Tribune - Review / Pittsburgh Tribune - Review

August Heat: Time to Listen

Ah, August. Summer's final blast. Barbecues and beach outings. And Washington's lawmakers on the home stump getting grilled on national health care and other frustrations facing Americans. If the reception received by switcheroo Sen. Arlen Specter at a Philly town hall session is any indication, these dog days will be hot indeed for legislators.

Rosy Roosevelt

Pittsburgh Public Schools Superintendent Mark Roosevelt's rosy comments about the latest preliminary PSSA test results deserve an "incomplete" -- and his district deserves an "F." Jake Haulk of the Allegheny Institute for Public Policy points out that the percentage of third-graders scoring at the advanced or proficient level fell substantially in both math and reading.

Saturday Essay: 'No,' Appreciated

Daughter Kady, 19 (but going on 26) and headed from Cal U to WVU this month to begin her sophomore year, long had badgered her mom and dad to pay for a fitness club membership. Not only was it a great way to keep in shape, she argued, it was a proven way to relieve all that stress associated with being 19 going on 26. Never mind the elliptical machine in the basement featuring every electronic gadget known to man and the 32-inch color TV to watch while exercising.

Inside a Killer's Head

Lawrence Likar worked for the FBI for 23 years, supervising the Pittsburgh office's Violent Crime/Major Offenders Squad and coordinating the Greater Pittsburgh Fugitive Task Force, which arrested more than 1,000 fugitives. He was team leader during the successful investigation of the Dec. 31, 1986, fire at the DuPont Hotel in San Juan, Puerto Rico, which killed 97 people and injured 150 others, the second worst arson/homicide in U.S. history.

The End of the World, Farm-Style

The History Channel is back with its series "Life After People," a show that attempts to illustrate, through animation, what will happen to planet Earth after we're gone. Thanks to an unforeseen tragedy -- tainted peanut butter, Chi- Chi's Mexican green onions or repeated exposure to the Jonas Brothers -- mankind will succumb, the show claims. Plant life once again will take over where concrete once ruled. Animals will roam wild. All signs of human life will gradually disappear.

Robinson Houlihan's to Host Jam Nights

Open Stage Theatre Closing, Will Mull Options

After 17 seasons, Open Stage Theatre will cease operations, at least temporarily. "We intend to spend the next six months making strategic plans for the future of the organization," longtime board member Susan Smerd said on Friday. "We very much hope that Open Stage will be back."

Prune Black Raspberries Three Times a Year

Question: I have a few questions about a small black raspberry patch I inherited. I picked some nice berries this year, but the patch needs attention. I know my husband used to trim them, but I don't know how. Should I cut back the old canes? And can I mulch them, as the weeds took over this year? Answer: Black raspberries produce fruit on two-year-old canes, and proper pruning is very important to maximize fruit set and keep the plants healthy. As with all things gardening, you'll find 20 di...

Smith: Not Every Clunker Guzzles Gasoline

ORLANDO, Fla. -- The $1 billion " Car Allowance Rebate System," known by most everyone as "cash for clunkers," pays consumers between $3,500 and $4,500, depending on the fuel mileage of the new vehicle, to trade in their old, presumably gas-guzzling and polluting vehicles. Is that what's happening? While participating dealers are definitely seeing an upturn in business, a tour of several local car dealers suggests that the vehicles being traded in don't fit that "gas-guzzling, polluting" ster...

Airport Authority Bond Rating Downgraded to Negative

Moody's Investors Service downgraded to "negative" from "stable" the outlook for Allegheny County Airport Authority's bonds on Friday, citing a decline in air passengers and the region's "stressed" economy. The New York debt ratings service said Pittsburgh International Airport is still challenged by US Airways dropping the Pittsburgh hub in 2003. Since then, the number of enplanements has fallen 39 percent. They declined 11.4 percent decline from May 2008 to last May.

Nearly Half of Mortgages Seen Underwater by 2011

An estimated 25 million homeowners, or 48 percent of those with mortgages, will owe more on the loan than the house is worth by the first quarter of 2011, according to an analysis by Deutsche Bank. "For many, the home has morphed from piggy bank to albatross," wrote analysts Karen Weaver and Ying Shen.

Twitter and Facebook Recover From Attacks

Twitter Inc. and Facebook Inc. are working to prevent denial-of- service attacks, a day after an assault on a blogger's social- networking accounts hobbled both sites. Thursday's attacks targeted an activist blogger from the former Soviet republic of Georgia, Palo Alto, Calif.-based Facebook said. The user had accounts on Facebook, Twitter and Google Inc.'s YouTube, as well as the LiveJournal Inc. blogging site, which also was hit.

No Charges to Be Filed in Army Death

Army investigators will not file criminal charges against defense contractor KBR Inc. in the Iraq electrocution of a Shaler Green Beret. After an 11-month investigation, the Army Criminal Investigations Command concluded there is insufficient evidence to prove or disprove that "any one person, persons or entity was criminally culpable" in the Jan. 2, 2008, death of Staff Sgt. Ryan Maseth.

A Concrete Start...Do the Job Right in the First Place

Problems with garage floors probably go back to the days when the concrete was poured. "The biggest problem is the contractors," says Lawrence Cartwright, professor of civil and environmental engineering at Carnegie Mellon University in Oakland.

Bergholdt: Turn Signal Problem an Easy Fix

Q: Recently I've noticed my turns signals flash considerably faster to the left side than the right. A friend said it may be caused by a burned-out bulb, but all my lights seem to be working. What could cause this to happen? A: This should be an easy one. Your car's turn signal flasher unit is sensitive to the quantity of electrical current passing through it. With all the bulbs functioning properly, it flashes at the normal rate, and should a bulb burn out or otherwise use less current, the ...

Kia Gets Its Groove On with Soul

Like the way the godfather of soul James Brown's style and energy blasted American music out of the easy-listening blahs, the 2010 Kia Soul hatchback mainlines fun and funk into a bland brand heretofore defined by the logical appeal of low prices and long warranties. Leave your left brain at home, clap your hands and say yeah as the eye-catching Soul rolls into sight, lights in its speakers flashing in time to the tunes pouring out of your iPod.

Review: Raving About Rav4

You're looking at one of the hottest small SUVs on the market, the 2009 Toyota RAV4. Nationally, Toyota dealers have a 20-day supply; 60 days is considered normal. You may wonder why. The RAV4 certainly doesn't win on its looks. But beauty is more than skin deep, and that's why the RAV4 shines.

Buyers About to Close On Historic Mountain View Inn

The prospective buyers of the closed Mountain View Inn near Greensburg intend to build a shopping plaza on one of its parking lots and reopen at least part of the historic inn, a real estate broker involved in the sale said. Two Pittsburgh-area developers want to purchase the 85-year-old landmark inn in Unity and rename it Mountain View Village, with shops and possibly a restaurant built in a parking lot across Village Drive from the facility, said Tony Ferry, a commercial real estate broker ...

Newsmaker: Catherine V. Mott

Age: 55 Residence: Mercer

Urban Garden, a Singular Success for Cmu Student

Jessica Jackson is pleased at the reaction her garden gets. The surprise could be expected, though. After all, it is made of 558 plastic bottles hung on a chain-link fence.