Snow blankets Western Pa. in 1st major event of the season
A group of parents got a winter weather alert Tuesday around 6 a.m. saying school was closed for a snow day. They quickly organized a text chain, swapping questions like: Who needed boots, who could borrow a sled, and who would take the first shift watching the kids in the...
The Stroller, Dec. 2, 2025: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
Publicize your non-profit’s community events, fundraisers and club meetings for free in The Stroller. Send information at least two weeks in advance to vndnews@triblive.com or The Stroller, 210 Wood St., Tarentum PA 15084. Please include a daytime telephone number. Follow the Stroller on X at @VNDStroller. Gift program benefits victims...
West View mourning death of council vice president
West View Councilwoman M. Kimberly Steele died on Wednesday, Nov. 26, following a 10-month battle with pancreatic cancer. She was 72. During her tenure on borough council, Steele had been president and was most recently vice president. She also had served on the West View Water Authority’s board of directors....
Kenneth Pollard speaks of initial shock, lasting regret over wife’s death in sinkhole fall
Lifelong Marguerite resident Kenneth Pollard has had a year to learn how to live without his wife, Elizabeth, who fell to her death in a sinkhole on the outskirts of the Unity village. Though one of his children, Axel, moved in with the 75-year-old and good neighbors have pitched in...
1 year after sinkhole death, Unity residents live in fear of mine subsidence
One year after a deadly sinkhole swallowed a woman searching for her cat near Marguerite Road, fear remains palpable for residents in a small Unity neighborhood. They worry abandoned coal mines beneath their homes could collapse at any time. That anxiety is real on Libby Lane, a few hundred feet...
‘Archiving history’: Aural-style jam sessions of NA Fiddlers offer unique experience for student musicians
Sporting their signature look of a simple red polo shirt and a fiddle in hand, the North Allegheny Fiddlers took to the Maywood Recording studio in McCandless recently to lay down some new, and old, tracks. This is the third time that Dennis Morton, who started the NA Fiddlers in...
No tax increase for property owners in Leechburg; skills game tax climbs for operators
Leechburg’s 2026 budget calls for no real estate tax increase. The budget includes more than $1.46 million in expenditures with just over $1.34 million in revenue. The gap will be filled by using a portion of a $145,000 surplus from this year’s budget. Councilman and finance chair D.J. Zelczak said...
Westmoreland and Allegheny men among 1,000-plus killed in WWII ‘Little Pearl Harbor’
Five Western Pennsylvania men were among the more than 1,000 killed in a surprise World War II German attack on an Allied port in Italy that has become known as “The Little Pearl Harbor.” The Dec. 2, 1943, air raid on the Adriatic Sea port of Bari, Italy, came nearly...
Washington police arrest 1 of 3 teen suspects in robbery, shooting at convenience store
Police in the city of Washington on Monday charged a 17-year-old as an adult in connection with a Sunday night robbery and shooting at a convenience store. Police allege that Julian Asbury, of Washington, was one of three armed teens who tried to rob the Washington Food Mart in the...
Majority of easements signed for Greensburg’s Northmont flood control project
The majority of easements needed for Greensburg’s proposed Northmont flood control project have been signed, said Alec Italiano, the City of Greensburg director of planning and development. Signatures of four property owners are still needed for the city to move forward with the work. Italiano said he’s continuing to negotiate...
Decline in alcohol consumption leads to rare sales drop at Pa. liquor stores
Pennsylvania’s wine and spirits sales dipped last fiscal year for only the second time in the past three decades. According to the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board, sales for the 2024-25 fiscal year totaled nearly $3.2 billion. That was down almost $21 million, or 0.6%, compared to the previous year. Net...
Man fatally shot by police on Parkway North was suspect in shooting of teen in Butler
A man who died after being shot by police on the Parkway North Saturday night was a suspect in a shooting in Butler Friday, according to Butler police Chief Bob O’Neill. In a statement released Monday, O’Neill identified the man as Devin Russell, 20, of Butler. According to O’Neill’s statement,...
Westmoreland hospital, former nurses sued over patient photos
A Greensburg hospital and two fired nurses have been named as defendants in a negligence lawsuit filed by the daughter of one of up to 10 former patients whose images were recorded and distributed without consent last year. The three-count lawsuit filed last month contends Independence Health System Westmoreland Hospital...
Shapiro calls $740M Esplanade a ‘game changer’ as Pittsburgh project breaks ground
One of the most expensive development projects in modern Pittsburgh history, the $740 million Esplanade on the North Side, took a definitive step forward Monday with a groundbreaking ceremony that drew Pennsylvania’s governor and generated accolades for its intent to revitalize a long-stagnant brownfield. Gov. Josh Shapiro called the ambitious...
In brief: Happenings across the Penn Hills area
River City Brass to present Christmas concert River City Brass will perform its Christmas Brasstacular concert at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 4 at Linton Middle School, 250 Aster St. This year, the holiday tradition will feature new arrangements from “Home Alone,” “A Christmas Carol” and Duke Ellington’s “Nutcracker.” There might even...
Westmoreland preps for 1st snowfall with reduced staff amid limited furlough savings
Furloughs will leave Westmoreland County with just half of its staff available Tuesday morning to maintain 52 miles of roads during the season’s first significant snowfall. Public Works Director Dante DeCario said all four remaining employees will begin salting and clearing county roads as early as 3 a.m. and will...
Ross budget cuts fail to make dent in projected 8% property tax increase
Ross officials have continued to work on the township’s 2026 budget but have not found enough cuts to make a dent in a proposed 8% property tax increase. At a commissioners meeting Nov. 17, finance director Dan Berty told commissioners that while they found spending that could be cut, they...
Shapiro visits Verona to tout $25M in funding for child care workers
Gov. Josh Shapiro visited a Verona day care Monday to tout $25 million in new state-funded bonuses for industry workers, which he says will help attract and retain staff. The initiative, part of the state budget passed last month after a lengthy legislative impasse, gives about $450 annually per employee...
Charlie Puth, Brandi Carlile, Coco Jones to perform at Super Bowl pregame
Super Bowl Sunday’s pregame entertainment lineup just dropped for February — including Charlie Puth singing the national anthem. Super Bowl LX will take place Feb. 8, 2026, at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif. — home of the San Francisco 49ers — and air live on NBC, Telemundo and Peacock....
Pittsburgh to host Riverhounds championship rally Downtown
Downtown Pittsburgh will host a celebration Thursday afternoon of the Pittsburgh Riverhounds’ championship title. Part of Grant Street will be closed to traffic from noon to 2 p.m. A rally will go from noon to 1 p.m., followed by a receiving line to meet the team and take photos with...
4% pay hikes included in contract for Chartiers Valley educational support staff
Chartiers Valley school officials inked a 3-year contract with the district’s non-teaching staff. The new agreement calls for a 4% wage increase for its members, which include secretaries, cafeteria workers, technology technicians, instructional aides, playground monitors, paraprofessionals and office staff. The current agreement expires in June. “By meeting early, both...
Westinghouse retiree group makes record donation to help food insecurity
As food insecurity continues to climb across Southwestern Pennsylvania, a dedicated group of retired Westinghouse employees mobilized, raising a record $55,000 this year to support local organizations battling hunger. The nonprofit group, SURE (Service Uniting Retired Employees), shattered its previous donation record and further assisted the community by hosting its...
Property taxes expected to hold steady for Harrison residents but small fire tax to be added
Harrison residents likely won’t see a property tax increase in 2026, but they might pay a slight fee for a dedicated fire fund. The township commissioners approved a proposed $5.85 million budget that maintains the property tax rate of 5.6 mills. The owner of a home assessed at the median...
Penn Hills eyes amending code to enable acting police chief to apply for permanent post
Three months into his service as acting police chief of Penn Hills, Jason Bonace has never felt more satisfied with his life. “About one month after I started this role was the first time in my 48 years of life that I felt content, and it’s a really good feeling,”...
Alleged burglary in Freeport ends in ICE taking 3 men into custody
Three men were taken into custody by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Monday morning after they were caught in a vacant apartment in Freeport, police said. Chris Fabec, chief of Southern Armstrong Regional Police Department, said police were called about 4:30 a.m. to a Lane Court townhouse in the...
