Nearby: Power Outages Sweep RMU Campus

The campus has closed due to a widespread power outage.

A widespread power outage today has left much of the Robert Morris University campus in the dark, leading university officials to close the campus for the afternoon. RMU spokesman Jonathan Potts said several buildings on campus are now without power. He said he could not confirm if the outage, which occurred earlier today, affected all campus facilities.  Potts said he could not comment on the exact cause of the outage, though Duquesne Light crews have been called to the Moon Township campus.  RMU's student newspaper The Sentry reports that power lines are down behind the university's Nicholson Center, which serves as a hub for student activity on campus.  The women's basketball game scheduled for tonight at the university's Sewall Center …

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UPDATE: Moon Township Bear Sighting Reported Monday Morning

A 300-pound bear is first seen ambling through the Moon Plaza parking lot, according to reports.

Moon Police Chief Leo McCarthy called it "extremely unusual"—a 300 to 350-pound bear running through one of Moon Township's busiest shopping centers.  Customers shopping at Moon Plaza spotted a black bear running through the Giant Eagle parking lot at 5:30 p.m. Sunday afternoon.  A resident also reported a bear sighting just after 9 a.m. Monday near Flaugherty Run Road.  "It's not the first time (a bear has been seen in Moon) but, this is my 37th year working for the township and we've had maybe three bear sightings in that time," McCarthy said.  "I always thought they hibernated in the winter, but we had a warm spell," he said.  The bear was seen Sunday running toward Robert Morris University's campus, and was then spotted an hour later …

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RMU Golf Dome Collapses After Storm

A spokeswoman for the Moon-based university said no injuries have been reported.

No one was injured when Robert Morris University’s Golf and Sports Dome collapsed Friday afternoon on Neville Island. RMU Police Chief Randy Mink said a wind microburst that moved through the area shortly before 5 p.m. tore a hole in the dome's roof, causing it to deflate slowly.  “Everyone is safe,” spokeswoman Kyle Fisher said. Mink said a dozen employees of the university's Island Sports Center were inside the dome at the time of the storm, but were able to escape safely.  He said the dome, which stood 100-long and 80-feet high, has never collapsed prior to this instance but that a similar structure in Texas recently fell after a storm. The Neville Island facility, located on the grounds of the university's Island Sports Center, was …

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MTV Casting Call Comes to RMU

The network will be casting on the campus for its reality show MADE.

MTV producers will conduct a casting call this week at Robert Morris University for its long-running reality show MADE.  Producers will be at the campus Wednesday to interview students about appearing on the show. John Locke, RMU's student life director, said more than 20 students have already signed up for the casting, which will take place at the university's Nicholson Center. The reality show follows young adults as they try to realize their goals—past MADE stars have turned themselves into beauty queens, musicians and athletes. "In the past the show has focused on high school students and teenagers," Locke said. "They said that they want to shift the focus more on college students and cast people from campuses."  Locke said the show's …

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Skating Coach Banned from RMU for 'Improper Behavior'

RMU's speed skating program has been suspended as a result of the incident.

Robert Morris University has banned a speed skating coach from university facilities after allegations of improper behavior. The coach, who the university did not identify in a statement, was an independent contract or coaching members of the university's speed skating team at the Island Sports Center on Neville Island. Several of those skaters are affiliated with the Pittsburgh Speed Skating Club, which notified the university of the allegations and contacted Pittsburgh city police. The university did not provide details of the allegations. The university said in a statement that it would "fully cooperate with any investigation." The coach has been banned from the university and RMU's speed skating program has been suspended as a result …

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Panel Discussion Offers Different Perspectives on Education

Thursday night's discussion at Quaker Valley was one of many to come as part of the district's strategic planning process.

A panel of education experts spoke before community members Thursday inside the Quaker Valley High School auditorium, fielding questions about the future of education and what it means for Quaker Valley’s strategic planning process. Panelists discussed everything from standardized tests to technology and how it relates to the classroom, even posing some of their own questions in between. “Clearly this generation has access to much more information than any of us have had in our lives,” said Gregory G. Dell’Omo, president of Robert Morris University. “The question is do they know more?” Dell’Omo was joined by invited guests Sarah Tambucci, director of the Arts Education Collaborative; Bill Flanagan, executive vice president of corporate …

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Patch Poll

County Exec Candidates Raja and Fitzgerald Face Off in RMU Debate

D. Raja and Rich Fitzgerald each try to impress voters one last time before the Nov. 8 election.

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 Fitzgerald was tied up at another event and had not arrived. Before Fitzgerald walked into the university's Academic Media Center, moderator Justin Downs…

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Raja, Fitzgerald Debate at RMU Still Scheduled for Tonight

Despite a scheduling conflict threatening to keep Fitzgerald from attending tonight's debate, the event organizer says it's still on.

A debate between D. Raja and Rich Fitzgerald, candidates vying to become Allegheny County executive, scheduled for tonight at Robert Morris University is still on, despite a scheduling conflict. Earlier this week, the Fitzgerald campaign said scheduling conflicts might prevent the Allegheny County councilman from appearing at the event, which will begin at 8 p.m. Thursday in the university's Academic Media Center. The event's organizer, Carrie Moniot, said, "Fitzgerald has another event to attend tonight, but his campaign manager said that he will try to get to the debate by 8:15 pm." Fitzgerald, a Democrat, is running against Mt. Lebanon businessman Raja, a Republican, to replace Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato in the Nov. 8 …

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Raja, Fitzgerald Debate at RMU Now Uncertain

A Fitzgerald spokesman says scheduling conflicts might prevent the Allegheny Council member from attending the event.

A debate between D. Raja and Rich Fitzgerald, candidates vying to become Allegheny County executive, scheduled for this week at Robert Morris University is now uncertain. The Fitzgerald campaign said scheduling conflicts might prevent the Allegheny County councilman from appearing at the event, which was to begin at 8 p.m. Thursday inthe university's Sewall Center. Fitzgerald campaign manager Mike Mikus said the candidate also has been booked to appear Thursday night as a keynote speaker at an event for the Allegheny County Democratic Party. He said the campaign is "trying to see what they can do to make the event work." Fitzgerald, a Democrat, is running against Mt. Lebanon businessman Raja, a Republican, to replace Allegheny County …

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Iranian Author and Scholar Plans Book Signing in Sewickley

Shahla Talebi, an Iranian native, will appear at the Penguin Bookshop for a reading and book signing at 5 p.m. Friday.

In 1977, Shahla Talebi was both sleeping and awake. It was a trick she learned from a fellow Iranian political prisoner, a woman who was forced to stand for days as her legs and feet gradually swelled. Her eyes covered with a jacket, the woman stood alert yet dormant. For her possession of leftist literature and revolutionary ideals, Talebi was imprisoned in Iran from 1977 to 1978 and again from 1983 to 1992. She underwent torture and interrogations under both the Pahlavi regime and later, the theocratic rule of the Islamic Republic. Talebi admits she was never able to physically master the trick others practiced. For her, instead, it became a state of consciousness, a way to block out her surroundings without disconnecting herself from …

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