Brian C. Rittmeyer stories, Page 22

The damage to Roy Berg’s New Kensington gun shop is largely fixed, and authorities say they’ve arrested the men who broke in. But the thing Berg wants most hasn’t happened yet — 22 of the guns stolen from RC Firearms on Jan. 22 remain missing and, Berg worries, may be...

Plum School District is expanding its police force by adding a longtime borough officer who retired last year. The school board approved hiring Mike DeMarco, 51, of Monroeville. He will be paid $28 per hour. His start date had not been determined as of Thursday. His hiring increases the district’s...

The shutdown of the coal-fired power plant in Springdale is forcing Duquesne Light to spend between $12 million and $17 million to reconfigure a transmission line in Plum. When GenOn’s Cheswick Generating Station stopped producing electricity in 2022, it reduced the amount of power being generated locally and created a...

A McKees Rocks man is accused of assaulting a woman in New Kensington two days after, police say, he fired shots in the city. Kisheem Malik Alberto Husband, 23, admitted to firing two shots on Haser Drive on Jan. 24, New Kensington police said in a criminal complaint. Although police...

Federal authorities have charged two men in connection with the burglary of a New Kensington gun store last week. Steyn Sarduy, 18, no address available, confessed to the break-in, according to the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Authorities identified the second suspect as Michael Guin, 26, who...

Plans to add another injection well in Plum will go back to the borough’s zoning hearing board. The zoning board in January of 2022 voted to approve the addition of a second injection well at Penneco Environmental Solutions’ existing facility on 69 acres on Old Leechburg Road because, the board...

A New Kensington gun store burglarized last week will reopen Saturday with enhanced security measures. Roy Berg, who runs RC Firearms on Freeport Street with his son, Cole, said they will be having a “big sale” to mark the reopening along with a somewhat early celebration of their first year...

While a combination of factors are pushing up the price of oil and the national average price of gasoline, steeper increases are on the horizon, an industry analyst says. The national average rose 4.5 cents per gallon in the past week to $3.07, according to price-tracking service GasBuddy. Despite that,...

The owner of a shuttered Rite Aid in New Kensington is looking to find a new tenant for the building or sell it for $2.5 million. The building’s private owner will take whichever offer is most attractive, said Ian Dupre, an adviser with SVN Three Rivers Commercial Advisors. The lease...

Plum’s largest taxpayer has reached a tentative deal that would end assessment appeals and an application by the nonprofit retirement community to be declared tax exempt on 60 acres it owns in the borough, officials said. In the first year of the eight-year deal, Plum’s Longwood at Oakmont would pay...

A woman who worked as a registered nurse at Longwood at Oakmont in Plum is accused of forging another nurse’s signature on a prescription for morphine cream. The state Attorney General’s Office charged Kimberly C. Graves, 58, of Penn Hills with a felony count of prohibited acts and misdemeanor charges...

Oakmont gets grant toward previously purchased EV pickup Oakmont Councilwoman Jamie Leonardi shared that the borough recently received a $7,500 Alternative Fuels Incentive Grant through the Department of Environmental Protection. The grant comes after the borough had purchased a 2022 Ford 150 Lightning light-duty electric truck in May. During a...

Two other people involved in a traffic stop during which a New Kensington police officer was hurt have been charged. Lanai Rashawn Thrower, 25, of New Kensington arrived at the scene of the Jan. 13 traffic stop on Freeport Road and Elizabeth Street, according to police. She has been arraigned...

One of about two dozen guns stolen from a New Kensington gun store was recovered when four young men were arrested Wednesday in Homestead, according to court records. All four men arrested were illegally carrying loaded 9 mm handguns, Homestead police said in criminal complaints. Only one of the guns...

Federal investigators say they’ve arrested four men who may be connected to the theft of about two dozen firearms from a New Kensington gun shop. TribLive news partner WTAE first reported the suspects in the burglary were taken into custody Wednesday after police stopped an Audi at the intersection of...

Traffic was stalled briefly on the New Kensington Bridge Wednesday afternoon while police stopped a vehicle suspected of being involved in a shooting in the morning. According to Westmoreland 911, a shooting was reported around 10:30 a.m. along Haser Drive in the city at a Westmoreland County Housing Authority apartment...

Five teachers are among several staff members leaving employment with the Plum School District. Retiring as of June 5 are high school teachers Rochelle Dunn, Doran Check and Amy Picard. Also retiring are O’Block Elementary teacher Martha Freese and Rich Bernardi, a teacher at the middle school. Two administrative assistants...

The search for a woman who police said they pursued in a high-speed chase through New Kensington and Lower Burrell led officers to a rusted refrigerator in the woods, court documents show. That’s where police said they found Rachel Mautino, 45, of New Kensington, hiding early Sunday after the pursuit...

A New Kensington man is accused of hitting and threatening a city police officer while he was being arrested on charges of strangling a woman Sunday. Charles Lavon Lewis, 27, is being held in the Westmoreland County jail on $25,000 bond. New Kensington police went to an apartment in the...

Selecting the right cocoa beans is important to making good-tasting chocolate. But for home chocolate-maker Wayne Dudding, that’s something he has to do by hand. “Some of the beans I receive aren’t very good for making chocolate. There’s different defects in them,” said Dudding, 62, a Freeport native who lives...

Plum municipal center gym open for basketball The gymnasium at Plum’s municipal center will be open for children and adults to play basketball between 9 a.m. and 8 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 28. A limited amount of basketballs will be provided or participants can bring their own. Age ranges and times...

An agreement for access with a neighboring gas station gave New Kensington officials comfort in granting one of several needed approvals for an oil change facility to be built along Tarentum Bridge Road. The agreement between Valvoline Instant Oil Change and Shamey’s gas station allows for vehicles to get into...

As more big retailers stop carrying physical media, and more people find limitations to streaming, New Kensington record store owner A.J. Rassau believes there will be more demand for what he offers. That’s his hope, at least. And after investing a half-million dollars to take in more than 100,000 vinyl...

Plum EMS will begin soliciting for annual subscriptions in February. Subscriptions cost $15 for an individual, $25 for a household and $40 for a business. They run from March 1 until the end of February 2025. Subscribers receive two free CPR/AED classes valued at $80; up to 50% discount on...

New Kensington won’t be getting another car wash, but it is in line to get a Starbucks cafe and Harbor Freight store instead. The discount tools store, nearly 16,000 square foot, and 2,500-square-foot coffee shop are proposed for Riverview Plaza off Tarentum Bridge Road. Harbor Freight would be built beside...