Local category, Page 2854
Spill from Elizabeth Township fracking site under investigation
The state Department of Environmental Protection and Elizabeth Township Police are investigating after a tanker truck went over an embankment Thursday and spilled rainwater from a nearby fracking well containment pad. A portion of the 4,650-gallon load spilled near a tributary of the Youghiogheny River about 9:30 p.m. in the...
Monroeville Jazz Fest a hit with crowd
Monroeville’s 17th annual Jazz Festival took Monroeville Community Park West by storm as more than 3,000 people served as the audience for several musicians who played the venue throughout the day. “Even with the rain that came in at the tail end,” said Debbie Iszauk, event manager for Monroeville Foundation,...
Stolen truck, guns from Monroeville recovered in Pitcairn
A truck containing two handguns was stolen in Monroeville and recovered a day later in Pitcairn, Monroeville police Chief Doug Cole said. Cole said the theft’s “M.O.” fits the pattern of juveniles ransacking unlocked vehicles and sometimes stealing them if keys are available. He said the black Chevy, four-door crew...
Plum students welcomed back to new school year
The first day of school in the Plum School District was Aug. 21. Faculty and staff were there to greet students and returned on day two with more high fives and fist bumps....
Plum School District plans $5 million in facility improvements this school year
Plum School District officials plan to spend $5 million on building repairs and upgrades this school year. “We’re doing it in phases based on priority, with safety being the top priority,” district business manager John Zahorchak said. “We’re also taking on some of this work on our own (with district...
Mt. Washington Transit Tunnel set to reopen
The Port Authority of Allegheny County expects to reopen the Mt. Washington Transit Tunnel for regular light rail service Monday. The tunnel has been closed for maintenance since July 26, requiring the authority to detour nearly two dozen routes and causing some delays for light rail commuters. Contractors replaced approximately...
Police: 19 parked vehicles keyed this week on Mt. Washington streets
As many as 19 vehicles parked on two streets in Pittsburgh’s Mt. Washington neighborhood were keyed between Wednesday night and Thursday morning, Pittsburgh police spokeswoman Cara Cruz said. They were parked on Laclede and Kathleen streets, she said, in what appeared to be a random act of vandalism. Anyone with...
Gateway considers taking advantage of current bond interest rates
The Gateway school board wants to refund a bond issued in 2012. During a meeting on Aug. 20, the board hired Piper Jaffray, a Pittsburgh investment banking firm, to secure a favorable interest rate to bring savings to the district on a yearly basis over the lifetime of the existing...
Apollo mayor appoints new acting officer in charge
Apollo Mayor Cindee Virostek appointed borough police Officer Dave Romagnoli this week as acting officer in charge. Apollo police Chief Jarred Kier submitted his resignation last month effective Aug. 15 to take a full-time patrolman’s job in Washington Township. Apollo is in need of more police officers. There are only...
New club aims to help Hempfield students connect to public service careers
A new club at Hempfield Area High School could help bridge the gap between a lack of volunteer firefighters and a younger workforce. The Public Services Club is headed by biology teacher, volunteer firefighter and paramedic Justin Heddinger. The organization will introduce students to careers such as volunteer firefighting, police...
Highlands approves contract for custodians, maintenance workers
Custodians and maintenance workers in Highlands School District have an early-retirement offer along with a new contract. The new three-year agreement between the district and workers with Service Employees International Union Local 32BJ is retroactive to June 30 and runs until June 30, 2022. The contract covers about 30 employees....
Seton Hill awarded grant to help bolster math center
Seton Hill University has received a $100,000 grant that will bolster the Greensburg school’s math center. Presented by the Booth Ferris Foundation, a New York-based grant organization, the funds will be used at the Robert M. Brownlee Mathematics Enrichment Center to help strengthen the skills of undergraduate students with the...
Pittsburgh woman dead in Peters Township crash
A Pittsburgh woman died after crashing into a tree in Peters Township, Washington County, according to the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office. Sara E. Adams, 67, crashed on the 600 block of East McMurray Road just after 5 p.m., according to Washington County 911. She was flown to a Pittsburgh...
5 things to do in Pittsburgh this weekend: Aug. 23-25
Sunny skies and cooler temperatures are on the way this weekend. Here are some suggestions for how to spend your time. Art appreciation Head over to Walnut Street for an art extravaganza. The 23rd annual Shadyside … The Art Festival on Walnut is Saturday and Sunday. The event features 150...
Man hit by car after argument in Pittsburgh’s Brookline neighborhood
A woman hit a man with her car after he assaulted her in Pittsburgh’s Brookline neighborhood early Friday morning, according to the city department of public safety. The man and woman had been arguing inside a local business and moved outside onto West Liberty Avenue around 2 a.m., according to...
Route 51 reopens in West Mifflin after water main break
Route 51 in West Mifflin reopened Friday morning as crews finished repairing damage done by a water main break the previous morning. All lanes reopened shortly before 10:30 a.m., according to a West Mifflin police dispatcher. The break happened just after 4 a.m. Thurdsay, causing the road to buckle. The...
Pittsburgh to begin sidewalk repairs along Mt. Washington’s Grandview Avenue
Pittsburgh will begin repairs in September to sidewalks and railings along Mt. Washington’s scenic Grandview Avenue. Originally estimated at $1 million, the $800,000 project will begin on Sept. 3 and wrap up by late November, according to the Mayor’s Office. “Grandview Avenue is a treasure to our city and our...
Westmoreland Fair enters its final weekend
The 65th Westmoreland Fair, dubbed “A Timeless Tradition,” enters its last two days on Friday and Saturday, when the nine-day event concludes at the fairgrounds in Mt. Pleasant Township. Featured events remaining include truck and tractor races Friday night along with demolition derby and a concert by the Andy Davis...
Panther Foundation grants include funding for ‘maker space’ in middle-school library
Franklin Regional teachers were awarded $8,500 in grants from the FR Panther Foundation that will fund a video project and a science lab, as well as a creative space in the middle-school library. “We’re taking a look at part of the library and designating an area as a ‘maker space,’”...
Pittsburgh man sentenced to 5 years in prison, fine for marijuana trafficking
A Pittsburgh man was sentenced to five years in federal prison for his role in a marijuana trafficking conspiracy. Christopher Schanck, 36, was convicted of conspiracy to distribute marijuana and money laundering. Senior U.S. District Judge David S. Cercone imposed the sentence, as well as four years supervised release and...
Emergency officials: Overturned truck spills ‘unknown material’ into Yough River
An overturned truck in Elizabeth Township has released about 4,800 gallons of unknown material into the Youghiogheny River, emergency dispatchers said Thursday night. Fire and emergency crews were dispatched to the 2300 block of Douglas Run Road in Elizabeth just after 9:30 p.m. for a report of a tri-axle truck...
6 Allegheny County Jail inmates disciplined after fight
No serious injuries were reported after a fight broke out among a half dozen inmates at the Allegheny County Jail on Wednesday afternoon. In a statement released Thursday, Warden Orlando Harper said the fight happened around 12:45 p.m. Wednesday. “Six inmates received misconducts as a result of fighting,” Harper said...
New Kensington-Arnold OKs teachers contract just in time for start of school
After more than two years of negotiations, teachers in the New Kensington-Arnold School District have a new contract. The contract runs through June 30, 2021, and is retroactive to Sept. 1, 2017. Teachers will report for Monday as scheduled; students return Wednesday. Under the terms of the contract: • The...
Murrysville Council approves excavation plan for ‘poor soil’ on Sloan construction site
Like many of the details surrounding the Franklin Regional School District’s “elementary campus” project, the discovery of poor soil on the Sardis Road property means one thing to those who support the project, and another to those against it. To the project’s engineer, the trucking of 12,000 cubic yards of...
2-year-old drowns in Fayette County pool
A 2-year-old girl drowned in a pool in Fayette County on Thursday afternoon. The incident happened around 3:30 p.m. in a pool along Coolsprings Street in Hopwood, the Tribune-Review’s news partner, WPXI-TV, reported. State police could not be reached for comment. A representative of the Fayette County Coroner’s Office said...
