Western PA Local News category, Page 2211
VP Mike Pence to rally Friday at Allegheny County Airport in West Mifflin
Vice President Mike Pence is stumping again in Western Pennsylvania, with a political rally planned for Friday afternoon at the Allegheny County Airport. Pence is set to deliver remarks at a “Make America Great Again Victory” rally to be held at Lynx FBO hangar at the airport in West Mifflin,...
Police: North Huntingdon cat hoarder said animals took over his house
Police said a North Huntingdon man told them he stopped staying at his township home because cats had overrun it. In September, authorities rescued 73 cats from the property on Leger Road and removed 11 that died. Since being surrendered to Frankie’s Friends in New Kensington, another 22 cats died...
Steel Valley School District changes reopening plan
Students at Steel Valley School District can soon attend class in-person most of the week – but only for half the day. The district unveiled an updated reopening plan this week, which will go into effect on Nov. 4. Students will be broken into groups for a hybrid model. One...
Natural gas project to detour West Seventh Avenue traffic in Tarentum
A Peoples Gas project will affect traffic in Tarentum beginning Sunday night. The company will be working in the area of West Seventh Avenue and Mill Street. Work will be done between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m. and is expected to last through Friday. Peoples Gas spokesman Barry Kukovich said...
Westmoreland County schools could face difficult closure decisions as coronavirus risk remains high
Westmoreland County school districts face difficult choices as the county’s coronavirus transmission risk is expected to remain “substantial” for at least another week when the state updates its three-tiered Early Warning Monitoring System. Leaders will need to weigh student safety and legal liability as they decide whether to close schools...
Dollar General opens new location in Penn Township
Dollar General opened a new store in Penn Township, along Harrison City-Export Road. The 9,000-square-foot store is located near the Penn Crossing shopping plaza. “Our customers are at the center of all that we do, and meeting customers’ needs is Dollar General’s top priority when choosing store locations,” spokeswoman Mary...
Allegheny lawsuit claims popular retailers improperly taxed face masks
An Allegheny County man is suing 15 different retailers — which combined have billions of dollars in sales last year — contending they improperly charged sales tax for the face masks they’ve been selling during the covid-19 pandemic. Daniel Garcia, the only named plaintiff, seeks class-action status to apply to...
O’Hara manufacturer named Small Business Administration Exporter of the Year
A third-generation O’Hara manufacturer was named the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Western Pennsylvania Exporter of the Year. Sauereisen, Inc., along Gamma Drive in RIDC Park, is a locally owned coating company that, since 1899, has produced corrosion-resistant materials commonly used in household appliances. “We’re not a commodity material provider but...
Fox Chapel’s Hardie Valley Park open to the public
Fox Chapel officials hosted a private opening ceremony Oct. 17 to usher in its newest amenity, Hardie Valley Park. The 17-acre parcel off Old Mill Road is now open to the public, largely for passive recreation such as walking or bird watching. The park opening included members of the land’s...
Pa. initiative touts success helping nursing homes fight covid-19
As Pennsylvania moves through a fall resurgence of the coronavirus, health experts in a regional collaborative to help long-term care facilities are hoping to maintain their funding. Established in July, the Regional Response Health Collaboratives (RRHC) program is a statewide initiative designed to support long-term care facilities preparing for or...
Westmoreland County: Almost 70,000 mail-in ballots approved
The Ohio company processing mail-in ballots for Westmoreland County has sent more than 64,000 to the post office and is up-to-date with its processing, a county election official said Thursday. Midwest Direct of Cleveland, which prints and mails the ballots, handled 64,604 ballots as of Tuesday, with an additional 3,800...
Blairsville man accused in month-long burglary spree in Westmoreland County
A Blairsville man was arrested this week, charged in a month-long burglary spree that targeted all-terrain vehicles, transport trailers, specialty tools and pieces of heavy equipment from drilling companies, construction sites and private storage units along the Route 22 corridor in Derry Township. Michael C. Hamrock, 43, was charged with...
Cheswick woman charged with assaulting 2 Springdale Borough cops
A Cheswick woman is accused of kicking and punching two Springdale Borough police officers during an arrest. The incident took place shortly after midnight Tuesday in the 900 block of Chester Street when Candace Rae Winstead assaulted the two officers who were responding to a call regarding unknown trouble, according...
Hearing for man accused of assaulting woman in Frazer hotel delayed because alleged victim in jail
A preliminary hearing for a Wilkinsburg man accused of assaulting a woman in a Frazer hotel room was postponed until November because the alleged victim was in jail, according to online court records. Frazer police charged Michael Joseph Battaglia, 44, with aggravated and simple assault, strangulation, unlawful restraint, making terroristic...
Republican congressional candidates denied tour of Allegheny County election warehouse
Attorneys for two Republican congressional candidates suing Allegheny County want to examine exactly how elections officials are managing nearly 29,000 incorrect ballots sent to voters. The federal lawsuit, filed by Sean Parnell, who is running against U.S. Rep. Conor Lamb, D-Mt. Lebanon, and Luke Negron, who is running against U.S....
Eric Trump makes surprise visit to Oakmont Bakery
Eric Trump made a surprise visit Thursday to Oakmont Bakery, where he passed out cookies decorated with his father’s face to dozens of supporters. Oakmont Bakery is hosting its traditional presidential Cookie Poll. The bakery serves up sweets adorned with images of President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe...
Westmoreland County reports 2nd highest number of daily coronavirus cases
Westmoreland County added 133 new coronavirus cases Thursday, its second highest daily increase in cases, the Pennsylvania Department of Health reported. The county also reported two new deaths. The county’s seven-day average is 91 cases and the county’s seven-day case total is 635. The total number of cases in the...
Gibsonia couple opens Spark Wine Company in their home during pandemic
Finding a spark of joy is important, especially during difficult times. For one Pine Township couple, that spark came in the form of starting a winery and building a community in the process. Joe and Lindsey Campisi have turned the sour grapes of the pandemic into delicious wine with their...
Hometown Christmas parade in Oakmont, Verona canceled due to coronavirus concerns
A holiday tradition that spans Verona and Oakmont boroughs will not take place this year because of covid-19 health concerns. The Hometown Christmas parade set for Nov. 21 has been canceled after Oakmont officials denied a request from the Oakmont Chamber of Commerce to close Allegheny River Boulevard that evening....
Allegheny County posts 133 new coronavirus cases, 1 death
The Allegheny County Health Department on Thursday reported 133 new coronavirus cases with one new death. Out of Thursday’s cases, the department said 109 were confirmed and 24 were probable (16 of the probables are positive antigen tests) from 2,071 PCR tests. The tests — with a 6.4% positivity rate...
Pittsburgh Public Schools move forward with in-person learning in NovemberVideo
Pittsburgh Public Schools are poised to begin a hybrid form of in-person learning on Nov. 9. The district is making the move despite a fall rise in covid-19 cases in Pennsylvania that was expected. The surge in cases, at least in Allegheny County, doesn’t mean the district should not move...
North Huntingdon police get 4-year contract extension
North Huntingdon police officers agreed to a wage freeze next year followed by pay raises of 2% in 2022, 2.5% in 2023 and 3% in 2024 under a four-year contract extension reached with the township. Township commissioners on Wednesday unanimously approved the contract that township Manager Jeff Silka called a...
Oakmont adds 4 new firefighters to its department, including 2 junior members
Oakmont recently welcomed four new firefighters to its volunteer department. The new recruits include three teenagers, and one senior member with more than 45 years fighting fires for another community. They are junior firefighters Jackson Carangio, 17, and Anthony Segelson, 16, Michigan State University sophomore Seth Merryman, 19, and longtime...
Family of Romir Talley sues police over his shooting death in Wilkinsburg
The mother of a man shot and killed by a Wilkinsburg police officer last year filed a federal lawsuit on Thursday against the police department, its leadership and the officers involved. The complaint, filed by LaTasha Talley as administratrix for her son’s estate, includes claims for excessive force, unreasonable seizure...
Veteran state House member Petrarca challenged by Silvis, a longtime film stuntman, in 55th District
Democrat Joe Petrarca is asking voters on Nov. 3 to return him to Harrisburg for a 14th term representing residents of the 55th District in the state House. Republican challenger Jason Silvis is hoping those voters instead will help him end that long run. “I think people are ready for...
