Editor's Picks category, Page 258
No, holiday tips are not mandatory — especially if your finances have changed. Here’s what etiquette experts say
Ah, the holiday season. It arrives each winter, bringing feelings of gratitude, merriment, generosity — and financial anxiety. The cost of gifts and gatherings isn’t the only subject that weighs on people’s minds this time of year. Holiday tipping can be stressful, too, with individuals, couples, and families deciding which...
TV Q&A: Who’s the new KDKA-TV anchor?
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: I turned KDKA-TV on as a newscast was concluding at 7 p.m. Dec. 2. There was a new female anchor with Kym Gable. Who is...
Pitt honors Trib publisher with distinguished alumni award
The University of Pittsburgh recently honored Trib Total Media President and CEO Jennifer Bertetto for her professional accomplishments in the news industry. The university recognized Bertetto with the Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences Distinguished Professional Achievement Alumni Award. The school’s dean, Kathleen Blee, said the award recognizes...
Westmoreland officials kick off effort to target blight at Greensburg building set for demolition
It was a bittersweet moment for local officials Tuesday as they contemplated the impending demolition of a 119-year-old building on Greensburg’s South Main Street. “I’m a bit torn, a bit heartbroken,” said Brian Lawrence, executive director of the Westmoreland County Redevelopment Authority, as he stood across the street from the...
Wawa goes west: Convenience chain is eyeing locations in Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana
Wawa is scouting new store sites in Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana, with the first gas-and-sandwich convenience stores under the flying-goose signs to be announced next year and opened after 2025, the company said recently. It also plans to move into Tennessee, Alabama, North Carolina and Georgia by 2024. The company...
Shapiro says Pennsylvania Taylor Swift fans will have another chance to get tour tickets
Pennsylvania fans of pop singer Taylor Swift will have another opportunity to purchase tickets to shows within the state, Attorney General Josh Shapiro said on Tuesday. Tickets for Swift’s “Eras Tour” received such high demand when pre-sales began in November that Ticketmaster canceled sales, leading to a national fiasco. Politicians...
PLCB’s high-end liquor lotteries now off limits to its employees and families
Competition for the limited-release of high-end Pappy Van Winkle products offered by the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board last month in a lottery didn’t include any bourbon enthusiasts who work for the agency. Neither did it include any of those 6,800 employees’ spouses, agency board members, their children regardless of where...
Fettermans to appear in Pennsylvania-shot Netflix film starring Christian Bale
John and Gisele Fetterman already have become political celebrities after the high-profile victory in this year’s Pennsylvania Senate race. Their profiles are poised to rise even higher as both will appear in a new Netflix film that premieres later this month. In a tweet, John Fetterman shared a photo of...
$10K reward offered for information about embalmed head found in Beaver County
A $10,000 reward is being offered for this week only in the bizarre case of a woman’s embalmed head that was found lying along a road in Beaver County in 2014. The Beaver County Detective Bureau and Economy Borough police are offering a $5,000 reward that is being matched by...
Pittsburgh Pop podcast: Talking ‘White Lotus’ season finale, Steve Byrne, ‘A League of Their Own,’ Beau BermanVideo
In this episode of the “Pittsburgh Pop” podcast, host Tim Benz and TV Talk columnist Rob Owen discuss Pittsburgh pop culture news of the moment, including the status of Pittsburgh-filmed “A League of Their Own.” It’s now been roughly four months since the premieres of filmed-in-Pittsburgh series Amazon Freevee comedy...
Lynyrd Skynyrd, ZZ Top co-headlining tour visiting Star Lake
A pair of classic rock favorites are bringing the Sharp Dressed Simple Man tour to the Pittsburgh area late next summer. Lynyrd Skynyrd and ZZ Top, both members of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, will visit the Pavilion at Star Lake on Sept. 3, 2023. Uncle Kracker will...
Beery Christmas and Hoppy New Year: 10 festive beers to stuff in your holiday stocking
Candy canes are fun. Gift cards are useful. But nothing festively stuffs a stocking — or brightens a Hanukkah or Kwanzaa for that matter — quite like a beer tasting of the season. Holiday beers come in an array of styles: light and dark; elaborate and blessedly simple; sweet, tart...
The 22 best (and 5 worst) movies of 2022, a ‘Maverick’ kind of year
After two years Hollywood would rather forget, 2022 offered some hope. At the beginning of the year, the December 2021 holdover “Spider-Man: No Way Home” was still rocking the box office, breathing life back into the Hollywood machine after the covid-19 pandemic completely derailed the movie industry. That movie proved...
Holiday sale brings out shoppers at Bushy Run Battlefield
Bill and Karen Gourdie were ready for the rush. The owners of Bushy Run Winery brought 30 cases to sell Sunday afternoon for the fourth annual Bushy Run Battlefield Heritage Society Christmas sale. “They’ll probably be all gone by the end of the day,” Karen Gourdie said. Husband Bill serves...
Sharing a roof, and money, with adult kids
When Amanda Claypool was 28, she left a government contracting job in Washington, D.C., and moved back to her parents’ house in upstate New York while she figured out her next step. Then the pandemic struck, and her temporary return lasted longer than she’d planned. Living with her parents for...
Victory Brinker joins Latshaw Pops for holiday show at The Palace
“America’s Got Talent” veteran Victory Brinker will reunite with the Latshaw Pops Orchestra for “The Sounds of Christmas,” set for 3 p.m. Sunday at The Palace Theatre in Greensburg. The precocious opera singer, now 10, made her first appearance in the orchestra’s annual holiday concert in 2021. “Our orchestra was...
Photos: It’s all downhill for 300 skiing Santas, a Grinch and a tree
NEWRY, Maine — A bunch of Santa lookalikes took to the ski slopes to spread some seasonal cheer on Sunday. More than 300 jolly ol’ elves — all dressed in red — dashed together down a mountain with white beards and Santa hats flapping in the breeze at the Sunday...
TV Talk: Everything you need to know about the state of subscription streaming TV, top streaming services
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers viewing tips for would-be streaming service subscribers. The business of streaming TV, which impacts the offerings subscribers receive in their home, is in a state of confusion. Until earlier this year when Netflix saw a 200,000 decline in subscriptions — it’s first...
Behind the scenes at ‘The Nutcracker’ rehearsal at Palace Theatre is a winter whirlwind
In the two days leading up to the first performance of “The Nutcracker” at The Palace Theatre in Greensburg, every square inch of the space is a flurry of activity and excitement. Onstage, dancers of all ages — some 4 years old — practice pirouettes, leaps and twirls in fluttering...
All aboard! Bull Creek Model Railroad Association has holiday train display up and running
Bull Creek Model Railroad Association President Billy Atkinson and Vice President Rick Holsing look over a layout at the group’s display the Bull Creek United Presbyterian Church on Friday, Dec 9, 2022. The display has three layouts with different size trains. It’s capable of running 21 trains. The Holiday Train...
Pricey pants from 1857 go for $114K, raise Levi’s questions
RENO, Nev. — Pulled from a sunken trunk at an 1857 shipwreck off the coast of North Carolina, work pants that auction officials describe as the oldest known pair of jeans in the world have sold for $114,000. The white, heavy-duty miner’s pants with a five-button fly were among 270...
AP Investigation: Prison boss beat inmates, climbed ranks
The prison staff didn’t know much about the new acting warden. Then, they say, he made a bizarre and startling confession: Years ago, he beat inmates — and got away with it. Thomas Ray Hinkle, a high-ranking federal Bureau of Prisons official, was sent to restore order and trust at...
Trevor Noah signs off of ‘Daily Show’ with heartfelt farewellVideo
Seven years after stepping into the role, Trevor Noah bid farewell Thursday night on Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show.” During his final episode, Noah thanked his fans and audience, as well as Black women in his life and in America. He appeared to become teary-eyed when talking about Black women...
Amazon will tip your delivery driver if you ‘thank’ them through Alexa
Amazon customers with Alexa-enabled devices can send a dose of goodwill to their delivery driver through a program the company announced this week. And the gratitude won’t cost the customer anything. Customers can use the device to say “Alexa, thank my driver” to have an appreciative message — and $5...
Lori Falce: Do we really understand gaslighting?
Gaslighting is Merriam-Webster’s word of the year. When I heard this, it set my teeth on edge. I certainly understood the reasoning. The dictionary’s website saw a 1,740% increase in people checking out the definition in 2022 alone, but its use has exploded over the past four years. “Gaslighting” is...
