Patrick Varine stories, Page 149

As Little Debbie’s Twitter feed put it, “There are times when people need to be saved from themselves.” That time was earlier this week, when a Twitter user’s suggestion that Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing and Pop-Tarts team up gained far too much traction on the social-media platform. Far be it...

A decade ago, Greg Shogan of Monroeville went through a series of perplexing ailments. First, he got cat scratch disease, which lingered for a couple months before going away. “Shortly after that, my whole face went numb, and I saw everyone I could see and probably had about 20 brain...

The western side of Washington Avenue in Export will be closed from 6:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., July 1-3, due to construction at the former Master Auto building at the corner of Washington and Lincoln avenues, according to borough officials. The borough parking lot behind the building will be open...

State police in Greensburg seek information about the theft of copper pipe and fittings from a construction site on the Saint Vincent College campus. Police said between June 19 and 20 one or more people accessed a storage container belonging to Ligonier-based John Hall Inc., taking several hundred feet of...

While Delmont officials are hoping to get the Shields Farm log cabin repaired sooner rather than later, they aren’t likely to use the replacement logs they paid about $3,000 to acquire. Council voted 4-1 earlier this month to award a $12,000 contract to Amish work crew leader Elmer Hostetler to...

Pittsburgh-area charity Military Connections is looking to serve a little surf-and-turf to troops overseas. But it’s not the kind you might think. Because lobster and steak are a bit pricey to ship internationally, the nonprofit is collecting donations of Swedish Fish and beef jerky. “We receive a lot of requests...

Interest in the local coyote population has continued to rise in recent years as trail cameras have captured photos of the elusive canines prowling around the region at night. Coyotes have been spotted in Murrysville, Penn Hills, Tarentum, New Kensington, Connellsville and Mt. Lebanon in the past few years. But...

James Hall has set foot on every continent except Antarctica. “He went on at least three mission trips to Africa, another trip to Morocco, all over the place,” said his daughter C. Carol Oravetz of Ligonier. “He loved to travel and he loved to eat. I traveled the U.S. and...

Members of the Pennsylvania Noxious Weeds Committee are hoping that adding a new species to its list will help address another invasive issue: the spotted lanternfly. The committee has added Tree-of-Heaven to the state’s Class B noxious weeds list. “Class B includes species that are so widespread, it would be...

As an early adopter when it came to library technology, Dorene Miller has been passionate about reading for much longer than the 23 years she’s worked as a library director. “Teen author Libba Bray sums it up perfectly,” said Miller, who is retiring as Penn Area Library director on Friday...

A financial securities analyst says the Kraft Heinz Company may be running out of cash, and its new CEO has a “monumental challenge” on his hands. Guggenheim Securities analyst Laurent Grandet told Yahoo! News that Miguel Patricio, who will take the company’s CEO reins on July 1, will need to...

A Fayette County man died of injuries sustained when he crashed his off-road vehicle Saturday night in Middlecreek Township. State police said Joseph A. Cole, 33, of Mill Run, was driving north on Scullton Road near Whipkey Dam Road shortly after 10:15 p.m., when his vehicle left the roadway, ran...

A Braddock woman was charged with aggravated assault after a knife attack aboard a Port Authority bus Saturday night, according to Pittsburgh police. Police said that two women, including 22-year-old Octavia Howard, began fighting aboard a PAT bus at the intersection of South Braddock and Forbes avenues shortly after 7:30...

Mary Bach of Murrysville was recognized recently for her work in consumer advocacy, by a group of Westinghouse retirees dedicated to community service. Bach, who is also the chairwoman of the AARP’s Pennsylvania Consumer Issues Task Force, received the Westinghouse SURE 2019 Lifetime Achievement Award from the company’s Service Uniting...

Allegheny Township police are asking residents to avoid Piper road near Route 356 if possible because of continued damage to the road. The road continues to experience subsidence despite efforts to fix it, police wrote in an advisory message for residents signed up with the Nixle.com alert service. The road...

Century III Mall will be demolished to make way for a possible mixed-use development, according to court documents filed Friday in the Western District U.S. Bankruptcy Court. Las Vegas-based Moonbeam Capital Investments LLC, which owns the property, plans to redevelop it over five years, with the design, permitting and demolition...

The Murrysville Zoning Hearing Board will continue hearing a challenge to the town’s fracking ordinance on Monday night . The citizen group Murrysville Watch Committee challenged the validity of the ordinance last year, and hearings have been ongoing since late November 2018. Murrysville council members voted 6-1 in 2017 to...

Chart Howard lived for the annual Appalachian Wagon Train, when residents jump back in time and participate in a horse-drawn wagon train through Westmoreland and Fayette counties, traveling during the day and camping at night. So it was with a heavy heart that wagon-train participants set out in 2019, the...