Jack Troy stories, Page 22
Morning Roundup: Charges filed in 2 East End armed robberies; Pittsburgh police welcome new cadets
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Wednesday, June 5. Man charged in 2 East End armed robberies Pittsburgh police have made an arrest in two recent armed robberies in the East End. Nathaniel Weatherspoon, 32, faces felony charges of robbery, conspiracy, and misdemeanor receiving stolen...
Heat wave headed to Western Pennsylvania
Forecasters expect a hot welcome to summer next week with temperatures rising to dangerous levels across the Northeastern United States. Lee Hendricks, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Moon, said residents of Western Pennsylvania should brace for high heat starting Sunday, with temperatures expected to climb into the...
Morning roundup: Former Hooters restaurant in Wilkins damaged by fire; weekend road closures
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Thursday, June 13, 2024. Fire breaks out at vacant restaurants in Wilkins An old Hooters restaurant in Wilkins went up in flames Thursday morning. First responders say they were dispatched to the scene at 3:45 a.m. on the 3500...
Man dead after shooting in McKeesport
Allegheny County homicide detectives are investigating after a man was shot and killed in McKeesport. Dispatchers were alerted of a shooting at 12:40 a.m. Thursday in the 600 block of Eden Park Blvd. Authorities found Bryant Boyd, 64, of Duquesne dead at the scene. Police have not announced any arrests....
$10K in toy drive money prompts investigation in Allegheny Township
Allegheny Township is grappling with a $10,000 question: How did a check cut from township coffers end up in the hands of the Leechburg Volunteer Fire Company? In a 2-to-1 vote, supervisors opened an investigation this week to determine how the money left the township and whether the township is...
Allegheny County Jail inmates face charges in cell attack, extortion
Two incarcerated men in the Allegheny County Jail are facing charges after authorities said they rushed into another man’s cell and assaulted him with a makeshift weapon. Kesean Proctor, 20, of Turtle Creek and Keyjuan King, 25, of Duquense are accused of aggravated assault, robbery, conspiracy and a litany of...
Man found stabbed to death in Pittsburgh’s Crawford Roberts neighborhood
A man was found stabbed to death early Wednesday morning in Pittsburgh’s Crawford-Roberts neighborhood, according to police. Officers were dispatched just after 12:30 a.m. to an apartment building on the 1600 block of Colwell Street, where they found a man in a communal hallway with a stab wound to his...
Pa. Turnpike to remove all toll booths, overhead gantries planned
The Pennsylvania Turnpike’s toll booths are soon to be a thing of the past. The Turnpike Commission last week approved $50 million in contracts to construct a portion of the overhead gantries needed to complete a transition to open-road tolling. Allison Park Contractors has been tasked with installing structures to...
Family of Youngstown explosion victim, a Penn Hills graduate, files wrongful death suit
The family of Akil Drake is suing several entities they view as responsible for the Chase banker’s death in the May 28 natural explosion in Youngstown, Ohio. In a 30-page complaint, his estate details alleged negligence by the property owners, property managers, gas companies and contractors performing utility work in...
Morning Roundup: 2 injured in Pleasant Hills driveway crash
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Tuesday, June 11, 2024. Car lands on Pleasant Hills driveway, injuring 2 Two people were hospitalized late Monday after a vehicle careened off Lebanon Church Road and into a driveway in Pleasant Hills, TribLive news partner WTAE reported. Video...
Murrysville man charged with trespassing attempts in Pittsburgh
A Murrysville man is accused of illegally entering one Pittsburgh home and attempting to break into another on Saturday. Seth Izatt, 25, is charged with felony counts of criminal trespassing and attempted criminal trespassing. A district judge released him Sunday on nonmonetary bond. In a criminal complaint, Pittsburgh police said...
Morning Roundup: Fire in North Huntingdon; car crashes into Plum house; weekend robberies in Pittsburgh
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Monday, June 10, 2024. Crews battling house fire in North Huntingdon Emergency responders were called to a house fire in North Huntingdon this morning. Westmoreland County 911 confirmed a call around 7:30 a.m. for a blaze on Rebecca Street....
Golf cart confusion and the rise of neighborhood electric vehicles
When Kevin Santelli drives what looks like a souped-up golf cart around town, people stop and stare. They notice at the grocery store, the YMCA and restaurants near his Sewickley Heights home. If he stays on roads with speed limits below 25 mph, he can go anywhere he’d like. “It...
Social media companies need to do more to stop online harassment, experts say
Allene Ecker tenses up when the phone rings with an unexpected call. She’s wary of going out at night. And during the day, she worries someone will walk into the hair salon where she works and expect a sexual encounter. At a previous job, a man booked a haircut with...
U.S. Steel closes portion of Clairton Coke Works as part of settlement
U.S. Steel has permanently shut down one of the most prolific batteries at its Clairton Coke Works, part of a settlement reached with environmental groups and the Allegheny County Health Department earlier this year. Battery No. 15 contained around 10% of the facility’s coke ovens, according to Zach Barber, a...
Youngstown explosion victim remembered as driven, community oriented
No one ever accused Akil Drake of slacking off, from his days as a Penn Hills football player to his burgeoning career in banking. Drake relied on a work ethic instilled by his mother to graduate from Youngstown State University with a bachelor’s degree in finance and start climbing the...
Developer set on resurrecting St. Bart’s as senior housing
A local developer is preparing to convert the old St. Bartholomew campus into affordable housing for seniors. Shawn Taylor pitched his vision to the Penn Hills Planning Commission on May 23, seeking a conditional use for an approximately 100-unit complex that repurposes some parts of the site and demolishes others....
Kiski Township could become newest member of Southern Armstrong Regional Police
Kiski Township is free to join the Southern Armstrong Regional Police Department after a series of approvals from stakeholders in the regional force. The Southern Armstrong police commission accepted Kiski Township’s letter of interest May 20. Within days, the Gilpin supervisors and Ford City Council gave the OK, meeting the...
Portion of Route 356 in Allegheny Township to close through August
A portion of Route 356 will close Thursday and is expected to remain closed through the end of August as crews replace a bridge over Pine Run, according to PennDOT. Traffic will be blocked from Melwood Road/Hyde Park Road to La Belle Vue Road in Allegheny Township. Crews have already...
No quick fix in sight for 114-year-old bridge in South Buffalo
Every other month for the past 10 years or so, Phillip Tompkins has complained to the South Buffalo supervisors about what he says is a rickety bridge on Clinton Road. He worries that emergency vehicles could miss the posted 10-ton weight limit and cause the span to buckle, or that...
Penn Hills graduate identified as man killed in Youngstown explosion
Authorities have identified the man who died Tuesday in a natural gas explosion in Youngstown, Ohio, as Akil Drake, a former Penn Hills resident. The blast shattered the facade of Realty Tower, which houses a Chase Bank where Drake worked, killing him and injuring seven others. One person remains in...
Penn Hills schools show disparities in state safety and mental health awards
Should Pennsylvania schools have to compete to afford keeping students safe? Officials in the Penn Hills School District, which missed out on a piece of $32.2 million in competitive school safety and security grants, say no. “The fact that we’re constantly having to fight for money to keep our schools...
Fitting tribute-ary: Stream named after Turner’s Dairy Farms in Penn Hills
Turner’s Run isn’t a river of iced tea or chocolate milk, like the name might imply, but it does flow with crystal-clear water across the Turner Dairy Farms campus in Penn Hills. It only recently got its name, despite existing alongside Turner’s since the beverage company’s founding in 1930. Penn...
Wildlife, plants, paddlers find a haven on Sycamore Island
From a passing watercraft or the banks of the Allegheny River, Sycamore Island appears untouched by humans. A wall of invasive Japanese knotweed anchors the 14-acre island’s northern end, giving way to silver maple, cottonwood and, of course, sycamore trees, each grasping the silt against the river’s current. From off...
Bicycle group helps seniors cruise through their golden years
Mike Louder doesn’t let much stand between himself and his bikes. Less than a month after a recent triple bypass surgery, Louder, 78, of Plum was back on the trail with the Easy Riders, a senior bicycle group in Western Pennsylvania. “Everything that was ever wrong with me, I’ve been...
