Patrick Varine stories, Page 80

Despite the past two years being hampered by the covid-19 pandemic, officials at the Catholic Diocese of Greensburg are encouraged by other trends that have emerged over the past 24 months — namely, a 20% bump in Catholic school enrollment across the diocese. “I think that’s outstanding,” said Bishop Larry...

Recreation department hosts “Sweetheart Hot Chocolate Hike” on Valentine’s Day The Murrysville Recreation Department will host a “Sweetheart Hot Chocolate Hike” at 10 a.m. on Valentine’s Day, Feb. 14. The hike will take place on the trails at Pleasant Valley Park, 2557 Pleasant Valley Road. The wooded hike includes slopes...

Clara Hendy has her good days and bad days. Like other residents at Arden Courts assisted living facility in Monroeville, her memory is not what it used to be. Her son Neel had to remind her that Thursday is her birthday. Not just that, though — it is her 100th...

The bridge carrying traffic from Rosslyn Road to the inbound side of the Parkway West has reopened after a vehicle struck it on Wednesday afternoon. PennDOT officials announced via their Twitter feed that the structure carrying traffic from Rosslyn Road to eastbound I-376 was closed shortly after 6 p.m. while...

The National Weather Service has issued a winter storm warning for a cold front expected to bring the dreaded “wintry mix” of snow and sleet to the Pittsburgh region Thursday. Freezing rain is expected to begin in Pittsburgh by 4 p.m. and in points east by 6 p.m. on Thursday,...

Intergenerational faith discussion set for Feb. 8 The “Boomers and Beyond” speaker series at Mother of Sorrows Church in Murrysville continues at 11:30 a.m. Feb. 8 with “That’s Not How I Raised Them,” a discussion on intergenerational differences in the way faith is practiced. The discussion will be led by...

Last year, state officials were able to channel federal covid-19 relief funding to Pennsylvania renters in need of financial assistance. Starting Tuesday, they will look to provide similar relief for homeowners. “As Pennsylvania continues to manage out of the covid-19 pandemic, we continue to make key investments in areas where...

Greensburg’s Derek Woods Band will provide the musical backdrop for this year’s Groundhog Day festivities Feb. 2 at Gobbler’s Knob in Punxsutawney. And if the past is any indication, Woods and his band members had better start layering their clothes now. “The sets we played were limited to about 10...

NOTE: Spoilers ahead through Wednesday’s episode of “Book of Boba Fett” and the first two seasons of “The Mandalorian” on Disney+. Let’s be clear: I love “The Mandalorian.” It’s a great series, and I can’t wait for the third season. So I was a bit surprised when this week’s episode...

Modern rifles might be easier to use, more streamlined in their design and more accurate. But you won’t find any at the 24th annual Historic Arms Show this weekend at the Lamplighter in Salem. Organized by the Old Westmoreland Rifles group’s Collectors Show Association, the show will take place Friday...

A long time ago, in a Gilpin Township home far, far away, I discovered the “extended Star Wars universe” after being enthralled by the original film trilogy. It came in the form of “Tales from Jabba’s Palace,” an anthology of stories that delved into the lives of the weird creatures,...

The Franklin Regional school board this week unanimously accepted the resignation of recently-seated school director Michael Corcetti, who was not present. He is resigning for personal and family reasons. The board also appointed Vince Azzolina to fill Corcetti’s seat, voting 5-3. Both Azzolina and George App submitted letters of interest....

For working families, time is a scarce resource. Hours that might otherwise be devoted to leading a healthier lifestyle, or making that annual doctor’s appointment, get shunted aside when life gets in the way. But Allister Chang and Courtney Bragg noticed that many of those working families, particularly in low-income...

In the perpetual cross-state rivalry between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, the City of Brotherly Love came out on top over the weekend, as Philly boxer Avery Sparrow bested the Steel City’s Matt “Sweet Child” Conway to win the International Boxing Association Super Featherweight and Pennsylvania state title. Sparrow (11-3, 4 KOs)...

Cathy Gates was doing just fine with a flip phone, but she got rid of it when she was given a 3G smartphone at work. “Later on, about four or five years ago, I got my own, a similar phone, but recently I started having problems with it,” said Gates,...

A new fossil species of an early mammal relative has been named for the man who helped discover its location, David S Berman, paleontologist and former curator of vertebrate paleontology at Pittsburgh’s Carnegie Museum of Natural History. The fossil, Shashajaia bermani, is from a bone bed co-discovered by Berman in...

Citing the impact of the latest covid-19 surge on staffing, the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections will suspend in-person visits at all state prisons beginning Thursday through Feb. 28. “Staffing levels have been significantly impacted throughout the winter months by the same uptick in covid-19 cases that our communities are experiencing,”...

Louisa Fordyce of Loyalhanna is interested in attracting pollinators, both to her own garden and to the perennial pollinator garden maintained by the Delmont Public Library. So she was very excited to learn about tithonia, an annual plant also called the Mexican sunflower. “It comes in all different shades of...

Building a custom motorcycle is one thing. Building one that honors one’s brothers in arms is another. At the 60th annual World of Wheels custom car show this weekend at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, Todd Keyser of Ligonier is showing off his custom Harley, hand-painted with reminders of...

While Allegheny County’s numbers still are headed in the wrong direction, covid-19 figures posted throughout Pennsylvania are in line with predictions that the U.S. could be nearing the downward curve of the recent surge brought on by the omicron variant. In Allegheny, the weeklong average in hospitalizations is up about...

A New Kensington man served six months in a federal prison after he was convicted of receiving pandemic unemployment compensation that he didn’t qualify for. Erick Woods, 23, of New Kensington was sentenced to time served (six months) and a two-year term of supervised released, after he was convicted of...

‘Grant’ returns to Murrysville library next month Living historian and Gettysburg resident Ken Serfass will once again portray former Civil War general and U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant on Feb. 9, presenting “The Surrender of Robert E. Lee.” The program will focus on events leading up to Confederate Gen. Robert...