Western PA Local News category, Page 1766
The Stroller, Nov. 14, 2021: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
Publicize your club meetings, community events and fundraisers for free in The Stroller. Send information at least a week in advance to vndnews@triblive.com. Please include a daytime telephone number. Freeport Area High school set to perform, ‘Pippin’ Freeport Area High School will present the musical, “Pippin,” at 2 and 7...
DA-elect Nicole Ziccarelli burst onto scene, but her rise should not come as a surprise
In the anxious days after the November 2020 election, Nicole Ziccarelli knew she had the votes to head to the state Senate to represent her adopted home in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the Mon Valley community where she grew up. But after a few tumultuous weeks of vote counting and...
New Ligonier bottle shop specializes in area winery, distillery brands
A lot of ideas get tossed around over a few drinks, but most of them don’t survive until the light of day. One that did resulted in Wandering Spirits, a boutique bottle shop that opened Oct. 8 in Ligonier. Owners are Emily and Ty Honhart, who live in nearby Laurel...
Giving new life to old furniture, On the Edge opens in Tarentum
Upscale furniture on a shoestring budget is the motto of Tarentum’s new custom furniture store, On the Edge. “No matter who you are or what your background is, you can walk in and afford one of my pieces,” owner Tim Emery said. “My furniture is cool and edgy and for...
Pennsylvania will fully ban sale of Japanese barberry by fall 2023
State agriculture officials have had it with Japanese barberry. After considering it previously in 2018, Pennsylvania officials have added the invasive shrub to their list of noxious weeds, and merchants will not be permitted to sell it by the fall of 2023. The shrub is popular with landscapers. Unfortunately, it...
Eastern area real estate transactions for the week of Nov. 14, 2021
Monroeville Maplecrest LLC sold property at 112 Armour Drive to NVR Inc. for $83,300. James Cole sold property at 228 Brinton St. to Mary Rita Craddock for $89,000. Nianzu Liang sold property at 232 Clover Drive to Mark Noel and Julie Luu for $200,000. David Cawley sold property at 764...
Lack of local police a surprise to some in Freeport
The news of no local police protection came as a surprise Saturday to many Freeport businesses. The borough hasn’t had a police officer on duty since Nov. 3, when the newly hired police chief quit at the end of his first shift. “I’m shocked,” Fifth Street Bistro owner Jess Stobert...
Tax forecast for 2022-23 in the Freeport Area School District: Up in Buffalo Township, down in Freeport and South Buffalo
Buffalo Township real estate owners in the Freeport Area School District might be facing a hefty tax increase for the 2022-23 school year. Brad Walker, Freeport Area’s business manager, said real estate owners in Buffalo Township, the district’s lone Butler County community, could be looking at as much as a...
Veterans Day ceremonies: A tradition so that others do not forget
On a blustery Saturday morning, a group of some 25 veterans, family and friends paid their respects and remembered their comrades at honors rolls and cemeteries in Delmont, Export and Murrysville. To Army veteran Jerry Deible, 72, of Murrysville, who fought in the Vietnam War, “If we don’t do this,”...
Toys for Tots rail car caravan collects gifts to spread holiday joy
The Marine Corps Reserve’s annual Toys for Tots mini rail car caravan Saturday traveled through several communities in central and southern Westmoreland County and into Fayette County, collecting Christmas gifts and donations to make the upcoming holiday a bit brighter for children in need. “What a special meaning, to share...
Small crowd, big effort for Salvation Army Red Kettle Race in Brackenridge
Participants of the third annual Salvation Army Red Kettle Race in Brackenridge didn’t appear to mind that the temperatures only crept into the mid-30s on Saturday morning. “It’s not something you really want to get out of bed for on an early winter morning, but it’s a great cause,” said...
Jeannette’s employees may get $500 pandemic bonus
Full-time Jeannette employees are eligible to get a $500 bonus for working through the coronavirus pandemic. Council approved the measure this week in what Mayor Curtis Antoniak said was an effort to show workers they are appreciated. They deserve it, he said. “We have outstanding employees that worked through this,”...
Carnegie Mellon University trustee who traveled to space killed in New Jersey plane crash
A Carnegie Mellon University trustee who had realized his lifelong dream of becoming an astronaut when he piloted the New Shepard Spacecraft with actor William Shatner last month, died in a private plane crash Thursday in New Jersey. Glen de Vries, 49, a 1994 Carnegie Mellon science graduate who co-founded...
Freeport has no cops after chief quits at end of 1st shift; state police covering borough
Freeport hasn’t had a police officer on duty since Nov. 3, when the newly hired police chief quit at the end of his first shift. With no officers left on the force, state police are handling calls in the 1.3-square-mile borough of about 1,700 residents, officials said. Retired Plum police...
5 Questions with incoming bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh
Ketlen Solak can remember a time when others were taken aback by her telling them she would one day like to lead the Episcopal Church. But on Saturday, Solak’s wish will be fulfilled when she succeeds Bishop Dorsey McConnell at a consecration ceremony making her the ninth bishop of the...
Determined Highlands kindergartner says, ‘They cut off my foot. And I’m getting a new one!’
Highlands kindergartner Annabel Grant isn’t shy when classmates ask why she uses a wheelchair. “They cut off my foot,” the 5-year-old says bluntly. “And I’m getting a new one!” Born with fibular hemimelia — the absence of a fibula bone — in her lower right leg, Annabel doesn’t appear to...
Makerspace aims to help young people with mental health challenges at facility on Pittsburgh’s South Side
Noelle Conover said she worries that all too often, children who suffer from serious mental health problems and the facilities helping them don’t get as much attention, funding and resources as young people with other types of more visible ailments. She recalls the many resources made available to her and...
The Stroller, Nov. 13, 2021: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
Publicize your club meetings, community events and fundraisers for free in The Stroller. Send information at least a week in advance to vndnews@triblive.com. Please include a daytime telephone number. Toys for Tots sign-ups scheduled Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots served by the Allegheny Valley Detachment will have sign-ups online...
Missing Westmoreland County teen found to be safe, state police say
State police say a missing 13-year-old girl who had been last seen in Derry Borough has been found. Serenity Adams, 13, had been reported missing on Wednesday evening....
Protesters block Grant Street, demand prosecution in Jim Rogers’ death
A group of protesters carrying a banner advocating “People’s Justice for Jim Rogers” demonstrated on the steps of the City-County Building in Downtown Pittsburgh and blocked Grant Street on Friday night. Rogers died Oct. 14, about 24 hours after being struck with a Taser deployed by a Pittsburgh police officer,...
Pa. lawmakers look to expand parole eligibility for aging, sick inmatesVideo
Avis Lee, convicted of second-degree murder for serving as the lookout in a robbery-turned-fatal shooting, served 40 years, six months and 12 days in prison. In February, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf commuted her sentence of life without the possibility of parole to life with parole. She was released from prison...
Former Saint Vincent College president who handled school’s coed transition dies
Much like the early church fathers, the Rev. Augustine Flood, OSB, traversed the world. During a life in the priesthood that spanned half a century, he served as a parish priest, missionary, theology professor and president of Saint Vincent College. The priest, affectionately known as “Father Gus,” studied in Italy,...
North Huntingdon mom opposes sentence in Westmoreland child corruption plea
The mother of a North Huntingdon girl who was sent sexually explicit photographs told a Westmoreland County judge she didn’t approve of the five-year probation sentence imposed. Tyler James Heck, 20, of Danville, Perry County, pleaded guilty to one felony charge of corruption of minors in a deal approved by...
State recount forces Westmoreland commissioners to relocate public meetings
Westmoreland commissioners are likely to relocate two scheduled public meetings next week to accommodate a state-ordered recount in the race to fill one of two seats on the state’s Commonwealth Court. Democrat Lori Dumas held a small lead over Republican Drew Crompton, by just 16,804 votes as of earlier this...
Officials break ground for Laurel Valley Transportation Improvement Project in Norvelt
Decades of planning for an upgrade of the Route 981 corridor south of Route 30 bore fruit Friday as PennDOT officials and local leaders kicked off the first phase of the Laurel Valley Transportation Improvement Project. Dignitaries took part in a ceremonial groundbreaking at the Little League field in the...
