Local category, Page 2154
Leechburg Area School Board seeks resident to fill vacancy as Monday deadline looms
The Leechburg Area School Board is searching for a new school director, and the deadline to apply is noon Monday. Board president Neill Brady confirmed the board accepted Lisa Gregory’s letter of resignation during the Dec. 9 reorganization meeting. Attempts to reach Gregory for comment were unsuccessful. Gregory was elected...
Youngstown’s Tin Lizzy continues to defy covid orders as late bartender memorialized
For the second time this year, the Tin Lizzy Tap Room and Restaurant in Youngstown has run afoul of state officials for violating Gov. Tom Wolf’s temporary restrictions meant to slow the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. But despite the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture ordering the business to close this...
Allegheny County ‘getting faster’ at distributing covid-19 vaccines, health director says
Allegheny County Health Director Dr. Debra Bogen pledged that the region’s vaccine distribution is on track to ramp up as 2021 begins. “We’ve now got a rhythm and we’re getting faster,” Bogen said during a virtual news conference Wednesday afternoon. Bogen shrugged off criticism over the local pace of administering...
Southbound Route 356 reopens following crash near Allegheny Township shopping plaza
The southbound side of Route 356 reopened around 6:30 p.m. after a two-vehicle crash that overturned a trailer Wednesday afternoon, Westmoreland County emergency officials said. The crash was reported shortly after 4:30 p.m. along Route 356 near Towne Center Drive. The driver of an SUV struck a pick-up truck hauling...
Buffalo Township approves budget with no tax increase
Buffalo Township residents won’t be paying more in taxes in 2021 after the township adopted a new budget. “There was no tax increase, just the usual expenses,” Secretary Treasurer Janice Zubrin said. “We have a balanced budget.” The final budget for the new year amounts to $2.6 million — an...
Casino at Westmoreland Mall set to reopen Monday as emergency covid restrictions end
The sound of jackpots will once again fill the air as Live! Casino Pittsburgh at Westmoreland Mall is set to reopen Monday at 8:01 a.m. — one minute after state-mandated restrictions to slow the spread of the coronavirus pandemic expire. That means a lot of people will be getting back...
Harmar adopts $2.7M budget that includes property tax cut
The Harmar Supervisors voted unanimously Wednesday to adopt a $2.7 million budget for next year that cuts the township’s property tax rate by more than a half-mill. The move decreases the tax rate from 3.45 mills to 2.9 mills. At that rate, the owner of a property assessed at $100,000...
Volunteers gathering at Bradford Woods Reserve for Audubon’s annual bird count
For the seventh consecutive year, the Bradford Woods Conservancy is seeking nature lovers interested in participating in the Audubon Society’s annual Christmas Bird Count on Jan. 2. A small team of conservancy members and volunteers is scheduled to be in the Bradford Woods Reserve at 10 a.m. “looking, listening and...
Police: Suspect in McKeesport police shooting hid out in West VirginiaVideo
The man suspected of shooting and wounding a McKeesport police officer earlier this month likely spent the majority of his nine days on the run in West Virginia, authorities said Wednesday, a day after his arrest in the neighboring state. Koby Francis, 22, will face an extradition hearing after the...
Mt. Pleasant boy, 15, charged as adult in armed robbery
A 15-year-old Mt. Pleasant Township boy is charged as an adult in an armed robbery this month outside his home, according to court papers. Kyle Ray Franklin was arrested Tuesday and is being held on $50,000 bail. He is the second juvenile suspect to be nabbed in the Dec. 19...
Foster cat in Richland tests positive for rabies, family seeking treatment
A cat being fostered by a family in Richland Township has tested positive for the rabies virus, according to the Allegheny County Health Department. The cat, which was living with a family along Beechnut Drive, was brought into the lab for testing after it began scratching and biting, county health...
Amid fewer new cases, Westmoreland County reports 15 more covid deaths
On Wednesday, Westmoreland County saw its latest report of new covid-19 cases cut by more than half from Tuesday. The Pennsylvania Department of Health reported the county added 215 new cases. On Tuesday, the county added 466. The lower number of new cases brings the county back to its recent...
Pittsburgh officials to New Year’s revelers: Stay home this year
Although a crowd of people isn’t expected — or allowed — to gather in Downtown Pittsburgh for New Year’s Eve celebrations, public safety officials issued their annual reminder Wednesday advising revelers to put safety first. “I know that we all want — and absolutely deserve — to celebrate New Year’s...
Monessen officials ordered to complete Sunshine Act training
Monessen’s mayor and council members have been court-ordered to complete Sunshine Act training after a Westmoreland County judge found that they violated state public meeting laws earlier this year. City solicitor Tim Witt said officials are set to complete the training through the state Office of Open Records today. Judge...
Pittsburgh musicians raise their voices off stage to save local venuesVideo
Musicians communicate through song. They feed off the energy of live performances. Many haven’t performed live for months because of the pandemic. That hasn’t kept them from making new music for when they return to Pittsburgh-area venues. There is one tune that’s about to be heard that will help the...
As Allegheny County’s covid cases slow, deaths hit record mark
Another 525 cases of covid-19 were reported Wednesday by the Allegheny County Health Department. While certainly still high, the new cases are nearly 50% less than Tuesday’s four-digit report. The new count puts the county back on its recent trend of fewer cases. The seven-day average of new cases drops...
Newly formed Fox Chapel Parks Conservancy sponsors winter lantern festival
A visit to McCahill Park in Fox Chapel on Jan. 1 will be nothing short of magical as the site transforms into a glistening field of lights at sundown. The effort is to promote the newly created Fox Chapel Parks Conservancy, founded to emphasize the community’s passion for its expansive...
Defense attorney says his incarcerated client not getting mental health treatment
An attorney’s attempt Tuesday to get his client released from Westmoreland County Prison highlighted issues with the inaccessibility of mental health treatment for incarcerated defendants. Attorney Brian Aston asked that Susan Barkley, 42, of Unity be released on home electronic monitoring to get mental health treatment while she awaits trial...
Hempfield photographer found innovative way to stay in business during pandemicVideo
Editor’s note: This is the fourth in a series highlighting five people whose lives were reshaped by the coronavirus pandemic. Back before the covid pandemic slammed the economy and limited what people could do outside their homes, Dennis Pushkar expected that his Impressions Photography would build on what had been...
Stories of the Year: After George Floyd’s death, a movement for racial justice
Eight minutes changed the course of 2020. It was Memorial Day. May 25. George Floyd was being arrested by Minneapolis police outside of a grocery store after authorities received a 911 call that someone paid with a counterfeit bill. The caller told authorities the man was acting erratically. Floyd, who...
Crews quickly extinguish garage fire in Hempfield
Crews quickly extinguished a garage fire that broke out at a Hempfield home early Wednesday morning. Firefighters responded to the incident on Blue Sky Lane shortly before 5 a.m., according to a Westmoreland 911 dispatcher. The fire was knocked down around 5:30 a.m. It was not immediately clear if the...
The Stroller, Dec. 30, 2020: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
Publicize your non-profit’s fundraiser or community event in The Stroller. Send information at least a week in advance to vndnews@triblive.com. Please include a daytime telephone number. Christmas tree recycling locations announced Several locations in the area will offer Christmas tree recycling. They include: • Allegheny Township: maintenance building, 1169 School...
‘A force for good’: How Black voices say they will carry momentum from 2020
One man was Black, the other was white. One gasped for air as the other man, a uniformed police officer, kneeled down on his neck for nearly nine minutes. The deadly Memorial Day weekend encounter between George Floyd, a Black man, and white Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin became the...
New Kensington-Arnold teachers want your help to buy students ChromebooksVideo
Remote learning can be hard on students, especially those who don’t have access to computers at home. Teachers in the New Kensington-Arnold School District have watched their students struggle with that firsthand. In response, they have started a GoFundMe asking people to donate money to buy laptops — Google Chromebooks...
Nemacolin resort closes for holidays, plans to reopen next week when covid restrictions lift
If you hoped to usher out 2020 at the posh Nemacolin resort in Fayette County, you are out of luck. Nemacolin closed Dec. 22 in an effort to do its part to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus. The luxury retreat does not plan to reopen until Monday. The...
