Michael DiVittorio stories, Page 81
Sewickley Council is under new management
Sewickley Council has a new president, vice president and several new members. Borough elected officials picked their leaders at a reorganization meeting Jan. 3. Cynthia Mullins and Julie Barnes were named council president and vice president, respectively. Tom Rostek was named president pro tempore. Sworn in were newly-elected members Brian...
Verona officials raise real estate taxes, cut street paving to make up for accounting error
Verona property owners will pay more in real estate taxes as council approved an estimated 24% tax hike as part of this year’s budget. Council approved raising the millage rate from 7.8 mills to 9.7 mills, which is a 1.9-mill hike. It means a tax increase of just under $96...
Carnegie Science Center in Pittsburgh to close for 5 days due to staffing shortages
Carnegie Science Center will be closed for five days as a result of staffing shortages, officials announced Tuesday. The closure will run from from Monday, Jan. 10 through Friday, Jan. 14. “Like many other organizations, Carnegie Science Center is managing staff shortages,” officials said via news release. “This short period...
3 popular Oakmont restaurants have new owner; The Chelsea Grille to go Mexican
The end of 2021 also became an end of an era as three beloved Oakmont restaurants have been sold. Hoffstot’s Cafe Monaco, The Chelsea Grille and Oakmont Tavern were purchased by Oakmont resident and entrepreneur John Keefe. Keefe owns three other eateries in Oakmont — The Lot at Edgewater, Pub...
Fox Chapel officials hold the line on real estate taxes, maintain recycling program
Fox Chapel property owners will not have to pay more in real estate taxes as part of the borough’s 2022 budget. Council recently approved its spending plan and tax ordinance maintaining the millage rate at 2.95 mills. Projected revenues are listed at about $8.908 million and expenses at $8.7 million,...
Bridgeville officials hold the line on taxes, garbage collection fees
Bridgeville property owners will not have to pay more in real estate taxes as a result of the borough’s 2022 budget. Garbage collection fees also will remain the same, according to Borough Manager Joe Kauer. Council passed the $10.73 million budget in mid-December, 6-0, with Councilwoman Virginia Schneider absent. Real...
Parents charged with endangerment in Penn Hills case where their 5-year-old son was fatally shot
The parents of a teen accused of fatally shooting his brother in Penn Hills have been charged with felony child endangerment, according to court documents. Five-year-old Connor Wolfe was found shot inside his family’s home along Prescott Drive on Nov. 22. His brother, 13-year-old Keegan McGivern, is facing homicide and...
Police: Penn Hills man accused of trying to set a home on fire with his children inside
A Penn Hills man is accused of attempting to burn down a home with his children in it on Sunday, according to court documents. Quenton Hughes, 39, is charged with endangering persons, causing or risking a catastrophe, possession of instruments of a crime, possession of explosive or incendiary materials or...
Driver hospitalized after crashing into pole in Penn Hills
A North Huntingdon man has been charged with driving under the influence and number traffic violations after crashing into a pole in Penn Hills. Emergency responders were dispatched shortly before 1 a.m. Monday for a single vehicle crash along the 10000 block of Frankstown Road. Police Chief Howard Burton said...
Former Leechburg Area School Board member to return as district’s new business manager
Leechburg Area School District officials have hired a familiar face as the new business manager. Teresa Edinger, a 1987 graduate and former school board member, was unanimously approved as the top financial administrator on Dec. 8. Edinger lives in the borough. She earned an associate’s degree in computerized accounting from...
Freeport Volunteer Fire Department to get new firetruck financed by borough
Freeport officials have agreed to finance a new firetruck for the volunteer fire department. Council voted unanimously to approve a 10-year, $250,000 loan through Volunteer’s Financial Services (VFS) at a 3.35% fixed rate. Those funds, plus $300,000 in capital projects money, will be used to cover the cost of a...
Freeport Council passes budget, votes down tax increase
Freeport Council held the line on real estate taxes by the slimmest of margins after it voted to pass the 2022 budget Monday night. The budget passed unanimously, by a 5-0 vote. After passing the budget, though a motion to raise taxes by 1 mill failed by a 2-3 vote....
Plum officials hold the line on taxes for 2022
Plum property owners will not have to pay more in real estate taxes as a result of the upcoming year’s borough budget. Borough officials held the line on taxes when council unanimously voted this month to pass their 2022 spending plan. The millage rate remains at 4.78 mills. Revenue was...
Teen pedestrian’s death last month in Duquesne ruled accidental
The death of a teen killed in a crash in Duquesne last month has been ruled accidental, according to an Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office report released Tuesday. Deveon Franklin, 18, of Duquesne, died at a hospital at 7:40 a.m. Nov. 17, after being hit by a pickup around 6...
Embattled Freeport councilman resigns
A Freeport councilman who allegedly misappropriated nearly $100,000 in Freeport EMS funds and later paid it back has resigned. Justin DeAngelis stepped down from his elected post. Council accepted his resignation Monday night. He wasn’t at the meeting. In his resignation letter, DeAngelis wrote he plans to move out of...
Man hospitalized after falling from roof in Freeport
A man was flown via medical helicopter to a local trauma center after falling off a roof in Freeport. Police Officer in Charge Chris Fabec said officers and EMS were dispatched shortly after 1 p.m. for the fall from a residence along the 400 block of Mill Street. Fabec said...
State police investigating misappropriation of nearly $100K from Freeport EMS
State police are investigating a case involving the alleged misappropriation of close to $100,000 of Freeport EMS’ funds. Trooper Anthony Vaccaro of the Kittanning station said he received numerous documents from the ambulance service but could not get into details of what police are looking for or who may have...
Death of Florida man killed in pedestrian/vehicle crash in Monroeville ruled accidental
The death of a Florida man struck by an SUV in Monroeville in September has been ruled an accident. Kenneth Allan Kissell Jr., 32, of Nokomis, Fla., was hit and killed by a vehicle near the intersection of Route 22 and Elliot Road around 9 p.m. on Sept. 23. Allegheny...
Gateway School District cancels Thursday meeting and activities, high school instruction remote Friday due to social media threat
Gateway School District officials have canceled a special school board meeting, all after school activities and are moving to remote learning as a result of a social media threat. Monroeville police Chief Doug Cole said the threat was discovered by the district Thursday. Cole declined to disclose details except that...
Steel City Con’s new layout made December’s show best of the year
A new layout, more space and quicker lines made attending Steel City Con’s December show at the Monroeville Convention Center enjoyable for most vendors and guests. The last pop culture and comic convention of the year at 209 Mall Plaza Blvd. featured more than 30 celebrities and 100 vendors. Parking...
Sewickley officials hold the line on taxes with their 2022 budget
Sewickley property owners will not have to pay more in real estate taxes as part of the borough’s 2022 budget. Council approved next year’s spending plan and maintained the millage rate at 6.25 mills via 6-2 vote on Dec. 14. Council president Jeff Neff and vice president Todd Renner dissented....
Sewickley has a new police chief
David Mazza looked into his wife Lisa’s eyes, placed his hand on a Bible provided by his grandfather, Ross Johnson, and pledged to uphold the law and protect the people of Sewickley. The Reserve Township man was sworn in as the borough’s new police chief Tuesday night. Mazza, 50, has...
Pittsburgh police: Man shot in Knoxville neighborhood, suspect sought
A man was hospitalized after being shot Wednesday morning in Pittsburgh’s Knoxville neighborhood. Public Safety spokesman Maurice Matthews said officers responded to a report of a man shot around 11 a.m. Wednesday along the 400 block of Orchard Place. Officers found the victim had been shot in the right shoulder....
Gilpin officials start talks on how to spend federal covid relief funds
Gilpin officials have begun discussions on how to spend about $250,000 in covid relief funds. Township supervisor chairman Charles Stull said Monday that Gilpin received $125,000 so far with the second disbursement expected in either June or July. Possible uses include $10,000 for bathrooms at the public works garage, money...
Santa to tour Gilpin on Saturday
Gilpin police understand the pandemic might have some families concerned about packing into one place to see Santa this holiday season. So officers have made arrangements with the North Pole department to bring the jolly man on a tour of the township Saturday. The police department also collected donations to...
