Stephen Huba stories, Page 18
Appalachian Regional Commission looking for 40 institute fellows
The Appalachian Regional Commission is looking for leaders in the public and private sector to be part of the new Appalachian Leadership Institute. The inaugural nine-month program, from October 2019 to July 2020, is designed as a leadership and economic development training opportunity for people who live and work in...
DEP to sample 300 public water supplies for man-made contaminants
The state Department of Environmental Protection has announced plans to sample 300 public water sources statewide for contaminants. The program will specifically look for perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, in areas known to harbor such contaminants, including military bases, fire training sites, landfills and manufacturing facilities, DEP said. Perfluoroalkyl...
Anti-dumping decision will help U.S. steel pipe producers, companies say
U.S. producers of large-diameter welded pipe, including Export-based Dura-Bond Industries, hope to benefit from a recent decision assessing duties on foreign exporters of steel. The U.S. International Trade Commission last week made a final determination in the anti-dumping and countervailing duty investigations on large-diameter welded pipe from Canada, Greece, Korea...
Hempfield e-waste firm seeking videos for Earth Day contest
CyberCrunch, an e-waste recycling firm based in Hempfield, is sponsoring an Earth Day video contest for children 13 and under, the company said. Winners of the #CyberCrunchRecycling social media contest will receive a $1,000 cash prize. “Earth Day serves as a reminder to us all that caring for the environment...
Report: Natural gas surpasses coal for electrical power generating capacity
Combined-cycle natural gas power plants like the one that opened in South Huntingdon in December are tipping the scales of U.S. electrical power capacity more toward natural gas and away from coal, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said Wednesday. The EIA said that generating capacity from natural gas-fueled power plants...
More than money: Taxman cometh for belt buckles, strip club entry and beardsVideo
In 1966, The Beatles complained in “Taxman” about the British government’s penchant for taxation — everything from streets and seats to heat and feet, according to songwriter George Harrison. Tax Day — with the deadline coming Monday — is a good reminder that, in addition to income, just about anything...
Church security training will cover active shooter, active threat scenarios
Westmoreland County native and certified firearms instructor Rodney Smith is returning to the area in June to offer more security training to interested churches. Although the 16-hour firearms course is full, two shorter training sessions are still available: House of Worship Leadership Training — June 21, 9 a.m. to 2...
Study: Climate change will make Pittsburgh feel southern by 2080
Pittsburgh, meet Jonesboro, Ark. A recent study by the journal Nature Communications says Pittsburgh’s climatic analog in the year 2080 is Jonesboro, a city in northeast Arkansas, if current climate change trends continue. That Pittsburgh will feel like a city in the South may be alarming to some, but the...
Good Friday drama ‘Way of the Cross’ returns to downtown Greensburg
The “Way of the Cross,” the Greensburg Ministerium’s annual portrayal of the Passion of Christ, will begin at 11:30 a.m. April 19 at the Westmoreland County Courthouse, organizers said. The Good Friday procession usually attracts an audience of Christian worshippers and onlookers and temporarily stops traffic in downtown Greensburg. Greensburg...
Project seeks pastors from small-town churches for internship
The Project on Rural Ministry is looking for a few good pastors. The project, administered by Grove City College and funded by the Lilly Endowment, will recruit 30 pastors from evangelical Christian churches to participate in a five-year program designed to strengthen ministry in rural areas. Participating pastors must come...
Export metallurgist strove for perfection through science
Bill Powers was a man of science who loved his family and who took his Catholic faith seriously. His career at U.S. Steel Research and R.J. Lee Group in Monroeville spanned 54 years, during which time he obtained patents for material inside steel mill smokestacks and blast furnaces, his children...
Ready the basement: Third of teens expect to still rely on parents at age 30, survey finds
More than a third of American teenagers think they could still be mooching off their parents when they turn 30, found a new survey by Citizens Bank and a Pittsburgh-based organization. The bank and Junior Achievement of Western Pennsylvania enlisted Wakefield Research to survey 1,000 U.S. teens in March on...
Report: Pennsylvania largest net exporter of electricity in U.S.
Pennsylvania was the largest net exporter of electricity in the United States from 2013-17, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. California was the largest net importer during the same time period. The EIA said Pennsylvania sent an annual average of 59 million megawatt hours of electricity to other states...
Somerset dairy farmer urges Congress to bring whole milk back to schools
A Somerset County dairy farmer told a U.S. House subcommittee on Wednesday that whole milk should be offered again in American schools. “It is unfortunate what has happened in the schools and cafeterias where we have tried to push this skim and 1 percent milk,” said Glenn Stoltzfus of Pennwood...
Pitt documentary on food waste to air at Carnegie Mellon film festival
A University of Pittsburgh documentary that explores the connection between food waste and hunger will be screened at the Carnegie Mellon International Film Festival on Saturday. “Rescuing Abundance,” a 15-minute documentary by Pitt business students, will be part of the festival’s Short Film Competition at 2 p.m. Saturday at Regent...
Union: Greensburg state employees no longer having dues withheld
Pennsylvania officials deny that the state continues to withhold union dues for three Greensburg-based state employees who are challenging their union membership in federal court. State officials, including Gov. Tom Wolf, Secretary of Labor & Industry W. Gerard Oleksiak and Chief Accounting Officer Anna Maria Kiehl, denied the allegations contained...
PPG, DEP reach $1.2 million settlement on cleanup of Ford City disposal site
PPG Industries Inc. has agreed to pay a civil penalty of $1.2 million to the state for environmental violations stemming from the former Ford City glass manufacturing plant in Armstrong County, the state Department of Environmental Protection said. The settlement agreement, announced on Tuesday, will require PPG to clean up...
Elliott Group completes merger with Cryodynamics Division
Jeannette-based Elliott Group announced Tuesday that it has completed its merger with Ebara International Corp.’s Cryodynamics Division — 18 months after integration of the two entities began. The merged entity is now one of four business units within Elliott Group, which will maintain the Cryodynamics brand. “The merger of Ebara...
Drs. Cyril Wecht, Sanjay Gupta examine ‘deaths of despair’ in HBO documentary
A new HBO documentary relies on Dr. Cyril Wecht, the renowned forensic pathologist, to provide medical support for the idea that stress is dramatically reducing the life expectancy of Americans. “One Nation Under Stress,” which premiered on HBO on March 25, opens with a bird’s eye view of Western Pennsylvania...
Therese Rocco film ‘The Rock’ will air on WQED
Pittsburgh public TV station WQED on April 20 will air an abridged version of the new documentary “The Rock: The Therese Rocco Story” about Pittsburgh’s first female assistant police chief. Rocco and the film’s producer, Sharon Liotus, will appear on the WQED program “Filmmakers Corner” at 10 p.m. April 13,...
Study: Pittsburgh No. 1 market for first-time homebuyers
Western Pennsylvania first-time homebuyers take heart — Pittsburgh is the best U.S. city based on affordability and several other measures, according to Yahoo Finance. A survey by Bankrate.com said Pittsburgh tops the list of the 10 best major metropolitan areas for first-time homebuyers. The ranking was based on 13 measures...
AAA campaign focuses on Distracted Driving Awareness MonthVideo
Drivers talking on a cellphone are up to four times as likely to crash compared to other drivers, while those who text while driving being up to eight times as likely to be involved in a crash, according to the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. April is Distracted Driving Awareness...
Greensburg woman remembered as ‘great teacher’
Nancy Hogue turned a job teaching for the U.S. Defense Department into an opportunity to travel all over Europe and beyond. Five years into her teaching career, Mrs. Hogue took a position teaching the children of U.S. military personnel at Air Force bases in Puerto Rico; Labrador, Canada; and Zaragoza,...
Penn Law professor Amy Wax among Saint Vincent conference participants
University of Pennsylvania law professor Amy Wax will be among the speakers at a Saint Vincent College conference on “Science, Human Nature and Public Policy” April 5-6. The 2019 Culture and Public Policy Conference, sponsored by the college’s Center for Political and Economic Thought, will focus on themes of human...
As president retires, 2 Pittsburgh trade schools merge
Rosedale Technical College in Kennedy Township and Dean Institute of Technology in West Liberty have announced they are merging, effective immediately. Rosedale, which made Forbes’ list of Top 25 Two-Year Trade Schools in 2018, will assume Dean’s students at its Kennedy campus, the schools said. The current Dean Tech location...
