TribLive stories, Page 924
Unemployment rate in Pennsylvania hits record low of 3.9%, but Duquesne prof says that comes with a caveat
Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate fell to a record low in December, dropping below 4% for the first time since record-keeping began, according to figures released Friday. Payrolls and the workforce grew but remain below pre-pandemic record levels. The rate fell one-tenth of a percentage point to 3.9% from November’s rate, the state...
McKeesport man acquitted in crash that killed motorcyclist, seriously injured another
A McKeesport man charged with killing one motorcyclist and severely injuring another was found not guilty of all counts against him by a jury on Friday. Abdulhamid Almansouri, 51, went to trial this week before Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Elliot Howsie. The jurors deliberated for about seven hours before...
Scott S. Greenberger: Shared power used to be the norm in statehouses. Now it’s nearly extinct.
Terry Kilgore has been a Republican member of the Virginia House of Delegates since 1994. During that time, there have been four years in which the GOP controlled the governor’s office and both chambers of the legislature. For two years, Democrats held complete control. In the other 23 years, Republicans...
A Florida taxidermist takes clients nobody else will: grieving pet owners
INVERNESS, Fla. — Allison Doty has washed her cat, Cakes, twice. Once, during her life, scrubbing Cakes in the bathtub when she was too dirty to clean herself. The other time was after her death. Doty stood in front of the sink of her dimly lit kitchen, pale light streaming...
What older Americans need to know about taking Paxlovid
A new coronavirus variant is circulating, the most transmissible one yet. Hospitalizations of infected patients are rising. And older adults represent nearly 90% of U.S. deaths from covid-19 in recent months, the largest portion since the start of the pandemic. What does that mean for people 65 and older catching...
DA’s office says Pittsburgh activist should be jailed over social media posts after police chief’s killing
The Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office said a Pittsburgh activist should be jailed and resentenced after she posted messages on Facebook about the shooting death of Brackenridge police Chief Justin McIntire. Prosecutors filed a motion to detain Nicky Jo Dawson on Jan. 6 and supplemented that with an additional 20-page...
Punxsutawney Phil to be inducted into Meteorologist Hall of Fame
Pennsylvania’s most famous groundhog will receive a big honor just before he gives his weather prediction on Groundhog Day 2023. The Punxsutawney Weather Discovery Center will induct Punxsutawney Phil into the Meteorologist Hall of Fame on Feb. 1 - the day before Groundhog Day. The center said Phil will be...
Joanne Kilgour: Future of Southwestern PA — decades of good-paying clean and green jobs
This region is a place where hard work and innovation go hand in hand. For years, Western Pennsylvanian workers proudly built the steel that fueled America’s economy. Now we’re ready to do it again — and we have no time to waste. While there’s been debate about the path forward,...
Coroner says actor Leslie Jordan died of natural causes
LOS ANGELES — Leslie Jordan, the actor whose wry Southern drawl and versatility made him a standout on TV series including “Will & Grace” and “American Horror Story,” died from natural causes and not from a car accident last year, the Los Angeles County coroner’s office has concluded. The 67-year-old...
Reunited Pantera playing Star Lake this summerVideo
The reunion of the surviving members of heavy metal pioneers Pantera has spawned a headlining tour, including a stop near Pittsburgh. Pantera will visit the Pavilion at Star Lake on July 28. They will be joined by opening act Lamb of God. Singer Philip Anselmo and bassist Rex Brown will...
Wayfair announces layoffs, including 1,200 corporate employees
Online retailer Wayfair announced Friday that it will lay off 10% of its workforce, with most of the jobs lost being at the corporate level. Wayfair said the reduction of 1,750 employees — including 1,200 in corporate positions — will save about $750 million a year. “These changes reflect efforts...
Letter to the editor: McCarthy and Santos
There must be a sitting speaker of the House before a member of Congress can be sworn into office. Republican Kevin McCarthy became that speaker after 15 roll call voting sessions and after he made multiple concessions along the way. One noted concession was lowering the bar to remove the...
West Deer supervisors proceed with $10 million municipal building
The West Deer supervisors took the first step to secure financing for a new municipal building. On Wednesday, the supervisors authorized the required advertising of an ordinance that will allow for the borrowing of no more than $8 million. Township Manager Dan Mator said it remains to be decided whether...
Upcoming events at Sewickley area churches, places of worship for the week of Jan. 20, 2023
Beth Samuel Jewish Center Shabbat Morning Services are held every Saturday at 10 a.m. in person and on Zoom. Beth Samuel Jewish Center is at 810 Kennedy Drive in Ambridge. For more information, visit bethsamuel.org. Christ Church at Grove Farm Sunday services are at 9 a.m. (traditional) and 11:15 a.m....
Letter to the editor: GOP hypocrisy on documents
The hypocrisy of the GOP never fails to amaze me. Now they want to see visitor records for the White House and President Biden’s home in Delaware. And, horror of horrors, Hunter Biden stayed at the home in Delaware, so naturally he snooped through all 25 pieces of secret documents....
The Stroller, Jan. 20, 2023: 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. Burrell HS choirs to perform benefit concert The choirs of Burrell...
Laurels & lances: Leading, charging and pulling together
Laurel: To a local leader. Westmoreland County is really having a heyday in the state Capitol at the moment. In addition to all people elected to represent the county’s constituents in the General Assembly, there is the fact that Republican Kim Ward of Hempfield is the first female Senate majority...
Letter to the editor: Not seeing many ‘wins’ from Gov. Tom Wolf
I read with interest the Spotlight PA article “Here`s what outgoing Gov. Tom Wolf will be remembered for” (Jan. 12, TribLIVE). I noticed the authors mostly sought the opinions of politicians, both Democrats and Republicans, in order to propose Wolf “leaves behind a long list of policy wins.” Except for...
Trump, lawyer hit with $1 million sanctions in Clinton case
NEW YORK — Former President Donald Trump and one of his top lawyers were ordered by a judge to pay a total of almost $1 million in sanctions to Hillary Clinton, her 2016 campaign and more than a dozen political operatives who he accused of running a vast conspiracy to...
High school scores, summaries and schedules for Jan. 19, 2023
High schools WPIAL Basketball Boys Thursday’s results Nonsection Brownsville 42, Jefferson-Morgan 26 Carlynton 52, Central Valley 41 Monessen 57, East Allegheny 41 McKeesport 64, Steel Valley 57 Summit Academy 75, Apollo-Ridge 23 Friday’s schedule Class 4A Section 1 Knoch at Greensburg Salem, 7:30 p.m. Section 2 Blackhawk at Hopewell, 7:30...
High school roundup for Jan. 19, 2023: Jasmine Timmerson scores 1,000th point in North Allegheny win
Pitt recruit Jasmine Timmerson scored 14 points to reach the 1,000-point mark for her career as North Allegheny defeated Hempfield, 59-44, in Section 1-6A girls basketball Thursday night. Caroline Henderson scored 15 points for the Tigers (9-4, 4-1). Sarah Podkol led the Spartans (7-9, 1-4) with 17 points. Albert Gallatin...
Debra Todd to be installed as first female chief justice of Pennsylvania Supreme Court
Debra Todd knew that in 2023, she would become the first female chief justice in the 300-year history of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. Her predecessor and longtime friend Max Baer had planned to retired in December, and as the next longest-serving member, the role of chief would fall to her....
David Crosby, whose voice soared with the Byrds and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, dies
LOS ANGELES — David Crosby, who helped found two supergroups that broadened and deepened the reach of rock music, and who, with his outspoken political pronouncements and famously outsized appetites came to symbolize the Woodstock generation’s exuberance and excesses, has died, according to a source close to the musician. Bedeviled...
‘Lamar Jackson is our quarterback’: Ravens leadership doubles down on star’s future in Baltimore
Lamar Jackson is not under contract with the Ravens for next year and many pundits have projected that he’s played his last game with the club that drafted him in 2018. But in an end-of-season news conference Thursday, Ravens leadership committed to pursuing a long-term deal with Jackson that would...
Pa. Gov. Josh Shapiro fills executive staff with loyal allies, political veterans
Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan newsroom powered by The Philadelphia Inquirer in partnership with PennLive/The Patriot-News, TribLIVE/Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, and WITF Public Media. Sign up for our free newsletters. HARRISBURG — Newly minted Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro is stocking his executive staff of advisers, mediators, and policy experts with political...
