Franco Harris has consistently defended the late Joe Paterno in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal.  Now, Harris of Sewickley is on a mission to get the NCAA board members to lift some sanctions against Penn State University.  According to the Pittsburgh Tribune Review, the former Pittsburgh Steelers running back began individually visiting the 18 NCAA board members on Tuesday hoping to find leniency for Penn State.  Harris told the Trib he believes the NCAA’s sanctions--which included a $60 million fine and the elimination of 111 victories from 1998 to 2011--were a rush …

Pop quiz: Name Pennsylvania's most expensive college. New data from the U.S. Department of Education reveals the answer. Bucknell University in Lewisburg captures the state's top spot with a gold-plated tuition price tag of $42,342 per year, the seventh highest in the country. Room and board and other fees will set you back another $10,000, at least, and expect to pay more in the future: The school set yearly tuition for the Class of 2016 at $44,900.  Not far behind is Carnegie Mellon University with a tuition of $42,136; it's 10th in the U.S. on the list of high-priced private schools. The …

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…

Pittsburgh Steelers great and PSU alumni Franco Harris is again coming to the defense of the late Penn State football coaching legend Joe Paterno, whose career ended with the Penn State sex scandal. In an open letter, Harris blasts NCAA President Mark Emmert for making what he calls a misleading, damaging and untrue statement by including Joe Paterno on his list of coaches that were fired for “misdeeds.” "Mr. Emmert should know that before you bunch everyone together and pass judgment, you must first get all the facts and the truth about each one. Obviously, he didn’t," Harris wrote. Harris …

Presidents Day is the nation's celebration of George Washington's birthday. What? Isn't it the celebration of Washington's and Abraham Lincoln's birthdays? Technically, no. The confusion began with the enactment of the Uniform Holiday Act, signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1968, which moved Washington's birthday, Memorial Day and Veterans Day observances to a Monday to create three-day holidays. Washington's birthday became known as Presidents Day, although it is still legally recognized by Congress as Washington's Birthday. Presidents Day has become a day to honor not only Washington…

According to Veterinary Pet Insurance Co. and Petfinder.com, a roundup of the most popular pet names in 2011 saw a new top name for cats, although the trend to use traditionally human names continues. The top 5 cat names in 2011 were Bella (new winner), Max, Chloe, Oliver and Lucy. Rounding out the top 10 were Shadow, Smokey, Tiger, Charlie and Tigger. So while human names rule the roost for dogs, there are still lots of traditional "animal" names inthe cat world. Take our poll, add your cat's name in the comments if it did not make the list, and most importantly, post a photo of that kitty.

According to Veterinary Pet Insurance Co (VPI) and Petfinder.com, a roundup of the most popular dog names in 2011 showed no change over the previous year. Bella, Bailey, Max, Lucy and Molly were the top 5 most popular dog names. Rounding out the top 10 are Buddy, Daisy, Maggie, Charlie and Sophie. This got us to wondering about the most popular dog names in the Sewickley Patch. What's your dog's name? Take our poll, and if it's not on there, add it in the comments. And while you are here - upload a photo of your pet.

Tuesday will be an important day for area teens -- especially those hoping to nab a driver's license. Pennsylvania’s new law aimed at increasing safety for young drivers will go into effect at 12:01 a.m. that day. The new law adds 15 hours of supervised, behind-the-wheel training for driver’s license permit holders younger than 18, bringing the total to 65 hours. Ten of the additional hours must include driving at night, and five hours must occur during poor weather conditions. Current permit-holders younger than 18 who have not yet passed the driving skills test before Saturday will have to …

Now it's time for you to vote. If you like to be a well-informed member of the electorate, there's time for you to drive around tasting the candidates. That sounded bad, but you get what we mean. Pizza, people! Vote!

  We liked A Christmas Story the best until they started playing it 12 times in a row every Christmas Eve. At first, we watched every single one — and we can recite the dialogue right along with the actors. But enough is enough, Ralphie, and it's time to branch out a bit. There are some other obvious holiday favorites: Charlie Brown, and the Grinch, which always makes me cry when the Whos are in the circle at the end (and we mean the animated How the Grinch Stole Christmas and not the train wreck that Jim Carrey was in). There's Elf, of course. I love smiling; smiling's the best. We've all …

  Pitt head football coach Todd Graham announced yesterday that he is leaving the school for his “dream job” at Arizona State. The move comes less than one year after he joined the Pitt program.  According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Graham sent a text message Wednesday morning to his players informing them that he was looking to be the Sun Devils’ coach. He reportedly sent the text message while he was on a plane to Arizona.  The text reportedly read in part: "I have resigned my position at Pitt in the best interest of my family to pursue the head coaching position at Arizona State...The …

Faced with $33 million in funding cuts from the state and federal governments, Allegheny County Councilman Michael Finnerty said they had no choice but to raise property taxes by 1 mill. Finnerty, a Democrat, said the budget cuts would have “decimated” important programs that help the county’s poorest residents. “Our only other choice was to eliminate the programs that were working,” Finnerty told Patch. “As a government, we have to be able to provide those services. In the long run, it probably would cost us more.” He pointed to $22 million in cuts to Children, Youth & Family Services that …

We have to wonder who comes up with these numbers, but the dollar-counting experts say that shoppers spent $52 billion in retail stores on Black Friday. (Can you imagine the chaos if that were all at the Dollar Store?) After all that, we wonder who has any money left over for more shopping. The same experts are predicting that Americans will spend another cool $1 billion today shopping online. We actually enjoy shopping for jammies while wearing our jammies, and it looks like we won't be alone. We are wondering whether you will be sitting down in front of your computer for some gift buying …

If you find yourself in need of some bedazzled jeans on Thanksgiving Day and just can't wait until the weekend, you're in luck this year. Michaels craft stores will be open starting at 4 p.m. that day, and Gap stores will be open until 8. Some people will just be sitting down to their feast around that time, but stores are betting that many shoppers will have eaten their meal and cleared away the dishes by then, and will be happy for a reason to get out of the house. For the stores to be open, though, someone has to drive in to work that day. An employee at a Target store has collected 190,…

  The 12-member Super Committee in Washington is proving to be everything but super. The committee appears to be deadlocked and unable to meet a Nov. 23 deadline on a plan to cut $1.2 trillion from the federal budget over the next 10 years. Each side has blamed the other for the stalemate. Who is most responsible for this inaction? In the most recent Patch Poll, "Franco Harris's Defense of Paterno. Admirable or Foolish?," 13 percent answered Admirable ; 7 percent answered Foolish; 67 percent answered Arrogant; and 12 percent said Loyal.

  The Penn State sex scandal ended the career of longtime Penn State coaching legend Joe Paterno, who had served as the school’s head coach since 1966. Although Paterno is not charged with any crimes in the scandal, the Penn State Board of Trustees decided that Paterno did not do enough to prevent the abuses alleged to have occurred under his watch.  In the wake of his firing, many have come to Paterno’s defense, saying the coaching great has become the scandal’s scapegoat. Of those Paterno supporters, no one has been more vocal than Pittsburgh Steelers great and Penn State alum Franco Harris…

Below is the full statement Penn State's hall of fame football coach Joe Paterno released today that he will retire at the end of the team's current season: "I am absolutely devastated by the developments in this case. I grieve for the children and their families, and I pray for their comfort and relief. "I have come to work every day for the last 61 years with one clear goal in mind: To serve the best interests of this university and the young men who have been entrusted to my care. I have the same goal today. "That's why I have decided to announce my retirement effective at the end of this …

On any given day, it may seem as though the Kardashian sisters are taking over the world. Turn on the TV, and there’s a Kardashian in your face. Walk down to the grocery store and, Bam! Kim, Kourtney or Khloe are staring at you from the tabloid pages in the checkout aisle. Is it any wonder Kardashian is now a unit of time? In case you live under a rock, Kim Kardashian on Monday filed for divorce from NBA player hubby Kris Humphries after 72 days of not-so-wedded bliss. Their extravagant, $10 million-dollar wedding was recorded for television, and E! later aired the requisite two-part Kim’s …

Ever answer a text while you’re stopped in the car at a red light? Or worse, type out a reply while you’re driving? In the near future, that may be a finable offense. In a 188-7 vote, the state House of Representatives on Monday overwhelmingly approved SB314, which would ban texting while driving for people of all ages. The bill also makes texting while driving a primary offense, meaning police are permitted to pull over motorists for violations. The bill now is making its way back to the Senate, which originally passed a version of the bill that made it a lesser offense. Senators must …

With the general election looming, Allegheny County Executive candidates D. Raja and Rich Fitzgerald sparred over the future of the county's drink tax, job creation and other issues Thursday night in a debate at Robert Morris University. Raja, a Republican from Mt. Lebanon, and Fitzgerald, a Democrat from Squirrel Hill, also discussed their views on property taxes, Port Authority transit and Marcellus Shale drilling, hoping to make an impact on voters by the election Nov. 8. Although the event was billed as a debate and began at 8 p.m., Raja answered questions alone for 30 minutes because …