Top Stories category, Page 168
Vinci Winery coming to downtown New Kensington in old-school Italian style
A new establishment in downtown New Kensington brings together three of Sam Iovino’s passions: wine, cigars and food. “I’m old-school Italian. I believe in entertaining,” said Iovino. “I love entertaining and getting people together.” Iovino, 56, of Monroeville plans to open Vinci Winery at 1021 Barnes St. on July 9....
Public school districts, cyber charter schools grapple with tuition costs
Greg Egnor, Burrell School District’s director of Student Services, wants to change the district’s relationship with the 27 families that live within Burrell’s boundary lines but elect to send their children to a cyber charter school. Previously, the district had no relationship with its growing cyber charter population — which...
Cyber school’s flexibility and support help West Tarentum boy thrive
Brook Stitt is keeping a close eye on the state budget vote this year. The West Tarentum mother is concerned about a proposal to limit per-student payments to Pennsylvania’s cyber charter schools. The bill, which also calls for changes to how cyber charters operate, narrowly passed the state House last...
Campbells Run Road in Robinson will remain closed after flooding
Campbells Run Road in Robinson will remain closed until a freshly paved portion that was damaged by Thursday’s heavy storms can be replaced. The afternoon storms were so heavy that some motorists were stranded in the roadway, according to TribLive news partner WTAE. The road was forced to close between...
Pa. Senate approves bill to repeal Sunday hunting ban
A bill to fully repeal Pennsylvania’s ban on Sunday hunting passed the state Senate on Thursday. The proposal, House Bill 1431, gained approval June 11 in the state House of Representatives. However, a provision to allow the use of natural deer urine as an attractant was amended in the Senate...
Mama Duck, duckling inflatables set to pump up crowds at Idlewild and SoakZone
Jase Wiarda occasionally calls a company with a pressure washer to give his rubber duck a bath. “It’s a weird phone call to make,” he said. “People think it’s a prank.” That is, until they realize their services are being sought to clean the “World’s Largest Rubber Duck” — a...
2 teens killed in Pitcairn shootings
Two 16-year-old boys were killed Thursday in shootings in Pitcairn. The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office said Isiah McCarthy of Pitcairn and Tyrant Sutton of Clairton both died at AHN Forbes Hospital on Thursday afternoon following the shootings. The shootings took place at about 3 p.m. on Shaw Alley near...
Route 30 eastbound reopens after multi-vehicle crash shut it down for hours in Southwest Greensburg
Route 30 eastbound reopened near the Route 119 interchange after a crash early Thursday evening shut it down for hours. The 5:30 p.m. wreck involved multiple vehicles, according to a Westmoreland County 911 dispatcher. Southwest Greensburg firefighters reported in a social media post that the crash involved a tri-axle truck...
Westmoreland commissioners say opioid settlement funds needed but won’t cover prior costs
Westmoreland commissioners said the roughly $2.6 million doled out Thursday from legal settlements with major drug makers and distributors will not even come close to covering the damages the county sustained from the opioid addiction crisis. The money was awarded to agencies and nonprofits aimed at drug treatment, recovery and...
David Burritt, fresh off $108 million payday, stays as head of U.S. Steel
U.S. Steel’s senior leadership under Nippon Steel is taking shape — and it looks a lot like it did before the buyout. The Japanese firm has elected to retain U.S. Steel president and CEO David Burritt as well many of the executives around him, according to filings with the Securities...
Customs agents nab knockoff Rolexes, sunglasses sent from Middle East to Pittsburgh
Border guards seized more than a dozen knockoff Rolex watches and 12 pairs of counterfeit, designer-imitating sunglasses — with a street value of $573,000 — that arrived at Pittsburgh International Airport, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency said Thursday. The suspect shipment, whose contents were labeled “Empty poly bag...
Judge sentences pair to 5-10 years in prison in connection with North Side shooting
Two Brighton Heights men Thursday pleaded guilty and were sentenced to 5 to 10 years in prison for their role in a 2022 shooting on Pittsburgh’s North Side, where a barrage of dozens of gunshots killed a 40-year-old man and injured three others. Dayqual Allen, 22, and Andre Allen, 23,...
ICE arrests 14 at Marshall Township Mexican restaurant
Community activist Jaime Martinez rushed to Tepache Mexican Kitchen & Bar’s Marshall Township location after learning 14 people had been arrested by immigration agents. Martinez and eight other members of Casa San Jose, a nonprofit that works to support Pittsburgh’s Latino community, arrived at the restaurant Wednesday afternoon. “I see...
Pittsburgh Regional Transit makes immediate route changes, including in the Alle-Kiski Valley
Bus routes in the Alle-Kiski Valley are among those that are affected by changes being made by Pittsburgh Regional Transit (PRT). The changes include 20 altered routes, like those of the P16 Penn Hills Flyer and the P78 Oakmont Flyer, and 39 other routes with bus stop changes, like the...
Greensburg Salem passes 2.5-mill tax hike after contested vote, executive session
The Greensburg Salem School Board approved a $53 million budget Wednesday with a 2.5-mill tax hike for the 2025-26 school year. The average property owner with a median assessed value of $17,200 would see a $38 annual increase in their tax bills with a 2.5-mill tax jump — bringing the...
East Hills woman gets 15-30 years for boyfriend’s killing
Family members from both sides of a fatal domestic dispute appeared in a Pittsburgh court Thursday to speak on behalf of their loved ones. Charlotte Hill, an East Hills woman who fatally shot her boyfriend in 2023 after a fight, has always been a kind, honest, and empathetic mother of...
Tips to avoid dehydration in Western Pa.’s extreme heat
As temperatures hover around the 90s, health experts are stressing the importance of staying hydrated and taking precautions against the summer heat. Dr. Brent Rau, medical director for Allegheny Health Network’s Department of Emergency Medicine, said there’s no set amount of water to drink that will stop someone from becoming...
Indiana Township officials vow to continue safety efforts on 128-year-old bridge and tunnel
A very old railroad bridge has a new look in Indiana Township, as township officials continue their efforts to restore the Rural Ridge tunnel along Little Deer Creek Valley Road to ensure optimal public safety for motorists. Rebecca Mink of Indiana Township has witnessed the deterioration of a 128-year-old railroad...
Pittsburgh Public Schools takes 1st step of proposed school closure plan
Pittsburgh Public School directors on Wednesday moved forward with the process for potential school closures. The school board voted to open state-required public hearings for the potential closures of nine facilities: Student Achievement Center (Baxter School), Friendship (which houses Montessori PreK-5), Fulton, McKelvey (which houses Miller PreK-5), Morrow, Schiller, Spring...
Iran’s supreme leader warns against further American attacks in 1st statement since ceasefire
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Thursday his country had delivered a “slap to America’s face” with its strike on an American base in Qatar, and warned against any further U.S. attacks in his first public comments since a ceasefire was declared with...
18-year-old arrested following East Liberty park mass shooting
Pittsburgh police arrested an 18-year-old on gun charges after a shooting that injured 15 people near Garland Park in East Liberty. Kyree McCray of Pittsburgh faces charges that include carrying a firearm without a license and receiving stolen property. He is not charged with firing a weapon during the shooting....
1 dead following Duquesne house fire
One person died following a fire early Tuesday morning that destroyed one home and damaged several others in Duquesne. The fire started about 1:20 a.m. in the 130 block of North Third Street, according to TribLive news partner WTAE. At least one other person was taken to the hospital to...
Perking up: How the arrival of a coffee shop can get a small town buzzing
Avonmore has long chased an economic renaissance that never quite arrived. If anything, the dream of a bustling business community slipped further out of reach when the town’s rolling mill closed in 2019, taking more than 100 jobs with it. But the borough has a coffee shop among its small...
OnlyFans performer pleads guilty to extorting $24K from North Huntington man in online scheme
A North Carolina woman was paroled from the Westmoreland County Prison on Wednesday after she pleaded guilty to operating an online theft and extortion plot last year against a North Huntingdon man. Prosecutors said the scheme had the victim paying nearly $24,000 over several months to a woman who investigators...
Gambling regulators approve bans for 15 scofflaws who join 1,390 others who can’t bet in Pa.
Three people who left children unattended while they gambled at Philadelphia-area casinos were among those banned from gambling at casinos, using online betting sites or video gaming terminals in Pennsylvania. The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board on Wednesday placed a total of 15 people on its involuntary exclusion lists. There are...
