Police: Woman assaults 3 in fight over dog
Pittsburgh police responded to a fight Friday afternoon in Shadyside involving the estranged wife of Tribune-Review owner Dick Scaife.
Police spokeswoman Tammy Ewin said Ritchie Scaife told officers she was driving past her husband's Westminster Place home when she saw Sue Patterson, 51, a housekeeper who works for her husband, walking Scaife's dog. Ritchie Scaife claimed the dog was taken from her Shadyside residence.
She got out of her car and confronted the maid, punched her, and tried to take the dog, Ewin said.
Genevieve Still, another housekeeper, saw what was happening and ran from the house. When she tried to pull the women apart, Ritchie Scaife kicked her, Ewin said.
Still, 77, said she told police she received "a swift kick to the lower back" after being pushed to the ground. She also said Ritchie Scaife "had (Patterson) on the ground and was kicking her and pulling her hair" and was "flailing" at both women.
Dennis Bradshaw, a security guard who works for Dick Scaife, and a passerby intervened and pulled the women apart, Ewin said.
Bradshaw and the two housekeepers were treated for scratches, abrasions and bruises at UPMC Shadyside hospital and released.
No charges have been filed yet.
In December, Ritchie Scaife was charged with defiant trespass after police said she pounded on doors and windows of the Westminster residence and refused to leave the property.
City
Zoo shutting gates early for construction
The Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium will close its admission gates at 3 p.m. on Monday -- one hour earlier than the normal 4 p.m. -- for construction work on the new polar bear exhibit.
The zoo will close at 5 p.m., its regular time. Construction crews then will turn off power so electrical work on the exhibit can continue. Normal operating hours will resume on Tuesday. The zoo is at 1 Wild Place, Highland Park.
OaklandRed chili pepper kills cancer cells
A new study by University of Pittsburgh researchers suggests that an ingredient in red chili pepper has cancer-fighting properties that prevent or slow the growth of pancreatic cancer tumors implanted in mice.
The study found that capsaicin, the "hot" ingredient in red chili pepper, caused pancreatic cancer cells to die through a process called apoptosis. Apoptosis, the body's normal method of disposing of damaged, unwanted or unneeded cells, often is defective in cancer cells, causing them to continue to thrive. Results of the study were presented this week at the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research in Washington, D.C.
"In our study, we discovered that capsaicin fed orally to mice with human pancreatic tumors was an extremely effective inhibitor of the cancer process ...," said Sanjay K. Srivastava, lead investigator and an assistant professor of pharmacology at Pitt's School of Medicine.
Education helps diabetics manage illness
Educating people with diabetes in a primary-care setting with sustained, comprehensive intervention resulted in significant improvement in disease management and overall health, according to a recently published study by University of Pittsburgh Diabetes Institute researchers.
The study is in the current issue of Diabetes Care, a journal of the American Diabetes Association. In the study, researchers report the first evidence from a randomized, controlled clinical trial to show a clear association between a more comprehensive approach to diabetes management and improved health.
"Not everyone will be able to see a diabetes specialist," said Janice Zgibor, senior author of the study and director of evaluation at Pitt's Diabetes Institute. "Most people with diabetes, especially those in smaller communities, are managing their illness in the primary-care setting. The (tested) intervention gives them, and their providers, better tools with which to do this."
Rockefeller Foundation head to speak at Pitt
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.
Region
Blair County
Homes will be bought to make way for road
The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation wants to buy 35 homes near Lakemont Park and the Blair County Ballpark as part of a plan to improve Park Avenue in Logan Township, Blair County.
A PennDOT official this week asked the county commissioners to approve a resolution that will let PennDOT pay extra money to residents who might not be able to find similar housing if their property is purchased to make room for the new road.
PennDOT can pay those residents under eminent domain laws. The extra payments won't cost the county anything, but under the law, an agency taking the land must let local officials know about the supplemental payments.
PennDOT expects to buy the affected homes in the next 18 months so the agency can start building the new road near the minor league baseball stadium and a neighboring amusement park.
Beaver County
Student-teacher gets probation in drug case
A man accused of snorting drugs while he was student-teaching at a Beaver County high school has reached a plea bargain that will result in probation.
County prosecutors and the attorney for Anthony Zuccaro, 30, of Independence, said he has agreed to plead guilty to drug possession in exchange for a maximum sentence of one-year probation. The attorneys announced the deal after Zuccaro waived his right to a preliminary hearing on the charge this week.
Zuccaro was accused of snorting crushed OxyContin pills through a straw in the presence of students Feb. 16 at Center Area High School, police said.
Zuccaro's attorney, Stephen Colafella, said his client has completed an inpatient drug-treatment program and now is in outpatient rehabilitation.
Man apprehended in mugging of nun
An Aliquippa man who told a nun he was in dire financial straits is accused of mugging her, police said.
Toby Duran, 36, of Aliquippa, told Sister Mary Morgan that his family is struggling and needs money, police said. The 77-year-old nun reached inside her purse to find money for Duran, police said. Duran allegedly then grabbed the purse and ran off while the nun held on. She suffered some bruises, police said. Duran was arrested about a block away.
The incident occurred Tuesday afternoon just outside the Sisters of St. Joseph Rectory in Aliquippa, where she lives.
Beaver County mobile home standoff ends peacefully
A standoff with a man who was threatening suicide ended peacefully Friday in Beaver County.
Seneca Fuze, 28, surrendered at 7:40 p.m. to state police negotiators to end the standoff that began shortly before 3 p.m. at his mobile home along Cannellton Road in Darlington, near the Ohio border. Fuze was charged with simple assault, unlawful restraint and making terroristic threats.
Township police were called after Fuze was accused of assaulting a woman in the trailer and threatening to blow it up. The state police Special Emergency Response Team surrounded the home and began negotiations. A woman, whose name was not released, was arrested at the scene on unrelated charges, troopers said.
Westmoreland County
Suspect sought in abuse, deaths of three geese
Westmoreland County officials are looking for information about the deaths of three geese found last weekend with snapped necks.
Police are offering a $600 reward for information leading to an arrest in the case. The birds were three of 17 pet geese belonging to Becky Whitehead of Unity Township. She found two dead on her farm Saturday and the third Sunday.
Elaine Gower, a humane officer with Action for Animals, said necropsies revealed that the necks of the animals had been snapped and that one had been beaten. Anyone with information should call Action for Animals at 724-539-0244.
South
Mt. Lebanon schools
Parents file suit over alleged assault
The parents of a 12-year-old girl with Tourette's syndrome and other disorders have sued the Mt. Lebanon School District and accuse school officials of failing to protect their daughter from being "teased and attacked" by classmates.
The lawsuit seeks $100,000 in damages and recovery of legal and other expenses. The lawsuit contends that, among other things, the girl was "beaten and choked by a band of other students" during school hours.
The alleged incidents occurred during the 2003-04 school year when the girl was 10. Her parents have since enrolled her in another school district.
Trish Andrews, an attorney for the district, said she and school officials cannot comment on the lawsuit because of confidentiality issues.
North
Shaler
Statute of limitations bars federal lawsuit
A federal judge on Friday dismissed part of a federal lawsuit filed by the father of two women killed by a former 911 worker.
Joseph Ferderbar sued Allegheny County, Allegheny County 911, Northwest Regional Communications and several Northwest Regional employees on Nov. 2.
Michael Michalski fatally shot his former girlfriend, Gretchen Ferderbar, 18; her new boyfriend, Mark Phillips, 24; and her sister, Linda Ferderbar, 27; on Oct. 29, 2003, in the Ferderbars' Shaler home.
Previously, Michalski lost his job with Northwest Regional Communications in McCandless for using his dispatcher's position to find Gretchen Ferderbar. Linda Ferderbar's death was the result of the defendants' negligence, the lawsuit said.
U.S. District Judge Arthur J. Schwab said the statute of limitations for federal claims expired before the suit was filed. The part of the suit pertaining to state law has been transferred to Common Pleas court.
Pine
Man faces charges after school threat
A Pine man turned himself in to authorities Friday after being accused of writing a bomb threat toward North Allegheny Senior High School in McCandless on a student-run Web site, NAsucks.com.
Anthony Kresser, 20, is accused of leaving a posting on the Web site stating, "I planted a bomb in the senior high school. It will be detonated on March 1, 2006," police said.
Kresser told police that he had been drinking and came across the Web site while searching for something else, according to court documents.
Kresser attended North Allegheny schools until the eighth grade and later graduated from Vincentian Academy in McCandless. He is charged with making terroristic threats and threatening to use weapons of mass destruction.
Allegheny County
More buses added to busway routes
More Port Authority of Allegheny County buses will be picking up riders at busway stops starting Monday.
Riders who use the West Busway and the Martin Luther King Jr. East Busway have reported that many buses are too full to board.
In response, the authority has directed drivers of other buses that use the busways to also stop at the stations.
The new buses are the 63A, 63B, 68B, 68D and 68G at the East Busway's East Liberty and Negley stations; and the 28E, 28F, 28G and 33F at all West Busway stations.
For more information, call Port Authority at 412-442-2000.
North Side
Man gets prison term in prostitution case
A North Side man was sentenced Friday in federal court to more than 17 years in prison for his conviction on a charge of transporting a 16-year-old across state lines to engage in prostitution.
Michael Simmons, also known as Michael Gease, 22, of Monterey Street, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Terrence F. McVerry to 210 months in prison and then a lifetime of supervised release.
Prosecutors say Simmons took the 16-year-old from Pittsburgh to California and forced the victim into prostitution. McVerry told Simmons that his conduct was "reprehensible."
Oakland
Four-week detour begins today for 54C bus route
Duquesne Light Co.'s work on Forbes Avenue at South Craig Street will cause detours beginning this morning for the Port Authority of Allegheny County's 54C bus route, which travels to the North Side, Strip District, Oakland and South Side.
The project, which will continue for about four weeks, will cause the temporary closings of bus stops on Forbes Avenue opposite Bellefield Avenue and on South Craig Street at Winthrop Street. Port Authority customers, instead, should use the stop on North Craig Street at Park Plaza Apartments.
Greene County
Two suspects held in gravestone vandalism
Two Greene County men are accused of knocking over or damaging about 119 gravestones at a Greene County cemetery and causing an estimated $50,000 damage.
The incident occurred overnight Sunday at Fairview Cemetery, off Taylortown Road in Dunkard, near the community of Dilliner, troopers said. Gravestones were toppled, scratched, chipped or broken in half.
Christopher Goff, 30, and Grant Gallatin, 19, both of Hilltop Trailer Park in Greensboro, have been arraigned and sent to Greene County Prison to await a hearing, troopers said Friday. Charges are pending against a third suspect.
Lawrence County
Treasurer's trial moved to Venango County court
The trial of Lawrence County's embattled treasurer will be moved to Venango County, say court officials.
The state Supreme Court has decided to move Gary Felasco's trial, scheduled to begin May 8, to Venango County because of intense media coverage and public outrage in Lawrence County.
Felasco is accused of stealing more than $47,000 in tax funds. He remains in office and has blamed the theft on lower-ranking officials.
Earlier this week, Felasco was charged with theft in a separate, unrelated case. He is accused of stealing $5,000 from an Italian-heritage organization of which he was treasurer, state police said.
