Megan Guza stories, Page 19
Former Pittsburgh synagogue to become apartments, urban farm in $18.5M projectVideo
Pittsburgh leaders on Friday held a ceremonial groundbreaking at the Negley Avenue site of the former B’nai Israel Synagogue and School in Pittsburgh’s Garfield neighborhood. “We don’t normally do groundbreakings, but we thought this one was worth making an exception for,” said Dara Kovel, chief executive of Beacon Communities, which...
Waynesburg man gets prison for theater brawl, shooting
A Waynesburg man who escaped felony conviction earlier this year will still face prison time for brawling with a group of teenagers at a movie theater in 2019, the state Attorney General’s Office announced Thursday. Chris Williams, 55, was sentenced to 2 to 5 years in prison on charges of...
Homicide charges added against suspected U-Haul carjacker
Charges against a man accused of shooting a U-Haul employee in Pittsburgh last week during a botched carjacking have been upgraded to include homicide, days after the victim in the shooting died from his wounds. Braijon Burton, 21, is charged with homicide, aggravated assault, reckless endangerment, fleeing police, firearms violations...
Allegheny County to require covid-19 vaccination for all new hires
Allegheny County will make covid-19 vaccination a requirement for new hires going forward, county Executive Rich Fitzgerald said Thursday. “We are not going to hire anybody going forward that does not have a vaccine card,” he said, noting the county hires anywhere from 500 to 1,000 people each year. Current...
Police: South Side man charged with killing his mother told dispatchers ‘this is what she gets’
A South Side man told Pittsburgh police he had no interest in saving his mother’s life when he called 911 to report she was unresponsive Monday in what would ultimately become the 85th time police were called to the Sarah Street home. “This is what she gets for being so...
Allegheny County covid hospitalizations tick upward behind rising case counts
The average weekly number of covid-19 hospitalizations in Allegheny County nearly doubled over the past month, according to state Department of Health data, as those numbers begin ticking upward to match the rising case counts. The seven-day average of hospitalizations on July 3 in Allegheny County was 30. On Wednesday,...
Kennywood, Idlewild and Sandcastle requiring masks indoors
Kennywood Park, along with Idlewild & Soak Zone, has brought back part of its mask policy now to fall in line with federal guidance now that Allegheny and Westmoreland counties are considered to have “substantial” spread of covid-19. Both parks and sister water park Sandcastle had dropped the mask requirement...
Officials identify Mt. Lebanon mother and son killed in suspected double murder-suicide
Officials have released the names for two of three people killed early Thursday near Mt. Lebanon in a suspected murder-suicide. Ana Tratras, 59, was shot to death inside the Gilkeson Road home she shared with her husband about 2:40 a.m., according to the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office. Police have...
Pa. health officials: Nearly all covid hospitalizations, deaths among unvaccinated
Nearly all of the covid-related hospitalizations and deaths in Pennsylvania are among the unvaccinated, state health officials said Thursday. Of those hospitalized across the state, 97% are unvaccinated, said Acting Secretary of Health Alison Beam. Of deaths happening now, she said, 99% are of unvaccinated people. “At this stage, these...
Pa., local authorities seize $40K in meth from McKeesport home
Authorities seized nine guns and more than $40,000 worth of meth from a McKeesport man’s home, according to Attorney General Josh Shapiro, all of which he says stems from a new partnership between state and local authorities in the Mon Valley. Franklin Gribschaw, 42, faces multiple charges of drug possession...
Allegheny County officials won’t rule out local mask mandate
Covid-19 cases in Allegheny County remain below the threshold that would trigger the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s updated mask guidance, but county leaders did not rule out the need for a countywide mask mandate. “We’re not there yet but, again, stay tuned,” said County Executive Rich Fitzgerald, noting...
Weekend night restrictions coming to busy East Carson Street on South Side
Traffic and other restrictions are coming to the South Side on weekend nights, Pittsburgh officials said Wednesday. The move is meant to curb pedestrian and traffic congestion after weeks of overflowing sidewalks, gridlock and violence. Between 7 p.m. and 4 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays, East Carson Street will allow only...
Allegheny County officials won’t rule out local mask mandate
Covid-19 cases in Allegheny County remain below the threshold that would trigger the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s updated mask guidance, but county leaders did not rule out the need for a countywide mask mandate. “We’re not there yet but, again, stay tuned,” said County Executive Rich Fitzgerald, noting...
Another gun found on traveler at Pittsburgh International Airport
Passengers still cannot bring their firearms through security at Pittsburgh International Airport. They couldn’t Monday, when a Youngstown woman was caught with a loaded handgun in her purse, and they still couldn’t a day later when a man from Moon was stopped with a loaded handgun in his backpack. Nor...
Pennsylvania officials warn of uptick in hard-to-spot ticks as summer wears on
The state Department of Environmental Protection has collected twice as many small, immature ticks in Pennsylvania this year compared to last year, prompting warnings for residents to check themselves thoroughly after outdoor activities. Blacklegged tick nymphs, or ticks that are not fully grown, pose an even greater risk when it...
Woman caught with loaded handgun in her purse at Pittsburgh International
An Ohio woman tried to take a loaded handgun through security at Pittsburgh International Airport on Monday, the 16th person to do so this year, authorities said. The woman, from Youngstown, was stopped by Transportation Security Administration officers after they spotted a handgun in her purse as it went through...
Pittsburgh police identify teen charged in South Side shooting
Pittsburgh police on Monday identified the teenager charged in connection with a shooting last week on the city’s busy South Side. Taiden Harvey, 15, of Clairton, is charged with two counts of attempted homicide, aggravated assault, firearms violations and two counts each of criminal mischief and reckless endangerment. He is...
1 dead in South Side Slopes shooting near youth football fieldVideo
One man died early Friday evening in a shooting near a youth football practice in the South Side Slopes, authorities said. The shooting happened near Quarry Field off of South 18th Street less than 12 hours after Pittsburgh Public Safety officials held a media conference to discuss an uptick in...
Second 14-year-old charged in Duquesne homicide
A second 14-year-old boy faces homicide charges in connection with a fatal shooting earlier this year in Duquesne, according to charges filed against him Friday by Allegheny County Police. Carlo Owens, of Duquesne, is charged with homicide, conspiracy and robbery in the death of 21-year-old Damont Adams. An alleged co-conspirator,...
Teen charged with attempted homicide as Pittsburgh officials look for ways to curb South Side violence
A violent night on Pittsburgh’s South Side led to attempted homicide charges against a 15-year-old boy, assault charges against two others, and the announcement of coming changes to traffic flow on East Carson Street, officials said Friday. Three people were shot early Friday near East Carson and South 18th streets....
Former Allegheny County Jail medical aide accused of assaulting incarcerated women
A former medical aide at the Allegheny County Jail allegedly used his position to abuse and harass three incarcerated women earlier this year, according to charges filed against the man Thursday. Shiquille Desesso, 28, of Pittsburgh’s Knoxville neighborhood, faces three counts each of institutional sexual assault and indecent assault, accused...
Man pleads guilty to throwing brick through Pittsburgh police car window during 2020 protests
A man charged for throwing a brick through a Pittsburgh police cruiser during protests last year pleaded guilty Thursday in federal court. George Allen, 32, of Pittsburgh, pleaded to one count of obstructing law enforcement during civil disorder. Allen was charged in July 2020, accused of throwing a hunk of...
‘You will always remember what you did in Miami’: Pittsburgh firefighters honored for work at condo collapseVideo
For more than 10 days, Pittsburgh Bureau of Fire Capt. Joseph Janosko and Lt. Joseph Garrison worked with everything from heavy machinery and shovels to garden trowels, spoons and their bare hands, holding out hope that they might find a survivor amidst the rubble of Champlain Towers. They arrived six...
Warrant issued for Beaver County man accused of killing cousin, dumping body, fleeing to Mexico
A Beaver County man allegedly shot and killed his cousin, left him in the trunk of his own car at an abandoned gas station early Tuesday in Moon and then caught a flight to Mexico, according to the charges filed against him. Anoosh Almas, 25, is charged with homicide, abuse...
Police: Argument over pizza sparked weekend shooting on Pittsburgh’s South Side
An argument over pizza led to the weekend shooting on Pittsburgh’s South Side that left a man in critical condition, according to charges filed in the case. Rafik White, 22, is charged with attempted homicide in the shooting, which happened shortly before 2 a.m. Saturday. Police said they responded to...
