Dirk Kaufman
@dirkwkaufman.bsky.social
Small-town news editor @triblive.bsky.social. Begrudging rails-to-trails rider. Missing the best dog ever.
North Huntingdon passes 2026 budget with 30% property tax hike triblive.com/local/westmo...
North Huntingdon passes 2026 budget with 30% property tax hike
North Huntingdon officials unanimously approved a $15.8 million budget for 2026 that will raise the township’s property taxes by 30%. The 3.5-mill tax hike is split into two parts: 1.5 mills for...
triblive.com
December 18, 2025 at 4:00 PM
North Huntingdon passes 2026 budget with 30% property tax hike triblive.com/local/westmo...
Trafford historian seeks federal approval for naming Brush Creek tributary triblive.com/local/westmo...
Trafford historian seeks federal approval for naming Brush Creek tributary
A Trafford historian is seeking federal approval to name a North Huntingdon stream after the German immigrant family that settled along its banks in the 1870s. Andrew Capets, president of the Trafford...
triblive.com
December 18, 2025 at 3:59 PM
Trafford historian seeks federal approval for naming Brush Creek tributary triblive.com/local/westmo...
2 Westmoreland water authority workers awarded Carnegie Medal for lifesaving rescue triblive.com/local/westmo...
2 Westmoreland water authority workers awarded Carnegie Medal for lifesaving rescue
Pete Dunegan was repairing an underground water tank in Mt. Pleasant Borough last year when a pipe inside the tank broke loose. It dislodged from a support and pinned him, nearly severing his leg and ...
triblive.com
December 18, 2025 at 3:58 PM
2 Westmoreland water authority workers awarded Carnegie Medal for lifesaving rescue triblive.com/local/westmo...
Westmoreland jury donation program raises over $100K for local nonprofits triblive.com/local/westmo...
Westmoreland jury donation program raises over $100K for local nonprofits
Westmoreland County jurors have donated more than $100,000 to local charities over the past decade. It’s a program first implemented in 2016 that allows jurors to forgo their daily pay, which in...
triblive.com
December 18, 2025 at 3:57 PM
Westmoreland jury donation program raises over $100K for local nonprofits triblive.com/local/westmo...
Westmoreland County Prison prayer groups dispersed, raising religious freedom concerns triblive.com/local/westmo...
Westmoreland County Prison prayer groups dispersed, raising religious freedom concerns
Tim Williamson was praying with a group of nine men at Westmoreland County Prison when a guard ordered them to stop — an encounter he says is part of a pattern of officials blocking religious ex...
triblive.com
December 18, 2025 at 3:57 PM
Westmoreland County Prison prayer groups dispersed, raising religious freedom concerns triblive.com/local/westmo...
Scottdale parents tell judge they struggle to balance child's welfare with their own safety triblive.com/local/westmo...
Scottdale parents tell judge they struggle to balance child's welfare with their own safety
A national news story this weekend reminded Mary and Raymond Holoman of the painful dilemma parents face when they become victims of their child’s violence and addiction. The Holomans told a Wes...
triblive.com
December 17, 2025 at 1:48 PM
Scottdale parents tell judge they struggle to balance child's welfare with their own safety triblive.com/local/westmo...
Some furloughed Westmoreland County workers recalled as commissioners weigh additional returns triblive.com/local/westmo...
Some furloughed Westmoreland County workers recalled as commissioners weigh additional returns
More than a third of the Westmoreland County employees furloughed in October have returned to work, commissioners said Tuesday. “More are scheduled to come back next month,” said Commissio...
triblive.com
December 17, 2025 at 1:47 PM
Some furloughed Westmoreland County workers recalled as commissioners weigh additional returns triblive.com/local/westmo...
Chipotle eyes Irwin as 1st Pa. site of its Habanero concept restaurant triblive.com/local/westmo...
Chipotle eyes Irwin as 1st Pa. site of its Habanero concept restaurant
A nationwide Mexican food chain is planning to make Irwin the first site in Pennsylvania of its newest prototype restaurant. Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. plans to build its Habanero model restaurant at...
triblive.com
December 16, 2025 at 4:39 PM
Chipotle eyes Irwin as 1st Pa. site of its Habanero concept restaurant triblive.com/local/westmo...
'We weren't going to win on Saturday': Plow, salt crews weather weekend snowstorm triblive.com/local/valley...
'We weren't going to win on Saturday': Plow, salt crews weather weekend snowstorm
Hempfield Public Works Director Austin Erhard was upfront with his plowing and salting crews as nasty weather began to roll in this past weekend. “I was very clear with them: We weren’t go...
triblive.com
December 16, 2025 at 4:38 PM
'We weren't going to win on Saturday': Plow, salt crews weather weekend snowstorm triblive.com/local/valley...
Son testifies he had 'suspicions' about his father in death of transient man found near New Alexandria triblive.com/local/westmo...
Son testifies he had 'suspicions' about his father in death of transient man found near New Alexandria
Braden Zvara testified Monday that he had suspicions about his father after hearing that a man had been found dead on state game lands in Loyalhanna. After reporting a strange encounter at the Greensb...
triblive.com
December 15, 2025 at 6:43 PM
Son testifies he had 'suspicions' about his father in death of transient man found near New Alexandria triblive.com/local/westmo...
Reposted by Dirk Kaufman
Downright cold this AM in Washington, DC. But it's International Tea Day! Legend says tea was first discovered over 4,000 years ago in China when tree leaves blew into a pot of boiling water over a fire. The rest is history. Baroque Classical Sunrise 7:23am @WETAClassical🌤️
December 15, 2025 at 10:57 AM
Downright cold this AM in Washington, DC. But it's International Tea Day! Legend says tea was first discovered over 4,000 years ago in China when tree leaves blew into a pot of boiling water over a fire. The rest is history. Baroque Classical Sunrise 7:23am @WETAClassical🌤️
Jeannette Council will have 8 days between their agenda-setting and voting meeting in 2026 triblive.com/local/westmo...
Jeannette Council will have 8 days between their agenda-setting and voting meeting in 2026
Jeannette’s public meeting schedule for 2026 is set to change to allow for more time in between monthly agenda-setting sessions and voting meetings. Council has approved the dates for its meetin...
triblive.com
December 14, 2025 at 11:25 AM
Jeannette Council will have 8 days between their agenda-setting and voting meeting in 2026 triblive.com/local/westmo...
Westmoreland housing authority secures federal funding to build Mt. Pleasant townhouses triblive.com/local/westmo...
Westmoreland housing authority secures federal funding to build Mt. Pleasant townhouses
The Westmoreland County Housing Authority has announced that a portion of its $5.6 million project to build 20 townhouses in Mt. Pleasant Township will be paid for through a federal grant. Officials s...
triblive.com
December 14, 2025 at 11:25 AM
Westmoreland housing authority secures federal funding to build Mt. Pleasant townhouses triblive.com/local/westmo...
PennDOT adds more highways where speed limit reduced to 45 mph due to winter storm triblive.com/local/westmo...
PennDOT adds more highways where speed limit reduced to 45 mph due to winter storm
Due to the severity of Saturday’s winter storm, PennDOT has temporarily reduced the speed limit to 45 mph on a number of major highways in the region. The latest highways to have the speed limit...
triblive.com
December 14, 2025 at 11:24 AM
PennDOT adds more highways where speed limit reduced to 45 mph due to winter storm triblive.com/local/westmo...
Area townships on front line as Pennsylvania eyes regulations for solar farms triblive.com/local/westmo...
Area townships on front line as Pennsylvania eyes regulations for solar farms
Brandi Umbaugh planned to build a home on her 70-acre farm that would have a commanding view of surrounding fields and woods hugging the eastern side of Westmoreland County’s Chestnut Ridge. A m...
triblive.com
December 14, 2025 at 11:23 AM
Area townships on front line as Pennsylvania eyes regulations for solar farms triblive.com/local/westmo...
Volunteers place wreaths to honor generations of Jeannette veterans triblive.com/local/westmo...
Volunteers place wreaths to honor generations of Jeannette veterans
David Holtz and his 7-year-old daughter, Nyla, saluted Saturday as they laid a wreath before the headstone of World War II Army veteran Richard H. Irwin at Jeannette Memorial Park. It was the Jeannett...
triblive.com
December 14, 2025 at 11:21 AM
Volunteers place wreaths to honor generations of Jeannette veterans triblive.com/local/westmo...
Heirloom holiday decorations hold special memories, family history triblive.com/local/westmo...
Heirloom holiday decorations hold special memories, family history
Every time Nancy Trabucco looks at Santa and his reindeer decorating her Delmont front yard, she’s reminded of a half-century of holiday goofiness with her family. When Melanie Litz of Export lo...
triblive.com
December 12, 2025 at 6:25 PM
Heirloom holiday decorations hold special memories, family history triblive.com/local/westmo...
Westmoreland County Airshow canceled for 2026 amid passenger terminal construction triblive.com/local/westmo...
Westmoreland County Airshow canceled for 2026 amid passenger terminal construction
The Westmoreland County Airport Authority announced the 2026 air show is canceled. “It would be a challenge to meet all the TSA requirements with the terminal construction a critial point,&rdquo...
triblive.com
December 12, 2025 at 1:29 PM
Westmoreland County Airshow canceled for 2026 amid passenger terminal construction triblive.com/local/westmo...
Penn Township proposes steady property tax rate in 2026 budget triblive.com/local/westmo...
Penn Township proposes steady property tax rate in 2026 budget
Penn Township commissioners will vote next week on a 2026 budget proposal that would not increase property taxes. The nearly $12 million spending plan includes a property tax rate of 17.4 mills, plus ...
triblive.com
December 12, 2025 at 11:48 AM
Penn Township proposes steady property tax rate in 2026 budget triblive.com/local/westmo...
Greensburg store sells items made by Hempfield Area special ed, autistic support students triblive.com/local/westmo...
Greensburg store sells items made by Hempfield Area special ed, autistic support students
Wreaths, bracelets, ornaments and other gifts made by Hempfield Area students are on sale at a downtown Greensburg store ahead of Christmas. Artisans of Hands and Heart, a co-op store located at 106 S...
triblive.com
December 12, 2025 at 11:47 AM
Greensburg store sells items made by Hempfield Area special ed, autistic support students triblive.com/local/westmo...
Heating costs $6,000 per month during Irwin office construction triblive.com/local/westmo...
Heating costs $6,000 per month during Irwin office construction
Irwin will be paying $12,000 to provide heat this month and in January for the workers converting a former storefront into administrative offices at the borough building on Main Street. Borough counci...
triblive.com
December 12, 2025 at 11:46 AM
Heating costs $6,000 per month during Irwin office construction triblive.com/local/westmo...
Local farmers skeptical about impact of 'bridge payments' on bottom line triblive.com/local/region...
Local farmers skeptical about impact of 'bridge payments' on bottom line
New Alexandria’s Fred Slezak said many farmers like him have a strong independent streak. “We don’t particularly care to get payments from the government,” said Slezak, 71, own...
triblive.com
December 12, 2025 at 11:46 AM
Local farmers skeptical about impact of 'bridge payments' on bottom line triblive.com/local/region...
Greensburg Lutheran church sells shopping plaza along Main Street triblive.com/local/westmo...
Greensburg Lutheran church sells shopping plaza along Main Street
A Greensburg shopping plaza has been sold to a Unity church. Charter Oak Church on Frye Farm Road has purchased the Mid Town Plaza, at 450 S. Main St., from First Evangelical Lutheran Church at 246 S....
triblive.com
December 11, 2025 at 10:48 AM
Greensburg Lutheran church sells shopping plaza along Main Street triblive.com/local/westmo...
Penn Township proposes steady property tax rate in 2026 budget triblive.com/local/westmo...
Penn Township proposes steady property tax rate in 2026 budget
Penn Township commissioners will vote next week on a 2026 budget proposal that would not increase property taxes. The nearly $12 million spending plan includes a property tax rate of 17.4 mills, plus ...
triblive.com
December 11, 2025 at 10:47 AM
Penn Township proposes steady property tax rate in 2026 budget triblive.com/local/westmo...