TribLive stories, Page 2109
Letter to the editor: Gerrymandering & democracy
Thank you for the editorial ”Gerrymandering doesn’t represent us.”Gerrymandering can be a complicated subject, but you focused on the essence of the problem with the sentence, “Representative democracy doesn’t work if it’s not representative.” This assessment sums up the reason our state and federal governments are dysfunctional. If we can’t...
Letter to the editor: Democrats’ math & tax fairness
According to the latest Mercatus Center Senior Research, the top 50% of taxpayers pay 97.3% of the total. The top 1% pay over 38%. Leaving under 3% for the bottom 50%! Either the Democratic candidates who are calling for tax fairness flunked math or they just like beating up the...
Lauren Ash loves chance to share ‘Scare Tactics’
Lauren Ash spent two years at a job where she came to work every day fearing someone would play a horrible practical joke on her. It wasn’t that she was working in a hostile work environment, but the natural concern that comes when you are part of a series called...
First Hampton Heritage Day offers glimpse of life centuries ago
The Depreciation Lands Museum recently held its first Heritage Day, which allowed guests to explore the Depreciation Lands Museum Cemetery in Allison Park and the Pine Creek Cemetery in Gibsonia. The self-guided tours afforded attendees an opportunity to learn about the area in the 18th and 19th centuries....
L.L. Bean offers summer, outdoor programs at North Park
For years, the outdoor company L.L. Bean has been sponsoring activities to help get people active. Last week, the retail giant hosted an archery program....
Shaler commissioners to discuss legal settlement on property
The Shaler commissioners are slated to discuss a legal settlement regarding a property request at its 7 p.m. July 9 meeting. According to Shaler Manager Tim Rogers, Scioto Properties, owner of 444 McElheny Road, applied for a permit in May 2018 for a home housing eight people with traumatic brain...
Pirates farm report for July 5, 2019
INDIANAPOLIS (Triple-A, 44-42) swept Toledo (Tigers) in a doubleheader. The Indians won Game 1, 4-3. DH Gregory Polanco (.333) was 1 for 3 with a first-inning, two-run home run. It was Polanco’s second game in his rehab assignment since being placed on the 10-day injured list June 22 with posterior...
Mackenzie Lueck’s body has been found, police say
Investigators have discovered the body of Mackenzie Lueck, the 23-year-old El Segundo, Calif., woman who was presumed dead after she was reported missing in Salt Lake City last month. Authorities had initially believed that the man arrested in connection with Lueck’s death, 31-year-old Ayoola Ajayi, had burned her body in...
Greg Hartnett: One year after Janus, Pa. laws behind times
Last year, the Supreme Court ruled that public sector employees like me, who are not union members, don’t have to pay union fees as a condition of employment. For decades, teacher contracts have included union fee provisions that force even nonmember employees to fund a union or lose our jobs...
Editorial: Wideman pardon part of painful justice reform
Forty-four years would have seemed like a lifetime to a 24-year-old man in 1975. Robert Wideman, now 68, was just 24 when charged with second-degree murder. He was convicted the next year and sent to prison for life. Nicola Morena was 24 back in 1975, too. Morena was the man...
McKeesport’s Diggs adds different dimension to Tigers’ run-heavy offense
The Tribune-Review and the TribLive High School Sports Network are profiling each member of the 25-player Trib HSSN Preseason Football All-Star team. The players will be recognized July 23 during HSSN Media Day at Kennywood Park. Once known for a lethal ground attack featuring the hard-to-stop triple option flexbone, McKeesport’s...
5 new Pittsburgh restaurants to try this summer
As the weather heats up , it’s time to get outside and check out some of Pittsburgh’s hottest new spots. From cocktail bars to fire-inspired menus, we have some suggestions for you. Spirits & Tales Where: 5130 Bigelow Blvd., Oakland, www.spiritsandtales.com Why the buzz: It’s not common to find a...
Crowds brave the heat for Monroeville Independence Day parade
For more than 60 years, Monroeville has presented one of the largest Independence Day parades in the eastern suburbs. Despite the heat, crowds lined the route Thursday to watch floats, marching groups, dance teams, a salute to military veterans and units from local fire departments and first responders....
Review: ‘Stranger Things 3’ finds new horrors at … the mallVideo
Demogorgons. Mad scientists. A parallel universe. It has seemed that Hawkins, Ind., saw it all over the past two seasons of “Stranger Things,” the 1980s-set sci-fi horror series. But the fictional town faces a new threat: the Starcourt Mall. It’s 1985 and the Fourth of July is days away, yet...
Letter to the editor: Don’t like abortion? Try funding birth control
Letter-writer John Ventre (“Liberals & abortion”) says politicians “don’t see the bigger picture” because they allow fetuses to be aborted while we are losing population. George Wandell (“Logical, truthful sex-ed lesson”) seems to feel similarly. But the really big picture is that this earth simply cannot sustain so many people....
Letter to the editor: Trump administration casual about war
Regarding the article “Sen. Toomey lauds Trump for calling off Iran strikes, supports stricter economic sanctions” (June 21, TribLIVE): More sanctions are absurd to Iran. How would we like it if someone took our medicines away? That’s what happened in 2013 before the Iran nuclear deal. Iran rightfully fears that...
PETA finds name of rural road in Idaho distasteful, asks for change
BOISE, Idaho — Chickens are friends for some people, dinner for others. Sometimes both. But one animal rights group feels that the name of a rural road in the Treasure Valley region isn’t kind to poultry. PETA sent out a news release this week alerting Idaho media that it has...
West Jefferson Hills School District begins process to terminate employee
The West Jefferson Hills School District has begun the process to discharge a professional employee. Thus far, the district has refused to provide the name or details surrounding the motion. School board members June 25 in a 7-0 vote approved a resolution regarding a “statement of charges” that would provide...
Christ Church holds men’s breakfast
Beth Samuel Jewish Center The center is at 810 Kennedy Drive, Ambridge. For information, visit beth samuel.org or contact the center at bethsamuel office@comcast.net or 724-266-5238. • 10 a.m. July 11 – Knitting 101 • 9 a.m. July 14 – Volunteer Day Blackburn United Methodist Church The church is at...
2 teens critically wounded in Downtown Pittsburgh shooting; police seek witnessesVideo
Two teens were critically wounded Thursday night after shots were fired during a fight in Downtown Pittsburgh’s Cultural District that broke out as people were leaving the city’s fireworks show, police said. The males, an 18-year-old and a 16-year-old, were in critical condition Friday at city hospitals after what Pittsburgh...
Baldwin Borough police create deputy chief position
By the start of 2020, Baldwin Borough police Chief Tony Cortazzo hopes to have a full rank of officers in place. That includes filling the newly-created deputy police chief role, promoting two officers to sergeant and hiring officers to fill out the 24-member department. Baldwin Borough has not had a...
Dave McElhinny: Menus and autocorrect create unappetizing combination
When you read and write for a living, it’s hard to shut it off when you go home for the day. Almost instinctively, I discover myself silently editing everything. I’m sure it’s the same for people in other professions. I’m sure mechanics always look at vehicles with a critical eye,...
Vandergrift children’s garden much more than just digging in the dirt
Addison Uskuraitis, 11, is painstakingly pulling weeds around a raised bed filled with dinosaur kale. When asked if she would enjoy eating the kale, even served with bacon, she recoiled and responded with a hearty “No!” It’s the tomatoes growing in another part of the bed of this Vandergrift community...
Pittsburgh celebrates Fourth of July with annual fireworks showVideo
More than 50,000 people celebrated Thursday at the 18th annual Heinz Field Fourth of July Celebration. The celebration featured food, fun and country singer Brandon Lay as the headliner. #FourthofJuly - the finale from tonight’s #fireworks show. #WPXI #Pittsburgh #PGH #VIDEO pic.twitter.com/2AfAsGSvaT— Tony Ruffolo (@WPXITonyRuffolo) July 5, 2019 The evening...
Latrobe celebrates Independence Day
Latrobe’s 4th of July Celebration on Thursday was highlighted by the annual parade. The theme was “50 Golden Years of Family, Friends & Fun.” Bands, fire departments, and other groups participated. The day continued with music, fun activities and more....
