Western PA Local News category, Page 397
The Stroller, March 9, 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. Drive-thru food distribution set...
‘We had so many plans’: Hempfield man mourns wife, a school van driver, after fatal crash
Harry Davis wasn’t surprised to hear others speak about his wife’s kindness after she was killed Friday morning. “It doesn’t surprise me,” Davis said. “From being around her, I know how she is with other people and (how she) wanted to help people.” Rene Davis, 60, of Hempfield was killed...
Westmoreland commissioners approve new labor deal, suspend work rules for nonunion staff
Westmoreland commissioners last week ratified a new labor deal for the county’s largest municipal police force and issued the temporary halt of a hiring policy that officials claim has skewed hiring and pay scales throughout the government. The commissioners approved a five-year contract with the Park Police Association of Westmoreland...
Flight 93 memorial supporters step up fundraising as potential for job cuts looms
The Friends of Flight 93 National Memorial is ramping up fundraising efforts and volunteer recruitment in light of job cuts in the National Park Service around the country. While it’s unclear if any of the national parks in Western Pennsylvania have been affected by the cuts, Donna Gibson, executive director...
Pitt-Greensburg charity basketball game benefits the Welcome Home Shelter
Pitt-Greensburg students may have won the competition against faculty and staff on the gym floor, but a local homeless shelter was the ultimate victor when it received a donation of $1,250 from the school’s annual Charity Basketball Game. The event, now in its 18th year, was organized by the Student...
5 years after covid struck, Pennsylvanians assess pandemic’s impact
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5 years after covid struck, Pennsylvanians assess the pandemic’s impact
Five years ago this month, Pennsylvania’s chief executive scrambled to manage a global health crisis for which no one in the world was prepared. As leader of the nation’s fifth most-populous state, then-Gov. Tom Wolf found himself winging it like everyone else. He had no playbook for covid-19. “It looked...
Forum covers the ‘roses and thorns’ of Hempfield firefighting
Creating an “inviting environment” was the theme at Hempfield Township’s second annual fire forum Saturday morning. The first forum took place last year to smooth over concerns, answer uncertainties about the state of the fire department and clarify the “nonchartered” process, where a fire station goes under the direct management...
Brackenridge councilman steps down after 8 years
John Stanzione is leaving Brackenridge Council but he really doesn’t want to. Stanzione announced he is resigning at Thursday’s council meeting. He said the reason is his family has outgrown his two-bedroom home on Pacific Avenue and he hasn’t been able to find one in the borough that would suit...
The Stroller, March 8, 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. Charity hoops game to...
State lawmakers hope pressure, even legislation, can keep Penn State New Kensington off the chopping block
Alle-Kiski Valley lawmakers are hoping the combination of political pressure — and even legislation — can help keep Penn State New Kensington off the chopping block when the university considers the closure of branch campuses. “I am in the process of putting out a letter to the university president in...
Last of Springdale boiler finally falls; owner says property under sales agreement after cleanup
The final remains of the massive boiler house at the former Cheswick Generating Station was pulled down shortly after 1 p.m. Saturday. Thick dust, including pieces of fiberglass insulation, enveloped the lower Springdale neighborhood adjacent to the property after the building fell. It was the conclusion of a demolition attempt...
Greensburg Salem raises money for student activities with ‘Mr. GS’ competition
Greensburg Salem held its Seventh annual “Mr. GS” competition Friday evening, raising money for student activities at the high school. Audience members paid for tickets to choose who they wanted to win the event. Nine seniors competed in various events: Cooper Dann, Logan Dunkerley, Wesley Heverly, Logan Lewis, Ethan Miller,...
University of Pittsburgh housekeepers union reaches 1-year contract, says university fears federal funding cuts
The union representing University of Pittsburgh cleaners, housekeepers, grounds crew, and movers and receivers says it has agreed to a one-year contract as the result of uncertainty in education funding from the federal government. The union, 32BJ SEIU, is a branch of the Service Employees International Union. In a press...
‘Fiscal prudence’ at Pitt, CMU means Science Writers 2025 won’t be held in Pittsburgh
The University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University won’t be teaming up to host a national science writers conference they’d initially committed to support. Pitt and CMU committed to host the Science Writers 2025 conference last year, but on Feb. 13 they withdrew that commitment, according to a statement from...
Pine considers joining Lights Out program to protect birds during spring, fall migrations
Pine officials are making strides to protect birds as spring approaches. The township, which was named a Bird Town this year, is considering participating in a new initiative called “Lights Out” to help prevent bird deaths associated with nighttime light pollution. However, the board of supervisors recently tabled a vote...
DA withdraws all charges against bookkeeper in $580K Mon View Heights theft case
The Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office on Friday withdrew charges against one of three men accused of stealing nearly $600,000 earmarked for a West Mifflin subsidized housing complex, with the prosecutor apologizing to the man as he left a preliminary hearing for the defendants. Jonathan Liani, 39, of New York...
Gainey announces plan to shield long-time Pittsburgh homeowners from property tax hikes
Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey on Friday announced an initiative to protect longtime homeowners in the city from property tax hikes. The goal, the mayor said, is to ensure that people who own homes in neighborhoods where property values are skyrocketing don’t find themselves struggling to pay their taxes if their...
Projectiles launched, zombie art composed at annual Shaler Area STEAM competition
Teams from 16 schools applied their knowledge and creativity in a series of challenges Friday during an annual STEAM competition hosted by Shaler Area High School. The competition, which began several years ago with just six schools, features a daylong sequence of science, technology, engineering, art and math trials in...
Construction begins on Rachel Carson EcoVillage in McCandless
Construction on the long-awaited Rachel Carson EcoVillage at Providence Heights, a sustainable cohabitation of 35 units in McCandless, has broken ground after several years of discussions and rezoning. The village is located on land donated by the Sisters of Divine Providence near Cumberland Road and Babcock Boulevard adjacent to La...
Jeannette man’s murder convictions, life sentences vacated over debunked fire science
A former Jeannette man serving three life prison sentences for the first-degree murders of his wife and two young children in 1993 is entitled to a new trial, a Westmoreland County judge ruled Friday. Common Pleas Court Judge Christopher Feliciani vacated the convictions and sentences of James Young, 57, who...
Rob Gronkowski, U.S. Steel partner to pay $400K to make over Woodland Hills fitness center
A Woodland Hills alumni who parlayed the strength fostered in the high school’s weight room into an NFL career has partnered with U.S. Steel to create an upgraded fitness center at the high school. “We started working on this eight or nine months ago,” Ty Brown, the district’s athletic director,...
Giant goldfish at Presque Isle serves as reminder for invasive species week
Think goldfish are tiny? Think again. A massive goldfish turned up during an electrofishing survey in Presque Isle on Lake Erie, prompting the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to share the shocking find on Facebook for National Invasive Species Awareness Week. “Your pet store goldfish after two years in the...
Whitehall historian provides Underground Railroad perspective
In greeting members of a full-house audience, David Thomas set the scene for the evening’s topic, the Underground Railroad in Pennsylvania. “Think of your journey here tonight. It’s a little drizzly, a little dark out there,” Thomas, president of the Whitehall Borough Historical Society, said. “Now think of what it...
Police seek owners of collectible coins recovered during shoplifting, gun theft, drug arrest in Unity
State police arrested a Cook Township man Friday on a shoplifting charge and found him in possession of a gun they say was stolen and 63 collectible coins they believe could be linked to a local theft. Police said they found the coins and a silver bar in 26-year-old Alexander...
