Brian C. Rittmeyer stories, Page 122

Highlands Middle School has a new assistant principal. The school board approved hiring Rebecca Bragan, who started Tuesday. Her annual salary is $75,000. Bragan, previously dean of students at Highlands High School, replaces Debbie Beucker, who retired June 30. Bragan also was an assistant athletics director at Highlands. The board...

An Ambridge police officer used a Taser on a 14-year-old boy as a fight broke out after a high school football game Friday night, the Trib’s news partner, WPXI-TV, reported. The boy suffered a broken jaw and injuries to his face after falling to the pavement, the station reported. According...

The Mars Area School District and Adams Township police have identified a student responsible for threats at the high school, according to the school district. Although the Monday afternoon threat was deemed “non-credible,” the district cancelled evening activities at the high school as a precaution, according to a letter from...

Work on the clock tower at Highlands Elementary School will restrict access to the Tarentum school, according to a letter to district families from Principal Samantha Perlik. Contractors started delivering materials and assembling scaffolding Monday. Work is expected to take almost two months. The school board in August awarded two...

The promotion company hired to put together this year’s canceled Three Rivers Regatta has filed for bankruptcy. LionHeart Event Group filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania. Chapter 7 provides for liquidation — the sale of a debtor’s nonexempt property and the...

Oil prices are likely to jump after an attack on Saudi Arabia that knocked out more than 5% of global oil production, an industry analyst said. “While there is some good news that motorists should not expect a sudden and major uptick in gas prices, there may be a minor...

A 13-year-old from Pittsburgh’s Knoxville neighborhood who was reported missing has been found, police said. According to police, Zhaheem Thomas, 13, had been last seen at his home Saturday night....

A Pittsburgh police motorcycle unit officer was hurt in a crash with another vehicle in the South Side Sunday afternoon, according to police. Police said the crash happened around 12:40 p.m. near East Carson and 10th streets. The officer, who was not identified, was in stable condition when admitted to...

A 72-year-old Hill District man who at first appeared to have died from natural causes was shot, Pittsburgh police said. According to police, officers went to an apartment building in the 2100 block of Centre Avenue on Friday morning after being called to do a welfare check on a resident....

Pittsburgh police say they detained a man in connection with a shooting in the Terrace Village area early Sunday morning. According to police, officers responded to a ShotSpotter report of gunfire around 1:30 a.m. They found a 27-year-old man in the 2600 block of Centre Avenue with a gunshot wound...

Arnold is going to get aggressive when it comes to collecting the money it is owed for city services. The city is owed about $131,000 in unpaid garbage and sewage bills, City Clerk Mario Bellavia said. Garbage collection costs $22 per month. Mayor Karen Peconi said residents not paying for...

Highlands Superintendent Monique Mawhinney will be holding a series of “Coffee Talks” this year to improve communication between parents and school district administration. It will be an opportunity for parents with children in the district’s schools to discuss any issues or concerns related to their building or to share news...

Substance abuse and addiction will be covered Tuesday in two separate programs at Westmoreland County Community College in New Kensington. The programs are being held as part of the college’s observance of September as National Recovery Month. Both are free and open to the public. “We want to have students...

A man wanting to place a billboard visible from Route 28 in Harrison says he may try to do it in another municipality after being denied a variance to put one on land in the township. Harrison’s zoning hearing board denied the variance requested by John P. Oliver of Oliver...

Stieren Avenue in Brackenridge is just too dangerous for Katy Thies to let her children play in front of her home. Because nearby Mile Lock Lane is one-way in the opposite direction between Stieren and First Avenue, more traffic comes down the narrow one-way street. “We used to let them...

Arnold City Council voted Tuesday to hire two police officers over an objection from Mayor Karen Peconi. Council, including Peconi, voted unanimously to hire Bruce Wigton as a full-time officer. But Peconi cast the lone dissenting vote against hiring Frederick Hockenberry as a part-timer. Both officers will earn a starting...

The Allegheny County Health Department on Tuesday identified as lime the dust coating cars in a Harrison neighborhood and said it’s coming from a nearby company. The department began investigating after getting complaints in August from residents on Opal Court and nearby High Street in the Natrona Heights area of...

Volunteers are needed to “redd up” New Kensington in advance of a wine and beer festival. The Alle Kiski Strong Chamber is holding its second annual Wine & Beer Fest on Fifth Avenue, between Eighth and 10th streets, from 6 to 9:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 20. The chamber has organized...

Gasoline prices have continued to fall in the Pittsburgh area and across the nation. “For its eighth straight week, the national average has declined even as oil prices have bucked the trend in the last week, moving higher on optimism over upcoming trade talks between China and the United States,”...

The Allegheny County Health Department is investigating complaints about a white dust in parts of Harrison. The department has received at least five complaints since the beginning of August, according to Jim Kelly, deputy director of environmental health. Opal Court residents have complained about white dust being found on cars...

The first day of autumn isn’t until later in September, but kids are back in school, the Steelers are on the field again, and the days are getting shorter — close enough for Summit Hose to hold its annual Fall Festival in Tarentum. Until last year, the festival was held...

The first graduating class of Highlands High School has gathered for a reunion every five years. This year marks a milestone, as the members of that charter class from 1969 come together for their 50th reunion. “We have a lot of surprises planned,” said Debbie Cordera, a member of the...