1 person in hospital after metal fabricating plant explosion
Some residents of Smith Township were put under a shelter-in-place order Thursday evening by Washington County officials after a reported explosion at a metal fabricating plant. According to TribLive news partner WTAE, a hazardous materials team was called to the Langeloth Metallurgical Co. facility on Langeloth Road. The incident was...
Larry Cervi, beloved arts director and founder of East End Kids, dies
Larry Cervi, who spent decades shaping students and stages as an educator and performing arts director across the Pittsburgh region, was a people person at heart. Cervi, of Churchill, died Thursday, after a yearlong battle with bladder cancer, only two days after his 90th birthday. He founded the Larry Cervi...
Car veers off Parkway into the Monongahela River; woman pulled from water in critical condition
A woman was taken to the hospital Thursday evening after her vehicle went off the Parkway East and into the Monongahela River. The car landed in the Mon in the 900 block of Second Avenue, between the 10th Street and Hot Metal bridges in Pittsburgh, shortly before 4:30 p.m. Pittsburgh...
Back to business: Local shops, restaurants come back to life after snowstorm
Small business owners say they’ve weathered a storm that left 10 or more inches of snow on downtown streets this week. It took a mix of snow shovel handiwork, municipal plow trucks and private contractors with backhoes and tri-axle dump trucks to bring business districts back to life. “This storm...
Hempfield woman charged in husband’s shooting death pushes for speedy trial
The lawyer for a Hempfield woman accused in the October shooting death of her husband said he’s ready for a fast-tracked trial to begin in March. Leeann Steel, 51, has been in jail without bond since her arrest following what prosecutors said was the murder of her husband. William Steel,...
Funeral fund established for 3-year-old girl who died in Natrona
The extended family of 3-year-old Karma Murray-Sinicki, who died Wednesday in Harrison’s Natrona neighborhood, has established a GoFundMe to assist with the cost of funeral services. “Sweet little Karma passed away unexpectedly at 3 years old,” read the fund created by the child’s aunt, Rachel Kish, of Greensburg. “Mom &...
Lawsuit claims parents allowed ‘party house’ that led to fatal dirt bike crash of Norwin teens
Families of two Norwin High School students killed in a 2024 dirt bike crash have filed wrongful death lawsuits against the parents of two other teens, claiming they allowed and enabled underage drinking that led to the fatalities. In two separate court filings in Westmoreland County Court, the parents of...
Ice forces closure of Allegheny River traffic, disrupting Pittsburgh shipping
The Allegheny River in Pittsburgh is shut down to all traffic through March 1. The U.S. Coast Guard made the announcement Thursday afternoon after several inches of ice accumulated in the wake of last weekend’s snowstorm. “I’ve been referring to this as a once-in-a-decade freeze,” said Shane Checkan, navigation chairman...
Norwin area: School official can approve change orders, bike racks proposed, more
Norwin superintendent can approve change orders for stadium project Norwin’s superintendent has been given the authority to approve change orders sought by contractors involved in the extensive construction project to renovate Knights Stadium. The school board last month gave Superintendent Natalie McCracken the authority to approve change orders in an...
Pollution control equipment breaks down at Clairton Coke Works
The Allegheny County Health Department has found no indication of a long-term health emergency after U.S. Steel’s Clairton Coke Works experienced a breakdown of pollution control equipment this week. A breakdown occurs when equipment stops working properly and releases more pollution than usual, county health officials said in a statement...
Murrysville area: Super bingo, hot chocolate hike, cake decorating, more
Email news briefs and event listings to pvarine@triblive.com. Delmont VFD Auxiliary super bingo The Delmont Volunteer Fire Department Auxiliary will host a $6,000 super bingo night at 6:30 p.m. March 7. Doors open at 5 p.m. Tickets are $35 in advance and $40 at the door. No one under age...
Giant Eagle again offers free home grocery delivery in wake of snowstorm
Once again, Giant Eagle will offer free home delivery for eligible grocery orders this Thursday through Saturday. The offer comes as Western Pennsylvania residents are restocking their refrigerators and trying to stay warm amid frigid temperatures. Eligible orders must cost at least $35 and be placed through the website or...
Student-conceived Highlander Hub store opens at Baldwin High School
A room that once housed a school store had been locked and unused by the time Janeen Peretin attended Baldwin High in the 1990s. “I remember wondering what it must have been like when students actually used that store and how great it would have been to have that opportunity...
Resident, 71, and his dog killed in West Deer fire in which ammo exploded repeatedly
Fire crews attempting to knock down a West Deer blaze Wednesday were hampered by heavy rounds of ammunition exploding in the back of the home, authorities said. “When we got on scene, there was heavy fire — about 60% involved — and a solid half-hour of ammunition going off,” said...
Parkway East’s ‘bathtub’ area reopens after water main break
A stretch of the Parkway East known as the bathtub is reopened Thursday afternoon after a water main break had forced a closure. The portion of I-376 inbound between Grant Street and the Fort Pitt Bridge and the on-ramp from Grant Street to westbound I-376 reopened before 3 p.m., the...
Veteran prosecutor who helmed Pittsburgh synagogue shooting case named U.S. Attorney for Western Pa.
A prosecutor who helped convict the gunman now on death row for fatally shooting 11 congregants in a Squirrel Hill synagogue in 2018 is officially at the helm of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Pittsburgh. U.S. Attorney General Pamela Bondi has appointed longtime prosecutor Troy Rivetti as U.S. Attorney for...
Penn-Trafford area: Bushy Run events, Galentine’s Day, Lego bingo, more
Bushy Run events Bushy Run Battlefield in Penn Township will host a speaker on Feb. 21 and its annual Charter Day on March 8. The speaker, part of the historical site’s regular “History Speaks” series, will discuss how Bushy Run is portrayed in films. The event will be held at...
Arnold teen comes into own with starting, leading Valley pep band
The idea to start a pep band at Valley Jr.-Sr. High School had been on Samantha Potts’ mind for years. “I hated that once football season is over, I don’t get to do marching band,” said Potts, a junior at Valley. “I wanted to do more outside of school hours....
Watershed association awaiting response on proposed lease with Ligonier Country Market
Susan Huba, executive director of the Loyalhanna Watershed Association, is in waiting mode after Ligonier Township officials told the environmental nonprofit and the organizers of the Ligonier Country Market this week to figure out a solution on their own for the 2026 season. The Country Market, launched about 50 years...
Man who led police on hours-long chase up frozen Allegheny River remains jailed
Police say a Pittsburgh man who shouted to them that he wasn’t “going back to jail” as he led officers on a slow, 5-mile foot pursuit on the frozen Allegheny River on Wednesday is, in fact, back in jail. Gary Cawley, 47, is facing felony charges of burglary and criminal...
PRT says nearly all bus lines running normally again
After days of patchy service because of Sunday’s winter storm, Pittsburgh Regional Transit says bus and rail service throughout the region is almost fully restored. The announcement comes after snowplows and dump trucks cleared what PRT called “problem areas” throughout the system, the agency said in a social media post....
UPMC gives $10M to Pittsburgh for ambulances, freeing up money for snowplows
UPMC on Thursday donated $10 million to Pittsburgh for new ambulances, freeing up money for the city to also buy additional snowplows. Mayor Corey O’Connor joined UPMC President and CEO Leslie Davis at a Downtown medic station — standing in front of a 31-year-old ambulance that has driven over 100,000...
Public input sought for Parks Township dump cleanup plans
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is conducting a five-year review of the project to clean up the former NUMEC nuclear waste dump off Route 66 and Kiskimere Road, formally known as the Shallow Land Disposal Area. It’s the second such review, designed to evaluate the effectiveness of the cleanup...
Development authority planned by Hempfield with focus on former prison property
Hempfield is planning to create an authority that officials hope will spur development. Once it’s established, the development authority’s first task will be identifying new uses for the former SCI Greensburg state prison property that the township owns. “An initial focus would be on the redevelopment of the SCI parcel,...
Plans are underway to improve signage, lighting and pedestrian access near Westmoreland MallVideo
Hempfield wants to spruce up the Westmoreland Mall area by adding signage, lighting and pedestrian improvements at the entrance into the township. The township supervisors on Monday approved a $30,000 agreement with Remington & Vernick Engineers for a study and conceptual design for improvements focused on a bridge and ramp...
