— Laurel: If you relish new opportunities for dining out, then Philip Barbera Jr. has good news for you. His Barbera’s restaurant was scheduled to open this week off Franklin Street near Southmont Boulevard in the city’s 8th Ward. You can’t miss the eatery, with its yellow, purple and red exterior color scheme. “This is going to be a workingman’s place and we’re going to make all the dinners under $8 and the hot dogs $1.88,” Barbera told our intern, Josh Byers. The theme is Italian. Good luck.

Barb: PennDOT crews on Monday morning had to use a truck with a magnet on its front bumper to clear hundreds of nails from a stretch of the Pennsylvania Turnpike about 15 miles north of Pittsburgh. PennDOT said that at least four motorists reported flat tires after a box of nails fell off a truck in Richland Township. In November, a tanker truck carrying driveway sealant leaked its load onto a 40-mile stretch of the turnpike, disabling more than 100 vehicles and damaging hundreds more when the gooey muck coated their tires. Too often we read about spills from unproperly loaded trucks. Unfortunate? No. Careless, dangerous and unacceptable.

Laurel: Zach Rugg is taking his football skills to higher levels. He’s scheduled to play tonight in the prestigious Big 33 football game at Hershey. The Bishop McCort Catholic High School grad, a former two-way lineman, is also headed this fall to the University of Connecticut on a football scholarship. “His work ethic and his pursuit of his football potential is something that has just been extremely impressive,” McCort coach Kevin Sheridan said. Obviously. Congratulations, Zach.

Barb: If you’re planning to do something illegal while using your vehicle, it’s not a good idea to have a vanity license plate. Allentown police reported last week that a woman hit a man with a stun gun during a pedestrian hit-and-run accident. The suspect was picked up after police say her vanity license plate made her easy to track down. Yardley Joy Frantz was promptly arrested after witnesses spotted her “ZOMBIE” license plate, the police said. Duh!

Laurel: Three men with a noteworthy history with the AAABA Tournament will join an elite club in August when they are inducted into the AAABA’s Hall of Fame. They are Randy Mazey, a United High School graduate who played in three tournaments; U.S. Rep. Mark Critz of Johnstown, an active volunteer with the AAABA for more than 20 years, including his role as treasurer of the Johnstown Oldtimers for the past three years; and Ottoviano “Tovie” Asarese of Buffalo, N.Y., a franchise sponsor and coach. Asarese fielded his first AAABA team in 1962. Very deserving selections.

Barb: Unionized cafeteria workers in the Sharpsville Area School District in Mercer County have won the right to eat expired food for free – at their own risk. The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees had filed a grievance after school officials “violated established past practice” by no longer allowing workers to eat the expired food for free. Hmm. Wouldn’t you think there were more “appetizing” battles to fight?

Laurel: Jeff Mihalko knows how to organize a party. The Windber-area man was expecting more than 500 mini-motorcycle-riding bikers to show up this weekend for his “tiniest bike rally.” This has grown during the past 13 years from a meager beginning of nine friends getting together. People camp all weekend. A bonfire and other events are planned. And on Saturday morning, riders will lead the Miner’s Memorial Day parade. The party is also a big boost to the area’s economy, obviously. Sounds like fun. Enjoy.

Click here to subscribe to The Tribune-Democrat print edition.

Click here to subscribe to The Tribune-Democrat e-edition.