Editor's Picks category, Page 362
More than 1,200 species and counting, free pocket field guide developed for Buffalo Creek watershed
The Buffalo Creek watershed might not be a national park, but it has enough wildlife and varieties of plants — more than 1,200 species — to warrant a pocket field guide developed by the Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania. Audubon, government agencies and other nonprofits have been working for years...
New owners of Apollo’s Chambers Hotel look beyond pandemic to brighter future for historic business
The historic Chambers Hotel in Apollo is under new ownership. Jennifer and Walter Seniow purchased the hotel that dates to 1889 late last spring. They opened in November for about a month before facing covid-related shutdowns mandated by the state. “Some people say we’re crazy to buy a bar during...
100 years ago, KDKA gave birth to religious radio broadcasts at Calvary Episcopal in Pittsburgh
Before Jerry Falwell, Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker, Joel Osteen, Archbishop Fulton Sheen and famous radio evangelists such as Father Charles Coughlin and Aimee Semple McPherson, there was Edwin Van Etten. It was the Rev. Edwin Van Etten, far from a household name, who helped popularize the live radio sermon....
It’s a boy! First New Year’s baby born to Greensburg woman
Siearra Pantojas of Greensburg received an early New Year’s Day surprise. A healthy baby boy. Pantojas, 21, was out shopping when she went into labor early on New Year’s Eve. After about five hours of hard labor, she welcomed son Bentlee Cole, the first 2021 baby born at Forbes Hospital...
Looking back, looking ahead: 2020 was a trying year, what’s in store for 2021?Video
Americans would have to go back several decades at least to find a year as hellacious as 2020. Perhaps not since 1968, when the United States was fighting a war in Vietnam, when police were clashing with young people protesting that war, and when Martin Luther King Jr. and Bobby...
Drivers not using E-ZPass will absorb a 51% PA Turnpike rate hike in 2021
Pennsylvania Turnpike toll increases announced last year will take effect just after midnight Sunday, Jan. 3, and if you’re not using the state’s E-ZPass program, the hike will be a steep one. Over the summer, the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission approved a 6% hike for all E-ZPass rates systemwide, along with...
What turns 100 in 2021? Here are a few century-old items
Everything gets older. It’s just a fact of life. And this year — that would be 2021 — there are a few things that are turning 100. And we’re kind of blown away by how old they are. For instance: Cheez-It On March 31, 1921, the Dayton, Ohio-based...
‘Champagne’ flows at New Year’s Eve event for canines in LigonierVideo
More than a dozen dogs and their owners had a howling good time ringing out 2020 Thursday afternoon during the second annual Dog Perignon NYE Day Celebration at Ligonier’s Paws On Main Street pet boutique. Owner Angel Tunstall had champagne on hand for owners who stopped by, as well as...
Press House brews coffee-flavored beer, readies new Sewickley café
First came the coffee named after a beer and next came the coffee in the beer. Press House Coffee on Pittsburgh’s North Side debuted Iron City Bean coffee with Iron City Brewing Co. in Lawrenceville in June. Last week, Press House introduced Fresh Grounds, a collaboration with North Side’s Allegheny...
Covid-19 dominates annual list of banished words, terms
SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich. — Even as vaccines are being rolled out to battle coronavirus, wordsmiths at Lake Superior State University in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula say they want to kick any trace of it from the English language. “Covid-19” and “social distancing” are thrown in with “we’re all in this...
Pork, sauerkraut and other traditions to ring in a prosperous new year
After a tumultuous 2022, we could all use a little luck next year. Here are some traditions to ring in 2023: Eating pork and sauerkraut The New Year’s Day meal, popular in Western Pennsylvania, comes from the Pennsylvania Dutch, who brought the Germanic tradition of eating pork and sauerkraut with...
Boxheart Gallery plans 20th anniversary exhibit in Pittsburgh’s Bloomfield neighborhoodVideo
Despite a year in which more people likely saw its exhibits online than in-person, Boxheart Gallery in Pittsburgh’s Bloomfield neighborhood is forging ahead with plans for its 20th anniversary in the new year. “We think that artists are extremely important, especially during these changing times,” said gallery owner Nicole Capozzi....
Pittsburgh musicians raise their voices off stage to save local venuesVideo
Musicians communicate through song. They feed off the energy of live performances. Many haven’t performed live for months because of the pandemic. That hasn’t kept them from making new music for when they return to Pittsburgh-area venues. There is one tune that’s about to be heard that will help the...
Make a new year’s kindness resolution with Children’s Museum of PittsburghVideo
How can you ensure a good start to the new year? At the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh, staff members think we can make 2021 a brighter year by sending more expressions of kindness into the world. “To make this happen, we’re inviting kids and families to make and share resolutions...
TV Q&A: Questions about KDKA-TV on-air talent answered
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: Stacy Smith has not been at the KDKA-TV anchor desk in some time. He was giving reports from his home. Is this health-related? Also, I...
Unity restaurant’s holiday meal distribution continues for 2nd week
Sharky’s Cafe is making sure Latrobe-area families that are in need start out 2021 with a full portion at dinnertime. With the help of donations received from loyal customers, friends and generous community members, the Unity restaurant distributed several hundred free Christmas meals last week to area families. On Wednesday,...
New U.S. dietary guidelines: No candy, cake for kids under 2
Parents now have an extra reason to say no to candy, cake and ice cream for young children. The first U.S. government dietary guidelines for infants and toddlers, released Tuesday, recommend feeding only breast milk for at least six months and no added sugar for children under age 2. “It’s...
A record 39 holiday songs dominate Billboard Hot 100 chart
Tis the season to be jolly: A record 39 holiday songs have dominated this week’s Billboard Hot 100 chart, including nine holiday tunes in the Top 10. Mariah Carey’s ubiquitous hit, “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” leads the pack at No. 1 — marking the tune’s fifth time...
First day of winter camp held at Graystone Equestrian Center in Salem Township
The first day of Graystone Equestrian Center’s three-day Winter Camp was held Monday at the Salem Township facility. Ten campers spent the day grooming horses, receiving instruction from barn owner Cindy Valenta and participating in games and arts and crafts. The program is open to ages 5 and up....
TV Talk: PBS revisits ‘Little House’ author Laura Ingalls Wilder
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week. To mark the 85th anniversary of the publication of “Little House on the Prairie,” PBS’s “American Masters” does a deep dive into the life and literary work of the book’s author in “Laura Ingalls Wilder:...
Stories of the Year: From detection to vaccine, coronavirus dominated 2020
Seldom is a subject such an obvious choice for story of the year. But unlike 2001’s 9/11 or 2016’s election, the coronavirus story kept happening — day after day after day. Like the virus itself, the story just wouldn’t stop. It appears it will consume 2021 as well. From reports...
Sharing lessons learned in a tough 2020, looking ahead to a better 2021Video
Was most of what we learned in 2020 stuff we didn’t want to know? Like what really happens during a global pandemic or an ultra-polarized presidential election? From wildfires and earthquakes to hurricanes and floods, it hasn’t been pretty. In fact, a lot of it has been frightening and heartbreaking....
Watch those birdfeeders for rare northern finches visiting Western Pa.Video
Linda Croskey guessed it’s been about 30 years since she has seen the rare winter migrant, the evening grosbeak, show up at her birdfeeder at her West Deer home. Then, after last week’s snowstorm, Croskey was elated to see at her feeder the rare visitor. It looks like an overgrown...
Girl Scouts accuse Boy Scouts of poaching their membership in latest filing of 2-year legal battle
Boys will be boys. And, according to court documents, girls should be Girl Scouts. The Girl Scouts of the United States of America, in a pointed Manhattan Federal Court filing, accused the Boy Scouts of America of wrongfully crossing the gender line by poaching potential female members from their organization...
Scottdale man on covid battle: ‘I did not think I was going to make it’
Wayne Grabiak had encouragement coming from all angles. There were the FaceTime calls with his wife and text messages from family, friends and his cardiologist. Plus, the staff at AHN Jefferson Hospital loudly repeating a mantra through a glass window separating his room from the rest of the intensive care...
