Michael DiVittorio stories, Page 82
Diocese of Pittsburgh announces new safety protocols in response to surges in covid
All Diocese of Pittsburgh priests, deacons, choir members and everyone entrusted with the distribution of Holy Communion must wear masks during Mass, according to new safety protocols announced by diocese officials Friday. The diocesan protocol updates are based on the surge in community spread of covid and the highly contagious...
Edgeworth man sentenced to federal prison, ordered to repay nearly $2 million for tax evasion
An Edgeworth man convicted of tax evasion has been sentenced to 15 months in federal prison and has been ordered to pay nearly $2 million in restitution. In imposing the sentence on Dean Britton, 57, U.S. Senior District Judge Nora Barry Fischer Judge Fischer said the case was one of...
Fox Chapel Area School District reports nearly 170 covid cases recently, in-person instruction continues
More than 160 covid cases have been reported in the Fox Chapel Area School District within the past few weeks, according to letters sent to district parents. The latest notice, sent out Thursday, alerts families of 22 new “confirmed or probably cases.” They include 10 at the high school, four...
Woodland Hills School District shifts to remote learning the rest of the month due to covid cases, related issues
Woodland Hills School District is moving to virtual learning for the rest of the month due to rising covid cases and related issues, district officials announced Thursday. Teachers and building administration will still need report to their buildings each day while the district is in virtual learning. The shift was...
Glen Osborne native living in Colorado left homeless due to wildfire
Jim and Katie Sullivan celebrated their first wedding anniversary just days after Christmas. The Glen Osborne native turned Colorado resident met his future wife several years ago in the Centennial State and the couple tied the knot on Dec. 29, 2020. Their first anniversary was to be part of a...
Verona council has new president, vice president
Verona council has a new president, vice president and some new members to start this year. Dave Matlin was appointed head of the table, and Joseph Warren was appointed second in command. Matlin served as vice president last year. Warren was appointed in July to fill the seat vacated by...
Sharpsburg mayor, council members sworn in to office
Sharpsburg has a new mayor, council president and vice president. Brittany Reno was sworn in as mayor by District Judge Matthew Rudzki at a reorganization meeting Jan. 3. Reno then swore in council members Karen Pilarski-Pastor and newcomers Kayla Portis, Carrie Tongarm and Sara Ishman. Adrianne Laing was named president,...
Oakmont has new mayor, council president, vice president and some new council members
Oakmont has a new mayor, council president, vice president and some new council members. Sophia Facaros was sworn in as mayor by notary Jill Springer at a meeting Monday night. Facaros then swore in incumbent Councilman John Arnold and newcomers Tracey Holst, Jamie Leonardi and Amanda Pagnotta. Lindsay Osterhout was...
Jefferson Hills holds the line on real estate taxes with new budget
Jefferson Hills property owners will not have to reach deeper into their pockets to pay real estate taxes this year. Council passed its 2022 budget and maintained the millage rate at 5.66 mills at a December meeting. The tax rate includes 5.225 mills for general purposes, 0.355-mill for fire protection...
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...
