Brian C. Rittmeyer stories, Page 13

Plum municipal center gym open for basketball The gymnasium at Plum’s municipal center will be open for children and adults to play basketball between 9 a.m. and 8 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 28. A limited amount of basketballs will be provided or participants can bring their own. Age ranges and times...

An agreement for access with a neighboring gas station gave New Kensington officials comfort in granting one of several needed approvals for an oil change facility to be built along Tarentum Bridge Road. The agreement between Valvoline Instant Oil Change and Shamey’s gas station allows for vehicles to get into...

As more big retailers stop carrying physical media, and more people find limitations to streaming, New Kensington record store owner A.J. Rassau believes there will be more demand for what he offers. That’s his hope, at least. And after investing a half-million dollars to take in more than 100,000 vinyl...

Plum EMS will begin soliciting for annual subscriptions in February. Subscriptions cost $15 for an individual, $25 for a household and $40 for a business. They run from March 1 until the end of February 2025. Subscribers receive two free CPR/AED classes valued at $80; up to 50% discount on...

New Kensington won’t be getting another car wash, but it is in line to get a Starbucks cafe and Harbor Freight store instead. The discount tools store, nearly 16,000 square foot, and 2,500-square-foot coffee shop are proposed for Riverview Plaza off Tarentum Bridge Road. Harbor Freight would be built beside...

The Allegheny County Department of Human Services and the city of Pittsburgh have extended the current “Code Blue” action until 8 a.m. Monday. “Code Blue” is declared when the National Weather Service forecasts the air temperature to fall below 26 degrees between 4 p.m. and 8 a.m. The plan can...

New Kensington’s fire chief urged homeowners Tuesday to have chimneys professionally cleaned after firefighters responded to a chimney fire in the city. Fire Chief Ed Saliba Jr. said firefighters found a thick buildup of creosote — a flammable, tar-like byproduct of any burning wood — in the chimney of a...

A gun that was used to fatally wound a man Friday night in Arnold had been stolen from Tarentum, according to court paperwork. Malique Jamal Black, 25, told a Westmoreland County detective that he bought on the gun on the street. Police say it was the gun used to shoot...

A New Kensington police officer was hurt after authorities said a man punched him in the head during a traffic stop Saturday night. Anthony T. Swann, 57, of Homewood assaulted Officer Tyler C. Balla during the stop at the city’s Freeport Road and Elizabeth Street, according to a criminal complaint...

Winter parking reminder for Plum residents Plum is reminding residents to refrain from parking vehicles on snow-covered streets. Regulated by a borough ordinance, the borough says the measure helps snow removal teams work efficiently and ensures safer road conditions. Blowing and shoveling snow onto borough streets is also prohibited. The...

Stephanie Taylor’s path to sobriety was more well-worn than winding. She was first arrested in 2015, at age 25, after selling cocaine to a police informant out of her mother’s Vandergrift home. Taylor went to jail, rehab and a halfway house — what she calls an “insane cycle” — three...

An Arnold man is accused of threatening and fighting with New Kensington police after he was arrested for allegedly terrorizing a family in their home in the middle of the night. New Kensington police filed charges, including felony counts of aggravated assault and criminal trespass, Thursday against Timothy Jamar Petty,...

A Plum man is facing several charges after, borough police say, he interfered with health services for his father, who is receiving hospice care. Plum police arrested Kevin Douglas Michel, 56, on Tuesday, Jan. 9 after responding to a complaint in the 800 block of Garlow Boulevard from a medical...

Taxes would increase a little more than 2% in New Kensington-Arnold’s proposed preliminary budget for the 2024-25 school year. It’s about a fourth of the maximum tax increase, 8%, the district is allowed under its state-imposed, inflation-based limit. The tax increase, 2.05%, was added to balance the proposed $45.1 million...

The owner of a Plum mobile home park is appealing the borough’s rejection of its expansion plans. Plum Creek MHC filed an appeal in Allegheny County Court seeking to reverse the borough zoning hearing board’s denial of its request to add 21 manufactured home sites — for a total of...

Plum property owners could be facing another tax increase, this one to pay for school building projects. On Tuesday, financial advisers gave Plum’s school board four options to pay for potential building projects. The options would add anywhere from $117 to $275 to the annual tax bill for residents of...

Plum has honored a man for his heroism in the aftermath of the Rustic Ridge explosion, while also taking a step to help the borough’s government move forward from the August catastrophe that left six dead. Greg Renko, president of the Rustic Ridge homeowners association, received a proclamation honoring him...

While Pennsylvania remains among states with the highest average gas prices, a few stations in the Pittsburgh area are at, and in one case below, the $3 mark. According to price-tracking service GasBuddy, an American Oil on Route 422 in Worthington had a cash price of $2.86 on Monday, the...

Holy Family Parish Christmas brunch a rousing success Holy Family Parish continued its 10-year tradition of celebrating Christmas with a morning brunch Dec. 25 at St. Joseph Church in Verona and Our Lady of Joy in Plum. More than 140 guests were treated to brunch and cookies made by the...

Plum High School senior Sophie Anderson was astonished when classmate Hailey Depkon told her the district’s annual telethon benefiting Make-A-Wish had reached $50,000. “We did not think we were going to be able to raise that much money,” said Anderson, 18, who was the telethon’s co-head floor director with Depkon....

Plum has four new council members and might soon have a permanent borough manager with a familiar face. Newly elected Councilmen Dave Majernik, Jerry Purcell and Steve Schlauch were sworn in to office by District Judge Mike Doyle during council’s reorganization Tuesday. Doyle, previously council president, resigned from council in...

The eight-story Springdale Manor high-rise was evacuated Tuesday night because of a natural gas leak. The incident was reported at 7:43 p.m., and the roughly 90 residents were starting to return to their apartments just before 10 p.m. The leak was in the building’s boiler room, according to police and...

Arnold police Chief Eric Doutt quit before the city’s new mayor and council could vote to demote him Tuesday. Another officer, Richard Pechin, is leaving with him. Newly elected Mayor Shannon Santucci had long stated her intent to remove Doutt as the city’s police chief. Santucci, newly elected Councilman Aaron...

Plum High School senior Sophie Anderson was astonished when classmate Hailey Depkon told her the district’s annual telethon benefiting Make-A-Wish had reached $50,000. “We did not think we were going to be able to raise that much money,” said Anderson, 18, who was the telethon’s co-head floor director with Depkon....

Arnold’s police chief is expected to be out, and its manager is anticipated to return in January. Council is slated to vote on demoting police Chief Eric Doutt to patrolman and rehiring former City Manager Mario Bellavia during its reorganization meeting beginning at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the public safety...