Editor's Picks category, Page 420
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...
‘Impractical Joker’ Sal Vulcano pumps up packed theaters for movie’s openingVideo
Cinemark movie theaters in Monroeville, Robinson and the Pittsburgh Mills mall in Frazer were packed with patrons hoping to meet an impractical star. Sal Vulcano, one quarter of TruTV’s “Impractical Jokers,” visited the Steel City on Friday to help promote his group’s new film. “Impractical Jokers: The Movie” launched in...
Cherrie Mahan’s mysterious disappearance haunts her mother 35 years laterVideo
Janice McKinney is still looking for answers, 35 years after the disappearance of her daughter, Cherrie Mahan. The 8-year-old third-grader was last seen Feb. 22, 1985, as she got off a school bus about 100 yards from her home in Winfield Township, Butler County. McKinney struggles daily with questions that...
Showtime series ‘Rust’ holding casting call in Pittsburgh
A new Showtime series starring Jeff Daniels is holding a casting call in Pittsburgh. The open call for paid background actors will be held Sunday, March 1 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center. The show, called “Rust,” is looking for extras to portray...
Fracking debate causes tremors in battleground Pennsylvania
HARRISBURG — The notion of banning fracking is dividing the Democrats running for president and increasingly dividing Democrats in the presidential battleground state of Pennsylvania, where fracking has vaulted it to the No. 2 natural gas producer behind Texas. The divide was clear, again, on the debate stage Wednesday night...
