Pittsburgh All Local

PennDOT gearing up for the closure of the Parkway East next month. The Commercial Street Bridge replacement will begin at 9pm on July 10th. PennDOT's Jason Zang says there are some new changes for the week of July 6th. PRT is urging drivers to use mass transit during the closure..reminding them about the Park and Ride lots and routes along the East Busway. It will be suspending construction along the University Line in Oakland while the Parkway is closed, reducing lane restrictions to try and keep traffic moving.

The Pittsburgh Penguins are getting new ownership after the NHL approves a billion-dollar sale. The NHL Board of Governors unanimously approved the Hoffman Family of Companies’ purchase of the Penguins from Fenway Sports Group. The deal is estimated at about $1.75 billion. Geoff Hoffman will serve as the team’s governor, while his brother Greg, general manager Kyle Dubas and company founder David Hoffman will serve as alternate governors. On the Big K Morning Show, the team's communications spokesperson Paul Steigerwald talked about the new owners. Fenway Sports Group bought the team in 2021 for about $900 million.

Three Pittsburgh firefighters have been suspended, raising new questions within the city's Fire Bureau. News Radio KDKA's Timira Rush has the details. The developments come weeks after Fire Chief Darryl Jones was placed on paid administrative leave pending an internal investigation. In a statement to KDKA Radio, firefighters union president Ralph Sicuro says the union believes every member is entitled to due process and a fair, thorough review before conclusions are reached and that it will protect members' contractual, civil service and legal rights if discipline is imposed.

The search for a shooting suspect - which was centered in the Cranberry Township area for the last 12 hours - is now being headed up by the New Brighton Police Department. Cranberry Township Police Lieutenant Churck Mascellino tells KDKA Radio the suspect is described as a black male, approximately 6 feet tall, 220 pounds, last seen wearing a red shirt and cargo pants, however he may have removed his shirt during the chase last evening.

A construction worker died this morning after falling from scaffolding at Pittsburgh Obama Academy in East Liberty. Authorities say the incident happened around 9 this morning. Police say workers were performing work on the school's pool area, where scaffolding had been erected. The unidentified woman fell about 30 feet from construction scaffolding. First responders found the woman at the bottom of the empty pool after the fall. The woman suffered severe head injuries and was transported to a local hospital, where she was pronounced dead. The Pittsburgh Public Schools District issued a statement moments ago extending its sincere condolences to the worker's family friends and colleagues. The district says no students or district employees were involved in the incident.

Traffic cameras and message boards along the Parkway East are being restored after PennDOT says its fiber optic cables were vandalized. Penndot's Lori Musto tells KDKA Radio the fiber optic cable damage was first discovered Monday. She says crews believe the cables were intentionally cut in what may have been an attempt at copper theft. Musto is asking motorists for patience as crews work to get systems back up and running — and reminding the public, if you see something, say something.

Is it time to increase the minimum wage in Pennsylvania? State Senator Jay Costa, ranking member from Forrest Hills. thinks so:

The minimum wage hike proposal has already passed the House in Harrisburg, but it stalled in the Senate. But Costa tells Michael Bartley on KDKA that yesterday he instituted a rare procedural move to get Republicans in the Senate to vote on the minimum wage:

The legislation provides for a minimum wage increase over the course of the next three years, incrementally, to $15 in 2029.

The General Manager of Kennywood says he does not anticipate the park's new chaperone policy to have any impact on attendance. Beginning June 12th, anyone 15 or younger found to be inside the park without a qualifying chaperone will be subject to removal. GM Ricky Spicuzza telling KDKA Radio that feedback on the policy has been overwhelmingly positive. He says the policy doesn't apply to school picnics or district days, nor to organized and ticketed groups like churches, summer camps and sports teams.

The Pennsylvania Turnpike is back open after an overnight fire inside the Allegheny Tunnel forced a lengthy closure and evacuation. Pennsylvania Turnpike spokeswoman Marissa Orbanek confirmed to KDKA Radio that a pickup truck caught fire inside the tunnel. She says crews are now working to repair damage left behind. Orbanek says about 150 people in nearly 80 vehicles were moved to a maintenance building while crews responded. No injures related to the fire were reported.

The new Heart Institute at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh officially opens today. On the Big K Morning Show, President Diane Huff says this $85 million, 50,000-square-foot facility in Lawrenceville...is a destination center for kids, for families, and even adults who have congenital heart disease. She says the new facility expands cardiac imaging capabilities for patient care and research, and even features a new cardiac gym and physical rehab center.