Low-Wage Living
Low-Wage Living: Shayla’s leap of faith leads to a raise and a union job
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We set out to hear the realities and perceptions of people working in low-wage industries in the Pittsburgh region. Here’s what we learned.
ENVIRONMENT
A tale of two fires: Allegheny County health officials change approach after second fire at U.S. Steel’s Clairton plant
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After a Dec. 24 fire at U.S. Steel’s Clairton Coke Works, Allegheny County Health Department officials discussed internally how to respond. The department considered issuing an emergency order to require U.S. Steel to take steps to reduce its emissions, email records show. Officials went as far as drafting such an order, they said. But they didn’t issue it because the company was already voluntarily taking many of the steps the county believed would keep residents safe.
ENVIRONMENT
Report details PFAS contamination near Pittsburgh airport that ‘likely’ extends beyond military base boundaries
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According to a recent report from the U.S. National Guard, toxic firefighting foam has, over time, contaminated the surface and groundwater at two military bases at the southeast end of the airport, fewer than 1.5 miles from Chromack’s home.
ENVIRONMENT
How spills of toxic firefighting foam containing PFAS escaped into streams, drains near Pittsburgh airport
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The National Guard's report studying contamination of PFAS chemicals on two Pittsburgh-area military bases lists several times when toxic firefighting foam escaped into drainage outfalls, streams and local storm and sewage drains.
Low-Wage Living
Low-Wage Living: An illustrated look at data on labor and poverty in Pittsburgh and beyond
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To show the trends impacting low-wage workers, we’ve assembled data from government agencies and academic sources tracking measures like unemployment, union membership and racial inequality. Because of geographic limitations in some data sets, the graphs below display a mix of information from the nation, state, Allegheny County, City of Pittsbur
HEALTH
America’s metabolism is broken and doctors have a new strategy: diagnose patients before they become patients
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The concept of “prediabetes,” now a decade old, is the latest in a recent trend of diagnosing prediseases to delay the onset of chronic diseases. Some medical experts worry these new terms are pathologizing otherwise healthy people.
ENVIRONMENT
Industry officials, protesters confront Appalachia’s future as a possible petrochemical hub
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Attendees at an industry conference in West Virginia on Tuesday cheered projections for increased petrochemical production in the next 40 years, while protesters outside held up withered single-use plastic bags to show the environmental harm of petroleum products. Both groups, however, shared a common view that the economic hype and resulting environmental impact predicted for the region may not pan out. It's how they feel about the prospect that diverges.
ENVIRONMENT
Hundreds show up at a raucous hearing to oppose fracking wells at U.S. Steel plant in Braddock
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Merrion Oil & Gas has three ongoing permit applications to drill wells at U.S. Steel’s Edgar Thomson Steel Works and hopes to begin construction in 2020. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection [DEP] is taking public comment on one of the three permit applications until April 1.
ENVIRONMENT
Students across Pittsburgh learn lesson in sustainability: It’s hard to create public spaces for everyone
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More than 100 students of all ages, from public, private and charter schools, traveled across the Pittsburgh region to Chatham University’s bucolic Eden Hall campus 20 miles north of the city. They were presenting sustainability projects they had implemented in their schools and communities for the third annual Seeds of Change: Igniting Student Action for Sustainable Community Conference.
