Western PA Local News category, Page 2124
Oakmont councilwoman resigns borough post to join state House
Oakmont Councilwoman Carrie Lewis DelRosso resigned from her elected post to step into another one in the new year. DelRosso defeated state House Minority Leader Frank Dermody in the November election. The Republican challenger collected 51.5% of the vote compared with Democrat incumbent Dermody’s 48.5%, a margin of 923 votes,...
Jefferson Hills Police Chief Gene Roach retiring after nearly 40-year career
Jefferson Hills police Chief Gene Roach is calling it a career after nearly 40 years in law enforcement. “It doesn’t seem like that much time has elapsed,” Roach said Monday. “As I look back on it now, 39 years is a long time, more than half of my life. It...
Point State Park gets to keep its Christmas tree
Looks like the Tree of Lights will be in Pittsburgh next year after all. The state decided to continue the Pittsburgh tradition by permitting the picturesque tree to be erected at Point State Park next year. In a reversal of a decision announced last month, the state Department of Conservation...
Retired UPMC executive will lead the board at the United Way of Southwestern PA
The United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania will welcome a retired UPMC executive as board chair Jan. 1, while it continues efforts to meet growing needs triggered by the ongoing pandemic. The agency’s board of directors voted Robert DeMichiei, who has been a member of the board for nearly two decades,...
Restaurant and bar owners decry Gov. Tom Wolf’s orders, encourage others to openVideo
“Just open.” The words, spoken by Joe Tambellini, resonated with dozens of restaurant and tavern owners who gathered in a parking lot outside of Al’s Cafe, a restaurant in Bethel Park, on Monday. They were there for a “Rights for Restaurants” rally organized by the restaurant’s owner, Rod Ambrogi, and...
PNC to close Harmar branch
PNC Bank is closing its Harmar branch on March 19. PNC will consolidate that branch on Anchor Road near the Target department store with one less than 4 miles away at 2010 Pittsburgh Mills Blvd. in Frazer. “We constantly evaluate our branches, together with our other available channels of banking,...
Allegheny Valley toy distribution takes on different look this year, but still makes kids smileVideo
An annual Shop with a Cop toy distribution event in the Alle-Kiski Valley took on a different look this year because of the coronavirus pandemic, but still sent children home with a smile. In past years, officers from the Harmar, Springdale Borough and Allegheny Valley police departments would take children...
Westmoreland food bank benefits from annual United Way fundraiserVideo
Rather than mapping out the most efficient route through the East Pittsburgh Street Shop ’n Save in Greensburg on Monday evening, Renee Sasanko spent her time deciding on a nonprofit organization that would benefit from a $750 donation. The United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania’s annual fundraiser, which normally sends one...
Overbrook woman announces bid to challenge Anthony Coghill for Pittsburgh council seatVideo
Describing herself as a “public servant and single mom,” Bethani Cameron announced Monday she will challenge Pittsburgh City Councilman Anthony Coghill in the May 2021 Democratic primary for his District 4 council seat. Cameron, 38, of Overbrook, said she has “the experience and grit to fight for South Pittsburgh.” A...
Norwin-area covid cases increase, but at slower pace
The number of new confirmed coronavirus cases in the Norwin area ending the week of Dec. 21 trended below the previous week , the first time since the Thanksgiving holiday , according to the state Department of Health. The number of new covid-19 cases last week increased by 229 to...
Health officials launch online form to speed covid case investigations
Pennsylvania health officials will start conducting covid-19 case investigations digitally for some people, the Department of Health announced Monday. The department unveiled a new “digital case investigation tool” for state residents between the ages of 19 and 64 who live in a county without its own county or municipal health...
No raises in new year for Westmoreland elected officials
Westmoreland County’s elected officials will not get raises in 2021. Annual cost-of-living raises earned by county commissioners and row officers since 1995 have been determined by changes to the consumer price index calculated by the U.S. Department of Labor for Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland. For 2021, that index...
Troopers ask help finding teen runaway from Derry Township group home
State police are asking the public’s help locating a 14-year-old girl who ran away from a Adelphoi group home in Derry Township Sunday. Police reported that Dajah Whetstone ran away from the Susan’s Place group home on the 2800 block of Ligonier Street about 5:30 p.m. Trooper Josh Abernathy reported...
Delmont police, Sheetz collect about 10 tons of food for families, health care workers
’Tis the season for giving, and that sentiment isn’t lost on the organizations who interact with the public every day and have a ground-level view of the difficulty faced by not just families but also front-line health care workers. That’s why the Delmont Police Department decided to hold its first-ever...
Ohiopyle construction project is wrapping up
All that remains of a $12.4 million construction project in Ohiopyle is some grass planting in the spring and water line work along Sugarloaf Road, according to Jay Ofsanik, a PennDOT spokesman. Professional divers took to the Youghiogheny River last month to retrieve items that inadvertently fell into the water...
Pittsburgh to pursue cultural competency training for public safety
Pittsburgh will spend $50,000 to provide cultural competency training under a proposal Mayor Bill Peduto’s office introduced Monday. The city and Peduto’s Office of Equity plan to partner with Pittsburgh-based Cultural Humility and Equity Collaborative to create a program for the city’s Department of Public Safety. The idea is to...
Pittsburgh council adopts 2021 budget, could be revised depending on federal covid reliefVideo
A 2021 Pittsburgh budget adopted by city council Monday is a “stop-gap” plan that is balanced and will need to be revised depending upon whether federal covid relief is ever approved for cities, Councilman R. Daniel Lavelle said. Although it doesn’t include a 50% cut in funding to the police...
Westmoreland County posts 574 new covid cases, 4 deaths over 2 days
Westmoreland County posted 574 new cases of coronavirus over the past two days, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health. The county added 213 cases on Sunday, 361 on Monday. Of the new two-day cases, 75% (430) were confirmed through PCR tests, while 144 were considered probable cases. There were...
Caution urged as covid vaccines arrive in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine laid out the state’s vaccine distribution progress Monday while updating the public on covid’s mounting toll in the state. Levine reported 7,745 new covid-19 cases statewide Monday and 7,355 Sunday, bringing the state’s total number of infections to 563,589. There were 57 new deaths...
Greensburg man accused of assaulting, choking and robbing Youngwood woman
A Greensburg man is jailed on $10,000 bond after state police say he assaulted, choked and robbed a woman of $275 and her cell phone before abandoning her along a rural Derry Township road. Robert W. Kinney is charged with robbery, theft, simple assault and strangulation in connection with the...
Delmont updates stormwater ordinance, approves 2021 budgetVideo
Delmont council members approved an updated stormwater ordinance earlier this month that incorporates county and state requirements for best-management practices. The updated ordinance brings in elements of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection’s 2022 model ordinance, mandated by Act 167 and Westmoreland County’s integrated water resource plan. Communities that are...
Pine-Richland extends virtual learning until Jan. 18 to help tame coronavirus spread
Students in the Pine-Richland School District will continue to attend classes remotely until at least Jan. 18 to help slow the spread of coronavirus, officials announced. “While we share the desire to move back to the hybrid model, we want to ensure that it is safe and sustainable to do...
Allegheny County reports Pa.’s highest batch of new covid cases
Allegheny County on Monday posted the highest number of new coronavirus cases in Pennsylvania, recording more than twice as many new cases than the next county. Officials with the county’s Health Department reported 781 additional cases Monday. The next highest new-case count was recorded in Lehigh County with 382. Over...
Man jailed after breaking into Jeannette home, attacking woman
A Somerset County man is behind bars after Jeannette police accused him of breaking into a city home Saturday night and attacking a woman, according to court papers. Larry E. Ramsey, 47, of Somerset Township, is charged with burglary, terroristic threats, reckless endangerment, driving under the influence and related offenses....
Winning Cash 5 ticket worth $200K sold in Fayette County
A ticket worth $200,000 was sold at a Fayette County convenience store, Pennsylvania Lottery officials said Monday. The Cash 5 ticket was sold at a Gulf station, 3085 Pittsburgh Road, in Star Junction. The ticket matched all five balls selected in Saturday’s drawing — 2-7-16-18-24 — officials said. More than...
