Author: Joe Levandosky

Joe Levandosky has been chronicling the highs, lows, and eyebrow-raising moments of Scottdale life since before the borough had Wi-Fi. When he's not chasing down town council drama or decoding zoning ordinances written in ancient bureaucratese, he's probably sipping lukewarm coffee and muttering about potholes. A lifelong resident with a sixth sense for spotting political nonsense from 50 yards, Joe believes in transparency, accountability, and the sacred right to complain about parking. His opinions blend investigative grit with just enough sarcasm to keep things spicy—because in small-town politics, truth is often stranger than fiction. He’s been called “the voice of reason,” “a thorn in someone’s side,” and once, “the guy who knows too much about sewer budgets.” He wears all titles proudly.

A New Kind of Ask: Young Adults Turning to Social Media for Grocery Money

Across community Facebook groups and neighborhood forums, a new type of request has begun appearing with surprising frequency: young adults asking strangers to buy their groceries. The posts are often brief — a Cash App handle, a short explanation, sometimes no explanation at all. And they’ve sparked a debate about what, exactly, is driving this emerging behavior. A Sign of Economic Strain Experts who track food insecurity say the trend may reflect a growing financial…

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The Draft’s Double-Edged Sword for Pittsburgh’s Small Towns

When the NFL draft comes to Pittsburgh, the economic ripple effects will extend far beyond the city limits into the surrounding small towns, presenting both unprecedented opportunities and significant challenges. For communities like Monroeville, Washington, and Greensburg, the draft represents a substantial economic injection. Hotels will command premium rates, restaurants will see record crowds, and local businesses will benefit from the spending of team executives, media, and fans. The multiplier effect will circulate money through…

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A School Board That Betrayed Its Voters

When this school board ran for office, they promised fiscal responsibility. They promised transparency. They promised to protect taxpayers and put the needs of Southmoreland families first. But the moment they were sworn in, those promises evaporated – replaced by decisions that benefit a massive corporation at the direct expense of the people who actually live here. The most glaring example came with their vote to grant a real estate tax reduction to one of…

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Scottdale’s Athletes and the American Promise

For 250 years, this country has been defined by a simple, stubborn belief: greatness can come from anywhere. Not just from the big cities, not just from the gilded halls of power, but from the coal patches, the mill towns, the rail junctions, and the places where people learned early that nothing worth having comes without work. Scottdale, Pennsylvania . . . . our town . . . . has lived that truth for generations.…

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Two Miracles, Two Moments of Reckoning

By any rational measure, the United States hockey team should not have beaten the Soviet Union in 1980. And by any modern measure, the 2026 U.S. men’s team should not have rolled undefeated into a gold‑medal showdown with Canada. Yet both teams did something far more consequential than win hockey games. They arrived at moments when America was fractured, anxious, and unsure of itself, and they gave the country a reason to believe again. These…

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