http://www.post-gazette.com/ All News en-us Copyright 2012, post-gazette.com. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 07:09:56 -0500 15 http://www.post-gazette.com/includes/2007design/images/150x30pg_now_logo.gif http://www.post-gazette.com/ 144 39 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12041/1209354-100.stm?cmpid=news.xml A Johnstown man was in a Maryland jail Thursday on charges that he illegally gave his girlfriend a dose of methadone, causing her to die in an Indiana County hospital hours before she was set to be released, according to authorities. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 06:42:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12041/1209288-57-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml WASHINGTON -- There were a lot of questions but few answers Thursday during a meeting of the Pennsylvania congressional delegation and three Air Force generals who want to close the 911th Airlift Wing near Pittsburgh International Airport. Lawmakers, who said the meeting was cordial, left it frustrated by the lack of information about the decision to close the base in Moon. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 01:25:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12041/1209307-364.stm?cmpid=news.xml Canon-McMillan team took the first step toward its goal of winning a PIAA Class AAA team title with an impressive, 53-10 first-round victory Thursday night against Parkland night at Giant Center in Hershey, Pa. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:48:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12041/1209289-84-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml Early in her military career in the Pennsylvania National Guard, Sgt. Danielle Burton was interested in the infantry, but a 1994 combat exclusion policy prohibited women from serving in infantry, armor and special operations forces. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:45:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12041/1209292-53-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml As it became clear that members of Occupy Pittsburgh were not long for their encampment at Downtown's Mellon Green, Allegheny County Sheriff William Mullen started planning for the worst. He called police departments, watched videos and studied news reports from other cities where such evictions erupted in violence. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:45:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12041/1209287-144.stm?cmpid=news.xml West Virginia and the Big East Conference verbally agreed to a settlement Thursday night that will allow the Mountaineers to exit the conference for a sizable payout and join the Big 12, multiple sources with knowledge of the situation told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:44:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12041/1209290-114-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml Set against proposed 30 percent cuts in state higher education funding, Gov. Tom Corbett's proposed 4 percent cut in Medicaid reimbursements looks reasonable enough. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:44:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12041/1209262-84.stm?cmpid=news.xml WASHINGTON -- Even before the world knew him as a genius, the FBI had the book on Steve Jobs. In a 1991 background check, the FBI pegged Apple's co-founder as brash and unlikable and noted his early drug use. Most tellingly, the agents, evaluating Jobs for an appointment under President George H.W. Bush, said acquaintances found him to have a peculiarly driven nature. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:30:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12041/1209322-455.stm?cmpid=news.xml Trustees at the Community College of Allegheny County awarded a $20,000 performance bonus to school president Alex Johnson Thursday in keeping with his contract that allows for such awards each year of up to 10 percent of his base salary. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:15:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12041/1209319-53.stm?cmpid=news.xml The Allegheny County district attorney's office decided this week to withdraw the charges filed against a man who was arrested in connection with a North Side shooting that put a Hill District man in critical condition this fall. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:13:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12041/1209321-57.stm?cmpid=news.xml A man was killed early Thursday when his SUV crashed into a boom truck on the McKees Rocks Bridge, shutting it down for about three hours. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:11:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12041/1209320-55.stm?cmpid=news.xml Allegheny County homicide detectives are investigating the death of a man whose body was found in the woods behind a West Mifflin apartment building by officers who were searching for a missing man. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:10:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12041/1209318-56.stm?cmpid=news.xml A North Side man charged with sexually assaulting a teenager was in the Allegheny County Jail Thursday after deputies spotted him in a Braddock home hours after he ditched his trial. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:09:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12041/1209317-53.stm?cmpid=news.xml Allegheny County sheriff's deputies arrested a man wanted in connection with an Ohio shooting after they found him hiding under clothing in a Hill District home Thursday morning. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:08:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12041/1209316-54.stm?cmpid=news.xml A Butler County man being sought by police shot and killed himself in his car after being cornered by troopers Thursday morning. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:07:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12041/1209315-59.stm?cmpid=news.xml Tax preparer Larry E. Snow pleaded guilty Thursday to one count of a 40-count indictment that accused him of claiming fictitious deductions on his clients' returns. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:06:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12041/1209313-55.stm?cmpid=news.xml A central figure in a Mon Valley-focused cocaine ring was sentenced Thursday to 21 years and 10 months in prison. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:04:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12041/1209314-54.stm?cmpid=news.xml A Bridgeville man who led police on a 16-mile chase was sentenced Thursday to 30 to 60 months in prison. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:02:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12041/1209134-361-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml From one year to the next, Summit Academy has a new team ... Summit leads the WPIAL in turnovers, and we're not talking about bad passes or traveling calls on the basketball court. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12041/1209141-361.stm?cmpid=news.xml It is only a non-section game that will have no bearing on the seedings for the upcoming WPIAL playoffs. But when Seton-LaSalle visits Oakland Catholic Saturday afternoon, it might be the best girls' contest in the WPIAL this season. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12041/1209142-117-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12041/1209143-361-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml A look at the names, numbers and more that make up the WPIAL's and City League's top basketball teams ... Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12041/1209149-364-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml You could watch a team at Yuma High School in Arizona play a game and say the players looked like a bunch of "Criminals." They would not take offense. You could tell the players on a team at Laurel Hill High in Florida that they were dressed like a bunch of "Hoboes." They would agree. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12041/1209150-365.stm?cmpid=news.xml Mediocre. That seems to be the word used most often to describe this year's football recruiting classes of Pitt and Penn State. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12041/1209155-361-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml For a squad that began the season young and talented, but lacked seasoning, it's been an up-and-down journey for the Peters Township boys basketball team. But knowing that the end of their regular season is finishing with an "up," the Indians might have the right spices to heat up in the postseason. Coach Gary Goga's Indians are back in the WPIAL playoffs after falling short a season ago. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12041/1209157-364-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml Some players chat with friends while others nap virtually the entire time. There is a little homework being done, and a few players might even watch a movie. Every time the State College hockey team plays a PIHL road game, it faces a minimum two-hour bus ride. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12041/1209159-361-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml Danny Savulchak isn't much for small talk. But Savulchak, a 6-foot-4 junior forward on the North Catholic High School boys basketball team, more than makes up for his reticence with a dominating style of play that has opposing coaches and players talking. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12041/1209160-361-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml If there's one thing the Gateway boys basketball team won't have to worry about come playoff time, it is playing on the road. The Gators have traveled just about every plane, train and automobile path imaginable this season. Besides going west to play St. Vincent-St. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12041/1209163-364-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml Boe Bonzo is looking forward to a rematch with Tanner Sutton. He will not have to wait long for that to occur and will most likely have more than one opportunity to avenge his only loss to a WPIAL wrestler. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12041/1209170-116-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12041/1209186-109-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml You probably didn't know that Planned Parenthood serves men, too Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12041/1209188-109-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml The code words are flying freely in this year's presidential campaigns Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12041/1209189-109-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml Bluster is not a defense policy Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12041/1209191-361-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml PG Basketball Rankings Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12041/1209192-361-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml Boys Basketball Scoring Leaders Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12041/1209193-361-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml Girls Basketball Scoring Leaders Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12041/1209204-192.stm?cmpid=news.xml Experience is said to be the best teacher, but advice from experts can be quite helpful, too. Unfortunately, when it comes to selection of a new leader for Allegheny County's beleaguered public defender's office, Executive Rich Fitzgerald seems to be disregarding knowledgeable counsel. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12041/1209205-192.stm?cmpid=news.xml Pittsburgh has a formidable reputation in the arts that runs through music, dance, visual art and letters. With major home-grown talents like playwright August Wilson, jazz legend Billy Strayhorn and photographer Teenie Harris, among others, a key facet of that excellence emerged from African-American households. This rich history deserves to be not only understood but also appreciated. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12041/1209206-192.stm?cmpid=news.xml All the trouble in the Middle East that has come in the wake of the Arab Spring should be a clear signal to the United States, which has its own problems, to resist becoming involved in further warfare there. The wave of change that arrived last spring, starting with the revolution in Tunisia that triggered the fall of a long-standing dictator, was bright and inspiring. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12041/1209207-110-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml I am a Port Authority transit rider and I am very concerned about the upcoming cuts. These cuts are the most drastic ever! A cut of 35 percent means reduced or eliminated service affecting the most vulnerable citizens of our great city. For example, I like to ride buses after 10 p.m. many nights. Guess what? I will have to come home earlier or face being stuck somewhere. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12041/1209212-67.stm?cmpid=news.xml Carnegie Mellon University station WRCT-FM (88.3) will air its Massive Music Weekend -- a 60-hour marathon of nonstop music -- starting at noon today. Each half hour of the weekend is devoted to one band or artist. The showcased music comes from all genres and eras, and from all points across the music spectrum. Massive Music Weekend runs from noon today to 12:01 a.m. Monday. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12041/1209213-120.stm?cmpid=news.xml Editor's note: "Shame" was not previewed for critics in Pittsburgh. Eye contact is how it begins -- a shared glance on the subway, maybe followed by a smile but always cranked up from a glance to a penetrating stare. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12041/1209214-120-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml A Pakistani woman named Zakia, weary of a husband who was an abusive drug addict and alcoholic, went to court to divorce him. "So you want to divorce me? I'll make a spectacle out of you for the world to see," he said, right before he threw battery acid in her face. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12041/1209215-121.stm?cmpid=news.xml The Post-Gazette reviews movies from a family perspective: Rated: PG-13. Suitable for: Mature tweens and older. What you should know: Rachel McAdams and Channing Tatum play young marrieds in Chicago. When their car is slammed from behind, the wife is ejected through the front windshield. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12041/1209216-388.stm?cmpid=news.xml Mac Miller is up for two honors at the 2012 mtvU Woodie Awards, one of which will pit him against hip-hop legends Jay-Z & Kanye West. The Pittsburgh party rapper, who topped the Billboard charts last fall, is up for Woodie of the Year against the likes of the Black Keys and Foster the People, and the Performing Woodie, against Kanye/Jay, Skrillex and others. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12041/1209217-120.stm?cmpid=news.xml From Renaissance cameos to cinematic ones, the art of the miniature is a many-splendored thing. Shorts in film -- as in underwear -- are expected to contain something animated or organically active. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12041/1209218-67-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml "Comic Book Men" (10 p.m. Sunday, AMC), set inside film director Kevin Smith's New Jersey comics and collectibles store, struggles to find a raison d'etre in its premiere episode. Unlike so many of the dirty job shows on TV ("Deadliest Catch," "Bering Sea Gold," etc.), this docu-series does not feature guys at work in a dangerous setting. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12041/1209219-388.stm?cmpid=news.xml Tune your strings, warm up your chops and turn on your camera: The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra is taking video submissions for a competition on YouTube. While its predecessor is clearly the YouTube Symphony Orchestra, which assembled an entire orchestra through uploaded auditions, the PSO Concerto Competition will put one winner on stage with a major world orchestra. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12041/1209220-120.stm?cmpid=news.xml "You crushed my windpipe," the raspy-voiced CIA operative reminds his prisoner. "You locked me in the trunk," he counters, as if one excuses the other in "Safe House." Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12041/1209221-60.stm?cmpid=news.xml You know how Jar-Jar Binks' eyes pop up out of his head? That was from watching too many 3-D movies back on planet Naboo. So, be forewarned. George Lucas has done a stereoscopic retrofit of his 1999 prequel, "Star Wars: Episode I -- The Phantom Menace," and it's being released in theaters today. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12041/1209222-120.stm?cmpid=news.xml Must have been a false memory planted by previews or TV commercials. I mistakenly thought "The Vow" was a romantic comedy, but it is, in fact, a romantic drama. It shuns silliness and grand, Garry Marshall-style gestures for quieter moments between Rachel McAdams and Channing Tatum. She plays Paige, a sculptor, and he's Leo, owner of a small recording studio in Chicago. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12041/1209223-120.stm?cmpid=news.xml Michael Caine must be a jolly good sport. Some time during the making of "Journey 2: The Mysterious Island," a director had to say to him, "Sir Michael Caine, this is the part when you clamber atop a bee the size of a small plane, hold on tight and pretend to fly over the island." Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12041/1209227-28.stm?cmpid=news.xml Also in today's headlines: Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12041/1209229-28-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml An unlikely animus has developed between two organizations best known by their initials: SEIU and EDMC. Downtown-based Education Management Corp., the subject of a federal lawsuit about recruiting practices and a Senate committee investigation into for-profit schools, is no stranger to scrutiny. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12041/1209230-28-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml J.P. Morgan was alleged to have been talking about yachts when he uttered his well-known financial axiom -- "If you have to ask the price, you can't afford it" -- but the same is true of MRI machines and CT scanners. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12041/1209231-53.stm?cmpid=news.xml A developer won clearance Thursday to demolish part of the Strip District's historic produce terminal as part of a broader redevelopment that proponents saw as visionary and one opponent described as "an Olive Garden." Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12041/1209233-28.stm?cmpid=news.xml Six months into its current fiscal year, the West Penn Allegheny Health System has lost $55.9 million -- including $34.1 million from September through December -- as the financially ailing system continues to experience drops in patient volume and revenue. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12041/1209235-136-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml Twenty months later, Dustin Johnson finally hit the drive he wanted at Pebble Beach. Ten years later, Tiger Woods must have wondered what kept him away from the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am in California. On a spectacular day of scenery and scoring, Johnson ripped a tee shot on the third hole at Pebble Beach and then pitched in for eagle from 41 yards in front of the green. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12041/1209238-66-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml Todd Haley has been hired, has met with his new colleagues on Mike Tomlin's coaching staff and members of the Steelers front office, and he finally met with the media Thursday. But he still has not talked to the man who makes that offense go, and they likely won't meet until next week. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12041/1209240-294-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml Sandy and I had dated a number of years, and there was no doubt that we loved one another. Nevertheless, every time the subject of marriage came up, she was ready whenever I wasn't and vice versa. The last time this occurred, I had the cold feet, and much to my chagrin, she purchased a Gibsonia townhouse without telling me, which was the cause of several disagreements. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12041/1209241-153-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml When I heard that Karl Rove was offended by a TV ad that ran during the Super Bowl, there was a brief moment of dread when I thought we finally had something in common. I, too, was offended by an ad that ran during the holiest of American high holidays. Alas, Mr. Rove and I were offended by two different ads. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12041/1209245-114.stm?cmpid=news.xml WASHINGTON --The Obama administration issued regulations Thursday requiring health plans to describe what they cover in clear, standardized language understandable to consumers. The regulations are an attempt to implement one of the much-anticiapted consumer protections provisions in the new health care law President Barack Obama signed in March 2010. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12041/1209247-66-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml Todd Haley wasted little time assuring everyone that the Steelers offense he will run will do whatever is necessary to win. If that means throwing the ball like he did when he was the offensive coordinator with the Arizona Cardinals, fine. If that means running the ball like he did in 2 1/2 seasons as coach of the Kansas City Chiefs, that's fine, too. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12041/1209249-122.stm?cmpid=news.xml Magazine distributor Robert B. Cohen, who built the Hudson News chain of newsstands from one store at New York's LaGuardia Airport and changed the way travelers spend their downtime, has died at age 86. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12041/1209252-82.stm?cmpid=news.xml CAIRO -- The Muslim Brotherhood on Thursday demanded that Egypt's military rulers cede control of the government, stepping closer to a long-anticipated confrontation between the ruling generals and the Islamist-dominated Parliament. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12041/1209254-82-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml BERLIN -- Stuck between looming bankruptcy and a flat-lined economy, Greek politicians agreed Thursday to make a sweeping series of cuts that they hope will secure an international bailout, layering more pain onto what is already a deep recession. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12041/1209255-82.stm?cmpid=news.xml GUADALAJARA, Mexico -- Mexican troops have made a historic seizure of 15 tons of pure methamphetamine in the western state of Jalisco, an amount equivalent to half of all meth seizures worldwide in 2009. The sheer scale of the bust announced late Wednesday in the western state of Jalisco drew expressions of amazement from meth experts. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12041/1209256-84-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml WASHINGTON -- The Obama administration is freeing 10 states from the requirements of No Child Left Behind, responding to complaints from teachers and school administrators across the country that the nation's main education law is outdated and punitive. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12041/1209258-82-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml MADRID -- Spain's Supreme Court on Thursday convicted crusading human rights judge Baltasar Garzon of illegally ordering wiretapping in a corruption case and suspended him from the courts for 11 years. His lawyer told EFE, the Spanish news agency, that Mr. Garzon, 56, felt an understandable "desolation and pain" in being barred from the judiciary, to which he had dedicated his life. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12041/1209259-82-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml BEIRUT -- The embattled Syrian city of Homs remained under siege for a sixth day Thursday with sporadic tank shells ripping into contested neighborhoods, residents throughout the city cowering in their homes and medical supplies dwindling. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12041/1209263-84-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml WASHINGTON -- Conservative activists and Republican attorneys general have launched a series of lawsuits meant to challenge the most muscular provision of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 before a Supreme Court that has signaled it is suspicious of its constitutionality. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12041/1209268-61-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml It was difficult not to notice Simon Despres' pronounced limp as he left Penguins practice Thursday and headed for the training room at Consol Energy Center. The way things have been going for the Penguins the past couple of years, there no doubt were strong concerns for this promising rookie defenseman, who just this week returned to practice as he recovers from a knee injury. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12041/1209269-175-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml Pitt's offensive issues might not have been cured with the return of point guard Tray Woodall after all. The Panthers bungled their way through a 63-51 loss Wednesday night at South Florida, showing little of the offensive efficiency they had displayed in recent games in which Woodall played. Pitt is 4-3 in Big East Conference games with Woodall in the lineup. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12041/1209270-175-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml The Pitt women's basketball team is the youngest in Division I, so it is a not a surprise to many people around the program -- including coach Agnus Berenato -- that the Panthers have gone through some growing pains this season, particularly in Big East Conference play. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12041/1209272-139.stm?cmpid=news.xml AUSTIN, Texas -- As far as Lance Armstrong is concerned, it's all over. The stress, the waiting, the whispers about whether he doped during his stellar cycling career, all of it ended when -- after nearly two years -- federal prosecutors closed an investigation of him last week without bringing any charges. "I'm happy. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12041/1209273-13.stm?cmpid=news.xml Another day, another doping case, another Tour de France result amended. Cycling revisited its scandal-scarred recent history again Thursday when the Court of Arbitration for Sport found a Tour winner guilty of doping for the second time this week. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12041/1209274-450-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml West Liberty University men's basketball coach Jim Crutchfield knew C.J. Hester was a talented perimeter shooter when he was recruiting him out of West Mifflin High School. But there was something Crutchfield did not know about Hester. "I didn't realize he was that good of a rebounder," Crutchfield said. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12041/1209276-275.stm?cmpid=news.xml Dirk Nowitzki and Paul Pierce overcame slow starts to return to the All-Star Game, while lengthy runs ended for Kevin Garnett and Tim Duncan. Nowitzki was chosen to his 11th consecutive All-Star Game, despite his lowest scoring average since his second NBA season. Pierce has come on after a slow start caused by a foot injury and was picked for the 10th time. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12041/1209278-139-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml American League championship series MVP Nelson Cruz agreed Thursday to a $16 million, two-year contract with the Texas Rangers. The deal includes $500,000 in performance bonuses over the two years. With the agreement, negotiated by agents Sam and Seth Levinson, Cruz avoids an arbitration hearing that had been scheduled for next week. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12041/1209283-84-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml WASHINGTON -- The federal government's $25 billion settlement Thursday with banks over fraudulent foreclosure practices begins a long-promised reckoning with the financial industry over its role in the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, officials said. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12041/1209284-84-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml WASHINGTON -- The House passed an ethics bill Thursday that bans lawmakers from using insider information for personal gain, but Republican leaders came under criticism for softening the legislation in a way that some view as beneficial to Wall Street investors. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12041/1209285-449-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml Robert Covington had 17 points and eight rebounds to lead Tennessee State to a 72-68 victory against No. 9 Murray State on Thursday night, handing the Racers their first loss of the season. Isaiah Canaan had 31 points and six rebounds for Murray State (23-1, 11-1 Ohio Valley Conference), which was the final unbeaten men's team in Division I. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12041/1209286-449-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml In Boston College's season filled with lopsided conference losses, the Eagles finally have something positive to focus on despite suffering their school-record 11th consecutive defeat. In what looked like it could be a huge mismatch, the Eagles took No. 5 Duke (20-3, 11-0) to the wire before falling, 71-62, in an Atlantic Coast Conference game. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12041/1209294-503-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml HARRISBURG -- The state Department of Environmental Protection Thursday said it has fined gas driller Chesapeake Appalachia a total of $565,000 for major violations at three Marcellus Shale sites that occurred since 2010, including a well blowout in Bradford County last April that took five days to secure. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12041/1209295-53.stm?cmpid=news.xml Describing the drilling process as environmentally sound, U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu on Thursday championed natural gas production in a city that banned the practice more than a year ago. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12041/1209296-53.stm?cmpid=news.xml Scientists by nature are prone to thinking big, imagining the secrets waiting to be unlocked with the right mix of talent and money. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12041/1209297-55.stm?cmpid=news.xml Tracy and John "Jack" Pavlick pleaded guilty Thursday to involuntary manslaughter, homicide by vehicle and two counts of driving under the influence. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12041/1209300-454-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml An off-duty state trooper was charged with homicide by vehicle while driving under the influence Thursday after police said he crossed into oncoming traffic on an Erie County road, striking a car head-on and killing the driver the previous night. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12041/1209303-61-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml T.J. Oshie scored the only goal in the shootout and relief goaltender Brian Elliott was perfect Thursday night as the St. Louis Blues beat New Jersey, 4-3, at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., to end the Devils' five-game winning streak. Oshie, the first shooter for the Blues, fooled Devils goalie Johan Hedberg with an off-speed shot that trickled through his pads. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12041/1209304-61-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml Penguins coach Dan Bylsma has not divulged his plans for line combinations once center Jordan Staal returns, but one thing is clear: Staal, who could return as early as a home game Saturday afternoon against Winnipeg, will not be part of a reunion party with wingers Tyler Kennedy and Matt Cooke anytime soon. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12041/1209306-364-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml In a game that was moving slow offensively, the North Catholic girls basketball team turned to a Ferrari to earn its biggest win of the season. Tina Ferrari's basket with one second remaining Thursday helped Class A No. 2 North Catholic deal No. 1 Vincentian its first loss, 45-43. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12041/1209309-454-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml The lawyer for jailed Amish sect bishop Sam Mullet says the Justice Department is trying to portray his client as a "mysterious cult leader with supernatural powers" but can't back up its assertions that he's too menacing to be released from custody. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12041/1209310-56.stm?cmpid=news.xml A suspended Braddock police officer awaiting trial on burglary and bribery charges was arraigned Wednesday in another string of crimes in which police said he pressed a prostitute into a sham prostitution sting and stole a shotgun from evidence, among other things. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12041/1209311-53.stm?cmpid=news.xml The Pittsburgh pension fund ended the fourth quarter with a value of about $565.2 million, up about $16.6 million from the third quarter. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12041/1209312-55.stm?cmpid=news.xml Allegheny County sheriff's deputies on Wednesday arrested a man wanted in connection with a shooting at a Sweet 16 birthday party that left one teen dead and seven others wounded in Duquesne. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12041/1209326-96-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml SAN FRANCISCO -- Google is developing a home entertainment device, according to people with knowledge of the company's plans, in a move that would bring it more broadly into consumer electronics. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12041/1209327-96-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml Some people are born flirts. For everyone else, a pocket-size Cyrano de Bergerac awaits. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12041/1209328-96-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml When I was growing up, my parents had a 20-inch Sony Trinitron television. There was a 25-inch model, but having a TV that big seemed vulgar. When I would ask my father why he didn't splash out for the bigger set, he would say, "Who am I, George Lucas?" Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12041/1209329-96-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml BERLIN -- Nokia, the biggest maker of mobile phones by volume, said Wednesday that it would eliminate 4,000 manufacturing jobs, or 7 percent of its global work force, as it moved to streamline operations and save money from its production of smartphones. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12041/1209330-115-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml Janice Voss, a space shuttle astronaut and scientist who explored the behavior of fire in weightlessness, how plants adapt to extraterrestrial flight and an array of other phenomena while logging nearly 19 million miles circling Earth, died on Monday at a hospital in Scottsdale, Ariz. She was 55 and lived in Houston. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12041/1209331-115-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml SAN DIEGO -- Almost hidden in the northern hills, the pilot water treatment plant here does not seem a harbinger of revolution. It cost $13 million, uses long-established technologies and produces a million gallons a day. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12041/1209332-30-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml NAPLES -- When Gino Di Mare and Alberto Billeri bought a small apartment in the dilapidated Quartieri Spagnoli district of Naples six years ago, they were betting on improvements to a neighborhood notorious for dirty streets and petty crime. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12041/1209333-30-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml NORTH ELMHAM, ENGLAND -- When the current owners first saw the Chapel, a former church in a secluded setting in the eastern county of Norfolk, it was filled with pigs. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12041/1209334-47.stm?cmpid=news.xml When the French designer Christophe Pillet created the interiors for Hotel Sezz, in St.-Tropez, which opened in 2010, he focused on simple pleasures. "What are the best, strongest emotions when you talk about vacation?" Mr. Pillet asked. "You have, for example, the smell of your skin when you're sunburned, the noise of the waves and the shadows of the trees that come inside your room." Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12041/1209335-47-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml DURHAM, N.C. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12041/1209336-47-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml The home renovator is well served on the iPad and iPhone, with apps that do everything from measure square footage to provide information on more than 150 kinds of wood. But what about the architecture geek, who longs to spend hours scrolling through the blueprints of a Case Study House? Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12041/1209337-47-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml Q. How can I make my front porch more appealing to buyers? Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12041/1209338-84-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml When after much internal debate the Obama administration finally announced its decision to require religiously affiliated hospitals and universities to cover birth control in their insurance plans, the nation's Roman Catholic bishops were fully prepared for battle. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12041/1209339-84-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml WASHINGTON -- Reflecting the steady but glacial evolution of the role of American women in war, the Pentagon took a small step Thursday and announced that women would be formally permitted in crucial and dangerous jobs closer to the front lines. But it stopped short of officially allowing women to serve in combat. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12041/1209340-84-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml PLANO, Tex. -- A crowd of well-wishers and autograph-seekers surrounded Rick Santorum at an event hall here this week. The place was packed; dozens of men, women and children stranded outside stood in the cold just to catch a glimpse of him. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12041/1209341-84.stm?cmpid=news.xml The Pennsylvania House narrowly approved legislation on Wednesday that would authorize a tax on the natural gas industry in exchange for limiting the control that municipalities would have over where companies could drill. Lawmakers approved the legislation 101 to 90, according to State Representative Jesse J. White, a Democrat who voted against the bill, known as House Bill 1950. It now goes to Gov. Tom Corbett, who said Wednesday in a statement that he would sign it. The bill's supporters say it will brin Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12041/1209342-298-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml WASHINGTON -- Education was historically considered a great equalizer in American society, capable of lifting less advantaged children and improving their chances for success as adults. But a body of recently published scholarship suggests that the achievement gap between rich and poor children is widening, a development that threatens to dilute education's leveling effects. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12041/1209343-298-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml A decade after the No Child Left Behind law rewrote the nation's education policies, President Obama freed 10 states from some of its crucial provisions on Thursday, including a deadline for bringing all students to proficiency in reading and math by 2014. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12041/1209344-298-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml BELL, Calif. -- When thieves broke into the high school music room here this week, they cut through the bolts on all the storage lockers and ripped two doors off their frames. But they didn't touch the computer or the projector or even the trumpets. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12041/1209345-298-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml The rapid growth of Latino and other immigrant populations in Chicago's suburbs is outstripping the ability of public schools to provide bilingual programs mandated by Illinois, and government financing for the programs is shrinking, state records show. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209277-55.stm?cmpid=news.xml A 22-year-old South Connellsville man was arrested today on charges that he asked a 12-year-old girl to send him a naked photo of herself last month. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 23:07:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209271-100.stm?cmpid=news.xml West Virginia and the Big East reached a settlement Thursday night, agreeing verbally to a deal that lets the Mountaineers leave the conference to join the Big 12 by July 1, multiple sources with knowledge of the situation told the Post-Gazette. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 22:56:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209236-100.stm?cmpid=news.xml A North Side man charged with sexually assaulting a teenager was in the Allegheny County Jail tonight after deputies spotted him in a Braddock home hours after he ditched his trial. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 21:40:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209234-100.stm?cmpid=news.xml Allegheny County sheriff's deputies arrested a Pittsburgh man wanted in connection with an Ohio shooting after they found him hiding under clothing in a Hill District home this morning. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 21:35:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209226-447-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml Thu, 9 Feb 2012 20:06:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209055-176-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml The Santorum campaign woke up Wednesday surveying a broader political map than the one it saw before Tuesday's trio of upsets that sent the latest tremor through the predictably unpredictable Republican presidential nomination battle. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 18:30:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209184-100.stm?cmpid=news.xml Todd Haley has been hired, met with his new colleagues on Mike Tomlin's coaching staff, with members of the front office and finally with the media at noon today. Another Steelers employee was looking forward this morning to his first meeting with the new offensive coordinator: Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 18:30:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209203-100.stm?cmpid=news.xml A Johnstown man was arrested in Maryland today after police said he accidentally gave his girlfriend a fatal dose of methadone while she was being treated in an Indiana County hospital this summer. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 17:42:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209202-100.stm?cmpid=news.xml Tax preparer Larry E. Snow pleaded guilty today to one count of a 40-count indictment that accused him of claiming fictitious deductions on his clients' returns. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 16:46:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209190-100.stm?cmpid=news.xml A central figure in a Mon Valley-focused cocaine ring was sentenced today to 21 years and 10 months in prison. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 16:25:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209181-100.stm?cmpid=news.xml Allegheny County homicide detectives are investigating the death of a man whose body was found in the woods behind a West Mifflin apartment building by officers who were searching for a missing man. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 15:51:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209019-53.stm?cmpid=news.xml A crisp romaine salad with chicken or tofu and Kraft Creamy Italian dressing led the menu Wednesday. Scattered around the tray were raw carrots, cooked corn and peas, an apple and a whole wheat roll. The drink of the hour was milk -- skim, 1 percent or soy. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 15:44:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209185-100.stm?cmpid=news.xml West Penn Allegheny Health System lost $55.9 million in the first six months of its current fiscal year that ends June 30, including $34.1 million from September through December of 2011. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 15:11:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209183-100.stm?cmpid=news.xml A Bethel Park man pleaded guilty today to homicide by vehicle and involuntary manslaughter in the death of his ex-girlfriend's husband. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 14:28:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209182-100.stm?cmpid=news.xml Pittsburgh's pension fund ended the fourth quarter with a value of about $565.2 million, up about $16.6 million from the third quarter. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 14:26:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208992-388-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml Thu, 9 Feb 2012 14:25:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209178-100-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml Todd Haley orchestrated one of the best and most dangerous passing games in the National Football League when he was the offensive coordinator with the Arizona Cardinals. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 14:11:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209180-100.stm?cmpid=news.xml The University of Pittsburgh announced today that a center within its Swanson School of Engineering is receiving a $22 million gift from the Richard King Mellon Foundation. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 14:11:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208897-56-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml As Valentine's Day approaches, we are reminded by some who know best that the expression of love doesn't come in a box of chocolates, a greeting card or red roses. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 13:57:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209179-388.stm?cmpid=news.xml Tune your strings, warm up your chops and turn on your camera: The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra is taking video submissions for a competition on YouTube. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 13:41:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209177-100.stm?cmpid=news.xml Penguins coach Dan Bylsma said today that winger Tyler Kennedy has been diagnosed with a high ankle sprain that will keep him out of the lineup four to six weeks, although he added that the time frame will become clearer moving forward. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 13:33:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209129-100.stm?cmpid=news.xml A man was killed early today when his SUV crashed into a boom truck on the McKees Rocks Bridge, shutting it down for about three hours. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 13:32:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209176-100.stm?cmpid=news.xml HARRISBURG -- The state Department of Environmental Protection has issued a $565,000 fine to gas driller Chesapeake Appalachia over violations at three of the company's sites last year, including its Bradford County well blowout. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 13:12:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208847-34-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml Culinary historian Michael Twitty's love affair with his ancestors' cuisine sprouted early. By age 5, the Washington, D.C., native was his family's Official Taster; as a tween, he'd become so skilled at shucking, cutting, mixing and seasoning that he was cooking dinner -- from scratch -- a couple nights a week. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 12:41:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208846-34.stm?cmpid=news.xml Ah, Valentine's Day. Ah, my skewered heart. A spicy heart kebab is surely a dish to set before any beloved brave enough to try it. It also is a fast and flavorful way to get on board with eating more of the animal than the easy parts. So when Kevin Costa of Crested Duck Charcuterie offered me the heart of a cow he was butchering, it was a challenge. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 12:32:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208845-389-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml A new Pennsylvania-based business is shipping cases of craft beer direct from breweries around the country to consumers, including consumers here in Pennsylvania. We just can't get any beer from the several Pennsylvania brewers who've already signed on to the service. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 12:26:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209175-100.stm?cmpid=news.xml A Butler County man being sought by police shot and killed himself in his car this morning after being cornered by troopers. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 12:02:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208877-361-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml It is that time of year again. No, it's not the time of year to pack the Christmas decorations away in the attic. That doesn't happen until April. It's time to lend a helping hand to the WPIAL Basketball Steering Committee as it gets ready for the league's version of March Madness. Frantic February, a.k.a. the WPIAL basketball playoffs, will tip-off next week. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 11:57:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208850-34.stm?cmpid=news.xml Brown Dog Java at the Pittsburgh Public Market in the Strip District is not shy when it comes to flavored coffees. Before starting Brown Dog, Steve Moore worked nearly two decades for Arbuckles, where he was the primary flavor developer. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 11:56:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209002-456.stm?cmpid=news.xml Thu, 9 Feb 2012 11:47:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208910-388.stm?cmpid=news.xml Is it true that Adele's appeal crosses all boundaries? We thought we'd ask some Pittsburgh musicians of different stripes. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 11:44:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208911-388.stm?cmpid=news.xml 1981 Golden-voiced newcomer Christopher Cross became the only artist to sweep the general field, winning Record of the Year ("Sailing"), Album of the Year ("Christopher Cross"), Song of the Year ("Sailing") and Best New Artist. Those were the first and last Grammys he ever won. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 11:43:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208909-388-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml Here in the highly opinionated 21st century, we find ourselves in a divisive mood about so many things -- the economy, taxes, health care, the Super Bowl halftime show. But it seems there are a few things we can agree upon: Blue skies are nice, ice cream is good, puppies are cute, and Adele can sing her behind off. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 11:39:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209174-100.stm?cmpid=news.xml A section of Castle Shannon Boulevard likely will remain closed until early afternoon after a garbage truck hit a utility pole. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 11:36:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209165-361.stm?cmpid=news.xml Basketball Box Scores Thu, 9 Feb 2012 11:28:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208921-54.stm?cmpid=news.xml Two North Hills towns will receive an infusion of more than $800,000 in state economic development grants. On behalf of Harmar, the Allegheny Valley North Council of Governments was awarded $500,000 toward the cost of realigning the Rich Hill Road intersection with Route 910. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 11:25:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208854-34.stm?cmpid=news.xml My grandchildren, Mason and Chloe Spikula of Mt. Lebanon, love Nutella, and we took this picture of them in the food hall of Le Bon Marche in Paris last April with 5-kilo containers of this yummy stuff -- Nutella heaven! Thu, 9 Feb 2012 11:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208861-120.stm?cmpid=news.xml "Sing Your Song" doubles as a 105-minute argument for Harry Belafonte to receive Oscar's Jean Hersholt Award for his humanitarian work. It's a celebratory look at an entertainer who was the first artist to sell more than 1 million albums but who also became a partner in the struggle for civil rights alongside Martin Luther King Jr. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 10:55:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208888-55-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml For most moms, few moments are more cherished than snuggling up with their child to read a favorite children's book before bedtime. But local moms Beth Arnstein and Kelly Ehasz are doing more than just making priceless memories -- each decided to write her own children's book and enter a contest to get her work published. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 10:48:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209018-294-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml As an under-5-foot tall, 77-year-old senior citizen, I would like to thank all the shoppers at Shop 'n Save in South Fayette and the Giant Eagle at Chartiers Valley Shopping Center who help me reach things on top shelves. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 10:46:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208937-57-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml More than 100 residents of Bridgeville and Upper St. Clair sandwiched into a public hearing Monday in Upper St. Clair to object to a planned residential development at the site of the Bedner family farm off Cook School Road. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 10:36:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208858-325.stm?cmpid=news.xml "Elder Hostages," a trilogy of one-acts tells the stories of people coping with the indignities of aging, takes the stage for its first full production after an acclaimed reading in 2010. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 10:35:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208959-55-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml Childhood obesity carries with it more than extra pounds. Ask Adrian Crouch. "There were a couple of periods in my life when I didn't want to continue with my life," Ms. Crouch recalled of the taunting by her peers, her low self-esteem and the emotional lows that plagued her youth. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 10:31:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208960-55-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml Organizers of the 37th Pittsburgh Antiques Show are offering patrons a chance to view a glass exhibit that focuses on a topic that's rarely addressed in glass collecting: women. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 10:28:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209133-100.stm?cmpid=news.xml An off-duty state trooper based in the Pittsburgh barracks was arraigned this morning on a charge of homicide by vehicle while driving under the influence after state police said he crossed into oncoming traffic on an Erie County road Wednesday night, striking a car head-on and killing the driver. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 10:24:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208892-56.stm?cmpid=news.xml Aaron Narvol was barely above the legal drinking age when he found himself on the front lines in Okinawa, Japan, during World War II, surrounded by enemy gunfire, trying to save a friend and fellow Army sergeant. His friend was shot first. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 10:23:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208918-56-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml William R. Lightcap Jr. knew his way around flea markets and antique shops. He had collected paper items and furniture and even manned a few booths. But a visit with Paul Warhola, brother of famed artist Andy Warhol, opened a new world of possibility. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 10:20:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208929-57-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml Officials from McKees Rocks and its community development corporation are hoping that an additional $4 million in state grants and loans will spur development of the abandoned Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad yard, making it once again the economic hub of the community. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 10:18:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208938-57-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml Evelyn Novak of Kennedy took home her treasures for $1.99 each. "I collect salt and pepper shakers, and I don't have cabbages," she said, grasping two green, vegetable-shaped curios in the checkout line of the recently opened Goodwill Store and Donation Center in Robinson. Happy with her bargain, she planned to add the shakers to her 125-pair collection. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 10:14:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208936-57-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml When Quaker Valley High School sophomore Josh Billings of Sewickley first started thinking about his personal project required for graduation, his thinking went along the same lines as most of his classmates -- something small and quick to fulfill the requirement. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 10:10:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208952-54-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml Two Mars Area High School sophomores are proving that you are never too young to start your own business. T.J. Pieffer, 15, of Mars, is the star of a weekly show, "Teej Tuesday," which he broadcasts on YouTube. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 10:08:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208976-54-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml A new trail will allow people to walk from Marshall to Cranberry. Marshall will receive a $240,000 grant from the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources' Community Conservation Partnerships Program to develop the Brush Creek Trail. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 10:05:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208906-57-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml For a girl who came of age in a small town loving baseball, Sally O'Leary grew up to have the perfect job -- a public relations assistant for the Pirates. Ms. O'Leary loves the Pirates so much that, although she is retired from her daily job with the club, she really isn't retired. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 10:03:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209132-53.stm?cmpid=news.xml A team of more than 60 Allegheny County sheriff's deputies found no protesters when it converged on the abandoned Occupy Pittsburgh encampment on Mellon Green early this morning to search the park. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 09:16:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209131-122-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml Nearly every week of his adult life, the Rev. Ed DeLair wrote notes. The Rev. Betty Angelini, executive director of the Crestfield Camp & Conference Center in Slippery Rock, got one recently, in which Rev. DeLair told her that God had called her to raise enough money for camp improvements. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 09:08:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209130-100.stm?cmpid=news.xml The Boston Bridge linking Versailles and Elizabeth Township will be reduced to alternating one-way traffic. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 08:35:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209068-361.stm?cmpid=news.xml Brentwood High School officials have not found any credence to charges by Monessen's boys basketball team that Brentwood students and players used racial slurs toward Monessen in a game Friday. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 07:53:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209122-57.stm?cmpid=news.xml News briefs from the West suburban area: Thu, 9 Feb 2012 07:44:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209119-55-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml News briefs from the South suburban area: Thu, 9 Feb 2012 07:43:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209121-54-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml News briefs from the North suburban area: Thu, 9 Feb 2012 07:40:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209120-56-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml News briefs from the East suburban area: Thu, 9 Feb 2012 07:38:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208986-57.stm?cmpid=news.xml Crafton -- Crafton Public Library, 140 Bradford Ave., will hold a Valentine's party for children age 3 to first grade from 10:30 a.m. to noon Saturday. Information: 412-922-6877. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 07:29:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208890-55-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml Washington -- Washington Festival Chorale will present its Songs of the Heart concert and meal starting at 1 p.m. Feb. 19 at the Washington Elks Lodge, 138 E. Maiden St. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 07:27:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209128-56.stm?cmpid=news.xml Greensburg -- The Academy of Music of the Westmoreland Symphony Orchestra is holding the following classes at the Greensburg Garden & Civic Center, 951 Old Salem Road, except where indicated. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 07:23:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209127-54-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml McCandless -- The Sisters of Divine Providence will be host to the third annual Busy Women Cultivating Inner Peace Breakfast from 7 to 9 a.m. Feb. 21 at Kearns Spirituality Center, 9000 Babcock Blvd. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 07:18:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209022-53.stm?cmpid=news.xml Port Authority is accepting public comments on its proposed service cuts and fare increases. A form for making comments is available on the authority's website, www.portauthority.org, at the "Proposed Service Cuts" banner. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 06:41:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209024-53.stm?cmpid=news.xml A three-judge panel of the state Commonwealth Court on Wednesday upheld the legality of Allegheny County's drink tax. The tax was passed by Allegheny County Council on Dec. 4, 2007, and immediately came under fire by local restaurants and patrons. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 06:40:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209048-175-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml Pitt coach Jamie Dixon knew dealing with South Florida's size would be a challenge for his team. But Dixon could not have figured the Bulls would shut his team down Wednesday night in the manner they did. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 06:36:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209030-454-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml HARRISBURG -- A sweeping overhaul of the state's gas-drilling regulations, including restrictions on local zoning rules and a new fee on those companies, now awaits Gov. Tom Corbett's signature. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 06:27:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209126-100.stm?cmpid=news.xml Committee members Randy Lott and Robert Rinsma -- former school board members -- and parent Joe DeCrosta presented the findings Wednesday night for the board to consider as they begin to craft a budget for next year. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 06:15:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209125-100.stm?cmpid=news.xml The Pittsburgh chapter of the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties is recognizing Findlay for the township's role in aiding commercial development in the Pittsburgh International Airport corridor and around the Findlay Connector interchange. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 06:08:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209124-100.stm?cmpid=news.xml Forty educators with 965 years combined experience signed up for the North Allegheny School District's early retirement incentive, board members were told Wednesday. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 06:03:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208914-56-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml When gluten-free food was needed by patrons of the South Hills Interfaith Ministries pantry, volunteers had to sift through inventory to find food with the appropriate ingredients. But no more. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 05:41:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208985-57-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml After serving eight years in the state House and eight years in the Pennsylvania Senate, John Pippy, a Republican lawmaker from Moon, said "I think I am going back to the private sector. That's my plan right now." Thu, 9 Feb 2012 05:41:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208898-56-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml Ah, Valentine's Day, a time when love is demonstrated with gifts of flowers, candies, candlelight dinners -- and sometimes even a cherry red sound system or a blushing pink alarm clock. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 05:40:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208981-55-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml Dormont manager Gino Rizza and municipal solicitor Deron Gabriel have resigned. Council President Bill McCartney made the announcement earlier this week. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 05:40:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208885-55.stm?cmpid=news.xml Joyce Ellis, executive director of the LeMoyne Community Center in Washington, believes if children embrace their "dream job" at an early age, "they can have something to cling to." Thu, 9 Feb 2012 05:39:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208886-55-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml When Joyce Ellis was named executive director of the Le-Moyne Community Center in Washington in 2007, the title was a bit misleading. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 05:38:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208958-55-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml Gov. Tom Corbett may not have thought the after-school and summer tutoring program operated by the Clairton City School District for students performing under grade level was important when he cut the funds that supported it in his 2011 budget and maintained that cut in his 2012 budget proposal Tuesday. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 05:36:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208928-57.stm?cmpid=news.xml Two Moon Area High School students won honors at Civics Fair 2011, a collaboration between Greater Pittsburgh Student Voices and the Youth Media Advocacy Project, which is supported by Carlow University and funded by The Heinz Endowments. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 05:33:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208930-57.stm?cmpid=news.xml Cornell will receive $150,000 in the first year of a three-year 21st Century Community Learning Centers grant from the state education department. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 05:33:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208935-57-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml The Moon parks and recreation department will begin accepting reservations for shelters in Moon Park at 9 a.m. Monday in the municipal building. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 05:32:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208927-57.stm?cmpid=news.xml With the opening of seven Bottom Dollar Food stores throughout the region Jan. 26 and several more opening today, many McKees Rocks residents look at the empty Foodland building on Chartiers Avenue and wonder what happened to the grocery store that was promised to them last summer. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 05:30:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208939-57-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml A Montour educator has been selected as a Robinson commissioner. Bobbie Cegelski, the gifted services coordinator for the Montour School District, was chosen Monday to replace Stephanie Triko, who resigned Jan. 23. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 05:30:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208926-57-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml Police news from the West suburban area: Thu, 9 Feb 2012 05:26:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208974-54.stm?cmpid=news.xml Suvir Mirchandani of O'Hara was a recent winner in the Pittsburgh Civic Orchestra Young Artist Competition. He played Kabalevsky's Piano Concerto No. 3, Op 50 ("Youth"), 1st Movement with the Pittsburgh Civic Orchestra. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 05:23:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208975-54.stm?cmpid=news.xml Fox Chapel Area: A community blood drive will be held from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. today in the high school large group instruction room, 611 Field Club Road, O'Hara. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 05:22:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208951-54.stm?cmpid=news.xml Chelynne Curci has long been an advocate for her hometown of Butler, even before she was hired as the Main Street manager to lead Butler Downtown, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the city's revitalization. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 05:21:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208953-54.stm?cmpid=news.xml Seneca Valley School District administrators are working on a policy to better protect students and employees who have food allergies. Assistant superintendent Jeffrey Fuller said 193 pupils and several staff members in the district have serious allergies. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 05:21:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208972-54.stm?cmpid=news.xml Faced with the prospect of having to invest millions of dollars to upgrade its municipal water plant, Evans City is buying water from Pennsylvania American Water. The spigot was turned on Feb. 1. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 05:20:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208950-54-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml She doesn't just post to Cranberry's Facebook page. Cindy Marzock, the township's social media guru, posts to four municipal Facebook pages -- and that does not include a fifth site operated by the public library. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 05:19:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208920-56-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml For a while, classical music performed by three members of the Sakai family frequently filled their house in Wilkins. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 05:12:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208895-56.stm?cmpid=news.xml Wilkins commissioners last month approved a resolution opposing state legislation that would limit municipalities' ability to restrict Marcellus Shale gas drilling. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 05:07:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208894-56-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml The success of flights from Arnold Palmer Regional Airport near Latrobe to Florida and South Carolina has persuaded Spirit Airlines to add a daily flight to Orlando, Fla., beginning in May. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 05:05:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208917-56.stm?cmpid=news.xml Gabe Monzo, executive director of Arnold Palmer Regional Airport, thinks the number of annual passengers using the airport could triple with new flights to Orlando, Fla. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 05:04:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209123-151-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml We've all heard of, if not ventured across, the soda/pop divide. In Pittsburgh, we're close enough that it's a day trip and doesn't even require the wagon trains of old. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 04:59:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208827-361-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml When he was playing point guard at Point Park University, Gavin Prosser was running the top scoring offense in the nation. Now that he is running the girls basketball team at Baldwin High School, Prosser is bringing the same basic concepts from his playing days at Point Park to his first head coaching stint at his other alma mater. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208828-364-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml Carrick hockey is back. After three-and-a-half years of mediocre play, Carrick has played like the PIHL Open Class power it was throughout much of the previous decade. The team carries a five-game winning streak into a game at Keystone Oaks Friday. That followed starts of 2-5 and 5-7 to the season and three consecutive non-winning seasons from 2008-09 to 2010-11. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208829-361-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml Designations and labels are impressive and easy to come by when discussing the Monessen High School boys basketball team. Defending WPIAL champions. Undefeated section champions. No. 2-ranked team in Class AA, according to the Post-Gazette. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208830-361-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml For Clairton, a slow start to the season is nothing new ... neither is a red-hot finish. The Bears (11-6, 8-1) opened the season 3-5, but have won eight of nine since then. They'll go into Friday's game against Serra Catholic with a chance at their first section title since 2009 -- well, at least a share of the title. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208832-364.stm?cmpid=news.xml When it's time to begin the scholastic swimming season each November, Morgan Fink plays catch-up with her peers. Fink played soccer in the fall during her freshman and sophomore years at South Fayette while most of her teammates and competitors were swimming on club teams. This season Fink made the difficult decision to quit playing soccer and focus solely on swimming. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208834-364-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml Cody Wiercioch spent most of Saturday's WPIAL Class AAA team title match at Chartiers Valley High School relaxing and enjoying the show put on by his Canon-McMillan teammates. "I love being up first," said Wiercioch, referring to the fact that the Big Macs title match with North Allegheny began at the 170-pound weight class. "It allowed me to sit back and enjoy the rest of the match. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208835-361-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml Last June, Karly Mellinger found herself playing basketball in the University of North Carolina's famous Dean E. Smith Center, aka "The Dean Dome." She was attending Carolina's Finest Team Camp with her Greensburg Central Catholic teammates, and the Centurions were battling a quality team from Arizona. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208836-364-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml Conlan Sodrosky, first and foremost, wanted to go out a winner for his senior season as part of the Penn-Trafford High School hockey team. Considering the Warriors long ago clinched a playoff berth and are in the race for the No. 1 seed in the PIHL Class AAA playoffs as the regular season heads into its final month, that appears to have been achieved. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208837-361-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml Entering the season, Woodland Hills coach Mike Decker figured that senior guard Jeremy McMunn would be his team's second-leading scorer. And why not? Behind ultra-athletic big man Shakim Alonzo, McMunn was certainly the Wolverines' biggest scoring threat. He averaged 11.2 points per game last season and looked set to lead a much-improved Woodland Hills squad in Decker's second season. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208840-364.stm?cmpid=news.xml The Allderdice High School wrestling team made history last week by winning the school's first team tournament championship. The Dragons dominated Perry, 63-16, to claim the title. "They celebrated," head coach Mike Shaw said of his team's reaction. "A couple of them -- their eyes got teary." The Dragons had won their school's first City League title in 15 years last Thursday night. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208841-361-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml Central Catholic basketball coach Chuck Crummie has seen plenty of talented players at the boys-only Catholic school on Fifth Avenue in his 32 years as the Vikings coach. He's most pleased with the progress shown by Lincoln Davis, a 6-foot-2 senior guard from Penn Hills, since his freshman year. "When he was a freshman, he didn't understand the need to play hard," Crummie said. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208842-364-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml Jefferson-Morgan coach Scott Rhodes couldn't have summed up Burrell's sixth consecutive WPIAL Class AA title performance any better. "The key thing is that [Burrell] had more in the tank," said Rhodes, after Burrell shocked the top-seeded Rockets, 34-31, in Saturday's WPIAL Class AA title match at Chartiers Valley High School. "They wanted it more than we did." Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208848-34-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml Valentine's Day gift-giving can be tough for the high-school set. A bottle of Champagne or dinner at a fancy, romantic restaurant is most definitely out of the question, and you also don't want your 15-year-old giving, or receiving, an expensive piece of jewelry from a boyfriend or girlfriend. Then again, a card doesn't quite cut it. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208852-46-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml LOS ANGELES -- Ding. Bzzzt. Bap. Beep. That's the sound of conversation in restaurants these days. Where cell phones once posed a nuisance as people chatted loudly into them during meals, smartphones now present a whole new set of etiquette issues as entire tables disappear into the Internet via small glowing screens. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208853-440-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml Munch has taken up running as a way to work off all of the, erm, munching. It's not something Munch really wants to do, but eating a giant bowl of pasta or a french fries-adorned sandwich feels even better when you get out and move around a bit beforehand. It seems like you earned it. Recently, Munch took a run through the Strip District. Let me tell you, friends, this was not a good idea. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208855-106-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml I miss the days when my kids were little and used to devour my cakes and pies. There was nothing left but empty plates. Unless they have have a few grandkids nearby, most baking empty-nesters end up with too much dessert for too few people. I often have this problem because so many of the recipes I test for Kitchen Mailbox are desserts. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208856-388.stm?cmpid=news.xml In recent years, several music acts who originated in the Pittsburgh area have burst onto the national scene, including Christina Aguilera, Wiz Kalifa, Mac Miller and Girl Talk. Far from a new trend, the Steel City's influence on the recording industry can be traced back to the heyday of jazz music in the 1930s-50s. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208857-115.stm?cmpid=news.xml Think of some of the nutrients in your daily vitamins: calcium, potassium, iron, zinc. These are four of the 118 chemical elements from which all matter in the universe is made. But what makes the elements themselves? The answer is shining above you in the sky. Indeed, the building blocks of all substances are chemically created in the stars. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208859-120.stm?cmpid=news.xml It's hard to convey a "creepy vibe" on film and that is what the cast and crew of "The Innkeepers" experienced -- twice, in some cases. When director Ti West was shooting "The House of the Devil" in spring 2008, he and others stayed at the Yankee Pedlar Inn in Torrington, Conn. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208860-120.stm?cmpid=news.xml A quality documentary about the life of Bruce Lee has been both inevitable and a long time coming. Four decades after his death, it has fallen to director Pete McCormack to assemble a portrait of the martial arts icon that is both hagiographic and historically accurate. Fortunately, large slices of Bruce Lee's life took place while cameras were rolling. Mr. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208866-46.stm?cmpid=news.xml Valentine's Day Elements Contemporary Cuisine will offer a full menu for Valentine's dining, along with a four-course prix fixe for $40 per person, which will be available Friday through Feb. 18. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208868-361-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml A nine-game winning streak to start the season was followed by consecutive Section 2-AAA losses for the Hopewell girls' basketball team. A 9-0 Hopewell team was beaten at home, 68-64, by talented New Castle. Four nights later, the Vikings were blown out, 56-38, at Blackhawk. "That first loss to New Castle really took the wind out of our sails," Hopewell coach Jeff Homziak said. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208869-364-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml As someone who shares a ride with Chartiers Valley's Justin Sabilla to Pittsburgh Predators U-18 AAA practices and games, West Allegheny's Jonathan Levitt is afforded a unique perspective on the concept of winning a PIHL classification's individual scoring title. Levitt, with 39 points in 15 games played, ranks third in Class AA. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208870-361-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml Trey Hosack admits he is trying to make up for lost time ... and a not-so-wise decision. Hosack did not play basketball last season for Lincoln Park in Midland. That's because the WPIAL Board of Control ruled him ineligible for athletics when he transferred to Ambridge. The decision was upheld by the PIAA. There went his junior season. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208873-361-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml Justin Gentile remembers that 12 months ago when South Side Beaver High School was playing out the end of the 2010-11 boys basketball season, there were few fond memories. And maybe fewer fans were in the stands. There was little in the way of production on the court to excite spectators. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208875-361-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml With a young team struggling out of the gate and sitting at 0-5 on Dec. 20, outsiders might have told the Mars Area girls' basketball team to start looking forward to next season. The 15 players on the roster and three coaches were not about to consider this a rebuilding year, however, so instead of looking toward next season, they looked toward next year -- as in 2012. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208876-364-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml After a one-year hiatus, the North Hills High School hockey program played its first PIHL varsity-level game in almost 20 months in October. Over the past month, the Indians showed the rest of PIHL Class AA that they truly are back. North Hills experienced some early struggles in its re-entry into area high school hockey following its only winter without a varsity team since 1973. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208878-450-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml April Austin reveled in the many victories of which she was a part while competing at North Catholic High School. That success, which featured WPIAL championships in 2004 and '07 and a berth in the '07 PIAA Class A championship game, proved to be a primer for this 5-foot-6 junior from Penn Hills. Austin is the starting point guard at Point Park University this season. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208879-361-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml Not unlike his team, it is easy for Pine-Richland's Andy Andrle to get lost among the Section 3-AAAA boys basketball crowd. WPIAL Class AAAA's No. 1-ranked team -- Shaler Area -- plays in that section. . The Titans have a Penn State basketball recruit -- Geno Thorpe -- and a Pitt football recruit -- J.P. Holtz -- in their starting lineup. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208881-364-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml There is a lot of guesswork for a swimming coach that goes into choosing events for swimmers at the WPIAL championships. Coaches want to give their swimmers the best chance to succeed and some events are faster than others, depending on the year. A lot of the guess work in Class AAA is trying to figure out what North Allegheny is going to do. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208882-364-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml Jamie Kyriazis competed for North Allegheny's 1988 wrestling team that ranked No. 1 in the country. But that team never participated in a state tournament because the PIAA did not have a team tournament at that time. "We never really thought about a state team tournament back then," said Kyriazis, who was a 112-pound sophomore in '88. "It's too bad we didn't have that chance. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208940-388.stm?cmpid=news.xml Good Morning, Bear Cub Bear Cub, the jangly roots-rock band that relocated from Pittsburgh to Nashville, will release its third album, "Good Morning, Every Morning," at the Rex Theater on March 16 with Gene the Werewolf. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208941-388.stm?cmpid=news.xml Everyone's complaining about how Pittsburgh has a dearth of young people. So, we've got overachievers moving into Google or the medical complexes, but what about the average slacker who would attend an indie rock show on a weekday? Here's a solution: The Philadelphia metro area has probably six times the number of hip 20-somethings that Allegheny County does. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208942-325-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml ALL WEEKEND 'Hattie' on the Horizon New Horizon Theater's "Hi Hat Hattie" stars Shaunyce Omar in a musical biography of Hattie McDaniel, the first African-American to win an Academy Award. The "Gone With the Wind" supporting actress was celebrated by Hollywood for her portrayal of the O'Haras' house servant Mammy, but attacked by the NAACP and others for perpetuating stereotypes. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208948-388.stm?cmpid=news.xml Blind Pilot created a buzz in 2008 when it launched a tour of the West Coast on bicycle, lugging the equipment around on custom trailers. That was when Blind Pilot was a duo. Now, the Portland, Ore., band, a little bigger and farther from home, is rolling across the country in an old school bus. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208949-388-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml Van Halen diehards had to be pinching themselves -- with their fingers firmly crossed -- in anticipation of this one. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208955-120-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml If you wondered -- or worried -- that actress Kristen Stewart lost weight to look so deathly thin in "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn -- Part 1," you can rest easy. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208968-109-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml America must welcome visitors and the jobs they bring Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208969-109-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml What do Rick Santorum and Clint Eastwood have in common? Sorry, Rick, you haven't made it yet as an Eastwood-style make-my-day cultural icon. But in different ways, Messrs. Santorum and Eastwood have demonstrated the limits of both an entirely negative slant on politics and a pessimistic take on America's future. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208970-109.stm?cmpid=news.xml Three years ago, a bill to extend and improve the Children's Health Insurance Program became law. On Feb. 4, 2009, we decided as a nation to protect and invest in the health of our children. Among the Pennsylvanians to whom we owe thanks are Sen. Bob Casey, a Democrat, and Republican Reps. Jim Gerlach, Tim Murphy and Glenn Thompson. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208977-388-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra's 2012-13 season will balance war horses and dark horses. It will feature renowned works of the standard repertoire, such as Beethoven's Symphony No. 9, "Choral," Dvorak's Symphony No. 9, "From the New World," and Brahms' Symphony No. 3; concertos by Rachmaninoff, Grieg, Mozart and Tchaikovsky; and tone poems by Mussorgsky and others. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208978-388-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml 2012-13 BNY MELLON GRAND CLASSICS CONCERTS Sept. 21-23: Manfred Honeck, conductor; Thomas Hampson, baritone. Strauss' Orchestral Songs and Dvorak's Symphony No. 9, "From the New World." Oct. 5-7: Leonard Slatkin, conductor; Olga Kern, piano. Respighi's "Ancient Airs and Dances," Suite No. 3, Schumann's Symphony No. 3 and Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 3. Oct. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208993-192.stm?cmpid=news.xml When the Post-Gazette editorialized Tuesday about the threat of closure to the 911th Airlift Wing, we suggested that the best way to save the base was to make an argument on the military merits of keeping it open. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208994-192.stm?cmpid=news.xml Last year, at his inauguration, Tom Corbett took office with a desire to "unleash a new common prosperity to benefit all Pennsylvanians." Two budget proposals later, it's hard to see how the governor is doing his part. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208995-192.stm?cmpid=news.xml Unless America is visited by biblical plagues -- and maybe not even then -- Rick Santorum, the former Pennsylvania senator and perpetual moral scold, is unlikely to be the next president. But politicians often have a highly inflated opinion of themselves and some voters will always indulge them. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208996-110-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml The editorial "Equitable Compromise: Faith-Based Employees Deserve the Same Coverage" (Feb. 3) states that "President Barack Obama has not declared war on the Roman Catholic Church, no matter what the faithful may be hearing in church." As a Catholic, I have to object to the inference that the truth is not heard in the Catholic Church. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208998-28.stm?cmpid=news.xml Also in today's headlines: Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1208999-28-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- Move over, coffee and Red Bull. A Harvard professor thinks the next big thing will be people inhaling their caffeine from a lipstick-sized tube. Critics say the novel product is not without its risks. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209000-28-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml Country singer Toby Keith may be choosing the north over the south. Continental Real Estate Cos. is talking to his representatives about opening a Toby Keith's I Love This Bar and Grill on the North Shore near Heinz Field instead of at the SouthSide Works. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209001-28-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml Mayor Luke Ravenstahl has entered Pittsburgh into a competition to land one of three new satellite locations of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, saying the office would complement the city's history of innovation and fuel efforts to grow the high-tech economy. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209008-122-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml The last veteran of World War I was a waitress, and for 90 years no one knew her name. Florence Green, a member of Britain's Royal Air Force who was afraid of flying, died Saturday in England, two weeks shy of her 111th birthday. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209016-155-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml The Bonusgate scandal is winding down in Harrisburg even as the list of convicted lawmakers grows, but there's still one item that isn't quite resolved: bonuses themselves. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209017-114.stm?cmpid=news.xml LOS ANGELES -- Some things are better left unsaid -- and that includes certain aspects of your medical condition, doctors say. In a nationwide survey of 1,800 physicians, 17 percent had some level of disagreement with the notion that they should "never tell a patient something that is not true." Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209020-114.stm?cmpid=news.xml The amount of trans fat in the American bloodstream fell by more than half after the Food and Drug Administration required food manufacturers to label how much of the unhealthful ingredient is in their products, according to a new study. Blood levels of trans fat declined 58 percent from 2000 to 2008. FDA began requiring trans-fat labeling in 2003. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209021-53.stm?cmpid=news.xml A Port Authority employee who was charged with reselling used bus tickets has pleaded guilty and entered a program for nonviolent first offenders. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209023-455.stm?cmpid=news.xml Two Pittsburgh-area residents and two Floridians filed a lawsuit Monday in U.S. District Court accusing the National Football League of selling them tickets for unfinished seats at last year's Super Bowl XLV. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209025-143.stm?cmpid=news.xml The attorney representing Jerry Sandusky is opposed to having an out-of-county jury hear the criminal sex abuse case against his client. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209026-54.stm?cmpid=news.xml Inbound Route 28 will be down to one lane from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday as Equitable Gas crews disconnect lines between the 31st Street Bridge and the East Ohio Street exit. PennDOT said motorists should expect delays. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209027-143.stm?cmpid=news.xml A group that says it wants to reform Penn State University's board of trustees on Wednesday announced its endorsement of three candidates for the three alumni board seats up for election this spring. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209028-55.stm?cmpid=news.xml Two Mt. Lebanon youth football coaches were found not guilty of disorderly conduct charges related to a post-practice dispute an elementary school in the fall. Mt. Lebanon police cited coaches Jeffrey Borris and Michael Ventrone in September for using threatening language with some youths at a field near Markham Elementary School. The dispute involved a football thrown in nearby woods. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209029-57.stm?cmpid=news.xml Traffic on the inbound Parkway West will be reduced to a single lane from 10 p.m. today to 6 a.m. Friday between Interstate 79 (Exit 64) and Carnegie (Exit 65) while PennDOT crews repair bridge expansion dams. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209031-454-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml State inspectors found 1,178 violations of state environmental regulations at Marcellus Shale gas drilling and development sites in 2011, according to a review released Wednesday by PennEnvironment. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209032-55-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml An Allegheny County Common Pleas judge on Wednesday withheld the verdict in a homicide by vehicle case against an Upper St. Clair man, saying that he was giving more time to both sides to establish the scientific value -- or lack of it -- of the data recorder in the crashed car. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209034-87-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml It's probably just as well that Steelers coach Mike Tomlin won't be available for comment at high noon today when the team rolls out new offensive coordinator Todd Haley for his introductory news conference at its South Side compound. Tomlin will be there -- ostensibly to show his support for the Haley hiring -- but will not take questions. This is supposed to be Haley's day. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209035-136.stm?cmpid=news.xml In what Robert Louis Stevenson called "the most felicitous meeting of land and sea," the sea was winning Wednesday at Pebble Beach. Jimmy Walker stood in the bunker next to the sea wall along the 18th fairway, soaking up the scenery. Every 15 seconds, waves crashed into the rocks and sent a spectacular splash of white surf some 15 feet high. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209037-66.stm?cmpid=news.xml The Jets have maintained Santonio Holmes was going to return next season despite his highly publicized rift with quarterback Mark Sanchez. Since Holmes was on the Jets' roster Wednesday -- two days after the start of the NFL's 2012 waiver wire period -- $7.5 million of the wide receiver's 2013 salary is now fully guaranteed. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209038-66-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml The St. Louis Rams have asked for permission from the Steelers to talk to Omar Khan about their general manager's job. Khan, 35, has been an executive with the Steelers and their chief contract negotiator the past 11 years. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209040-84-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml WASHINGTON -- The Obama administration's new requirement that most health insurance plans provide contraceptive services has exploded into a high-octane political weapon, with combatants on both sides scrambling to score points among the electorate and gin up fundraising from their most ardent supporters. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209041-84-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml Over most of the past decade, budget deliberations in Michigan have taken on a glum and familiar monotony: What do we cut now? But the state that experienced an economic downturn earlier, deeper and longer than most of the rest of the country has made an unlikely discovery as its officials closed out its latest financial books: Michigan has a $457 million surplus. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209042-84-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml WASHINGTON -- Republicans are looking to deny child tax credits to illegal immigrants -- refund checks averaging $1,800 a family -- in an effort that has roused anger among Hispanics and some Democratic lawmakers. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209043-84-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml STEUBENVILLE, Ohio -- Ohio Gov. John Kasich spent much of his first year in office pushing a law to rein in public-employee unions. Now, with voters having shot it down, the 59-year-old Republican is recasting his agenda to include "tough environmental rules" and pleas for bipartisanship. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209044-175.stm?cmpid=news.xml Kris Joseph scored a career-high 29 points, hitting a go-ahead 3-pointer in the final minute of overtime, and No. 2 Syracuse (24-1, 11-1) beat visiting 12th-ranked Georgetown (18-5, 8-4), 64-61, to give coach Jim Boeheim his 880th career win. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209045-449-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml Jeff Withey scored a career-high 25 points and Kansas went ahead to stay during a stretch without Thomas Robinson as the visiting seventh-ranked Jayhawks had another convincing victory against sixth-ranked Baylor, winning, 68-54. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209047-84.stm?cmpid=news.xml ALBANY, N.Y. -- New York and California have agreed to sign the proposed settlement between U.S. states and the nation's biggest mortgage lenders over foreclosure abuses, according to a source close to the negotiations. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209049-175-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml The University of Connecticut has proposed reducing the number of games it will play next season if the NCAA grants a waiver to allow the Huskies to play in the 2013 men's basketball tournament. The school currently is barred from the NCAA tournament, a penalty for years of below-standard academic results, but it requested a waiver last month. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209050-53.stm?cmpid=news.xml A small, lingering contingent of Occupy Pittsburgh protesters marched out of Mellon Green Wednesday -- two days after a court-appointed eviction deadline -- declaring victory and vowing not to let their cause die. The one or two dozen people who had remained in the park left behind damaged tents and a wooden "trojan horse" as a final act of defiance. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209052-142-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml West Virginia has, according to reports, reached a settlement with the Big East to get the conference's contractual 27-month waiting period waived, which paves the way for the school to join the Big 12 starting in the 2012 season. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209053-144.stm?cmpid=news.xml West Virginia is close to reaching a settlement with the Big East. The Mountaineers will pay the conference an $11 million cash settlement to join the Big 12 for the upcoming football season, a source with knowledge of the situation told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209056-63-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml Jose Reyes' hair was sold for a fraction of the price of the entire All-Star shortstop. Five days after Reyes had his dreadlocks cut off on live television to comply with the dress code of the Miami Marlins, the auction for his hair ended with a winning bid of $10,200, the MLB Network said Wednesday. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209058-82-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml CAIRO -- Egypt's government won't back off its criminal investigation of U.S. and other civil society workers even if the United States withdraws financial aid, Egypt's military-appointed prime minister said Wednesday, in a case that could end one of the closest U.S.-Arab alliances. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209059-82-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml WASHINGTON -- Amid mounting tensions over whether Israel will carry out a military strike against Iran's nuclear program, the United States and Israel remain at odds over a fundamental question: Whether Iran's crucial nuclear facilities are about to become impregnable. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209060-82.stm?cmpid=news.xml MOSCOW -- Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin warned Wednesday of a growing "cult of violence" around the world and expressed concern that upheavals in the Middle East could spread to his own country. In an apparent reference to Western governments, Mr. Putin said he was alarmed by what he deemed to be interference in the affairs of sovereign nations, especially Libya and Syria. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209062-82-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml MAFRAQ, Jordan -- Every day, rockets and mortars fired by Syrian government forces rattle the streets of the Syrian city of Homs. Armed rebels ambush government military checkpoints. Hatreds brew on either side of the avenues that divide the bloodstained city. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209065-82-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml TEHRAN -- A former U.S. Marine sentenced to death in his native Iran for spying for the CIA could be saved if the Obama administration would consider a prisoner swap, his Iranian attorney said Wednesday. Amir Mirzaei Hekmati, 28, who was sentenced to be hanged in January, could face execution immediately after an appeals court has reviewed his sentence. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209069-139.stm?cmpid=news.xml Over the next few weeks and months, more runners will take to the streets and gyms to prepare for the Pittsburgh Marathon in May. They'll start slow, going a few miles per day, and ramp up to longer runs as the race draws closer. But there is more to running a marathon than just running. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209070-275-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml Of all the impressive numbers on Tony Parker's stat sheet, perhaps the most eye-popping was zero fouls. Parker scored 37 points, Gary Neal added 18 off the bench and the visiting San Antonio Spurs beat the Philadelphia 76ers, 100-90, in a matchup of division leaders. Tim Duncan had 16 points and 11 rebounds and Tiago Splitter scored 15 for the Southwest Division-leading Spurs. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209072-61-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml A person familiar with the NHL's plan said the Detroit Red Wings will play the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 2013 Winter Classic. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity Wednesday because the league is not expected to announce the matchup until today. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209073-61-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml Drew Miller and Henrik Zetterberg scored in the third period Wednesday night as the Detroit Red Wings extended their home winning streak to 18 games with a 4-2 victory against the Edmonton Oilers. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209074-61-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml Colin McDonald did not know for sure that the Penguins would be sending him back to Wilkes-Barre, and he certainly did not know when it might happen. But he was all too aware that guys in his position, with one skate planted firmly in the American Hockey League, can have their status change at any time. Occasionally, that means they land a spot in the parent club's lineup. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209076-53-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml A 6-year-old boy playing with a lighter inside a Friendship apartment early Wednesday sparked a fire that killed two people and left his own family homeless, investigators said. The boy torched a piece of paper just before 2 a.m. and set it atop a pillow on a couch in his mother's second-floor apartment, one of three units in a converted house in the 100 block of South Graham Street. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209077-488.stm?cmpid=news.xml Allegheny County Health Department spokesman Guillermo Cole says he doesn't think there's an answer as to why, but he's happy to report that the Pittsburgh area's having a mild flu season to date. So far, there have been only five confirmed cases -- one believed to have been contracted by someone when traveling abroad -- with just the rest of February, March and perhaps April to go. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209079-53.stm?cmpid=news.xml A bomb squad was called, Downtown streets were cleared, traffic was stalled, buildings were emptied, an ambulance was dispatched -- all because of a coughing fit. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209080-455-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml The 2008 search of a Western Pennsylvania man's illegal steroid lab led to an international probe that culminated in the guilty pleas Wednesday of two Ukrainians who had boasted to an undercover agent of millions of dollars of sales of muscle-building drugs. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209081-57.stm?cmpid=news.xml A Carnegie man was arrested Wednesday in the death of his girlfriend, who was found stabbed following an argument in the apartment the two shared. Jeffrey A. Maloy, 26, was to be arraigned Wednesday night on a homicide charge in the death of Melissa Bowers, 35. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209084-454.stm?cmpid=news.xml HARRISBURG -- Calling for reductions in state borrowing, the House Republican leader Wednesday proposed cutting by more than half the credit limit for a grant program supporting construction projects. The Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program is authorized to borrow up to $4.05 billion to award grants to economic development projects with cultural, historic or civic significance. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209085-454.stm?cmpid=news.xml A federal judge Wednesday rejected requests by top Republican state lawmakers to prevent April 24 elections from proceeding under existing legislative districts. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209087-142-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml The Big East has acquired all the pieces to build a coast-to-coast conference. Putting them together will take a while. The conference wanted to rebuild into a 12-team football league that can hold a championship game, and Memphis officially became that 12th member Wednesday when it accepted an invite it long has coveted. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209089-169.stm?cmpid=news.xml Robert Morris shut down a late rally by Northeast Conference rival Saint Francis to hold on for a 78-74 win. The Colonials' 11-point, second-half lead was cut to just two by the Red Flash (5-19, 4-7), but Saint Francis could not complete the comeback. Seven Colonials (18-8, 9-4) tallied six or more points led by Lucky Jones and Mike McFadden with 14 points each. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209095-96-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml The ghosts of two doomed antipiracy bills hang over a new and unrelated issue on Capitol Hill: proposed legislation to help secure the nation's nuclear plants, water systems and other essential infrastructure from hackers and terrorists. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209096-96-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml Correction Appended Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209097-96-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml Nabbing the iPhone was a victory for Sprint Nextel, but the blockbuster handset has yet to pay off in profits for the company. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209098-96-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml SAN FRANCISCO -- John T. Chambers, chief executive of Cisco Systems, made one of his classic bombastic predictions Wednesday, claiming that the world's largest maker of computer networking equipment is poised to dominate the construction of cloud computing systems. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209099-96-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml Correction Appended Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209100-115-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml A piece of Mars fell on Morocco in July. But that was just the start of its travels on Earth. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209101-115-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml SAN FRANCISCO -- Venture deep inside the new skyway of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, and it becomes clear that the bridge's engineers have planned for the long term. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209102-30-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml PITTSBURGH Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209103-30-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml DALLAS Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209104-30-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml FOUR-STORY STONE VILLA NEAR DUBROVNIK WITH VIEWS OF THE ADRIATIC SEA Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209105-47.stm?cmpid=news.xml ANDREA PANICO, a jewelry designer, often finds that small-scale treasures grow out of studying larger things. Her company, Pico Design, in Montclair, N.J., makes what she calls "little architecture": earrings, necklaces, bracelets, rings and cuff links inspired by notable buildings and bridges. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209106-47-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml HAMDEN, Conn. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209107-47-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml AS the national unemployment rate starts to fall, signaling a strengthening economy, some bullish Americans may buy something especially sweet for their sweethearts this Valentine's Day. Others who are feeling the economic thaw may spend money on something notoriously expensive, if less romantic, which they have been putting off: a divorce. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209108-47.stm?cmpid=news.xml Bed and table linens, pillows and an assortment of decorative accessories will be up to 75 percent off at Ann Gish, Feb. 11 to 18 (the queen-size quilted coverlet in Irongate, regularly $750, will be $195); 4 West 20th Street (Fifth Avenue), (212) 727-2122, anngish.com. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209109-84-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml WASHINGTON -- The Republican Party may never have been destined to fall in love with Mitt Romney, but even persuading voters to fall in line behind his candidacy is proving far more taxing than he had once hoped. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209110-84-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml WASHINGTON -- With the House poised to take up a major ethics bill, Republican leaders have deleted a provision that would, for the first time, regulate the collection of "political intelligence" from political insiders for the use of hedge funds, mutual funds and other investors. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209111-84-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml WASHINGTON -- Dozens of local and regional construction projects, which the Obama administration did not include in this year's budget, managed to received special financing through money set aside by lawmakers, according to a review of documents issued Wednesday by the Army Corps of Engineers. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209112-84-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml WASHINGTON -- Senator Jon Kyl of Arizona hustled through the Capitol on Wednesday to huddle with fellow Republicans trying to head off the next political train wreck for their party, another crisis over the expiring payroll tax cut. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209113-82-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml WASHINGTON -- Amid mounting tensions over whether Israel will carry out a military strike against Iran's nuclear program, the United States and Israel remain at odds over a fundamental question: whether Iran's crucial nuclear facilities are about to become impregnable. Thu, 9 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12040/1209114-82-0.stm?cmpid=news.xml TRIPOLI, Libya -- As the militiamen saw it, they had the best of intentions. They assaulted another militia at a seaside base here this week to rescue a woman who had been abducted. When the guns fell silent, briefly, the scene that unfolded felt as chaotic as Libya's revolution these days -- a government whose authority extends no further than its offices, militias whose swagger comes from guns far too plentiful and residents whose patience fades with every volley of gunfire that cracks at night. 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