James Engel stories, Page 2
2 more New Kensington men federally indicted after 2024 drug bust
Two New Kensington men have been added to the list of people indicted in a Department of Justice investigation of an alleged cocaine trafficking organization in Western Pennsylvania. Andres Flores-Cedeno, 39, of New Kensington and Marcos Francisco-Tomas, 34, of Riverside, Calif., arrested last year, were indicted previously. Authorities said the...
Springdale Zoning Hearing Board approves requests from data center developers
Data center developers have cleared the last hurdle before a formal council vote after the Springdale Zoning Hearing Board approved six variance requests from Allegheny DC Property Co. The variances allow the center to stand at 75 feet high with more than 100 diesel generators on its roof and its...
Crews battle blaze at Wilkinsburg home
Several fire crews responded to a residential fire in Wilkinsburg on Tuesday night. Allegheny County 911 dispatchers said the blaze began around 7:40 p.m. on the 1000 block of North Avenue. No injuries were initially reported, according to dispatchers. The Pittsburgh Bureau of Fire provides fire protection in Wilkinsburg. The...
Springdale residents, environmental groups gather to oppose data center
About two dozen community members discussed concerns and penned letters to local officials Tuesday night about a proposed data center in Springdale. Hearings for the center have been ongoing for several months, but a final vote to approve or reject the project is expected Tuesday. Organized by local environmental groups...
New Kensington police charge brother of man killed outside Elks Lodge with homicide
New Kensington police believe the man killed outside the Elks Lodge early Saturday was shot by his brother during an altercation with another person. They’ve charged Steffon Ballard, 38, with homicide, attempted homicide, possession of a firearm and aggravated assault in the death of Jeffrey Ballard, 46, who served as...
Election victors join Plum School Board; new president named
Plum School Board has four new members after a slate of Election Day victors took their seats this month. Jill Klipa, Adam Hill, Tiffany Hyde and Geter Sloan were sworn in to office by District Judge Mike Doyle. Hill served one term from 2019 to 2023, but the other three...
Buffalo Township proposes 22% tax increase in preliminary budget
Buffalo Township residents could see a bump in their property taxes if supervisors approve the township’s preliminary budget later this month. The budget proposes raising taxes about 22% from 13.5 mills to 16.5 mills. That means the owner of a property at the median assessed value of $22,290 would pay...
Cheswick passes budget with no tax hike, some utility increases
Cheswick Council opted not to raise property taxes in its recently passed budget, but some utility prices will increase. Residents will pay a combined $76 more per year with the utility hikes — $56 for fixed water rates and $20 for garbage collection. That’s a 30.4% increase in water rates...
Police drop charges against man previously accused of firing shots during road rage incident
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to reflect that charges against Dillon Schaub were withdrawn. State police have withdrawn all the charges against a man previously accused of firing several shots from a handgun at another vehicle during a supposed road rage episode in North Buffalo on Friday. On...
Plum prepares for 25th edition of Make-A-Wish telethon, hopes to crack $1.25M mark
Plum’s annual Make-A-Wish telethon is set to return later this month for its 25th edition. The livestreamed event has raised $1.19 million for the Make-A-Wish Foundation since it began in 1999. But organizers are hoping to crack the $1.25 million mark this year, according to Plum High School teacher and...
Elected officials eye Springdale data center proposal as borough council prepares to vote
The decision to approve or reject a developer’s proposal to build a massive data center in Springdale is ultimately up to its borough council. With a decision set to be handed down in just over a week, state and local politicians say they, too, have been keeping an eye on...
2nd community meeting planned in Springdale ahead of data center vote
Springdale residents and other locals will gather for a second community meeting ahead of borough council’s vote on a massive proposed data center at the site of the former Cheswick Generating Station. The meeting is set for 6 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 9, at From Italy Pizza in Springdale. Organized by...
Corey Comperatore Foundation will honor fallen firefighter, aid first responders, family says
About a year and a half after Corey Comperatore was slain during the attempted assassination of President Donald Trump at a political rally in Butler County, the former firefighter’s family plans to start a foundation in his name. The Corey Comperatore Foundation will be a 501(c)3 nonprofit aimed at financially...
Springdale tax rate to remain flat; sewage fees to increase in proposed budget
Editor’s note: This story was changed to reflect that garbage rates in the borough are not going up as was previously reported. Springdale residents may soon see an increase to their sewer bills, but property taxes are set to remain unchanged in the borough’s proposed budget. Sewer rates would go...
3 new directors take seats on Allegheny Valley School Board
The Allegheny Valley School Board welcomed three new members to its ranks Tuesday. Fred Derringer, Rebecca Mundok and Colleen Crumb took the seats they won in November’s general election. Nino Pollino, a longtime board member, retained his seat. The four were sworn in by District Judge Michael Girardi before immediately...
Police search for suspects accused of trying to steal ATM machine from the Cheswick Sheetz
Allegheny Valley Regional Police are searching for several people accused of trying to steal an ATM on Monday evening from the Sheetz in Cheswick. Four people, who police believe are juveniles, used a dolly to wheel the PNC bank machine from the gas station to a waiting pickup truck outside,...
Hunter seriously injured in fall from tree stand in North Buffalo
Emergency crews used a side-by-side rescue vehicle to extract a hunter from a remote section of woods in North Buffalo early Saturday after the hunter suffered a fall from a tree stand. The hunter was then taken to a waiting life-flight helicopter to be transported to a hospital. Jamison Hughes,...
Allegheny County homicide detectives investigate fatal Ben Avon fire
One person died in a housefire in Ben Avon late Friday night. The identity of the victim has not been released yet. Allegheny County homicide detectives are assisting the county’s Fire Marshal’s Office in the investigation. Emsworth VFC, which serves the small borough on the Ohio River, was dispatched to...
Power outages hit Harrison, Fawn and Tarentum on Sunday
Residents in Harrison, Fawn and East Tarentum experienced a series of power outages Sunday. An outage that began about 7:30 a.m. Sunday left residents of Harrison and Fawn without electricity for several hours. West Penn Power showed more than 5,000 customers without electricity in the area. But by noon, the...
Police chase ends in officer-involved shooting on I-279; 1 dead, 3 injured
One person is dead and three are injured after a lengthy police chase ended in a crash on I-279 and an officer-involved shooting, according to police. The chase of a white SUV began on Route 8 in Penn Township, Butler County, just before 8 p.m. Saturday, according to state police...
Westmoreland hunters find success in woods on opening day of rifle season
Just before 7:30 a.m. Saturday, Don Henry heard branches cracking near his hunting blinds in the woods near New Alexandria. Henry, 46, of Unity had spooked about a half-dozen doe. “I didn’t have long to shoot,” he said. But Henry managed to fell one of the largest of the group...
Elizabeth Twp. fire chief: ‘We need to know the hydrants are going to work.’ Firefighters battle house fire despite hydrant failure
Firefighters in Elizabeth Township say they spent more than four hours at the scene of a house fire in the township after a nearby hydrant experienced a “catastrophic failure.” Crews were dispatched to the fire at the 900 block of Dillon Road just before 4 p.m. Friday, according to a...
Late night police chase and extended manhunt in New Kensington leads to arrest in woods
New Kensington police say a man led them on an extended chase Friday night in which he allegedly drove head-on at a city police car, ending with his arrest in a drain tunnel in a wooded section of the city. Leonard Hayden Jr., 25, of New Kensington is charged with...
Though not uncommon, hoarding ‘multiplies’ danger for fire crews
When New Kensington Fire Chief Ed Saliba responded Wednesday to a house fire on Richdale Drive, he said, he’d never seen so much packed into a structure in his more than 40 years as a firefighter. “I’ve never seen anything like that — in that amount — before,” Saliba said....
After 2-year vacancy, Rustic Ridge lot could see new home built next year
Builders may soon build a new home on one of the plots left vacant for two years after a 2023 Rustic Ridge house explosion in Plum that left six people dead. The land formerly occupied by the home at 143 Rustic Ridge Drive, which was leveled after sustaining enormous damage...
