Local category, Page 2168
Plum holds the line on taxes with 2021 budget, park upgrades included
Plum homeowners will pay the same real estate tax rate in 2021 they have been for the fourth straight year. Plum Council unanimously voted Dec. 17 to pass a $13.7 million budget and maintain the tax rate at 4.78 mills. The vote was conducted at a virtual meeting broadcast on...
Murrysville library issues ‘Winter Reading Challenge’ to patrons
For their “Winter Reading Challenge,” Murrysville Public Library officials are asking patrons to give themselves a literary challenge. “Most of our patrons tend to stick to a favorite type of book,” said library associate Janeene Foster. “A big part of this program is to challenge participants to step outside of...
Perfect timing: Boyce Park ski slopes, snow tubing opens Saturday
Just days following a 9-inch snowfall, the Boyce Park ski slopes and snow tubing area will open for the season on 10 a.m. Saturday. Restrictions will be in place to comply with Pennsylvania’s temporary covid-19 protection measures. Only 50 skiers and 50 snow tubers will be permitted during each session....
Lawsuit alleges negligence by shuttle driver in September crash that killed pedestrian
The sister of a woman struck and killed by a shuttle bus in Pittsburgh’s Oakland section in September has filed a lawsuit against UPMC for negligence. Mary Flaherty, 76, of Monroeville was struck about 3:40 p.m. on Sept. 17 as she was walking near the intersection of Terrace and Buffalo...
No injuries as SUV goes over hillside near Murrysville-Plum borderVideo
Roads continued to prove slippery in the wake of heavy snowfall across the region, but no one was injured when an SUV went over an embankment near the Murrysville-Plum border on Thursday evening. Murrysville police said the SUV’s driver went off the roadway near the intersection of Saltsburg Road (Route...
Excela Health receives covid vaccine, set to start administering to workers on Friday
A record-breaking storm that left parts of the region under 9 inches of snow did not stop Pfizer’s covid-19 vaccine from making it into Excela Health’s hands. Officials received it Thursday, as expected. They anticipate administering it to the first employees on Friday. Chief Medical Officer Dr. Carol Fox said...
Pitt cardiologist sues school after backlash to his article on affirmative action
A University of Pittsburgh cardiologist who faced backlash over an opinion piece he wrote criticizing affirmative action is suing his employers, the American Heart Association and the company that published and then retracted his article, alleging that he was demoted and defamed because his views were unpopular. Dr. Norman C....
Saint Joseph offering new ‘Spirit’ scholarship to enrolling freshmen
St. Joseph High School in Harrison is offering a new scholarship to help families afford a Catholic education as the school seeks to enroll students for the 2021-22 school year. The St. Joseph Spirit Scholarship is available for next school year’s enrolling freshmen, said Shane Palumbo, director of admissions and...
Lower Burrell says recent Right-to-Know requests are excessive and ‘vexatious’
Lower Burrell plans to send a cease-and-desist letter to a Plum man whose Right-to-Know Law requests have, officials claim, become excessive and “vexatious.” Pennsylvania’s Right-to-Know Law entitles the public and media to secure most records from public agencies in the state within five days of a request. Dave Bayne, 73,...
Pittsburgh homicide suspect caught in Seattle
A Pittsburgh man wanted on homicide charges for allegedly killing a woman in November was apprehended Thursday in Seattle. Terrence Washington, 36, was arrested without incident by a U.S. Marshals Task Force, Seattle police and the King County Sheriff’s Department, reported Phil Cornelious, chief deputy U.S. marshal of the Western...
Covid-relief grants available to Westmoreland emergency medical services
Twenty-one nonprofit emergency medical service departments are in line to receive $15,000 covid-relief grants as part of a new round of awards unveiled Thursday by Westmoreland County commissioners. Officials said nearly $400,000 remaining from grants earmarked for nonprofit agencies will be used to fund the program. “We are under a...
Westmoreland department heads earn raises for pandemic-related work
A handful of Westmoreland County government department heads were handed substantial raises Thursday, a move commissioners said was related to their work during ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The biggest pay hike was given to Solicitor Melissa Guiddy, who has seen her salary increase by about 70% since she was hired in...
Allegheny Valley Hospital doctors, nurses expected to get covid vaccine
Physicians and nurses at Allegheny Valley Hospital in Harrison are expected to be among Allegheny Health Network’s first caregivers to receive covid-19 vaccinations Friday morning, an AHN spokeswoman said. Spokeswoman JoAnne Clobus could not say how many employees of the Harrison hospital would be getting shots Friday. Employees were busy...
Boyce Park ski slopes and snow tubing expected to be open Saturday
Boyce Park ski slopes and snow tubing are expected to be open this weekend, according to Allegheny County officials. “We have been making snow all week and hope to open on Saturday,” Allegheny County chief marketing officer Kevin Evanto said via email Thursday. “We’re waiting on tonight’s snowmaking before making...
Mt. Oliver man wanted in connection with North Huntingdon woman’s fatal shooting
Police are seeking a Mt. Oliver man wanted in connection with the Dec. 5 shooting death of a North Huntingdon woman. An arrest warrant has been obtained for Jerrel Marquis Ingram, 32, of Mt. Oliver. Allegheny County detectives said 22-year-old Madison Gilroy of North Huntingdon died of injuries sustained during...
Gov. Wolf grants 5th extension to renew firearms carry permits
Gov. Tom Wolf’s decision to grant a fifth consecutive extension to renew firearms carry permits through March 31 couldn’t have been more timely, according to Westmoreland County Sheriff James Albert. The previous extension was set to expire Dec. 31 and Albert said his two deputies assigned the “appointment only” permit...
Several Penn-Trafford schools move to remote instruction leading up to Christmas
Penn-Trafford High School officials will close the building on Friday, after being notified of four positive covid-19 cases on top of four that were already reported within the past 14 days. “The district will follow the Pennsylvania Department of Health and the Pennsylvania Department of Education recommendations,” Superintendent Matthew Harris...
New Kensington-Arnold concerned about students not participating in remote classes
New Kensington-Arnold School District administrators and board members are concerned about the number of children who they say have not been participating in school since the district moved all students to remote instruction. The district started the school year with students receiving instruction fully online or fully in person. The...
MLB recognition of Negro Leagues records ‘quite significant,’ says museum presidentVideo
On Wednesday, Major League Baseball announced that it will finally recognize Negro Leagues records and statistics between the years 1920 and 1948, the year after Jackie Robinson broke the big league color barrier. It means Negro Leagues star and Hall-of-Famer Josh Gibson, who played for the Homestead Grays and Pittsburgh...
Westmoreland commissioners approve budget with no tax hike
The coronavirus has been good for Westmoreland County’s bottom line. Commissioners on Thursday unanimously approved a $339.7 million budget for 2021 that does not raise property taxes in part because federal covid relief money held back to pay for personnel and other expenses related to the ongoing pandemic. Property taxes...
ACJ inmate, girlfriend face child sex abuse charges in connection with explicit video call
An Allegheny County Jail inmate and his girlfriend face child abuse charges that stem from a video call in which the couple’s toddler daughter was seen on the bed during a sexually explicit call between the two. Allegheny County Police began investigating after jail officials noted “disturbing behaviors” in a...
Police from eastern Allegheny Co. suburbs join forces to distribute toys
Local police departments are joining forces with Toys for Pittsburgh Tikes for a toy giveaway on Sunday. Police officers from Swissvale, Edgewood, Forest Hills, Wilkins Township, Churchill, Wilkinsburg, Braddock Hills and Rankin are teaming up with the local nonprofit to provide toys for families in need this holiday season. The...
Fox Chapel woman teams with winemaker whose sales benefit charitable groupsVideo
Giving back never tasted so good. OneHope is a winery in the Napa Valley that pairs charity with cheers, offering online wine sales and fundraisers nationwide with a mission of changing the world, one bottle at a time. What began in 2007 with eight friends selling wine from the back...
Bridgeville adopts final 2021 budget with no property tax hikes
Bridgeville council ratified the borough’s spending plan that did not raise property taxes for the next year during its meeting Monday. Council voted unanimously to adopt the $3.3 million budget, which includes 2.5% salary raises for police and public works employees. Other expenses for the police department – which has...
Pa. game commission plans to release 23,000 pheasants
The state game commission plans to release 23,000 pheasants on Dec. 22-23, as part of the seventh and final release of 2020. Pheasant hunting is open across Pennsylvania. All hunting is closed on Christmas, but the season reopens on Dec. 26 and continues through Feb. 27. “These pheasant releases just...
