Editor's Picks category, Page 415
Students hit the pool to raise funds for Special Olympics PennsylvaniaVideo
On a freezing morning outside Heinz Field, students and teachers from across the Pittsburgh region took turns plunging into a pool to help raise money for Special Olympics Pennsylvania. Twenty schools and nearly 500 students participated in the Cool Schools Plunge. The high Friday was 31 degrees. The 10th Annual...
80-foot fall, vandalism at Western Pa. parks top week’s headlinesVideo
Two parks in the Western Pennsylvania area made the news this week, both for the wrong reasons, while endings were announced for a private school in the North Hills, double coupons at Giant Eagle and security at Pittsburgh International Airport. Woman falls at McConnells Mill Jocie Van Kirk, a 21-year-old...
Shoppers find religious books, knickknacks, fellowship at Bloomfield’s Sacred Heart of Jesus Store
Each person who enters Sacred Heart of Jesus Store in Bloomfield leaves with something, even if they don’t make a purchase. “The blessing doesn’t go on the items we sell; the blessing goes on literally everyone that comes in,” says Sister Mary Madalyn Schleifer, who runs the Liberty Avenue shop...
Leap Day babies enjoy some ‘every 4 years’ perks
If you are planning to blow out the candles on your cake on Feb. 29, you are among approximately 205,000 people in the United States who can claim a Leap Year birthday. Many Leap Year babies celebrate on Feb. 28 or March 1 most years. A Leap year gives them...
UPMC took in $20B in revenue in 2019, claims dominance in Western Pa. insurance market
Nearly 1 in 3 Western Pennsylvanians now has a health insurance plan with UPMC — making the nonprofit behemoth not only the state’s largest private employer and hospital system but also the region’s largest insurer. That’s according to UPMC executives and their newly released 2019 year-end financial statements. They cited...
Mickey from ‘Disney on Ice’ visits UPMC Children’s Hospital of PittsburghVideo
Ella Weisbord had a simple request as she waited to meet a Disney character Thursday in UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. “I want to dance with Mickey,” the 5-year-old from Cheswick said. Mickey Mouse was happy to comply. Ella’s mother wheeled the girl up to Mickey for a meet-and-greet …...
Despite low unemployment rate, applicants flock to Hempfield job fairVideo
A low unemployment rate didn’t keep hundreds of job seekers from a career expo Wednesday. The Westmoreland Assists Native Talent (WANT) Job and Career Expo, held at the Ramada by Wyndham Greensburg Hotel and Conference Center in Hempfield, featured more than 65 employers and a range of potential employees. Expo...
Giant Eagle to stop doubling coupons
Giant Eagle will no longer double manufacturer coupons beginning Sunday. With so many e-coupons and digital choices, the store is changing to accommodate technology. The O’Hara-based retailer will continue to redeem the coupons for face value. “As customer usage of manufacturer coupons continues to decrease both in our stores and...
See how Pennsylvania students fared on SATs in 2019
The Pennsylvania Department of Education has released the average SAT scores at public schools across the state. The averages come from students in the class of 2019 who took the standardized test — about 2.2 million students nationwide, according to College Board, the institution that administers the test. The exam...
Pennsylvania couple awaiting adopted child get $20,000 gift on ‘Ellen’
A Philadelphia-area couple already expecting one life-changing moment received a second one this week, courtesy of TV talk-show host Ellen DeGeneres. Doug and Nick Roberts, of Media, are in the midst of an adoption process. They are also huge fans of the actress Kristen Bell. Somehow, DeGeneres heard about their...
What to give up for Lent? Booze, chocolate, sex — and Lent itself — among top choicesVideo
Although rooted in ancient Christian practice, the idea of “giving something up for Lent” permeates American popular culture. Witness the Twitter Lent Tracker operated for a decade by OpenBible.info. The index tracks the number of mentions of Lent or “giving up” something during the week of Ash Wednesday — which...
Standard Market and Pint House hopes to ‘raise Pittsburgh’s standard of dining’
A dormant spot in Downtown Pittsburgh’s version of restaurant row is reopening as a new venue looking to capitalize on the emerging trend of self-serve beer. The Standard Market and Pint House will open in the spring in a newly renovated space in the Courtyard by Marriott hotel first occupied...
Happy 77th birthday, George HarrisonVideo
He was known as the quiet Beatle. Thoughtful, spiritual and a superb musician, George Harrison, lead guitarist for the greatest pop group in history, would have turned 77 on Tuesday, Feb. 25. George Harrison was born #OnThisDay in 1943. He would have turned 77 today. Happy birthday @GeorgeHarrison! pic.twitter.com/HycHYYnPdG— The...
Whitehall family hopes positive message can come from online bullyingVideo
The family of an 11-year-old Whitehall inventor is using cyberbullying and hate lodged against them as a teaching moment. They hope the public will learn a lesson from it, too: That no matter how you feel about something, it’s never OK to bully and attack. Over the past several days,...
Western Pennsylvania-filmed ‘I Am Not Okay With This’ debuts on Netflix
From the opening shot of the new Netflix series “I Am Not Okay With This,” the viewer will know that this is not an ordinary dark dramedy about high school kids dealing with teen angst. A young girl is seen walking down the street. She is soaked in blood as...
East Carson Street construction project planned for April
A construction project along East Carson Street aimed at improving safety is scheduled to start in April. Crews are conducting preparatory work this week to get ready for the project, PennDOT announced Monday. The $16.31 million project targets a 2.5-mile stretch of East Carson Street in Pittsburgh’s South Side neighborhood....
John Dorfman: No one wants Chinese stocks now — and that’s why you should
Sir John Templeton, one of the greatest investors of the 20th century, famously said you should invest “at the point of maximum pessimism.” At various points in his career, he did that in the United States, Japan and New Zealand. Now, I think investors have the chance to do something...
Girl, 11, brings AR-15 to Idaho hearing on gun legislation
BOISE, Idaho — An 11-year-old girl toting a loaded AR-15 assault weapon appeared Monday with her grandfather, who is supporting legislation that would allow visitors to Idaho who can legally possess firearms to carry a concealed handgun within city limits. Charles Nielsen addressed the committee that voted to send the...
Woman, 84, sinks putt across basketball court to win new carVideo
OXFORD, Miss. — All that 84-year-old Mary Ann Wakfield needed to do to win a new car was sink a putt across the entire length of the court at the University of Mississippi’s basketball stadium. Wakfield did just that during a promotional segment at Saturday’s game between Ole Miss men’s...
Jonah Goldberg: Bernie Sanders too often sees only what he wants to see
Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who did not have a great performance in Wednesday’s Democratic debate, nevertheless said something interesting. “We’re not going to throw out capitalism,” Bloomberg said. “We tried. Other countries tried that. It was called communism, and it just didn’t work.” I’m unclear on when...
Pittsburgh gas prices down as national average starts seasonal rise, analyst says
While the national average price of gasoline has gone up for the second consecutive week, prices are lower in the Pittsburgh area, according to price-tracking service GasBuddy. The national average went up 2.4 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $2.47. In the Pittsburgh area, prices came down by...
Indiana Township police dog Ares preps for retirement
Indiana Township police dog Ares is making the most of his last month on duty. The drug-sniffing dog will be the special guest at a retirement party thrown by Fairview Elementary students in Fox Chapel Area School District. Ares joined the township police department in 2010 and became an instant...
Cartoonist, writer bring back iconic comic ‘The Yellow Kid’Video
A longtime editorial cartoonist and a comics writer meet at an arts festival, admire each other’s work and strike up a friendship. No, it’s not the set-up for a punchline, but rather collaboration of like minds among two of the biggest fans of a century-old newspaper comic-strip character: The Yellow...
Case of missing children tied to doomsday beliefs, 3 deaths
HONOLULU — Family members used to describe Lori Vallow as an attentive mother who had her kids’ best interests at heart. But that was before she reportedly declared herself a god sent to prepare the world for an imminent apocalypse. Before three untimely deaths of people surrounding her. Before her...
’70s turn 50: City of Champions rises, concerts surge and steel sees last gaspVideo
At the start of the decade that gave us Watergate, Jimmy Carter and the Three Mile Island meltdown, Pittsburghers were watching The Doors at the Civic Arena, meeting a brash young quarterback named Terry Bradshaw and watching the last good years before the collapse of its defining industry. While the...
