Editor's Picks category, Page 358
TV Q&A: When will ‘When Calls the Heart’ be back?
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: When will Hallmark Channel’s “When Calls the Heart” return with new episodes? — Nina via voicemail Rob: “When Calls the Heart” wrapped production on its...
Letter to the editor: UPMC staffers overwhelmed
To UPMC Senior Vice President Leslie Davis and other UPMC executives: As a UPMC nurse, I am angry, disappointed, betrayed — yet not entirely surprised. UPMC leadership has been less visible this year and less in touch than ever with what occurs at the bedside. “Davis said the system has...
Jewish Federation says if you can’t go out for Chinese on Christmas, donate the cash
It’s perhaps the most unofficial Christmas tradition there is. On Christmas Day, many members of the Jewish community go out to eat at Chinese restaurants because they are usually the only ones open. This is often followed by a trip to the nearest bowling alley. It’s a ritual that goes...
Christmas in the ICU: Decorations, lights and many tears
OPELIKA, Ala. — A Christmas tree stands outside the intensive care room where a man stricken by covid-19 lies unconscious, a machine breathing for him. A few feet away, a plastic snowman adorns the door of another patient whose face is barely visible behind ventilator tubes. The decorations are “a...
Point State Park gets to keep its Christmas tree
Looks like the Tree of Lights will be in Pittsburgh next year after all. The state decided to continue the Pittsburgh tradition by permitting the picturesque tree to be erected at Point State Park next year. In a reversal of a decision announced last month, the state Department of Conservation...
Allegheny Valley toy distribution takes on different look this year, but still makes kids smileVideo
An annual Shop with a Cop toy distribution event in the Alle-Kiski Valley took on a different look this year because of the coronavirus pandemic, but still sent children home with a smile. In past years, officers from the Harmar, Springdale Borough and Allegheny Valley police departments would take children...
Westmoreland food bank benefits from annual United Way fundraiserVideo
Rather than mapping out the most efficient route through the East Pittsburgh Street Shop ’n Save in Greensburg on Monday evening, Renee Sasanko spent her time deciding on a nonprofit organization that would benefit from a $750 donation. The United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania’s annual fundraiser, which normally sends one...
Man dressed as Santa rescued from power lines in California
RIO LINDA, Calif. — Santa found himself a little more tied up than usual this time of year. A Northern California man impersonating Santa Claus and flying on a powered parachute was rescued Sunday after he became entangled in power lines, authorities said. The incident happened shortly after the man...
From Irving Berlin’s ‘White Christmas’ to James Brown’s ‘Santa’s Got a Brand New Bag’: Why Christmas classics never get old
Why do we love Christmas music? We know all the obvious reasons: It conjures treasured memories of holidays past; it allows us to revel in the season’s spirit simply by listening; it gives us a sense of peace through familiarity — we’ve heard these songs a thousand times before. But...
Delmont police, Sheetz collect about 10 tons of food for families, health care workers
’Tis the season for giving, and that sentiment isn’t lost on the organizations who interact with the public every day and have a ground-level view of the difficulty faced by not just families but also front-line health care workers. That’s why the Delmont Police Department decided to hold its first-ever...
After 5-month search, Shady Side Academy has new nickname
Shady Side Academy officially has a new mascot and nickname — the Bulldogs. The SSA Board of Trustees began a five-month search process in July after they decided to discontinue the use of the Indian as the school’s mascot and team name. During their search for a new mascot, a...
Clouds will likely block view of ‘Christmas Star’ tonight; won’t be visible again until 2080
The planets Jupiter and Saturn will be so close to one another tonight that they will look like a single bright point of light in the sky — a phenomenon that some refer to as the “Christmas Star” or “Star of Bethlehem.” But viewers in the Pittsburgh region and most...
New Kensington couple launches catering business, helping people celebrate ‘any way they can’Video
After years working for others in the restaurant industry, Philip Call says frustration drove him to start his own catering business. Trained in French culinary techniques, Call, 35, of New Kensington says there is a proper and correct way to do things, “and then there’s everything else.” “I’ve always been...
Necromancer Brewing set to open in March in Ross
For Ben Butler, the space just felt right. After months of searching for a site for their new brewery, Butler and his business partner Aaron Easler have signed the lease. Look for a March opening of Necromancer Brewing Co. at 2257 Babcock Blvd. in Ross. “I grew up in Ross,...
‘A way to say thank you:’ Wreaths Across America event held at Penn Township cemeteryVideo
When Sharon Bollenbacher decided to spend her Saturday morning at Jeannette Memorial Park as part of a local initiative for Wreaths Across America, she knew the event would hold extra meaning. Bollenbacher’s 22-year-old daughter, Laura, is scheduled for her first deployment with the Army the day after Christmas, where she...
TV Talk: Peggy Finnegan bids Pittsburgh viewers farewell as she retires from WPXI-TV
Humble to the end, retiring WPXI-TV news anchor Peggy Finnegan twice tried to make Channel 11’s farewell coverage about everyone else. On Friday’s noon newscast, anchor Gordon Loesch tried to celebrate Finnegan but she turned it around and praised his work as an anchor and reporter over his 17 years...
‘Senior Secret Santa’ delivers gifts, cheer to homes of nearly 100 Apollo-Ridge studentsVideo
Apollo-Ridge School District’s Senior Secret Santa didn’t circle the world in a supersonic sleigh, but he covered 220 miles Friday in a four-wheel drive SUV delivering gifts to the district’s 96 high school seniors. Apollo-Ridge High School Principal Dan Consuegra donned the outfit of the jolly old elf to serve...
Winter is here: 5 facts about the season
Monday is the official first day of winter, though a glance out the window will tell you the season is already here. Here are a few winter facts and stats so you can start the season informed: 9 hours, 16 minutes and 58 seconds That is how much daylight to...
Taming the pandemic: Pitt virologists forge ahead with coronavirus vaccineVideo
Millions of doses of the covid-19 vaccine have shipped around the nation, but virologist Sham Nambulli’s work is far from done. He rises daily in his South Fayette home, hops into his Toyota Camry and heads north on I-79 toward the Parkway West. His destination is the University of Pittsburgh’s...
Sewickley artist Claire Hardy’s rose paintings will be in the background of ‘The Bachelor’Video
While drama is always in the forefront of “The Bachelor,” the background should interest Western Pennsylvania viewers when Season 25 of ABC’s romantic reality show starts Jan. 4. First, the season, starring suitor Matt James was filmed at Nemacolin Resort in Fayette County. Second, paintings by Sewickley artist Claire Hardy...
Holiday symbols represent the meanings for the season
They are the universal symbols of the holiday season. Menorahs and dreidels, wreaths and trees, unity cups and bowls of fruit — all integral parts of Hanukkah, Christmas and Kwanzaa. While each has its own customs and meanings and ways to celebrate, all three share one thing in common: light....
Have a carby Christmas: Mancini’s bakes up a holiday tree
Mancini’s Bakery is taking Christmas carbs to a new level. The popular bakery created an 8-foot-tall Christmas tree crafted from its Italian bread. The holiday display should draw fresh attention, said Nick Mancini Hartner, co-owner of the bakery and the mastermind behind the bread tree. “I’ve always enjoyed playing with...
TV Talk: Powerful, filmed-in-Pittsburgh ‘Ma Rainey’ debuts on NetflixVideo
The latest Netflix adaptation of one of Pittsburgh native August Wilson’s plays, the filmed-in-Pittsburgh “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” stars Viola Davis and the late Chadwick Boseman in a period piece that feels relevant and timely. An almost unrecognizable Davis, jettisoning any semblance of vanity, stars as Ma Rainey, a real...
West Deer coffee, tea shop owner spreading holiday cheer to seniors 1 mug at a timeVideo
Jennifer Urbanek is bringing a mugful of joy to seniors this holiday season. The owner of The Hungry Cupcake coffee and tea shop in West Deer is donating Christmas coffee mugs packed with tea, hot chocolate mix, candy, lip balm, socks and stuffed animal key chains to older residents at...
Snow day! Plum School District closed Thursday due to weather, playing in snow encouraged
Plum School District will be closed Thursday due to Wednesday’s heavy snowfall. A message from Superintendent Brendan Hyland about the snow day was posted on the district’s twitter page and newsfeed. The closure was in large part a result of Wednesday’s snow storms. “Students are directed to close their Chromebooks,...
