m. at the intersection of...
Leechburg Area Community Development Corp. continues area’s growth with launch of ‘coworking space’Video
As more people and companies experiment with remote work arrangements, the Leechburg Area Community Development Corporation (LACDC) wanted to provide a space that offers another option: an office-like environment not far from home. The former First Commonwealth Bank building has been transformed into a coworking space with a variety of...
Early-morning fire damages Bird Dog’s Sports Bar & Grill in Harrison
A fire early Saturday extensively damaged and broke up a Christmas party at a Harrison bar and restaurant, according to social media posts from Hilltop Hose Co. The fire at Bird Dog’s Sports Bar & Grill, at 2615 Freeport Road, was reported at 12:12 a.m. Saturday, the fire department’s Facebook...
Family displaced, 1 injury reported in Jeannette blaze
One person was injured and a Jeannette family was displaced after a fire extensively damaged one side of a duplex early Saturday, according to city firefighters. Jeannette Fire Chief William Frye said the fire was reported about 2 a.m. at 317 S. Fifth St. “There was an adult resident who...
Houses planned for part of Kerber farm in Irwin
A North Huntingdon developer is preparing the Kerber farm along Guffey Road for about 60 single-family homes. Knights Landing Inc., a RWS Development company, bought 52 acres of the 65.2-acre farm from Thomas and Ellen Kerber for $1 million in late September. The Kerbers will retain the portion of land...
The Stroller, Dec. 18, 2021: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
Publicize your holiday events, club meetings and fundraisers for free in The Stroller. Send information at least a week in advance to vndnews@triblive.com. Please include a daytime telephone number. Free Christmas Day dinner planned in Tarentum Abundant Joy Fellowship, Tarentum, will host a free dinner from 1 to 3 p.m....
Fresh-cut Christmas trees in short supply this season
Where are the fresh-cut Christmas trees? That’s what some Alle-Kiski Valley businesses are asking as fresh-cut trees are in short supply — or completely sold out. A large vacant lot has been empty for weeks at Kiski Garden Center in Allegheny Township. In previous years, it still would be offering...
Charleroi native in Florida displays borough’s old Christmas lights
The Rev. Frank Jacobs has the kind of vivid holiday memories we all hang on to. Jacobs, 68, lives in Port St. Lucie, Fla. But he has Christmas lights that once hung on lamp posts and stretched across the streets of Charleroi, where he lived from 1953 to 1962. Last...
Fox Chapel teen wins singing awards
Shady Side Academy junior Sloane Simon won two voice awards in the 2022 YoungArts National Competition, receiving an honorable mention in the Voice/Popular (Pop) category and a merit award in the Voice/Singer-Songwriter category. The YoungArts National Competition is open to artists ages 15–18 or in grades 10–12 in the United...
THRIVE in North Hills provides assistance, donations to refugees
THRIVE Pittsburgh helps refugees, immigrants and asylum-seekers coming into the United States by providing basic necessities and the support needed to begin again. These individuals and families arrive in Pittsburgh with basically nothing after fleeing their home or country or after living years in a refugee camp, according to Pauline...
Wilkinsburg shooting victim dies 11 days later; suspect now charged with homicide
A man who was shot Dec. 6 in Wilkinsburg has died. Sirdorian Turner, 54, of Wilkinsburg, was taken to UPMC Presbyterian hospital after he was shot in the 700 block of Wood Street, according to the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office. Initially in critical condition, he was pronounced dead early...
Shots fired in Penn Hills as police set up a perimeter
Penn Hills police established a perimeter around Dollman and Mount Carmel roads and began searching the area around 10 p.m. Friday after responding to a call for shots fired, according to police Chief Howard Burton. Burton said officers initiated the search when they arrived at the scene and believed that...
Shetler hearing continued; injured deputy unable to testify
A New Florence man accused of injuring a Westmoreland County deputy sheriff when he was arrested earlier this month had his court hearing continued until Jan. 7 because the deputy sheriff is recovering from “serious bodily injuries” he allegedly sustained during a fight with the suspect, a prosecutor said Friday....
