Western PA Local News category, Page 2145
Levin to buy back 5 stores from Michigan firm, rebuild furniture chain
Robert Levin is getting closer to rebuilding his family’s namesake furniture chain, which nearly fell to ruin after a century in business following a sale and the tumult of a messy bankruptcy proceeding. “I feel this is like a Christmas gift for all of us, customers and employees,” Levin said...
Families, friends mourn Port Authority drivers who died of covid
Patrick Hazlett and Marlon J. Lucas had a combined three decades of service with the Port Authority of Allegheny County, and they both leave behind wives and children and a union family grieving its first losses to covid-19. Hazlett, a 34-year-old bus driver who’d worked for eight years with the...
Fayette man charged in East Huntingdon drug overdose death
A 31-year-old Everson man is in Westmoreland County Prison on charges of providing a fatal dose of fentanyl to an East Huntingdon man last summer, according to state police. Stephen T. Shively was jailed after failing to post $100,000 bond Friday on charges of drug delivery resulting in death and...
Pennsylvania Rep. Mike Reese tests positive for coronavirus
State Rep. Mike Reese, who represents parts of Westmoreland and Somerset counties, is the latest Pennsylvania lawmaker to announce a positive coronavirus test. “I recently learned I have tested positive for covid-19,” Reese said in a statement. “I have been quarantining for the last week awaiting my test results, and...
Drugs, traffic charges among those recently handled by Penn Hills District Judge Anthony L. DeLuca
Penn Hills District Judge Anthony L. DeLuca handled the following cases recently. Defendants will have court dates set in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court. Charges were filed by Penn Hills police unless otherwise noted: Waived preliminary hearings • Jason Melton, 49, of Penn Hills on charges of possession of drug...
Some Pittsburgh-area restaurant owners have outdoor dining covered amid pandemic
With the colder weather here to stay, many Downtown Pittsburgh restaurants have decided to cover outdoor spaces for continued dining to help accommodate state-mandated capacity requirements. Some outdoor dining structures resemble mini-greenhouses. Others look like plastic domes. Bakersfield Pittsburgh has tents, heaters and picnic-bench seating on Penn Avenue. At Bourbon...
Uber turns over self-driving car project to company with Pittsburgh ties
Uber is getting out of the self-driving car business, turning over its operation to a San Francisco startup with Pittsburgh ties. Aurora, which has offices in San Francisco, Pittsburgh and Dallas, announced the acquisition of Uber’s Advanced Technologies Group Monday. Uber will invest $400 million in Aurora and get a...
Cops: Victim of apparent hit-and-run in Pittsburgh had gunshot wound in leg
Pittsburgh medics responding to an apparent hit-and-run found the victim had been shot in the leg, according to the city Department of Public Safety. First responders were called to the corner of Gearing Avenue and Chalfont Street in the Beltzhoover neighborhood around 2:45 a.m., finding a man lying in the...
The Stroller, Dec. 8, 2020: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
Is your church or organization going to serve free takeout Christmas dinners? Send information to The Stroller at vndnews@tribweb.com. Please include a daytime telephone number. Send a gift to a senior at Presbyterian SeniorCare Network Presbyterian Senior Care Network is encouraging the public to send a gift to a resident...
Norwin increases pay for substitute teachers, paraprofessionals
After failing to get enough substitute teachers and paraprofessionals, Norwin upped the pay for those positions beginning next month to be more competitive with neighboring districts. The higher pay is important because Norwin has had a hard time attracting substitute teachers and paraprofessionals in the past 10 to 11 months,...
‘Health tops education’: Hempfield Area school officials explain remote learning call during virus surge
More than 350 people tuned in to a virtual Hempfield Area School Board meeting on Monday to hear the rationale for why the administration chose to move students to remote learning until after the holidays — a decision made days after the board reaffirmed students would return to the hybrid...
Highlands School Board approves resuming winter sports
Highlands School Board reversed course Monday and voted unanimously to immediately resume winter sports. The decision came after a roughly two-hour discussion in which parents and students asked the board to reconsider allowing winter sports — basketball, wrestling and swimming — to take place, and board members debated whether it...
Holiday tours of Pitt Nationality Rooms going virtual this year
For many people, a visit to the University of Pittsburgh’s Nationality Rooms Holiday Open House is as much a part of the season as seeing the trains at the Carnegie Science Center or taking the kids to visit Santa. Typically, it’s been a one-day event for the past 30 years....
State tax-credit program will help Westmoreland County Food Bank add sprinklers
Money made available through a Pennsylvania tax-credit program will help the Westmoreland County Food Bank install a needed sprinkler system at its warehouse and offices in Salem. The food bank this week was awarded $15,200 through the Neighborhood Assistance Program. The program is providing a tax credit to PNC Bank,...
Car theft charge against Salem man leads to arrest of his mother
A 26-year-old Salem man charged after allegedly stealing a neighbor’s car last month is in the county prison, while his mother is charged with two felony counts of hindering his apprehension. After a month on the run, Jesse Vaughn Lawson was caught Sunday by state police after they investigated an...
Norwin reports 52 covid cases since Thanksgiving
The post-Thanksgiving spike in coronavirus cases continues in the Norwin School District, with the district reporting Monday there are 16 more cases, raising the total to 52 cases among students and staff since the Thanksgiving holiday. Norwin has had 136 cases among students and staff since school began on Aug....
Norwin covid cases continue on upward trend
The post-Thanksgiving spike in confirmed coronavirus cases hit a new high in the past week in the Norwin area, increasing by almost 30% in the week from Nov. 30 to Dec. 7, based on data from the state Department of Health. The North Huntingdon-Irwin-North Irwin areas saw its virus cases...
East Huntingdon woman seeks dismissal of 1st-degree murder charge
An East Huntingdon woman in jail since September on charges of fatally shooting a former boyfriend claimed in court documents filed Monday there is no evidence she intended to kill her victim. Adam Gorzelsky, the lawyer for Meghan West, 24, asked a Westmoreland County judge to dismiss a first-degree murder...
Riverview Junior-Senior High School students in remote learning mode after positive covid tests
Riverview Junior-Senior High School students are in remote learning mode until Thursday because of a second positive covid-19 case at the school, district officials announced. A new state mandate requires schools to switch to a virtual learning model for every two cases of covid-19 in a school building, according to...
Speakers call for Pittsburgh Public Schools to cut police, security spending
The 30 people who provided testimony Monday during a virtual budget hearing focused on eliminating police, safety and security items from the 2021 Pittsburgh Public Schools budget. The district spends just over 1% of its budget on school safety measures like police and security guards. In 2021, the school safety...
U.S. Steel to test emergency equipment at Clairton facility
The U.S. Steel Corp. will conduct a test of emergency equipment Tuesday at Mon Valley Works, its facility in Clairton. The test, scheduled to take place from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., will involve sirens, lights and loud speakers that will be heard in the surrounding areas. A news release...
UPMC names new president of Center for Emergency Medicine
UPMC appointed a new president of the Center for Emergency Medicine of Western Pennsylvania, which focuses on prehospital care and paramedic services. James Houser will succeed Doug Garretson, who retired in October. Houser will run the critical care air ambulance service, STAT MedEvac, with helicopters throughout the Western Pennsylvania region,...
Excela to add more covid-19 beds at its hospitals as cases continue to rise
Officials at Excela Health plan to add beds for coronavirus patients, possibly as early as Tuesday, at one of its Westmoreland County facilities as hospitalizations continue to increase. Dr. Carol Fox, Excela’s chief medical officer, said Monday the move to convert a procedure room into one for inpatients will add...
Covid shuts down North Hills boys varsity basketball for 2 weeks, district using remote learning only
The North Hills School District has eight new cases of covid-19, including one that forced a shutdown of the boys varsity basketball program for a two-week period that began on Dec. 5, officials announced. The basketball players began experiencing symptoms on Friday afternoon after practice and tested positive for the...
County hosting drive-thru holiday laser show at North Park
Allegheny County is playing host to a drive-in style laser light show synchronized to holiday music at North Park to help get families into the holiday spirit. The 45-minute show will be held nightly between Dec. 10 and 20 in the swimming pool parking lot. Performances will be held nightly...
