Brian C. Rittmeyer stories, Page 69

New Kensington-Arnold School District’s financial picture for the coming school year looks “bleak,” with officials considering raising taxes and burning through the district’s reserves but still facing a deficit, according to Acting Superintendent Jon Banko. “We’ve been about as fiscally responsible as we possibly could be,” Banko said. “We closed...

A New Kensington man was arraigned this week on charges accusing him of sexually assaulting a girl when she was 9 years old. New Kensington police said Chester Elmer Green Jr., 61, has “vehemently denied” the allegations. He faces felony charges of aggravated indecent assault of a child and corruption...

Highlands School District will not increase its property tax rate by more than its state-imposed limit for next school year. The school board certified this week that the district will not increase property taxes by more than 4.3%, the inflation limit set for the district by the state under Act...

A man from Pittsburgh’s Lincoln-Lemington neighborhood was sent to Westmoreland County Prison without bail Wednesday because police said he threatened to kill police officers and their families as soon as he gets out of jail. New Kensington police said they arrested Daevar Lamont Stevens, 21, about 7 p.m. Tuesday after...

Four local businesses are starting or expanding their operations in the former G.C. Murphy Building in Tarentum. Allegheny Educational Systems, based in Tarentum for nearly 40 years, is keeping its primary location on Third Avenue but needed showroom space for its growing business, building owner Dave Rankin said. Chuck Conto...

A New Kensington neighborhood park that was cleared out recently won’t remain empty for long. New play equipment is coming to Summit Street Park, city Councilman Dante Cicconi said. The park in the city’s Mount Vernon neighborhood is one of the city’s five neighborhood parks. One of the others, JFK...

New Kensington’s garbage hauler fired two employees after residents reported thefts of a package and Christmas lights, the company and city officials confirmed Thursday. It makes for a troubling start for the new one-year contract between New Kensington and County Hauling, which council approved in December despite past concerns over...

Members of the New Kensington-Arnold School District community are being asked to complete a survey about what traits they want in the district’s new superintendent. A link to the survey is available on the district’s website, nkasd.com. Administrators, community members, parents, staff and students are asked to complete it by...

A Harrison man accused of fleeing from a traffic stop Monday night was delivering methamphetamine to someone before he was pulled over, according to state police. Police said a trooper tried to pull over a car driven by Sergio Andreal Davis, 28, because he was speeding and weaving on Route...

All Highlands School District students will return to a hybrid schedule next week, and administrators are considering bringing elementary students back for in-person instruction for half-days. Superintendent Monique Mawhinney said the district’s covid task force voted Monday to return all students to the hybrid schedule beginning Jan. 19. The district...

Tarentum is on the verge of getting the vast majority of the borough’s blighted and abandoned buildings torn down, code enforcement Officer Anthony Bruni said. Bruni said bids for 16 upcoming demolitions came in under budget, which he said could allow council to seek bids on more properties. At its...

Harrison will no longer host events twice a year so residents can dispose of electronic and hazardous waste because residents will be able to get rid of them from their homes year-round, Commissioner William Heasley said. Commissioners have approved adding household collection of hazardous waste as part of a new...

A former Tarentum councilman was the only qualified candidate to fill a vacant seat on borough council, officials said. Raymond Kerr, 70, was appointed Tuesday to replace Erika Josefoski as one of two council members representing the borough’s 1st Ward. Mayor Eric Carter swore Kerr into office that night. “We’re...

SWAT officers responded after police said shots were fired in a domestic incident in Pittsburgh’s Knoxville neighborhood early Friday morning. Pittsburgh police officers responded to the incident in the 400 block of Alice Street around 1:45 a.m. A man and a woman were outside the home and unhurt when officers...

A Turtle Creek man was arrested Thursday night after Allegheny County Police said he shot at three detectives in Wilmerding. Police charged Matthew Stephen Diggs Jr., 20, with criminal attempted homicide, aggravated assault, assault on a police officer and a firearm violation. According to county police, the detectives, assigned to...

New Kensington-Arnold School District students will return to school buildings Jan. 14, but the district will use a hybrid instruction model and break students into two groups. The district closed schools and put all students in remote instruction beginning in November in response to substantial spread of covid-19 in the...

Supporters of President Donald Trump who left their cars at a Butler mall to travel by bus to Washington, D.C. returned to find their tires slashed, according to police. Tires on 20 vehicles were found damaged Wednesday morning at Clearview Mall in Center Township, state police said. Parents told Tribune-Review...

New Kensington Council has decided to keep its garbage hauler for at least another year. Council approved a one-year contract for garbage service with County Hauling with options for two additional years. The quarterly charge to residents will remain $78.13. According to City Clerk Dennis Scarpiniti, County Hauling submitted the...

Tarentum will accept applications for a soon-to-be vacant seat on borough council until Jan. 4. Council on Tuesday accepted the resignation of 1st Ward Councilwoman Erika Josefoski. Her resignation is effective Dec. 31. Josefoski, 36, announced her intention to resign earlier this month. She said she did not have enough...

Kristen Miller didn’t think twice about getting the covid vaccine. The intensive care unit registered nurse at Allegheny Valley Hospital in Harrison on Friday was among the first workers in Allegheny Health Network to get a shot of Pfizer’s vaccine against the virus that has killed more than 300,000 in...

A New Kensington man was arraigned Wednesday on a felony charge of aggravated assault stemming from a fight in which two men suffered brain bleeds and one had skull fractures. Police charged Kenneth Lorenzo Johnson Jr., 32, on Nov. 17 in connection with the fight that happened June 12 at...