Hello and good morning! Rachel Tasker here with your fresh copy of the Pittsburgh Daily. If your Tuesday morning is already off to the races, here’s a great excuse to take a 5-minute break and get caught up all the local happenings you should know about.
A mix of clouds and sun, with temps cooling down. High: 69 Low: 56.
Here are the top stories in Pittsburgh today:
1) Pittsburgh Regional Transit will host a public meeting today to discuss their plans for new East Busway stations in Wilkinsburg and Brushton. The agenda consists of the consideration to move the Wilkinsburg station closer to the business district, as well as creating a new station a few blocks away at Brushton Avenue in Homewood. In Wilkinsburg, planners propose moving the station from the middle of the park-and-ride site near North Avenue closer to the borough’s business district between Penn and Wallace avenues. The goal is to make the station more accessible to pedestrians. The agency is looking for public opinion on both new station design and ammentieis that should be featured, like benches, machines for ConnectCard and other payment options, bicycle racks, and display screens showing bus schedules and locations. The first meeting will occur virtually at 11:30 am, and the second will be held in person at 6p.m. Anyone interested in the 11:30 am online meeting should register in advance. No registration is needed for the 6:pm in-person meeting at Hosanna House, 807 Wallace Ave., Wilkinsburg.
2) The National Labor Relations Board is getting involved with grievances reported by local Starbucks workers. The agency recently issued an unfair labor practices complaint against Starbucks and its treatment of workers who unionized at four Pittsburgh stores— in Market Square, Oakland, East Liberty and Bloomfield. Workers at these locations filed unfair labor practice complaints focusing on claims that Starbucks management was intimidating workers and attempted union busting. The union said that some Starbucks employees in the Pittsburgh area were fired because of union activities, but those issues were not part of the recent complaint and are being investigated separately. Specific intimidation tactics cited by workers were: company threatening employees that they would not receive a previously-announced pay raise if they unionized; all benefits frozen, meaning employees would lose college tuition benefits; and company threats to discipline employees who unionized, among others.
(TribLIVE)
3) Even though it may only be September, City Works in downtown Pittsburgh is prepping to kick-off its Oktoberfest celebration. The bar and restaurant located in Market Square will celebrate Oktoberfest with limited-time, German-inspired menu items and festive beers. These specialty-themed dishes will be available from Sept. 17 – Oct. 3. Exclusive menu items will include smokehouse currywurst, crispy pork belly spaetzle and pork schnitzel. In addition to food, City Works will offer a variety of Oktoberfest-inspired beer as part of its lineup of 90+ beers on tap, including Penn Oktoberfest, Sam Adams Oktoberfest, Goose Island Oktoberfest, Dogfish Head Punkin’ and ACE Pumpkin.
(Lismari Gomez)
4) Shoppers looking to buy locally can use these great new products and makers in their own backyard. Compostable Artifacts specializes in eco-friendly bath products that range from natural soaps to lotions. Their products are available at the Saturday Night Market — a weekly outdoor pop-up shopping market on Oct. 22 and Oct. 29 in Market Square. Featuring hand-poured, 100% soy wax candles, PGH CANDLE specializes in long-burning, natural candles. Candles can be found in several stores around the city, including Pageboy Salon & Lifestyle Boutique in Millvale and The Farmer’s Daughters Flowers on the North Side. OC Glass is a stained-glass business in Bloomfield focused on making small, unique stained glass decor such as sun-catchers. The glass art can be found at love, Pittsburgh locations around the city.
5) Thousands of people have signed a petition in defense of a local CMU Professor whose critical tweets about the recent passing of the Queen of England went viral. Uju Anya, a professor of second language acquisition at Carnegie Mellon University and a renowned Nigerian-Trinidadian-American scholar, posted a tweet in the hours leading up to the official announcement of Elizabeth’s death. It read, “I heard the chief monarch of a thieving raping genocidal empire is finally dying. May her pain be excruciating.” The tweet quickly went viral with many condemning it, including a quote tweet by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. Carnegie Mellon University responded to the incident via official statement citing the expression of free speech as a core value, however the institution did not condone the “offensive and objectionable messages posted by Uju Anya on her personal social media account.” But now, a petition in support of Anya has garnered thousands of signatures, namely from academics and Carnegie Mellon alumni around the world. Additionally, the letter had also been signed by professors at Yale, the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Pittsburgh, Stony Brook University and the University of South Florida. As of noon on Monday, Sept. 12, the petition has 3,821 signatures from professors at universities around the world, including Notre Dame, Brown, Oslo Metropolitan University, Universidad de Buenos Aires and the University of East London.
Today in Pittsburgh:
- Coffee & Contacts – September – North Side/Shore Chamber of Commerce (8 am)
- Volunteer Event – August Wilson Park (8 am)
- Indoor Wise Walk – Brentwood Library (9 am)
- Scrapbooking – Plum Community Library (10 am)
- RADical Day – Free Museum Admission – Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Hall & Museum (10 am)
- Estate Planning Seminar (11 am)
- LOVE YOUR LIBRARY MONTH – Mount Lebanon Public Library (12 pm)
From my notebook:
- Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: “It was a rollercoaster, but the #Steelers walked away with the win. . . . The Steelers defense started the season with a pick-six on its second play of the game, had five takeaways against one of last year’s Super Bowl participants an…” (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette via Instagram)
- The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust: “☂🌞☂ The Umbrella Sky Project has returned to Downtown Pittsburgh! Last seen at the 2017 Dollar Bank Three Rivers Arts Festival, a brand new installation of the project can now be found the Trust Oasis (131 7th Street) ” (The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust via Facebook)
- Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh: “Welcome to CLP – Main, YINZ Coffee! We’re thrilled to have you! Stop by to help us celebrate and enjoy 50% off drinks today until 7pm! ️” (Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh via Facebook)
- Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium: “Have you purchased your tickets for Sip & Swirl yet? Sample wine from local and national wineries and vineyards in the PPG Aquarium and Water’s Edge on November 4th! Buy tickets ️ https://bit.ly/3R9Es2f” (Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium via Facebook)
- POGOH: “Saturday, September 17th @worldpittsburgh hosts the Rhythm of the Trails Community Bike Ride featuring live music from @byron_nash412 @mcgjazz @martyjashby. RSVP & reserve a free POGOH! https://tr.ee/YC_IsUZglM #burghbikes #bikeshare #bi…” (POGOH via Facebook)
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Now you’re in the loop and ready to start this Tuesday off right! I’ll see you soon.
— Rachel Tasker
About me: Rachel is a native Pennsylvanian with stops in Erie and State College before making Pittsburgh her home in 2020. She’s got a background in a little bit of everything… from working in media newsrooms and public health to the 2016 Presidential election in Washington, DC and the 2019 Super Bowl where (surprise!) Tom Brady won… AGAIN. She loves good coffee, bad reality TV, attending local events and trying new food in the 412. She resides in the South Hills.
Have a news tip or suggestion for an upcoming Pittsburgh Daily? Contact me at [email protected]