Julia Maruca stories, Page 2

A 20-year-old man has been charged in connection with a shooting in Clairton, Allegheny County Police said Friday. The shooting in the 1100 block of Marion Circle was reported to 911 shortly after 4 p.m. Thursday. First responders found a man suffering from a gunshot wound to the leg. He...

Cathy Schantz was among the tens of thousands of people whose homes lost electricity during storms amid last week’s heat wave. The Richland resident, who lives in a housing plan near Bakerstown Road, said she lost power for more than three days — a total of 73½hours. The next outage...

Previously a location for crime thrillers “Mindhunter” and “Mayor of Kingstown,” the former SCI Greensburg prison property soon will grace screens once again. Hempfield supervisors approved a Brooklyn and Toronto-based film company, Visual Inclination, to film at the site this fall. The company will use the location for a 10-...

Property taxes in Hempfield Area School District will be going up nearly 6% to support a 2024-2025 budget approved Monday by the school board. The $109.6 million budget will increase the district’s tax rate from 85.76 mills to 90.76 mills. It was approved in an 8-1 vote, with board member...

Some parts of the country are reporting an increase in cases of covid-19 as the U.S. enters the summer months. Pennsylvania saw a 14.7% increase in emergency room visits with covid for the week ending June 15, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. While wastewater covid-19 data...

Heat waves like the one sizzling across Western Pennsylvania are dangerous for everyone’s health, but young children are markedly more susceptible to hazards associated with prolonged exposure, experts say. “The younger the child is, the less likely they are going to be able to deal with the heat,” said Dr....

The hot temperatures and high humidity that have plagued Pittsburgh all week are likely to stick around through the weekend. According to WTAE meteorologists, temperatures are expected to hit 95 on Friday, 96 on Saturday, 92 on Sunday and 85 on Monday. “(Temperatures) will drop down into the mid-80s on...

As a young girl, Maria Kitay visited the hospital when her cousin, Clara Carbone Caputo, had breast cancer. “She put her back up against the wall, and she said, ‘It’s so painful to have this,’ ” Kitay said, tearing up at the memory. Her cousin later died of her illness, and...

Greensburg Salem school board members voted Wednesday night to raise taxes by 2.5 mills to a total of 92.22 mills, and use around $380,000 from the district’s reserves to balance the $51.5 million 2024-2025 district budget. The 2.5 mill increase, netting the district around $588,000 in new revenue, was an...

It’s not every day that actor Brandon Kerr gets excited to be a monster. But when the opportunity arose to play the role of the Beast in the Geyer Performing Arts Center’s upcoming performance of Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast,” he jumped at the chance. “I’ve just always felt like...

A group of Pittsburgh researchers hopes an experimental vaccine now being tested will stop some forms of early-stage breast cancer in their tracks. Through an upcoming clinical trial, approximately 50 women will receive the new vaccine developed by UPMC and University of Pittsburgh researchers. UPMC plans to introduce the first...

Hempfield Area School District’s safety and security committee is recommending the district continue with random searches of students into the new school year. The committee is also recommending the district buy two weapons detectors to be used in random searches at the district’s two middle schools, Harrold school and the...

In the wake of an arson Thursday at a Monroeville Catholic church rectory, the Rev. Michael Conway has been busy. As pastor of Christ the Divine Shepherd Parish, he’s been rushing between its locations in Monroeville and Penn Hills, meeting with parishioners and leadership and trying to make plans for...

Hempfield Area School District’s high school renovation project may yet take a step forward this summer with replacement of the auditorium roof. The roof over the seating area and stage is in poor condition, according to high school principal David Palmer. “Honestly, we cannot continue with the roof the way...

A Pittsburgh man was arrested in connection with several fires across Allegheny County, including a fire early Thursday morning that badly damaged the office and rectory building of Christ the Divine Shepherd Parish in Monroeville and a former Wilkins restaurant. Wilkins police charged David Harknett, 41, with aggravated arson, criminal...

The Lincoln Highway Experience SupperMarket returned Wednesday evening for its 11th season — a week after the scheduled start was canceled by rain. The food festivals along Route 30 in Unity are scheduled each Wednesday through Aug. 28 on the museum grounds. The $5 cost serves as a fundraiser for...

Two librarian positions, one special education teacher position, and three teacher positions are up for elimination at Hempfield Area School District as part of a proposed budget that includes a 5-mill tax hike. The district is set to vote on its nearly $109.6 million budget for 2024-2025 on June 24....

In the cavernous, noisy workspace of the Industrial Arts Workshop, tucked away on Herbert Way in Pittsburgh’s Hazelwood neighborhood, sparks are flying. Almost every afternoon the room fills with high-school-age students, who pull on protective gear and hurry back to their personal projects. Metal sculptures — a phoenix, flowers, a...

In the cavernous, noisy workspace of the Industrial Arts Workshop, tucked away on Herbert Way in Pittsburgh’s Hazelwood neighborhood, sparks are flying. Almost every afternoon the room fills with high-school-age students, who pull on protective gear and hurry back to their personal projects. Metal sculptures — a phoenix, flowers, a...

Independence Health System will hold a job fair on Thursday to address more than 500 openings at multiple locations across the health system. In the Westmoreland area, recruiters will be available from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the center court in Westmoreland Mall, located at 5256 Route 30 in...

Pittsburgh Technical College will shut down at the end of the spring quarter, effective August, it announced Monday evening. The move comes days after its accrediting agency said the 80-year-old Oakdale-area college was in danger of imminent closure. In a statement Monday, the college cited declining enrollment, market pressures and...

Leonard Lies remembers exactly how he died. “I was zombie-ing through the mall, makeup on, and these people come in on a motorcycle,” he said. “One guy is in a sidecar, and so I zombie past, and I knock him out of the car. And he’s really upset, so he...

Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey signed a disaster emergency declaration Friday evening over Tuesday’s fire at the Second Avenue Commons homeless shelter. The declaration taps the heads of the city’sEmergency Management, Planning and Permits, Licenses and Inspections departments to coordinate an emergency response. According to a statement released by the City...

Just as downtown Pittsburgh saw a trio of packed events last weekend, Greensburg will erupt in activity with its own trifecta of performances, celebrations and gatherings beginning Friday night. The Palace Theatre will be hosting soft-rock duo Air Supply for a show at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Seton Hill University...

New Kensington fire Chief Ed Saliba remembers the sound of the wind late at night April 8, 2020, when a tornado touched down in New Kensington. He was sleeping in a reclining chair in his basement and was alerted to the oncoming danger by his family. “I had no idea...