Western PA Local News category, Page 2311
Bernie Sanders to campaign for Joe Biden in Pittsburgh
U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders is visiting Pittsburgh on Saturday to campaign for former Vice President Joe Biden, the man who defeated him for the Democratic presidential nomination. Political experts said Sanders’ visit is designed to energize young and progressive Democrats. “This is a calculated move to energize the base of...
North Huntingdon residents seek demolition of smelly ‘cat house’
Residents living near the odor-emanating North Huntingdon house where some 70 cats had to be rescued want the township to tear it down now, not years from now. “The place stinks,” is how James “Rick” Keenan described the neighboring house at 820 Leger Road, where Matthew Jacobs previously lived with...
West Mifflin man pleads guilty to killing woman found in Sewickley Township
A West Mifflin man will serve at least 13 years in prison after pleading guilty Friday to killing a woman in 2018 and leaving her body in a wooded area of Westmoreland County. Dale Terence Cooper, 37, pleaded guilty to third-degree murder before Judge Beth A. Lazzara in the death...
Mt. Pleasant man accused by state agents of selling heroin, meth from Norvelt home
Agents with the state attorney general’s office allege that a Mt. Pleasant man used a home in the bedroom community of Norvelt as a base for a drug sales operation for several months. David Meade Keefer, 33, was arrested Thursday at the well-kept, two-story frame home at 1136 West Laurel...
National Aviary’s new $4M Garden Room has bird-safe wall of glass overlooking parkVideo
The National Aviary has opened its $4 million Garden Room for special events with features such as fireplaces and a bird-safe glass wall that opens into Allegheny Commons Park. The nonprofit has been fundraising and planning for years to bring the dream of the room, kitchen and large entryway to...
Burrell staying with in-person learning for now as covid-19 cases increase in Westmoreland
Burrell School Board is monitoring Westmoreland County’s recent increase in covid-19 cases, but hasn’t decided whether it will make any changes to the way it’s delivering education to its students. Burrell students now have the option to go to school in-person or attend virtual classes. The percentage of students taking...
Judge denies request to allow poll watchers at Allegheny County satellite election offices
A federal judge Friday denied a request to permit poll watchers at Allegheny County’s satellite election offices, saying there is no constitutional right to have them there. The ruling, during a telephone conference with U.S. District Judge J. Nicholas Ranjan, was a blow to two Republican congressional candidates in Western...
Text messages lead to sex charges against Scottdale man
A series of text messages discovered by a parent on a teenage girl’s cell phone led to sexual assault charges against a Scottdale man. Albert C. Fletcher III, 35, was charged by borough police with corruption of minors, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a person less than 16 years old,...
Westmoreland County reports 64 new covid-19 cases, 2 new deaths
Westmoreland County on Friday reported 64 new cases of covid-19, bringing the total known cases to 3,900. The county’s 7-day average has dropped to 84 cases from an all-time high of 96 just five days ago. With 393 new tests reported, the county’s daily positivity rate is 16.28%. That’s after...
Postal Service ramps up for election season, delivering 1.5M pieces of political mail daily in Western Pa.
Call it junk mail if you will, but Jeffrey Hauser takes those political ads piling up daily in your mail seriously. Less than two weeks before the Nov. 3 election, the Latrobe postmaster demonstrated just how seriously the Postal Service takes the flow of countless campaign mailers and mail-in ballots....
Allegheny County reports 158 new covid-19 cases, 2nd highest this month
Allegheny County on Friday reported the second highest daily number of coronavirus cases in October. The 158 new cases were the most reported in a single day since 204 cases were reported Oct. 4. Of these, 109 are confirmed cases from 1,549 PCR tests. The other 49 are probable cases,...
Week in review: Fall resurgence of covid-19, election day around the corner and police reformVideo
Pennsylvania is seeing a fall resurgence in cases of covid-19, Gov. Tom Wolf and Secretary of Health Rachel Levine said this week. The statewide percentage of positive cases has risen to 4.3%, the highest it’s been since August, officials said, and about a third of the state’s 67 counties have...
Cochran returns to challenge Warner for 52nd state House District seat
Former state legislator Harry Young Cochran, a Democrat, is looking to return to Harrisburg by challenging incumbent Ryan Warner, a Republican seeking his fourth term in the 52nd state House district. The race will be decided on Nov. 3 in part by Westmoreland County voters in Scottdale and the Bessemer...
Richland man on mission to unearth mysteries surrounding abandoned Bakerstown cemeteryVideo
The tiny collection of crumbling gravestones along Route 8 in Richland aren’t visible from the busy roadway. The abandoned cemetery in the Bakerstown neighborhood doesn’t appear on maps. And there are no signs along the narrow gravel road leading to the clearing where the smattering of weather-worn headstones marks the...
Penn Hills High School football team eager to help community with food distributionVideo
Penn Hills High School football players scored some much-needed points for their community as they helped give food to hundreds of families. The players loaded boxes upon boxes of meat, produce, dairy goods and milk into cars outside the school’s main entrance as part of a USDA Farmers to Families...
Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership cancels ‘Light Up Night’
Lights out for Light Up Night. The annual kickoff to the holiday season, usually held the Friday before Thanksgiving, is the latest big event to be canceled. The Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership announced Friday that what would have been the 60th year of Light Up Night won’t happen because of the...
Greensburg houses of worship unite for coronavirus prayer initiative
Greensburg’s houses of worship have different doctrines, but they all have one thing in common, according to the Rev. Kevin Haley of First United Methodist Church. “We all have these different theologies, different backgrounds, but we all pray,” Haley said. Seven of the city’s religious institutions have teamed up for...
Palmer Pharmacy in West Deer wants to get children reading moreVideo
Teaching children to read and developing an interest in books from a young age is important. That’s why Palmer Pharmacy in West Deer is starting its “Ready to Read Program.” “Our goal really is to partner with parents and educators to develop literacy skills and foster a love of reading...
New sculptures are part of improvements to Squirrel Hill’s Wightman Park
A bee, a butterfly and a lightning bug gather at a park next to a waterfall. This isn’t the opening of a joke — it’s a public art project that’s part of $4.2 million in improvements to Wightman Park in Pittsburgh’s Squirrel Hill neighborhood. The park is set to reopen...
West Deer appoints acclaimed educator as township supervisor
West Deer has a new township supervisor. Supervisors on Wednesday unanimously appointed Jennifer Mann, 59, to fill the seat formerly held by the late Shawn Maudhuit. Mann was one of 10 residents who applied for the position. “I’m honored to be part of this organization and this community, and I’m...
Police: 20-year-old killed in Penn Hills shooting
One person was killed in a shooting in Penn Hills early Friday, according to Allegheny County Police. Police said officers responded to a reported shooting in the 200 block of Curtis Street shortly after 12:10 a.m. Police said they found multiple people assisting 20-year-old Deondre Stewart, who had been shot....
The Stroller, Oct. 23, 2020: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
Is your church or organization going to host a free Thanksgiving Dinner? Send information to The Stroller at least a week in advance to vndnews@tribweb.com. Please include a daytime telephone number. Donations being accepted for holiday vouchers Allegheny Valley Association of Churches is accepting donations to help with the food...
Joyce challenged by retired FBI agent for 13th Congressional District
Voters in the massive 13th Congressional District — stretching from Westmoreland County to Gettysburg — will chose between a freshman incumbent who embraces the agenda of President Trump and a Democratic challenger who wants to serve as an opposition to power. The race is between state Rep. John Joyce, a...
Pittsburgh native featured in ‘Crutch’ documentary doesn’t lean on disabilityVideo
Everyone uses crutches. Some are just invisible. As Bill Shannon crosses a city street on film, his movements are unstable with crutches under each arm. He collapses on a patch of grass after reaching the other side. What you see is man with a disability who has fallen. What you...
Legionella found in both Allegheny Valley schools
Testing revealed elevated levels of legionella in several sinks at both Acmetonia Elementary School and Springdale Junior-Senior High School in Allegheny Valley School District, officials announced Thursday. Water fountains in the affected schools have been shut down and students will drink bottled water until the problem has been resolved, Superintendent...
