TribLive stories, Page 46
Shoddy oversight plagues Pittsburgh police moonlighting program
On most days, uniformed Pittsburgh police officers work off-duty gigs across the city. These side jobs are supposed to be a win-win-win arrangement: Businesses pay for a highly trained and visible police presence to provide security or direct traffic; officers looking for extra cash enjoy a lucrative side hustle; and...
Shoddy oversight plagues Pittsburgh police moonlighting program
On most days, uniformed Pittsburgh police officers work off-duty gigs across the city. These side jobs are supposed to be a win-win-win arrangement: Businesses pay for a highly trained and visible police presence to provide security or direct traffic; officers looking for extra cash enjoy a lucrative side hustle; and...
Sewickley area real estate transfers for the week of Dec. 14, 2025
Aleppo Brenda Hepner sold property at 109 Forest Edge Drive to Peter Borstelmann for $265,000. Bell Acres Jennifer Ashley Wiebe trustee sold property at 1623 Camp Meeting Road to 1623 Camp Meeting Rd LLC for $6,000,000. Bellevue BG15 Properties LLC sold property at 633 Orchard Ave. to Bryant Street Apartments...
Eastern Pittsburgh suburban real estate transactions for the week of Dec. 7, 2025
ALLEGHENY COUNTY Forest Hills Kevin Wilhelm sold property at 714 Cascade Road to Rachel Harriet Corn-Hicks for $195,000. Estate of Florence Mae Beatty sold property at 1987 Centurion Drive to Emily Phillips for $64,600. Monroeville RS Holdings 201 LLC sold property at 431 California Ave. to Cerkat Ventures D LLC...
South Hills real estate transactions for the week of Dec. 7, 2025
Baldwin Borough Lizabeth Dryburgh sold property at 1668 Beryl Drive to Tony and Clarissa Pinkerton for $255,000. Estate of Mark Boyko sold property at 5105 Leona Drive to Joseph Kopp and Grace Kerr for $249,000. Jonah Dusi sold property at 432 Lucy Drive to Alan Spence and Brittney Lewis for...
Bethel Park real estate transactions for the week of Dec. 7, 2025
Donna Lynn Accetta sold property at 605 Arkwood Drive to James and Karen Ann Melnik for $188,000. Jens Hebestreit sold property at 2311 Casswell Drive to Matthew King and Corrine Hebestreit for $350,000. Jodi Beurbrouck sold property at 1343 Centerman Ave. to James William Yauger and Stephanie Hook for $362,000....
Sewickley area real estate transactions for the week of Dec. 7, 2025
Aleppo Angela Schembre sold property at 212 Timber Lane to Cartus Financial Corp. for $322,500. Cartus Financial Corp. sold property at 212 Timber Lane to Michael George and Judith Ostronic for $306,500. Franklin Park Adrian Ciganic trustee sold property at 2652 Glenchester Road to Jared and Erin Lang for $676,000....
Fox Chapel area real estate transactions for the week of Dec. 7, 2025
Aspinwall Bryan Fritsch sold property at 1010 River Oaks Drive to River Oaks In Aspinwall Rentals LLC for $311,600. Blawnox Jacob Park sold property at 1025 Woodland Road to Gaowei Zheng and Camille Ng for $242,000. Etna David Manco sold property at 108 Dewey St. to Shannon Wockley for $125,000....
Letter to the editor: Shop local, strengthening our communities
As the holiday season arrives, Westmoreland County comes alive — lights glowing in storefronts, families sharing traditions and our business districts filled with excitement. It’s the perfect time to remember a simple truth: Every dollar spent locally strengthens the foundation of our community. Whether you’re exploring boutiques in Downtown Greensburg,...
Robert Morris loses at Milwaukee on last-second tip-in
Another close outcome didn’t go Robert Morris’ way Saturday night and the Colonials settled for a two-game split of their Horizon League season-opening road trip. Milwaukee’s Seth Hubbard followed up on teammate Isaiah Dorceus’ desperation 3-point shot with a high-arcing tap-in just before the final buzzer to lift the Panthers...
Verizon/Fios customers could lose access to local NBC station
Customers of Verizon/Fios could lose access to local NBC affiliate WPXI TV as early as Dec. 15 if Verizon and the station’s owner don’t reach a carrier agreement. In a statement from WPXI owner Cox Media Group, the station said Cox had come to agreements with every other pay TV...
Adam Patric Miller: As a teacher, I’m seeing the death of American education
A student I like turns in an essay. (She won me over because she brings “Crime and Punishment” to class, and her last name is Russian, which makes me think of the great-grandparents I never met who left Russia for the reasons many Jews left.) A few sentences into her...
Analysis: Penn State salvages chaotic coaching search with hire of Matt Campbell
Just a few days ago, Pat Kraft was public enemy No. 1. Now, Penn State’s athletic director can breathe a sigh of relief, and so can Nittany Lion fans. Penn State’s frustrating, antsy and, at times, embarrassing coaching search has been salvaged. Iowa State’s Matt Campbell, one of the most...
Point: Standardized tests were built for a predictable world; that world is gone
For more than a century, American education has been driven by the same invisible engine: standardization. Rows of desks. National tests. Rankings. From No Child Left Behind to statewide report cards, we have long measured success by what can be quantified, compared and controlled. This model, born in the industrial...
Counterpoint: Standardized tests help students by creating a framework for accountability
When the College Board canceled SAT testing in 2020, hundreds of colleges adopted test-optional admissions policies for that fall. The Urban Institute reported that the number of four-year colleges and universities going test-optional nearly doubled in one year, from 713 to 1,350. Test-optional admissions had been spreading before the covid...
1 dead in shooting outside New Kensington Elks Lodge
New Kensington and Westmoreland County police continue to investigate after a man was shot dead early Saturday morning, a spokeswoman for the Westmoreland County District Attorney’s Office said. County detectives were called to assist New Kensington police outside the Elks Lodge on Third Avenue around 3:30 a.m., said Melanie Jones,...
Letter to the editor: Forgetting the victims of overdose
Per the CDC: March 2025, 77,648 overdose deaths versus the previous year, 103,529. And we are worried about drug runners? So typical of our society now. Forget the victims. As someone whose family has been affected by drug addiction and death, we could care less about stopping the drug trade....
Letter to the editor: Congress members correct on war crimes
I am appalled that your newspaper should print the Associated Press story “Pentagon says it’s investigating Sen. Mark Kelly over video urging troops to defy ‘illegal orders’ ” (Nov. 24, TribLive). Six Congress members — unlike President Trump, veterans all — issued a video telling soldiers they did not have...
Editorial: Colleges can build big without begging for cash
Oh, those college expenses. There are those big ideas of what it will be like. It’s all freedom and independence until financial reality sets in. Then the calls start to come about borrowing money. No, this isn’t about your sophomore psychology student wanting to use that emergency credit card. It’s...
Substitute teacher shortages leave some districts scrambling to avoid ‘vicious cycle’ in schools
During Allegheny Valley School District’s two-month search for a consistent high school biology teacher, Superintendent Patrick Graczyk said other teachers, outside substitutes and even school principals stepped in to keep the science class going. Eventually, the district found a long-term substitute with an emergency biology certification to fill the role...
The Stroller, Dec. 6, 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. Festival of Trees raffle...
Christmas performances, cookie walks and more at Sewickley area churches
Antioch Baptist Church 332 Elizabeth St., Sewickley. 412-741-7688. antiochfwbaptist sewickley.org. Morning worship and praise service is at 10:45 a.m. First Sunday Sunday School is at 9:30 a.m. Beth Samuel Jewish Center 810 Kennedy Drive, Ambridge. 412-266-5238. bethsamuel.org. Beth Samuel Jewish Center offers weekly Shabbat services, monthly family and Zoom Kabbalat...
Letter to the editor: When disasters strike, our community steps up
While many of us are asleep, families huddle on the street, watching firefighters douse the flames consuming their home. At the same time, local Red Cross volunteers — neighbors from our own community — comfort those families and provide emergency lodging, recovery support and a shoulder to lean on during...
Shapiro pushes back on federal policy change, urges continuation of hepatitis B vaccines at birth
Gov Josh Shapiro is again pushing back on a Trump administration reversal on vaccine guidance, this time involving the hepatitis B vaccine given at birth. In a press release, the Shapiro administration said it was standing with medical experts “to ensure parents can protect children from lifelong liver disease by...
Pittsburgh CLO’s ‘Yippee Ki Yay’ a heartwarming, hilarious tribute to ‘Die Hard’
Let’s get this out of the way: I don’t buy into the whole “ ‘Die Hard’ is a Christmas movie” thing. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy this 1988 action flick classic that (deservedly so) launched Bruce Willis and Alan Rickman into super-stardom. But “taking place at Christmas” does not,...
