Dueling Owls, Covid Spikes & Point State Park Turns 50

It’s the Friday news roundup! We’re looking at both national political conventions to see how Pennsylvanians talked about local issues and celebrating the golden anniversary of an iconic Pittsburgh landmark. Plus, Covid cases are on the rise, and Giant Eagle is dropping GetGo — but another bird is swooping in.

We always cite our sources:

• Giant Eagle is dropping GetGo but the new owners, Couche-Tard, will keep the myPerks loyalty program.
• Covid cases are on the rise in Pgh and elsewhere, and the new vaccine isn’t ready yet.
• The CDC tracks Covid levels in wastewater, and so does the state, which has a county by county dashboard. 
• Only about a quarter of Allegheny County residents got the last Covid vaccine.
• The stakes are especially high for Allegheny County because respiratory illnesses don’t play well with poor air quality.
• A bunch of PA and Pgh folks spoke at their respective party conventions, including organizer Erin Koper and Senate candidate Dave McCormick at the RNC and Lt. Gov. Austin Davis and Gov. Josh Shapiro at the DNC.
• At the RNC, Koper talked about Pittsburgh police staffing levels, which are rising, and homicides, which have fallen since the year she cited on stage. Homicides rose in 2022 all over the nation.
• The Democratic roll call doubled as a dance party, featuring both “Motownphilly” and “Black and Yellow” for Pennsylvania. Aliquippa Mayor Dwan Walker, who welcomed VP candidate Tim Walz to talk to the Quips football team last week, gave the first remarks.
• Point State Park and our enormous fountain are celebrating their combined 50th birthdays. We talk about some of their most fun facts in this week’s news quiz. City Paper has a great deep dive into its history, too.
• Nurses at West Penn Hospital authorized a labor strike this week, and striking workers at the Post-Gazette are nearing two years off the job.
• The PSO is on its European tour. They’ll be back in Pittsburgh to open their new season in September.
• Besides baton diplomacy, there’s a lot of other ways we foster connections with other countries. Learn more about our sister cities in our conversation with the former director of the Sister Cities Association of Pittsburgh.

Learn more about the sponsors of this August 23rd episode:

U.S. Steel

Pittsburgh Cultural Trust

Pittsburgh Recovery Walk

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