West Nile virus has been detected in Westmoreland County for the first time this year. Mosquitoes tested positive for the disease after being captured in Latrobe and at the border of Greensburg and Hempfield, according to Chrissy Edwards-McCune, who conducts the county’s West Nile virus monitoring program for the Westmoreland...

Attorneys for a South Greensburg woman who prosecutors say bullied her boyfriend into committing suicide in 2021 say the criminal case against their client should be dismissed. Defense attorney Tim Lyon said the district judge who held the case for trial last year participated in the initial investigation while still...

A long-planned remediation effort to remove orange-tinted polluted mine drainage discharged int0 Brush Creek may finally be a reality. The eight-mile creek runs through Irwin and Trafford and into Turtle Creek. Westmoreland County commissioners on Thursday approved a $75,000 interest-free loan to the Turtle Creek Watershed Association that officials said...

Westmoreland commissioners on Thursday conceded the county’s property assessments are decades out of date but they rejected calls to modernize the system that controls valuations used to determine tax bills. “I am still not in favor of a countywide reassessment. We can’t commit the money it will cost,” said Commissioner...

The Lamp Theatre in Irwin will be the site of an alternative rock band concert Friday night to help raise money to pay for tasers and the associated software for Irwin Borough police. “We want to do something to help raise money. We want to do what we can to...

Guardian Elder Care, the parent company of skilled nursing facilities including Belair in Lower Burrell and Oak Hill in Greensburg, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The Johnstown-based health care company filed the petition for relief this week. Nineteen facilities — including locations in Lower Burrell, Greensburg, Bethel Park and...

A gold lapel pin on his breast pocket. Dark brown sunglasses. Distinctive gray and brown boots. The FBI used those fashion elements to link a Westmoreland County clothing designer to the Jan. 6 riots at the U.S. Capitol. They filed charges against him this week. On Wednesday morning, an FBI...

A Philadelphia man is accused of stalking in connection with sexual messages sent to a Unity woman, one of which was a picture of her face superimposed on a nude woman, according to court papers. Shane P. Cassidy, 24, is accused of using images from the Unity woman’s social media...

Pennsylvania travelers facing issues such as flight delays, cancellations or boarding problems now can file complaints through an online form launched Wednesday by the state Attorney General’s Office. Attorney General Michelle Henry said a national uptick in consumer complaints prompted her to act. State residents and travelers who experience airline...

Derry Township officials have issued a ban on open burning in the township until further notice. Township supervisors said recent dry conditions prompted the ban, which includes recreational fires and fireworks. Rainfall on Tuesday provided some relief, but not enough to lift the ban. A short distance under the ground...

A fire that damaged a privately owned hangar and at least two airplanes Wednesday at Rostraver Airport was quickly extinguished, said Gabe Monzo, Westmoreland County Airport Authority executive director. With other buildings and hangars just feet away from the fire, as well as the potential dangers inside them, the fast...

The third annual Summer Fest at Twin Lakes Park will have activities for kids, adults and even dogs. Organized by Greensburg-based Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Laurel Region, the event is set for noon to 5 p.m. Sunday along the park’s Lower Lake, near Pavilion No. 7. It is...

Bruce Gezon of Murrysville is no stranger to a nice, scenic drive. Gezon, a member of the Sports Car Club of America’s Hall of Fame, has been designing rally courses for a half-century. With late-summer temperatures continuing to stay in the 80s and 90s, spending an afternoon outdoors might not...

A Westmoreland County judge has rejected defense calls for dismissal of charges against an East Huntingdon man wounded by Pennsylvania State Police in an exchange of gunfire last winter. Defense attorney Jill Devine during a court hearing Tuesday contended there was no evidence James R. Miller Jr. intended to kill...

Vitalant, a nonprofit blood and biotherapies health care company based in Pittsburgh, is planning a series of community donor drives to help boost blood supply in the region. The company has declared an emergency shortage of type O blood — the most transfused blood type. While O blood types are...

The simple act of untangling a human chain can teach a lot about trust and teamwork. On Tuesday, participants in the Westmoreland Drug and Alcohol Commission’s Strengthening Families program mashed together, crossed their arms and grabbed hands. Next, they worked together to undo the knot they had formed. Jessica Anderson,...

Westmoreland County prosecutors said a Dominican Republic national faces deportation for the second time after he serves an eight-year prison sentence for selling fentanyl to an undercover state trooper two years ago in New Stanton. Leonardo Antonio Ramirez was convicted in May by a Westmoreland County jury of three drug-related...

PennDOT road work is set to trigger a detour beginning Wednesday on Route 119 in New Stanton and traffic interruptions on Thursday on Route 51 in Rostraver. Motorists heading south on Route 119, from Youngwood toward Connellsville, will be diverted along a detour because the southbound ramp they normally use...

The Jeannette Public Library was closed Tuesday after a bomb threat was called into city hall, according to library board members. The threat was called in on Monday and indicated a bomb would be present at the library Tuesday, said board president Joann Billheimer and board member Chad Krawtz. Police...

A Sewickley Township man is behind bars after state police said he charged at his neighbor over the weekend with a knife, according to court papers. Kurtis C. Baker, 33, was arrested after the neighbor grabbed the knife and held the suspect down until troopers arrived. Baker is charged with...