Valley News Dispatch category, Page 500

The shuttered movie theaters at the Pittsburgh Mills mall in Frazer will reopen this spring under new management that promises cheaper movie tickets. Mark McSparin, president of Michigan-based GQT Movies, confirmed Thursday that the company is taking over the former Cinemark space. It has a tentative opening date of March...

Publicize your non-profit’s meetings, fundraisers and community events in The Stroller. Send information at least a week in advance to vndnews@triblive.com. Please include a daytime telephone number. Vandergrift Public Library participating in reading challenge Vandergrift Public Library is taking part in Beanstack’s Fourth Annual Winter Reading Challenge, sponsored by Simon...

A Leechburg church congregation is continuing their love of helping others. A free Pot Love Dinner, offered to the public each month, has entered its tenth year at Cross Roads Community Presbyterian Church. The meal is normally served inside the church, but due to covid-19 restrictions, the meals are currently...

A man was taken to a Pittsburgh hospital Wednesday after he fell asleep while driving and crashed into a utility pole in West Deer, according to police. Police Chief Jon Lape said emergency responders were called to the single-vehicle crash on Middle Road near Steeplechase Circle shortly before 6:30 p.m....

When Rose Rymarz was about to go on the air for the first time in her professional radio career, the program director at WKPA-AM/WYDD-FM in New Kensington had a suggestion. He decided she should use only her first name because he thought her last name, Rymarz, was too ethnic-sounding for...

A long-vacant grocery store in Fox Chapel Plaza is making waves since the arrival of construction crews earlier this month. When the former Community Market spot reopens at the corner of Freeport and Fox Chapel Roads, long gone will be aisles of produce and paper products. In its place will...

Burrell School District and Upper Burrell plan to fight a real estate assessment appeal filed in a Westmoreland County court by Arconic Inc. that could reduce tax revenue to the school district by almost $500,000 annually. “We plan to fight this vigorously,” said Anthony Giglio, an attorney with Andrews &...

Publicize your non-profit’s meetings, fundraisers and community events in The Stroller. Send information at least a week in advance to vndnews@triblive.com. Please include a daytime telephone number. Free produce distribution set in Natrona Building Block of Natrona will host its free Veggies for All and Cosmetics Closet outreach for residents...

A strong advocate for higher education, Thomas P. Bicanich Jr. never stopped learning. Over the years, Bicanich visited 49 of the nation’s 50 states. He explored each one thoroughly to learn what it had to offer, while pursuing a broad range of other interests and hobbies. His wife, Joanne Cecchi,...

Two men who met on the dating app Grindr face assault charges after they got into a fistfight and bit each other after hooking up at one of the men’s houses, according to a criminal complaint. New Kensington police charged Ryan Christopher Grabigel, 40, of New Kensington with aggravated assault...

Members of the New Kensington-Arnold School District community are being asked to complete a survey about what traits they want in the district’s new superintendent. A link to the survey is available on the district’s website, nkasd.com. Administrators, community members, parents, staff and students are asked to complete it by...

Quick action by Vandergrift police officers using fire extinguishers Tuesday afternoon likely saved the life of a 12-year-old boy trapped in his upstairs bedroom, a Vandergrift fire chief said. “They gave him a chance to survive. If it were not for the police using the extinguishers … there would have...

Publicize your non-profit’s meetings, fundraisers and community events in The Stroller. Send information at least a week in advance to vndnews@triblive.com. Please include a daytime telephone number. Community Library of Allegheny Valley honored by Pa. Library Association Community Library of Allegheny Valley in Harrison was named a Gold Star Library...

A Harrison man accused of fleeing from a traffic stop Monday night was delivering methamphetamine to someone before he was pulled over, according to state police. Police said a trooper tried to pull over a car driven by Sergio Andreal Davis, 28, because he was speeding and weaving on Route...

Free grab-and-go meals will be available in Blawnox each Tuesday through Feb. 2 for Fox Chapel Area School District families. Sponsored by Backpack for Hunger and Fox Families Care, the meals will be served at the Blawnox firehall, 376 Freeport Road. “This is for anyone,” volunteer Lisa Bowden said. “There...

State Sen. Jim Brewster, who will be sworn in Wednesday to the 45th District seat, said it has been a long two months of legal maneuvering as he defended his seat from court challenges raised by Republican challenger Nicole Ziccarelli. The incumbent Democrat said Tuesday — hours after a federal...

Programs and projects at the Sharpsburg Community Library funded by the Fox Chapel Area student telethon will continue for years to come, library officials said. The event brought in more than $16,400 for the library at 1212 Main St. “We are incredibly grateful for the outpouring of support from the...

Publicize your non-profit’s fundraiser or community event in The Stroller. Send information at least a week in advance to vndnews@triblive.com. Please include a daytime telephone number. Food drive planned Saturday in Lower Burrell The third annual Fallen Officers Food Drive to benefit local food banks will be from 10 a.m....

Nonprofit coordinators for two fallen police officers in the Alle-Kiski Valley, Derek Kotecki and Brian Shaw, are teaming up to collect food for St. Margaret Mary Food Bank in Lower Burrell this weekend. The third annual Fallen Officers Food Drive is set for Saturday at Mogie’s Irish Pub in Lower...

All Highlands School District students will return to a hybrid schedule next week, and administrators are considering bringing elementary students back for in-person instruction for half-days. Superintendent Monique Mawhinney said the district’s covid task force voted Monday to return all students to the hybrid schedule beginning Jan. 19. The district...

The federal judge considering the challenge to Pennsylvania’s 45th District Senate seat said a ruling on the matter will come Tuesday. U.S. District Judge J. Nicholas Ranjan said over the weekend that his order on the challenge by Nicole Ziccarelli against the state and Allegheny County for counting undated mail-in...

The lawyer for a Hyde Park man accused of the fatal beating of his estranged wife told a Westmoreland County judge on Monday there is insufficient evidence to support murder charges. Jeffrey Fondrk, 58, was charged with criminal homicide days after his wife, Patricia, was beaten to death in July...

With its tree-lined streets and walkable neighborhood, Aspinwall could benefit from a community center that offers game nights, book-borrowing, gardening and a café. That’s according to residents Amy and Christian Lima who are spearheading a nonprofit effort to open the Aspinwall Library — the name of which belies the variety...

Homeowners in Leechburg will pay a slight increase in their property tax this year. Leechburg Council passed a $1.2 million budget for 2021 that includes a property tax hike of less than 1%. The new tax rate is 22.5 mills, which is a slight increase from last year’s rate of...