TribLive stories, Page 1000
High school roundup for Jan. 7, 2023: Brandin Cummings lifts Lincoln Park to tourney title
Brandin Cummings scored 29 points to lead Lincoln Park to a 61-48 victory over De La Salle (IL) in the championship game of the Burger King Classic in Erie. Meleek Thomas added 22 for the Leopards (10-0). Days after committing to Pitt, Cummings totaled 62 points in the two-game tournament....
Letter to the editor: Insanity virus hits Republican reps
A classic definition of insanity is “doing the same thing over and over, and expecting different results each time.” Clearly, Donald Trump over the past seven years has successfully infected the Republican members of the House of Representatives with the insanity virus. Kenneth Powell New Kensington...
Joe Guzzardi: Midterm voters prefer status quo, which is bad news
Voters are, to understate their mood, disenchanted with Congress. Yet paradoxically, voters reelect, over and over, the same representatives they hold in dismally low esteem, consider ineffectual and out-of-touch. On average for 2022, about 80% of polling respondents disapproved of how congressional representatives handled their jobs. Many critics had previously...
Dominik Stecuła and Matthew Levendusky: Talking across the political aisle isn’t a cure-all — but it does help reduce hostility
Simmering tension in American politics came to a head two years ago, when a mob of Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol to try to overthrow the results of the 2020 presidential election. The failed insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021, resulted in several deaths and injuries to almost 150 police...
George Guido: After 50 years, wishing a fond farewell
Well, my dear readers, it’s time to say goodbye. After 34 years with the Valley News Dispatch/Tribune-Review, tack on 16 more with the former Westmoreland Cable 3 and WKPA Radio, I’ve done what I love to do for a half-century. I could go on for another 50 thanking all the...
North Allegheny notebook: 6 NA hockey players named PIHL all-stars
The North Allegheny ice hockey team is off to a 9-3 start this season and has generated 20 points in the PIHL Class 3A standings, second only to Seneca Valley (10-2, 21 points). The Tigers were rewarded for their strong performance thus far, as six players were selected to the...
Rob Perkins: Fair defense funding is a must for criminal justice reform
Our local system for providing counsel to poor people facing criminal charges violates people’s constitutional rights. The most pressing problem is chronic underfunding. Attorney compensation in particular hasn’t increased in 17 years. Predictably, unfair pay leads to underperformance. This should matter to all of us. When defense attorneys fail to...
This WWII weapons bunker has a new mission: Sheltering a scientist’s insect collection
LOS ANGELES — A World War II-era weapons bunker in Irvine, Calif., has a new mission — sheltering preserved insect specimens. When a collection of bugs floating in specimen bottles outgrew his laboratory, Robert Fisher moved them into an abandoned weapons bunker at the former El Toro Marine Corps Air...
Letter to the editor: Admission of immigrants criminal?
If I had the ability (money and staff) to allow illegals into this sovereign nation on a scale similar to that of Joe Biden, how many would it take to get the attention of Attorney General Merrick Garland, Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, Democrats and the media before it would be...
Sounding off: People’s goodness, late police officer, lack of workers, politics
The whole of our society is less than the sum of its parts Whenever I interact with individuals, I find that they are for the most part decent, caring, kind and generous. And yet, I find that our culture as a whole has become more and more mean-spirited, violent and...
Letter to the editor: Republicans’ criticism ironic
I find it difficult to believe that the GOP has criticized nearly everything the Biden administration and the sitting Congress have accomplished. On the contrary, the Republicans have no platform moving forward, and they can’t coalesce into a governing body. Go figure! Leonard Mucci Derry Township...
Letter to the editor: We need fair taxation to end wealth inequality
The top 1% of Americans own around 32.1% of the country’s total wealth, the 90% to 99% own around 37.7%, the 50% to 90% own around 28%, and the bottom 50% own around 2.6% of the country’s total wealth. We have not seen this level of inequality since the early...
Editorial: Annual Pennsylvania toll increases are lawmakers’ fault
The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission takes a lot of flak, especially at this time of year. It happens like clockwork. While other people are struggling to maintain their New Year’s resolutions and break bad habits, the commission falls back into its annual January rut and raises the toll rates. No one...
The Stroller, Jan. 7, 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. Penguin ticket raffle to benefit Animal Protectors Animal Protectors of Allegheny...
Westmoreland DA: Crash involving county vehicle was ‘minor’
Westmoreland County District Attorney Nicole Ziccarelli on Friday said a crash involving her government take-home vehicle was “minor” and caused by weather conditions. Ziccarelli, the first-term Republican from Lower Burrell, was driving the SUV on a snow- and sleet-covered road in Murrysville shortly after 3:30 a.m. Dec. 18 on Cherry...
Letter to the editor: Religion is about being a good person
I’m sitting north of Pittsburgh this evening near where one of our local police chiefs was shot dead. As if that’s not bad enough, I turn on the football game, and I see that one of the Buffalo Bills players nearly died on the field . I am praying for...
High school scores, summaries and schedules for Jan. 6, 2023
High schools WPIAL Basketball Boys Friday’s schedule Class 6A Section 1 New Castle 71, Butler 60 North Allegheny 57, Pine-Richland 40 Seneca Valley 63, Central Catholic 54 Section 2 Baldwin 62, Canon-McMillan 37 Mt. Lebanon 69, Hempfield 36 Upper St. Clair 61, Norwin 56 Class 5A Section 1 Peters Township...
High school roundup for Jan. 6, 2023: Royce Parham scores 1,000th point as North Hills gets past Moon
Royce Parham scored 25 points, hitting the 1,000-point mark for his career with a basket in the second quarter, as North Hills defeated Moon, 66-60, in Section 4-5A boys basketball Friday night. Jake Pollaro scored 15, Zach Pollaro had 12 and Eric James added 10 for North Hills (8-2, 2-0)....
Gary Franks: Pope Benedict — sex abuse scandals and collateral damage
In Pope Benedict’s final letter, he asked for forgiveness. In the past, Benedict acknowledged “his failure to act decisively at times in confronting sexual abusers.” The priest sex abuse scandals over the decades have been shocking and horrific. The issue has been debilitating to those directly and indirectly affected. More...
2 years later: An update on Western Pennsylvania Capitol riot cases
A South Fayette man who has been in custody for nearly two years is expected to plead guilty on Monday to his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. Jorden Mink, 29, will join nearly 500 other defendants from across the country who have pleaded guilty...
Dolly Parton makes surprise appearance on ‘Call Me Kat’
Dolly Parton made a surprise appearance on this week’s episode of Fox’s “Call me Kat” to pay tribute to the show’s late co-star Leslie Jordan. “Dear friend, there’ll be no sad farewell, there’ll be no tear-dimmed eyes,” the country superstar sang to Jordan in a prerecorded message that aired during...
‘It was way gorier’: How ‘M3GAN’ came to life and landed in theaters (with a lower body count)Video
Years ago, after rising through the ranks on genre TV shows such as “Grimm” and “The 100,” screenwriter Akela Cooper found herself at a crossroads. A lifelong horror fan, she’d long put off writing the two horror features that had been swimming around in her head — until one day...
Review: Anna Kendrick explores co-dependent damage in ‘Alice, Darling’Video
In “Alice, Darling,” the titular protagonist’s friends are a little worried. As the three of them embark on a weeklong trip, peacemaking Sophie (Wunmi Mosaku) has her eye on Alice (Anna Kendrick), later describing her eating habits as “disordered.” Birthday girl Tess (Kaniehtiio Horn), a struggling artist, has been drifting...
Penn State OT Drew Shelton filled in for Olu Fashanu as a true freshman and now is ready for 2023
Some players get called into their coach’s office. Some get a text or a phone call. Some remember where they were and how they got the news that they were receiving their first career start. But Penn State tackle Drew Shelton isn’t one of those people. Shelton couldn’t recall how...
Gov. Wolf launches college scholarship program for Pa. state workers, dependents
Gov. Tom Wolf has been a strong advocate for funding for Pennsylvania’s state-owned universities and as his administration winds to a close on Jan. 17, he had one more parting gift for them and certain state government employees. He announced on Thursday the launch of a new $5 million short-lived...
