Jack Troy stories, Page 17
South Buffalo plans 15th year of no tax increases
South Buffalo is maintaining a 15-year streak of no tax hikes as part of its proposed $2.5 million budget. Supervisors approved a preliminary spending plan after a series of public budget workshops, with formal passage scheduled for Dec. 16. The property tax rate is expected to remain at 5.7 mills....
No tax hike expected for Vandergrift property owners
Vandergrift has no plans to raise real estate taxes next year, according to its preliminary spending plan. The proposed budget would keep the property tax rate at 28 mills. Expenditures are projected to hit about $2.5 million, roughly $30,000 more than expected income. That gap would be covered by leftover...
‘It’s inevitable:’ Residents mull what growth means for future of Buffalo Township
For all the consternation about a wave of residential development in Buffalo Township, Drew Klemens saw it coming 13 years ago, when he moved across from a cornfield now slated to become 627 units of upscale town homes and single-family houses. “Nobody is going to come out to this area...
627-home mixed-use plan proposed for Buffalo Township a clear sign of accelerating growth
A Lancaster-based firm wants to transform a slice of farmland in Buffalo Township into a town within a town, boasting more than 600 homes and about 20,000 square feet of retail space. The ambitious plan, proposed near the intersection of routes 28 and 356, reflects a seemingly insatiable appetite for...
Penn Hills Planning Department hiring ahead of director’s retirement
Penn Hills is seeking a planning director and a planner, but only one person is leaving what currently is a three-member department. Planning Director Chris Blackwell will retire in February after 30 years with the municipality and 10 as the department head. In that time, he has had a hand...
Penn Hills program helps low-income homebuyers cover upfront costs
More families are turning to a Penn Hills program that offers up to $14,500 toward a down payment and closing costs on homes in the municipality. Penn Hills, in collaboration with social services provider ACTION-Housing, Allegheny County Economic Development and consultant Urban Design Ventures, launched the program in 2017 to...
Could Springdale Church’s donated Pittsburgh Christmas tree be the last from the property?
A reliable supply of towering Christmas trees for Pittsburgh’s annual display may come to an end Saturday after crews cut down two more evergreens from an old church in Springdale. The city has sourced the centerpiece of its Light Up Night festivities from the former St. Alphonsus Church, owned by...
Former Springdale Church supplies its 3rd straight official Pittsburgh Christmas tree
Pittsburgh’s latest official Christmas tree will come from Springdale. Sound familiar? Including this year’s 40-foot blue spruce, donated by Guardian Angels Catholic Parish, four of the last six trees selected for display outside the City-County Building Downtown have come from Springdale. And like the past two years, the evergreen hails...
Rate hikes, but no tax increases proposed for Freeport’s 2025 budget
Monthly charges for sewage and trash collection would go up for Freeport residents next year, but the property tax rate would stay the same, under the borough’s proposed $2.5 million budget. Sewage ratepayers could expect a $7 increase per bill, bringing the debt service surcharge to $47. That’s a hike...
‘The general wants to be heard:’ Restoration eyed for tomb of Samuel McCartney Jackson, Apollo’s most famous citizen
The open archway into Gen. Samuel McCartney Jackson’s mausoleum stares blankly over the hillside at Old Apollo Cemetery, battered by years of crude graffiti and neglect but still structurally sound. Only a few stones have fallen, including one with the Civil War hero’s year of death: 1907. “It still has...
Democrats retain control of Pennsylvania state House
Democrats will remain in control of Pennsylvania’s state House after a nail-biter in a Johnstown area district. State Rep. Frank Burns eked out his eighth successful reelection bid, this time against Republican Amy Bradley, to preserve his party’s 102-101 majority in the lower chamber. The pro-gun, anti-abortion Democrat represents the...
Sagging, rusted fence in Penn Hills partly fixed by Union Railroad; other half awaits repairs
Union Railroad has completed long-awaited repairs to its half of a dilapidated fence along Leechburg Road near its North Bessemer Yard, but it remains unclear when the rest might be addressed. The rusted, sagging fence has been described as potentially dangerous to pedestrians by Penn Hills code enforcement officer Jason...
Cleanup of Parks Township nuclear waste dump to begin next summer, Army Corps details the plan
The Army Corps of Engineers and its contractors are less than a year out from starting to remove, process and package radioactive materials from the Parks Township nuclear waste dump. Remediation will start in August on 10 shallow trenches of highly enriched uranium and other hazardous materials buried at the...
Pennsylvania House majority hinges on single seat in Cambria County
Control of the Pennsylvania state House has come down to a single district in Cambria County, where the fate of a “blue dog” Democrat is slowly coming into focus as thousands of ballots are counted by hand. Rep. Frank Burns, a Democrat who first won Pennsylvania’s 72nd House District in...
5 key moments that shaped the presidential race and a Trump victory
Donald Trump’s decisive win Tuesday night over Kamala Harris represents a profound realignment of the American electorate, giving Republicans a blueprint for future victories and Democrats enough cause for soul searching to last a presidential term. Trump gained ground in almost every district and demographic, storming back to the White...
Inflation explained: Utility costs driven by war, climate change and regulatory incentives
Pennsylvanians, who live in one of America’s most productive states for natural gas extraction, have seen their utility bills climb despite that ample supply. Experts say the fault lies in the trio of international energy demand, infrastructure investment and the jump in inflation during and after the covid pandemic. “Natural...
Democrat Angela Girol, incumbent Republican Andrew Kuzma vie for solid red seat in the 39th State House District
Republican state Rep. Andrew Kuzma is gearing up for his first reelection challenge as longtime teacher and union representative Angela Girol looks to reclaim Pennsylvania’s 39th House District for Democrats after more than a decade of losses. The district covers Elizabeth, Elizabeth Township, Forward Township, Jefferson Hills, Pleasant Hills, South...
Veterans at Penn Hills senior living facility reflect on trauma, uncertainty and progress
Don Gerken has his younger brother on his mind as Veterans Day approaches, and how his combat service in Vietnam — which earned him Silver and Bronze stars — left lasting scars. “I think he brought a lot of that war home with him,” said Gerken, one of 17 military...
Allegheny Township man charged in Vandergrift gas station crash that burned 1 person, caused serious damage
Charges have been filed against an Allegheny Township man who police said crashed into a gas pump at Vandergrift’s Kochka and Son Towing on Sept. 10, starting a fire that burned a customer and caused significant damage to the family-owned business. Cole Briscoe, 33, fled the scene on Sherman Avenue...
Buffalo Township movie theater reopens under family management
The former AMC theater in Buffalo Township quietly reopened as South Pike Cinemas on Saturday, more than two months after America’s largest movie chain declined to renew its lease. Before leaving, AMC removed its payment systems, monitors — even its soda fountains — giving owner Nick Mulone plenty to do...
Who is better for economy, Trump or Harris? Here’s how their policies compare
Editor’s note: This is part of an occasional series examining where presidential candidates Kamala Harris and Donald Trump stand on the biggest issues. Today’s segment focuses on the economy. Former President Donald Trump, never shy to borrow from Ronald Reagan, asked supporters at a recent rally in Unity a simple...
Board drama drags on as Penn Hills looks to revive economic development committee
A new wave of players in Penn Hills civic life are going after vacant land and blighted properties in historically neglected neighborhoods in hopes of attracting new residents and, in turn, amenities. And while some of that work is happening through Elevate Penn Hills, an initiative of the Penn Hills...
Building the Valley: Freeport bakery offers taste of the past
School lunches get a bad rap, but something about the buns served on spaghetti days at Freeport Area School District cafeterias enchanted Sarah Vivian. “The lunch ladies would make these big, yeasty rolls, and you could smell it throughout the whole school,” Vivian fondly recalled. Apparently, the buns have stuck...
Affordable housing proposal on hold at former Apollo High School
The Apollo Zoning Hearing Board has postponed a decision on whether to permit a 45-unit, $18 million affordable housing development on the site of the former Apollo High School. Developer Pivotal Housing Partners is seeking variances to, among other aspects of the project, the minimum lot area per-unit, maximum building...
Leechburg police looking for suspects after series of thefts from unlocked cars
Leechburg police are asking residents with video surveillance to check their footage after reports of suspects entering unlocked vehicles around 1 a.m. Friday along Wallace and Floral avenues and Second Street. “I had one lady pretty upset,” said Leechburg police Chief Jason Schaeffer. “Her purse was stolen, and she had...
