http://www.post-gazette.com/ Local/regional news and features, Latest news, Education, Transportation, Mining Safety, Weather, Capitol Notes, Casino News, Casino Journal, News Obituaries, Morning File en-us Copyright 2009, post-gazette.com. Mon, 6 Jul 2009 14:29:42 -0400 http://www.post-gazette.com/includes/2007design/images/150x30pg_now_logo.gif http://www.post-gazette.com/ 144 39 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09187/982122-67.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml Verizon is pledging a quick start to the roll-out of its FiOS-TV service within the city of Pittsburgh following a deal announced today that brings cable competition to the region's biggest municipality for the first time Mon, 6 Jul 2009 13:00:00 -0400 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09187/982123-100.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml A Lawrenceville man is in custody today, charged with critically wounding a roommate in a shooting at their residence Mon, 6 Jul 2009 11:45:00 -0400 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09187/982118-100.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml A suspicious fire destroyed a vacant house in Sheraden and damaged an adjacent home early today Mon, 6 Jul 2009 11:37:00 -0400 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09187/982121-100.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml A Clarion County firefighter died today after he collapsed while battling a small fire in Strattanville, state police said Mon, 6 Jul 2009 10:26:00 -0400 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09187/982120-100.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml Five members of an Amish family were injured in Clarion, and the horse drawing their buggy was killed by a suspected drunken driver last night, state police said Mon, 6 Jul 2009 10:12:00 -0400 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09187/982058-122.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml In the business of school boards, where personalities and politics are known to take precedence over logic, attorney Theodore Brooks was known as a calm counselor among clashing adversaries, a man Mon, 6 Jul 2009 00:03:00 -0400 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09187/982036-56.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml The Allegheny County bomb squad was called to a home in Westmoreland County on Saturday to look for potential explosive devices, but none was found. Mon, 6 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09187/982040-53.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml After months of delay, an ambitious anti-violence program with a track record of dramatic success in several U.S. cities is getting under way in Pittsburgh. Mon, 6 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09187/982079-298.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml There has been plenty of talk about the historic, trailblazing nature of the Center-Monaca school district merger. Mon, 6 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09187/982105-53.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml A Baldwin woman charged with killing her boyfriend Downtown on Saturday night following the city's fireworks display loaded the bullets into her gun as she walked along Forbes Avenue. Mon, 6 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09187/982041-53.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml Mon, 6 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09187/982034-53.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml Pittsburgh police have identified a Pittsburgh teenager who was shot and killed late Saturday at Robert E. Williams Memorial Park, located at Milwaukee and Adelaide streets in the Upper Hill, commonly known as the Sugartop neighborhood. Mon, 6 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09187/982046-485.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml Neighborhood advocates are alarmed by a proposed axing of Main Street and Elm Street funding in the coming state budget. Mon, 6 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09187/982056-298.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml October 2005: After talking about a merger study, superintendents Dan Matsook of Center Area and Mike Thomas of Monaca raise the issue with their board presidents and vice presidents. Mon, 6 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09187/982038-454.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml There were no parades or fireworks Wednesday, but July 1 was the independence day that so many nurses and hospital caregivers had hoped and battled for. Mon, 6 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09187/982044-53.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml Last week, Pittsburgh officials passed a law that obliges the city to try to hire more minority and female police and firefighters, improve the energy efficiency of its fleet and buildings, revamp its pay structure, reuse a former police station, merge a half dozen functions with the county and much more. Mon, 6 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09187/982051-294.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml Man on wire? Greater feat is keeping pace through tunnels So Nik Wallenda didn't fall 200 feet into the Allegheny River from the high wire he walked above it Friday evening? Mon, 6 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09187/982052-294.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml Every June, I would give my eighth-graders two final assignments. I neither read nor graded the first one; while I read the second, I only wrote positive feedback on it. Mon, 6 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09186/982015-100.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml A preliminary hearing has been set for Tuesday, July 7, in Slippery Rock, for a former municipal secretary charged with stealing more than $100,000 from government coffers. Sun, 5 Jul 2009 12:57:00 -0400 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09186/982012-100.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml Pittsburgh police have identified a Pittsburgh teenager who was shot and killed late Saturday at Robert E. Williams Memorial Park, located at Milwaukee and Adelaide Streets in the Upper Hill, commonly known as the Sugartop neighborhood. Sun, 5 Jul 2009 10:12:00 -0400 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09186/982004-100.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml Mercer County authorities have identified a man who was seriously injured in a fireworks accident Saturday. Sun, 5 Jul 2009 10:07:00 -0400 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09186/982014-100.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml Sun, 5 Jul 2009 09:15:00 -0400 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09186/982013-100.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml One person was hurt in a Washington County fire this morning. Sun, 5 Jul 2009 08:42:00 -0400 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09186/982002-100.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml Pittsburgh Police this morning charged a 20-year-old Baldwin woman with criminal homicide in connection with a fatal domestic dispute that occurred late Saturday night. Sun, 5 Jul 2009 08:08:00 -0400 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09186/982008-54.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml Ten people were arrested for driving under the influence during an overnight sobriety checkpoint and roving patrols conducted by police officers from the North Hills DUI Task Force and Pittsburgh. Sun, 5 Jul 2009 05:38:00 -0400 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09186/982011-59.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml The Allegheny County bomb squad was summoned to Westmoreland County last night, where authorities said someone with explosives was believed to have been in a building where police were attempting to serve a warrant. Sun, 5 Jul 2009 02:31:00 -0400 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09186/981968-53.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml Two of the things that Pittsburgh is known for -- fireworks and a spirit of competition -- played out in the sky last night as Pyrotecnico presented the city's annual Fourth of July display over Point State Park, replacing longtime fireworks company Zambelli. Sun, 5 Jul 2009 02:06:00 -0400 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09186/981947-122.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml Paul D. Shaffer Jr. of Pine, a World War II veteran who spent nine months as a German prisoner of war, died Tuesday of lung cancer at Good Samaritan Hospice in Pine. He was 86. Sun, 5 Jul 2009 01:03:00 -0400 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09186/981965-358.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml Novices, pros try to cast their way into world's richest fishing tournament coming here Sun, 5 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09186/981779-122.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml Dr. O. Carl Simonton, a radiation oncologist who popularized the mind-body connection in fighting cancer and helped push the once-controversial notion into mainstream medicine, has died. Sun, 5 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09186/981950-181.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml They rallied against tax hikes, against abortion rights, against the notion that global warming was man-made and for gun rights. Sun, 5 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09186/981967-54.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml Police, firefighters, river rescue workers and animal control officers proved to be two dogs' best friends yesterday when they rescued the trapped canines from a 75-foot hillside in Avalon. Sun, 5 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09185/981970-455.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml The Allegheny County bomb squad has been summoned to Westmoreland County, where authorities said someone with explosives may be in a building where police were attempting to serve a warrant. Sat, 4 Jul 2009 21:59:00 -0400 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09185/981882-100.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml Ten people were arrested for driving under the influence during an overnight sobriety check point and roving patrols conducted by officers from the North Hills DUI Task Force and city of Pittsburgh. Sat, 4 Jul 2009 21:51:00 -0400 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09185/981881-100.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml More than 1,000 people from as far away as Ohio and West Virginia gathered this morning at Flagstaff Hill in Schenley Park for an Independence Day Tea Party, a protest organized against higher taxes, "big government" spending, universal healthcare and a variety of other issues. Sat, 4 Jul 2009 19:14:00 -0400 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09185/981883-100.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml Two dogs who somehow became trapped on a ledge midway down a 75-foot embankment in Avalon this morning were rescued by firefighters who rappelled down the hillside. Sat, 4 Jul 2009 15:23:00 -0400 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09185/981787-53.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml Isolated on a sliding hillside in Greenfield, the 10 homes facing Ivondale Street merit no investment. No one is living in four of them, according to a resident. Sat, 4 Jul 2009 03:38:00 -0400 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09185/981802-53.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml Saying Nik Wallenda performed a difficult task yesterday is an understatement. Sat, 4 Jul 2009 02:46:00 -0400 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09185/981862-85.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml Fast boats will tear up the water today at the Three Rivers Regatta as the Powerboat Superleague takes center stage on the Allegheny River. Sat, 4 Jul 2009 02:46:00 -0400 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09185/981800-178.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml The legal team for Dr. Cyril H. Wecht is asking U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to formally rebuke Pittsburgh's U.S. attorney for insisting at a news conference last month that Mr. Wecht committed crimes even though charges against him were dismissed. Sat, 4 Jul 2009 02:31:00 -0400 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09185/981784-294.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Mention barbershop quartets and you're bound to conjure images of men in striped vests and bowlers belting in unison about their high-school sweethearts who are invariably named Adelaide or Rose. Sat, 4 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09185/981786-57.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml Assistant Chief Maurita Bryant, of the Pittsburgh Police Bureau, couldn't bring herself to describe a Crafton patrolman as "an officer" after he was arrested yesterday in connection with a fatal hit-and-run on the South Side in 2007. Sat, 4 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09185/981793-455.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml The Animal Rescue League of Western Pennsylvania is offering July 4 discounts on pet adoptions in an effort to relieve overcrowding at the shelter. Sat, 4 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09185/981772-59.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml A Westmoreland County man is in jail awaiting a preliminary hearing on charges that he solicited sex last month from a 12-year-old girl after he first posed as a female in text messages to the child. Sat, 4 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09185/981773-298.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml Three former cafeteria workers at Woodland Hills Junior High School have filed a federal lawsuit against the food services contractor there claiming age discrimination. Sat, 4 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09185/981806-122.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml Equipped with flashcards, books, stickers and treats, Dorothy E. Conway instilled a love of reading in her pupils for more than 40 years. Sat, 4 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09185/981817-388.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Mention barbershop quartets and you're bound to conjure images of men in striped vests and bowlers belting in unison about their high-school sweethearts who are invariably Sat, 4 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09185/981864-323.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml When the sun sets today, one might appreciate the warmth of the rocket's red glare. Sat, 4 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09185/981794-454.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml HARRISBURG -- A conservative think tank has gotten support from 81 state legislators -- all Republicans, so far -- in its petition campaign to oppose an increase in the state income tax. Sat, 4 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09185/981819-55.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml A woman was killed and two other people were in critical condition yesterday after two pickup trucks crashed in Springfield, Fayette County. Sat, 4 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09185/981771-56.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml Charges are pending against two men after police in Blair County confiscated a cache of professional-grade fireworks. Sat, 4 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09185/981863-298.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml A pall hung in the hallways of the Seneca Valley School District as the year wound to a close. Sat, 4 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09184/981646-100.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml Pittsburgh police this afternoon said a Crafton police officer has been charged in a fatal hit-and-run accident that occurred on the South Side in 2007 Fri, 3 Jul 2009 16:09:00 -0400 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09184/981645-455.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml The Animal Rescue League of Western Pennsylvania is offering Fourth of July discounts on pet adoptions in an effort to relieve overcrowding at the shelter. Fri, 3 Jul 2009 15:44:00 -0400 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09184/981638-100.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml MANDAN, N.D. -- Authorities say a Mandan man is accused of making a telephone threat to Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania Fri, 3 Jul 2009 14:40:00 -0400 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09184/981595-455.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml McKees Rocks buried Billy Mays today -- a native son who reigned as the black-bearded king of infomercials, proclaiming the wonders of lotions, potions, gadgets and gizmos to insomniacs who picked up the phone and made him rich. Fri, 3 Jul 2009 13:24:00 -0400 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09184/981602-100.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml HARRISBURG -- A conservative think tank has gotten support from 81 state legislators -- all Republicans, so far -- in its petition campaign to oppose an increase in the state income tax Fri, 3 Jul 2009 11:56:00 -0400 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09184/981571-388.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml Delana Jerry, 15, stood enthralled, watching Michael Jackson's last video playing on a TV screen inside an East Liberty funeral home. Fri, 3 Jul 2009 10:24:00 -0400 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09184/981545-454.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml University of Pittsburgh Chancellor Mark Nordenberg hinted in a letter to the federal government that in-state students could face higher tuition if Pitt and three other state-related universities lose $42 million in federal stimulus aid. Fri, 3 Jul 2009 01:24:00 -0400 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09184/981542-53.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml Just a few feet away from Tina Scalise's family plot in Hazelwood's Calvary Cemetery, headstones lay cracked in the grass, remnants of vandalism that occurred Tuesday night. Fri, 3 Jul 2009 01:01:00 -0400 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09184/981534-454.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml More than 2,000 people last year filed complaints with the state attorney general's office regarding shoddy home improvement work and bad contractors. Fri, 3 Jul 2009 00:25:00 -0400 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09184/981562-122.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml John Coulter "Jack" Beers was always an entertainer. Fri, 3 Jul 2009 00:24:00 -0400 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09184/981546-454.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml HARRISBURG -- Hundreds of state treasury employees got a little something extra with their paychecks yesterday: permission to start their holiday weekend early. Fri, 3 Jul 2009 00:22:00 -0400 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09184/981544-454.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml HARRISBURG -- The Rendell administration says it's tired of seeing Republican lawmakers standing on the sidelines and throwing grenades at the governor's proposal for a 2009-10 state budget. Fri, 3 Jul 2009 00:22:00 -0400 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09184/981543-53.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml Furries are generally an accepting bunch. Fri, 3 Jul 2009 00:18:00 -0400 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09184/981567-455.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml State Gaming Control Board members may be forced to intervene to resolve a dispute between the Rivers Casino and a local authority over when the North Shore slots venue is to start paying its share of funding for the new arena. Fri, 3 Jul 2009 00:14:00 -0400 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09184/981480-298.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml Vocational schools nationwide are reporting record enrollment as workers stung by the recession are seeking educations that are quick, affordable and -- perhaps most important -- in demand. Fri, 3 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09184/981490-147.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml Despite gasoline prices that are roughly $1.40 per gallon lower than last year's, AAA is predicting that fewer motorists will take to the highways for the holiday weekend. Fri, 3 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09184/981521-59.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml A van collided with a sport utility vehicle on Route 130 in Penn Township, Westmoreland County, yesterday, killing two people and injuring a third. Fri, 3 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09184/981505-53.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml Two 12-year-old boys have been arrested and charged with starting a fire Tuesday night in an abandoned Troy Hill home, police said. The parents of the boys turned them over to police. Fri, 3 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09184/981519-55.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml A Munhall man has been indicted on federal charges that he set fire to his own restaurant to collect insurance money. Fri, 3 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09184/981520-55.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml A Dravosburg woman has been arrested for using company checks from her former employer, Day Toyota, to pay off nearly $15,000 in personal credit card bills. Fri, 3 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09184/981498-294.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml So often, after seeing family members up close for so long, we think we know everything there is to know about them. Fri, 3 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0400