The federal government is giving Pennsylvania a down payment to plan how to best adapt to and mitigate climate change locally.

In Harrisburg on Friday, state and federal officials said Pennsylvania will get about $6 million to create priority climate action plans.

The commonwealth will receive up to a $3 million Climate Pollution Reduction Grant through the program set up by the Inflation Reduction Act. The Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission, the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission, and the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission will each also get a grant of up to $1 million.

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Acting Secretary Rich Negrin joined Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 3 Administrator Adam Ortiz, PENNVEST Chairman Dr. Brian Regli, and local government partners to celebrate Earth Month and highlight the partnership between federal, state, and local governments to fight climate change.

Pennsylvania opted into the Climate Pollution Reduction Grants program, part of the federal Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). The program provides grants to state and local government entities to develop climate action plans and makes them eligible for grants from the $4.6 billion pool established by the IRA and administered by the EPA.

Pennsylvania is getting a boost in the fight against climate change with some extra funding.

On Friday, state officials came together to celebrate Earth Month and highlight federal, state and local governments’ partnership to fight climate change, according to a release.

“All climate change is local. It is an all of the above problem and needs an all of the above solution, and it is so important to have strong partners at the federal and local level all committing to fight climate change alongside us,” said Rich Negrin, acting secretary for the Department of Environmental Protection.

Pennsylvania opted into the Climate Pollution Reduction Grants program, part of the federal Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), earlier in April.

It certainly would be no mere play on words to say one particular matter in East Franklin Township hits close to home for Larry Richardson.

An ongoing sense of urgency expressed by many to make safer the State Route 422/Glade Run Road intersection in the municipality is understood and appreciated more than most by people such as Richardson, the municipality’s zoning officer, who resides not far from the junction that counts at least one traffic-related fatality in recent years.

The New Castle Area Transit Authority will be looking to better market itself and its services over the next couple of years.

The Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission presented the marketing plan for the authority for fiscal years 2022-2025 during the authority’s board meeting in March. The SPC helped work on the plan with the authority.

The marketing plan is part of the implementation of the PennDOT Act 44 performance review action plan originally outlined in the NCATA performance system review report of 2018.

The authority will work to market to commuters who ride between three and five days a week, workers, students in high school and college, senior citizens and people with disabilities, as well as tourists.

Brackenridge Councilman Dino Lopreiato said a new half-mile walking trail through the borough will do more than create recreational opportunities.

“It will showcase some of the nicest river views in Western Pennsylvania,” he said.

“People will be able to walk or ride a bike, and, hopefully, it will encourage residents to get out and enjoy our beautiful park.”

Work kicked off this week on the trail segment, which is part of the larger, 33-mile Three Rivers Heritage Trail operated by the nonprofit Friends of the Riverfront.

The $445,000 project is nearly seven years in the making.

The fate of the Charles Anderson Bridge in Oakland was shaping up to be another embarrassment for the struggling Gainey administration — but Mr. Gainey’s apparent deal with state and federal agencies to accelerate a full rehabilitation of the span, if it is seen through, may turn out to be a welcome example of effective leadership from Grant Street. The bridge carries the Boulevard of the Allies over Panther Hollow.

PennDOT rebuilt the Fern Hollow Bridge in under a year due to the city’s emergency declaration, which allowed design and construction to proceed in parallel. Because the Charles Anderson has been on the decrepit list for so long, much of the preparatory work is already complete. By moving funding up the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission’s priority list, at least a year may be cut off the construction schedule. This means the city is canceling its remedial repairs and will keep the bridge closed for the duration of the full rehab.

McKeesport was recently approved to receive $500,000 in preliminary engineering funds for repairs to the Versailles Avenue bridge. The Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission awarded the funds through its Transportation Improvement Program. The initiative will utilize over $5.6 billion in state, federal and local funds to improve transportation systems over the next four years.

Read the full article at monvalleyindependent.com

Built in 1939, the Charles Anderson Bridge has been slated for an overhaul for years. The city’s 2016 capital budget allocated $750,000 for preliminary engineering work. In the years that followed, projected allocations and timelines for the project changed repeatedly. Money for the project was earmarked in capital budgets over the next three years, with an allocation that grew to $3.3 million by 2019, but that wasn’t spent down.

The city convened public meetings in 2019, but the coronavirus pandemic slowed the work. Even so, in January 2022 the city was able to offer a proposed design for the bridge’s rehabilitation. The $48 million overhaul would preserve the bridge’s historic nature, allow for better passage of large Pittsburgh Regional Transit buses and school buses,while providing wider sidewalks for pedestrians and a separate cycle track for people on bikes.

Rob Brandegee picked up and moved to Pittsburgh’s Strip District to enjoy its convenience and bustling city living atmosphere.

For the growing population of Strip District residents like him, it’s not uncommon to take a walk and run into friends and acquaintances.

“It’s very sociable, and it really has a neighborhood vibe,” said Brandegee.

Brandegee relocated from Highland Park to the Strip in 2021. Part of the appeal was how easy it is to reach South Side-based Little Earth Productions, the company he co-founded that manufactures licensed apparel and accessories, like the Terrible Towel, for professional and college teams. He loves the mix of Strip District residents ranging from young professionals to middle-aged and older.