Editor's Picks category, Page 139
5 things to do in Westmoreland County: April 19-21
Whether it’s fun or fundraising, there’s something to do for all ages in Westmoreland County this weekend. Pittsburgh Oldies All-Stars On Sunday, the Palace Theatre, 21 W. Otterman St, Greensburg, will offer up an afternoon of nostalgic tunes. Featuring The Jaggerz, Chuck Blasko’s Vogues, The Marcels, The Skyliners and Pure...
Pittsburgh Swifties excited for ‘The Tortured Poets Department’ album release
Katlyn Lenz-Zanis has been a Swiftie since the very beginning — when Taylor Swift released her debut country-inspired album. “Her music isn’t just music,” she said. “It’s absolute art, it’s poetry, it’s beautiful … something for everyone to enjoy.” Now, Swift has risen to superstardom. With her 11th studio album...
Monongahela Whiskey Exchange brings diversity to local wine and spirits scene
Aaron Kendeall, a whiskey distiller and owner of Monongahela Whiskey Exchange (MWX), found himself drawn into the world of spirits just as he reached the legal drinking age. While studying Japanese in college and exploring Japan, he became captivated by the art of distillation and blending. Kendeall’s background in marketing...
Minor Moon’s Sam Cantor discusses new album ‘The Light Up Waltz’ ahead of Pittsburgh show
The new album from Minor Moon, a Chicago-based alt country/rock band, comes amid a period of personal stability for the band’s mastermind, Sam Cantor. “The Light Up Waltz,” released April 12 by Ruination Record Co., balances the positives in his life while also examining what’s happening in the outside world....
Allman Brothers Band co-founder and legendary guitarist Dickey Betts dies at 80Video
Guitar legend Dickey Betts, who co-founded the Allman Brothers Band and wrote their biggest hit, “Ramblin’ Man,” has died. He was 80. The Rock & Roll Hall of Famer died at his home in Osprey, Florida, David Spero, Betts’ manager of 20 years, confirmed. Betts had been battling cancer for...
Long-lost first USS Enterprise model returned to ‘Star Trek’ creator Gene Roddenberry’s son
DALLAS — The first model of the USS Enterprise — used in the opening credits of the original “Star Trek” television series — has boldly gone back home, returning to creator Gene Roddenberry’s son decades after it went missing. The model’s disappearance sometime in the 1970s had become the subject...
Starbucks introducing cold drink cup made with less plastic
Booming sales of cold drinks at Starbucks have created a problem: growing amounts of plastic waste from the single-use cups that Frappuccinos, Refreshers, cold brews and other iced drinks are served in. The coffee giant said Thursday it plans to alleviate some of that waste with new disposable cups that...
TV Talk: Locally made thriller ‘Godless Children’ to stream; ‘The Jinx’ re-animates Durst’s trialVideo
For their first indie feature film, “Godless Children,” co-writers Kathleen Regan and Simon Barracchini opted for a story that starts like a Lifetime movie and ends, well, in a different genre altogether (no spoilers here). “We call it a dramatic thriller,” Regan said. “In Hollywood, you have to have two...
Cumberland Valley parents try to salvage appearance by ‘30 Rock’ actor that school board canceled
Some Cumberland Valley School District residents are launching an all-out effort to salvage a school assembly in May that the school board canceled Monday night out of stated concerns over injecting “political activism” into the schools. The board, on an 8-0 vote, voted to cancel the scheduled appearance by Maulik...
WPIAL notebook: Girls flag football tops 100-team threshold, on road to being PIAA sport
Girls flag football is on track to become the next sanctioned high school sport in Pennsylvania. A month after the PIAA crowned its first girls wrestling champions, PIAA executive director Bob Lombardi said girls flag football has reached the 100-team threshold needed to move forward as an emerging sport. Lombardi...
‘You can’t rely on Philly’: Pittsburgh Penguins fans down after season falters
Brandon Kocent, a diehard Pittsburgh Penguins fan, was deflated like many others in Western Pennsylvania after the team’s push for a playoff spot fell apart before the final game. One of the scenarios for the Penguins to sneak into the postseason called for the Washington Capitals to lose against the...
Kennywood closes Steel Curtain for entire season
Kennywood’s Steel Curtain roller coaster has been sacked for the season. According to an Instagram post Wednesday, Kennywood said the Steel Curtain — which opened in 2019 — will be closed for the 2024 season. The iconic Western Pennsylvania amusement park opens on Saturday. The flagship Steelers-themed attraction is undergoing...
Metal collection at Bethel Park’s Washington Elementary nets more than 2 tons
You could build, say, a pickup truck with the amount of scrap brought in during a metal-collection event in March at Bethel Park’s George Washington Elementary School. Michael Brothers Hauling and Recycling reported a total of 2.34 tons, or 4,680 pounds. The Baldwin Borough company collaborated with Verichek Technical Services...
A look at the Democratic primary between Summer Lee, Bhavini Patel
Pennsylvania’s primary election day is coming up next week and will feature one of the more interesting races as Democrats will choose between incumbent Rep. Summer Lee and challenger Bhavini Patel, an Edgewood councilwoman, in the battle for the District 12 seat in the U.S. House. TribLive reporter Ryan Deto...
New Kensington woman, 95, is oldest descendant of Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings
April 13 was the 281st anniversary of the birth of Mary Lee Brady-Atkins’ great-great-great-grandfather. The same could be said for lots of people, but Brady-Atkins’ ancestor was Thomas Jefferson. Yes, that Thomas Jefferson — third president of the United States and author of the Declaration of Independence. It’s quite the...
Review: ‘Company’ is a heartfelt musical comedy in shiny new wrapping
Stephen Sondheim’s musical “Company” may be a classic at this point, but the production in the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust’s PNC Broadway in Pittsburgh season opened Tuesday night with a fresh take. The show’s original Broadway run began in 1970, with music and lyrics by Sondheim and a book by George...
Oakland is hammock city when sun’s out in Pittsburgh
When Yasmine Zaky noticed the sea of colorful hammocks hanging between trees in front of the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, she knew she needed one of her own. “Seeing all these people (while I was) walking past here every day — I was like, ‘Oh, yeah, I definitely need one,’...
TV Q&A: Did SportsNet Pittsburgh move to a more expensive tier on Verizon’s FiOS TV?
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen answers reader questions every Wednesday at TribLive.com in a column that also appears in the Sunday Tribune-Review. Q: Verizon’s FiOS TV has apparently removed SportsNet Pittsburgh, the MLB Network and perhaps a couple of other channels from its lower-priced packages. (Full disclosure: I...
Upper St. Clair graduate’s cabaret show celebrates friendship with Elizabeth Taylor
In 1981, Ann Talman placed a call from New York City to her hometown Upper St. Clair, announcing: “Dad! I got the Broadway show. And guess what? Guess who’s playing my mother? Elizabeth Taylor!” What followed was 18 months of touring with a cast that also included Maureen Stapleton and...
ABBA, Blondie, Notorious B.I.G. enter National Recording Registry
LOS ANGELES — ABBA, Biggie, Blondie and Rudolph are entering America’s audio canon. New inductees into the National Recording Registry at the Library of Congress include ABBA’s 1976 album “Visitors,” The Notorious B.I.G.’s 1994 album “Ready to Die,” Blondie’s 1978 breakthrough “Parallel Lines” and Gene Autry’s 1949 version of “Rudolph...
Sudden Little Thrills Music Festival lineup includes SZA, The Killers, Wiz KhalifaVideo
A new music festival from the organizers of internationally known events like Lollapalooza and Bonnaroo will be rocking Pittsburgh later this year, and they just announced their lineup. Sudden Little Thrills Music Festival will be held on Sept. 7 and 8 at Hazelwood Green. The event will be headlined Saturday...
TV Talk: CBS starts a fire of controversy cutting off Billy Joel, reschedules show
After promoting “Billy Joel: The 100th at Madison Square Garden – The Greatest Arena Run of All Time” for weeks, CBS blundered nationally by cutting off the program mid-“Piano Man” to go to late local newscasts. CBS released a statement saying, “A network programming timing error ended last night’s Billy...
Expiring tax refunds worth $43.4M could belong to Pa. taxpayers — see if you’re eligible
More than $1 billion in unclaimed tax refunds is set to expire in a few weeks, and a good chunk is up for grabs for Pennsylvanians. Roughly 940,000 people across the U.S. are eligible for unclaimed refunds for the 2020 tax year with a median return of $932, the Internal...
Your morning coffee may be hundreds of thousands of years old
That coffee you slurped this morning? It’s 600,000 years old. Using genes from coffee plants around the world, researchers built a family tree for the world’s most popular type of coffee, known to scientists as Coffea arabica and to coffee lovers simply as “arabica.” The researchers, hoping to learn more...
With ‘functional’ beverages, brands rush to quench a thirst for drinks that do more than taste goodVideo
Supermarket beverage aisles are starting to look a lot more like a pharmacy. There are sodas made with mushrooms that supposedly improve mental clarity and juices packed with bacteria that claim to enhance digestive health. Water infused with collagen carries the promise of better skin, and energy drinks offer to...
