Patrick Varine stories, Page 141
Delmont hikes sewage rates by $6.50 per month
Delmont Council voted to raise its portion of monthly sewage rates by $6.50 as the borough implements one state consent order while continuing to negotiate another. Council voted 7-0 on Tuesday to institute the rate hike, which brings the borough’s portion of sewage revenue to $35 per month, per household....
Franklin Regional board opts not to add ‘sunset clause’ for Sloan bond payments
Franklin Regional school board director Ed Mittereder compares the district’s construction-related bond debt to a series of car payments. “We all look forward to the day when we pull that last coupon and make that last payment,” Mittereder said. “That sigh of relief comes the following month, when the money...
Duquesne streaming ‘A Little Friday Night Music’ series featuring alumni, facultyVideo
Duquesne University’s Mary Pappert School of Music may not be open to students at the moment, but school officials are making sure both students and the public have access to the music created by those who’ve passed through its halls. On Friday nights the past few weeks — Good Friday...
Franklin Regional board votes to restart Sloan construction project
The Franklin Regional School District will restart the Sloan “elementary campus” project later this month despite concerns by four of its nine school board members. “There’s really no certainty when a good time to move forward is,” said board member Gary English. “I think we should err on the side...
Delmont will hold April council meeting with arrangements for online access
Delmont council will hold its monthly meeting at 6:45 p.m. Tuesday at the borough building, and while the public is permitted to attend to the extent that social distancing is still possible, the borough has provided links and contacts to either view or listen to the meeting. Members of the...
Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald calls for primary election to be conducted by mail
Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald on Monday called for the June 2 primary election to be conducted completely by mail because of concerns about the coronavirus outbreak. “Holding an in-person election in the midst of the covid-19 pandemic would be, in and of itself, a disaster,” said Fitzgerald, who called...
TribLive Taste Test: Old-Timey CandyVideo
Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups? Chocolate bunnies? Cadbury Creme Eggs? Nope. As everyone digs back into the Easter baskets today, the TribLive Taste Test Team (Social Distancing Edition) decided to see what a first-grader thinks about candy that’s more likely to have shown up in his great-grandmother’s Easter basket. From French...
Murrysville chiropractor looks into ways small businesses can cross-promote each other
Mandy Zimmerman of Murrysville has closed her business, Sports Performance and Spine, amid the coronavirus epidemic. That’s left her with plenty of time to think about ways struggling small-business owners can help support one another, as well as generate customers. “I went to the Olive Merchant store and bought a...
‘Penn State Presents’ airs nightly livestream featuring alumni, students
John Simpkins, head of musical theater at Penn State University, was not happy at having to cancel the performances theater students would have put on this spring due to the coronavirus pandemic. In an effort to continue bringing Nittany Lion students’ talents to the public, Simpkins is hosting “Penn State...
From Science Bowl to stay-at-home: Murrysville brothers adjusting to life amid pandemicVideo
Six weeks ago, Urvish Jain and his high-school teammates were earning a third-place finish at the National Science Bowl’s regional competition in West Mifflin, and his brother, Bhav, was kicking into high gear during his first spring semester at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston. Now, the Murrysville brothers...
Franklin Regional senior earns 4 digital media awardsVideo
When Ryan Lucht and fellow Franklin Regional media student Tim Quinn made a short horror film, they never expected that it would lead to meeting horror industry icons such as Tom Savini and Greg Nicotero. Then again, given the success that the school’s media students have had in recent years...
Dairy industry group working to stop purchase limits on milk
If your local grocery store still has a limit on how much milk a customer can buy, the state’s Department of Agriculture wants to know about it. Despite the covid-19 pandemic disrupting the local dairy supply chain, agriculture officials announced the American Dairy Association North East is working to stop...
Sen. Bob Casey, Excela doctor urge caution when it comes to reopening businesses
U.S. Sen. Bob Casey Jr. and Excela Health’s chief medical officer urged the public to be patient and consider “the greater good” when it comes to reopening businesses amid the coronavirus pandemic. “In order to preserve public health and to prevent the spread of a disease for which there’s no...
TribLive Taste Test: Dalgona whipped coffeeVideo
On today’s TribLive Taste Test (Special Social Distancing Edition!), we try out the latest viral drink craze: Dalgona coffee, or whipped instant coffee. “Dalgona” refers to a type of South Korean toffee candy. The coffee is so named because once it is whipped, it has a similar appearance to the...
Franklin Regional art students send portraits overseas to Malaysia
Members of Franklin Regional’s National Art Honor Society may be stuck at home amid the coronavirus pandemic, but their artwork continues to make a difference in the lives of others. Most recently, it made a difference by way of the Memory Project, which promotes intercultural awareness and friendship through art....
2nd covid-19 case confirmed at Presbyterian SeniorCare facility in Washington County
A resident at a Presbyterian SeniorCare Network community in Washington has tested positive for covid-19, the second confirmed case at the Washington County facility. SeniorCare officials made the announcement in a news release Wednesday night. “Although we did not have any residents who had exhibited any covid-19 related symptoms, we...
Frazer man seeking Libertarian nomination for presidentVideo
Sam Robb is only half-joking when he says he’s running for president of the United States because he was left at home unsupervised. “My wife was out of town, and I’d been joking on and off about running for years,” said Robb, 51, of Frazer, who is seeking the Libertarian...
Franklin Regional free meal service open to all students
Franklin Regional students do not need to be signed up for the school district’s free and reduced lunch program to receive free meals, officials said. As of Monday, the district has waiver approvals from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to provide free meals to all children. In cooperation with its...
Franklin Regional will combine committee-of-the-whole, voting meetings in April
The Franklin Regional School Board will hold both of its monthly meetings on the same night, April 13. The board’s committee-of-the-whole meeting will be followed by its monthly voting meeting. As with the most-recent meeting, deliberation and voting will be livestreamed through the district’s YouTube page, Youtube.com/user/FranklinRegionalSD. A link to...
Comic explores cybersecurity issues in health care industry
In the field of cybersecurity, words like “infected” and “virus” are typically references to one of the ways computer hackers worm their way into a company’s technology and exploit it. Amid the coronavirus pandemic, that vernacular has taken on a double meaning, as a wide variety of health care services...
Murrysville doula authors children’s book on milk bank donationVideo
Jan Mallak was nearly two decades into her career as the director for Hearts and Hands Doula in Murrysville when one of the mothers she’d worked with called and issued a challenge. “She decided to take on the task of creating a milk bank in Western Pennsylvania,” said Mallak, 67,...
Employee at Murrysville Giant Eagle tests positive for covid-19
An employee at the Giant Eagle in Murrysville has tested positive for covid-19, store officials reported Thursday night. The regional chain has sought to keep customers informed by keeping a list of stores where employees have tested positive for the virus, and when that employee was last in the store....
State police: Convenience store, restaurant, bar customers can’t stick around to play video games
The state police don’t want bar patrons playing video gambling machines under normal conditions, let alone during the coronavirus pandemic. State police have received “an influx of public inquiries related to liquor licensees allowing patrons to remain in their establishments to operate video gambling devices, sometimes marketed as ‘games of...
Juniper Village at Forest Hills senior community to begin proactive coronavirus testing
Juniper Communities, a senior housing company with sites in Forest Hills, Meadville, State College and eastern Pennsylvania, will begin taking a proactive approach to the coronavirus pandemic by testing residents and staff. “Senior living communities are the first line of defense for 3 million citizens most at risk for complications...
Allegheny County court judicial emergency extended to May 8
The judicial emergency declared in March by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court will now be extended through May 8 in Allegheny County, according to an order issued Thursday by county President Judge Kim Berkeley Clark. Clark’s order follows an extension of the statewide judicial emergency through April 30, ordered Wednesday by...
