Western PA Local News category, Page 476
Folks get festive at Freeport Home Town Christmas
Freeport Area ninth grader Lizzi Smetak has been volunteering regularly at Freeport Area Library for about a year now. “I just love coming in here,” said Smetak, 15. “It’s a really nice place to spend my time.” She didn’t think twice when she agreed to spend her Saturday morning helping...
Harrison Township Christmas Parade draws crowd
People of all ages donned their coats and hats and braved the cold to watch the annual Harrison Township Christmas Parade on Saturday afternoon. The pararde began at 1 p.m. at the intersection of Alabama Avenue and Broadview Boulevard and ended on Montana Avenue. The Harrison Police Department cleared the...
Unity woman, victim of sinkhole tragedy, remembered for dedication to family, concern for neighbors
It wasn’t uncommon for neighbors to see Elizabeth Pollard out and about, walking with her 5-year-old granddaughter, tending to her flower garden and hosting a popular stop for neighborhood children during Halloween trick-or-treating. Family members said Pollard’s pride and joy was helping to raise her granddaughter after tragedy struck the...
New Kensington celebrates the holiday season with its annual Christmas parade
Hundreds of people lined the streets of New Kensington on Saturday to enjoy the city’s annual Christmas parade. The parade featured fire trucks, the Valley High School Marching Band, children and adults parading on foot or riding on floats from a slew of Alle-Kiski social organizations and businesses that decked...
Pastor with a passion for history serves marks sixth year serving in Sewickley
Faith was a constant during childhood for the Rev. Ryan Kobert, who is in his sixth year as pastor at St. Paul’s Evangelical Lutheran Church in Sewickley. His devotion began at a young age growing up O’Hara and attending weekly church services at Emmanuel Lutheran Church in Etna. He graduated...
Upper Burrell considers injection well rules
Upper Burrell officials don’t want their township to become an attractive site for drilling companies looking to dispose of waste fluids. With between 100 and 200 abandoned gas or oil wells in the township, according to supervisors Chairman Ross G. Walker III, township officials want stricter rules for using those...
The Stroller, Dec. 7, 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. Annual live Nativity planned...
Trafford man accused of harassing uncle, pocketing $10K over bogus property investigation
A Trafford man is accused of extorting money from his elderly Murrysville uncle. Joseph Calisti, 40, is accused of defrauding the man of more than $10,000 in purported legal fees in a scheme authorities say involved a bogus claim the uncle’s properties were under investigation by state environmental officials. Investigators...
BNY sells South Buffalo data center for $5.5 million
The Bank of New York Mellon Corp. sold its data center and office building in South Buffalo for $5.5 million to a subsidiary of an Irish firm. Commonly known as BNY, the company’s departure from RIDC Armstrong Innovation Park represents a “strategic consolidation,” spokesperson Ryan Wells said. He did not...
Police: Man fatally shot in McKees Rocks
A man was shot and killed Friday night in McKees Rocks. Allegheny County Police said a man was reported to have been shot at Second and Broadway Street at about 9:20 p.m. First responders took the victim to Allegheny General Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The Allegheny County medical...
First defendant in Jordan Brown civil trial takes the stand
The day Kenzie Houk was killed, her ex-boyfriend, who, her family said, had once thrown her down a set of stairs and repeatedly threatened to kill her, offered to take a polygraph exam. But the state police investigating the shotgun murder didn’t take him up on it. “That determination is...
Allegheny County Controller Corey O’Connor to run for Pittsburgh mayor
Allegheny County Controller Corey O’Connor will announce next week that he is running for mayor of Pittsburgh, looking to unseat Mayor Ed Gainey after his first term. “I’m really excited,” O’Connor told TribLive on Friday. “I took the holiday to talk the decision out with family and friends, and we...
CNX Resources to acquire Apex, gain 36K acres in Westmoreland County
Natural gas company CNX Resources Corp. will expand into Westmoreland County in a $505 million deal. CNX announced this week it will acquire Pine-based Apex Energy II LLC — a move that will add about 36,000 acres in Westmoreland County to CNX’s scope. It will also earn CNX 8,600 acres...
Pittsburgh home of famed photographer Charles ‘Teenie’ Harris to be preserved
The home of famed Pittsburgh photographer Charles “Teenie” Harris will be preserved after the Pittsburgh Land Bank purchased the property this week. The goal is for the Homewood house to be restored and converted into a museum and educational space, said Matthew Falcone, who heads Preservation Pittsburgh, which has been...
‘They got it all’: Burglar wipes Penn Township jewelry store of inventory before Thanksgiving
Ron Duvall knew something was wrong the minute he approached the door of his jewelry store in Penn Township last week. Owner of Valmax Jewelers in the township’s Penn Crossing shopping plaza, Duvall pulled the keys to the building from his pocket only to realize the door was already unlocked....
Allegheny County town hall to address Veterans Affairs health services
The Veterans Affairs Pittsburgh Healthcare System will hold a Veterans Town Hall session Monday, both online and at its campus in O’Hara. Open to the public and geared toward veterans, their families and other stakeholders, the session is meant to provide updates on Veterans Affairs services while accepting feedback on...
New Kensington police accuse Pittsburgh man of sexually assaulting 14-year-old girl
New Kensington police have charged a man from Pittsburgh’s Sheraden neighborhood with sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl. Jeffrey Shaquille Shipman, 30, was charged Wednesday with felony counts of statutory sexual assault, aggravated indecent assault, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse and corruption of minors. He had not been arraigned on the charges...
Zappala won’t charge cops who killed Upper St. Clair man amid mental health crisis
After a nearly yearlong review, Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr. announced Friday he will not charge the South Hills police officers who in January fatally shot an Upper St. Clair man wielding a knife while in the throes of a mental health crisis. The DA, however, criticized...
Talked about for 3 decades, new Norvelt fire station to be dedicated
Norvelt firefighters no longer have to fold in the side mirrors of their engines to get the vehicles in and out of their station. They now have four larger truck bays at their disposal in a new station in Mt. Pleasant Township that is more than double the size of...
Plum ministry proposes 2nd church on property
A Plum ministry says it’s running out space and wants to build a second church on its property. In an application to the borough, Jubilee International Ministry says it has outgrown its 125-seat, 4,220-square-foot church on Center-New Texas Road, across from O’Block Elementary School. It’s proposing an additional 6,100-square-foot, single-story...
‘Part of history going down’ as tower at former Fort Pitt Brewery razed in West JeannetteVideo
Colleen Ott stepped into the cold from her West Jeannette home Friday morning to get a good look at history happening on her street. She raised her cellphone to take a picture of an eight-story brick tower at the former Fort Pitt Brewery site being torn to pieces. She’s been...
Have you seen a red-bellied woodpecker? In Pittsburgh region, it’s a possibility, birder says
When Brian Shema began taking part in the Audubon Society’s annual Christmas Bird Count more than two decades ago, red-bellied woodpeckers were a very rare sight. The red-headed bird’s historical range was the central and southern states. They’re not suppose to be here, traditionally speaking. But these days, Shema said...
Sharday McGee’s journey of resilience and culinary passion leads to Bouji Bites
Sharday McGee, owner of Bouji Bites, is busy. Whether the corporate finance supervisor turned catering entrepreneur is finishing off a hot honey sauce for her Cajun salmon, making her beloved mac and cheese, or frying nine turkeys for Thanksgiving, a smile is always on her face. McGee wears a Bouji...
Penn-Trafford video production class telethon unites community to support Make-A-Wish
It’s crunch time for Penn-Trafford High School’s video production class. The class of 26 students is in the final days of piecing together its 4½-hour broadcast raising money for Make-A-Wish — a nonprofit that grants experiences to children with critical medical conditions. “We’re putting a puzzle together, but we’re missing...
Murrysville council approves 2025 budget with no tax hike
Property taxes will remain at 12.05 mills next year in Murrysville, after council members voted to pass a $17.3 million budget for 2025. The municipality’s $17.28 million budget includes $3.8 million in capital spending. Capital projects for next year will include grant-supported bridge work along with $100,000 for new police...
