Penn-Trafford Star category
Penn Township presents latest rezoning plan, targeting June adoption
Penn Township is nearing the end of a yearslong rewrite of its zoning ordinance and map, an effort aimed at diversifying its tax base with more businesses, officials said Thursday. The township commissioners, community development staff and planning commission members picked through the latest draft of the rezoning plan during...
Penn-Trafford tentative budget proposal includes 4-mill tax hike
Penn-Trafford School Board will vote next week on a proposed $71.9 million budget, which could increase residents’ tax bills by about $200 annually. District Business Manager Rebecca Rodriguez outlined Monday the proposed plan — a $1.9 million, or 2.8%, increase in spending from 2025-26. The board plans to vote on...
Pitching, defense do it again as Penn-Trafford wins section title
Two consecutive days of superb pitching and defense are a lot to ask of any high school baseball team, especially one facing the stiff winds of a section-title chase. But Penn-Trafford is starting to realize those are the things that put it in this position to start. And those are...
Penn-Trafford defense stands out in victory over Franklin RegionalVideo
Pitching to contact is the usual plan for Dom Delio, but the Penn-Trafford right-hander needs his defense to make plays behind him to get the maximum effect. In his latest start, the defense made so many putouts and played so crisply that Delio was left shaking his head and grinning,...
P-T field hockey coach Dutt retires
Cindy Dutt called retiring as Penn-Trafford’s field hockey coach one of the most difficult decisions in her life. But with having two grandchildren born this past fall, the retirement of her husband and lingering knee problems, Dutt decided her family obligations come first. Dutt resigned in March after spending the...
Eastern Pittsburgh suburban real estate transactions for the week of May 3, 2026
ALLEGHENY COUNTY Forest Hills Daniel Gazzo sold property at 982 Braddock Road to Colleen Kodman for $300,000. Monroeville Sfr3-030 LLC sold property at 221 Caruso Drive to RHD Reality LLC for $78,000. Penn Hills LSF 10 Master Participation Trust sold property at 571 Grove Road to D Next Level LLC...
9-time WPIAL champion Penn-Trafford field hockey coach Cindy Dutt retires
Cindy Dutt called retiring as Penn-Trafford’s field hockey coach one of the most difficulty decisions in her life. But with having two grandchildren born this past fall, the retirement of her husband and lingering knee problems, Dutt decided her family obligations come first. Dutt resigned in March after spending the...
Norwin, Penn-Trafford football standouts get Division I offers
Division I college football coaches are on the prowl for talent at this time of year, and two Westmoreland County players have emerged on their radar. Norwin’s Maxsym Fierle and Nick Ponko of Penn-Trafford picked up scholarship offers this week. Both are juniors. Fierle, who is 6-foot-4 and 265-pounds, was...
Penn-Trafford area: Election Day food drive, Safety Town, chicken barbecue, more
Election Day food drive The Lions Club will host a food drive to benefit the Manor Food Pantry on Election Day, May 19. The event will be held at the local polling place, located in the Borough Building Community Room, 44 Main St. Donations will be accepted from 7 a.m....
Judge sets $250K bond for Penn Township man accused of injuring neighbor
A Penn Township man accused of seriously injuring a neighbor was granted a $250,000 bond Wednesday. Jake G. Stepansky, 29, had been in custody without bond since his arrest last month on charges of aggravated assault, strangulation and reckless endangerment. During a hearing Wednesday, Westmoreland County Common Pleas Judge Christopher...
Theatre Factory to move to New Kensington arts hub; volunteers aim to fill gap in TraffordVideo
After 30 years providing theater opportunities to local actors, the Theatre Factory in Trafford will move into a New Kensington-based arts hub at the end of the summer. Theatre Factory leadership decided last fall it would accept an offer to become the resident theater company for Aluminum City Arts —...
Eastern Pittsburgh suburban real estate transactions for the week of April 26, 2026
ALLEGHENY COUNTY Forest Hills Mark McDonough sold property at 146 Avenue G to Benjamin Stahl for $310,000. Nathan Culp sold property at 127 Fairfax Road to David and Rachel Ann Fix for $315,000. Daniel Starr sold property at 203 Washington Road to Peter and Mary Belechak for $301,000. Monroeville Tejas...
Penn-Trafford grad Mia Smith surpasses 400 strikeouts at Pitt-Johnstown
After her sophomore season, Mia Smith began to believe the record could be hers, but it would take a lot more than showing up in the circle. The former Penn-Trafford ace zeroed in on the all-time strikeout record at Pitt-Johnstown like she does the strike zone itself. She painted corners...
Eastern Pittsburgh suburban real estate transactions for the week of April 19, 2026
ALLEGHENY COUNTY Forest Hills Mark Clemente sold property at 224 Cascade Road to William Peters and Isabel Tashima for $325,000. Heather Jacobs sold property at 1987 Centurion Drive Apt 505 to Jewish Family & Community Services GDN for $62,000. Monroeville Estate of Gary Devene Saylor sold property at 636 Dahlia...
Glassport sandwich shop opens location in Penn Township
A Glassport sandwich shop has expanded to a second location in Penn Township. Glads Deli opened in March along Route 130 at Crossroads Plaza. The building formerly housed a Subway. Owner Jason Billingsley ran Affordable Bathrooms and Kitchens by JB from 2000 to 2023 before getting into the restaurant industry....
Glassport sandwich shop opens location in Penn Township
A Glassport sandwich shop has expanded to a second location in Penn Township. Glads Deli opened in March along Route 130 at Crossroads Plaza. The building formerly housed a Subway. Owner Jason Billingsley ran Affordable Bathrooms and Kitchens by JB from 2000 to 2023 before getting into the restaurant industry....
Club at Blackthorne no longer facing legal challenges
The Club at Blackthorne, a private event and wedding center in a Penn Township housing community, is no longer facing legal challenges. Blackthorne Investors has dropped an appeal of the venue’s occupancy permit. The 36,000-square-foot site, accompanied by a golf course, is located off Harrison City-Export Road in the Blackthorne...
‘We’re all Penn-Trafford’: Penn Township and Penn Borough residents consider potential mergerVideo
Emergency services and finances were among the key talking points presented by the dozens of residents, volunteer firefighters and local government officials who gathered Monday night to discuss a potential merger of Penn Township and Penn Borough. Officials from the borough, a 0.2-square-mile community containing about 435 residents, approached the...
Penn-Trafford hires new wrestling, field hockey coaches
Penn-Trafford on Monday night hired new head coaches in wrestling and field hockey. Nate Smith was promoted from assistant to head wrestling coach, replacing Travis McKillop, who resigned after four seasons. Karlee Rubright, meantime, was named head field hockey coach. She takes the reins from accomplished veteran coach Cindy Dutt,...
Former Manor police officer sentenced for impersonating UPMC officer, theft
A former Manor police officer was sentenced to three years of probation for impersonating a UPMC police officer at a health system building and taking credit cards and a key from an employee’s office, according to Allegheny County court records. Justin R. Hall, 41, of Washington Township pleaded guilty and...
Public meeting set for potential merger of Penn Township, Penn Borough
Penn Township and Penn Borough officials will answer residents’ questions Monday on a potential merger of the two communities first pitched about three years ago. Officials from the borough, a 0.2-square-mile community containing about 435 residents, approached the neighboring township in March 2023 about merging the municipalities. This would mean...
Penn Township withdraws zoning violation notice from Club at Blackthorne, but other legal disputes continue
Penn Township is no longer accusing the Club at Blackthorne, a private event and wedding venue located in a housing community, of violating the municipality’s zoning ordinance. However, several other legal disputes surrounding the clubhouse continue. The Blackthorne Investors appeal and clubhouse zoning variance request will continue to be discussed...
3rd-ranked Plum baseball no-hits Penn-Trafford, remains unbeaten on season
Home runs, efficiency on the basepaths, crisp defense and dialed-in pitching. Undefeated Plum had all that and more, and that was just in the first two innings. The third-ranked Mustangs are starting to assert their dominance in Section 1-5A baseball, and a near-perfect effort Wednesday in a 10-0, run-ruled win...
Penn-Trafford junior seeks donations, volunteers for ‘Project Confidence’
Penn-Trafford student Celia Sperber is on a mission to boost the confidence of local teenagers. Sperber, a junior at the Penn Township high school, aims to distribute baskets of self-care items, room decor and accessories to students in Westmoreland and Allegheny counties through an initiative dubbed Project Confidence. “As someone...
Vandergrift native returns to Westmoreland as Bushy Run museum manager
Kiski Area graduate Sarah Mihelic, Bushy Run Battlefield’s latest museum manager, was failing her sixth grade history class when her teacher assigned her an extra credit opportunity at Washington Township’s Fort Hand. Mihelic visited the Westmoreland County historical site for a Revolutionary War battle reenactment — camera, notebook and pen...
