Thursday, April 18, 2013
And other borough municipal notes.
An All-LED Borough? The future may indeed be bright for Baldwin Borough. No, the downed streetlights aren't coming back. But in an interview on Wednesday, borough Manager John Barrett said that Duquesne Light anticipates that LED technology will be available for its served municipalities in June of 2014. "We have been informed that a formal request has been made with the PUC (Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission) for an LED streetlight tariff," Barrett said. "The LED tariff means that Duquesne Light will have a tariff rate to charge municipalities for LED lighting that they would make available. Up until now, Duquesne Light has stated that they can't provide LED lighting for a number of reasons—one being that a tariff has not been …
Monday, March 4, 2013
Steven Kowalski was sentenced to 3-to-6 years in prison after stealing $150,000 worth of items from Providence Point residents in 2011.
The Providence Point security guard accused of stealing $150,000 worth of items from residents in 2011 pleaded guilty last week. Steven Kowalski, 49, of 681 Elaine Dr. in Baldwin Borough, pleaded guilty on Feb. 28 to 16 counts of felony burglary charges and nine charges of receiving stolen property. He was sentenced to 3-to-6 years in prison and faces another 10 years of probation. Kowalski was accused of burglarizing numerous apartments in the Scott Township retirement home and taking jewelry, fine silverware and plate settings. The thefts began in late October 2011 and ramped up in early December when residents reported seven thefts in 10 days. Investigators identified Kowalski after a resident came home and found a security guard in her…
40.37823
-80.088889
500 Providence Point Blvd, Pittsburgh, PA
Providence Point
/articles/baldwin-man-pleads-guilty-to-retirement-home-burglaries
/locations/8936234
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Also, shade trees and other notes from Tuesday night's borough council meeting.
South Baldwin Roadwork With a 6-1 vote on Tuesday night, the Baldwin Borough Council has advertised that it is seeking bids for 2013 repairs to several roads in south Baldwin—and south Baldwin only, borough Manager John Barrett said. The council's decision to stick to just one part of Baldwin for road repairs this year stems from a cost-savings that would be realized from not having to move resurfacing equipment over great distances around the borough. Borough engineer Larry Souleret estimates that borough taxpayers would save between $4,000 and $20,000 on mobilization costs by focusing on roads that are geographically close to each other, Barrett said. The actual savings will depend on the eventual contractor who completes the work. The …
40.383751
-79.956454
Baldwin Borough Municipal Complex
3344 Churchview Ave, Pittsburgh, PA
/articles/list-bids-sought-for-repairing-south-baldwin-roads
1253439
/locations/8853607
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
'I can't see jumping around the borough just to make people think that things are even.' – Councilman Bob Collet
Baldwin Borough's council members voted, 6-1, on Tuesday night in favor of using the borough's road funds to repair only roads in south Baldwin this year. Councilman Bob Collet made that motion, saying that the borough should save money by keeping its resurfacing equipment in one general area as opposed to taking it across Route 51 and up Streets Run Road to north Baldwin. "I can't see jumping around the borough just to make people think that things are even," Collet, a central Baldwin resident, said after hearing from borough engineers that the cost of transporting equipment will eat away at the money designed to actually fix the borough's roads. "Get the best for your dollar," Collet said before suggesting that, next year, the council …
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
Also, a 10-year-old is charged with stealing a fire extinguisher, and one other Whitehall police story from this past week.
Public Drunkenness Charge After Police Claim Disobedience A Whitehall Borough police officer on patrol stopped at the Sunoco/APlus gas station and convenience store along Route 51 at around 12:53 a.m. on Friday. When the officer walked into the store, he observed a man arguing with a clerk in what appeared to be an intoxicated state, Whitehall police Deputy Chief Richard M. Danko said. The officer advised the man—John Mallon Kearns, 21, of 541 Elaine Dr. in Baldwin Borough—not to get into his car in his current condition and drive away, but Kearns responded to the officer with vulgarity and dismissiveness, Danko said, and tried to get into his car anyway. The officer prevented Kearns from doing so and arrested him in the store's parking …
40.36553
-79.967419
1600 Skyline Dr, Pittsburgh, PA
/articles/baldwin-man-arrested-at-sunoco-aplus-on-route-51-in-whitehall
/locations/8797011
40.367057
-79.965722
1661 Skyline Dr, Pittsburgh, PA
Skytop Village
/articles/baldwin-man-arrested-at-sunoco-aplus-on-route-51-in-whitehall
/locations/8797012
40.35586
-79.97981
Sunoco/APlus
4639 Clairton Blvd, Pittsburgh, PA
/articles/baldwin-man-arrested-at-sunoco-aplus-on-route-51-in-whitehall
1837013
/locations/8797013
40.35093
-79.978899
Whitehall Police Department
100 Borough Park Dr, Pittsburgh, PA
/articles/baldwin-man-arrested-at-sunoco-aplus-on-route-51-in-whitehall
1838979
/locations/8797014
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
Police arrested Murphy at a motel on Route 51 in Jefferson Hills.
William Joseph Murphy III is accused of burglarizing eight Baldwin Borough homes—and attempting to burglarize two others—leading to an arrest by Baldwin police on Thursday at a motel on Route 51 in Jefferson Hills Borough, police Chief Michael Scott said. Until recently, Murphy, 28, lived in the 600 block of Blossom Drive in Baldwin. He is accused of stealing items from the homes of four neighbors in that same block in south Baldwin—including one home twice—Scott said. The three other burglaries happened on nearby Elaine and Norma drives, and on Elderslee Road in central Baldwin. The eight burglaries for which he is being charged all occurred since October 2012, Scott said. That does not include incidents on Jan. 4 or 16 in which residents…
40.43476
-79.99244
950 2nd Ave, Pittsburgh, PA
Allegheny County Jail
/articles/william-murphy-back-in-jail-charged-with-8-baldwin-burglaries
/locations/9048098
Friday, January 18, 2013
Details emerge from Jan. 4 incident on Blossom Drive in south Baldwin.
William Joseph Murphy III has admitted to trying to burglarize a house in south Baldwin Borough, according to a criminal complaint filed at District Magistrate John N. Bova's Wallace Building office. Officers from multiple police departments detained Murphy at a Blossom Drive home on Jan. 4 as part of a burglary investigation in south Baldwin, according to Baldwin police Chief Michael Scott. The Baldwin-Whitehall Patch captured the detainment on video. The Baldwin police received a 911 call that day from a woman reporting that a suspicious male was knocking on the front door of a home in the 500 block of Elaine Drive. When there was no answer at the door, the caller advised the 911 operator that the male was now going around to the back of…
40.343809
-80.002159
600-700 Blossom Dr, Pittsburgh, PA
/articles/baldwin-man-admits-to-break-in-attempt-on-elaine-drive
/locations/8656445
40.34605
-79.999929
500-600 Elaine Dr, Pittsburgh, PA
/articles/baldwin-man-admits-to-break-in-attempt-on-elaine-drive
/locations/8656446
40.34574
-80.002348
600-700 Elaine Dr, Pittsburgh, PA
/articles/baldwin-man-admits-to-break-in-attempt-on-elaine-drive
/locations/8656447
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
And other notes from Tuesday night's Baldwin Council meeting.
Road Repair The Baldwin Borough Council is reviewing a preliminary list of 29 Baldwin streets and 30 total borough spots that are in need of some sort of road repair. The borough's 2013 budget shows $800,000 allocated for such repair (up $50,000 from 2012), but the estimated cost to repair all 30 spots discussed at Tuesday night's council agenda meeting is over $3 million, meaning that not every troubled spot can likely be corrected this year. The list includes 15 spots each in north and south Baldwin: Instead of completely repaving each of these places for long-term restoration, the borough could save money and extend the life of existing pavement by merely seal coating, or "tar-and-chipping," troubled spots, borough engineer Larry …
Thursday, January 3, 2013
A house on Elaine Drive was victimized either late on Jan. 1 or early on Jan. 2.
Baldwin Borough police have identified a second person of interest in connection with a recent series of home burglaries in south Baldwin. That news comes along with other news that jewelry and coins were stolen from a house on Elaine Drive either during the evening of Jan. 1 or the morning of Jan. 2. The Elaine Drive invasion follows reports of multiple homes similarly being victimized recently on nearby Blossom Drive. Police officers and residents of the area have been in contact with the Baldwin-Whitehall Patch regarding the burglaries and are warning fellow residents of south Baldwin and nearby Bethel Park to lock their windows and doors. In most cases regarding these incidents, the burglar, or burglars, have been entering homes …
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
James Behers resigns from his post on Tuesday night after he was illegally appointed in April.
It turns out that James Behers should never have been appointed to Baldwin Borough's Civil Service Commission—a quasi-judicial board that oversees the Baldwin Borough Police Department—in April, this year. The Baldwin Council accepted Behers' resignation from that commission on Tuesday night by a 4-3 vote, the same narrow margin tallied when Behers was appointed in the first place. Behers, a state constable who lives on Green Glen Drive, is ineligible for a spot on the Civil Service Commission, Councilman Bob Collet pointed out before motioning to accept Behers' resignation, because Section 1173 of the Pennsylvania Borough Code says so. That section reads, "No commissioner shall at the same time hold an elective or appointed office under …
40.383751
-79.956454
Baldwin Borough Municipal Complex
3344 Churchview Ave, Pittsburgh, PA
/articles/more-civil-service-controversy-in-baldwin-borough
1253439
/locations/8026667
Robert Edward Healy, III
9:52 am on Thursday, April 18, 2013
Morning, folks. According to Barrett, the only way that Baldwin can "shop" for other energy providers in this instance would be if the borough assumed ownership of its light poles. The poles are currently the property of Duquesne Light, and the borough is charged monthly for their use. Borough administration has requested that Duquesne Light provide them with a cost to purchase the poles. But … more ›