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| | Paid Parental Leave Proposal Gets a Makeover | After weighing over 1,400 public comments — mostly from parents, health care workers, and small business owners — the county health department is cutting its proposed 18 weeks of paid leave to 12, exempting businesses with fewer than 15 employees, and adding new rules for who qualifies. [Public Source] | - Workers now need six months on the job to qualify, up from 30 days. Leave would be 100% paid, but there’s a $4,200 weekly pay cap. Part-timers are also eligible based on their average hours, but they need to have worked at least 625 hours in the previous six months. Parents facing stillbirth now qualify as well. Employers would have up to a year to comply. [🔒 Post-Gazette]
- Employers would still pay the full cost. The Allegheny Conference on Community Development, which has opposed the policy from the beginning, wants to see a state-level insurance model instead. County Executive Sara Innamorato says she also supports that, but is tired of waiting on Harrisburg or D.C. to act. [Public Source]
- Businesses would be able to self-insure or buy private insurance. One report estimates about 1.7% of the county’s employed workforce would use the full benefit — about 10,641 new parents per year — because 42% of people who give birth in Allegheny County already have access to some kind of paid parental leave. [Keystone Research Center / ACHD]
- Supporters say all this is necessary because the federal Family and Medical Leave Act protects jobs but doesn't guarantee pay, and not all workers are eligible. Without paid leave, they say, new parents can be forced back to work before they’re mentally or physically able to return. Allegheny County’s infant mortality rate exceeds state and national levels, especially among Black families. Over the last decade, Black infants have died at three to five times the rate of white infants. [TribLive]
- The board of health meets again Sept. 28, then the proposal heads to County Council, which could decide as soon as this fall. Look for Monday's City Cast Pittsburgh podcast for more 👀
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| | | Discover Athens County, Ohio, where more than 100 miles of mountain bike trails, scenic paddling, hiking and winding backroads meet a vibrant college-town culture. Explore local art, catch live music, and savor locally crafted food and drink. Whether you’re seeking adventure, inspiration or a great meal, Athens County offers plenty of ways to get out, explore and experience something different. | |
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| What Else Pittsburgh's Talking About |
| House Democrats vs. CDC on Measles Deaths | Three House Dems wrote a letter to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention questioning why the agency hasn’t reported any measles deaths in Pennsylvania. As of this writing, PA’s official measles tracker lists four “measles-associated deaths,” while the CDC’s tracker doesn’t list any nationwide — reportedly at the order of HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. [The Hill / PA Department of Health / CDC / Reuters] | - Pennsylvania is requesting federal aid to contain the outbreak on the condition that the CDC publicly recognize measles-related deaths. Allegheny County is considering a mandatory 21-day isolation period for unvaccinated individuals exposed to measles. [Reuters / Public Source]
- We discuss the worsening measles outbreak, including exposures at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, on Wednesday’s podcast. [City Cast Pittsburgh]
| | | | Construction Alone Won’t Solve Housing Shortage | Allegheny County needs to preserve existing affordable housing to address rising rents — not just build new market-rate units. From 2019 to 2024, the county lost more than 44,000 apartments with rents below $1,000 while adding 13,000 units with rents above $2,000. [Pennsylvania Capital-Star] | | “We can build all we want, but if we continue to lose units, we will still wind up in a negative situation.” | Sara Innamorato | Allegheny County Executive |
| | | Annie Dillard, Poet of Point Breeze, Dies | The Pulitzer Prize-winning, Pittsburgh-born author died this week at age 81. Dillard wrote poetry, fiction, and nonfiction, including her memoir An American Childhood about growing up in 1950s-era Point Breeze. | - Another Pittsburgh author you should read is Lucie Brock-Broido of Squirrel Hill. My friend and Pitt MFA classmate Margaret Saigh wrote a lovely piece of lit crit about Brock-Broido’s poetry. [Pittsburgh Review of Books]
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| Pittsburgh Crossword Puzzle |
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For more local movie news, our intrepid senior account exec Owen Gabbey wrote a great City Paper piece about film projection at Row House Hollywood. I’m looking forward to the 70mm screening of Aliens, even if the event description contains a glaring falsehood: the original Alien is obviously superior to the more action-heavy sequel. | | In Dormont, no one can hear you scream. |
| — Boen Wang | ✍️ City Cast Pittsburgh’s Megan Harris wrote today’s Must-Know. Megan and City Cast's Mallory Falk edited this week. |
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