Somebody is targeting an historic West Mifflin cemetery.

Twice in as many months West Mifflin police have been called to investigate overturned headstones at Lebanon Church Cemetery.

It was random vandalism, though usually the culprit or culprits pushed over multiple headstones in a given row.

“Some of the older headstones were pushed over and broken,” cemetery manager Lori Hornfeck said Monday. “Some of the newer ones were just pushed over.”

In all, some 40 have been overturned. The latest incident was reported to borough police Friday.

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From shuttered storefronts to near-empty corridors, hard times have hit some of the region’s largest shopping malls.

Once the pillars of local consumerism, malls from Frazer to Monroeville to West Mifflin are struggling with vacancies as the nation’s deepening recession takes its toll on retailers and shopper confidence.

At Century III Mall, one wing of the sprawling West Mifflin complex is nearly empty because of an exodus of stores. By a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette count, more than 30 storefronts are empty.

In Frazer, the Galleria at Pittsburgh Mills is coping with some 37 vacancies, as the huge ranch-style mall continues to struggle to find a niche since its opening in 2005.

And in the east suburbs, Monroeville Mall, where the 1978 cult classic “Dawn of the Dead” was filmed, finds itself amidst a real-life retail horror story, with roughly 20 empty storefronts by the newspaper’s count.

Some local malls are bucking the climate, most notably Ross Park Mall, which has become an upscale mecca with stores like Nordstrom, Tiffany’s, Michael Kors and L.L. Bean. But even it isn’t immune. About a dozen stores were vacant during a recent visit, although new tenants have been named for six of them.

Experts say it’s no surprise that area malls are taking it on the chin, with retail sales slumping nationwide and big-name chains such as Circuit City, Boscov’s, KB Toys and Steve & Barry’s going bankrupt.

[ Full story available at: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09053/950837-28.stm ]

West Mifflin council has scrapped a plan to install a metal detector at the entrance to its chambers in the borough building.

“It’s a dead issue. We don’t want to be a test case on this,” said council President William Welsh.

Council’s decision occurred after a meeting with borough Solicitor Michael Adams, Welsh said. In November, council unanimously approved the metal detector and hoped to have it in place this month.

Gun owners, who said the proposal would discriminate against them, threatened to mount a legal challenge if council moved forward.

[ Full story available at: http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/cityregion/s_607578.html ]

Century III Mall owner Simon Property Group Inc. said Friday it’s working to find new tenants or uses for two large, anchor store spaces that will be emptied through liquidation sales.

Jackets, skirts and T-shirts were selling for a few dollars each this week at Steve & Barry’s, which is closing all its stores. Sofas, tables and other furniture pieces will be sold off starting Wednesday at a Macy’s Furniture Gallery and clearance center.

The West Mifflin retail complex has battled rumors in recent years that it is on the verge of closing. Real estate firms have said the mall has been marketed for sale in recent years, but Simon has said it doesn’t discuss any plans to sell properties.

[ Full story available at: http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/s_606487.html ]

The General Motors metal stamping plant in West Mifflin closed yesterday, idling all but a handful of workers.

GM spokesman Chris Lee said the plant produced its last part on Nov. 20 and finished its processing work yesterday. All workers were laid off except for a small number of skilled craftspeople, who will remain on the job until mid-January, when GM will auction the plant’s equipment.

The automaker had announced in April that the plant’s days were numbered, following the collapse of a deal to sell it to Allegheny Holdings, one of whose leaders was retired GM executive Thomas Brady.

The plant’s roughly 350 maintenance and production workers, who are represented by United Auto Workers Local 544, have been through a series of ups and downs that began in November 2006, when the automaker announced that the West Mifflin facility would be closing in 2007. That closing was postponed while talks were under way on selling the plant to Allegheny Holdings.

[ Full story available at: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08348/935037-28.stm ]

WEST MIFFLIN, Pa. — As domestic auto makers consolidate operations with or without a government bailout, the closing of an aging General Motors Corp. metal-stamping plant here shows how blue- and white-collar workers have been treated differently, with the former faring slightly better.

Earlier this year, United Auto Workers union members at the suburban Pittsburgh plant had the option of taking early retirement, a buyout or transferring to another plant. Those who didn’t take one of the choices now face a layoff.

Under the union contract, laid-off hourly workers receive pay from GM to supplement unemployment insurance that brings their income to 72% of their gross pay. After 48 months, workers can enter a “jobs bank” and receive 85% of their gross pay, until another GM job opens up.

Salaried workers at the plant, meanwhile, had the option to transfer or take early retirement, but weren’t offered a buyout if they weren’t yet eligible to retire. A handful of salaried workers will lose their jobs when the plant closes this Friday and receive a severance package.

[ Full story available at: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122878314147589917.html ]

Arson caused a fire in a second-floor classroom at West Mifflin Area High School, the Allegheny County Fire Marshal’s Office said Monday.

West Mifflin police Chief Joseph Popovich criticized the district for waiting 3 1/2 hours to notify police about the fire.

“The school board needs to address the issue of notifying the proper authorities when something happens,” Popovich said. “They need to reinstruct their staff on the proper procedures and protocol when there’s a fire in a school.”

Popovich said a janitor discovered the fire around 3 a.m. Monday. Janitors work in shifts and are in the school at all hours.

[ Full story available at: http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/cityregion/s_599983.html ]

The economy is down and bus routes have been reduced, but officials at Century III Mall are keeping their fingers crossed for a healthy holiday shopping season.

Last week, the U.S. Commerce Department announced that retail sales dropped by 2.8 percent in October, the largest amount on record, with sales of everything from autos to furniture to clothing taking a hit.

One week earlier, the Port Authority announced that it was cutting bus service to Century III Mall, starting Sunday, potentially keeping shoppers away from the West Mifflin complex, which already is dealing with some 30 empty storefronts.

[ Full story available at: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08325/929199-55.stm ]