Owners plan to “breathe new life into historic Monaca glass factory
MONACA Employees at a storied Beaver County glass plant are looking forward to stability for the first time in decades.
Austrian-based Stoelzle Glass chose Monaca to expand its international presence last month, purchasing the century-old former Phoenix Glass factory from Oneida Group subsidiary Anchor Hocking. It’s the company’s first plant in the United States and seventh worldwide.
Stoelzle is a major player in premier glassware – think whiskey and perfume bottles, and plans to “breathe new life” into a facility that has historically shouldered financial pressures, company acquisitions and even a barrage of structure fires.
Big Beaver Plaza to be restored; new tenants on the horizon
BIG BEAVER New owners of a once-busy shopping center are restoring the hub for commercial use.
Big Beaver Plaza off Route 18 has struggled to retain retail business since the 1990s, slowly falling into disrepair as a variety of tenants closed up shop.
A new company called Beaver Strip LLC, affiliated with New Castle-based Wish Development, purchased the 30-acre site in 2019 from Salieri Group Inc for more than $1.02 million, according to Beaver County property records. Company representatives did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Local officials and former property owners say the plaza never fully rebounded after a devastating tornado in 1985; it was rebuilt at three-quarters its original size two years after the storm.
State recognizes Aliquippa for economic improvement
ALIQUIPPA A high-profile Beaver County underdog is among those honored by the governor s office for local excellence this year.
Pennsylvania’s Department of Community and Economic Development named the City of Aliquippa a 2021 recipient of the Governor’s Award for Local Government Excellence. Each year, municipalities and elected leaders are applauded for improvements made to their communities.
“After being faced with an unprecedented pandemic that impacted communities across the state, this year’s awards truly speak to and honor the resilience and proactive efforts of the inspiring Pennsylvania community leaders and groups that we are celebrating today,” DCED Secretary Dennis Davin said in a statement.
Fire displaces more than a dozen Ambridge residents
AMBRIDGE Firefighters are investigating the cause of a blaze that destroyed several row houses in the borough early Sunday.
No one was injured in the Glenwood Avenue fire, which broke out around 2:30 a.m. in Ambridge and required the assistance of at least 16 fire departments.
Five units were heavily damaged in the fire, which took responders five hours to extinguish and caused a power outage in the area, Ambridge Fire Chief Rob Gottschalk said. More than a dozen Beaver County residents were displaced, according to the American Red Cross – now providing assistance to families.
Judge sentences Crisci to 2 to 5 years in state prison
The Aliquippa woman cleared of drug delivery resulting in death charges earlier this year will serve 2 to 5 years in state prison for related drug convictions.
Jurors in January said Melinda Crisci, 31, should not be held criminally liable for the death of 54-year-old Stephen Naim, of New Brighton, after the man overdosed on a mixture of heroin and fentanyl in 2019. Naim was the brother of former Aliquippa Police Officer Jimmy Naim – shot and killed on the job two decades ago.
Prosecutors failed to convince the jury that Crisci sold Naim the lethal mixture; she was instead convicted of criminal use of a communication facility and possession with intent to deliver for drugs she procured with Naim days prior to his death.