TribLive stories, Page 2314
High school scores, schedules for March 5, 2019
High schools Basketball Boys PIAA playoffs First round Class 6A Saturday’s schedule Abington (27-1) vs. Cumberland Valley (17-9) at Council Rock South, 4 p.m.; Lincoln (10-16) vs. Pennridge (22-4) at Southern, 5 p.m.; Boys Latin (22-5) vs. Norristown (21-6) at Lincoln, 5 p.m.; Hazleton (21-6) vs. Methacton (20-7) at Wilkes...
GM’s job cuts in Ohio show hot economy leaves parts of America behind
LORDSTOWN, Ohio — Scott Mezzapeso had to do something last month he never imagined: call his ex-wife and warn her that he might not be able to pay child support on time. Mezzapeso has a tattoo of his daughter on his left arm and rarely misses her high school softball...
Passengers injured on cruise ship battered by strong wind
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Extreme gusts of wind rocked a Florida-bound cruise ship, causing injuries to several passengers. Norwegian Cruise Lines says the Norwegian Escape ran into wind estimated at 115 mph late Sunday that caused the ship to tilt to its port side. The cruise line said in a...
George Guido: A-K Valley basketball teams open PIAA playoffs this weekend
The PIAA basketball playoffs are set to start this weekend, and there are five Alle-Kiski Valley teams entered. Boys teams from Leechburg, Highlands, Deer Lakes and Fox Chapel are in, likewise the Fox Chapel girls. There was apparently so much interest in Sunday’s bracket rollout that the PIAA’s website briefly...
A-K Valley Athletes of the Week: Fox Chapel swimmer Zoe Skirboll, Deer Lakes swimmer Adam Morrison
Zoe Skirboll School: Fox Chapel Class: Freshman Sport: Swimming Report card: Skirboll crushed the WPIAL record (1 minute, 2.68 seconds) in the 100-yard breaststroke with time of 1:00.96. She also finished second in the 200 IM (2:00.25). Both times were top 100 in the country this season and earned her...
Trader Joe’s customers (91,000 of them) petition store to reduce plastic packaging
Customers love Trader Joe’s for the company’s innovative products and affordable prices. All that plastic encasing cucumbers, peppers, tomatoes and cherries? Not so much. As of Tuesday, more than 91,000 people have signed a Change.org petition urging the Southern California-based chain to reduce its plastic packaging. “Trader Joe’s, I love...
Pat Buchanan: Is the American Century over for good?
“Politics stops at the water’s edge” was a tradition that, not so long ago, was observed by both parties, particularly when a president was abroad, speaking for the nation. The tradition was enunciated by Sen. Arthur Vandenberg of Michigan in 1947, as many of the Republicans in the 80th Congress...
Kraft Heinz keeps 5 test kitchens busy to stay relevant
GLENVIEW, Ill. — Robin Ross, director of culinary at Kraft Heinz, doesn’t need data to know how much consumer tastes have changed since processed food reigned supreme. When she was growing up, dinner often meant heating up a can of something on the stove, and when she was raising kids...
Study examines how health consumers respond to surprise medical bills
WASHINGTON — When it comes to having a baby, that bundle of joy may bring an unexpected price tag that can affect parents’ future health care choices. At least that was the finding of a study published this week in Health Affairs. It examined how consumers respond to surprise medical...
Holiday season defines winners, losers in retail
NEW YORK — The 2018 holiday season turned out to be a mixed bag for retailers, with some of them defying a gloomy government report in December that raised concerns that shoppers were hunkering down everywhere. Retailers including Walmart, Target and Best Buy that have been responding faster to a...
Ajax eliminates Madrid in round of 16 of Champions League
MADRID — Real Madrid’s Champions League reign is over. Ajax stunned Madrid 4-1 at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium on Tuesday, eliminating the three-time defending champion 5-3 on aggregate in the round of 16 — and ending an unprecedented era of dominance by the Spanish team in the competition. Ajax needed less...
Betsy DeVos pushes plan to save tax breaks for private school scholarship funds
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos is riding to the rescue of a private-school tax break that was ensnared in a bitter fight between the Treasury Department and Democratic states that sought to circumvent caps on state and local deductions under the Trump tax overhaul. DeVos and two Republican lawmakers are pushing...
Editorial: Why do we demand apologies?
We need to stop demanding that people apologize. Every day, people in the public eye say things that are mean or stupid or wrong. They are sexist, racist, anti-Semitic, ableist, partisan, homophobic, classist and varieties of discriminatory for which we have no “ist” words. They may be vague microaggressions that...
North Hills High School hosts evening of music
Cabaret Night at North Hills High School was a big hit Friday, March 19, as students entertained the audience with a multitude of performances....
Review: ‘Captain Marvel’ has dazzling powers but little personality
If there is one thing that’s true of most of the movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it’s that they have life and spirit to spare. It’s kind of an intoxicating joy that dares even the most comic book-apathetic to get on board and delight in the spectacle, and it...
Teens at swastika party apologize as outrage grows
NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. — Teens who attended an Orange County party this weekend that included Nazi symbolism purportedly had this to say: “I want to express my deepest remorse and regret.” “I made a poor decision.” “We made a very big mistake.” “I am so sorry.” “My actions were disgusting,...
North Allegheny students learn to ‘Pay It Forward’
Carrying groceries for people at local stores, creating welcome bags for the Ronald McDonald House, delivering food to the homeless in the downtown Pittsburgh, and fashioning handmade blankets for babies at hospitals are just some of the generous acts of kindness that North Allegheny Senior High students were performing in...
Retired Indiana Township attorney continues work for youth through Homeless Children’s fund
“Champions for Children” is a fitting title for the 20th anniversary celebration of the Homeless Children’s Education Fund (HCEF). The focus of the March 21 fundraiser at the Fairmont Hotel in Downtown Pittsburgh is advocating for the more than 3,500 homeless children in Allegheny County. Indiana Township resident and event...
Letter to the editor: Look to locals for Greensburg planning
Regarding the letter “Greensburg needs competent planning director” (March 3, TribLIVE): As a graduate architect, the importance of the planning director position is not lost on me. City Council would be remiss to not search close to home to find their new candidate. Highly educated, skilled and talented young people...
Letter to the editor: Let’s cancel cable
I really enjoyed Tom Purcell’s column “Living the cord-cutting dream” (Feb. 18, TribLIVE). He hit the nail on the head when he wrote that the average cost for cable TV is $1,848 yearly and will go up again this year. Purcell writes of cancelling cable and getting an antenna to...
Letter to the editor: Pope’s words on sex abuse misinterpreted
After reading the editorial “Pope lowers sex abuse expectations” (Jan. 29, TribLIVE), I am left somewhat disillusioned by the writer’s interpretation of the Pope Francis’ words. While I agree that sexual abuse is a major problem in the Catholic Church and powerful action must be taken, the “inflated expectations” the...
Letter to the editor: Debunking ‘gateway drug’ argument
Letter-writer Susan Jones worries that legalizing marijuana could potentially lead to an increased usage of cocaine, crack or heroin (“Legalized pot a gateway drug,” Feb. 16, TribLIVE). The “gateway drug” argument is an example of assuming that correlation is evidence of causation. Studies do show that the majority of people...
Letter to the editor: Reform the cash bail system
Hundreds of thousands of people in the United States — people who have not been tried or convicted of any crime — are held in jail simply because they cannot afford bail. They may spend days, weeks or months in jail awaiting trial. And in the process, they may lose...
Here’s what’s happening around town: Tuesday, March 5
Hello, Sewickley, Sewickley Public Library will hold a movie night for adults starting at 6 p.m. Wednesday with a screening of “Crazy Rich Asians.” Based on the best-selling novel, the film is a contemporary romantic comedy following native New Yorker Rachel Chu to Singapore to meet her boyfriend’s family. —...
Developers of suicide prediction score hope to prevent teen deaths
Suicide is an increasingly prominent public health issue, with rates rising across the country and suicide ranking as the second leading cause of death for Americans aged 15 to 34. But ask an expert to predict who is most at risk, and they’ll only be able to give you an...
