Patrick Varine stories, Page 135

Patrick Varine
Patrick Varine
Pope Francis, first Latin American pontiff, dies at 88
Nominations open for Western Pennsylvania Environmental Awards
In 2019, Murrysville officials retrofitted a half-dozen storm water detention ponds, with plans to do the same for about a dozen more. That’s precisely the type of project that should be nominated for a Western Pennsylvania Environmental Awards, given annually by the Pennsylvania Environmental Council. The nomination period opened on...
State Rep. Valerie Gaydos introduces bill to shrink state legislature
After being in office for about a year, state Rep. Valerie Gaydos, R-Allegheny, thinks there might be a few too many seats in the chamber. Gaydos, 53, of Aleppo, recently introduced legislation which would cut legislative districts in Pennsylvania from 203 to 151, a move that would require amending the...
Helltown Brewing to host Tecmo Super Bowl tournament in Murrysville
For Dave Samuelson, tasting room manager at Helltown Brewing, the Sega Genesis console represented the apex of his video-game playing days, and one of the games Samuelson remembers playing best is Tecmo Super Bowl. “It was the first (football) game that had the real players,” said Samuelson, 45. “It had...
State police, Fayette DA will discuss possible North Union murder-suicide
State police said they suspect murder-suicide after the discovery of two bodies in a North Union Township home on New Year’s Day. Troopers were dispatched to a Republic Street home in the Fayette County township just before 4 p.m. on Jan. 1 for a report of two deceased individuals. Troopers...
Penn-Trafford telethon raises more than $65,000 for Make-a-Wish 
Penn-Trafford students raised more than $65,000 to help local children through the Make-a-Wish Foundation at their annual telethon Dec. 19. See the video above for a few numbers that will help put this year’s telethon in perspective....
Franklin Regional superintendent to be keynote speaker at chamber prayer breakfast
Gennaro Piraino, superintendent of the Franklin Regional School District, will give the keynote address at the Westmoreland County Chamber of Commerce’s annual prayer breakfast on Jan. 31. Piraino is the Superintendent of the Year as chosen by the Pennsylvania Association of School Administrators. The breakfast will mark the 45th year...
Former Pittsburgh man pleads guilty to his part in multi-state drug-trafficking ring
A former Pittsburgh resident pleaded guilty to his part in narcotics trafficking on Thursday, one of 37 defendants charged as part of a multi-state, large-scale investigation by the Greater Pittsburgh Safe Streets Task Force. According to U.S. Attorney Scott W. Brady, John Fedorka, 36, pleaded guilty to drug conspiracy and...
Ohio men plead guilty to string of regional pharmacy robberies in 2018
Two Ohio men pleaded guilty to their part in what law enforcement officials said was a rash of well-orchestrated pharmacy burglaries in 2018. Mohammed Jibril, 19, of Reynoldsburg, Ohio, and Arthur L. Worthy II, 21, of Columbus, Ohio, each pleaded guilty to three counts of conspiracy to commit armed pharmacy...
State police ID suspects in Westmoreland Mall assault
Three men who allegedly assaulted a girl inside the Westmoreland Mall in Hempfield Friday night have been identified by the state police in Greensburg. Police said in a tweet early Saturday morning they identified the suspects, but did not reveal their identities. Police did not reveal if any charges have...
Fire knocks out Comcast service in at least East Deer, Springdale, New Kensington
The fire that quickly consumed a home in East Deer and damaged two others has also burned through Comcast lines in the area, affecting service that was not restored until after 10 p.m. “This fire burned fiber of ours. We just got access to the site 15 minutes ago,” Comcast...
Unity woman touts importance, ease of donating stem cells 
While attending a Goo Goo Dolls concert at the Palace Theater in 2016, Cassandra Nedelco of Unity didn’t think twice about getting her cheek swabbed at a booth run by nonprofit DKMS, an international group that seeks to match stem cell and bone marrow donors with patients in need. It...
State rep Bob Brooks files for reelection in House’s 54th District
State representative and former Murrysville mayor Bob Brooks filed for reelection in the House’s 54th District. He will host a petition signing kick-off event from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Jan. 28 in Murrysville. “When I ran for state representative two years ago, I pledged to focus on people, not politics,...
Western Pa. received plenty of rain in 2019, but a record is unlikely
This year may have been one of the wettest in Pennsylvania history, but it’s got a few more inches to go if it wants to top the list. As of Friday , the Pittsburgh area recorded 51.64 inches of rain, according to the National Weather Service. Normal average annual precipitation...
Christmas Eve stabbing in New Stanton leads to assault charges
A couple’s fight late on Christmas Eve left a man with stab wounds and a New Stanton woman facing aggravated assault charges. State police initially responded to a 911 call from the mother of Julie L. Thomas, 21, who said she’d received text messages from Thomas that Jamel C. Miles...
Undecking the halls: How long do you leave your holiday decorations up?
When Shawn O’Mahony was growing up, it wasn’t unusual for his mother to let the Christmas tree stick around until Easter. That tradition didn’t carry over to her son. “When I decorated, the decorations were down before the new year,” said O’Mahony, a Penn Hills resident. “I like to start...
Sloan teachers, students move into first fully renovated classroom wing
When Sloan Elementary School teacher Janine Mickel attended a meeting with VEBH, the architects spearheading the design of the Sloan “elementary campus” project, she was told they “planned to bring the outdoors into the classroom.” Standing in a freshly renovated wing of the building that is complete and occupied by...
PennDOT: 6.6 million expected to travel Pa. Turnpike this holiday season
If you’re traveling the Pennsylvania Turnpike, while reading this on Christmas Eve — hopefully while sitting in the passenger’s seat — you’re among millions of motorists doing so this holiday season. PennDOT officials estimated about 6.6 million drivers will travel the turnpike through the first day of 2020. “We have...
TribLIVE Taste Test: Impossible Whopper and Beyond Burger 
Many a grillmaster bristles at the mere notion of putting a plant-based patty over their cherished charcoal. But with the rise of not just vegetarian burgers but now meat substitutes, the TribLIVE Taste Test team had to go and find out whether the new wave of plant-based meat analogs could...
Murrysville window-screen company will appear on ABC’s ‘Shark Tank’ in January 
Joe Altieri was taking a huge risk when he decided to leave his job in the window industry to start up FlexScreen, a Murrysville company that provides removable, flexible window screens. Now he has a chance to have a professional investor share that risk. Altieri, a Plum resident, will appear...
Monroeville man, woman charged in Murrysville liquor thefts
A Monroeville man and woman were charged with taking more than $400 in alcohol from a Murrysville Fine Wine & Good Spirits store around Thanksgiving. Kevin Livsey, 55, and Tiffany Springer-Livsey, 47, are accused by police of thefts on Nov. 25, 27 and 29 from the store in the Blue...
Murrysville dentist greeted everyone he passed
Dr. Ross Miller truly embodied the notion of a family dental practice. “When he started as a dentist in Murrysville, he asked his sister to be the receptionist,” said his daughter, Cheryl Schoone, of Pine Township. “She quit her job and started there, and then when one of his younger...
Franklin Regional’s annual telethon benefits UPMC Children’s Hospital Free Care Fund 
It’s always busy during a class change at Franklin Regional Senior High School, but on Friday the hallways were especially jam-packed, as students and staff put on the school’s annual telethon fundraiser. Student organizations lined the hallway walls as media production students shot live segments outside the auditorium. Onstage, students...
Murrysville celebrates with ‘Santa at Sardis’
It was a little bit of a soggy celebration, but Murrysville officials’ decision to move its annual holiday event to Sardis Park was a success. The line was long and steady leading to Santa’s cabin on Dec. 7, as children and parents visited craft tables, nonprofits and dashed around Sardis...
Yough student earns national title at Florida dog-diving championship 
It was 25 degrees in Mt. Pleasant Township on Thursday, but that didn’t stop a German short-haired pointer from going muzzle and paw first into a pool to retrieve one of his favorite toys. Caesar was at Rustic Lodge Diving Dogs, and thankfully inside the organization’s heated training center on...
‘Dangerous’ snow squall leaves behind slick roads, minor crashes in Southwestern Pa.
A squall that blanketed Southwestern Pennsylvania on Wednesday afternoon — leaving roads slick and myriad minor car crashes and disabled vehicles in its wake — was akin to a summer thunderstorm, just one full of snow instead of rain, said meteorologist Matthew Kramer of the National Weather Service. “You can...


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