Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 402
Construction worker killed in 9-story fall in Oakland is identified
A construction worker died Thursday morning after falling nine stories from scaffolding at an apartment building under construction in Pittsburgh’s Oakland neighborhood. Authorities identified the man as John J. Allen, 47, of McKees Rocks. First responders were dispatched shortly before 8 a.m. to 419 Melwood Ave. Allen was pronounced dead...
Is there hope for traffic woes at The Pavilion at Star Lake this summer?
Katie Paeplow hasn’t been to The Pavilion at Star Lake in 10 years. Even when artists she likes performed there, she opted not to go because she said she dreaded the prospect of sitting in traffic for hours on the Washington County concert venue’s single entrance road. The outdoor amphitheater...
Public meeting scheduled for Parks Township nuke dump cleanup plans
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has scheduled an information session to update the public on its cleanup efforts at the nuclear waste dump in Parks Township. The meeting is scheduled for June 11 at the Parks Township Fire Department, 1119 Dalmatian Drive. Doors will open for display stations at...
Fayette woman accused of chaining daughter to bed, denying access to water
A Fayette County woman is accused of chaining her mentally handicapped daughter to a bed in her home with no mattress to sleep on for five days without giving her any water. Marylou DeWitt, 53, of Stauffer Street, Upper Tyrone, is accused by state police at Belle Vernon of inflicting...
McDonald’s says $18 Big Mac meal was an ‘exception’ and news reports overstated its price increases
McDonald’s is fighting back against viral tweets and media reports that it says have exaggerated its price increases. In a post on the company’s website Wednesday, McDonald’s U.S. President Joe Erlinger said reports suggesting the price of the average Big Mac has doubled since 2019 were false. McDonald’s said the...
Morning Roundup: 1 injured in Youngwood fire; teens charged in vehicle thefts
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Thursday, May 30: 1 injured in Youngwood fire One person was taken to the hospital after a fire broke out early Thursday morning at a home along Silvis Farm Road, according to Westmoreland County emergency officials. The fire was...
From Apollo to Mt. Lebanon to Blawnox to Ligonier, bluegrass has a home in Western Pa.Video
Mt. Lebanon’s John Mackin got his first taste of bluegrass music as a young boy in the mid-1950s. Mackin, 74, recalled listening to two women sing “Foggy River” as a man accompanied them on fiddle inside a barn on a Monroeville farm. The farm is long gone, having given way...
2 men charged with stealing more than $4,000 in groceries from Giant Eagle
Police are looking for two men who have been charged with stealing more than $4,000 in groceries from the Giant Eagle grocery store in Glenshaw, according to police. Arrest warrants were issued late last week for Sergio Lombardo, 30, of Pittsburgh and Benjamin Coghe, 30, of Pittsburgh, charged with retail...
Pittsburgh Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation Center to close its doors; 140 residents affected
Some 140 residents will need to find alternate lodgings this August after a nursing home in Pittsburgh’s Shadyside neighborhood shuts down for good. Pittsburgh Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, located at 550 South Negley Ave., will close Aug. 12, according to an announcement sent out to residents and their families...
Jury awards $21 million to family of Washington County man killed by Pa. state police
Twenty-one million dollars. That’s how much a jury says Anthony Gallo’s life — and death — is worth. Shot and killed by Pennsylvania State Trooper Chad Weaver on Oct. 1, 2017, Gallo was 34 when he died in a Washington County mobile home in the midst of a mental health...
Pittsburgh to pay charge linked to contractor scandal amid probe of city credit card use
Two weeks ago, Pittsburgh City Council balked on paying a $1,200 credit card charge linked to a contractor scandal. On Wednesday, council members changed their minds and voted 7-1 to approve the payment even as an investigation continues into the circumstances surrounding the controversial charge. Council initially halted the payment...
Pa. attorney general candidates rebuild campaign coffers after pricey primaries
Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan, and nonprofit newsroom producing investigative and public-service journalism that holds power to account and drives positive change in Pennsylvania. HARRISBURG — The Democratic and Republican candidates competing to be Pennsylvania’s next attorney general first had to survive contested primaries that drained their campaign coffers....
Some parishioners unhappy about Norwin pastor’s ouster; failed employee background procedure probed
Parishioners at Catholic churches in Irwin and North Huntingdon were upset Tuesday night when they learned of a popular priest’s resignation under fire. “It is difficult for us not to have emotions about this,” said Chris Peta, one of a few hundred parishioners who learned about the Rev. John Moineau’s...
Pittsburgh City Council president defends closed-doors meetings
Pittsburgh City Council President R. Daniel Lavelle on Wednesday defended council’s decision to hold two closed-doors meetings next week despite concerns from legal experts and good-government advocates who say such sessions should be open to the public. Lavelle, D-Hill District, said at least one of the off-limits sessions scheduled for...
Men get probation for poisoning 25 birds at Lawrence County farm
Two men convicted of poisoning 25 migrating birds four years ago will each serve one year of federal probation. Robert Yost, 51, of New Galilee, Beaver County, and Jacob Reese, 26, of Enon Valley, Lawrence County, were sentenced in U.S. District Court in Pittsburgh on Wednesday. Yost, the owner of...
Longtime Kiski Area football coach Dick Dilts, remembered for lifelong impact, dies at 93
There was no greater compliment Tony Despotakis could pay Richard “Dick” Dilts than to compare him to Vince Lombardi. The former Kiski Area football coach shared many similarities to one the NFL’s greatest coaching minds. “He was a big fan of Lombardi, and he studied Lombardi and his coaching style,”...
Penn Hills graduate identified as man killed in Youngstown explosion
Authorities have identified the man who died Tuesday in a natural gas explosion in Youngstown, Ohio, as Akil Drake, a former Penn Hills resident. The blast shattered the facade of Realty Tower, which houses a Chase Bank where Drake worked, killing him and injuring seven others. One person remains in...
Josh Gibson’s great-grandson says stats inclusion shines well-deserved light on lesser known Negro League players
Josh Gibson’s great-grandson is thrilled over MLB’s incorporation of Negro Leagues statistics following an extensive research project of more than three years. Gibson, a Negro Leagues legend who lived most of his life in Pittsburgh and played for the Homestead Grays (1930-31, 1937-40, 1942-46) and Pittsburgh Crawfords (1932-36), is the...
Pittsburgh considers sharpshooters in parks to reduce deer population
An expansion of Pittsburgh’s deer hunting program will bring limited archery into additional parks, and the city might bring in U.S. Department of Agriculture sharpshooters in some areas. The city last year launched a limited archery pilot program in Frick and Riverview parks. Thirty archers culled 108 deer and donated...
Springdale to play home football games at Burrell, Freeport in 2024 season
Without a home field this season, Springdale’s high school football team is planning to play two home games at Freeport’s football field and a pair of games at Burrell’s Buccaneer Stadium. During a school board discussion last week, Allegheny Valley School District Superintendent Pat Graczyk said the Dynamos football team...
1786 log cabin estate listed for $3.9 million in Fox Chapel
An original log cabin from the 1700s is still going strong as the oldest residence in Fox Chapel. And now it’s for sale. Originally known as Summer Seat, the cabin was bought from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in 1786 for just under three British pounds. The log cabin portion remains...
Spork Pit Barbecue closes on Pittsburgh’s South Side
After being open less than a year, Spork Pit Barbecue has closed. The idea was to transform the former Double Wide Grill on Pittsburgh’s South Side into a new dining concept of ribs and wings, pulled pork and brisket as well as retain some vegan and vegetarian dishes the Double...
Pittsburgh poised to fund 2 Juneteenth events after controversy over dueling celebrations
Pittsburgh has figured out a way to defuse a controversy over dueling Juneteenth celebrations: Give money to both. The city is now poised to help fund two separate Juneteenth events next month after a longtime event organizer last week condemned Mayor Ed Gainey’s administration for initially proposing to steer cash...
Ex-home health aide sentenced to probation for sexually assaulting Pittsburgh client
A Pittsburgh woman took a deep breath from her motorized wheelchair as she prepared to describe the impact of being sexually assaulted last year by her home health aide. “I was once a vibrant and outgoing person,” the victim said in court Wednesday. “I would not wish this on my...
Pitt names 1st woman as engineering dean
Michele V. Manuel, a leading materials engineer in Florida, is the University of Pittsburgh’s new dean of engineering, a discipline dominated by males nationally that has sought to identify talented women and minorities. Her appointment as U.S. Steel Dean of the Swanson School of Engineering is effective Sept. 1, officials...
