Top Local and National News Stories category, Page 942
St. Patrick’s Day parade strike averted: Allegheny County and 911 dispatchers reach tentative deal
Allegheny County and the SEIU, which represents 1,000 county workers including emergency dispatchers, announced a tentative agreement Wednesday. The contract between the county and the Service Employees International Union expired at the end of last year. Specific details on wage increases and terms of the contract will be released in...
2 taken by ambulance from Route 30 crash in North Huntingdon
Two motorists were taken by ambulance for treatment at a hospital following a three-vehicle crash Wednesday night on Route 30 in North Huntingdon, according to Circleville Fire Chief Craig Couchenour. The wreck was reported at 7:40 p.m. near the Flynn Tire auto repair store, a Westmoreland County Public Safety supervisor...
Sewickley Academy student group CARES speaks out about clash with administration
A group of Sewickley Academy students gathered Wednesday to express their distrust of administrators following several high-profile controversies at the private school. Members of student-led organization CARES (Collective Action for Representative Education at Sewickley) held a press conference to voice their concerns and present their demands of change to the...
Lawsuit accuses former Seward police chief of forcing woman to have sex with him
A woman who said the former Seward police chief forced her to have sex with him to avoid criminal charges is suing him in federal court. The lawsuit filed Wednesday against Robert I. Baldwin Jr. and the Seward Police Department includes claims of civil assault, intentional infliction of emotional distress...
Man gets life in 2017 killing of Penn Hills man; judge delays sentencing of accomplice
An Allegheny County judge on Wednesday delayed sentencing one of two brothers convicted in the 2017 shooting death of a Penn Hills man. Prosecutors had described Donald King, 36, of Stowe, as the ringleader who targeted the victim and then pulled the trigger. A jury in December found him guilty...
Nurses at Armstrong County Memorial Hospital plan to strike early Sunday
Nurses at ACMH Hospital in the Kittanning area are set to strike Sunday after months of contract talks with no results, union officials announced . Cassie Wood, a registered nurse and president of ACMH Nurses United, said the strike is set to take place daily from 7 a.m. to 7...
Gas tax holiday? Not so fast, says Washington, D.C., tax think tank
When Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf hailed President Joe Biden’s plan to ban Russian energy imports to the U.S. in response to President Vladimir Putin’s invasion in the Ukraine, he also announced support for a so-called federal gas tax holiday through 2022 as prices at the pump skyrocket. Wolf said he...
Hempfield is latest district to face book ban challenge
As a frenzy of book challenges rocks the nation at an unprecedented rate, local school districts are facing heightened scrutiny over which texts are made available in their libraries. This week, a Hempfield Area School District committee will review a policy that determines how school materials are reevaluated after two...
Trump plane makes emergency landing after engine failure
A plane carrying former President Donald Trump was forced to make an emergency landing in New Orleans last weekend after suffering engine failure over the Gulf of Mexico. The details of the emergency landing, first reported by Politico, were confirmed Wednesday by a person familiar with the incident who was...
Penn Hills refuses to play Kiski Area sports teams this spring over alleged racial taunts
Penn Hills won’t play games against Kiski Area teams this spring because of racial taunts allegedly made by fans during a recent middle school volleyball game. In a letter sent Monday to school district families and staff, Penn Hills superintendent Nancy Hines said “several boys” in the Kiski Area student...
Pittsburgh’s proposed 1% tax on college tuition, medical bills met with opposition
A proposal to impose a 1% tax on college tuition and medical bills in Pittsburgh is facing opposition and potential legal problems. Councilman Ricky Burgess introduced the measure Tuesday. Students seeking higher education in colleges, universities and advanced technical schools would be assessed a 1% tax on their tuition before...
Snow can’t stop Page’s from opening in Pittsburgh to serve ice cream
It’s one of the first signs of spring — even on a snowy day. Page Dairy Mart on the South Side — now called Page’s — opened for the season Wednesday. “People wait months for opening day,” said Margie Page-Prusia, on Tuesday, as she tested the ice cream machine swirling...
Fire marshals still investigating fatal fire in New Kensington, fire responders lauded for their efforts
State police fire marshals continue to investigate the cause of a fire Sunday that swept through a duplex in New Kensington and resulted in the death of one woman. New Kensington fire Chief Ed Saliba Jr. said the fire was reported a few minutes before 6 p.m. Sunday. The blaze...
Harrison zoning board to weigh Aldi proposal for Freeport Road
Harrison residents will have a chance to weigh in on a proposal by grocery giant Aldi, whose company officials are eyeing a site along Freeport Road. J.R. Perry, Aldi’s Saxonburg Division vice president, confirmed last month that plans are in the works for a store in the Natrona Heights section...
Tarentum residents will face instant penalty for unsafe, eyesore properties
A new quality-of-life ordinance approved by Tarentum Council is expected to keep residents accountable for their properties, council members said during a meeting Tuesday night. Council enacted new guidelines aimed at keeping properties tidy and safe. The ordinance outlines health and safety requirements that target high grass, junk vehicles and...
Airstrike hits Ukraine maternity hospital, 17 reported hurt
MARIUPOL, Ukraine — A Russian airstrike devastated a maternity hospital Wednesday in the besieged port city of Mariupol amid growing warnings from the West that Moscow’s invasion is about to take a more brutal and indiscriminate turn. Ukrainian officials said the attack wounded at least 17 people. The ground shook...
Temperatures drop, snow returns — more expected this weekend
Winter isn’t over quite yet. A cold front moving across the region Wednesday morning has dropped temperatures into the 30s and brought a morning snowfall, said Myranda Fullerton, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Pittsburgh. “We’re not expecting anything significant in terms of snowfall accumulation with this,” she...
Allegheny County Councilman Sam DeMarco exploring run for Congress
An Allegheny County councilman who heads the county’s GOP committee said he’s exploring a run for Congress in a district representing Beaver County and much of suburban Pittsburgh. Allegheny County Councilman Sam DeMarco, R-North Fayette, said Tuesday he is gathering signatures to get on the ballot in the upcoming primary...
Federal judge orders New Kensington landscaping company to pay $150,000 in back wages, penalties
A New Kensington landscaping company has been ordered to pay $150,000 in back wages and penalties after an investigation found the employer denied overtime pay to its workers. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the investigation found that Shurina Brothers LLC did not pay employees time-and-a-half for overtime hours...
Congress passes bill to shore up Postal Service, delivery
WASHINGTON — Congress on Tuesday passed legislation that would shore up the U.S. Postal Service and ensure six-day-a-week mail delivery, sending the bill to President Joe Biden to sign into law. The long-fought postal overhaul has been years in the making and comes amid widespread complaints about mail service slowdowns....
Hempfield School Board decides to tear down existing high school to its bare bones, building up from there
Hempfield leaders are moving forward with a multimillion-dollar project that will involve tearing down the high school to its structural system and replacing everything as new. School board members voted 8-0 Tuesday night to overhaul the 66-year-old building rather than renovate the existing structure or build a new school. Board...
Allegheny Health Network to boost nurses’ pay
In an effort to retain nurses by making their pay more competitive, Allegheny Health Network announced Tuesday plans to boost wages for nonunion nursing staff. The pay raises are part of $92 million for increased pay and workplace enhancements the network plans for this year. “You always want to maintain...
Westmoreland courthouse structural concerns identified in January; collapse threat not imminent
Engineers in late January found deteriorating structural beams in a parking garage below the Westmoreland County Courthouse in downtown Greensburg. County officials said Tuesday that while urgency is needed to make repairs, there is no imminent threat of collapse. Core samples taken in October found evidence of deteriorating beams from...
Former Pittsburgh defense attorney gets 5 years in prison for marijuana distributionVideo
A former defense attorney who became known for his satirical ads offering his ability to “think like a criminal” will spend five years in prison for his role in a large-scale marijuana ring. Daniel Muessig, 40, of Squirrel Hill, was sentenced Tuesday by Senior U.S. District Judge Arthur J. Schwab...
Pittsburgh Councilman Ricky Burgess proposes 1% tax on higher-ed students, medical patients
A proposal introduced to Pittsburgh City Council on Tuesday would impose a 1% tax on people seeking higher education and receiving medical care in the city, with the proceeds going toward a new fund for repairing the city’s aging infrastructure. “The strongest part of our economy is the educational and...
