Western PA Local News category, Page 1778
Pittsburgh activist Nique Craft has died
Nique Craft, an activist who became a fixture at the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests in Pittsburgh, died Tuesday at home on the South Side, according to the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office. Craft was 36. Craft organized and participated in countless demonstrations in and around Downtown Pittsburgh after the...
Upper Burrell supervisors call for 20% real estate tax hike for 2022
After more than 16 years without a real estate tax increase, Upper Burrell supervisors have tentatively agreed to raise taxes by 20% next year. If the tax increase is finalized in December, the average homeowner with a property assessed at $22,000 will pay $44 more in township real estate taxes...
Export council may institute rental license fee, regular inspections
Export officials will look into an update to the way rental inspections are conducted in the borough that has the upshot of helping to plug a roughly $60,000 gap in the 2022 budget. Mayor Joe Zaccagnini asked council members to authorize solicitor Wes Long to draft an ordinance which would...
Ligonier Borough to receive award recognizing its scenic appeal
Ligonier Borough’s scenic appeals include its reconstructed 18th- century fort and its green spaces — in particular, its central Diamond Park and iconic bandstand. Because of those attractive assets, nonprofit Scenic Pittsburgh is set to present its Community Scenic Achievement Award to the borough on Saturday. The award is given...
Hempfield officials working to improve response of West Point’s volunteer firefighters
Since July 1, Hempfield’s West Point Volunteer Fire Company received 137 calls for service. It responded to 11. The station, like fire companies across the state, is struggling with low response rates and a dwindling number of volunteer firefighters. In an attempt to reverse those numbers, West Point has spent...
Murrysville council considers balanced $9.5 million budget for 2022
Murrysville Finance Director Diane Heming presented council members with a balanced $9.5 million budget for 2022 that does not call for a property tax increase, but does include revenue from hikes to both the earned income and real-estate transfer taxes. Council enacted its first tax bump since 2007 on Wednesday...
Woodland Hills students to be part of historic public library card giveaway
Woodland Hills High School and its students will be making history Friday in a very positive way. The Woodland Hills School District has partnered with the three public libraries that serve the students for the “Library Cards for All” initiative. The libraries — the Braddock Carnegie Library, the C.C. Mellor...
Elizabeth man gets probation for sabotaging rail equipment, causing ‘complete signal failure’
What William Curry Brown did could have been catastrophic. In 2017, the lifelong railroad buff sabotaged rail signals and vandalized other equipment belonging to CSX in Braddock, causing a “complete signal failure” at tracks that carried both passenger and freight trains. Investigators said the damage was caught before any trains...
Tarentum incumbents Homa, Kerr retain council seats
Tarentum residents in the 1st Ward will be represented by two familiar faces on council. Republican incumbents Lou Ann Homa and Ray Kerr were vying for two seats up for grabs, one a four-year term and the other a two-year term. Homa captured the four-year term, winning with 210 votes...
Sun shines on recess at O’Hara Elementary
A sunny, fall day on Nov. 3, 2021, makes recess all the more fun at O’Hara Elementary School in O’Hara Township....
Pittsburgh’s Roberto Clemente Drive could be renamed to also honor legend’s late wife
Pittsburgh City Council could vote as early as next week to rename Roberto Clemente Drive in Oakland as Roberto and Vera Clemente Drive to recognize the baseball legend’s wife, who died two years ago. Roberto Clemente, a beloved icon in Pittsburgh, was a Hall of Fame outfielder for the Pittsburgh...
Freeport officials hope to secure $11 million in PennVEST funds for sewer plant project
Freeport officials are seeking $11 million in Pennsylvania Investment Authority funds to help pay for a new sewage plant. Council unanimously passed a resolution to that effect Monday night. Kevin Creagh of KLH Engineers said the deadline to apply was Wednesday, and PennVEST officials may approve the request in December....
Write-in ballots may make a difference in Gilpin supervisors race
A Gilpin supervisors race may come down to write-in ballots. Unofficial returns from the Armstrong County Election Bureau indicate Republican Kevin Miller defeated Democrat Charles Minnich for a four-year seat. Miller received 279 votes to Minnich’s 213. There were 66 unresolved write-in votes as of Thursday. If all of the...
Murrysville: Egyptology program, Veterans Day activities, zoo speaker, more
Submit news briefs and event information by emailing pvarine@triblive.com. • • • Delmont ministry seeks food donations for Thanksgiving dinner Delmont-based nonprofit Seed Ministries is seeking food donations for its annual Thanksgiving dinner, held this year on Nov. 18 at Covenant Care Ministries in Southwest Greensburg. They are seeking 10-12...
Children’s vaccine appointments filling up at pharmacies, clinics in Westmoreland County
Pharmacies and health care providers around the area are gearing up to give covid-19 vaccines to their youngest patients yet — those ages 5 to 11. Excela Health has three immunization dates this month that are filling up quickly at its North Huntingdon clinic. Hayden’s Pharmacy expects to open up...
Pittsburgh City Council OKs composting pilot program
Pittsburgh City Council has authorized spending $90,000 in grant money to launch a two-year pilot program on composting. The program will focus on educating the public about composting and supporting organizations that provide composting services. It also will include efforts to incorporate composting into the city’s farmers’ markets and parks....
Norwin area: Veterans Day dinner, wreath fundraiser, more
Norwin Elks to hold Veterans Day dinner All veterans, Norwin Elks members and guest veterans will be treated to a complimentary spaghetti dinner with a salad and non-alcoholic drink from 4 to 8 p.m. on Veterans Day, Nov. 11, at the Norwin Elks, 135 Elks Lane, Manor. All other guests...
Hampton council results not official until certified by Allegheny County
New faces will be a part of the Hampton council after the Nov. 2 election saw two separate contests being held – with six running for three open seats for four-year terms and two candidates running for one, two-year term. In the four-year term race, Democrat Bethany Hardin Blackburn was...
Highland Hose in Tarentum celebrates a pair of 50-year members
Highland Hose lifetime member Allen Simmers recalls hanging around the Tarentum fire station nearly every day as a young child. “They would take us kids to Pirates games and have Christmas parties, all kinds of stuff,” said Simmers, 72. “My dad was a member and I just grew up there.”...
Newcomers oust incumbents for pair of Springdale Township commissioners’ seats
Two new faces will replace two incumbents on the Springdale Township board of commissioners after winning Tuesday’s election. Republicans Tim Basilone and Bradley Stanzione won the two open seats, replacing incumbents Tim Sweet and Shirley Redman, both Democrats. Basilone led in votes and received 31.9%, according to unofficial results. Stanzione...
Export council will consider $734,000 budget with no tax hike for 2022
Export officials next month will consider a 2022 budget with just under $734,000 in expenditures that will potentially use a combination of updated rental ordinances and un-designated funding to plug a gap of about $14,500. Initial revenue projections for 2022 were about $657,000. Mayor Joe Zaccagnini proposed updating the borough’s...
Promoting smart fashion for all women, East West Boutique to open storefront in Vandergrift
They’re two best friends with a passion for fashion. Alle-Kiski Valley natives Dessie Mitcheson Pilek and Jen Zatko Atchison met as cheerleaders in seventh grade and graduated together from Kiski Area High School in 2009. These days, they are business partners expanding their online clothing business — East West Boutique...
Diverse group of new Allegheny Co. judges to be ‘gravitational force,’ legal expert says
Candidates elected Tuesday to the Allegheny County Common Pleas bench will not only change the makeup of the court, but also could change the community’s perception of it and influence already sitting judges, observers of the race say. The group of 10 elected judges includes six women and four people...
Penn-Trafford area: Veterans event, book sale, pancake breakfast, more
Norwin Elks to hold Veterans Day dinner All veterans, Norwin Elks members and guest veterans will be treated to a complimentary spaghetti dinner with a salad and non-alcoholic drink from 4 to 8 p.m. on Veterans Day, Nov. 11, at the Norwin Elks, 135 Elks Lane, Manor. All other guests...
2 newcomers elected as Pine supervisors
As incumbents Michael Dennehy and Ed Holdcroft decided not to seek reelection for their seats on the Pine Township board of supervisors, voters chose from four newcomers to fill the pair of openings. Republicans Casey White and Audrey Mackie came out on top, with 2,214 and 2,065 votes, respectively. Democrats...
