Tawnya Panizzi stories, Page 52

Tarentum residents will pay the same in taxes next year but costs for water use and garbage collection will increase. Council approved the borough’s $11 million budget with a vote of 5-0. Members Lou Ann Homa and Adam Blythe were absent. The property tax rate will remain at 5.48 mills,...

The head of Allegheny Valley Hospital has been named to the Top 100 Women Leaders in Medicine by online group Women We Admire. Dr. Vicenta Gaspar-Yoo, president of the Harrison facility, was noted for her acute direction of health care delivery and for spearheading changes that impact patient outcomes. “I...

An Aspinwall pharmacist has been honored for lengthy public service that includes flood relief efforts, mission trips to Honduras and volunteering with the Boy Scouts. She has walked for diabetes awareness and educated teens on safe dating practices. For her tireless commitment to a healthy community, Trish Klatt, a borough...

YeePing Lucia Wong Yip, born in China and raised in Hong Kong, worked as a cancer researcher for nearly four decades before reigniting her childhood passion for art. Paintings by the Indiana Township neuroscientist-turned-artist are on exhibit at Cooper-Siegel Community Library in Fox Chapel. As an artist, Yip uses the...

Seven-year-old Marco Mangieri of West Deer was treated like a star during a red carpet reveal of his photo included in a 2022 calendar by local nonprofit Superheroes Believe in Miracles. Dressed as Spiderman, Marco is one of 12 children featured in the group’s calendar. The youngster was diagnosed as...

A celebration of light in Fox Chapel will have to wait. Heavy rain predicted for Saturday has postponed the park conservancy’s Winter Solstice Lantern Walk until Saturday, Jan. 8. “For the safety of our guests, we have to push it back,” said Mandy Steele, councilwoman and conservancy co-founder. The lantern...

Tarentum Council spent the past several weeks tweaking its proposed $11 million budget for next year, but one thing has remained the same: Residents should not see a real estate tax increase. The property tax rate is expected to remain at 5.48 mills, the same as it has been for...

Salamander Park in Fox Chapel will transform into an illuminated wonderland for a winter walk on the longest night of the year. The Winter Solstice Lantern Walk, hosted by the Fox Chapel Parks Conservancy, will wrap up a year’s worth of fundraisers aimed at protecting the borough’s green spaces. “Well...

Allegheny RiverTrail Park will be filled with joy this holiday season. A pair of 7.5-foot signs that spell “joy” were manufactured by students from the Fox Chapel Area School District and will be unveiled during the park’s Shiver on the River event from 6 to 9 p.m. Dec. 17. “In...

Brackenridge residents will pay the same amount in property taxes next year after council approved the borough’s $1.1 million budget. Council voted Dec. 2 to maintain the real estate tax rate of 6.2 mills — the same as it has been since 2018. “It’s a tight budget,” Borough Secretary Denise...

The mammoth tree at UPMC St. Margaret Hospital is dazzling with hand-made décor, thanks to students from Christ the Divine Teacher Catholic Academy in Aspinwall. Third grade students from teacher Mira Fontana’s class and fourth graders from teacher Clare Yaksich’s class walked the few blocks from their school along Brilliant...

Highlands students will continue to wear masks through at least mid-January, regardless of an impending state Supreme Court ruling that could scrap the state mandate by Gov. Tom Wolf. The school board on Monday voted to keep masking policies in place for students, teachers and visitors on all district campuses...

Highlands School District will host a covid-19 vaccine clinic Dec. 14. The event is a partnership with UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. All three vaccines — Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson — will be offered. “We are providing increased access to the vaccines that will enable our students to...

Since at least the mid-1980s, the Agape Thrift Store in Harrison has been helping people boost their wardrobes and their self-esteem. The secondhand store nestled in the basement of the Grace United Methodist Church, at 1333 Freeport Road, opens its doors from 1 to 4 p.m. on Wednesdays. In just three...

What began 30 years ago with a few friends hoping to improve the lives of local children has blossomed into an annual fundraiser that pulls in sometimes more than $100,000 to make tangible change. The Women’s Board of Pittsburgh now comprises 70 members who work year-round to help children from...

A project to replace Tarentum’s street lights will save taxpayers more than $30,000, officials said. The savings won’t come through lower energy consumption, Manager Michael Nestico said, rather the lower cost of the light mechanism. “The street lights were already LED,” Nestico said. Borough leaders chose to rebuild the fittings...

When the late Mike Sopko enlisted in the Navy in 1943, he forged his dad’s signature. The 17-year-old’s draft letter arrived in the mail at his Arnold home and his parents made him a deal ­— get your diploma and you can enlist. “I (got early release) and left school...

It’s not your grandmother’s bingo. Tarentum’s recreation board is hosting an open-air, drive-thru event at the borough’s marina for a festive hour of bingo, raffles and socializing. It’s calling the event Scratch Off Bingo and it’s set for 1 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 9. The rain date is the following...

Safe sidewalks and park amenities in Aspinwall and Etna will be supported by a state grant, officials announced recently. The boroughs will share a nearly $515,000 grant through the Commonwealth Financing Authority. Friends of the Riverfront also will receive money to improve accessibility along the Three Rivers Water Trail. “The...

The pancakes at Fawn No. 1 volunteer fire department must be pretty tasty. Santa is scheduled to travel there on Sunday for breakfast. Local children are invited to join him from 10 a.m. to noon for pancakes, sausage and scrambled eggs. The event is a joint project between Fawn No....

Kathy Firestone has worked as a librarian for three decades and yet rarely has time to pick up a book. That might change soon. Firestone, of Allegheny Township, is retiring Saturday from her post as executive director at Community Library of Allegheny Valley in Harrison. “I have no plans,” she...

The Allegheny County Medical Examiner has identified the male victim in Wednesday’s double shooting in McCandless. A husband and wife died after the shooting in a parking lot of an apartment complex, according to Allegheny County Police. Liam Donavon Mascarenas, 23, of Lakewood died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, authorities...

Wilkinsburg police are seeking help to find a man last seen Thursday leaving his home, according to Tribune-Review news partner WPXI-TV. Marvase Spell, 25, left home at about 10:45 a.m. and sent a text to his mother shortly after that said he had been kidnapped. The text indicated that Spell...

Santa visited Hampton a little early this year — in the form of a resident named Al Todd. Todd has organized Al’s Bike Drive for several years. On Thursday, Todd conducted a caravan of 200 bikes down Route 8 from Wal Mart to the Wildwood Country Club. The bikes will...