Brian C. Rittmeyer stories, Page 3
‘Pain,’ ‘change’ to be expected as Pine-Richland School District tackles $4.9 million deficit
The Pine-Richland School Board will be diving into building the district’s 2026-27 budget after finishing a series of four meetings dedicated to examining the district’s finances as it confronts a $4.9 million deficit. A combination of spending cuts and revenue increases, including an administratively recommended property tax increase, are expected...
$6M proposed Reserve budget for 2026 carries no property tax increase despite rising costs
No property tax increase is included in Reserve’s proposed $6 million budget for 2026. As proposed, the township’s tax rate would remain 6.47 mills, following a 1-mill increase for 2025. For a property at the township’s $95,000 median value, the annual township property tax bill would remain at about $615....
Proposed $46.9M Ross 2026 budget carries 8% property tax increase
Property owners in Ross are looking at a township tax increase for the second year in a row. An 8% property tax increase is included with the township’s proposed $46.9 million budget for 2026. As proposed, the township’s property tax rate would increase from 3.7 mills to 4 mills. The...
Volunteers honor veterans through cleanup of New Kensington cemetery
A Civil War veteran received a new grave marker as volunteers from throughout the region gathered to clean up a New Kensington cemetery Sunday. The cemetery belongs to United Presbyterian Church of New Kensington and is outside Logans Ferry Presbyterian Church. Veterans from the Revolutionary War through Vietnam are among...
2 Indiana County schoolchildren die in house fire
Two United School District students died in a fire early Sunday morning in Indiana County. “A young person’s death is always tragic, and the sudden loss of life can have a profound effect on surviving students,” United Superintendent Richard Lucas said in a statement. The fire was at a home...
New York man tried to derail train in Springdale by parking trucks from PPG on the tracks, police say
A New York man tried to derail a train in Springdale last week by parking tractor-trailers from PPG Paints on the tracks, Springdale police say. Officers filed charges Friday against Scott Andrew Heffner, 34, of Friendship, in upstate New York. A friend of Heffner said Heffner was “paranoid that he...
Argument over noise in Pittsburgh apartment building leads to gun being pulled, man stabbed in buttocks
An argument over noise in an apartment building in Pittsburgh’s Spring Hill-City View neighborhood lead to a woman threatening a man with a gun, and a man being stabbed in the buttocks, Pittsburgh Public Safety said. Officers from Pittsburgh Police Zone 1 responded to the 100 block of Rhine Place...
‘It’s our legacy that defines us’: Marines gather in Lower Burrell to celebrate 250th anniversary of the corps
Many would say a man of 38 years would not have much in common with a man of 80. But through their service in the Marine Corps, Adam Elliott and James Walters are more alike than unalike. Each enlisted as teens. “The brotherhood that we have as Marines is far...
Aluminum City Arts celebrates soft opening in New Kensington
Five years ago, Ernesto Camacho Jr. wanted to open doors for other artists by running his own gallery. He succeeded. But Camacho and his partner, Brian DeFelices, ran out of space at The Manos Gallery in Tarentum, which has led to them beginning the pursuit of new goals across the...
Springdale townhouse building evacuated after struck by SUV, shearing gas meter
The residents of a four-unit townhouse building in Springdale were put out of their homes Saturday after an SUV crashed into the back of it, shearing a natural gas meter, authorities said. The woman driving the SUV was not seriously hurt, and no other injuries were reported, Springdale fire Chief...
Food drive underway to support Shaler Area’s Backpack Initiative
A food drive to support the Backpack Initiative began Tuesday in the Shaler Area School District and will run through Nov. 14. The Shaler Area Backpack Initiative was created in 2014 to help district students in need of weekend food supplies. Each family participating in the program receives a bag...
Only half of Reserve ‘hometown team’ successful in bids for Shaler Area School Board
Two Reserve residents, a Democrat and a Republican, ran together for two seats on the Shaler Area School Board, but only one was successful, according to unofficial Allegheny County election results. In Shaler Area’s Region 1, Amy Goldberg, a Democrat who had both party nominations, was running with Republican Ken...
Democrats sweep races for 4 Ross commissioner seats
Democratic candidates swept elections for four Ross commissioner seats in Tuesday’s election, according to unofficial Allegheny County election results. Voters elected commissioners in four of the township’s nine wards. In Ward 2, incumbent Democrat Chris Rand Eyster defeated Republican Joseph Aguglia. In Ward 4, Democrat Dwayne Lee Allen defeated Republican...
Democrats sweep Franklin Park mayor, council election; voters reject government study
Franklin Park’s longtime mayor, Dennis O’Keefe, lost his bid for reelection Tuesday in an election that saw Democrats also win three council seats, according to unofficial Allegheny County election results. O’Keefe was defeated by Democrat Cristen L. Fiffik. Three of the council’s six sets were up for election. In the...
Democrats sweep North Hills School Board election, returning 3 of 4 incumbents
Three incumbents are among four Democrats won seats on the North Hills School Board in Tuesday’s election, according to unofficial Allegheny County election results. Democratic board members Allison Mathis, Mike Santucci and Sandra Kozera kept their seats. Also elected was Democratic newcomer Anthony Hall. Board member Elizabeth Nease, on the...
Challenger slate ‘Together for PR’ sweeps election for Pine-Richland School Board
A slate of Democratic candidates swept the fight for four seats that were up for election Tuesday on the Pine-Richland School Board, according to unofficial Allegheny County Election Results. The four candidates running across three district regions — Liz DeLosa in Region 1; Amy Cafardi and Melissa Vecchi in Region...
3 Hampton Council members win re-election
All three incumbent Hampton Council members were kept in office in Tuesday’s election, according to unofficial Allegheny County election results. Council members Julie Fritsch, Carolynn Johnson, and Bethany Blackburn will keep their seats on the five-member council. All three were unopposed in the Democratic primary. Fritsch and Johnson also received...
3 of 4 Hampton School Board members re-elected; Democrat beats Republican for 4th seat
Three of four Hampton School Board members kept their seats in Tuesday’s election, according to unofficial Allegheny County election results. The three board incumbents who won had received both the Democratic and Republican nominations — Larry Vasko, Denise Balason and Jill Hamlin. Incumbent Gregory Stein, who was on the ballot...
Democratic challenger defeats Shaler Commissioner Mizgorski in Ward 2
The only incumbent Shaler commissioner in a contested race for reelection was defeated Tuesday, according to unofficial Allegheny County election results. With all precincts reporting, Democrat Josh Fleitman defeated Ward 2 Commissioner David Mizgorski. Fleitman, who has lived in Shaler for going on five years, is a district press secretary...
Democrats win all 4 North Allegheny School Board seats
A slate of Democrats won all four seats that were up for election on the North Allegheny School Board in Tuesday’s election, according to unofficial Allegheny County election results. With all precincts reporting, Paige Hardy, the only incumbent member of the board seeking re-election, was on the winning slate and...
3 McCandless Republican council members lose seats to Democrats
Three incumbent Republican McCandless Council members lost their bids for re-election in Tuesday’s election, according to unofficial Allegheny County election results. With all precincts reporting, Democrat Laureen Alt defeated Republican incumbent Jack Casey in Ward 2; Democrat Jack Hickerson defeated Republican incumbent Jason Singer in Ward 4; and Democrat Nathan...
Washington Township fire department’s auto parts swap meet offers place to find the needed and rare
If you’re looking for a cassette deck for a 1985 El Camino, you can’t just go to Walmart. That’s what Cal Younker’s son, Danny, was hoping to find when they went to the Washington Township Volunteer Fire Company’s fall auto parts swap meet Sunday. It was the first time they...
27 people rescued from the Mon Incline
It took nearly four hours for 27 people to be rescued from the Mon Incline after both cars stopped shortly after leaving their stations Saturday afternoon, a Pittsburgh Regional Transit spokesman said. The two cars unexpectedly stopped 40 feet from their stations after departing for a trip just before 2:30...
Concerns over Springdale data center proposal bring protesters out for 2nd time this week
For the second time in a week, residents of Springdale and beyond took to Pittsburgh Street to protest plans for the construction of a data center where a coal-fired power plant once stood. Around two dozen people carried signs and expressed thanks to drivers who honked their horns as they...
2 killed, 2 hurt in 3-vehicle crash on Route 356 in Buffalo Township
Two people died and two others were hurt Saturday afternoon in a three-vehicle crash in Buffalo Township, police Chief Tim Derringer said. The crash at South Pike (Route 356) and Younkins roads was reported about 2:50 p.m. The road was still closed as of 6:30 p.m. and was expected to...
