Letter to the Editor

Letter to the Editor: Cutting PR Programs Could Mean Losing a Legacy

Letter writer Brian Spence credits Pine-Richland Music Department for making him the teacher and person he is today. He is a 1998 Pine-Richland High School graduate.

My name is Brian Spence and I am a member of the Pine-Richland class of 1998. I am currently wrapping up my 8th year teaching music in the Northwestern School District based in Albion, PA.  I would not be the teacher or person I am today without the Pine-Richland Music Department. I honestly feel that I was born to teach music. I love my job with a fierce passion and could not be happier at Northwestern. The only district in the entire country that I would even consider leaving my position for is Pine-Richland, my alma mater.  A few years ago, I emailed Dave Supinsky to thank him for all the time, patience, and effort he put into my music career.  He had a profound influence on me as a musician, as did all of my P-R music teachers, and I …

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Patch Poll: Obama Backs Gay Marriage, Do You?

The president told ABC News that his thinking has "evolved" on the subject of same-sex marriage. How do you feel about his decision?

A day after voters in North Carolina approved a constitutional amendment defining marriage as solely between a man and a woman, President Obama told ABC's "Good Morning America" on Wednesday that he now supports same-sex marriage. The president—who still supports states deciding the issue on their own—said his personal views had gone through an "evolution" based on conversations with family and friends and the views of his own daughters. "They are much more comfortable with it," the president told Robin Roberts in an interview to be shown on “Good Morning America” Thursday. Excerpts aired Wednesday night on ABC’s “World News with Diane Sawyer." ”You know, Malia and Sasha, they have friends whose parents are same-sex couples," Obama said in…

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Moms Talk

Moms Talk: Why Trayvon Martin is Everyone’s Son

Patch columnist says the Trayvon Martin case isn't a "hoodie issue" or a "gun issue," but a human issue.

Everyone is weighing in on the shooting death of teenager Trayvon Martin, and I am no exception. The myriad emotions I have felt regarding this tragedy are too numerous to mention, but they include outrage, sadness and mostly fear. I definitely want to dedicate a post to Trayvon Martin. Because Trayvon could be my son. And yours, too, regardless of what race you may be. The way I see it, you have a young man who was walking home from the store when he was approached by a grown man [who had been told not to follow or approach Trayvon.] From the sounds of it, he did what we all tell our children to do when they are approached by a stranger. Get out of there. Run. Yell for help. Fight back. Do anything you need to do to get away from them. I’…

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Is Moon Township Ready for Super Moon 2012?

Moon Patch Editor Jenna Staul reflects on viewing the night skies Saturday from a place called Moon.

Do you ever get a funny reaction when you tell people that you live in a town named Moon? I do. It's usually something along the lines of "Oh, so you're from the Moon?" Or "How is it out there, living on the Moon?" Never funny. Gets old after a while. Even out here in Patch land, I'll get the occasional lunar-themed quip from a co-worker ("And Patch even covers news on the Moon ...").  It comes with the territory of living in a town with a quirky name.  But Saturday night is our night, Moon Township. Break out your telescopes: Saturday night brings us Super Moon 2012.  A Super Moon occurs when the moon goes into its full phase at the same time it approaches Earth at the shortest-possible point in its orbit—an event known as a perigee. If …

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Cindy Cusic Micco

12:58 pm on Sunday, May 6, 2012

I tried taking photos, but I had trouble because the moon was so bright. Anyone out there successful at getting a good photo?   more ›

Unfiltered: How One Craft Beer Fan Came to Love Fruity Beers

Melinda Urick shares how despite the ubiquitous non-alcoholic drinks for summer like root beer floats and bottles of “hard lemonade,” her desire for an appropriate beer for the season grew. She found fruity beers to be the answer.

Before craft beer, there were wine coolers. Not in the historical sense, mind you, but in my chronicle of alcoholic introductions. Save your condescending glances for another column, sir. Bartles & Jaymes always signified my start to summer and a loving toast to the warm temperatures that typically accompany May through August. Even today, at the first sign of patio weather, I have the urge to purchase a four-pack of those fruity malted beverages. But thankfully, it’s no longer to get “drunk” before my mom finds the bottles. Let’s just leave it at … nostalgia. I can’t say that I segued straight to craft brews either. There were plenty of heat waves that I spent staring into a bottomless plastic cup, filled over-and-over with one of those …

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Live Chat: First Round Football Draft

Join Patch for a live chat about tonight's pro football draft.

Who will the Steelers pick first? Will the Cleveland Browns go for Justin Blackmon or Ryan Tannehill? Got an opinion about the season's overall prospects?  Join Patch Local Editors Mike Jones and Robert Edward Healy III in Pittsburgh andChris Mazzolini and Mitch Cooper in Cleveland tonight for a live first-round chat. Tell us what YOU think! And if you're near Heidelberg, stop and say hello in person to our Western Pennsylvania team at the Pittsburgh Bottle Shop Cafe in Collier Town Square.

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Pennsylvania's Antiquated Liquor Code is a Work in Progress and the Signs are Good

Tim Russell, the publisher of Craft Pittsburgh, a magazine focused on the local craft beer industry, sees signs in new and proposed state laws that the laws regulating the industry are heading in the right direction, albeit slowly.

Are the times really changing? Is Pennsylvania finally beginning to emerge from the dark ages? One of any Pennsylvanian’s biggest gripes has been in regard to the state’s archaic liquor code, created just after the abolition of Prohibition, and rarely amended since. House Bill 242—the biggest alteration in modern history to the state’s liquor code—was to change this. After being passed by both the House and Senate, then signed off on by Governor Corbett, HB 242 addressed certain concerns regarding what some saw as pointless limitations on state liquor laws. Breweries within the state are now permitted to sell beer in any size packaging directly to the consumer. Previously, a brewer was only permitted to sell kegs to the public, the …

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Pittsburgh: Once a Brewing Town, Always a Brewing Town

Looking back at the history of Pittsburgh brewing, beer enthusiast Brian Reed shares what it was like before industry took over—and how, in some ways, Pittsburgh is returning to its pre-Prohibition culture.

Our beer and brewing scene here in Pittsburgh is exploding. It seems as though a new brewery, quality beer bar, or homebrew-oriented establishment springs up almost on a monthly basis. Our distributors and bottle shops are boasting unprecedentedly comprehensive lists of selections. Pittsburgh is hosting first round judging for the National Homebrewers Conference. The inaugural installment of Pittsburgh Craft Beer Week is here. When you look back into the not-so-distant past at Pittsburgh’s numerous pockets of ethnically diverse neighborhoods as well as our aforementioned industrial roots, it’s easy to see why Pittsburgh has always been a brewing town. The structure of the brewing industry during the latter part of the 19th and early 20th …

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