Rustic Ridge homeowners whose houses were damaged by the house explosion could get tax relief
Plum officials are notifying Rustic Ridge homeowners whose houses were substantially damaged by the house explosion there two weeks ago that they may be eligible for a significant reduction in their property assessment. Plum officials are pointing to those homeowners to a Catastrophic Loss Application that is available from the...
Dealership #1 Cochran expands with South Hills Honda purchase
Auto retailer #1 Cochran has snapped up another dealership, acquiring South Hills Honda in Peters Township. The deal is the fourth acquisition for the company this year and fifth in the last 10 months. South Hills Honda makes the first Honda store in #1 Cochran’s Pittsburgh market and second overall...
Clairton crash victim dies of gunshot wound
Allegheny County Police detectives are investigating the death of a man found shot in the chest Friday night in Clairton. First responders were initially called to the 600 block of Miller Avenue in Clairton just before 11 p.m. for a report of a single-vehicle crash. They arrived to find a...
Power coming back steadily across Southwestern Pa. after heavy storms, Fayette tornado, but outages remain
Power crews continued working Saturday afternoon to restore power to more than 5,000 customers in Southwestern Pennsylvania following strong storms and a tornado that touched down in Fayette County. West Penn Power had about 3,690 customers still without power around 5 p.m. Saturday, down from 8,000 in the morning. The...
The Stroller, Aug. 26, 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. Alle-Kiski HOPE Center accepting pet photo contest entries Entries are now...
Allegheny Valley unveils full-day pre-K program
When Katlyn Davis of Cheswick learned the Allegheny Valley School District was starting a full-day pre-
kindergarten program this school year, she immediately enrolled her 4-year-old daughter, Emerson. “I think the full-day program works much better for our schedules than what they had for the half day,” Davis said. This year,...
Highlands Family Center to offer free food distribution in Tarentum
Fresh fruits and veggies will fill the parking lot near Highlands Family Center in Tarentum on Aug. 30, and the goodies are all up for grabs. No income requirement is necessary to participate in the free food distribution hosted by the Family Center and the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank....
Elizabeth Forward rebuilds, starts new school year amid aftermath of fire devastation
Though Elizabeth Forward is one of many districts returning to school, students’ first day on Thursday was abnormal because renovations are in progress following a fire last winter at the high school. The Feb. 12 blaze destroyed the auditorium, band and choir rooms at Elizabeth Forward High School, forcing the...
Animal Protectors of Allegheny Valley to get 1 cent per gallon of fuel oil sold from 2 Glassmere Fuel Service trucks
Glassmere Fuel Service on Saturday unveiled two trucks bearing the Animal Protectors of Allegheny Valley logo and pledged to donate one cent from every gallon sold from those trucks to the no-kill shelter. Kellen Cromie, Glassmere’s marketing director, said the company is proud of the work Animal Protectors of Allegheny...
In brief: News from Fox Chapel, Graybrooke Garden Club
Sneaker collection The Fox Chapel Garden Club has begun its annual collection of used sneakers to put them to good use through the NIKE Reuse-A Shoe Program. Shoes will be collected through Sept. 29 at these drop-off locations: Body Tech; Carriage House; Lauri Ann West Community Center; Cooper Siegel Library...
Butler Plank Road slide repair begins Monday in Shaler
Slide repair work on Butler Plank Road in Shaler will begin Monday morning. PennDOT announced the slide repair work will close the portion of Butler Plank Road that is between East Sutter Road and Kleber Road starting at 7 a.m.. Butler Plank Road will remain closed through Friday, Sept. 8....
Tarentum sisters, boyfriend stage robbery of Asay’s newsstand, police allege
A pair of Tarentum sisters and one of their boyfriends staged the Wednesday afternoon robbery of Asay’s newsstand to get money to pay bills and buy fentanyl, borough police are alleging in charges filed against the trio Friday. Police said April and Leah Baczynski came up with the idea with...
Neighbor near fatal Plum house explosion can get house fixed but mourns loss of friends, wonders about the future
Andy Zarroli might be the first of nearly a dozen homeowners in Plum’s Rustic Ridge neighborhood to know his house can be repaired following the fatal house explosion two weeks ago. But while his house can be fixed, he’s not sure if he and his wife can call it home...
Garfield shooter’s instability, extreme ideology likely contributed to violent confrontation
Before a tense, six-hour standoff Wednesday captured Pittsburgh’s attention and ended with the death of William Hardison Jr., there were several warning signs that a confrontation with him likely wouldn’t go smoothly. Probation records, legal documents and social media history all point to an unstable life filled with run-ins with...
Homicide suspect captured in Vandergrift after manhuntVideo
An Apollo-area man on the run while facing vehicular homicide charges was captured in Vandergrift on Friday night hiding in the basement of a winery. Matthew David Carlson, 35, of Spring Church, Kiski Township, faces charges of felony vehicular homicide and vehicular aggravated assault while driving under the influence, among...
Delmont man, 83, sentenced to state prison for attempted murder of neighbor
An 83-year-old wheelchair-bound Delmont man was sentenced Friday to serve up to eight years in state prison for the 2019 attempted murder of his neighbor. Westmoreland County Common Pleas Judge Tim Krieger said prison confinement was not the preferred option but was the one that offered the best choice to...
Murrysville mayor loses lawsuit but retains seat through 2025
Murrysville Mayor Regis Synan can remain in office through 2025, a judge ruled Friday. Common Pleas Court Judge Jim Silvis dismissed Synan’s lawsuit, filed in April, that sought to force the county election bureau to put the mayor’s race on the November ballot. Synan contended elections officials erred two years...
Olympus Energy donating 250 gas detectors to Plum’s Rustic Ridge neighborhood
A Washington County-based oil and natural gas company is donating 250 methane detectors for homes in Plum’s Rustic Ridge neighborhood where six people died from a house explosion Aug. 12. Olympus Energy of Cecil Township gave the detectors to the Rustic Ridge Homeowners Association. Gov. Josh Shapiro and Rich Negrin,...
How to manage spotted lanternflies in your yard
Spotted lanternflies have invaded Pittsburgh. After a few years of sparse sightings, the local lanternfly population apparently has exploded and the invasive species is being spotted across Southwestern Pennsylvania. While not immediately dangerous to humans, the insects love to gorge on vegetation and swarm on trees, the sides of homes...
In brief: Quilting class, jazz festival, other Monroeville happenings, week of Aug. 28, 2023
Benefit car wash A benefit car wash will be held from 1 to 3 p.m. Aug. 27 at Advance Auto Parts, 3801 William Penn Highway, Monroeville. All proceeds will go to the families of the Rustic Ridge victims in Plum. Quilting for ‘Newbees’ A new 10-month “Newbees” quilting class is...
In brief: Plum area happenings, week of Aug. 28, 2023
Rustic Ridge benefit sale The Plum Midget Football Association, Rustic Ridge Homeowners Association, Plum High School girls soccer team and Holiday Park Church of Christ have joined up to host a benefit yard sale from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Aug. 26 at Holiday Park Church of Christ, 1510 Abers...
North Shore industrial site redevelopment underway, lands distribution firm
An industrial site near the former Heinz plant on Pittsburgh’s North Side is welcoming new tenants — and developers of the site have an eye on future expansion along the Allegheny River. New Jersey-based distributor Champion Container Corp. has moved into the first phase of the River Avenue Distribution &...
Proposed electronic sign facing Hulton Bridge rejected by Harmar zoning board
Harmar’s zoning hearing board upheld a 2021 decision rejecting an outdoor advertising company’s request to make a billboard facing the Allegheny River near the Hulton Bridge electronic. The zoning hearing board on Thursday formally denied the request from Kenjoh Outdoor Advertising to convert the side facing the Allegheny River toward...
Pa. Public Utilities Commission names Jennifer Berrier as executive director
The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission on Thursday appointed Jennifer Berrier, the former secretary of Labor & Industry under Gov. Tom Wolf, as the agency’s new executive director. Berrier takes over leadership of the agency on Sept. 11. The PUC regulates electric, natural gas, pipeline, rail, telecommunications, water and wastewater services....
3 hospitalized in Route 28 crash in East Deer
Three people were taken to local hospitals as a result of a crash Monday on Route 28 in East Deer that snarled traffic in the northbound lanes for nearly two hours. At 3:24 p.m., officers responded to a single-vehicle crash in the northbound lanes of Route 28 in East Deer,...
