Building the Valley: My Garden Floral in Indiana Township celebrates 25 years
Pamela Vrabel was a teenage Springdale Dynamo when she started working at the now-defunct Peterson’s Greenhouse. The high school job in the early 1970s sparked a passion for plants that has led to a 53-year career in the floral industry. “I think I was born with an eye for design,”...
West Nile virus found in mosquito samples from multiple Allegheny County neighborhoods
Allegheny County Health Department officials announced mosquitoes collected in certain parts of the county this month tested positive for West Nile virus. Samples found to have the virus were taken July 8 from Wilkinsburg, Schenley Park, Mt. Washington, Beltzhoover, Mt. Oliver and Hazelwood. West Nile virus is the leading cause...
Hampton expands police social work department, adds another camera to community park, eyes solution to intersection concern
Members of Hampton Council discussed a variety of topics at their regular meeting July 9. The township’s police social worker, Angela Kenbok, gave a presentation on the progress being made in the community. Hampton is one of only a few townships in the area that employs a full-time social worker...
Families clash at Downtown Pittsburgh DMV, person flashes gun
Pittsburgh police responded to a fight Friday afternoon at the PennDOT Driver & Vehicle Services on Smithfield Street. Emily Bourne, a city public safety spokeswoman, said the fight broke out around 2:30 p.m. between two separate families who were in line at the DMV. Bourne could not identify how many...
Block party and blood drive planned in honor of McCandless tot with rare condition
Clementine Blackham, a 2-year-old from McCandless, is loving life. She loves her big sister, FinnLee, water balloons and Peppa Pig. She even loves coffee. Most of this sounds like any other toddler. However, Clementine is very unique in that she is the only known female with a rare genetic mutation...
Monessen man appeals life prison term for rape, child murders
A judge abused his discretion by reimposing a life prison sentence for a Monessen man convicted of raping of a young mother and murdering her children in 1973, his attorney claims in court papers. Defense attorney Mark Shire argued in an appeal filed Friday that his client, John Veltre Jr.,...
Kraft Heinz to split, report says
Kraft Heinz may be headed for a breakup. The packaged food conglomerate is planning to spin off a large chunk of its grocery business, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday, effectively undoing a 2015 merger that’s now widely regarded as a strategic blunder. Anonymous sources told the newspaper the new...
Scholarship fund to honor retiring Pittsburgh Bishop David Zubik
As Bishop David A. Zubik celebrates the end of his ecclesiastical career as leader of the Pittsburgh Catholic diocese, his colleagues are honoring him with a scholarship named in his honor. Zubik celebrated his 75th birthday on Sept. 4, 2024. It’s the mandatory retirement age for bishops. On Monday, the...
Verona manager resigns from post
Verona officials will soon be in the market for a new manager. Council member accepted Stefanie Woolford’s resignation during this month’s council meeting. During the meeting, council Vice President Trish Hredzak said Woolford’s last day will be Aug. 8. She was not present at the meeting. “Stefanie, on behalf of...
911 service restored in Pennsylvania; state official says investigation underway
911 service has been restored in Pennsylvania. Late Friday, 911 calls resumed routing as normal across the state and an investigation into what caused an hours long outage was ongoing, according to the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency. In a post on social media just before midnight, the agency reported 911...
Struggling Strawpump station to receive half its fire tax fund allocation from township
North Huntingdon has given the Strawpump Volunteer Fire Department an incentive to continue work to regain its place in the community. That would mean an acceptable fire insurance rating that would allow it to reclaim its service territory. The township would help the effort by agreeing to provide one-half of...
VA insists veterans services remain robust in Pittsburgh despite staff departures nationwide
Pittsburgh-area veterans won’t see any interruption to their care or benefits, the Department of Veterans Affairs claims, even as thousands of its employees head for the exits nationwide. The department is on pace to lose nearly 30,000 employees, or about 6% of its workforce, by the end of September. Already,...
Deer Lakes and A.W. Beattie students recognized at national skills competition
Two Deer Lakes and A.W. Beattie Career Center graduates got a taste of the national spotlight after placing in SkillsUSA national competitions. SkillsUSA is a workforce development organization for students that helps develop personal, workplace and technical skills. Paiton Yeager, 18, of West Deer competed on a team with two...
AAA will host Monroeville event to replace peeling, illegible license plates
AAA East Central will host an event in Tuesday in Monroeville for drivers to replace license plates that have begun peeling. In Pennsylvania, drivers can be pulled over and fined up to $100 for an illegible license plate, defined as a plate where one or more characters cannot be recognized...
Allegheny County creates new way for workers to report threats to union rights
Allegheny County launched a web page Thursday for workers to report violations or threats to their union organizing rights. The move comes at a time of local labor flare-ups and gridlock at the National Labor Relations Board. This new, confidential Right to Organize Incident Report Form asks for information about...
Brackenridge section of Three Rivers Heritage Trail important for ‘bigger picture’
Small but mighty. That’s what officials are saying about the recently completed half-mile segment of the Three Rivers Heritage Trail in Brackenridge. The path along First Avenue provides a significant amenity for the small borough, but it is an even bigger deal for the nonprofit Friends of the Riverfront. The...
Pitt approves tuition and fee increases for fall term, lifts hiring freeze
Tuition for students at the University of Pittsburgh will increase again. The $3.2 billion budget, approved Friday by the Board of Trustees, includes a 2% tuition increase for in-state undergraduate and gradate students attending the Oakland campus, a 4% hike for out-of-state students and a 1% increase for students attending...
Pittsburgh housing authority pares voucher programs over fears of 2026 federal budget cuts
The Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh intends to scale back some programs benefiting low-income residents, landlords and developers amid fears of massive federal budget cuts next year. The government is proposing to slash nearly $27 billion for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Any such cuts...
Lane closures at Squirrel Hill tunnel begin Sunday
Motorists planning on taking the Squirrel Hill Tunnel should prepare to alter their routes, because starting Sunday night the tunnel will be down to one lane. The single-lane closures will begin at 10 p.m. and last through 5 a.m. Friday morning, while inspections take place, according to a Pennsylvania Department...
Planting project in Fox Chapel will support stormwater management
Residents are encouraged to get their hands dirty to help complete the transformation of McCahill Park in Fox Chapel. Borough officials will join the nonprofit Western PA Conservancy to host a planting day at the site off of Hemlock Hollow Road. The event will be 9 a.m. to noon July...
Morning Roundup: 2 pit bulls fatally attack smaller dog in Carrick
Here are some of the latest news items happening this morning, Friday, July 11: 2 pit bulls fatally attack smaller dog in Carrick A pair of pit bulls fatally attacked a smaller dog in Carrick, Pittsburgh police said Thursday via a social media post. Police and Animal Care and Control...
Derry’s Fulton House gets a ‘new’ floor that’s older than the building itself
Visitors who step inside Derry Township’s restored 1817 Fulton House will be walking on a piece of history that is old, but also new. When the floor of the former inn’s rear room started to deteriorate, the Derry Area Historical Society that is headquartered there was able to replace it...
The Stroller, July 11, 2025: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
Publicize your non-profit’s community events, fundraisers and club meetings for free in The Stroller. Send information at least two weeks in advance to vndnews@triblive.com or The Stroller, 210 Wood St., Tarentum PA 15084. Please include a daytime telephone number. Follow the Stroller on X at @VNDStroller. Cycling team to host...
Safe to splash? State parks, watershed associations monitor rivers for E. coli contamination
When it rains, it pours E. coli. That’s what water quality testers across Western Pennsylvania might tell you right now. Every week during the summer months, volunteers and employees monitor the region’s public waterways for E. coli, which can flow into lakes and streams from agricultural and sewer systems overwhelmed...
Judge: Proper notice was not given in bond hearing of man later charged in fatal shooting
Allegheny County’s president judge ruled Thursday the public defender’s office did not provide “proper notice” that it was going to Orphans’ Court to seek the release from jail of a man with intellectual disabilities who was later charged with killing a woman in Pittsburgh. The decision by the Allegheny County...
