Hempfield delays decision on zoning change for proposed development near Valley Green
Hempfield supervisors are taking more time to mull over a request to rezone 100 acres of farmland to allow for a housing development after neighbors voiced concerns regarding flooding, traffic and wetlands on the property. Supervisors voted unanimously to table the measure. “Growth’s important to the township, I support controlled...
Pittsburgh council mulls referendum to bar sale of water, sewer systems to private entities
Pittsburgh voters may be asked to vote in May on whether the city should be restricted from leasing or selling its water and sewer systems to private entities. Legislation introduced Tuesday to City Council would pose the question to voters as a ballot referendum, which a majority would need to...
Gateway school board votes to settle racial discrimination lawsuit
Gateway school board members voted unanimously Monday to approve a $50,000 settlement in a racial discrimination lawsuit filed by an alum who claims she was not hired as the district’s athletic director because she is in an interracial marriage. The vote for the settlement was 8-0; board President Leslie McBride...
$4,000 murder-for-hire scheme sends Mt. Lebanon killer to prison for up to 36 years
A Mt. Lebanon man who was paid $4,000 in drugs and cash to kill a McKees Rocks woman in 2022 will serve at least 18 years in prison. Alec Stefanovits, 30, told the judge on Tuesday that he was in a drug-fueled craze when he killed Ashley Roberts on Jan....
Nonprofit civic groups to connect with community at Greensburg forum
A Greensburg area organization is sponsoring an event to connect smaller nonprofit organizations with each other and with the community to make people aware of the life-affirming services that are available, the organizer said. The Connections for Life event will be held from 5 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday at the...
Monroeville man sought by Murrysville police
A Monroeville man is wanted on assault and terroristic threat charges stemming from an incident in Murrysville, police said. Travis F. Brown, 37, is accused of violating a protection-from-abuse order by visiting an Oregon Street home on Dec. 21, 2024. A woman who lives at the home told police Brown...
Allegheny Township Big Lots appears to be in jeopardy as partial liquidation unfolds
The future of Big Lots’ footprint in Western Pennsylvania remains unclear, but it’s not looking good for the Allegheny Township location. Its lease was recently available for transfer, which is a sign it could close as part of the struggling bargain retailer’s acquisition by a Boston-based asset liquidation firm. Locations...
Vehicle travels off turnpike, strikes tree and overturns in Penn Township; driver hospitalized
A man driving through Penn Township on the Pennsylvania Turnpike was taken to Forbes Regional Hospital after striking a tree Tuesday morning. Penn Township Ambulance, Harrison City Volunteer Fire Department, and turnpike officials were dispatched to the area of mile marker 60 on the toll road around 8:20 a.m., according...
Morning Roundup: Fire crews called twice to Carrick home; latest police arrest numbers
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Wednesday, Jan. 28: Fire crews called twice to Carrick home After extinguishing flames at a home in Pittsburgh’s Carrick neighborhood early Tuesday morning, fire crews were called back to the scene hours later. Firefighters were first dispatched to the...
Edgeworth woman embraces a myriad of volunteering opportunities in Sewickley
Karen Galbraith of Edgeworth exists in a volunteer vortex. “My interest is in sustainability volunteering, and I got my start with Sustainable Sewickley,” Galbraith said. From there, she now volunteers with the Village Garden Club of Sewickley (first vice president of membership), the Little Garden Club, Sewickley Civic Garden Council...
Westmoreland commissioners seek more oversight of juvenile detention center
Westmoreland County’s juvenile detention center, plagued for more than two years by staffing and other issues, may be getting more oversight, if county commissioners get their way. Commissioners, who account for a half of the board that oversees the eight-bed secured facility for juvenile offenders, said they want monthly updates...
Allegheny River ice raises concerns over safety and flooding
No matter how tempting, people should not walk or play on the area’s frozen-over rivers. Especially because things will be warming up soon. Meteorologists at the National Weather Service expect temperatures to be above freezing Thursday through Sunday, said Alicia Miller, a hydrologist with the weather service. “That, in addition...
The Stroller, Jan. 28, 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. Free advice available for...
Union Mission building in Derry Township expands to offer longer-term transitional shelter
The Union Mission’s emergency shelter for homeless men was at 108% capacity last year, with cots supplementing its 24 beds. Next month, the faith-based organization will open a new long-term shelter that is expected to relieve pressure on emergency shelters in Westmoreland County. “There are folks using emergency shelters where...
Coffee lovers likely to pay more in wake of jump in bean prices
The cost of a cup of joe is on the rise at coffee shops. If the price of her $3.25 cup of Americano coffee goes up too much, Piper Anke of Derry is among those who say they would consider drinking less. Anke, 18, is a student at Seton Hill...
‘Take it out on Bella’: Prosecution rests case in Oakmont child’s starvation death
A video taken on April 22, 2020, showed one of Bella Seachrist’s stepbrothers smacking her. Another taken less than a month later, showed the girl, nearly 4, sitting facing a corner as two other children in the Oakmont house hit her. A photograph taken five days after that showed one...
Carrick man who won new trial in 2017 slaying gets reduced sentence in plea deal
A Carrick man whose conviction for third-degree murder was overturned because of a faulty jury instruction had his sentence vastly reduced after pleading guilty Monday to voluntary manslaughter, a lesser charge. Derek Vasos, 45, already served 7 1/2 years in prison on the case and will not have any additional...
Seton Hill University shutters student newspaper indefinitely
Seth Stevens was disturbed after learning the student newspaper at Seton Hill University, The Setonian, would be put on an indefinite hiatus. “It was very sad,” said Stevens, 21, of Greensburg. “I was very much looking forward to writing.” This spring was to be his first official semester as a...
Gainey rejects Pittsburgh cooperation with ICE amid immigration crackdown
Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey on Monday said his administration would not work with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. His comments during an appearance in Harrisburg come amid heightened concerns from the local immigrant community about ICE raids. President Donald Trump has issued quotas for the immigration enforcement agency to ramp...
A.W. Beattie Career Center to acquire classroom ambulance simulator, thanks to $85,000 infusion from state
The A.W. Beattie Career Center soon will have a “true-to-life” ambulance simulator in one of its classrooms. The school, a technical high school open to students in nine North Hills school districts, was among dozens of institutions awarded with competitive equipment grants from the Pennsylvania Department of Education. Beattie received...
Governor nominates Wian, Schimizzi to fill Westmoreland County Courthouse vacancies
Westmoreland County’s Register of Wills Office could be getting a new leader as part of a deal reached between Gov. Josh Shapiro and the state Senate to fill dozens of vacancies throughout Pennsylvania. The governor this month nominated Jon Wian, chief of staff to Republican Commissioner Sean Kertes, to serve...
Westmoreland water authority calls for reduction of use as winter freeze, thaw impacts supply
Nearly 122,000 Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County customers have been urged to conserve water as work crews identify leaks and service line breaks that resulted from last week’s cold snap. Officials said the frigid winter temperatures and this weekend’s thaw stressed the water system’s infrastructure and supply. Water line breaks...
Woman wanted on drug charges found with drugs in New Kensington hotel room, police say
More than 100 stamp bags of suspected fentanyl were among drugs and paraphernalia police from New Kensington and Lower Burrell said they found in a New Kensington hotel room Jan. 23 Police made the discovery while looking for a woman wanted on felony warrants out of Lower Burrell. New Kensington...
Funding comes through to replace roughly 1,000 lead water lines in the Alle-Kiski Valley
The Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County has the cash on hand to start ripping out approximately 1,000 lead water lines in its five-county network. The Pennsylvania Infrastructure Investment Authority came through earlier this month with a $4.6 million grant and a $5.4 million loan to fund most of the project....
Donora, Murrysville, Greensburg dive teams help pull Fayette County crash victim, vehicle from West Virginia lake
With an 8-inch sheet of ice atop the frigid water beneath their feet, dive teams from Murrysville Medic One and the Donora and Greensburg volunteer fire departments helped pull a vehicle and remains of a Fayette County resident from West Virginia’s Cheat Lake Sunday. Kevin Laitalle, 59, of Smithfield, and...
