Western PA Local News category, Page 1528
North Allegheny School District’s proposed final budget includes tax increase
A tax increase for North Allegheny School District may be coming for the 2022-2023 school year if the proposed final budget is approved as is in June. The school board voted, 5 to 4, at its May 11 meeting, to approve the proposed final budget with a millage rate increase...
Plum principal swaps ‘interim’ for official title
Since November, the principal of Plum’s Pivik Elementary School had been working with “interim” as part of his title. With the school board’s approval, Michael Gauntner now is the lead administrator minus the temporary connotation. “Really, I didn’t really think about that. The title doesn’t mean anything. It’s just having...
Comcast awards $1 million in grants for small Pittsburgh businesses
Pittsburgh small businesses owned by women and people of color, including Black, Indigenous, Hispanic and Asian Americans, will be on the receiving end of $1 million in grants from Comcast as part of its RISE Investment Fund. RISE stands for “Representation, Investment, Strength and Empowerment.” Comcast says it was formed...
Newly elected state Rep. Martell Covington faces primary challenge from 2 Dems
Just weeks after a special election determined who would finish out newly elected Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey’s term in the state House, three Democrats are running to win a full, four-year term in the seat starting early next year. Democrat Martell Covington, a former legislative aide to state Sen. Jay...
Done dill: Picklesburgh festival returns for another year
It’s a sign of the season: Picklesburgh. The Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership on Thursday announced the pickle-themed festival will be back for another year. PDP officials noted that they are still working with the city to “finalize a new footprint,” which likely means the event will be even larger than in...
Police: 2 Allegheny Valley Hospital patients attacked medical staff, hospital police
Two people who were patients at Allegheny Valley Hospital face multiple felony charges after police charged them with attacking medical staff during separate incidents. Lea Ashley Slusar, 28, of the 1400 block of Fifth Avenue in Arnold, was charged May 6 by Highmark Health Police with three felony counts of...
Richland man tells cops he stole car to deliver food
A Richland man accused of stealing a car told police that he took the vehicle so he could earn some money delivering food for restaurants. Robert Proehl, 38, of the 100 block of Chowning Court, was charged by Northern Regional Police with felony counts of theft and receiving stolen property....
Job fair set Wednesday for positions at Rivers Casino Pittsburgh’s new hotel
Rivers Casino Pittsburgh plans a job fair next week in preparation for the summer opening of The Landing Hotel. Scheduled from noon to 8 p.m. Wednesday, the job fair looks to fill both full-time and part-time positions. Candidates could receive an offer the same day. “We’re in search of eager,...
Pittsburgh Controller’s Office releases audit in response to tax collection delays
An audit of Pittsburgh’s Real Estate Division released Wednesday said the division should encourage taxpayers to make virtual payments, while City Council should do a better job of considering how new tax laws will be implemented. The Pittsburgh City Controller’s Office audited the Department of Finance’s Real Estate Division in...
Disc golf fundraiser to benefit Alzheimer’s Association at Deer Lakes Park
A Penn Hills woman is working to honor her late mother and raise awareness of Alzheimer’s disease, an illness she said is widely misunderstood. “It’s not an old person’s thing,” Amy Davidson said. “My mother passed away at 69, but she battled it for more than 10 years.” Davidson will...
Free smoke alarms available to New Kensington residents from Red Cross program
A smoke alarm might have saved a New Kensington home Wednesday morning, fire Chief Ed Saliba Jr. said. Something caught fire on a couple’s stovetop about 8:30 a.m. on Beamer Avenue. The wife was at work. The husband was outside working in the yard but heard a smoke detector go...
Lawrence County homicide suspect arrested after Route 28 police chase
State police arrested a New Castle man they say was wanted in connection with a homicide after an early-morning chase along Route 28 in Frazer, officials said. Shane McDevitt, 36, was taken into custody Wednesday after the high-speed police pursuit on Route 28 that ended when the Nissan Sentra he...
Woman accused of faking $12,300 application for Westmoreland rental assistance
An Allegheny County woman is accused of taking $12,300 from Westmoreland County’s emergency rental assistance program after, authorities said, she forged an application for a vacant New Kensington property, according to court papers. Melissa D. Brandt, 36, of Franklin Park is charged with theft, forgery, identity theft and receiving stolen...
Animal Friends of Westmoreland has new name, but its mission is the same
The sign on the door has changed, but the mission remains the same. Animal Friends of Westmoreland, a Youngwood-based, no-kill animal adoption and sanctuary organization, is now called Heal Animal Rescue. The name change had been under discussion for several years for several reasons, according to executive director Kelli Brisbane....
Westmoreland to study county’s broadband needs
Westmoreland commissioners are expected to pay a consulting firm more than $659,000 this year to study how to improve high-speed internet access. Michael Baker International will conduct the study to assess the needs and create a blueprint of how to implement a plan to upgrade the infrastructure needed to improve...
Arnold Palmer airport expansion plans unveiled
The Westmoreland County Airport Authority on Tuesday got its first formal views of the proposed expansion of the Arnold Palmer Regional Airport terminal in Unity that would double its size to about 90,000 square feet. “It really looks impressive,” authority Chairman Janice Smarto told Ethan J. Hine of KTH Architects...
Internet access funds could boost connections for low-income families
Mandy Zalich knows just how important internet service has become in Westmoreland County. For many low-income residents, the rising costs of the service has left them more than just disconnected. This week’s announcement from the Biden administration of a plan to provide $30 monthly subsidies for high-speed internet access is...
‘Flame of Hope’ passes through Murrysville en route to Special Olympics
Law enforcement officers took to Route 22 on Wednesday morning, not looking for speeders but to carry a torch representing the Special Olympics. The Flame of Hope moved through Murrysville in advance of the Pennsylvania Summer Games at Penn State University starting June 2. Murrysville officers, who have been participating...
Low number of Shaler residents took survey on Jeffrey Primary School property
A survey looking for input on what to do with the former Jeffrey Primary School revealed that more than half of Shaler residents who responded do not want to pay to construct or sustain a community center. However, only around 5.5 % of Shaler residents took the survey – 1,536...
Police: Man walks into Homewood firehouse with stab wound
A man who had been stabbed walked into the Pittsburgh Bureau of Fire’s Station 17 in Homewood with a stab wound on Thursday morning, police said. Police said the man told them that another person stabbed him while they were sitting in a van in Homewood. Pittsburgh Public Safety Spokeswoman...
New Kensington-Arnold considering borrowing $5M for building work
The New Kensington-Arnold School Board is considering another multimillion-dollar bond issue for work on the district’s schools. The board is entertaining borrowing $5 million. That money would be added to $8 million in federal covid relief funds to pay for the work. Superintendent Chris Sefcheck said the money would be used...
Westmoreland gets grant to buy mobile 911 dispatch units
Five mobile consoles will be purchased this year to serve as a temporary backup system for Westmoreland County 911 emergency dispatch operations, officials said. A $529,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Justice will pay for the mobile units that will be like the hardware used by dispatchers at the...
Gilpin supervisors give residents glimpse of potential police merger with Freeport
Gilpin supervisors gave a presentation showing what a regional police force would look like with Gilpin and Freeport combined. The presentation Tuesday evening was led by Chris Fabec, who serves as police chief for both municipalities. Fabec said a survey was sent out to Gilpin officers to get an idea...
The Stroller, May 12, 2022: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
Publicize your community events, fundraisers and club meetings for free in The Stroller. Send information at least a week in advance to vndnews@triblive.com. Please include a daytime telephone number. Bingo fundraiser to benefit Lower Valley food bank Lower Valley Community Food Bank will host a spring fling bingo at 7...
East Millsboro man dies after crash in Redstone Township
A 26-year-old man died in a single-vehicle crash early Thursday morning in Redstone Township, according to Pennsylvania State Police. William J. Vernon, of East Millsboro died after his 1991 Ford Ranger crashed into a home at the intersection of Pennsylvania Avenue and Stone Church Road shortly before 3:50 a.m. According...
