Brian C. Rittmeyer stories, Page 99
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...
New Kensington-Arnold using hybrid model as students return to schools
New Kensington-Arnold School District students will return to school buildings Jan. 14, but the district will use a hybrid instruction model and break students into two groups. The district closed schools and put all students in remote instruction beginning in November in response to substantial spread of covid-19 in the...
Tires flattened on Trump supporters’ vehicles at Butler mall parking lot
Supporters of President Donald Trump who left their cars at a Butler mall to travel by bus to Washington, D.C. returned to find their tires slashed, according to police. Tires on 20 vehicles were found damaged Wednesday morning at Clearview Mall in Center Township, state police said. Parents told Tribune-Review...
Pandemic hits home for Allegheny Valley Hospital physician and his wifeVideo
Editor’s note: This is the third in a series highlighting five people whose lives were reshaped by the coronavirus pandemic. The coronavirus had a clear and, some would argue, promising path into Dr. David and Louisa Shin’s O’Hara home. A primary care physician, Dr. Shin, 52, works for Allegheny Health...
New Kensington couple launches catering business, helping people celebrate ‘any way they can’Video
After years working for others in the restaurant industry, Philip Call says frustration drove him to start his own catering business. Trained in French culinary techniques, Call, 35, of New Kensington says there is a proper and correct way to do things, “and then there’s everything else.” “I’ve always been...
New Kensington opts to stick with garbage hauler
New Kensington Council has decided to keep its garbage hauler for at least another year. Council approved a one-year contract for garbage service with County Hauling with options for two additional years. The quarterly charge to residents will remain $78.13. According to City Clerk Dennis Scarpiniti, County Hauling submitted the...
Tarentum seeking candidates for vacant 1st Ward council seat
Tarentum will accept applications for a soon-to-be vacant seat on borough council until Jan. 4. Council on Tuesday accepted the resignation of 1st Ward Councilwoman Erika Josefoski. Her resignation is effective Dec. 31. Josefoski, 36, announced her intention to resign earlier this month. She said she did not have enough...
Allegheny Valley Hospital workers see ‘beacon of hope’ as they get 1st doses of covid vaccine
Kristen Miller didn’t think twice about getting the covid vaccine. The intensive care unit registered nurse at Allegheny Valley Hospital in Harrison on Friday was among the first workers in Allegheny Health Network to get a shot of Pfizer’s vaccine against the virus that has killed more than 300,000 in...
New Kensington police charge man in hotel fight with 3 other men
A New Kensington man was arraigned Wednesday on a felony charge of aggravated assault stemming from a fight in which two men suffered brain bleeds and one had skull fractures. Police charged Kenneth Lorenzo Johnson Jr., 32, on Nov. 17 in connection with the fight that happened June 12 at...
Saint Joseph offering new ‘Spirit’ scholarship to enrolling freshmen
St. Joseph High School in Harrison is offering a new scholarship to help families afford a Catholic education as the school seeks to enroll students for the 2021-22 school year. The St. Joseph Spirit Scholarship is available for next school year’s enrolling freshmen, said Shane Palumbo, director of admissions and...
Allegheny Valley Hospital doctors, nurses expected to get covid vaccine
Physicians and nurses at Allegheny Valley Hospital in Harrison are expected to be among Allegheny Health Network’s first caregivers to receive covid-19 vaccinations Friday morning, an AHN spokeswoman said. Spokeswoman JoAnne Clobus could not say how many employees of the Harrison hospital would be getting shots Friday. Employees were busy...
New Kensington-Arnold concerned about students not participating in remote classes
New Kensington-Arnold School District administrators and board members are concerned about the number of children who they say have not been participating in school since the district moved all students to remote instruction. The district started the school year with students receiving instruction fully online or fully in person. The...
New Kensington-Arnold hires school boards association to conduct superintendent search
New Kensington-Arnold School District will spend up to $13,000 to find a new superintendent. The school board voted unanimously Tuesday to hire the Pennsylvania School Boards Association to conduct the search. The district will pay the association $5,000, plus up to $8,000 for additional costs. “Our longstanding relationship with school...
Highlands delays release of resignation agreement with employee facing disciplinary charges
Highlands School District is delaying the release of a resignation agreement with an unidentified employee against whom the school board had brought disciplinary charges. The school board voted at its Dec. 7 meeting to approve the agreement with an employee identified only by the number 6093. The agreement was retroactively...
New Kensington’s proposed budget includes no tax increase
New Kensington Council has approved a preliminary budget for next year that includes no increase in property taxes. Council voted 4-1 Monday to approve the first reading of next year’s $8.16 million budget, up from $8.12 million this year. The property tax rate would remain unchanged at 32.03 mills. After...
