Patrick Varine stories, Page 36
Greensburg grocery store murals incorporate the community
Tom Charley knew he wanted to add a splash of color to the Charley Family Shop’n Save stores in Greensburg. About 7,000 square feet of color, as it turns out. That’s where Greensburg artist Daisher Rocket came in, creating a 4,600 square-foot mural on several walls of the East Pittsburgh...
Monroeville will use state grant to add police vehicle protection
Two Monroeville Police officers have been injured in shooting incidents in recent months, and state grant funding will help increase their protection while inside their cruisers. In November 2023, Bruce Alvarado, 38, of Clairton, was arrested after firing multiple shots at a marked Monroeville police car, striking the officer in...
Monroeville area: Bridge closure, election integrity speaker, history speaker series, more
Email news briefs and event listings to pvarine@triblive.com or bpoole@triblive.com. Bridge closure The Monroeville Mall bridge over Route 22 will be closed through mid-August for deck replacement work, PennDOT officials said. Westbound Route 22 traffic will detour by turning left onto Mall Boulevard and right onto Mall Circle to Don...
Mystery Lovers Bookshop in Oakmont to host Washington County crime novelist
As a fourth-generation resident of Washington County’s Smith Township, author Annette Dashofy has spent her whole life in Southwestern Pennsylvania. It should come as no surprise, then, that the region’s rolling hills and bucolic countryside have served as the setting for many of her books. The latest, “What Comes Around,”...
Export officials on board with $5M-$10M Turtle Creek remediation project
Export officials voted unanimously Tuesday to grant a conservation easement to their neighbors in Murrysville, for the use of borough-owned property as part of a large-scale acid mine remediation project in the Turtle Creek watershed. Murrysville and Export are home to two of the largest mine-water sources in the Turtle...
Fire levels McKeesport house
A Grover Street house in McKeeport was burned to the ground by a fast-moving fire on Tuesday evening. Fire crews were called to the 2700 block of Grover Street just before 7 p.m., according to an Allegheny County 911 supervisor. McKeesport firefighters said no one was injured....
Bridge rehab work set to start on Parkway East between Monroeville and Churchill
UPDATE (10:15 a.m. Saturday): PennDOT officials announced Saturday morning that this weekend’s work has been completed ahead of schedule, and the Parkway East has fully reopened to traffic in the work zone. Work on a nearly 5-mile stretch of the Parkway East will mean reducing highway traffic to a single...
Reach Cyber graduates 1st students from its carpentry program
Simeon Chappell spent a lot of time in his childhood being handy around the house. “If my dad was fixing something, I’d try and help, or I’d take measurements for him to cut wood,” said Chappell, 19, of Ligonier Township. As the years progressed, Chappell’s interest in woodwork led him...
Monroeville area: Mall bridge closure, Revolutionary War service, summer concerts and more
Email news briefs and event listings to pvarine@triblive.com or bpoole@triblive.com. Bridge closure The Monroeville Mall Bridge over Route 22 will be fully closed through mid-August, PennDOT officials said. The bridge, between Route 22 and Don Drive, is being closed for deck replacement work. Westbound Route 22 traffic will detour by...
Copperheads, timber rattlers and the rare Eastern massasauga among Pa.’s venomous snakes
Summer is rapidly approaching, and, for a lot of people, that means getting into the great outdoors — whether it’s spending a few days camping, hiking a favorite trail or just getting out and enjoying a wooded park. Pennsylvania’s snake population also is enjoying the nice weather, and that can...
School Road near Sardis will close until August for culvert work
School Road will close for most of the summer beginning Monday, according to Murrysville police. The road will close between Sardis Road and Mill Stream Court as construction crews work on the culvert which carries Haymakers Run underneath School Road, near the Sardis Road intersection. The project is expected to...
Pittsburgh man charged in mini-mart armed robbery
A Pittsburgh man has been charged in the May 26 armed robbery of a convenience store. Jamill Roberts, 18, of the city’s Middle Hill neighborhood, was charged in connection with the robbery of the Samba Minimart on Bedford Avenue, according to court records. Police said he is one of two...
Missing Pittsburgh man found dead in Ohio River near McKees Rocks
A 24-year-old man’s body was found in the Ohio River early Friday morning, about a week after he had been reported missing. Pittsburgh police announced May 24 that detectives were looking for Mohamed Elhadi Mohamed, who was last seen May 22 in Pittsburgh’s Central Northside neighborhood. Police were called to...
Murrysville area: Glass recycling, bingo and more
Rewind Reuse Center summer mini-camps The Rewind Reuse Center in Export will host a series of summer mini-camps for children who have completed grades 1-6. The registration fee is $5 per child, per session. Each session will have 16 students with a waitlist. The sessions will be: • June 18...
Tastyland plans 2nd location in former Monroeville bicycle shop
The owners of Tastyland on Route 66 north of Greensburg are nearing completion on an expansion and renovation at the longtime summer roadside attraction. This week, they announced that expansion will include a second location in Monroeville. “We were talking about doing a fast-casual location, something like a Chipotle or...
Morning Roundup: 1 injured in Youngwood fire; teens charged in vehicle thefts
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Thursday, May 30: 1 injured in Youngwood fire One person was taken to the hospital after a fire broke out early Thursday morning at a home along Silvis Farm Road, according to Westmoreland County emergency officials. The fire was...
From Apollo to Mt. Lebanon to Blawnox to Ligonier, bluegrass has a home in Western Pa.Video
Mt. Lebanon’s John Mackin got his first taste of bluegrass music as a young boy in the mid-1950s. Mackin, 74, recalled listening to two women sing “Foggy River” as a man accompanied them on fiddle inside a barn on a Monroeville farm. The farm is long gone, having given way...
2 men charged with stealing more than $4,000 in groceries from Giant Eagle
Police are looking for two men who have been charged with stealing more than $4,000 in groceries from the Giant Eagle grocery store in Glenshaw, according to police. Arrest warrants were issued late last week for Sergio Lombardo, 30, of Pittsburgh and Benjamin Coghe, 30, of Pittsburgh, charged with retail...
Pa.’s fracking wastewater could be a reliable source of lithium, study says
Newly published research by a University of Pittsburgh doctorate student estimates that up to 40% of the lithium needed in the U.S. could be extracted from wastewater created by unconventional drilling operations in Pennsylvania. Most batteries used in technology — like smartwatches and electric cars — are made with lithium,...
Police say West Wilmerding fire chief choked fellow firefighter
West Wilmerding’s fire chief faces a court date on assault charges, after police say he choked another firefighter during an emergency call in May. James R. Pusey, 33, of North Versailles was charged Tuesday with simple assault and misdemeanor terroristic threats. According to a criminal complaint, West Wilmerding was one...
Clairton man killed by train
A Clairton man has died of injuries he sustained when he was struck by a train Tuesday evening, according to the Allegheny County coroner’s office. Richard Knox, 63, was struck by a train shortly before 7 p.m. along the 1200 block of North State Street. He was taken to the...
Morning Roundup: Grand jury charges Cranberry man in cruise ship strangling
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Wednesday, May 29: Cranberry man charged in cruise ship assault A Cranberry man has been charged in federal court with strangling another person while aboard a cruise ship. A federal grand jury in Pittsburgh indicted Quintin Owens, 27, of...
Off-duty trooper accused of entering Connellsville home, assaulting resident
An off-duty state trooper from the Uniontown barracks is accused of forcing his way into a Connellsville home and assaulting a man, according to state police. James T. Stevenson Jr., 29, of Connellsville, was charged Tuesday with felony aggravated assault and trespassing. According to a criminal complaint, Stevenson arrived at...
Game commission partners with Maryland Zoo to boost Allegheny wood rat population
State game commission officials think Pennsylvania could use a few more rats. But not the kind that would cause a restaurant to fail its health inspection. The rodent in question is the Allegheny wood rat, and it mostly prefers a nice big pile of rocks to a commercial kitchen. “These...
Westmoreland clay target shooting clubs prepare for state tournament in Elysburg
Madi Gavrish is in her first year with Penn-Trafford’s target shooting team, but she’s been destroying clay pigeons for the past two years. “I’ve shot for 4-H since seventh grade,” said Gavrish, who is preparing along with members of her own team and several others in the region for the...
