Patrick Varine stories, Page 89
Crews battle Uptown row house fire
Firefighters are on the scene of a row house fire that broke out Monday night in Pittsburgh’s Uptown neighborhood. Allegheny County 911 officials said fire crews were called to a residence near the intersection of Locust and Van Braam streets Uptown, near UPMC Mercy Hospital. The Pittsburgh Fire Fighters Twitter...
Suspect arrested in South Side Flats shooting
Pittsburgh police have arrested a man in connection with an April 2 shooting on Pittsburgh’s South Side that left another man in critical condition. Julyan Richards, 25, who was not listed with an address in court records, has been charged with attempted homicide, aggravated assault and tampering with evidence. Shortly...
Westbound Turnpike exit in Cranberry to close Monday night into Tuesday morning
The westbound Cranberry exit ramp from the Pennsylvania Turnpike will close at 7 p.m. Monday night and reopen Tuesday morning as work crews remove a disabled tractor trailer from the ramp, turnpike officials announced Monday. The closure of the westbound Exit 28 ramp will be from 7 p.m. Monday night...
Former Penn Monroe site in Monroeville to house Aldi, Key Bank, 2 restaurants
Work has begun on the site of the former Penn Monroe in Monroeville, after a proposed development there stalled several years ago. Key Development has proposed anchoring the property with a grocery store along with a bank, sit-down restaurant and drive-through restaurant. Steve Panko, representing Key Development, told Monroeville planning...
Pandemic isolation helps shape Greensburg family band’s new albumVideo
On “Lonely Telephone,” an EP released by Greensburg band Essential Machine about a decade ago, acoustic-based tunes bubble and float, underpinned by quirky xylophone pings and an indie-folk-music aesthetic. As the band — husband and wife R.J. and Karen Dietrich and their son, 20-year-old Robert — prepares to release its...
Franklin Regional Fly Fishing Club works with Trout Unlimited to promote conservation
Eleven students from the Franklin Regional School District found themselves wading into Loyalhanna Creek last week, learning about fly fishing courtesy of the Forbes Trail chapter of Trout Unlimited. “It’s our opportunity to recruit our replacements,” said chapter member Larry Myers. “We need someone in the future to continue with...
Grammy-nominated Rhonda Vincent brings bluegrass to the Lamp TheatreVideo
Rhonda Vincent learned to play the drums at age 6, the mandolin at 8, and the fiddle all before reaching her teenage years. She’s been recording bluegrass music since she was 5, with her family on “The Sally Mountain Show.” She is the fifth generation of her Missouri family to...
Murrysville man starts ‘Trout Glam’ Instagram with unique fishing photos
There are men and women who take the sport of fishing seriously, with that approach reflected in photographs of their catches. Mike Ruane, 47, of Murrysville is not one of those people. He might be serious about his fishing — but not about his photos. You can catch him yelling...
Murrysville woman charged after walking in front of traffic in Kiski Township for 2nd time
Kiski Township police arrested a Murrysville woman Thursday afternoon who they said was walking in front of oncoming traffic on Route 156 just north of Avonmore for the second time this month. Police said they were called to Route 156 near Adair Road where they found Janne D. Hussak, 31,...
Uptown man, 67, charged with 3 Downtown Pittsburgh bank robberies
An Uptown man is facing a federal indictment, accused of robbing three Downtown Pittsburgh banks between Jan. 31 and Feb. 8. Calvin Leavy, 67, of Pride Street, was arrested Feb. 8 in the Midtown section of the city, police said. They said Leavy had taken a Port Authority bus after...
Franklin Regional ‘unpauses’ teaching of honors English novel ‘Persepolis’
The Franklin Regional School District’s curriculum committee called a special meeting earlier this week, at which its members voted to “unpause” the teaching of Marjane Satrapi’s 2004 graphic novel “Persepolis,” set during the Iranian Revolution. The committee voted 3-0 — school director and committee member Traci Eshelman Ramey was not...
Pittsburgh police: Man shot in Arlington Heights in serious condition
A man is in the hospital in serious condition following a shooting in Pittsburgh’s Arlington Heights neighborhood Thursday afternoon, according to police. Pittsburgh police were called to the 3000 block of Cordell Place around 4:15 p.m. and arrived to find a man who had been shot in the leg. He...
Pittsburgh police: Stolen vehicle crashes into Downtown construction site, the suspect’s 4th arrest in a week
Construction crews doing sidewalk repair and street work at the closed intersection of Wood Street and Sixth Avenue now have some additional work to do, after a stolen vehicle crashed into the closed intersection Thursday morning. Just before 10:30 a.m., Pittsburgh police responded to the 300 block of Sixth Avenue...
Murrysville area: Woman’s club scholarships, bio-ethics talk, more
Submit news, briefs and event listings to pvarine@triblive.com. Woman’s club scholarships, fundraiser event • The Murrysville Woman’s Club is accepting applications for at least three non-traditional scholarships of $3,000. Applicants must be residents of Westmoreland County, 21 years or older and must demonstrate financial need. They must be currently enrolled...
Myrtle Beach reporter sharpened her journalism skills at Franklin Regional
Editor’s note: Neighbor Spotlight is a monthly feature that aims to let our readers learn more about the people in their communities who are working to make them a better place, who have interesting stories to tell or who the community feels deserve “15 minutes of fame.” If you would...
MMA returns to Monroeville with ‘Brawl in the Burgh 11’
It’s been a while since Andrew Evans needed to worry about being picked on at school. “I was an out-of-shape kid, and in ninth grade, I got really tired of it and decided to go down to an MMA gym and start training,” said Evans, 19. On April 16, the...
Harmar guitarist’s band earns multiple Iron City Rocks awards
When he was teaching himself to play guitar at 12 years old, Matthew Kamenicky imagined being in a rock ’n’ roll band someday. What he couldn’t have imagined was that, not long after forming the rock group Steel Mill Rising, he’d be getting a call from an ESPN official asking...
Penn Township artist’s work included in Pittsburgh Pastel Artists League exhibit
While she typically works with oil paints, Penn Township artist Rita Haldeman found herself drawn to soft pastels, composed of pigment, water and a small amount of chalk or artificial binder. “Pastels have the most beautiful luminosity and vibrant color,” she said. “They create new colors in a different way,...
Pennsylvania legislators urge support for bill requiring insurance to cover donor breast milkVideo
Pennsylvania legislators will join community advocates Wednesday to promote a bill that would authorize insurance coverage for medically prescribed pasteurized donor breast milk to infants with serious health conditions. “Without human donor breast milk, I don’t know where my babies would be,” said Jessica Rhodes of West Mifflin. “The alternative...
DNA from welding glove leads to arrest of Delmont break-in suspect
DNA evidence from a welding glove left at the scene of a 2020 burglary in Delmont led to the arrest of a Washington Township man on Monday. Jesse T. Noble, 26, was charged with burglary, receiving stolen property, criminal trespass, criminal mischief and possession of instruments of crime in connection...
Local events mark 5th annual National Vietnam War Veterans Day
The national recognition of Vietnam War veterans this week is a way of showing appreciation to a group who likely did not get the welcome home they deserved, a Westmoreland County veterans affairs official said. “The Vietnam War veterans came home to a different welcome than previous generations,” said Matt...
Small plane damaged during landing at Palmer airport in Unity
No one was injured when a small plane skidded on the runway Monday morning at Arnold Palmer Regional Airport in Unity, according to emergency officials. “His gear collapsed as the plane was landing,” said airport executive director Gabe Monzo. “There were two people on board the plane, which was out...
Scattered snow showers snarl traffic throughout Western Pennsylvania
Sunday’s snowy weather has emergency crews responding to a number of crashes across western Pennsylvania as winter makes a last gasp before spring. About an inch-and-a-half of snow that began accumulating late Saturday night caused state police to close the Walworth bridge carrying Lincoln Highway over Route 119 in Southwest...
Franklin Regional approves sporting clays student club sport
Tony Bucciero was at a sporting clay fundraiser when his shooting foursome included the coach of a youth clay-shooting team. “He was telling me they had 80 kids, more than the football team, and that they had to cut it off at 80,” the Murrysville resident said. Over at the...
‘I love bringing people together’: Greensburg-Jeannette NAACP meets for prayer luncheonVideo
The last time the Greensburg-Jeannette NAACP held an event, it was a prayer breakfast at the former Ramada on Route 30. That was two years ago. Now, the Ramada is torn down and gone, like a great many other things during the same period of time, said branch President Ruth...
