Regional category, Page 219
Beaver County man charged in connection with Capitol riot
A Beaver County man who traveled to Washington with his wife and mother to rally for Donald Trump was arrested Friday on accusations that he participated in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S Capitol. Russell James Peterson, 34, of Rochester, is charged with knowingly entering any restricted building or...
YMCA of Greater Pittsburgh permanently closes Camp Soles in Somerset County; sale in works
The YMCA of Greater Pittsburgh has permanently closed Camp T. Frank Soles in Middlecreek, Somerset County. The 263-acre camp was a destination for kids, families and school groups for generations. The YMCA of Greater Pittsburgh was unable to sustain the camp because of the coronavirus pandemic, according to Carolyn Grady,...
Seward woman charged with child endangerment
A Westmoreland County woman was charged this week in Indiana County with four counts of child endangerment after state police said she overdosed in a Brush Valley home with four young children nearby. Kayla Jo Harnett, 29, of Seward, was found unresponsive in a residence along Route 56 just before...
Volunteers needed for this weekend’s Great Backyard Bird Count
The 24th Great Backyard Bird Count is set for Friday through Monday. Volunteers from around the world are invited to count the birds they see for at least 15 minutes on one or more days of the count. Participating counters need only internet access to enter their bird checklists at...
Garbage truck smashes into Baden family’s home
No injuries were reported when a garbage truck smashed into a home in Baden Thursday morning. The crash happened at Berry and Wilson streets around 6:20 a.m., Baden police Chief David Christner said. Christner said the truck could not stop as it came down Wilson Street, crossed over Berry and...
State police charge Beaver County woman in sex assault of teen
A 37-year-old Beaver County woman has been accused of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old boy. State police charged Janine A. Young, of Beaver, with numerous counts of statutory sexual assault and indecent assault. State police allege that Young had sex with the victim numerous times. Young was arraigned Tuesday and placed...
Pittsburgh region gets 1-2 inches snow overnight
Only very light snow is expected Thursday morning on top of what fell Wednesday night, National Weather Service meteorologist Jared Rackley said. Between 1 and 2 inches fell around the Pittsburgh area between 6 p.m. Wednesday and midnight, Rackley said. The weather service measured 1.1 inches at its office in...
Federal attorneys appeal home detention for ‘pink hat lady’ charged in Capitol riot
Federal attorneys say a Mercer County woman known as “pink hat lady” is too dangerous and too much of a flight risk to be allowed to remain at home while she awaits trial for her suspected role in the violent Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C....
Phone scam alert involving fake Amazon calls issued in Indiana County
Residents of Indiana County are being warned about a telephone scam involving Amazon accounts. Pennsylvania State Police have received reports of a scam in which the caller tells of a problem with a purchase on the residents’ Amazon account. According to the complaints, the caller then provided a phone number...
Pittsburgh woman sentenced for role in smuggling synthetic marijuana into prisons
A Pittsburgh woman was sentenced Tuesday to eight months in a federal prison for her role in smuggling synthetic marijuana, or K2, into correctional facilities, according to court records. Sandra Wilson, 29, was ordered to spend an additional three years on supervised release. Federal prosecutors said Wilson worked with a...
Things to do in Western Pa.: Feb. 10, 2021
The doldrums of February is a good time to hunker down at home and watch a movie. The Carnegie Mellon International Film Festival, Row House Cinema and Pittsburgh Cultural Trust have at-home streaming options, ranging from serious to silly. Also coming up are music livestreams, art and theater happenings and...
Pittsburgh area could get another snowstorm late Wednesday eveningVideo
Snow lovers certainly cannot complain about the recent weather. The next round of snowstorms is expected to arrive late Wednesday evening in the Pittsburgh area. The National Weather Service has issued a winter storm warning from 4 p.m. Wednesday to 9 a.m. Thursday for Westmoreland, Indiana, Fayette and Greene counties,...
Commonwealth Court establishes presence on Twitter
During the flurry of legal activity in Pennsylvania following the results of the November election, the state’s Commonwealth Court staff was firing out press releases at a record pace as cases were heard and decided. Now, the public will have a better chance of following the court’s activity by way...
Pennsylvania mail-in ballot registry isn’t as permanent as the word implies
Editor’s note: A prior version of this story incorrectly stated the impact of ignoring a letter regarding the requirement to apply for mail in ballots annually even if voters registered for the “permanent mail-in ballot list.” Pennsylvania’s 2019 mail-in ballot law continues to create confusion as election officials across the...
Allegheny Health Network adjusts visiting policy, other hospitals still have limits
With covid rates and hospitalizations dropping, Allegheny Health Network is changing visitation policies at its hospitals. The hospital system announced Tuesday that effective immediately its hospitals are allowing multiple people to visit a patient one at a time. Patients can have only one visitor in a facility at a time...
Pitt graduate Marty Schottenheimer, coach of 4 NFL teams and winner of 200 games, dies at 77
Marty Schottenheimer, who won 200 regular-season games with four NFL teams thanks to his “Martyball” brand of smash-mouth football but regularly fell short in the playoffs, died. He was 77. Schottenheimer, a Fort Cherry and Pitt graduate, died Monday night in Charlotte, N.C., his family said through former Kansas City...
Covid hospitalizations continue to decline in Pennsylvania
The number of Pennsylvanians hospitalized because of covid-19 continues to decline at a rapid pace. According to the latest data from OpenData PA, which tracks hospital numbers in the state, the number of patients hospitalized has dropped 12% in the past week and 46% in the past month. As of...
Beaver Falls bakery Oram’s tabbed for best doughnuts in the state
Never heard of Oram’s Donut Shop, you say? If you love doughnuts, you might want to acquaint yourself with it. The Beaver Falls bakery, which somehow often finds itself excluded from “best of” lists, landed on Food and Wine’s “The Best Doughnuts in Every State” rankings that were released Friday....
Here’s how to celebrate Valentine’s Day despite covid restrictions
Valentine’s Day is just a few short days away and even covid-19 can’t stop the celebration of love. Despite the pandemic and its restrictions, there are ways to adhere to Gov. Tom Wolf’s orders and celebrate the day safely. The Feb. 14 holiday falls on a Sunday this year. Make...
Accumulating snow ends in Western Pa.; PennDOT lifts speed restrictions
PennDOT reduced speed limits on several roads in the Pittsburgh region and urged residents to avoid unnecessary travel as snow made roads slick and treacherous Tuesday morning. PennDOT lifted speed limit restrictions shortly before 11 a.m. Speed limits had been reduced to 45 mph on all interstates and several other...
National Bird Feeding Month: Sales soar, as do views on Western Pa. feeder camsVideo
It’s not just that February is National Bird Feeding Month. Every month since the beginning of the pandemic last year has seemed like a bird feeding month. Sales of feeders, seed and most anything to do with birds have skyrocketed as people have flocked to the avian world — a...
IUP alums dig deep as the university works to remake itself
Fighting an uphill battle to cut costs and end declining enrollment, Indiana University of Pennsylvania raked in record levels of financial support and set a new record among state-owned schools in a recently completed fundraising campaign. The 30-month comprehensive fundraising campaign, dubbed Imagine Unlimited, recently ended six months early with...
Suspect in Beaver County homicide arrested in Homewood
A man wanted in connection with a fatal shooting last month in Aliquippa is in custody, state police said. Rico Ramone Rodgers, 21, of Aliquippa is charged with homicide and firearms violations. He was arrested without incident around 2 p.m. Saturday in Homewood by Allegheny County, Pittsburgh and state police...
Helltown, Ohio nonprofit beer collaboration to pour proceeds to county food banks
Buy a beer and help the local food bank. Win, win. For folks in Westmoreland and Washington counties, that soon will be a reality when Helltown Brewing and Ohio nonprofit Helping Hops partner to release “Hellping Hops.” A portion of sales from the 6.5% ABV New England-style India pale ale...
Prop bets add fun, whimsy to Super Bowl wagering, though Pa. law limits the fun
Pennsylvanians might not be able to legally bet on what color the Gatorade will be dumped on the winning team’s coach or the length of the National Anthem, but many people likely will make other proposition bets offered during Sunday’s Super Bowl. Prop bets, or side wagers, allow people to...
