TribLive stories, Page 954
Lower Valley Community Food Bank holds its Christmas food and gift distribution
Food was laid out waiting to be passed out Thursday during the Lower Valley Community Food Bank’s Christmas food and gift distribution at the Springdale Municipal Building. Food bank volunteers and members of the Springdale High School National Honor Society passed out food, gift certificates and toys for local residents...
D. Brian Blank: Fed hiked interest rates for the 7th time — so why are mortgage rates coming down?
The Federal Reserve raised interest rates by half a percentage point Dec. 14 to a range of 4.25 to 4.5%, the seventh increase this year. So far in 2022, the Fed has lifted its benchmark short-term rate, which influences most other borrowing costs in the economy, by 4.25 percentage points...
Tensions boil over in UPMC hearing over secret recording
A court hearing over a secretly recorded conversation between two UPMC physicians on Thursday devolved into shouting and threats to have an attorney jailed before cooler heads prevailed. Dr. James Luketich, the head of cardiothoracic surgery for UPMC, filed a motion for an injunction to prohibit the use of the...
Gateway students volunteer at Children’s Home of Pittsburgh
Students in the Gateway High School Chick-fil-A Leader Academy participated in their “Do Good December” project on Dec. 14. They traveled to the Children’s Home of Pittsburgh and Mario Lemieux Family Center in Bloomfield to volunteer for the day. The students raised funds and donated numerous items to the Child’s...
Beatles legend Paul McCartney releases ultimate singles box set
Shopping for that special Paul McCartney fan in your life this holiday season? Look no further than “The 7” Singles Box,” an amazing box set that features 163 tracks — in the form of 80 7-inch singles — running over 10 hours of music. The collection includes such hits and...
Monroeville Council approves budget with no tax increase
Monroeville’s real estate tax rate remains at 4 mills for 2023. On Dec. 13, municipal council approved an ordinance setting the rate, which means property owners will continue to pay $400 per $100,000 of assessed value. Earned income, business privilege and mercantile taxes also remain the same. Council also voted...
Plum property tax rate stays at 4.78 mills
The real estate tax rate remains the same for Plum in 2023. Borough council on Dec. 14 approved a resolution setting the rate at 4.78 mills, its level since 2017. A mill generates about $1.6 million in tax revenue in Plum. Council also voted to adopt the 2023 budget, which...
Verona holds line on real estate tax
Verona property owners are catching a break in 2023 following a 2.1-mill real estate tax increase for the current year. Borough council on Dec. 13 approved an ordinance that maintains the current rate of 9.7 mills, meaning that owners of property with an assessed value of $100,000 will pay $970....
Monroeville company hosts Sunrise School students for 30th Christmas celebration
A long-standing tradition continued this holiday season when students at Sunrise School in Monroeville were treated to festivities at a local business. “This is the 30th year of the Christmas celebration,” Dan Biondi, president of Biondi Motor Co., said as he welcomed his guests. “They look forward to it all...
Report: Reliability, low fares, short trips key to transit in Pittsburgh, Philadelphia
(The Center Square) – As transit agencies across the country struggle to recover from pandemic-induced ridership loss, getting back to the basics of reliability might matter most. A new report from Moovit, a trip-planning app, analyzed user data in 2022 in 10 major American cities. Transit riders complained of unreliable...
Letter to the editor: The debt-ridden wouldn’t make good soldiers
Regarding the letter “How about a GI Bill to help with student debt?” (Dec. 11, TribLIVE): First of all, I’m not too sure these people owing student debt would actually be a welcomed addition to the military. They already exhibited a lack of responsibility and more than likely wouldn’t make...
Letter to the editor: Are we still land of the free?
The far right often talks about the supremacy of freedom and liberty. America is the land of the free and the home of the brave. However, their actions have consequences that diminish the freedom of some. In Georgia, vigilante supporters have targeted election workers with death threats and physical intimidation....
Editorial: Voters control the Pa. House, not the parties
Want to know who is in charge of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives? Join the club. The general election in November gave the Keystone State a razor-thin division in the House. After 12 years of undisputed Republican control, it flipped on the strength of a few districts in the greater...
The Stroller, Dec. 15, 2022: 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. Food bank accepting donations for prepared baskets Allegheny Valley Association of...
Letter to the editor: Biden’s dangerous Christmas gift
So President Biden plans on giving America a nice Christmas present by canceling Title 42 and allowing thousands more immigrants to march right on over our useless borders. This after making deals with the devil of Venezuela to allow Chevron to pump their dirty oil and ship it here in...
Mitch McConnell: Trump’s candidates fumbled 2022 away for GOP in Senate
WASHINGTON — Mitch McConnell said former President Donald Trump’s overwhelming influence in Republican Senate primaries led to hobbled candidates in 2022 who lost winnable general election races, leaving Democrats in control of the upper chamber for at least another two years. “Our ability to control the primary outcome was quite...
High school scores, summaries and schedules for Dec. 14, 2022
High Schools WPIAL Basketball Boys Wednesday’s results Nonsection Beaver 58, South Fayette 53 Charleroi 74, California 68 Gateway 57, Woodland Hills 51 Indiana 51, Punxsutawney 47 Jeannette 69, Apollo-Ridge 33 New Brighton 38, Hopewell 37 Penn Hills 78, Steel Valley 42 Penn-Trafford 75, Trinity 51 Riverside at Shenango, (n) Shaler...
High school roundup for Dec. 14, 2022: Waynesburg holds on to beat Canon-McMillan in mat showdown
Jake Stephenson (160) won by fall and Joe Simon (133), Roan Tustin (172) and Rocco Welsh (189) won by major decision as Class 3A No. 1 Waynesburg held on to defeat No. 2 Canon-McMillan 30-27 in a nonsection wrestling showdown Wednesday night. Nate Jones (152) and Eli Makel (285) also...
Hearing on secret recording between UPMC doctors continues
A surreptitious recording of a conversation between UPMC’s head of cardiothoracic surgery and the doctor treating him with suboxone was “part of a years-long vendetta,” an attorney for the hospital behemoth said in court on Wednesday. UPMC attorney John Conti argued during a preliminary injunction hearing that circumstantial evidence in...
Toys for Tots benefits from Mineo’s collections in Hampton, Squirrel Hill, Mt. Lebanon
The 2022 holiday season marks the 75th anniversary of the Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots Program, and a Pittsburgh restaurant chain has been providing considerable help toward the cause. Mineo’s Pizza House collected toys at its three locations — in Squirrel Hill, Mt. Lebanon and Hampton — culminating with...
Gaming Control Board gives green light to proposed State College mini-casino license hearings
The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board voted unanimously Wednesday to allow the licensing hearing process for a proposed $123 million mini-casino in State College to move forward as normal, despite the objections of a Philadelphia-based competitor. Bally’s Corp., in partnership with SC Gaming LLC, led by former Penn State trustee Ira...
Breakfast With Santa returns to Forbes Regional Hospital in Monroeville
Instead of sleeping in, 19 Gateway High School students spent a recent Saturday morning volunteering. “They were here on time, ready to go, ready to work,” Rotary Club of Monroeville member Sue Cox said. “We love partnering with them, teaching them the value of community service at a relatively young...
Peter Morici: Extremists from the left are a threat to democracy, too
The midterm elections, as expected, delivered the House to the Republicans, but our democracy still stands. Congressional candidates who won the most votes will come to Washington to confront and compromise and do some good and some bad, owing earnest intentions and poor judgment. Either we accept human frailties or...
Will Smith took over hosting ‘Red Table Talk’ to focus on ‘Emancipation’
Want all of the “Emancipation” promotion with none of the awkward questions about that Oscars slap that inevitably get posed to Will Smith? Then the movie star’s takeover of his family’s “Red Table Talk” series is just what the doctor ordered. On Smith’s “Red Table Takeover” with kids Trey, Willow...
‘Ellen’ show DJ tWitch dead at age 40
The man known to many daytime viewers of “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” as tWitch has died, according to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office. Stephen Boss, known as tWitch while serving as DJ on DeGeneres’s daytime show was 40 years old. TMZ is reporting the death appears to be...
