Valley veterans advocate Ron Chromulak dies
Death Notices, Latest News, Main
By TAYLOR BROWN, Senior Reporter 
January 5, 2026
The Monessen native and Air Force veteran was 83. Ronald “Ron” Chromulak, a Monessen native and longtime advocate for veterans and community programs across the Mon Valley, died Friday. He was 83. A r...
Work continues on Expressway
Around The Valley, Latest News, Main
By SARAH PELLIS spellis@yourmvi.com 
January 5, 2026
The PA Turnpike Commission has no further plans to close Coal Valley Road, which reopened in December. Coal Valley Road is open again as construction is moving forward with the Mon/Fayette Expressway,...
LIHEAP funds available to help with heating bills
Around The Valley, Latest News, Main
By LADIMIR GARCIA lgarcia@yourmvi.com 
January 5, 2026
Pennsylvania residents can apply for assistance through April 10. As winter takes hold in the Mon Valley, some families may wonder how resources like the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program can ...
Pa. offers new online tools to help those applying for SNAP benefits
Around The Valley, Latest News, Main
By TAYLOR BROWN, Senior Reporter 
January 5, 2026
They’re designed to reduce errors and delays and make sure state residents get the benefits they need. Residents of Allegheny, Washington, Westmoreland and Fayette counties who rely on SNAP or other p...
Politics
January 5, 2026
PENN STATE’S BOARD OF TRUSTEES deserves credit for spending more time in public discussion this year than it has in the recent past. After years in which outcomes often were treated as foregone conclu...
The year changes, but many questions remain the same
Politics
January 5, 2026
Anew year, the same questions. The turning of the calendar page doesn’t necessarily mean that the country has turned a page. Many of the same mysteries, many of the same challenges, many of the same p...
Politics
January 5, 2026
By MEGAN JANETSKY and ISABEL DEBRE Associated Press MEXICO CITY (AP) — As uncertainty simmers in Venezuela, interim President Delcy Rodríguez has taken the place of her looming ally President Nicolás ...
How cocaine, corruption led to indictment of Maduro
Politics
January 5, 2026
NEW YORK (AP) — A newly unsealed U.S. Justice Department indictmen t accuses captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro of running a “corrupt, illegitimate government” fueled by an extensive drug-tr...
Charleroi looks ahead to next steps in Neighborhood Partnership Program revival
Latest News, Main
By TAYLOR BROWN, Senior Reporter 
January 3, 2026
The program led to the reopening of Third Street Park last year. On a cold January morning along Second Street, the Monongahela River is quiet. The trees along the bank are bare, the boat ramp empty, ...
Inglis tackles housing issues with legislation in state House
Latest News, Main
By LADIMIR GARCIA lgarcia@yourmvi.com 
January 3, 2026
It’s a growing problem in Pennsylvania, which ranks near the bottom in recent new home construction. State Rep. John Inglis, D-West Mifflin, has been working with colleagues since early December to la...
Chocolate-dipped orange palmiers are a delicious treat
Features, Food, Latest News
OUT OF THE FRYING PAN
January 3, 2026
By CHRISTINE HAINES For the MVI Not everything that is homemade needs to be made from scratch. I’m starting this new year with a recipe that is sweet, easy and looks like you spent hours on it while t...
For some, Dry January leads to full-time sobriety
Around The Valley, Latest News, Main
January 3, 2026
For a variety of reasons, they have decided to cut alcohol out of their lives. By JOANNE KLIMOVICH HARROP TribLive For Scott Page, Dry January goes year-round. At the beginning of his sobriety journey...
Firefighters respond to accident on Webster Hollow Road
Around The Valley, Latest News, Main
January 3, 2026
Firefighters were called to the scene of an accident Friday afternoon in the 600 block of Webster Hollow Road. No injuries were reported. Fire crews assisted with traffic control. Rostraver Township F...
‘Voices of the Valley’ attracting attention
Around The Valley, Latest News, Main
By SARAH PELLIS spellis@yourmvi.com 
January 3, 2026
It’s operated by Chad Licht, a 2024 EFHS graduate and a former school board candidate. Elizabeth Forward area resident and former school board candidate Chad Licht is hoping he can provide another ave...
Around The Valley, Latest News, Politics
January 3, 2026
Meetings in local government next week Here’s a look at the upcoming government meetings around the Mid-Mon Valley. If there’s an item or other event of public interest, we’ll include that below the l...
Politics
January 3, 2026
For many Mon Valley residents, Thursday’s weather was too cold to think about stepping outside, let alone consider going for a swim. But a few brave souls jumped into the Monongahela River for a good ...
Republicans face big questions entering 2026
Politics
January 3, 2026
“Are the Republicans going the way of the Whigs?” During President Trump’s first term, this question was asked a lot. The answer then: No. But one year into his second term it’s worth revisiting the q...