Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro is issuing a disaster declaration over the suspension of SNAP benefits due to the government shutdown. The governor said the state is immediately making five-million-dollars available to make sure food banks are fully stocked and Pennsylvania families are fed. The Trump Administrati...

Relief could be on the way this week for the nearly two-million Pennsylvania residents who rely on SNAP benefits to help buy groceries. During an appearance on CNN's "State of the Union" yesterday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said food assistance payments could be coming as soon as Wednesday. A federal...

Rotary Club of Westmoreland County is helping out TSA workers at Arnold Palmer Regional Airport. KDKA-TV reports that the group presented the county Airport Authority $500 to cover lunch at DeNunzio's for the airport's 24 TSA workers who have gone without a paycheck during the Government shutdown. No word yet on when t...

One person was hurt in a crash on Route 30 in Jeannette on Saturday. The Trib reports that the crash was reported at 10:55 AM near DeLallo's Italian Market. Mutual Aid Ambulance said that one woman was taken to Westmoreland Hospital after the crash. No word on her condition.

The state Game Commission is looking for people who shot a deer over bait in North Huntingdon Township. The Trib reports that the deer was shot around Noon on October 7th. Investigators shared photos of a person who a witness told police was involved on their Operation Game Thief Facebook page. The witness said that pe...

The Derry Historical Society has finished replacing cemetery headstones that go back to the Revolutionary War. The Trib reports that two dozen volunteers worked at the Old Salem Community Church to work on replacing well-worn cemetery stones to keep alive the history of local families. The project started back in 2017,...

Philips Respironics has notified state officials that it plans to lay off nearly 200 people at three Westmoreland County locations starting early next year. The Trib reports that Philips issued the Workforce Adjustment and Retraining Notification notice to the state department of labor and industry as part of moves the...

Coming up Sunday on Westmoreland Community Connections, Host Jennifer Miele brings us a Women's Health Special with Independence Health System. OBGYN Physician Dr. Lisa Hildenbrand and Certified Nurse Midwife Vivian Boyer talk about advancements in pregnancy and delivery techniques, as well as reduction of menopausal s...

Democrat state lawmakers in Pennsylvania are proposing an investment in food banks to help folks impacted by the likely SNAP benefits freeze. This week, the state Senate Democratic Caucus introduced a measure that would provide 50-million dollars for food banks, plus another ten-million for Meals on Wheels. The U.S. ...

Somerset County Sheriff Dustin Weir is facing a corruption of minors charge after allegedly making sexual comments to a teen. The incident reportedly happened at a Pittsburgh-area Walmart store during a Shop With a Cop event last December. Investigators say the 15-year-old victim was helping with the event when Weir ...

A home in Irwin was damaged in a fire yesterday afternoon. The Trib reports that multiple fire departments were called out to a two-story home at the corner of Sixth and Warden Streets at 1:15 PM. The home was undergoing extensive renovations before the fire started. No one was home at the time and no injuries were ...

The attorney for a Hempfield woman accused of killing her husband will present a self-defense case to the jury during her trial. The Trib reports that charges of homicide were held for court against 51-year-old Leann Steel. She reportedly shot her husband on October 18th at their home on Merlin Lane. During the prel...

State police have officially ruled the death of a transient found on state game lands in Loyalhanna Township a homicide. The Trib reports that State Trooper Steven Limani did not say how 64-year-old Robert Friend was killed. Authorities are still trying to piece together the timeline of Friend's movements before he w...

Commissioners in Westmoreland County are approving a resolution condemning political violence. The three county leaders unanimously approved the measure during their meeting yesterday. The resolution was drafted in response to an incident at the recent anti-Trump No Kings rally outside the Westmoreland County Courtho...

State online services are restored after the Microsoft outage yesterday. The Department of Labor and Industry announced late last night that all Commonwealth websites are again fully operational. The outage happened Wednesday morning, with the company acknowledging that it was "investigating an issue with the Az...

The Pennsylvania Treasury Department is selling off unclaimed property this week. The online auction continues today. Over six-thousand items including jewelry and coins that were previously stored in the state treasury vault are up for sale. The listings are posted on the Pook and Pook auction house website.

Arrest warrants are now issued for a couple in Monessen accused of starving and neglecting two dogs. The Westmoreland County District Attorney's Office reports Billy Dupree and Tonia Lawson are wanted on counts including aggravated animal cruelty. Authorities say two dogs were found starving at the couple's home on C...

This year's Mt. Pleasant Halloween Parade went off without any controversy. The Trib reports that organizers stepped up efforts to avoid a repeat of what happened last year when some participants came dressed up as then-candidate Donald Trump pulling a person dressed as Kamala Harris behind them on a golf cart. That ...

A Jeannette man is back on house arrest in the case of assault against a county detective. The Trib reports that Jonathan E. Craft is charged with breaking into the home of Detective Nick Caesar and assaulting him back in August of 2024. When it was announced that he was released from house arrest, Caesar filed a com...

A Murrysville massage parlor worker has entered a guilty plea to a charge of prostitution. The Trib reports that 63-year-old Weihong Wang was one of two women working last month during the raid on Asian Garden Spa on Route 22. Court records showed that she reportedly offered to perform a sex act to an undercover offi...

Police in Allegheny County have charged a Latrobe man with bringing a gun into Pittsburgh International Airport. The Trib reports that the gun was found Wednesday Morning inside carry-on luggage belonging to 51-year-old John Frye. They said he did not have a concealed carry permit. TSA officers notified county polic...

Community members are launching a fundraiser to help the man who fell from the scoreboard at Acrisure Stadium this past weekend. A friend who set up a Go Fund Me campaign has identified the man as Keith Keller. He says Keller was setting up a remote video camera system when he fell 50 feet, lacerating his liver and s...

The Pennsylvania Game Commission is warning Western PA drivers to be on the lookout for deer. Officials say we are now in the breeding, or rutting, season for the animals, meaning they are on the move more right now than at any other time of the year. Also, with the shift off of Daylight Saving Time this coming Sunda...

Pennsylvania is one of two dozen states now suing the Trump Administration over the likely freeze in SNAP benefits payouts. Leaders who filed the lawsuit are asking a federal judge to order the U.S. Department of Agriculture to fund the food assistance program for the month of November. Federal officials have said no...

A man accused of beating two people with a baseball bat at a Salem gas station will stand trial on charges of aggravated and simple assault. The Trib reports that 26-year-old Reno Roberts is accused of attacking Elizabeth Hobbs and her boyfriend at the GetGo station on Route 22 on October 16th. After the attack, Robe...

Westmoreland County Commissioners vowed to keep the county government going even as state funding starts to diminish due to a lack of a state spending plan. The Trib reports that officials plan to keep operating essential human service programs as they await word for a $14 million loan from the State Treasury. Later ...

Westmoreland Intermediate Unit will receive $2 million from a revenue anticipation note that was approved on Tuesday. The Trib reports that the money is anticipated to hold off on any layoffs or program or service cuts for the rest of the calendar year. But in a meeting yesterday, IU executive director Jason Conway s...

Lifetime members are being told to pay new fees or leave an RV campground in the Laurel Highlands. Campers at Pittsburgh Roaring Run RV Resort have told KDKA-TV they were misled about the sale of the property. Multiple residents say they paid the former owner, Jay Corl, ten-thousand dollars or more to stay on their s...

Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday is working with law enforcement to stop the flow fentanyl into the state. Sunday visited Pittsburgh yesterday to talk about efforts to intercept the dangerous synthetic opioid. The AG says over 220 pounds of the drug was seized in Pennsylvania through September this year, inc...

Registration is open now for the 34th annual Greensburg Turkey Trot. Over two-thousand runners and walkers are expected to participate in the Thanksgiving morning event. The race begins and ends at the Westmoreland County Courthouse. A link to register is posted at Greensburgturkeytrot.com.

Some school districts in Western Pennsylvania are making plans to keep kids fed as the SNAP program is set to be suspended. The Trump Administration says no additional food assistance money will be paid out for November if the federal government shutdown continues into this Saturday. Leaders with Jeannette City Schoo...

A new ordinance has been proposed for Murrysville to create a registry of vacant properties within the municipality. The Trib reports that Chief Administrator Michael Nestico, who created the proposed ordinance, said the idea would be to have the database as a way to "keep tabs on these properties and to allow fo...

Two of the top companies in the Pennsylvania utility market have agreed to a merger. The Trib reports that New Jersey-based American Water would absorb Essential Utilities, which owns Peoples Natural Gas and water utility Aqua, in an all-stock transaction. The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2027, p...

State police continue to seek information on how a transient was found dead near state game land in New Alexandria over the weekend. The Trib reports that Trooper Steven Limani at a news conference yesterday said the death of 64-year-old Robert Friend is still considered suspicious as investigators believe he was plac...

A worker is seriously hurt after falling from the main scoreboard at Acrisure Stadium over the weekend. The incident happened while crews were setting up for the Sunday Night Football game on Saturday. A stadium spokesperson says the man was installing production equipment when he fell from the scoreboard and landed ...

Friends of Derry is hosting the free Halloween Hootenanny event later on this week. It is planned for Friday at Derry Community Park beginning at 5 p.m. There will be trick-or-treating, food trucks, and other vendors. A classic Halloween movie will be shown at dusk as well.

Charges were filed on Friday against a man who allegedly injured someone during the No Kings rally in Greensburg on October 18th. The Trib reports that 58-year-old Jeffrey Greece of Southwest Greensburg faces misdemeanor counts of disorderly conduct and criminal mischief and summary harassment charges for hitting 70-y...

A Westmoreland County judge has rejected a request from a man charged with murder to represent himself at trial with the aid of an artificial intelligence lawyer. The Trib reports that 42-year-old Larry Nix II is charged with killing 31-year-old James Hayes in December of 2022. His body was found in a parking lot beh...

A Monessen man died in a pedestrian-vehicle crash on Saturday in Rostraver. The Trib reports that 52-year-old Darren Snyder was walking in the area of 845 Rostraver Road at 6:30 AM when he was hit by a vehicle. Rostraver Police said that he died at the scene. Westmoreland County Coroner Tim Carson ruled his death ac...

The death of a man who was found Saturday morning on state game lands near Loyalhanna Township has been ruled suspicious. The Trib reports that 47-year-old Robert Friend was found dead near Mannitto Golf Course. An autopsy is scheduled for today. Police are saying that his death was considered suspicious in nature. ...

An Armstrong Township man died Sunday afternoon in a side-by-side crash in Young Township. Indiana County Coroner Jerry Overman, Jr. said 23-year-old Levi Douglas Gittings was a passenger in the UTV going south on Blackleggs Road when the driver did not cleanly negotiate a left turn. The vehicle went off the west sid...

Westmoreland Community Connections will have a Halloween Special as our host Jennifer Miele will talk with Penn Township Manager Mary Perez and Recreation Director Mike Tassone about some of the celebrations that have been planned for the spooky season. Listen Sunday to Westmoreland Community Connections at 7 AMand 11...

State officials have fanned out to appearances across Pennsylvania to promote COVID-19 vaccinations ahead of the winter season. In Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Health Secretary Dr. Debra Bogen took her COVID shot and sought to dispel any rumors that the shots are not widely available. In fact, she said the vaccine is ava...

Authorities in Westmoreland County say three suspects are now in custody following a gas station robbery. In August of 2024, the Sunoco on Eastgate Avenue in Monessen was robbed by two armed men who were then driven away from the scene by a third man. Police say that through DNA evidence, James Foster and Quran Overt...

DNA evidence has lead to charges being filed in a shooting at a home in Rostraver Township in 2022. KDKA-TV reports that Tre Goins now faces charges of aggravated assault, reckless endangerment and possession of a firearm in connection with the shooting on Webster Hollow Road. Four people were home at the time. One ...

Hempfield Township officials say over $180,000 in proceeds from an online auction of surplus equipment. The Trib reports over 66,000 people took a look at the online auction that Hempfield supervisors set up for items like trucks, firefighting equipment, traffic signals, kitchen appliances, chairs and reflector lamps....

Jeannette officials are looking at ways to entice people to join the police force. The Trib reports that they have two openings on the force, but as of Tuesday, no one has applied for them. The application period closes October 31st. Earlier in the week, police chief Derek Manley asked council to increase the wages ...

An appeal has been denied for a Monessen man who's spent the last 50 years in prison for a brutal 1973 crime. Attorneys for 69-year-old John Veltre Jr. argued that Westmoreland County Judge Michael Stewart abused his discretion when he re-imposed two life sentences without parole, plus seven to fourteen years for rape....

A bill that would repeal Pennsylvania's participation in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative passed the state senate yesterday. Senate Bill 1068 passed by a 33-17 vote with five Democrats joining all Republicans in voting in favor of it. The bill is the most recent initiative to formally repeal the state's partici...

More than two months after a deadly explosion at US Steel's plant in Clairton, the company is moving forward. Two people were killed and ten others were injured after an August blast that US Steel says happened during maintenance activities involving a gas isolation valve. The company says they will be restarting cok...