Patrick Varine stories, Page 11
Dick’s Diner in Murrysville to be featured as 1 of ‘America’s Best Restaurants’
Jim Fox III remembers sitting down to a table at Dick’s Diner as a child with his father, even though his dad was the founder of the popular Fox’s Pizza chain. The family recognized the appeal of a small-town diner like Dick’s. Today, Fox owns the restaurant, which will be...
AAA will host Monroeville event to replace peeling, illegible license plates
AAA East Central will host an event in Tuesday in Monroeville for drivers to replace license plates that have begun peeling. In Pennsylvania, drivers can be pulled over and fined up to $100 for an illegible license plate, defined as a plate where one or more characters cannot be recognized...
Murrysville area: Baseball history speaker, car show, Delmont Daze and more
Email news briefs and event listings to pvarine@triblive.com. Baseball history presentation A guest speaker from the Heinz History Center will come to Murrysville on July 21 to give a talk on the history of Pittsburgh Pirates baseball. It will be at 7 p.m. at the Sampson/Clark Homestead, 5332 West Pike...
Monroeville area: Butterfly count, vehicle charging station opens, quilt show, more
PPG to host annual butterfly count The 25th annual North American Butterfly Count will take place from 9-11:30 a.m. July 12 in Monroeville. The event is organized by the North American Butterfly Association. Anyone interested in participating can meet at the PPG Monroeville Business & Technology Center at 440 College...
Pittsburgh man accused of stealing hundreds of identities to make Lowe’s, Giant Eagle purchases
A Pittsburgh man is charged with more than 200 counts of felony identity theft after authorities said he made $100,000 in unauthorized credit card purchases at area Lowe’s and Giant Eagle stores, then sold the merchandise. Cornelius P. Tucker, 33, of the city’s Hill District neighborhood, assumed the identities of...
Police: Jeannette woman tried to hit trooper with her Jeep after fleeing traffic stop, kept going
A Jeannette woman was charged with a dozen counts of aggravated assault after state police said she fled a traffic stop, tried to drive into an officer and had to be forcibly removed from her vehicle. Amanda L. Nelson, 36, of Altman Road faces nearly 30 charges in connection with...
Pittsburgh boxer tests undefeated record during all-female ‘Taylor vs. Serrano 3’ fights on Netflix
Pittsburgh boxer Mary Casamassa is still trying to fully absorb the notion that her next fight will not just take place at the legendary Madison Square Garden, but will also go out live to the world on Netflix. “I don’t know if it’s entirely sunk in yet, to be honest,”...
Export fire department working with borough to explore funding for new station
Export firefighters are hoping to find a new home in the near future, and while borough officials are happy to support them in pursuit of a state grant to help fund it, they want to know exactly what that support entails. Council was asked to serve as a sponsor to...
Murrysville church restores 1930s painting for 205th anniversary
Painters dab a variety of materials onto their canvases. Oil paint. Pastel paint. Watercolor paint. But milk paint? “The materials relate directly to the time period,” said Michael Belman, referring to a 1930s-era painting at Emmanuel Reformed Church of the United Church of Christ in Murrysville, which he recently finished...
Annual butterfly count will take place in Monroeville
There are more than 120 species of butterflies in Western Pennsylvania, and the North American Butterfly Association wants residents to keep an eye out for all of them at the 25th annual North American Butterfly Count, which takes place Saturday, July 12, in Monroeville. But many common species are far...
Murrysville area: Nature hikes, car show and more
Email news briefs and event listings to pvarine@triblive.com. Conservancy hikes The Westmoreland Conservancy will host the following upcoming hikes: • July 12: “Enchanted Evening” firefly walk, 8:30 p.m. leaving from the Universal Pedestrian Trailhead at the Morosini Reserve, on Morosini Farm Road in Murrysville. • July 13: “Walk Through the...
Monroeville area: Day of Giving, Dinosaur Adventure, food distributions, more
Email news briefs and event listings to pvarine@triblive.com or bkikel@triblive.com. Day of Giving The Pittsburgh Foundation will host a Day of Giving event for the Garden City Food Pantry in Monroeville. Online donations will be accepted at PittsburghGives.org from 8 a.m. to midnight Aug. 5. All donations of $25 and...
U.S. Marshals take parole violator into custody in Jeannette
U.S. marshals were joined by Jeannette and state police Wednesday evening in arresting a man who had violated his parole, federal officials said. City and state police were called to assist U.S. marshals shortly after 6 p.m. during a brief standoff at a home near the intersection of Penn Avenue...
Under Walmart ownership, Monroeville Mall eyes transformation
As Pittsburgh Mills’ parking lot continues to crater and its owner looks to unload a property that shows the challenge facing malls, a once-vibrant part of American commercialism that has faded, its neighbor to the south — Monroeville Mall — remains on a path toward redevelopment. Monroeville Mayor Nick Gresock...
Police: Security video shows Monessen man kicking, choking and dragging dogs around yard
A Monessen man and woman are in jail after police received more than 50 videos from a neighbor, many of which show the man kicking, choking, dragging and throwing his dogs around the yard as they yelp and scream in pain, according to police. Douglas J. White, 27, and Mackinzie...
East Suburban Artists League marks 60th anniversary
The first East Suburban Artists League show took place in 1965, in an empty storeroom next to the old Murrysville A&P store. Local developer Orin Sampson donated the storeroom and some 4-by-8-foot boards to display paintings. With the first ESAL show taking place on a freezing cold weekend in late...
Dog tag flag memorial will be on display in early July at Flight 93 park
Patriot Park, at the northern boundary of the Flight 93 National Memorial in Somerset County, will host a veterans memorial exhibit featuring an American flag created from more than 7,000 military dog tags and 50 gold stars. The Veterans and Athletes United Fallen Heroes Global War on Terror Memorial Flag...
Murrysville area: Mary Todd Lincoln presentation, etiquette speaker and more
Mary Todd Lincoln presentation The Delmont Historical Preservation Society will host a July 12 presentation on the life of Mary Todd Lincoln, wife of President Abraham Lincoln. JoAnn Peterson will present a first-person historical performance at noon in the Delmont Presbyterian Church’s Carson Hall, 101 Church St. in Delmont. There...
Monroeville area: Park block parties, free food distribution, more
Block parties Monroeville’s Recreation & Parks Department will host block parties this summer where residents can relax, enjoy food and talk with their local officials. They will take place July 17 at Overlook Park, 522 Thomas St., with Ward 1 Councilman Joe Hyzy, and Aug. 12 at Monroeville Community Park...
Monroeville updates convention center, prepares for summer road program
Monroeville officials are updating the Monroeville Convention Center, after purchasing it in 2024, and most of the work is being paid for with grant funding. “We recently installed five new rooftop air conditioning units for about $485,000, and that’s the only thing we’ve paid for as far as improvements,” Councilman...
Local veterans inducted into Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund’s ‘In Memory’ program
Several local veterans were inducted into the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund’s “In Memory” program during a mid-June ceremony in Virginia. Thirty soldiers from Pennsylvania were part of a group of 770 inducted during a ceremony held June 14 at the George Washington Masonic National Memorial in Alexandria, Va. The ceremony...
Norwin School Board members critical of removal of archived YouTube videos
A Norwin School Board member and several residents are questioning the removal of archived school board meeting videos from the district’s official YouTube page. Administrators were not able to provide a specific reason at this week’s school board meeting why several livestreamed recordings of 2024 school board meetings — and...
Norwin approves tax hike and $39.5 million bond issue for high school projects
Norwin School District property owners will see a 4.67-mill tax hike for the 2025-26 school year, following a 5-4 school board vote Monday night to approve the budget. The budget projects expenditures at $95.48 million, but anticipates revenue received at only $93.35 million. The tax hike is the maximum allowed...
Power restored to Scottdale, East Huntingdon, Monessen residents
With power out Monday in the Scottdale, East Huntingdon and Monessen areas, local emergency management coordinators opened up cooling centers. West Penn Power had reported more than 3,000 customers without power in Scottdale and the surrounding area, and more than 900 without power in Monessen as of 8:30 p.m. Monday...
18-year-old dies from wounds in Crafton Heights shooting
A 18-year-old man has died following a shooting Monday afternoon in the Crafton Heights neighborhood in Pittsburgh. The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office identified the man as Isiah Brewer. Police were called to the intersection of Middletown Road and Runnymede Street just before 3:45 p.m., according to city public safety...

