Patrick Varine stories, Page 36
Squirrel Hill man charged with setting fires at Monroeville church, former Wilkins restaurant, connected to 4 others
A Pittsburgh man has been charged with setting a series of fires across Allegheny County over the past three days, including fires that badly damaged a Monroeville church and a former Wilkins restaurant. David Harknett, 41, of the city’s Squirrel Hill neighborhood, was charged with aggravated arson, criminal mischief, receiving...
Mt. Pleasant manufacturer’s apprentices keep winning manufacturing competition
Jacob Koelsch knows his way around a machining blueprint. The 23-year-old North Huntingdon native is a fourth-year apprentice at Penn State Tool & Die, and for the second consecutive year, Koelsch has taken the top spot in the MSC Industrial Supply & National Tooling & Machining Association Pittsburgh Chapter’s annual...
Pitcairn man performs restoration, replacement work on Civil War headstones
As Thomas Daugherty’s headstone is lifted out of the earth at the Cross Roads Cemetery in Monroeville, its size comes as a bit of a surprise. While the visible portion is perhaps 2 feet high, the stone itself is at least another 3 feet in length underground. Daugherty was a...
Pickin’ in the park: Murrysville kicks off ‘Tuesdays at Townsend’ concert series
Pittsburgh-area bluegrass group Moose Lodge Revival kicked off the 2024 “Tuesdays at Townsend” live music series hosted by the Murrysville Recreation Department last week at Townsend Park. The free concert series, sponsored by 1st Summit Bank, Westmoreland County Arts and YTS Wealth Management, will continue with the following bands, food...
Murrysville artist’s augmented-reality app earns top prize at L.A. film festivalVideo
Murrysville artist Christopher Ruane enjoyed the chance to show his augmented-reality app and videos to family and friends. But it’s one thing to show it off at a community festival. It’s quite another to see it take the grand prize at a Los Angeles film festival where the judges are...
Murrysville council deadlocks on ‘luxury lots’ subdivision near community park
Murrysville council members could not agree whether to approve an upscale 24-lot subdivision off Wiestertown Road, prompting a tie vote that will see the development proposal come back before council. Developer Paul Fischione was seeking approval for a luxury housing plan just south of Wiestertown and Hilty roads, with an...
Murrysville will return $623K, put amphitheater project on hold
When the state gives you $623,000, they want to see it put to good use. But after the cost for a proposed amphitheater project at Murrysville Community Park started ballooning in the wake of the covid-19 pandemic, municipal officials opted to take a step back. On Wednesday, they opted to...
1 dead in Downtown shooting near UPMC Mercy
Pittsburgh police are investigating a fatal shooting that took place Sunday morning in Downtown. Police responded to a ShotSpotter alert for three shots fired at 11:15 a.m. in the area of Fifth Avenue and Vine Street near UPMC Mercy Hospital, where they found a man with a shotgun wound to...
Downtown Greensburg Project, Westmoreland art museum host vintage marketVideo
From milk glass and wicker patio furniture to retro Steelers shirts, cutoff jean shorts and a cardboard box loaded with old vinyl records, there was no end to the variety on display Sunday during the Downtown Greensburg Project’s Vintage Market, held at the Westmoreland Museum of Art parking lot. This...
Mt. Pleasant man killed in apartment fire
A Mt. Pleasant man died after a kitchen fire trapped him in his apartment, according the Westmoreland County coroner. Emergency crews were called to the 200 block of West Smithfield Street in Mt. Pleasant at 11:45 p.m. Saturday when a neighbor reported smoke from next door. Westmoreland County Coroner Tim...
Amazon advertises ‘fulfillment center’ jobs at New Stanton location
While Amazon officials have not officially announced what a $120 million facility in New Stanton will be used for, the company’s website is soliciting job applications for “fulfillment center warehouse associate” positions in New Stanton. Amazon has a fulfillment center and robotic sorting facility west of Pittsburgh in Findlay. When...
Cross-country Model T drivers deal with a breakdown
When you’re driving a century-old car, engine trouble is not what you want. Mike Vaughn of Lincoln, Neb., and two other volunteers from Nebraska’s Museum of American Speed pulled into their planned stop in Greensburg and noticed their 1924 Model T Ford was making an odd sound. That led to...
Bantam Jeep Festival rumbles into Butler County
A couple years ago, Theresa Putnam began to notice a new phenomenon at the annual Bantam Jeep Festival near Slippery Rock — someone was leaving little rubber ducks on Jeeps. “We started talking to people, and we found out it meant we’d been ‘ducked,’ ” said Putnam, a Dayton, Ohio,...
International Day Parade kicks off Saturday in the Hill District, Market Square
The second annual International Day Parade and Festival will kick off Saturday with a parade in Pittsburgh’s Hill District. The parade began at noon, leaving fron Centre Avenue at Crawford Street, across from Freedom Corner in the Hill District. It will continue down Centre and Fifth avenues to Market Square....
Greensburg grocery store murals incorporate the community
Tom Charley knew he wanted to add a splash of color to the Charley Family Shop’n Save stores in Greensburg. About 7,000 square feet of color, as it turns out. That’s where Greensburg artist Daisher Rocket came in, creating a 4,600 square-foot mural on several walls of the East Pittsburgh...
Monroeville will use state grant to add police vehicle protection
Two Monroeville Police officers have been injured in shooting incidents in recent months, and state grant funding will help increase their protection while inside their cruisers. In November 2023, Bruce Alvarado, 38, of Clairton, was arrested after firing multiple shots at a marked Monroeville police car, striking the officer in...
Monroeville area: Bridge closure, election integrity speaker, history speaker series, more
Email news briefs and event listings to pvarine@triblive.com or bpoole@triblive.com. Bridge closure The Monroeville Mall bridge over Route 22 will be closed through mid-August for deck replacement work, PennDOT officials said. Westbound Route 22 traffic will detour by turning left onto Mall Boulevard and right onto Mall Circle to Don...
Mystery Lovers Bookshop in Oakmont to host Washington County crime novelist
As a fourth-generation resident of Washington County’s Smith Township, author Annette Dashofy has spent her whole life in Southwestern Pennsylvania. It should come as no surprise, then, that the region’s rolling hills and bucolic countryside have served as the setting for many of her books. The latest, “What Comes Around,”...
Export officials on board with $5M-$10M Turtle Creek remediation project
Export officials voted unanimously Tuesday to grant a conservation easement to their neighbors in Murrysville, for the use of borough-owned property as part of a large-scale acid mine remediation project in the Turtle Creek watershed. Murrysville and Export are home to two of the largest mine-water sources in the Turtle...
Fire levels McKeesport house
A Grover Street house in McKeeport was burned to the ground by a fast-moving fire on Tuesday evening. Fire crews were called to the 2700 block of Grover Street just before 7 p.m., according to an Allegheny County 911 supervisor. McKeesport firefighters said no one was injured....
Bridge rehab work set to start on Parkway East between Monroeville and Churchill
UPDATE (10:15 a.m. Saturday): PennDOT officials announced Saturday morning that this weekend’s work has been completed ahead of schedule, and the Parkway East has fully reopened to traffic in the work zone. Work on a nearly 5-mile stretch of the Parkway East will mean reducing highway traffic to a single...
Reach Cyber graduates 1st students from its carpentry program
Simeon Chappell spent a lot of time in his childhood being handy around the house. “If my dad was fixing something, I’d try and help, or I’d take measurements for him to cut wood,” said Chappell, 19, of Ligonier Township. As the years progressed, Chappell’s interest in woodwork led him...
Monroeville area: Mall bridge closure, Revolutionary War service, summer concerts and more
Email news briefs and event listings to pvarine@triblive.com or bpoole@triblive.com. Bridge closure The Monroeville Mall Bridge over Route 22 will be fully closed through mid-August, PennDOT officials said. The bridge, between Route 22 and Don Drive, is being closed for deck replacement work. Westbound Route 22 traffic will detour by...
Copperheads, timber rattlers and the rare Eastern massasauga among Pa.’s venomous snakes
Summer is rapidly approaching, and, for a lot of people, that means getting into the great outdoors — whether it’s spending a few days camping, hiking a favorite trail or just getting out and enjoying a wooded park. Pennsylvania’s snake population also is enjoying the nice weather, and that can...
School Road near Sardis will close until August for culvert work
School Road will close for most of the summer beginning Monday, according to Murrysville police. The road will close between Sardis Road and Mill Stream Court as construction crews work on the culvert which carries Haymakers Run underneath School Road, near the Sardis Road intersection. The project is expected to...
