Harmar crash involving PRT bus sends 7 to hospital
An early-morning crash in Harmar involving a Pittsburgh Regional Transit bus sent seven people to the hospital Friday, including five bus riders, according to PRT spokesman Adam Brandolph. Allegheny Valley VFC Chief Jay Zangrille said that around 7:20 a.m., a dump truck attempted to make a right turn on a...
New principal to head up Plum’s O’Block Elementary as renovations continue
Cory Sakolsky will take up the principal role at Plum’s O’Block Elementary in the midst of a vast construction wave that will see much of the building transformed in the coming months. Sakolsky currently serves as assistant principal at Shaler Area Elementary School, which is set to close after next...
Arson charges result in probation for Harmar man
David John Benec, who police said shot into his home as it burned in January, pleaded no contest to felony arson charges Wednesday. Benec, 65, was sentenced to 15 months of probation by Judge Patrick A. Sweeney. Prosecutors withdrew all other charges, including multiple counts of discharging a firearm into...
Springdale residents plan data center protest
Some Springdale residents are planning to gather Saturday morning to protest a data center development planned in the borough. The group will congregate from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. near the fork of Pittsburgh Street and Lincoln Avenue, near From Italy Pizza, according to Tom Bailey, one of the protest...
Plum School Board approves almost 3% tax hike in district budget
Plum School District property owners can expect to pay about 3% more in taxes next school year after the school board voted 6-3 on Tuesday to adopt a 2026-27 budget. The budget takes the district millage rate from 23.9159 mills to 24.6190 mills. That means for a home at the...
Buffalo Township man reacts to divorce by trying to tear down home, police sayVideo
Police say a Buffalo Township man used an excavator to partially destroy his family’s home with his wife and children inside Tuesday after she told him their marriage was over. Eric Pierwsza, 48, is charged with causing a catastrophe, recklessly endangering another person and disorderly conduct. Pierwsza’s wife, who told...
As ICE raids continue, Frontline Dignity — and its 23-year-old founder — become force in Western Pa.
At any one time, Jaime Martinez says more than 100 volunteers at his immigrants’ rights group are on call and ready to respond to immigration enforcement activity in Western Pennsylvania. They’re part of a growing network of more than 1,000 total volunteers, he said. Less than nine months ago, that...
Neighboring Springdale churches now both for sale
Two churches along Springdale’s Pittsburgh Street — one Catholic, the other Methodist — are now up for sale after extended vacancies. St. Alphonsus Roman Catholic Church closed in 2022, while Springdale United Methodist Church shuttered last June. The two former houses of worship sit opposite each other in the heart...
Allegheny Valley School Board moves forward on budget without tax hike
The Allegheny Valley School Board approved its proposed budget Monday, meaning local homeowners likely won’t see any changes to their tax bill next year. The budget would maintain the district’s current rate of 21.7049 mills. That means a taxpayer who owns property with the median assessed value of $85,900 would...
Freeport Area budget would include small tax hike in Buffalo Township, tax cut in Freeport and South Buffalo
Residents in Buffalo Township could see a slightly higher tax bill, while Freeport and South Buffalo residents could get some relief if the Freeport Area School District moves forward with its proposed budget. Freeport Area is a school district that crosses county lines, with Buffalo Township in Butler County, and...
No buyer at sheriff’s sale for historic Hotel Saxonburg
The future of a Butler County staple remains uncertain after no buyer sought to purchase the historic Hotel Saxonburg in a sheriff’s sale last week. That means ownership of the nearly 200-year-old restaurant reverts to Northwest Bank, according to Sgt. Bobbiejo Walker of the Butler Sheriff’s office. A Northwest Bank...
Willowbrook Country Club could owe up to $700K to IRS after office manager arrested, according to documents
Willowbrook Country Club likely will owe between $500,000 and $700,000 in payroll taxes and interest to the IRS, according to meeting minutes of the club’s board of directors. Westmoreland County detectives charged Laurie Voyten, the club’s former office manager, with not paying Willowbrook’s federal payroll taxes since 2017 and likely...
Springdale seeks residents for committee, focus groups on borough’s future
As the borough begins to assess its future, Springdale is searching for residents to offer their advice on a steering committee and several focus groups. The main focus of Springdale’s Community Vision Plan is its main Pittsburgh Street corridor and recreation opportunities within the borough, Councilwoman Deborah Piontek said. Springdale...
Plum administrator promoted to deputy superintendent
Ashley Boyers is climbing up the ladder of Plum School District administration. The district’s school board promoted Boyers from assistant to deputy superintendent on Tuesday. Boyers said the new role will see him take greater oversight of district finances, facilities and transportation. As assistant, Boyers said he was responsible for...
Man charged with sexually assaulting girls in Manor Township being held in Massachusetts
Kole Glaister, who state police say sexually assaulted two teenage girls in Manor Township last summer, is currently being held in his home state of Massachusetts for separate charges, according to court documents. Glaister, 23, was charged in March with indecent deviate sexual intercourse of a person less than 16...
For residents of Virginia’s ‘data center alley,’ the industry underpins economy — but with costs
This is the second installment of a TribLive occasional series on data center development in Western Pennsylvania. Today’s story looks at the boom in data center construction in Northern Virginia and what that means for Southwestern Pennsylvania. PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY, Va. — Greg Pirio says the data center boom of...
For residents of Virginia’s ‘data center alley,’ the industry underpins economy — but with costsVideo
This is the second installment of a TribLive occasional series on data center development in Western Pennsylvania. Today’s story looks at the boom in data center construction in Northern Virginia and what life is like living next to a data center. PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY, Va. — Greg Pirio says the...
Niki’s Quick Six, scene of fatal shooting, abruptly closes after visit from sheriff
After Armstrong County Sheriff Frank Pitzer and several deputies arrived at Niki’s Quick Six in Parks Township early Friday afternoon, the bar-restaurant abruptly closed its doors. Niki’s parking lot was the scene of an April 26 shooting that left one woman dead and three others wounded. Homicide charges against David...
No tax increase in Allegheny Valley’s preliminary school budget
Taxes will remain flat for homeowners in the Allegheny Valley School District if the school board passes its budget for next school year unchanged. The budget would maintain the district’s current rate of 21.7049 mills. That means a taxpayer who owns property with the median assessed value of $85,900 would...
Former Kiski Township secretary set to take Springdale manager’s post
Springdale will have a new borough manager about two months after the resignation of its former manager. Patrick Bono, 60, of Apollo is set to start June 1 in an interim role. Bono previously served as the secretary of Kiski Township for around four years before resigning last January over...
Longtime church in Pittsburgh Mills eyeing move to Cheswick or Springdale
After 20 years worshipping in a space at the Pittsburgh Mills mall, the Rev. Michael Evans of Riverside Community Church said church officials are searching for a new home in Cheswick or Springdale. The church, affiliated with the Pentecostal Assemblies of God, has long held services in locations within the...
Springdale’s Veterans Field will now be kept busy with several youth sports
Football is headed back to Springdale’s Veterans Memorial Field. Borough council approved a yearlong lease for River Valley Forge Youth Football and Cheer Organization at its Tuesday meeting. The organization offers tackle and flag football as well as cheerleading programs for children ages 5 to 12 in the Allegheny Valley...
Frustrated Springdale residents push council on transparency after recent arrest
Several speakers urged Springdale Council to better answer resident demands and offer more transparency in government business Tuesday in the latest part of a monthslong conflict in the small borough. The meeting came after the arrest of William “Danny” Rosenmund after he spoke over his allotted three-minute time during council’s...
Former Willowbrook Country Club manager accused of theft, not paying club taxes
Westmoreland County detectives say the former office manager of Willowbrook Country Club had not paid the club’s payroll taxes since 2017 and is likely responsible for the theft of more than $300,000 of missing club funds. Laurie Voyten, 57, of Parks Township is charged with theft by failure to make...
High on the hilltop, neighbors in Plum’s Logans Ferry Heights stay connected
As Rick Weishar considered the century-long history of his native Logans Ferry Heights neighborhood, he began to tear up. “You can’t believe how proud it makes me,” Weishar said as he stepped into the firehall where’s he’s volunteered for more than three decades. Wedged on a hilltop overlooking the Allegheny...
