Teghan Simonton stories, Page 27
Vacant land in Allegheny Township’s Town Center for sale at $750,000
Approximately 13 acres of mixed-use or commercial land are for sale in Allegheny Township’s Town Center shopping plaza. The land is listed by the real estate firm Avison Young and is near Giant Eagle and the township’s now-closed Peebles and Kmart buildings. The land has changed hands a few times...
Following criticism, Vandergrift Council to post agendas before meetings
Vandergrift Council plans to share agendas publicly in advance of its meetings starting in February. The move comes in response to an outpouring of criticism Monday at council’s first meeting of the year and a critical letter from the board’s newest member. One citizen after another approached the podium during...
Pittsburgh Public Schools looking to sell 4 vacant schools
Pittsburgh Public Schools is trying to sell four vacant school buildings and a sizable parcel of land to developers with plans that will help the neighborhoods and the district. The district distributed a request for proposals Monday through Fourth River Development for prospective bidders to purchase and redevelop its surplus...
Pitt library digs into its archives to celebrate Science Fiction Day
National Science Fiction Day was the perfect opportunity for Ben Rubin, horror studies collection coordinator at the University of Pittsburgh Library System, to show people that the library offers even more resources than they realize. “People think archives and think it’s inaccessible,” Rubin said. “We want to demystify the collections...
Fearing climate change and worse air, Allegheny County to propose new pollution regulations
A temperature inversion that trapped pollutants close to the ground late last month was only the fourth such weather phenomenon in more than a decade. But after air quality in the Mon Valley exceeded federal standards for particulate matter for six consecutive days last week because of the inversion, heavy...
Seniors can still use blue, yellow transit cards for Port Authority rides
Port Authority of Allegheny County will continue to accept blue and yellow Pennsylvania Senior Transit Cards, state lawmakers announced Thursday. The agency’s new Senior Citizen ConnectCards caused some confusion among senior citizens about whether the state transit cards would still be accepted, according to a trio of Republican state lawmakers....
First Night attendees in Pittsburgh enjoy New Year’s Eve eventsVideo
Thousands of people flocked to the streets of Pittsburgh’s 14-block Cultural District Tuesday for Highmark First Night Pittsburgh, an annual New Year’s Eve celebration hosted by the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust. The night consisted of a long list of artistic and cultural events, including various art displays like the Dream Wall...
Noblestown Road Bridge reopens after seven-month closure
The bridge that carries Noblestown Road over Robinson Run in North Fayette reopened Monday after being closed for about seven months, PennDOT said. The bridge closed May 22, between Finks Run Road and Main Street. All traffic was detoured. PennDOT cited problems with the abutment — the concrete structure supporting...
Lawmakers want answers about future of Avonmore’s Akers plant
State lawmakers who represent Avonmore said Monday they are concerned that the new owners of the Akers National Roll plant haven’t been more forthcoming about their plans for the site. “Documentation shows that the plant was sold, but we are unsure who the new owners are and what they ultimately...
Renovating Vandergrift’s vacant J.C. Penney building takes step forward
The Vandergrift Improvement Program is beginning to make progress on renovating the town’s historic J.C. Penney building at 134 Grant Ave. after years of saving and struggle. The building has sat vacant for more than a decade. The Vandergrift Improvement Project owns the building. VIP recently invited Patton Engineering to...
New report shows gender pay gap won’t close any time soon
Woman shouldn’t expect to be paid the same as men for a while, according to a report from the World Economic Forum. The Global Gender Gap report, published this month, predicted wage equality will come in 257 years, based on how long it has taken for the wage gap to...
Alle-Kiski anglers, golfers take advantage of warm late December weather
With free holiday time on their hands and relatively balmy temperatures, Alle-Kiski Valley residents have been playing golf, catching walleyes in the Allegheny River or simply going outside more. The higher temperatures — 62 degrees Thursday and around 57 degrees Friday — are unusual but not unheard off, according to...
Health department: Air pollution in Mon Valley exceeded federal levels over Christmas
Air pollution in the Mon Valley exceeded federal standards over Christmas, the Allegheny County Health Department reported. Based on preliminary results, the air quality monitor in Liberty showed PM2.5 pollution above the federal threshold of 35 micrograms per cubic meter from Saturday through Wednesday, the health department said. PM2.5 refers...
5 Pittsburgh schools among state’s highest in arrests, citations as security debate continues
Five Pittsburgh schools are among the top 25 in the state for arrests and citations, according to data from the Pennsylvania Department of Education. The figures are fuel to the fiery debate over school security and police officers in the buildings. “I don’t believe there should be police presence in...
This Pittsburgh nonprofit takes used bars of hotel soap and recycles them for developing countries
A research trip to Cambodia prompted a University of Pittsburgh graduate to change his career trajectory and create an international nonprofit organization aimed at helping people get soap. In a remote village where he was studying climate change, Samir Lakhani watched a woman bathing her newborn son, scrubbing his skin...
Fort Pitt Museum to take advantage of slow January to close, clean Pittsburgh diorama
The Fort Pitt Museum in Point State Park will temporary close for the month of January for annual exhibition maintenance and updates. Brady Smith, director of marketing and communications for the Senator John H. Heinz History Center, said the museum has closed for maintenance every January for the past seven...
Longtime Gilpin firefighter, fire truck collector dies at 92
Lawrence Goodbread didn’t just love fire trucks, he collected them. Goodbread, who died Dec. 18 at 92, owned two antique fire trucks at the time of his death. To honor the longtime firefighter and avid collector, a 1946 Ford fire truck that Goodbread took to parades was parked outside the...
PennDOT awards more than $1 million to improve railroad tracks to Braddock’s Edgar Thomson Plant
PennDOT awarded more than $1 million for railway track upgrades and expansion projects in Allegheny County, state Sen. Jim Brewster announced. U.S. Steel Corp. was awarded nearly $690,000 to complete rail track updates, to accommodate a new hot rolling mill at the Edgar Thomson Plant in Braddock. The mill was...
Westmoreland 911: Car flees from crash scene on Route 22 in Delmont
One person was injured Sunday evening in a hit-and-run collision on Route 22 in Delmont. A Westmoreland County 911 dispatcher said the mishap happened at around 7 p.m. at the intersection of Hollywood Boulevard. A bicycle fell from one of the cars in the wake of the collision, leading bystanders...
Hanukkah celebration brings together different faiths, collects items for refugees
The Jewish Community Center in Pittsburgh’s Squirrel Hill neighborhood celebrated the first day of Hanukkah on Sunday, but not without the help of several community organizations with Jewish, Muslim and Christian faith backgrounds. “Given that we’re living in divisive times, we feel like the more we can come together and...
Section of Route 28 in Armstrong County reopens after crash
A section of Route 28 northbound in Armstrong County was reopened around 8 p.m., after a crash caused the road to be closed Sunday for more than seven hours. State police said two vehicles crashed when a truck lost a load on the road in Mahoning Township at about 12:45...
Santa Ski Day at Boyce Park raises money for ALS researchVideo
Boyce Park hosted its first Santa Ski Day on Saturday and its organizers hope it continues to grow as word spreads across the area. Skiers and snowboarders who came dressed as Santa could ski at the Four Seasons Lodge after paying a $10 donation to the Boyce Park Ski Patrol....
Vo-tech schools serving Westmoreland, A-K Valley districts get nearly $82K in grants
Three vo-tech schools that serve 11 school districts in Westmoreland County and the Alle-Kiski Valley have received close to $82,000 in grants from the state Education Department. Lenape Technical School received $40,675, Eastern Westmoreland Career and Technology Center received $49,999, and Northern Westmoreland Career and Technology Center received $16,930. The...
Organ transplants using live donors soar at UPMC
A shortage of organs from deceased donors has prompted UPMC to shift its focus to transplants using live donors, a surgery some experts consider risky but others view as giving patients better survival odds. Deceased-donor transplants — once the bread and butter of UPMC’s internationally known transplant program — have...
Kiski Area improves performance, diversity in Advanced Placement courses
The number of Kiski Area High School students taking Advanced Placement tests is nearly nine times higher than it was three years ago, and students are passing four times as many tests, according to data the district shared this week. The high school also offers AP courses to far more...
