Carnegie Mellon’s AI-driven speech reconstruction tool aims to bridge gap for children’s speech disorders
Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University hope an AI-driven speech reconstruction tool can bridge the gap between a growing population of children with speech disorders and a significant shortage of speech-language pathologists. The tool combines machine learning with human speech to create audio clips of correct speech that sound like the...
More than 100 academic offerings on PennWest’s chopping block
Pennsylvania Western University could end more than 100 academic programs as the college prepares to adapt to demographic and enrollment declines impacting schools nationally. In a Dec. 12 email to faculty and obtained by TribLive, Interim Provost James Fisher recommends more than 100 academic programs to be placed in moratorium...
Faces of the Valley: Teacher provides special experiences for New Ken-Arnold kindergarten students
Julie Erb remembers one of her kindergarten students years ago telling her all they wanted for Christmas was a blanket. “A lot of kids, we don’t know them. Kids in the past have told me, there’s no Christmas tree at home,” said Erb, a kindergarten teacher at Martin Elementary School...
Federal agency recommends 2 safety recommendations in Clairton Coke Works plant
An independent, nonregulatory federal agency investigating a deadly explosion at the U.S. Steel’s Clairton Coke Works plant this fall issued two interim safety recommendations Tuesday. The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board recommends U.S. Steel thoroughly evaluates all buildings at the Clairton facility that are currently occupied or could...
Burrell’s Kids for Kids market grows, engages older students in 6th year
Madison McMann and Lyla Twidwell had their business strategy down to a science Tuesday morning at Charles A. Huston Middle School in Lower Burrell. Lyla, 10, had a display of earrings she molded and created together with her aunt, Laura Twidwell. Madison, 10, was selling art pieces she had made....
Stove sparks house fire in Harrison
Crews battled a house fire Tuesday at 54 Chestnut St. in the Natrona section of Harrison. The call came in at around 11:30 a.m. Bob Bolt of Garfield Street said his sister, Shari Bair, was inside the house cleaning her oven when it caught fire. “She came to my house...
Collier-area fire departments to get new turnout gear
New turnout gear for volunteer firefighters will be coming to five Collier-area departments. The Presto Volunteer Fire Department was awarded just more than $330,000 in federal Assistance to Firefighters grant funding. “The award is for a regional (assistance to firefighters) grant to five departments, that our department is the host...
Blawnox Apartments resident accused of pulling gun on employees performing welfare check
A man living in the Blawnox Apartments is behind bars after being accused of pulling a gun on two Allegheny County Housing Authority employees who were performing a welfare check. Mark Wayne McDaniel, 64, faces two aggravated assault charges stemming from the incident that brought a large police presence from...
Lower Burrell police charge woman with DUI in crash from August
A Lower Burrell woman is facing charges in connection with a car crash from four months ago. Grisell Marie Hernandez, 22, faces charges of driving under the influence, aggravated assault by vehicle while driving under the influence, accident involving injury, driving with a suspended license, reckless driving, reckless endangerment, possession...
Pitt staff union members to get 2.5% wage increase
University of Pittsburgh staff represented by the United Steelworkers will receive 2.5% salary increases, retroactive to Aug. 1, starting with their paychecks in mid-January. That was the agreement reached between Pitt and the union last week. University spokesman Chuck Finder directed a reporter to Pitt’s staff unionization information website for...
LED field lights coming to Bridgeville’s Chartiers Park
If Bridgeville officials did nothing to improve field lighting at both baseball fields at Chartiers Park, the lights would soon fail, forcing the cancellation of nighttime practices, games and community events, said Borough Manager Joe Kauer. But $150,000 in state funding awarded to the borough Dec. 18 will help prevent...
District attorney seeks temporary closure of New Kensington Elks Lodge
Thirty-two incidents at the New Kensington Elks Lodge over the past three years — including a fatal shooting this month — have led the Westmoreland County District Attorney’s Office to ask a judge to temporarily shut down the club for at least one year. The district attorney’s office Friday filed...
Pitt’s new AI hub aims to make artificial intelligence practical for students and their careers
The University of Pittsburgh’s strategy surrounding artificial intelligence will be practical, supporting students and the workforce, said Michael Colaresi, newly named director of the academic Hub for AI and Data Science Leadership. “We’re going to be a welcoming and visible front door for AI in the academic mission,” Colaresi said...
Bon Air’s Toys for Tots drive teaches life lessons
Pam White wasn’t sure how many Toys for Tots donation boxes would be needed this year at Bon Air Elementary School. “I contacted the Toys for Tots representative for our area,” said White, a personalized learning coach at Bon Air who took over as faculty adviser for Student Council this...
Students say arts programs at PennWest California are in jeopardy
Students at Pennsylvania Western University’s California campus fear that planned academic program changes could result in the loss of its art programs. Koa Knopsnider, 19, is petitioning the university to not sunset the arts programs at the California campus. The online petition has purportedly reached more than 1,100 signatures within...
2 men killed in Carrick shooting identified, their deaths ruled homicides
Two men died in a shooting Thursday evening in Pittsburgh’s Carrick neighborhood. At 5:15 p.m., Pittsburgh police responded to the 1200 block of Linnview Avenue for reports of a shooting, said Eliza Durham, public safety spokeswoman. Officers found two men who had been shot multiple times, Durham said. EMS took...
Pitt chancellor gets 32% raise but vows to donate it to student, faculty causes
Pleased with her accomplishments and in an effort to retain her, a group of University of Pittsburgh trustees voted to increase Chancellor Joan Gabel’s base salary to $1.25 million next year, a 32% raise. Pitt’s compensation subcommittee voted Thursday to increase Gabel’s base pay, effective Jan. 1. She was hired...
Heidelberg holds line on taxes for 2026
Heidelberg’s property owners will not see an increase in their real estate tax bills in 2026. The borough’s $1.1 million budget holds the line at 9.45 mills, said Mayor Kenneth LaSota. A homeowner at Heidelberg’s median assessed property value of $86,200 will continue to pay about $814 annually for borough...
Spring opening planned for Lower Burrell Tractor Supply
A Tractor Supply store in the Kinloch section of Lower Burrell is set to open in the spring. A company spokeswoman said the store, located at a currently vacant lot next to a Family Dollar store along Greensburg Road, plans a soft opening in late March. The grand opening is...
La Roche University gifted buildings, including motherhouse, from Sisters of Divine Providence
A property transfer from a Catholic organization to La Roche University sets the college up for long-term growth, officials say. The Sisters of Divine Providence has gifted the Providence Heights Motherhouse and about 15 acres of nearby property to La Roche, the university announced Tuesday, Dec. 16. The transfer includes...
35% tax hike approved as Collier commissioners adopt 2026 budget
Property owners in Collier will be seeing a 35% increase in their real estate taxes next year. Commissioners on Monday, Dec. 15, voted 3-1 to adopt the township’s 2026 budget which sets the real estate tax rate at 5 mills, a 1.3-mill increase. A homeowner at Collier’s median assessed property...
Burrell bocce team drums up support for collaborative, competitive experience
Cold temperatures Tuesday morning didn’t stop hot drinks and sweet treats from being served up by members of Burrell High School’s unified bocce team. The team, comprising eight students with special needs and eight regular education students, was selling snacks and drinks at Cora Lee Cupcakes in Feldarelli Square, New...
More than 100 New Kensington-Arnold children to benefit from Angel Tree
Karen Thomas didn’t flinch when the Angel Tree she coordinates for students in need at the New Kensington-Arnold School District was the biggest it has been in more than 20 years. She knew her colleagues would step up to provide gifts for 51 families in the district — 126 children...
Some fees waived for students at closing Penn State branch campuses
Students at the closing Penn State Commonwealth Campuses can take more classes than normal in their next three semesters and save some money while doing it. With the New Kensington, Fayette, Shenango, Wilkes-Barre, DuBois, York and Mont Alto campuses scheduled to close after the Spring 2027 semester, students there can...
Rare cancer diagnosis didn’t stop Pitt student from graduating early
Sarah Pine’s college experience at the University of Pittsburgh was typical, until it wasn’t. From Savannah, Ga., Pine came to Oakland in fall 2022 to pursue writing, seeking a different atmosphere than the south. “I went in with all these positive thoughts and ideas, ready to conquer the college experience,”...
