TribLive stories, Page 956
High school roundup for Feb. 20, 2023: Hampton adapts without top scorer, handles Blackhawk
Robert Coll scored 16 points, Liam Mignogna added 14 and Eric Weeks contributed 13 as No. 4 Hampton opened its playoff run without leading scorer Peter Kramer with a 65-50 victory over No. 13 Blackhawk in the WPIAL Class 4A boys basketball first round Monday night. Jacob Patton put up...
Dan Woike: NBA has a problem: The All-Star Game is not much of a game
SALT LAKE CITY — The NBA might have itself a problem. Sunday night, after a woefully boring All-Star Game devoid of defense in any real shape or form, league officials kept landing on a word to describe what had transpired earlier in the night. “Embarrassing.” All-Star weekend, one of the...
Jonathan Bernstein: Republicans aren’t just thinking about Trump and DeSantis
The Republican presidential nomination is up for grabs. Given his enduring popularity with GOP voters, former President Donald Trump remains the front-runner. While he has yet to formally join the race, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has been cast as his principal opponent for the Republican nomination. In past elections, the...
Republican lawmakers bash Biden’s trip to Ukraine
Republicans on Monday trashed President Joe Biden’s trip to Ukraine, claiming the visit to support Kyiv is an “insult” to Americans. Dumping the tradition of politics ending at the water’s edge, right-wing lawmakers said Biden was wasting American taxpayers’ money defending Ukraine against the Russian invasion. “The President of the...
Jenna Fryer: Stenhouse Jr. and JTG get breakout Daytona 500 winVideo
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — One victory in 28 years was all tiny JTG Daugherty Racing had to show for the time, sweat and money — so much money — the team had poured into trying to build a winning NASCAR organization. The team owned by Tad and Jodi Geschickter, as...
In brief: Beekeeping 101, rotary seeking new members and more in the Sewickley area
Beekeeping class Master beekeeper Steve Rapasky of Meadow Sweet Apiaries will lead the Beekeeping 101 event for beginners on 8:30 a.m.-4 p.m. March 4 at Fern Hollow Nature Center. The classroom-based course will introduce beginning beekeepers to honey bee biology and beekeeping basics. Honey bee castes, races, pests, diseases, equipment...
Pa. Department of Health sues to keep medical marijuana program data secret
Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan newsroom powered by The Philadelphia Inquirer in partnership with PennLive/The Patriot-News, TribLIVE/Pittsburgh Tribune-Review and WITF Public Media. Sign up for our free newsletters. HARRISBURG — The Pennsylvania Department of Health is again suing Spotlight PA in an attempt to keep information about how patients...
Pete Shelly: So-called ‘skill games’ drain millions from senior programs
We all know the phrase from Pennsylvania Lottery commercials: “… benefits older Pennsylvanians.” But many people don’t realize just how important lottery proceeds are to charities and nonprofits across the commonwealth, and how many seniors rely on the services those organizations provide. Our lottery remains the only state lottery that...
Perfect game part of special season for Valley freshman bowler Baxter Diehm
Baxter Diehm was on the cusp of a milestone Jan. 31 at Wildlife Lanes — a strike away from bowling a perfect 300 game. It was a pressure-packed situation for the Valley freshman. Diehm drilled the center pin and made history. “I just stood back and watched him,” Valley bowling...
Plum native Emily Coughlin growing into key player for young Pitt women’s lacrosse teamVideo
Emily Coughlin always will have a place in Pitt women’s lacrosse history. Three years ago, when coach Emily Boissonneault started to build the program from scratch, she made the Plum native her first WPIAL recruit. But Coughlin wants to be more than a footnote in the team media guide. She...
A-K Valley Senior Spotlight: Leechburg’s Owen McDermott
For many seniors, the end of winter sports marks the closing of a chapter. But for senior multisport standout Owen McDermott, his participation with Leechburg athletics isn’t quite done yet. He’s about to start his final season with the baseball team. “I’m very emotional about my final season coming to...
Norwin grad Mara Polczynski hopes to lead Grove City women’s basketball to top of PACVideo
There usually isn’t a whole lot that can add further zest to a Grove City-Westminster sporting event. Separated by only 15 miles of Route 208, the Division III schools are natural rivals. But Irwin’s Andrew Polczynski found another angle in the schools’ women’s basketball matchups last season. It was easy...
Westmoreland County Senior Spotlight: Yough’s Mikalah Chewning
Coming into this season, the Yough girls basketball team hadn’t made the playoffs in 13 years. That streak never hit 14. This season, the Cougars finished 10-11 and earned a preliminary-round matchup with Beaver Falls in the WPIAL Class 3A bracket. The fact they earned a spot in the tournament...
Letter to the editor: Pity the fools who support Biden
After watching the State of the Union address, I just couldn’t get an image out of my head. It was Mr. T from “The A-Team” saying, “I pity the fool!” I pity the fool or fools who think we can stand back and let President Biden “finish the job,” as...
Community leaders, neighbors welcome latest round of blighted property removals in Westmoreland County
Community leaders and neighbors alike are lauding Westmoreland County officials after they approved funding to demolish six blighted structures as part of an ongoing effort to remove dilapidated structures. County commissioners authorized spending up to $225,000 from a special fund created in 2017 to pay for the demolition projects. It’s...
Liz Weston: Make your credit cards less vulnerable to fraud
Last year, one of my family’s credit cards was used to rack up hundreds of dollars in bogus charges at Apple.com. Another card was compromised four times in a row, as thieves repeatedly charged merchandise and Uber rides. We ultimately got our money back, but repeated credit card fraud can...
In brief: Writing Project, home show and more in Pine, Richland
Writing Project The Western PA Writing Project from the University of Pittsburgh will be hosting its 10th annual Young Writers’ Institute from 9 a.m.-noon June 19-23 at the Sing Sing Sing Studio in Wexford for incoming fifth through eighth graders. Scholarships are available if needed. Pittsburgh area young adult fiction...
In brief: Open house, home show and more in the North Hills
West View Hub The Steel City Shakespeare Center will perform “The Heavy Gait of Night,” a new play by Jeffery Chips and directed by Catherine Baird, on stage at the West View Hub at 7 p.m. on March 31. It is described as “a story of grief, passion and family...
In brief: EMS grants, Lions fundraiser and more in the South Hills
EMS grants More than $192,000 has been awarded to support local emergency service agencies through the Fire Company and Emergency Medical Service Grant Program. Baldwin EMS received $10,000. Baldwin EMS (Fire) received $14,000. Baldwin Independent Fire Co. No. 1 received $15,000, and Whitehall Fire Co. received $15,000. Eligible projects include...
Letter to the editor: Reduce drugs, reduce gun violence
If you want to reduce gun violence in America, you have to first reduce the amount of drugs coming over our borders, especially fentanyl. The drugs fuel erratic behavior which leads to the gun violence. Regis Kruth Shaler...
Editorial: Is Pennsylvania a death penalty state or not?
Gov. Josh Shapiro is continuing the pattern Pennsylvania’s executives have perfected over the last 24 years. On Thursday, Shapiro said he will continue following in his predecessors’ footsteps by not permitting executions to move forward. Pennsylvania will continue being a death penalty state that does not put people to death....
Monroeville area happenings, week of Feb. 20, 2023
Library presents ‘How to Make Beer’ Monroeville Public Library will offer an evening of casual conversation discussing the basics of beer and homebrewing from 6 to 8:30 on March 10. Conversation will cover equipment and ingredients, keeping a clean space, temperature, time, fermentation and what to expect when you’re expecting...
Letter to the editor: Has China won already?
With the recent news that our administration allowed a known spy balloon to traverse the United States, allowing it to surveil and gather intelligence on our missile sites and our B-2 bomber airfields, I need to restate the obvious: If President Trump and his supporters lose, China wins. That is,...
The Stroller, Feb. 20, 2023: 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. Children encouraged to enter bookmark design contest Vandergrift Public Library is...
Letter to the editor: ‘Sunsetting’ a frightening euphemism
Words can be a cheeky little monkey. During the war in Bosnia, taking place between 1992 and 1995, the term “ethnic cleansing” became a euphemism for racist genocide. At that time our president, politicians and newscasters spoke of it, glibly, using the term with the same normalcy as “cleaning house,”...
