McKeesport Community Newsroom grateful for early holiday gift that will keep it operating for another year
Martha Rial and her McKeesport Community Newsroom participants and friends will celebrate the holiday season this Thursday. The occasion, though, will fete something much bigger for the project: funding that will keep it running for another year. Point Park University had sponsored the program for five years with help from the Allegheny and Pittsburgh foundations.…
‘Resistance Through Community’: Backyard Docs Film Festival opens with screening of ‘Union’
Backyard Docs Film Festival, which bills itself as Pennsylvania’s largest documentary film festival, opens Dec. 5, with a showing of “Union.” The Sundance Award-winning work by Brett Story and Stephen Maing follows a group of Amazon workers as they face off against one of the planet’s most powerful companies, launching an unprecedented campaign to unionize…
Hiring leads to sharp drop in missed trips for Pittsburgh Regional Transit
After years of chronic driver shortages, Pittsburgh Regional Transit ramped up its recruitment and training efforts in the past year. That work is beginning to pay off. CEO Katharine Eagan Kelleman told the authority board last month that for the first time since before the pandemic the agency is able to fully staff its route…
Pennsylvania Resources Council proposes Allegheny County facility for hard-to-recycle waste
Pennsylvania Resources Council is dreaming big as it begins planning its future in the state’s western region. The environmental organization wants to establish a permanent recycling facility in Allegheny County to enable maximum recovery and proper waste diversion and recycling while providing residents with a convenient, cost-effective location to drop off electronics, household chemicals and other…
PennDOT among 39 states in federal program to lower carbon emissions in road, bridge work
For the next five years, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation will work with universities and producers of asphalt, concrete, steel and glass to find ways to reduce the carbon output for road and bridge construction. PennDOT will receive $31.9 million as its share of $1.2 billion in grants announced by the Federal Highway Administration two…
Just no: Addictions professionals say proposed rules change could harm problem bettors
More than 40 people including addictions professionals and the Pennsylvania Office of Drug and Alcohol Programs are pressing state leaders not to change a rule that would make it easier for problem bettors to return to casinos. The state Gaming Control Board accepted public comment until Monday on whether to change the voluntary casino ban…
PIAA Class 6A semifinals: Central Catholic holds off furious fourth-quarter rally by Harrisburg, advances to state final with thrilling 38-33 win
ALTOONA, Pa. — With the ball in Harrisburg’s possession and all of the momentum firmly on the Cougars’ side as the final seconds ticked down, Central Catholic suddenly found itself in danger of a monumental collapse in a frenetic PIAA Class 6A semifinal Saturday afternoon at Mansion Park Stadium. The Vikings had built a 17-point cushion…
PIAA Class 5A semifinals: Record-setting QB Stone Saunders steers Bishop McDevitt past Pine-Richland with trio of touchdown passes
ALTOONA, Pa. — In the immediate aftermath of his team’s 28-14 win against WPIAL champion Pine-Richland at Mansion Park Stadium to send District 3 powerhouse Bishop McDevitt to the state finals, Crusaders quarterback Stone Saunders did not mince words. “If you’re from Pittsburgh and you don’t go to Aliquippa, you can’t play with us,” Saunders said.…
PIAA semifinal rundown: Luca Neal plows Avonworth past Penn Cambria and into final; WPIAL champs Thomas Jefferson, South Park, Fort Cherry all lose
Black Friday was a forgettable one for WPIAL football champions. Not one, not two, not three, but four WPIAL champs saw their PIAA championship dreams fade to black in semifinal losses. But on what was a dark day, a team wearing white uniforms with red trim and “Lopes” sewn on the front of them provided…
NCAA Division II playoffs: Slippery Rock gets revenge with second-round victory over No. 3 Kutztown to set up Super Region One title showdown against California
The decision necessarily didn’t come easily to Shawn Lutz. With No. 11 Slippery Rock heading into overtime Saturday of a NCAA Division II Super Region One second-round playoff game against No. 3 Kutztown, the ninth-year Rock coach said he began weighing it in his mind. When the Golden Bears took possession of the football first,…
NCAA Division III playoffs: Carnegie Mellon advances with record-breaking win over Centre; No. 12 Grove City, No. 17 W&J eliminated in heartbreaking fashion
The conditions certainly were not ideal to foster success. When No. 13 Carnegie Mellon took the field for its NCAA Division III second-round playoff game Saturday against Centre, heavy winds were swirling around Gesling Stadium, blowing fallen leaves around the frozen turf, with the temperature lurking at 25 degrees. For Tartans sophomore wide receiver Brendan…
Saturday basketball rundown: Lucas Stanley continues strong start, leads Union to overtime win; Mt. Lebanon girls take down Blackhawk; Clairton’s Iyanna Wade scores 42
Lucas Stanley has had a memorable start to his senior season. Friday, Stanley collected a triple-double to lead Union to a win. And then on Saturday, this standout guard pumped in 35 points while leading the Scotties to an overtime victory. Stanley’s huge point total allowed Union to defeat Blackhawk, 91-86, in the Ellwood City…
Friday basketball rundown: New-look Thomas Jefferson girls handle Quaker Valley; R.J. Sledge drops 36 as Imani Christian tops Moon in battle of reigning WPIAL boys champions
Thomas Jefferson’s roster was bolstered in the offseason when two talented guards who had been playing at private schools returned to play for their home district for the first time since eighth grade. Junior Maggie Spell played the past two seasons at Shady Side Academy, helping the Bulldogs win the WPIAL Class 3A title last…
In other news …
Pittsburgh Regional Transit will begin selling bulk passes to employers, landlords and schools in January
Pittsburgh Regional Transit is putting the final touches on a new program that will begin offering employers, landlords and schools the opportunity to buy transit passes at sharply reduced prices. Known as the PRTner Pass, the program will offer sponsors with groups of 10 or more the opportunity to buy 31-day passes at a discount…
Good work earns two volunteers United Way IMPACT Awards and grant money for their groups
Donnie Black and Mary Ann Shiring have something in common: Both are dedicated volunteers for the nonprofits they have been supporting with their talents for years. Now they share an honor because of that work. Both received the United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania’s newly launched United Way IMPACT — Individuals Making Progress and Creating Transformation…
Compassion Corner officially opens its new Downtown location
Catholic Charities CEO Susan Rauscher called Thursday’s official opening of Compassion Corner, Downtown, a historic moment for the organization she leads. And she wanted the audience gathered in its auditorium to join in celebrating it by writing a note of hope and prayers for the people it serves. Those messages, she explained, will be part…
