Kellen Stepler stories, Page 14
Roots Natural Kitchen debuts in Scott
What was once Bruegger’s Bagels in Scott Township is now a new, fast-casual, healthy-food restaurant. Roots Natural Kitchen opened at 1644 Cochran Road in late July. The Scott location has a drive-thru window; dining room; and delivery, catering and pickup options. “Roots Natural Kitchen is a fast-casual, salads and grain...
School start times pushed back for Valley High School students
Valley Jr.-Sr. High School students can hit the snooze button a few more times before heading off to school. The New Kensington-Arnold School District announced a new start time — 30 minutes later — for Valley Jr.-Sr. High School students for the upcoming school year. Buses will begin arriving at...
Fire convention returns to New Kensington: Here’s what’s planned
The history-rich, Western Pennsylvania Fireman’s Convention returns to New Kensington next week. The five-day annual convention, which includes services, a parade and the infamous Battle of the Barrel, starts Thursday evening and runs until Monday, said Ed Saliba Jr., New Kensington fire chief. “It would be nice for the public...
New Kensington man charged in connection to sex assaults against woman, girl
New Kensington police filed charges against a 30-year-old man accused of inappropriately touching and assaulting a woman and a girl over a two-year period. Joshua Daniel Large, of New Kensington, faces charges of aggravated indecent assault, indecent assault, criminal attempt at indecent assault, corruption of minors and harassment. On Dec....
Is a grocery store on tap for downtown New Kensington?
The new owner of Central City Plaza in downtown New Kensington hopes to fill vacant space there by the end of this year and to get a grocery store operational next year. “We’re pretty confident we can better manage the property, and we saw a lot of potential in the...
Vandergrift police accuse woman of swindling $13K from man she was ‘helping’
Vandergrift police filed felony charges against a woman accused of stealing more than $13,700 from a man she was living with and purportedly “helping.” Rebecca Lynn Hubert, 57, faces 10 felony charges that include forgery, theft, receiving stolen property and access device fraud. Police filed charges Monday in District Judge...
New Kensington approves loan agreement to repave 17 streets
New Kensington Council gave the final OK on how it will pay for road improvements in the city this year and next. The city entered into a loan agreement with the Pennsylvania Infrastructure Bank to borrow $1.19 million for street improvements. The program is designed to provide low-interest loans and...
New Kensington man jailed following alleged domestic dispute, drug discovery
A New Kensington man is behind bars after an alleged domestic dispute last week. Police charged Anthony T. Swann Jr., 23, with strangulation, simple assault, carrying a firearm without a license, tampering with evidence and drug possession with intent to deliver. Swann was unable to post $100,000 bail and is...
Volunteers prep for upcoming Festa Italiana in New Kensington
Karen Mitchell has a simple answer when asked what has kept New Kensington’s Festa Italiana going strong for 44 years. Food! “The food is good, and people enjoy it,” said Mitchell of New Kensington, who’s in her third year as the main coordinator for Mount St. Peter Church’s annual event....
‘Deliberate, patient approach’ resolved Tarentum SWAT incident peacefully, police chief says
A roughly three-hour SWAT standoff in Tarentum on Thursday was resolved peacefully because of a “deliberate, patient approach that prioritized time, communication and containment,” said William Vakulick, the borough’s police chief. “We’re grateful that yesterday’s incident on East Eighth Avenue was resolved without injury to the individual involved, the public...
2 taken to hospital after truck slams into downtown New Kensington bank
Two people were taken to hospitals Thursday after a vehicle crashed into a bank building in downtown New Kensington. Crews were dispatched at 2:13 p.m. for reports of a Ford Ranger pickup truck that slammed into the First National Bank, 2 Kensington Square. “The gentleman jumped the sidewalk and drove...
Efforts underway to restore Massy Harbison cabin in New Kensington
New Kensington-area historians and officials are hoping to turn an often-overlooked cabin on Stevenson Boulevard into a more visible educational site. The Daughters of the American Revolution Massy Harbison-Fort Hand chapter and the city of New Kensington are working to restore the cabin and Massy Harbison Park, at Oates Boulevard...
Chartiers Valley officials: Staffing, education have bright outlook for school year
Chartiers Valley School District officials say an aggressive, early retirement incentive resulted in no furloughs and a positive staffing outlook this school year. “Contrary to published reports of mass furloughs, the board and administration implemented this strategic initiative to address ongoing fiscal challenges while maintaining our commitment to high-quality education,”...
Overbooked housing leads Pitt to rent hotel, apartments for students
Hundreds of students attending the University of Pittsburgh in Oakland will live in a hotel or apartments this fall, a move university officials say they made to accommodate the large, incoming freshmen class. Pitt received a record number of applications for the fall semester — 65,000 — which is a...
Man charged with kidnapping after high-speed chase from New Kensington to Pittsburgh Mills
A Ross man is behind bars after a high-speed police chase Saturday from New Kensington to the Pittsburgh Mills mall with a woman and her 7-year-old son in the car. Charges against William Joseph Anick, 62, include kidnapping a minor, unlawful restraint of a minor, receiving stolen property, endangering the...
Oakmont intersection work postponed
Planned daily closures of the Allegheny River Boulevard and Hulton Road intersection in Oakmont are delayed indefinitely. The closures for sanitary sewer repairs were scheduled to occur daily this week from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. A notice from the borough released Tuesday, said the property owner has delayed the...
New Kensington-Arnold rolls out new grading scale for youngest students
Report cards for New Kensington-Arnold kindergarten students will look a bit different this year. Previously, students would get a letter grade for a subject area. Now, the report card will list specific academic skills in each subject and how well the student has mastered each skill. “I want kids to...
Penn State buys former fraternity house where Timothy Piazza was fatally hurt
Penn State trustees on Friday authorized the purchase of the former Beta Theta Pi house where hazing led to the death of student Timothy Piazza in 2017. The university will pay $7.3 million for the 0.92-acre property, located at 220 N. Burrowes Road, State College. Sara Thorndike, senior vice president...
Penn State increases 2026-27 tuition rates for University Park, some branch campus students
Penn State’s budget for the 2026-27 academic year raises tuition for all of its students attending University Park and some of its students that attend branch campuses. The $10.2 billion budget, approved Friday by the board of trustees, includes a 2% tuition increase for in-state undergraduate students attending University Park,...
New Kensington felon charged after raid seizes $10K and 27 bricks of heroin, fentanyl
State troopers arrested a New Kensington man after an undercover drug investigation turned up 27 bricks of heroin or fentanyl and more than $10,000 in cash. Raijon Deqae Wilson, 29, is charged with numerous drug-related counts in connection to a search warrant at a residence in the 1200 block of...
Urgent care facility on tap in Allegheny Township
Allegheny Township residents soon won’t have to drive far for emergency medical care. Township supervisors Chairman Jamie Morabito said a walk-in, urgent care facility is in the works for 48 Towne Center Drive, near the magistrate’s office. “I’m real excited about it,” said Supervisor Mike Korns. “It’s in a good...
Tuition increase approved for state-owned universities for 1st time in 7 years
Tuition for state universities is set to increase by 3.6% for students this fall, but that figure could decrease if state funding increases, the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education said Thursday. In-state undergraduate tuition for this academic year will increase by $139 per semester, to $3,997 per semester, according...
Kinloch streets marked for Lower Burrell summer paving
More than 20 streets in Lower Burrell are on tap to be paved this year. City Council on Monday approved a contract of close to $235,000 with Russell Standard to chip-seal 19 streets — the majority of which are in Kinloch — this summer. The full list of roads, according...
Lower Burrell approves cooperative fire agreement: ‘a realistic solution,’ mayor says
A cooperative fire agreement among Lower Burrell, New Kensington and Arnold fire departments has won approval from Lower Burrell officials. Council approved plans outlining rules to establish a Tri-Cities duty crew for daytime volunteer fire coverage among the three cities. “I’m very excited for the Tri-City duty crew and its...
Historic Carnegie park stone pavilion restored, rededicated
Chuck Woods says his family history exemplifies the story of immigrants coming to Pittsburgh. In the early 1900s, Woods’ grandfather, Domenico Masciantonio, came to Pittsburgh from Italy with his brother, Pietro, and sister, Maria. The trio settled in Carnegie’s Cubbage Hill where Domenico worked as a stone mason. And during...
