Editor's Picks category, Page 167
5 things to do in Pittsburgh this weekend: Dec. 29-Jan. 1
It’s the final weekend of 2023 and a long weekend for some. Here are some fun ways to send off one year, while welcoming in another. First Night Pittsburgh’s annual New Year’s Eve celebration turns 30 years old Sunday night. The Highmark First Night Pittsburgh event is a six-hour arts-focused...
Slippery Rock University’s marching band set to perform in London’s New Year’s Day Parade
The tubas – five in all – went first. They and other large brass and percussion instruments, plus enough band gear to fill a 26-foot box truck, had to be packed up and shipped overseas weeks before members of the Slippery Rock University Marching Pride band boarded flights for London....
Pop culture in Pittsburgh: A look back at 2023
There was no shortage of news in 2023 throughout the region’s arts and entertainment scene. From Taylor Swift to Kennywood, here are the region’s biggest cultural stories of 2023. ‘Swiftburg’ Arguably the concert of the year and the 2023 version of Beetlemania, Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour sold out both nights...
2 new books highlight interesting Pittsburghers
A billionaire entrepreneur, Mt. Lebanon’s Mark Cuban started buying and selling baseball cards in a local park when he was 9 or 10. New Kensington’s Rich Engler, who has promoted more than 6,000 concerts in the Pittsburgh area and other markets across the U.S., at one time lived behind a...
Western Pa. animal shelters scramble to keep up with influx of surrendered pets
Toni Younkin’s phone rings at all hours of the day. As director of Pet Adoption League, a small-scale animal shelter, Younkin knows people need help even outside of business hours. She starts her day early to feed, socialize and take care of the dogs at her organization’s New Stanton-area facility....
5 things to do in Westmoreland: Dec. 29-31
It’s the final weekend of 2023, and there are plenty of ways to celebrate. Live Casino New Year’s Eve party On Sunday night, Live Casino Pittsburgh will host a New Year’s Eve ’70s disco inspired celebration at the Hempfield casino, off Route 30 adjacent to the Westmoreland Mall. Starting at...
First Night Pittsburgh: What you need to know
Pittsburgh will host a double celebration Sunday evening — welcoming 2024 and recognizing a special anniversary. Highmark First Night Pittsburgh turns 30. “I was looking at the dates earlier this year, and I realized Highmark First Night Pittsburgh started 30 years ago,” said Sarah Aziz, director of programming and manager...
U.S. postal inspectors: Don’t fall for counterfeit stampsVideo
While mailing holiday cards and presents to loved ones, there’s a distinct possibility that you were frantically looking for more stamps at some point last week. In fact, you may have been tempted to buy them in bulk, at a discounted rate, through any number of websites or email links....
Penn Township holiday project enters 8th year supporting Western Pa. homeless shelters
The best part of Kellie Haldie’s Christmas is delivering gifts, clothes and personal care items to people living in local homeless shelters. About 35 volunteers join Haldie in the annual giving project, Blessing Our Sheltered Hearts, which started in 2016. This year, volunteers supported three shelters and about 150 families...
Comedian Tom Smothers, one-half of the Smothers Brothers, dies at 86
Tom Smothers, half of the Smothers Brothers and the co-host of one of the most socially conscious and groundbreaking television shows in the history of the medium, has died at 86. The National Comedy Center, on behalf of his family, said in a statement Wednesday that Smothers died Tuesday at...
Best movies of 2023: ‘Oppenheimer,’ ‘Fallen Leaves,’ ‘May December’Video
The Associated Press’ Film Writers Lindsey Bahr and Jake Coyle’s picks for the best movies of 2023: LINDSEY BAHR 1. ‘Oppenheimer’ Christopher Nolan has had so many major films in a relatively short time, that “Oppenheimer” might seem like a given, rather than the triumphant fusion of everything he’s passionate...
Pa. dog license fee hike takes a nip out of owners’ wallets to pay for more wardens
The new year could bring the return of more frequent canvassing of neighborhoods by state dog wardens, checking to make sure dogs have current licenses and rabies vaccinations. That is only one change the new year will usher in as an updated dog law, intended to keep pets and the...
TV Q&A: Should local TV stations avoid ‘Hey, Martha’ stories?
Q:Can you explain why our local news stations cover frivolous topics that deliver no value to a Pittsburgh viewer? Below is just a sample of topics that have been covered specifically by WTAE, although the other local news stations do this as well. These topics are either non-local events, not...
From novices to experienced musicians, Western Pa.’s open stages offer chance to shine in the spotlight
When Riley Galloway gets up to sing at the weekly acoustic open stage at Yellow Bridge Brewing in Delmont, you’d never know that she’s been playing in public for only a few months. The 16-year-old Irwin resident’s voice fills the space with the confidence of someone who has been performing...
Pittsburgh Pop podcast finale: Myron Cope sings; ‘American Rust’ switches platforms, David ‘Mr. McFeely’ Newell honored
In this final episode of the “Pittsburgh Pop” podcast (alas, we’ve been canceled), host Tim Benz and TV Talk columnist Rob Owen discuss Pittsburgh pop culture news of the moment including WTAE-TV’s new local special, “Holiday Flashback” (7 p.m. Dec. 30, repeating at 5 p.m. Dec. 31), which will include...
Taylor Swift, Pink, Ed Sheeran among Pittsburgh’s biggest concerts in 2023
Taylor Swift broke attendance records with two shows this summer at Acrisure Stadium — and that doesn’t even include the tens of thousands of ticket-less fans who partied along outside the stadium. Swift’s pair of mega-shows were the highlight of Pittsburgh’s 2023 concert schedule, which also drew stadium shows from...
State, federal legislators look to keep AM radio a standard, free feature in vehicles
In recent years, some car manufacturers, including Ford, Tesla and Volkswagen, have quietly proposed removing AM radio from some vehicles. Members of the Pennsylvania Association of Broadcasters think it’s the tip of a subscription-based iceberg and are hoping recent bipartisan federal legislation can stop it in its tracks. “The best...
The secret life of gift cards: Here’s what happens to the billions that go unspent each year
Gift cards make great stocking stuffers — just as long as you don’t stuff them in a drawer and forget about them after the holidays. Americans are expected to spend nearly $30 billion on gift cards this holiday season, according to the National Retail Federation. Restaurant gift cards are the...
How to celebrate New Year’s 2024 in, around Westmoreland County
New Year’s Day falls on a Monday this year, meaning those who stay up late will be ringing in 2024 on a Sunday night. Although that may not be the day of the week that one might associate with revelry, there are more than a few places where you can...
Last-minute appetizers can still be fancy and fun
It’s the night before Christmas, and you have people stopping for a little caroling and “It’s a Wonderful Life.” It’s an impromptu holiday get-together: You need party food, and you need it now. So what can you do when you barely have enough time to get in the kitchen let...
Options abound for Western Pennsylvanians celebrating a dry holiday
Recovering addict Lisa Hoey of Pittsburgh’s South Side says alcohol was an integral part of her holidays. It was part of nearly every detail — from baking cookies and entertaining, to watching TV specials and wrapping gifts, said Hoey, now sober for more than two decades. An alum of O’Hara...
Holiday tree house: Ligonier Township home decked out with dozens of themed Tannenbaums
Jane Mattern decks out more than 40 Christmas trees, at least one for every day of the holiday season and for every room of her family’s expansive Ligonier Township home. The variously themed trees range from an 18-foot live Fraser fir that stretches toward the living room’s cathedral ceiling to...
Pitcairn police chief surprises Gateway students as The Grinch
Pitcairn Police Chief Scott Farally’s annual undercover assignment is quite a few steps off the beaten path. Each year, Farally can be seen around the borough in December, dressed as everyone’s favorite holiday sour-puss, The Grinch Who Stole Christmas. This year, PTO parents at Dr. Cleveland Stewart Jr. Elementary arranged...
West Deer 11-year-old collects gifts for Belair nursing home residents
A West Deer boy is giving back to the community in ways bigger than himself. On Friday, Colton Petrosky, 11, distributed gift bags to more than 70 residents of Belair Healthcare and Rehabilitation in Lower Burrell. Colton, dressed as an elf, made the rounds with Santa Claus. “I just wanted...
Looking for a last-minute gift? Try these local Black-owned businesses
With the holiday season rapidly approaching, knowing just the right gift to give may be tricky. But, there are still three days until Christmas. For anyone who still feels like summer was last week — this one is for you. There is still time to get something unique and with...
