TribLive stories, Page 1814

Ian Oswalt Burrell, jr., 132-pounds 2019-20 record: 45-7 Through the first three years of his high school career, Burrell’s Ian Oswalt has set the bar high. Each year, he seems to clear that bar. For the third straight season, Oswalt cleaned house at the sectional and WPIAL tournaments, becoming a...

Kurtis Phipps, like everyone in the world, is bored sitting at home watching TV. But that is what has happened with the coronavirus forcing people to take precautions to stay healthy. Phipps is glad the PIAA didn’t stop its wrestling tournament like the NCAA did for the basketball and wrestling...

Pennsylvania was so close to mattering in the presidential primary this year. Things were tight on the Democratic side nationwide, and maybe the Keystone State would be key in making a choice between putting former Vice President Joe Biden or Sen. Bernie Sanders on the ballot for the fall. And...

Many school districts are conducting or have plans to begin distance learning for students while schools are closed. Below is information released by districts about when distance learning will begin and when, eventually, students might return to classrooms. This list will be updated and school districts added as information becomes...

Call them signs of the time. A wide range of businesses are closed under Gov. Tom Wolf’s order in reaction to the coronavirus pandemic. Many are advertising something different these days on their marquees and windows: messages of hope and unity. TribLIVE photographers captured images from across the region. Some...

As many of us adjust to working from the couch, with daytime television in the background and a confused dog at our side, it’s business as usual or double-time for the majority of Pennsylvania’s manufacturers and their supply chains. Critical to our ability to contain covid-19, flatten the curve and...

When the Pennsylvania State Department of Health ordered dental offices to close, one local dentist found himself with a supply of PPE (personal protective equipment) that he wouldn’t be using for the foreseeable future. Dr. James Zora, who operates Zora Family Dental in Pleasant Hills and Fox Chapel, offered his...

So many Pennsylvanians bought guns last week that our state background check system crashed. Twice. In fact, 4,342 of you bought or transferred a gun or applied for a license to carry a gun on March 17 alone, according to a press release from the Pennsylvania State Police. Of course,...

Five more confirmed cases of coronavirus were reported in Westmoreland County on Wednesday, bringing the total to 16. The Pennsylvania Department of Health released updated figures about noon. Statewide, cases exceeded 1,000, with eastern counties reporting the highest totals. Four more patients died, according to the state’s figures. Philadelphia County...

Send cancellations to The Stroller The Stroller will publish news of cancellations and events that will still occur in the upcoming days. If your non-profit has to cancel or change an event or is helping members of the public, please send information to The Stroller at vndnews@tribweb.com. Knead Community Café...

Ensuring that high school seniors graduate on time is among his top priorities as Pennsylvania grapples with the prospect of an extended school shutdown because of covid-19 fears, Secretary of Education Pedro Rivera said Wednesday, stressing that the school year cannot be extended beyond June 30. “We’ve put a full...

We now know that the government (both federal and state) thinks we, the proletariat, are “nonessential.” They showed us this by decreeing that some of us hold non-essential jobs and shut us out of those jobs, thus destroying our livelihoods. In my life, I’ve found that if someone hates me,...

President Trump has tried to reassure the public that everything possible is being done to contain the new coronavirus, but in the absence of extensive testing, this means nothing. The government’s slow response in developing accurate testing that can be used quickly is not excusable in a nation that spends...

I must disagree in the extreme with the tone of your editorial “Wolf’s excessive attack on the Pa. economy will hurt lives.” While many (including myself) disagree with the scope and execution of Gov. Tom Wolf’s rollout of measures to help stop the spread of covid-19, you can’t actually believe...

When Communist China was “opened up” by President Richard Nixon in the 1970s, American businesses salivated at the prospect of a brand-new, billion-person market. Fifty years later it has taken a coronavirus pandemic to make it apparent that we are totally dependent upon China to provide integral components of some...

I would like to acknowledge Pastor Tom Walters of Word of Life Church for his willingness to graciously accept and respond to criticism for his decision to hold worship services this past Sunday (“Hempfield church pastor apologizes for open services on Sunday,” March 23, TribLIVE). He certainly does not deserve...

Send cancellations to The Stroller The Stroller will publish news of cancellations and events that will still occur in the upcoming days. If your non-profit has to cancel or change an event or is helping members of the public, please send information to The Stroller at vndnews@tribweb.com. New Kensington Salvation...

During these difficult times, the last thing the people of Pennsylvania need are individuals, retailers or wholesalers taking advantage of them. Gouging prices of household essentials or scamming people out of money for “at home” coronavirus kits that don’t exist isn’t just a disgusting practice — it is illegal. In...

The Sewickley Borough Parking Authority has suspended all parking meter enforcement until March 30 in order to reduce interactions with the public. The parking authority meets at 6 p.m. March 31. Due to the stay-at-home order, the authority suggests residents send comments to parking@sewickleyborough.org. To listen in, call 605-313-5111, pin...

At a time when shortages of protective gear are putting health care workers at risk, more than 750,000 medical-grade masks went up for online auction in Texas. Bottles of Purell sold for over $40. A box of 16 masks went for $170. They could be had retail for $3 each...

A worldwide medical crisis requires you to trust others and use common sense in a way that can sometimes be hard for us. Especially when the two ideas are at odds and it’s up to us all to make smart decisions. If we ignore the good advice — or exercise...