Pennsylvania drivers invited to share feedback on road projects
Sick of orange barrels and detours dictating your commute? PennDOT wants to hear about it. The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation just opened an online survey for the public to submit feedback regarding its construction and maintenance services. Announced Tuesday, the survey will be open through Oct. 21. It’s titled the...
Pa. Senate Republicans look to forgive interest on state loans to help counties, Head Starts
Republican leaders in the state Senate said Tuesday they plan to introduce legislation to forgive the interest payments on Treasury loans designed to help county governments and Head Start providers weather Pennsylvania’s budget impasse. “They should not be penalized because of what is happening here in Harrisburg,” state Senate President...
West Deer officials weighing options for dog shelter expansion project
West Deer officials are narrowing expansion project options for the township’s dog shelter. The idea was born last year when operations moved from the township’s old building to its new location on Union Road. The shelter’s head volunteer, Barb Pasquale, 74, approached the township supervisors about expanding the shelter. It...
Police searching for driver of vehicle stolen in Ross, crashed in Shaler
Police were looking for a person who fled after crashing a stolen vehicle Tuesday morning in Shaler. According to Ross police, its officers followed a stolen vehicle out of Ross into Shaler and tried to stop it on Mt. Royal Boulevard near the Shaler North Hills Library. Shaler police deployed...
Pittsburgh bars landlords from discriminating based on homelessness
Pittsburgh landlords can no longer turn down potential tenants because they are or have been homeless. City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved a measure that bars housing discrimination based on homelessness and a variety of other types of housing status, including lack of rental history and having previously lived in...
State lawmakers to host senior health fair in Oakmont
Pennsylvania Sen. Jay Costa, D-Forest Hills, and state Rep. Joe McAndrew, D-Penn Hills, want to talk health. The two state lawmakers will host a free health and senior fair on Oct. 9 in Oakmont to discuss community services and resources with attendees. Starting at 10 a.m., seniors from any community...
Grocery wars heat up as Midwestern chain Meijer pushes into Western Pa.
Meijer, the Michigan-based grocery chain known for its sprawling supercenters, is coming to Western Pennsylvania. Fresh off its expansion in Northeast Ohio, Meijer is pushing across the state line and acquiring properties in Western Pennsylvania, spokeswoman Erin Cataldo confirmed Tuesday to TribLive. The stores do not have opening dates. “Our...
Bishops join to bless memorial to late Harrison restaurant owner
The garden at St. Joseph High School in Natrona Heights will forever honor one of the school’s graduates. On Monday, Bishops Mark Eckman of the Diocese of Pittsburgh and Larry Kulick of the Diocese of Greensburg joined to bless the garden in memory of Domenico Schiano di Cola, co-owner of...
Norwin library to host pet care program
Tips on taking care of your pets will be offered during a pet care program at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 1 at the Norwin Public Library, Caruthers Lane, Irwin. Representatives from St. Francis Animal Hospital in North Huntingdon will provide pet lovers with information on what to do during an emergency,...
Judge pauses Pittsburgh’s plans for bike lane on Strip District’s Penn Avenue
A judge on Monday pushed pause on Pittsburgh’s plans to eliminate a lane of traffic on a bustling stretch of Penn Avenue through the Strip District. Judge Alan Hertzberg granted an injunction for the Strip District Business Association, a group that sued the city earlier this month over the proposed...
The Stroller, Sept. 30, 2025: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
Publicize your non-profit’s community events, fundraisers and club meetings for free in The Stroller. Send information at least two weeks in advance to vndnews@triblive.com or The Stroller, 210 Wood St., Tarentum PA 15084. Please include a daytime telephone number. Follow the Stroller on X at @VNDStroller. Pet food, supplies needed...
Judge withdraws from Westmoreland County prison board
Westmoreland County’s jail oversight board for now will operate without representation from the court. Prison Board Chairman Doug Chew said Monday during the board’s monthly meeting that Common Pleas Judge Harry Smail Jr. has withdrawn from the body that includes the three county commissioners, Sheriff James Albert, District Attorney Nicole...
Older, disabled Pennsylvanians bear brunt of home care staffing crisis
Lisa Sprague does what she can on her own, but nerve damage caused by multiple sclerosis means she needs help getting out of bed, bathing and completing other daily tasks. The state pays for 13 hours of care every day at her Harmar home, a bungalow retrofitted with a wheelchair...
Fayette County mom imprisoned in daughter’s starvation death walks free after evidence crumbles
A Fayette County woman who pleaded no contest to murdering her daughter and spent a decade in prison is now free after serious questions were raised about the prosecution’s key evidence. The Fayette County District Attorney’s Office last week withdrew a homicide charge against Andrea Dusha, who was accused of...
Franklin Park teen establishes nonprofit clothing company to help victims of domestic abuse
A North Allegheny senior is putting her heart where her needle is. Patricia Rae Shanahan of Franklin Park is the owner of Heart and Hem, a nonprofit that designs and sells clothes to raise money and awareness for survivors of domestic abuse, with proceeds directly benefiting the Women’s Center &...
Westmoreland commissioners cancel public meetings amid state budget crisis
Because there’s no money to spend, Westmoreland County commissioners say, there is no need to conduct this week’s regularly scheduled public meetings at the courthouse. Commissioners canceled their agenda meeting set for Tuesday morning and Thursday’s public voting session in response to the ongoing state budget impasse that has halted...
Suspect in 2024 Stowe homicide taken into custody in Maryland
A Stowe homicide suspect on the run for nearly a year was taken into custody Monday in Maryland. Dacahary Sampson, 32, is charged with shooting and killing James Nelson Jr., 42, of McKees Rocks, the afternoon of Aug. 12, 2024, along the 400 block of Pleasant Ridge Road. The U.S....
Son charged with killing his father in East Pittsburgh turns himself in
A son charged with killing his father after an argument in East Pittsburgh earlier this month has turned himself in to police. Tayron Reid, 19, was taken into custody Monday, Allegheny County Police reported. He is charged with criminal homicide for the murder of 45-year-old Ta’Ron Reid, who was found...
Carbon monoxide, gas alarms triggered before fatal explosion at U.S. Steel Clairton facility, authorities say
Carbon monoxide and gas alarms were triggered leading up to a fatal explosion at the U.S. Steel Clairton Coke Works site Aug. 11, according to information released by the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board. Preliminary investigations into the blast, released Monday by the CSB, indicate the explosion occurred...
Traffic resumes on Pittsburgh’s Herron Avenue Bridge after safety repairs
Pittsburgh officials have reopened the Herron Avenue Bridge to traffic after a four-month closure. In May, an independent consultant and the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation said there were safety issues with columns supporting the bridge, which connects the city’s Polish Hill and Lawrenceville neighborhoods and spans the Martin Luther King...
Mt. Pleasant Twp. man pleads guilty in December shooting incident
A Mt. Pleasant Township man was sentenced Monday to serve up to five years in prison in connection with a shooting incident in December 2024. Police claimed he and his father chased a motorist and fired multiple rounds during the incident. Paul Anthony Caletri III, 31, pleaded guilty to one...
Penn Township Police chief retires, reflects on 30-year career in department
John Otto’s interest in policing began as an elementary student. “One day walking to school, there was a police car parked outside of Harrison Park Elementary School, and that caught my attention,” the Penn-Trafford graduate said. “I remember looking inside the car from the sidewalk … and I was mesmerized...
Allegheny County steps in to maintain bus stops at Waterfront
Just days after announcing plans to close several Pittsburgh Regional Transit bus stops inside The Waterfront shopping mall in Homestead, county officials have reached a temporary agreement to keep the stops open. Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato said Monday that buses will continue to stop directly outside the Giant Eagle...
North Hills gathers on World Peace Day, champions late nun’s mission for social justice
Community members gathered Sept. 21 in North Park for the 21st North Hills International Day of Peace celebration hosted by La Roche University and several local organizations. Sarah White, executive director of inclusion and belonging at La Roche, said the annual event is an important opportunity for friends and neighbors...
Fed-up Starbucks baristas stage ‘practice picket’ in Pittsburgh
Unionized Starbucks baristas say sudden store closures last weekend, including three in Pittsburgh, prove they need a contract with the coffeehouse chain. Lack of a contract leaves little legal recourse to hold the company accountable for closings and layoffs, said Cas Borowitz, a Workers United staff organizer and barista at...
