Editor's Picks category, Page 287
Trib Total Media to co-host political debates ahead of Pa. primary election
Trib Total Media, in partnership with Spotlight PA and its founding members, will co-host debates this month featuring candidates for Pennsylvania governor and the state’s open U.S. Senate seat ahead of the spring primary. The gubernatorial debate features Republican candidates Joe Gale, Charlie Gerow, Melissa Hart and Nche Zama. It...
TV Q&A: What’s up with TV weather forecast ‘impact days’?
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: Recently KDKA-TV joined in on the latest weather gimmick: “first alert weather days.” WTAE offers the equally cringey “impact days.” Why do the local stations...
Week in pictures: March 28-April 3
A selection of the best photos from Tribune-Review photographers from around the Pittsburgh region from the week of March 28-April 3....
Tom Hanks visits Arnold as filming for ‘A Man Called Otto’ continues in Pittsburgh region
Most days, Robert Simpson is president of a reinforcing bar fabricator in Arnold. On Tuesday, the president of Simpson Reinforcing was filming movie scenes with Tom Hanks. “It’s pretty cool,” Simpson said at the end of a lunch break that came after filming the same scene over and over again...
Chris Rock adds 2nd night in Pittsburgh after 1st show sells outVideo
Chris Rock is extending his stay in Pittsburgh to two nights. The comedian made headlines on March 27 when he was slapped by actor Will Smith at the Oscars. Rock made a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith, which prompted Smith to come on stage and hit Rock. Rock’s first show...
Actor Michael O’Keefe talks ‘Caddyshack,’ more serious work ahead of Steel City ConVideo
During his days as a rising star in the 1970s and ‘80s, Michael O’Keefe was the kind of performer younger actors could look up to. O’Keefe could do it all, including a guest shot in 1974 at age 19 – playing a paralyzed soldier on “M*A*S*H,” arguably the best show...
PNC Park continues to rank among MLB’s top ballparks
Of all the baseball stadiums in all the towns in all the world … PNC Park is among the best. Regularly. Hold your head high, Pittsburgh. You’ve got one of the best Major League Baseball parks there is. And while the team that plays there has rarely been viable after...
TV Talk: Beaver County teen’s ‘Idol’ journey ends; ‘Tokyo Vice’ drops on HBO MaxVideo
And then it was over: Morgan Gruber, the 17-year-old Riverside High School senior from Fombell, was eliminated on Monday’s episode of ABC’s “American Idol.” “I just want everyone to know that I did not make it to the top 24,” Gruber wrote on her Facebook page Monday night. “They will...
Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre to perform ‘Swan Lake’ with new staging
It’s been nearly a century-and-a-half since Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky composed the ballet “Swan Lake.” Today it’s one of the most popular ballets of all time. So, why mess with it? A production of “Swan Lake” by the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre is debuting next month and features new staging by artistic...
Pittsburgh Pop podcast: Talking Grammy Awards, ‘American Idol,’ ‘Belfast’ and ‘Moon Knight’
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 Morgan Gruber, the 17-year-old Riverside High School senior from Franklin Township, Beaver County, who continues to advance on ABC’s “American Idol.” Benz and Owen...
From the archive: Ex-Tarentum resident Estelle Harris enjoys role in ‘Seinfeld’
In memory of actress Estelle Harris, who died this weekend at age 93, TribLIVE is reposting a story from 1994 where she spoke about her work on “Seinfeld” and her acting career. Story by Rex Rutkoski. Published on Feb. 17, 1994. She’s been associated with some of the best-known people...
Reinventing the dog crate? This Hempfield native hopes to make it apartment-friendly
When Jack Murray moved into an apartment with his roommates, he quickly noticed something: The “pretty small” three-bedroom wasn’t spacious enough for his dog Heidi’s crate. The crate took up “so much room” in Murray’s home and impacted its visual appeal. If he wanted the crate out of the way...
TV Talk: Western Pa. teen continues to advance on ‘American Idol’Video
From failing to make it onto the show last season to now advancing three times this season, Morgan Gruber of Franklin Township, Beaver County, is on a roll. In Sunday’s duets-themed episode, taped in December, platinum ticketholder Jay Copeland picked Gruber to be his duet partner, and they advanced to...
‘Remember When’ series details history of Westmoreland County trolley linesVideo
When Jean Loughrey thinks of the trolley lines that once connected towns within Westmoreland County, it doesn’t take long for her to recall some “very good memories.” Loughrey, 92, of Delmont said she used to take the trolley from a station in Jeannette to Greensburg, where she took classes at...
Pandemic isolation helps shape Greensburg family band’s new albumVideo
On “Lonely Telephone,” an EP released by Greensburg band Essential Machine about a decade ago, acoustic-based tunes bubble and float, underpinned by quirky xylophone pings and an indie-folk-music aesthetic. As the band — husband and wife R.J. and Karen Dietrich and their son, 20-year-old Robert — prepares to release its...
Meet Pa.’s billionaires: How the Keystone State’s 17 richest people made their cash
Elon Musk sits atop the list of the world’s richest people with an insane $287.6 billion dollar fortune, and Amazon’s Jeff Bezos right right behind him with $189.3 billion, per Forbes. All told, the website tracks about 2,755 billionaires across the world, and the website Stacker.com recently dug into the...
Carnegie Mellon’s 2022 International Film Festival explores what’s ‘Behind the Mask’
Carnegie Mellon University’s theme for its 2022 International Film Festival can be interpreted literally and figuratively. “Faces Behind the Mask,” the title of the festival, explores face coverings — the physical ones people have been wearing during the pandemic as well as those that aren’t seen. “What masks do we...
Robots are on the move at Carnegie Science Center
“Warning, warning Will Robinson!” is how B-9, the robot from “Lost in Space,” might put it. The Carnegie Science Center’s Robot Hall of Fame, of which B-9 is a member, has been permanently moved from the second floor to the ground level lobby of The Rangos Giant Cinema. In addition,...
Will Smith resigns from film academy over Chris Rock slap
LOS ANGELES — Will Smith resigned Friday from the motion picture academy following his Oscars night slap of Chris Rock and said he would accept any further punishment the organization imposed. Smith in a statement released Friday afternoon he would “accept any further consequences the Board deems appropriate. I will...
Square Café returns to Regent Square with new name
It’s back to square one for the Square Café. The restaurant reopened a second store – Square One — in the spot where it all began. Square One is located inside My Goodness Market on Braddock Avenue in Regent Square. The café is an addition to the market. The larger...
New wedding/event center unveiled in former Buffalo Township landmark restaurant
Monarch Veil, a new multi-venue wedding and event space, is open on the grounds of the former J-Barn Country Inn in Buffalo Township. Dean and Janae McAfee purchased the popular rural restaurant last year and opened for business this month. The J-Barn, once known as Jardine’s, closed in 2018. After...
Sandcastle to open early with new look, first new slide in 10 years
Like its sister attractions Kennywood and Idlewild & SoakZone, Sandcastle will open earlier than usual this season. On Friday, the water park in West Homestead announced opening day is May 21 — a week prior to the traditional Memorial Day weekend start. Kennywood opens April 16 and Idlewild on May...
TV Talk: Very Local highlights Pittsburgh chefs; PBS offers a biography of Benjamin Franklin
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers viewing tips for the coming week. The latest Pittsburgh show on Hearst’s Very Local streaming service, available via Amazon Fire, Apple TV, Android TV and Roku devices, offers profiles of several Pittsburgh chefs in each half-hour episode. Unlike Very Local’s hosted culinary...
5 things to do in Westmoreland County: April 1-3
Whodunit? Renowned forensic pathologist Dr. Cyril Wecht will engage in “A Pathological Discussion,” with sessions at 8 p.m. Friday and 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday at The Lamp Theatre, 222 Main St., Irwin. With host John McIntire, the 91-year-old Wecht will cover cases of notorious deaths, including those of Jeffrey...
Got a dime? Businesses seek Treasury help with coin shortage
WASHINGTON — Got a dime you can spare? Coins are in short supply. Again. Retailers, laundromats and other businesses that rely on coins want Americans to empty their piggy banks and look under couch cushions for extra change and “get coin moving.” A group of trade associations that represent individual...
