Western PA Local News category, Page 1250
Imprisonment by the Nazis could not stop Freeport’s Rod Chapman, who died Sunday at the age of 101
Freeport icon and World War II hero Joseph Rodney “Rod” Chapman, 101, died of natural causes on Sunday, Dec. 4. In addition to his military duties, Chapman was a Freeport area historian, author and a mail carrier then the chief clerk at the borough’s post office for 35 years. Federal...
Westmoreland Symphony invites concert-goers ‘Home for the Holidays’
Westmoreland Symphony Orchestra will continue its long-running tradition of going “Home for the Holidays,” with the annual concert set for 7:30 p.m. Dec. 17 at The Palace Theatre in Greensburg. But there are new elements in the mix this year. As usual, the All-Star Choir of Westmoreland County will perform,...
Pittsburgh Deputy Controller Rachael Heisler to run for controller
Pittsburgh Deputy Controller Rachael Heisler announced Wednesday that she is running for city controller. She has held her current post since January 2021. “I am passionate about good government and welcome the opportunity to improve how things get done,” said Heisler, a Democrat. “I am a problem-solver and pledge to...
Uniontown man convicted for role in Capitol riot
A Uniontown man could face decades in prison after a jury convicted him for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot. The Department of Justice said Peter Schwartz, 49, threw a folding chair at police officers and sprayed them with pepper spray that he took from them. He...
Quaker Valley School Board reappoints president, vice president
Jonathan Kuzma and Marna Blackmer were unanimously reappointed as Quaker Valley School Board president and vice president, respectively, at the board’s reorganization meeting Dec. 6. Kuzma, a 2001 Quaker Valley grad, has been on the board since 2013. This will be his third term as president. The Leetsdale resident and...
Pittsburgh City Council won’t decide on proposed Oakland zoning changes until next year
Proposed zoning changes for Pittsburgh’s Oakland neighborhood won’t be decided until next year. Pittsburgh City Council on Wednesday postponed a vote on the proposed changes for at least six weeks to take additional time to discuss the measure. Council members could make additional amendments ahead of a preliminary vote, now...
Medical examiner IDs missing Frazer woman
The Allegheny County Medical Examiner on Wednesday identified the remains of a woman found in a wooded area in Armstrong County as those of Darlene Harbison of Frazer. The identification comes after Allegheny County Police on Monday reported that a license plate number on a motorcycle that was found and...
No tax increase proposed for Oakmont
Oakmont’s proposed 2023 budget shows the real estate tax remaining at 3.73 mills. Borough council plans to vote Dec. 19 on adopting the final version of the spending plan. In its proposed form, as council authorized for advertisement on Nov. 21, the general fund budget calls for operating expenditures of...
Plum police, Rotary Club present donations to Meals on Wheels
Some fuzzy faces in Plum’s police department are helping making Christmas brighter for people getting help from Meals on Wheels. Police Chief Lanny Conley presented a $1,340 check Tuesday to Samantha Lamorte, manager of the Meals on Wheels program at the Plum Community Center. The money came from the department’s...
Blawnox cookie tour, Night of Lights celebration draws families to the borough
A stroll through Blawnox turned very delicious for many families as the nonprofit Best of Blawnox hosted its second annual cookie tour. More than 20 businesses up and down Freeport Road participated in the holiday event Dec. 3. Bella Iarrapino, 12, of Blawnox was dressed as one of Santa’s little...
Richland man accused of stealing pistol faces multiple felony charges
An employee at the Dunham’s sporting goods store in Richland was arrested after he was recorded on video surveillance stealing a pistol from a storage room, according to authorities. ZackaryAllen Hill, 19, of the 3600 block of Crestview Drive in Richland, was charged by Northern Regional Police with felony counts...
Pitt faculty members protest slow contract talks
About 75 University of Pittsburgh faculty members, frustrated by the slow pace of trying to secure their first union contract, protested Wednesday outside the provost’s office in the Cathedral of Learning. They did not manage to get a face-to-face meeting with Provost Ann Cudd, Pitt’s chief academic officer. Instead, the...
Bare bones Sharpsburg budget still requires 30% tax hike
A bare-bones Sharpsburg budget will still require a 30% property tax hike for residents next year. Several council members said it was a challenge to balance needs and costs. Council approved the $4.6 million budget in November, with member Jon Jaso voting against the plan. The 6-1 budget vote increases...
Allegheny Township man suffered head, back injuries when struck by tree limb
An Allegheny Township man was injured when part of a tree fell on him Saturday afternoon, according to authorities. Police Chief Duane Fisher said the 69-year-old man, who police did not identify, was helping a neighbor trim tree limbs at a home in the 100 block of Lynn Lane at...
Pittsburgh International Airport to get new flight to Southern California
Pittsburghers who love Disneyland, beaches, and sunshine can rejoice. Pittsburgh International Airport is getting a new flight to Orange County in Southern California. The low-cost carrier Breeze Airways announced Tuesday it will be flying nonstop between Pittsburgh and John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana, Calif., starting on March 31. Breeze...
Allegheny Township’s proposed budget includes no tax increase
Allegheny Township residents won’t see a property tax increase next year. The 2023 proposed budget includes a general fund budget of $4.27 million, according to the budget presentation by township Manager Greg Primm. The tax rate will remain at 13.35 mills. “I’m pleased that for the 13th consecutive year our...
Gatto’s eyes former Brackenridge fire hall for storage facility
A former fire hall along Morgan Street in Brackenridge could become a storage facility for Gatto’s Cycle Shop. Owner George Gatto hopes to purchase the building at 922 Morgan St. to store cars. He said a boat also would be kept there in the winter. “We don’t have room for...
‘City of Steel’ lets former workers chronicle the rise and fall of Pittsburgh steel industry
When Bruce Spiegel was a child, he would look out his Greenfield window at the heart of American industry: the U.S. Steel Homestead Works. “I would look out into the night and watch the Homestead furnaces blowing blue flames,” Spiegel said. “I thought steel-making was never going to end.” In...
Westmoreland happenings: Basket raffle, live Nativity, Christmas concert
Submissions from nonprofit organizations for Briefly Speaking can be emailed to Carol Pinto-Smith at cpinto-smith@triblive.com or mailed to Briefly Speaking, 210 Wood St., Tarentum, PA 15084. Include a complete address and daytime phone number. Submissions are due at least two weeks before the event. Each announcement is printed once; there...
Police say Penn Hills man’s Facebook car ads were a setup to steal buyers’ cash
Pittsburgh police said a man used Facebook marketplace to set up four purported vehicle sales around Homewood and then robbed potential buyers of the cash they brought, according to court papers. Alan Green, 29, of Penn Hills is facing nine charges of robbery and three counts of conspiracy that were...
No tax increase expected in Springdale Township’s 2023 budget
No tax increase is anticipated in Springdale Township’s 2023 budget despite an increase in expenditures. The roughly $1.2 million proposed budget, with taxes to remain at 6.5 mills, marks a 30.4% increase over the 2020 budget, which came in at $907,000. But that increase might seem misleading, as a large...
Frazer approves budget with 40% tax increase
Frazer property owners can expect a 40% tax hike next year after supervisors unanimously approved the 2023 township budget Tuesday. The $1.3 million budget calls for a property tax increase from 2.5 mills to 3.5 mills, which officials have said is necessary to bolster the police department and to cover...
East Hills mother dies of injuries from shooting that killed her 4-year-old daughter
An East Hills woman died late Tuesday at a hospital, five days after being wounded in a Lincoln-Lemington shooting that killed her 4-year-old daughter. Temani Lewis, 21, had been scheduled to stand trial next month in connection with a separate shooting over the summer. The 4-year-old girl, Kaari Thompson, and...
Tarentum investigating after falling victim to online scam for nearly $140,000
Tarentum police are trying to figure out how someone managed to swindle nearly $140,000 from the borough in an online phishing scheme. Manager Dwight Boddorf said an investigation is underway after the borough was the victim of theft through email spoofing. Details of the theft were not released as the...
The Stroller, Dec. 7, 2022: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
Publicize your non-profit’s community events, fundraisers and club meetings for free in The Stroller. Send information at least two weeks in advance to vndnews@triblive.com or The Stroller, 210 Wood St., Tarentum PA 15084. Please include a daytime telephone number. Church youth group to host parents night out The youth group...
