TribLive stories, Page 2249
Letter to the editor: Cheap shots at Hempfield supervisors
Regarding the article “Hempfield to review past votes, but supervisors balk at state audit” (Jan. 31, TribLIVE): It seems to me that this is nothing more than a cheap political attempt by upstart township supervisor Robert Ritson to discredit the previous township manager and the supervisors who hired him. With...
Review: Third ‘Dragon’ doesn’t fly as high as previous installmentsVideo
With an adorable (albeit fire-breathing) star and a formidable villain, the animated adventure “How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World” has a lot going for it. In this third installment of the series of films about Vikings and their dragons — based on books by Cressida Cowell — returning...
Burrell School Board decides to fix parking lot and girls softball field at cost of $1.4 million
Burrell School District is seeking contract bids to repair Bon Air Elementary School’s parking lot and the girls softball field. The school board zeroed in on those two projects out of five proposed by the administration. Other projects included recrowning the football field or replacing it with a synthetic turf...
Seton LaSalle rolls past Washington in Class 3A quarterfinals
Both Seton LaSalle and Washington were shorthanded entering Thursday’s WPIAL Class 3A boys basketball quarterfinal game at Canon-McMillan. The No. 4-seeded Rebels relied on a suffocating zone defense to carry the day as they cruised past the Little Prexies, 48-34, to advance to Monday’s semifinals where they will face the...
High school scores, schedules for Feb. 21, 2019
High Schools Basketball Boys WPIAL playoffs Class 6A Quarterfinals Saturday’s schedule Pine-Richland (20-2) vs. Peters Township (16-7) at North Hills, 3 p.m.; Upper St. Clair (19-3) vs. Butler (18-4) at Canon-McMillan, 1:30 p.m.; Latrobe (18-2) vs. Canon-McMillan (15-8) at Norwin, 3 p.m.; Mt. Lebanon (19-3) vs. Fox Chapel (16-7) at...
No. 4 OLSH girls use 2nd-quarter surge to topple No. 5 Serra Catholic
Our Lady of the Sacred Heart used a run in the second quarter to take control after a back-and-forth opening frame en route to a 56-40 victory over No. 5-seeded Serra Catholic in a WPIAL Class 2A girls basketball quarterfinal Thursday at Canon-McMillan. “The second quarter has been very good...
High school roundup for Feb. 21, 2019: Nazareth Prep rallies past Union
It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish. That was plenty true for the No. 3-seeded Nazareth Prep boys basketball team Thursday night. After trailing by three in the first quarter and four at halftime, Nazareth Prep finished on a 17-2 run to defeat No. 6 Union, 49-38, in...
Robert Morris rallies past LIU Brooklyn with strong 2nd half
Matty McConnell posted 12 points as Robert Morris topped Long Island-Brooklyn, 62-49, on Thursday night. Dante Treacy had 10 points for Robert Morris (14-14, 9-6 Northeast Conference). Robert Morris entered the locker room at halftime trailing narrowly, 27-22, but the Colonials were able to outscore the Blackbirds 40-22 in the...
Shawn Windsor: Zion Williamson injury reminds us the NCAA is a farce
He’s got a first name that crackles almost as much as his game, rooted in biblical history, which roughly translates to “highest point,” a fitting description of Duke’s freshman sensation, Zion Williamson. He’s the biggest college star in years, a next-generation blend of power, size and immortal hops, and when...
Kraft Heinz plunges near record low on $15.4 billion writedown
Kraft Heinz Co. recorded a $15.4 billion non-cash charge to write down assets including some of its most well-known brands, a striking acknowledgment that changing consumer tastes have destroyed the value of some of the company’s most iconic products. The packaged food giant’s charge to reduce the goodwill value of...
Judge scolds Jussie Smollett over ‘vile’ allegations; actor released after posting bond
A Cook County judge scolded Jussie Smollett as he set bond Thursday at $100,000 on charges that the “Empire” actor staged an attack on himself, falsely claiming that two men called him slurs while placing a noose around his neck and beating him last month in downtown Chicago. “The most...
Trump challenges U.S. companies to speed up work on 5G networks
President Donald Trump challenged U.S. telecommunications companies on Thursday to boost their efforts to build advanced networks and said leadership should come from competition, not by blocking competitors. “American companies must step up their efforts, or get left behind,” Trump tweeted. “There is no reason that we should be lagging...
Laurels & lances: Tax breaks, empty bowls, inmates and moving home
Laurel: To Irwin Council for giving borough residents who are active volunteers for the Irwin Volunteer Fire Department a break on their real estate and earned income taxes, if they meet certain criteria for the number of emergency calls they respond to and amount of training they undergo. Unfortunately, North...
NBC ready to cover all bases in Flyers-Penguins Stadium Series game
NBC plans to have all the angles covered when it televises the Stadium Series game between the Flyers and Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday night at Lincoln Financial Field. That means increasing its production crew considerably. “We will have about 40 cameras in this outside game, and that is a little...
Couple hopes donation to Jefferson Hospital comforts parents grieving lost babies
Nicole and Bill Dice squeezed a lifetime of memories into the 89 minutes they had with their son Daniel. They sang him “Happy Birthday,” said their daily prayers and gave him countless hugs and kisses. After Daniel’s death of fatal dwarfism shortly after his birth on Nov. 6, 2015, his...
Letter to the editor: Josh Shapiro and Medicare competition
Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, appears on the front page taking UPMC to court to force it to permit Highmark Medicare recipients to forever be entitled to UPMC’s lower in-network rates for their physicians, services and hospitals, eliminating the inherent competition between the two firms (“AG Shapiro: UPMC’s...
Letter to the editor: Vandergrift’s problems
We moved to Vandergrift from another state, and although we were born in Pennsylvania, this is our first impression. Some of the borough employees appear to have the attitude that the citizens of Vandergrift work for them. Any Vandergrift employees with that mindset, please be advised that you work for...
Letter to the editor: Peduto’s gun wishes
Why are people so up in arms (pun intended) about Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto wishing for a gun ban? Little girls wish for ponies and to be princesses; little boys wish to be cowboys and astronauts. Parents don’t tell them that wishing is wrong, and that most wishes don’t come...
Review: ‘Fighting With My Family’ is a cheeky, fun sports biopicVideo
The more globally famous the celebrity, the tougher audiences tend to be on a biopic. Unless it’s “Bohemian Rhapsody,” because, you know. All those hits. A different sort of hit-making and punishment-taking sets the tone in “Fighting With My Family,” based on a true story. It’s not a story, or...
Five things to watch in the WPIAL girls basketball quarterfinals
It took five playing days and nearly a week’s time, but the opening round of the 2019 WPIAL girls basketball playoffs is in the books. Now, it’s down to the Elite Eight in each classification with not only berths in the district semifinals up for grabs, but state playoff berths,...
At Academy Awards, race for best picture is too close to call
NEW YORK — On a year where one of the lead Oscar contenders is titled “The Favourite,” the 91st Academy Awards lack a clear front runner. Normally a fairly predictable process with one or two favorites, this year’s best picture race has been maddeningly unclear, almost devious in its contradictions....
Fundraiser nets $8,900 for the Center for Victims
Seven years after her daughter’s murder, Colleen Bowers’ fight to raise awareness of domestic violence is going strong. The fourth annual fundraiser held in memory of Melissa A. Bowers, who in 2012 was slain in Carnegie by an ex-boyfriend, has raised $8,900 and counting for the Center for Victims in...
Carnegie Library to host show in celebration of borough’s 125th birthday
Carnegie Borough is celebrating its 125th birthday, and the Andrew Carnegie Free Library & Music Hall is very much a part of the borough’s rich history. The “Carnegie Carnegie” will celebrate with a performance chosen to entertain the whole family. Chris Laitta’s TV Tunes, presented by UPMC Health Plan, will...
Pine-Richland hires new director of facilities management
Pine-Richland is welcoming a new member to the district team. At its meeting Feb. 11, the board hired Jeffrey Zimmerman as director of facilities management. Most recently, Zimmerman served as the regional facilities director for CBRE Group Inc. at 16 art institute locations throughout the eastern United States. Prior to...
Trump’s inaugural team scrambled to defend staff and record haul
NEW YORK — The leaders of President Trump’s inaugural committee saw trouble coming and tried to get ahead of it. It was January 2018, a year after the black-tie balls and candlelight dinners in Washington. Journalists were asking questions about how the Presidential Inaugural Committee had raised — and spent...
