Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 606
Plum girls organize separate charity events to help victims after house explosion
A pint-sized Plum Area School District student put her grief to good use Saturday with an on-the-spot charity event to raise money for victims of the house explosion in Plum. Emmy Halasowski, 7, was understandably shaken and scared Saturday as events unfolded after the deadly explosion on Rustic Ridge Drive...
A plan to stop diverting road dollars to Pa. State Police could be a final piece of this year’s budget
Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan, and nonprofit newsroom producing investigative and public-service journalism that holds the powerful to account and drives positive change in Pennsylvania. Sign up for our free newsletters. HARRISBURG — For at least 50 years, Pennsylvania has used taxes drivers pay at the pump to fund...
Trump’s Georgia co-defendants played significant roles in seeking to overturn Pennsylvania’s 2020 vote
PHILADELPHIA — Among the 18 lawyers, aides, and allies who were charged Monday alongside Donald Trump for their alleged efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election in Georgia, there are several who played key roles in the former president’s similar push in Pennsylvania. Here’s a breakdown of some...
Rustic Ridge community gathers in 2 places to honor the lives lost in house explosion
Teresa Champion-Feigel and her husband, Tim, walk on the weekends in the neighborhood of Rustic Ridge in Plum. On Saturday, she said she didn’t feel like walking. Her husband suggested they go to the nearby park — Ridge Top Park. “We were walking, and that’s when we heard the explosion,”...
Doctor testifies Delmont child was victim of ongoing abuse, torture
Five-year-old Landon Maloberti suffered bruises over most of his body and massive brain bleeding and was the victim of torture at the hands of his adoptive mother and her husband, according to testimony Tuesday by a physician and child advocate. Dr. Michelle Clayton testified during a preliminary hearing for Lauren...
For one afternoon, Rustic Ridge kids put horrific explosion out of their minds
The corner lot of 154 Rustic Ridge Drive in Plum on Tuesday turned into a therapeutic group session for dozens of kids in the neighborhood — even if they didn’t know it. At least two dozen kids of all ages, from toddler to teen, gathered in the driveway and backyard...
Veto override withdrawn for Allegheny County property assessment bill
After a series of successful efforts overriding Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald’s veto, another veto override was withdrawn Tuesday. Allegheny County Council passed a bill in July to establish a new chief assessment officer appointed by council that would render calculations each year of the county’s property tax ratios. That...
Remembering devoted mom who died in Plum explosion: Heather Oravitz was ‘a special wife’
Lindsay and Fran Sciullo thought so highly of Heather and Paul Oravitz that they entrusted to the Oravitzes’ daughter what was most precious to them — their two sons. Taylor Oravitz would babysit the Sciullo boys, Maddox and Brady, when Lindsay and her husband, Fran — educators in the Plum...
They’re back: College students arrive on Western Pa. campuses
Overstuffed move-in carts, frazzled parents and traffic lined up outside dorms are making a comeback this week and next as Western Pennsylvania college students arrive for fall semester classes. Campuses, meanwhile, are trying to curb stress among the new arrivals. Some initiatives to soothe the psyche are as involved as...
After months of speculation, Amazon says it will use New Stanton warehouse
Amazon ended months of speculation by acknowledging what many had suspected for close to two years: It will be using the 1 million-square-foot warehouse being built in New Stanton. The $120 million warehouse with the blue stripes on the exterior will be operated by Amazon, company spokesman Sam Fisher said...
A Pennsylvania study suggests links between fracking and asthma, lymphoma in children
HARRISBURG — Children who lived closer to natural gas wells in heavily drilled Pennsylvania were more likely to develop a relatively rare form of cancer, and nearby residents of all ages had an increased chance of severe asthma reactions, researchers said in reports released Tuesday evening. The taxpayer-funded research by...
State Rep. Rob Mercuri announces run for Congress in 17th District
Two-term state Rep. Rob Mercuri, R-Pine, is hoping to flip a congressional seat that covers many Pittsburgh suburbs. Mercuri announced Tuesday his run for Pennsylvania’s 17th Congressional District, which includes all of Beaver County, as well as suburban communities in Allegheny County’s North Hills, Allegheny Valley, and several boroughs just...
Hit-and-run victim found in middle of Oakland road identified
James Jerry Vas-Patterson, 23, was the fatal hit-and-run victim found dead Sunday night in Oakland, the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office announced Tuesday. Vas-Patterson, whose home address is unknown, was found by Pittsburgh police officers just before 10 p.m. in the middle of the road in the 2300 block of...
Hempfield Area officially rejects bids on high school project, plans to revise scope
Less than two weeks from the start of the 2023-2024 school year, Hempfield Area is going back to the drawing board on its ambitious high school renovation project. After learning the project bids came in millions of dollars over budget at a meeting on Aug. 9, board members rejected all...
University of Pittsburgh trustees chair abruptly resigns
Douglas Browning has resigned as chairman of the University of Pittsburgh Board of Trustees due to “an unanticipated personal matter,” officials confirmed on Tuesday. He notified the university Monday evening. By Tuesday morning, his bio had been removed from the university website. The site now lists Louis R. Cestello, vice...
Police: Man cornered in yard after fleeing when officer spots gun on Tarentum boat dock
A Tarentum man was charged with carrying a gun without a permit after police accused him of running from a boat launch when an officer spotted the weapon on a dock. Ryan Allen Berry, 21, of the 900 block of East Sixth Avenue faces a felony charge in connection with...
Wilkinsburg-Pittsburgh merger group files for state Supreme Court review
A group seeking the annexation of Wilkinsburg with the City of Pittsburgh late Monday filed a petition seeking review by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. In it, those advocating for the merger said that two lower courts misinterpreted the law and violated the separation of powers principle in doing so. “Petitioners...
How the Georgia indictment against Donald Trump may be the biggest yet and other case takeaways
The fourth indictment of former President Donald Trump may be the most sweeping yet. The sprawling, 98-page case unveiled late Monday night opens up fresh legal ground and exposes more than a dozen of Trump’s allies to new jeopardy. But it also raises familiar legal issues of whether the First...
A look at the 19 people charged in Georgia indictment connected to Trump election scheme
ATLANTA — Donald Trump and 18 other associates were charged Monday in Georgia as part of a sweeping indictment alleging they schemed to illegally overturn his 2020 election loss and stop the peaceful transition of power. The indictment, brought by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, follows an investigation that...
Morning Roundup: West Nile virus detected in Pittsburgh mosquitos
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Tuesday, Aug. 15: West Nile virus detected in Pittsburgh mosquitos The Allegheny County Health Department will spray a mosquito pesticide in several Pittsburgh areas and neighboring municipalities where mosquitos have tested positive for West Nile Virus. Mosquito samples collected...
Hempfield school library book policies approved at heated meeting
New rules will govern books and other library materials at Hempfield Area School District, after the school board voted Monday to enact two policies defining what content is permitted on the district’s bookshelves. About 80 people attended the board meeting and more than a dozen residents spoke their opinions on...
Trump and 18 allies charged in Georgia election meddling as former president faces 4th criminal caseVideo
ATLANTA (AP) — Donald Trump and 18 allies were indicted in Georgia on Monday over their efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss in the state, with prosecutors using a statute normally associated with mobsters to accuse the former president, lawyers and other aides of a “criminal enterprise” to keep...
Democrats scrambling after Hovis withdraws from Westmoreland commissioner race
Westmoreland Democrats are scrambling to fill a vacancy on the November ballot after learning through a social media post Monday that one of the party’s two candidates for county commissioner withdrew from the race. Sydney Hovis, 28, of Scottdale announced via Facebook she formally petitioned to have her name removed...
Philadelphia teen accused of buying and testing bomb-making materials in support of foreign terror group
PHILADELPHIA — A 17-year-old from West Philadelphia has been charged with buying and testing bomb-making materials in support of a foreign terrorist group, state and federal authorities announced Monday. The teen, whom prosecutors declined to name because he is a juvenile, was arrested Friday at his home in the Wynnefield...
Judge in Pittsburgh synagogue shooting trial permanently seals juror list
The federal judge who presided over the trial of the man who killed 11 people at a Pittsburgh synagogue has permanently sealed the names of the jurors who convicted him. U.S. District Judge Robert J. Colville initially sealed the names and addresses of the jurors and prospective jurors during jury...
