Allegheny County Executive-elect Sara Innamorato focusing transition on community input
With less than a month until she takes office, Allegheny County Executive-elect Sara Innamorato is undertaking a large transition effort with a focus on gathering community input from across the county. “I want the county’s priorities to be the community’s priorities,” Innamorato told a crowd of about 200 people at...
Westmoreland happenings: Cookie walks, holiday concert, Christmas bingos, more
Church news • Greensburg Church of the Brethren will host a night of fun and fellowship for individuals and groups with developmental disabilities from 5 to 7 p.m. Mondays at the church, 554 Stanton St. Dinner is included. Participants must be accompanied by a family member or caregiver. Donations will...
Ross tables 2024 budget adoption, vote rescheduled
Ross Township commissioners tabled their vote to adopt the township’s official budget and millage rate for 2024 Monday night. Township manager Ronald Borczyk said that there are some adjustments that need to be made to the budget before it is finalized and voted on. “We evaluated some expenses and found...
$10M to go toward affordable housing programs in Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh City Council has approved a $10 million budget for a trust fund supporting affordable housing programs in the city. The amount of money provided to the Housing Opportunity Fund in 2024 could be adjusted in the coming weeks as City Council finalizes the city’s budget, Councilman Bruce Kraus, D-South...
Pitt grad identified as fatal shark attack victim in Bahamas
A University of Pittsburgh alumna was attacked and killed by a shark while vacationing with her husband in the Bahamas. Lauren Erickson Van Wart, a 44-year-old Boston resident, was paddleboarding with her husband on Monday when she was bitten by a shark, according to Royal Bahamas Police Sgt. Desiree Ferguson....
Power outage closes Rostraver Elementary
A power outage caused Rostraver Elementary School to close on Wednesday, Belle Vernon Area School District officials announced. According to an alert on the district website, the outage occurred at 6:30 a.m. and affected multiple systems in the building, including HVAC, security, phones and internet access. “This is not a...
Vandergrift businesses unite with public fundraiser to benefit library
Some Vandergrift business owners are hoping their new initiative to raise money for the borough’s library can revamp how the town thinks about supporting its nonprofits. Throughout the year, customers at Chris Kakias’ G&G Restaurant had the option to donate to the Vandergrift Public Library through a wall-mounted box placed...
Rankin police chief dies
Rankin police Chief Jeremi Gregory died Tuesday, the borough announced on its Facebook page. “Chief you will be greatly missed and remembered by all,” the borough posted. Officials didn’t indicate the cause of Gregory’s death or his age. Gregory served with the borough department since July 2018, according to his...
Man shot by Pa. Attorney General’s agents at Pittsburgh’s Greyhound station
A man was in critical condition Wednesday after two state Attorney General’s Office agents shot him at the Greyhound bus station in Downtown Pittsburgh, police said. Two men began fighting on a bus around 6:40 a.m. and their altercation continued outside on the station’s concourse, police spokeswoman Cara Cruz said....
Morning Roundup: Crews battle blaze at Collier Township restaurant
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Wednesday, Dec. 6: Crews battle blaze at Collier Township restaurant Firefighters responded shortly after 3 a.m. Wednesday to battle a fire at Rooster’s Roadhouse along Thoms Run Road in Collier Township, Allegheny County. Crews continued to douse the flames...
Survivors of Hamas attack to speak in Squirrel Hill as Hanukkah begins
Hila Fakliro was a bartender during an all-night music festival in Israel on Oct. 7. At daybreak, she looked up at explosions in the sky. She thought they were fireworks. Hamas fired rockets from Gaza during a terrorist attack that killed hundreds of festival attendees. Fakliro ran. She hid in...
Greensburg Luminary Night offers holiday festivities, music on streets, at library, museum
Seasonal music and festivities will highlight downtown Greensburg’s 54th Luminary Night, set for 5 to 8 p.m. Thursday. Activities for all ages will await visitors along the luminary-lined streets of the city’s business district. “Everything is set for a fun-filled evening in the city, continuing the tradition of streets lined...
The Stroller, Dec. 6, 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. Toy drive to benefit Kiski Area SD families Kiski Area School...
A year later, still no resolution in online theft of nearly $140,000 from Tarentum
Few answers have turned up in the year since Tarentum was robbed of nearly $140,000 in an online phishing scam. The investigation by the borough’s insurance carrier is ongoing. Officers determined the person or group responsible for the crime netted a total of between $800,000 and $900,000 from many victims,...
Greensburg pays nearly $87K to correct Medicare tax withholdings
Greensburg paid nearly $87,000 to the Internal Revenue Service as a result of an audit that determined the city and its police officers had not been paying Medicare taxes. City administrator Kelsye Hantz said the audit looked at 2021 and the payment, which covers the amount owed by the city...
State police seek info on child-luring suspect in Indiana County
State police are seeking information on a man who allegedly attempted to lure an 11-year-old boy toward a vehicle in northern Indiana County on Tuesday afternoon. Police said an unknown Black man in his 30s with short hair, a dark blue hooded sweatshirt and a bandana or facial covering attempted...
Pittsburgh Symphony, Mendelssohn Choir bring Handel’s ‘Messiah’ to Saint Vincent in Unity
The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and the Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh, under the direction of Manfred Honeck, performed George Frideric Handel’s “Messiah” on Tuesday in the Saint Vincent Archabbey Basilica. First performed on April 13, 1742, in Dublin, Ireland, “Messiah” didn’t have its premier in London until nearly a year later....
Allegheny County Council passes amended budget with increase in community college funding
Allegheny County is a step closer to finalizing its 2024 budget after the council passed an amended budget that includes large increases for the Community College of Allegheny County. Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald proposed a budget of just over $3 billion in October, and council proposed an amended version...
Lawsuit alleges Clean Water Act violations from Beaver County plastics manufacturer
Two nonprofit environmental organizations filed a federal Clean Water Act lawsuit on Tuesday against a Beaver County manufacturer that they said is illegally discharging millions of tiny plastic pellets into the water and riverbanks around Raccoon Creek and the Ohio River. The lawsuit, filed by PennEnvironment and Three Rivers Waterkeeper,...
Former Pittsburgh VA worker pleads guilty to embezzling $17,000 from veteran accounts
A former Veterans Affairs Medical Center worker from Pittsburgh pleaded guilty to embezzlement and mail fraud on Tuesday, after federal prosecutors said he stole money from disabled veterans and receive undue pandemic benefits. Corey Mizell, 51, of Pittsburgh pleaded guilty to four counts of embezzlement and one count of mail...
Prosecutors contend Unity man used bogus check scheme to pay for daughter’s wedding
Westmoreland prosecutors said a Unity man used a home computer to forge checks written on a bogus account to pay vendors hired for his stepdaughter’s 2020 wedding. “Embrace the mess,” Assistant District Attorney Cassidy Hatten told jurors as she outlined the four cases against Joseph Malago, 51, who faces multiple...
Ruth Reichl’s Town Hall South talk focuses on America’s poor food quality
Former Los Angeles Times and New York Times food critic, chef and author Ruth Reichl said the quality of American food isn’t nutritionally what it once was — or should be. The James Beard Award-winning writer took the stage at Upper St. Clair High School Theater, pulled her glasses down...
Jury views surveillance video that shows New Kensington slayingVideo
A group of armed men and teens gathered in the lobby of a New Kensington apartment building and tussled just minutes before 39-year-old Jason Raiford staggered outside and was gunned down, according to video shown to jurors Tuesday. During the first day of the murder trial of three men charged...
Greensburg Salem superintendent addresses incident involving elementary school child
Police are investigating an incident in a Greensburg Salem elementary classroom that was reported in October, Superintendent Ken Bissell told school board members Monday. Few details about what’s being investigated have been released. A letter Bissell sent to parents last week notified them of an incident that came to the...
Hampton Township School Board caps tax increase
A 1.15-mill real estate tax increase will be the maximum in Hampton Township School District for 2024-25, and early projections have the number slightly lower. The school board on Dec. 4 approved a resolution not to raise the rate by more than 5.3% over the current year, a figure that...
