Western PA Local News category, Page 2133
Irwin restaurant donates lunch for Westmoreland food bank volunteersVideo
Sam Murray believes in giving back. As the covid-19 pandemic got underway, he and his wife began making masks to sell, eventually raising $3,000 for the Westmoreland County Food Bank. Over the past couple months, the owner of Sam’s Salsa in Irwin also has been delivering free lunches to local...
Scuffle with policeman in Export judge’s office results in arrest of Delmont woman
A Delmont woman who showed up at a district judge’s office several hours late for a hearing on harassment and simple assault charges was arrested in the judge’s office for scuffling with a policeman, according to court records. Export District Judge Charles R. Conway remanded Laurelann Kovac, 46, to the...
Police say woman cut man with knife during argument in Murrysville
A 42-year-old woman was arrested late Tuesday by Murrysville police, charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon after, police say, she cut a man with a knife during an argument, according to court records. Samantha Dawn Nichols of Mt. Pleasant was arrested after the 11 p.m. incident at the...
After hearing victim’s mom offer forgiveness, man withdraws plea in fatal McKeesport crash
The plea agreement had already been worked out. Jerry Hardy would plead guilty to homicide by vehicle and driving under the influence — admitting his involvement in a crash that killed his friend as they drove home from Rivers Casino Pittsburgh in September 2019. In exchange for his plea, the...
Possible ‘prank’ prompted lockdown at Latrobe Elementary School, officials say
What police believe may have been a prank 911 call on Wednesday shut down Latrobe Elementary School as authorities investigated a reported threat, according to Greater Latrobe district officials. The situation was cleared just before 2 p.m. and no one was hurt. Anxious parents who gathered outside the police perimeter...
Tarentum body, motorcycle builder takes on New Kensington gymVideo
A Tarentum man couldn’t let the gym he loves go away, so he bought it. Men and women, young and old; those who lift weights or just walk the indoor track have been coming back since Billy Cheesman fixed up the gym in the upper level of the Pittsburgh Ice...
Citywide eviction moratorium proposal nears adoption by Pittsburgh Council
Pittsburgh City Council members said Wednesday they are committed to enacting a citywide eviction moratorium when they meet next week. Until then, council members will work with other city officials and Mayor Bill Peduto’s administration to craft a law that temporarily protects people facing eviction, along with providing a way...
200 spaghetti dinners donated to police, nurses by Grapeville businessVideo
The smell of spaghetti and meatballs filled the small work space. The volunteers were quiet Wednesday morning, concentrating on packaging about 200 donated meals and getting the count just right. Debbie DiTommaso Huey, owner of Angelo’s Cucina in Grapeville, pretty much has the assembly line work down to a science...
Remember when alligators roamed the city? Pittsburgh council members haven’t forgotten
Before the coronavirus pandemic took over the worldwide zeitgeist, there was the season of the loose crocodilian in Pittsburgh. Alligators, crocodiles and the like aren’t native to these parts because of the harsh wintry weather, but they’re kept as pets by some people. In May and June 2019, authorities responded...
Cambria County native new director of Pa. Game Commission Southwest RegionVideo
The Pennsylvania Game Commission didn’t have to look far for its new Southwest Region Office director. Jason D. Farabaugh began his new position last weekend, running the office in Fairfield that oversees a 10-county area. The Carrolltown, Cambria County, native spent his entire 13 years with the game commission working...
Retail theft among cases handled in Judge DeLuca’s Penn Hills court for the week of Feb. 23, 2021
Penn Hills District Judge Anthony L. DeLuca handled the following cases recently. Defendants will have court dates set in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court. Waived preliminary hearings • Tatche Lyerly, 27, of Pittsburgh on charges of accident involving damage to attended vehicle or property, driving with a suspended license and...
Levin Furniture reopens stores in McMurray, Robinson; soon Mt. PleasantVideo
Jeff Federoff had just been laid off from his job at Levin Furniture & Mattress. The new ownership had gone bankrupt — and then the pandemic hit. “I open my mail and there is a letter and a check from Robert Levin,” said Federoff, a 20-year employee from Canonsburg, as...
Point Park won’t renew 17 faculty contracts
Point Park University will not renew the contracts of 17 non-tenured faculty members, the university announced this week. A university spokesman did not answer questions about what specific academic departments would be affected in the Downtown institution, which serves around 4,000 students. The change was allowed through a collective bargaining...
Richland Historical Society to be revived
When Bill Bardonner of Richland passed away in August 2016 at age 80, he left behind more than just a passion for preserving the township’s history. The long-time member and officer of the Richland Historical Society was part of a group that began accumulating thousands of documents, books, photos, maps...
Omega Carter G. Woodson Academy highlights Black history education
The Omega Carter G. Woodson Academy is emphasizing Black history and STEAM education for Pittsburgh youth through virtual programming during Black History Month. The program, an annual tradition dating to 2013, is hosted and taught by the Iota Phi chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. The local chapter is...
Westmoreland County sees slowing of additional covid cases
Westmoreland County has seen a decline in covid cases since the start of the year. While January had 24 days with over 100 cases reported, February has only seen two days with reported covid cases above 100 (on Feb. 2 and Feb. 3). The county on Wednesday continued that trend...
Latrobe considers hardship payment plan for stormwater fee
Latrobe property owners who are experiencing a financial hardship could have more time to pay the city’s new stormwater management fee. At its March meeting, city council is expected to consider authorizing city manager Michael Gray to approve modified payment dates in hardship cases. As it stands, payment of the...
Heritage Corridor mini-grants include funding for Latrobe ‘welcome’ sign
Visitors heading north on Route 981 to downtown Latrobe could soon be welcomed by a new community sign. Latrobe’s proposed “Welcome to the neighborhood” sign is one of seven projects that have received mini-grants this year from the nonprofit Lincoln Highway Heritage Corridor, headquartered in neighboring Unity. The grants of...
Hempfield Area gauging interest in cyber program for next school year
Hempfield Area School District officials are trying to gauge how many students will choose the district’s full-time cyber program next school year. District leaders on Tuesday posted a survey that will determine how many parents would like to have their students attend the Hempfield Area Cyber Academy during the 2021-22...
Westmoreland news includes soup fundraiser and meetings
Fundraiser • The Ligonier Valley Chamber of Commerce will host its 11th annual Soup’s On Walk from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. March 20 in downtown Ligonier. Soups will be available for tasting around the Diamond Park area. Ticket are $20 and will go on sale Feb. 25. No tickets...
Allegheny County reports 24 new covid deaths, 250 more cases
Allegheny County on Wednesday reported 24 new coronavirus deaths and 250 additional coronavirus cases. There have been several days scattered in February with a spike in the county data for deaths reported. In the four days before Wednesday, the county data shows a net of zero new deaths reported. During...
New Kensington man accused of hitting woman, officer breaking up fight
A New Kensington man is charged with striking a police officer who was trying to break up a fight Monday night. New Kensington police charged Lawrence Eugene Meyer Jr., 58, with aggravated assault, simple assault and resisting arrest. According to a criminal complaint against Meyer, police went to the 400...
Westmoreland Conservation District video of Unity farm receives state award
The Westmoreland Conservation District’s recent video recognizing its 2020 Conservation Farmer of the Year award winner has, in turn, won an award. The local conservation district created the video, saluting the Ralph Frye family of Pleasant Lane Farms in Unity, because covid-19 pandemic precautions prevented it from holding its annual...
Etna appoints Alice Gabriel to fill council vacancy
Etna council has a new representative, one who said the borough’s revitalization inspired her to consider serving in local government. Alice Gabriel, who moved to the borough two years ago, was appointed by council during its Feb. 16 meeting. She will fill the unexpired term of the late Rudy Milcic,...
Arnold felon charged with pointing gun at woman over argument about $60
An Arnold man, who is prohibited from having a gun because of his criminal record, is charged with pointing a gun at a woman and choking her. Arnold police charged Michael Guin, 23, on Tuesday with aggravated assault, strangulation and simple assault. The victim and a state probation officer reported...
