Stephen Huba stories, Page 3

Sheetz For the Kidz, a charity affiliated with the Altoona-based Sheetz convenience store chain, raised a record amount in its Christmas 2019 fundraiser for children in need, the company announced on Thursday. The $704,658 raised from in-store customer donations provided toys, clothes and other necessities for more than 9,600 children...

Editor’s note: Because of the coronavirus pandemic, the Diocese of Greensburg announced that “The Well” has been rescheduled for May 9, 2020. Six hundred Catholic men attended the Diocese of Greensburg’s 2019 men’s conference “The Well,” so local church leaders decided to hold another one. The second annual gathering, whose...

Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey took a break from President Trump’s impeachment trial long enough to attend a Senate hearing Wednesday on the latest telephone scam afflicting senior citizens. “For Americans who are worried about their loved ones … our efforts to stop con artists must be taken just as seriously...

For smaller farms in Southwestern Pennsylvania, growing commodity crops may not be enough to keep them afloat. The grain farmer may have to learn how to mill flour. The fruit farmer may have to learn how to produce jam. The dairy farmer may have to learn how to make cheese....

A Pittsburgh nonprofit that “rescues” good food from going to landfills is expanding its services to surrounding counties through a smartphone app and a U.S. Department of Agriculture grant. 412 Food Rescue, founded in 2015, redirects surplus food from local waste streams to nonprofits that serve people in need. In...

Not long after he took office, President Trump issued an executive order asking the EPA to review a clean water rule that he said exemplified federal government overreach in the Obama years. The 2015 Waters of the United States regulation increased the number and types of waterways — reportedly 60%...

Dominion Energy Transmission Inc. is planning to replace 4.1 miles of natural gas pipeline in Salem, Hempfield and Penn townships starting this spring, the company said. Dominion recently received a State Water Quality Certification from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, meaning the project is consistent with state law, state...

New findings from the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum will be the topic of a presentation by Andrew Kloes next month in Pittsburgh. A Penn Hills native, Kloes is a researcher at the Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. Since 2016, he has...

WASHINGTON — President Trump vowed to stand with anti-abortion activists Friday as he became the first sitting president to speak at the March for Life, an annual gathering that is one of the movement’s highest profile and most symbolic events. “Today as President of the United States, I am truly...

Don Kattic loved his fellow veterans so much that, whenever he presented an American flag to a veteran’s widow, he made sure to include taps. “He didn’t know how to play a musical instrument, so he would have a pretend trumpet and play taps on an old tape recorder,” said...

Scottdale Public Library received a $50,000 donation from Scottdale Bank & Trust, the bank’s parent company announced. The donation was through the Educational Improvement Tax Credit, or EITC, a program of the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development. Parent company Mid Penn Bank of Millersburg, donated a total of...

The latest Diocesan Lenten Appeal came in under the 2018 amount but still in keeping with recent trends, according to the Diocese of Greensburg. Totals for the 2019 appeal, one of three main sources of revenue for the diocese, were reported this monthin the diocesan newspaper, The Catholic Accent. Pledges...

Tenaska Pennsylvania Partners LLC, owner of the Tenaska Westmoreland Generating Station near Smithton, is offering $6,000 in scholarships for college-bound students in Westmoreland County this year. Tenaska manages scholarship programs in communities where its power plants are located and has given out approximately $760,000 in scholarships to date. This is...

Most people know the story of the USS Indianapolis from the movie “Jaws.” To them, it’s a story about sharks. But to best-selling author Lynn Vincent, the sinking of the USS Indianapolis is more a story of faith and leadership. On March 10, she will tell that story in Pittsburgh...

Pittsburgh native Bari Weiss won a 2019 National Jewish Book Award for her book “How to Fight Anti-Semitism.” Weiss, who grew up in Squirrel Hill and graduated from Shady Side Academy, won the Myra H. Kraft Memorial Award in the category Contemporary Jewish Life and Practice. Hers was one of...

Religious organizations such as churches and synagogues looking to improve security can now get help from the state. Gov. Tom Wolf on Wednesday announced that $5 million in security grants is being made available to religious organizations and other nonprofits that serve communities deemed vulnerable to hate crimes. The Nonprofit...

The Western Allegheny Chapter of the Ruffed Grouse Society will holds its 29th annual Conservation and Sportsmen’s Banquet on Jan. 31 at Rizzo’s Malabar Inn, Crabtree. The banquet, which begins with a social hour at 5 p.m., is a fundraiser for the Ruffed Grouse Society and its efforts to enhance...

A state agency is predicting a 21% drop in natural gas impact fee revenue in 2020, largely because of falling natural gas prices. The Pennsylvania Independent Fiscal Office estimates that impact fee collections will total $198.2 million this year — down from $251.8 million last year. The 2019 fee must...

Fans of Fiesta dinnerware will have an orangey-yellow color to add to their palette this year. In what has become an annual rite of early January, the Homer Laughlin China Co. announced its newest Fiesta color — Butterscotch — Tuesday morning from the Atlanta Market, formerly the Atlanta International Gift...

As Methodists in Western Pennsylvania consider the future of their denomination, a group that has proposed an amicable split explained the proposal in more detail Monday. Known as the “Protocol of Reconciliation & Grace Through Separation,” the proposal allows for the formation of a new “traditionalist” Methodist denomination that would...

David W. Planinsek’s life was devoted to the outdoors, whether he was responding to an environmental complaint or teaching a child how to fish. “I’m just one of many that he influenced,” said his son, David E. Planinsek, a state forester. Mr. Planinsek demonstrated respect for the natural world through...

As he wrapped up his week at the 2020 Pennsylvania Farm Show, Zach Farlow found himself on Thursday at AngoraPalooza. The event, one of many he’s attended this week as 2019 king of the Pennsylvania State Rabbit Breeders Association, featured Angora rabbits and scarves made from Angora rabbit wool. “I...

A new report by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) notes that natural gas prices in 2019 were the lowest in the last three years. That won’t come as a surprise to Marcellus shale gas drillers, who spent much of 2019 adjusting to a low-price market. Analysts believe low prices...

If you didn’t like Thursday morning’s cold temperatures, be patient. By Saturday, temperatures will be in the mid 60s — a jump of more than 50 degrees from lows in the teens early Thursday morning. Kinda chilly this morning, huh? Many areas saw their coldest temperatures since December 20th or...