Free Republic

Pa. GOP Voters Quit Gingrich For Santorum By Debra Erdley, PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW February 9, 2012 A Tribune-Review/WPXI-TV poll conducted Feb. 2-6 shows the former senator was gaining strength among Pennsylvania Republicans even before this week's victories in Colorado, Missouri and Minnesota that threaten to shake up the GOP presidential contest. The statewide poll of 500 Republicans showed Santorum's support more than doubled from 14 percent six weeks ago to 30 percent, putting him in a statistical dead heat with former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who increased his support to 29 percent from 18 percent. Santorum's gain was former House Speaker...

Metropolitan Archbishop-elect William C. Skurla of Pittsburgh Washington D.C., Jan 19, 2012 / 05:39 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Benedict XVI has appointed Bishop William C. Skurla to be the Metropolitan Archbishop of the Byzantine Archeparchy of Pittsburgh.Bishop Skurla, who currently leads the Eparchy of Passaic, N.J., became the administrator of Pittsburgh after the death of Metropolitan Archbishop Basil M. Schott in June 2010.The appointment was announced by Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, apostolic nuncio to the United States, in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 19. Bishop Skurla was born June 1, 1956 in Duluth, Minn., where he attended both public and...

SHELBURNE, Vt. — Richard Ketchum, a historian, writer and editor who co-founded a magazine about country living and wrote 17 books, has died. He was 89. Ketchum died Thursday at the Wake Robin retirement community in Shelburne. Ketchum wrote 17 books, six of which focused on the American Revolution, including "Saratoga: Turning Point of America's Revolutionary War," and "Winter Soldiers." After moving to Vermont for good in 1974 with his wife, Ketchum co-founded Blair & Ketchum's Country Journal, written for people who had moved to rural areas after growing tired of hectic city and suburban life.

--SNIP-- Miles was beaten nearly to death by three Pittsburgh police officers who say they mistook a bottle of MountainDew in Miles’ pocket for a gun ... The cops claimed they confronted Miles because a neighbor had complained that the music student with no criminal record was skulking about her property. That neighbor denies ever making such a complaint. The cops also say Miles should have known they were cops, and say he’s responsible for his own beating for fleeing them. Miles is suing. Which brings us to the update: In response to a federal civil rights lawsuit filed by...

According to the United States Flag Code, the flag should never be displayed with the union down, unless it's done as a signal of distress. (Video at link)

Occupy Pittsburgh marches, briefly occupies TargetBy Mackenzie Carpenter, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Saturday, December 10, 2011 Nearly 100 supporters of Occupy Pittsburgh entered a Target store in East Liberty Saturday afternoon to protest the company's policy of of hiring part-time instead of full-time workers, staying about 10 minutes before dispersing. Police were on the scene but there were no arrests. The "flash mob" materialized after a rally at the Kingsley Center on East Liberty Boulevard earlier in the day, where speakers inveighed against corporate influence on government. The march and protests come as BNY Mellon says it has asked Occupy Pittsburgh protesters...

PITTSBURGH -- The Occupy Pittsburgh movement is planning a remodeling job for its ongoing encampment. An offshoot of the Occupy Wall Street movement, the group has been camped outside the BNY Mellon Building as part of a protest against a set of issues, including corporate greed and corruption. In a news release, the group said that plans for "Occupy Pittsburgh 2.0" will call for a reconstruction of the site to "re-distribute space more equitably and efficiently, and make the encampment more inviting." The group plans to gather on Dec. 4 from noon until 4 p.m. to create a site plan...

PITTSBURGH -- Five protesters affiliated with Occupy Pittsburgh were arrested Tuesday night outside the David L. Lawrence Convention Center. The protest was held as Halliburton -- the world's second-largest oilfield services corporation -- was hosting a conference for oil and gas industry members inside. "I really wasn't expecting to see anything like this, so I'm not really sure what it's about. It sounds like they're concerned about the environment, which is a fair concern," said convention attendee Blair Woodring, of Custom Alloy Corporation. Police said 100 protesters gathered outside the Convention Center around 6 p.m. Channel 4 Action News' Amber...

PITTSBURGH -- Police said that a group of people dressed in Halloween costumes got into a fight outside of the McDonald's in West View on Saturday. According to police, one person was dressed as Cookie Monster, another as Bert from Sesame Street and a third was dressed as a beer-garden girl. One of the victims told us that he was trying to place an order when the costumed attackers approached his vehicle. The victim said he got out of his car to defend himself and was hit in the head with a high heel.

Occupy Pittsburgh protesters wake to mud, cold, hecklersBy Bill Vidonic, PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW Tuesday, October 18, 2011 One member of Occupy Pittsburgh sleeping in Mellon Green just before 7 a.m. Monday was awakened by a shout: "Get a job!" It was the first day that members of the movement protesting corporate greed and other social problems faced Downtown Pittsburgh's work force en masse since setting up camp in BNY Mellon's park on Saturday. Instead of embracing nature with the sound of crickets and the smell of pine, protesters dealt with the revving of engines and the smell of exhaust fumes. Camping...

PITTSBURGH -- Occupy Pittsburgh says it intends to hold a nonviolent protest march Saturday in Pittsburgh, modeled after the recent Occupy events that have made headlines in New York and several other large cities. The group says its permit for the march is still under review, but the plan is to start at 11:45 a.m. at Freedom Corner in the Hill District and proceed downtown, ending with a rally at the Point State Park fountain. Along the route, marchers intend to stop for brief rallies outside BNY Mellon, Citizens Bank, the former Federal Reserve Building, the Federated Tower, One PNC...

PITTSBURGH -- A person whose job is to enforce underage drinking laws is into custody for drunken driving in downtown Pittsburgh, police said. Overnight, there was an accident at the intersection of Ninth and Penn avenues. Behind the wheel of the car was a woman driving under the influence, according to Channel 11 News reporter Lori Houy. That woman, Houy said, was a Liquor Control Board employer[sic]. The woman’s name has not been released. There’s also no word on what she does for the LCB.

When you have two very well-known colleges, Syracuse and Pittsburgh who have made it official that they are looking at joining the Atlantic Coast Conference in college athletics,(ACC); it marks the death knell of the Big East in college football and most likely, in its other sports, including basketball. What took me by surprised is that it was Syracuse and Pittsburgh, both basketball powerhouses in regards to men’s college basketball and for Syracuse, its men’s college basketball program headed by the legendary head coach Jim Boeheim who lead his team to the NCAA’s men’s college basketball championship in 2003. What...

Mabruk Eshnuk and his 21-year-old son, Malik, lived in Scott Township but returned to Libya to join the rebels fighting the Moammar Gadhafi regime. Both men died Saturday when a mortar struck their vehicle. Yaseen and Mohamud Eshnuk, the sons of Mabruk and the brothers of Malik, said they were struck with sadness at first when an uncle called to tell them what happened, but they soon realized it was a blessing that their father and brother died honorably as martyrs. The brothers said it was always a dream of their father to go back and fight against Gadhafi because...

PITTSBURGH (AP) An Allegheny County Democratic Committeeman has been jailed on charges he stalked, harassed and threatened a Pittsburgh tavern owner with a two-by-four. The owner of Alchemy 'N Ale in Pittsburgh tells city police that 71-year-old Byron Tielsch threatened him at the bar on Saturday. A police spokeswoman did not immediately respond to a request for more information. --snip-- KDKA-TV reports (http://cbsloc.al/puh6ub ) that Tielsch is the father of Steven Tielsch who was convicted of murdering a rabbinical student because he was wearing traditional Orthodox Jewish garb while walking in a Pittsburgh neighborhood in 1986.

Dear Pittsburgh 40 Days for Life family, A good friend and true warrior for the unborn just gave me some bad news yesterday. I want to share it with all of my 40 Days for Life family so we can all be praying. There are dark clouds on the horizon here in Pittsburgh. This friend was looking on Google Earth, over Neville Island, and he noticed a large construction project, which has the name "Planned Parenthood". I checked it out for myself. It is true. It looks like Planned Parenthood is building a new facility (a very large one) on...

A Port Authority bus driver stabbed six times during Downtown rush hour Thursday night in an altercation with an unruly group of passengers remained in stable condition at UPMC Mercy this morning. The driver, age 47, has been with the transit agency since 2006, spokesman Jim Ritchie said. His name has not been released. At around 6 p.m. last night, the driver ejected a group of young men and women from his outbound 67 Monroeville bus at Fifth Avenue and Market Street, after repeatedly telling them to stop disturbing other passengers. A man in the group proceeded to spit and...

The Pirates and the Baltimore Orioles played six World Series games in broad daylight that fall, though daylight in the World Series was later deemed unconstitutional, at least effectively. The '71 Pirates were loud progressives in that area as a team could be in that era. The whites accepted the blacks, who accepted the Latins, who accepted the whites, all of which you knew because they all teased the snot out of each other. Ellis called Robertson Archie Bunker.

Police: Fight Leads To Shots Fired At Boyce Park Wave Pool Police From Monroeville, Allegheny County Respond To Crowded Park POSTED: 5:35 pm EDT June 8, 2011 UPDATED: 8:02 am EDT June 9, 2011 MONROEVILLE, Pa. -- A fight that sent hundreds of people running for cover at a popular Allegheny County wave pool may keep people out of the water on Thursday. Channel 4 Action News is working to learn if Boyce Park Wave Pool will be open on Thursday, after shots were fired at the pool early Wednesday evening. "Everyone just started running. Our kids almost got stomped...

A little more than a week ago, Vice President Joe Biden traveled to fund-raisers in two battleground-state cities, Pittsburgh and Cincinnati. Neither stop included the White House press corps; requests by local media to cover the events were denied by the vice president’s press office. The Democratic National Committee arranged all of the events for the Obama Victory Fund. A number of seasoned political reporters and former White House press-office staffers consider that lack of press coverage to be a dangerous precedent. “It would behoove the Obama administration to keep its promise of transparency even with fund-raisers,” agrees Jeff Brauer,...

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — Police are investigating after a teacher found bags of heroin in the backpack of a 7-year-old student. The incident happened at Quentin Roosevelt Elementary School in Carrick. The school houses grades pre-K to 5. Sources say the 7-year-old kindergarten student cut his finger with a razor blade. His teacher started questioning him and discovered 18 suspected heroin stamp bags in his backpack and locker. Pittsburgh Police brought a drug-sniffing dog into the school Wednesday afternoon to search for heroin that might still be inside the building. No additional drugs were found. Police sources say the boy told...

Police said today that a 17-year-old boy came across a PNC Park usher who was having a heart attack in his car, pulled the man out and onto the ground, went through his pockets and stole his wallet, then drove away in the vehicle, leaving the usher to die in the street.

PITTSBURGH – Here along the Allegheny River in 1753, a young George Washington, clad in a woolen match coat and accompanied by guide Christopher Gist, walked toward the forks of the Ohio River after spending the night on a tiny island. The night before he wrote in his journal that he “expected every Moment our Raft to sink, and ourselves to perish.” Washington did not perish but he did fall into the frigid river after hastily constructing the raft with Gist. They swam to a small island and the next morning crossed the ice-covered channel to Shannopins Town, no worse...

Witnesses told police that a man walked inside and gave a note to the teller that said, “Give me $2,000 or I will shoot you ... No dye packs.” The robber left through the front doors and fled on foot in the direction of the Martin Luther King Jr. East Busway, police said. Officers from Zones 4 and 5 canvassed the area, and they found a man matching the description of the robber in the parking lot of the Obama 6-12 school. Police said the man was Carter, and he was in the company of Barbieri.

Pittsburgh City Councilman Ricky Burgess today introduced legislation that would remove questions about criminal history from the city's job application. Often, in the public and private sectors, job applicants are asked to check a box indicating whether they have a criminal record. Mr. Burgess said his "ban the box" legislation is modeled on that of other cities and a handful of states. The proposal is "not intended to mislead employers or enable ex-offenders to speak untruthfully about their pasts," Mr. Burgess' office said. Read more: http://post-gazette.com/pg/11102/1138791-100.stm#ixzz1JKUXZZy5

Quinn & Rose - America’s Morning Show - Live Thread . March 29, 2011http://www.warroom.com Posted on Tuesday, March 29, 2011 5:56:01 AM by prisoner6 Before yunz head dahntahn to work, or start to red up the house n‘at, join us every morning for coffee (or whatever gets yinz started) and maybe some serious discussion of the issues (or not!) Listen to the Quinn & Rose Morning Show at: www.wpgb.com (104.7 Pittsburgh, Pa) http://wysl1040.com/ (Rochester, NY) http://www.640whlo.com/main.html (Akron, OH) (airs later from 9-12) http://www.wncoam.com/main.html (Ashland, OH) http://www.talkradio560.com/ (Frostburg, MD)

WASHINGTON — The percentage of the nation’s black population living in the South has hit its highest point in half a century, according to census data released Thursday, as younger and more educated black residents move out of declining cities in the Northeast and Midwest in search of better opportunities. The Rev. Ronald Peters, above, who moved last year from Pittsburgh to Atlanta, said the black middle class was more hopeful in the South than in the Northeast. The share of black population growth that has occurred in the South over the past decade — the highest since 1910, before...

PITTSBURGH (Reuters) – An elderly man was killed when his home, piled high with debris, burst into flames and he was unable to escape through a crammed door, firefighters said on Thursday. Firefighters trying to battle the blaze pushed their way into the home jammed with pizza boxes and other detritus and found the body of John Rabusseau, 77, early Wednesday morning. "He was a hoarder, which they attribute to part of why he died because he couldn't get out the door," said Crystal Rosensteel, a records clerk at the Pittsburgh Bureau of Fire. "They actually had to force the...

PITTSBURGH -- The Rev. Louis Farrakhan, leader of the Nation of Islam, is coming to Pittsburgh. Farrakhan will speak at a town hall meeting with radio talk-show host Bev Smith at the downtown August Wilson Center on Friday night.

Amid battles over workers' rights in the Midwest, Pittsburgh City Council on Tuesday passed a proclamation honoring public employees. Councilwoman Natalia Rudiak, whose grandfather, Joseph Rudiak, was a labor organizer, assailed Wisconsin officials for trying to restrict collective bargaining rights and mandate pension contributions. Similar legislation is on the table in Ohio. "It is a reactionary agenda that will end the livelihood of thousands of working Americans, and it must stop," Ms. Rudiak said at a news conference attended by a couple dozen union officials and supporters. Jack Shea, president of Allegheny County Labor Council, said it was unfair for...

Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato on Wednesday rejected council's declaration of a Rankin steel plant as a "sweatshop" as lawyers and labor experts criticized the label as a political ploy by Democratic council members and their union allies. Onorato, a Democrat, plans to veto the bill County Council passed this week designating W&K Steel LLC as a sweatshop and barring it from county projects, spokeswoman Megan Dardanell said. Council's effort conflicts with other county laws, and regulatory agencies -- not council -- should respond to accusations the company pays low wages and discriminates, she said. The bill's lead sponsor, Council...

Allegheny County Council declared a Rankin steel plant a "sweatshop" Tuesday night, the culmination of an 18-month union campaign against W&K Steel LLC. The bill moves to County Executive Dan Onorato, who hasn't decided whether to approve a designation that bars the nonunion company from county projects, county manager Jim Flynn said. W&K Steel doesn't have any county contracts. Council members said they were acting on accusations of low pay and unsafe working conditions. "(Union organizers) would not be sitting there if something wasn't going on," Councilman James R. Ellenbogen, D-Banksville, said in announcing his support to an audience filled...

BALDWIN BOROUGH, Pa. -- Baldwin borough is now telling a man who put a giant illuminated cross outside his home to take the structure down or face a penalty. Carl Behr built the 24-foot cross and two other crosses on his property along Robbins Street in Baldwin. "If you have a problem with that, I think you have a problem with the Lord," said Behr. Behr said it's an act of faith, but one neighbor claims it's an act of revenge. Next-door neighbor Lisa Fera said she contacted police and the borough because she felt Behr purposely built the large...

Cop Surrenders After Son, 5, Shoots Self With His Gun Death Of Gavin Thompson Under Investigation In Liberty PITTSBURGH -- A suburban police officer in Allegheny County surrendered Wednesday afternoon to face charges connected to the death of his young son, who investigators believe accidentally killed himself with the officer's gun.

LINCOLNTON, N.C., Police in North Carolina said they cited a man accused of firing off a homemade cannon in his back yard to celebrate the Pittsburgh Steelers' playoff victory. Investigators said Bobby Wayne Blanton, 45, of Lincolnton, fired the homemade stainless steel cannon in his backyard to celebrate the Pittsburgh Steelers' AFC championship win over the New York Jets Sunday, the Gastonia (N.C.) Gazette reported Wednesday. Police, who were called to Blanton's home by neighbors, said the man was also in possession of a second homemade cannon, two containers of black powder, muzzle-loading propellant pellets and a fuse. Blanton was...

Talk about a great way to ring in the new year. Andre Hall from Pittsburgh, PA left for the holidays, came back, and found his house….missing. Turns out his home had been demolished while he was away, and ironically it was all one big mistake. All of this as he was in the middle of working on it.

One fine messBy Colin McNickle, PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW Sunday, January 2, 2011 Never have so few worked so recklessly to shaft so many. Welcome to Pittsburgh, that unnavigable intersection of government hot air, buffoonery, incompetence, stupidity, arrogance and just about any other unflattering descriptive you can conjure up. Harsh? Why, yes. And necessarily so. Desperately trying to appease its public pocket-picking union bosses while concomitantly deferring any meaningful fiscal restructuring, Pittsburgh City Council hatched a cockamamie "present day/future day value" plan (versus real cash held in an unencumbered trust) -- a hocus-pocus mumbo-jumbo paper plan based on future collections from what's...

Today in 1921, just two months to the day after the first public radio broadcasts began on November 2, 1920, the first religious service in the history of broadcasting was aired on KDKA in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Westinghouse decided to test their ability to do a broadcast that was not initiated from their radio studio. Because they had an engineer who was a member of the choir at Pittsburgh's Calvary Episcopal Church, they decided to make the arrangements with his church.Interestingly, the senior pastor, Rev. Edwin Van Ettin, was leery of the new medium, so the first sermon  broadcast over...

New Pitt football coach arrested in Indiana Friday, December 31, 2010 By Sadie Gurman, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Matt Freed/Post-Gazette Pitt head coach Mike Haywood. Newly named Pitt football coach Mike Haywood has been jailed on domestic battery charges in Indiana, jail officials there have confirmed. Mr. Haywood was booked in the St. Joseph County, Ind. Jail at 3:47 p.m. central time, jail officials said. No bond has been set, but his arraignment was scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Monday. Officials did not have information about the circumstances of his arrest this afternoon, but said he has been meeting with attorneys in the...

Suspecting overseas counterfeiters would target fans eager for NHL Winter Classic memorabilia, three federal agencies conducted a joint operation they say intercepted 792 items of fake sportswear. If the items were legitimate, they would be worth about $137,000, said Joseph Klaus, Customs and Border Protection port director for Pittsburgh. The fake sports memorabilia is a small part of the millions of dollars worth of counterfeit items that agents believe come into the Pittsburgh area annually, he said. "This is just something that will highlight the counterfeit problem we're facing," he said Wednesday while displaying some of the seized Penguins jerseys....

PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Police have arrested a Pennsylvania man who they say stole a hand-held video game system and accessories from the casket of a teen who was killed in a Christmas Day SUV crash. State police say they got an anonymous tip that enabled them to arrest 37-year-old Jody Lynn Bennett, of Mentcle, on Wednesday.

Forget high unemployment rates. There are more than 42,000 open jobs in the Pittsburgh region. According to an analysis by the state's Three Rivers Workforce Investment Board, employers in the seven-county Pittsburgh region posted online 42,816 job openings in July. But the job skills and preferences of job seekers don't always pair up with positions available. "There's a significant mismatch between the skills employers demand and the available talent," said Stefani Pashman, the board's chief executive. Mismatches are often due to disparities in education levels, pay levels, transportation or commuting issues and life skills, such as communication skills or dressing...

The former head of heart and lung transplants at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center claims in a lawsuit moved to federal court today that he was removed from that position because he is white. Dr. Kenneth McCurry, now of Solon, Ohio, says in the lawsuit that his supervisor, Dr. James Luketich replaced him with Dr. Yoshiya Toyoda because Luketich prefers foreign-born doctors. He is seeking compensatory and punitive damages. The lawsuit originally was filed in Allegheny County Common Pleas. A UPMC spokesman had no immediate response to McCurry’s claims.

The Big East's football expansion plans leave the conference with 17 universities, including non-Football members. That's a terrible number for scheduling; the only way the basketball teams can schedule an even number of games is if they play every other team only once. 18 teams would allow three divisions of six teams each. Any team would play the other five teams in its division twice, and one half of the twelve other teams in the conference. 18 sounds like worsening the problem of too many teams, but having three divisions could actually restore some rivalries, and return the conference to...

Shooting, Riot Create Chaotic Scene During Light Up Night PITTSBURGH -- A scene that witnesses described as nothing short of chaotic erupted in downtown Pittsburgh on Friday night when shots were fired during Light Up Night. "We were fine then all these kids came running out of the building. I don't know. It was crazy," said witness Kara Grano. Channel 4 Action News' Ari Hait reported that several riots continued to break out throughout the evening, specifically at Sixth and Wood streets. About 100 people were involved in fights in that area, police said. Hait reported seeing 35 to 50...

CONNELLSVILLE, Pa.- A pair of Pennsylvania constables said they found success using a Steelers van to lure people out of their homes to be served warrants. Constables Hubie Coleman and Albert "Rocky" Younkin said they have been having trouble getting people to exit their homes to receive arrest warrants, with some telling them they would not come out because their vehicle resembles a police cruiser, the Connellsville Daily Courier reported Thursday. The constables said they talked the owners of County Motors in Connellsville into letting them borrow a for-sale Pittsburgh Steelers van for the day Wednesday and the vehicle proved...

PITTSBURGH -- While the Allegheny County Department of Elections is keeping mum on the whereabouts of an election judge who went AWOL on Tuesday, Team 4 has learned that she has a criminal history of drug and forgery charges. Team 4's Paul Van Osdol reported that election judge Donna Payne was evicted from a Penn Hills home last year after the owner said she was living there without her knowledge for nearly a year. "She obviously moved into my home. I didn't know it," homeowner Ava Floyd told Van Osdol. Floyd said that she allowed Payne, who did not have...

A year ago J Street — the putatively progressive fledgling counter to the Israel lobbying group AIPAC — was riding high. They had just received a write up in the New York Times Magazine that was somewhere between a press release and a love poem and, with a complaisant Obama in the White House, the tiny organization seemed poised to be a significant player in the Middle East discussion. My, as grandma said, have times changed. For starters, J Street’s director, Jeremy Ben-Ami, has shown himself to be a Junior Beltway Pinocchio, serially denying his organization had the financial backing...

The polls opened at 7 a.m. and close at 8 p.m. Because it was a short ballot, results may come in more quickly than usual. ... The first results are expected at around 8:30 p.m. "If the turnout is heavy in the middle of the state, it's going to be very good for Republicans. If the turnout is heavy in Philadelphia, it will be good for Democrats," Allegheny County Republican Committee Chairman Jim Roddey said. "The numbers that we were looking for for a good day for our candidates have been met -- if not exceeded -- statewide," Allegheny County...

Got this e-Mail today from the Melissa Haluszczak campaign (PA-14): ===== Please join me when I ask Nancy Pelosi to explain to the people of the 14th Congressional District why she is spending trillions of dollars on the backs of the next generation and passing job killing legislations that are hurting steel workers, coal workers, and the hard working families of the 14th Congressional region. It is time to respect the workers of the 14th district, not pass Cap and Trade legislation that will move their jobs overseas, kill jobs, and lower our standard of living. I am sure that...