Western PA Local News category, Page 2773
Understanding, recovering from addiction the focus of New Kensington programs
Substance abuse and addiction will be covered Tuesday in two separate programs at Westmoreland County Community College in New Kensington. The programs are being held as part of the college’s observance of September as National Recovery Month. Both are free and open to the public. “We want to have students...
Plum task force forming as more than 50 properties still affected by July flood
Plum council members plan to form a stormwater management task force and could hold its first meeting by the end of the month. The idea was first discussed Sept. 4 during a workshop meeting by council Vice President David Seitz. Officials have received several complaints from residents whose homes, businesses...
Historical society celebrates Northern Turnpike’s bicentennial
The Murrysville Historical Preservation Society will host its annual Heritage Festival on Sept. 21, and this year’s festival will mark the 200th anniversary of the Northern Turnpike. Tribune-Review archives contain quite a lot of information about the roadway’s history, and local historians have published a wealth of material about it....
Pittsburgh’s new scary pop-up bar is a ‘Nightmare on Forbes’
Skeletons hanging from the ceiling, screaming faces on the walls, and skull lights are just some of the scary decor at Nightmare on Forbes, a pop-up Halloween-themed bar that opens Friday on Forbes Avenue in Downtown Pittsburgh. Wes Craven’s Freddy film “Nightmare on Elm Street” was the inspiration. “I got...
5 things to do in Pittsburgh this weekend: Sept. 13-15
There’s a lot going on this weekend in addition to the Steelers’ home opener. Here are some options: Home-field advantage To kick off the weekend, the Steelers host a “Fantennial Fan Fest” on Saturday outside of Heinz Field. There will be free concerts, player appearances and giveaways. The celebration begins...
SWAT team responds to reported Knoxville armed robbery
A SWAT team surrounded a home in Pittsburgh’s Knoxville neighborhood for more than an hour Thursday before moving in and finding it empty, according to the city public safety department. Police responded to a call of an armed robbery at the Moore Avenue home. When they arrived around 2 p.m.,...
Derry man charged with beating, strangling child
A Derry man is charged with hitting and strangling a 10-year-old child, according to state police. Administrators at Grandview Elementary School in the Derry Area School District contacted law enforcement Thursday when they noticed the child was “exhibiting indicators of suspected child abuse,” police said. Investigators determined that Christopher Hilty,...
Resisting arrest, defiant trespass among cases before Judge Herbst
Monroeville District Court Judge Jeffrey Herbst handled these cases recently. Defendants will have court dates set in the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas. Charges were filed by Monroeville police unless otherwise noted. Held for court • Crystal A. Knopsnider, 28, of Hutchinson on charges of intent to deliver drug...
Monroeville police file drug, DUI charges
Police filed the following charges Sept. 5 through Sept. 10 in District Judge Jeffrey L. Herbst’s office. All charges were filed by Monroeville police unless otherwise noted: • Bobbie J. Lloyd, 43, of Pitcairn with theft by deception in connection to an incident that happened along the 4500 block on...
Family re-creates 16-year-old photo featuring Valley News Dispatch
Years ago, the Valley News Dispatch would print photos of people holding the newspaper while they were on vacation. It’s still doing that today. At least in one family’s case. Cristine Kostiuk, 60, of Kiski Township said her family thought it would be fun to re-create a photo taken 16...
Fire destroys Freeport home, no injuries reported
A fire ripped through the upper half of a Freeport home shortly before midnight Thursday, drawing dozens of neighbors out of bed and onto their porches and front yards to watch firefighters extinguish the flames. The fire damaged the house beyond repair, said Tom Sweeny Jr., chief 1 of the...
Feds: Beaver County man admits to trying to sell 5,700 fake Viagra, Cialis pills
A Beaver County man admitted to plotting to sell more than 5,700 fake Viagra and Cialis pills in Western Pennsylvania, officials said. Rahnon Carter, 39, pleaded guilty at the federal courthouse in Pittsburgh to one count of holding a counterfeit drug for distribution, U.S. Attorney Scott W. Brady said. The...
Baldwin Borough Public Library waiving fees
Everyone has been there: It’s a long day and you’re supposed to do something, but life gets away from you. Maybe you forgot to return that library book and now you’re worried you’ve incurred a fine. At 11 libraries in Allegheny County, including the Baldwin Borough Public Library, you don’t...
‘The Demon of Brownsville Road’ to be turned into a bed and breakfast, movie
The haunting tale of a Brentwood home and a family’s fight to rid it of evil could be headed to the big screen. And soon visitors will have the chance to spend a night inside the home at the center of the popular book, “The Demon of Brownsville Road.” Bob...
Unity couple will discuss their renowned lamb farm in Hanna’s Town program
Lamb raised in Unity Township, on the farm of John and Sukey Jamison, has appeared on the menus of such top chefs as Anne Quatrano of Bacchanalia in Atlanta and the late Jean-Louis Palladin of the Watergate Hotel’s Jean-Louis Restaurant in Washington, D.C. The Jamison Farm owners will discuss their...
Pittsburgh Aviation Animal Rescue Team helps rescue dogs caught in Hurricane Dorian
The Pittsburgh Aviation Animal Rescue Team this week lent a helping hand to 20 dogs rescued from Hurricane Dorian when it struck the Bahamas. The team flew the pups from Florida to New York. They were among the 97 that Chella Phillips, a Nassau-based animal welfare advocate, saved during the...
Hazmat team, firefighters respond to chlorine leak in Unity
A Unity man who mixed chlorine in his house Thursday night needed the assistance of Westmoreland County’s hazardous materials team and local firefighters because of the fumes in his residence, a county public safety supervisor said. The man who lives along Primrose Lane in the township’s East High Acres neighborhood...
Overholt Rye whiskey, once owned by Mellon family, to be auctioned in Kentucky
Someone next week will have a shot at buying a historic bottle of whiskey distilled in Westmoreland County that typically fetches more than $1,000 a shot, on the rare occasion it can be found. On Thursday, a 1909 bottle of Overholt Rye whiskey — passed down through the Mellon family...
Beaver County man accused of selling heroin-fentanyl mix that led to a death
A Beaver County man is accused of selling a mixture of heroin and fentanyl that resulted in a person dying, federal prosecutors said Thursday. Zachary Martin Cymbalak, 32, who resides in the borough of Freedom, was indicted by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh on two counts of narcotics charges...
Westmoreland commissioners honor Hempfield’s Terry RanieriVideo
Westmoreland County commissioners on Thursday issued a proclamation honoring the life of Hempfield’s Terry Ranieri. Ranieri, 64, a 1975 graduate of Hempfield High School, died from cancer on Aug. 22. Commissioners Gina Cerilli, Ted Kopas and Charles Anderson presented the proclamation to Ranieri’s brothers Tony and Eddy and their sister,...
Artwork unveiled to surround Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh
Inspired by the hundreds of pieces of art sent from around the world in the aftermath of the Tree of Life synagogue attack, members of three congregations gathered those images of strength and hope and decided to share them with the community. The Squirrel Hill synagogue has been shrouded in...
Man in critical condition from stabbing after medics find him in Swissvale
A man was in critical condition after medics rushed him to the hospital Thursday afternoon from a Swissvale neighborhood, police said. Officials received a report of a man in need of help near the 7500 block of Ellesmere Street around 12:25 p.m., Allegheny County Police Inspector Andrew Schurman said. Police...
Neighbors in Ross shocked by number of dogs rescued from home
From the day Kate Tierney moved into her home along Ridgeside Road in Ross Township, she suspected there might be a hoarder living in the house across the street. There was junk strewn in the front yard, and at least two dumpsters had been filled and removed from the modestly...
Ex-Westmoreland County employee gets $37,500 workplace settlement
Westmoreland County commissioners on Thursday agreed to resolve a complaint by a former human resources employee at the courthouse who claimed a hostile workplace forced her to retire in 2017. Assistant county solicitor David Regoli said a complaint filed by Deborah Liprando with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission was...
Westmoreland judge awards Allegheny Township woman $600K in slip-fall case
An Allegheny Township woman has been awarded $600,000 for injuries she suffered two years ago outside of a township mini-mart. Following a two-day trial, a Westmoreland County jury ordered Graft Oil of Oci Inc., the owners of the Honey Bear Mini-Mart on Route 356 in Allegheny Township, to pay for...
