Dillon Carr stories, Page 14
Portion of Forbes Road in Monroeville to close next week through mid-November
A portion of Forbes Road in Monroeville will close later this month for landslide repair work, paving, shoulder reconstruction and line painting, according to PennDOT spokesman Steve Cowan said. The road will close between Haymaker Road and Stewart Station Drive starting July 27. Stewart Station Drive is also referred to...
Monroeville officials reschedule Fourth of July fireworks display for Labor Day weekend
Monroeville officials have decided to wait until the first Sunday in September to set off approximately $20,000 worth of fireworks originally scheduled for July 4. The Sept. 6 date will only feature a fireworks display, said Manager Tim Little. There will be no parade, an annual addition to the municipality’s...
Illegally lit fireworks to blame for fire at vacant Penn Hills houseVideo
A vacant house in Penn Hills was a casualty of the weekend’s at-home fireworks displays, the municipality’s fire marshal said Wednesday. “There was debris from fireworks all over the place,” said Chuck Miller, the municipality’s fire marshal. “Big bottle rockets, mortars that go up in the sky and explode –...
Ross police officer under review after reports of questionable social media posts
A Ross Township police officer’s social media posts are under review after a Pittsburgh radio station raised questions about them. According to a story by WESA-FM on Tuesday, Sgt. Joseph “JJ” Serowik appears to have commented on Facebook posts that mocked protesters and joked about running them over. Serowik works...
Penn Hills magisterial district court closes after employee tests positive for covid-19
The magisterial district court in Penn Hills will be closed through July 17 because an employee tested positive for covid-19. Angharad Stock, an Allegheny County deputy court administrator, said the staff member, one of four, tested positive for the coronavirus on July 5. Stock did not give any specific information...
Gateway School District raises taxes, cuts programs and teachers to balance budget
Citing financial uncertainty caused by the coronavirus pandemic, the Gateway School District Board of Directors raised property taxes and cut programs and teacher positions in order to balance next year’s budget. The school board raised the property tax rate from 19.87 to 20.17 mills, an increase of 1.5%. The tax...
Custody case for Bella Seachrist found father’s Oakmont home suitable
Bella Seachrist was a month shy of her first birthday when she was taken to live with her father and his longtime partner. In June 2017, an Allegheny County Common Pleas judge found the Oakmont home where Jose Salazar-Ortiz Sr. and Laura Ramriez lived to be proper and suitable for...
Monroeville church to host virtual VBS
A Monroeville church plans to host virtual Vacation Bible School sessions for children in pre-school through fifth grade. Monroeville United Methodist Church, at 219 Center Road, will host the sessions from 10 to 11:30 a.m. via Zoom video conferencing. The program is called “Rocky Railway: Jesus’ Power Pulls Us Through.”...
Pittsburgh Black Lives Matter activist Tanisha Long featured on ‘Today’ show
A Pittsburgh Black Lives Matter leader was interviewed on NBC’s “Today” show on Tuesday. Tanisha Long, the founder of Black Lives Matter Pittsburgh and SW Pa., spoke briefly to hosts about her efforts to reach people in smaller communities across the region who might sympathize with the Black Lives Matter...
Details from Oakmont girl’s death resemble physical, psychological torture
Nothing happens along 10th Street in Oakmont. “That’s why I live here. I have two children,” said resident Melissa Kwiatkowski. “This just makes you want to hold them a little closer.” Kwiatkowski, 52, was expressing shock Thursday over the death of 3-year-old Bella Seachrist, who lived in the same block...
Faces in the crowd: Stories of the Western Pa. protesters
Thousands of residents from Western Pennsylvania have joined demonstrations protesting racial injustice since George Floyd was killed in May while being arrested in Minneapolis. Floyd was Black. Police officer Derek Chauvin, who kneeled on Floyd’s neck for almost nine minutes, is white. Chauvin faces murder charges. The Tribune-Review has chronicled...
Monroeville jazz fest canceled for first time in its 17 years
For the first time in its 17 years, the annual Monroeville Jazz Festival has been canceled. The event was originally scheduled for Aug. 15, and organizers from the Monroeville Foundation held out on canceling. The festival typically draws thousands from the region for a jazz-themed day at the municipality’s Tall...
Authorities arrest man suspected of hurling concrete at police truck during Pittsburgh protest
Police have arrested a Pittsburgh man suspected of throwing a concrete block at a police truck during a May 30 protest that turned violent. George Allen, 31, faces charges of aggravated assault, riot, propulsion of missiles, recklessly endangering another person and criminal mischief. Police said two Pittsburgh officers were in...
Monroeville’s Northern Pike to reopen in both directions
Northern Pike in Monroeville will reopen to traffic in both directions beginning this week, PennDOT announced Tuesday. The road will reopen at 6 a.m. Wednesday, along with renewed access to Abers Creek Road. Northern Pike has been closed between Abers Creek Road and Valerie Circle since April 13. Allison Park...
Wilkins Township immigration office employees face furloughs
Up to 25 people working in the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) field office in Wilkins could be furloughed if the federal agency does not receive congressional funding, a union representative said. Tom Vacca has worked at the USCIS field office for 16 years. He is a steward...
Green Forest Brazilian Restaurant in Penn Hills closes after 20 years
A locally owned Brazilian restaurant in Penn Hills closed its doors Sunday during a year that would have marked its 20th anniversary. Flavia Naccarato of Green Forest Brazilian Restaurant and Lounge took to Facebook on Father’s Day — typically one of the restaurant’s busiest days — to break the news...
Monroeville senior center to reopen with restrictions
The Monroeville senior center is scheduled to reopen with restricted hours and programming Aug. 6 after being closed since mid-March because of the covid-19 pandemic. Since June 10, the center has been working on a plan that includes new policies and procedures for visiting per recommended guidelines of the Center...
Pittsburgh-area protests commemorate Juneteenth, demand racial justice and equalityVideo
People across the Pittsburgh area took to the streets Friday to commemorate Juneteenth, a day marking the end of slavery 155 years ago. “This is our Independence Day,” Fawn Montgomery, co-founder of Take Action Mon Valley, told a crowd gathered along the Martin Luther King Jr. East Busway in Wilkinsburg....
Food & Water Watch hosting fracking webinars for South Hills communities
An environmental advocacy organization is hosting two virtual forums on the intersection of local zoning ordinances and the oil and gas industry on Saturday and Monday. Food & Water Watch, a national nonprofit with a regional office in Philadelphia, will host the public webinars from 9:30 a.m. to noon June...
Verona man latest to be charged with illegal dumping in Penn HillsVideo
A Verona man faces a charge of illegal dumping after Penn Hills officials said a hidden camera caught him unloading a mattress on the side of a road. Harry Paul Tabor, 53, was charged with the summary offense June 8. Municipal Manager Scott Andrejchak said in a news release Tabor...
Hundreds march through Downtown Pittsburgh against racism, call for change in third week of protestsVideo
A couple hundred people snaked through Downtown Pittsburgh streets Tuesday to protest police brutality and racism in the city’s third week of demonstrations following the death of George Floyd. The peaceful protest began around 1 p.m. when participants gathered outside the City-County Building. Protests erupted around the nation and world,...
Monroeville restaurants get temporary OK to use parking lots, sidewalks as outdoor seating
Monroeville council placed a temporary relaxation to its rules governing how restaurants manage outdoor seating. The resolution, passed unanimously, allows restaurateurs to apply for a temporary permit allowing them to reconfigure parking lots, and in some cases, sidewalks, into outdoor seating areas. Allegheny County is one of 34 in the...
Dog charging toward children shot and killed in Penn Hills
No one was hurt over the weekend when a man shot and killed a pit bull after he thought the dog put children in danger on a residential street in Penn Hills, according to police. Police Chief Howard Burton said the incident happened around 10 p.m. Saturday on the 100...
Monroeville Foundation hosts virtual 5K
The Monroeville Foundation plans on hosting a virtual run to replace the annual 5K fundraiser typically held at the municipality’s Community Park. The July 25 fundraising event, CommUNITY Days, was canceled because of the covid-19 pandemic. But “this is the time to get creative and think outside the box,” said...
Children hear message of racial unity at kid-friendly rally in Monroeville
“Be nice.” The simple phrase came out of the mouth of a young boy named Wyatt who showed up with his parents and friends Friday to a Black Lives Matter gathering in a field just outside Moss Side Middle School in Monroeville’s Gateway School District. There, young children were given...
