Newsletter
Toomey’s phoned-in town hall; Tacos as a protest; Sid’s 1,000
Newsletter for Friday, Feb 17 2017
Instagram of the Day
It’s gonna be in the 60s this weekend, so you can put your parking chair away — for now.
@sundusazem
A totally last-minute, phoned-in town hall
Protesters lining up at Pennsylvania Sen. Pat Toomey’s offices have, for weeks, begged him to hold a public town hall to answer questions about President Donald Trump, immigration, healthcare and a litany of other issues. So on Thursday he had a "tele-town hall," announced about an hour before it began. One caller said it was a "cop-out," but Toomey said he's in Washington five days a week, making it difficult to hold in-person town hall events in Pennsylvania. Here are five takeaways.
Judge grants stay of execution
Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Jeffrey A. Manning stayed the March 3 execution date for Richard Poplawski, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported. Poplawski was convicted of killing three Pittsburgh police officers in 2009. According to the PG, Poplawski was in court for just a few minutes as Manning appointed new counsel and set a May 20 deadline for attorneys to file an amended petition. Related: Here's why it's almost impossible to execute someone in Pennsylvania.
‘A perfect storm of mistake and incompetence’
The Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority had issues before the nearly two-day flush and boil order a few weeks ago. There's the high lead levels and new water meters that led to billing issues. During a press conference Thursday, Pittsburgh City Controller Michael Lamb's office released a not-so-glowing performance audit of PWSA. Pa. Auditor General Eugene DePasquale was also there to say his office is launching its own audit of the authority.
Featured Event
‘The Vagina Monologues’ with Magee Womens Hospital
Healthcare providers from Magee Womens Hospital will perform "The Vagina Monologues" to benefit Pittsburgh Action Against Rape. Cash bar.
Where: The Ace Hotel at 120 Whitfield St. (East Liberty)
When: February 17, 2017 at 7:00 p.m.
How much: $10
The Incline Likes
Eat tacos today
Yesterday was the #DayWithoutImmigrants, when a handful of restaurants in Pittsburgh closed to protest Donald Trump's actions against immigrants. Today, a group of people who supported that action will show it by eating tacos. “I know for a lot of businesses like this it’s always a question of do you take a political action and do you take a political risk alienating some customers,” said organizer Matthew Buchholz.
1,000. Finally.
Sidney Crosby recorded his 1,000th NHL point Thursday night, in just his 757th career game. It seems like it took forever for Crosby to get to four digits, as he was hung up in the high 990s for several games, but with a first period assist on a Chris Kunitz goal, Crosby became the 86th player in NHL history to reach the milestone, and the sixth to do it as a member of the Penguins organization.