Michael DiVittorio stories, Page 22
Quaker Valley School Board accepts Leet conditions on proposed high school
Quaker Valley School District officials have cleared another procedural hurdle with the proposed high school project. The school board unanimously voted at a special meeting Nov. 12 to accept conditions imposed by Leet commissioners on the district’s land development plan. All five commissioners voted in favor of the proposed 167,000-square-foot...
Sewickley Hills plans for 2025 include $300K expansion of borough building
Sewickley Hills officials are planning an expansion of the municipal offices and reconstruction of two roads in the borough next year. The projects are part of a $1.1 million budget council introduced Nov. 12. The 1,000-square-foot expansion of the borough building could cost $300,000. Councilman Hunter Hopkins said the expansion...
Drone operators need certifications, license from FAA for public safety and commercial uses
People who want to operate a drone for public safety and commercial purposes are required to get a license or certificate through the Federal Aviation Administration. Some of the regulations state that an operator cannot fly more than one drone at a time and cannot fly one near manned aircraft...
Eyes in the sky: O’Hara police drone, operator serve multiple communities, purposes
O’Hara police Officer Maria Sciacca had a bird’s-eye view over the land where former President Donald Trump was shot and former Buffalo Township Volunteer Fire Company Chief Corey Comperatore was killed. Two others also were wounded in the July 13 assassination attempt of the Republican presidential nominee July 13 at...
Blawnox officials plan to hold the line on real estate taxes, restore paving program
Blawnox officials plan to hold the line on real estate taxes next year while restoring the borough’s paving program. Council voted 4-0 to advertise its preliminary 2025 spending plan of about $1.65 million. Council President Deborah Laskey and members Mark Lombardi and Elaine Palmer were absent. Budget documents suggest the...
EV charging station prices set in Sewickley, service to start in the coming weeks
EV charging stations in Sewickley are one step closer to being put in service. Council unanimously passed an ordinance on Nov. 12 setting charging rates and regulations for the recently installed devices in the Division Street parking lot. The charging fee is $3 per hour, billed to the user in...
Edgeworth Elementary fifth graders gain TV production experience
The next Walter Cronkite or Barbara Walters could be sitting today in a fifth-grade chair at Edgeworth Elementary School. Quaker Valley School District has helped give its young learners a chance to experience what it is like to be TV reporters with a recently upgraded student studio. Several students each...
Aspinwall property owners likely won’t see a borough real estate tax hike in 2025
Aspinwall officials plan to hold the line on real estate taxes with next year’s budget. Council unanimously approved advertising its 2025 spending plan Nov. 13. Budget documents show the millage rate remains 8.36 mills, including 0.5 mills for public safety. One mill generates about $150,000 in revenue. Projected revenue and...
Sewickley Heights police chief gets new contract, terms reluctantly released
Sewickley Heights officials reluctantly released terms of a new employment contract with police Chief James Harrison. Council unanimously approved the new three-year deal Oct. 21. Mayor George Magovern and council president John Means recommended the contract approval. Borough manager Nathan Briggs said council and the chief “refreshed” the employment contract...
Savory fundraiser results in delicious support for Sewickley library
Sewickley resident Leslie Liebscher could hardly believe an idea more than two decades ago to bring local restaurants together to support the borough would grow into its booster group’s largest annual fundraiser. “I love the library, and it’s so fantastic that our community supports it so well,” said Liebscher, former...
Aspinwall hosts Pittsburgh Regional Transit meeting about proposed bus line redesign
Pittsburgh Regional Transit bus riders in Aspinwall may lose access to the South Side and the Strip District, but gain stops in Lawrenceville, Bloomfield and Downtown Pittsburgh as part of a bus line redesign project. Riders would also see 20- to 30-mile trips shortened and increased direct connections to neighborhoods...
Sharpsburg adds greenery with help from volunteers at tree planting
Sharpsburg looks a little greener thanks to multiple volunteers planting trees in the borough earlier this month. More than 30 people came out to plant 25 trees on Nov. 2. The event was part of a partnership with Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, the borough and Sharpsburg Neighborhood Organization. People gathered at...
Proposed Sharpsburg budget has no real estate tax hike, maintains sewer rates
Sharpsburg officials plan to hold the line on real estate taxes and sewage fees as part of next year’s budget. Council is expected to delineate its proposed 2025 spending plan during a workshop meeting Nov. 14 with possible adoption slated for Nov. 21. Municipalities must adopt a balanced budget by...
Quaker Valley School District to enact new social media policy
A new policy will soon have Quaker Valley School District officials taking a closer look at their social media pages. Designed to establish a process and standards for approval and operation of district-owned accounts, the proposed guidelines also address school directors’ and school employees’ personal social media. The new policy...
Sewickley’s ‘Spider-Man’ laid to rest
Sewickley area residents and visitors are mourning the loss of their friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. Elmer Cletus Borh, affectionately nicknamed after the Marvel superhero, died at Heritage Valley Sewickley hospital on Sept. 30. He was 68. Born in Butler, he was the youngest of Cletus Harry and Janet Florence Bohr’s five...
2 Quaker Valley school board members honored for years of service
Two Quaker Valley School Board members were recognized by a state organization for their years of service to the district. Pennsylvania School Boards Association member outreach manager-west Lena Hannah honored Geoff Barnes for his five years of service and Gianni Floro for his 24 years. Board members are placed on...
Tarentum man faces multiple charges in connection with Halloween dog attacks
A Tarentum man is facing multiple charges for allegedly allowing his dogs to run loose and attack people on Halloween. Brandon Jerome Baynes, 36, is charged with three counts each of several charges, including animal neglect, and most of which are summary offenses. One of the charges, recklessly endangering another...
Elderly pedestrian identified who was struck and killed in Harrison
A Harrison man is dead after he was struck Friday evening by a vehicle near the Sheetz convenience store in Harrison. The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office identified the victim as Gary Rhebb, 74, of Harrison’s Natrona Heights neighborhood. Harrison Police Sgt. Justin Bouch said the victim was struck by...
‘Third time’s a charm’ as Sharpsburg 19-year-old becomes new borough councilman
Third time was the charm for a Sharpsburg teen seeking a seat on borough council. Roman Mason, 19, was appointed to fill the unexpired term of Kacie Cope, who resigned in late September. “It makes me feel good,” Mason said sitting in his new seat after the Oct. 24 council...
McCahill Park reconstruction underway in Fox Chapel
A major renovation project is underway at McCahill Park in Fox Chapel. Over the past several weeks, Dun Rite Construction crew have excavated, moved large materials and equipment and performed other related work at the recreation site off Hemlock Hollow Road. It’s all part of an estimated $820,000 upgrade that...
EV stations installed in Sewickley, charging fees yet to be set
Electronic vehicle drivers will soon have a new place to charge along the Route 65 corridor. EV stations were recently installed at the Division Street parking lot behind Caliente Pizza & Draft House and Pennsylvania Academy of Dance in Sewickley. The setup includes three machines, two with dual charging capabilities...
Fox Chapel Follies returns with new show at Pittsburgh Field Club
While artificial intelligence can cause some folks to feel anxious, frustrated and a host of other emotions, Phil Beard has found humor. The Aspinwall writer and director has taken the thought of a chatbot as his muse for the upcoming Fox Chapel Follies’ show, “ChapGPT.” Crafted in the spring and...
Aspinwall residents participate in parking study data collection; report to be filed by year’s end
Aspinwall resident Mary Pollice is frustrated with the parking situation in her borough, particularly near her home. “Our parking sucks because the whole one side of Fifth Street has (Route) 28 in their backyard,” Pollice said. “There’s no alley and no garages for them. My side has an alley. Some...
Republican incumbent Devlin Robinson retains state Senate seat
Republican Devlin Robinson has staved off Democratic challenger Nicole Ruscitto and retained his seat representing the state’s 37th Senatorial District. According to complete, but unofficial, election results reported by the Allegheny County Elections Division on Election Day, Robinson collected 52.85% of the vote (79,014 votes) to 47.02% for Ruscitto (70,292)....
Food and drink fundraiser set for Sewickley Library
The most delicious time to be in Quaker Valley is fast approaching. Savoring Sewickley, the largest annual fundraiser for Friends of the Sewickley Public Library, is set for Nov. 3. This will be the 23rd installment presented by the group dedicated to supporting the bochord along Thorn Street. It is...
