Western PA Local News category, Page 2201
In brief: Plum council fills several positions on boards, commissions
Council made various appointments to boards and commissions at this month’s voting meeting. Tom Tevis and Joseph Dykta Jr. were named to the Civil Service Commission for six-year terms expiring Dec. 31, 2026. Laura Mason and Mark Kenny were appointed to the library board for three-year terms expiring Dec. 31,...
New online elective classes proposed at Penn Hills High School
Penn Hills High School plans to offer new online courses next school year. Courses include cybersecurity, criminology, forensic science, medical terminology and world religions/exploring diversity. The cyber electives will be provided through Edynamics and Edgenuity. Principal Eric Kostic said the district added the options due to student interest. They are...
Derry Area set to resume classroom instruction next week, cites online concerns
Derry Area School District will end a month of full remote instruction Tuesday, when in-person lessons once more will be offered to elementary students five days per week. A switch to online learning in the district started Dec. 7. Students at the middle and high schools may opt for a...
Carnegie Mellon to offer covid-19 tests to students, faculty at new testing lab
Weekly covid-19 tests will be a reality this spring for students, faculty and staff at Carnegie Mellon University, as the Pittsburgh research school prepares to open a new testing lab. The school offered tests to returning students as well as those who were traveling this fall and did some random...
Pennsylvania firearms background checks shatter record in 4th quarter 2020
Word that Pennsylvania State Police saw a record surge in firearm license background checks in 2020 didn’t surprise Mark Boerio, owner of Latrobe’s Army Navy & Indoor Pistol Range. Business soared last year — and has continued into 2021, he said. “It’s the same everywhere,” Boerio said. “First you had...
Police: Gas station robbed in Pittsburgh’s Bloomfield neighborhood
Pittsburgh police are looking for two unknown men who robbed a Sunoco convenience store in Pittsburgh’s Bloomfield neighborhood, according to the city Department of Public Safety. The robbery happened early Wednesday morning. The men, at least one of whom was armed, robbed the convenience store at the corner of Liberty...
Burrell schools fight Arconic assessment appeal that would result in $500K hit
Burrell School District and Upper Burrell plan to fight a real estate assessment appeal filed in a Westmoreland County court by Arconic Inc. that could reduce tax revenue to the school district by almost $500,000 annually. “We plan to fight this vigorously,” said Anthony Giglio, an attorney with Andrews &...
Man killed in Wilkinsburg shooting
A man was shot and killed inside a Wilkinsburg home, according to Allegheny County Police. First responders were called to the 1900 block of Wright Street shortly after 3 a.m. Thursday for a report of shots fired. They arrived to find the victim inside a home. He was pronounced dead...
The Stroller, Jan. 14, 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. Free produce distribution set in Natrona Building Block of Natrona will host its free Veggies for All and Cosmetics Closet outreach for residents...
New Kensington’s Thomas P. Bicanich Jr. was scholar, veteran and man of many talents and interests
A strong advocate for higher education, Thomas P. Bicanich Jr. never stopped learning. Over the years, Bicanich visited 49 of the nation’s 50 states. He explored each one thoroughly to learn what it had to offer, while pursuing a broad range of other interests and hobbies. His wife, Joanne Cecchi,...
Penn-Trafford police blotter, Jan. 14
Charges filed with Penn Township District Judge Helen Kistler. All persons charged have the right to a preliminary hearing before Kistler and are innocent until proven guilty or pleading guilty before a judge in the Westmoreland County Court of Common Pleas. • Madeline J. Semenko, 22, of Bovard, by Penn...
Pittsburgh officials approve new 5-year deal with crossing guards
Pittsburgh officials announced Wednesday they have finalized a new deal with their crossing guards. The five-year contract was negotiated with the Service Employees International Union 192B. Mayor Bill Peduto said via news release that the deal is good for both parties. “We are excited to have reached this agreement with...
Bridgeville council considers prohibiting parking along McMillen Street
Bridgeville council wants to prohibit parking along a narrow section of McMillen Street to create an emergency fire lane. The borough’s fire chief, Raymond Costain, said the fire department has recently responded to calls in the 600 block of the brick road, which is near the Goodwill Villa apartment complex,...
Latest bond refinance brings Quaker Valley’s future interest savings to $5.1 million
For the second time in less than a year, the Quaker Valley School District has taken advantage of low-interest rates by refinancing bonds originally issued for building projects. The most recent refinancing saved about $400,000 on $6 million in bonds issued in 2016. That bond issue was part of a...
Plum approves advisory committee to help establish agriculture security areas
Plum officials have moved one step closer to establishing Agriculture Security Areas (ASAs) in the borough. Council unanimously voted Jan. 11 to form an advisory committee with Vice President Dave Vento as its chair. Vento will work with council President Dave Odom to fill the other committee seats, which must...
Penn Hills School District has a new plan to bring students back 4 days a week
Penn Hills School District officials have a new plan to bring students back into the district’s schools four days a week. Superintendent Nancy Hines said they hope to welcome first grade, middle-schoolers, juniors and seniors back Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays starting Feb. 16. All students would learn online Wednesdays...
Post-Gazette reducing print edition to 2 days a week, cites plan to go all-digital
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette is scaling back its print edition to two days a week as part of the 235-year-old newspaper’s transition to an all-digital news operation, documents show. The plan is to eliminate its Friday print edition beginning Feb. 27, according to a letter from Post-Gazette’s human resources manager provided...
Gateway School District approves board member’s resignation, searches for candidates to fill seat
The Gateway school board on Jan. 12 unanimously approved the resignation of a board member who stepped down from his elected position days after a racially charged controversy. The school board did not discuss Paul Caliari’s resignation beyond voting to approve it. Caliari resigned through a letter addressed to board...
Western Pa. lawmakers hold party lines in vote to impeach TrumpVideo
Western Pennsylvania’s congressional representatives stuck to party lines in Wednesday’s vote by the U.S. House to impeach President Trump. Reps. Conor Lamb, D-Mt. Lebanon, and Mike Doyle, D-Forest Hills, voted yes on impeaching the embattled president for his role inciting last week’s violent storming of the U.S. Capitol by Trump...
Man pleads guilty to stealing Ross woman’s safe filled with cash
A Philadelphia man already serving a 10-to-20-year prison term for burglary will serve an additional 3-1/2 to seven years for his theft of more than $140,000 from an 82-year-old Ross woman five years ago. Steve Mitchell, 62, pleaded guilty to burglary, conspiracy and receiving stolen property on Wednesday before Allegheny...
Older adults in Allegheny County will have to wait for covid vaccine, officials sayVideo
People 75 and older in Allegheny County will have to wait longer to get their shots of covid vaccine as county officials await guidance from the federal government. “We’ve been getting a lot of calls and emails from individuals wanting to know when it will be their turn to be...
Police: Men meet on Grindr, beat each other up in New Kensington
Two men who met on the dating app Grindr face assault charges after they got into a fistfight and bit each other after hooking up at one of the men’s houses, according to a criminal complaint. New Kensington police charged Ryan Christopher Grabigel, 40, of New Kensington with aggravated assault...
New Kensington-Arnold releases community survey as part of superintendent search
Members of the New Kensington-Arnold School District community are being asked to complete a survey about what traits they want in the district’s new superintendent. A link to the survey is available on the district’s website, nkasd.com. Administrators, community members, parents, staff and students are asked to complete it by...
Vandergrift authorities rescue 12-year-old boy from burning house
Quick action by Vandergrift police officers using fire extinguishers Tuesday afternoon likely saved the life of a 12-year-old boy trapped in his upstairs bedroom, a Vandergrift fire chief said. “They gave him a chance to survive. If it were not for the police using the extinguishers … there would have...
Pittsburgh council gives initial approval to $55 million in bonds for capital projects
With Pittsburgh poised to float more than $55 million in new bonds for its 2021 capital improvement projects, city council members Wednesday heard from the city’s finance director about interest rates reaching historic lows. Council member discussed the potential to borrow even more to pay for affordable housing projects. The...
