The week in review
A BRIEF ROUNDUP OF THE NEWS OF THE WEEK
To say that we didn’t have a white Christmas in Pittsburgh this year would be putting it mildly.
That’s because the weather outside was putting it mildly. Like in the mid-50s and up into the 60s by the end of the week.
As staff writer Anya Sostek reported, only 14% of Christmases in Pittsburgh have been classified as being “white,” meaning more than an inch of falling snow.
Since 1880, 44% of our Christmases — including this year — have seen no snow at all. Some years, we get a dusting, but not nearly enough to pilot a horsedrawn sleigh through.
SEARCH: SNOW
Did you order the Code Red?
What we did have, from an atmospheric perspective, was really bad air.
For multiple hours last Sunday and Monday, air quality measured at the Liberty monitor near Clairton in the Monongahela River Valley, was the worst in the U.S., registering in the Code Red, or “unhealthy” range.
That’s because the mild weather we were experiencing — with very light winds, heavy fog and lengthy temperature inversions — trapped pollutants at ground level and pretty much blanketed the city. Evan Bookbinder, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Moon, said Tuesday night we had some of the worst visibility we’ve ever seen (if that makes sense).
Numerous flights were delayed, diverted or canceled Tuesday before things started to clear up later in the week.
SEARCH: FOG
Let’s clear the air
Our legislators are joining those of 10 nearby states in a proposal to cut greenhouse gas emissions from cars and trucks.
Staff writer Laura Legere, in our Harrisburg bureau, reported Monday that it would cause gas prices to rise while pumping billions of dollars into making transportation cleaner.
The multi-state collaborative, known as the Transportation and Climate Initiative, aims to cap the amount of carbon dioxide that can be released by the 52 million vehicles in 11 Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic states, and Washington, D.C.
In 2022, when the pact is expected to start, it could generate between $1.4 billion and $5.6 billion, depending on the stringency of the cap. Participating states would invest the proceeds in initiatives like improving public transit, expanding bike lanes and installing electric vehicle charging stations.
SEARCH: GAS CAP
Stay tuned
You know what else was in the air last week? The soothing sound waves of KQV-AM’s easy listening format.
Staff writer Maria Sciullo told us the radio station, which for decades was known for its news, talk and pop music broadcasts, went dark on New Year’s Eve 2017. But the signal is back on your radio dial with music for our foreseeable future.
KQV had actually returned a couple of times since it was sold in order to satisfy the FCC’s mandate that it could not go an entire year without being on air at least temporarily. Owners Robert and Ashley Stevens have since transferred KQV to their not-for-profit 501(c)3 organization, Broadcast Educational Communications.
SEARCH: KQV
Smile. You’re on a bus
The Port Authority is trying to get our senior citizens on board with more than 27,000 photo ConnectCards that they will need to flash instead of Medicare cards effective Jan. 1.
Staff writer Ed Blazina, who covers transportation for us, wrote that there’s been a change in state rules that requires seniors to use either a card with their photo or the cardboard transit cards issued by the state — blue for men or yellow for women. Medicare cards no longer will be accepted for free rides because the state Department of Transportation said too many seniors allowed people under 65 to use their Medicare card for a free ride.
The authority began issuing the new cards in late April and has increased the effort throughout the year by offering the cards through its Downtown Pittsburgh service center and the offices of 33 state representatives and senators. Elected officials often have taken the portable equipment to senior centers and community events to reach constituents who will need the new card.
SEARCH: CONNECTCARDS
Full-length coverage
Presuming winter ever really gets here, some people will be pulling their fur coats out of the closets. But today’s furs aren’t like the bulky beaver coats your grandmother wore.
Staff writer Patricia Sabatini profiled Carl W. Hermann Furs last week, where proprietor Carl W. Hermann IV, 59, opened the door to the business his great-grandfather started here 120 years ago.
The coats of today are quite different, she found.
“When I started in the business, everything was big and oversized,” Mr. Hermann said. “Now, everything is sleeker and tailored, with highlights of longer furs on the collars and cuffs.”
Today’s fur coats also are shorter and easier to walk around in — weighing an average of 2 pounds, down from more than 7 pounds in their classic heyday, Mr. Herrmann said.
And mink stoles, which had almost disappeared, are in vogue again, he said.
SEARCH: FURS
Stratus and Cirrus?
Still, it’s hard to think of wearing a fur coat after you see those two little guys at the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium: a pair of clouded leopard cubs.
Born Nov. 27, the unnamed cubs — both males — are healthy and doing well, according to Ginger Sturgeon, director of Animal Care at the zoo.
“They feed every four hours and are gaining weight,” Ms. Sturgeon said. “Their eyes are slowly starting to open and they are starting to become a little more curious of their surroundings. They haven’t fully developed their coordination yet, so they try to pull themselves up to crawl but they can’t quite get the motion down yet.”
SEARCH: CUBS
Branching out
OK, so you went out and chopped down a perfectly healthy fir tree for your living room this Christmas. And NOW you’re all environmental activisty, looking to recycle it.
Fine, the city wants help you with that.
Staff writer Rich Lord last week detailed the steps you’ll want to take. It starts with a “duh”-inducing instruction that you remove your ornaments and lights.
But then it gets pretty helpful, including the city’s 12 dropoff locations that will be operating through Jan. to 26. The trees will be turned to mulch made available to the public come spring.
Oh, and no artificial trees, please.
SEARCH: TREES
Keep an eye on e-Bay
City Councilwoman Darlene Harris is on her way out of office, and apparently so are a few of the knickknacks that used to sit on the shelves of a council curio cabinet.
Council President Bruce Kraus believes those items belong to the city and should be returned. They include, according to Mr. Kraus, a “large Chinese vase, red and black Chinese plate, gold (Chinese/Japanese) fan, large blue purse with artwork representing Mexican woman, [and] gold Chinese sculpture with claws.”
Ms. Harris told us, “I have some gift things from different people” that she received “when I was president of council. You know, when people come in from other places.”
We’ll keep you posted on developments.
SEARCH: HARRIS
Spans’ lifespans
The city is supposed to remove one North Side bridge and replace another crossing the Norfolk Southern rail line. But those darn bridge-building forefathers of ours did a pretty good job, and it’s not easy to just pull them out.
The bridges — at West Ohio Street and Ridge Avenue, respectively — were supposed to be taken care of by 2011. The city has been pushing the deadlines back and was hoping for another extension to the end of 2022.
The state Public Utility Commission, however, said, “Nix!” and ordered the work done by Dec. 23, 2021.
The goal will be track levels that allow the railroad to move double-stacked trains through the North Side.
SEARCH: NORFOLK
The future is bright
Let’s get back to the holidays. Hanukkah, for example, ends Monday evening.
Staff writer Andrew Goldstein last week gave our readers an insight into a new Pittsburgh tradition: the menorah parade and festival.
Dozens of menorahtopped vehicles cruised though several city neighborhoods Monday night, a spectacle that has become an annual part of the local Jewish community’s celebration of the festival of lights.
“It really brings a very positive energy to the community and to the city at large to celebrate and appreciate the traditions that we have, and especially the message of Hanukkah, which is about bringing light and warmth to the world,” said Rabbi Yisroel Altein of the Chabad of Squirrel Hill.
The parade started in Shadyside at the Rodef Shalom parking lot, which served as a staging area. The 75 to 100 vehicles in the caravan went with a police escort through Squirrel Hill, across the Homestead Grays Bridge and finally to the festival in the Waterfront, where hundreds of people were already enjoying live music, food and giveaways. People loved it. “Sometimes holding up traffic, you could think people are getting upset,” the rabbi said. “Everyone’s smiling and everyone’s really proud to be a part of this.”
SEARCH: HANUKKAH
Interfaith gathering
That was just one of the moments when our city outshined the fog and pollution. Peter Smith, who covers religion for us, wrote about something old — the annual Advent pageant at Calvary Episcopal Church in Shadyside — and something new — the numerous guests from Tree of Life / Or L’Simcha Congregation, who filled the pews.
Members of the synagogue afterward hosted a party celebrating the start of Hanukkah, serving up signature foods of the holiday such as potato pancakes and jelly doughnuts, along with songs about dreidels and more.
On one level, it was an interfaith exchange that might happen between any two Jewish and Christian congregations.
On another level, though, it marked a unique and deepening relationship forged in the wake of the October 2018 tragedy at Tree of Life’s synagogue.
As Peter wrote, “It was literally a cry-fest.”
SEARCH: INTERFAITH
The work goes on
And finally, we wrote about St. Paul’s Meals on Wheels, which helped needy residents of Pitcairn and surrounding towns this Christmas.
The initiative that started in the basement of St. Paul’s English Evangelical Lutheran Church on Center Avenue in Pitcairn has been operating for nearly 50 years — even after that congregation closed its doors in 2005.
Staff writer Joyce Gannon served up this heartwarming account that we still hope to share.
SEARCH: ST. PAUL’S