Company proposes underground limestone mine in Washington County
A Clarion County company is hoping to expand its limestone mining operations in Washington County. A public meeting will be held Wednesday night to discuss a proposal for the underground facility. The 336.7-acre mine, proposed by Neiswonger Construction Inc., would be dug beneath the Maggie Lynn Quarry that the company...
Washington County Controller April Sloane accused of starving her dog to death
Washington County Controller April Sloane faces felony charges of aggravated cruelty to animals after police said she starved her dog to death. The dog, Thor, had been adopted in April 2021. Police said they found his body in the garage of Sloane’s home on Dec. 6. He had been dead...
Pittsburgh City Council members propose 7.1% pay raise for themselves
Pittsburgh City Council members are proposing to increase their pay by 7.1% in the city’s budget for next year — more than double the raise that Mayor Ed Gainey had proposed for council members. Gainey had included a 3% increase for council members in his proposed budget. Council members introduced...
Cottage on Sewickley Heights estate explodes; 1 person hospitalized
One person was taken to a hospital after an explosion Tuesday at a cottage on a Sewickley Heights estate. According to Aleppo fire Chief Bill Davis Jr., a plumber was working in the cottage at 543 Backbone Road when the explosion occurred. He was taken to a local hospital by...
Butler Health System credit rating continues to slip downward
Butler Health System’s credit rating was further downgraded this week by rating agency Fitch. The system, which combined with Greensburg-based Excela Health at the beginning of the year to form Independence Health System, Monday, Dec. 12, had its rating lowered one notch from BBB to BBB- with a Negative Outlook....
Holidays usher in flu season: When should you visit doctor or ER?
This time last year at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, Chief of Emergency Services Dr. Raymond Pitetti and his team were overwhelmed with sick children. At the beginning of December 2022, the department saw a spike in activity from a combination of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), covid-19 and flu cases,...
Fox Chapel Area student telethon Dec. 22 to benefit Backpack for Hunger
Fox Chapel Area School District students will host their 34th annual telethon Friday, Dec. 22 at 1:30 p.m. to raise money for Backpack for Hunger. The telethon will involve students from all six schools in the Fox Chapel Area School District: Fairview, Hartwood, Kerr, and O’Hara elementaries; Dorseyville Middle School;...
Man robbed Hill District convenience store at gunpoint, police say
A Hill District man is accused of robbing a convenience store around the corner from his home at gunpoint late Monday and running away with $440 in cash. Pittsburgh police said they arrested Quintin Briskey, 33, around 11:50 p.m. on Webster Avenue, less than one-fifth of a mile from the...
Donations sought to help children who have been through ‘unimaginable circumstances’
A New Kensington business is seeking donations and contributions from the community to help children from three families who have endured horror and hardship this year have a happy Christmas. Operation Christmas Memories was started 15 years ago by The Beermuda, which is now Ash Taphouse and owned by Jenn...
Former Pittsburgh building inspector accused of taking bribes from Downtown developer
A former Pittsburgh building inspector faces a felony bribery charge after police said he solicited at least $5,000 in connection with a development project in Downtown Pittsburgh. Walter Eiseman was charged Nov. 28 in Western Pennsylvania’s U.S. District Court with one count of bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds, court...
Woman charged with assaulting officer arresting her for false 911 calls
Southern Armstrong County Police accused a woman of assaulting an officer Tuesday morning when he arrested her for repeatedly calling 911 to report a break-in at a home in Gilpin they say never happened. Auriahna Claudette Price, 33, of the 200 block of South Jefferson Street in Kittanning is charged...
Study identifies glaring racial disparities, recommends changes in Allegheny County’s justice system
A comprehensive study on racial disparity in Allegheny County’s criminal justice system shows that Black people are five times more likely to be arrested than white people, 10 times more likely to be held in jail while awaiting trial and nine times more likely to be convicted of a felony....
Monroeville treats families to Winter Wonderland
The line of vehicles stretching through part of Monroeville Community Park West often was at a standstill, but no one was complaining. As cars, trucks and SUVs inched along on the morning of Nov. 9, the folks inside were greeted by a series of festively costumed volunteers offering gifts, treats...
Man faces more charges after becoming unruly during hearing in Monessen district court
A defendant became unruly this month during a preliminary hearing on drug charges at district court in Monessen, threatening police, an attorney and the judge, according to court papers. City police were called to the courtroom when Judge Wayne Vlasic reported Michael A. Whitfield-Bronson, 36, was causing a disturbance Dec....
Generosity makes Pitcairn’s community Christmas party a success
Pitcairn’s Borough Park Building was the site of the inaugural community Christmas party on Dec. 9. The free event was open to the public and included a spaghetti dinner and cookies, Christmas carols, crafts and games for kids, and information about community resources. “The borough allowed us to have this...
Greensburg keeps property taxes steady, OKs cost increase for new fire truck
Greensburg property owners won’t see higher taxes next year, but the city is going to pay more for a new fire truck it originally ordered about 18 months ago. City council Monday approved a balanced 2024 budget of about $12.9 million while holding the total property tax rate at 27.05...
No Christmas Eve launch for Astrobotic lunar lander
Pittsburgh space startup Astrobotic’s lunar lander Peregrine won’t be leaving for the moon on Christmas Eve after all. The lander had been scheduledto launch on Dec. 24 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, carried by a Vulcan Centaur rocket from Colorado-based United Launch Alliance. However, on Sunday, United...
3 girls escape from Baldwin facility, lead police in chase on turnpike
Three teenage girls are facing charges after state police said they escaped from a Baldwin facility and led troopers on a chase on the Pennsylvania Turnpike to Somerset. A trooper on patrol Dec. 1 around 8 a.m. noticed a work van driving erratically eastbound in Somerset County. The driver of...
Therese Rocco, Pittsburgh’s 1st female assistant police chief, dead at 97
Therese Rocco, a devout Catholic, Pittsburgh native and trailblazing police officer who became a role model for women and embraced the saintly task of tracking down missing children as her life’s work, died Monday after several weeks in hospice care at West Penn Hospital. She was 97. Diminutive and dogged,...
Morning roundup: Woman found after going missing from Knoxville; fire at Beaver County manufacturing business
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Tuesday, Dec. 12: Missing woman A woman who went missing from the Knoxville area was found safe after four days, according to Pittsburgh police. Caitlin “Cait” Hilpert had last been seen around 10 p.m. Saturday. Police put out a...
O’Hara couple finds home for Tortured Souls brewhouse in New Kensington
The journey from home beer brewer to brewery owner has been a tortuous one for Scott Wyman and his wife, Angie. After the O’Hara couple’s plan to locate their brewery, Tortured Souls Brewing, in a former Sharpsburg church fell through, they looked at multiple places in and around the Pittsburgh...
The Stroller, Dec. 12, 2023: 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. Live Nativity planned in Tarentum Abundant Joy Fellowship will sponsor a...
Tarentum, Cheswick eyeing regional riverfront development
Boat docks are all but gone from the Tarentum riverfront, but they could return in the coming years, alongside a fishing pier, bike trail, canoe rentals or places to eat. The borough is teaming with Cheswick to devise a riverfront development plan to focus on public access to the shoreline...
Display of vintage Irwin buildings was labor of love for borough native
Melvyn Rasel dedicated countless hours and money over four decades to create an homage to his hometown, building small plastic replicas of Irwin landmarks from his childhood in the 1950s as part of an extensive model train layout in his Plum home. His family is now sharing this labor of...
Driver killed after crashing car through embankment, falling upside-down atop garage
First responders struggled to free a woman killed Monday afternoon after she drove her car over a 30- to 40-foot embankment in Pittsburgh’s Lincoln-Lemington neighborhood, flipping the vehicle upside-down and landing atop an abandoned garage below. Firefighters’ feet literally sunk into the roof of the garage, which already was caving...
