JoAnne Klimovich Harrop stories, Page 60
Yes, that really is a peanut-shaped vehicle driving around PittsburghVideo
You’ve got to be a little nutty to take this job. These three recent college graduates must be. They’ve been been hired to drive across the U.S. in a peanut-shaped van. The Planters NUTmobile, owned by KraftHeinz, is spending the week in Pittsburgh. Planters hires what it terms “Peanutters,” all...
Veterans Day bike tour in Pittsburgh rides on despite the rainVideo
Rainy weather wasn’t going to put the brakes on for these cyclists. The 20-mile ride Wednesday — Veterans Day — went on as planned with a few adjustments. The first Veterans Day Bike Tour was to include stops at the Southwestern Pennsylvania World War II Memorial, the Korean War Memorial,...
Harrison World War II veteran looks back at his time in the Navy, 99 years of lifeVideo
Howard Traenkner has trouble with his vision, but he still sees clearly into the past. The 99-year-old Navy veteran of World War II recalled his two years in the service, including 12 months on the USS Chiwawa AO 68, a 750-foot-long ship that traveled from Virginia to Texas to Japan,...
UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital offers new drug for postpartum depression
Having babies brought Emily Washburn joy. The experience of motherhood also crippled her with sadness. Washburn, 25, of Carlisle, was diagnosed with postpartum depression – in September 2017 after the birth of her first child, Wyatt, a boy. As she is about to deliver her third baby, she remembers her...
Pittsburgh’s annual gingerbread house competition goes virtual
You won’t have to leave home to see these houses. The 18th annual City of Pittsburgh Office of Special Events’ annual Gingerbread House Competition and Display returns in an online format. “The City of Pittsburgh is proud to serve as the presenter of this popular holiday tradition, and we’re excited...
Women of Alle Kiski Engaging collecting donations for women in need
When most people have a headache, they go into a medicine cabinet and open a bottle of pain reliever. But what if you don’t have a medicine cabinet or a bottle of pain reliever? For women escaping domestic violence or an abusive relationship, they may only have the clothes on...
Designer Days celebrates 5 decades of fashion in Pittsburgh
Designer Days will celebrate its 50th anniversary with less fanfare, but not without style. The five decades-long shopping event will be held Thursday through Monday at Thriftique in Lawrenceville. The pandemic has caused the event to be scaled back. “This is our 50th year, so we had to do something,”...
Tarentum mom delivers baby — and votes from hospital
Megan Walker gave birth to a son on Monday. On Tuesday, Walker told her medical team at UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital in Oakland that she needed to be released in time to vote. She didn’t have to worry about making it to her polling place in Tarentum. The ballot was delivered...
Kennywood to retire 4 rides, including KangarooVideo
When Kennywood opens next spring, four rides will be gone. The West Mifflin park announced Tuesday the Kangaroo, Paratrooper, Bayern Kurve and the Volcano are being retired. “Any time you are making decisions like this, it is very difficult,” said park spokesman Nick Paradise. “But with what the industry is...
Dancer takes steps to open The Movement Factory on Pittsburgh’s North Side
Dancer Maria Caruso is taking steps to reach beyond the performance stage. The founder of Bodiography Contemporary Ballet in Squirrel Hill, a performance space for ballet dancers, Caruso is turning a renovated warehouse on the Ohio River on Pittsburgh’s North Side into Maria Caruso’s The Movement Factory. “I had been...
Carnegie Mellon University’s Exploded Ensemble hosts virtual, interactive concert
Audience participation from afar is highly suggested for this performance. Carnegie Mellon University’s Exploded Ensemble will play a live concert at 7 p.m. Sunday on Twitch.tv, a livestreaming platform for gamers that has become a virtual vehicle for other interactive events. According to its website, Exploded Ensemble is the university’s...
A welcoming sign from the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy
The Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy wants people to know trails, playgrounds and lawns are for everyone. The conservancy invites people to enjoy the outdoors. The conservancy said Friday it will place “All Are Welcome” signs throughout Pittsburgh parks. It is part of a mission “to promote equity throughout the city’s shared...
Pittsburgh artist creates scene with replica of President Trump head
Yes, that indeed is a 7-foot gold replica of President Donald Trump’s head one might see, strapped to the bed of a U-Haul pickup truck driving around Pittsburgh. Arjen van Lith, a Dutch artist and writer living in Shadyside, designed and created the piece. It’s comprised of 3 millimeter coroplast,...
Walnut Grill plans a 6th area location next year
Walnut Grill continues to expand. The company plans to open 2021 with a sixth restaurant. The newest Walnut Grill American Eatery & Bar will be at the Old Mill Shopping Mall in Washington, Pa., located in a former Max & Erma’s restaurant. Going against industry trends, it will be the...
PPG Ice Rink opening in November in Pittsburgh
Lace up your skates: The PPG Ice Rink is opening. Although Light Up Night has been canceled because of the covid-19 pandemic, the annual debut of the skating rink will be the Friday before Thanksgiving. Located in PPG Plaza between Third Avenue and Fourth Avenue, the rink will be open...
See 30,000 pounds of jack-o’-lanterns at Pittsburgh Monster Pumpkins displayVideo
The champion pumpkin weighs 2,111.5 pounds. An Atlantic Giant, this breed of pumpkin will be part of the orange mass at the Pittsburgh Monster Pumpkins Pop-Up Festival on Pittsburgh’s North Shore. The Halloween-inspired event opens Friday and runs through Nov. 5. Because of the pandemic, it will be a drive-by...
Steelers cook up a nice afternoon for breast cancer survivors at UPMC Magee in Oakland
Some people call football players warriors for what they endure on a field playing a brutal sport. “The real warriors are you,” said Pittsburgh Steelers defensive end Stephon Tuitt via a video screen Tuesday to current and former patients of the Magee-Womens Breast Cancer Program of UPMC Hillman Cancer Center....
Halloween week is the perfect time to tune into ‘Dead and Buried Treasures’
Erik Sprowls recalled watching “Chiller Theater,” a Saturday night show of horror, fantasy and science fiction movies. It was on years ago and hosted by the late Bill Cardille known as “Chilly Billy,” on WIIC-TV, now WPXI-TV. Sprowls has created a production, “Dead and Buried Treasures,” where he shows similar...
Penn Avenue Fish Co. unveils oceanic mural
The crystal blue water is the backdrop for fish, turtles, a stingray and corals found living deep under the sea. The four panels of the 9 feet by 14 feet mural outside of encompasses 100 photos that took four months to shoot. Diver and photographer Cynthia Liefeld of Sewickley captured...
SPUDS and ATS to perform at ‘Old School Cool’ in Pittsburgh’s Strip District Terminal
When the “Special People Under Doctors Supervision” band played in the 1980s, the first set started at 10:17 p.m. Fans could listen to live music from the SPUDS at Moondog’s Pub in Blawnox, the former Bloomfield Bridge Tavern in Bloomfield and the former Electric Banana music venue in Oakland. “We...
See artwork of Pittsburgh sports icons in Downtown window displays
They represent the very best of Pittsburgh sports. Arnold Palmer, Roberto Clemente, John Woodruff, Josh Gibson, Joe Greene, Mario Lemieux, Chuck Cooper, Suzie McConnell-Serio, Franco Harris, Bill Mazeroski, Sidney Crosby, Swin Cash, Dan McCoy and Honus Wagner are part of the “Downtown Renown” exhibit commissioned through the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership....
McKeesport native chosen for commission for Black playwrights
Ty Greenwood believes we need light in these divisive times. “With everything that’s going on there is so much tension surrounding the (presidential) election, and there is outrage and violence in our country, I pray we get through,” said Greenwood, a McKeesport native, who lives in Seattle. “We need hope.”...
Cooler weather is perfect time to enjoy a hot cup of teaVideo
Carol Kornides recalled having afternoon tea with her paternal grandparents, Tom and Carrie Winfield, in Jeannette. “My grandfather would pour a little liquid in the saucer and I would drink from the saucer,” said Kornides of Latrobe as she stood inside The Victorian Lady of Academy Hill, the Greensburg tea...
Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership cancels ‘Light Up Night’
Lights out for Light Up Night. The annual kickoff to the holiday season, usually held the Friday before Thanksgiving, is the latest big event to be canceled. The Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership announced Friday that what would have been the 60th year of Light Up Night won’t happen because of the...
Pittsburgh native featured in ‘Crutch’ documentary doesn’t lean on disabilityVideo
Everyone uses crutches. Some are just invisible. As Bill Shannon crosses a city street on film, his movements are unstable with crutches under each arm. He collapses on a patch of grass after reaching the other side. What you see is man with a disability who has fallen. What you...
