Local category, Page 2088
New Kensington-Arnold facing $1.5M deficit in 2021-22 budget
Without a tax increase, New Kensington-Arnold School District is looking at a $1.5 million budget deficit for next school year that would force it to empty its reserves. The school board’s finance committee met virtually Monday to review the district’s proposed final 2021-22 budget. It would spend $38.7 million on...
The Stroller, Feb. 17, 2021: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
Publicize your non-profit’s meetings, fundraisers and community events in The Stroller. Send information at least a week in advance to vndnews@triblive.com. Please include a daytime telephone number. Drive-through food distribution set at Lernerville Speedway Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank will host a drive-through food distribution for anyone in need from...
Superintendent: Greater Latrobe no longer bound by strict school closure benchmarks
Greater Latrobe School District officials say they’ll have greater flexibility in assessing the need for covid-related school closures now that Westmoreland County has completed two consecutive weeks in the moderate level for community transmission of the coronavirus. According to Superintendent Georgia Teppert, the county’s return to a moderate transmission level...
Greater Latrobe OKs decrease in taxes for plaza, raises for property tax collectors
Greater Latrobe School Board has signed off on a settlement that will reduce the property tax assessment for a shopping center in Unity by 28%. It also voted to increase the compensation for two elected real estate tax collectors ahead of this year’s municipal elections. The board this week approved...
Pitt, NCAA knew about dangers of football concussions, lawsuits claim
Two former University of Pittsburgh football players filed separate federal lawsuits against the university and the NCAA, as well as the Big East and Atlantic Coast conferences, alleging the organizations were aware of the potential health ramifications caused by concussions and repeated blows to the head but never took action...
Police: Man found shot in the legs on Pittsburgh’s North Side, bullets sprayed buildings, truck
A man was hospitalized Tuesday after being found with gunshot wounds to his legs in Pittsburgh’s North Side. Authorities said police responded to a report of shots fired along the 600 block of East Ohio Street in the East Allegheny neighborhood around 2:40 p.m. Officers discovered a few buildings and...
North Huntingdon-Irwin covid cases up slightly as of Feb. 16, 2021
The post-holiday spread of confirmed covid cases in the North Huntingdon-Irwin-North Irwin area rose by 57 from Feb. 8-16, according to state Department of Health data released Tuesday. That translates to an increase of 2.2%. The fact that the increase in cases from Feb. 8-16 was greater than the 43...
Ross OKs using community center gym for covid vaccination clinic; no opening date announced
The Ross Township commissioners on Tuesday approved an agreement with Allegheny County to operate a covid-19 vaccination clinic at the municipal building. No date was announced for when the people can begin receiving shots. The board’s unanimous vote to OK the agreement with the county came with no discussion or...
Police: Man who fired at Braddock officers shot himself during standoff, in grave condition
A man suspected of firing at Braddock police was taken into custody Tuesday evening after police say he shot himself in the head. The unidentified man was alive but listed in grave condition following a standoff in an abandoned house along the 500 block of Lobinger Avenue. Allegheny County Police...
Pa. jobless benefit scams at $2.5M; Arnold woman pleads guilty to defrauding system
While many jobless Pennsylvanians have struggled to get unemployment benefits during the covid pandemic, the state has paid out at least $2.5 million in fraudulent claims, state officials said Tuesday. That might be just the tip of the iceberg, the officials said. The $2.5 million was siphoned off by just...
Pennsylvania Interscholastic Esports Association opens registration for 2021 season
The Pennsylvania Interscholastic Esports Association (PIEA) announced registration is open for its 2021 season, which will offer high school esports teams the opportunity to compete for Pennsylvania’s first high school esports championship. The PIEA was established in 2019 as the only statewide interscholastic esports league. “The PIEA is the first...
Burgatory gets national nod among restaurants ‘primed for success’
Burgatory was named to QSR’s annual list of America’s Hottest Startup Fast Casuals, one of 40 restaurants in the nation to be recognized. QSR, a magazine that caters to the restaurant industry, launched the list in 2017. “Everyone wants to find the next big thing in restaurants,” Sam Oches wrote...
Penn man accused of assaulting woman during fight about bathroom use
State police say a Penn Borough man assaulted two people during a fight about who was going to use the bathroom at an apartment Monday, according to court documents. Dakota Scheetz, 24, was arraigned Tuesday on two counts each of harassment and simple assault filed by troopers after the 5...
Westmoreland DA says accused Ruffs Dale shooter has violent history with boyfriends
Just hours before Andrew Pristas was gunned down, the woman charged with shooting him — his former girlfriend — had a similar violent confrontation with her current boyfriend, a Westmoreland County prosecutor said on Tuesday. Meghan West, 30, of Ruffs Dale, is accused of killing Pristas but contends there is...
Hampton road crews prep for icy conditions as temperatures likely to dip
While the region received less snow this week than was predicted, steady downpours on Monday followed by temperatures that were expected to dip into the teens overnight was a cause for concern. Throughout the day on Tuesday, a stream of trucks from the municipality and the school district were loading...
Pittsburgh mayoral endorsements start to roll in as candidates begin drive for signatures
Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto has the support of four City Council members and several labor unions in his bid for a third term. But Peduto, 56, will not be seeking the endorsement of the Allegheny County Democratic Committee. Two of the candidates challenging Peduto will seek the party’s endorsement, state...
Smithton man charged by troopers with assault, cruelty to animals
State police say a Smithton man assaulted his girlfriend and abused her dog during an argument at the woman’s East Huntingdon apartment. Matthew W. Cathers, 47, is charged with cruelty to animals, harassment, terroristic threats and simple assault by state police after the 7:30 p.m. incident Sunday at Huntingdon Village....
Permanent glass recycling station now in Hampton
Hampton residents who shudder at the thought of their glass jars, jugs and bottles being buried in a landfill now have their own place to make sure it gets recycled. With the help of the Pennsylvania Resource Council, the township has set up a permanent glass recycling station near the...
4th gun in 12 days caught at Pittsburgh airport
Security agents at Pittsburgh International Airport on Tuesday caught the fourth traveler in 12 days trying to bring a firearm through the security checkpoint, officials said. It’s the fifth gun caught at the security checkpoint so far this year, according to Transportation Security Administration spokeswoman Lisa Farbstein. A Wexford man...
Driver charged in Parkway West crash that killed South Park woman
A man already in jail for his third DUI conviction was charged Friday in connection with a 2019 crash that killed a South Park woman. Aaron Hutchison, 20, of Carnegie, was under the influence of marijuana and morphine at the time, state police wrote in his criminal complaint. He is...
Highlands considers allowing students up to 4 days of in-person instruction
Highlands School District is considering allowing students to return to school four days a week, with reduced social distancing. The district is now using a hybrid schedule that has students separated into two groups, each of which learns in school two days a week and remotely three days a week....
Aspinwall’s Christ the Divine school holding take-out only fish fries
Spring fish fry fundraisers at Aspinwall’s Christ the Divine Teacher Catholic Academy won’t resemble years past, but organizers said the Lenten events will forge on. The school along Brilliant Avenue will host two takeouts, Feb. 26 and March 26. Hungry diners can pick up meals from 11 a.m. to 1...
Covid deaths reported in Westmoreland County rival October numbers
Westmoreland County on Tuesday reported no additional covid-related deaths, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health. With no new deaths reported, the seven-day death total in the county is six, which is the lowest it has been since October. In the last seven days, there have been no deaths reported...
For those facing eviction in Pittsburgh, hope might be on the way
Pittsburgh leaders on Tuesday said they want to help residents who are facing eviction because they can’t pay their rent during the pandemic. But they don’t want to give “false hope” by enacting something that won’t withstand legal challenges, city council President Theresa Kail-Smith said. “We all want to help...
5 Republicans seek party nod for special election in 59th state House district
Five Republicans — four from Westmoreland County and one from Somerset County — are seeking the party’s nod to run in the May 18 special election to fill the vacancy in the 59th District State House seat created by the death of Mike Reese. The 42-year-old Republican from Mt. Pleasant...
