Valley News Dispatch category, Page 3

Property owners in the Freeport Area School District may be facing a tax increase for next school year, even though the school board passed a preliminary budget that includes no tax increase. That’s because the preliminary 2025-26 budget shows a $450,000 deficit, and administrators warn more revenue will be needed...

Fox Chapel area property owners should expect to see a 2.3% hike in real estate taxes as part of the next school year’s budget. The school board unanimously voted May 5 to pass its 2025-26 proposed spending plan with a tax hike and an estimated $2.4 million shortfall that will...

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,”...

A longtime funeral director in Pittsburgh is facing felony charges after authorities say he stole hundreds of thousands of dollars from grieving pet owners, some of whom were unknowingly given ashes that did not belong to their animals. Patrick Vereb, who ran a pet cremation business in Pittsburgh and Natrona,...

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.”...

Property owners within the Leechburg Area School District will be receiving a long-awaited update about taxation differences between West Leechburg, Leechburg and Gilpin. District officials have announced a Town Hall Tour for Wednesday, May 14. Starting at 6 p.m. at the West Leechburg Fire Hall, district officials will hold a...

Four seats are open on Allegheny Valley School Board this year, and seven candidates are vying to fill them. Each of the seven has cross-filed to appear on both Democratic and Republican primary ballots May 20. Only one, Nino Pollino, is an incumbent. The top four voter-getters from each party...

Area Catholics lauded the selection of Pope Leo XIV, not just because he’s American born, but because they’re confident he’ll be a “bridge builder,” dedicated to serving the poor and marginalized. Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, originally from the Chicago area but serving the church for decades in South America, was...

PennDOT will conduct around-the-clock seal coating and pavement marking operations this weekend, May 10-11, on Allegheny River Boulevard, weather permitting. Allegheny River Boulevard will close to traffic from 7 a.m. Saturday through 6 p.m. Sunday between Sandy Creek Road and Washington Boulevard. Traffic will be detoured. The posted detour east...

Nesbit’s Lanes, a longtime bowling alley in Plum, will be closing until August for renovations after a tree fell on the building in February. A statement on the bowling alley’s Facebook page said the building would shutter for “safety and liability reasons” beginning May 19 for up to two and...

Frazer supervisors waived two development requirements while giving preliminary approval for a senior housing development near Pittsburgh Mills mall. Approval for the plan proposed by Foxlane Homes came after a public hearing on the plan attended by about 10 residents. Mike McAneny, a Foxlane official who did not testify at...

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After a yearslong saga that resulted in the implosion of two towering smokestacks and the two-part demolition of a massive boiler house at the former Cheswick Generating Station, the property owner says the site will likely become a data center. Scott Reschly, president of Charah Environmental Redevelopment Group, the Louisville-based...

Dozens of paws will march down Mike Thomas Way in Plum this month for the borough’s first annual “Walking and Wagging” community dog walk. Totaling just over a mile, the walk will take attendees and their canine companions from the Plum Municipal Building parking lot to Renton Road and back,...

After more than 30 years in charge, Vandergrift No. 1 Volunteer Fire Department is passing the torch on its annual carnival. Local business owner and self-proclaimed carnival lover Sia Fouse is organizing this year’s festivities, which will include rides, concessions, a children’s talent show, live music, craft vendors and a...

A Springdale building that partially collapsed on Sunday now lays entirely demolished. The building, located at 841 Railroad St., was owned by R.I. Lampus Co., a concrete supplier located across the street. It currently sits in a heap surrounded by chain-link fences. Springdale Emergency Coordinator Bruno Moretti said no one...

Marjorie Ann “Marjie” Mahar called her brother, Paul Bowser, one afternoon in March and told him to sit down. “I just got a call from Fort Knox,” she told him. On March 24, three hours before she was set to deliver a speech before the Tennessee House of Representatives about...

Marjorie Ann “Marjie” Mahar called her brother, Paul Bowser, one afternoon in March and told him to sit down. “I just got a call from Fort Knox,” she told him. On March 24, three hours before she was set to deliver a speech before the Tennessee House of Representatives about...

Dozens of Fox Chapel Area families braved the elements to support the school district’s Community Safety, Health & Wellness Event. The annual collaboration of school resource officers, local emergency responders and nonprofits took place in the Aspinwall municipal parking lot on April 26. Things got off to a rainy and...

What’s currently an old, vacant building with broken windows near the New Kensington Bridge will eventually be a renovated, 100,000-square-foot space to accommodate a large industrial tenant, RIDC officials say. “It’s a great building for a lot of the demand we’re seeing from industrial users,” said Don Smith, RIDC president....

Almost everyone who lost power a week ago during a wave of severe storms has had power restored. Almost. Duquesne Light, the biggest power supplier to Allegheny and Beaver counties, said a “small subset” of households still were in the dark but should have their electric service restored Wednesday. The...

The driver of a small SUV that hit a utility pole on Thursday afternoon and flipped over, only to land upright again on Freeport Road in East Deer, was taken to a Pittsburgh hospital for treatment. The crash caused one lane to close and a backup during rush hour. A...

A private investigator claims a blue backpack carried by Cherrie Mahan at the time of her disappearance 40 years ago from a Winfield school bus stop could be key to cracking the case. “I am convinced through some fairly recent testimony and input that Cherrie’s book bag was very likely...

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...

Downed and hanging trees have left Agan Park closed indefinitely after heavy storms battered the area last week. The park is an extensive green space along Riddle Run Road in Springdale Township but is jointly managed by Springdale and Cheswick boroughs. Cheswick Council President Brad Yaksich said borough public works...