Pittsburgh Metro News Archives

One Butler County community is responding to rising gasoline prices by letting some of its employees work four-day weeks.

An upcoming bridge conference in Pittsburgh is expected to draw a record turnout.

SHADYSIDE A criminal complaint is revealing new details in the stabbing death of a young woman in Shadyside.

The Army Corps of Engineers says the main lock chamber on the Monongahela River in Braddock is closed for emergency repairs and could be down all weekend.

The City of Pittsburgh will buy the most environmentally friendly vehicles it can, using federal Environmental Protection Agency guidelines to make its choices, Mayor Luke Ravenstahl's administration announced ...

The city on Friday reopened Point State Park, a historic green area undergoing a $32 million renovation at the confluence of the famed three rivers.

A Pittsburgh Public Schools teacher was suspended Wednesday following her arrest on drug charges in the Marshall-Shadeland area, city police said.

District Judge Gene Ricciardi slapped two Oakland apartment building landlords with fines totaling nearly half a million dollars today for persistent building code and fire safety violations.

Pittsburgh City Council tentatively and narrowly approved campaign finance reform legislation today.

A home invasion suspect was shot after a house on Josephine Street was broken into on Pittsburgh's South Side late Wednesday night.

The Bank of New York Mellon Corp. 's Treasury Services group said it expects to add 135 new positions to its operations area in Pittsburgh this year.

A rhesus monkey controls a robotic arm with its mind to feed itself. The research was done by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.

A teacher in the Pittsburgh Public Schools was suspended after she was arrested on drug charges.

Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato and Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl this morning told members of the state House Urban Affairs Committee that city-county merger remains the region's best hope for ...

Pittsburgh's largest newspaper has agreed to begin delivery of its rival in four counties.

The state's Department of Environmental Protection is investigating the source of methane gas found on two properties in the town of Versailles.

Pam Dorfi has surpassed her hopes for the Greater Pennsylvania Super Kids, a soap box derby set for June 28 in Sharon.

A Pittsburgh-area man has been sentenced to life in prison for killing an Iraq war veteran during a robbery in 2006.

The pivotal BETH study is a Phase III clinical research trial that is investigating the benefits of combining two monoclonal antibodies, the anti-angiogenic, bevacizumab ) and the targeted therapy trastuzumab ...

Time will tell if it's more serious than that. In its filing in U.S. District Court, the usually low-profile good-government group paints a disturbing scenario in which Cappy's Supreme Court may have negotiated ...

A company that makes develops tornado assessment software says the Pittsburgh area ranks seventh in the nation for tornado activity.

An overnight water main break floods a dozen basements on Pittsburgh's South Side.

Yet a full program of dance set to Mancini's music had never been staged until a Western Pennsylvania performing arts center -- founded by a fellow native of Aliquippa, Pa.

A California radiologist left everything to his alma mater in western Pennsylvania.

Members of a small, isolated Amish community are refusing to follow state code in their handling of waste from a school's two outhouses, citing their religious convictions.

A year after it began work on a sweeping overhaul of bus service, the Port Authority is scheduling open houses to gather public input.

A Pittsburgh police officer shot and killed a man armed with a meat cleaver on Atwood Street in Oakland Friday afternoon.

A former Butler County real estate agent will spend more than three years in federal prison for purchasing hundreds of properties worth more than $14 million through fraudulent loans.

A Westmoreland County couple has been indicted on wire fraud charges for allegedly selling counterfeit coupons on eBay.

Givewell.com introduces company ordering program for Healthcare Gift Card By Jeanie Casison Motivating workers to take better care of themselves is a top priority for many organizations across the country.

A local woman has won $2.9 million playing a multi-state progressive jackpot game in West Virginia.

Last Friday, Pittsburgh's Nora Baden won the 'Cashola' jackpot at Wheeling Island Casino & Racetrack.

The track announced earlier this week that Baden's winnings were the largest jackpot ever paid in the multistate progressive video lottery game.

'Cashola' features a shared prize pool that can be won by players in West Virginia, Delaware and Rhode Island.

Baden says that she told her husband they should go to Wheeling Island last Friday because she was feeling lucky.

Google Inc. wants a lawsuit filed by a Franklin Park couple over online photos of their house moved to federal court in Pittsburgh.

The former owner of a Pittsburgh-area remodeling business has pleaded guilty to bilking 36 customers in three counties out of more than $170,000. Prosecutors accused 48-year-old Donald Fehl of Peters Township ...

Four Mount Lebanon High School lacrosse players and an assistant coach have been removed from the team for allegedly violating drug and alcohol policies.

A Pennsylvania couple has been indicted on wire fraud charges for allegedly selling counterfeit coupons on eBay to people from a variety of states, including New Hampshire.

Newsweek magazine has selected six local high schools as best in the country. The magazine publishes "Best High School" list each year.

The Pittsburgh Planning Commission has approved a new hotel despite a group's call for a delay and an investigation into the agreement.

A Pittsburgh woman has won $2.9 million playing a multistate progressive jackpot game in West Virginia.

More gas and oil records fell Monday as retail fuel prices struck new highs and crude settled above $127 for the first time, tightening the squeeze on drivers planning holiday road trips next weekend.

The developer of Pittsburgh's North Shore slots casino said he has secured the final piece of financing to complete construction.

Russia's largest steelmaker today entered the battle to acquire Esmark Inc., the parent firm of Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel, with a $688 million bid that essentially matches an earlier offer from Essar Steel ...

Pennsylvania Game Commission officers have seized a black bear cub from a Pittsburgh-area home. via The York Daily Record

While officials continued inspecting an Oakland apartment building on Friday, an electrical fire broke out in one unit's kitchen. via ThePittsburghChannel.com

The Pittsburgh Public Schools board has canceled a private meeting today at which aspects of the Pittsburgh Schenley High School debate were expected to be discussed. via Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

“For 19 years, the Pittsburgh Marathon brought international recognition, increased health awareness, and substantial economic benefits to Southwestern Pennsylvania”

The Pittsburgh Marathon will return in 2009 after a six-year hiatus. The 26.2-mile race will be run on May 3 and will be sponsored by Dick's Sporting Goods Inc., the Findlay Township-based sporting goods ... via Pittsburgh Business Times

Joshua Stewart cannot be made responsible for the actions of a New Castle teen who caused her own death. via The Herald

“We are fortunate to have a personality like Mr. Stewart to promote as a favorite son”

When he returned home from World War II, Hollywood icon James Stewart was featured on the cover of Life magazine in front of the Indiana County courthouse. via PittsburghLIVE.com

“Next time, we're not going to have to prove that the public will vote for a woman. We won't have to prove competency. She has succeeded at that level.”

In this June 4, 2007, file photo, Democratic presidential hopeful, Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., center, speaks during a town hall conversation hosted by Women for Hillary in New York. via Athens Banner-Herald

“The victims were able to escape the home and the second actor remained inside and barricaded himself in the residence. SWAT was deployed and a negotiator responded.”

Police arrested a suspect in a home invasion in Homewood. A woman inside the home along Fleury Way called 911 after she heard a noise in the house Thursday afternoon. via WPXI

University of Pittsburgh Medical Center CEO Jeffrey Romoff received more than $4 million in total compensation during the year ended June 30, 2007, documents filed today with the Internal Revenue Service show. via Pittsburgh Tribune

“We really do portray that T. Rex lived in a different time from all previous dinosaurs”

Reporting Mary Robb Jackson PITTSBURGH In the old dinosaur hall at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Tyrannosaurus Rex scared the wits out of kids for more than 60 years. via Kdka.com

“Now you get to discovery and you see what's going to happen with the case.”

Abbie Jane Swogger, 35, of Natrona, also is accused of having sex with a 17-year-old boy on other occasions and of stripping for teens in a private home. via Danville News

Pittsburgh's Roman Catholic bishop said a pastor who resigned from two parishes broke church laws, but not man's laws, in mishandling church funds. via ThePittsburghChannel

Overcast, 48F, feels like 44F, wind is from the northeast at 8 mph, visibility is 10 miles COMING UP... SATURDAY: A fifth-grader at United Elementary has donated money he received for his birthday to an area ... via Indiana Gazette Online

Two men were charged Wednesday with trying to steal power lines in Somerset County, causing a power outage and injuring both of them. via PittsburghLIVE.com

“The paintings are arranged in roughly chronological order, starting with the 1907 'The Red Cloud' and ending with 'Composition with Blue, Yellow, Red, Black and Grey,' completed in 1922”

On Nov. 25, 1758, British Gen. John Forbes occupied the smoldering ruins of the French-built Fort Duquesne. via Register-herald.com

Police have charged a man with homicide in the shooting death of a 12-year-old boy in Wilkinsburg and are looking for another man for questioning.

Kholen Germany was killed last month.

Donald Wilson, 19, is being arraigned in Pittsburgh Municipal Court on criminal homicide charges, but investigators say he didn't fire fatal bullet. Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zappala says Wilson started the chain of events that led to the killing.

Authorities want to find Corey Johnson who was inside the store when the shooting happened. Investigators theorize he may have been the original target and may have been the gunman who shot Kholen. Read more

Add another multi-day music event to your summer schedule, as Bob Dylan, the Raconteurs, the Roots, Gnarls Barkley and Spoon will headline the inaugural New American Music Festival on August 8 & 9 at SouthSide ... via All About Jazz

Channel 11 News has learned that the victim in a downtown apartment fire has died. via WPXI

“It's obvious the family has been greatly impacted. He was well-loved and dearly missed.”

A Carnegie man will spend the rest of his life behind bars for dismembering and eviscerating his roommate, a judge ruled Wednesday. via PittsburghLIVE.com

The Pittsburgh police arson squad arrested a 15-year-old girl Wednesday for allegedly starting a fire at the CAPA School of Arts in Pittsburgh on Monday. via WPXI

“I hope they find her very soon, as soon as possible, because, probably, she won't stop”

Pittsburgh police are looking for a woman who they say is responsible for three armed robberies at gas station convenience stores this week. via ThePittsburghChannel

The remains of a World War II airman found atop a glacier last year in California were flown into Pittsburgh International Airport on the way to burial in Ohio. via WTAE-TV Pittsburgh

A man was critically wounded in a shooting early today outside of a bar in Homewood, Pittsburgh homicide detectives said. via Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

The Pittsburgh sports bar co-owned by Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward on the city's South Side will be auctioned in federal bankruptcy court. via ThePittsburghChannel.com

“There's no region anywhere that has more of what it takes to build on this sector than Western Pennsylvania”

The Pittsburgh Technology Council today launched the Cleantech Network, a new unit within the local trade association dedicated to promoting and sustaining companies involved with technologies that produce ... via Pittsburgh Tribune

Four Pittsburgh City Council members got up and left part of today's council meeting during a vote. via KDKA

“Norfolk Southern was not conducting a continuous search of their rail for internal defects, which left segments of rail uninspected and in service indefinitely”

A fiery train derailment near Pittsburgh on Oct. 20, 2006, was caused the railroad's inadequate rail inspection and maintenance program, the National Transportation Safety Board determined Tuesday. via ThePittsburghChannel.com

“This whole issue is coming down to Philadelphia getting its own law or not”

A proposed compromise on legislation to ban smoking in most public places in Pennsylvania stalled Monday after Gov. via Cbs3.com

“When I walked around with the star on my sweater, everybody looked at me like I was a beast. ... It was terrifying as a child, especially when you were afraid you'd be arrested”

Solange Lebovitz hid in plain sight with a Catholic couple in Normandy, her red hair and blue eyes not giving her away as a Jew. via Jewish Community Voice

“Most litters are two to three cubs”

There's a new addition at the Pittsburgh Zoo. Over the weekend, Toma, the zoo's Amur tiger, gave birth to a female cub -- early on Mother's Day morning! Toma gave birth at about 4:45 a.m. Sunday. via Kdka.com

Allegheny County Chief Excecutive Dan Onorato has stated that the Pittsburgh Marathon will return after a 5 year absence, despite previous financial problems. via WPXI

“Multiple shots had been fired and we're investigating and we're following any leads we possible can get up here at the time, and we're processing the scene.”

Police are searching for suspects following a deadly shooting in the Hill District. via Kdka.com

“I think it's vital to make these improvements, particularly at our water plant”

A $425 million debt package approved today will allow the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority to fix its plant and pipes without rate increases, officials said. via Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

New allegations are surfacing about former city councilwoman Twanda Carlisle. The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review is reporting that the city controller said Carlisle spent city money on a trip to Las Vegas with her ... via ThePittsburghChannel.com

A Westmoreland County middle school principal was charged this week with indecent exposure and open lewdness, according to court documents. via Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Wings Over Pittsburgh is a community-based event; hosted by the 911th Airlift Wing located in Coraopolis, PA. via 105.9 the X

A Beaver County man is accused of spilling boiling water on his 1-year-old daughter, causing her death last month. via York Dispatch

Benefits Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Pittsburgh- Friday, May 16th Turn happy hour into community service! Join the BIG Happy Hour Tour for it's first stop on May 16 at Diesel Club Lounge from 5-9pm. ... via 105.9 the X

“It was a b.b. gun. He shot the dog with a bb gun, shot him twice in the head. That was crazy.”

The investigation continues into what prompted a Pittsburgh police officer to shoot and kill a 19-year-old man in Mount Oliver Tuesday evening.

Pittsburgh Police Chief Nate Harper says the actions of his officers were justified but the victim's family thinks the police went too far.

Police officers noticed 19 year-old Justin Jackson and thought he had a gun concealed in his clothing.

The canine officer and his dog along with another officer approached Jackson and ordered him to remove his concealed hand so it could be seen. Read more

H.J. Heinz plans to close a plant in Dallas next month, affecting nearly 200 employees. via KLTV

“It feels like one space, so people can flow through it easily”

Pittsburgh should transform Market Square into a seamless European piazza where pedestrians and casual diners can linger without dodging noisy buses and aggressive panhandlers, city residents said Monday. via Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

“This project adds significantly to the transformation that is taking place in Downtown Pittsburgh”

Artist's conception of the new Pittsburgh Playhouse at Point Park University. Point Park University today unveiled a $210 million campus master plan that creates an "Academic Village," including a new ... via Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

For the past year and a half, lawmakers have batted around ambitious proposals to rein in Pennsylvania's largely unfettered campaign financing system. via The Morning Call

A freight train ran into a derailed car of another train in southwestern Pennsylvania on Sunday, and a total of 22 cars left the tracks, including a tanker carrying a paint additive that ruptured. via Times Leader

“Rather than a literal search for extraterrestrial intelligence, this question might be seen as a metaphorical quest to explore what it means to be human in this radically unmoored world”

Is there life on Mars? It's a rhetorical question, of course, says Douglas Fogle, curator of the 2008 Carnegie International titled "Life on Mars," which opens this weekend at the Carnegie Museum of Art. via Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

“I thought I knew how he felt during the jury competition. Obviously, I was wrong.”

Frustrated by persistent accusations that the design of the Flight 93 National Memorial is a veiled tribute to Islamic terrorists, key family members are fighting back. via The Tribune-Democrat

Ahmad Jamal brought merely a trio to the Manchester Craftsmen's Guild on Thursday night. via Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

“This is a county of 1.2 million people - 1,175,000 people throughout this county are not exposed to fine particle pollution at those levels found near Clairton.”

May 1st, 2008, posted by RobHop The American Lung Association today dealt Pittsburgh a black eye. via Keystonepolitics.com