The Stroller, April 16, 2025: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
Publicize your non-profit’s community events, fundraisers and club meetings for free in The Stroller. Send information at least two weeks in advance to vndnews@triblive.com or The Stroller, 210 Wood St., Tarentum PA 15084. Please include a daytime telephone number. Follow the Stroller on X at @VNDStroller. Scholarships available to local...
Shortage of area homes, rising prices, interest rates fuel frustration for would-be buyers
House hunters such as Bruce and Brenda Babich are up against a perfect storm of low inventory, rising home costs and unfriendly mortgage rates. That’s becoming the norm in the Pittsburgh housing market, which historically has been viewed as affordable. “They’re not staying on the market long,” said Bruce Babich,...
Residents of 2 Pine-Richland regions to see contested primaries for school board
Residents of the Pine-Richland School District will see contested primary contests in two of the district’s three regions at the May 20 primary. In Region 1, Liz DeLosa is cross-filed and uncontested in the primary. Incumbent Lisa Hillman is not seeking reelection. Region 2 In Region 2, six candidates, including...
Part I: Richland History Group explores Massey Harbison’s incredulous May 1792 abduction by Native Americans
Editor’s note: This is Part 1 of a two-part series on Massey Harbison by the Richland History Group. Part 2 will appear in the May edition of the Pine Creek Journal. On May 22, 1792, today’s Pine and Richland townships were in the “Wild West” of the United States of...
United Steelworkers, ATI reach tentative agreement; ratification vote yet to come
United Steelworkers and ATI have reportedly reached a tentative contract agreement. The USW announced the development Tuesday evening via a text to its members. ATI spokeswoman Natalie Gillespie confirmed a tentative agreement was reached for a six-year labor agreement. She did not have specific information regarding the contract. She said...
‘I have not even stepped out of the house’: 2 Carnegie Mellon students testify to keep federal exchange status intact
Two international Carnegie Mellon University graduate students, whose ability to study in the U.S. was terminated under a crackdown by the Trump administration, testified Tuesday in federal court as they sought to restore their status and complete their education. The students said their appearance in a Downtown Pittsburgh courtroom marked...
Former cheer booster treasurer pleads guilty to stealing funds
An Upper Burrell woman pleaded guilty Tuesday to the theft of nearly $19,000 from the Burrell Cheer Boosters. Ashley Marie Frieberg, 41, agreed to repay the organization $8,900 as part of a deal with Westmoreland County prosecutors to plead guilty to a lesser charge related to theft allegations leveled against...
Bridgeville seeks reversal of federal decision for funding for McLaughlin Run flood project
Bridgeville is at risk of missing out $5.33 million of federal funding for a flood control project officials say would advance public safety and development in the northern end of the borough. The borough is calling on its residents to contact federal legislators to restore FEMA’s “Building Resilient Infrastructure and...
Shaler Area proposes maximum property tax increase to maintain programs, services
The highest possible property tax increase will allow the Shaler Area School District to balance its budget without cutting any student programs, supports or extracurricular activities while preserving the district’s fund balance, according to a presentation to the school board. The preliminary $102.6 million budget for the 2025-26 school year...
Pine seeks volunteers to help with planting of trees in 3 community parks
Pine is sprucing up the community with tree planting events in three parks. The township’s Environmental Advisory Council will be planting trees April 22 in Pine Community Park, Pine Haven Park and Karrington Woods Park. The Pine Community Park tree planting will take place at 10 a.m., followed immediately by...
Westmoreland finalizes plans for May primary, mail-in ballots will begin next week
Westmoreland County voters could see primary ballots arrive in their mailboxes as early as next week, officials said on Tuesday. Election Bureau director Scott Ross said the county to date has processed more than 21,000 mail-in ballot applications leading up to the May 20 Democratic and Republican primaries, where voters...
Ohio man pleads guilty to trafficking sex workers in Monroeville
An Ohio man pleaded guilty in federal court on Monday to bringing an underage girl and two adults to Monroeville to work as prostitutes, according to court documents. Donte L. Cole, 40, of Euclid, Ohio, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to sex trafficking of a child and coercion of...
Shaler awards $1.3M road paving contract
More than two dozen Shaler roads will be resurfaced this year. Township commissioners at their April 8 meeting accepted a $1.31 million bid from A. Liberoni, which had submitted the lowest of seven bids for the township’s road paving program. The highest bid was nearly $1.67 million. The work is...
Salem will host township-wide clean-up day
Salem residents are invited to take part in a township-wide clean-up day on May 17. Township residents can bring one pick-up truck load or two car loads of items to dispose of at the township building, 244 Congruity Road. The clean-up is for township residents only, and proof of residency...
2 charged after Unity woman is scammed of $19,000
Two New York men are behind bars after state police said they scammed a Unity woman out of $19,000 and led troopers on a chase that ended with their capture on the Pennsylvania Turnpike. Preliminary hearings are scheduled later this month for Reheem J. Anderson, 22, and Floyd B. Forrest,...
New Kensington sinkhole deemed ‘public nuisance’ now fixed
A hole in a New Kensington alley deemed a “public nuisance” by officials has been filled. Crews spent Monday and Tuesday working to fill the hole in Moss Alley in the Parnassus section of the city. “It was a great day,” said Vince Davis, who owns property nearby. The hole...
ACLU sues Pitt alleging free-speech violations against pro-Palestine student group
The American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania on Tuesday sued the University of Pittsburgh in federal court alleging the school violated the First Amendment by targeting a student organization advocating for Palestine. The university in March placed Students for Justice in Palestine at Pitt on an indefinite, interim suspension in...
Jeannette considering rehabilitation of donated property
A property on Frothingham Avenue is being donated to Jeannette and city officials said a home on it may be rehabilitated or demolished. City council last week accepted the donation of 148 Frothingham Ave. in a 4-1 vote. Councilwoman Michelle Langdon cast the opposing vote. City manager Ethan Keedy said...
Arnold Palmer Regional Airport will host TSA PreCheck enrollment sessions
Airline passengers who want to speed up their security line screening times will be able to enroll in the Transportation Security Administration PreCheck program April 29 to May 9 at Arnold Palmer Regional Airport near Latrobe. The temporary TSA PreCheck center will be held in the airport terminal baggage claim...
Police seek pair who parachuted from PPG Place rooftop
Two men who parachuted off the roof of PPG Place in Market Square last week could face trespassing charges if police identify them, a police spokeswoman said. Security cameras recorded the men entering One PPG Place near Stanwix Street and Third Avenue about 4:45 a.m. April 9 wearing dark hooded...
Lower Burrell nixes idea for alcohol at city parks events
Lower Burrell is scrapping plans to allow alcohol at city park events — at least for now. The proposal, according to City Manager Greg Primm, would have required alcohol vendors to be state-licensed and offer only Pennsylvania-made alcoholic products. It would have established a formal permitting system and operational rules...
McKnight Road traffic crossover, Babcock Boulevard ramp closure planned in Ross
The next phase of a traffic crossover on McKnight Road in Ross will start Friday, PennDOT announced. Northbound traffic on McKnight Road is expected to be crossed over into the southbound lanes on Friday to allow crews to continue work on the bridge carrying traffic over Babcock Boulevard, the agency...
‘Potentially life-saving’: Arnold, Lower Burrell, New Kensington move to form daytime fire crew
Your eyes won’t be fooling you if you see an Arnold firefighter in a Lower Burrell fire truck en route to an emergency scene. Or a Lower Burrell firefighter in a New Kensington truck. The cities are working together to establish a Tri-City duty crew to effectively staff the cities’...
Holiday Park students raise trout for release in May
Fifth graders at Holiday Park Intermediate School have been raising dozens of newborn trout after placing 150 fish eggs in a classroom tank in January. After receiving the eggs from the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, students designed and maintained the tank for several months as the fish grew and...
Aspinwall’s Green Streets doubles impact with high school partnership
Leaders of an annual Aspinwall cleanup are expecting to toss even more trash from town roads and green spaces after solidifying a partnership with the Fox Chapel Area environmental club. Andy Collins, vice president of the nonprofit host Aspinwall Neighbors, said the event is growing at a rapid pace heading...
