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✨ Fireflies or lightning bugs?
What Pittsburgh is talking about
A fire once again disabled pollution controls at the Clairton Coke Works plant yesterday, prompting an emergency order from county health officials and swift repairs by the plant’s owners at U.S. Steel.
The fire, reported at 4:43 a.m. and quickly extinguished, per the company, is the second in six months to impact pollution controls at the Mon Valley plant, the largest facility of its kind in the U.S., StateImpact reports.
Late last night, hours after an emergency order was issued against U.S. Steel by the Allegheny County Department of Health, company officials said repairs had been completed and pollution controls at the plant restored, per WTAE.
The prior incident, a Christmas Eve blaze, knocked out the same two control rooms and prompted months of air pollution concerns, public health warnings, a spike in sulfur dioxide emissions, and complaints about breathing problems. Those concerns were renewed Monday, though officials had issued no public health warnings as of last night.
🍦 How about something sweet?
It’s no secret that we’re really into our members. These generous Pittsburghers help us keep The Incline going. Tonight, we’re meeting some of our member community for ice cream to find out what they’d like us to work on next. We hope you will become a member and join our next member meetup, too.
Fireflies streak across the sky, as if in competition with the stars above.
(📸: Courtesy of the Pennsylvania Firefly Festival / Photo by Ian Toole)
Tell us …
Quick question: Do you call them fireflies or lightning bugs? Well, our informal Twitter poll found that an overwhelming number of you subscribe to the latter designation.
Regardless of what you call them, the bioluminescent insects are out in a big way. And just in time, the annual Pennsylvania Firefly Festival is back this weekend.
The festival, located in the Allegheny National Forest, high atop the Pennsylvania Wilds, coincides with and celebrates an international and awe-inspiring natural phenomenon, the synchronization of fireflies — er, lightning bugs.
And while it’s certainly worth celebrating this natural beauty, it’s also worth noting that firefly populations are dwindling — and we might be the reason why.
Let’s get together
🍎 June 26: Celebrate The Incline’s Who’s Next: Education class, 19 up-and-comers preparing Pittsburgh for the future, at a happy hour in their honor (Downtown)
One more thing…
Heads up for Harry Potter fans: Potterfest is happening June 28 at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Then, on July 19, the museum will host Potterfest After Dark for adults. If you’re planning to attend, be sure to pick your Pittsburgh Patronus first.
See you tomorrow.