Editor's Picks category, Page 223
TV Q&A: Where has WPXI’s Gabriella DeLuca been?
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. Question: Where has WPXI-TV reporter Gabriella DeLuca been lately? — Mike, via email Rob: DeLuca is on maternity leave. She posted on Twitter about giving birth...
What to do if you’re concerned you might be laid off
NEW YORK — The job market in the U.S. remains strong overall, but recent high-profile layoffs at technology and media companies and predictions of a recession later this year may have you thinking about job security. If you’re worried you could be laid off — or if you’ve lost your...
Taylor Swift, Pink to be honored at 2023 iHeartRadio Awards
NEW YORK — Taylor Swift will receive the 2023 iHeartRadio Innovator Award at the iHeartRadio Music Awards later this month, which will feature performances by Kelly Clarkson, Keith Urban, Pat Benatar, Muni Long, Cody Johnson, Coldplay and Pink, who is this year’s Icon Award recipient. The Innovator Award is presented...
Hershey debuts plant-based Reese’s Cups, chocolate bars
Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups are getting the vegan treatment. The Hershey Co. said Tuesday that Reese’s Plant Based Peanut Butter Cups, which go on sale this month, will be its first vegan chocolates sold nationally. A second plant-based offering, Hershey’s Plant Based Extra Creamy with Almonds and Sea Salt, will...
Toblerone drops iconic design due to rules on ‘Swissness’
GENEVA — The makers of Toblerone are stripping images of Switzerland’s famed Matterhorn and the Swiss flag from the packaging of the milk-chocolate treat as they move some production to Slovakia. Mondelez International of Deerfield, Ill., which owns the Swiss-born brand, said Monday that it’s in the process of adapting...
‘Dilbert,’ Scott Adams draw ire from fellow cartoonists
NEW YORK — Cartoonists are pushing back against racist remarks made by “Dilbert” creator Scott Adams, with one artist even using his own strip this week to lampoon the disgraced cartoon now dropped by newspapers nationwide. Darrin Bell is transforming his strip “Candorville” — which usually features young Black and...
Snoop Dogg, Wiz Khalifa tour coming to Pittsburgh area
Two rappers with Pittsburgh connections are bringing their tour to the area this summer. Wiz Khalifa, who was grew up in Pittsburgh, and Snoop Dogg, a self-professed member of Steeler Nation, will visit the Pavilion at Star Lake on July 18 as part of the High School Reunion Tour. Also...
Pittsburgh Pop podcast: Talking KDKA’s new afternoon talk show, AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh, ‘Mandalorian, ‘Survivor,’ ‘Succession’Video
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 that KDKA-TV will launch a new afternoon talk show, “Talk Pittsburgh.” Think of it as a “Pittsburgh Today Live” spin-off. In the podcast, Owen...
Toy maker Funko dumps $30M in dolls to cut inventory
A toy maker known for its line of big-headed pop culture dolls depicting characters from film, TV and animation is planning to toss out about $30 million worth of the collectables to deal with some of the financial losses it is experiencing. Funko Inc. reported last week that it suffered...
Hoda Kotb returns to ‘Today’ show after family health issue
NEW YORK — Hoda Kotb returned to NBC’s “Today” show Monday after spending a few weeks tending to her 3-year-old daughter, Hope. “My youngest, Hope, was in the ICU for a few days and in the hospital for a little more than a week,” Hoda said at the top of...
Tap-It Brewery & Grill brings the heat with popular habanero beer
It took Shane and Kari Hissem a couple of tries to get the heat index just right when they started brewing habanero beer at their Tap-It Brewery & Grill, near the Mt. Pleasant Township village of Norvelt. “How much bite depends on how much habanero oil goes in,” Shane Hissem...
Daycation: Bedford offers bounty of history, heritage and hospitality
History and heritage collide for an educational travel destination in rural Bedford County. A daycation to the town of Bedford offers a variety of activities drenched in American history dating to the 1700s. Bedford is positioned near the crossroads of two ancient Native American trading routes and served as a...
Martin’s Specialty Shop to close after 123 years on the Diamond in Ligonier
Ligonier residents are saying goodbye to a store that has dressed generations in upscale casual clothing since 1900. The 123-year-old Martin’s Specialty Shop will be closing its doors permanently this month. Mary Lou Fleming, owner and granddaughter of the shop’s founder, Robert S. Martin, is hosting a retirement sale for...
Greensburg’s headless ‘muffler man’ ready for his makeover
Editor’s note ‘What’s That?’ is a recurring feature in the Tribune-Review’s Westmoreland Plus edition. If there’s something you’d like to see explored here, send an email to gtrcity@triblive.com. The hulking, 20-foot headless male figure who for the last half century has kept watch outside of a Greensburg auto repair shop...
Tom Sizemore, ‘Saving Private Ryan’ actor, dies after brain aneurysm
LOS ANGELES — Actor Tom Sizemore, known for his work in films such as “Saving Private Ryan,” “True Romance” and “Black Hawk Down,” has died at 61 after a brain aneurysm. Sizemore died Friday at a hospital in Burbank, according to his manager, Charles Lago. The actor had been taken...
2nd annual ‘Restaurant Ramble’ features 10 downtown New Kensington eateries
An Allegheny Township man who took over a Lower Burrell pie business will be opening a storefront in New Kensington in time for the city’s second annual “Restaurant Ramble” this month. Jim Rennick, owner of Farm House Fresh, said a mini cheesecake will be his contribution to the small bites...
Historic Hempfield cemetery seeks volunteers, donors to help care for grounds
William McBride stepped on something hard as he walked through Hempfield’s Union Cemetery last week. Using his hands to dig at the turf, he uncovered a long-hidden marker for a Civil War veteran: Henry C. McKenzie, who served with Company K of the 4th West Virginia Infantry Regiment and died...
Glass show at New Kensington Quality Inn draws hundreds for ‘treasure hunt’
Susan Conforti of Green Tree stopped counting her collection of Depression-era wine glasses at 120. As she gleefully perused the offerings Saturday at the 46th annual Depression Glass and Pottery Show at the Quality Inn in New Kensington, her husband tagged along behind and playfully shook his head. “I just...
Who’s benefiting from Russia’s war on Ukraine? Arms dealers and manufacturers
ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates — There’s always an element of the surreal at arms fairs. You catch it in the chipper tone of salespeople hawking new instruments of destruction; in the euphemisms — “defense” instead of “warfare,” “weapons platforms” rather than “guns” — sprinkled throughout glossy brochures; in the...
Models strut the runway with their canines for the Bark and Swagger Dog Fashion Show
Krystine Gregorich walked the red carpet wearing a dress with a wine colored top and hunter green hued bottom. She had a green bow in her hair. Accompanying her on the runway was her 12-year-old dog, Bella, a poodle bichon frise mix who wore a similar outfit and matching bows....
Franco Harris statue moves to landside terminal at Pittsburgh airport
The life-size figure of Pittsburgh Steelers legend Franco Harris — with the iconic pose of him catching the football just above his shoes for the Immaculate Reception on Dec. 23, 1972 — has a new home at the Pittsburgh International Airport. And the best part: You no longer need to...
Pittsburgh Lenten fish-fry map unites innovation, tradition
By the time the doors open at 4:30 p.m., a boisterous line of 50 hungry people is looping around the gymnasium foyer at Blessed Francis Seelos Academy. Their objective: to occupy tables on the basketball court and, for the parish’s first time since the pandemic descended in 2020, sit down...
5 things to do in Westmoreland County this weekend: March 3-5
Queen of bluegrass “Queen of Bluegrass” Rhonda Vincent will perform with her band, The Rage, at 8 p.m. Friday at The Lamp Theatre, 222 Main St., Irwin. A singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, Vincent won a 2017 Grammy Award for best bluegrass album and was inducted into the Grand Ole Opry...
5 things to do in Pittsburgh this weekend: March 3-5
It’s the first weekend of March. Here are some things to do this weekend. History Uncorked The Senator John Heinz History Center in the Strip District will host the 25th “History Uncorked: A Beautiful Night in the Neighborhood” from 7:30 to 11 p.m. Friday. The annual fundraiser for young professionals...
TV Talk: Mel Brooks’ ‘History of the World, Part II’ belatedly arrives on Hulu
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week. PASADENA, Calif. — I remember getting into Mel Brooks movies in middle school in the mid-1980s and wanting to see the comedic director/writer/star make a sequel to his 1981 sketch comedy film “History of the...
