‘It was an impossibility’: Penn Township couple completes 500-mile Camino de Santiago pilgrimage
Penn Township couple Cheryl and Larry Sturm don’t consider themselves hikers. That’s an ironic statement for a pair who traversed a 500-mile trail from France to Spain in just 40 days. Cheryl, 70, and Larry, 73, are lifelong Penn Township residents. Larry started Sturm Plumbing along Harrison City’s Route 130...
Monroeville area: Car cruise, upcoming festivals, Steel City Con, more
Car cruise The Rev’d Up Car Cruise will take place from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. July 27 in Monroeville. It will be at 101 Mall Blvd., and the afternoon will feature new and vintage cars, food trucks, live music and more. Those seeking to display a car can register...
Paws-itive effort: Stella’s Snack Shack, a little free pantry in Shaler, helps pet owners in need
There wouldn’t be any need to find new homes for pets if they could be kept in the ones they already have. That’s part of why Emily Marie Boehler has put up a little free pet pantry near her home in Shaler, so people in need can feed their dogs...
Embroiderers at Glenshaw Public Library document Pa.’s history for ‘America’s Tapestry’ project
Local embroiderers are spending their Thursday evenings for the next year at the Glenshaw Public Library, stitching the Pennsylvania panel for the “America’s Tapestry” exhibition, which is scheduled to be completed in time for the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence’s signing. Raven Fagelson, state co-director of the Pennsylvania...
Monroeville Rotary uses fundraiser proceeds to help combat hunger
Monroeville Rotary’s Taste of Spring fundraiser netted $8,200 to fight hunger in the community. Approximately 125 people gathered at Events on Ten in the Jonnett Building to make the event the largest Rotary fundraiser in recent years. Fourteen vendors and multiple sponsors assisted. “We are thrilled to say that the...
Gateway school board tables 2 items, revisits cellphone policy
Gateway school board is holding off on a decision regarding a new food service vehicle and electronic scoreboard. The district is down one food service vehicle and discussed the purchase a cargo van for food delivery within the district. Directors Robin Mungo and Jack Bova questioned the need for a...
4 more Hempfield fire stations take steps toward the township managing their affairs
Four Hempfield fire departments are taking additional steps toward dissolving their charters and moving under township management. The township’s Carbon and Hempfield No. 2 fire departments passed declarations of intent to dissolve in June. If approved by the Hempfield supervisors during the board’s meeting Monday, the departments will have taken...
Forward Township sunflower farm serves as great setting for photosVideo
The Schwirian Farm Sunflower Festival in Forward Township returned this year after drought conditions and hungry deer wiped out the sunflower blossoms, forcing a cancellation in 2024. The event runs from rom 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily through July 31. Admission is free. Parking is $5. A section of...
Close call! Passing train scuffs side view mirror of tractor-trailer rig parked next to tracks
A tragedy was barely averted Wednesday when a passing train scuffed the side-view mirror of a truck parked next to the train tracks in Natrona. Harrison police responded to the Vine Street railroad crossing after receiving a report that a train had clipped the side of a
tractor-trailer. Police found...
5 things travelers can expect at the new Pittsburgh International Airport terminal
Coming back from a trip will have never felt so good — no more landing at the Pittsburgh International Airport after an incredible trip, only to be met by depressing carpeting and dated 1990s design. The airport is getting a $1.7 billion glow-up via a new terminal. Pittsburgh International Airport...
Fraud case dismissed against Leechburg contractor
A judge on Wednesday dismissed the criminal case against a Leechburg contractor charged with defrauding a Unity couple in connection with a $59,000 home improvement project they claimed was never completed. Westmoreland County Common Pleas Court Judge Tim Krieger ruled prosecutors had insufficient evidence to prove that Dawayne W. Redmond,...
Man found dead in Monongahela River in Pittsburgh identified
Officials have ruled that a body found in the Monongahela River on Wednesday afternoon was the result of a suicide. Philip Joseph Scholl, 45 of Pittsburgh’s South Side was found dead shortly before 4 p.m., according to an Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office report. Pittsburgh police, river rescue and emergency...
In brief: Happenings in the North Allegheny area
Conservancy, church team up for family festival The Bradford Woods Conservancy is combining its 18th annual Storytelling Night with Bradford Woods Community Church for the Into the Woods Family Festival. The event will be from 5 to 9 p.m. July 25 at the church, 4836 Wexford Run Road. There will...
Yarmulke-wearing inmate appears in Westmoreland County court
A Mt. Pleasant man attended a court hearing Wednesday with a yarmulke on his head, a week after he was denied transport from the county jail to the courthouse because he refused to remove it. Kort Noel Eckman, 49, sported a white head covering decorated with a floral pattern during...
Bacteria risks found at all Lake Erie beaches in Pennsylvania, report says
Health risks were found at all of Lake Erie’s Pennsylvania beaches last year, a new report says. The beaches tested in 2024 were found to be potentially unsafe for swimming on at least one day, according to the PennEnvironment Research & Policy Center’s latest analysis of bacteria testing titled “Safe...
Ross approves minimum distance of 3,000 feet between medical marijuana businesses
The prospect of upwards of 19 medical marijuana businesses along McKnight Road didn’t sit well with Ross Commissioner Denise Rickenbrode. That’s why, she says, she asked her fellow commissioners to triple the minimum distance between them from 1,000 feet to 3,000 feet. All but one agreed with her and approved...
‘Call to action’: Pittsburgh controller warns of ‘precarious’ city finances
Pittsburgh Controller Rachael Heisler on Wednesday warned that the city’s finances are “precarious” and urged officials to cut spending while growing the local economy. In the first half of the year, the city spent $24 million more than during the same period in 2024, Heisler said. That happened even though...
Community Supermarket in Harrison set to close
Harrison is losing one of its longest-standing grocery stores. Community Supermarket in Heights Plaza is set to close this fall. Richard Lubkin, asset manager of Heights Plaza Shopping Center, called the store a mainstay appreciated by thousands. “We are deeply disappointed that Giant Eagle affiliate, Community Market, has opted to...
Penn Hills School District welcomes therapy pilot program
Penn Hills School District officials are prioritizing mental health. Kristin Brown, director of pupil services, said Pittsburgh Mercy’s integrated school-based therapy program has been implemented in the district. “We wanted students to feel more comfortable,” Brown said. While the district has had school-based therapy until a contract ended during the...
Judge refuses to end lawsuit by U.S. Steel, Nippon against Cleveland-Cliffs
Despite the successful $14.9 billion merger of U.S. Steel and Nippon Steel, attorneys for both companies said Wednesday they plan to proceed with a lawsuit against steelmaker Cleveland-Cliffs and the head of the United Steelworkers union for allegedly conspiring against them to try to block the deal. Cleveland-Cliffs had been...
Enson Market reopens in Pittsburgh after health violations
A new supermarket in Pittsburgh’s East End has reopened after the Allegheny County Health Department ordered its closure earlier this month. Enson Market, an Asian American grocery store in North Point Breeze, is one of 32 locations nationwide offering food products from over 28 countries. Before failing to meet food...
Iron Horse to stage ‘Coach and Mrs. Jagoff,’ written by Pine man and inspired by true story
A play set in Western Pennsylvania will debut in August at Iron Horse Theatre Company in Ambridge. The two-act play “Coach and Mrs. Jagoff” features main characters Jake Sebastian, a successful high school football coach and his wife, Lynn, who live in Fisk, a declining industrial town. “(The Sebastians) employ...
Lawsuit claims West Mifflin school board retaliated against former athletic director
West Mifflin Area School District’s former longtime athletic director and boys basketball coach is suing the district and five board members, alleging retaliation after his contract was not renewed. The complaint, filed Tuesday by Scott Stephenson in federal court, claims the district eliminated his position after he spoke out against...
Summer sounds for the dog days as Pittsburgh’s weather heats back up
Should we talk about the weather? Fans of alternative rock pioneers REM might smile at the oblique reference to “Pop Song 89,” opener to the band’s major label debut “Green.” Others might sigh, get up or stand as they sip a tall glass of Turner’s tea from a glass dripping...
Murrysville seeks funding help to upgrade Route 22 signal coordination
Murrysville officials want to upgrade the adaptive system used to coordinate Route 22 traffic lights through the town’s commercial corridor. “The system we have in place is about 12 years old, and we think it’s run its course,” Murrysville Chief Administrator Michael Nestico told council at its meeting this week....
