Regional category, Page 209
State police seize $17.7 million worth of illegal drugs during first 3 months of 2021Video
State police seized nearly $5.6 million worth of cocaine during the first three months of 2021. Troopers seized 253 pounds of cocaine in January, February and March, according to state police data. That’s almost as much of the drug as troopers confiscated during all of 2020. The number of drug...
Michael Keaton partners with Pittsburgh-area developer to locate new plant in region
As Michael Keaton prepares to reprise his role as Batman in an upcoming movie, the Pittsburgh-area native also is a partner in a business venture that could create more than 300 jobs in the region. Keaton, a Robinson native, is partnering with Emsworth developer Craig Rippole and Nexii Building Solutions,...
Earth Day ’21: environmental issues past and present still present challenges
Fifty-one years after the founding of Earth Day, with the first on April 22, 1970, the manmade pollution and resulting problems created by global warming and climate change remain the biggest threat to the planet, environmental scientists say. “Certainly, the biggest concern is climate change, because it has so many...
State greenlights $48 million in transportation infrastructure projects
The Pennsylvania Commonwealth Financing Authority on Wednesday approved more than $48 million for 116 new multi-modal transportation infrastructure projects in 45 counties, including a dozen in Allegheny, Armstrong and Westmoreland counties. The authority approved two Alle-Kiski Valley projects, including a $200,000 Rankin Street revitalization project in Arnold and $375,000 for...
Feds: Somerset County man admits role in West Virginia cocaine-heroin ring
A Somerset County man could receive a 20-year federal prison sentence and be fined $1 million when he is sentenced this summer after admitting this week to participating his role in a drug trafficking ring in West Virginia, authorities said. Lance Smith, 47, of Confluence, admitted to his role in...
New GAP trail marker installed in Cumberland, Md.
Travelers on the Great Allegheny Passage will see a new marker at the start or end of their journey on the 150-mile trail that goes through Southwestern Pennsylvania. The Great Allegheny Passage Conservancy on Wednesday unveiled a 48-inch granite medallion set in the ground at Mile 0 in Cumberland, Md.,...
South Fayette Capitol riot suspect has covid, hearing delayed
A status conference for a South Fayette man charged in the Capitol riot case was postponed Wednesday after he recently tested positive for covid-19. Jorden Mink, 27, is charged with 10 counts, including assaulting, resisting or impeding officers using a dangerous weapon; civil disorder and committing an act of physical...
Things to do in Western Pa.: April 21, 2021
Carnegie Science Center is celebrating Earth Week with both on-site and virtual programming, with topics including the crisis of ocean plastics. On a lighter note, there’s a pop-up drive-in movie coming to Pittsburgh Zoo and a slate of Oscar-nominated films at Pittsburgh-area Cinemark theaters. Other events cater to aspiring actors,...
Snow, yes. But cold could set record; freeze warning issued
Pittsburgh could break a nearly 150-year-old weather record for this day but not because of the late April snow being seen this morning. The record for the lowest high temperature has stood since 1875, when the high was only 41 degrees. Today’s high is expected to be colder, at just...
Medical marijuana program in Pa. celebrates 5-year anniversary
Diana Briggs remembers the days when her son Ryan suffered through 400 seizures a day. She believes the legalization of medical marijuana — five years ago — in Pennsylvania changed his life. Ryan, who went through a medical emergency at birth 21 years ago, is now a special-needs adult with...
Great Allegheny Passage ranked among top long rail trails in U.S.
Cyclists from Western Pennsylvania to Washington, D.C., certainly know the power of the Great Allegheny Passage — or GAP for short. But it’s always good to know that others are hearing its praises as well. The 150-mile trail from Pittsburgh to Cumberland, Md., was recently named among the Best Long...
From stone mason to stone scholar, IUP senior, Fayette Co. native earns coveted Goldwater Scholarship
Susan Adams won’t take offense if anyone refers to her as an accidental scientist. The 24-year-old native of Smock, a tiny Fayette County village near Uniontown, never imagined herself immersed in any kind of science, let alone geology. She graduated from Uniontown Area High School and the masonry class at...
4 referendums to appear on primary ballots in May; all registered voters eligible
All 8.8 million of Pennsylvania’s registered voters will be able to cast ballots on May 18, when four referendums will appear, including three that seek the change the state’s constitution. The deadline to register to vote in the primary is May 3. Voters will have until 5 p.m. May 11...
Fired football coach Eric Kasperowicz reaches out to Pine-Richland to ‘come to a resolution’
With students, parents and community members demanding Pine-Richland rehire Eric Kasperowicz, the ousted football coach has asked school administrators to meet with him and “come to a resolution quickly.” The Pine-Richland football coach and his assistants were fired last Wednesday. Kasperowicz re-applied for the school’s head coach position Friday and...
Donora man accused of leading police on slow-speed pursuit in Monessen before running away
A Washington County man jailed on charges of fleeing a January traffic stop is facing additional charges in connection with a slow-speed pursuit in Monessen last week, according to court dockets. Denzell Darshai Johnson, 23, of Donora, was jailed last week on multiple criminal charges related to a Jan. 26...
Job fairs planned at Seven Springs to hire 400 summer workers
Seven Springs Mountain and Hidden Valley resorts plan to hire 400 full- and part-time seasonal workers. Two summer job fairs have been scheduled to fill the positions at the Somerset County facilities. Available positions include adventure staff, zipline guides, lifeguards, servers, bartenders, cooks, golf and sporting clays positions and more....
April snow showers could hit Western Pa. this week
Say it ain’t snow. The National Weather Service is calling for possible snow showers on Wednesday, with some accumulation possible. “We’re going to have a cold front sweep through the area on Tuesday night into Wednesday,” said Chris Leonardi, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Moon. “We’re expecting...
Craft beer makers look to region’s farms to grow grainsVideo
The only local thing about regional craft beer right now is the water, according to farmer Vince Mangini of Crabtree. For example, at All Saints Brewing in Hempfield, founder Jeff Guidos typically gets his malt from German and other European companies. Through Food21’s “Farm to Tap” program, Mangini wants to...
Trib Total Media named best overall newspaper for 3rd consecutive year in SPJ awards
Trib Total Media has been named the best overall newspaper by the Keystone Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists for the third year in a row. “We are humbled that the judges in this competition have awarded this prestigious honor to us three consecutive years,” Trib Total Media Executive...
West Virginia University student, 20, dies after fall from parking garage
A 20-year-old West Virginia University student is dead after falling from a parking garage on the Morgantown campus Friday afternoon. University police responded shortly after 12:30 p.m. Friday to the University Place garage for reports “that a person either fell or jumped from the parking garage and landed on the...
‘Moral scandal’: Gov. Wolf proposal, lawsuit aim to cut Pennsylvania school funding gap
Even if Gov. Tom Wolf’s fair funding formula proposal passes the Legislature, area schools still could face a funding gap that has plagued Pennsylvania districts for years. The gap — highlighted in 2015, when it was reported that Pennsylvania had one of the nation’s starkest spending gaps between rich and...
Up to $9,000 in funeral assistance available to families who lost loved ones to covid-19
Scottdale funeral director Frank Kapr says interest is soaring in a new federal program benefiting families who lost a loved one to covid-19 in 2020. The Federal Emergency Management Agency launched a phone hotline this week offering up to $9,000 per family for certain paid expenses. “You would be crazy...
Allegheny, Westmoreland bars and restaurants hit with covid mitigation violations
Nearly 20 bars and restaurants in Allegheny and Westmoreland counties received violations from the state police last month for violating pandemic-related mitigation measures, records show. For more than a year, bars and restaurants have faced some degree of restriction – measures meant to slow the spread of covid-19. Many of...
‘Pink hat lady’ charged in Capitol riot could have bond revoked over mesh face maskVideo
The woman known from the Jan. 6 Capitol riot as the “Pink hat lady” has 10 days to explain to a federal judge why she shouldn’t have her bond revoked or be held in contempt for actively flouting one of her conditions of release — wearing a mask in public....
Here’s how to make the most of that deck, patio, backyardVideo
Necessity is the mother of invention — and that’s never been more true than during the pandemic, as people have ramped up their outdoor living and entertaining options. From using what they had to building grand new spaces, homeowners and renters adapted to recommendations to avoid indoor gatherings. With the...
