Vehicle crash, wind cause power problems in Plum
Two separate power outages affected schools and residents in Plum on Thursday morning. A “wind-related” outage caused equipment issues that impacted Plum Middle and Holiday Park Intermediate schools, Duquesne Light spokesperson Alyssa Battaglia said. The schools share a campus off Presque Isle Drive in the borough’s Holiday Park neighborhood. The...
Penn Hills student reinvigorates club programs, leads by example
Isabella Pivirotto is a busy young woman. The 17-year-old has never shied away from a full schedule and didn’t hesitate to add resurrecting the club culture in Penn Hills High School to her to-do list. “My freshman year was kind of that weird year where people were coming back to...
Acmetonia students’ project connects literacy and community service
Logan Schutzman loves Dr. Seuss books. When he was younger, he was glued to the stories with whimsical rhymes and silly animations. So it made sense for the 11-year-old at Acmetonia Elementary School to spread that joy through a school project that donates blankets and book recordings to the Lower...
Barn burns at Critter Country in South Huntingdon
An icy wind whipped across an empty, snow-dusted field off Route 981 in South Huntingdon on Thursday afternoon as flames punched through the roof of a barn at Critter Country Animal Farm. At least a dozen fire trucks and ambulances lined Route 981, blockading the roadway for about an hour...
St. Louis bakery embroiled in smiley cookies trademark dispute with Eat’n Park
Eat’n Park isn’t smiling over a St. Louis bakery producing a similarly named cookie. McArthur’s Bakery and The Pioneer Cafe in St. Louis, which employs adults with disabilities, has received a cease and desist letter from Pittsburgh-based restaurant chain Eat’n Park alleging trademark infringement over its popular Smiley Cookies. McArthur’s...
Mt. Pleasant police investigate reported shooting
Mt. Pleasant Borough police are investigating a Thursday morning shooting downtown that caused Ramsey Elementary School to be locked down. A man entered the Sunoco convenience store on West Main Street around 11 a.m. and told employees that someone had shot at him as they were in the area of...
‘Misinterpreted’ text, not bomb threat, led to disruption on Spirit jet at Pittsburgh airport
Allegheny County Police on Thursday removed all passengers from a Spirit jetliner at Pittsburgh International Airport after one traveler “misinterpreted” another’s text message as being about “a possible bomb threat,” the Transportation Security Administration told TribLive. There was no bomb threat, according to TSA and county police. TSA officials and...
Jordan Brown loses civil case against troopers who charged him
Jordan Brown set out to prove he should never have been arrested for the 2009 shooting death of his father’s pregnant fiancee. He failed. A federal jury Thursday said the four state troopers who led the investigation and accused then-11-year-old Brown of killing Kenzie Houk had probable cause to charge...
Hiking Club gains traction at Fox Chapel Area High School
Fresh air and fitness are two primary perks for members of a growing club at Fox Chapel Area High School. The Hiking Club formed in 2021 when Fox Chapel Area High School alumnus Matthew Fiedler completed a 130-mile hike over a 10-day span in Albuquerque, N.M. Fiedler, now 19 and...
Penn Hills-based Turner Dairy Farms wins Pitt award for innovative flavors, practices
Turner Dairy Farms in Penn Hills, long known for its milk and iced tea, isn’t satisfied with just sticking to tradition. Take its limited-run chocolate marshmallow milk, for instance, or hard iced tea collaboration with Pittsburgh Brewing Co. This evolution is part of why Turner’s recently was named the Business...
Salvation Army looks to boost kettle donations
Local Red Kettle donations to benefit The Salvation Army are halfway to the goal. But there’s still time to volunteer and donate. “The Pittsburgh North Boroughs location alone has a local fundraising goal of $115,000 and they are close to 50% of reaching that goal, which is positive to see,”...
Popular Wexford McDonald’s owner retires
Some may recall the old McDonald’s jingle, “You deserve a break today …” Longtime owner and operator Priscilla Foster of the fast-food chain’s Wexford restaurant is finally heeding that call. Foster has fond memories of her employees and customers during more than three decades of owning the McDonald’s on Perry...
Boyce Park slopes set to open for skiing, snowboarding
The slopes at Boyce Park will open Friday for the 2024-25 season, Allegheny County announced Thursday. The slopes, a 20-minute drive from Downtown Pittsburgh, will be open for skiing and snowboarding. The opening of the snow tubing area has been delayed. The lodge is located at 901 Centerview Drive in...
Murrysville area: Christmas bird count, state band honors and more
Email news briefs and event listings to pvarine@triblive.com. Christmas Bird Count in Westmoreland County Local residents are encouraged to volunteer for the annual Christmas Bird Count, a worldwide effort to document local bird populations. The survey is the largest citizen science effort held for one day, between Dec. 14 and...
Fox Chapel Area High School alumni gather in Lawrenceville for 20th reunion
More than 120 Fox Chapel Area High School alumni took a trip down memory lane Nov. 30 to celebrate the Class of 2004’s 20th reunion. The celebration, co-organzied by Todd Feiler and Darla Shay Whitlock, was held at Lawrence Hall in Lawrenceville. Both deemed the event a great success, with...
Buffalo supervisors deny zoning change, likely killing housing proposal off Riemer Road
The Buffalo Township supervisors rejected a zoning change Wednesday that would have paved the way for yet another housing subdivision near the Route 356 corridor. Hawthorne Residential LLC asked the board to rezone a section of land off Riemer Road from agricultural to residential with the goal of building an...
Shop Small Saturday a big tradition in Aspinwall
Aspinwall Mayor Joe Noro is a big supporter of a small annual event in Aspinwall. Shop Small Saturday is a longstanding merchant tradition in the historic borough lined with quaint houses, churches, specialty shops, restaurants, bars, cafes and specialty shops. “Small businesses drive the economy in our country,” Noro said....
North Allegheny students help brighten holidays for orphans in Ukraine
A group of orphans in Ukraine won’t be forgotten this Christmas season, thanks partly to the help of students at North Allegheny. The North Allegheny Interact Club, a high school branch Rotary International District 7305, participated in a gift-giving project for orphans in the city of Lviv in western Ukraine....
Fox Chapel Area School Board reelects president, vice president, assistant board secretary
Fox Chapel Area School Board leadership will remain the same heading into the new year. The school directors reelected Marybeth Dadd and Ron Frank as president and vice president, respectively, for the nine-member panel. Board member Vanessa Lynch also was reelected as assistant board secretary. Votes were unanimous at a...
2025 ‘critical’ for Arnold’s finances as council approves budget with no tax increase
After a shaky start to the year, Arnold’s city manager is hopeful for a better financial picture in 2025. “Next year is going to be critical to see where we are financially,” Manager Mario Bellavia said. “It was precarious early in the year. We can make next year a really...
Verona business owners bring policing concerns to council
Whether reflected by actual data or not, one thing is clear: Verona business owners are feeling less safe these days. Borough business owners and managers — 21 of whom signed a letter to Verona officials — say they’ve seen an increase in crime in the business district over the past...
Winterfest warms the spirit in McCandless
Despite a seasonably chilly December evening, friends and families bundled up for the return of Winterfest in the Town of McCandless on Dec. 7. They included McCandless resident Katie Panighetti, who was there with her husband, Tom, and daughter, Marigold, 19 months old. “This is a nice safe space for...
Crosswalk improvements to be considered at Bridgeville’s Bower Hill Road at Commercial Street
Engineers will study how officials can improve a crosswalk along Bower Hill Road in Bridgeville’s business district. Bridgeville Council in December authorized the borough’s engineer, John Heyl, to prepare a formal construction plan to improve the crosswalk across Bower Hill Road at Commercial Street, in front of Dari Delite. “This...
Reporter recounts search and recovery of woman who fell into Unity sinkhole
Last week crews launched a search and rescue mission for 64-year-old Elizabeth Pollard, who fell into a sinkhole after going out to look for her pet. Pollard was searching for her cat Dec. 2 behind Monday’s Union Restaurant in Unity when he ground gave way beneath her, and she fell...
Outgoing Greater Latrobe superintendent preparing to leave at end of December
Mike Porembka’s final day as superintendent of Greater Latrobe School District is set for Dec. 31. The school board is expected at a meeting next Tuesday to accept Porembka’s resignation and select an administrator to lead the district in the interim while a search is underway for his successor. In...
