Western PA Local News category, Page 2795
Animal Protectors’ new facility in New Kensington nears completion
The cement already is poured for the “catio” and framing installed for the addition of dog kennels at a former school in New Kensington’s Parnassus neighborhood that will soon be an animal shelter. Officials from Animal Protectors of Allegheny Valley say the finish line is in sight for the New...
East Liberty mural honors Pittsburgh native Mac MillerVideo
A Pittsburgh artist and other community members celebrated Mac Miller’s life Wednesday in creating a 25-foot mural of the late rapper and Pittsburgh native in the city’s East Liberty neighborhood. The afternoon of painting, organized by the Moving the Lives of Kids (MLK) Mural Project, comes 10 days before the...
Skip Beal, retired VND and Trib newsman and voice of ‘The Stroller,’ dies at 81
Skip Beal was a passionate newsman who knew the Alle-Kiski Valley inside and out and wasn’t afraid to spark a little outrage when he wrote The Stroller column in the Valley News Dispatch. “He loved his job, there’s no doubt about it,” said his oldest son, Benjamin Beal III of...
Trial starting in 2016 Jefferson Hills businessman’s homicide
The trial for a Sacramento, Calif., man accused in the 2016 of killing a popular Jefferson Hills businessman has started in Allegheny County court. Derrick “Chino” Gallaway, 63, is charged with homicide, robbery, theft and tampering with evidence in the May 2016 homicide of Denhad “Chief” Taiedi at the Jefferson...
Shaler man pleads guilty to sharing child porn
A Shaler man pleaded guilty to one count of sharing child porn on the internet, the U.S. Attorney in Pittsburgh announced Wednesday. Brian R. Reddinger, 36, pleaded guilty Wednesday before U.S. District Judge Cathy Bissoon. In 2017, he pleaded not guilty to three child pornography counts. When he changed his...
Winchester Thurston students help in development of Duolingo Latin course
Latin may be a dead language, but it is very much alive on Duolingo. The Pittsburgh-based language learning company debuted it first Latin course for English speakers Wednesday. Nearly 24,000 people had signed up for notifications about the course before it even launched, according to Duolingo. The project started a...
Butler photographer waited days for perfect shot of indigo bunting and sunflowerVideo
Visually, call it the last kiss of summer: A bright male indigo bunting singing his heart out on a fully blooming sunflower. It won’t be too long before the indigo buntings migrate south, flying about 1,200 miles to reach wintering grounds from southern Florida to northern South America, according to...
Pittsburgh council candidate vows to appeal ruling that booted him off ballot
An Allegheny County judge has booted an independent candidate for Pittsburgh City Council from the November ballot. Quincy Swatson, who is attempting a run at the District 1 seat now held by Councilwoman Darlene Harris, said he will likely appeal the decision. “We feel strongly about an appeal. We believe...
West Jefferson Hills School District appoints 2 new principals
Two newly appointed principals in the West Jefferson Hills School District have one thing in common, leaders say: They love kids. School board members on Aug. 27 officially hired longtime Pleasant Hills Middle School educator Adam Zunic as the principal of Gill Hall Elementary, at a salary of $100,000. Zunic,...
Leechburg man accused of inappropriately touching girl
A 31-year-old Leechburg man is charged with sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl. Mark Faiola was being held in the Armstrong County Jail in lieu of $10,000 bond pending a preliminary hearing scheduled for Sept. 4. According to a criminal complaint, Faiola is accused of touching the girl inappropriately on June...
Johnstown man caught with loaded gun at Pittsburgh International Airport
A Johnstown man was stopped at the security checkpoint at Pittsburgh International Airport on Tuesday when a loaded handgun was discovered in his carry-on bag , according to the Transportation Security Administration. The TSA contacted Allegheny County police, who responded to the checkpoint, confiscated the .380-caliber handgun and detained the...
Attorney for Pitt researcher who poisoned wife optimistic for new trial
The attorney for the former University of Pittsburgh researcher convicted in 2014 of poisoning his wife with cyanide remains optimistic about a hearing his client is seeking for a new trial, despite a recent ruling from a judge dismissing most of his arguments. Robert Ferrante has asked for a new...
Infant twins, triplets sought for Amazon film in Pittsburgh
A Pittsburgh casting company is seeking infant twins or triplets for an Amazon Studios movie filming in the area this fall. Mosser Casting is looking for identical, white, male twins and triplets who will be between 3 and 9 months old by the start of filming on Oct. 23. The...
Chartiers Valley athletic director accepts Notre Dame position
Chartiers Valley athletic director Angie Potthoff is headed back to Notre Dame to work as the director of operations for women’s basketball. Potthoff, a former WNBA player who has worked in various roles at the University of Notre Dame, including as assistant women’s basketball coach, has served as Chartiers Valley’s...
Maryland man gets 30 years for 1999 abduction, assault of Somerset Co. girl
A Maryland man will spend the next 30 years in prison for the 1999 abduction and sexual assault of a 10-year-old Somerset County girl. Timothy D. Nelson, 50, of Cumberland, Md., was sentenced Tuesday by U.S. District Judge Kim Gibson in Johnstown. He could have received life in prison for...
Police: Ruffs Dale man accused in sex crimes used fire department’s credit card to fuel up
A Ruffs Dale man awaiting trial on charges of sexually assaulting a teenage girl over several months last year was accused by state police this week of using an area fire department’s credit card to buy $2,627 in gas for his personal vehicle. Derek A. Ruth, 27, who was arrested...
Pittsburgh Army Corps teams in Puerto Rico, Florida ahead of Dorian’s mainland arrival
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Pittsburgh sent its emergency power team to Florida and Puerto Rico before Tropical Storm Dorian became a hurricane hurling 80 mph winds and heavy rains near the U.S. Virgin Islands on Wednesday afternoon. Dorian is expected to become a dangerous hurricane as it...
Duquesne man charged in connection with Homestead shooting
Allegheny County police have charged an 18-year-old man in connection to a report of a shooting Tuesday night in Homestead. Police are looking for tips about a second suspect seen with him. The motive for the shooting is not known, according to police. It is also not know if anything...
Pittsburgh Knights esports franchise adds Mexico-based investors
The Pittsburgh Knights announced this week that the Esports MX LATAM Fund, a Mexico-based group of investors, has invested and partnered with the esports franchise to jointly set up an affiliate esports team organization in Mexico. The affiliate will be based on the Knights’ organizational and operational model. “Mexico has...
South Fayette eyed as site of self-driving vehicle test track
The future of self-driving vehicles may start in South Fayette Township. Developers have announced plans to construct a track for an autonomous-vehicle testing site at the former Campbells Airport site between Cecil-Sturgeon and Mohawk roads. They made their pitch to township commissioners at a public hearing Aug. 21, as part...
Plum native Bjorn Fratangelo falls in U.S. Open first round
Bjorn Fratangelo, a native of Plum, engaged in a four-set battle with France’s Gilles Simon on Tuesday in the first round of the men’s singles draw at the U.S. Open in Flushing, N.Y., but the seven-year pro was not able to advance. Fratangelo, who picked up a wild-card entry to...
Wall road closure takes motorists through Monroeville, Pitcairn
The closure of an intersection in Wall Borough will detour traffic through parts of Pitcairn and Monroeville, Allegheny County Department of Public Works announced Wednesday. The intersection at Wall and Valley avenues will close starting at 9 a.m. Sept. 9. The work is expected to last until November, public works...
Harrison’s Kaley Bastine spreading police fundraising efforts to New Kensington
A Harrison girl is branching out in her efforts to support police — even crossing a river. Kaley Bastine, 7, will be selling cupcakes from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Sept. 28 at Bird Dog’s Sports Bar & Grill in Harrison to raise money for New Kensington police Officer...
Winning $650K Cash 5 ticket sold in O’Hara
A jackpot-winning Cash 5 ticket for Tuesday’s drawing was sold in O’Hara. The ticket matched all five balls drawn, 01-03-18-24-29 to win $650,000. It was sold at the Rite Aid on Freeport Road. The store will earn a $5,000 bonus for selling the winning ticket. Cash 5 prizes expire one...
Cops: Suspected meth lab discovered in Indiana home
A 33-year-old Indiana woman has been charged after state police served a search warrant at her home and discovered a suspected “one-pot” meth lab inside, according to state police in Indiana. Police reported the meth lab was discovered at a residence along South 12th Street, where troopers and officers with...
