Data prompts Pittsburgh police chief to empty stations of overnight desk officers
No one will be manning Pittsburgh’s police precincts overnight any longer under policy changes announced Friday by Chief Larry Scirotto for the 743-officer force. The changes, which have already begun, affect all six zone stations across the city and the new Downtown substation from 3 a.m. to 7 a.m., seven...
Sharpsburg Community Library chili cook-off rescheduled
Sharpsburg Community Library’s Robert “Snakeguy” Habegger Chili Cook-off has been rescheduled. It is now set for 5 to 7:30 p.m. Sunday, at the borough building, 1611 Main St. Organizers rescheduled it from its original Friday date because of Lent. People still can register as taste testers via the library website...
Real estate broker sues over lost dough after deal to sell Beto’s pizzeria falls flat
The owner of Beto’s, one of Pittsburgh’s oldest and most well-known pizzerias, planned to sell the restaurant last year for $2.1 million before taking the property off the market. Now, a year later, the broker who found a potential buyer in a Las Vegas attorney, is suing the shop’s owner...
Former Pittsburgh police commander charged with spying on officers, recording conversations
A former Pittsburgh police zone commander is charged with spying multiple times on several of his officers, secretly recording up to 75 hours of their conversations. Matthew Lackner, 50, of Mt. Lebanon, was charged Friday by Allegheny County Police with four counts of illegal use of wired or oral communications,...
Frankstown Road construction set to begin Feb. 26, run through March
Frankstown Road will be single-lane in each direction starting Monday, Feb. 26, while crews complete drainage improvements, PennDOT announced. Crews will work from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. weekdays through March on the stretch of Frankstown Road between Rodi and Lime Hollow roads. During these times, westbound traffic will be...
Piatt ready to seek Pittsburgh OK for waterfront ‘Esplanade’ project with giant Ferris wheel on the North Side
After years of delays, developers are on the verge of officially proposing a massive waterfront development project on Pittsburgh’s North Side that would feature a nearly 200-foot-tall Ferris wheel. Canonsburg-based Piatt Cos. first proposed the project dubbed Esplanade along the banks of the Ohio River in the city’s Chateau neighborhood...
Audit: Jeannette underpaid pension funds nearly $190K; city manager says issue has been resolved
Jeannette underpaid its three pension funds by $189,356 in 2021, and the state auditor general’s office said turnover in the fiscal office in 2020 and 2021 contributed to the error. The compliance audit of the city’s fire, police and nonuniformed pension plans recommended that Jeannette add the amount, plus interest,...
Black history comes to life at Barrett Elementary through interactive museum
Community members have said that Steel Valley School District and Barrett Elementary have some of the best Black History Month programming for students. On Thursday, the district hosted its fifth celebration since 2019, featuring its Black History Month Living Interactive Museum. Students displayed their artwork, and some students and community...
Councilmen say there’s not much Springdale can do with railroad intersection
There’s not much that Springdale Borough can do with an apparently complicated railroad crossing near Colfax Street. About 9:30 a.m. Wednesday, a tractor-trailer’s dolly legs got stuck under the rail at the Colfax Street crossing, police said. The driver, unable to get the rig off the tracks, evacuated the truck...
Eastern Westmoreland Career and Technology Center sets open house for prospective students
Students at Derry Area, Greater Latrobe and Ligonier Valley school districts who are considering enrolling in career-oriented programs will have the chance to check out local offerings Monday at Eastern Westmoreland Career and Technology Center. Students currently in grades 8-11 at any of the three member districts are invited to...
Interstate 70 lane restrictions extended for work on Rostraver interchange project
Lane restrictions in both directions on Interstate 70 in Rostraver that were to have ended this week are being extended through March 1, according to PennDOT. Both eastbound and westbound traffic is limited to a single lane each day between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. The eastbound restriction is in...
Baldwin-bred professional jazz guitarist stokes flames of family’s ‘musical royalty’
Shawn Purcell doesn’t remember the precise moment he decided to become a professional musician. He does know that it was during spring 1989, his senior year at Baldwin High School. Purcell had been accepted to the University of Ohio and planned to major in business and pre-law. Then, a switch...
Avella man killed in Washington County crash
A 21-year-old man was killed early Friday morning after a crash in Independence Township in Washington County. Pennsylvania State Police said Anthony G. Georgetti of Avella was traveling westbound on Washington Pike when he lost control of his vehicle and struck a tree. The crash was reported to county 911...
Morning Roundup: Aviary welcomes new condor; 1 injured in stabbing in Downtown PittsburghVideo
Here are a few morning news item for Friday, Feb. 23, 2024. National Aviary welcomes condor The National Aviary in Pittsburgh welcomed it newest resident yesterday. A 43-year-old male Andean condor named Bud is the latest addition, arriving from the Dallas Zoo. Bud will join adult female Lianni and juveniles...
‘Providing a little bit of light’: Penn Middle School supports community, local cancer patients in honor of late teacher
Up until three weeks before Jackie Landram died from ovarian cancer, she was doing what she loved: teaching. Landram taught seventh grade English at Penn Middle School in Penn Township for 16 years. She died at home at age 44 on Jan. 25, 2022, following a seven year battle with...
The Stroller, Feb. 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. Tickets on sale now for annual bowling party fundraiser The Pins...
‘Quiet’ New Kensington neighborhood unsettled by cocaine seizure, arrests
Holly Knapp knows there are places illicit drugs are bought and sold in New Kensington. She didn’t think her neighborhood was one of them. Knapp has lived for 25 years on Beamer Avenue, a short distance from where police Saturday descended on a house at the corner of Seventh Street,...
New Kensington’s Pioneer Apartments adds solar energy system
Maya Horton’s favorite thing about her home in Wesley Family Service’s Pioneer Apartments is peace. “It’s very peaceful. I have my peace,” she said. “That’s what I like about living here in this building. I go home to a peaceful environment, and I feel safe in my home.” Horton was...
Pittsburgh’s top engineer pledges better bridge maintenance to avert another disaster
Pittsburgh is already making improvements to the way it handles bridge upkeep, the city’s chief engineer said a day after the National Transportation Safety Board pinpointed the city’s lack of maintenance as a key reason the Fern Hollow Bridge collapsed. The NTSB on Wednesday condemned the city for years of...
Voters push to toss Summer Lee challenger Laurie MacDonald from primary ballot
The region’s most contentious primary election race just got spicier. Laurie MacDonald, one of two Democratic challengers trying to unseat a surging U.S. Rep. Summer Lee, D-Swissvale, is now facing a threat to her place on the ballot. This week four Democratic voters in the 12th Congressional District went to...
Richland manager announces plans for retirement
After more than four decades of service to Richland, Dean Bastianini plans to retire as township manager. Bastianini made the announcement at the Feb. 21 board of supervisors meeting, stating that his last day of work will be July 5. He read his resignation letter to the board during the...
Lower Kiski Ambulance paramedic in stable condition after ambulance crash
When Lower Kiski Ambulance medic Samantha Boyd learned her co-worker was injured on the job in an ambulance crash, she knew she had to help out any way she could. So, Boyd started a GoFundMe account for paramedic Dina Filo-O’Neil and her husband, Ray. As of Thursday, it already had...
Dick’s signs lease for former Westmoreland Mall Sears
Dick’s Sporting Goods plans to move into the former Sears at Westmoreland Mall, according to the company that controls the property. The Findlay-based sporting goods chain already has a store behind the mall in Hempfield. Dick’s hasn’t responded to requests seeking comment about the move. Transformco Properties, a Chicago-area company...
Keep competitive juices flowing in Northern Allegheny County Senior Softball League
Maybe you think you’re too old, out of shape or too busy to play competitive sports any longer. At what age did you make that decision? Was it 40 or 50? Maybe it was 60 years old for some of you. Nevertheless, many of us have completely thwarted the idea....
North Catholic High School presents ‘Chicago: Teen Edition’ in Cranberry
“Chicago” has been a timeless Broadway musical since its debut in 1979. Now revised for high school performances, “Chicago: Teen Edition” features the same vaudeville-inspired song and dance for a PG-13 audience. The show satirizes Chicago in the Roaring Twenties, exploring themes as relevant in 2024 as they were in...
