Western PA Local News category, Page 2582
After 4 years, Wilkinsburg mass shooting case comes down to 3-week trialVideo
There were 49 shots, then screams, then sirens. The sounds cut through the unseasonably warm night in March 2016, where in a backyard in Wilkinsburg family and friends gathered to take advantage of the weather. Brittany Powell was living in the home at 1304 Franklin Ave., where a modest backyard...
Westmoreland municipalities banding together before census
A little less than a year after the Westmoreland County Complete Count Committee was founded, officials are gearing up efforts to help municipalities prepare for the upcoming census. “It’s federal funding; it’s state funding; it’s representation in Congress. The census number plays into all of that and we want Westmoreland...
Pittsburgh’s Schenley Park Skating Rink reopens after major overhaulVideo
A steady, cold rain Friday night didn’t stop Ben Pinkston from taking the ice at the Schenley Park Skating Rink. He had waited 10 months for it to re-open. The rink, which is celebrating 45 years, had been closed since March for an overhaul. It needed to be repaired because...
State police: Drunken Leechburg woman hit man with car in Vandergrift
State police say an intoxicated Leechburg woman hit a man with her car in Vandergrift last Monday. State police responded to a call at a Leechburg address where it was reported that a man was hit by a car, reportedly driven by a woman who was threatening to “slit her...
Thousands of Census 2020 workers still needed in Western Pa.
Western Pennsylvania still is in need of thousands of more part-time census workers as federal officials and their local partners prepare Census 2020 submissions to begin next month. Allegheny County initially struggled to fill 9,000 positions, with only about 4,500 temporary workers hired as of late December. Officials have seen...
Westmoreland County residents attend concealed carry seminar, obtain gun permitsVideo
As presidential hopeful Michael Bloomberg prepares to air an $11 million Super Bowl commercial touting gun control, more than 100 Westmoreland County residents who want to legally carry a gun in public came out Saturday to learn how. About 120 people from across the county attended a “concealed carry” seminar...
Police: Man in stable condition after North Side shooting
A man was transported to the hospital in stable condition after a shooting in the North Side early Saturday morning. Officers responded to the 2600 block of Perrysville Avenue around 1 a.m. in response to a ShotSpotter notification of gunfire, according to Pittsburgh police spokesperson Chris Togneri. Police also received...
Federal booze tax cut critical to Western Pa. brewery, distillery growth
Local craft distillers and brewers are toasting the renewal of a federal tax relief bill that they say will help their small businesses continue to grow. But some worry that celebration could be short-lived. The Craft Beverage Modernization and Tax Reform Act was first passed in 2017. It cut the...
Real estate transactions in Signal Item coverage area for the week of Feb. 1Video
Bridgeville Michael Minella sold property at 157 Pennsylvania Ave. to Zachary and Diana Ferree for $232,000. Carnegie Neil Yost sold property at 611 Doolittle Ave. to Kristie Johnson for $125,000. David Molter sold property at 844 Library Ave. to Yanbo Sun for $70,050. Ravindra Tripathi sold property at 170 Mountain...
Mammoth Park’s new ‘Giant Slide’ complex expected to open in May
Cold weather and muddy conditions forced the ongoing $1.1 million Mammoth Park renovation project into hibernation, but county bureau of parks and recreation officials expect work to resume “in a few weeks,” allowing the much-anticipated Giant Slide complex to open by late May. “We’re basically shut down for winter right...
The Stroller, Feb. 1, 2020: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
Sub fundraiser to aid Cheswick couple who lost home to fire Fat Cat’s Subs in Cheswick is conducting a hoagie fundraiser to benefit Kayla Fischerkeller and Ryan Brittingham of Cheswick who lost their home Jan. 17 in a fire. Subs cost $8 and varieties available include Italian, ham and cheese...
Woman killed in rollover crash on I-79 near Cranberry
A woman was killed Friday in the first of two back-to-back vehicle crashes along Interstate 79 near Cranberry, state police reported. Cristi Reibert, 41, of Lyndora was pronounced dead after she was involved in a crash at about 3:30 p.m., just north of Cranberry in Butler County. The initial investigation...
Man, 63, struck by hit-and-run driver in Pittsburgh’s Troy Hill neighborhood
A man walking in Pittsburgh’s Troy Hill neighborhood was struck Friday night by an SUV in a hit-and-run incident, officials said. Pittsburgh police, firefighters and medics responded to the report of the pedestrian injured by a vehicle on Troy Hill Road near Goettman Street at about 6 p.m., Public Safety...
Jury convicts Duquesne man caught with $22K of crack while on parole
A jury convicted a Duquesne man of violating federal drug laws while on parole after officials found nearly 280 grams of crack cocaine worth more than $22,000 and other street drugs at his residence, prosecutors said Friday. Donte Taylor, 37, faces a possible sentence of not less than 10 years...
Police say Indiana County woman let child vape, then recorded it
Police said an 18-year-old Indiana County woman allowed a child to vape from a Juul smoking device, recorded it and laughed as the child laid coughing on the floor. State police at Indiana charged Berkley Noel Sutton of Shellbark Road, Armagh, with endangering the welfare of children for failing to...
Wilkinsburg man convicted of homicide by vehicle while DUI
A Wilkinsburg man has been found guilty of being drunk, crashing the car he was driving and killing one of his passengers. Daquan Lamont Thompson was convicted on all charges resulting from the October 2017 crash with the exception of false reports to law enforcement. Following the verdict, Allegheny County...
Police: Heroin hidden inside can of baby formula in New Ken apartment
New Kensington police and state drug agents say they found heroin packets hidden inside a can of baby formula when they raided a New Kensington apartment. The raid on Constitution Boulevard Thursday turned up about 9.5 grams of uncut, loose heroin, six pieces of crack cocaine, two baggies of marijuana...
Hempfield industrial park eyed by high-tech start-up manufacturing company
A high-tech start-up manufacturing company is expected to occupy two parcels at the Westmoreland County Technology Park II in Hempfield. County officials this week approved an option agreement for a company that represents Fossil Industries to purchase two parcels on nearly 11 acres at the industrial park. The company will...
Allegheny Valley Hospital president unveils plans for new yearVideo
Coming to Allegheny Valley Hospital as its new president was something of a homecoming for Dr. Vicenta Gaspar-Yoo. “Coming here was almost seamless,” she said Friday from her office at the Harrison hospital, part of Allegheny Health Network. “I trained in Pittsburgh. Everybody knew I was a product of Pittsburgh....
Pitt cancels spring programs in China
Citing a new U.S. State Department advisory against travel to China, the University of Pittsburgh Friday instructed students, staff and faculty slated to travel there in the coming weeks to cancel their plans. Several Pitt groups were scheduled to travel to China in March. Pitt spokesman Kevin Zwick said the...
Deck repairs to cause restrictions on Veterans Bridge
Crews will perform concrete repair work on the deck of I-579 Veterans Bridge next week, PennDOT announced Friday. Weather permitting, there will be single-lane restrictions Feb. 3 and 4 on the bridge. On both days, northbound restrictions will occur from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., while southbound restrictions will occur...
Penn Hills woman charged in kidnapping, death of Nalani Johnson to stand trial
A Penn Hills woman will stand trial on charges she kidnapped and killed a toddler last year and left the child in an Indiana County Park. All charges against Sharena Nancy were held for court Friday during a preliminary hearing. In addition to kidnapping and homicide, she is charged with...
Youngwood to get new water, sewer lines
Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County board members on Friday awarded a $7.2 million contract to an Allegheny County construction firm for a three-year project to replace water and sewer lines in Youngwood. Authority officials said Jet Jack Inc. of Oakdale submitted the lowest of six bids for the work expected...
Westmoreland County Community College seeks nomination for distinguished alumnus award
Westmoreland County Community College officials are seeking nominations for the school’s 2020 Distinguished Alumnus Award through Feb. 13. The award recognizes and honors alumni who have distinguished themselves through professional accomplishments, significant community based service, and support or service to the college. It will be presented at the college’s commencement...
Catholic Schools Week closes with Mass at Our Lady of the Most Blessed Sacrament in HarrisonVideo
The mustard seed starts small but rapidly grows and spreads. That was the theme of a homily given Friday by the Rev. Andrew Fischer from Our Lady of the Most Blessed Sacrament Parish in Harrison at the close of Catholic Schools Week. More than 300 students — from Our Lady...
