Local category, Page 2669
Monroeville offers winter programs
Feeling cooped up? Here is a list of activities sponsored by the Monroeville Recreation and Parks Department going on through the cold, winter months to get you up and moving. Swimming Starting Jan. 11, there will be different programs available for people aged 6 months to adults at Gateway High...
The Stroller, Dec. 24, 2019: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
Special visitor set to visit the Alle-Kiski Valley tonight Hopefully the clouds will hold off in the Alle-Kiski Valley tonight. Many children – and adults – will have their eyes focused on the skies looking for a special visitor! HOPE Center seeks donations Throughout the winter months the HOPE Center...
No increase in real estate taxes while sewage rates soar in Baldwin Borough
Baldwin Borough leaders have held the line on real estate taxes for 2020. However, residents will be paying more for sewage in the new year. Council members on Dec. 17 approved the borough’s 2020 spending plan that includes $12.8 million in the general fund, $6.8 million in the sewer fund,...
Murrysville window-screen company will appear on ABC’s ‘Shark Tank’ in JanuaryVideo
Joe Altieri was taking a huge risk when he decided to leave his job in the window industry to start up FlexScreen, a Murrysville company that provides removable, flexible window screens. Now he has a chance to have a professional investor share that risk. Altieri, a Plum resident, will appear...
Santa’s secret to success? His management philosophy, says Saint Vincent College prof
Ever wonder how Santa Claus can cover the entire world in a single night? The legend of Rudolph says the secret is the guidance system of the reindeer’s bright red nose. The movie “Elf” posits the collective belief in Santa as the power behind the sleigh. For Michael Urick, it’s...
Harrison optometrist’s childhood vision comes full circle
Editor’s note: Building the Valley tells stories of businesses big and small and the employees who make them special. If you know of any standout employees, bosses or companies with a great story to tell, contact reporter Madasyn Lee at mlee@tribweb.com. Dr. John Bissell knew by age 13 that he...
Menorah Parade illuminates the streets of PittsburghVideo
The lights led the way through the darkness on Monday. More than 125 vehicles adorned with menorahs — a sacred candelabrum with eight lights used in Jewish worship, some homemade and others that have been purchased — made their way through the streets of Pittsburgh. “Hanukkah is about light and...
Man hospitalized after car crashes onto curb along Unity Trestle in Plum
A man was injured Monday night when his car crashed over a curb and nearly struck a utility pole in Plum, officials said. Shortly after 6 p.m., the man was driving a gray sedan on Unity Trestle Road near Universal Road heading toward Leechburg Road and failed to make a...
Another Squirrel Hill Tunnel crash snarls rush-hour traffic along I-376 inbound
A seven-vehicle crash outside the Squirrel Hill Tunnel snarled traffic during Monday’s evening commute. Emergency dispatchers received a report of the crash on the inbound lanes of Interstate 376 heading toward Pittsburgh about 6:30 p.m., an Allegheny County 911 shift commander said. The crash happened at the inbound entrance on...
Pittsburgh police investigate allegation that Darlene Harris took city property
Pittsburgh police on Monday opened an investigation into allegations that outgoing Councilwoman Darlene Harris, who has been cleaning out her office, stole items given to the city by foreign visitors, officials said. Public Safety spokesman Chris Togneri said police began the investigation based on information that Public Safety Director Wendell...
Greensburg synagogue lights menorah to mark HanukkahVideo
The Jewish Festival of Lights, or Hanukkah, began Sunday evening and continues through Dec. 30. Greensburg’s Congregation Emanu-El Israel, which is a center for Jewish activities in central Westmoreland County, observed a festival tradition by lighting two electric candles on a menorah at sunset Monday at its North Main Street...
2 Hempfield sites named among Schools to Watch
Recognized for their high performance and willingness to improve, two Hempfield middle schools were named Schools to Watch by the Pennsylvania Association for Middle Level Education. Awarded to Harrold and West Hempfield middle schools, Schools to Watch is a recognition program based on four main criteria: academic excellence, developmental responsiveness,...
Hays bald eagle nest gets new webcam for upcoming breeding seasonVideo
Unseasonably warm temperatures but still frozen ground made for a seamless reinstallation of a live webcam now in its seventh year at the Pittsburgh bald eagle nest in Hays. The Hays bald eagles, one of the region’s half-dozen known breeding pairs of the formerly endangered birds, are in their eighth...
Delay in funding change may have saved Westmoreland’s paratransit system
Westmoreland County transit officials Monday said they support the continued delay of a new funding method that could have gutted local paratransit operations for low-income, elderly and disabled residents. “We are relieved,” Westmoreland County Transit Authority Executive Director Alan Blahovec said. “There is no way we would have been able...
Longtime Gilpin firefighter, fire truck collector dies at 92
Lawrence Goodbread didn’t just love fire trucks, he collected them. Goodbread, who died Dec. 18 at 92, owned two antique fire trucks at the time of his death. To honor the longtime firefighter and avid collector, a 1946 Ford fire truck that Goodbread took to parades was parked outside the...
Plane from Charlotte to Pittsburgh lands safely after reporting possible mechanical issue
A plane headed from Charlotte to Pittsburgh reported a possible mechanical issue with its nose landing gear before touching down safely Monday afternoon, officials said. Pittsburgh International Airport spokesman Matt Neistein said officials treat any such reports “very seriously” and that the airport sent emergency units to the runway “out...
Police: Burglars caught on video taking large safe from Beaver County business
State police said they are searching for two people who stole a large safe from a Beaver County business earlier this month. The suspects were captured on a surveillance camera loading the safe into the bed of a pickup, according to state police. Police said the theft happened at Parsons...
Police release details about car used by Dormont home invasion suspect
Allegheny County Police on Monday released a description of a car that could be connected to the suspect in a violent Dormont home invasion. Police have been looking for Joel Hatfield, 28, no known address, since Sunday. Police say Hatfield, while armed with a knife, forced his way into an...
Gateway students honor workers with meal
Approximately 20 students at Gateway High School who belong to this year’s Chick-fil-A Leader Academy provided lunch for workers within the school they felt were underappreciated. In attendance were cafeteria workers, custodians, secretaries, police officers, technology staff, the school nurse and administration....
Grapeville residents banding together to save ball field
Community members may have thrown their last pitch last summer at a Grapeville ball field after residents say members of the fire department sold the land. The field, at 1260 Toledo St. in Hempfield, has been a staple in the community and is utilized by an adult coed team, said...
Christian Layman volunteer Wayne Clemens, 85, wins volunteer of the year awardVideo
For 15 years, Wayne Clemens has loaded trucks full of clothes and furniture, preparing to deliver the donated items to charities as far as West Virginia and Kentucky. The 85-year-old Hempfield resident has been a staple at Greensburg’s Christian Layman store, making deliveries, maintaining trucks and keeping them up-to-date on...
Allegheny County Health Department warns of bad air quality in region
The Allegheny County Health Department is advising residents of poor air quality as warmer temperatures linger in the region. Temperature inversions — when warm air traps cold air and pollutants close to the surface, often causing bad smells like sulfur or rotten eggs — have impacted air quality across Allegheny...
Troopers make surprise visit to Hempfield familyVideo
Onlookers would have thought Santa started his rounds early Monday afternoon when seven state police patrol cars and SUVs with emergency lights flashing and a siren blaring turned down Matteo Court in Hempfield and pulled into a driveway where 10-year-olds Payton and Riley Johnson and their brother, Ayden, 13, were...
Jefferson Hills real estate tax to remain the same
Real estate taxes will remain the same for Jefferson Hills residents in 2020. Borough council on Dec. 9 approved the municipality’s spending plan that includes a $10.7 million general fund. The real estate tax rate will stay at 5.66 mills. Property owners with a home assessed at $100,000 will pay...
Allegheny County residents can recycle Christmas trees at parks
Allegheny County residents can recycle their Christmas trees at nine regional parks starting Dec. 26, the county announced Monday. Trees, which will be used for mulch in county parks, can be dropped from 8 a.m. until dusk through Jan. 14. Lights and decorations must be removed prior to drop-off. The...
