Brian C. Rittmeyer stories, Page 78

Renovation work on the band shell in Tarentum’s Riverview Memorial Park was scheduled to start Saturday, borough manager Michael Nestico said. Council is waiting for that work to be finished before considering a request for a memorial to a local musician there or an idea for another memorial to many...

John Pallone’s tenure as superintendent of New Kensington-Arnold School District ended July 31, but for the next four months he’ll collect twice as much money from the district as he did when he was district chief. A severance agreement approved as part of his resignation guarantees him a full-year’s salary,...

New Kensington will urge its state representatives to repeal the law that legalized fireworks in Pennsylvania. In a resolution city council approved Monday, the city said it will make the request “since calls for more local control over the usage of commercial fireworks has been largely ignored by the Pennsylvania...

Tarentum has increased by at least six times a penalty imposed on residents who have excessive calls for police and other emergency and public safety services. The ordinance council approved Tuesday replaces a 14-year-old ordinance, which had imposed a $50 “surtax” for each police response in excess of three every...

A project to replace part of the leaking roof at Roy A. Hunt Elementary has more than doubled in size and cost to include all of the school’s roof. New Kensington-Arnold School Board member Steven Sorch, who voted against the project’s enlargement, said he had no idea how the district...

Two men in their 20s died Sunday in a head-on crash involving two motorcycles in Mercer County, according to state police. State police identified the deceased as Garrett J. Arnold, 22, of Greenville, and Cage C. Shook, 22, of Hadley. The crash happened around 1:45 a.m. on County Line Road...

Arnold is proposing to spend nearly half of a federal grant to pay for resurfacing Richmond Street. City residents will get a chance to comment on that, and other proposed uses for the more than $300,000 grant, during a public hearing scheduled for 7 p.m. Aug. 11 at the public...

A former Highlands elementary teacher will get $105,000 as part of an agreement settling his federal lawsuit alleging the district had violated his rights. The Highlands School Board approved the settlement with Jason Smith on June 22. The district released details of the settlement Friday in response to a Right-to-Know...

New Kensington-Arnold School Board approved a severance agreement with the district’s departing superintendent without having a finished document in writing, according to several members of the school board. During a meeting Tuesday where the board accepted John Pallone’s resignation effective Friday, board member John DeAntonio asked when the board would...

The Highlands School District will use a hybrid approach with students learning both in school and remotely when the upcoming school year starts Aug. 27. Under the plan, approved by the school board this week, students will be divided into two groups, with one attending classes in person on Mondays...

A fundraiser for the family of a 2-year-old New Kensington boy who drowned is planned for this weekend in the city. The event includes a silent auction, Chinese auction and yard sale, said Nicole Contreras, a friend and co-worker of Dominique Kemp, mother of Cassius Alexander Saulsgiver. Saulsgiver died July...

Allegheny County received more than 100 comments about a project to create a shared pedestrian and bicycle lane on Springhill Road in Harrison. The path would be between North Canal Street and McWilliams Drive. Springhill Road, now four lanes up and down the hill, would be reduced to three lanes,...

New Kensington-Arnold Superintendent John Pallone announced Tuesday that he is resigning from his post with the school district. Pallone said he is stepping down effective at midnight Friday. In a statement, Pallone said he has no “strong desire” to leave but “circumstances have made it clear that this decision is...

Allegheny County Police are investigating after a 2-year-old boy died four days after being found in a swimming pool in Harrison. The boy, Cassius Alexander Saulsgiver of New Kensington, died July 20, less than a month before his third birthday. The incident happened July 16 at a home in the...

The New Kensington-Arnold School District will attempt to bring all students back to school this fall, but nearly half of parents might choose remote learning. The district will require all students and staff to wear face masks or shields in schools and on buses, according to the district’s return plan....

Gas prices are stuck in neutral, with oil prices not rising despite a small rebound in demand for fuel, an industry analyst said. A small rise in gasoline demand last week appears likely to continue into this week, said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis for GasBuddy. “The recovery...

Anthony Grillo knew as a boy that he wanted to be a police officer, and that’s what he became. “I’ve been in uniform my whole life,” said Grillo, 49, a native of Lower Burrell. “I just knew what I wanted to do in life.” Grillo is retiring from law enforcement...

A hearing for a Fawn police officer fighting for his job was cut short Monday over concerns a township supervisor participating by telephone could not hear. Complicating matters was that, because of covid-19, the hearing was held outdoors with participants wearing face masks and physically distanced. Keith Lazaron II, 35,...

Saying he was “erring on the side of transparency,” Gov. Tom Wolf allowed legislation requiring his administration to process Right-to-Know Law requests during emergency declarations to become law without his signature. Wolf previously said he would veto the legislation. Unanimously approved in both chambers, House Bill 2463 requires all agencies...

A Lower Burrell nursing home is being used by its parent company to house and treat covid-19 patients. In a statement issued Sunday, Guardian Elder Care confirmed it is using Belair Healthcare & Rehabilitation on Little Drive as a dedicated covid-19 recovery unit. According to the Pennsylvania Department of Health,...

One of two men charged with robbing a Butler County woman in June was apprehended in Florida, according to state police. State police allege that Marcos Roman, 38, currently of Butler and Ramon Enrique Acevedo-Carrasquillo, 34, of Ocala, Fla. followed a woman home from a store and forcibly took her...

An expiring lease and concerns over the coronavirus pandemic combined to shutter a restaurant that has stood on Mt. Washington for a decade. Shiloh Grill, one of three Harris Grill locations, announced Saturday that it will be closing on Tuesday. The other locations, in Shadyside and Downtown, are not affected....

Dish Network customers in Pittsburgh are no longer able to view NBC affiliate WPXI on their satellite television service. Each side is blaming the other. WPXI claims it was removed from Dish after the satellite provider refused to agree to a deal for a new retransmission consent agreement with its...