Brian C. Rittmeyer stories, Page 129
New Kensington-Arnold reports progress in teacher contract talks
New Kensington-Arnold School District officials are optimistic that teachers will have a new contract before classes resume next month. The district’s teachers have been working without a contract for almost two years. The last contract ended on Aug. 31, 2017. At a school board meeting Thursday, Superintendent John Pallone said...
Plum offering variety of help for residents with flood damage
Help is continuing to come in and be made available for Plum residents hit by flooding brought on by heavy rain earlier this week. That includes dumpsters for residents to dispose of flood damaged property; cleanup and hygiene kits; and a Facebook group where residents who can help and those...
Woman’s cross-country horse ride against domestic violence coming to Tarentum
A woman riding across the country on horseback to bring awareness to domestic violence will make a stop in Tarentum on Monday. Meredith Cherry and her horse, Apollo, are expected to be at Riverview Memorial Park at noon on Monday, according to the Alle-Kiski Valley H.O.P.E. Center, a domestic violence...
Ceremonial groundbreaking set for New Kensington apartment project
A ceremonial groundbreaking has been scheduled for the Pioneer Apartments project already under construction in New Kensington. The event for the Wesley Family Services project is set for 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, Aug. 8, at the site at 319 10th St. The $18.2 million, four-story, 36-unit building will provide affordable...
Washington Township man behind new sensory-friendly space at Pittsburgh airport
A sensory-friendly space for children and adults with autism and other special needs was unveiled Wednesday at Pittsburgh International Airport. The idea for the room, called Presley’s Place, came from airport employee Jason Rudge, a heavy equipment operator from Washington Township, Westmoreland County. Rudge and his wife, Sharon, have a...
Highlands gets 4 bids to fix Tarentum clock tower
Highlands School District has four bidders and an array of options to choose from to fix the leaking clock tower at its elementary school in Tarentum. This is the second time the district has sought bids for the work at Highlands Elementary School. The school board rejected the two bids...
Sheetz seeks liquor license for New Kensington store
Sheetz is planning to remodel its store on New Kensington’s Freeport Street in a project that will qualify it for a restaurant liquor license. The company wants to transfer a liquor license into the city from New Stanton and use it to sell beer, according to a letter to city...
Store owner burned out of New Kensington relaunches in Tarentum
Tim Brown’s convenience store in Tarentum was going to be his second. It’s now his only one, after his first in downtown New Kensington was destroyed in the massive Ninth Street fire in September. He’s still planning on opening more. “I would like to start a little chain of convenience...
Rain garden begins to take shape by Highlands Middle School in HarrisonVideo
They wore gloves, knee pads and boots as they worked in the mud and the rain. Volunteers, numbering between 15 and 20, turned out Monday morning to help populate Harrison’s new rain garden, built on the grounds of Highlands Middle School at Broadview Boulevard and California Avenue. “Everyone here loves...
Gas prices drift lower, but Iran tensions could cause impacts, analyst says
Gas prices have come down slightly in Pittsburgh, with a bigger decrease nationally. In Pittsburgh, prices are down 0.9 cents per gallon in the past week, averaging $2.97, according to GasBuddy. That’s 7.5 cents per gallon higher than a month ago, but 11.2 cents per gallon lower than a year...
Another alligator found on the lam, this time in Shaler
Well, that “Gatorsburgh” thing is going to keep going. Another alligator, the fourth this year, has been found in the “City of Chompions,” this time in Shaler. The latest was found Friday morning in the parking lot of the Giant Eagle grocery store on Butler Plank Road in Shaler, township...
No relief from blistering heat until next week
Dangerous heat will hit Southwestern Pennsylvania on Friday and Saturday. The National Weather Service has issued a heat advisory that starts at noon Friday and runs through 8 p.m. Saturday. It’s been seven years since the National Weather Service in Pittsburgh has issued a warning for excessive heat. That was...
Basement fire damages Wilkins home
A fire was reported in the basement of a home in Wilkins Township early Friday. The fire at 548 Lucia Drive was reported shortly after 4 a.m., an Allegheny County emergency dispatcher said. The fire was brought under control within a half-hour. No injuries were reported....
Churchill crash knocks out power to hundreds
Hundreds of people lost power Friday morning after a crash on a Churchill Road. A car crashed into a pole and brought down power lines on Beulah Road between Kingsdale Road and Thornberry Drive, the Trib’s news partner, WPXI-TV, reported. The road was initially reported as being closed; traffic was...
Police: Vandal targets Moniteau High School, principal’s home
A vandal targeted a Butler County high school — and the home front lawn of its principal, police said. According to state police, someone in a side-by-side utility vehicle rammed a fence at Moniteau High School in Cherry Township around 2 a.m. on Tuesday. A side-by-side is a small two-to-six...
Police: Former employee threatens to blow up Shadyside gym
Pittsburgh police arrested a man Wednesday after he allegedly threatened people with a knife inside a Shadyside gym. Police responded just after 9:30 p.m. Wednesday to X Shadyside at 5608 Walnut St. in response to a report of a disorderly man. The man was later identified as Daniel Abebe, 56,...
Highlands sets due date for Fawn property bids
Bids to buy Highlands School District’s former elementary school in Fawn are due by noon July 29, according to an announcement from the district. The district is selling the Highlands Support Center, which the school board voted in May to permanently close. It had previously been a primary center and...
Man in critical condition after North Braddock shooting
A 38-year-old man was in critical condition after being shot multiple times in North Braddock, according to Allegheny County Police. The shooting near 1529 Electric Ave. was reported to 911 around 11:53 p.m.Wednesday, police said. The man, who had multiple gunshot wounds, was taken to an area hospital. North Braddock...
Excessive heat watch issued for Pittsburgh region
Dangerously hot temperatures are expected to blanket Southwestern Pennsylvania beginning Friday afternoon as part of a heat wave stretching from the Great Plains to the East Coast. The National Weather Service issued an excessive heat watch for the Pittsburgh region through Saturday evening, meaning a prolonged period of heat and...
Facebook event to storm Area 51 gets deadpan response from Air Force
About 1.5 million people say they’re going, and another 1.1 million are interested, but how many, if any, will actually show up remains to be seen. A Facebook event called “Storm Area 51, They Can’t Stop All of Us” is organizing people to rush the fabled Nevada Air Force base...
Police: Burglar enters Pittsburgh Islamic Center, changes clothes
Pittsburgh police responded to a burglary in progress shortly after midnight at the Islamic Center of Pittsburgh on Bigelow Boulevard. Police said key holders to the center alerted police after remotely viewing a man walking through the building on a surveillance camera. Before officers arrived, they were told that the...
Driver flown to hospital after truck rolls over in Butler County crash
A Johnstown man was flown to a Pittsburgh hospital after the truck he was driving rolled in a two-vehicle crash on Route 422 in Butler County on Tuesday afternoon. According to state police, Ryan S. Kimmel, 37, was driving a Freightliner east on Route 422 between the Jefferson Street and...
1 dead, 1 hurt in Lawrence County shooting
Two men in their 20s were shot at a residence in Lawrence County around 1 a.m. Wednesday, state police said. The shooting happened at a residence on Bryson Hill Road in Shenango Township. Brian Robert Eisenhuth, 23, died at the scene, police said. The other victim, Ronald L. Lantz Jr.,...
Heavy downpours to be followed by extreme heat heading into weekend
The Pittsburgh region is set to get up to an inch of rain Wednesday followed by hot and muggy weather that could see heat indexes reach and exceed 100 degrees this weekend, a National Weather Service meteorologist said. Isolated and scattered showers crossed the region early Wednesday, meteorologist Jason Frazier...
Missing Pittsburgh girl found safe
A missing 10-year-old girl has been located and is safe, according to Pittsburgh police. Police had sought the public’s help in finding India Ford. She had last been seen at about 9 p.m. Tuesday in the 400 block of Rosedale Street....
