Michael DiVittorio stories, Page 18
Pittsburgh pup to play in the Puppy Bowl
The Steel City will be well represented on the gridiron in February despite the Pittsburgh Steelers being out of the NFL playoffs. Centaur, a mixed breed from Animal Friends was one of the pups drafted from rescue groups nationwide to play in Puppy Bowl XXI. The original and longest running...
Sewickley Police Department develops new patch with Council of Three Rivers American Indian Center
When Sewickley police Chief Dave Mazza was told his department’s uniform patches were problematic, the law enforcement veteran set out on a mission to correct them. What resulted was a nearly yearlong journey of discovery and the creation of a new patch with the help of a Pittsburgh-based social service...
Fox Chapel’s 2025 budget includes big investments in public safety
Fox Chapel property owners will not have to pay more in borough real estate taxes as part of its 2025 budget. Council unanimously voted Dec. 16 to pass the spending plan and maintain the millage rate at 2.95 mills. The borough has not raised taxes since 2019. No programs or...
New year, new programs at Sewickley Community Center
A new year brings new opportunities at the Sewickley Community Center. One of its programming leaders plans to build on the success of his summer youth development initiative, Mindset of a Leader, and turn it into an after-school program at 15 Chadwick St. “Our goal with this initiative is to...
Fox Chapel officially designated as a ‘Bird Town’
Fox Chapel is officially being recognized for its environmental efforts, especially pertaining to birds. Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania wildlife habitat educator Nick Stahlman recently presented borough council with a certificate from Bird Town Pennsylvania and the Pennsylvania Audubon Council as an official Bird Town. Stahlman also presented new Bird...
Glen Osborne council welcomes 2 new members to fill roles of longtime public servants
Glen Osborne Council recently added two familiar faces to its seven-member panel shortly after saying goodbye to two longstanding members. Council President Thomas Huddleston and Councilwoman Holly Merriman resigned effective Dec. 31. Council accepted their resignations and swiftly appointed their replacements, Greg Curran and Anne Fruehauf, on Dec. 17 following...
Leetsdale holds line on real estate taxes, maintains programs and services
Leetsdale property owners will not have to pay more in borough real estate taxes in the new year. Council voted unanimously Dec. 12 to pass the $2.9 million 2025 budget and maintain the millage rate at 9 mills. Of that, 8 mills are planned for general purposes and 1 mill...
Registration open for youth, family bowling leagues in Sewickley
Registration is open for a youth and family winter bowling league in Sewickley. The youth and family bowling leagues are eight weeks starting Jan. 11 at Fair Oaks Lanes. Both league games are Sundays starting at 2 p.m. at 660 Ambridge Ave. This is the second year for the program...
Glen Osborne holds line on real estate taxes, maintains programs and services
Glen Osborne property owners will not have to pay more in borough real estate taxes this year. Council voted unanimously Dec. 17 to pass its 2025 budget and maintain the millage rate at 4.9 mills. This is the third straight year borough taxes have remained steady. The $800,0000 spending plan...
Quaker Valley School District closed Monday due to expected inclement weather
Quaker Valley School District will be closed Monday because of projected inclement weather, district officials announced via social media. After-school and evening activities were also canceled. Jared Rackley, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Moon, said Allegheny County will see between 2 and 5 inches of snow through Monday,...
Woman stabbed in Pleasant Hills, man arrested
A woman was hospitalized in critical, but stable condition and a man arrested in connection with a stabbing in Pleasant Hills. Allegheny County Police said officers were dispatched around 7 a.m. Friday for a reported stabbing along the 200 block of Hillock Lane. First responders found a woman suffering from...
Brackenridge Police Chief Justin McIntire remembered 2 years after death in the line of duty
Lee McIntire recalled the final conversation he had with his son, Justin McIntire, just two days before he was killed in the line of duty. “Our last words to each other were, ‘I love you,’ ” the father said at a memorial service outside the Brackenridge Borough Building on Thursday...
Man in stable condition after being shot in Pittsburgh’s East Liberty neighborhood
A man is recovering after being shot in the leg in Pittsburgh’s East Liberty neighborhood. Officers were dispatched shortly before 6:30 p.m. Saturday to the 100 block of Euclid Avenue for a six-round ShotSpotter alert. Police said calls about a man shot in the leg also came in while they...
Thousands remain without power in Western Pa.
Thousands of people across Western Pennsylvania remained without power Monday afternoon, a day after high winds caused power outages in multiple counties. Late Monday afternoon, Duquesne Light was reporting 6,000 customers without power, according to company spokesman Nick Ruffolo. He said the company sought help from 50 contractors to assist...
Families have fun counting birds at Fox Chapel nature reserve
Stacy Ogutu has the eyes of a red-tailed hawk and the quick note-taking skills of an educated song sparrow. Both of those talents were on display as the McCandless youth marked down every bird she and her other family members saw along the paths of Beechwood Farms Nature Reserve in...
Seniors celebrate at annual Leetsdale Manor Christmas party
More than 50 senior citizens celebrated the holidays with a party at the Leetsdale Manor apartments on Dec. 11. It was the third annual Christmas party organized by Mayor Sandra Ford. The event was sponsored by the borough and the Quaker Valley Salvation Army. Dinner included pulled pork, chicken, green...
Bell Acres officials hold the line on borough real estate taxes in 2025
Bell Acres officials held the line on real estate taxes and maintained services in their 2025 budget. Council voted 5-0 on Dec. 9 to pass next year’s spending plan and keep the millage rate at 4.82 mills, which includes 4.32 mills for general purposes and a 0.5-mill fire tax. Council...
Quaker Valley School District police force to be under new leadership in January
Quaker Valley School District police will start the new year with new leadership. David Watts was promoted to top school cop following the resignation of chief Aaron Vanatta, who resigned this month to take a similar role at the Western Pennsylvania School for Blind Children in Pittsburgh. The board approved...
Proposed Plum church clears zoning hurdle
Plans for a new church in Plum, to be built very close to an existing house of worship, cleared a procedural hurdle with approval from the borough’s zoning hearing board. Jubilee International Ministry sought a variance to build an estimated 6,100-square-foot, single-story church on its property. It would seat 252...
Sewickley’s 2025 budget approved with no tax hike, garbage and sewer fees remain stagnant
Sewickley property owners will not have to pay more in borough real estate taxes next year. Council voted unanimously on Dec. 10 to pass the borough’s projected $10.76 million spending plan and maintain the millage rate at 6.25 mills. The garbage collection and sewer fees also will remain the same....
Additional hearing required for proposed injection well in Plum
Plans for a proposed injection well project in Plum will once again be debated before the borough’s zoning hearing board as the governing body adheres to a state court ruling. Board members voted 5-0 Thursday determining a section of the zoning ordinance involving setbacks applies to Penneco Environmental Solutions’ request...
Indiana Township holds taxes steady; some firefighters will get a break
Indiana Township property owners will not have to pay more in township property taxes in 2025. Some township volunteer firefighters also will receive a tax break as part of a new relief program. Supervisors unanimously voted to pass their estimated $6.5 million 2025 budget. The millage rate remains at 3.47...
Leet commissioners approve 18% tax hike next year
Leet property owners will see their township real estate taxes go up about 18% next year. The township commissioners voted 4-0 on Dec. 9 to pass the 2025 budget, which includes the first township tax hike in the last seven years. Commissioner Rody Nash was absent. The millage rate will...
Blawnox to see no rise in real estate taxes, garbage fees; water/sewage bills will increase
Blawnox property owners will not have to pay more in borough real estate taxes next year. Council unanimously voted Dec. 11 to pass its 2025 budget and maintain the tax rate at 10.85 mills. Garbage collection fees also remained the same. Council raised taxes by 1 mill for the 2023...
No change in Aspinwall’s real estate taxes, sewage fees for 2025
Aspinwall property owners will not have to pay more in borough real estate taxes next year. Council voted 6-0 on Dec. 11 to pass its 2025 budget and maintain the millage rate at 8.36 mills, including 0.5-mill for public safety. Councilman Lou Curcio was absent. One mill generates about $150,000...
