Western PA Local News category, Page 1986
Bethel Park Police seek information in suspected abuse of 7-year-old boy
Bethel Park Police are asking for anyone who saw or encountered a 7-year-old boy between October when he went to live with his mother in the South Hills and last week when he was found unconscious and covered in bruises in her living room. Kaiyla Bowers, 32, and her boyfriend,...
Pittsburgh man charged with arson, assault after fire in Penn Hills
Penn Hills police charged a Pittsburgh man Tuesday with arson and assault after an early-morning fire along Saint Croix Street. Patrick Benthin, 45, of Pittsburgh’s Brighton Heights neighborhood called Penn Hills police Tuesday at 4:15 a.m. to report he’d been hit by a car, according to a criminal complaint filed...
Wolf: Pa. closes in on ending Phase 1A covid vaccinations
Pennsylvania is “catching up” on vaccine distribution, Gov. Wolf said Tuesday. About 31% of the commonwealth’s population has gotten their first dose, compared to the national average of 29%, he said. Pennsylvania matches the national average when it comes to the amount of people who have gotten second doses, at...
Job fair slated for open positions at Live! Casino Pittsburgh
In anticipation of welcoming more people to Live! Casino Pittsburgh next month as some covid-related restrictions are lifted, officials with the Hempfield facility are hosting a job fair. Scheduled for Monday at the casino’s recruitment center in Westmoreland Mall, the job fair will promote various positions in the facility. In...
Cold front expected to bring snow, high in 30s for start of April
Consider it an April Fool’s joke from Mother Nature. Just one that isn’t very funny. A cold front moving through Southwestern Pennsylvania is expected to bring snow showers and cold temperatures on Thursday, the first day of April. According to David Shallenberger, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in...
National Aviary to benefit from virtual country music concert ‘All Together For Animals’
A national music event on Wednesday evening will benefit the National Aviary on Pittsburgh’s North Side. “All Together For Animals,” a virtual concert, will help members of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, a non-profit that collaborates with zoos and aquariums in conservation, education, science and recreation. The Aviary is...
Man accused in violent Allegheny home invasion arrested during domestic dispute in Greensburg
A Greensburg man accused in a violent Allegheny County home invasion was arrested over the weekend after trying to get away from city police investigating a domestic dispute in a parked SUV, according to court papers. Police said Justin Bryant, 23, gave them the wrong name and tried to run...
Video: Conor Lamb discusses Biden’s Pittsburgh visit, Capitol securityVideo
President Joe Biden is saying the outlook for the country’s economy is looking brighter thanks to the recently passed $1.9 trillion pandemic relief package, the American Rescue Plan. Critics say the plan is a waste of money and many citizens don’t know exactly where the money is going. The president...
Millvale police Officer Joe Spalick credits training, teamwork in fire rescue
Millvale police Officer Joe Spalick acted on pure adrenaline when he helped rescue three people from a fully engulfed house fire Monday afternoon. “I was the first one on the scene, and I instantly saw the front porch in flames and thick black smoke all through the house,” Spalick said...
Aspinwall seeking volunteers to make borough greener, cleaner
Greener and cleaner is the aim of Aspinwall’s spring litter collection, scheduled from April 23 to 25 to celebrate Earth Day. “Green Streets” is a decade-long effort that relies on volunteers to make the trash pickup a success. “This is a family-friendly volunteer opportunity that allows Aspinwall residents to take...
Ligonier area dam removed; trout stream to be restoredVideo
A 1940s-era reservoir that once held close to 7 million gallons of drinking water for the Ligonier-Laughlintown areas is empty. A New Kensington company is removing the dam — a project that eventually will allow the stream that fed the reservoir to be rechanneled so it flows freely into a...
Sharpsburg launches Adopt-A-Block program to keep borough clean
Sharpsburg residents can step up to keep the community clean, “adopting” their own little piece of the borough. Council on March 25 approved an Adopt-A-Block program through which residents and business owners can sign up to rid litter from a particular stretch of road for at least a year. “I...
Pittsburgh officials endorse legislation to expand voting rights, condemn attacks on transgender athletes
Pittsburgh City Council members Tuesday formally urged federal and state officials to protect voting rights and denounced attempts to prohibit transgender athletes from participating in scholastic and collegiate sports. Council members unanimously passed actions sponsored by council members Corey O’Connor and Erika Strassburger. O’Connor’s measure asks Pennsylvania’s U.S. Sens. Bob...
Hempfield man accused of attempting to break out of Westmoreland jail
A Hempfield man jailed in connection with an alleged domestic assault is accused by police of using wheelchair arms to pry off the metal frame of a window at the Westmoreland County Prison, according to county detectives. Jule A. Mascherma, 33, is charged with attempted escape, institutional vandalism and making...
3 Pittsburgh residents accused in $1M fraud scheme targeting pandemic unemployment
Three Pittsburgh residents face felony charges in connection with a scheme that defrauded Pennsylvania of nearly $1 million worth of pandemic-related unemployment relief, according to charges filed by the state Attorney General’s Office. Linda Slade, 51, of Westwood; Rochelle Oaks, 66, of Perry South; and Keith Brown, 53, of Brighton...
Allegheny Freedom Works inaugural Easter egg hunt draws crowd despite rain
There were rain clouds high above the participants of the inaugural Allegheny Freedom Works Easter egg hunt March 28. Officials said it did not dampen the spirits of participants, as more than 1,000 eggs with various treats were scattered for young scavengers to find. Hundreds of families from Plum and...
Burglary, drugs among charges handled by Monroeville Judge Jeffrey Herbst on March 22, 2021
Monroeville District Judge Jeffrey L. Herbst handled these cases March 22, 2021. Defendants will have court dates set in the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas. All charges were filed by Monroeville police. Held for court • Michael P. Evans, 60, of Penn Hills on charges of burglary and two...
Police log: Drug possession, traffic violations among charges filed by Monroeville police March 16-19, 2021
The following charges were filed March 16-19, 2021, with Monroeville District Judge Jeffrey L. Herbst. All charges were filed by Monroeville police unless otherwise noted: • Brendan Shropshire-Simpson, 22, of Pitcairn with simple assault and harassment. The charges were filed by Pitcairn police on March 16 in connection with an...
Latrobe bridge set for rehabilitation
A bridge in Latrobe is set for rehabilitation this year after the county commissioners on Monday approved a $2.4 million project. Brewery Bridge carries Ligonier Street over Loyalhanna Creek near City Brewing and Excela Health Latrobe Hospital. County engineer Vaughn Neill said the project is funded mostly by a federal...
United Steelworkers begin strike at Allegheny Technologies, Inc.; reject’s ATI’s last-minute counter offerVideo
The United Steelworkers began a strike against Allegheny Technologies Inc. on Tuesday, marking the first such action against the company in nearly three decades. Some workers have been with the company long enough to remember the last strike 27 years ago, but Harrison’s Jeff Allenberg, 41, was hired at ATI’s...
Woman hurt in South Huntingdon crash
A Finleyville woman was hurt in a one-vehicle crash early Tuesday in South Huntingdon, according to state police. Barbara M. Hadbavny, 60, was traveling on Route 31 at 1:30 a.m. when troopers said her vehicle crashed into a culvert and flipped over near Turkeytown Road. The crash resulted in significant...
United Steelworkers set strike date at ATI facilities
The United Steelworkers union announced Friday it will start a strike at Allegheny Technologies Inc. next week. The union said it informed ATI it will strike over what it calls unfair labor practices beginning at 7 a.m. Tuesday. “We have provided the notice to ATI to ensure an orderly and...
Rising lumber prices a pain in the pocketbook, push new house prices up $24,000
In 40 years of building homes in Westmoreland, Allegheny and southern Butler counties, Ray Snoznik, owner of R.A. Snoznik Construction Inc. of Murrysville, never has seen such a jump in lumber prices in one year. “It’s up 188% from last year. We’re trying to adjust (to the price hike), but...
Youngstown, Whitney-Hostetter fire departments complete merger
The Whitney-Hostetter Volunteer Fire Department will cease operations as it merges with the nearby Youngstown fire department, officials announced Monday. The newly formed Youngstown-Whitney Volunteer Fire Department will continue to be known as Station 39. The merger, announced on the Youngstown department’s Facebook page, was a years-long process, according to...
Relief on soaring lumber prices unlikely until at least fall
The demand for lumber is outstripping supply, pushing lumber prices up and, in turn, raising the the price of a typical new home by $24,000. This “perfect storm” of factors will not let up in the short term, according to a chief economist for a national building association. “Lumber prices...
