Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 1165
Pittsburgh officials apologize for backlog in processing property tax payments
Nobody likes paying taxes. But after they’re paid, it’s easier if the check clears quickly so one can forget about them (until the next time they’re due). In Pittsburgh, that hasn’t been the case. There’s a six- to eight-week backlog processing real estate and parks tax payments, according to a...
Allegheny County’s covid case average drops to lowest in month
Allegheny County reported 340 more covid cases on Wednesday, as weekly numbers returned to lower averages. The county’s seven-day average of new cases dropped from 491 on Tuesday to 351 on Wednesday. It’s the lowest seven-day average since 326 on March 25. For the month, the county is averaging 436...
Pitt law professor David Harris calls Chauvin verdict wake-up call for policeVideo
Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was found guilty on all counts Tuesday in the death of George Floyd last year. Chauvin was convicted of murder and manslaughter for kneeling on the Black man’s neck for over nine minutes. The case is a benchmark trial for an American police officer...
Biden administration opens global climate summit
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden opened a global climate summit Thursday with a pledge to cut at least in half the climate-wrecking coal and petroleum fumes that the U.S. pumps out, a commitment he hopes will spur China and other big polluters to speed up efforts of their own. Biden...
Garland announces police probe day after Floyd case verdict
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department is opening a sweeping investigation into policing practices in Minneapolis after a former officer was convicted in the killing of George Floyd there, Attorney General Merrick Garland announced Wednesday. The announcement comes a day after former officer Derek Chauvin was found guilty of murder and...
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...
A stable home: Former horse barn converted in Sewickley Heights, listed at $1.2MVideo
The four horse paddocks remain in the basement of the barn-turned-luxurious home in Sewickley Heights. The details in the former working horse farm preserve its history, while modern additions create a spacious up-to-date living space. The barn house is on the market for $1,185,000. “This is an incredibly well-built home,”...
ATI sets deadline on latest contract offer to end Steelworkers strike
Allegheny Technologies Inc. has given striking United Steelworkers employees until Monday to accept the company’s latest contract offer. If the deal isn’t accepted by 5 p.m. Monday, the company said, “It will be replaced by an offer that begins to reflect the costs incurred by ATI as a result of...
Key GOP lawmaker eyes photo ID, signature matching as Pa. considers voting changes
This article is made possible through Votebeat, a nonpartisan reporting project covering local election integrity and voting access. This article is available for reprint under the terms of Votebeat’s republishing policy. HARRISBURG — Local officials charged with implementing any changes lawmakers might make to Pennsylvania’s Election Code are begging Democrats...
Pittsburgh police: 3 hurt, 1 ejected, in tow truck-pickup collision on Route 51
Three people were injured, one critically, in a Tuesday evening collision of a tow truck and pickup truck on Route 51 in Pittsburgh. A female passenger was ejected from the pickup truck and was in critical condition, according to a Pittsburgh Public Safety spokeswoman. The pickup’s male driver was in...
iHeartMedia, WDVE moving from Green Tree to South Fayette
South Fayette will become the new regional home for iHeartMedia and a popular rock station. The company, which includes WDVE, announced it is moving its Pittsburgh area headquarters from 200 Fleet Street in Green Tree to Beacon I, an 80,000-square-foot office building in the township. “We’re really excited about them...
Columbus police officer fatally shoots girl swinging knifeVideo
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Columbus police shot and killed a teenage girl who swung at two other people with a knife Tuesday, according to bodycam footage from the officer who fired the shots just minutes before the verdict in George Floyd’s killing was read. Officials with the Columbus Division of Police...
It’s your move: Pittsburgh police invite the public to play chess in Market SquareVideo
David Shifren carries a chess set in his car. It’s more than a childhood game that his late father Leonard, who died in October, taught him to play. “Chess puts everyone on an utterly equal playing field,” said Shifren, a Pittsburgh Police Community Resource Officer for Zone 4 in Squirrel...
Biden tells Floyd family he’s relieved by Chauvin convictionVideo
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden told George Floyd’s family that he’s relieved by the conviction of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin and that the verdict would lead to broader change. “Nothing is going to make it all better but at least, God, now, there’s some justice,” Biden told the...
Pittsburghers express relief, ‘jubilation’ after Chauvin convictionVideo
“Guilty on all three counts.” A man read the verdict from a cell phone as a crowd of several dozen people gathered Tuesday at Freedom Corner in Pittsburgh’s Hill District. Jurors convicted former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin of murder and manslaughter in the death of George Floyd. Floyd’s death...
Pine-Richland: Kasperowicz let go following investigation into ‘allegations of inappropriate student conduct’Video
Pine-Richland’s school board president did not release any details about a three-month long investigation into allegations of misbehavior in the high school football program during a news conference Tuesday. He said at the conclusion of the district’s probe “neither the administration nor any member of the nine-member school board” could...
Key events since George Floyd’s arrest and death
MINNEAPOLIS — A timeline of key events that began with George Floyd’s arrest on May 25, 2020, by four police officers in Minneapolis: May 25 — Minneapolis police officers respond to a call shortly after 8 p.m. about a possible counterfeit $20 bill being used at a corner grocery and...
Derek Chauvin guilty of murder and manslaughter in George Floyd’s deathVideo
MINNEAPOLIS — Former Minneapolis Officer Derek Chauvin was convicted Tuesday of murder and manslaughter for pinning George Floyd to the pavement with his knee on the Black man’s neck in a case that triggered worldwide protests, violence and a furious reexamination of racism and policing in the U.S. Chauvin, 45,...
Trio of Pa. bills addresses gaps in drug rehabilitation process
Pennsylvania legislators unanimously passed several bills Tuesday aimed at ensuring that friends and family of people struggling with addiction issues are kept “in the loop,” so to speak. House Bill 944, written by State Reps. Mark Longietti, D-Mercer, and Eric Nelson, R-Westmoreland, would require in-patient rehabilitation facilities to notify a...
Hempfield Area OKs study for renovating or rebuilding high school
Members of the Hempfield Area School Board are moving forward with a feasibility study that will look into the possibility of renovating or rebuilding the high school. Board members on Monday unanimously voted to hire SitelogIQ, a Minnesota-based company that has an office in Oakmont, at a cost that will...
Pa. highway deaths rose in 2020 despite less traffic
Statewide traffic deaths increased in 2020 from the record low set in 2019 despite a 20% decrease in traffic, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. PennDOT reported 1,129 highway fatalities in 2020, up 79 from the 1,059 recorded in 2019. That 6.6% increase is similar to the national estimate...
Biden praying for ‘right verdict’ in Chauvin trial
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden said Tuesday that he is “praying the verdict is the right verdict” in the trial of former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin and that he believed the case, which has gone to the jury and put the nation on edge, to be “overwhelming.” Biden, ahead...
Here’s what’s happening at Historic Hanna’s Town
Historic Hanna’s Town opens to the public May 1, offering guided tours, a new walking path and a look into recently reconstructed and renovated log buildings. The Westmoreland Historical Society, which maintains the Revolutionary War-era site with Westmoreland County Parks and Recreation, also announced dates for its annual antiques and...
Pennsylvania, Westmoreland County see most reported covid deaths in months
Months-long highs for covid deaths were reported Tuesday in Pennsylvania and Westmoreland County. The additional covid deaths also continued a trend that has been going on at the state and county level for two and three months, respectively. Deaths Pennsylvania on Tuesday reported the most additional covid deaths since late...
Monroeville woman, 64, sues restaurant, police after arrest over wrong food order
A Monroeville woman is suing a police officer and a Panda Express restaurant, alleging she was arrested for complaining that she got the wrong meal. According to the lawsuit, filed Monday in federal court, Diana Broadnax, 64, went to the Panda Express on William Penn Highway in Monroeville on May...
