Western PA Local News category, Page 2108
Calls for Gateway school board member to resign come after racially charged text message
A Gateway School Board member who is the subject of a federal lawsuit has doubled down on his innocence as calls for his resignation grow louder. Paul Caliari, 46, of Monroeville is currently serving a two-year term on the Gateway School Board. A federal lawsuit filed Jan. 1, which also...
Hempfield considers virtual lessons in place of snow days
Snow days could be a thing of the past for Hempfield Area students — at least for the rest of this winter. District officials are considering a plan to have classes conducted online instead of being canceled when a weather event prevents normal classes from being held. School board members...
State Rep. Summer Lee tests positive for covid-19
State Rep. Summer Lee, D-Swissvale, was absent Tuesday from Harrisburg, where she should’ve been sworn in for her second term, after a positive covid-19 test. Lee announced her positive covid-19 result on Twitter, writing that she was watching the ceremonies in Harrisburg from home while she isolates as she recovers...
Pennsylvania House holds moment of silence for the late Mike Reese, who was to have been sworn in today for 7th term
State Rep. Mike Reese was memorialized on the floor of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives on Tuesday, the day he was supposed to have been sworn in to his seventh two-year term. A black cloth, framed photograph and what appeared to be a jersey with his last name and H59...
History Center, Fort Pitt Museum to reopen following temporary closure
The Senator John Heinz History Center and Western Pennsylvania Sports Museum in the Strip District and the Fort Pitt Museum at Point State Park in Downtown Pittsburgh, will reopen at 10 a.m. on Saturday. They were temporarily closed because of state covid-19 restrictions. “We are excited to welcome back visitors...
GOP seizes control of Pa. Senate floor, blocks Brewster from being seatedVideo
The Pennsylvania Senate devolved into chaos Tuesday as Republicans, the majority party, refused to seat Democrat Jim Brewster of McKeesport to his third term in office. The state certified Brewster as the winner of the Nov. 3 election in the 45th District, which includes parts of Allegheny and Westmoreland counties....
Unity auditors freeze roadmaster pay, cite hardship among township residents
Unity’s supervisors will not receive a raise this year in the wages they earn for their work as roadmasters. Citing economic hardship among many township residents, Unity’s elected auditors on Tuesday approved a pay freeze for John Mylant, Michael O’Barto and Ed Poponick. “We realize it’s been a tough year,”...
Covid cases continue at schools in North Hills as changes to instructional models approach
School districts in northern Allegheny County continue to report new active covid-19 cases among students and as they prepare to transition from all-remote learning in the coming weeks. North Hills The North Hills School District reported 15 new cases between Dec. 16 and Jan. 3. Four students and a staff...
Pittsburgh Public Schools announces new equity task force, lays out plans for return to buildings
Pittsburgh Public Schools on Tuesday announced the development of a new task force to recommend and influence policies that combat racial disparities in school safety. “I can share with you with great certainty that our district will not bring Black students back to live and learn under the same racially-biased...
Allegheny County argues Crack’d Egg can’t hide from covid restrictions under bankruptcy filing
A federal judge must decide if a bankruptcy case filed in his court can stop the Allegheny County Health Department from pursuing action against the Crack’d Egg, a Brentwood restaurant that has continued to operate despite an order in August shutting it down for violating state-mandated covid-19 mitigation orders. The...
Fox Chapel Presbyterian asks people to Fill-a-Truck for local food pantries
An annual food collection at Fox Chapel Presbyterian Church will help local food banks bridge the gap between the holidays and spring time drives, pantry leaders said. The Fill-a-Truck event in early February, split between the Bread of Life in Etna, St. Vincent de Paul in Sharpsburg and Council of...
Hempfield Area orders more Chromebooks, still waiting for order placed in July
The Hempfield Area School Board is adding more Chromebooks to its collection as students continue to attend classes through a mix of in-person and virtual learning. During Monday’s board meeting, members voted unanimously to purchase 750 Chromebook laptop computers, which will be split between high school freshman and elementary students....
Westmoreland County adds 228 new coronavirus cases, 8 deaths
Westmoreland County added 228 new covid-19 cases and eight new deaths, the Pennsylvania Department of Health reported on Tuesday. After topping the 20,000 mark on Monday, the total number of cases in the county now stands at 20,393 with 15,247 confirmed and 5,146 probable since the first cases were reported...
Demolition of Hempfield’s Ramada underwayVideo
Demolition of Hempfield’s Ramada by Wyndham Greensburg Hotel and Conference Center is underway, paving the way for construction of a new home improvement store. According to Patrick Karnash, director of planning and zoning for the township, “demolition has started and is moving along quite quickly” on the 42-year-old hotel. Leveling...
Brighton Rehab claims it is immune from lawsuit in federal court filing
Attorneys for a Beaver County nursing home where more than 70 residents died of covid-19 claim it has immunity from civil liability — even as a judge in the same jurisdiction has previously said, in a separate case, it does not. In a motion to dismiss filed Monday in federal...
Pittsburgh native Michael Keaton to play Batman in 2022 movie
Pittsburgh native Michael Keaton is slated to reprise his role as Batman in “The Flash,” a film anticipated for 2022. In the upcoming movie, DC Films will employ what is known as a multiverse, which allows for different versions of the same character to exist simultaneously in parallel worlds. This...
Franklin Park 6th grader wins gingerbread house competition
The winning entry, “Christmas on the Mountain,” was inspired by the creator’s name. Eva Mountain, 12, fashioned a cozy cottage gingerbread house for the 18th annual City of Pittsburgh Office of Special Events’ annual Gingerbread House Competition and Display. It was held virtually because of the pandemic. The Franklin Park...
Allegheny County tops 1,000 coronavirus deaths
Allegheny County on Tuesday reported 29 new coronavirus deaths, bringing the death toll for the county to 1,011. “Passing 1,000 deaths is a grim milestone that I had hoped Allegheny County would be spared,” Allegheny County Health Department Director Dr. Debra Bogen said in a release. “Each of the 1,011...
Greensburg Salem copes with laptop shortage
When Greensburg Salem School District learned the 1,000 laptops it ordered for the school year would not arrive for months, leaders began looking for other ways to get computers to students. They used money from the CARES act and other grants to buy laptops wherever they could find them, including...
Western Pa. wine and cheese experts to hold virtual session on ‘perfect pairings’
Dee Weinberg was at a cheese counter having trouble deciding which variety to purchase to complement a specific wine. “The thought came to me that if I wasn’t sure what cheese was best with the wine I had, then other people probably would have the same problem,” said Weinberg, founder...
Esquire features 2 Pittsburgh restaurants that we ‘can’t afford to lose’
The pandemic has hit the restaurant industry hard. Some are gone, others hanging on. And some, according to one magazine, are too important to fail during the covid pandemic. Last week, Esquire Magazine named the “100 Restaurants America Can’t Afford to Lose.” Two Pittsburgh favorites made the list: Tessaro’s in...
New geocaching game on Rachel Carson Trail encourages family hikes
A Pine Township family’s hiking experience has inspired a new game to get other families out on the Rachel Carson Trail. Brian Vernon needed to get out of the house after working from home for months on end and helping his daughter, Lorelei, and son, Riley, learn during the covid...
Shaler approves purchase of former primary school for community use
A former Shaler Area elementary school will be converted for community use after its purchase by the township is complete. The vacant Jeffery Primary building along Wetzel Road was offered for sale by the district to Shaler for $120,000. The 31,500 square-foot school sits directly across from the municipal building...
Latrobe police warn of scam calls using department’s phone number
The phone number for the Latrobe Police Department is being used in a scam targeting community members, according to authorities. Police reported receiving several calls Monday about the scam. The caller used the police department’s phone number as the caller ID and claimed that a Social Security number was compromised...
Holocaust survivor, Pittsburgh resident Shulamit Bastacky dead at 79
Shulamit Bastacky, a child survivor of the Holocaust who spent her adult life in Pittsburgh, died Friday after a brief battle with cancer. She was 79. Bastacky spent her first three years of life being hidden from the Nazis in a nun’s cellar in her native Lithuania. She was miraculously...
