Jack Troy stories, Page 27
Calabrese reelected as Penn Hills mayor
Democrat incumbent Pauline Calabrese will serve another four years as mayor of Penn Hills after a landslide victory in the Nov. 7 general election against Republican candidate and deputy mayor Frank Pecora. According to unofficial vote tallies, Calabrese received 73% of the vote, or 7,836 votes, compared to 27%, or...
2 Democrat newcomers elected to Penn Hills council
Penn Hills council will remain all-Democrat after Alan Waldron and Shawn Kerestus (a Democrat who was cross-filed on the ballot) outpaced Republican Clayton Walker in the Nov. 7 general election. According to unofficial election tallies, Waldron received 44% of the vote (6,850), followed by Kerestus with 37% (5,703) and Walker...
Penn Hills releases 2024 draft budget
Penn Hills has released its 2024 draft operating budget, with public hearings coming later this month. The spending plan does not call for any tax increases or service cuts, but does reflect a return to normal revenue levels as pandemic-era stimulus funds dwindle. The municipality projects to spend more than...
Penn Hills Shade Tree Commission coordinates planting of more trees on Rodi Road
With fall in full swing, the Rodi Road corridor didn’t exactly get greener on Oct. 28, but it did get 18 new trees through a volunteer effort coordinated by the Penn Hills Shade Tree Commission. Since October of last year, the commission has planted 31 trees along Rodi Road with...
Churchill council to decide fate of billboard in December
After completing a two-part hearing on Oct. 23, the Churchill Zoning Hearing Board must now decide whether to permit an electronic billboard that some Penn Hills residents say will negatively impact the appearance of the Rodi Road corridor. Despite being located in Churchill, the proposed billboard would target motorists exiting...
Penn Hills moving to automated trash collection
Automated trash collection is coming to Penn Hills as part of a deal with Republic Services that municipal officials say will cut down on litter and keep garbage trucks on time. Council unanimously approved the five-year, roughly $26.5 million contract at a special session on Oct. 9. Republic Services holds...
3 candidates running for 2 Penn Hills council seats
Three candidates are running for two seats on Penn Hills council this November, according to the Allegheny County Office of Elections unofficial candidate list. Democrats Shawn Kerestus and Alan Waldron defeated incumbent Mark Brodnicki in the May primary. Republican Clayton Walker ran unopposed. Deputy Mayor Frank Pecora did not seek...
Penn Hills mayoral candidates sound off
Penn Hills Mayor Pauline Calabrese faces a challenge this November from Deputy Mayor Frank Pecora in her bid for reelection, according to the Allegheny County Office of Elections unofficial candidate list. Both are registered Democrats, but Pecora received the Republican endorsement and will appear on the ballot for the party....
Penn Hills residents oppose proposed electronic billboard in Churchill
Penn Hills residents turned out in force to an Aug. 28 Churchill zoning hearing board to weigh in on a proposed double-sided electronic billboard along Rodi Road that some say will detract from recent beautification efforts — but a decision will have to wait. After three hours that included tense...
Chickens OK in Penn Hills if residents go through permitting process
Penn Hills residents are flocking to chicken keeping as a way to connect with nature and insulate themselves from egg price fluctuations. The municipality carved out a special exception for backyard chicken coops in 2016, allowing people to keep up to four hens — and no noisy roosters — on...
Penn Hills police hits staffing target with 5 new officers and 1 canine
Five Penn Hills police officers raised their right hands for a swearing-in ceremony at the July 17 council meeting — and another raised its paw. Michael Barnes, 25; Jarrod Chiaramonte, 24; Daniel Lore, 28; David Twidwell, 31; and Joseph Grieco, 24, bring the total number of full-time officers to 57....
Franklin Park, a community in transition, celebrates bicentennial
Franklin Park Manager Rege Ebner admits that the borough’s 200-year history as a sleepy outcropping of Pittsburgh doesn’t include many claims to fame. “The only thing we do know is it was named after Ben Franklin, though we’re not sure why,” Ebner said. Nonetheless, the borough of about 15,000 people...
Adzema Pharmacy offers doses of charm, modern care in McCandless
You’d be out of luck searching for an egg sandwich or plate of lasagna at a typical pharmacy, save for the frozen food aisle. Adzema Pharmacy in McCandless is different, with a lunch counter just a few steps away from a fully stocked drug store, all under one roof. It’s...
Pittsburgh area baristas strike as part of Starbucks union national bus tour
Starbucks workers from across the country joined local baristas at the company’s Bloomfield and Eastside locations on Thursday in a strike against stalled contract negotiations and alleged union busting tactics. The pickets are part of a 13-city Starbucks Workers United bus tour that kicked off in Louisville on July 16....
Car crashes into Longhorn Steakhouse in McCandless
A car crashed into the vestibule of the McCandless Longhorn Steakhouse on Tuesday around 1 p.m., pinning a 17-year-old female employee underneath the vehicle. First responders rescued the employee using the Jaws of Life. The driver, an 81-year-old woman, and the employee were taken to a nearby hospital with moderate...
New IC Light sign hovers over Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh’s closest thing to the Hollywood sign has a new look. The “Iron City Beer” sign atop Mount Washington was replaced with an IC Light billboard Thursday morning. The new sign has a message for fans: “Cheer Pittsburgh. Drink Pittsburgh.” Pittsburgh Brewing Co. said the former red-and-white sign had become...
Jeopardy! winner donates $15,000 for North Allegheny boathouse to honor late brother
Six-hundred-dollars in the hole, Beaver oral and facial surgeon Chris Ban felt like he was “blowing” his appearance in the June 27 episode of “Jeopardy!”. During an intermission, he looked to his late younger brother, Michael, for a little help. “After that, things started to turn,” Chris said. He’d go...
WWII bomber pilot celebrates 100th birthday in McCandless
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to correct the number of Tom Wiley’s great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren. After anti-aircraft shells began exploding outside of his cockpit window during his first mission, Army pilot Tom Wiley didn’t expect to survive World War II, let alone live to be 100 years old....
NLRB orders reinstatement of 4 Pittsburgh Starbucks baristas fired for union organizing
Starbucks illegally fired four baristas in Pittsburgh who supported unionization according to a National Labor Relations Board decision that ordered their reinstatement. In a June 30 ruling, NLRB administrative law judge Robert Ringler found that Starbucks management had repeatedly engaged in anti-union activity at four of the company’s Pittsburgh locations...
New Kensington Bridge to close for 6 weeks starting in July
A scheduled closure to the New Kensington Bridge will happen a year sooner than expected. The six-week closure is tentatively scheduled for July 17, with July 24 as a backup date, according to PennDOT spokesperson Steve Cowan. Motorists also can expect the section of Freeport Road passing under the bridge...
Community spruces up Rodi Road in Penn Hills
Motorists coming into Penn Hills from I-376 are now greeted by garden beds where a vacant gas station once stood, one of many recent efforts to beautify Rodi Road. Located between Maple Lane and Rodi Plaza, the garden includes one bed of annuals and three with native perennials for pollinators,...
Saints of the Valley vacation Bible school teaches kids about namesakes for local churches
Most churches base their vacation Bible schools on cookie-cutter programming from national suppliers, but, at Saints of the Valley, campers will get an experience specific to the Alle-Kiski Valley. Each day of the program focuses on a different patron saint for one of five Catholic churches in the region —...
Hays eaglets take flight, could settle anywhere
They grow up so fast. Another bald eagle fledgling left the nest in Hays last Thursday, Jim Bonner of the Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania confirmed. The eaglet joined its older sibling, which took flight four days before. The Hays eagles are in their 11th breeding season and have raised...
Plum Food Pantry, after years of depressed demand, sees rise in clients
The number of families relying on the Plum Food Pantry is nearing pre-pandemic levels, though not in the way you might expect. Food banks across the country reported crushing demand at the height of covid-19, and again as pandemic-era federal benefits expired starting in mid-2021. To the contrary, the Plum...
Overgrown Herr Chapel Cemetery full of hidden history
There’s no telling how many Union soldiers and prominent local figures are buried beneath the dense overgrowth at Herr Chapel Cemetery. Many monuments are sunken, caked in moss or eroded beyond legibility. Others appear to simply be half-buried rocks, and may or may not indicate a grave. Without the worn,...
