(Photo courtesy of Penn Dot)

(Pittsburgh, Pa.) Overnight lane restrictions inside the Fort Pitt Tunnel will be in effect tonight and Thursday Night. Single-lane restrictions will be in place in each direction from 9:30 p.m. until 5:30 a.m. .Crews will be repairing lights in the tunnel.

(Photo Courtesy of TSA) 

(Moon Twp., Pa.) An Ohio man was stopped with a loaded 9 mm handgun in his backpack Tuesday at Pittsburgh International Airport. Transportation Security Administration officers spotted the gun loaded with seven bullets in the checkpoint X-ray machine.

TSA officers alerted Allegheny County police who confiscated the gun and detained the man for questioning.

Travelers are not permitted to carry their guns onto airplanes, however, passengers are allowed to transport their firearms as checked baggage if they are properly packed and declared at their airline ticket counter.

This is the 19th handgun stopped at a checkpoint at Pittsburgh International Airport this year.

Keystone State News Connection

September 8, 2021

Emily Scott

STOYSTOWN, Pa. — Many have called United Flight 93, one of the four hijacked planes on Sep. 11, 2001, the first battle in the war on terror. This week, chalk artists from across the country are creating portraits, to honor those on board who attempted to retake control of the plane.

Flight 93 is the only hijacked plane from 9/11 that did not reach its intended target, believed to be Washington, D.C. Instead, it crashed in a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, killing the 40 passengers and crew members.

Erik Greenawalt, a chalk artist from Pittsburgh, will display his art, along with nine other artists, at the Flight 93 National Memorial near the crash site. Greenawalt said he is proud to create art on hallowed ground.

“Flight 93 is very close to our hearts, and still in our memory and still in our collective minds,” Greenawalt reflected. “I think I, along with the artists, really recognize the solemnity of what it is that we’re doing. And this is going to be one to memorialize those heroes from that day and, at least for a moment, let the visitors at the memorial see who those people were.”

The portraits will be made on three-by-five-foot cement boards that are transportable in case of rain. The artists will use photos provided by the National Park Service, which runs the memorial.

Nate Baranowski, a Chicago-based chalk artist, visited the Flight 93 National Memorial during a road trip earlier this year and was moved by its tribute to the victims. He said he is looking forward to participating in the project, and using an art form like chalk is a great way to symbolically remember the lives lost on 9/11.

“Because in a lot of ways, honoring those on Flight 93 is honoring their lives, but also acknowledging the sort of ephemeral nature of life and how it is short in a lot of ways,” Baranowski remarked. “It shows the beauty of lives, although tragically cut short.”

More events at the memorial this weekend include a speaker series with local first responders and family members of Flight 93 passengers, as well as a lantern vigil.

Route 588 Eastvale Bridge Inspection Wednesday in Beaver County

Pittsburgh, PA – PennDOT District 11 is announcing restrictions on the bridge that carries Route 588 over the Beaver River in Eastvale Borough and the City of Beaver Falls, Beaver County, will occur Wednesday, September 8 weather permitting.

Single-lane alternating traffic will occur on the bridge from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday as crews from TranSystems conduct routine inspection activities.

Motorists are advised to use caution, slow down, and be prepared for changing traffic patterns when traveling through the area. Work zone safety is everyone’s responsibility.

Motorists can check conditions on major roadways by visiting www.511PA.com. 511PA, which is free and available 24 hours a day, provides traffic delay warnings, weather forecasts, traffic speed information and access to more than 1,000 traffic cameras.

511PA is also available through a smartphone application for iPhone and Android devices, by calling 5-1-1, or by following regional Twitter alerts accessible on the 511PA website.

 

Steelers optimistic Watt’s status will be resolved by Sunday
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin is optimistic All-Pro outside linebacker T.J. Watt will be available when the defending AFC North champions open the season in Buffalo. The three-time Pro Bowler is entering the final year of his contract and negotiations on a possible extension are ongoing. Watt didn’t play during the preseason and did not participate in 11-on-11 drills during training camp. If Watt for some reason can’t go, veteran Melvin Ingram will likely get the start against the Bills.

Virginia is set to remove Richmond’s Lee statue on Wednesday
By DENISE LAVOIE Associated Press
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — A towering statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee is expected to come down from a place of honor in Virginia’s capital city. The imposing, 21-foot tall bronze likeness of Lee on a horse sits atop a huge granite pedestal on Richmond’s Monument Avenue. Its removal on Wednesday will fulfill a vow Gov. Ralph Northam made after George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis sparked nationwide protests against police brutality and racism. The Supreme Court of Virginia cleared the way in ruling against two lawsuits last week. An attorney for plaintiffs in one of the lawsuits said Monday that he plans to ask the court for a rehearing, but the high court rarely grants such requests.

(Photo Courtesy of Pa Cyber)
(MIDLAND, Pa.) — The Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School will bring hands-on STEM
opportunities to students with the addition of two mobile labs as part of PA Cyber's
Polytechnic program. The labs provide students all over the state the opportunity to
experience the STEM-based maker movement, taking their designs from computer
screens to robotic machines. Students and families will begin to see the first mobile lab
at PA Cyber events this fall and the second one next year.
The Polytechnic mobile labs come equipped with 3D printers, laser and vinyl cutters, a
ShopBot, and more so that students can develop their ideas from conception to
fabrication. Once unloaded, each modern mobile lab is quickly set up by a trained
instructor where it’s needed—at a classroom, gymnasium, cafeteria, or even outside.
PA Cyber collaborated with the Carnegie Science Center to create the vehicles.
“By putting labs on wheels, PA Cyber makes high-quality, hands-on learning accessible
to more students in more places and in more modern ways,” says CEO Brian Hayden of
PA Cyber.
The PA Cyber Polytechnic programming aims to show students how to solve everyday
problems using crucial skills in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
Past projects have included making catapults, spin art machines, mini food pantries,
bike racks, and sheds. Many student-built projects are donated to support Pennsylvania
communities.
PA Cyber Polytechnic includes partnerships with several colleges and universities to
provide critical STEM learning experiences, such as the Virtual Engineering Exploration
Experience, an eight-day summer camp in which experts from more than a dozen
colleges explain the various engineering professions. PA Cyber held its third VEEE
program in summer 2021.
“At the Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School, maker thinking is in part a core aspect of
the curriculum. The school aims to inspire future engineers, scientists, and technologists
because as we know, the learning never stops,” says Hayden.

Public Invited to PennDOT Open House Recruitment Event Friday for CDL Operators and Diesel Mechanics

(Photo Courtesy of Highmark)

(Pittsburgh, Pa.) Highmark announced today it has closed on its transaction to acquire full ownership of Gateway Health Plan, Inc. (Gateway Health), a leading managed care organization dedicated to caring for the total health of its members following receipt of the necessary state regulatory approvals. Highmark had previously held a 50 percent ownership interest in Gateway Health, created in 1992 through a partnership between Highmark and Mercy Health.  The terms of the agreement with Mercy Health, a subsidiary of Trinity Health, were not disclosed.

“Through our Medicaid and Medicare programs, Gateway Health has long focused on coordinating health care that goes beyond doctors and medicine to deliver whole person care,” said Karen Hanlon, chief operating officer, Highmark Health, and interim president and chief executive officer for Gateway Health. “With this agreement, we can now fully leverage Highmark’s innovative Living Health model to deliver a more coordinated, personalized, technology-enabled experience for our members.”

In addition to an improved member experience, consumers will be able to select Highmark Wholecare Medicare and Medicaid products branded Blue Cross and/or Blue Shield. Highmark Wholecare is the new trade name for Gateway Health and its products were formerly offered as Gateway Health products.

According to Hanlon, Gateway Health will also tap into Highmark innovations and programming to better address behavioral health and socioeconomic challenges for more than 355,000 members across Pennsylvania.

Deborah Rice-Johnson, president, Highmark Health Plan, noted that Highmark’s mission is to create a remarkable health experience, freeing people to be their best. “This acquisition will help us further our mission and better serve current and future Medicaid and Medicare members across Pennsylvania,” she said.