Avalon Council has given final approval to a new five-year garbage collection contract, and also explained Tuesday why Avalon residents will be paying more next year than will Bellevue residents.

Borough manager Harry Dilmore said that although the base rate is the same for all municipalities that are part of the Quaker Valley Council of Governments (QVCOG) negotiated contract with Waste Management, Avalon has decided to turn over billing to the contractor. Waste Management charges about $20 more to handle billing, he said.

Avalon Council approved a motion Tuesday to create a joint shade tree commission with Ben Avon and Bellevue.

Borough manager Harry Dilmore said that each of the boroughs had its own commission at one time, but most had become defunct due to lack of interest. Allegheny County had suggested that the boroughs form a joint commission to address issues involving the planting or removal of trees.

A unanimous vote by Emsworth Council Wednesday evening put an end to a firestorm -- literally, in some residents’ opinions -- that erupted one week before when the Avonworth Community Park executive board approved a lease that would allow drilling beneath park property for natural gas, part of the lucrative Marcellus Shale reservoir.

Motorists who travel Route 65 can add one more traffic headache to their lists. The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) is expected to begin work on the South Birmingham Avenue Bridge this summer.

Avalon borough manager harry Dilmore said that work is expected to begin June 11. The highway will be reduced to one 10-feet lane in each direction, he said.

The Ohio Township Supervisors have given permission for Giant Eagle to transfer a liquor license from Ross Township to its Camp Horne Road store.

Township manager John Sullivan said that the store plans to expand its current cafe area, installing wood-fired ovens and adding seating to accommodate 30 people. The cafe will sell six-packs of beer, Sullivan said, as well as individual cans or bottles, which will be limited to two per customer.

Municipalities that lie beneath a path used b y airplanes to and from the Greater Pittsburgh International Airport will be required to adopt a zoning overlay district that will identify the flight paths and restrict building in those areas.

Avalon became the first municipalities to approve creation of the new zoning district in a unanimous vote by the borough council Tuesday night.

Borough manager Harry Dilmore said that Allegheny County will reimburse municipalities 90 percent of the cost of amending their zoning codes.

Bellevue and Avalon officials will no longer have to debate who will pay how much of the West Bellevue Road sewer repair project. Avalon borough manager Harry Dilmore has obtained a grant that will cover the entire $370,000 projected cost of the mandated work.

Will two new dump trucks reach Avalon Borough before snow and ice hit the streets? Probably not, which is why the borough has made arrangements to rent vehicles for the next few weeks.

Council member Tom Lloyd reported at Tuesday’s council meeting two of the borough trucks are completely shot, and are not worth repairing. Council voted to purchase two new trucks, with payment not due until 2011.

A rundown property. Absentee owner. Code violations on top of code violations. Months in the court system. Fines levied that are never collected. Liens filed against the property to the point that they exceed the value of the property itself.

This is a far too common scenario in municipalities across the state, as officials struggle to eliminate blight that experts say will spread like the flu if left unchecked, taking down property values in the entire community.

Eric Lawry relaxes in a coffee shop and flips through a magazine of lists.

A list of the world's best beaches. A list of the world's tallest buildings

Not included in this magazine are two categories that he'd like to add: The most popular blues and rock music festivals of the past year, and the most popular bands appearing at them.

Because if such lists were compiled, Eric would be associated with both.

It could have been much worse, but the combination of an effective emergency response plan and what can only be called acts of God prevented an environmental nightmare when a tanker truck carrying a toxic chemical overturned on Union Avenue Wednesday afternoon.

The tanker was traveling down Union Avenue toward the North Boroughs about 3 p.m. when the driver attempted to turn onto the I-279 southbound on-ramp. Officials believe several tires hit a rut beside the ramp, the driver overcompensated, and the tanker flipped.