Patrick Varine stories, Page 115
Devout Brewing in Penn Township expands outdoor seatingVideo
It doesn’t typically get loud and rowdy at Devout Brewing in Penn Township. But if it did, co-owner Matt Joseph wouldn’t have to worry about complaints from the neighbors. Situated in the Bushy Run Corporate Park off Mellon Road, all of Joseph’s neighbors are pretty well cleared out by 6...
Food, music fill the air at Westmoreland Fair grounds this weekendVideo
The smell of burgers and barbecue smoke was in the air Friday night at the Westmoreland County Fairgrounds during the Food & Music Festival, the first time fair organizers have promoted their own food-truck event. “It’s great to be out serving food for the public,” said Jason Frye of Pleasant...
Donora man, 66, dies after jumping from Rostraver bridge
A man seen jumping from the Donora-Monessen bridge Friday afternoon died as a result of his injuries, according to the Washington County coroner. Thomas B. Matsick Jr., 66, of Donora was reportedle seen jumping from the eastbound side of the bridge, which carries traffic over the Monongahela River between Donora...
Covid forced Murrysville church to postpone bicentennial, will now celebrate 201 years
The congregation at Emmanuel Reformed Church of the United Church of Christ has plenty to celebrate, especially at a time when, according to Gallup polling, a majority of Americans say they do not belong to a church, synagogue or mosque. Results from the March survey marked the first time in...
Fayette undersea warfare systems company will expand in North Union, add 36 new jobs
A Fayette County manufacturer of undersea warfare systems will add more than 30,000 square feet to its North Union facility and add nearly 40 jobs, state officials announced Thursday. Advanced Acoustic Concepts, which provides undersea warfare, or USW, solutions for USW systems, sensors, weapons and trainers including the U.S. Navy,...
News and briefs in the greater Murrysville area for the week of June 17, 2021
Here are just some of the things happening in the Star’s coverage area in the coming weeks. To submit an event or a news brief, email pvarine@triblive.com. Murrysville enters into new trash contract Murrysville council voted 6-0 on June 16 to enter into a new five-year hauling and recycling contract...
Medic One among ambulance companies providing vaccines to homebound residents
When Excela Health, the Westmoreland County Department of Public Safety and the United Way began implementing a program to bring the coronavirus vaccine to homebound adults, Murrysville Medic One officials jumped in with both feet. “The medics have to be trained on how to do them and complete the paperwork,”...
History-buff dads can spend Father’s Day exploring Washington County museums for free
Does your dad like whiskey? If so, he can learn all about it — and the rebellion it engendered in Pennsylvania — for free on Father’s Day. The Washington County Tourism Promotion Agency and Washington County Heritage Alliance announced Free Museum Day on Sunday. From 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.,...
Westmoreland County Food Bank doubles number of Summer Food Service program sites
The Westmoreland County Food Bank had a ground-level picture of how the covid-19 pandemic affected food security for families in the region. Its staff members worked food distribution centers where people waited hours lined-up in cars to receive a box of food. That is a big part of why the...
Philips issues voluntary recall for CPAP machines, ventilators
Medical equipment company Philips has issued a recall on some products to address possible health risks associated with a foam component meant to help reduce noise. The polyester-based polyurethane foam in its Bi-Level Positive Airway Pressure (Bi-Level PAP), Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP), and mechanical ventilator devices could “degrade into...
Franklin Regional School Board to vote on 2021-22 budget next week
Franklin Regional School Board members will vote tonight on a 2021-22 budget with a bit less spending and a little more revenue, but not enough to stave off a proposed property tax hike to the state limit of just over 3 mills. As the board prepares for its final meeting...
Patient flown by medical helicopter following Hempfield crash
At least one patient was transported by medical helicopter from the scene of a single-vehicle crash Monday afternoon in Hempfield. Emergency officials responded to the intersection of Baltzer Meyer Pike and Hurst Road just before 4 p.m. for a report of a car that had gone off the roadway with...
Man in stable condition following Perry South shooting
A man was transported to a hospital in stable condition after being shot Saturday night in Pittsburgh’s Perry South neighborhood, according to police. Zone 1 officers responded around 9:35 p.m. to the 500 block of Chautauqua Street for a report of a male shot. They arrived to find a man...
More storms pelt Pittsburgh area with rain, wind, hail
A line of thunderstorms clogged roadway drains, downed trees and left standing water on roadways throughout the region Sunday. The weather cleared for much of the day until about 6 p.m., when more storms blew through, bringing with them more rain, wind and hail that pelted Pittsburgh and its northern...
Old-school hip-hop icons Rakim, Big Daddy Kane to perform at WPA Juneteenth at Point State ParkVideo
For the man born William Griffin Jr., the art and thrill of live performance is why he’s spent most of his life making hip-hop records. Helping to change the genre, itself, was just a happy accident. Better known to hip-hop fans as Rakim Allah — the Long Island, N.Y., MC...
Murrysville Export Democratic Club presents first Biden-Harris Community Service ScholarshipsVideo
Community service is important enough to U.S. Reps. Mike Doyle and Conor Lamb that it brought the two Democrats into solidly Republican territory in Murrysville on Saturday afternoon. “Hey, Conor, is this your district?” Doyle, D-Forest Hills, joked during the Murrysville Export Democratic Club’s first Biden-Harris Community Scholarship presentation, held...
Police respond to 2 Friday-night shootings in Hazelwood
Pittsburgh Police responded to two shootings within a mile of one another Friday night in the city’s Hazelwood neighborhood. Police and EMS were called to the intersection of Second and Flowers avenues around 11:40 p.m., arriving to find a woman who had been shot Police said she was alert. While...
News and briefs in the greater Murrysville area for the week of June 10, 2021
Here are just some of the things happening in the Star’s coverage area in the coming weeks. To submit an event or a news brief, email pvarine@triblive.com. Delmont shifts council meetings back to borough building Delmont officials will move the monthly council meetings back to the borough building, after a...
‘Loki’ gets a rude awakening, reality check in series premiere
***SPOILERS AHEAD FOR BASICALLY THE ENTIRE MARVEL CINEMATIC/DISNEY+ UNIVERSE*** Let me start by saying I feel I can speak confidently for all of us Marvel fans with day jobs, in roundly denouncing Disney+’s decision to release its new series episodes early in the day. We’re now forced to avoid nearly...
National Westmoreland Glass Collectors Club show, convention returns this weekend
Despite growing up in the area, Ken Kosoglow never purchased any Westmoreland Glass when the company was still in operation. But, over the past two decades, he and his wife became enamored of the lamps, plates, glassware and other items the company produced during its nearly 100 years in business....
Delmont gives Apple’n Arts organizers the go-ahead to plan fall festival’s comeback
As more and more public events begin happening in the wake of slowing covid-19 infections, Delmont officials gave Apple’n Arts organizers the go-ahead to start preparing for a 2021 festival. “I’d say go for it, whatever you can do, do it,” borough Councilwoman Becky Matesevac said. The Delmont Apple’n Arts...
Patient flown from West Newton motorcycle crash
One patient was airlifted to an area hospital following a motorcycle crash in West Newton on Tuesday afternoon. Westmoreland County 911 officials said the crash involving a motorcycle and a tri-axle truck was reported around 3:45 p.m., near the intersection of Route 136 and Thelma Drive in West Newton. “From...
Contractor dispute forces Franklin Regional to use contingency funds for Sloan playground
Several Franklin Regional school directors have been critical of the cost of change orders associated with the district’s ongoing Sloan “elementary campus” project. Now, pending approval by the board’s legal counsel, they will dip into their construction contingency fund for more than a half-million dollars so students at the new...
Murrysville-Export-Delmont area adds only 2 covid cases in the last week
The most recent data from the state Department of Health shows only two new coronavirus cases in the Murrysville area in the past week. The health department this week released updated figures for the three ZIP codes that comprise the area. The new cases bring the total to 1,497 in...
Community mosaic project draws contributions from Pittsburgh and beyond
Shawn Gold of Butler was vacationing in Puerto Vallarta on the western coast of Mexico when he began noticing some of the striking public art installations in the area. “I looked into them and met a woman, Natasha Moraga, who is creating just unbelievable works of art, including community mosaics,”...
