Brian C. Rittmeyer stories, Page 74
Police: Homewood woman arrested for housing 2 infants, puppy in ‘deplorable living conditions’
Two infants were taken into protective custody after, police say, officers found them living in “deplorable” and unsafe conditions in a Homewood home on Monday. A malnourished puppy was also removed from the house on Mt. Vernon Street. Pittsburgh police charged Franshauna Chevi Batron, 37, with endangering the welfare of...
Argument over beer leads to SWAT situation in Pittsburgh’s Hazelwood
A SWAT situation ended with a man’s arrest in Pittsburgh’s Hazelwood neighborhood Tuesday night, police said. Pittsburgh police said officers went to the 200 block of East Elizabeth Street shortly after 8:30 p.m. for a report of domestic violence. A criminal complaint filed in the case said a woman reported...
Powerball ticket worth $200K sold at Homestead GetGo
A Powerball with Power Play ticket worth $200,000 was sold in Homestead, the Pennsylvania Lottery announced Tuesday. The ticket was sold at GetGo on East Waterfront Drive. It matched four of the five white balls drawn — 2, 13, 23, 34, 66 — and the red Powerball, 2, in Monday’s...
Police arrest 1 of 4 suspects in Homestead robbery
Police have arrested one of four males they say was involved in fatally shooting a man during a robbery in July in Homestead. Munhall police arrested Enrique Alonzo Johnson, 20, of Homestead, without incident around 8:20 p.m. Monday, Allegheny County Police said Tuesday. An arrest warrant had been issued for...
First day of winter brings chilly temps but it won’t last
Winter arrived today and flurries are possible Wednesday morning. The winter solstice is at 10:59 a.m. Tuesday, National Weather Service meteorologist Jason Frazier said. While the day began feeling like winter, with frost and temperatures in the mid-20s, it’s expected to warm into the low 40s, a few degrees above...
1 driver alerts another to fire under her vehicle while traveling on Pennsylvania Turnpike
An Ohio woman escaped her vehicle before it became engulfed in flames on the Pennsylvania Turnpike after another driver got her to pull over, according to state police. The incident happened around 6 p.m. Friday in the westbound lanes in Pine. According to state police, Amanda M. Harder, 35, of...
Person stable after being found shot in leg in Pittsburgh’s Homewood
A person was in stable condition after being found shot in Pittsburgh’s Homewood neighborhood Monday night, according to Pittsburgh police. Police said officers responded to a report of shots fired in Homewood just before 10 p.m. They found a male in the 7000 block of Frankstown Avenue, suffering from a...
Gas prices falling as omicron variant surges, stalling oil demand and prices
Average gasoline prices continue to fall as cases of the covid omicron variant surge, leading oil demand and prices to stall, an industry analyst said Monday. “The decline in gas prices will likely continue until new covid cases slow down,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis for price-tracking...
Braddock man dies after being hit by vehicle in Forest Hills
A 62-year-old man died after being hit by a vehicle in Forest Hills on Sunday, Allegheny County Police said. The Allegheny County Medical Examiner identified the man as Christopher Weiss of Braddock. Police said the collision happened shortly before 6 a.m. at Ardmore Boulevard and Digital Drive. They said the...
New Kensington council to consider traffic impact of proposed Popeyes restaurant
A proposal to build a new Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen on Tarentum Bridge Road in New Kensington will face its final hurdle before city council in early January. The mayor and council are scheduled to hear an appeal to grant a conditional use to the city’s zoning at 7 p.m. Jan....
Arnold buys 3 vacant houses, increases winter demolition list to 10 buildings
For Evangelina Hernandez, it was good news and bad news that the empty house next to her home on Victoria Avenue in Arnold could be gone soon. It’s good, she said, because the house at 1908 Victoria Ave. attracts raccoons who try to get into her garbage. But it’s bad,...
New Kensington implementing garbage guidelines to address resident concerns
New guidelines for garbage collection taking effect Jan. 1 in New Kensington are intended to address resident concerns, City Clerk Dennis Scarpiniti said. For 2022, the city is exercising the second year of a three-year agreement with County Hauling. The city’s cost is increasing by $1.50 per ton, to $157.50....
$1.65M Pennsylvania Lottery winner sold at Kiski Township gas station
A Pennsylvania Lottery Cash 5 with Quick Cash ticket that won a $1.65 million jackpot was sold at a Kiski Township gas station. The ticket matched all five balls drawn Thursday — 8, 12, 18, 31 and 35 — to win the prize, less withholding, the Pennsylvania Lottery announced Friday....
‘New Kensington is part of my life,’ says 60-year hair salon owner
Long before people could ask their smartphones for directions, Patty Reimer sought guidance from a higher source — God. Reimer was renting space for her hair salon, Cleopatra’s, in New Kensington. She was on her way to buy a building for it in Lower Burrell in October 1984 when she...
New Ken-Arnold bringing back community holiday dinner, canned food drive
Families in the New Kensington-Arnold School District are being invited to gather to share a holiday meal, while helping those in need. After not being held last year because of the covid pandemic, the district’s free community holiday dinner will be held Wednesday, Dec. 15, in the cafeteria at Valley...
National drop in gas prices skips Pittsburgh area, frustrating drivers
Rick Toney was pumping gas as a kid in the 1970s. And he’s still doing it today for his cousin, Joe Shamey, owner of Shamey’s Gulf Service on Tarentum Bridge Road in New Kensington. It’s one of the few, maybe only, full-service gas stations in the area. So Toney hears...
New Kensington cat rescue ‘swimming in kittens,’ seeking donations for their care
A New Kensington cat rescue is asking for help caring for nearly three dozen kittens it has taken in recently. “We’re swimming in kittens,” said Rachelle Ebel, assistant clinic manager at Frankie’s Friends Cat Rescue. The 34 kittens were among 75 cats at the Fifth Avenue clinic Tuesday. The rescue...
New Kensington’s Community Clothes Closet marks 10 years of helping those in need
Thirteen years ago, Christina Discello started an effort in New Kensington to help people in need get clothes to wear for job interviews. It lasted three years. “We realized that’s not what people needed,” she said. It was everyday clothing that people in the city needed. Discello changed focus and,...
Thiel College walk for UPMC Children’s Hospital returning through Alle-Kiski Valley
A Thiel College fraternity’s two-day, 100-mile walk benefiting the Free Care Fund at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh is back this year and will make its way through the Alle-Kiski Valley. Current members and alumni of Phi Theta Phi will start the walk from the campus in Greenville, Mercer County,...
Mayor’s dinner, parade mark start of holiday season in New Kensington
New Kensington will celebrate the holiday season with events during the first two weekends in December, starting with the return of Mayor Tom Guzzo’s community dinner and the city’s holiday parade. The dinner and parade were canceled last year because of the covid pandemic. The free buffet dinner will be...
‘It’s a magical mailbox’: Christmas decoration becomes conduit for letters to Santa in Arnold
Christmas is Joe Lebert’s favorite holiday, but decorating for it isn’t much fun at his rural home in Fawn, where few will see it. His mom’s house on Rankin Street in Arnold, across from H.D. Berkey Elementary School, was a better place. For a while, he put a Christmas tree...
Arnold native opening Deadstock & Dandies in New Kensington, buying and selling shoes with style
Denzel Carter didn’t want to spend his life in a cubicle. It was even worse when the 30-year-old from Arnold figured out how much of his time, money and life he lost commuting to a job — and working for someone else. The covid pandemic, and being furloughed, helped Carter...
Valley High grad follows mother’s footsteps to teaching career, and her classroom
Three students had three words to describe Valley High School English teacher Rachael Link. “Energetic” was the word senior Rachel Schrock used. “You can hear her down the hallway teaching her class,” said Schrock, 18. The word that came to 16-year-old Elisabeth Ervin’s mind was “inspiring.” “She gets kids to...
Plum School District’s fundraising for Make-A-Wish nearing $1M mark as telethon returns
Plum Senior High School’s long-running telethon benefiting Make-A-Wish is back, and the fundraising campaign is closing in on a major milestone. If this year’s $42,000 goal is reached, the district will have raised $1 million for the nonprofit that grants wishes to children with critical illnesses. “Everyone wants to reach...
3 new members to join New Kensington-Arnold School Board
Two teachers who work at other schools and a chemist who works at her brother’s pizza shop are slated to join the New Kensington-Arnold School Board in December. Jane Graham, Nick DiCarolis and Sarah Yurga all were unopposed in the Nov. 2 election. The trio will join the nine-member school...
