Tawnya Panizzi stories, Page 29

Springdale Council President Mitchell Karaica has announced his candidacy for Lower Valley district judge. “Having lived in the magisterial district for 48 of my 50 years, I have a personal stake in the safety and well-being of all five communities and strongly relate to the needs and concerns of the...

Plans to extend the Three Rivers Heritage Trail through Cheswick are inching closer to reality. The public can weigh in on potential designs during an open house Wednesday at the Cheswick Volunteer Fire Department. Friends of the Riverfront, the nonprofit that oversees the Heritage Trail, is seeking input on construction...

Aspinwall businesses got a big shout-out during Catholic Schools Week from students at Christ the Divine Teacher Catholic Academy. Students trekked through the busy corridors of Brilliant and Commercial avenues to deliver hand-drawn posters and cards to merchants which share the neighborhood with the private school. “One of our greatest...

Highlands Middle School students were dismissed early Friday after a threat was made to the school, district leaders said Monday. Details of the incident and the nature of the threat were not released by the district. A statement from Superintendent Monique Mawhinney did not disclose who made the threat or...

Ongoing upgrades to the UPMC St. Margaret hospital campus near Aspinwall will boost safety for patients, staff and visitors, hospital leaders said. A switch to LED lights in the parking areas is a key component of the project. Work cost about $50,000 for 96 new lights in the parking and...

The Harrison commissioners are eyeing a $640,000 sewer project to help ease overflows in the neighborhoods near Sylvan Park Pool. The Little Bull Creek sanitary sewer upgrade is being done to comply with a years-old consent decree from the federal government. “It is a complicated project, but we hope to...

The closing of the Walmart store in The Waterworks mall dampened collection efforts by Salvation Army bell ringers and caused a shortfall in the annual fundraising campaign, leaders at the Allegheny Valley Corps in Brackenridge said. “With that store not available to us, and some other situations, we’re facing a...

ATI had a strong finish in 2022 with fourth-quarter sales of $1 billion, company officials announced Thursday. It is an increase of more than 30% over the same time period in 2021. “We’re executing expertly against robust markets,” CEO Bob Wetherbee said in a release by the company, which moved...

Janice Friel-Kaufman grew up in Harrison in an ardent military family. Her father was an Army lieutenant; one uncle was a Navy bombardier who was shot down over the Pacific; another uncle was a Marine Corps pilot who flew the first rescue missions into Okinawa. There were several others. “I...

Maggie (Baird) Griffith first fell in love with musical theater at 5, when she and her mother would sit in the audience at Highlands High School and dance along in their seats with whatever ballads or toe-tapping numbers were being performed. “I just couldn’t get enough of the life and...

The Rev. Helen Burton believes there has never been a better time to preach Martin Luther King Jr.’s messages of unity. “He was always teaching about love and caring for others,” said Burton, pastor at First AME Church in Clairton. “These days, it appears to be every person for themselves,...

Highlands administrators will get an edge in their battle against the popular — but unhealthy and illegal — teen habit of vaping. Detectors will be installed in restrooms at the middle and high schools in the coming weeks to notify officials when students are puffing inside the stalls. “Vaping is...

The Brackenridge street where fallen police Chief Justin McIntire was killed could be renamed in his honor if a longtime resident has her way. Family friend Debbie Beale is spearheading the effort to rename Third Avenue, where the 46-year-old chief grew up and also where he was killed during a...

Harrison’s new manager, Amy Rockwell, has hit the ground running. She began her stint Jan. 16 after the township went three months without an administrative head. John Pallone resigned his post in September after six months on the job. Rockwell is a resident of Lower Burrell, where she most recently...

The degree to which a second person was complicit in the shooting death of Brackenridge police Chief Justin McIntire or whether the person was involved in other local criminal activity is expected to be determined in the coming weeks. Police are investigating a man who was spotted multiple times with...

The halls are buzzing at Highlands Middle School since the launch of a new student-run initiative: The Golden Bean Coffee Shop. Twice a day, apron-clad teens scurry between classrooms to deliver coffee, tea and hot chocolate to thirsty teachers, many of whom have become loyal customers. “It’s kind of cool...

The lights and sounds of the 2023 Chick-fil-A Pittsburgh Kids Marathon will be dialed back briefly for the event’s first-ever sensory inclusive heat. “Our mission is to inspire any and all to move, and this offers that chance for people who might not feel comfortable in a large crowd,” said...

Brackenridge police returned to the job Sunday, nearly three weeks after Chief Justin McIntire was shot and killed during a pursuit. In the days following his death, police from across the region volunteered to cover patrols so borough officers could grieve. Limited manpower in the borough will require continued assistance...

Julia Strzesieski graduated from Highlands in 1979 and hit the road for California. She graduated from San Francisco State University and spent 42 years building an award-winning marketing career with a focus on sustainability efforts. Now, the 61-year-old is back in Harrison in hopes of using her experience to bolster...

A prime piece of commercial real estate is for sale in Harrison. Bird Dog’s Sports Bar & Grill, a 7,000-square-foot space along Freeport Road, is on the market. The asking price is $749,900. The restaurant opened at 2615 Freeport Road in October 2018 by township resident Bruce Daniels and his...

Free EMT training by the Allegheny-Kiski Health Foundation will help stop the bleed for ambulance services hit hard by dwindling funding and worker shortages, local officials said. John Pastorek, president of the Harrison-based foundation, said his group will pay up to $21,000 to cover EMT training for 21 students, beginning...

An O’Hara bakery renowned for its award-winning donuts is temporarily closed. Periwinkle’s Bakery & Cafe — a spinoff from the original, popular 1970s Harmar bakery — shut down in late 2022. A sign posted to the door of the RIDC Park location cites a worker shortage as the problem. “We...

Anyone who missed the chance to buy a memorial T-shirt for fallen Brackenridge police Chief Justin McIntire will have another chance next week. Considering the merchandise at the first sale Jan. 14 sold out in 25 minutes, lines are expected to be long, organizer Shasta Biricocchi said. More than 4,000...

A one-woman play that examines the rights of women in the first half of the 19th century will be performed during a February meeting of the Fox Chapel affiliate of the American Association of University Women. “Fanny Kemble at the Slave Plantation” is a 40-minute production to honor Black History...

An O’Hara bakery renowned for its award-winning donuts is temporarily closed. Periwinkle’s Bakery & Cafe — a spinoff from the original, iconic 1970s Harmar bakery — shut down in late 2022. A sign posted to the door of the RIDC Park location cites a worker shortage as the problem. “We...