Monday, May 20, 2013
The primary election is Tuesday. See which races are contested.
The Pennsylvania primary election is on Tuesday, and there are some contested races in the Plum-Oakmont area. Candidates are seeking their party's nomination to appear on the ballot during the November general election. Here's a look at who is on the ballot: Plum Borough Mayor (1 seat) Republicans—Dave Majernik, Christine Scardina-Gazzo and Joe Tommarello Democrat—Richard Hrivnak Plum School Board (4 seats) Democrats—Salvatore Collella, Kevin Dowdell, Andrew Drake, Dawn Lynn Check, Jim Rogers and Michelle Stepnick. Republicans—Salvatore Collella, Kevin Dowdell, Andrew Drake, Dawn Lynn Check, Jim Rogers and Michelle Stepnick. Verona Borough Council (4 seats) Democrats—Patrick McCarthy Jr., Rhoda Gemellas Worf, William Futules, Peggy …
Saturday, March 2, 2013
This program helps financially struggling individuals and families file their 2013 federal, state and local tax returns.
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Saturday, March 2
Allegheny County residents can take advantage of the Money in Your Pocket (MIYP) Coalition Free Tax Preparation Campaign, which helps financially struggling individuals and families file their 2013 federal, state and local tax returns. There are 11 locations staffed with IRS-trained tax preparers throughout the county. Now in its fifth year, the free tax preparation campaign helps low and middle-income workers maximize their tax refunds by claiming valuable state and federal tax credits, such as the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and the Child Tax Credit (CTC). Services are provided free of charge, offering clients a cost-saving alternative to expensive commercial tax preparation fees. The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) is a federal tax …
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
State representatives who cover the Plum, Oakmont and Verona area were sworn in on New Year's Day.
Three local state representatives were sworn in for two more years in the state House of Representatives. Tuesday's swearing-in ceremony marked the beginning of the 2013-14 legislative session, the 197th of the Pennsylvania General Assembly. Local reps in attendance were Rep. Tony DeLuca (D-32), Rep. Frank Dermody (D-33) and Rep. Joe Markosek (D-25). DeLuca's district covers Plum and Verona, Dermody's covers Oakmont and Plum and Markosek's covers Plum. "It is an honor and privilege to serve the people of the 32nd Legislative District," DeLuca said in a statement. "As Insurance Committee chairman, I will remain focused on the various insurance-related issues affecting Pennsylvanians. This includes the ongoing efforts to provide all of our …
Friday, December 28, 2012
Borough officials approved a final 2013 budget.
Verona residents will not have a tax increase in 2013. During a special meeting Thursday morning, borough council approved a $1.3 million preliminary budget that keeps the tax rate steady with a 5-2 vote. Councilmembers Rhoda Gemellas-Worf and Sandy Drabicki-Bell dissented. The current millage rate is 8.0 mills, meaning a resident pays $800 for every $100,000 of assessed property value. Gemellas-Worf, Drabicki-Bell and many residents in the audience urged officials to hold off on approving the budget until Jan. 31. Earlier this month, Allegheny County Judge R. Stanton Wettick Jr. signed and issued an official court order extending the Dec. 31 deadline to Jan. 31 for taxing bodies to adopt 2013 budgets and set millage rates due to the new …
Tuesday, December 25, 2012
Households, businesses will no longer able to dispose of TV’s, computer equipment through Waste Management.
If the holidays brought you new electronics or you’ve been keeping an old console TV in the garage in hopes an electronics recycling event would appear, there’s good news on the calendar for you—and the environment. Pennsylvania’s new Covered Device Recycling Act takes effect in January and requires the recycling of all TVs and computer equipment being discarded by households, businesses and institutions. The law also provides free recycling for these devices being disposed of by households and businesses with fewer than 50 employees. Larger businesses are required to pay for electronics recycling. “For the last several weeks we have informed our customers that our collection crews will not pick up TV’s and computer equipment beginning …
Monday, November 26, 2012
Hunters can share their harvest using a network set up by the Pennsylvania Game Commission.
It is considered Pennsylvania's only unofficial holiday. The Monday after Thanksgiving marks opening day of the two-week general deer season. 750,000 men, women, and teenagers wearing fluorescent orange are expected to invade Penn's Woods, according to Game Commission Executive Director Carl G. Roe. “In addition to being a rich part of our state’s heritage, deer season is critical in managing Pennsylvania’s whitetails,” Roe said. “The efforts of hunters are far-reaching; they help to keep deer populations in check, and enable the agency to meet deer management goals that benefit those who reside, visit or travel through this state.” Safety Rules Hunters must wear 250 square inches of fluorescent orange material on the head, chest and …
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
According to a NeighborhoodScout report, Plum ranked in the Top 10 safest cities in America.
Plum Borough residents are living in one of the safest places in America, according to a study. NeighborhoodScout has released a list of the Top 100 Safest Cities in the U.S., and Plum has ranked No. 6 and is considered safer than 79 percent of the cities in the nation. Compared to communities within Pennsylvania, Plum's crime rate is lower than nearly 61 percent of the state's cities and towns, according to the report. Cities in America with 25,000 or more people were included in the ranking system. A city's rank was based on the total number of property and violent crimes per 1,000 residents. Crimes include burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft, murder, forcible rape, armed robbery and aggravated assault. According to …
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
Here's a look at how Plum, Oakmont and Verona residents voted during the 2012 general election.
Though President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden won re-election Tuesday night, two out of three local communities favored Republican candidates Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan. According to results from the Allegheny County Division of Elections, the majority of voters in Plum and Oakmont boroughs voted for Romney/Ryan at the polls. Those in Verona supported Obama/Biden. In Plum, about 13,568 out of 18,585 registered voters made it to the polls—a 73 percent turnout. The republican ticket won all but one of the 21 voting districts—District 17. Romney received 7,723 votes to Obama's 5,633. Also in Plum, Tom Smith, Republican candidate for U.S. senator, was favored with 7,016 votes to re-elected incumbent Sen. Bob Casey's 6,101 votes. In…
These are unofficial results.
Friday, November 2, 2012
Here are profiles for the Democratic and Republican candidates in this race.
Plum Councilman Mike Doyle, a Republican, will face off with Democratic state Rep. Joe Markosek of Monroeville once more during the general election in November. This will be Doyle's second time running against Markosek, a 30-year incumbent. In 2010, he lost the general election by 1,600 votes. The district covers Plum Borough. General Information Place of residence: Plum Borough Education: Bachelor degree in Business Administration and Marketing from King's College. Employment History: Manager for Excalibur Insurance Management. Party affiliation: Republican Running for a: State office Running for position: State Representative Chamber/district: 25 Previous elective offices: Plum Councilman since 2006. Statement: "As your State …
Robert Brayer
2:08 pm on Friday, December 28, 2012
I agree with Ernie it certainly seems odd that we can,t recieve a itemized budget. I wonder if something is being kept from us. This is public information and I want to know where every single one of my tax dollars are being spent! By the way the Council meeting was held at 9:00 A: M: which made it very inconvient for those who work to attend.I also agree with Ms. Carpenter's statements. Bob. more ›