North Huntingdon planner might get help
By A.J. Panian TRIBUNE REVIEW Friday, July 11, 2008 North Huntingdon commissioners opened talks Thursday about seeking the consulting services of a local engineering firm to help township planning director/engineer Andy Blenko with what he called a "full plate" of small-scale projects. "I’m drowning right now and my department could really use some help," Blenko said. Interim township Manager Michael Turley told the board Glenn Engineering & Associates Ltd. > More

State environment head resigns.
By Amy Worden INQUIRER STAFF WRITER Kathleen McGinty, who in her five years as secretary of the state Department of Environmental Protection led Gov. Rendell’s ambitious agenda to enhance the environment, advance energy conservation initiatives and attract green businesses, is stepping down. In her resignation letter, obtained by The Inquirer, McGinty thanked Rendell for giving her "the privilege of serving his team," but offered no glimpse of future plans beyond taking a vacation with her family. > More

Suburban flight starts to hit home
By Craig Smith TRIBUNE-REVIEW Thursday, July 3, 2008 When it took $45 to fill the gas tank in Eric Wallace’s Honda Civic, he knew his days of driving 40 miles each way to work couldn’t last. "I went home and said, ’We have to do something,’ " said Wallace, 36, of Arnold, who is looking to move closer to his job as director of information technology at a steel distribution and service center in Leetsdale. > More

Man's motorized bike saves money for him -- and Greensburg
By Bob Stiles TRIBUNE-REVIEW Thursday, July 3, 2008 Matthew Basl was looking for a way to save on gasoline. "I’m a poor college student," said Basl, who will be a junior this fall at California University. "I got tired of the high gas prices and wanted a cheaper way to get to work and around work." The part-time maintenance worker for the Greensburg Recreation Department found the savings about three weeks ago. > More

Hybrid vehicles too hot to keep in stock
By Joe Napsha TRIBUNE-REVIEW Thursday, July 3, 2008 Brian Pietrandrea is one of the lucky Western Pennsylvanians who bought his Toyota Prius hybrid before the price of gasoline jumped to $4 a gallon. "I bought it right before the backlog hit. There were six on the lot at the time," said Pietrandrea, 33, of Ross, who bought the fuel-efficient car powered by a gasoline engine and a supplemental electrical engine in March. > More

County on pace for record fatalities
By Patti Dobranski TRIBUNE-REVIEW Thursday, July 3, 2008 The first half of 2008 has proved to be a deadly period for motorists in Westmoreland County. When a tree fell onto a vehicle Sunday on Greensburg-Mt. Pleasant Road in Unity, killing 37-year-old Ronald Bates of Greensburg, the number of traffic fatalities for the year reached 33, which is equal to the number of people who lost their lives on county roadways in 2007. > More

Leaders offer up big ideas
by Tom McGee Staff Writer July 3, 2008 Business leaders say Route 22 can benefit communities throughout Westmoreland County. Members of various economic groups shared their ideas for development along the highway at "Corridors of Opportunity," a forum held in Blairsville last week. John Cardwell, executive director of the Murrysville Economic and Community Development Corp., was one of four speakers at the event. > More

Commuter rail idea stands ready to take off, but a steady state funding stream is missing
The proposed CorridorOne commuter rail system that would serve central Pennsylvania has a new name, but what it really needs is a state funding stream. It appears once again that a requested $10 million for the newly named Capital Red Rose Corridor is not in the budget. And it likely won’t be until the matter of leasing the turnpike is resolved, according to John Ward, head of Modern Transit Partnership, which is leading the effort to establish a commuter rail system in the midstate. > More

America's Most Fuel-Efficient Neighborhoods
Washington, D.C. - With the national average price of gasoline topping $4 a gallon, it’s a propitious time to make the case for gas-sipping neighborhoods. Indeed, Americans coping with soaring energy costs are choosing to spend their economic stimulus checks at the gas pump and reduce their driving habits by billions of miles. For every dollar working families save on housing, it spends nearly $2 on transportation, according to research by the nonpartisan Center for Housing Policy. > More

Greensburg student-housing law to be aired
By Bob Stiles TRIBUNE-REVIEW Wednesday, July 2, 2008 Greensburg Council expects to take public comment next week on a controversial student-housing ordinance before possibly voting on changes made to the city law. After a meeting Tuesday, Mayor Karl Eisaman said the public comment period during council’s regular meeting at 7 p.m. Monday will be used to solicit the opinions. Read more  > More

Land trust requests public suggestions
By The Tribune-Review Saturday, June 28, 2008 Board members of the new Westmoreland Land Trust will be speaking at a number of municipal meetings and other community venues throughout Westmoreland County during July to introduce the young land-preservation organization to the public and to solicit input. The land trust presentations are planned for the following locations, dates and times: • Wednesday, July 2, 7 p.m., Rostraver Municipal Building • Monday, July 7, 6 p.m., Greensburg City Hall • Tuesday, July 8, 7 p.m., Lower Burrell City Hall • Thursday, July 10, 7 p.m., Unity Municipal Buildi > More

Busy Route 22 sparks interest
Developers look to build in Murrysville area Pittsburgh Business Times - by Tim Schooley Beyond his Ferri’s Shur Save Grocery and Pharmacy parking lot where his father once kept a horse-hitching post, John Ferri can see where the new four-lane highway forks between the past and future. His view of the journey of his Murrysville community, which spans an increasingly busy stretch of Route 22, is split by ambivalence. > More

Fuel Prices Shift Math for Life in Far Suburbs
  By PETER S. GOODMAN Published: June 25, 2008 ELIZABETH, Colo. -- Suddenly, the economics of American suburban life are under assault as skyrocketing energy prices inflate the costs of reaching, heating and cooling homes on the distant edges of metropolitan areas. Just off Singing Hills Road, in one of hundreds of two-story homes dotting a former cattle ranch beyond the southern fringes of Denver, Phil Boyle and his family openly wonder if they will have to move close to town to get some relief. > More

Cope Building project continues
By Bob Stiles TRIBUNE-REVIEW Wednesday, June 25, 2008 Developer John Felice received approval Tuesday to tear down the former Bugzy’s Bagels in Greensburg as part of a project involving the neighboring Cope Building. The approval came in a 7-0 vote by the city’s Historic and Architectural Review Board. Read more  > More

Tollgate Hill Road work slated to end in July
By The Tribune-Review Sunday, June 22, 2008 Completion of repairs on Tollgate Hill Road (SR 3026) in Hempfield is tentatively scheduled for the second week of July. The road is closed because of a slide. PennDOT officials said utility work is progressing, and when finished, road repairs will begin. Overhead utility lines are being raised to allow construction equipment to safely access the work zone. > More

Westmoreland transit receives $500,000 grant for hybrid bus
By Rich Cholodofsky TRIBUNE-REVIEW Saturday, June 21, 2008 The Westmoreland County Transit Authority this week received a $500,000 state grant to purchase a hybrid bus that will be used to shuttle passengers on overcrowded routes into Pittsburgh. The Westmoreland County agency was one of four in Pennsylvania that received money as part of a pilot program to test the use of fuel-efficient, low-emission vehicles than can run on both electric and diesel in mass transit systems. > More

Arnold-New Kensington merger gaining momentum
By Tom Yerace VALLEY NEWS DISPATCH Saturday, June 21, 2008 The idea of turning the cities of Arnold and New Kensington into one municipality may be gaining momentum. New Kensington Mayor Frank Link pitched the idea Thursday night at a Weed and Seed program community meeting. "I got a lot of good responses today," Link said Friday. "I had a lot of people e-mail me, saying, ’We ought to look into it, definitely.’ Read more  > More

Murrysville tables business zoning ordinance
By George Guido FOR THE VALLEY NEWS DISPATCH Thursday, June 19, 2008 After some 2-1/2 hours of emotional and sometimes volatile discussion, council tabled a proposed ordinance designed to create a 923-acre overlay zoning district. The district would have created a zoning area that mandates standards for commercial or business development. Some of those areas are now zoned residential and are basically located along Routes 22, 380 and 66. > More

Plans for New Kensington road project to be unveiled
By Rossilynne Skena VALLEY NEWS DISPATCH Wednesday, June 18, 2008 Final plans are being designed for the second and final phase of the Parnassus Triangle Project in New Kensington. Plans consist of widening Route 366 to four lanes between the intersections of Bridge and Seventh streets, replacing traffic signals at intersections on 366 Freeport/Bridge Street and Fourth Street and replacing the bridge over Little Pucketa Creek, south of the Seventh Street intersection. > More

County to use $96,000 in grant money to market homes
By Rich Cholodofsky TRIBUNE-REVIEW Saturday, June 14, 2008 With a lagging housing market and about three dozen new homes about to be on the market, Westmoreland County officials hired a little sales help. Commissioners this week agreed to pay more than $96,000 over the next three years to help market individual family homes to low-income residents. Read more  > More

Seton Hill studio coming to Greensburg
By Bob Stiles TRIBUNE-REVIEW Friday, June 13, 2008 The long-vacant Troutman Annex building in Greensburg could have its first occupant soon. Seton Hill University officials are planning to locate their art department’s painting studio on about half of the first floor of the building on South Pennsylvania Avenue. University Provost Mary Ann Gawelek said that over the last three or four years, enrollment in the art department has grown. > More

Development eyed near Seton Hill center
By Bob Stiles TRIBUNE-REVIEW Thursday, June 12, 2008 The Greensburg Community Development Corp. is looking at obtaining properties on College Avenue and West Otterman Street for a downtown development in sight of the Seton Hill University art center. Among the uses under consideration are a hotel/restaurant, conference center, office/retail space or apartments, said Steve Gifford, executive director of the development group. > More

Westmoreland museum plans expansion
By Richard Gazarik TRIBUNE-REVIEW Thursday, June 12, 2008 Westmoreland Museum of American Art plans to embark on a major renovation to expand the organization’s cultural reach. Director Judith O’Toole said Wednesday that the board of trustees is formulating plans to add a wing with galleries for the museum’s current and future collections. Read more  > More

Landlord wants more of Greensburg opened to student housing
By Bob Stiles TRIBUNE-REVIEW Tuesday, June 10, 2008 A landlord suggested Monday to Greensburg Council that sections of the city that have numerous apartment buildings be opened up to college student housing. Dennis Fellers, who lost two zoning hearing board appeals on student housing issues earlier this year, spoke at council’s regular meeting last night. Read more  > More

Smart Growth recognizes excellence in Westmoreland County
Smart Growth Partnership of Westmoreland County honored what executive director Alex Graziani called its "key implementers" at the 2008 awards dinner held Wednesday at the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg. "As a group, we are reluctant to give awards to planning projects. Just about every award tonight is about implementation," said Graziani to a crowd of about 150 business, political and community leaders. > More

Smart Growth, Penn State strengthen ties with move
Penn State Cooperative Extension and The Smart Growth Partnership of Westmoreland County will expand their relationship when Smart Growth moves to the newly renovated, environmental friendly GreenForge building on Donohoe Road. The development group’s move from the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg will take place July 1. The Extension office is headquartered in an adjacent building. Read more  > More

GreenForge reaches 100% occupancy, welcomes Smart Growth Partnership
On July 1, the Smart Growth Partnership of Westmoreland County (SGPWC) is relocating its headquarters to the newly renovated GreenForge building located at 226 Donohoe Rd. in Greensburg. The SGPWC -- which has been based at University of Pittsburgh-Greensburg since 2001 -- has signed a three-year lease for 1,000-square-feet of space in a green complex that sits adjacent to a 90-acre park as well as to the Westmoreland Conservation District’s headquarters in a rehabilitated 19th-century barn. > More