Edgewood library’s community read to shed light on Freedom House Ambulance service’s historic role in emergency medicine
Community read projects can start conversations that otherwise might never take place. The C.C. Mellor Memorial Library has been doing that for the first time this month and teaching its patrons and residents the story of the first paramedics in America, Freedom House Ambulance, that formed in 1967. The selected book, “American Sirens” by Kevin…
Meet the Pittsburghers leading the NFL Draft
Local officials have been buzzing with Steel City pride since the NFL announced Pittsburgh as the site for the 2026 draft in May. Now a host committee, including Gov. Josh Shapiro, the mayor, county executive and VisitPittsburgh, is leading decisions on how to spend up to $4 million in taxpayer money as part of an anticipated $11 million fund,…
Hightower’s unique pictures of Black life are now part of Pitt’s archive
Early one spring evening in 1968, a group of young men walked down Centre Avenue in Pittsburgh’s Hill District. The neighborhood still reflected the rage that had played out a few weeks earlier, after an assassin had killed the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in Memphis. The men moved past shattered storefronts now covered in plywood.…
Staunton Farm Foundation awards $1.2 million to fund organizations’ mental health programs and initiatives
Staunton Farm Foundation announced its latest round of grants on World Mental Health Day last week. The timing was just happenstance, though, as the Pittsburgh-based organization has been dedicated year-round to helping people who live with mental illness and/or substance use disorders for nearly a century. In this second round of funding, it awarded 19…
State, local officials laud reduction of bridges in poor condition
Standing in a salt storage facility on Neville Island Monday, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and local officials touted the state’s investment in road and bridge improvements. The location under the Neville Island Bridge was symbolic because crews earlier this year put the final touches on $43 million worth of improvements to the structure, a key…
Poll worker warriors: Federal government offers more training for election workers
Election workers in at least two southwestern Pennsylvania counties are receiving federal guidance on how to stay secure at the polls on Nov. 5. Poll workers in Allegheny County and election workers in Butler County received training or guidance from the federal Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, or CISA, this year. In Allegheny County, training…
It’s raining cats and dogs and laughs when Off the Record returns for its 24th edition, ‘God, Save the Burgh!’
Under fluorescent lights in a studio at Pittsburgh Musical Theater in the West End, Christine Laitta starts a rehearsal by asking a group of women to run through a song based on a VP candidate’s comment about … Oh, wait, that’s off the record. Later on, Laitta reworks a part of the script to address…
High school football!
‘Everyone from Florida to California is calling about that dude’ — As recruitment heats up, Central Catholic star and Duke commit Bradley Gompers continues to shine during stellar senior season
After missing nearly his entire junior season with a broken collarbone, Central Catholic’s Bradley Gompers has had a bone to pick with opponents this fall as he tries to make up for lost time. Gompers was already regarded as one of the top seniors in the WPIAL and the state, but his stock has skyrocketed…
PUP high school football notebook: Unbeaten Ellwood City soaring to best start in 80 years in quest for first WPIAL title since 1925
Long considered perennial bottom feeders when it comes to WPIAL football, teams like Deer Lakes, Leechburg and South Allegheny are putting together unforgettable seasons while rewriting the lackluster narratives surrounding their programs. Still, with all due respect to the Lancers, Blue Devils, Gladiators and every other upstart team in the area, nobody is turning back…
PUP high school football game of the week: Aliquippa at Montour (Week 8)
Each Wednesday, the PUP high school sports staff will preview the game of the week. Between the hash marks Who: Aliquippa (5-1, 3-0) at Montour (7-0, 3-0) Where: Montour High School When: 7 p.m. Friday The coaches: Vashawn Patrick (Aliquippa); Lou Cerro (Montour) When they last met: Quentin Goode passed for 272 yards and two…
Best in Show: PUP high school football rankings (Oct. 13)
Each week the Pittsburgh Union Progress issues its high school football rankings throughout this season, with all rankings voted on by the PUP sports staff. Class 6A 1. Central Catholic (6-2) 2. North Allegheny (7-1) 3. Seneca Valley (3-4) 4. Hempfield (3-5) 5. Canon-McMillan (2-6) The skinny: The top two spots remain unchanged, as Central Catholic…
In other news …
District college football: No. 7 Grove City survives defensive battle to knock off No. 10 Carnegie Mellon; McKeesport product Bobby Boyd Jr. leads Cal to last-second victory
History may just be repeating itself in Grove City. A season ago, the Grove City football team catapulted itself into the NCAA Division III national spotlight, earning its first national ranking and NCAA postseason berth and victory, in addition to its only undefeated 10-win regular season in school history. What was the catalyst for all…
Pamela’s pancakes, reproductive rights and diapers: Obama kicks Trump, then praises Harris
Around 7:30 Thursday night, former President Barack Obama jogged up a set of steps, mounted a stage, waved to a cheering crowd, then delivered a 45-minute speech that no other living politician could pull off. And it could only be done in Pittsburgh. He called himself the “hopey changey guy,” embracing the phrase Republicans once…
Downtown Pittsburgh will get 35 new traffic signals as part of Bus Rapid Transit system starting this week
The main goal of Pittsburgh Regional Transit’s University Line between Oakland and Downtown Pittsburgh is to provide an easier flow of public transit between two of the three largest economic centers in the state. But there will be some residual benefits for pedestrians and other motorists, too. This week, the agency will begin installing and…
