Gateway school board to review Costa Rica trip proposal, approve expenses
Gateway School District could sponsor an educational trip to Costa Rica next summer. Board members this week heard a presentation from Shea O’Sullivan of EF Educational Tours about a possible trip in June 2025. High school teacher Lynn Martin reached out to EF Tours. The tour operator has been in...
Carnegie woman identified as pedestrian killed when struck by vehicle in Point Breeze
Authorities say a Carnegie woman was killed when she struck by vehicle Wednesday morning in Pittsburgh’s Point Breeze neighborhood. The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office identified the victim as Vira Petrakh, 51. She was a pedestrian who was struck at the intersection of South Dallas Avenue and Reynolds Street at...
Cracks in new Pittsburgh airport garage fuel concern, controversy
Allegheny County Council President Pat Catena is sounding the alarm on a series of cracks found recently in the massive parking garage being built as part of Pittsburgh International Airport’s $1.5 billion modernization project. The Allegheny County Airport Authority, which is managing the project, said it is aware of cracks...
Former investigator at state AG’s North Huntingdon office could lose pension if convicted
A North Versailles woman accused of taking money from the Pennsylvania attorney general’s North Huntingdon office while she was an employee there could lose her pension if she’s convicted. The Public Employee Pension Forfeiture Act requires a Pennsylvania State Employees’ Retirement System member or participant who commits certain crimes related...
Allegheny Health Network’s Forbes Hospital to begin paying property taxes under proposed settlement
Gateway school board members will consider a settlement that would bring in more than $250,000 in back taxes from Allegheny Health Network’s Forbes Hospital campus as well as nearly $60,000 in annual taxes moving forward. At issue is a small portion of AHN’s 50-acre hospital campus in Monroeville. The property...
State police seek return of suspect in stolen car case related to missing dog, Lucky
Lucky the dog has been missing for a month, but his owner’s heartbreak is still as fresh as when he first disappeared. “We’re just basically still hoping that we can find Lucky,” said Linda Folino, whose 87-year-old father, Willard Martz, is the dog’s owner. “He’s such a big part of...
Bethel Park Historical Society hosts open house for Schoolhouse Arts and History Center
Eight years ago, a recently returned Bethel Park native started contacting media outlets about a project he was promoting. Bill Haberthur, a 1978 Bethel Park High School graduate who moved back after a career primarily in New York City, wanted to spread the word about plans to renovate the building...
Plans for improvements at Veterans Memorial Field, Springdale soccer field advance
Plans for renovations at two Springdale fields — one owned by the borough and the other by the Allegheny Valley School District — are moving forward. Springdale Council awarded a contract of about $580,000 to Harmar-based Panza Landscaping for installation of a retaining wall and sidewalks at Veterans Memorial Field,...
Jeannette property tax rate expected to hold, future reduction of earned-income rate discussed
Property taxes in Jeannette are not expected to rise in 2025 under a tentative spending plan. “For now, we’re not anticipating a tax increase,” said city manager Ethan Keedy. Council members and Keedy on Tuesday discussed the proposed budget that would hold the line on property taxes at 35.62 mills....
Westmoreland happenings: Scarecrow contest, pancake breakfast, pet costume contest, more
Fundraisers • Bullskin Township Senior Center will host a fall craft and vendor fair and flea market from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Oct. 26 at the center, 52 Medsger Road. The kitchen will be open from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Details: Lisa, 724-887-0655 or btwpsc@yahoo.com. • Mon Valley...
Oakmont Council member pitches student representative program
Oakmont Council members are discussing the possibility of adding student representatives to the conversation. Vice President Amanda Pagnotta presented the idea on Oct. 21 at council’s voting meeting. “This has been a year of planning and going back and forth and conversing to try to figure out one, the best...
Steelers’ Friday Night Lights practice in Latrobe generated $121K
Dry skies, a higher admission price and a more efficient online ticketing system all contributed to $121,000 in revenue being collected from the Steelers’ Friday Night Lights practice held Aug. 2 in Greater Latrobe School District’s Memorial Stadium. That figure was a $40,000 increase from the previous year’s popular annual...
Morning fire destroys home in East Huntingdon; hydrant in Mt. Pleasant Village complex had no water pressure
Ben Ion, who lives on Holiday Court in East Huntingdon, was about to have breakfast Wednesday morning when he noticed a glow coming from a home across the street. He raced to the home, banged on a window and made sure the two people living there escaped the flames that...
Young women lean Democratic. Now the election may hinge on Harris’ ability to run up the score
PITTSBURGH — At the University of Pittsburgh, as freshmen students took their first steps on campus and swarms of lanternflies buzzed through the air, the sounds of Taylor Swift and Chappell Roan drifted from a folding table draped with an iridescent pink tablecloth. Fruit snacks and colorful butterfly hairclips were...
Calls mount for district judge’s ouster over bail issues after Montour Trail fatal stabbing
Several local Republican politicians are demanding the removal of a controversial jurist after a criminal defendant freed last year by District Judge Xander Orenstein was arrested Monday in a fatal stabbing. Authorities say Anthony Quesen killed Benjamin Brallier, 44, a civilian employee of the Pennsylvania State Police who was jogging...
Conservative Norwin board members lament cancellation of Turning Point USA speech
The most vocal member of the conservative faction of Norwin’s school board this week condemned the way the district handled a request by Turning Point USA to speak to students after classes at the high school. School board member Alex Detschelt said Monday the administration’s decision to cancel an appearance...
Abatement, demolition planned for former Colfax Upper Elementary School in Springdale
Another Springdale landmark will soon be demolished — but it’s not a former power plant. Allegheny Valley School District officials set an April 10 demolition deadline for the former Colfax Upper Elementary School. The 64,000-square-foot building served students in the Allegheny Valley School District for more than 90 years before...
The Stroller, Oct. 23, 2024: 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. Concordia speakers bureau offers...
Dziados, Reschenthaler vie for District 14 seat in U.S. House
The two candidates seeking to represent Pennsylvania’s 14th Congressional District couldn’t be further apart on key issues. Three-term Republican incumbent Guy Reschenthaler has become a key member among the GOP’s power structure in the U.S. House, serving as deputy whip and an attack dog pushing his party’s agenda that he...
Quaker Valley High School project takes major step forward with Leet commissioners’ approval
After outlining more than a dozen conditions, including a new one publicly introduced just prior to the vote, the Leet commissioners approved land development plans for a proposed Quaker Valley High School. All five commissioners voted in favor of the proposed 167,000-square-foot school on Oct. 22. It is planned on...
Area’s unseasonably warm temperatures just shy of record
Temperatures reached an unofficial high of 82 degrees Tuesday at two area airports, about 20 degrees above the normal high but just shy of breaking the record. The 82-degree mark was recorded at both Pittsburgh International Airport and at Arnold Palmer Regional Airport in Unity, according to Jason Frazier, a...
Yards show growth of Halloween spirit
Halloween once was about cutting holes in an old sheet, going out to trick-or-treat and hoping no one mistook you for Charlie Brown and gave you a rock. There’s a slight bit more to it these days. According to the National Retail Federation, Americans set a Halloween spending record of...
‘We set the bar’: Allegheny County expects prompt vote count on Election Day
No county in Pennsylvania counts its votes as efficiently as Allegheny, and officials expect it to stay that way for the general election on Nov. 5. At Tuesday’s Board of Elections meeting, officials said they were on track to count mail-in ballots by 8 p.m. on Election Day, the time...
Friends group donates $15,719 to Bethel Park Public Library
The Friends of the Bethel Park Library is a nonprofit organization that promotes Bethel Park Public Library and raises money to provide resources that the library cannot purchase through its budget. During September, Love Your Library Month in Allegheny County, the Friends donated $15,719, which the Bethel Park library plans...
Raises doled out to Westmoreland retirees as pension fund nears record high
Westmoreland County government retirees will receive a 3.4% cost-of-living raise in 2025. The county’s retirement board on Tuesday approved the increased benefit for the 1,400 former employees who in 2024, for the first time in 13 years, were denied raises. “We’re not supposed to give raises out every year, but...
