Tawnya Panizzi stories

A Monday morning carjacking in Pittsburgh’s Friendship neighborhood ended with a suspect apprehended in Pitcairn, about 12 miles away, authorities said. Pittsburgh police responded just after 11 a.m. to the 5100 block of Friendship Avenue for a ShotSpotter alert. A man at the scene told officers he was carjacked and...

Plans for the potential makeover of Riverview Memorial Park in Tarentum will be revealed Tuesday. Residents will get their first chance to view three concepts for the park, which stretches nearly the length of the borough along the Allegheny River. A public meeting is scheduled for 5 p.m. at Alle-Kiski...

Ask anyone from the Anchor Inn’s former “Wednesday Night Gang” what makes the Harrison restaurant and pub so special, and the answer is simple — good food, good people. “This town has been so supportive,” owner Joe Kolek said. “It’s been a great living and so much fun.” He and...

People looking to bone up on water safety skills ahead of summer can check out an upcoming class in Sharpsburg by Friends of the Riverfront. The introductory level program will give an overview of kayak and canoe basics, foundational non-motorized safety and general approaches to launching and paddling the three...

Larry Chifulini was meant to serve on Brackenridge council. Newly appointed for a second stint, Chifulini follows in his family footsteps, continuing decades of service to the borough where he was born and raised. His father, grandfather and grandmother all served on council. “The first time I was around, my...

Tarentum has been called out by the state Department of Environmental Protection for the second time in six months for violations at the borough’s water plant. Borough officials said the water is safe to drink. “If there were a serious health risk, DEP regulations would require us to take much...

Brackenridge officials will get $6 million in help from the state to address problems at the borough’s water plant flagged by the Department of Environmental Protection. The borough’s water is safe to drink, according to DEP spokesman Brandon Glass. Concerns are for the lack of automatic shut-offs for low chlorine...

Contractor Brad Rowan parked his work van overnight at Vereb Funeral Home in Harrison this week in advance of a job at the building. He never dreamed, however, that it would be vandalized in the building’s parking lot along Freeport Road. “I understand everyone is upset about the situation,” said...

A small Tarentum mini-mart which drew generations of residents for cigarettes, milk and lottery tickets, has closed its doors. Asay’s News Stand, at 328 E. Sixth Ave., was sold May 1— just four years shy of marking 100 years in the borough. “I will miss a lot of the people,”...

Ray Bowser still holds a grudge against PPG for closing its Creighton plant before he could reach seven decades at the glass manufacturing facility. “Don’t ever say I retired from there at 66 years and six days, because I didn’t,” said Bowser, 91. “I stayed until they closed the doors.”...

A nature-themed educational mobile will be rolling through the Alle-Kiski Valley by this time next year. Nature on Wheels, a partnership of Allegheny Land Trust and CannonDesign, is intended to meet people where they are — physically and educationally. “By bringing different interactive activities and types of programming, we hope...

Mich Ankney is excited at the prospect of grocery shopping in his Natrona neighborhood. It’s something he’s never been able to do. “We’ve had a few little candy stores that sold basics, like eggs and diapers,” said Ankney, 21. “But it was more like what they’d have at a gas...

Heavy storms that rolled through the area nearly a week ago still are impacting daily life in the Alle-Kiski Valley. Highlands High School remained closed Monday, with district officials blaming an ongoing power and internet outage. “This is all from last week’s storm,” Superintendent Monique Mawhinney said. “We are under...

Bright orange flags will be popping up on Aspinwall’s busiest streets. Funded by the advocacy group Aspinwall Neighbors, the initiative will see pedestrian flags in at least two spots along the Brilliant Avenue business corridor. “Pedestrians will be encouraged to carry a flag while crossing the street and deposit it...

Tiffany Mantzouridis had a hunch that something was off with her employer, Patrick Vereb, owner of Vereb Funeral Home and Eternity Pet Memorials. “He would throw away crematory tags and keep handwritten notes of where which pets should go, but he never could name the crematory he was using for...

ATI leaders on Thursday credited strong revenue growth to a thriving aerospace and defense industry. The specialty metals company released its first-quarter results, with sales of $1.1 billion — up 10% from the same period last year. Growth was driven by a 23% increase in aerospace and defense, officials said....

Tina Moore of Greensburg paid to have her cats — Pickle, Daisy and LaLa — cremated. She learned this week they may have been thrown into a landfill instead. “I’ve spent the past three days so angry and bitter,” Moore said. “I need to concentrate my energy on positivity rather...

Harrison residents are under a mandatory water conservation until further notice. The township water authority issued an alert Wednesday that calls for residents to curb water use. Laundry, gardening and dish washing are not essential, they said. The mandate comes after heavy storms rolled through the region Tuesday. Large trees...

The listing agent facilitating the sale of Vereb Funeral Home in Harrison said he was unaware the owner was entangled in alleged criminal activity. Patrick Vereb, 70, of Hazelwood was charged Monday by the state Attorney General’s Office with theft of almost $660,000 after taking money for pet cremations but...

Joe and Kathy Guyaux were without health insurance when their first child was born in 1972 at Allegheny Valley Hospital in Harrison. “I paid $15 a month with no interest. I’ll always remember that,” said Joe Guyaux, a Tarentum native who now lives in Fox Chapel. “We know what it...

A prominent Freeport Road property in Harrison could see new life after sitting vacant for years. The former Grace United Methodist Church education building is at 1329 Freeport Road, across from Highlands Middle School. It was briefly on the market for $160,000 and is under contract through the Compass real...

A transitional housing facility in Brackenridge has helped more than 180 people down on their luck since opening last year. Now, Family Promise House’s parent organization, the nonprofit Allegheny Valley Association of Churches, will use newly awarded funding to try to keep people from needing to use the facility at...

Brackenridge Council has narrowed a list of streets to be paved this summer. It’s short but covers a lot of ground. This year’s road improvement project will target portions of First Avenue, Union Avenue and Prospect Street. Borough officials said they expect to approve the project to go out for...

A Tarentum church will offer a free chamber music concert Sunday to “build community” and provide arts in “our own backyard,” organizers said. Central Presbyterian Church will partner with the Academy String Quartet and special guest Linda Fisher on bassoon. The concert is at 2 p.m. “The minute you say...

It’s not uncommon to find Christina Sharbaugh doodling with chalk on the sidewalk in front of her Aspinwall eatery, Treat Down the Street. The graduate of Georgia’s Savannah College of Art and Design hopes her passion spreads town-wide with her new initiative, the Chalk the Wall Sidewalk Arts Festival. Hosted...