Apparently Pittsburgh feels the Bern. An analysis by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette found that Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders leads every other Democratic presidential candidate when it comes to fundraising in the Pittsburgh area. Sanders has 4,965 unique contributors all over the seven-county Pittsburgh area and has so far received $200,762 from them.

Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren came in second by raising $129,495 from 2,877 donors, and South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg came in third, with $122,181 from 2,563 donors. Former Vice President Joe Biden, California Sen. Kamala Harris and former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke round out the top six, in that order.

Of course, fundraising numbers don’t predict the outcome of elections, but they’re important in gauging support in a place like Pittsburgh, a key region of a key state.

Incumbent Republican President Donald Trump is visiting the area today to tour the Shell cracker plant in Beaver County and to deliver remarks promoting his administration’s economic agenda. According to The New York Times, the plant will produce more than a million tons of plastic annually, in the form of tiny pellets. And while some see it as an economic engine, others worry about the long-term impacts.

In other news…

PNC Bank is taking its money out of the private prison industry and away from those who have profited from mass incarceration and immigrant detention. The Pittsburgh-based financial institution says it’s getting out amid national outrage over the role of banks in the industry and what PNC calls a routine reevaluation of the “environmental and social responsibility” of its lending standards. (Forbes)

A historic and shuttered pedestrian tunnel in Highland Park could get a new lease on life thanks to a restoration effort being pursued by the city. The more than a century-old stone arch tunnel runs beneath Reservoir Drive and has been closed for two years because officials were afraid it could collapse. A $1.7 million restoration project would see it reopened, but the work is being delayed until the funds become available. (TribLive)

The “Icon on Smithfield” project has a new name and a new timetable. While plans to renovate the site of the former Frank & Seder department store Downtown have produced little to no movement in years, the Cleveland developer behind the $63 million rehab project has announced a new name — “Smith & Fifth” — and a new timetable for beginning the work — within the next six months. After lengthy delays, one local official says that day can’t come soon enough. (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

Attention despondent Pirates fans: This weekend, instead of watching your team blow another four-run lead in the 7th, you can watch vintage baseball at the oldest site of human habitation in North America. Sound good?

The Vintage “Base Ball” Day event at Meadowcroft is just that, a real-life throwback to 19th-century baseball that allows viewers to rekindle their love of the game and Pirates fans to do so without also rekindling their resentment toward the home team.

Root for the Somerset Frosty Sons of Thunder or the Addison Mountain Stars — both teams will be decked out in vintage uniforms and playing by vintage rules – and enjoy “food and fun in the 19th century American tradition.”

The event is included with admission to Meadowcroft, located in Avella, about an hour southwest of the city. It’s considered the oldest site of human habitation in North America and served as an important refuge for hunter-gatherers going back some 16,000 years. Play ball.

It’s almost Oktoberfest time, and Penn Brewery is offering a new menu for the annual event, which runs from Sept. 20 to 22 and again from Sept. 27 to 29. In the meantime, we’ll see you back here bright and early tomorrow. Auf wiedersehen.