TribLive stories, Page 397
Steelers, snakes and crime make Top 10 most-read stories of 2024
Sports, crime and nostalgia resonated with TribLive’s readers in 2024. From Mason Rudolph’s departure to the last Ponderosa restaurant in Pennsylvania, here are the Top 10 most-read stories on our website from this year. Remains found in Fayette County identified as missing 17-year-old girl April 23, 2024. Skeletal remains found...
The Stroller, Dec. 20, 2024: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
Publicize your non-profit’s community events, fundraisers and club meetings for free in The Stroller. Send information at least two weeks in advance to vndnews@triblive.com or The Stroller, 210 Wood St., Tarentum PA 15084. Please include a daytime telephone number. Follow the Stroller on X at @VNDStroller. Christmas concert to benefit...
Laurels & lances: Taxes & sentencing
Laurel: To taking action. Tarentum property owners will feel an extra pinch in their tax bill next year, but it might be a better benefit in the long run. Council passed a 9% tax increase that will take the cost for an average homeowner from $219 to $239. So what...
Letter to the editor: First responders deserve help for PTSD
We applaud the Trib and its excellent coverage of Act 121, the PTSD law for first responders, including Patrick Varine’s article “Legislation aims to address post-traumatic stress among first responders” (Dec. 12, TribLive) and the editorial “Post-traumatic stress is a shock to the system for first responders” (Dec. 15, TribLive)....
5 things to do in Westmoreland this weekend: Dec. 20-22
The holidays are upon us, and it’s time to get into the spirit with some fun and community. Here are some things to do this weekend: A North Pole Christmas The Lamp Theatre and Stage Right are throwing an all-out Christmas extravaganza this weekend. On Saturday, they will hold A...
Saint Vincent College holiday program provides gifts for more than 100 children
Christmas wishes will come true for 123 local children thanks to SVC Wraps for Kids. They’re among more than 1,900 kids who have received holiday gifts through the annual program that began more than a decade ago. The program is a partnership between the Saint Vincent College Education Department and...
Winter Night events at Westmoreland museum bring spark holiday season
Westmoreland Museum of American Art played host Thursday to the latest of its Winter Lights holiday series. The events feature live music and activities that encourage creativity, including the opportunity to work with luminary displays. The musical entertainment is complemented with beverages and food available along with the annual outdoor...
Cubs ‘ready to move forward’ with Sammy Sosa after the slugger’s public apology for past ‘mistakes’
CHICAGO — The Chicago Cubs are welcoming Sammy Sosa back to the organization following the slugger’s public apology for past “mistakes.” Sosa released a statement Thursday, paving the way for the former National League MVP, who has been estranged from the organization since he left the Cubs after the 2004...
FBI investigates passenger’s death on L.A.-docked Royal Caribbean cruise ship
LOS ANGELES — A 35-year-old man’s death is being investigated by the FBI after he was reportedly bound by crew members while aboard a Royal Caribbean cruise ship that docked in Los Angeles. According to a passenger who spoke with Fox 11, the man was bound with zip ties and...
Grand jury indicts Braddock man shot by security at Harrisburg courthouse
A convicted murderer living in a Braddock halfway house who was shot after authorities said he tried to stab a security officer at the federal courthouse in Harrisburg has been indicted. Joseph Louis Camino, 56, is charged with assaulting a federal officer and possessing a dangerous weapon in a federal...
Allegheny County must pay ex-jail guard $1.5M over former boss’ racist comments
Allegheny County will pay a former jail guard $1.5 million to settle a lawsuit alleging he was fired for reporting racist comments by a supervisor. Jeffrey Kengerski was fired in November 2015 after reporting that a superior officer called Kengerski’s biracial relative “a monkey.” He sued the county in federal...
Gallery: Photos from Dec. 19, 2024
Embark on a visual journey around the Western Pennsylvania region with TribLive’s latest collection of captivating images for Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024. From the rustic landscapes of Western Pa. to diverse corners of the globe, experience the shared moments of humanity....
Letter to the editor: Popular vote vs. Electoral College
So I started reading this book on the U.S. Constitution to get a better understanding of who we are as a country. The Founding Fathers put a lot of thought into what type of government we should have so as not to allow despotism (I had to look it up)...
Students from Christ the Divine Teacher bring cheer to patients at UPMC St. Margaret
Students from the third and fourth grade classes of Christ the Divine Teacher Catholic Academy visited UPMC St. Margaret on Dec. 4 to help spread holiday cheer. The students decorated the Christmas tree in the hospital’s lobby with handmade ornaments, sang carols and helped to light the tree. The St....
Editorial: Irwin makes itself the Scrooge in a Christmas landlord story
In his famous story “A Christmas Carol,” Charles Dickens makes his main character, Ebenezer Scrooge, an unlikable character on many fronts. While it’s his miserly ways and dislike of Christmas that get most of the attention, let’s not forget that Scrooge is also an unscrupulous landlord. Whether renting or holding...
The Stroller, Dec. 19, 2024: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
Publicize your non-profit’s community events, fundraisers and club meetings for free in The Stroller. Send information at least two weeks in advance to vndnews@triblive.com or The Stroller, 210 Wood St., Tarentum PA 15084. Please include a daytime telephone number. Follow the Stroller on X at @VNDStroller. Oakmont Elks to host...
Letter to the editor: Plastic burning puts steel communities at risk
For steel-making communities, plastic-burning pollution is headed your way. The Department of Energy has proposed a $182 million taxpayer loan for a company that will build a plastic trash plant in Erie that would turn plastic waste into pellets to be used in blast furnaces for steel mills. The residents...
High school scores, summaries and schedules for Dec. 18, 2024
High schools Basketball Boys Wednesday’s results Class 6A Section 2 Imani Christian 80, Connellsville 32 Class 4A Section 1 North Catholic 86, Valley 38 Nonsection Aliquippa 62, Northgate 46 Allderdice 55, Pine-Richland 47 Apollo-Ridge 59, St. Joseph 38 Beaver 72, Riverside 42 Chartiers-Houston 69, Waynesburg 57 Grove City 70, Blackhawk...
High school roundup for Dec. 18, 2024: Aliquippa takes care of Northgate
Qa’lil Goode scored 24 points to lead Aliquippa to a 62-46 over Northgate in nonsection boys basketball Wednesday night in a rematch of the 2023 WPIAL Class 2A championship game. Joshua Pratt added 21 for the Quips (2-0). Kaden Kemp scored 21 points for Northgate (2-4). Allderdice 55, Pine-Richland 47...
Thomas Jefferson wrestlers drop Belle Vernon
In an important dual meet for both sides, Thomas Jefferson traveled to Belle Vernon and returned home with a 47-25 victory. For the Jaguars, Zach Rehak won by fall in 5 minutes, 22 seconds at 106, Robert Cordova won by technical fall 15-0 at 113, Ethan Koett was victorious by...
Residents of Mt. Pleasant personal care homes to start returning hours after gas leak
Residents of two personal care homes in Mt. Pleasant were evacuated because of a gas leak Wednesday evening and were starting to return to the facility shortly before 10 p.m. Westmoreland County Public Safety reported people in the Harmon House and Amber House along South Church Street had to leave...
Former Pitt trustee sues board, alleges retaliation
A longtime member of the University of Pittsburgh Board of Trustees is suing his former board and its chair, claiming that he has been shut out because of concerns he raised about budget and other management issues, including the fall termination of former athletic director Heather Lyke. John H. Pelusi...
Philip Morris boss sees no easy way to keep minors from nicotine
Just a year after he became chief executive officer of Philip Morris International Inc., Jacek Olczak swooped on rival nicotine pouch maker Swedish Match in a $16 billion deal. Olczak wanted the company’s vast U.S. distribution network and popular Zyn nicotine pouches, which are about the size of a chiclet...
Gov. Gavin Newsom declares emergency in California after CDC confirms severe case of bird flu in Louisiana
LOS ANGELES — Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency as the H5N1 bird flu virus moves from the Central valley to Southern California herds and federal officials confirmed flu in a Louisiana patient hospitalized with severe illness. This is the first case of severe illness caused by bird...
Cheryl Towers and Nancy Weinstein: Time to add ERA to Constitution
History is watching and equality is on the line in the United States. Women and men all over the country are working hard to request that President Joe Biden contact the National Archives for publication of the Equal Rights Amendment in the Constitution, but this movement has received little coverage...

