The Stroller, June 25, 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. Monthly Fridays on Fifth...
Pickleball popularity presents sustainability problems with plastic balls
When pickleball exploded in recent years as America’s favorite sport, the pastime came with collateral damage — plastic neon-colored balls piling up in landfills. More than 500 million pickleballs are manufactured each year, seemingly with nowhere to go, said Jeff Pepper, an avid player from Verona. “The number is huge,”...
Carnegie’s Civil War symposium grows as plans take shape for 2026
In April, more than 200 Civil War and history enthusiasts from across the United States and Canada converged on the Andrew Carnegie Free Library & Music Hall in Carnegie for our annual Civil War symposium. With an all-star lineup of historians speaking on the Maryland Campaign and the Battle of...
Hear ye, hear ye: Hanna’s Town seeks reduced speed
Motorized vehicles and paved roads didn’t exist when Historic Hanna’s Town was settled in 1773. Fast forward 252 years and the modern transportation environment is juxtaposed against the centuries-old historic site that was Westmoreland County’s first
government seat. The contrast is causing problems for thousands of visitors who must cross...
Westmoreland County launches grant program to increase access to online services
The Westmoreland County commissioners are expected to launch a grant program this week to provide funding to help low-income residents access the internet. Commissioners are slated to vote Thursday on the proposal to establish a digital technology grant program. They also are expected to award three $15,000 grants to local...
Environmental groups demand Nippon Steel work to cut emissions after buying U.S. Steel
With U.S. Steel’s $14.9 billion sale to Nippon Steel made official last week, environmental advocates say it’s time for corporate leadership to take make real strides toward limiting pollution. “U.S. Steel has gotten everything that it wished for in this deal with Nippon,” said Matt Mehalik, executive director of the...
Jeannette school district property owners to pay 1.1% more next school year
Jeannette City School District property owners will pay about 1.1% more in taxes for the 2025-26 school year. In a 5-3 vote Tuesday, the school board approved raising property taxes by 1 mill. The new tax rate will be 90 mills. The 1-mill increase will cost the average property owner...
Hempfield Area hires administrator as assistant superintendent departs for Greater Latrobe
Hempfield Area Superintendent Mark Holtzman will reunite with a former Beaver Area colleague following a vote by the school board this week to hire a new administrator for the district. Emily Sanders will assume her post as Hempfield’s deputy superintendent this summer. She comes to the job after three years...
Former Tribune-Review business, real estate writer Ron DaParma ‘could cover anything’
Ronald L. “Ron” DaParma, a longtime business editor and business writer for newspapers in McKeesport, Greensburg and Pittsburgh, had the ability to cover a broad spectrum of topics, whether it was real estate, Pittsburgh’s banking behemoths, small business, or steel mill operations and the steelworkers who labored in those factories....
Norwin School Board members critical of removal of archived YouTube videos
A Norwin School Board member and several residents are questioning the removal of archived school board meeting videos from the district’s official YouTube page. Administrators were not able to provide a specific reason at this week’s school board meeting why several livestreamed recordings of 2024 school board meetings — and...
With nowhere to hide, these workers are left with no choice but to endure sizzling temps
It was so hot Tuesday that Chris Kelly had to pull his roofing crew from their regularly scheduled job. “Once it hits about 85 or 90 degrees, we don’t even install because the shingles will heat up to the point that walking on them will scar them,” said Kelly, owner...
Former IT manager for Heinz Endowments indicted for embezzling nearly $1 million
The former IT manager for the Heinz Endowments is charged in federal court with embezzling nearly $1 million. Charles A. Richardson, 45, of Pittsburgh, was indicted on five counts of wire fraud and four counts of money laundering on June 17. The indictment was unsealed on Tuesday. He is free...
Court affirms dismissal of charges against retired minister accused of $350K theft
The state Superior Court on Monday upheld the dismissal of charges against a retired North Side pastor accused of stealing more than $350,000 from his church. The Rev. Wayne C. Peck, 73, of Highland Park, was charged in 2022 with theft and receiving stolen property after he was accused of...
Allegheny County, McCandless settle jail use-of-force lawsuit for $50K
A North Hills man who an Allegheny County Jail corrections officer taunted while shocking him with a Taser last year will receive $50,000 in a settlement of his federal civil rights lawsuit, officials said Tuesday. “That feels good baby,” the lawsuit claims a corrections officer said to plaintiff Brian Estep,...
UPMC to stop gender-affirming care for patients 18 and under by month’s end
UPMC has confirmed it will end gender-affirming care for patients 18 and younger in response to the Trump administration’s policies aimed at transgender youth. A spokesperson for UPMC, the region’s largest hospital network, said federal guidance has made it clear clinicians who provide care such as puberty blockers and
hormone...
Victim’s father offers no forgiveness for brother charged in nephew’s fatal overdose
Daniel Rebosky told a Westmoreland County judge Tuesday he will not forgive his brother for the role he played in his son’s 2021 overdose death. “God teaches us to forgive, but I cannot forgive Michael Rebosky because he let this happen,” Daniel Rebosky said during a sentencing hearing for his...
Pittsburgh officials consider $1.8M plan for ‘pipe dream’ public safety training facility
Pittsburgh City Council will consider spending $1.8 million on a master plan for a sprawling public safety training center that has been long delayed. Councilman Anthony Coghill, D-Beechview, who chairs council’s public safety committee, said he doesn’t want to spend so much money on a new public safety training site...
Greensburg man arrested after crash at GetGo
A Greensburg man was arrested Monday after running from a two-vehicle crash on South Main Street that left another driver seriously injured, according to city police. Officers said Collin M. Hays, 34, appeared to be intoxicated when he was apprehended. Police were called to the crash at the GetGo entrance...
Former McKeesport detective admits stealing $1 million from police union
A former McKeesport detective and police union finance officer pleaded guilty Tuesday to stealing more than $1 million from his fellow officers. Joseph Osinski, 56, will be sentenced Sept. 18 on four felony counts — including theft by deception and receiving stolen property — by Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge...
At Home store in Pleasant Hills to close amid company bankruptcy
One of the Pittsburgh region’s four At Home stores is set to close amid the company’s bankruptcy, according to court filings. The Pleasant Hills store on Clairton Boulevard is one of 26 stores initially closing, the company said. No one answered the phone Tuesday, and a message seeking comment went...
East Post 981 poised for postseason push in District 31 Legion league
Known as Hempfield East at the time, East Post 981 reached Day 3 of the 2024 Pennsylvania Region 7 American Legion tournament before its second loss of the event — 3-0 to Bedford — ended its season. This summer, East is looking to do better. Coach Bill Carrera believes East...
Hempfield promotes public works employee to new operations manager post
Hempfield supervisors on Monday created a new position in the public works department aimed at maintaining the township’s fleet and tracking maintenance on vehicles. The board hired current public works employee Jonathan Shrum as operations manager. He will be paid an annual salary of $65,000 in the new role. “I...
Car wash planned for Route 30 near Greengate Centre
A vacant building along Route 30 in Hempfield is going to be torn down after township supervisors on Monday approved plans to build an automatic car wash there. The building across Route 30 from Greengate Centre once held law offices. It will be replaced by Clean Express Auto Wash. The...
Highlands School District holds tax rate steady as budget is approved
Property owners in the Highlands School District won’t see a tax increase for next school year after the board approved its $54.5 million budget. The plan holds the property tax rate steady at 25.13 mills. The median household income for the district is about $60,000. The owner of a home...
Proposed Pittsburgh bills aim to shield LGBTQ+ residents, reduce penalties for sex workers
Pittsburgh City Councilwoman Barb Warwick on Tuesday introduced legislation that aims to protect LGBTQ+ people and reduce the penalty for sex workers. The bills come at a time when the LGBTQ+ community is “under attack” by federal officials, Warwick, D-Greenfield, said during a news conference outside the City-County Building. “These...
