Western PA Local News category, Page 2408
Escapee from Derry Township youth home charged with assaulting Latrobe police chief
A court-ordered ward from a Derry Township youth home who escaped Tuesday was ordered held in the county prison after allegedly headbutting Latrobe police Chief John Sleasman during her arrest, according to state police. Caitlin Elaine Harkins-Shirley, 18, who is an adjudicated ward at Adelphoi’s Susan House, was discovered hiding...
Pittsburgh Council proposes major police reforms during heated meeting
In a bill introduced Tuesday in Pittsburgh City Council, the city would enact a police hiring freeze and redirect $250,000 remaining in a budget for new recruits to a fund aimed at reducing crime and violence. It was one of several bills from Councilman Ricky Burgess, who said that reform...
McCandless council member resigns seat, moving out of municipality
A second member of McCandless Town Council has resigned in as many months. Councilwoman Joan Powers, who represents Ward 4, announced Monday that she is stepping down because she is moving out of McCandless. Powers, a Republican, was appointed to council in September 2015 to fill the the unexpired term...
Pittsburgh police seek info on Mario Lemieux statue vandal, other suspects from Downtown protest
Pittsburgh police on Tuesday released photos of three people they say were involved in causing damage during Downtown Pittsburgh protests on May 30, including a woman who allegedly defaced the Mario Lemieux statue outside of PPG Paints Arena. The photos come from the Damage Assessment and Accountability Taskforce, which was...
Franklin Regional school board set to vote on 2.54-mill tax hike next week
There have been some tweaks to Franklin Regional’s proposed final 2020-21 budget but, for taxpayers, it remains largely the same. Despite expenditure reductions related to special education funding, fewer commissions on tax collections and no change in insurance premiums, which were expected to rise, the $61.31 million budget stands with...
Arnold Palmer airport sees rise in bookings, hopes to beef up September runway work
Officials at Arnold Palmer Regional Airport are hoping to work on runway improvements — widening and strengthening — simultaneously in September, if funding is approved in time. Meanwhile, Westmoreland County Airport Authority Executive Director Gabe Monzo said Tuesday he’s pleased with how travel at the airport in Unity is taking...
Kennametal to cut global workforce 10% by end of year
Facing a weakness in its industrial markets caused by the covid-19 pandemic, Kennametal Inc. said Tuesday it is accelerating its plans to permanently cut about 10% of its salaried workforce, a reduction on a global scale it expects to substantially complete by the end of the year. Kennametal, an industrial...
4 casinos in region reopen with safety measures; 5th reopens Friday
The familiar ping of slot machines returned to four casinos in the region after a three-month closure due to public safety concerns caused by the coronavirus. The Meadows Racetrack & Casino in Washington County joined the Rivers Casino on Pittsburgh’s North Shore Tuesday as they reopened since being ordered to...
Police: Arnold felon built homemade shotgun, was making a second
Arnold police responding to a domestic dispute Sunday discovered that a man, a convicted felon prohibited from owning guns, had allegedly made his own shotgun and was fashioning a second. Arnold police on Monday charged Mervin Hamilton, 49, with two counts of illegal possession of firearms and one count each...
Humane Animal Rescue in Pittsburgh provides pet supplies during pandemic
Some pet owners are struggling to feed their furry friends in the midst of the covid-19 pandemic. Humane Animal Rescue is offering free supplies through Ellie’s Pet Pantry to ensure pet owners can properly care for their animals during difficult times. Ellie’s Pet Pantry is a program to support pet...
Monroeville protest marks 11th day of demonstrations in wake of George Floyd’s deathVideo
A Black Lives Matter protest was held Tuesday afternoon in Monroeville. 1 p.m. About 1:30 p.m., protesters made their way onto William Penn Highway / Route 22, blocking the road. The group moved toward the Pennsylvania Turnpike about 1:35 p.m., but were directed away from it by police. At 1:40...
Allegheny County Human Relations Commission issues letter combating racism
The Allegheny County Human Rights Commission is calling for action from regional government and law enforcement leaders in the fight against racism. In an open letter to county residents, commission members Daniel Styche, Chair, William Price, Vice Chair, Nicola Henry-Taylor, Betsy Magley, Arthur Pang and Marlin Woods addressed the killing...
Municipalities across Pittsburgh region face bleak budget forecasts in wake of coronavirus
Buffeted by stay-at-home orders and growing unemployment, Pennsylvania municipalities are facing a revenue hole that could result in fewer police and firefighters, more potholes and crumbling highways, as well as shuttered parks and pools. As many as 249 municipalities across the state, including 112 in the 10-county southwestern region, will not...
Pittsburgh among Top 20 U.S. cities for bicycling, group says
Efforts championed by Mayor Bill Peduto to make Pittsburgh a more bike-friendly city are clearly paying off. People For Bikes, a national organization dedicated to making bicycling safer and more convenient, has ranked Pittsburgh among the top 20 cities in the U.S. for people on bicycles. The Steel City came...
State officials: Westmoreland adds 6 new covid cases, no new deaths
Westmoreland County on Tuesday reported six new covid-19 cases, bringing the total number of coronavirus cases to 467, according to Pennsylvania health officials. No new deaths from the virus were reported in Westmoreland. State officials continued to report 38 deaths, while county coroner Kenneth Bacha reports 33 deaths as of...
Jeannette police seek New Kensington man suspected in assault and robbery
Jeannette police have an arrest warrant for a 23-year-old man accused of assaulting and robbing a woman of about $2,000 early Monday. Dezmin Tre Lamar Edmonds, whose last known address was in New Kensington, is charged with robbery through inflicting serious bodily injury, simple assault, theft and receiving stolen property...
Derry man arrested after handgun found in bag at Arnold Palmer airport
A Derry man was arrested after being caught with a 9 mm handgun in a carry-on bag Sunday at Arnold Palmer Regional Airport. Westmoreland County Park Police charged Brandon Edward Emeigh, 31, with prohibited possession of a firearm and carrying a firearm without a permit. He faces a preliminary hearing...
Penn-Trafford staff, parents create memorial to 2nd-grade teacher Greg KeeferVideo
When second-grade teacher Greg Keefer walked into the cafeteria at Harrison Park Elementary School, fellow educator Beth Miller described the scene as “complete chaos.” “Kids would be jumping up to high-five him, and he loved every minute of it,” Miller said. Keefer’s popularity among students made it all the more...
Allegheny County reports 19 new coronavirus cases, 1 death
Allegheny County health officials on Tuesday reported one new coronavirus-related death, 19 new cases, and no new hospitalizations. County data show that of the 2,027 cases, 1,889 are confirmed and 128 are probable. Of the county’s 169 deaths, 157 are confirmed and 12 are probable. All deaths occurred in people...
Pitt to reopen this fall with ‘compressed’ schedule during pandemic
The University of Pittsburgh will reopen this fall under an adjusted calendar and classroom capacity restrictions. Students will not return to campus after Thanksgiving break, making their last day on campus Nov. 20. The move makes Pitt one of many universities to choose an adjusted calendar amid the covid-19 pandemic....
Jeannette City school board expected to hold line on taxes
Jeannette City School District board members are expected to vote on a 2020-21 budget this month that contains no property tax increase. Business manager Paul Sroka said he recommended a 1-mill tax increase, but was directed by board members to prepare a spending plan that didn’t include it. About $139,000...
Tarentum launching summer concert series this week
The concerts will go on in Tarentum. With covid-19 restrictions easing, the borough’s recreation board and council made the “very hard decision” to go forward with Tarentum’s popular summer concert series, starting this Thursday, Councilwoman Carrie Fox said. “We want to keep as much normalcy as we possibly can,” she...
USPS seeking to hire rural carriers at $18.56 an hour
The United States Postal Service has numerous openings for rural carrier associate positions throughout Western Pennsylvania . The positions pay $18.56 an hour and are paid bi-weekly, according to postal service spokeswoman Jill Walters. Interested applicants can only apply online at usps.com/careers. From the website, applicants can click “Search Jobs,”...
Lauri Ann West Community Center reopens with new guidelines
Lauri Ann West Community Center opened its doors Monday to visitors eager to return to a “sense of normalcy,” leaders said. New hours for the facility along Powers Run Road in O’Hara will be 6 to 8 p.m. weekdays, 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays and 9 a.m. to 3...
Briefly Speaking – Jun. 9, 2020
Fundraiser The Westmoreland County Community College Scholarship Golf Classic is set for Aug. 24 at the Greensburg Country Club. The event will raise money for the Student Emergency Assistance Fund to support academic success in the wake of covid-19. Rain date will be Aug. 31. For more information, email foundation...
