Western PA Local News category, Page 1041
Diamante Orchestra concert highlights Monroeville library programs
With the arrival of summer, Monroeville Public Library announces a diverse lineup of adult programming. • On July 6 at 7 p.m., attendees can enjoy an outdoor concert featuring the Diamante Orchestra with soprano vocalist Lilly Abreu. The event will take place in person, weather permitting. Featuring Mary Beth Malek...
Rotary Club of Monroeville awards five scholarships
The Rotary Club of Monroeville held its annual scholarship luncheon on June 8, presenting awards to Marina Grado, Sofia Hernandez, Julian Livingston, Kaitlyn Novak and Amiya White. The students were considered not solely based on their academics. The club’s scholarship committee considered if the students demonstrated a trade or talent...
Industrial Arts Workshop Program named ‘Champion in Action’ by Trib, Citizens
By his own admission, 16-year-old Josiah Hartly was having a hard time making his way through grade school in Brentwood. Hartly said he was suffering from attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder at age 13, and deep down he knew that being in an ordinary class room was not for him. “I‘m not a...
Pine-Richland budget includes no property tax increase for 4th straight year
Pine-Richland School Board adopted a $106.3 million spending plan for 2023-2024 that includes no increase in property taxes for the fourth straight year. Board members voted June 12 to adopt the spending plan, which is about $5 million larger than this year’s budget. The measure passed on an 8-0 vote,...
Air Force Thunderbirds return to Westmoreland with new show
For Westmoreland Air Show attendees who caught the Air Force Thunderbirds when they last visited in 2017, the F-16 pilots have some new moves in store. “During 2020, when all of the airshows got canceled, we spent the whole year redesigning our show,” said Maj. Jake Impellizzeri of Cincinnati, who...
Hampton Township School District adopts budget with tax increase
Hampton Township School Board unanimously voted June 12 to approve the district’s final 2023-24 general fund budget. The adoption ushers in a 0.86-mill real estate tax increase, which is expected to generate an extra $1.56 million for the school district. The rate will jump from 20.99 mills to 21.85 mills,...
House resolution supports Marc Fogel, calls his Russian prison sentence ‘politicized, excessive’
Oakmont resident and teacher Marc Fogel has been detained in Russia for nearly two years after he was arrested at the Moscow airport for having 17 grams of medical marijuana, which he had been prescribed to treat chronic pain from a spinal condition. On Tuesday, the U.S. House unanimously passed...
New management to take over Galley Bakery Square food hall
New management is taking over Galley Bakery Square, the popular food hall concept meant to be an incubator for chefs starting up in the restaurant industry. The changes at the East End destination came as a surprise to some and brought frustration. Ashley McCoy’s restaurant Revival — one of four...
North Allegheny School Board approves 2023-2024 budget
The North Allegheny School Board on June 13 unanimously adopted the district’s $193 million general fund budget for the 2023-2024 school year with no increase in the district’s property tax. Property taxes will stay at 19.74 mills. The budget takes effect July 1. School Board Vice President Marcie Crow said...
Man dead, another injured after fall through 3 floors at Blairsville building restoration site
One man died and another was injured after the pair fell three floors into the basement of a dilapidated former school they were assessing for demolition Wednesday in Blairsville, borough officials said. John Plunkett, 63, of Blairsville, died at UPMC Presbyterian hospital in Pittsburgh from blunt force injuries related to...
Shady Side Academy graduates Class of 2023
Members of Shady Side Academy’s Class of 2023 received their diplomas June 2 during commencement exercises at Michael J. Farrell Stadium on the school’s Fox Chapel campus. The graduating class contained 110 students. Graduates Joseph Bellinotti and Elizabeth Kamin delivered the senior speeches. Economist John Taylor, the Mary and Robert...
Arnold approves decertifying 117-year-old No. 1 fire department
A roomful of Arnold residents appeared to go through many of the seven stages of grief before the city’s council voted Tuesday to decertify the older of its two volunteer fire departments. Residents were in shock and angry that council was considering decertifying the 117-year-old Citizens Volunteer Fire Company No....
Pittsburgh officials prepare for crowds, heavy traffic ahead of Taylor Swift, Juneteenth
Pittsburgh Public Safety officials Wednesday said they’re prepared for large crowds, heavy traffic and road closures as Juneteenth celebrations and Taylor Swift stadium concerts are expected to bring thousands to the city this weekend. “Our public safety bureaus have been working very closely with the organizers of both Juneteenth and...
‘We were filled with terror,’ Pittsburgh synagogue attack survivor testifies; closing arguments Thursday
Andrea Wedner and her 97-year-old mother, Rose Mallinger, lay head-to-head under their pew, hiding from the man who had just fired an AR-15 repeatedly inside the Tree of Life synagogue. They were frantic. Wedner had seen the man later identified as Robert Bowers standing in the doorway at the back...
Old Western Penitentiary site in Pittsburgh up for sale
The state is looking for a buyer to transform the large site of a former prison in Pittsburgh into a mixed-use development on the banks of the Ohio River. The former State Correctional Institution-Pittsburgh site covers more than 21 acres in Pittsburgh’s Marshall-Shadeland neighborhood. It includes 42 buildings. SCI-Pittsburgh, historically...
$1 million scratch-off ticket sold in Allegheny Township
A million-dollar scratch-off ticket was sold at a grocery store in Allegheny Township. Pennsylvania Lottery officials announced Wednesday a winning ticket for Hasbro’s “The Game of Life” was sold at the Giant Eagle, 41 Towne Center Drive. The store will receive a $10,000 bonus for selling the ticket. Scratch-off tickets...
Taylor Swift fans seeing red over Eras Tour ticket prices
Forget a blank space. You darn near need a blank check to work your way into either of this week’s Taylor Swift concerts at Acrisure Stadium. Ticket prices are soaring days before the most-anticipated concert stop of the year. Swift’s Eras Tour hits the stadium Friday and Saturday. On Wednesday,...
Plum appoints deputy superintendent as interim superintendent
The Plum Borough School Board voted June 13 to appoint Rick Walsh as interim superintendent. Board President Michael Devine said the district would begin negotiating a contract with Walsh to make him the next superintendent. Walsh has been with the district since 2018 as assistant superintendent and later deputy superintendent,...
Highlands educators present bullying, workplace morale concerns to school board
The Highlands School Board hosted a packed room as members of the Highlands Educational Association, comprising more than 100 educators in the district, presented its case on bullying and workplace morale for the first time Monday night. HEA President Rachel Crowell raised concerns about the surge in school violence and...
Monroeville Arts Council gears up for summer
The Monroeville Arts Council launched summer activities — late spring, technically — with an Art in the Park event June 10. Youngsters and their families were invited to enjoy a day of hands-on arts and crafts activities in Pavilion #5 at Monroeville Community Park West, exploring a variety of projects...
Brackenridge woman charged in connection with Tarentum gunfire
A Brackenridge woman has been charged in connection with a shooting Monday along Corbet Street in Tarentum. Freedom Brown, 41, faces two counts each of terroristic threats and conspiracy to commit aggravated assault. Allegheny County Police said two people suffered minor injuries — cuts and bruises — while running from...
Police say man racked up $26K on credit cards he got using Fawn neighbor’s info
Allegheny County Police detectives accused a man of using his former Fawn neighbor’s banking information to open a dozen credit cards and steal nearly $26,000 after she cosigned a car loan in 2018 so he could drive to work. Jonathon Theron Sam Fry, 42, of the 3800 block of Riverview...
Plum hires athletic director Drew Karpen away from Highlands
Drew Karpen is Plum Borough School District’s new athletic director and coordinator of student activities following his hiring at the June 13 school board meeting. Karpen served as athletic director and transportation director at Highlands School District. Prior to that, he was an assistant in the North Allegheny athletic department....
Girl Scouts donate sensory board to Murrysville libraryVideo
Descriptions of the Girl Scout Bronze Award encourage participants to find a project that can “make a difference in their community.” For Troop 16380’s Minnoli Bhatt, an idea sprung immediately to mind. “I have a friend at school with intellectual and development disabilities,” said Bhatt, 10, of Murrysville. “He doesn’t...
Hempfield man sentenced in 2020 fatal overdose case
A Hempfield man was sentenced Tuesday to serve four to eight years in a state prison for selling drugs used in a 2020 fatal overdose of a friend. Rick Paul Petros, 54, was given credit for time served in jail since his arrest in May 2021. He pleaded no contest...
