Valley News Dispatch category, Page 107
Indiana Township officials plan to hold the line on real estate taxes with next year’s budget
Indiana Township property owners should not expect to pay more in real estate taxes to balance next year’s budget. Supervisors unanimously voted Nov. 13 to advertise its estimated $6.5 million 2025 budget. Budget documents indicate the millage rate will remain at 3.47 mills, with 2.99 mills for township operations and...
Vandergrift sisters make National Adoption Day a family affair
It was a family affair Wednesday for Vandergrift sisters Kelly and Nicole Dunmire, who created new families on National Adoption Day in Westmoreland County, giving two children a loving home and stability in their lives. “I prayed for what was best for Katerina. I prayed for what was in her...
Gilpin would use reserves to close budget deficit, keep property taxes the same
Gilpin’s proposed 2025 budget calls for no tax increase, but the township would use more than half of its reserve money to close a projected $113,000 deficit. The proposed budget includes nearly $973,000 in spending but about $860,000 in revenue, according to the township. The township’s property tax rate would...
Oakmont proposed budget calls for 40% tax increase
Oakmont property owners could see a 40% tax hike, the first increase in 11 years, under the proposed 2025 budget. The budget proposal calls for a real estate tax increase of 1.5 mills, taking the rate from 3.73 mills to 5.23 mills. Officials say the increase is needed to cover...
30 downtown New Kensington businesses participating in 4th annual Shop Small Crawl
New Kensington’s take on Small Business Saturday, the Shop Small Crawl, features businesses that are brand new and others that are long-standing. The 30 downtown businesses participating in the fourth annual event range from Eazer’s Restaurant, founded in 1918, to Evanly Bakes, opening for its first day. Hailey Sabot and...
Cheswick to tighten regulations for rental properties to stave off issues before they start
Cheswick officials are hoping to nip issues with rental properties in the borough before they start. Council is considering a proposal that tightens rules for rental units and requires landlords to license their rental properties through the borough. The proposed regulations, according to Councilwoman Shawna Almes, are in response to...
Burrell considers policy to combat unsportsmanlike fan behavior
It could be three strikes and you’re out for unruly spectators at Burrell School District events. “The board is putting in place a spectator code of conduct as a result of the shenanigans that the adults have had while at school,” Superintendent Shannon Wagner said. Athletic director Brian Ferra said...
The Stroller, Nov. 27, 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. Fund aids animals with...
Fox Chapel officials plan no tax increase with next year’s budget
Fox Chapel property owners should not expect to pay more in borough real estate taxes next year. Council unanimously voted Nov. 18 to advertise its proposed 2025 spending plan. Budget documents indicate the millage rate will remain at 2.95 mills. The borough has not raised taxes since 2019. Projected revenues...
O’Hara property taxes could spike by 14% as part of township 2025 budget
O’Hara property owners could see their real estate tax bills go up by about 14% as part of the township’s 2025 budget. Township officials mulled over next year’s budget at a special workshop meeting Nov. 19. Financial documents indicate the millage rate would increase from 2.1 mills to 2.4 mills....
Light Up Fox Chapel set for Dec. 4
Fox Chapel officials, hoping to build on a resurging holiday tradition, have added more activities to the borough’s upcoming celebration. The second annual Light Up Fox Chapel is set for 5 to 7 p.m. Dec. 4 outside the borough building, 401 Fox Chapel Road. New things this year include performances...
Allegheny County Council slashes Innamorato’s budget proposal
Allegheny County Council members presented their plan Tuesday to make over $70 million in cuts to Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato’s budget proposal as a means to lower the proposed property tax increase rate that could hit residents next year. An amendment introduced by Allegheny County Councilman John Palmiere, D-Baldwin,...
Arnold man ruled competent to stand trial in mother’s stabbing death
An Arnold man charged in the fatal stabbing of his mother last summer has been ruled competent to stand trial. Brian Rebold, 38, has been in jail since he was charged with criminal homicide and first-degree murder Aug. 4 in connection with the death of his 73-year-old mother outside her...
New Kensington fire hall shooting ruled suicide, coroner says
The death of a man found outside New Kensington’s No. 5 fire hall Tuesday has been ruled a suicide, according to the Westmoreland County Coroner’s office. A shooting at the fire hall in the 500 block of Camp Avenue was reported to county 911 shortly after 4:30 p.m. The man,...
Brian Leri, longtime chef at Hoffstot’s Cafe Monaco, remembered for devotion to restaurant, customers
Brian Leri, 51, of Natrona Heights, the longtime executive chef at Hoffstot’s Cafe Monaco in Oakmont, died Monday, Nov. 25, 2024. Leri spent 30 years at the eatery after graduating from the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, N.Y., in 1994. He became the restaurant’s executive chef in 2002....
Charah subsidiary sues demolition contractors over Springdale chimney, boiler house implosions
The June 2023 implosion of two chimneys at the former power plant in Springdale, and the lawsuit that followed, now has the plant’s property owner and its demolition contractors at odds legally. Attorneys representing Cheswick Plant Environmental Redevelopment Group — a subsidiary of Charah Solutions — filed the lawsuit Monday...
Vandergrift man sentenced to up to 24 years for shooting at homes in 2021
A Vandergrift man was sentenced Friday to 12 to 24 years in a state prison for firing more than a dozen shots into three occupied homes in 2021. Javon Michael Thorn Lambert, 25, entered a general plea Friday to 17 charges against him, which included aggravated assault, discharge of a...
New Kensington woman accused of striking woman with SUV in Giant Eagle parking lot
A New Kensington woman is accused of hitting another woman with her SUV on Monday after arguing in the Giant Eagle parking lot. New Kensington police charged Tyonna Lashay Kirk, 29, with felony counts of aggravated assault, aggravated assault by vehicle and accidents involving death or personal injury. She also...
No property tax hike planned for North Apollo
North Apollo’s proposed budget for 2025, if passed, would come with no increase to real estate taxes. The millage rate would remain at 12.09 mills, meaning the owner of a home with the median assessed property value of $25,000 would continue to pay $302 a year to the borough. Expenses...
Lower Burrell man accused of shooting at neighbors through apartment wall
A Lower Burrell man is behind bars after police accused him of shooting through his apartment wall at his neighbors early Saturday. Lower Burrell police charged Khalil Shawn Pryor, 23, with attempted homicide, four counts of aggravated assault, two counts each of recklessly endangering another person and simple assault, and...
North Apollo mayor quits as the borough’s police options dwindle
North Apollo may have no choice but to stick with Kiski Township for police coverage as alternatives dwindle and the force’s leading critic, former Mayor June Kilgore, leaves office following her resignation. Since September, Kilgore has been asking council to consider another option for police coverage, when she raised doubts...
Harrison expects nearly 10% tax increase; no paving budgeted in 2025
It’s been a tough budget season, according to Harrison officials. Ongoing tax assessment appeals are expected to result in a 10% dip in real estate revenue while commissioners are tasked with crucial expenses next year that include new police hires and EMS funding. “This challenge is compounded by the fact...
Morning Roundup: Paving to restrict, close Route 910 in Harmar; Allegheny Township bridge restricted
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024: Paving to restrict, close Route 910 in Harmar Traffic on part of Route 910 in Harmar will be restricted during the day Tuesday ahead of an overnight closure for paving, PennDOT announced. Traffic will be...
The Stroller, Nov. 26, 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. Cub Scouts collecting items...
Western Pa. communities use Facebook as integral tool to connect with residents
Tom Bell starts his shift at 4:30 a.m. each day as Greensburg’s streets superintendent. While most people take the same route to work, Bell takes a different way almost daily. Instead of listening to music or the morning news, he logs onto the public works department’s Facebook page to record...
