Brian C. Rittmeyer stories, Page 37
Questions about crime, remodeling plans delay New Kensington vote on Valero liquor license
Pepsi Gamble fears alcohol sales at the Valero gas station in New Kensington could lead to trouble. Speaking during a public hearing Monday on a liquor license transfer for the store at Seventh Street and Constitution Boulevard, Gamble cited “the amount of not civil society” she sees in the area...
New Kensington gift shop, Ethical Hope, seeks to make a difference around the world
Each of the items for sale in Meredith Hedeen’s New Kensington gift shop has a story behind it. They come from all over the world: hand-painted ceramics made in home studios in San Juan de Oriente, a town in Nicaragua; hand-sewn goods made by a seamstress at a cooperative workshop...
Helping hands: Donations exceed $875,000 for those affected by Plum house explosion
Rafal Kolankowski and his family have felt the full embrace of the Plum community since August — some of it in the form of bracelets, lemonade and yard signs. The Kolankowskis are among about a dozen families whose homes were destroyed or severely damaged when a nearby house exploded in...
Residents of Plum neighborhood hopeful outside cleanup is start of help for hoarder
Residents of a Plum community are hopeful the cleanup outside a hoarded house Thursday is the start of getting the woman who lives there the help they say she needs. Residents of Plum’s Edgemeade neighborhood say it was about two years ago that the hoard inside retired school teacher Janice...
Sheetz celebrates opening of new store on Plum’s Golden Mile Highway
Promotions and giveaways drew large crowds to the new Sheetz store that opened in Plum on Wednesday, May 1. The convenience store is on Golden Mile Highway at Presque Isle Drive, where a Kings restaurant was torn down after closing in September 2022. Part of the adjacent Presque Isle Plaza...
New Kensington Camera Club’s spring photography show highlights some of area’s top floral images
Nan Belli has four photos entered in the New Kensington Camera Club’s Spring Floral Photography & Art Show this year. But after seeing the other 100-plus entries, she isn’t sure hers will place among the top three when they are voted upon by the public. “I would have a hard...
Plum firefighters schedule trainings at former borough building ahead of its demolition
Firefighters from Plum’s four volunteer departments will be using the former borough building for training exercises beginning this week and running into early June, Holiday Park fire Chief James Sims said. The first sessions at the vacant building on New Texas Road will be held from 6:30 to 10 p.m....
Plum equipping school buses with cameras to catch drivers passing illegally
Electronic witnesses could catch drivers illegally passing stopped school buses in Plum. The Plum School District has equipped about one-third of its vehicles with external cameras and is working toward having cameras on all of them, according to Assistant Superintendent Ashley Boyers. The district placed multiple cameras on 23 buses...
New Kensington police accuse man of raping girl he knew was 14
A New Kensington man is accused of raping a girl just over a year ago when he was 18 and she was 14. New Kensington police charged Nasai Minan Parker-Hill, now 19, of New Kensington on Thursday with rape and involuntary deviate sexual intercourse by forcible compulsion, sexual assault, indecent...
Downtown living eyed in next steps of New Kensington’s ongoing revitalization
An early part of redeveloping New Kensington’s downtown has focused on attracting new businesses in an effort to draw more people to the area. The next step in revitalizing the city’s downtown will be getting more people to live there, officials say. Mike Malcanas, owner of Olde Towne Overhaul, said...
New Kensington police charge man with trying to kill 3 people outside apartment complex
New Kensington police charged one of two men they say tried to shoot three people outside the Valley Royal Court apartment complex last week. Police charged Amarion Anthony Michael Michaux, 18, of Arnold with three counts of attempted homicide, three counts of aggravated assault and one count of illegally possessing...
New Kensington building appearing in Kevin Smith movie ‘Dogma’ turned into rental home
Yes, it has central air. And as many a demon might say, there is “No pleasure, no rapture, no exquisite sin greater than central air.” Those who recognize that quote from Jason Lee’s character, Azrael, in the 1999 Kevin Smith movie “Dogma” might be among those most interested in knowing...
Mustello wins rematch of 2020 Republican primary to hold state House seat in Butler County
A rematch of the 2020 Republican primary for a state House seat in Butler County had the same result. State Rep. Marci Mustello, R-Butler Township, defeated challenger Ryan Covert of Oakland Township by a wide margin for the party’s nomination representing the 11th state House District. Mustello received 5,263 votes...
Democrat Pisciottano, Republican Dintini will vie to succeed retiring Sen. Jim Brewster
Democrat Nick Pisciottano and Republican Jen Dintini will vie in November to replace retiring Democratic state Sen. Jim Brewster. Pisciottano, 34, a state representative from West Mifflin, cruised to victory in the Democratic primary over Makenzie White, 29, of Brentwood, a social worker and environmental consultant. With 100% of precincts...
McAndrew secures Democratic nomination for 32nd District state House seat
State Rep. Joe McAndrew, who became a member of the state House in a special election last year, survived a challenge by Penn Hills Mayor Pauline Calabrese in Tuesday’s Democratic primary. With 100% of precincts counted, McAndrew of Penn Hills received 6,779 votes over Calabrese’s 2,822, according to unofficial results....
Doerfler brothers, Plum alumni, make 2nd donation for alma mater’s robotics program
A $10,000 donation from two Plum graduates will help start a new robotics club at their alma mater’s middle school. The donation from Joe Doerfler, 26, and Don Doerfler, 29, comes after the brothers gave $62,500 last year to the high school’s robotics club. The money comes from their winnings...
Business representatives, graduates advise Northern Westmoreland CTC on needs
The job prospects for students graduating from the heating and air conditioning program at Northern Westmoreland Career & Technology Center are 100%, says Mark Williamson, owner and president of MW Mechanical Services in New Kensington. “Right now, there’s such a shortage of skilled labor, in our field and a lot...
New Kensington preparing for city’s 4th business-boosting Fridays on Fifth season
No matter how much baklava Amy Johnson makes, it’s never enough for some warm-weather Fridays in New Kensington. Johnson opened her specialty bakery, Sweet Tillies, in December 2020. It has been open for each of the city’s annual Fridays on Fifth events, which began in 2021 and launches its fourth...
Mock crash teaches Valley High students dangers of distracted driving
A mock crash Friday morning outside Valley High School in New Kensington was meant to teach students about the dangers of distracted driving. The district staged the crash for juniors and seniors with New Kensington police and several emergency service providers. A Life Flight helicopter was among the emergency vehicles...
Plum mobile home park owner argues expansion denial deprives residents of flood protection
Plum’s rejection of a mobile home park’s expansion plan, in part because of flooding concerns, denies the people already living there protection from flooding that the expansion would provide, the owner argues in court filings. Following a hearing last September, Plum’s zoning hearing board in November rejected a proposal to...
Preteen girl testifies during preliminary hearing for New Kensington man accused of raping her
A New Kensington man will remain in jail as he awaits trial on charges of sexually assaulting and raping a preteen girl two years ago. District Judge Frank J. Pallone Jr. held for trial Thomas Lee Burruss, 48, after a preliminary hearing Thursday that featured the testimony of the alleged...
Plum hires Ashley DeVito as middle school assistant principal
The Plum School Board hired a new assistant principal for the district’s middle school. Ashley DeVito is coming to Plum from Propel Braddock Hills High School, where she was an assistant principal. DeVito, 31, of Penn Hills will start at Plum upon release from her position there. Her salary was...
Plum School Board advances budget, tax hike with board member absent
The Plum School District’s proposed $74.3 million budget for next school year carrying a 6.2% property tax increase is a step closer to approval. The school board voted 8-0 Tuesday to approve the district’s proposed budget for 2024-25. Board member Ronald Sakolsky was present at the start of the meeting,...
Lower Burrell, Pittsburgh men charged in state probe of child sex abuse among Jehovah’s Witnesses
Two Western Pennsylvania men are the latest accused of raping or sexually abusing girls stemming from a statewide grand jury investigation of child sexual abuse in the Jehovah’s Witnesses community. Ronald W. Mangone, 69, of Lower Burrell and Roger E. Zellars, 68, of Pittsburgh’s Garfield neighborhood are separately accused of...
Pittsburgh’s Girls of Steel preparing for world robotics event in Houston
Ava Miller may be a member of a robotics team, but she’s learning about a lot more than just robotics. Miller, 16, is a sophomore at Plum High School and one of about 40 girls from 17 schools in the Pittsburgh region who are members of the Girls of Steel...
