TribLive stories, Page 1346
U.S. says Russia must de-escalate as troops mass near UkraineVideo
WASHINGTON — The United States said Moscow needs to take steps to de-escalate tensions on the Ukraine border as Western nations and officials in Kyiv said Russian troops continue to amass ahead of a potential attack. A U.S. official, briefing reporters Thursday on condition of anonymity, said the U.S. continues...
Several Westmoreland municipalities sign on to proposed opioid suit settlement
Westmoreland County’s largest municipalities are beginning to line up to join the county in a proposed national settlement of lawsuits against drug companies stemming from the ongoing opioid epidemic. Unity Township, in a special meeting Thursday, was one of the latest to sign on for the proposed $26 billion national...
Salewa Ogunmefun: 30 years of racial inequity vs. Pa.s only growing populations
Throughout the legislative reapportionment process, we at Pennsylvania Voice, along with our statewide partner organizations, have consistently advocated that the new state legislative maps that will determine who has political power in Pennsylvania for the next 10 years be drawn with racial equity as a core consideration. In fact, our...
Coach Bob Lilley agrees to multi-year contract extension with Riverhounds
Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC and coach Bob Lilley agreed to a three-year contract extension, the team announced Thursday. Lilley, 55, just completed his fourth season with the Riverhounds and is the club’s all-time leader in wins and games coached with a 66-25-34 record. “Since Bob came to Pittsburgh, he has turned...
Pittsburgh argues that Italian-American group has no right to challenge Columbus statue removal
Attorneys for the City of Pittsburgh said that a lawsuit filed against it last year to save the Christopher Columbus statue at Schenley Park ought to be dismissed because the organization that filed it doesn’t have standing. In documents filed last week in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court, the city...
Sheldon Jacobson: NHL, other professional leagues imploding with covid-19
Dozens of NHL players are under covid-19 protocols, resulting in teams playing shorthanded, and in some cases, temporarily shutting down. There have been several postponed games over the past two weeks, including cross border games, with teams that were still in action playing to empty arena. The NHL has now...
Letter to the editor: A Christian advocating for violence?
In response to the Rev. Tony Joseph’s letter “Is anyone listening to God?”: Aside from being factually inaccurate — viruses are in fact not living things, for example, despite his assertation to the contrary — it espouses bombast and great anger as he writes, “we must become Christian soldiers and...
Letter to the editor: Norwin swamp
Norwin has a political swamp, too. This letter is serving as my public apology to the Norwin community for endorsing Raymond Kocak for school director. I financially supported Kocak in his bid. I openly advised the public and worked the polls to get him elected. He was part of the...
The Stroller, Dec. 23, 2021: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
Publicize your holiday events, club meetings and fundraisers for free in The Stroller. Send information at least a week in advance to vndnews@triblive.com. Please include a daytime telephone number. Classes offered by Concordia Institute for Lifelong Learning Concordia Institute for Lifelong Learning is offering free classes for those of retirement...
Editorial: Churchill’s future is in Amazon’s hands
It has taken about a year for Churchill council to make a decision about the future of the former George Westinghouse Research Park. It also took a public hearing that stretched to 14 days and a total of 55 hours of testimony, as passionate locals raised their voices about the...
Letter to the editor: Conflicting interests and the Marcellus circus
Reading about the latest trials and tribulations in Upper Burrell (“Former supervisors ask Upper Burrell to add 2 more seats; ties to Marcellus shale raised,” Dec. 5, TribLIVE), one thing is obvious: The circus with Marcellus gas drilling continues. Supervisor Ross Walker’s appearance at a West Deer meeting extolling the...
High school scores, summaries and schedules for Dec. 22, 2021
High schools WPIAL Basketball Boys Wednesday’s results Nonsection Aquinas Academy 77, Avella 40 Beth-Center 69, Bentworth 55 Brashear at Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, ppd Brownsville at Uniontown, ppd. Carlynton 53, Western Beaver 31 Northgate 52, Cornell 42 Upper St. Clair 81, Elizabeth Forward 49 Fort Cherry at Waynesburg,...
High school roundup for Dec. 22, 2021: Connor leads Mt. Lebanon in girls clash with Oakland Catholic
Ashleigh Connor scored a game-high 29 points with four 3-pointers to lead Class 6A No. 3 Mt. Lebanon to a 61-50 victory over Class 5A No. 4 Oakland Catholic in a nonsection girls basketball showdown between undefeated teams. Anna Streiff added 13 for Mt. Lebanon (6-0). Alexa Washington scored 14...
Dunn lifts Robert Morris over St. Francis (Pa.), 75-67Video
LORETTO — Rasheem Dunn tied his season high with 21 points as Robert Morris snapped a seven-game skid on the road with a 75-67 victory over St. Francis (Pa.) on Wednesday night. Matt Mayers finished with 16 points — making all six of his field goal attempts and all three...
David Ayers: Why is America so sad? And where do we find joy?
A study by the Harvard Graduate School of Education — based on an October 2020 poll released in February 2021 — deserved widespread media coverage. It got almost none. Given what was going on this past February, that is not surprising. But it is regrettable nonetheless. The study found that...
Daniel Reeping: The empty manger, a true story
The year, 1944. The date, Dec. 24, Christmas Eve. The time, midnight. And for this day, we hoped the sounds of World War II would be drowned out by the hymns of Christmas sung by millions of Christians in tens of thousands of churches celebrating the birth of a small...
Kiski Area sponsors girls wrestling team as sport’s momentum grows
The movement to sanction girls high school wrestling has arrived in the Alle-Kiski Valley. Monday night, the Kiski Area School District became the first A-K Valley school board to sign on to the movement to someday have girls wrestling receive PIAA sanction. Kiski Area became the 31st school in Pennsylvania...
Experts say more must be done by Pittsburgh in response to Jim Rogers’ death
From the initial stop to the decision to frisk. From the way the frisk was executed to the decision to pull out a taser. From how the taser was deployed to how all of the officers at the scene responded, the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police failed in its handling of...
Fawn-Frazer water customers ordered to conserve after water main break
Due to a water main break along Bull Creek Road, the Fawn-Frazer Joint Water Authority issued a water conservation order for all of its customers. All unnecessary use of water is prohibited, according to the order. In addition, customers are asked to conserve on the use of water for drinking...
Family, friends, community say goodbye to ‘Mr. Mt. Pleasant’ Gerald Lucia
Mt. Pleasant on Wednesday celebrated the life and times of Gerald Lucia, the longtime Mt. Pleasant mayor and fire chief. Lucia died Dec. 17. He was 76. On Wednesday, there was a procession of fire trucks before and after his funeral. A volunteer firefighter for 46 years, Lucia served as...
Northern Tier Library updates hours in 2022
Starting in 2022, the Northern Tier Library will have new hours — 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Wednesday and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday through Saturday. The library is located at , 4015 Dickey Road, Gibsonia. Marilyn Monroe: The girl behind the image In the glittering Golden...
Fresh Express announces recall of salad mix due to potential health risk
SILVER SPRING, Md. — Fresh Express is recalling certain varieties of its branded and private label salad products produced at the company’s Streamwood, Ill., facility because the product has the potential to be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes. The organism can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail...
Letter to the editor: Government control
Apparently my Webster’s dictionary has become obsolete. According to it, a vaccine is a substance to induce immunity to a disease, and a mandate is an authoritative command — not a law. The government is trying to force all American citizens to get the covid-19 shots; workers could be fired...
Why more of the same would be a positive for new Penn State defensive coordinator Manny Diaz
Manny Diaz set the tone quickly when he first had a chance to speak to the Penn State defense for the first time. The new Nittany Lion defensive coordinator was all business. “He came into the meeting, slick hair back, chest poking out and stuff like that,” senior safety Ji’Ayir...
Letter to the editor: The supply crisis is real
Until very recently I was on the fence regarding this “supply chain” crisis. My friends on the political left told me there wasn’t one, that this is all part of the Christmas gift-buying season. They hedged by saying if there was one, it is the fault of Donald Trump. On...

