Top Stories category, Page 110
Bedbug outbreak disrupts tenants at Jeannette high rise
Kristina Trent said Friday her father hasn’t been able to be at home much over the last two weeks amid another outbreak of bedbugs at a Jeannette high-rise apartment building. “My dad has to stay with me. He can’t go home to a house where he is still paying rent,”...
2 men arrested, 2 more sought in suspected drug, firearms trafficking ring
Four men are accused in what the state Attorney General’s Office described as a drug and firearms trafficking ring in Westmoreland County. Two of the suspects — Shelton Andrew Payne, 34, of Monongahela, and David Darryle Jeffries, 34, of Monessen — were arrested Thursday. Warrants were issued for two other...
Atria’s, Juniper Grill coming to Strip District
Just moments before taking the podium at a town hall for the State of the Strip 2025 report, Pamela Austin learned that two new restaurants would be opening in the first half of 2026 in the Cork Factory Lofts garage in the Strip District. Austin, president of Strip District Neighbors,...
Stinky mess: Gainey’s office, controller clash over Pittsburgh trash collection
The Gainey administration on Thursday blamed Pittsburgh’s controller for delays in garbage collection, leading to a squabble on Grant Street over why trash isn’t being picked up in some parts of the city. Olga George, a spokesperson for Mayor Ed Gainey, accused Controller Rachael Heisler of not paying the city’s...
Westmoreland County OKs drug lawsuit settlement
Westmoreland County has signed on to the settlement of a federal lawsuit with the makers of Oxycontin. The $7 billion overall resolution to the litigation filed against Purdue Pharma and its owners, the Sackler family, was approved earlier this year. It is expected to result in $200 million earmarked for...
Hunters planning more time in the woods after addition of 10 Sundays to hunting season
After the Pennsylvania Game Commission added 10 new Sundays to this year’s hunting season on Monday, local sportsmen say they’re gearing up for more time in the woods come September. The commission voted to instruct its executive director to open up 10 Sundays for hunting starting Sept. 14 and ending...
TV Talk: 2 anchors laid off at KDKA-TV
Evening news anchor Kym Gable and morning news anchor Lindsay Ward were let go by KDKA-TV on Thursday. KDKA news director Shawn Hoder did not respond to a request for comment. E-mail sent to Julie Eisenman, who was hired as KDKA/WPKD general manager earlier this year, bounced back Thursday (email...
U.S. employers added 73,000 jobs last month as labor market weakens in face of Trump trade wars
WASHINGTON — U.S. employers added just 73,000 jobs last month and Labor Department revisions showed that hiring was much weaker than previously reported in May and June. The unemployment rate ticked up to 4.2%. The unexpectedly weak report raises questions about the health of the job market and the economy...
‘Frightening’: Pittsburgh police staffing sinks to 20-year low
Pittsburgh police ranks have plummeted to a 20-year low even as the city confronts weekend chaos on the South Side, persistent concerns about Downtown crime, and the need to keep crowds safe during the 2026 NFL Draft. The police bureau employs 755 sworn officers — its fewest since 2005. City...
Jeannette man on motorized bicycle killed in late-night crash
Debris from a wrecked car helped state police home in on a potential suspect in a Thursday night hit-and-run that killed a Jeannette man who was riding an e-bike. State Trooper Steve Limani said although troopers didn’t immediately have witnesses to the crash, they did find vehicle parts at the...
South Side’s Club Cafe returns and hits all the right notes
When the doors to South Side music venue Club Cafe opened to the public for the first time in seven months — promptly at 7 p.m. — on Thursday night, the line of those waiting stretched to the corner of the block. That’s not too surprising, since the reopening night...
Ex state prison in Hempfield being reduced to rubble
The former SCI Greensburg state prison property has caught the eye of potential developers. As a result, Westmoreland County and Hempfield officials don’t think they’ll have much difficulty getting the 94-acre property off their hands once demolition is done. “It’s well-positioned property, it’s a big site,” said Jason Rigone, director...
Fatal Plum house explosion spurs lawsuits by insurers for Rustic Ridge homeowners
Lawsuits were filed Thursday on behalf of insurance companies representing three dozen homeowners in Plum whose properties were affected by the fatal 2023 house explosion in the Rustic Ridge development. The two complaints, filed in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court, name as defendants Penneco Oil Co.; Peoples Natural Gas; A.O....
Heavy rain pummels East Coast and sparks isolated flash floodingVideo
Strong rain storms lashed the East Coast on Thursday, delaying flights throughout the region and prompting emergency rescues of motorists trapped in deep water on busy highways from the Philadelphia area to New York City. In New York, flash flooding briefly closed sections of major roadways across the city just...
Deputy director hired for Westmoreland election bureau
For the first time in five years, Westmoreland County has a deputy director of the election bureau. The county commissioners on Thursday announced the hiring of Hannah Lindley, 31, of Bentleyville, Washington County, to serve as second in command of the office that oversees elections in Westmoreland County. Lindley served...
Search for answers after Texas’ deadly floods brings lawmakers to devastated Hill Country
KERRVILLE, Texas — A rural Texas county needed but lacked an updated warning system, local officials testified Thursday, when flash flooding swept away homes and vehicles and left families begging for rescue on the roofs of their homes earlier this month. Texas lawmakers searched for answers during a hearing on...
Rabbi enlisted to assess faith of Westmoreland jail inmate
A Pittsburgh rabbi was brought in to assess claims that a county jail inmate’s religious convictions qualify him to receive kosher meals while incarcerated, the Westmoreland County commissioners said. The lawyer for Kort Noel Eckman, who is awaiting trial in the attempted murder of his mother, said jail officials have...
Pirates trade 2-time All-Star closer David Bednar to Yankees for trio of prospects
The Renegade is heading to the Bronx. The Pittsburgh Pirates dealt two-time All-Star closer David Bednar to the New York Yankees on Thursday afternoon in a trade-deadline deal for 24-year-old minor league catcher/first baseman Rafael Flores and two Low-A prospects. Bednar was one of the most coveted closers on the...
Pittsburgh controller pushes City Council to make private meetings more transparent
Pittsburgh’s fiscal watchdog on Thursday recommended that City Council make more transparent — but not eliminate — controversial private meetings its members occasionally hold to discuss public business. The suggestion came in a performance audit released by Controller Rachael Heisler, which also recommended that council develop better policies to track...
Derry Township man charged in 2007 slaying accused of having drugs at prison
A Derry Township man awaiting trial in a 2007 homicide was arraigned Thursday on new police accusations that he had drugs at the Westmoreland County Prison. Charles Earl Ream, 55, was charged by county detectives this week with possession of contraband and conspiracy. Authorities said in court papers that June...
Trump injects new dose of uncertainty in tariffs as he pushes start date back to Aug. 7
WASHINGTON — For weeks, President Donald Trump was promising the world economy would change on Friday with his new tariffs in place. It was an ironclad deadline, administration officials assured the public. But when Trump signed the order Thursday night imposing new tariffs on 66 countries, the European Union, Taiwan...
Campaign cash already flowing in Pa. ahead of pivotal 2026 midterms
Republican incumbents in Pennsylvania’s congressional delegation outraised their Democratic counterparts by nearly a 2-to-1 margin, on average, during the first half of the year, according to federal election filings. Chris Borick, a political science professor at Allentown’s Muhlenberg College, said the fundraising gap is less of a reflection of any...
Is a grocery store on tap for downtown New Kensington?
The new owner of Central City Plaza in downtown New Kensington hopes to fill vacant space there by the end of this year and to get a grocery store operational next year. “We’re pretty confident we can better manage the property, and we saw a lot of potential in the...
Indiana Township’s Emmerling Park to double in size with recent property purchase
Emmerling Park in Indiana Township is growing about twice its size after a recent property purchase. Supervisors recently authorized the purchase of nearly 60 acres of undeveloped commercially zoned land to effectively double the parkland off Cove Run Road. The new land encompasses Deer Creek near the pedestrian bridge on...
O’Hara resident joins charity swim in Monongahela River
Lizabeth “Libby” Ernharth of O’Hara is a lifelong swimmer about to experience a swimming first — she’s going to swim in the Monongahela River. Ernharth, 53, is set to participate in a non-competitive five-mile Mon River Mission charity swim on Aug. 2. Ernharth has plenty of memories spending time on...
