Stray Cats Still Riling Residents in Baldwin Township

And other notes from Tuesday night's Board of Commissioners meeting.

'Why Can't They Just Get Euthanized?' A stray cats issue has dogged the Baldwin Township Board of Commissioners ever since a Donaldson Drive resident made controversial remarks at a township meeting in early June. Two months later, the issue remains just as topical, as evidenced by comments from Jean Colaizzi, of Highview Road, at another meeting on Tuesday night. Colaizzi asked the township's leaders on Tuesday to enact an ordinance prohibiting cats from being allowed to roam Baldwin without a leash. She said that cats found as such should be rounded up by animal control officers and killed. "Why can't they just get euthanized?" Colaizzi asked the board while suggesting that a trap-and-neuter program would not lessen the cat population …

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Wilkinsburg Kidnap-Murder Case Still Brings New Tips

After the ‘woman at the bus stop’ tells her story about the day that schoolgirl Beth Barr disappeared in 1977, other Patch readers offer more clues.

Editor's note: This story originally ran in November 2011 on many western Pennsylvania Patch sites. Since that time, several persons have come forward with more information that they feel can be helpful to the case, including potential suspects, possible vehicles used and other information, which has been shared with Allegheny County homicide detectives. The identity of the woman interviewed for this story is being withheld for her safety. The woman stood alone at about 8:30 a.m. on Nov. 23, 1977, at a Port Authority Transit stop in Wilkinsburg Borough, waiting for the bus that would take her to her job in downtown Pittsburgh. The 24-year-old had grown up in Wilkinsburg, and she and her husband had purchased a property on nearby Rebecca …

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ACCESS Cuts Temporarily Avoided

State and federal funding prevent the cuts from happening for at least another year.

Hold the phone. Devastating cuts facing ACCESS riders will not occur in September thanks to a special funding arrangement made possible by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation and two federal programs that benefit transit riders with disabilities, according to a news release from Port Authority of Allegheny County. Port Authority's Board of Directors on Friday unanimously voted to accept the funding and rescind plans that would have reduced ACCESS service hours and service area starting on Sept. 2. Meanwhile, conversation focused on resolving broader transportation funding issues and the 35-percent Port Authority service reduction scheduled for September are ongoing and involve officials from the state, county, Port Authority and …

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REOPENED: Port Authority South Busway

Attention public transit riders.

UPDATE (4:50 p.m.): The busway has reopened. Port Authority of Allegheny County's South Busway is closed south of South Hills Junction. Flooding near the intersection of Routes 51 and 88 is preventing buses from entering the busway at its southern end. Additionally, buses are unable to serve parts of Route 51. In both cases, the affected bus routes are Port Authority's Y1, Y45, Y46, Y47 and Y49. These buses are serving regular route to South Hills Junction and then detouring via Warrington, Arlington and Brownsville to Route 51, where they will attempt to finish the rest of their regular route. These routes are seeing delays of approximately 45 minutes. Other bus routes operating out of the West Mifflin Garage may be delayed due to nearby …

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Robert Edward Healy, III

4:54 pm on Friday, July 20, 2012

UPDATE: The busway has reopened.   more ›

Work at Connor-Rte. 88 Intersection Starts Monday Nite

Project will improve a bridge over Port Authority rail lines.

Work to improve the bridge that carries Connor Road over Port Authority of Allegheny County rail lines on the border of Bethel Park and Castle Shannon Borough will begin on Monday night, July 16, weather permitting. Crews will replace an expansion dam and conduct concrete deck and approach repairs on the bridge that sits at the intersection of Connor and Route 88 (Library Road), according to a news release from Pennsylvania Department of Transportation District 11-0. Long-term lane closures will occur in each direction on Connor beginning at 9 p.m. on Monday and continuing through Aug. 6. Police will be used to assist with traffic flow at the intersection during peak morning and evening hours. One lane will remain open in each direction on…

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Robert Edward Healy, III

11:38 am on Saturday, July 14, 2012

Marlene, not sure what's happening there. Can you check your spam/junk folder? I will also do my part to check with our Help Desk.   more ›

Port Authority Fare Increases Start July 1

Baldwin-Whitehall riders beware.

Baldwin-Whitehall residents will be paying more to ride the bus next month. Starting July 1, increases go into effect on most Port Authority of Allegheny County fares, including cash fares for full-fare and half-fare riders, all tickets and passes. According to a news release, the fare increases are required to balance Port Authority's budget for the fiscal year of 2013, which begins on July 1. The base one-zone cash fare will increase by $0.25 from $2.25 to $2.50 one way. Two-zone rides will increase by $0.50 from $3.25 to $3.75 one way.   Additionally, fare changes will go into effect for ACCESS riders that same day. Full information on fares, including instructions on exchanging tickets, is available here. The Port Authority Customer …

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Schmotzer Calls for Moratorium on Further PAT Cuts

State representative from Whitehall also wants a summer legislative session on transportation.

State Rep. Martin Michael Schmotzer will only be in office for the rest of this year, but the Democrat from Whitehall Borough is hoping to make the best use of his time. Schmotzer is calling for a moratorium on further mass transit cuts in Allegheny County and a special summer session of the Pennsylvania Legislature to deal with transportation funding. "The Port Authority of Allegheny County is dying a death by a thousand cuts," Schmotzer said in a news release. "We're at the point where, if the next round of cuts goes through—cutting 46 of the remaining 102 bus routes—we will not have a viable and legitimate mass transit system in Allegheny County. "I am also concerned about the elimination of several Light Rail Transit (commonly known as…

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Letters to the Editor

Chelsa Wagner on Port Authority 'Failures'

The new county controller comes down hard on public transit.

"As the county's top fiscal officer, Controller Chelsa Wagner leads the fight against inefficient and inequitable spending, working to root out fraud, waste and abuse in county government. Chelsa ensures the controller's office is a direct, effective advocate for Allegheny County, this region, and most importantly, the taxpayers." Those are the words used on the Allegheny County Controller's website to describe the job, or jobs, assigned to Wagner during her time in that office. And for Wagner, the former state representative who once ran an office at Whitehall Borough's Caste Village, she's not wasting any time in this her first term as Controller. Wagner publicly called out Port Authority of Allegheny County leaders with a May 15 letter …

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Public Hearing on Transit Cuts This Thursday

State Reps. Matt Smith and Dan Deasy will chair a public hearing in Green Tree to discuss public transit cuts.

The Pennsylvania House Democratic Policy Committee will hold a public hearing on Thursday, May 3, at 10 a.m. to discuss the economic impact of public transit cuts. State Reps. Daniel Deasy and Matthew H. Smith, both Democrats from Allegheny County, will co-chair the hearing. "We have heard from many constituents on how the proposed cuts to the Port Authority will impact them," Smith said, "but the outcry from area businesses has greatly increased in recent months. They are being hit from both sides with reduced accessibility for customers and employees." Look below for a list of service changes starting Sept. 2 that would affect riders in and around Baldwin-Whitehall. "In order for continued regional economic growth to occur, we must …

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Hammers and Shovels Fight on Leona Drive

And other Whitehall police notes from April 24-30.

Leona Drive Fight Whitehall Borough police officers came to the 4800 block of Leona Drive on Saturday at around 12:11 a.m. in response to a fight between two men that involved hammers and shovels, Whitehall police Chief Donald R. Dolfi said. Officers stopped the fight upon arrival and discovered that the two men "have a history together," Dolfi said. The men had started arguing sometime before the fight before that argument escalated into violence. One of the men was injured at the scene, and workers from Medical Rescue Team South Authority responded to treat him. His injuries were not life-threatening, Dolfi said. Both men are being charged with crimes—Matthew Paga, 19, of 4894 Leona, with criminal mischief and Alexander Frich, 24, of …

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