Western PA Local News category, Page 330
‘A piece of tattoo history’: Greensburg shop owner earns patent for machine design
Greensburg tattoo shop owner Nick Christofano has inked himself into the industry history books. After 28 years in the business, Christofano received a patent late last year for a tattoo machine he designed. “Tattooing has been such a huge part of my life. I’ve been doing it nearly 30 years,”...
West View Elementary students enjoy ‘magical’ experience with Met Opera’s HD Live in Schools program
On a chilly December morning, West View Elementary third graders filed into theater No. 5 at the North Hills Cinemark to watch the Metropolitan Opera’s 2006 rebroadcast of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s “The Magic Flute.” The children chattered excitedly until the screen came to life, and a hush fell over the...
Westmoreland homeless count reveals growing shelter needs
Westmoreland officials said a study conducted Thursday morning identified 25 people across the county who were classified as homeless. It’s a number that is believed to be only a fraction of the true scope of homelessness in Westmoreland County. “We know that if we’re finding people there are definitely more....
North Huntingdon church to sell pirohi
St. Stephen’s Byzantine Catholic Church will sell pirohi from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday at the church hall at 90 Bethel Road, North Huntingdon. The potato and cheese pirohi and sweet cabbage pirohi sell for $12 a dozen. Sauerkraut pirohi sell for $14 a dozen, lekvar pirohi are $15...
PennDOT to unveil latest plans for Route 981 realignment
Plans for the second, northernmost section of PennDOT’s Laurel Valley Transportation Improvement Project will be displayed for public comment Thursday at the Pleasant Unity fire hall. The open house session is set for 5 to 7 p.m. at 135 John George St. in the Unity Township village. The Laurel Valley...
‘It was macabre’: Police find decayed corpse in Washington County home
The corpse of a Washington County man was left to decay in bed for six months while several of his family members lived among it, police said Wednesday. Authorities do not suspect foul play. Michael Bebout, 64, apparently died last summer of natural causes inside his Canton Township home on...
Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership unveils plan to revitalize Golden Triangle
The Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership this week outlined a three-year strategic plan to revitalize the city’s Golden Triangle and realize a vision of a Downtown teeming with new residents and an array of businesses. The nonprofit wants to make the neighborhood cleaner, safer and more vibrant as part of its ongoing...
O’Hara collecting items for California wildfire victims
O’Hara officials have teamed up with the Pittsburgh-based nonprofit Brother’s Brother Foundation to collect supplies for California wildfire victims. The township launched its collection for hygiene kits Jan. 22. The deadline to donate at the municipal building is Feb. 6. Items requested include toothbrushes, feminine hygiene products, flushable wipes and...
Pine-Richland junior creates petition to oppose school board library policy
A Pine-Richland 11th grader has gathered nearly 1,900 signatures for an online petition against the Pine-Richland School Board’s controversial library policy revisions. Elise Duckworth said she created the change.org petition on Jan. 12 as an outlet for those in opposition to the board’s proposed policy changes and to insist the...
Westmoreland-based water authority hikes rates, blames increase on inflation, upgrade needs
Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County customers will be charged an additional 9.5% for water and sewer services starting in April. The authority board approved a $129 million budget that included the second rate hike in the past two years. The latest, officials said, is attributed to costs for energy, construction...
Repurposed rails from Brilliant Branch to make line running through Penn Hills, Verona quieter
A more than 2-mile stretch of rail line passing through Penn Hills and Verona is set to quiet down. In the coming months, Allegheny Valley Railroad will pull up track from its soon-to-be abandoned Brilliant Branch and use it along part of the Allegheny Subdivision, which follows the south bank...
Tardy salt deliveries, dwindling supply prompt Ligonier borough and township to emergency declarations
At least two more Westmoreland County municipalities — Ligonier borough and township — declared a state of emergency this week related to a lack of road salt. Meanwhile, Jeannette’s emergency declaration this week led to an agreement with the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency to get salt from PennDOT, if necessary,...
Woman arrested after pursuit through North Huntingdon neighborhoods; drugs seized from car
A Wilkinsburg woman being pursued by police was traveling at least 80 mph Monday afternoon through residential areas of North Huntingdon, according to court papers. Magdelena Ludwig, 27, was denied bail during her Tuesday arraignment on charges of fleeing from police, resisting arrest and numerous drug counts. Township police said...
Effort to block Pittsburgh from doing business with Israel spurs City Council backlash
Pittsburgh City Council members want voters to make it official that the city cannot discriminate on the basis of race, religion, national origin or association with foreign nations when it conducts business. A measure to seek a referendum on the matter comes after a pro-Palestinian group last year sought to...
Pittsburgh councilman seeks more candor in wake of Scirotto refereeing fiasco
A Pittsburgh councilman wants people appointed to run city departments and bureaus to answer council’s questions under oath. The move by Councilman Anthony Coghill, D-Beechview, comes after council learned that Larry Scirotto, the city’s former police chief, was less than candid during public questioning about whether he would continue to...
Etna Council member resigns; borough seeks replacement from First Ward
Etna Council accepted, “with regrets,” the resignation of longtime member Megan Tuñón at its Jan. 21 meeting. Tuñón, who has served on council since 2018, submitted her resignation earlier this month because of her “increasing duties” as executive director of the Etna Community Organization. That organization will oversee the construction...
PETA calls for ‘weather reveal’ cake to replace Punxsutawney Phil on Groundhog Day
In lieu of Punxsutawney Phil forecasting the weather on Groundhog Day, the animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is offering to send a “weather reveal” vegan cake this year. PETA sends a letter annually to Punxsutawney Groundhog Club President Tom Dunkel suggesting an alternative predicting method...
Westmoreland offers special education certificate program aimed at bolstering teacher workforce
Schools in Westmoreland County are struggling to fill special education teaching positions. They’re not alone. More than 2,000 teaching positions were vacant in Pennsylvania as of October, according to data released by the state. Though schools in and around Philadelphia bear the brunt of the shortages, Westmoreland County needs 30...
3 injured, 2 critically, in explosion at Lower Burrell steel plant
Two people were critically injured in an explosion Wednesday at Braeburn Alloy’s Steel Division in Lower Burrell, according to emergency officials. A Westmoreland County 911 public safety supervisor confirmed the incident at 11:57 a.m. at the site, 101 Braeburn Road. One of the critically injured people was flown to an...
Man who pleaded guilty to delivering cocaine from his Maserati headed to prison
A Washington County man accused by police of driving a Maserati to deliver cocaine around the region, will serve 12½ years in federal prison. Dirk Barfield Jr., 38, was still on supervised released from a 2009 federal case when he was arrested on the new charges. According to federal prosecutors,...
Westmoreland happenings: Chili cookoff, art exhibit, pancake breakfast, more
Fundraisers • Action for Animals Humane Society will sponsor a “Love Is In the Air” fundraiser from 6 to 9 p.m. Feb. 8 at Rizzo’s Malabar Inn Reception Hall, Crabtree. Cost is $60 and includes an Italian dinner buffet, appetizers and dessert. There will be a cash bar, a basket...
New alert system coming to Allegheny Valley School District
Allegheny Valley School District officials hope a new alert system can provide a more effective way to respond to incidents. The school board approved purchasing badges to be worn by district staff members for the Centegix silent crisis alert system. “They are badges the staff can use in the event...
Single-digit temperatures make for trying night for South Greensburg firefighters
Icicles hung from a South Greensburg home Tuesday morning as firefighters hosed down the structure amid single-digit temperatures. It was a trying night for dozens of volunteer firefighters from around the region, said South Greensburg fire Chief Matt White. The fire on Parr Street was reported around 11:30 p.m. Monday....
25th annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Unity Breakfast highlights message of interconnectedness
Despite the freezing temperatures outside, attendees turned out and filled almost every seat in the Zappala Campus Center Square room at La Roche University to hear Dr. Angela Reynolds proclaim this year’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day to be “a day of recommitment and a purposeful decision to not give...
Shadyside entrepreneur heats up the local hot sauce scene
Artie Pitt is livin’ the spice life. After a successful 20-plus-year career in the cannabis trade and music industries, Pitt is pursuing a lifelong love of making spicy foods — particularly hand-crafted hot sauce. Pitt launched Artie’s Hot Sauce in October 2023 after cooking up batches of hot sauce and,...
