Western PA Local News category, Page 1934
1 person taken to hospital from fire in Pittsburgh’s Allentown neighborhood
Pittsburgh fire marshal is investigating after a fire at an Allentown home resulted on one person needing hospitalization. Allegheny County dispatchers said the two-alarm fire started around 9:45 p.m. Monday along the 400 block of Iberia Street. FINAL UPDATE:This fire was declared under control at 10:17 p.m.All occupants are accounted...
Franklin Regional proposed budget would raise taxes to state-imposed limit for 4th year
Franklin Regional School District officials next month will consider a 2021-22 budget that raises property taxes to the state-designated limit for the fourth year in a row. The school board unanimously approved a proposed $63.9 million budget with a projected $437,000 deficit. The budget would raise local property taxes to...
Fire in Pittsburgh’s Sheraden neighborhood injures 1
One person was taken to a hospital in connection with fire in Pittsburgh’s Sheraden neighborhood. Allegheny County dispatch said a fire broke out in a home at 3010 Bergman Street around 5:45 p.m. Monday. City fire marshals are investigating the cause of the fire. Dispatch said emergency responders began clearing...
Penn-Trafford proposes 2-mill tax hike for next year
Property owners in the Penn-Trafford School District would face a 2-mill tax hike under a tentative $60.9 million budget for the 2021-2022 school year adopted Monday. The 2-mill increase would boost taxes to 89.25 mills in the Westmoreland County municipalities of Penn Township, Manor and Trafford that the district serves....
Hempfield to apply for federal grant that could benefit township fire department
Hempfield leaders are looking for federal dollars that would benefit the township fire department. Supervisors have authorized the township manager to advertise for a grant writer and manager, one of the first steps as they prepare to submit an application in July for a Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency...
Vandergrift gives no update on police conduct investigation
Vandergrift residents didn’t get an answer on whether a borough police officer accused of unprofessional conduct will remain on the force, nor did they get any update on the borough’s investigation Monday. Instead, borough officials adjourned to an executive session to speak about the matter privately, saying later only that...
New Kensington Council approves liquor license transfer to former Kings building
New Kensington Council approved a liquor license transfer for a Lower Burrell restaurant that is planning to move into the former Kings restaurant in New Kensington. Council approved the request from Bridged Hospitality Group after a public hearing Monday. Bridged Hospitality owns the Around Back Restaurant & Bar, currently on...
Baldwin-Whitehall Principal Patricia Fusco among Pittsburgh Penguins Foundation MVPS
Baldwin-Whitehall School District Principal Patricia Fusco was named one of the Pittsburgh Penguins Foundation’s MVPs. Fusco is the top administrator at Harrison Education Center. She has served nearly 16 years in the district, including as an assistant principal at Paynter Elementary School for more than five years. The Penguins Foundation...
Brother of North Huntingdon overdose victim charged in her death
The brother of a overdose victim in North Huntingdon was one of two men arrested Monday on charges of helping his sister buy a dose of heroin-fentanyl that killed her Jan. 12, according to court documents. Forrest G. Piper Jr., 49, of West Newton, the brother of Iona J. Runkle,...
Penn Hills Elementary Principal Kristin Brown among Pittsburgh Penguin Foundation MVPs
Penn Hills Elementary Principal Kristin Brown was named one of the Pittsburgh Penguins Foundation’s MVPs. The Penguins Foundation partnered with the Grable Foundation and the Allegheny Intermediate Unit this year to launch a new initiative designed to honor educators making a difference in their school districts. Brown and 15 other...
Shop’n Save just outside Trafford set to reopen May 13
Trafford residents will get their nearby Shop’n Save back shortly, as the new owners for the Broadway Boulevard location in southern Monroeville prepare to reopen the store on May 13. “We redid the whole decor, new painting, changed out old cases, redid the floor,” said owner and manager John Rohaley,...
32 new covid cases reported in the Penn-Trafford area between April 26-May 3, 2021
New covid-19 cases reported in the Penn-Trafford-Jeannette area continued to decline over the past week, according to data from the Pennsylvania Department of Health. In all, 32 new covid cases were reported between April 26 and May 3 for the six ZIP codes covering most of the three communities. That’s...
Pittsburgh to track gun violence data with help from ‘Everytown’ grant
Gun violence is on the rise in Pittsburgh and city officials are coming up with a variety of ways to combat it. Legislation being introduced to City Council Tuesday would accept a $200,000 grant from Everytown for Gun Safety, the largest gun violence prevention organization in the country, to support...
May Day celebration returns to Springdale High School
The May Day celebration, a tradition dating back some 90 years, was renewed at Springdale High School over the weekend. The event usually takes place inside the school but was held off campus last year at the Harmar House in Cheswick. “Unfortunately, we weren’t permitted to have much in the...
Judge rules in favor of company wanting to place billboard at Tarentum Bridge
An Allegheny County judge ruled in favor of a company wanting to place an electronic billboard at the Tarentum end of the Tarentum Bridge. Common Pleas Judge Joseph M. James reversed the decision of the borough’s Zoning Hearing Board denying a permit application by America First Enterprises, doing business as...
Prosecution can’t say why gun failed to fire in Upper Burrell attempted homicide case
An attempted homicide charge against an Upper Burrell man who police said pulled the trigger of a gun with the intent to kill a woman last year likely will be dismissed because prosecutors cannot explain why the weapon failed to fire. Matthew Best, 32, was charged with attempted homicide, aggravated...
Newly reported covid cases drop slightly in North Huntingdon-Irwin area for week of April 26, 2021
The number of newly reported covid cases dropped slightly from April 26 to May 3 among residents in the North Huntingdon-Irwin-North Irwin areas, the second consecutive week of declining new coronavirus cases, according to state Health Department data released Monday. There were 44 new covid cases from April 26 to...
‘Getting Pittsburgh Vaccinated’ and other Facebook groups offer neighborly resources
Leighann Bacher started the Facebook page “Getting Pittsburgh Vaccinated” with a few other women, thinking she might share some resources with other residents of Hampton. Four months later, the page has nearly 40,000 members. After making her own vaccine appointment and helping members of her family do the same, she...
Penn Township man to serve up to 40 years in prison for firing rifle at police
A Westmoreland County judge on Monday said he had no choice but to sentence a Penn Township man to serve up to 40 years in prison for shooting at police during a 2016 standoff. But, even without a state legislative mandatory minimum sentencing requirement in place, Judge Scott Mears said...
Bethel Park School District employee charged with having guns on district property
A Bethel Park School District security guard was arrested Monday morning and charged with having firearms on school grounds, according to Bethel Park police Chief Timothy O’Connor. Bernard Switala, 43, of Bethel Park was taken into custody at the high school on a separate Allegheny County police warrant when officers...
Hempfield Area plans vaccine clinic for students 16 and older
Hempfield Area School District students may receive their first dose of the covid-19 vaccine during a clinic Tuesday at the high school field house. Other clinics are planned this month for students across the region. Shots of the Pfizer vaccine will be administered from 3 to 7 p.m. in Hempfield...
Fundraising underway to help families displaced by apartment fire in West View
Donations are being collected to help two families who lost all their possessions in a fire April 28 that heavily damaged their apartment building in West View. A woman who was rescued from the four-unit building on Oakwood Avenue suffered burns and smoke inhalation. She is being treated at UPMC...
Fountain flows for the season at Point State Park
The fountain at Point State Park is flowing for the season. This is the 47th year for the fountain, which has become a landmark at the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers at Point State Park in Downtown Pittsburgh. An old friend in @DowntownPitt is back for its 47th...
Plans for redevelopment of Civic Arena site set for approval
The Pittsburgh Planning Commission on Tuesday will consider approving plans for the first phase of development of the former Civic Arena site in the city’s Hill District. The plans are centered on a 24-story, $200 million office tower that will be the new headquarters for FNB Corp. Construction on the...
Mother pushes child to safety as car slams into Hempfield homeVideo
A 2-year-old boy escaped injury Monday after his quick-thinking mother pushed him out of the path of a car barreling into the front of their Hempfield home. Amanda Clark said the boy was standing at the glass storm door looking out at Sells Lane around 12:30 p.m. while she was...
