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 2012, post-gazette.com. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 21:40:02 -0500 15 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/12040/1209203-100.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml A Johnstown man was arrested in Maryland today after police said he accidentally gave his girlfriend a fatal dose of methadone while she was being treated in an Indiana County hospital this summer. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 17:42:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209202-100.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml Tax preparer Larry E. Snow pleaded guilty today to one count of a 40-count indictment that accused him of claiming fictitious deductions on his clients' returns. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 16:46:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209190-100.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml A central figure in a Mon Valley-focused cocaine ring was sentenced today to 21 years and 10 months in prison. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 16:25:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209181-100.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml Allegheny County homicide detectives are investigating the death of a man whose body was found in the woods behind a West Mifflin apartment building by officers who were searching for a missing man. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 15:51:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209019-53.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml A crisp romaine salad with chicken or tofu and Kraft Creamy Italian dressing led the menu Wednesday. Scattered around the tray were raw carrots, cooked corn and peas, an apple and a whole wheat roll. The drink of the hour was milk -- skim, 1 percent or soy. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 15:44:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209183-100.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml A Bethel Park man pleaded guilty today to homicide by vehicle and involuntary manslaughter in the death of his ex-girlfriend's husband. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 14:28:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209180-100.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml The University of Pittsburgh announced today that a center within its Swanson School of Engineering is receiving a $22 million gift from the Richard King Mellon Foundation. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 14:11:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208897-56-0.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml As Valentine's Day approaches, we are reminded by some who know best that the expression of love doesn't come in a box of chocolates, a greeting card or red roses. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 13:57:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209129-100.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml A man was killed early today when his SUV crashed into a boom truck on the McKees Rocks Bridge, shutting it down for about three hours. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 13:32:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209176-100.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml HARRISBURG -- The state Department of Environmental Protection has issued a $565,000 fine to gas driller Chesapeake Appalachia over violations at three of the company's sites last year, including its Bradford County well blowout. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 13:12:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209174-100.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml A section of Castle Shannon Boulevard likely will remain closed until early afternoon after a garbage truck hit a utility pole. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 11:36:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208921-54.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml Two North Hills towns will receive an infusion of more than $800,000 in state economic development grants. On behalf of Harmar, the Allegheny Valley North Council of Governments was awarded $500,000 toward the cost of realigning the Rich Hill Road intersection with Route 910. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 11:25:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208888-55-0.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml For most moms, few moments are more cherished than snuggling up with their child to read a favorite children's book before bedtime. But local moms Beth Arnstein and Kelly Ehasz are doing more than just making priceless memories -- each decided to write her own children's book and enter a contest to get her work published. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 10:48:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209018-294-0.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml As an under-5-foot tall, 77-year-old senior citizen, I would like to thank all the shoppers at Shop 'n Save in South Fayette and the Giant Eagle at Chartiers Valley Shopping Center who help me reach things on top shelves. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 10:46:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208937-57-0.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml More than 100 residents of Bridgeville and Upper St. Clair sandwiched into a public hearing Monday in Upper St. Clair to object to a planned residential development at the site of the Bedner family farm off Cook School Road. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 10:36:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208959-55-0.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml Childhood obesity carries with it more than extra pounds. Ask Adrian Crouch. "There were a couple of periods in my life when I didn't want to continue with my life," Ms. Crouch recalled of the taunting by her peers, her low self-esteem and the emotional lows that plagued her youth. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 10:31:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208960-55-0.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml Organizers of the 37th Pittsburgh Antiques Show are offering patrons a chance to view a glass exhibit that focuses on a topic that's rarely addressed in glass collecting: women. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 10:28:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209133-100.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml An off-duty state trooper based in the Pittsburgh barracks was arraigned this morning on a charge of homicide by vehicle while driving under the influence after state police said he crossed into oncoming traffic on an Erie County road Wednesday night, striking a car head-on and killing the driver. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 10:24:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208892-56.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml Aaron Narvol was barely above the legal drinking age when he found himself on the front lines in Okinawa, Japan, during World War II, surrounded by enemy gunfire, trying to save a friend and fellow Army sergeant. His friend was shot first. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 10:23:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208918-56-0.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml William R. Lightcap Jr. knew his way around flea markets and antique shops. He had collected paper items and furniture and even manned a few booths. But a visit with Paul Warhola, brother of famed artist Andy Warhol, opened a new world of possibility. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 10:20:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208929-57-0.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml Officials from McKees Rocks and its community development corporation are hoping that an additional $4 million in state grants and loans will spur development of the abandoned Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad yard, making it once again the economic hub of the community. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 10:18:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208938-57-0.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml Evelyn Novak of Kennedy took home her treasures for $1.99 each. "I collect salt and pepper shakers, and I don't have cabbages," she said, grasping two green, vegetable-shaped curios in the checkout line of the recently opened Goodwill Store and Donation Center in Robinson. Happy with her bargain, she planned to add the shakers to her 125-pair collection. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 10:14:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208936-57-0.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml When Quaker Valley High School sophomore Josh Billings of Sewickley first started thinking about his personal project required for graduation, his thinking went along the same lines as most of his classmates -- something small and quick to fulfill the requirement. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 10:10:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208952-54-0.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml Two Mars Area High School sophomores are proving that you are never too young to start your own business. T.J. Pieffer, 15, of Mars, is the star of a weekly show, "Teej Tuesday," which he broadcasts on YouTube. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 10:08:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208976-54-0.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml A new trail will allow people to walk from Marshall to Cranberry. Marshall will receive a $240,000 grant from the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources' Community Conservation Partnerships Program to develop the Brush Creek Trail. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 10:05:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208906-57-0.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml For a girl who came of age in a small town loving baseball, Sally O'Leary grew up to have the perfect job -- a public relations assistant for the Pirates. Ms. O'Leary loves the Pirates so much that, although she is retired from her daily job with the club, she really isn't retired. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 10:03:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209132-53.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml A team of more than 60 Allegheny County sheriff's deputies found no protesters when it converged on the abandoned Occupy Pittsburgh encampment on Mellon Green early this morning to search the park. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 09:16:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209131-122-0.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml Nearly every week of his adult life, the Rev. Ed DeLair wrote notes. The Rev. Betty Angelini, executive director of the Crestfield Camp & Conference Center in Slippery Rock, got one recently, in which Rev. DeLair told her that God had called her to raise enough money for camp improvements. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 09:08:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209130-100.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml The Boston Bridge linking Versailles and Elizabeth Township will be reduced to alternating one-way traffic. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 08:35:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209068-361.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml Brentwood High School officials have not found any credence to charges by Monessen's boys basketball team that Brentwood students and players used racial slurs toward Monessen in a game Friday. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 07:53:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209122-57.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml News briefs from the West suburban area: Thu, 9 Feb 2012 07:44:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209119-55-0.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml News briefs from the South suburban area: Thu, 9 Feb 2012 07:43:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209121-54-0.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml News briefs from the North suburban area: Thu, 9 Feb 2012 07:40:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209120-56-0.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml News briefs from the East suburban area: Thu, 9 Feb 2012 07:38:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208986-57.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml Crafton -- Crafton Public Library, 140 Bradford Ave., will hold a Valentine's party for children age 3 to first grade from 10:30 a.m. to noon Saturday. Information: 412-922-6877. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 07:29:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208890-55-0.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml Washington -- Washington Festival Chorale will present its Songs of the Heart concert and meal starting at 1 p.m. Feb. 19 at the Washington Elks Lodge, 138 E. Maiden St. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 07:27:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209128-56.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml Greensburg -- The Academy of Music of the Westmoreland Symphony Orchestra is holding the following classes at the Greensburg Garden & Civic Center, 951 Old Salem Road, except where indicated. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 07:23:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209127-54-0.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml McCandless -- The Sisters of Divine Providence will be host to the third annual Busy Women Cultivating Inner Peace Breakfast from 7 to 9 a.m. Feb. 21 at Kearns Spirituality Center, 9000 Babcock Blvd. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 07:18:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209022-53.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml Port Authority is accepting public comments on its proposed service cuts and fare increases. A form for making comments is available on the authority's website, www.portauthority.org, at the "Proposed Service Cuts" banner. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 06:41:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209024-53.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml A three-judge panel of the state Commonwealth Court on Wednesday upheld the legality of Allegheny County's drink tax. The tax was passed by Allegheny County Council on Dec. 4, 2007, and immediately came under fire by local restaurants and patrons. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 06:40:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209030-454-0.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml HARRISBURG -- A sweeping overhaul of the state's gas-drilling regulations, including restrictions on local zoning rules and a new fee on those companies, now awaits Gov. Tom Corbett's signature. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 06:27:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209126-100.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml Committee members Randy Lott and Robert Rinsma -- former school board members -- and parent Joe DeCrosta presented the findings Wednesday night for the board to consider as they begin to craft a budget for next year. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 06:15:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209125-100.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml The Pittsburgh chapter of the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties is recognizing Findlay for the township's role in aiding commercial development in the Pittsburgh International Airport corridor and around the Findlay Connector interchange. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 06:08:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209124-100.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml Forty educators with 965 years combined experience signed up for the North Allegheny School District's early retirement incentive, board members were told Wednesday. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 06:03:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208914-56-0.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml When gluten-free food was needed by patrons of the South Hills Interfaith Ministries pantry, volunteers had to sift through inventory to find food with the appropriate ingredients. But no more. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 05:41:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208985-57-0.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml After serving eight years in the state House and eight years in the Pennsylvania Senate, John Pippy, a Republican lawmaker from Moon, said "I think I am going back to the private sector. That's my plan right now." Thu, 9 Feb 2012 05:41:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208898-56-0.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml Ah, Valentine's Day, a time when love is demonstrated with gifts of flowers, candies, candlelight dinners -- and sometimes even a cherry red sound system or a blushing pink alarm clock. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 05:40:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208981-55-0.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml Dormont manager Gino Rizza and municipal solicitor Deron Gabriel have resigned. Council President Bill McCartney made the announcement earlier this week. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 05:40:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208885-55.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml Joyce Ellis, executive director of the LeMoyne Community Center in Washington, believes if children embrace their "dream job" at an early age, "they can have something to cling to." Thu, 9 Feb 2012 05:39:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208886-55-0.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml When Joyce Ellis was named executive director of the Le-Moyne Community Center in Washington in 2007, the title was a bit misleading. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 05:38:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208958-55-0.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml Gov. Tom Corbett may not have thought the after-school and summer tutoring program operated by the Clairton City School District for students performing under grade level was important when he cut the funds that supported it in his 2011 budget and maintained that cut in his 2012 budget proposal Tuesday. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 05:36:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208928-57.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml Two Moon Area High School students won honors at Civics Fair 2011, a collaboration between Greater Pittsburgh Student Voices and the Youth Media Advocacy Project, which is supported by Carlow University and funded by The Heinz Endowments. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 05:33:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208930-57.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml Cornell will receive $150,000 in the first year of a three-year 21st Century Community Learning Centers grant from the state education department. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 05:33:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208935-57-0.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml The Moon parks and recreation department will begin accepting reservations for shelters in Moon Park at 9 a.m. Monday in the municipal building. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 05:32:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208927-57.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml With the opening of seven Bottom Dollar Food stores throughout the region Jan. 26 and several more opening today, many McKees Rocks residents look at the empty Foodland building on Chartiers Avenue and wonder what happened to the grocery store that was promised to them last summer. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 05:30:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208939-57-0.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml A Montour educator has been selected as a Robinson commissioner. Bobbie Cegelski, the gifted services coordinator for the Montour School District, was chosen Monday to replace Stephanie Triko, who resigned Jan. 23. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 05:30:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208926-57-0.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml Police news from the West suburban area: Thu, 9 Feb 2012 05:26:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208974-54.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml Suvir Mirchandani of O'Hara was a recent winner in the Pittsburgh Civic Orchestra Young Artist Competition. He played Kabalevsky's Piano Concerto No. 3, Op 50 ("Youth"), 1st Movement with the Pittsburgh Civic Orchestra. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 05:23:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208975-54.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml Fox Chapel Area: A community blood drive will be held from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. today in the high school large group instruction room, 611 Field Club Road, O'Hara. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 05:22:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208951-54.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml Chelynne Curci has long been an advocate for her hometown of Butler, even before she was hired as the Main Street manager to lead Butler Downtown, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the city's revitalization. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 05:21:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208953-54.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml Seneca Valley School District administrators are working on a policy to better protect students and employees who have food allergies. Assistant superintendent Jeffrey Fuller said 193 pupils and several staff members in the district have serious allergies. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 05:21:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208972-54.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml Faced with the prospect of having to invest millions of dollars to upgrade its municipal water plant, Evans City is buying water from Pennsylvania American Water. The spigot was turned on Feb. 1. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 05:20:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208950-54-0.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml She doesn't just post to Cranberry's Facebook page. Cindy Marzock, the township's social media guru, posts to four municipal Facebook pages -- and that does not include a fifth site operated by the public library. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 05:19:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208920-56-0.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml For a while, classical music performed by three members of the Sakai family frequently filled their house in Wilkins. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 05:12:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208895-56.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml Wilkins commissioners last month approved a resolution opposing state legislation that would limit municipalities' ability to restrict Marcellus Shale gas drilling. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 05:07:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208894-56-0.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml The success of flights from Arnold Palmer Regional Airport near Latrobe to Florida and South Carolina has persuaded Spirit Airlines to add a daily flight to Orlando, Fla., beginning in May. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 05:05:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208917-56.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml Gabe Monzo, executive director of Arnold Palmer Regional Airport, thinks the number of annual passengers using the airport could triple with new flights to Orlando, Fla. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 05:04:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209000-28-0.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml Country singer Toby Keith may be choosing the north over the south. Continental Real Estate Cos. is talking to his representatives about opening a Toby Keith's I Love This Bar and Grill on the North Shore near Heinz Field instead of at the SouthSide Works. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209001-28-0.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml Mayor Luke Ravenstahl has entered Pittsburgh into a competition to land one of three new satellite locations of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, saying the office would complement the city's history of innovation and fuel efforts to grow the high-tech economy. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209008-122-0.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml The last veteran of World War I was a waitress, and for 90 years no one knew her name. Florence Green, a member of Britain's Royal Air Force who was afraid of flying, died Saturday in England, two weeks shy of her 111th birthday. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209021-53.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml A Port Authority employee who was charged with reselling used bus tickets has pleaded guilty and entered a program for nonviolent first offenders. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209026-54.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml Inbound Route 28 will be down to one lane from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday as Equitable Gas crews disconnect lines between the 31st Street Bridge and the East Ohio Street exit. PennDOT said motorists should expect delays. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209028-55.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml Two Mt. Lebanon youth football coaches were found not guilty of disorderly conduct charges related to a post-practice dispute an elementary school in the fall. Mt. Lebanon police cited coaches Jeffrey Borris and Michael Ventrone in September for using threatening language with some youths at a field near Markham Elementary School. The dispute involved a football thrown in nearby woods. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209029-57.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml Traffic on the inbound Parkway West will be reduced to a single lane from 10 p.m. today to 6 a.m. Friday between Interstate 79 (Exit 64) and Carnegie (Exit 65) while PennDOT crews repair bridge expansion dams. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209031-454-0.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml State inspectors found 1,178 violations of state environmental regulations at Marcellus Shale gas drilling and development sites in 2011, according to a review released Wednesday by PennEnvironment. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209032-55-0.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml An Allegheny County Common Pleas judge on Wednesday withheld the verdict in a homicide by vehicle case against an Upper St. Clair man, saying that he was giving more time to both sides to establish the scientific value -- or lack of it -- of the data recorder in the crashed car. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209050-53.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml A small, lingering contingent of Occupy Pittsburgh protesters marched out of Mellon Green Wednesday -- two days after a court-appointed eviction deadline -- declaring victory and vowing not to let their cause die. The one or two dozen people who had remained in the park left behind damaged tents and a wooden "trojan horse" as a final act of defiance. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209076-53-0.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml A 6-year-old boy playing with a lighter inside a Friendship apartment early Wednesday sparked a fire that killed two people and left his own family homeless, investigators said. The boy torched a piece of paper just before 2 a.m. and set it atop a pillow on a couch in his mother's second-floor apartment, one of three units in a converted house in the 100 block of South Graham Street. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209079-53.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml A bomb squad was called, Downtown streets were cleared, traffic was stalled, buildings were emptied, an ambulance was dispatched -- all because of a coughing fit. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209081-57.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml A Carnegie man was arrested Wednesday in the death of his girlfriend, who was found stabbed following an argument in the apartment the two shared. Jeffrey A. Maloy, 26, was to be arraigned Wednesday night on a homicide charge in the death of Melissa Bowers, 35. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209084-454.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml HARRISBURG -- Calling for reductions in state borrowing, the House Republican leader Wednesday proposed cutting by more than half the credit limit for a grant program supporting construction projects. The Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program is authorized to borrow up to $4.05 billion to award grants to economic development projects with cultural, historic or civic significance. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209085-454.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml A federal judge Wednesday rejected requests by top Republican state lawmakers to prevent April 24 elections from proceeding under existing legislative districts. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12039/1208967-100.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml A man's coughing fit caused him to lose control of his girlfriend's SUV and crash into the glass doors of PNC's Firstside Center Downtown on Tuesday, causing a commotion that drew a bomb squad and hordes of curious onlookers during rush hour. Wed, 8 Feb 2012 19:52:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12039/1208987-100.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml A Braddock police officer awaiting trial on burglary and bribery charges was arraigned today in another string of crimes in which police said he pressed a prostitute into a sham prostitution sting and stole a shotgun from evidence, among other things. Wed, 8 Feb 2012 17:33:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12039/1208823-100.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml The boyfriend of a woman who was fatally stabbed early today in Carnegie has been charged in her death. Wed, 8 Feb 2012 16:47:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12039/1208966-100.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml A group that says it wants to reform Penn State University???s board of trustees today announced its endorsement of three candidates for the three alumni board seats up for election this spring. Wed, 8 Feb 2012 16:40:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12039/1208821-100.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml A man and a woman were killed and a firefighter was injured early today when a 6-year-old playing with a lighter sparked a blaze at a home in Friendship. Wed, 8 Feb 2012 16:30:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12039/1208964-100.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml HARRISBURG -- After more than three hours of debate today and months of wrangling over the legislation's details, a Marcellus Shale regulatory and impact fee measure is headed to Republican Gov. Tom Corbett. Wed, 8 Feb 2012 16:28:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12039/1208883-100.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml Two Mt. Lebanon youth football coaches today were found not guilty of disorderly conduct charges related to a post-practice dispute an an elementary school in the fall. Wed, 8 Feb 2012 15:03:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12039/1208867-100.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml HARRISBURG -- The state House of Representatives overwhelmingly voted today to send a bill to extend unemployment compensation benefits for Republican Gov. Tom Corbett's signature. Wed, 8 Feb 2012 14:39:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12039/1208844-100.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml HARRISBURG -- The House Gaming Oversight Committee held a hearing today on a bill that would impose 10-mile no-casino "buffer zone" around the Gettysburg National Military Park and the Flight 93 Memorial Park. Wed, 8 Feb 2012 12:29:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12039/1208843-100.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml An Allegheny County Common Pleas judge this morning delayed issuing a decision in the homicide by vehicle case against an Upper St. Clair man, saying that he was giving more time to both sides to establish the scientific value -- or lack of it -- of the data recorder in the crashed car. Wed, 8 Feb 2012 12:01:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12039/1208826-100.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml County sheriff's deputies this morning arrested a man wanted in connection with a shooting at a birthday party that left one teen dead and seven others wounded. Wed, 8 Feb 2012 11:15:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12039/1208758-454-0.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml State representatives today will continue debating a measure to overhaul Pennsylvania's gas-drilling regulations and impose a fee on those shale wells, in an effort to send the bill to Gov. Tom Corbett's desk. The legislation, which was the result of years of debate in Harrisburg and months of furious activity, passed the state Senate on Tuesday morning on a vote of 31-19. Wed, 8 Feb 2012 10:31:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12039/1208782-294-0.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml Our first year of dating was like boot camp. Each summer weekend of 1997, Greg and I matched our skills in running, hiking, biking, swimming and rock climbing. We trained at the Mt. Lebanon track and entered 5K races on weekends. My heart rate soared, trying to keep up with his hiking pace. I admired his muscular back during climbing; he liked my long legs on the bike. Wed, 8 Feb 2012 10:20:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12039/1208752-122-0.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml Robert Glaser is renowned in the academic world for co-founding the Learning Research and Development Center at the University of Pittsburgh, but many of his achievements aren't the kind you'll see on paper. Wed, 8 Feb 2012 09:38:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12039/1208753-454.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml HARRISBURG -- Facing a budget deficit that is a half-billion dollars and growing, Republican Gov. Tom Corbett on Tuesday proposed an austere spending plan for next year that would slash millions from state universities and revamp how counties receive aid for human-services programs. Wed, 8 Feb 2012 08:48:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12039/1208822-100.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml Gov. Tom Corbett today again declined to give details of how he plans to deal with the state's transportation funding crisis, and said he couldn't guarantee a solution that would avert record transit service cuts in Pittsburgh. Wed, 8 Feb 2012 08:44:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12039/1208709-28.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml After successfully converting a vacant three-story building on Forbes Avenue into apartments and a restaurant, Mike Clements is back for an encore. The developer is seeking to transform an old cigar wrapping facility at 604 Liberty Ave., Downtown, into a two- or three-bedroom townhouse with a street level cafe or bistro. Wed, 8 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12039/1208725-57.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml The Air Force could have to cross a congressional hurdle if it wants to close the 911th Airlift Wing near Pittsburgh International Airport. Wed, 8 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12039/1208726-53.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml Police on Tuesday were investigating the robbery of a pizza delivery driver on the North Side, the third of its kind in recent days. Wed, 8 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12039/1208729-53.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml A judge will decide today whether an Upper St. Clair man accused of homicide by vehicle in the deaths of three people two years ago on the Parkway West is guilty or not. Wed, 8 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12039/1208730-54.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml The man accused of raping two women in Ross and another in Hopewell was indicted by a federal grand jury on a charge that he illegally possessed body armor, the U.S. attorney's office said Tuesday. Wed, 8 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12039/1208731-54.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml A woman who flipped her car with her infant son riding in the back seat was charged with three counts of driving under the influence after toxicology tests showed she had alcohol and drugs in her system, according to police. Wed, 8 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12039/1208732-54.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml The suspect in a Butler County bank robbery was in prison Tuesday after officers from multiple agencies tracked his getaway car. Wed, 8 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12039/1208754-454-0.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml Pennsylvania's public universities, hit by severe funding cuts this year, would collectively lose a quarter of their general appropriation next year under Gov. Tom Corbett's proposed 2012-13 state budget, which provides nearly flat funding for public school districts. Wed, 8 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12039/1208759-454-0.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml Gov. Tom Corbett had very little to say about transportation in his budget message on Tuesday, dashing expectations that he would put forth a specific plan for raising money to improve roads and bridges and rescue ailing public transit systems, including the Port Authority of Allegheny County. Wed, 8 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12039/1208760-53-0.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml After about a decade of purchasing asphalt from a vendor, the Pittsburgh public works department wants to make its own asphalt again with the hope of saving money and adding muscle to the city's street-paving program. Wed, 8 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12039/1208761-53.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml City council gave final approval Tuesday to a package of assistance that will be available to Pittsburgh homeowners 65 and older and to other city homeowners whose 2011 assessments totaled $150,000 or less. Wed, 8 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12039/1208762-56-0.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml It appears there is still hope that a K-8 school will exist in Duquesne next year despite announcements by state Education Department officials that the district's school would dissolve after the 2011-12 school year. Wed, 8 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12039/1208763-454-0.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml In separate motions filed Tuesday, attorneys for Jerry Sandusky alleged that his accusers are collaborating against the former Penn State defensive coordinator, while prosecutors are asking to have the man's bond conditions be even further restricted to keep him from going outside and watching children at a nearby elementary school. Wed, 8 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12039/1208764-53.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml Pittsburgh police continued to search for the driver of a stolen SUV that crashed into PNC's Firstside Center on First Avenue Tuesday afternoon, drawing a bomb squad and hordes of curious onlookers to the edge of Downtown. Wed, 8 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12039/1208765-54-0.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml Allegheny County is hoping to complete a slow-moving bridge project on Thompson Run Road in Ross by the end of April. Wed, 8 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12039/1208777-454-0.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml PHILADELPHIA -- Cardinal Anthony J. Bevilacqua was laid to rest Tuesday alongside the tombs of his predecessors, the bishops and archbishops of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia. "He loved his people. He loved Philadelphia," said Archbishop Charles J. Chaput toward the close of the two-hour funeral Mass and entombment at the Cathedral Basilica of SS. Peter and Paul. Wed, 8 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12039/1208780-454-0.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml Elliot Howsie, a Pittsburgh defense attorney who has no managerial experience and owes back taxes of more than $6,000 on at least two properties in the county, is poised to become the next chief public defender in Allegheny County. Wed, 8 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12039/1208800-298.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml A second teacher from Miramonte Elementary School in South Los Angeles was charged with child molesting on Tuesday. The teacher, Martin Springer, faces three counts of lewd acts upon a child. He was arrested Friday, days after another teacher, Mark Berndt, was charged. Wed, 8 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12038/1208598-454-0.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml In Waynesburg, a coal and college town that was home base for state Rep. Bill DeWeese, many people say they'd vote for him again despite his conviction on corruption charges. "Yes, I would vote for him again," said Bill Whitlatch, a construction company owner from nearby Rogersville. Tue, 7 Feb 2012 22:22:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12038/1208711-100.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml The man accused of raping two women in Ross and another in Hopewell was indicted by a federal grand jury on a charge that he illegally possessed body armor, the U.S. attorney's office said today. Tue, 7 Feb 2012 20:40:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12038/1208672-100.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml Downtown streets have opened and traffic is flowing smoothly after a man crashed a stolen SUV into PNC's Firstside Center on First Avenue this afternoon, drawing a bomb squad and a crowd of curious onlookers. Tue, 7 Feb 2012 20:30:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12038/1208685-100.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml A Bridgewater councilman's habit of stopping by the borough building to drink water from a Styrofoam cup helped lead to his arrest last month in the 1979 homicide of a Monaca woman. Tue, 7 Feb 2012 18:23:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12038/1208670-100.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml A woman who flipped her car with her infant son riding in the back seat was charged with three counts driving under the influence after toxicology tests showed she had alcohol and drugs in her system. Tue, 7 Feb 2012 15:12:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12038/1208662-100-0.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml Gov. Tom Corbett has unveiled his plan for a $27.14 billion budget for the upcoming fiscal year, proposing another round of significant cuts to higher education and smaller decreases across many agencies. Tue, 7 Feb 2012 15:08:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12038/1208671-100.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml A man was injured this afternoon after a metal grate fell on him at a dealer that sells heavy farm equipment, a Fayette County dispatch supervisor said. Tue, 7 Feb 2012 15:04:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12038/1208597-454-0.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml HARRISBURG -- A Dauphin County jury on Monday found longtime Democratic state representative and House Speaker Bill DeWeese guilty of all but one of six felony corruption charges resulting from a state legislative probe into the misuse of public resources. Tue, 7 Feb 2012 14:44:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12038/1208567-53.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml The driver of an SUV that struck a city sanitation worker Monday in East Liberty told police she did not see the man because she was temporarily blinded by sun glare in her eyes. Tue, 7 Feb 2012 14:10:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12038/1208669-100.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml Police are investigating the robbery of a pizza delivery driver on the North Side, the third of its kind in recent days. Tue, 7 Feb 2012 14:04:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12038/1208621-53-0.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml With the demolition of the Civic Arena in full swing, the city is preparing to give its consent to bring down part of another landmark building -- the Strip District's historic produce terminal. Urban Redevelopment Authority board members are expected to vote Thursday on a memorandum of understanding that clears the way for the Buncher Co. Tue, 7 Feb 2012 12:42:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12038/1208663-100-0.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml HARRISBURG -- The state Senate passed a Marcellus Shale regulatory and impact fee measure this morning, sending the plan for a final vote in the state House of Representatives. Tue, 7 Feb 2012 12:38:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12038/1208660-100.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml HARRISBURG -- Gov. Tom Corbett hasn't delivered his 2012-13 budget address yet, but some people are already unhappy. Tue, 7 Feb 2012 11:41:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12038/1208616-53.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml Even as a new court order Monday directed the Allegheny County sheriff to remove all Occupy Pittsburgh protesters from BNY Mellon Green, several of the campers delivered a vociferous but ambiguous message: We're not going away. While some explicitly said they would stay in the face of forcible removal, others said the movement would continue outside the encampment. Tue, 7 Feb 2012 11:17:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12038/1208620-454-0.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml At the Allegheny County elections division, staffers are calling poll workers and reminding them of the April 24 primary. Competitive bids are out for hauling machines to polling places. The schools, churches, apartment complexes and other buildings that host polls are being reminded, too. There may be another round of calls this spring telling them to forget it. Tue, 7 Feb 2012 10:41:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12038/1208658-100.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml About 15 tents and at least one Occupy Pittsburgh protester remained in Mellon Green this morning despite a court order that authorized the county sheriff to remove campers and protesters to enforce a judge's ruling. Tue, 7 Feb 2012 10:26:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12038/1208657-100.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml Three people were hospitalized for smoke inhalation after a mattress caught fire at a Mt. Lebanon apartment complex early today. Tue, 7 Feb 2012 09:49:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12038/1208560-147.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml You've seen those winter safety checklists advising motorists to carry items such as a blanket, flashlight, shovel and sand. Here's a partial summer checklist for local drivers: a good supply of soothing music, a functioning air conditioner and a full reservoir of patience. Tue, 7 Feb 2012 09:15:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12038/1208651-100.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml Allegheny County fire marshals will spend part of today attempting to figure out what started the fire that destroyed the popular North Versailles restaurant, the Winchester Room. Tue, 7 Feb 2012 08:37:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12038/1208602-53-0.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml "Putting the GO back in Gospel" says a sign on the front of the Christian Fellowship Baptist Church on the North Side. But it was nearly the church itself that had to go. On Monday, a sheriff's sale was postponed until March 5 for the century-old stone church at 2453 Perrysville Ave. after an Oklahoma mortgage company agreed to work out payments by its pastor, the Rev. Algie Robinson Jr. Tue, 7 Feb 2012 08:36:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12038/1208546-455-0.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml Supporters of public transit fanned out across Pittsburgh's Golden Triangle Monday afternoon to seek support from riders for increased state aid. Tue, 7 Feb 2012 08:30:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12038/1208603-298-0.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml A Pittsburgh philanthropist has bestowed her alma mater, Carlow University, with the largest gift it has ever received: $5 million to establish a new student center. Tue, 7 Feb 2012 08:17:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12038/1208655-100.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml Bobbie Cegelski, the gifted services coordinator for the Montour School District, was chosen Monday night to fill a vacant seat on the Robinson board of commissioners. Tue, 7 Feb 2012 07:48:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12038/1208559-294-0.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml One morning last fall, I signed onto my computer at work and began the process of getting rid of one after another worthless email -- delete, delete, delete, delete ... David Aschkenas. I gasped. A respite from delete. Tue, 7 Feb 2012 05:55:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12038/1208656-100.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml More than 100 concerned residents from Bridgeville and Upper St. Clair packed a meeting of the Upper St. Clair commissioners to voice their opposition to a new residential housing development that they say will exacerbate an already dangerous traffic situation. Tue, 7 Feb 2012 05:44:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12038/1208654-100.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml The Seneca Valley School District is considering changing its grading scale. Tue, 7 Feb 2012 05:31:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12038/1208653-100.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml Denise Balason was selected last night to fill a vacant seat on the Hampton school board. Tue, 7 Feb 2012 05:25:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12038/1208652-100.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml The North Hills school board Monday night unanimously rejected the application of Provident Charter School to locate within the district. Tue, 7 Feb 2012 05:17:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12038/1208525-28.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml Sarris Candies' landmark retail candy store in Canonsburg will remain closed for about a month after last week's fire, but candy orders and deliveries to outside sellers continue uninterrupted. Tue, 7 Feb 2012 00:09:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12038/1208564-53.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml Allegheny County is closing its private garage behind the old morgue on Fourth Avenue, Downtown, beginning Wednesday until further notice because of structural problems. Tue, 7 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12038/1208565-56.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml A convicted sex offender from Wilkinsburg has been arrested on charges that he indecently assaulted a 10-year-old boy following a Christmas Eve party in White Oak. Tue, 7 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12038/1208566-53.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml Pittsburgh police have charged a Brighton Heights man, who is currently in a Minnesota jail on unrelated charges, with the 2010 shooting death of a man inside Shamrock Bar on the North Side. Tue, 7 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12038/1208582-122-0.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml Alcoa executive C. Fred Fetterolf became a leader in a wide variety of civic and philanthropic activities during and after his Alcoa leadership, some with a religious slant. Tue, 7 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12038/1208596-54.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml McKnight Road northbound will be down to one lane at times from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday through Saturday at the bridge over Babcock Boulevard in Ross as crews install railing. Tue, 7 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12038/1208605-503-0.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml A Marcellus Shale regulatory and impact fee bill is two votes away from Gov. Tom Corbett's desk, after state lawmakers on Monday evening squeezed a new Republican-negotiated proposal into a pending measure. That 174-page amendment was approved by a conference committee made up of House and Senate legislators from both parties. Tue, 7 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12038/1208606-55.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml Trial began Monday for an Upper St. Clair man charged with homicide by vehicle in the deaths of three people in a crash nearly two years ago on the Parkway West. Ryan Safka, 20, also is charged with three counts each of involuntary manslaughter in the deaths of David Rizzo Jr., 20, Tara Schulz, 18, and Derek Phillips, 20, all of Upper St. Clair. They were all backseat passengers in Mr. Tue, 7 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12038/1208615-454-0.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml By day, Amanda E. Holt is a mild-mannered 29-year-old piano teacher and self-employed graphic artist. But in her spare time, she's a crusader for fair representation who upended the General Assembly's now-illegal reapportionment plan for state House and Senate districts, showing what one citizen, some maps and a lot of hard work can do. Tue, 7 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12038/1208618-84-0.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama will use the backdrop of a White House science fair today to highlight a nationwide shortage of math and science teachers and unveil a plan to invest $100 million to help train 100,000 new educators over the next decade. Tue, 7 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12038/1208638-298-0.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml LOS ANGELES -- Parents of students at an elementary school here where two teachers were arrested on accusations of child sexual abuse marched outside the school on Monday and refused to allow their children to attend classes, protesting what they said was the failure of school officials to act against the abuse and explain its extent. Tue, 7 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12037/1208545-298.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml Downtown-based Education Management Corp. has argued in court filings that a 2011 policy change by the Department of Education proves that EDMC didn't previously break rules for compensating college recruiters. Mon, 6 Feb 2012 22:14:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12037/1208522-100.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml A convicted sex offender from Wilkinsburg has been arrested on charges that he indecently assaulted a 10-year-old boy following a Christmas Eve party in White Oak. Mon, 6 Feb 2012 19:33:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12037/1208511-100.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml Supporters of public transit fanned out across Pittsburgh's Golden Triangle today to seek support from riders for increased state aid. Mon, 6 Feb 2012 18:38:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12037/1208501-100.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml Dormont Council President Bill McCartney confirmed today that borough manager Gino Rizza and solicitor Deron Gabriel have resigned. Mon, 6 Feb 2012 18:05:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12037/1208498-100.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml The driver of an SUV that struck a city sanitation worker this morning in East Liberty told police she didn't see the man due to sun glare in her eyes. Mon, 6 Feb 2012 16:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12037/1208500-100.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml HARRISBURG -- The Marcellus Shale legislation expected to come up for a vote this week is projected to raise more than $190 million in its first year, rising to $333 million by 2015. Mon, 6 Feb 2012 15:37:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12037/1208497-100.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml Pittsburgh police are warning food delivery drivers to use caution and be alert after two drivers were robbed at gunpoint in as many days on the North Side. Mon, 6 Feb 2012 15:30:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12037/1208493-100.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml Downtown-based Education Management Corp. has filed a muscularly written defense of the recruiter compensation practices for which it has been sued by the federal government and several states, in an effort to get that lawsuit dismissed. Mon, 6 Feb 2012 14:56:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12037/1208499-100.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml Fire crews are on the scene of a North Versailles restaurant fire this afternoon that has been burning for over an hour. Mon, 6 Feb 2012 14:38:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12037/1208490-100.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml The Port Authority has reopened the Wood Street station on the T, which had been closed because of a ventilation problem. Mon, 6 Feb 2012 14:31:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12037/1208495-100.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation will push ahead with 168 construction projects in Allegheny, Beaver and Lawrence counties this year, including the start of a $49.5 million rehabilitation of the Squirrel Hill Tunnels. Mon, 6 Feb 2012 14:06:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12037/1208492-100.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml Carlow University has received the largest gift in its history: $5 million from Rita M. McGinley, a 1940 alumna, honorary degree recipient and a Carlow Woman of Spirit. Mon, 6 Feb 2012 13:19:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12037/1208446-503.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml A deal between Republican lawmakers and Gov. Tom Corbett on a Marcellus Shale regulatory and impact fee measure is nearly complete, with summaries of the expected compromise plan circulating among lawmakers over the weekend. Top legislative and administration aides said action on that final plan could begin as soon as today. Mon, 6 Feb 2012 12:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12037/1208407-53-0.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml Margie Walls can't live a day without a "Jamie moment," when the sight of a woman's brown hair or a whiff of Tiffany perfume will flood her mind with memories of her daughter. But with memories come unending questions. "I mostly think about how she died and did she suffer?" Ms. Walls said, gazing at her daughter's grave. "Was she afraid? She probably was. ... I can feel her fear." Mon, 6 Feb 2012 10:54:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12037/1208419-294.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml Gov. Tom Corbett delivers a budget address to the General Assembly Tuesday, touting his spending plan and policy agenda for Pennsylvania in 2012-13. Normally, The Morning File would have sources feeding us advance dope (no pun intended) about the governor's announcements. Mon, 6 Feb 2012 10:37:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12037/1208411-454-0.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml In early 2010, in an effort to ease the burden of the state's prison system, Gov. Ed Rendell announced that Pennsylvania would contract with Michigan and Virginia to move 2,000 low-risk inmates to facilities in those states. Mon, 6 Feb 2012 10:23:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12037/1208421-53-0.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml After 31 years of providing day care for elderly people as an alternative to a nursing home, Vintage Senior Services in East Liberty is phasing out that service through June. It will continue to operate as a senior center. The cost of adult day care has outpaced the flat funding levels of recent years, executive director Ann Truxell said. Mon, 6 Feb 2012 10:22:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12037/1208433-85.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml Mon, 6 Feb 2012 09:31:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12037/1208430-53.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml By court order, Occupy Pittsburgh must get off BNY Mellon Green by today, but while many of the tents were removed Sunday, it was not clear whether all of the protesters would be gone. Matt Wheeler, for one, said Sunday he was not taking down his tent. Mon, 6 Feb 2012 06:43:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12037/1208427-53-0.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml Calvary Episcopal Church in Shadyside is being considered for the National Register of Historic Places. The board of the state historic preservation office will consider on Tuesday whether to recommend the late Gothic Revival-style cathedral built in 1907 for the register. Its recommendation then would be considered by the National Park Service, which oversees the register. Mon, 6 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12037/1208429-53.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml The city of Pittsburgh will collect a new tax for the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh beginning this year, but how much the latter has to pay for that service is a matter of discussion. City and library officials will meet today to iron out cost-sharing and other logistical details for collecting the library tax that voters approved in a November referendum. Mon, 6 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12037/1208434-53-0.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml BLUFF: The Duquesne University Christian-Muslim Dialogue Committee will host a symposium, "Building Interreligious Relationships," from 4 to 6:30 p.m. in the Africa Room on the third floor of the Duquesne Union. The symposium will focus on women and minorities in interreligious dialogue. Mon, 6 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12037/1208435-122-0.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml As Eleanor Bailey was helping to plan funeral services for her father, William R. Bailey Jr., she ran across a saying that immediately made her think of him. "If I cannot do great things, I can do small things in a great way," it read. Mon, 6 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12037/1208445-114-0.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml Last year, Donate Life America, the nonprofit that advocates for people to donate their organs, reached an important, 5-year-old goal. Mon, 6 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12037/1208467-298-0.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml The next time people try to tell you how much the data-driven education reform programs of President George W. Bush (No Child Left Behind) and President Obama (Race to the Top) have raised academic standards in America, suggest that they take a look at the Jan. 24, 2012, New York State English Regents exam. Mon, 6 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500