Taco Bell headed to Plum after council approval
Plum is set to get its first Taco Bell restaurant. Borough council voted to approve a conditional use application and land development plan from developers at its meeting Monday. The proposed restaurant would be at the site of the former Sheetz on Golden Mile Highway. The 1-acre plot has sat...
‘They’re trying to break him’: Springdale man remains jailed after ICE detainment
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to include a statement from Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials regarding their reason for detaining Randy Cordova-Flores. A Springdale man arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents Tuesday is struggling to remain positive while being held in a West Virginia jail. “They’re playing...
More Pittsburgh police officers put on leave as probe into bar fight continues
Three more Pittsburgh police officers have been placed on paid administrative leave after a reported area bar fight, according to police spokeswoman Cara Cruz. The three officers will join another policeman placed on leave Tuesday. Cruz confirmed the officers were placed on leave after an “altercation in a bar outside...
Police arrest sexual assault suspect after SWAT situation in Pittsburgh
A SWAT situation in Pittsburgh’s Knoxville neighborhood ended with the surrender of a man wanted on sexual assault charges, police say. Pittsburgh Police spokeswoman Cara Cruz said Pittsburgh Police and U.S. Marshals were asked to assist with the apprehension of Christopher Wilson, who was wanted by Allegheny County Police. Wilson,...
Pittsburgh Police investigate armed robbery at Bloomfield bar
Pittsburgh Police say two armed men robbed a Bloomfield bar Thursday morning, making off with an unknown amount of cash. Officers were called to the scene around 10 a.m. at the 600 block of South Millvale Avenue, according to a statement from Pittsburgh Public Safety. The only bar in that...
Local lawmakers question ICE’s detention of Springdale father
Though local officials have mostly remained silent,the Alle-Kiski Valley’s lawmakers are seeking more details after a traffic stop in Springdale ended with a local father in ICE custody on Tuesday. Randy Cordova-Flores, 36, remains in custody at Northern Regional Correctional Facility and Jail near Moundsville, W.Va., according to ICE records....
Fire tears through home in Plum’s Logans Ferry HeightsVideo
About a dozen fire companies rushed to the scene of a fire that gutted a home in Plum on Thursday afternoon. The blaze was reported just after 3:15 p.m. on the 200 block of Dombroski Avenue in the borough’s Logans Ferry Heights neighborhood. It was about a half-mile away from...
Officials quiet after Springdale man detained by ICE
Springdale and federal officials remained mostly mum Wednesday after the arrest of a borough resident by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents Tuesday. Randy Cordova-Flores, 36, remains in custody at Northern Regional Correctional Facility and Jail near Moundsville, W.Va., according to ICE records. Originally from Peru, Cordova-
Flores was detained after Springdale...
Springdale Police hand over resident to ICE after traffic stop, family saysVideo
Peru native Randy Cordova-Flores was driving near the corner of Lincoln and James streets in Springdale on Tuesday when local police pulled him over, according to his sister, Paulette Cordova. Soon after, he was in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. In what appears to be the first...
Freeport Council appoints former manager to vacant seat
Zachary Filous has returned to the Freeport Borough Building. The small borough’s former manager was appointed to a vacant seat on Freeport Council earlier this month. The vacancy was the result of former Freeport Council President Rick Fennell vacating his seat last month to take up the borough’s tax collector...
Landslide knocks part of Logans Ferry Road in Plum down to 1 lane until summer
A section of Logans Ferry Road in Plum will have a single-lane restriction until summer after a landslide on a short portion of the roadway. The stretch sits between Browntown and Webster roads. New stop signs have been installed at each end as well as signage before the section that...
Police say New Kensington man already jailed for SWAT incident assaulted, fathered child with 8th grader
Westmoreland County detectives accuse a New Kensington man who has been in jail since 2024 of fathering a child with an Arnold teenager after repeatedly sexually assaulting her. Burnell Johnson, 27, is facing charges of statutory sexual assault, corruption of minors and indecent assault of a person younger than 16....
Cheswick plans to redo sidewalks, add lights along Pittsburgh Street
Cheswick’s main business district could see significant updates soon. The borough plans to repave its sidewalks and curbs and add light poles along Pittsburgh Street with a $1.1 million state grant, according to Council President Brad Yaksich. Yaksich said the effort is part of an effort to revitalize the corridor....
Scott Township man detained by ICE in Plum being held in West Virginia jail
Vishavdeep Singh, the Scott Township man detained by ICE agents in Plum on Wednesday, is being held in Northern Regional Correctional Facility and Jail near Moundsville, W.Va., according to ICE records. Singh, 22, was detained at the office of District Judge Mike Doyle after, police say, he attempted to flee...
Mysterious metal shards causing flat tires around Harrison
Low tire pressure lights are coming on throughout the Alle-Kiski Valley — and it’s not because of the cold. Dozens of drivers are reporting flat tires caused by small metal fragments of unknown origin, mostly around the Harrison area. Beverly Lydic of Springdale Township heard a hissing noise coming from...
Fire guts Springdale Township home
A Springdale Township home is likely a total loss after a fire early Tuesday morning, according to Allegheny Valley VFC Chief Jay Zangrille. Crews were dispatched to the scene along the 700 block of Maple Street just after 2 a.m. When they arrived, firefighters discovered a fully involved house fire...
Plum Council expected to vote on new Taco Bell
Plum’s new Taco Bell is on the horizon. Borough council is expected to vote to approve the project along Golden Mile Highway at its meeting Monday, Feb. 9. So far, developers have progressed through Plum’s planning commission and zoning hearing board, which granted them minor changes to the drive-thru and...
Fundraiser for family of Oakmont man detained by ICE raises more than $75K
An online fundraiser to aid the family of a man taken into ICE custody in Oakmont on Thursday had collected more than $75,000 as of Tuesday evening. Jose Flores, 47, was handcuffed and placed in an unmarked SUV by ICE agents Thursday morning in front of his 8-year-old daughter, Lily....
Springdale’s agreement with ICE brings fear closer to home for some local immigrants
When Judah Marroquin learned police in Springdale Borough signed an agreement to cooperate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in November, she was sick to her stomach. “It’s finally at our doorsteps,” she thought. Born and raised in Shaler, she has lived in neighboring Springdale Township with her husband, Carlos,...
How cold is it? Pittsburgh is breaking records
It was as cold as it’s ever been on this date in Pittsburgh Friday morning. Temperatures sank to minus 6 degrees around 7:50 a.m. at the National Weather Service’s offices in Moon, according to meteorologist Jason Frazier. That slightly edges out today’s previous record low of minus 5, set in...
Faces of the Valley: PR director leaves Allegheny Valley School District after 3 decades
To Jan Zastawniak, it’s a great thing to be a Dynamo. The Springdale alumna and longtime borough resident retired in December from Allegheny Valley School District, where she worked as public relations director for more than 30 years. But Zastawniak was never lacking for other responsibilities at Allegheny Valley. She...
Man who led police on hours-long chase up frozen Allegheny River remains jailed
Police say a Pittsburgh man who shouted to them that he wasn’t “going back to jail” as he led officers on a slow, 5-mile foot pursuit on the frozen Allegheny River on Wednesday is, in fact, back in jail. Gary Cawley, 47, is facing felony charges of burglary and criminal...
PRT says nearly all bus lines running normally again
After days of patchy service because of Sunday’s winter storm, Pittsburgh Regional Transit says bus and rail service throughout the region is almost fully restored. The announcement comes after snowplows and dump trucks cleared what PRT called “problem areas” throughout the system, the agency said in a social media post....
No thaw in sight: Temperatures could hit record lows later this week
The mercury is unlikely climb out of the teens for the next several days as the region continues to grapple with the remnants of Sunday’s winter storm. Temperatures in the region will mostly linger in the single digits and low teens until early next week, when the National Weather Service...
Most of PRT’s rail lines disabled by power line collapse
Pittsburgh Regional Transit said Wednesday morning almost all of its rail service has been halted by a power line collapse overnight. One train car is still operating between South Hills Junction and Allegheny Station, according to a social media post from PRT. Two shuttle buses each are operating between Library...
