Kellen Stepler stories

The two candidates running for Allegheny Township supervisor say they want to build on the municipality’s business growth and development. Democrat Dave Gatty, 71, and Republican Frank Weissert, 48, are seeking a six-year term on the Allegheny Township board of supervisors. Supervisor Michael Korns didn’t seek reelection. Gatty, a retired...

For Shashwathee Kamalesh, resources from Local Task Force 3 on the Right to Education in Allegheny County have been a lifeline as she navigates life as a parent of a child with disabilities. “Every step of my journey, I feel like I’m supported,” said Kamalesh of Marshall, whose 12-year-old son,...

A new, independent investigation into a deadly explosion at the U.S. Steel Clairton Coke Works facility in August had similar findings to an earlier study done by an independent federal agency. Engineering Design and Testing Corp., retained by U.S. Steel, released preliminary findings this week that found the explosion took...

An Arnold man faces three counts of endangering the welfare of children after his 5-, 3- and 1-year-old each tested positive for cocaine. Westmoreland County detectives say they began investigating Josiah Hughes, 30, in May with a case involving child endangerment, according to the District Attorney’s Office. A ChildLine report...

If you’re one of the 130,000 people who obtained course credits at one of the state system’s colleges but never finished your degree, you’ll be hearing from the university soon. Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education will be rolling out a program reconnecting and recruiting former students who didn’t complete...

A second round of meetings with Penn State leadership and communities where branch campuses are closing, and what the future holds for those properties, will soon be underway, university administration said Thursday. Seven branch campuses — New Kensington, Fayette, Shenango, Mont Alto, DuBois, Wilkes-Barre and York — will close at...

The sound of someone sniffling can be irritating, but that has almost nothing to do with the sound itself, new Carnegie Mellon University research shows. “It’s not the sound, it’s how I feel about the person sitting next to me, and how it’s rude to sniffle,” said Laurie Heller, a...

Bridgeville’s next mayor won’t be new to the job. Incumbent Betty Copeland, 91 who has been mayor for the past eight years, is being challenged for the position by Pasquale B. DeBlasio, 62, who was mayor from 2014 to 2017. The Nov. 4 election is a rematch of their 2017...

Six people are vying for three seats on the Collier board of commissioners. In the Spring primary election, incumbent commissioner Mary Ann Cupples-Wisniowski and Julie Murphy and Tim Downey Jr. won the Democratic party nominations, and incumbent commissioners Wayne Chiurazzi and Karianne Suter, and Mark Lewis won the Republican party...

Seven-year-old Hallie Goodworth was dressed for the occasion. Matching her classmates with a yellow shirt, but with the words “Colt Bolt” printed on the shirt, Hallie was ready to tackle the Chartiers Valley Primary School’s annual jog-a-thon with her first grade peers. The Colt Bolt, coordinated by the school’s Parent-Teacher...

Burrell School District’s enrollment decreased by 50 students this fall, a decline on par with what the district has seen for the past 10 years, according to Superintendent Shannon Wagner. Total district enrollment this fall stands at 1,624, Wagner told the school board this week. Enrollment was 1,674 last year....

A month after voting down an earlier proposal, Penn State University’s board of trustees approved a plan to transfer WPSU-TV and public radio to WHYY in Philadelphia. The deal means Penn State won’t have to pay an additional $17 million subsidy over the next five years to keep WPSU operating,...

Five people are in the running for four seats on the Carlynton School Board. Candidates for this fall’s general election are incumbents Leeanne Mitchell-O’Brien, Susie Puskar and Christine Simcic; and newcomers Brittany Bova and Reece Smith. Here’s what the candidates had to say in response to questions asked by the...

Voters in the Chartiers Valley School District will pick between 5 candidates for 4 seats on the school board. Newcomers Mark Dodson and Mark Fiorilli will join incumbents Mitch Montani, Lisa Trainor and Megan Sexton on the ballot for the Nov. 4 general election. Here are the candidates’ responses to...

Andrei Kozlov compared his time being held captive in Gaza for eight months by Hamas terrorists to a blacksmith striking iron with a hammer. “Imagine that you are between the iron and hammer,” said Kozlov, 29, on Sunday evening to a crowd of people at the Oct. 7 Commemoration held...

A Pittsburgh man is charged with biting a city police officer early Sunday morning outside the Tequila Cowboy bar in the North Shore. Charges against Almir Lopes De Barros, 39, of the Brighton Heights neighborhood of Pittsburgh, include aggravated assault of a police officer, resisting arrest, criminal trespass, disorderly conduct...

Hayley Lorent’s goal when she started in cosmetology as a 15-year-old was to own her own business one day. A decade later, at age 25, Lorent has opened Velvet Shears at 2948 Leechburg Road in Lower Burrell. “I like that it’s Leechburg Road-facing,” said Lorent, of West Leechburg. “It was...

Five women were sworn-in to Bridgeville’s inaugural shade tree commission on Oct. 6. Jen Brilmyer was named chairperson; Courtney Tolmer was appointed as vice chairperson and Alison Thomas was named secretary. Other commission members include Virginia Schneider and Kayla Lawrence. The borough established the commission this year. Shade tree commissions...

Ed Freeman has been going to the United Physicians clinic in New Kensington “for what seems like forever.” “My father came here, and he lived to be 85,” said Freeman, who lives in the Mount Vernon neighborhood of New Kensington. “And that’s how I ended up going here.” But come...

Kindergarteners in the Chartiers Valley School District gave a special thank you to area police officers while also learning more about the profession. On Oct. 1, three kindergarten classrooms at Chartiers Valley Primary School participated in a “Coffee with Cops” event as part of the district’s “World of Work” career...

Carnegie Mellon University on Wednesday cut 75 staff positions at its Software Engineering Institute. The cut represents 10% of the institute’s overall workforce, according to Cassia Crogan, CMU spokeswoman. Crogan told TribLive the cuts were a “variety of roles and titles across the institute.” She didn’t say how it would...

A divided New Kensington Council appointed a retired Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County employee to the New Kensington Water Authority board. Council voted 3-2 to appoint Tom Ceraso to the water authority board, for a term that expires at the end of 2027. One resident, Melvyn Smith, believed Ceraso’s appointment...

Fall enrollment at the 10 universities that make up the state system of higher education increased for the first time in more than a decade, with the biggest gains coming from retention and community college transfers, according to data released Tuesday. Enrollment in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education...

A New Kensington man is accused of causing serious injuries to his 2-month-old infant. New Kensington police filed aggravated assault, child endangerment and obstruction charges against Jacob Alexander Piontek, 25, after his child suffered seizures, a stroke and brain trauma after being in his care, according to a criminal complaint....