Patrick Varine stories, Page 23

Newly published research by a University of Pittsburgh doctorate student estimates that up to 40% of the lithium needed in the U.S. could be extracted from wastewater created by unconventional drilling operations in Pennsylvania. Most batteries used in technology — like smartwatches and electric cars — are made with lithium,...

West Wilmerding’s fire chief faces a court date on assault charges, after police say he choked another firefighter during an emergency call in May. James R. Pusey, 33, of North Versailles was charged Tuesday with simple assault and misdemeanor terroristic threats. According to a criminal complaint, West Wilmerding was one...

A Clairton man has died of injuries he sustained when he was struck by a train Tuesday evening, according to the Allegheny County coroner’s office. Richard Knox, 63, was struck by a train shortly before 7 p.m. along the 1200 block of North State Street. He was taken to the...

Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Wednesday, May 29: Cranberry man charged in cruise ship assault A Cranberry man has been charged in federal court with strangling another person while aboard a cruise ship. A federal grand jury in Pittsburgh indicted Quintin Owens, 27, of...

An off-duty state trooper from the Uniontown barracks is accused of forcing his way into a Connellsville home and assaulting a man, according to state police. James T. Stevenson Jr., 29, of Connellsville, was charged Tuesday with felony aggravated assault and trespassing. According to a criminal complaint, Stevenson arrived at...

State game commission officials think Pennsylvania could use a few more rats. But not the kind that would cause a restaurant to fail its health inspection. The rodent in question is the Allegheny wood rat, and it mostly prefers a nice big pile of rocks to a commercial kitchen. “These...

Madi Gavrish is in her first year with Penn-Trafford’s target shooting team, but she’s been destroying clay pigeons for the past two years. “I’ve shot for 4-H since seventh grade,” said Gavrish, who is preparing along with members of her own team and several others in the region for the...

A Pittsburgh man has been charged in connection with a May 16 bank robbery in Reserve, according to Allegheny County Police. Detectives had been investigating a robbery at Dollar Bank on Mount Troy Road. Through multiple surveillance videos, images of the suspect fleeing the bank and witness interviews, police were...

Temporary traffic signals are being installed where Route 380 and Golden Mile Highway meet, but the permanent improvements proposed for the intersection have a Murrysville family upset. Canonsburg-based Olympus Energy is funding traffic improvements as part of its Hermes fracking well pad project, being constructed nearby on the Murrysville/Plum border....

Katie Harrill has seen what music can do for people’s social and emotional states. As the supervisor of the Creative Arts Program and one of many music therapists at Wesley Family Services, Harrill has extensively worked with clients across various developmental stages. Despite the program’s inception 23 years ago, she...

Pennsylvania has had the unfortunate distinction of leading the nation in Lyme disease cases for 11 of the past 13 years. The tick-borne illness can be difficult to diagnose, and the vice president for the PA Lyme Disease Network said multiple mild winters are not going to help. “We continue...

Email news briefs and event listings to pvarine@triblive.com. Theatre guild students earn scholarships Senior members of the Franklin Regional Theatre Guild were presented recently with $500 scholarships. Crew member Emie Ayres plans to attend Penn State University; actor Charlotte Pokol will attend the University of Tennessee; crew member Mary Taddonio...

Email news briefs and event listings to pvarine@triblive.com or bpoole@triblive.com. Plant sale on June 2 The Garden Club of Monroeville will hold its annual plant sale from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. June 2. It will be in Pavilion 1 at Monroeville Community Park West, 2399 Tilbrook Road. Annuals, vegetables,...

This time last year, Forbes Road Career & Technology Center teacher George Karnbauer was keeping an eye on three of his students as they gave a cybersecurity presentation, making sure to jump in if he felt like something needed clarified or explained. Last month, Karnbauer sat in the audience as...

Murrysville council is considering a developer’s proposal to build 24 luxury homes with an average price of about $2 million just south of Wiestertown and Hilty roads. Paul Fischione initially approached the municipality with a request to rezone about 55 acres near Murrysville Community Park to create 28 large single-family...

Murrysville council appears to be leaning toward closing part of Old William Penn Highway this summer in order to repair a small bridge that has been subject to two weight restrictions in recent years. The bridge carrying Old William Penn over Turtle Creek, just west of Export, had its weight...

For the right price, you can stay in one of several homes designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, situated in Mt. Pleasant Township’s Polymath Park. But if you are so inclined, you could also have a similar design of your very own. Seattle-based Lindal Cedar Homes offers a line of Wright-inspired...

Several residents of the Summerhill neighborhood in Murrysville questioned whether it was appropriate to build an additional 61 townhomes in a development served by private roads. “My main concern is safety, especially those coming in and out onto Logan Ferry Road,” said Denise Gibson, one of a group of residents...

During the 2017-18 school year, Franklin Regional administrators and staff opted to partner with Discovery Education, which helps educators integrate modern technology into their lesson plans, and provides academic support through multimedia content and other classroom tools. During the same time period, district officials were working to put a Google...

Franklin Regional School Board members approved a proposed final budget for next school year that calls for a 3.5-mill property tax increase. The final vote on the $69 million budget will come at the board’s June 17 meeting. The spending plan comes with a roughly $643,000 deficit with just under...

Paving work on the northern side of the central parking lot in Export is set to begin next week, according to borough officials. Council President Barry Delissio estimated the work will take three weeks to complete. The paving is one of the borough’s first steps toward creating a more unified...

The Delmont Police Department will once again have a K-9 unit, after introducing a 2-year-old Belgian Malinois named Dirk at the borough council’s meeting Tuesday night. In addition to about $60,000 in funding through Senate President Pro Tempore Kim Ward’s office, Westmoreland County District Attorney Nicole Ziccarelli also presented Delmont...

Grant reenactor comes to Delmont Living historian Ken Serfass will portray former Civil War general and American president Ulysses S. Grant at 6 p.m. June 14 at Trinity United Church of Christ in Delmont. Serfass will present a program titled, “The Friendship with William T. Sherman: The Military Friendship That...