Brian C. Rittmeyer stories, Page 93
Allegheny Township man accused of attacking nursing assistant at Allegheny Valley Hospital
An Allegheny Township man is accused of choking a nursing assistant at Allegheny Valley Hospital in Harrison. Alexander Paul Demarco, 27, was arrested Monday on charges filed by Highmark Health Police in the alleged attack in the hospital’s behavioral health unit Jan. 16, according to court records. Demarco did not...
DNA evidence results in more charges against New Kensington man suspected in 2 shootings, 1 deadly
New Kensington police said DNA test results led them to file additional gun and drug charges against a city man accused of fatally shooting an Arnold man last January and firing shots at four people the month before that. The new charges against Letresse Tareke Williams, 30, stem from his...
New Kensington approves liquor license transfer for Crossbar Grill
New Kensington Council has approved the transfer of a liquor license into the city for a recently opened restaurant on Craigdell Road. The license for Crossbar Grill is coming into New Kensington from Murrysville. It was unanimously approved by council after a public hearing, but the state Liquor Control Board...
Construction started at senior apartment building using former Highlands schoolVideo
Work has started on a $10 million, 30-unit senior independent living apartment building incorporating the former Highlands School District administration building in Harrison. Earthwork is underway at what will be Riverview Senior Living on 11th Avenue. The building had been Riverview Elementary before housing district administration. The project includes gutting...
Highlands surveying parents about in-person half-days for kindergarten students
The Highlands School District has narrowed a proposal to bring elementary students back into schools to only kindergarten, district spokeswoman Jennifer Goldberg said. The district is conducting a survey of parents of kindergarten students asking if they are in favor of having their children attend half-days, four-days-a-week. The district wants...
Man who redeveloped former Tarentum church gets some relief after tax bill soared $13K
Phillip Rhodes has become accustomed to dealing with problems such as a leaking roof, cracked sidewalks and chipping paint at The Clement in Tarentum. But seeing the property’s annual tax bill soar by nearly $13,000 after its assessed value spiked nearly 700% was a shock for which he was not...
Tarentum Station Grille owner eyes reopening ahead of Valentine’s Day weekend
After scrapping earlier plans to reopen, John Greco says that his Tarentum restaurant will be open for Valentine’s Day weekend “come hell or high water.” Greco plans to reopen JG’s Tarentum Station Grille on Feb. 10, the Wednesday before Valentine’s Day. The restaurant, in a historic former train station in...
Man suffers smoke inhalation in Harrison house fire
One person was hurt in a fire that seriously damaged a house in Harrison early Friday morning, Hilltop Hose fire Chief Mike Krzeminski said. The fire in the attic of a large, two-and-a-half story house with a commercial addition at 1421 Freeport Road was reported shortly after 1:30 a.m. A...
New Kensington-Arnold considers property tax increase to address ‘bleak’ financial picture
New Kensington-Arnold School District’s financial picture for the coming school year looks “bleak,” with officials considering raising taxes and burning through the district’s reserves but still facing a deficit, according to Acting Superintendent Jon Banko. “We’ve been about as fiscally responsible as we possibly could be,” Banko said. “We closed...
New Kensington man accused of sexually assaulting 9-year-old girl
A New Kensington man was arraigned this week on charges accusing him of sexually assaulting a girl when she was 9 years old. New Kensington police said Chester Elmer Green Jr., 61, has “vehemently denied” the allegations. He faces felony charges of aggravated indecent assault of a child and corruption...
Highlands agrees to state cap on any property tax increase
Highlands School District will not increase its property tax rate by more than its state-imposed limit for next school year. The school board certified this week that the district will not increase property taxes by more than 4.3%, the inflation limit set for the district by the state under Act...
New Kensington police say man seen driving stolen car threatened to kill officers, their families
A man from Pittsburgh’s Lincoln-Lemington neighborhood was sent to Westmoreland County Prison without bail Wednesday because police said he threatened to kill police officers and their families as soon as he gets out of jail. New Kensington police said they arrested Daevar Lamont Stevens, 21, about 7 p.m. Tuesday after...
New, growing businesses moving into Tarentum’s renovated Murphy Building
Four local businesses are starting or expanding their operations in the former G.C. Murphy Building in Tarentum. Allegheny Educational Systems, based in Tarentum for nearly 40 years, is keeping its primary location on Third Avenue but needed showroom space for its growing business, building owner Dave Rankin said. Chuck Conto...
One man’s mission to overhaul downtown New Kensington opening doors for new business ownersVideo
Amy Johnson’s earliest memories of downtown New Kensington include her grandfather, a doctor whose office was in the Shepherd Building on Fifth Avenue. “I remember walking down from my home in Parnassus to his office,” said Johnson, 47. “My great aunt worked at the Harts building. We’d walk to Harts,...
New play equipment coming for New Kensington’s Summit Street Park
A New Kensington neighborhood park that was cleared out recently won’t remain empty for long. New play equipment is coming to Summit Street Park, city Councilman Dante Cicconi said. The park in the city’s Mount Vernon neighborhood is one of the city’s five neighborhood parks. One of the others, JFK...
County Hauling fires 2 after thefts from New Kensington residents
New Kensington’s garbage hauler fired two employees after residents reported thefts of a package and Christmas lights, the company and city officials confirmed Thursday. It makes for a troubling start for the new one-year contract between New Kensington and County Hauling, which council approved in December despite past concerns over...
New Kensington-Arnold releases community survey as part of superintendent search
Members of the New Kensington-Arnold School District community are being asked to complete a survey about what traits they want in the district’s new superintendent. A link to the survey is available on the district’s website, nkasd.com. Administrators, community members, parents, staff and students are asked to complete it by...
State police: Harrison man who fled traffic stop was delivering meth
A Harrison man accused of fleeing from a traffic stop Monday night was delivering methamphetamine to someone before he was pulled over, according to state police. Police said a trooper tried to pull over a car driven by Sergio Andreal Davis, 28, because he was speeding and weaving on Route...
Highlands returning to hybrid schedule, exploring half-day, in-person instruction for elementary grades
All Highlands School District students will return to a hybrid schedule next week, and administrators are considering bringing elementary students back for in-person instruction for half-days. Superintendent Monique Mawhinney said the district’s covid task force voted Monday to return all students to the hybrid schedule beginning Jan. 19. The district...
Tarentum awards 2 contracts to tear down 16 blighted buildings
Tarentum is on the verge of getting the vast majority of the borough’s blighted and abandoned buildings torn down, code enforcement Officer Anthony Bruni said. Bruni said bids for 16 upcoming demolitions came in under budget, which he said could allow council to seek bids on more properties. At its...
Harrison includes hazardous, electronic waste collection in new garbage contract
Harrison will no longer host events twice a year so residents can dispose of electronic and hazardous waste because residents will be able to get rid of them from their homes year-round, Commissioner William Heasley said. Commissioners have approved adding household collection of hazardous waste as part of a new...
Week-in-review: Covid restrictions expire, explosions, puppy snatching among top Western Pa. headlinesVideo
The first full week of 2021 may best be remembered for unrest in the U.S. Capitol tied to the presidential election, but there was plenty of local news of note. It included businesses being able to reopen at limited capacity after restrictions intended to slow the spread of the coronavirus...
Raymond Kerr, former Tarentum councilman, fills vacant 1st Ward seat
A former Tarentum councilman was the only qualified candidate to fill a vacant seat on borough council, officials said. Raymond Kerr, 70, was appointed Tuesday to replace Erika Josefoski as one of two council members representing the borough’s 1st Ward. Mayor Eric Carter swore Kerr into office that night. “We’re...
Pittsburgh police search for suspect after shots fired in Knoxville domestic incident
SWAT officers responded after police said shots were fired in a domestic incident in Pittsburgh’s Knoxville neighborhood early Friday morning. Pittsburgh police officers responded to the incident in the 400 block of Alice Street around 1:45 a.m. A man and a woman were outside the home and unhurt when officers...
Turtle Creek man accused of shooting at Allegheny County Police detectives
A Turtle Creek man was arrested Thursday night after Allegheny County Police said he shot at three detectives in Wilmerding. Police charged Matthew Stephen Diggs Jr., 20, with criminal attempted homicide, aggravated assault, assault on a police officer and a firearm violation. According to county police, the detectives, assigned to...
