Jack Troy stories, Page 19
Canned cocktail sales expand among Pennsylvania retailers following liquor code reform
As of Monday, Pennsylvanians finally have what Gov. Josh Shapiro has called “real freedom” — the freedom to buy canned cocktails from a wider variety of retailers. Under bipartisan legislation (Senate Bill 688) signed by the governor in July, about 12,000 restaurants, bars, beer distributors, grocery stores and gas stations...
Inflation Explained: Restaurants balance rising costs with consumer preferences
Editor’s note: This is the third story in an occasional series on the causes and impact of inflation. Economic struggles and too-good-to-be-true value menus go hand in hand. Without the Great Recession, there would have been no $5 footlong from Subway. That deal is long gone, but the latest economic...
Morning Roundup: Joe’s Crab Shack closes at Station Square; more schools debunk violent threats
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Monday, Sept. 16: Station Square restaurant closes Joe’s Crab Shack in Station Square has closed — apparently without warning — less than two months after being hit by a gunshot during business hours. A notice posted on the building...
Building the Valley: Restoration gives historic Vandergrift structure new life as hair salon
Between the crumbling roof and buckling walls, the Anchor Building in Vandergrift looked like a goner late last year. On Sept. 3, Julie Aiello moved her business there. A chain of events started by Vandergrift Councilwoman Marilee Kessler brought the historic structure from the brink of demolition to becoming the...
Biden’s decision on U.S. Steel deal may wait, offering reprieve to sale’s supporters
White House officials have signaled a delay in President Joe Biden’s decision on whether to block a $14.9 billion Japanese takeover of U.S. Steel, a small reversal of fortune for a deal that looked as good as dead earlier this month. Reacting to a Washington Post report that Biden might...
Gia Visto in Penn Hills temporarily closed after citations from Health Department
Penn Hills newcomer Gia Visto has temporarily shuttered after health inspectors found the Italian restaurant had been operating without a valid permit, among other violations. Gia Visto acknowledged the visit from the Allegheny County Health Department in a social media post Aug. 31, saying “kitchen improvements,” namely a sink and...
Bad blood between USW, Nippon Steel may have doomed U.S. Steel deal from the start, emails show
On July 12, Takahiro Mori of Nippon Steel, the Japanese firm knee-deep in what increasingly appears to be a doomed acquisition of U.S. Steel, met with United Steelworkers President David McCall for the second time this year. A few days later, the Nippon executive vice president emailed McCall to thank...
Big Lots enters court-supervised sale process, plans more closures
Big Lots shoppers are hoping their local stores will be spared from closure as the closeout retailer navigates its way through bankruptcy. “I was just looking for a chair,” said Hempfield resident Bev Lauffer while she perused the Big Lots there this week, adding she shops at Big Lots on...
Officers commended for finding Leechburg man’s wedding ring after fatal crash
When Scottie Joe Hawkins’ wedding ring flew off his hand during the motorcycle crash that killed him in June, his wife feared she’d never see it again. But, thanks to a pair of Allegheny Township police officers, Kourtney Hawkins has the symbol of her wedding commitment again. Scottie Joe Hawkins,...
Aging truck forces Vandergrift to can curbside recycling
Budget restrictions forced Vandergrift to end curbside recycling pick up earlier this month. Instead, residents will have to take their glass and metals — plastics remain a no-go — to the borough garage at 600 Oak St. and deposit them in the appropriate bin. These containers will be ready by...
North Apollo issues ultimatum to Kiski Township ahead of possible Armstrong County police shake-up
North Apollo officials say they need proof that Kiski Township is holding up its end of a $58,000 contract to provide police coverage to the borough after two officer departures and an anecdotal decline in patrols. Council will draft a letter giving Kiski Township 15 days to produce police schedules...
Sprankle’s Octoberfest on tap Friday through Sunday at Lernerville Speedway
For the first and possibly only time, Lernerville Speedway in Buffalo Township has transformed into a miniature Munich ahead of the sixth annual Sprankle’s Octoberfest. Organizers expect this iteration of the German-themed festival on Friday, Saturday and Sunday to be bigger and better than ever. “The whole aim of this...
Backyard Nature finds wonder in the wild world of Penn Hills
A sparse, high-ceiling room at the Penn Hills Library is where Maria Wheeler-Dubas often finds herself explaining nature’s most captivating quirks and mysteries, such as dolphins’ apparent ability to pass information from one generation to the next. “Do dolphins have culture?” Wheeler-Dubas wondered last month at a presentation on animal...
Fire destroys maintenance building at River Forest Country Club
Gary Miller spent Thursday morning tallying losses — expected to be in the hundreds of thousands of dollars — caused by a fire that ravaged River Forest Country Club’s maintenance building before dawn. Items lost included 24 golf carts, at least two lawn mowers and an array of handheld maintenance...
U.S. Steel rallies for sale to Nippon Steel as Biden threatens to block deal
Standing before a sea of workers in orange jackets and hard hats, U.S. Steel executive Scott Buckiso argued for a $14.9 billion sale to Nippon Steel at a rally in downtown Pittsburgh on Wednesday. Buckiso, senior vice president and chief manufacturing officer of U.S. Steel’s North American Flat-Rolled segment, zeroed...
Short on space, Simply Sisters prepares for move to downtown Vandergrift
Simply Sisters Bakery is on the move to a bigger and more convenient location in downtown Vandergrift. Five months ago, sisters Karen Johnston and Paula Cunningham started serving doughnuts, cookies, soups and more out of an old beauty shop on Emerson Street. As soon as Oct 1., the sisters will...
SUV burns in Harrison neighborhood
The quiet of Harrison’s Pacific Avenue neighborhood was interrupted Tuesday when a Kia SUV caught fire around 11 a.m. and quickly became engulfed in flames. Harrison police briefly shut down the 1400 block of Pacific as crews from Citizens Hose Fire-Rescue-EMS and other companies doused the fire. A Citizens Hose...
3 firefighters suffer minor injuries in New Kensington attic fire
Three firefighters were hurt in an attic fire that started around 2 p.m. Friday at 1309 Kenneth Ave. in New Kensington. They were taken to Allegheny Valley Hospital in Harrison for minor injuries, according to New Kensington Fire Chief Ed Saliba Jr. Two had electrical burns from a wire and...
48 units of affordable senior housing proposed at former William Penn Elementary School site
Another senior housing development is winding through the approval process in Penn Hills. Lancaster-based Social Enterprise Properties got preliminary approval Aug. 22 to raze the old William Penn Elementary School near Verona Road and build a three-story, 48-unit complex in its place. All units would be reserved for tenants 62...
Kiski Area prepping for ‘school within a school’ when classes start
The Kiski Area School District is banking on a few well-placed partitions, abundant signage and flexible attitudes to fit six grade levels into its high school when classes start next week. Calling it a “school within a school,” the district will place seventh and eighth graders in the high school...
Build day planned for South Buffalo’s first public playground
South Buffalo is set to get its first public playground as the township tries to turn the RIDC Armstrong Innovation Park into a hub for government, housing and recreation. “We would like that to be a community center,” said township Supervisor Paul Bergad. In 2022, South Buffalo moved its administrative...
Buffalo Township police searching for man who fled crash scene
Buffalo Township police are searching for a man who caused a hit-and-run crash Saturday at the intersection of Freeport Road and Route 356. Shortly before 10 p.m, a vehicle coming down Freeport Road from Harrison collided with a passenger vehicle making a legal left turn onto the Freeport Bridge from...
Bullet casing found at Freeport Area Middle School tied to track equipment
A bullet casing found Monday in a Freeport Area Middle School parking lot came from a track starting pistol, according to Buffalo Township police. Chief Tim Derringer said his department was notified of the false alarm Tuesday morning. Multiple officers had been stationed on campus as the district’s investigation unfolded....
Hiking and biking routes leave a trail of short-term rentals across Western Pa.
Between the plain cedar furnishings, olive carpeting and antique phonograph, the interior of John Blinkhorn’s Airbnb appears frozen in various points of the 20th century. But its existence speaks mostly to the future of Export and similar communities along the region’s growing trail network. Blinkhorn bought the triplex in his...
Faces of the Valley: Long-lost photos bring family history to life for Buffalo Township woman
Charles and Catherine Waggoner were quite the amateur photographers on their homestead in rural Ohio, capturing not only the stiffly posed portraits typical of early 1900s, but somewhat candid moments, too. Using a wooden, boxy Kodak camera that took cartridges about the size of a postcard, the couple produced dozens...
