Local category, Page 2674
Parents of premature baby killed in Warren County crash
A GoFundMe campaign has raised almost $14,000 to help the four children of a couple killed in a car crash in Warren County. Stephen Charles Rothrauff, 39, and his fiancee, Jessica Lee Camp, 32, of Mead Township, had four children, including a premature baby born just five days before they...
Mon Wharf remains closed as cold prevents flood cleanup
Pittsburgh commuters who use the Mon Wharf will have to find another place to park Friday. The wharf will remain closed Friday, the Pittsburgh parking authority announced. The wharf flooded after heavy rain that fell over the Monongahela and Cheat river basins earlier this week. “Although the river has receded...
West Deer adopts 2020 budget without tax increase
West Deer Supervisors on Wednesday adopted a $6.5 million budget for 2020 that keeps the property tax rate at 2.99 mills. At that rate, the owner of a median-priced home of $115,650 would owe $345.79 in taxes, the same as this year. The biggest line item in the budget calls...
The Stroller, Dec. 20, 2019: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
Free Christmas dinners planned Free holiday dinners will be served in Lower Burrell, Harrison and Tarentum to the needy or those who might otherwise be eating alone. • Abundant Joy Fellowship, 101 Allegheny St., Tarentum, 1 to 3 p.m. Christmas Day. Reservations are suggested, but not required. Children will receive...
No tax increase in Brentwood for the fifth straight year
While Brentwood leaders are planning ribbon-cuttings for a new municipal building and renovated borough pool in 2020, residents won’t be feeling the pinch at the bank. Council members on Dec. 9 approved the borough’s 2020 budget that keeps real estate taxes at 10 mills for the fifth straight year. The...
North Huntingdon budget: No tax hike for 2020
North Huntingdon property owners will not pay more in real estate taxes to operate township government in 2020. With little fanfare or discussion, the North Huntingdon commissioners on Wednesday passed a $14.7 million general fund budget that keeps taxes at 11.3 mills. The revenue generated by 9.3 mills will be...
North Huntingdon businessman Tony Corsa named to Norwin School BoardVideo
A North Huntingdon businessman was elected Thursday to the Norwin School Board from among a field of 18 candidates. Tony Corsa, 42, won the support of seven of the eight board members during the second vote to fill the vacancy created by the Dec. 2 resignation of Barbara Viola. Corsa...
Oakmont’s 2020 budget approved with no tax hike
Oakmont property owners won’t have to worry about their real estate tax rate going up next year. Council unanimously approved next year’s spending plan and maintained the 3.73-mill rate. Borough Manager Scot Fodi expressed hope for Oakmont’s future when presenting the budget. “As we enter a new decade, this budget...
Plum School District’s Make-A-Wish telethon hopes to top $1 million
A Plum School District fundraising effort has a chance to hit the $1 million mark on Monday. Students and staff have raised funds for Make-A-Wish since 1999 with each year’s efforts culminating with a telethon at the high school. This year, activities took place October through December and included car...
Penn Hills police, firefighters free deer stuck in railingVideo
Firefighters and police freed a deer stuck in a railing outside a Penn Hills home last month. Resident David Sullivan pulled into the driveway of his Golden Gate Drive home about 2:30 p.m. Dec. 19 when he saw two deer on his property, according to his brother-in-law, James Pastirak. “One...
Latrobe man gets house arrest after pleading guilty to animal cruelty involving 17 animals
A Latrobe man will serve three months of house arrest and two years on probation after he pleaded guilty Thursday to a felony charge of animal cruelty. According to court records, Andrew T. Pevarnik, 44, was charged in September after humane officers found 17 dead animals in a Derry Township...
West Mifflin man guilty of storing 404 pounds of marijuana in Squirrel Hill ‘stash house’
A West Mifflin man accused of using an apartment in Pittsburgh’s Squirrel Hill neighborhood to store hundreds of pounds of illegal marijuana pleaded guilty to federal drug charges, prosecutors said Thursday. Wayne Barker, 61, had operated what officials called a large-scale “stash house” as part of a drug trafficking ring...
Beaver County man gets nearly 5 years behind bars for robbing 4 banks, CoGo’s
A former Beaver County man will spend nearly five years behind bars for robbing four banks and a convenience store of more than $27,000, federal prosecutors said Thursday. Patrick Acierno, 34, who has ties to Freedom, Beaver County, was convicted of the spate of robberies in Allegheny and Beaver counties...
Arnold high-rise residents like police foot patrols through buildingsVideo
The residents of Arnold Towers and the neighboring Arnold Manor don’t have to wait for an emergency to get a visit from police. For about a year, Arnold officers have checked high-rise lobbies, public areas and stairwells of both low-income high-rises along Horne Boulevard. On Thursday, three Arnold officers, including...
Traffic snarled by 3-vehicle crash on Route 30 near Hempfield Plaza
One lane of traffic on Route 30 near Hempfield Plaza was blocked Thursday afternoon as emergency crews responded to a three-vehicle crash. A Westmoreland County emergency dispatcher said at least one person suffered minor injuries. The dispatcher said eastbound traffic was reduced to one lane as a result of the...
Police: Braddock home raid turns up 450 stamp bags of heroin, fentanyl
Allegheny County Police said they arrested a Braddock man Thursday after raiding his home and finding a gun and drugs. James Wise, 28, was charged with illegal gun possession, possession with intent to deliver heroin and fentanyl, receiving stolen property and three counts of possession of controlled substances. Police said...
Westmoreland County agrees to $45K settlement with Delmont woman for injuries
A Delmont woman will be paid $45,000 for injuries she claims to have sustained in a fall at Twin Lakes Park while attending the Westmoreland Arts and Heritage Festival nearly six years ago. According to the lawsuit filed against Westmoreland County in 2016, Juliana Artascos said she was injured after...
Westmoreland prosecutors, defense attorneys will get raises
Westmoreland County prosecutors and defense lawyers are getting raises. The county commissioners on Thursday ratified a new, four-year labor contract with the union that represents 34 assistant district attorneys and public defenders. The deal with the Assistant District Attorneys Wage and Policy Committee calls for the lawyers to receive 2.75%...
Anderson attends last meeting as Westmoreland commissionerVideo
Westmoreland County Commissioner Charles Anderson on Thursday called it quits, again. Anderson, 77, is retiring for the second time. He finished out his 11 years on the county’s board of commissioners after a three-decade career as a pilot and officer in the U.S. Marines. Anderson’s last public meeting was Thursday...
New Castle man accused of selling crack cocaine in Butler faces new charges
A New Castle man has been accused of scheming to sell large amounts crack cocaine to addicts in Western Pennsylvania, federal prosecutors said Thursday. Zaamar Stevenson, 43, who goes by the nickname “Scrap,” faces new charges from a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh related to possessing and selling more than...
No real estate tax increase for 2020 in Cheswick
The property tax rate will remain the same next year for Cheswick property owners. Council passed a 2020 budget of $1.78 million that keeps the borough’s real estate tax rate of 5.85 mills. The total includes 0.25-mill dedicated to the library. A Cheswick homeowner would continue to pay $608 in...
White secretary at Pittsburgh Public Schools sues district, alleging racial discrimination
A secretary employed by Pittsburgh Public Schools is suing the district in federal court contending she’s been discriminated against for the last 12 years because she’s white. Kristen Frankovich says she’s been discriminated against because of her race in every position she’s held since 2007, when she started with the...
Westmoreland County’s 2020 budget brings 1st tax increase in 15 yearsVideo
Westmoreland County officials said a 2.4% property tax increase approved Thursday is needed to balance the 2020 budget, a spending plan that will nearly drain a surplus fund and relies on a $10 million loan to pay the bills at the start of next year. Commissioners Gina Cerilli and Charles...
Monroeville increases spending without raising taxes
Monroeville’s 2020 budget does not include an increase in property taxes. The $35.3 million spending plan represents a 0.85% increase from 2019’s budget and calls for a $3.2 million transfer from its fund balance. Current projections show the fund balance will reach $8.3 million by the end of 2020. Initially,...
Ex-Applewold councilman sentenced to 4 to 8 years for child sex assault
A former Applewold councilman and East Franklin fire chief convicted of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old boy two years ago in Kittanning was sentenced Thursday to up to 8 years in prison. Mark Alan Feeney, 56, will serve 4 to 8 years in state prison. Armstrong County Judge James Panchik ordered...
