Tom Davidson stories, Page 40

ScareHouse announced Thursday that its flagship haunted house won’t be opening this year on Locust Street in Etna. ScareHouse spent 12 Halloweens inside a 104-year-old building that formerly was a bank and Elks lodge and is stopping because it’s found a new, as-yet-undisclosed location and has big plans for the...

Former Treasurer Secretary Paul H. O’Neill is the 2019 recipient of the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation’s Medal for Distinguished Public Service. O’Neill, 83, of Pittsburgh, was awarded the medal because of his “demonstrated personal and professional qualities,” according to President Ford’s son Mike, who serves as chairman of the...

Work is set to start this month on a long-awaited complex in New Kensington that will provide affordable housing and behavioral health services under one roof. The Pioneer Apartments is being built by Wesley Family Services on a former parking lot between 10th and 11th streets and Fourth Avenue and...

It’s been a bumpy opening for Kennywood Park this year. First they changed the cheese that tops the Potato Patch fries. Then, word spread the park switched ketchup brands — from Heinz to Hunt’s. Now, visitors to the West Mifflin amusement park are less than amused by rides and attractions...

Allegheny County’s aviation chief says the authority she runs has no choice but to spend at least $1.1 billion to overhaul Pittsburgh International Airport less than 30 years after it opened as a hub for the former US Airways. Changes in the airline industry, local air service and the region’s...

Soccer’s more than football. It can — and has — made a difference in people’s lives, thanks to enthusiasts like Justin Forzano. In 2010, Forzano founded the Cameroon Football Development Program, a non-profit that uses soccer as a means to help youth in the central African nation. On Saturday, the...

She’s gleaming now, Jim. The flying saucer that’s been a landmark in Mars has a new paint job that “Star Trek’s” James T. Kirk would appreciate, thanks to PPG. The Pittsburgh-based coatings company donated a new paint job to the spaceship that’s been in the Mars town square since the...

John Pallone, superintendent of the New Kensington-Arnold School District, is accusing a spokesman for its teachers union of violating an agreement to not discuss contract negotiations until a deal is done. The union spokesman, Phil Cope, has made “several inaccurate statements” to the media about the negotiations, Pallone said in...

A Florida-based airline that started flying April 4 at Pittsburgh International Airport said Thursday it was ceasing operations there, effective immediately. Via Airlines Vice President Don Bowman said the move was made because of challenges in finding qualified crew members and called it a “painful, but necessary decision.” Those with...

People can now buy cannabidiol, or CBD, at more than 140 Sheetz stores across the region, the Altoona-based company announced Thursday. Cannabidiol products have become popular for a variety of ailments and, although it’s derived from marijuana, it’s legal to sell in Pennsylvania outside of medical marijuana dispensaries. Sheetz is...

A change in the makeup of the New Kensington-Arnold School Board is inevitable next year, as three incumbents are not seeking another term. There’s also a movement afoot where five newcomers are running together on a Change4NKASD ticket that’s promising an overhaul in the way the school board operates. Change4NKASD...

A Democratic councilman in Arnold is attempting to knock off the city’s mayor in Tuesday’s primary election. Joe Bia II, 45, is at the midpoint of his first term council term but decided to make a run against Mayor Karen Peconi Biricocchi because, he said, “we can’t financially support the...

Between 75% and 80% of the region’s registered voters aren’t expected to cast a ballot in Tuesday’s primary, according to elections officials. The primary features county, municipal and school board races for Republican and Democratic party nominations to run in November’s general election. Local taxes are traditionally one of the...

City officials in Arnold were given an $8,491.36 question this week and thus far have only provided an implied answer based on their solicitor’s advice: No. Retired treasurer Joseph Puet wants more than that. “I deserve to receive an answer. There’s been nothing,” Puet, 61, a lifelong resident of Arnold,...

New Kensington-Arnold School District and its teachers union failed to reach an agreement on a new contract during a bargaining session Wednesday night. The two sides can’t even agree on who was involved in the latest negotiations. “No school board members attended the scheduled bargaining session,” New Kensington-Arnold Education Association...

In a divorce, deciding who gets a pet should be treated differently than deciding who gets a piece of furniture, according to a state legislator from Allegheny County. But Pennsylvania law treats pets as chattel to be divvied up, said state Rep. Anita Kulik, D-Kennedy Township. Kulik wants to change...

Fans of “Star Wars” have another chance to see the hero of the iconic franchise brought to justice. The Allegheny County Bar Association’s Young Lawyers Division’s annual Fairy Tales Mock Trials series this year put Luke Skywalker on trial. It will wrap up its mock trials at 10 a.m. Saturday...

The upcoming closure of a rolling mill in Avonmore is heartbreaking in the borough of about 1,000 people, many of whom have ties to the plant, according to Mayor Paula Jones. “A lot of people have worked there from cradle to grave. My dad worked there. Uncles. Cousins. Everyone has...

Some changes are welcomed at Kennywood. Take, for instance, the highly anticipated Steel Curtain roller coaster set to open this summer. Other changes aren’t. Social media began buzzing with chatter that the cheese sauce on Kennywood’s Potato Patch fries is different this year. “Heard the fries and cheese at the...

The dense, dark smoke that filled Butler Street in Etna during Wednesday’s fire in the heart of the borough’s downtown was a small indication of the magnitude of the blaze that raged inside the store facility, the borough’s fire chief said Friday. The scene inside the 110,000-square-foot building, formerly a...

Cyclists who are biking without lights will be treated to free light sets from 7 to 9 p.m. Wednesday on Forbes Avenue in Pittsburgh’s Oakland neighborhood. The pop-up event is sponsored by Bike Pittsburgh and its Operations Illumination program. Those biking without lights will be flagged down so volunteers can...

A gas leak Wednesday morning closed a street and caused buildings to be evacuated in Duquesne, the city’s police department said in a post on its Facebook page. The leak started about 10:30 a.m., when a contractor struck a gas line near 46 S. Linden Street in the Regional Industrial...