TribLive stories, Page 549
High school roundup: Pine-Richland beats North Allegheny in Game 1 of pivotal series
Peyton Ford went 2 for 2 with three RBIs and Pine-Richland survived a late-inning rally to defeat North Allegheny, 10-8, and move into first place in Section 1-6A baseball Monday. Sam Heckert doubled and Keegan Diehl got the win for the Rams (15-3, 9-1). Owen Schall doubled and drove in...
Pa. priest accused of stealing $40K for Candy Crush, other phone games
Police have accused a Catholic priest in Montgomery County of stealing over $40,000 from a Chester County parish in order to fund his addiction to cell phone games. The Rev. Lawrence Kozak, 51, of Pottstown, has been charged with theft and related crimes, according to reports from 6ABC and the...
Danny Tyree: Does your town need renaming?
The venerable comic strip “Gasoline Alley” is wrapping up a storyline in which the dastardly assistant mayor schemed to change the town’s name from Gasoline Alley to the ostensibly more modern Electric Acres (without even offering a compromise such as Hybrid Hollow). Sentimentality saved the day in the funnies, just...
2 children critically hurt after fall from 3rd story window in White Oak
Two children were critically injured after they fell from a third story window within moments of each other Monday afternoon in White Oak, authorities said. A six-year-old boy and a three-year-old girl fell out of the window of a house in the 1700 block of Ohio Avenue at about 3:15...
Pa. bill to ban live pigeon shoots advances for first time in a decade
A bill to end the practice of captive pigeon shoots — cruel contests that involve the slaughter of hundreds of birds at close range — cleared the state House Judiciary Committee on Monday. Bill sponsor Rep. Perry Warren, D-Bucks County, called the legislation “progress” in addressing an issue that has...
Boy, 16, who died as a result of racial incident phoned his dad as he ran from classmates
By all accounts, Orville Johnson was building a better life for his son in America. The family hailed from Jamaica, arriving here about two years ago. Johnson built up his HVAC business. And he specifically chose the Central Dauphin School District for 16-year-old Justin because it was ‘the best,” a...
Judge moves Pittsburgh teen’s homicide trial to juvenile court, angering victim’s family
A boy who was 14 when police said he fatally shot a 17-year-old will have his criminal charges handled in juvenile court, a judge announced Monday. As a result, if Nigel Thompson is found to have killed Damonte Hardrick, he could remain in custody only up to age 21. Hardrick’s...
Jeb Bush: What the U.S. can learn from Indiana’s high school redesign
Across the country, most high school classrooms still resemble their 20th-century counterparts despite massive changes in the workforce over the past 50 years. Today’s jobs require advanced skills and education or training, yet many graduates feel unprepared for their next steps. A 2022 YouScience survey found three-fourths of high school...
Tarentum man gets probation for 145-mph Route 28 crash that killed best friend
A Tarentum man who claimed that a heart condition caused him to pass out and hit 145 mph before he crashed his sports car on Route 28, killing his passenger, was sentenced Monday to five years of probation. Frederick Fattman, 79, could have been sentenced to incarceration, but Allegheny County...
In brief: Penn Hills and Verona area happenings, week of April 29, 2024
Zoning hearing board member resigns Joe Tamburrino resigned April 25 from the Penn Hills Zoning Hearing Board, according to Damian Butler-Buccilli, a planner with the municipality’s Department of Planning and Economic Development. Three days earlier, TribLive reported that Tamburrino had moved from Penn Hills to Verona. That made his service...
Robin Abcarian: Criminalizing homelessness is unconscionable, but is it unconstitutional?
Last Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments about whether a small Oregon city can cite and prosecute homeless people for sleeping in public places when they have nowhere else to lay their heads. If the case reveals nothing else about the state of our country, it reveals this: We...
After unfulfilling year at Tennessee, Norwin grad Jake Kendro finds his groove with Pitt baseball
During his freshman baseball season at Tennessee, Jake Kendro did not have to face LSU’s Paul Skenes, who became, of course, the No. 1 overall pick in the MLB Draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates. Not that the Norwin grad would have backed down from the challenge. Skenes wasn’t the only...
Westmoreland County Senior Spotlight: Jeannette’s Nick Rattigan
It’s been a rough go the last three seasons for Jeannette’s baseball team. In those years, the Jayhawks compiled just nine total wins, recording the highest total, four, last year. With plenty of time left in the season to add on, the Jayhawks won six of their first nine games...
Highlands grad Cassidy Davis leaps to prominence during freshman track and field season at Slippery Rock
Cassidy Davis, a freshman on the Slippery Rock women’s track and field team, has a lot in common with her event coach, Tabitha Bemis. Like Bemis, she is competing for a PSAC school (Bemis was a standout at Edinboro). She also is competing in one of the same events —...
Carl P. Leubsdorf: Proof that bipartisanship is possible
For months, supporters of the embattled Ukrainians have contended there was a bipartisan House majority that would back continued U.S. military support if only its Republican leaders would allow a vote. Their contention was proven correct last weekend when the House passed a $95 billion package of support for Ukraine...
Pro-Palestine protest near Pitt campus continues
About 100 pro-Palestinian protesters remained at Schenley Plaza Monday evening, a decline compared to the encampment over the weekend. Multiple students at the site Monday declined to speak with TribLive, citing coverage of arrests made the night before when University of Pittsburgh police arrested two people, including a student, on...
Letter to the editor: Dark side of green energy
The average lifespan of a solar panel is only 25 years. Afterwards, does the user have to reinvest in all new panels when all the government grants are gone and the “green energy bubble” has burst? What happens when these solar companies go under? When millions of burned-out, Chinese-made, solar...
French media: Actor Gérard Depardieu is in custody for questioning on sexual assault allegations
PARIS — French media are reporting that actor Gérard Depardieu is in police custody for questioning about allegations made by two women that he sexually assaulted them on movie sets. Broadcaster BFMTV and the daily Le Parisien reported that the 75-year-old actor was summoned Monday morning by Paris police and...
City Theatre’s ‘Andy Warhol in Iran’ is a compelling culture clash
In the final production of its 2023-24 season, City Theatre Company has brought a compelling, thought-provoking and — at times — humorous play to life with “Andy Warhol in Iran.” Marking a Pittsburgh premiere, Brent Askari’s play is masterfully directed by Marc Masterson. The setting is 1976, when iconic pop...
In brief: North Allegheny area happenings, week of April 29, 2024
Garden club holds perennial sale Longvue Acres Garden Club’s perennial plant sale is scheduled for May 18. The cash-only sale is a favorite with North Hills residents and held each year the Saturday after Mother’s Day from 9:00 a.m. to noon, rain or shine, in the lower parking lot of...
In brief: Sewickley Civic Garden Council events, Mother’s Day tea and more
Sewickley Garden Tour Sewickley Civic Garden Council’s 2024 Sewickley Garden Tour is set for June 14-15. Guests can tour the grounds of five spectacular gardens in Sewickley and Edgeworth. Keeping with the tradition, on Friday evening there will be a sampling of wine and hors d’oeuvres at each of the...
In brief: Plum, Oakmont area events, week of April 29, 2024
Plum High auditorium to get new lighting system The Plum School Board approved paying Integrated Theatre Systems about $333,680 for a new lighting system for the high school auditorium. Integrated’s cost, one of three considered by the district, was in the middle. Despite there being a lower cost, it was...
Letter to the editor: Less negative reporting on Trump
It’s amazing how daily the Tribune- Review (Democrat?) newspaper reports negatively on the front page about Donald Trump or positively about Joe Biden. The far-left Democratic Associated Press, a New York City-based news source, gives us the negative slant on Trump while propping up the lying, storytelling Biden. In my opinion,...
Editorial: Let the competition begin: The FTC did its duty banning noncompetes
In a narrow vote this week, the Federal Trade Commission approved a rule that will ban the vast majority of noncompete clauses by U.S. employers, which have long prevented workers from switching jobs or setting out on their own. In doing so, the agency did its duty to protect American...
The Stroller, April 29, 2024: 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. Children welcome at free annual fishing derby Concordia Lutheran Ministries in...
