Briefs: Jury finds man guilty in 2004 slaying of woman
An Allegheny County jury on Tuesday convicted a Beltzhoover man of first-degree murder for the April 2004 fatal shooting of a Braddock woman in an abandoned house.
Gus Stewart, 48, who also uses the name Gustus Taylor, wept as the jury announced the verdict. He faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison.
Lenora Maiolo, 32, of Mt. Washington, testified that she was with Stewart when he picked up Kristine Switzer, 24, and took her to the house along Nina Way in Beltzhoover. She said she watched Stewart shoot Switzer several times before he made her fire a bullet into the victim's body. Maiolo is awaiting trial on a charge of third-degree murder.
PittsburghCouncilman claims workers are overpaid
Pittsburgh City Councilman Jim Motznik alleged in a letter Tuesday to Mayor Bob O'Connor that seven city public works employees are being overpaid by a total of $18,000 a month.
Motznik cited seven instances in which employees are receiving $119 to $480 more in their bi-weekly paychecks because they have been named to temporary acting positions, which offer more pay but are limited to 90 days. He said workers shouldn't receive raises -- even temporarily -- because city employees are under a wage freeze.
Dick Skrinjar, O'Connor's spokesman, said the extra pay is warranted as some public works employees take on added duties because of their department's merger with the general services department.
Skrinjar said paying a few workers' higher salaries temporarily would save the city money because some vacant positions can be left unfilled.
Council rejects effort to end oversight
A city councilwoman's attempt to shed Pittsburgh's state-imposed financially distressed status failed Tuesday, which dashed police and fire union officials' hopes of ditching financial oversight.
In a 5-4 vote, council members shot down a resolution prepared by Firefighters Local 1 that asked the state to end Pittsburgh's distressed status and disband the Act 47 recovery team, which is guiding the city through a five-year financial recovery plan.
Councilwoman Twanda Carlisle said the resolution was intended to ask state officials if Pittsburgh is financially healthy enough to end its recovery after two years. Carlisle and council members Len Bodack, Jim Motznik and Tonya Payne voted for it.
Pittsburgh fire and police unions had hoped City Council would pressure state officials into ending the oversight, which makes it harder to negotiate favorable union contracts.
Recycling efforts land city $250,000 in grants
Pittsburgh received more money than any other city in Pennsylvania for its 2004 recycling efforts, the state Department of Environmental Protection announced Tuesday with its latest round of recycling performance grants.
Pittsburgh received more than $250,000 out of $3.6 million awarded to 200 municipalities statewide. Western Pennsylvania communities received almost $550,000.
The grants are based on the total tons communities recycled and their recycling rates. The grant money can be used for any municipal purpose, although the DEP promotes using it for improving recycling infrastructure. In 2004, Pennsylvania recycled nearly 4.8 million tons of waste -- 13 times the weight of the Empire State Building in New York City.
BeltzhooverPolice arrest suspect in July fatal shooting
A Hazelwood man was arrested Tuesday in connection with the fatal shooting last year of a young Beltzhoover man.
Lamar Cochran, 24, whose last known address was in the 300 block of Johnston Avenue, was arrested about 5 p.m. yesterday when he was spotted outside a tavern on Centre Avenue in the Hill District, said city police Lt. Robert Roth. Cochran is charged in the July 26 slaying of William Roberson IV, 19, of Montooth Street.
Roberson, described by family members as an honor student in school, was fatally shot at the intersection of Climax Street and Gearing Avenue in Beltzhoover by at least two assailants. One assailant was armed with an AK-47 assault rifle, police said.
Glen HazelMan hospitalized with gunshot wounds
A 24-year-old man was shot and critically wounded Tuesday afternoon near his mother's home in Glen Hazel.
Antoine Hayes, whose address isn't known, was found lying on the sidewalk at 4:11 p.m. in the 600 block of Johnston Avenue, city police Lt. Robert Roth said. Hayes was taken to UPMC Presbyterian hospital in Oakland with three or four gunshot wounds in the back and in a leg, Roth said.
Police last night had no motive or suspects in the shooting.
OaklandSymposium to focus on bird flu outbreak
In a free symposium next week, University of Pittsburgh and East Asian researchers will fill the public in on what scientific and public health communities are doing to best protect people from an avian flu pandemic.
On April 12, three panelists -- Andrea Gombotto, a Pitt School of Medicine professor who has developed a vaccine against the current strain of avian flu; Gabriel Leung, a University of Hong Kong professor who has studied flu interventions; and Loren Roth, chair of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center's Avian Flu Task Force -- will discuss what should and can be done in the event of an outbreak.
The symposium will begin at 6 p.m. in Room 125, the Frick Fine Arts Building Auditorium, along Schenley Drive in Oakland. To register call 412-648-7371.
Rockefeller Foundation president will speak
Judith Rodin, president of the Rockefeller Foundation, will deliver the commencement address April 30 at the University of Pittsburgh.
She became president of the Rockefeller Foundation -- one of the largest private foundations in America, with more than $3 billion in assets -- in March 2005. She served as president of her alma mater, the University of Pennsylvania, from 1994 to 2004.
The commencement will begin at 1 p.m. in the Petersen Events Center, 3719 Terrace St., Oakland.
NorthMillvaleOutreach program in line for $240,000 grant
The Kresge Foundation of Troy, Mich., is giving North Hills Community Outreach $240,000 toward the remodeling and expansion of the Millvale Community Center.
The grant depends on the nonprofit social services organization raising $588,314 more for the project by Oct. 1, 2007. North Hills Community Outreach is working on the project with the borough of Millvale. It will move its Millvale office into the community center once the project is complete.
Plans call for expanding the center by 3,432 square feet and upgrading 10,144 square feet.
WestRobinsonClubhouse faulted in commission ruling
The federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ruled against the North Park Clubhouse on a sexual harassment complaint filed by a former waitress.
The commission's ruling said, in part, that the restaurant "created and condoned an environment where inappropriate and demeaning sexual conduct was encouraged and which led to the incidents complained of."
The 20-year-old woman, who worked at the Hampton restaurant, said the manager of the Robinson location, Mitchell Brewer, untied her bikini top and forced her to reveal her breasts during a golf outing Aug. 1. Brewer originally was found guilty of sexual harassment by a district judge, but that verdict was overturned after an appeal to Common Pleas Court.
According to the commission, the woman could receive as much as $300,000 for compensatory and punitive damages.
MoonRobert Morris fills 2 administrative posts
Two people have been appointed to administrative positions at Robert Morris University in Moon, school officials announced Tuesday.
Beatrice Gibbons was named head of the university's department of elementary education and an associate professor of elementary education. She comes to Robert Morris from California State University in Bakersfield, where she was director of the School of Education and coordinator of the elementary education program.
Stephen Foreman has been appointed acting associate vice president of academic affairs. He also is head of the department of allied health and associate professor of health administration and economics.
EastPlumFormer police officer may avoid trial
Assistant U.S. Attorney A. Elliot McLean said Tuesday that former Plum police Officer Ryan Schneiderlochner might be eligible for a program that would avoid putting him on trial.
Through "pretrial diversion," a indictment can be dismissed upon successful completion of a probationary period.
Schneiderlochner, 34, was indicted by a federal grand jury in September. He is accused of secretly videotaping a witness in an effort to keep her from testifying before a grand jury. McLean said Schneiderlochner is being considered for pretrial diversion because the charge against him is not a felony.
In October, Plum Council fired Schneiderlochner, who is a target of the federal investigation of possible civil rights violations in the borough police department.
MonroevilleMan hit by SUV while crossing Route 22
A Monroeville man who was trying to cross Route 22 on foot early Tuesday morning was hit by a sport utility vehicle, Monroeville police said.
Rico Mangan, 43, was in critical condition yesterday in the Birmingham Trauma and Burn Center at Mercy Hospital, Uptown, a hospital spokeswoman said.
Mangan was attempting to cross the highway near the intersection with Stroschein Road, police said. The incident occurred about 12:40 a.m.
Monroeville police reconstructed the accident, and no charges have been filed against the driver, a 34-year-old woman. Police did not identify her.
Allegheny CountyMt. Lebanon consultant heads assessment unit
Mt. Lebanon property assessment appeal consultant Michael Suley has been named the manager of the Allegheny County Office of Property Assessment, county Manager Jim Flynn said Tuesday.
Suley has been working as a consultant to county Chief Executive Dan Onorato on assessment issues this year and is widely viewed by local assessment specialists as the prime backer of Onorato's 2002 base-year valuation method that a judge recently deemed to be legal.
Suley is a former member of the county property assessment and appeals board and was a defender of Sabre Systems and Service of Miamisburg, Ohio., the firm that performed the county's controversial 2001 reassessment. He also has been credited with making property assessments public on the Internet. Suley began Monday and will be paid $84,000 annually, Flynn said.
Voter registration deadline April 17
Allegheny County residents who want to vote in the May 16 primary must be registered by April 17.
Voters who already are registered but who have moved recently also must notify the elections division by the April 17 deadline.
Registration information is available at www.county.allegheny.pa.us/elect/ or by visiting the county registration office in room 609 of the county office building, 542 Forbes Ave., Downtown.
Mail-in forms are available at Carnegie libraries, Giant Eagle stores, military recruiting offices and many post offices. For more information, call 412-350-4510.
2 rabies vaccination clinics set for Saturday
Two low-cost rabies vaccination clinics will be conducted Saturday, according to the Allegheny County Health Department.
Periodic rabies vaccinations are required by state law because household pets can become infected when they are bitten by rabid animals, such as racoons. Those pets can then bite humans and spread the deadly disease.
The clinics will be held from 9 a.m. to noon at Holiday Park Animal Hospital, 1999 Route 286, Plum, and from 2 to 5 p.m. at East McKeesport Pet Hospital, 1112 Route 30 in North Versailles. Vaccinations cost $8 per pet, and all pets must be at least 3 months old, in good health and on a leash or in a carrier. No appointment is necessary.
RegionButler CountyMan charged with assaulting officers
A Saxonburg man was arrested last weekend after he was accused of assaulting police officers responding to a domestic dispute and knocking one unconscious.
Aaron Shearer, 36, was arguing loudly with a Columbus Way woman in her home about 4:30 a.m. Sunday when Saxonburg police Officer Craig Cumming responded to a report of a domestic dispute.
Cumming said Shearer knocked him to the ground during a struggle, causing him to momentarily lose consciousness, police reported. Shearer also is accused of assaulting other officers who arrived later, police said. Mayor Brian Antoszyk said Tuesday that Cumming has recovered and returned to duty.
Shearer is charged with aggravated assault and resisting arrest.
Campus march to focus on domestic violence
A march to draw attention to domestic violence will be dedicated to the memory of a slain Indiana University of Pennsylvania student.
A "Take Back the Night March" will take place at 8 p.m. today on the university campus.
The march will be dedicated to the memory of Jessica Aaron, 19, a sophomore communications-media major from Slickville who died March 1. Aaron's former boyfriend, David Shadle, also of Slickville, is charged with first-degree murder.
Marchers are asked to assemble in front of IUP's Hadley Union Building. There also will be a pre-march program for men from noon to 1:15 p.m. today in Room 110, McElhaney Hall.
