Wednesday, April 24, 2013
County officials unveiled the first two compressed natural gas trucks put into service for their public works department at an Earth Day press conference on Monday.
To most Baldwin Borough, Whitehall Borough and Baldwin Township residents, the new, white Allegheny County trucks that they might pass on the roadways won't appear to be anything extraordinary. But they are a first step in the county going green with a cleaner-burning fuel for fleet vehicles. Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald and other officials unveiled the county's first two compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicles at a press conference on Monday. Each vehicle cost $35,285. The Silverado 2500HD, four-wheel drive, extended cab pickup trucks contain specially designed 6.0-litre Vortec V8 engines and have a gross vehicle weight of 9,500 pounds. The trucks are factory-built with hardened valves and seals, which are critical for CNG …
Thursday, January 24, 2013
County Controller Chelsa Wagner said on Thursday that the amount could be about $50 per average household.
An analysis by Allegheny County Controller Chelsa Wagner has revealed that the county could be on track to overcharge the average household by $50 in property taxes in 2013. "There is a strong possibility, from the data we have analyzed, that the county is on track to gain a windfall of as much as $38 million," said Wagner, a former state representative for the district that covers part of Whitehall Borough and all of Baldwin Township, in a statement issued on Thursday. "I am calling on the administration to publicize every detail of their millage calculation to assure all taxpayers that no windfall will occur. No resident of Allegheny County should be overcharged one cent or $1, let alone $50 or more for the county's failure to act." …
Thursday, January 17, 2013
The board voted, 8-1, on Wednesday to, at the very least, not exceed the school district's allowable 2.2-percent millage increase for the 2013-14 school year.
For the second straight year, Baldwin-Whitehall School District officials have gotten word from the Pennsylvania Department of Education that they cannot raise their district's millage rate, without voter approval, by more than 2.2 percent. But unlike this past year, the board's members voted, 8-1, at their meeting on Wednesday night to not apply for referendum exceptions that would have allowed them to raise the district millage rate, without voter approval, by more than that percentage. In other words, although the B-W School Board is far from setting its final millage rate for next year—it will have to do so before the end of June—the rate will not rise more than 2.2 percent above the district's current rate of 23.40 mills. In fact, …
40.352561
-79.992891
Baldwin-Whitehall School District Office
4900 Curry Rd, Pittsburgh, PA
/articles/baldwin-whitehall-school-board-will-not-pursue-hefty-tax-increase
1833949
/locations/8622919
Friday, December 28, 2012
Sally Haas, president of the Pittsburgh Airport Area Chamber of Commerce, died unexpectedly on Thursday. Friends and colleagues praise her leadership.
Chip Holsworth, president of the Military Affairs Coalition of Western Pennsylvania, said that the local military advocacy group will have to search "far and wide" to find another leader like Sally Haas. Haas, the president of the Pittsburgh Airport Area Chamber of Commerce and the co-chair of its military coalition, died unexpectedly on Thursday following surgery for an undisclosed condition. She was 58 and lived in Whitehall Borough. A fixture at coalition meetings and Moon Township military community events, Haas was tireless in her efforts to stave off a potential closure of the 911th Airlift Wing in Moon, Holsworth said. "She was our most active member," Holsworth said. "It's an incredible loss." Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett, who …
40.3643
-79.983661
4201 Brownsville Rd, Pittsburgh, PA
John F. Slater Funeral Home
/articles/whitehalls-sally-haas-remembered-as-business-military-community-leader
/locations/8471179
40.356561
-80.005131
St. Gabriel of the Sorrowful Virgin Church and School
5200 Greenridge Dr, Pittsburgh, PA
/articles/whitehalls-sally-haas-remembered-as-business-military-community-leader
1836798
/locations/8471180
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
The county's tax rate will be 4.73 mills in 2013.
The Allegheny County Council has passed a 2013 budget that includes a millage rate decrease. On Tuesday, county officials approved a $799.4-million budget, reducing the county real estate tax rate to 4.73 mills, according to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. The millage was reduced from 2012's rate of 5.69 mills to offset an increase in average property values stemming from the county's court-ordered real estate reassessment. By law, taxing bodies like municipalities and school districts can't receive more than 105 percent of their otherwise expected property tax revenues next year so as not to use the reassessment as a major tax increase. Under the county's new tax rate, a resident would pay $473 for every $100,000 of assessed property value…
Monday, September 10, 2012
Increasing costs and declining sponsorship are to blame.
The holiday season around Pittsburgh will lack a bit of light this year. Allegheny County administration said on Monday that the county's annual Celebration of Lights at Hartwood Acres Park will be suspended this year. Increasing costs and declining sponsorship, particularly in light of the county's limited financial resources, are to blame. "This is not a decision that we made lightly," county Executive Rich Fitzgerald said in a news release. "The Celebration of Lights has been a great holiday tradition since 1991. "We have been proud to partner with The Salvation Army and WTAE-TV 4 for the past 20 years on this and are gratified that we have helped to generate $3.7 million in revenues for Project Bundle-Up and other local charities …
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Pittsburgh crowd chants, 'Here we go, Ryan, Here we go,' as candidate swings a Terrible Towel during gathering at Rosslyn Farms' Beaver Steel.
As Republican vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan took to a stage just outside of Pittsburgh on Tuesday morning, a gathering crowd loudly chanted, "Here we go, Ryan, here we go." Thousands of supporters attended the rally at Beaver Steel Services, a family-owned business in Rosslyn Farms Borough. Ryan swung a Terrible Towel as he walked onto the stage and sported it in his back pocket for the remainder of his speech. He spoke about economic growth, creating jobs, the principles of a good leader and "the American Dream." "What kind of country do we want to be?" Ryan asked. "What kind of people do we want to be? "We're not just making a decision for what we're going to do for the next four years. We are choosing a path for this country for…
No layoffs are expected, either.
That big gust of wind that you just felt was a collective exhale from across the Pittsburgh region. Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald stood with fellow local government leaders at the Allegheny County Courthouse on Tuesday morning, as well as the head of the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 85, to review details of an agreement that will prevent a 35-percent cut in public transit service that was scheduled to begin on Sept. 2. The cut will be delayed for at least one year while state officials attempt to identify a long-term source of funding for the subsequent years. Should that not happen, the parties involved would renegotiate. Joining Fitzgerald were Pennsylvania Department of Transportation Secretary Barry J. Schoch, ATU…
40.438787
-79.997136
437 Grant St, Pittsburgh, PA
Allegheny County Courthouse
/articles/transit-agreement-reached-no-pat-cuts-and-no-tax-increase
/locations/7644955
Friday, August 17, 2012
Both Republicans and Democrats came out to support the Allegheny County Music Festival Fund on Thursday night.
Usually, audiences at the Pittsburgh Improv are laughing at politicians, but, at Candidates' Comedy Night, they were laughing with them. The fundraiser for the Allegheny County Music Festival Fund had politicians reaching across the aisles on Thursday night so that their constituents could roll in them. Among those taking to The Waterfront stage in Homestead Borough to tell jokes, perform skits and even sing for charity were seven politicians directly representing parts of Baldwin-Whitehall: incumbent Democrat Jay Costa, of Pennsylvania's 43rd Senatorial District, which includes Baldwin Borough; Lawrence Maggi, the Democratic candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives' 18th District of Pennsylvania, including Whitehall Borough; …
40.409348
-79.914794
166 E Bridge St, Homestead, PA
Improv
/articles/politicians-put-the-fun-in-fundraiser-at-candidates-comedy-night-f32b68ad
/locations/7630768
Thursday, August 16, 2012
Have you checked out the #PittsburghBands hashtag on Twitter?
If you were naming a band that could only be found in Pittsburgh, what would you call it? Some creative Pittsburgh minds have taken to Twitter, and are using the hashtag #PittsburghBands to share their ideas for Pittsburgh-themed musical acts—all spinoffs of current band names and famous Pittsburgh places. The hashtag has been trending for the past day or so, and it's continuing to pick up steam. You might recognize some of the people making suggestions. Randy Baumann of WDVE—@DVERandy to you Twitter followers—suggested some great ones, including "The Whitehall Stripes." Baldwin High School graduate and local "magidian" Lee Terbosic (@LeeTerbosic) has also coined some winners, including "Al Greenfield" and "Carrie Hazelwood." Even …
Robert Edward Healy, III
6:23 pm on Thursday, January 24, 2013
UPDATE: Fitzgerald held a press conference on Thursday afternoon to address Wagner's concern. He said that he remains confident in his proposed millage rate that was approved overwhelmingly by the county council. The nature of the process requires assumptions and estimates to set the millage rate, Fitzgerald said, but the numbers that were used are based on historic data and previous numbers. The… more ›