COLLIN BINKLEY / AP

Art Institute Of Pittsburgh Abruptly Shutters

The Art Institute of Pittsburgh abruptly closed its doors on Friday, leaving faculty and staff unemployed, and students with uncertain futures.

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Politics & Government

Sarah Kovash / 90.5 WESA

Voters in two Pennsylvania state Senate districts will pick candidates in May to fill the terms of a couple departed senators.

Sarah Kovash / 90.5 WESA

Matt Drozd has announced a bid for Allegheny County Executive. Drozd is County Executive Rich Fitzgerald's only declared challenger so far. 

Katie Blackley / 90.5 WESA

The failure of a water heater at the Allegheny County Jail this week has brought a county election fight to a simmer – and may lead to increased scrutiny of the facility going forward.

A hot-water system mounted on the jail’s roof failed Monday afternoon, leaving inmates on five of the jail’s eight floors without hot water for showers. Jail officials say a repair will take place this weekend, but in the meantime imposed a modified lockdown.

Science, Health & Tech

Sarah Kovash / 90.5 WESA

Gov. Tom Wolf's administration has reopened the application process for marijuana producers who want to supply the drug to medical researchers to study its “therapeutic or palliative” uses.

The process and guidance have not changed from the first time around, when all eight producers who applied were rejected. In December, the Pennsylvania Department of Health said that six of the submissions were incomplete, and the other two didn’t meet minimum standards.

Identity & Justice

Cash For The Poor? General Assistance Welfare Again Under Threat In PA

Mar 8, 2019
Kimberly Paynter / AP

For the first time in decades, John Boyd feels hopeful about the future.

Olamikan Gbemiga / AP

Of all the challenges faced by people who’ve been displaced, perhaps none is more important than to find new meaning in their lives. And so it is with the four young women who are students in a college prep class that I teach at Dickinson College.

Education

COLLIN BINKLEY / AP

The Art Institute of Pittsburgh abruptly closed its doors on Friday, leaving faculty and staff unemployed, and students with uncertain futures. 

Good Question!

Katie Blackley / 90.5 WESA

When Driving Pittsburgh’s Major Roadways Was ‘An Experience,’ Complete With Picnic Stops

Allegheny River Boulevard hugs the southern bank of its namesake waterway, carrying travelers between Pittsburgh’s Highland Park neighborhood to the borough of Oakmont. But the road includes distinct architectural features that make it different from others.

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Development & Transportation

Gene J. Puskar / AP

Norfolk Southern wants to raise several rail bridges so it can run taller, double-stack trains from the North Side through Downtown and eastern suburbs, similar to those already chugging through the South Side. The rail company says that area is too congested and prone to landslides.

Gensler

After more than ten years of negotiations, plans and delays, the Pittsburgh Penguins intend to break ground on the 28-acre Lower Hill project in fall 2019.

Matt Nemeth / 90.5 WESA

Calls for investment in digital infrastructure have increased across the country. More than one-third of people in rural areas lack access to high-speed internet. 

Arts, Sports, & Culture

Photo by Bill Gardner / 90.5 WESA News

A national nonprofit group that promotes scenic beauty is tightening ties with its local affiliate. 

Katie Blackley / 90.5 WESA

Thousands of films, novels and songs entered the public domain at the start of the new year. It’s the first time in decades that titles like Charlie Chaplin’s silent movie “The Pilgrim” and Virginia Woolf’s “Jacob’s Room,” were made available for anyone to reproduce or use for their own creative purposes.

Environment & Energy

Chester County Pipeline Builder Now The Target Of Grand Jury Investigation

Mar 6, 2019
Amy Sisk / StateImpact Pennsylvania

Energy Transfer, parent company of Sunoco Logistics and builder of the Mariner East natural gas liquids pipelines, is the target of a Chester County grand jury investigation.

Katie Blackley / 90.5 WESA

State environmental officials have levied a $1.5 million fine against a natural gas pipeline company for problems at a construction site in Greene County.

U.S. Steel Appeals Order To Lower Its Sulfur Emissions

Mar 2, 2019
Reid Frazier / StateImpact PA

US Steel is appealing an order from the Allegheny County Health Department to curb sulfur dioxide emissions at several of its Pittsburgh-area facilities, after a Christmas Eve fire damaged pollution controls at its Clairton Coke Works.

Since the fire, emissions of sulfur dioxide from US Steel’s facilities in Clairton, Braddock, and West Mifflin have ballooned to five times the amount normally allowed under their county air pollution permits.

Economy & Business

Kevin C. Brown / 90.5 WESA

Gordon Nolan spends a lot of time on the ice, but rarely on skates. As the head of maintenance at Alpha Ice Complex in Harmar, it is his job to keep three ice rinks ready for hockey teams, figure skaters, and the public. In more than a decade of working on the ice, he has only fallen twice. “That’s pretty good, I think.”

Local Headlines

Matt Rourke / AP

Lottery officials say many machines around Pennsylvania had been offline for most of the day due to a service outage.

Lindsay Lazarski / WHYY

Artist JJ Tiziou is practically drowning in space travel memorabilia. 

Food & Drink

Photo by Matt Peyton/Invision for Zachys Wine Auctions

In recent years, pressure has been building for Pennsylvania to privatize its state-run liquor industry.

One of the common arguments against continued state control is that wine and liquor selection and quality in stores run by the Liquor Control Board can’t keep pace with independent stores in other states.

The PLCB has done a lot to change that perception over the years, from redecorating, to mixing up the available booze, to adding the word “fine” to their ubiquitous Wine and Spirits stores.

National & International

An Algerian government plane believed to be returning the nation's president, Abdelaziz Bouteflika, home from Switzerland has landed at Boufarik military airport, southwest of the capital Algiers, as demonstrators have turned out to protest his quest for a fifth term in office.

Bouteflika has been receiving medical treatment in Switzerland since February 24. Protests began two days earlier, demanding that the 82-year-old leader not seek re-election next month.

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