TribLive stories, Page 1927
Freeport girls shut down Knoch
Using a dominant defensive effort, plus a dose of offensive and defensive rebounding and evenly distributed scoring, the Freeport Yellow Jackets defeated next-door neighbor Knoch for the fifth-consecutive time, winning by a final of 53-39 Thursday night. Reigning AK Valley athlete of the year Sidney Shemanski poured in a team-high...
Steelers’ Ben Roethlisberger funding Sacramento’s next police K-9Video
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger awarded a grant to the Sacramento Police Department that has allowed it to add a dog to its K-9 unit. Though Roethlisberger was sidelined this season with an elbow injury, he pledged to distribute grants toward the K-9 units of police and...
Fights for first place highlight a busy Friday of WPIAL basketball
Two big battles for first place highlight a busy Friday of district boys basketball. The top two teams in Section 2-2A square off when Brentwood visits Serra Catholic. Serra Catholic (4-0, 6-5) cruised to the section title a year ago, winning by four games. The Eagles crushed the Spartans twice...
Florida teacher arrested after video shows him throwing student from class, deputies sayVideo
ORLANDO, Fla. — A Flagler County teacher was arrested Wednesday after picking a 14-year-old student up and throwing him out of the classroom, deputies said. Jeffrey Paffumi, 47, of Palm Coast, was taken to Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility and faces a charge of battery, according to Flagler County...
Penguins notebook: Sidney Crosby gets scheduled day off practiceVideo
DENVER — With Sidney Crosby joining the Pittsburgh Penguins on their road trip, which commenced Tuesday night at Las Vegas, continues Friday against Colorado and wraps Sunday at Arizona, there had been speculation the injured captain is nearing a return to the lineup. Crosby, who has missed 26 games since...
Trump proposes sweeping rollback of environmental oversight
WASHINGTON — In a dramatic rollback of environmental oversight, President Trump took action Thursday to clear the way and speed up development of a wide range of commercial projects by cutting back federal review of their impact on the environment. “The United States can’t compete and prosper if a bureaucratic...
WPIAL Clinched: Wrestling teams through Jan. 8, 2020
The WPIAL team wrestling regular season is down to the final week. Section matches are set to conclude on Wednesday, Jan. 15. The top three teams from each sub-section qualify for the section tournaments. The district team sectionals are scheduled for the following Wednesday, Jan. 22. The top teams in...
Penguins forward Andrew Agozzino more than ready for call-ups
DENVER — Earlier this week, the Pittsburgh Penguins recalled forward Andrew Agozzino from Wilkes-Barre to provide offensive depth before a three-game road swing at Las Vegas, Colorado and Arizona. Agozzino, who shortly before being called up was named to the AHL All-Star Game, is Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s leading scorer with 31 points...
Don Rebel: How about a compromise between WPIAL’s football realignment plans?
The WPIAL held a “town meeting” on Wednesday and unveiled two plans to district football coaches and administrators to determine the conference landscape for the upcoming 2020 and 2021 seasons. What WPIAL officials presented was a tweak to the status quo on one hand, and a drastic change with teams...
Revamped West Deer board meets for 1st time
Arlind Karpuzi was sworn in this week as the first chairman of the revamped board of supervisors in West Deer. Township voters in a 2018 referendum chose to reduce the board’s size from seven members to five. The change took effect this year. Other members sworn in this week include...
Feds realize a jailed man’s 3,000 pounds of ‘marijuana’ isn’t pot, Texas lawyer says
It was trumpeted as a huge drug bust. Texas Department of Public Safety posted a picture on Facebook of dozens of boxes — presumably filled with over 3,000 pounds of marijuana — piled in front of a U-Haul truck stopped by troopers in early December. During the traffic stop east...
Laurels & lances: Hard job, bad look, new name
Laurel: To a hard job done well. A crash can be hard to handle, even for people who handle things like that every day. A crash with five dead, 55 injured and twisted wreckage that takes hours to navigate is worse. It isn’t something that allows the people rendering aid...
Review: ‘Just Mercy’ a first-rate story with second-rate dialogueVideo
“Just Mercy” is solid, meat-and-potatoes docudrama film-making, if you don’t mind a first-rate story of systemic injustice undercut by second-rate dialogue. No character can go two sentences without clarifying a legal point for the audience’s benefit, or reiterating a tidy, just-so note of stirring idealism. By the time the movie...
Review: Trite ‘Like a Boss’ wastes stars’ genuine comedic talents
Mia (Tiffany Haddish) and Mel (Rose Byrne) are two women in their 30s who don’t need men to make them happy, though they’ll gladly use them for fun. They’re best friends and roommates, comfortably unmarried and focused on the small cosmetics business they’ve formed together. So far, so good, right?...
Review: Kristen Stewart can’t save ‘Underwater’ from sinkingVideo
Welcome to January, which, in terms of quality movies, is the worst, the lowest, the abyss. Actually, that’s pretty accurate when it comes to the latest, straight-to-January release “Underwater,” which steals from “The Abyss” and many other movies like “Alien” and even “Godzilla.” The filmmakers started with an overused thriller...
Whitehall Borough passes earned income tax increase for 2020
While property taxes won’t increase in Whitehall Borough in 2020, borough leaders agreed to raise the earned income tax rate in an effort to bring in more funds to pay for municipal services. Council members recently approved raising the borough’s earned income tax rate from 1% to 1.2%, which they...
New council members sworn in across the South Hills
It’s a new day in Jefferson Hills, as three new council members took the oath of office on Jan. 6. Democrats Karen Bucy, Nicole Ruscitto and Keith Reynolds were sworn in for a four-year term at the borough’s reorganization meeting that evening. “We have the opportunity in this brand new...
Everything must go at Wildwood Highlands, from arcade games to restaurant equipment
Folks looking to take their game room or man cave to envy-of-the-neighborhood status won’t want to miss the public auction happening at the recently shuttered Wildwood Highlands entertainment center in Hampton on Jan. 18. “Where else can you have your own Skee-Ball game or your own motorcycle racing game?” said...
Longtime Pittsburgh singer Billy Price nominated for 2 Blues Music Awards
As a soul singer, Billy Price has few peers. The longtime Pittsburgh resident, who now lives in Baltimore, is considered not only a superb vocalist, but a torchbearer for the genre through his incandescent performances and encyclopedic knowledge of soul music. It’s not lost on him that some of his...
Former councilman and former Carlynton board member sworn in on Carnegie Council
Two familiar faces in the community have joined Carnegie Council for the next four years. Former Carnegie Councilman Rick D’Loss and former Carlynton School Board member Tom DiPietro were sworn in Monday, along with incumbent Sue Demko, who was sworn in to serve another term. “I’ve always been interested in...
Letter to the editor: Which of our allies will stand with America?
President Trump took out a terrorist, something that should have happened years ago. This could cause a major conflict. Maybe it’s time to clean up the area, especially Iran. But now America goes to our allies to see who supports us. My prediction is that France will be the first...
Victoria’s Mobile Flower Shop is always in bloom with a new brick-and-mortar store
Victoria Smith delivers happiness. First, she drives a 1992 Daihatsu Hijet — an adorable mini-truck that looks like a big toy. More to the point, the Hijet is heaped with flowers. When she pulls up to a local home or business, she’s met with smiles and, sometimes, tears of joy....
Read to a therapy dog at the Sewickley library
The Sewickley Public Library, 500 Thorn St., offers a variety of programs for people of all ages. Registration, unless otherwise noted, is available by calling 412-741-6920. For more information, visit sewickleylibrary.org. Children’s programs • Tween Takeover: Pop Prints, a scratch foam printmaking session, will take place from 6 to 7...
Letter to the editor: Who are we to question God?
The letter “Abortion least of evils “(Dec. 22, TribLive), in which Al Duerig attacks God while millions are celebrating the birth of his son, Jesus, crosses a line. I could write a book to rebut his letter, but instead will reply with a quote from French philosopher Albert Camus: “I...
High school scores, summaries and schedules for Jan. 8, 2020
LOCAL High schools Basketball Boys Wednesday’s results WPIAL Class 2A Section 1 Sto-Rox 87, Winchester Thurston 47 Nonsection East Allegheny 43, Carrick 39 Freedom 74, South Side Beaver 65 Hopewell 60, New Brighton 48 Jefferson-Morgan 70, Bentworth 49 Mohawk 62, Beaver County Christian 39 Riverside 59, Western Beaver 55 Riverview...
