Valley News Dispatch category, Page 107
Sharpsburg invites public to weigh in on 19th Street transformation
Sharpsburg Mayor Kayla Portis hopes a project to transform 19th Street will highlight inclusivity and accessibility for all. The borough is hosting a meeting Dec. 3 to gather input on a sweeping improvement plan expected next year. It will see the redevelopment of 19th Street as an access point to...
Letters to Santa getting spruced up mailbox in Arnold; holiday event planned
What started out as a misunderstanding could turn into Arnold’s newest Christmas event. The free event will be held from 6 to 9 p.m. on Rankin Street near H.D. Berkey Elementary School. Lebert, 45, of Fawn placed a decorative “Santa Mail” mailbox outside the home of his mother, Pam Moses,...
Armstrong County officials propose 33% property tax increase
Armstrong County officials have proposed a 33% real estate tax increase to cover a long-standing budget shortfall. Officials unveiled their $26.5 million preliminary spending plan last week. The millage rate would go from 15 to 20 mills, meaning the owner of a home assessed at the county median value of...
The Stroller, Nov. 28, 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. Count your blessings this...
Neighbor Spotlight: Aspinwall sommelier, former actor, humbled by support amid cancer battle
Longtime sommelier Jerome “Jerry” Metallo of Aspinwall is pouring all of his efforts into the fight of his life. Metallo, 54, was diagnosed with Stage 4 pancreatic cancer this summer. The unexpected news sent shock waves through his mind, body and life that he shares with Cara, his wife of...
‘A hand up’: SSA grad partners with celebrity chef to continue vet-run food truck program
The death of a friend who struggled to find the resources to start a culinary business inspired Lt. Cmdr. Jordan J. Foley to create a food truck program. His late friend was a classmate at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md. “My friend didn’t have the support network to...
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...
