the week in review
A BRIEF ROUNDUP OF THE LOCAL NEWS OF THE WEEK
A lot of last week’s news amounted to local officials looking to the week ahead and the region reopening — to a certain extent — on May 15.
Gov. Tom Wolf announced Friday that Allegheny County and 12 other counties in the Pittsburgh area will be moved from red phase to yellow, marking an easing of COVID-19 restrictions imposed on businesses and residents. The other counties are Armstrong, Bedford, Blair, Butler, Cambria, Fayette, Fulton, Greene, Indiana, Somerset, Washington and Westmoreland. Beaver County remains in the red.
In the yellow phase, the stay-at-home order for residents is lifted, although they must still follow federal and state guidelines for social distancing and limit gatherings to fewer than 25 people.
Gyms, spas, hair and nail salons, casinos, and theaters must remain closed, and restaurants can still only offer carryout and delivery. Other businesses can resume in-person services, though companies that can telework must continue to do so.
Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald said eligible businesses should use this week to prepare. He also cautioned people that this isn’t the end. “There’s still more to the process,” he said, before we get to green, including maintaining personal social distancing, wearing masks, washing hands and staying safe.
Staff writer Ashley Murray quoted Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto as saying the city will be ready, though he declined to make any predictions on how it will all unfold.
“I don’t think there’s a mayor in this country that could answer that question,” Mr. Peduto said. “Anybody who tells you what the virus is going to do or how this pandemic is going to work itself out is not being honest.”
Decisions, he said, will be based on “strong evaluations, backed by science,” and that includes his decision on when to bring the City-County Building back to full operations.
Decisions on city-sponsored events and activities this summer — including the Fourth of July celebration, movies in the park, Little League and other outdoor recreation — have not yet been made but will be under “constant evaluation.”
Is this the answer to our prayers?
The Catholic dioceses of Pittsburgh and Greensburg likewise announced plans for a “gradual reopening” on May 15. Staff writer Mick Stinelli detailed how the two dioceses, which serve much of southwestern Pennsylvania’s Catholic community, will allow churches to reopen for private prayer, reconciliation, small weddings and funeral Masses.
Under the Pittsburgh Diocese’s new directives, funeral Masses and weddings will continue in a limited capacity, though permitted attendance has increased to 25 people, per the state’s guidelines.
Churches will be allowed to open for private prayer, but seating will be restricted to designated areas. Masks and social distancing guidelines are still required.
Confessions will be heard, but because the standard practice of the sacrament does not follow safety requirements, confessions will happen at specific times and “in a manner that preserves the sanctity of the sacrament,” the Pittsburgh Diocese said.
The diocese will continue to livestream Masses and prayer services.
“Although we are all so eager to get back to some sense of normal, we recognize that these sacrifices have been essential to keeping each other safe during this deadly pandemic,” Bishop David Zubik wrote. “I am greatly appreciative of all in our faith community who have shown a great amount of patience during this unprecedented time.”
And we’re all ready for a new year
The temperatures in the region dove to ridiculous levels at the end of the week, even dusting the landscape with snow flurries.
But that wasn’t what Brianna Spencer, manager at Leana’s Books & More at the Grove City Premium Outlets shopping center in Mercer County, was talking about Friday when she told staff writer Stephanie Ritenbaugh, “It’s like the Christmas season.”
She was talking about the customers lining up in the store as they opened their doors for the first time in weeks.
The bookstore was one of a handful of shops doing business at the outlet center, which opened as lockdown orders in northwestern and north-central Pennsylvania counties began to ease.
The shopping center, off Interstate 79 and near Interstate 80 in Mercer County, is a draw for road trippers using those highways through Pennsylvania or coming from Ohio, New York and Canada.
The customers wore their face masks and maintained social distancing but were clearly happy to get out.
Liquor stores welcome a flow of customers
Mercer County and other parts northern Pennsylvania also saw the reopening of their state liquor stores. Staff writer Lauren Lee reported that the Friday afternoon line in Grove City averaged about 10 people, all suitably spaced out.
Customer Terrill Miller, for example, stopped by to pick up a few bottles of whiskey after he finished his deliveries as a truck driver. The liquor store near his home in Oakdale is still subject to the restrictions of being in a county in the state’s red zone.
At the state liquor store in New Castle’s Lawrence Village Plaza, the line of about 10 people included Carolyn Sroka, of Ellwood City, who said the reopening of businesses was great news.
“We’re ready to go outside,” she said. “Everyone, I think, is tired of being inside and not being able to do things.”
Think of it as part of a crop rotation
The Market Square Farmers Market has been uprooted from its home in the heart of Downtown.
Staff writer Bob Batz Jr. detailed how the popular gathering, which has taken place every Thursday for the past 16 summers, will now take place on Sundays in a parking lot at 11th Street and Waterfront Place — where
Downtown meets the Strip District between the Convention Center and the Sen. John Heinz History Center.
The new site meets spacing requirements.
Shoppers will be required to wear masks and are encouraged to preorder from and prepay vendors, which will be listed at downtownpittsburgh.com/farmersmarket, but shopping will be allowed. Vendors will be limited to farms and producers, and eating and drinking will not be permitted, nor will pets.
But parking is free, thanks to property owner The Buncher Company and Alco Parking. Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership President and CEO Jeremy Waldrup said the group considers the market to be essential to farmers and customers.
On May 17, the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, with the Pittsburgh Redbud Project, will continue its annual tradition of giving away thousands of daffodil bulbs (reclaimed from Downtown planters) and redbud saplings.
Another business that’s up in the air
Staff writer Mark Belko reported that ultra-low-cost carrier Spirit Airlines has resumed service from Arnold Palmer Regional Airport in Latrobe to Orlando, Fla.
“We’re happy to get the business started again and we’re taking every bit of caution we possibly can trying to make sure passengers are safe,” said Gabe Monzo, executive director of the Westmoreland County Airport Authority.
The airport is requiring travelers to wear masks and providing social distancing. It’s also disinfecting all areas used by the public — including chairs, handrails and boarding bridges — after each flight.
The Orlando flights come with one twist in the flight pattern: They will touch down first at Pittsburgh International Airport, and then fly to Arnold Palmer to pick up or drop off passengers there.
Mr. Monzo said early results were encouraging as the Airbus A319 used for the flights for the week ahead are booked to more than half their capacity.
With the loss of flights, Arnold Palmer Airport was forced to furlough about 60 of its 90 employees. With the return of the Orlando flight, it has brought back six to eight workers, Mr. Monzo said.
Help is available if you just reach out
Officials at colleges across the country are concerned about declines in enrollment this fall. One of the things they’re monitoring, according to staff writer Bill Schackner, is a bothersome drop in the number of students applying for student aid.
In Pennsylvania alone, applications to the Free Application for Federal Student Aid have dropped by 31,000, or nearly 9%, according to the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency, which administers the state grant and held a teleconference Thursday from Harrisburg to brief school officials and the media.
So administrators are pushing an appeal to families to apply before the May 15 deadline.
“It’s a free form. It’s the paperwork that really triggers all the grants from the state and federal level,” said Mike Peifer, board chairman of the PHEAA and a Republican state representative from Pike County. “We realize families are under severe stress and students are unsure exactly what they want to do.”
Officials offered a link to the site where families can fill out the FAFSA form at pheaa.org/college-planning/ fafsa.
The truth of it is you’ve earned it
Assistance also is available to low-income Pennsylvania families who have lost wages related to the COVID19 pandemic.
A family of three who qualifies for the program would get a one-time payment of $806.
Staff writer Kate Giammarise wrote that eligible households must have at least one child under the age of 18 or a pregnant woman; have had an hour or wage reduction of at least 50% for two weeks or more; and meet certain income guidelines to qualify for what the state is calling the Emergency Assistance Program.
“The economic disruption caused by this pandemic is affecting families and communities across Pennsylvania in different ways,” said Human Services Secretary Teresa Miller. “For many low-income Pennsylvanians, especially those awaiting unemployment compensation, this disruption could be completely destabilizing.”
Programs such as Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program can ensure health care coverage, and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly called food stamps, can help households afford food, Ms. Miller said.
“I urge all Pennsylvanians to keep these programs in the back of their minds,” she said. “There should be no guilt or shame in asking for — or accepting — that help.”
Families can apply online at compass.state.pa.us or drop off a paper application outside their local county assistance office. They can call the DHS hotline at 877-3958930 to have a paper application mailed to them.
Wiping the profits right off the books
If anyone was going to see a bump in business during this madness, you’d figure it would be companies that sell disinfectant products.
Staff writer Joyce Gannon checked it out and found that Lanxess, a Germany-based specialty chemicals-maker with its North American headquarters in Findlay, did see increased sales of disinfectant product, but its overall revenues slipped because of declines in its other markets.
“We know that we have not yet reached the peak of the crisis,” said Lanxess chairman Matthias Zachert.
Still, that didn’t stop the company from donating its disinfectant product in several countries.
Lanxess also reduced bonuses for top executives by 25% to 50% and compensation for board members by 20%.
The company has about 350 employees in the Pittsburgh region, including the Findlay headquarters operation and plants on Neville Island and in Burgettstown, Washington County.