TribLive stories, Page 288
High school roundup for Feb. 25, 2025: Aliquippa boys, girls headed to The Pete
Josh Pratt scored 21 points and No. 1 Aliquippa earned a trip to the Petersen Events Center for the third straight year by defeating No. 4 Bishop Canevin, 66-36, in the WPIAL Class 3A semifinals Tuesday night. Aliquippa, the two-time defending champion in Class 2A, will face No. 2 South...
Bocce tournament brings together students of all abilities
Hempfield Area School District hosted the first round of interscholastic playoffs Tuesday for Westmoreland County North and South Division Unified Bocce teams. Eight schools participated in last night’s competition. Teams of students with and without intellectual disabilities joined together to compete in the popular Italian bowling game, where athletes aim...
Former Penn State QB Trace McSorley joins James Franklin’s staff as assistant
Penn State great Trace McSorley is back with the Nittany Lions’ football program. News about a possible PSU-McSorley reunion first surfaced over the weekend, via Onward State and The Daily Collegian, and the former Lions starting quarterback is officially listed as a football offensive assistant in the Penn State directory....
Settlement in Fern Hollow Bridge case collapses amid finger-pointing
The City of Pittsburgh is blaming everyone but itself for the Fern Hollow Bridge collapse. In recent court filings, lawyers for the city have faulted the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, the private engineering firms who conducted annual inspections — even the victims driving across the bridge in 2022 when it...
84-year-old Monroeville man dies in crash
A Monroeville man was killed in a crash on Fox Hill Drive Tuesday, according to the Allegheny County Medical Examiner. Raymond Manns Jr., 84, was ejected from a vehicle that was traveling on the road at 8 a.m. He died at the scene....
Allison Schrager: Trump risks making the same economic mistakes as Biden
There is one surefire way to know when someone is trying to pull one over on you: If they’re promising something for nothing — like a tax cut that pays for itself or an investment strategy that offers a higher return and lower risk — then you need to be...
Penn State to close some branch campuses; New Kensington, Fayette, Greater Allegheny, Beaver at risk
Penn State officials have made it clear that it will close some of its branch campuses, and all four of those in Southwestern Pennsylvania are among those that might close. University President Neeli Bendapudi said in a statement Tuesday that she expects a final recommendation to be announced no later...
Penn State AD Pat Kraft ‘all-in’ on winning CFP national championship
Penn State football has gone all-in this offseason, positioning the Nittany Lions as one of the favorites to win the national title — and athletic director Pat Kraft is a big reason why. Kraft, speaking to the media Monday, made it clear he’s committed to doing what it takes to...
Bethel Park student achievements for the week of Feb. 25, 2025
Hem Baskota made the dean’s list at the University of Maryland Global Campus for the fall 2024 semester. Katie Clark, Nate Paul and Patrick Pinchinat made the president’s list with a 4.0 GPA at the University of Alabama for the fall 2024 semester. Stepan Engelman, Vatsal Kalra, and Ammar Kethavath...
Fox Chapel Area School District student achievements for the week of Feb. 25, 2025
Three Fox Chapel Area High School students recently won awards in Model United Nations (UN) conferences. Senior Armin Kuchhal was named Outstanding Delegate, equivalent to second place, at the Duquesne University Model UN Conference held on Jan. 17. About 240 students from 18 public and private high schools in Western...
Jordan Miller: Layoffs affect CDC’s ability to respond to current crises
In just a few short weeks, the Trump administration has brought drastic changes to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and public health. Beginning with the removal of websites and key public health datasets in January, the Trump administration has taken actions to dismantle established public health infrastructure as...
Gallery: Photos from Feb. 25, 2025
Embark on a visual journey around the Western Pennsylvania region with TribLive’s latest collection of captivating images for Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2025. From the rustic landscapes of Western Pa. to diverse corners of the globe, experience the shared moments of humanity....
Delta CEO promotes DEI initiatives as ‘merit-based’ following Trump executive orders
Amid the Trump administration’s efforts to roll back DEI initiatives across the federal government, many companies have dropped their diversity, equity and inclusion commitments, from Disney and Google to Amazon. Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines, which is a federal contractor, is threading a needle: It’s promoting its DEI initiatives as merit-based...
South Hills student achievements for the week of Feb. 25, 2025
Laekyn Flinn was named to the dean’s list at Frostburg State University for the fall 2024 semester. Jennifer Bakowski was among 350 students named to the Westminster College’s Dean’s List for the fall 2024 semester. Bakowski is majoring in music education and is a graduate of Westinghouse Arts Academy. Celia...
Letter to the editor: McCormick’s silence
On his own website, Sen. Dave McCormick says, “Dave and Dina are proud to support organizations that work with veterans and their families.” Yet he has remained silent on the dismissal of 1,000 Veterans Affairs workers, some of whom work the Veterans Crisis Line. His silence shows me that McCormick...
The Stroller, Feb. 25, 2025: 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. Follow the Stroller on X at @VNDStroller. Cash bash to benefit...
Editorial: Ligonier Beach flooded with red tape
There is no beach in Ligonier. That isn’t surprising. Westmoreland County is more than 100 miles from Lake Erie and hundreds more from the Atlantic Ocean. There is water in abundance from the variety of creeks and springs and more peppering Pennsylvania. There is no stretch of sandy shore perfect...
Letter to the editor: The sky is not falling
Many people and some media outlets are running around saying the sky is falling. They are in a tizzy because DOGE and Elon Musk are examining records and making “illegal” cuts. One reason given is that DOGE and Musk haven’t been elected. There are 2.3 million civilian government workers looking...
High school scores, summaries and schedules for Feb. 24, 2025
High schools Basketball WPIAL playoffs Boys Class 6A Semifinals Monday’s results Upper. St. Clair 59, Central Catholic 39 New Castle 67, Mt. Lebanon 56 Finals Saturday’s schedule Upper. St. Clair (23-2) vs. New Castle (21-3) at Petersen Events Center, 5 p.m. Third place Wednesday’s schedule Central Catholic (14-10) vs. Mt....
High school roundup for Feb. 24, 2025: WPIAL’s top scorer earns trip to The Pete as Clairton tops Geibel
WPIAL leading scorer Iyanna Wade finished with 22 points and got a strong effort from her supporting cast to lead No. 3 Clairton past No. 2 Geibel Catholic, 52-32, in the Class A girls basketball semifinals Monday. Karma Fuqua scored 16 points and JuJu Childs added 10 for the No....
Fast-starting Blackhawk fends off Elizabeth Forward comeback bid in Class 4A semifinals
It was always going to be difficult for the Elizabeth Forward girls basketball team to knock off Blackhawk in the WPIAL Class 4A semifinals. Coming off a state championship last season, the No. 1 Cougars are as good as ever, only losing to Mt. Lebanon and Shady Side Academy this...
John Dorfman: Want to predict the economy? Well, then enter my derby
Terry Johnson, the winner of my Derby of Economic Forecasting Talent (DEFT) for 2024, likes to count trucks. Specifically, he counts the number of big rigs — 18-wheelers and the like — on a 45-mile stretch between Lincoln and York, Neb. More trucks means the economy is doing well. Fewer...
Ex-school van driver denies sexually assaulting student, pleads no contest to showing porn
A former school van driver originally accused of sexual assaulting one of his intellectually disabled passengers in Pittsburgh pleaded no contest on Monday to a reduced charge of corruption of minors. As part of the plea deal, the Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office withdrew more serious felony counts of institutional...
Stan Drayton on coaching Penn State’s star runners and ‘identifying their weaknesses’Video
UNIVERSITY PARK — Stan Drayton, Penn State’s new running backs coach, has worked with some serious talent during his 32 years as a coach. Drayton helped mold Brian Westbrook at Villanova, Zeke Elliott at Ohio State and Bijan Robinson at Texas. At the pro level, Drayton worked with Chicago’s Matt...
Athan Koutsiouroumbas: Black men poised to shake up Pa. political landscape
Thanks in part to Black men, Pennsylvania’s political tectonics are shifting in ways that were unimaginable just a short time ago. In the 2024 presidential election, 24% of Pennsylvania’s Black men voted for President Trump. Given that 14% of Pennsylvania’s Black men voted for Trump in 2016, adding 10 points...
