TribLive stories, Page 2276
Letter to the editor: Do math on wall
I do not understand why politics is taking such a toll on the government shutdown. Do the math: Estimates put the cost of illegal immigration at $130 billion per year. The president is asking for $5.7 billion for a border wall. If the wall proves to be over 80 percent...
Letter to the editor: Progressive coup
It’s a shame that the letter-writers fraught with anxiety and seething rage concerning President Trump are wasting so much energy and happiness when most of their stated reasons are, I believe, without basis in truth and fact. It’s also a shame that so many intelligent, reasonable people have been convinced...
Letter to the editor: Preventing gerrymandering
With news of the Supreme Court open to hearing gerrymandering cases from North Carolina and Maryland, it’s time to fan the inferno about Pennsylvania’s own redistricting reform. For a long time, I believed that promoting an independent, nonpartisan citizens’ commission on redistricting that is proposed by Fair Districts PA was...
Richland residents will soon see hike in sewer bill
Some Richland residents will soon begin to feel the impact of scheduled improvements both to Hampton Township’s Allison Park Water Pollution Control Plant and the Allegheny Valley Joint Sewer Authority plant. The board of supervisors approved ordinances setting the capital improvement charges that will be felt by customers of both...
Shaler North Hills Library participating in ‘Big Read’
As part of the Big Read, Shaler North Hills Library is hosting programming through March focused on Julia Alvarez’s historical novel “In the Time of the Butterflies.” The Big Read, made possible by the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with Arts Midwest, “broadens our understanding of our world,...
Josh Williams leads Robert Morris past Bryant in Northeast Conference play
SMITHFIELD, R.I. — Josh Williams hit four 3-pointers and scored 15 points as Robert Morris rolled to a 79-65 win over Bryant on Saturday. Malik Petteway added 14 points with nine rebounds and four steals for the Colonials (9-9, 4-1 Northeast Conference). Matty McConnell (Chartiers Valley) had 13 points, five...
Rocking beds and pillows that nudge when you snore: Tech wants into your bed
I’ve tried a mattress with water cooling and another that sways like a boat. I’ve worn brainwave-measuring helmets and rested on pillows that nudge you when you snore. In the hunt for better sleep, I’ve even snuggled up with a robot. For the gadget industry, sleep is the new exercise...
Deborah Kearns: The 4 most common mortgage and real estate scams and how to stop them
The last thing consumers should have to worry about is being scammed when they buy or rent a home, or consider refinancing options. Unfortunately, criminals are getting more creative in how they target their victims, leading to major financial headaches for their unsuspecting victims. In 2017 alone, 9,645 victims reported...
Outdoors notices for Jan. 20, 2018
NOTICES Outdoors RIFLE/TRAP LEAGUES • In the Pittsburgh and Suburban Rifle League on Jan. 9, Frazier-Simplex (7-0) defeated Murrysville (1-5), 1,483-1,464; and Allegheny (3-5) beat Irwin Post 228 (0-7), 1,440-1,427. Dormont-Mt. Lebanon (6-1) had a bye. Murrysville’s Kevin Dufford and Frazier-Simplex’s John Husk each shot 298 for the high score...
Emotional support alligator offers comfort, sharp teeth
YORK, Pa. — On a recent Monday afternoon, Joie Henney walked into the Glatfelter Community Center at the Village at Sprenkle Drive, an assisted-living development north of York, with his emotional support animal on a leash. He walked by an elderly woman sitting on a bench by a window, reading...
Editorial: STEM doesn’t have to mean college
A good job. A good paycheck. A balance between work and home. These are the things most of us want, and the things most of us want for our kids. They aren’t things that have to come with a college degree. Maybe your child really wants to go to college....
Harold Johnson: Corruption in the Catholic Church
My Catholicism, my faith, states that the Catholic Church consists of the people, and the head of the Church is Jesus Christ. Not the pope, the cardinals, the bishops and archbishops, or the priests and deacons. They are administrators of the Catholic organization, and, yes, they are members of the...
Letter to the editor: Medicare for all? It’s not free
Certain politicians have been proposing the idea of Medicare for all. Sounds great, right? What they are not telling the public is that Medicare is not free. Consider Original Medicare 2019 : Part A: Premiums: Less than 30 quarters working (Medicare taxes paid), $437 per month; 30-39 quarters working, $240...
Letter to the editor: Divisive politics dangerous
As a decades-long independent, I find the behavior of the Republican and Democratic Party leadership in Washington disgraceful, embarrassing, unpatriotic and dangerous. They, along with their respective cronies in the media, have successfully divided the country into opposing factions who disregard the Constitution, precedent and common sense, whenever convenient. Extremists...
Letter to the editor: What if Native Americans built walls?
Although I recognize the need for border controls, I wonder how many of us would be here if the Native Americans had constructed walls around our country … . Jim Blahovec Penn Township, Westmoreland County...
Carlynton scores above average on state testing
Students at Carlynton Junior-Senior High School are scoring above the state average when it comes to state tests, but regular attendance in two subgroupings has given the district a dubious asterisk mark. Carlynton students in grades seven through 12 have scored above the state average on the 2017-18 PSSA (Pennsylvania...
Officials mull Jeffery Primary building’s future
Shaler township officials discussed plans for the former Jeffery Primary School during a Jan. 16 Shaler Area School Board meeting. The school board on July 15 approved the building’s sale to Mt. Alvernia Day Care and Learning Center for $650,000, but the deal did not proceed. Shaler Manager Tim Rogers...
Hampton joins state program to help students report threats, tips
Students at Hampton and across the state are being provided another way to make it safe to report anything that they feel is just not right. The Safe2Say Something is a state-led initiative providing resources for anyone in schools to anonymously and securely report safety concerns “to help identify and...
P-R supervisors to vote on school start time adjustments
The Pine-Richland school board is slated to vote on a measure approving a change in school start times at its Feb. 11 meeting. The proposed start times, which would be effective for the 2019-20 school year, are 7:45 a.m. for the high school and middle schools, 8:35 a.m. for Eden...
Pine-Richland hires new assistant principal
Pine-Richland High School is welcoming a new member to the administrative team at the high school. Thomas Salopek is joining PRHS in the role of assistant principal. He is coming from North Allegheny School District where he serves as a social studies teacher at the North Allegheny Intermediate High School....
John Stossel: Shutdown not a ‘crisis’
This government shutdown is now longer than any in history. The media keep using the word “crisis.” “Shutdown sows chaos, confusion and anxiety!” says The Washington Post. “Pain spreads widely.” The New York Times headlined, it’s all “just too much!” But wait. Looking around America, I see people going about...
Walter Williams: History of Dems’ immigration flipping
Here are a couple of easy immigration questions — answerable with a simple “yes” or “no” — we might ask any American of any political stripe: Does everyone in the world have a right to live in the United States? Do the American people have a right, through their elected...
Editorial: Is record casino revenue enough?
What is $3.2 billion? It’s $10 for every human being in the United States. It’s enough to bridge most of the gap between Congress and President Trump on the border wall. In short, it’s a lot of money. And it’s how much money was made at Pennsylvania casinos in 2018....
Residents discuss location, features of proposed Jefferson Hills community center
Two possible locations for a proposed community center in Jefferson Hills emerged during a public forum held Jan. 16: the site of the soon-to-be-vacant Thomas Jefferson High School, and a portion of a field at the Practice T Golf Center. Representatives from Core Architects, the firm consulting the borough’s recreation...
Baldwin-Whitehall school board raises concerns over state safety hotline
The statewide implementation of a confidential school threat reporting hotline is being called into question by the Baldwin-Whitehall school board. Board directors passed Jan. 9 a resolution formally opposing the adoption of the Safe2Say program and calling for its delay. Directors approved the resolution by a vote of 8-0, with...
