Western PA Local News category, Page 861
Dwindling interest slashes cross country, girls soccer at Highlands
When Highlands cross country coaches Rich Bogaty and Kevin Deasy retired in the spring, it appears most of the team hung up their running shoes as well. The district won’t field a cross country team this year for lack of interest, according to athletic director Katie Jo Stobert. The same...
Garfield gunman dead after 6-hour standoffVideo
A gunman died in Pittsburgh’s Garfield neighborhood Wednesday night after exchanging thousands of rounds with police in a tense, six-hour standoff. Less than 90 minutes into the standoff, during a lull in the gunfights, authorities rushed residents from Broad Street and North Mathilda Street homes out of the area. Police...
Beaver County man charged with multiple sex assaults on boy
A Beaver County man has been charged with more than 700 counts of sex-related offenses stemming from alleged assaults on a boy over several years. Daniel Vogel, 61, of Midland is charged with corruption of minors and multiple counts of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a child, involuntary deviate sexual...
Sprawling estate listed for $28M in North Strabane
A luxurious estate with mega-amenities is on the market in North Strabane Township, Washington County. Oak Grove, a 110-acre property at 784 Waterdam Road in North Strabane, is listed by Coldwell Banker Realty for $28 million. That whopping listing price makes it the most expensive single-family residential listing currently in...
Westmoreland happenings: Poker run, book sale, spaghetti dinner, more
Fundraisers • Jeannette Knights of Columbus hosts bingo at 7 p.m. Fridays in Mersinger Hall at Ascension Church, 615 Division St. Doors open at 6 p.m. and early birds begin at 6:30 p.m. Players younger than 18 must be accompanied by an adult. Food will be available. Details: 724-523-9244. •...
West Leechburg motorcycle crash sends 1 to hospital
A Leechburg man was taken to a Pittsburgh hospital after his motorcycle crashed Wednesday morning in West Leechburg, according to state police. Joshua Young, 38, suffered non-life-threatening injuries in the crash that happened shortly before 7 a.m. on Main Street, just north of the Summit Street intersection, police said. Young...
Officials look to inventory Greensburg’s past to help plot future development
A $40,000 project launches this week to inventory Greensburg’s historical buildings with an eye toward potential development. The review will include consideration for expansion of the city’s downtown historic district that runs along Main Street, bounded by Tunnel Street to the north, Third Street to the south and Harrison Avenue/McKeon...
Morning Roundup: I-79 lanes reopen after truck rollover in Allegheny County
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Wednesday, Aug. 23: I-79 lanes reopen after truck rollover in Allegheny County Northbound lanes of Interstate 79 were open once more shortly after 1:15 p.m. Wednesday, after a truck rollover in Allegheny County restricted traffic to a single lane...
From ketchup storage to data storage: Microsoft’s Pittsburgh team launches large-scale data storage system
In a North Shore building that once warehoused Heinz condiments, Microsoft engineers are building infrastructure that stores a precious commodity: data. The product today isn’t necessarily physical, like a ketchup bottle, but for big companies, having large-scale, high-performing data storage is “their livelihood,” according to Ron Bianchini, distinguished engineer at...
The Stroller, Aug. 23, 2023: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
Publicize your non-profit’s community events, fundraisers and club meetings for free in The Stroller. Send information at least two weeks in advance to vndnews@triblive.com or The Stroller, 210 Wood St., Tarentum PA 15084. Please include a daytime telephone number. New Kensington to celebrate Fridays on Fifth The monthly Fridays on...
Like smoke alarms, natural gas alarms can ‘alert you to a potential problem’
Residents of a Plum neighborhood where a house explosion killed six people might soon have natural gas alarms installed in their homes. But these devices are not exclusive to Rustic Ridge. In the wake of explosions from eastern Pennsylvania to New York City and beyond, the use of natural gas...
Stolen Jeep results in arrest of convicted sex offender
When a Vandergrift man called police to report his Jeep had been stolen, he was the one who ended up being arrested. State police say Calvin Walter Kendall Jr., 44, of the 100 block of Longfellow Street is a convicted sex offender who did not report to police that he...
Westmoreland 250: 10 unique things in Ligonier Township
(Editor’s note: To mark Westmoreland County’s 250th birthday this year, we’ve come up with a list of 250 things — 10 things in 25 communities — that we consider to be important to the makeup of our area. This series will appear each week through December. If you have a...
Pittsburgh police: Stolen dump truck hits vehicles in Shadyside, 1 hurt
One person was injured and several vehicles damaged when a stolen landscaping dump truck plowed into up to four cars Tuesday afternoon in Pittsburgh’s Shadyside neighborhood. The incident began shortly before 3 p.m. when Pittsburgh police responded to reports of a landscaping company dump truck being stolen from the 4900...
Allegheny Valley School District renews Superintendent Pat Graczyk’s contract through 2029
Patrick Graczyk will lead the Allegheny Valley School District through the 2028-29 school year. The school board Aug. 15 approved Graczyk’s contract for a term effective July 1, 2024, to June 30, 2029. He will receive a base salary of nearly $182,000 for the 2024-25 school year, according to the...
Longtime defense attorney acquitted in Allegheny County Jail drug caseVideo
A longtime defense attorney accused of sneaking drug-soaked papers into Allegheny County Jail more than four years ago is not guilty. Paul Gettleman, 78, was charged with contraband, drug delivery and conspiracy, after a grand jury said he delivered papers soaked in K-2, or synthetic marijuana, to an inmate at...
Local doctors: New RSV vaccine can help protect newborns from severe illness
A newly approved vaccine for respiratory syncytial virus, better known as RSV, will give pregnant moms a chance to protect their babies from wheezing, coughing and other more serious symptoms that can land infants in the hospital. Pfizer Inc.’s Abrysvo is the first vaccine for use during pregnancy that works...
Pittsburgh police issue charges in hit-and-run that killed 66-year-old pedestrian
Pittsburgh police issued an arrest warrant Tuesday in connection with an April 11 hit-and-run that killed a Pittsburgh pedestrian. Joseph Betha, 54, of Wilkinsburg has been charged with homicide by vehicle, accidents involving death, accidents involving death while not property licensed, and involuntary manslaughter, police spokesperson Cara Cruz said. It...
Nurse’s aide accused of prying rings from Murrysville dementia patient’s hand
A nurse’s aide accused of stealing a Murrysville dementia patient’s engagement and wedding rings likely pried them from the elderly woman’s hand, police said. Christina L. Ankney, 39, of Braddock is charged with robbery in connection with the incident at Redstone Highlands in Murrysville. A warrant has been issued for...
Cleveland-Cliffs wants U.S. Steel to disclose other buyout proposals
Cleveland-Cliffs, the steelmaker attempting to acquire the historic Pittsburgh company U.S. Steel, wrote a letter demanding that U.S. Steel disclose any other buyout offers it has received. Last week, the United Steelworkers union (USW) said it would only back the Cleveland-based steel producer in acquiring U.S. Steel. The letter, dated...
Spotted lanternflies are swarming Western Pennsylvania
When Moshe Marvit got off work in Green Tree this week, he noticed that every single car in the parking lot was covered in spotted lanternflies. “There were tens of thousands of them in a small space,” said Marvit, a lawyer who lives in Pittsburgh’s Greenfield neighborhood. “It felt like...
Jeannette man pleads guilty to strangling woman, smuggling phone into county jail
A Jeannette man was ordered to serve up to 23 months in jail after he pleaded guilty to charges in five separate cases, including allegations that he strangled a woman and smuggled a cellphone into the Westmoreland County Prison. Leon D. Fair, 24, was sentenced Tuesday to serve at least...
Dick’s Sporting Goods to lay off employees as retail theft cuts into profits
Dick’s Sporting Goods said on Tuesday that retail theft has hurt its profits, one of the reasons the Findlay-based chain is laying off an unspecified number of employees. “We are conducting a business optimization of our organization to better align our talent, organizational design and spending in support of our...
The Foodture restaurant is back after legal fight over name
The former Back to the Foodture restaurant will reopen Saturday in Pittsburgh’s Uptown neighborhood. The SouthSide Works location will remain permanently closed. The temporary closure of both was the result of months of emails with lawyers representing Universal Studios. Universal Studios emailed the owners — chef Angel Magwood and her...
Annual Pa. Game Commission elk cam starts streaming
With the September peak of Pennsylvania’s elk mating season fast approaching, the Pennsylvania Game Commission once again has installed a camera on State Game Lands 311 in Elk County, a field that typically serves as a hub of elk activity during mating season. Video and sound from the camera are...
