Brian C. Rittmeyer stories, Page 3
No property tax increase planned in Hampton’s $19.75 million proposed budget for 2026
Hampton’s property tax rate would remain unchanged under the township’s proposed 2026 budget. The total tax rate would stay at 2.9241 mills. The owner of a property at Hampton’s median value of $175,000 would continue to pay about $512 annually. The tax rate consists of three parts — 1.979 mills...
2026 Etna budget holds line on property taxes, but garbage cost increasing
No property tax increase is included with Etna’s proposed 2026 budget, but residents will be paying more for garbage collection. The borough’s tax rate would remain at 9.5 mills. The owner of a property at Etna’s median value of $58,450 would continue to pay about $555 per year. “Council worked...
Shaler Area School Board approves plan to move grades, starting process to close elementary school
The Shaler Area School Board voted Wednesday, Nov. 19, to begin a process that will lead to the closing of the district’s elementary school. The board voted 8-0 to submit a reconfiguration plan to the state Department of Education to create four elementary schools to house kindergarten through fifth grade,...
Shaler Hampton EMS gets grant to help replace problematic ambulance
A state grant will help Shaler Hampton EMS replace a problematic ambulance that had broken down six times in less than two weeks, its chief said. The Commonwealth Financing Authority awarded a $213,041 grant to the ambulance authority that serves Shaler, Hampton and Etna. The grant comes from the Gaming...
Shaler parks study recommends $17 million community center in Kiwanis Park
A study of Shaler’s parks has recommended construction of a smaller community center in Kiwanis Park that would cost about $17 million. The plan, prepared by OHM Advisors, is expected to guide future parks and recreation investment and operations in the township for the next decade. In addition to studying...
Millvale’s Small Business Saturday event offers chance to discover ‘eclectic’ businesses
Since American Express started Small Business Saturday in 2010, Black Friday has typically been associated with hitting the malls and big-box retailers for after-Thanksgiving deals, while that Saturday is the day to support local businesses. But for Alec Munson, owner of B-Sides Vintage in Millvale since 2020, Black Friday had...
Ross Manager Ronald Borczyk, a West Deer resident, announces retirement
After nearly 30 years as an elected and appointed local government official, Ronald Borczyk is calling it a career. Borczyk, 67, will retire Jan. 9 from his current position as manager of Ross, Commissioner Dan DeMarco announced during the commissioners meeting on Monday, Nov. 17. “We’re gonna miss you, Ron,”...
No property tax increase included in Shaler’s proposed $17.4 million budget for 2026
Shaler property owners have not seen a township tax increase since 2020, and that trend is expected to continue for 2026. No property tax increase is included with Shaler’s proposed $17.4 million 2026 spending plan. The tax rate would remain at 3.49 mills. The last increase, from 2.49 mills to...
Man found shot on Pittsburgh’s Webster Avenue dies at hospital
A man died after being found shot in a street Sunday evening in Pittsburgh’s Middle Hill neighborhood, near Bedford Dwellings, according to Pittsburgh Public Safety. Police responded after a report of shots fired in the 2400 block of Webster Avenue was received shortly after 6 p.m. The man, found down...
Pitt students lose their hair in St. Baldrick’s fundraiser for childhood cancer research
If Allie Voss liked running her fingers through her boyfriend’s hair, she’s gonna be out of luck for a while. Her guy is Marko Rudek, 19, a 2024 Penn-Trafford graduate who’s now a sophomore at the University of Pittsburgh. He was among those who got their hair buzzed Sunday in...
Police seek surveillance video after KKK flyers found in Tarentum, Brackenridge; more found at IUP
A Brackenridge woman leapt into action after finding racist flyers in front of her home and up and down her street Saturday morning. Morgan Huey, 25, said she discovered the flyers with Ku Klux Klan messaging around 8:30 a.m. upon returning to her home in the 900 block of Ninth...
Veterans, their spouses & families honored at breakfasts in New Kensington, Harrison
Veterans, their spouses and families were honored Saturday with breakfasts in New Kensington and Harrison. Volunteers at Aluminum City Terrace served breakfast to veterans and their spouses at the housing complex originally built to house Alcoa workers during World War II. It’s been at least eight years since the last...
Former UPMC doctor accused of traveling to Florida to meet child for sex
A former UPMC doctor is one of six men accused of traveling to Florida to meet who they believed were 14-year-old girls for sex. Mohamed Kamal Mesregah, 38, of Egypt was most recently an orthopaedic foot and ankle clinical fellow at the University of Pittsburgh and previously was a pediatric...
Man found shot dead in Clairton
Police say a man was found shot dead behind a house in Clairton early Saturday morning. A report of shots fired in the parking lot of the Village Inn in the 800 block of Miller Avenue was made to 911 at 11:55 p.m. Friday, according to Allegheny County Police. First...
‘Pain,’ ‘change’ to be expected as Pine-Richland School District tackles $4.9 million deficit
The Pine-Richland School Board will be diving into building the district’s 2026-27 budget after finishing a series of four meetings dedicated to examining the district’s finances as it confronts a $4.9 million deficit. A combination of spending cuts and revenue increases, including an administratively recommended property tax increase, are expected...
$6M proposed Reserve budget for 2026 carries no property tax increase despite rising costs
No property tax increase is included in Reserve’s proposed $6 million budget for 2026. As proposed, the township’s tax rate would remain 6.47 mills, following a 1-mill increase for 2025. For a property at the township’s $95,000 median value, the annual township property tax bill would remain at about $615....
Proposed $46.9M Ross 2026 budget carries 8% property tax increase
Property owners in Ross are looking at a township tax increase for the second year in a row. An 8% property tax increase is included with the township’s proposed $46.9 million budget for 2026. As proposed, the township’s property tax rate would increase from 3.7 mills to 4 mills. The...
Volunteers honor veterans through cleanup of New Kensington cemetery
A Civil War veteran received a new grave marker as volunteers from throughout the region gathered to clean up a New Kensington cemetery Sunday. The cemetery belongs to United Presbyterian Church of New Kensington and is outside Logans Ferry Presbyterian Church. Veterans from the Revolutionary War through Vietnam are among...
2 Indiana County schoolchildren die in house fire
Two United School District students died in a fire early Sunday morning in Indiana County. “A young person’s death is always tragic, and the sudden loss of life can have a profound effect on surviving students,” United Superintendent Richard Lucas said in a statement. The fire was at a home...
New York man tried to derail train in Springdale by parking trucks from PPG on the tracks, police say
A New York man tried to derail a train in Springdale last week by parking tractor-trailers from PPG Paints on the tracks, Springdale police say. Officers filed charges Friday against Scott Andrew Heffner, 34, of Friendship, in upstate New York. A friend of Heffner said Heffner was “paranoid that he...
Argument over noise in Pittsburgh apartment building leads to gun being pulled, man stabbed in buttocks
An argument over noise in an apartment building in Pittsburgh’s Spring Hill-City View neighborhood lead to a woman threatening a man with a gun, and a man being stabbed in the buttocks, Pittsburgh Public Safety said. Officers from Pittsburgh Police Zone 1 responded to the 100 block of Rhine Place...
‘It’s our legacy that defines us’: Marines gather in Lower Burrell to celebrate 250th anniversary of the corps
Many would say a man of 38 years would not have much in common with a man of 80. But through their service in the Marine Corps, Adam Elliott and James Walters are more alike than unalike. Each enlisted as teens. “The brotherhood that we have as Marines is far...
Aluminum City Arts celebrates soft opening in New Kensington
Five years ago, Ernesto Camacho Jr. wanted to open doors for other artists by running his own gallery. He succeeded. But Camacho and his partner, Brian DeFelices, ran out of space at The Manos Gallery in Tarentum, which has led to them beginning the pursuit of new goals across the...
Springdale townhouse building evacuated after struck by SUV, shearing gas meter
The residents of a four-unit townhouse building in Springdale were put out of their homes Saturday after an SUV crashed into the back of it, shearing a natural gas meter, authorities said. The woman driving the SUV was not seriously hurt, and no other injuries were reported, Springdale fire Chief...
Food drive underway to support Shaler Area’s Backpack Initiative
A food drive to support the Backpack Initiative began Tuesday in the Shaler Area School District and will run through Nov. 14. The Shaler Area Backpack Initiative was created in 2014 to help district students in need of weekend food supplies. Each family participating in the program receives a bag...
