Western PA Local News category, Page 2615
Pittsburgh seeking contractors to mow lawns for eligible residents
Pittsburgh on Wednesday began accepting bids from landscape contractors for its City Cuts free grass cutting service available to seniors, disabled residents and veterans. Interested contractors must register through Beacon, the city’s online procurement platform. Feb. 4 is the deadline for submitting proposals. Since its inception in 2018, City Cuts...
Trial begins for Churchill man accused in 2018 standoff with police
A 52-year-old Churchill man who was shot twice by police in a two-hour standoff at his home in February 2018 is on trial this week in an Allegheny County courtroom on 100 charges stemming from the incident. Robert Cascella’s trial started Wednesday in front of Judge Mark V. Tranquilli. Cascella...
Judge reopens jury selection to public, media in Wilkinsburg mass shooting case
A judge on Wednesday walked back an order barring members of the media and the public from the jury selection process in a death penalty case headed to trial next month. Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas Judge Edward J. Borkowski issued a new order that restricts what information regarding...
Pittsburgh rapper Mac Miller’s family announces release of new album
Mac Miller’s music will live on — and soon. The late Pittsburgh rapper’s family announced on his verified Instagram page that a new album entitled “Circles” will be released Jan. 17. The family says it is a companion album to “Swimming,” which was released in August 2018. View this post...
Police charge Fayette County woman in starvation deaths of 2 cats, dog
After finding two cats and a dog dead inside her former Washington County apartment, state police on Wednesday charged a 22-year-old woman with multiple counts of animal cruelty and neglect. Dominique Lynn Cronin abandoned the animals in her former apartment in Daisytown about a month ago when she moved to...
Central Michigan professor named dean at Seton Hill’s School of Business
Seton Hill University has named Debasish Chakraborty, a professor of economics at Central Michigan University, as dean of the Greensburg university’s School of Business. University President Mary C. Finger announced Chakraborty’s appointment Wednesday and said he will begin his tenure on March 16. Chakraborty’s appointment comes as Paul Mahady, former...
Export council pushes back monthly meeting time
Export council will meet 30 minutes earlier beginning in February. Council voted unanimously Monday to move its monthly meeting back to 6:30 p.m. on the first Tuesday of each month. Councilman James Mahinske was not present. Meetings are held at the borough building, 5823 Washington Ave. In other borough business:...
Food Podcast: How food banks aim to provide healthy choices, improve diets
Providing food for people who are food insecure is one thing. Providing food that ensures a well-balanced diet and prevents diseases is another. Erin Spangler, nutrition and wellness coordinator at Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank, joined the food bank’s Brian Gulish on this week’s Food Podcast to discuss her role...
Police: 3 hurt when car flips while fleeing gunfire after McKeesport basketball game
A car with four passengers being chased by two men in a pickup truck who were shooting at them hit a utility pole and rolled over Tuesday night in McKeesport, Allegheny County police said. Three of four people in the car, including two teens, were injured. Investigators said the incident...
The Stroller, Jan. 8, 2020: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
Volunteers needed at Allegheny Valley Hospital Allegheny Valley Hospital is recruiting volunteers to join the lobby escort, information desk and surgical reception teams. Orientation and training are required and provided. Volunteers must be at least 16 years old. Apply online at or contact Kim at 724-226-7370 or avhvol@ahn.org. Calendar...
Westmoreland Cleanways eyes move to larger Unity recycling center
Westmoreland Cleanways and Recycling in 2019 collected more than 2 million pounds of televisions and other electronics along with 6,000 tires. This year, the Unity Township-based nonprofit should be able to handle an even larger volume. A planned move to a new drop-off recycling center near Pleasant Unity will increase...
Plum officials appoint new council president, vice president
Plum Council has new leadership. Dave Odom and Dave Vento were unanimously appointed president and vice president, respectively, at a reorganization meeting Jan. 6. Their nominations were made by former council president, Mike Doyle. Odom is in the third year of his first term on council. “I’m extremely excited to...
Ligonier Township committee to consider plan for reopening Ligonier Beach
The shuttered Ligonier Beach could open to the public once more this summer, but visitors shouldn’t plan on bringing their swim trunks just yet. Ligonier Township in November bought the landmark swimming pool and restaurant along Route 30 just east of Ligonier from Sherry and Steven Kozar, for $230,000. This...
Monessen mayor attends 1st meeting in nearly 2 years, fires clerk and solicitor
After a 20-month absence from city meetings, first-term Monessen Mayor Matt Shorraw returned to local government Monday night armed with a majority of council votes and an unannounced agenda that angered some members of the public as well as the council members who have essentially run the city since spring...
2020’s 13 full moons to include rare blue moon, 2 super moons
If you like moon gazing, 2020 will not disappoint — as long as cloud cover over Southwestern Pennsylvania doesn’t obscure a rare blue moon on Oct. 31 and two supermoons included among this year’s 13 full moons. According to NASA, a Blue Moon is the second full moon in a...
City Theatre artistic producer leaving for position in D.C. theater
The artistic producer of City Theatre, based in Pittsburgh’s South Side, is leaving to take a similar position in the nation’s capital. Reginald L. Douglas will join Studio Theatre in Washington, D.C., later this month as associate artistic director. Since coming to City Theatre in 2015, Douglas earned a reputation...
Police: Tarentum homeowner chases burglars, uses discarded phone to call 911
A Tarentum homeowner interrupted a burglary at his Corbet Street home Tuesday morning and then used his cellphone to call 911 after one of the burglary suspects threw the phone into a yard as the homeowner gave chase, according to police. Joshua Michael Such, 19, of New Kensington and a...
Lack of passenger seat belts on bus a concern in deadly Pa. Turnpike crash
The lack of safety belts in a passenger bus involved in a deadly crash Sunday on the Pennsylvania Turnpike could be a critical factor as civil liability issues unfold, a transportation lawyer said. Three people — the bus driver and two passengers — died when they were ejected from the...
Brothers camp for charity inside Sprankle’s Neighborhood Markets
Two brothers and business partners are camping for charity at Sprankle’s Neighborhood Markets. Doug and Ryan Sprankle own the markets in Leechburg and Kittanning. They’re known for their store promotional antics on social media. Both set up tents inside their respective stores for their latest venture. Ryan owns the Kittanning...
Leechburg Area School District moves drop-off area to accommodate fire department
Leechburg Area School District parents and bus drivers will no longer be allowed to drop off students before school in front of the high school cafeteria on Siberian Avenue, district officials said Tuesday. Officials said that drop-off area causes traffic backups on First Street, and those backups could prevent firefighters...
North Huntingdon man accused of assaulting daughter gets probation
A North Huntingdon man was ordered this week to serve one year of probation for an assault against his 11-year-old daughter. Samuel Farrier, 46, following a two-day jury trial in October, was found guilty of one misdemeanor count of simple assault in connection with an altercation with his children and...
New Lower Burrell mayor appoints brother-in-law as acting police chief
One of John Andrejcik’s first official acts after being sworn in as Lower Burrell’s new mayor Monday night was to appoint brother-in-law John Marhefka as the city’s acting police chief. When asked after Monday’s council reorganization meeting whether making move could represent a conflict of interest, Andrejcik said, “Absolutely not.”...
Trial delayed for Greensburg man charged in Vandergrift woman’s death
The trial for a Greensburg man charged with the beating and strangulation death of a Vandergrift woman two years ago will begin in April. Westmoreland County Common Pleas Court Judge Tim Krieger on Tuesday granted a defense request to delay the trial for Walter W. Cable by two months. The...
$1.2 million Norwin pool project to more forward
Norwin is eyeing a Zelienople firm to serve as construction manager for an estimated $1.2 million project to repair and modernize the high school swimming pool. The board is scheduled to vote on hiring The Foreman Group at its Jan. 13 meeting. The Foreman Group and two other firms were...
Greensburg man sentenced for Hempfield police chase
A Greensburg man pleaded guilty Tuesday to aggravated assault of a police officer following a car chase last year. William J. Binnall, 39, was trying to avoid arrest after police stopped his vehicle near Locust Valley Drive in Hempfield on May 22 because of an expired registration. Police said Binnall,...
