Michael DiVittorio stories, Page 18
Quaker Valley School District to close Wednesday, school board meeting still on schedule
Quaker Valley School District will be closed Wednesday because of inclement weather, district officials announced Tuesday. After school activities are also canceled except for middle school/high school wrestling, which will be at Keystone Oaks. The school board voting meeting Wednesday will go on at 7 p.m. at Edgeworth Elementary. A...
Pollinator gardens permitted in Sharpsburg
Sharpsburg officials have made it a little easier for environmentally friendly residents to not have to pay more green for having a green thumb. Council recently passed an ordinance amending its nuisance vegetation code to permit pollinator gardens. Pollinators are “the engine that run healthy habitats,” according to the U.S....
Police: Murrysville ambulance driver injured in Plum crash
A Murrysville ambulance driver transporting a patient from Plum was injured Friday evening in a crash involving another vehicle. An Allegheny County 911 dispatcher said the crash occurred around 6:45 p.m. along Route 286 and Old Frankstown Road on the Plum side of the Plum/Monroeville border. Plum Police Sgt. Scott...
Police: Penguins center Evgeni Malkin’s 3 Stanley Cup championship rings found in his home
Allegheny County Police reported that Pittsburgh Penguins star Evgeni Malkin’s Stanley Cup Championship rings, previously thought to have been stolen in a burglary this month, have been located inside his Sewickley Heights residence. Police responded to the burglary report along Blackburn Road about 8:30 p.m. Saturday. Earlier that night, the...
Police: Penguins center Evgeni Malkin’s 3 Stanley Cup championship rings found in his home
Allegheny County Police reported that Pittsburgh Penguins star Evgeni Malkin’s Stanley Cup Championship rings, previously thought to have been stolen in a burglary this month, have been located inside his Sewickley Heights residence. Police responded to the burglary report along Blackburn Road about 8:30 p.m. Saturday. Earlier that night, the...
Aspinwall parking study report under review, findings to be released in February
A study designed to find ways to help elevate Aspinwall residents’ and visitors’ parking woes will soon be released. The 140-page report crafted by Walker Consultants was submitted to the borough late last year and is currently under review by borough council. Councilman Mark Chimel, chairman of the planning and...
New benches, pathway sole improvements planned in Aleppo this year
New benches and a pathway at the greenspace off Weber Road are the extent of Aleppo’s planned improvements this year that are included in a no-frills 2025 budget of $1.47 million. The spending plan keeps taxes the same. It forgoes road maintenance projects to save $150,000 that will go toward...
New look for O’Hara police vehicles helps mark start of Blawnox combined service
The O’Hara Police Department unveiled the new look of its patrol vehicles as the township force begins its first month serving Blawnox. Borough officers became township employees at the start of this year via an intergovernmental agreement to boost manpower and coverage. The department’s five marked vehicles were modified by...
‘You name it, I do it’: Sewickley Valley YMCA’s Brian Berry says after 50 years of service
Brian Berry was working out at the Sewickley Valley YMCA when he was given the task to supervise a rowdy group of teens playing basketball. “I heard a bunch of kids in this one gym and I took a peak in,” Berry said. “The youth and teen director at the...
Which products contain Red 3, the dye now banned by the FDA?
Cookies, concoctions and candies like Dubble Bubble could be in double trouble after the Food and Drug Administration announced a ban of Red. No. 3 food dye . The dye gives some foods, beverages and medications its cherry-red color. Its use is banned for more than three decades after the...
Pittsburgh pup to play in the Puppy Bowl
The Steel City will be well represented on the gridiron in February despite the Pittsburgh Steelers being out of the NFL playoffs. Centaur, a mixed breed from Animal Friends was one of the pups drafted from rescue groups nationwide to play in Puppy Bowl XXI. The original and longest running...
Sewickley Police Department develops new patch with Council of Three Rivers American Indian Center
When Sewickley police Chief Dave Mazza was told his department’s uniform patches were problematic, the law enforcement veteran set out on a mission to correct them. What resulted was a nearly yearlong journey of discovery and the creation of a new patch with the help of a Pittsburgh-based social service...
Fox Chapel’s 2025 budget includes big investments in public safety
Fox Chapel property owners will not have to pay more in borough real estate taxes as part of its 2025 budget. Council unanimously voted Dec. 16 to pass the spending plan and maintain the millage rate at 2.95 mills. The borough has not raised taxes since 2019. No programs or...
New year, new programs at Sewickley Community Center
A new year brings new opportunities at the Sewickley Community Center. One of its programming leaders plans to build on the success of his summer youth development initiative, Mindset of a Leader, and turn it into an after-school program at 15 Chadwick St. “Our goal with this initiative is to...
Fox Chapel officially designated as a ‘Bird Town’
Fox Chapel is officially being recognized for its environmental efforts, especially pertaining to birds. Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania wildlife habitat educator Nick Stahlman recently presented borough council with a certificate from Bird Town Pennsylvania and the Pennsylvania Audubon Council as an official Bird Town. Stahlman also presented new Bird...
Glen Osborne council welcomes 2 new members to fill roles of longtime public servants
Glen Osborne Council recently added two familiar faces to its seven-member panel shortly after saying goodbye to two longstanding members. Council President Thomas Huddleston and Councilwoman Holly Merriman resigned effective Dec. 31. Council accepted their resignations and swiftly appointed their replacements, Greg Curran and Anne Fruehauf, on Dec. 17 following...
Leetsdale holds line on real estate taxes, maintains programs and services
Leetsdale property owners will not have to pay more in borough real estate taxes in the new year. Council voted unanimously Dec. 12 to pass the $2.9 million 2025 budget and maintain the millage rate at 9 mills. Of that, 8 mills are planned for general purposes and 1 mill...
Registration open for youth, family bowling leagues in Sewickley
Registration is open for a youth and family winter bowling league in Sewickley. The youth and family bowling leagues are eight weeks starting Jan. 11 at Fair Oaks Lanes. Both league games are Sundays starting at 2 p.m. at 660 Ambridge Ave. This is the second year for the program...
Glen Osborne holds line on real estate taxes, maintains programs and services
Glen Osborne property owners will not have to pay more in borough real estate taxes this year. Council voted unanimously Dec. 17 to pass its 2025 budget and maintain the millage rate at 4.9 mills. This is the third straight year borough taxes have remained steady. The $800,0000 spending plan...
Quaker Valley School District closed Monday due to expected inclement weather
Quaker Valley School District will be closed Monday because of projected inclement weather, district officials announced via social media. After-school and evening activities were also canceled. Jared Rackley, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Moon, said Allegheny County will see between 2 and 5 inches of snow through Monday,...
Woman stabbed in Pleasant Hills, man arrested
A woman was hospitalized in critical, but stable condition and a man arrested in connection with a stabbing in Pleasant Hills. Allegheny County Police said officers were dispatched around 7 a.m. Friday for a reported stabbing along the 200 block of Hillock Lane. First responders found a woman suffering from...
Brackenridge Police Chief Justin McIntire remembered 2 years after death in the line of duty
Lee McIntire recalled the final conversation he had with his son, Justin McIntire, just two days before he was killed in the line of duty. “Our last words to each other were, ‘I love you,’ ” the father said at a memorial service outside the Brackenridge Borough Building on Thursday...
Man in stable condition after being shot in Pittsburgh’s East Liberty neighborhood
A man is recovering after being shot in the leg in Pittsburgh’s East Liberty neighborhood. Officers were dispatched shortly before 6:30 p.m. Saturday to the 100 block of Euclid Avenue for a six-round ShotSpotter alert. Police said calls about a man shot in the leg also came in while they...
Thousands remain without power in Western Pa.
Thousands of people across Western Pennsylvania remained without power Monday afternoon, a day after high winds caused power outages in multiple counties. Late Monday afternoon, Duquesne Light was reporting 6,000 customers without power, according to company spokesman Nick Ruffolo. He said the company sought help from 50 contractors to assist...
Families have fun counting birds at Fox Chapel nature reserve
Stacy Ogutu has the eyes of a red-tailed hawk and the quick note-taking skills of an educated song sparrow. Both of those talents were on display as the McCandless youth marked down every bird she and her other family members saw along the paths of Beechwood Farms Nature Reserve in...
