Penn Hills

Allegheny Land Trust Wants To Preserve Former Country Club As Greenspace

By • Aug 5, 2019
Rachel Gobep / 90.5 WESA

A former Pittsburgh-area country club that closed six years ago is reverting back to nature, and a local nonprofit wants to protect the space for the community to enjoy. 

Penn Hills Fire Chief Faults Peoples Gas For Shopping Center Fire

By • Jul 29, 2019
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A western Pennsylvania fire chief is faulting a utility company's response to a shopping center fire near Pittsburgh that destroyed several businesses and injured a number of firefighters.

Chief Bill Jeffcoats of the Penn Hills fire department said Peoples Natural Gas didn't get gas service shut off for about five hours after the blaze at Churchill Center was reported at about 7:30 p.m. Sunday.

Seniors At A Federally Subsidized Housing Community Fight Mold And Look For Help 

By • Jul 11, 2019
Margaret J. Krauss / 90.5 WESA

Every night, 70-year-old Jeanne Delancey goes to sleep beneath a dinner plate-sized patch of mold that surrounds a vent on her bedroom wall.

“I tried to clean it, you can’t even clean it. It doesn’t come off,” she said.

Teacher Furloughs, But No Tax Increase For Financially-Distressed Penn Hills School District

By • Jun 29, 2019
Sarah Schneider / 90.5 WESA

Penn Hills School District leaders say the district is in good shape for the next school year thanks to a last minute funding increase from the state.

The board unanimously approved a budget and a long-term financial recovery plan Saturday during a rescheduled meeting. The board had postponed its meeting this week as it waited for the state’s general assembly to approve a budget.

Penn Hills School District $172 Million In Debt, According To Grand Jury Report

By • Feb 5, 2019
Google Maps

The Penn Hills School District’s financial position is “catastrophic,” according to an Allegheny County grand jury report released Tuesday.

YMCA To Close 3 Pittsburgh-Area Branches By End Of August

By • Jul 10, 2018
Kathleen J. Davis / 90.5 WESA

The YMCA of Greater Pittsburgh is shutting down three branches at the end of August as part of its efforts to get out of debt. The affected locations are in Penn Hills, Wilmerding and Coraopolis.

PA Auditor General Appalled By Penn Hills Financial Revelations

By & Essential Pittsburgh • May 23, 2016
Paul Weaver / flickr

Five years ago, the Penn Hills School District was in $11 million in debt. Today, a recent audit revealed the district is $170 million in debt and is also under investigation for alleged mismanagement of money.

Pennsylvania Auditor General Eugene DePasquale is a part of the team tackling 74 pages of an audit detailing the district’s spending from July 2012 through June 2015 and revealed spending habits that led to what DePasquale describes as “almost unsurmountable” debt.

PAT Board Asked To Increase Service To 3 Communities

By • Oct 23, 2015
Mike Richards / 90.5 WESA

Dozens of students and retirees joined residents of Garfield, the North Hills and Penn Hills on Friday urging the Port Authority of Allegheny County to restore some bus routes in those communities. 

State Rep. DeLuca Calls for Audit of Penn Hills School District

By & Deanna Garcia • Apr 13, 2015

As the Penn Hills School District seeks an $18 million bond to cover operational costs, state Rep. Tony DeLuca (D-Allegheny) is asking state Auditor General Eugene DePasquale to get the bottom of the district’s fiscal woes.

DeLuca is calling for a full audit of the district’s budget after last week’s announcement that the district would seek court approval for the bond in order to meet debt service, payroll and retirement fund obligations.

20 Homeless After Ceilings Fall In Penn Hills Row Apartments

By • Nov 18, 2014

Code enforcement officials have condemned a building housing several row apartments near Pittsburgh, after cold weather contributed to ceiling collapses that are leaving 20 people homeless.

Eight of those forced Tuesday to seek other shelter in Penn Hills are children.

Penn Hills officials say nobody was hurt by the crumbling ceilings, but officials have determined the buildings are unsafe.