The week in review
A BRIEF ROUNDUP OF THE LOCAL NEWS OF THE WEEK
Compiled by Dan Majors Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
A number of smaller drug stores and medical practices across Pennsylvania were grumbling last week when the state Department of Health announced — in order to get as many people vaccinated as possible in the shortest amount of time — first doses of COVID-19 vaccines will be funneled to big hospitals and medical centers.
The decision, passed along in a Thursday email, favors arenas, ballparks and other large venues over your corner drugstore or neighborhood doctor.
Pushback to the new policy was swift, including from Hilltop Pharmacy in Allentown, which has administered just under 12,000 shots since the vaccine became available.
The policy shift, which comes as eligibility criteria for getting the shots expands, shrinks the number of vaccine providers in Pennsylvania by more than two-thirds — from 780 sites in February to just 234.
“It’s mind-boggling,” Hilltop Pharmacy manager Alexandria Lavella told staff writer Kris B. Mamula. “How did we get cut? It makes you wonder what the standards were. It’s not pretty. We’re all very deeply hurt.”
Jay Adz ema, the second generation owner of Adzema Pharmacy in McCandless, which had given out 600 shots, was outraged, too.
“Pennsylvania government is not in the drug distribution business and has no business in it,” he said. “The common people are not being served. It’s very disgusting.”
State officials ask for better jab count
Staff writer Sean D. Hamill was wondering about the vaccination rates among staff and residents in nursing, personal care and assisted living homes. Turns out, so is the state. Health department officials on Wednesday said they will now require the state’s nursing homes to report vaccination counts this week.
Acting state Health Secretary Alison Beam said the goal of the “survey” of nursing homes is to help the state “effectively manage vaccine supply for all current and future residents and staff” so the state can figure out where it needs to do more vaccination clinics.
The information also is relevant because of the March 10 guidance from the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services that allowed nursing homes to open up to visitors again. If the facilities are going to reopen to visitors, the state wants to make sure those there are vaccinated.
Gradual return to graduations
Staff writer Andrew Goldstein reported the Pittsburgh Public Schools district plans to hold in-person commencement ceremonies this June for its graduating seniors.
Details are still being worked out, but the events will be held at Petersen Events Center in Oakland, district spokeswoman Ebony Pugh said Friday afternoon.
The district canceled commencement ceremonies in 2020 because of the COVID19 pandemic; however, each high school had a drive-thru celebration.
Ms. Pugh said the district is determining the feasibility of other in-person events as its schools are set to reopen to select students next month for the first time since March 2020.
The timeline for when all children will be able to return to their schools is not complete, Ms. Pugh said, but Superintendent Anthony Hamlet said last week he expected all city students to be able to attend classes in person this academic year.
Eid al-Fitr added to school calendar
While we don’t know a lot about how schools will operate in the coming school year, we do know teachers and students will get another vacation day.
For the first time, Eid alFitr will be a vacation day on the Pittsburgh Public Schools calendar.
The district said it decided to make the Muslim holiday, which means “feast of fast-breaking,” a vacation day after receiving input from families.
Terry Kennedy, the board’s second vice president, credited former school board candidate Ghadah Makoshi for requesting the district make the holiday a vacation day and said it was “a very positive addition to our calendar.”
“I think it’s the right thing to do for our Muslim families,” Ms. Kennedy said Wednesday evening. “Certainly, they deserve to be able to observe their holy days without having to worry about what is going on with school.”
Eid al-Fitr is the first of the two major Muslim holidays, the second being Eid al-Adha, according to the Pittsburgh chapter of the Council on AmericanIslamic Relations.
Pitt wants to be in person in fall
The University of Pittsburgh notified its students Thursday it expects most fall classes will be held in person. Staff writer
Schackner quoted Pitt Chancellor Patrick Gallagher as saying the return, which applies to 34,000 students in Oakland and at four regional campuses, comes with a warning:
“First, however, two critical disclaimers: 1) We are still working many details out; and 2) Our plans are subject to change and will change as needed to address our reality come fall.”
Mr. Gallagher, like leaders of several other area public and private campuses, said the outlook right now is promising. That follows similar statements from several state-owned universities and, more recently, Robert Morris University and Point Park University.
Penn State University, meanwhile, notified its campus this week it is planning for an in-person May commencement ceremony with an option for online participation.
Putting two really big heads together
Bill Schackner also reported Pitt and Carnegie Mellon University will jointly operate a center aimed at curbingextremism.
The operation is called the Collaboratory Against Hate - Research and Action Center, and it will eventually include dozens of researchers, who will draw from the combined expertise at both universities in such areas as computer science, data science, social sciences, psychology, psychiatry and the law.
The goal is to “better understand and combat hatred
based on race, ethnicity, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation and other prejudices,” the universities said in a joint statement issued Wednesday.
“The spread of extremist hate is undeniably insidious and increasingly dangerous. We have witnessed its violent consequences in our own community, including the horrific attack at the Tree of Life synagogue building, and have also seen this epidemic pose an existential threat to our nation’s democracy,” said CMU President Farnam Jahanian.
In addition to using campus expertise, the center will engage with other universities and community groups — including those representing social groups that are the targets of extremism — as well as social media platforms.
Across the U.S., individual centers focus on aspects of the problem, but the Carnegie Mellon and Pitt center will be distinct in offering a holistic approach to understand the messages and how they spread insidiously and escalate, officials said.
Commission backs redevelopment plan
The plans for the involvement of minority- and women-owned businesses in the redevelopment of the former Civic Arena site have received an endorsement from the Pittsburgh Equal Opportunity Review Commission.
Staff writer Mark Belko reported the Penguins and developer Buccini Pollin announced Thursday their minority and women business enterprise participation plan had been unanimously approved by the commission.
The plan sets as goals 30% minority business enterprise (MBE) and 15% women’s business enterprise (WBE) participation in the $1 billion arena redevelopment, which is expected to include a mix of offices, residential units, retail and entertainment.
“This is a historic day for the lower Hill redevelopment project because it is the first independent confirmation that we are achieving our goals for M/WBE participation, as we have committed under the Community Collaboration and Implementation Plan (CCIP),” said Penguins President and CEO David Morehouse, referring to a community benefits agreement with the neighborhood.
You can do a search for more of the details
Another business you might have heard of — Google — is expanding its presence in the Bakery Square development in Larimer.
Staff writer Lauren Rosenblatt reported Google will add three floors to its current space as part of a $7 billion nationwide investment that aims to create more offices, data centers and jobs.
“I believe a lasting economic recovery will come from local communities, and the people and small businesses that give them life. Google wants to be part of that recovery,” CEO Sundar Pichai wrote in a news release Thursday.
Google has not determined which teams in Pittsburgh will occupy the new space. Among many different products, the engineering teams locally work on cloud platforms, artificial intelligence, machine learning, data center software, commerce and Google shopping and ads qualityand policy.
There are 84,000 Google workers employed throughout the U.S., including 760 at the Bakery Square location, according to a news release announcing the expansion.
“Google has always been a wonderful community partner, and their latest investment in Pittsburgh is yet another great sign for our residents and the future of our city,” Mayor Bill Peduto said in a statement.
Help for low-income, cash riders on way
A Port Authority consultant has come up with some ways to address concerns that low-income, cash riders pay more than others. But staff writer Ed Blazina reported advocates for those riders say the changes proposed Thursday “don’t go far enough” because cash customers can’t take advantage of the changes.
Recommendations call for increasing fares 25 cents to $2.75 for prepaid ConnectCard users who don’t use transfers and replacing transfer fees with a threehour window during which riders can take as many rides as they want with no extra charge. In addition, the time for using monthly and weekly passes won’t start until the first time they are used rather than the beginning of the month or week.
That won’t help cash riders, who already pay $2.75 plus additional full fares for transfers, until the authority can get more ticket machines and ConnectCard dispensers in low-income neighborhoods, said Laura Wiens, executive director of Pittsburghers for Public Transit. Riders who use cash can’t take advantage of free transfers because, as the authority no longer uses paper transfers, there would be no way for an operator to know they already paid for a trip within three hours.
“That’s a big problem,” Ms. Wiens said. “We know that cash customers are being penalized in multiple ways. If they are not addressing that, they are not addressing the inequities at all.”
Authority Katharine Eagan Kelleman presented the recommendations Thursday to the board’s finance committee, which recommended the full board approve the start of a public comment period on the proposed changes when it meets next week. That 40-day period, through May 5, will include several virtual meetings and could include an in-person meeting if COVID-19 restrictions are reduced.
The agency would like to begin using the new fare structure in July.