Western PA Local News category, Page 2958
South Hills voters choose candidates for November race
Voters across the South Hills decided who they want to see on their party ballot in the November election for school board and council seats. All results are unofficial and do not include write-in totals, which have not yet been finalized. Baldwin Borough Newcomers Denise Maiden and Patty Boyer and...
Teen charged with arson in Greensburg Central Catholic fire
A 16-year-old student is accused of setting a paper towel on fire last month in a boys locker room at Greensburg Central Catholic High School. He faces arson and related charges, according to state police. State police fire marshal Trooper Seth Helman said a month-long investigation determined that the teenager...
Teen charged with arson in Greensburg Central Catholic fire
A 16-year-old boy is being charged with arson after state police said he admitted setting a fire at Greensburg Central Catholic High School. The incident happened at 11:30 a.m. April 25. Calls were reported to Westmoreland 911 and crews responded to find a fire in the locker room of the...
Babysitter to be charged after toddler found alone in Tarentum park
A 2-year-old boy found alone at a Tarentum park on Tuesday is home safe but a babysitter will be charged with child endangerment, WPXI reported. Police had posted a picture of the toddler on social media asking for the public’s help in identifying him or his family. They said he...
Police: Lincoln man arrested in SWAT standoff had 22 rifles seized weeks ago
A Lincoln man who spurred a SWAT situation that lasted for several hours Wednesday morning is accused of threatening to kill his girlfriend, prompting the woman to call police and flee with her young child, police said. Edward Thomas Jr., 36, was arrested and charged with making terroristic threats after...
South Fayette’s Grant Franjione spreads the good word
South Fayette resident Grant Franjione grew up in Bridgeville, graduated from Chartiers Valley High School, then Carnegie Mellon University with honors with a major in applied mathematics and industrial management. He moved to California to work in information systems at the corporate headquarters of Oracle. He was with the company...
Westmoreland Commissioners Cerilli, Kopas could form unified front for fall election
As Westmoreland County Republicans waited until late Tuesday to learn which two GOP candidates will seek to reclaim the party’s majority on the board of commissioners, Democrats have known since February that incumbents Gina Cerilli and Ted Kopas will be on the ballot this fall. Cerilli and Kopas were unopposed...
Andrejcik tops Callender for Democratic Lower Burrell mayor nomination; Yakopec gets shot at council
First-time political candidate John Andrejcik clinched a victory over incumbent Lower Burrell Mayor Richard Callender in Tuesday’s Democratic primary, preliminary vote tallies show. Andrejcik, 60, a Navy veteran and retired Allegheny County Common Pleas court reporter, secured 55% of the vote to Callender’s 45%, with all nine precincts reporting, according...
Incumbent, challenger earn Democratic nods for Harrison commissioner
The husband of a district judge edged out an incumbent Harrison commissioner in Tuesday’s Democratic Party primary, while another incumbent on the ballot cruised to victory. In Harrison’s 3rd Ward, challenger Eric S. Bengel defeated incumbent Robin Bergstrom by 18 votes, 182-164, according to unofficial results. Bengel, who had never...
Magretti Hamilton to face staffer Pecarchik in bid for 2nd term as Register of Wills
Sherry Magretti Hamilton, Westmoreland County’s incumbent Register of Wills, defeated a former office deputy Tuesday in the Republican primary and will face a current staffer this fall in her bid for a second term in office. Hamilton, 42, a lawyer who previously served as a Hempfield supervisor, won the GOP...
Tom Murphy, Frank Schiefer to meet again in Recorder of Deeds race
Westmoreland County voters for the third time in the last 12 years will choose between Democrat Tom Murphy and Republican Frank Schiefer to run the office that oversees all local property records. Schiefer, 38, of Hempfield, finished first among three Republican candidates for the right to challenge Murphy, the incumbent...
Carnegie shows patriotism as part of VetsRoll
Chants of “USA!” echoed across Lydia Street, as youngsters from Carnegie Elementary proudly waived their American flags. Through tinted bus windows, veterans from across the country could be seen smiling, tipping their hats and offering a thumbs up as they passed by. Ten buses, filled with some of the country’s...
Carlynton grad honored for chemistry prowess
Olivia Jame Kalimon was honored by the Society for Analytical Chemists of Pittsburgh on May 14 at an awards dinner at Duquesne University. Olivia, a student majoring in biochemistry at Indiana University of Pennsylvania and a 2015 Carlynton graduate, received the College Chemistry Award at the dinner. The award includes...
5 things to know about ‘Dear Evan Hansen’
Mark Twain was credited 100 years ago with saying, “A lie can travel around the world and back again while the truth is lacing up its boots.” And if that was true 100 years ago, imagine how fast a lie can travel in the internet age of today. That’s the...
Rafferty, Stewart, Walsh win judicial nominations; set to battle for two seats
Two Democrats — Michael Stewart II of Hempfield and Jessica Rafferty of Unity — and Republican Justin Walsh of Rostraver will battle in the November general election for two seats on the Westmoreland County Court of Common Pleas, based on unofficial results in Tuesday’s primary. Stewart took second on the...
3 incumbents, 2 challengers earn nods in Gateway races
There will likely be some new faces on the Gateway school board as two political newcomers were among the top five vote-getters in Tuesday’s primaries, according to unofficial results. Seven candidates cross-filed to seek five nominations up for grabs in the Republican and Democratic primaries. On the Democratic ticket, challenger...
Calabrese captures Democratic nod for Penn Hills mayor
Penn Hills voters picked Pauline Calabrese as their Democratic nominee for the municipality’s next mayor during the May 21 primary election. Calabrese, 56, earned 53% of the votes in Penn Hills with all precincts reporting unofficial results. Her opponent, current Councilman John Petrucci, had 47% of the votes. Current Mayor...
2 challengers win Democratic nods in Penn Hills Council race
Challengers Frank Pecora and Jim Getsy won the two Democratic nominations for Penn Hills Council May 21 in a crowded race with seven candidates, including an incumbent. With all precincts reporting unofficial results, Pecora had collected 19% of the votes counted followed by Getsy’s 18%. Incumbent Mark Brodnicki finished second-to-last...
Plum School District Republican committee members earn sweep for party nods; Dem newcomers get nods
Plum School District’s packed primary race resulted in Republican committee-endorsed candidates sweeping their party nods with several Democratic newcomers on the November ballot, ensuring a contested general election for six seats. Incumbents Steve Schlauch (14.13 %), Sue Caldwell (13.18 %) and Karin Acquaviva (11.92 %), along with fellow Republicans Jacqueline...
Franklin Regional incumbents have tough time in primary
A raft of Franklin Regional school board candidates opposed to the Sloan elementary campus project will appear on the Republican side of the ballot in November, and two incumbents will not have a chance at re-election in the fall. “The No. 1 thing I heard from people in this community...
Democrat Joe Bia ousts embattled Arnold Mayor Karen Peconi
The challenger who defeated incumbent Arnold Mayor Karen Peconi in Tuesday’s primary called her actions last summer “an embarrassment” to the city, and it appears many Democratic voters agreed based on Joe Bia II’s victory by a three-to-one margin. Bia, an Arnold councilman with two years left in his first...
Ohiopyle construction work nears end of first phase
Construction work in Ohiopyle is right on schedule. Crews are wrapping up to meet their Memorial Day deadline in the first phase of a $12.4 million multi-year project designed to enhance pedestrian safety. Work started in the fall to realign Sugarloaf Road’s intersection with Route 381 and build a paved...
Incumbents cruise in Export; at least one newcomer headed to Delmont council
With 100% of the relevant precincts reporting, primary results in the Star’s coverage area are as follows as of 10 p.m.: DELMONT COUNCIL Dennis Urban (R, 48%) and Becky Matesevac (R, 43%), 79 total write-in votes (45 Democrat, 34 Republican). Write-in votes are a factor in this race because there...
Certified herbalist will lead trail walk in Delmont
Certified herbalist Lindsey Praksti will lead a walk on Thursday along the Westmoreland Heritage Trail in Delmont. Walking in the woods was what first got Praksti, who received her certification from the Blue Ridge School of Herbal Medicine in North Carolina, interested in finding new uses for the plants she...
Highlands incumbent Michelle Peters ousted by challengers
Two challengers sent an incumbent packing Tuesday in primary races for Highlands School Board, according to unofficial results. All three candidates cross-filed to seek two nominations up for grabs in the Republican and Democratic primaries in Highlands’ Region 3. Kristie J. Babinsack, 46, won the GOP and Democratic races, collecting...
