Tawnya Panizzi stories, Page 8

Brackenridge officials will get $6 million in help from the state to address problems at the borough’s water plant flagged by the Department of Environmental Protection. The borough’s water is safe to drink, according to DEP spokesman Brandon Glass. Concerns are for the lack of automatic shut-offs for low chlorine...

Contractor Brad Rowan parked his work van overnight at Vereb Funeral Home in Harrison this week in advance of a job at the building. He never dreamed, however, that it would be vandalized in the building’s parking lot along Freeport Road. “I understand everyone is upset about the situation,” said...

A small Tarentum mini-mart which drew generations of residents for cigarettes, milk and lottery tickets, has closed its doors. Asay’s News Stand, at 328 E. Sixth Ave., was sold May 1 — just four years shy of marking 100 years in the borough. “I will miss a lot of the...

Ray Bowser still holds a grudge against PPG for closing its Creighton plant before he could reach seven decades at the glass manufacturing facility. “Don’t ever say I retired from there at 66 years and six days, because I didn’t,” said Bowser, 91. “I stayed until they closed the doors.”...

Jeanine McGuire was diagnosed at 14 with rheumatoid arthritis, something she considered to be an old person’s disease. An athlete at North Catholic High School at the time, McGuire assumed her dreams of a collegiate soccer career were dashed. “I never thought I’d get better,” said McGuire, now 37, of...

A nature-themed educational mobile will be rolling through the Alle-Kiski Valley by this time next year. Nature on Wheels, a partnership of Allegheny Land Trust and CannonDesign, is intended to meet people where they are — physically and educationally. “By bringing different interactive activities and types of programming, we hope...

Mich Ankney is excited at the prospect of grocery shopping in his Natrona neighborhood. It’s something he’s never been able to do. “We’ve had a few little candy stores that sold basics, like eggs and diapers,” said Ankney, 21. “But it was more like what they’d have at a gas...

Heavy storms that rolled through the area nearly a week ago still are impacting daily life in the Alle-Kiski Valley. Highlands High School remained closed Monday, with district officials blaming an ongoing power and internet outage. “This is all from last week’s storm,” Superintendent Monique Mawhinney said. “We are under...

Bright orange flags will be popping up on Aspinwall’s busiest streets. Funded by the advocacy group Aspinwall Neighbors, the initiative will see pedestrian flags in at least two spots along the Brilliant Avenue business corridor. “Pedestrians will be encouraged to carry a flag while crossing the street and deposit it...

Tiffany Mantzouridis had a hunch that something was off with her employer, Patrick Vereb, owner of Vereb Funeral Home and Eternity Pet Memorials. “He would throw away crematory tags and keep handwritten notes of where which pets should go, but he never could name the crematory he was using for...

ATI leaders on Thursday credited strong revenue growth to a thriving aerospace and defense industry. The specialty metals company released its first-quarter results, with sales of $1.1 billion — up 10% from the same period last year. Growth was driven by a 23% increase in aerospace and defense, officials said....

Tina Moore of Greensburg paid to have her cats — Pickle, Daisy and LaLa — cremated. She learned this week they may have been thrown into a landfill instead. “I’ve spent the past three days so angry and bitter,” Moore said. “I need to concentrate my energy on positivity rather...

A 52-page book to celebrate the Blawnox centennial might surprise readers with its eye-opening tidbits about the rivertown. The limited edition “Blawnox: 1925-2025,” authored by O’Hara historian Tom Powers, will reveal the clothing store millionaire who funded the community of Hoboken — the borough’s original name. It also will detail...

Harrison residents are under a mandatory water conservation until further notice. The township water authority issued an alert Wednesday that calls for residents to curb water use. Laundry, gardening and dish washing are not essential, they said. The mandate comes after heavy storms rolled through the region Tuesday. Large trees...

The listing agent facilitating the sale of Vereb Funeral Home in Harrison said he was unaware the owner was entangled in alleged criminal activity. Patrick Vereb, 70, of Hazelwood was charged Monday by the state Attorney General’s Office with theft of almost $660,000 after taking money for pet cremations but...

Joe and Kathy Guyaux were without health insurance when their first child was born in 1972 at Allegheny Valley Hospital in Harrison. “I paid $15 a month with no interest. I’ll always remember that,” said Joe Guyaux, a Tarentum native who now lives in Fox Chapel. “We know what it...

A prominent Freeport Road property in Harrison could see new life after sitting vacant for years. The former Grace United Methodist Church education building is at 1329 Freeport Road, across from Highlands Middle School. It was briefly on the market for $160,000 and is under contract through the Compass real...

A transitional housing facility in Brackenridge has helped more than 180 people down on their luck since opening last year. Now, Family Promise House’s parent organization, the nonprofit Allegheny Valley Association of Churches, will use newly awarded funding to try to keep people from needing to use the facility at...

Brackenridge Council has narrowed a list of streets to be paved this summer. It’s short but covers a lot of ground. This year’s road improvement project will target portions of First Avenue, Union Avenue and Prospect Street. Borough officials said they expect to approve the project to go out for...

A Tarentum church will offer a free chamber music concert Sunday to “build community” and provide arts in “our own backyard,” organizers said. Central Presbyterian Church will partner with the Academy String Quartet and special guest Linda Fisher on bassoon. The concert is at 2 p.m. “The minute you say...

Sharpsburg Neighborhood Organization wants residents to “bloom where they are planted.” Despite the borough being labeled as a food desert, officials believe healthy eating habits can form at home. Organizers will distribute free garden containers to the 40 people – first come, first served — in Sharpsburg, Etna and Millvale...

It’s not uncommon to find Christina Sharbaugh doodling with chalk on the sidewalk in front of her Aspinwall eatery, Treat Down the Street. The graduate of Georgia’s Savannah College of Art and Design hopes her passion spreads town-wide with her new initiative, the Chalk the Wall Sidewalk Arts Festival. Hosted...

No injuries were reported after a 125-year-old building partially collapsed Monday in Harrison’s Natrona neighborbood. The abandoned apartment building at 91 Oak St. started to fall just after 7 p.m. Portions of the rear roof started to cave in, along with sections of the interior. “That building has been vacant...

Four people are competing for two positions to represent Highlands School Board Region 2. Incumbent Debra Lehew will go up against newcomers Shane Chesher, Jeff Thimons and Whitney Washington in the May 20 primary. Incumbent Nicole Kocon is stepping down. Region 2 includes Brackenridge and parts of Harrison. All of...

Two men who parachuted from PPG Place may have gained access to the building with a copy of the key. Building officials believe a contractor may have made a duplicate key in March, according to TribLive news partner WTAE. The locks have since been changed and the duplicate keys have...