Brian C. Rittmeyer stories, Page 28

New Kensington police say a Wilkins Township man admitted to stealing a Jeep from a used car dealership in the city because he was bored. In court paperwork, police say David Eugene George II, 18, admitted breaking into Wheel Deal Auto Sales on Industrial Boulevard on Feb. 3. They say...

A proposal to build a community park and garden in downtown New Kensington will go to city council for consideration. Westmoreland Community Action and Wesley Family Services have proposed building the park and garden on vacant lots along 10th Street, with Third Avenue running between them. The city owns the...

February isn’t over yet, but it’s already made weather history for Southwestern Pennsylvania. The high temperature reached a record-tying 70 degrees at Pittsburgh International Airport in Moon Township on Thursday, National Weather Service meteorologist Jason Frazier said. It was the third time this month that the high has reached 70...

A Plum patrolman was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol after another Plum officer found him asleep behind the wheel of a running vehicle, police said. Ryan E. Schneiderlochner, 51, of Plum is scheduled for a preliminary hearing April 26 on the charge filed Jan. 24, according to...

No one was hurt in a fire Tuesday that destroyed a house in Plum. The fire at 435 Millers Lane was reported at 4:40 p.m., according to an Allegheny County 911 dispatcher. Tim Townsend and his fiancee, Christine Biros, own the one-story home and live there with his adult son,...

Kiski Area School District and Mary Queen of Apostles Catholic School are among 166 schools or districts across Pennsylvania getting shares of more than $8 million in state grants to improve school safety. Mary Queen of Apostles received two grants totaling nearly $100,000 for use at its two schools in...

While gas prices in some states moved higher in the past week, Pennsylvania and the Pittsburgh area are among those where prices came down slightly. According to AAA, the statewide average price of a gallon of gas Monday was about $3.69. That’s about 4 cents less than last week, about...

The owner of a dumpster rental company plans to start construction on a new home for his business in Arnold by the fall. Joe Cene, owner of Triple P Disposal, hopes the work along Fourth Avenue can start sooner than that. “I’m going to do all I can to get...

Plum’s Holiday Park and Logans Ferry Heights neighborhoods will be the main beneficiaries of road work in the borough this year. Of nearly a dozen roads that will be resurfaced, seven are in Holiday Park. Eighteen that will be tarred and chipped are all in Logans Ferry Heights. Borough council...

Plum Council has attached a few conditions to its approval of the first phase of a three-phase, 158-home housing development. Council voted 6-0 to give final approval to the 35-house first phase of Patriot Estates, a development that would cover about 140 acres off Davidson Road. Council’s approval followed a...

Fifth grade teacher Samantha Isaac takes advantage of her classroom being at something of a crossroads inside Roy A. Hunt Elementary School in Arnold. Isaac is often outside her door, extending her influence beyond the students in her room. “She’s out in the hallway talking with students, giving them fist...

Frank J. Pallone Jr. has had many truancy cases come before him during his 24 years as a district judge in New Kensington. In those hearings, Pallone said he takes the time to learn what is going on in homes that caused a child to miss school and rack up...

Arnold Council has delayed voting on a roofing company’s request to lease city-owned land for outdoor storage. Liberty Roofing Center wants to lease the vacant lots at 1501-1507 Fourth Ave. As proposed, the rent would be $400 per month, or $4,800 per year, with a five-year minimum. What would be...

A New Kensington police officer was dragged by a vehicle Thursday when he attempted to arrest a woman he knew had an outstanding warrant against her. The incident began about 5 p.m. at the Sunoco gas station on Tarentum Bridge Road, according to court records. A pursuit — first by...

The Social Security Administration office that has been in New Kensington for nearly 40 years will be moving to Harrison, a government spokesman said. The U.S. General Services Administration signed a new lease for the office to be at Heights Plaza in Natrona Heights, spokesman Will Powell said. The office...

New Kensington officials said they were doing a Tarentum contractor a favor by not allowing him to buy a long-vacant house in the city from Westmoreland County’s unsold repository. Council voted unanimously last month to not consent to the sale of 304 Charles Ave. to Bryaunt Williams, owner of One...

Word that New Kensington plans to fix broken and lifted sidewalks through the heart of the city’s downtown this year is welcome news to residents and property owners. Repairs to the sidewalks on both sides of Fifth Avenue, between Seventh and 11th streets, are expected to be complete in July,...

A pub crawl that started in New Kensington last year is expanding for its second run. Seven bars are participating in the second annual Pre-St. Patrick’s Day Pub Crawl from noon to 5 p.m. March 4. The 2022 event drew hundreds decked out in as much green as possible. This...

Officials in the New Kensington-Arnold School District are pursuing improvement projects at two of the district’s schools. The school board voted to explore replacing the meal serving line at H.D. Berkey Elementary in Arnold and renovating restrooms at Valley Junior-Senior High School in New Kensington. H.D. Berkey houses first and...

The Holiday Park Volunteer Fire Department will hold its fifth annual Fire Camp & Junior Fire Academy this summer. Registration for the camp, held from June 19-23, opened Feb. 13 and closes May 15. The camp is limited to 32 participants. The weeklong camp is for youth ages 14 to...

When he was a dean of students in the New Kensington-Arnold School District, Henry “Hank” Commodore handled discipline. If he was still in education today, Commodore would make love and kindness part of the curriculum for all students. “We’re all family. All of us are family. We need to be...

Gas prices continued to fall over the past week, but a seasonal increase is not far away. According to AAA, the national average Monday was about $3.42 per gallon. That’s about 5 cents less than a week ago but 13 cents more than a month ago. Price-tracking service GasBuddy says...

Food banks and pantries across the Pittsburgh area are bracing for an influx of people in need when enhanced covid-era food benefits that have been in place for three years come to an end after this month. Beginning in March, households getting Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits — commonly known...

A Cash 5 with Quick Cash ticket sold in Allegheny Township won the $200,000 jackpot in Thursday’s drawing, the Pennsylvania Lottery announced Friday. The ticket was sold at Giant Eagle, 41 Towne Center Drive. The ticket matched all five balls drawn — 5, 20,27, 33 and 43 — to win...

A skating rink and a drive-in movie theater were on Raymone Thomas’ list of business ventures she considered pursuing in New Kensington. Ultimately, she settled on a laundromat. Seeing other skating rinks close in the area made her wonder whether one could work. She also worried about liability, safety and...