Mary Ann Thomas stories, Page 39

Those who are boating while under the influence of alcohol or drugs may face penalties similar to those for people who are caught driving under the influence as measures to stiffen the law are gaining support in the Pennsylvania Legislature. The state House and a state Senate committee overwhelmingly passed...

State Sen. Jim Brewster, D-McKeesport, is calling for Pennsylvania to modernize fishing licenses so anglers can display them on mobile devices. Anglers now have to carry paper licenses. Senate Bill 1074, authored by Brewster, would delete the phrase “written in ink” so that an angler could use his or her...

A lineup of outdoor events is planned in June at Freedom Farms in Butler County’s Middlesex Township, including goat yoga this Saturday and a barbecue dinner with beer on Sunday. With Butler County going to the green phase of Gov. Tom Wolf’s reopening plan on Friday, Freedom Farms had events...

Two people have been sworn in to fill Apollo Council seats vacated by members who resigned over differences with council’s leadership. Councilwomen Ashley Stiffy and Nancy Walker resigned in April over a number of issues, including the removal of Stiffy from the public safety committee over hiring procedures for part-time...

Hundreds of kayaks have taken to the Kiski and Youghiogheny rivers over recent weekends while a Pittsburgh store specializing in kayaks reports a surge in sales. “You can’t get more naturally social distanced than you can in a kayak,” said Chris Kaminski, co-owner of 3 Rivers Outdoors Co. in the...

Pennsylvania will open 58 beaches in state parks for swimming June 6, with state park pools to begin opening a week later, the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources announced. Pools at parks in counties under yellow or green pandemic phases will open June 13. Pennsylvania has 121 state parks....

Young black bears are on the move in Western Pennsylvania. The Pennsylvania Game Commission reports that bear sightings are up this year, thanks in part to cooler-than-usual temperatures in May that brought more bears out during the daytime and also because more people have been staying home because of the...

Cheswick Council passed a resolution Wednesday to hold its public meetings in person at the spacious Cheswick Volunteer Fire Co. hall. Council met at the fire hall Wednesday night, with borough officials and two members of the public attending. The vote retroactively authorized that meeting and future ones to be...

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation will again grant an extension for the expiration of driver’s licenses, identification cards and learner’s permits because of the continuing covid-19 restrictions. Driver’s licenses, photo ID cards and learner’s permits set to expire on March 16 or after have been extended until June 30. Gov....

The former Colfax Upper Elementary School in Springdale is on the market for $1.9 million. Allegheny Valley School Board last week entered into a six-month contract with commercial real estate agent CBRE, Inc. to see if there is interest in the shuttered building. The school board agreed to sign an...

With local asphalt plants back in business, that means road patching and paving season is finally here for municipalities across the region — including Lower Burrell and its new public works director. “We are behind schedule because of the coronavirus, but we do have our paving plan finalized,” said Todd...

The Northern Snakehead fish, an aggressive invasive species that displaces local fish, has moved deeper into Pennsylvania’s lower Susquehanna River outside of Lancaster. The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission (PFBC) issued a statement Friday urging anglers to report and kill any invasive Northern Snakehead caught in the lower Susquehanna River....

Cheswick Council President Paul Jack said Thursday he is resigning to give someone else a chance to serve. “I’ve completed everything I wanted to complete. If I leave now, they can put someone in there who can be in office for a better part of a year and decide if...

More than 25 people are homeless after a fast-moving fire Thursday afternoon destroyed the third floor of the Cedar Crest Apartments along Puckety Church Road in Lower Burrell. No one was injured. The fire likely started in the building’s attic and burned for a while before breaking out into a...

The Feeding Freeport drive-by meal program got a boost from Frito-Lay with a semi tractor-trailer loaded with Doritos, baked Ruffles potato chips, popcorn and more, much of it in individual servings. Feeding Freeport is a pop-up community effort that’s been at work since March 17 helping area residents impacted by...

With two male suitors for one female, and two eggs to tend, uncertainties abound at the top of the University of Pittsburgh’s Cathedral of Learning, the region’s most popular nesting site for the peregrine falcon. The drama of peregrine falcon couples in Oakland, Downtown Pittsburgh, Tarentum and elsewhere is closely...

An outbreak of covid-19 cases has been reported for the Pleasant Ridge Mature Living personal care home in Allegheny Township, although authorities aren’t releasing the number of cases or if there have been any deaths. At least not yet. The Pennsylvania Department of Health plans to start releasing Monday the...

A social event for 91 years, the Springdale Volunteer Fire Department’s jubilee is canceled this summer because of coronavirus pandemic restrictions. Will it be the fireworks, the parade or amusement rides that thousands of patrons will miss the most? Likely everything, said Michael Ziencik, a borough councilman and treasurer of...

What’s better than two days a year of free fishing without a license? Four days of free fishing. State Rep. Bill Kortz, D- Dravosburg, wants to double the number of free fishing days in the state from two to four. As it stands now, the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission...

A Cheswick councilman whose company specializes in chemicals is planning to give away two free eight-ounce bottles of hand sanitizer per household for Allegheny Valley School District residents. The distribution will run from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. May 22 at the Springdale Volunteer Fire Department hall, 845 Lincoln Ave....

Two occupants of a van were taken to UPMC Presbyterian hospital Wednesday morning after a train clipped the vehicle at the Blockdale Street crossing off Pittsburgh Street in Cheswick. The incident happened just before 7:30 a.m. The Norfolk Southern crossing remained closed late Wednesday morning as authorities investigated. Allegheny Valley...

The Allegheny Valley School Board is expected to vote Tuesday, May 19 on a preliminary budget for next school year that does not include a property tax hike. The 2020-2021 preliminary budget amounts to $26.6 million. The school real estate tax rate will hold at 20.8377 mills. The owner of...

A Springdale man is accused of hitting a borough worker with his vehicle for the second time in less than a year. Springdale police Chief George Polnar said the latest incident happened Friday when Andrew Palyarik, 68, drove at the worker as he was repairing a drain on Colfax Street....