The Pennsylvania Broadband Development Authority announced on Thursday that more than $1.2 million in grant funding has been awarded to German Township to bolster internet access within the community.
 
“This grant provides the township with an opportunity to make some municipal building upgrades, as well as provide a safe and secure location for people to come and use computers and have broadband access,” said township Supervisor L.C. Otto.
 
The $1,242,251 grant will be used to add a multipurpose community building to the township’s municipal complex that will serve as a hub for various civic activities and public services as well as provide more members of the community access to broadband internet.
 
“Broadband connectivity is such a critical need to succeed in life,” Otto said. “And everyone should be entitled to have connectivity in their homes, but in the meantime, until we can get that done, people will have a safe place they can come and use the internet locally.”
 
Along with a computer lab, Otto said the new facility will allow local community groups such as Scouts or church groups a space to conduct meetings. Additionally, there are plans to include spaces for the police department and sewage authority to provide a “convenient one-stop” location.
 
“Right now we’re in multiple locations, so it’s very inconvenient for our residents,” Otto said. “So now we’re going to have a location for the supervisors, water authority and police department to be in the same spot.”
 
Otto said the process of applying for the grant was a collaborative effort, stating state Rep. Charity Grimm Krupa and state Sen. Pat Stefano helped guide supervisors. Otto said Widmer Engineering in Connellsville and McMillen Engineering Uniontown were also instrumental in the efforts.
 
“It was definitely a team effort,” Otto said.
 
Access to reliable internet has been an issue for Fayette County. In 2022 the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission found that 7,100 households and businesses in the county had download speeds of less than 25 megabits per second (Mbps) compared to the average speed of about 242 Mbps.
 
“For far too long, rural Pennsylvania has been left behind when it comes to high-speed internet access,” Krupa said. “So many facets of our life work under a false assumption that everyone has broadband available at home. While we still have a long way to go, this project will give folks in German Township a reliable internet connection for whatever their needs may be.”

View the full story at heraldstandard.com.

Our Executive Director, Rich Fitzgerald, returned for his weekly spot on KDKA raduo with Larry Richert to talk regional news. On the show was Lt. Governor Aust Davis and well-known regional consultant, Joanna Doven to talk about upcoming AI Horizons symposium. This AI symposium is taking place on Monday, Oct. 14 and will feature companies, industry leaders, and elected officials. It will highlight Southwestern Pennsylvania is seizing this opportunity and becoming a national leader in this space.

When he was named Point Park University president last year, Chris Brussalis touted his school’s potential to spark a “Downtown Renaissance 3” with targeted development including a new venue for sports and recreation.
 
On Thursday, Brussalis unveiled a sizable part of that vision for the Golden Triangle.
 
He and the Downtown university are proposing a 2,000-seat community events center estimated to cost $80 million to $100 million. It would accommodate entertainment events and the school’s burgeoning athletics program — all while giving students practical experience in putting on professional quality shows.

Rich Fitzgerald joins Larry in the studio! Xochitl Torres Small, Deputy Secretary of Agriculture, USDA calls in to talk with Larry and Rich about her visit/announcement to Jeanette later on in the morning. Jenna Cramer, President & CEO of Green Building Alliance, calls in to talk with Larry and Rich about the organization and its “Green Pathways” workforce development program.

Pittsburgh Regional Transit on Monday rolled out a new vision for its network in Allegheny County that proposed to boost service every 30 minutes to some routes, increase weekend service and add more single-seat bus rides to Oakland.

Draft Network 1.0 is part of PRT’s long-range plan released in 2021 and is going to be taking public comment over the next few months before announcing the final route network in 2025 and then starting to put the changes into place in 2026.

Armstrong County Commissioner Chairman John Strate, Commissioner Vice Chairman Anthony Shea and Commissioner Secretary Pat Fabian participated in a joint visit consisting of the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission (SPC) and Allegheny Conference in front of national leaders to advocate for economic development within the region.

The two-day trip started with a PA Business Leadership event at the White House.

Our Executive Director, Rich Fitzgerald, returned for his weekly spot on KDKA Newsradio with Larry Richert to talk regional news. The show featured Dr. Roger Davis, President of Community College of Beaver County, who joined the show to highlight CCBC’s recent expansion into Washington County PA and other developments at the college. This expansion has created accessible education and career pathways for residents of Washington, Fayette, and Greene Counties.

Our Executive Director, Rich Fitzgerald, returned for his weekly spot on KDKA Newsradio with Larry Richert to talk regional news. The show featured Robert Cherry, CEO of Partner4Work, who joined the show to discuss a first-of-its-kind EV apprenticeship program in the country. The program is a collaboration between local stakeholders that include Partner4Work, the Community College of Allegheny County and the German American Chamber of Commerce, Pittsburgh chapter.

The Indiana County Board of Commissioners approved four proclamations Wednesday.

• On the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist bombings, one proclamation designated Indiana County as a Green Light for Veterans county, honoring “the service and sacrifices of our men and women in uniform who have transitioned or will transition from active service.”

Indiana County’s new Director of Veterans Affairs Jessica Walker said 9/11 “ultimately changed the course of this country, changed my life and changed my husband’s life.” She said 5,000 veterans now live in Indiana County.
 
Commissioner Sherene Hess said a cousin in Centre County, Adam Hartswick, “is now a mentor to others,” after losing his legs in the explosion of an improvised explosive device in Iraq in 2013. “He was barely over 18,” Hess said. “He came back to join a program where he would mentor others.”

• On the eve of an annual “Walk for a Wonderful Life,” a proclamation was approved marking Sept. 8-14 as Suicide Prevention Week, recognizing “suicide as a public health problem, and suicide prevention as a community responsibility.”

The week ends with the 12th annual Walk for a Wonderful Life Sunday in Mack Park, a fund-raising event which Indiana County Suicide Task Force Co-Chair Chelsey Baroni said is being expanded this year, beyond advertising now run on the radio, billboards and masks.

• Another proclamation marked National Transportation Demand Management week, marking how strategies are used “to inform and encourage travelers to maximize the efficiency of a transportation system leading to improved mobility, reduced congestion and lower vehicle emissions.”

Receiving the proclamation was Ronda Craig, public involvement coordinator for the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission, a regional organization that helps local governments access state and federal funding for transportation and economic development projects in 10 counties around Pittsburgh, including Indiana, Armstrong and Westmoreland.

• A fourth proclamation marked Constitution Week from Sept. 17 to 23, including Sept. 17 which is the 237th anniversary of the framing of the Constitution of the United States, “the guardian of our liberties,” which “embodies the principles of limited government in a republic dedicated to rule by law.”

Receiving the proclamation were Indiana County Daughters of the American Revolution Regent Debbie Bier and Past Regent Darla Mechling.
 
Bier said the DAR campaigned for a week marking the Constitution in the 1956, when a law marking Constitution Week was signed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower.
 
Bier said work has been going on for more than a year on a plaque that will honor patriots buried in Indiana County. She said 141 patriots have been found so far.
 
In other business Wednesday, the commissioners approved reappointment of John Somonick and John German to the board of Indiana County Parks & Trails for terms to expire in August 2019.
 
They also approved the reappointments of Indiana County Chamber of Commerce President Mark Hilliard, Wright-Knox Motor Lines President Gladys Knox and Nelson & Associates Insurance Director of Operations Jack Nelson to the Tri-County Workforce Development Board for terms expiring in September 2027.
 
They authorized an application on behalf of the District Attorney’s Office for the 2025 Rights and Services Act Grant, seeking $71,151, most of which will cover salary and benefits for a full-time victim witness coordinator, as well as $641 for training for a victim service staff and $1,213 for office supplies.
 
And they approved multiple requests for Indiana County Children and Youth Services, including a 2024-25 non-placement listing for Justice Works Youthcare in Wilkinsburg, Allegheny County, to be facilitator and host for Act 33 child fatality/near fatality review meetings at a rate of $450 per meeting.
 
Also for CYS, 2024-25 foster care placement listing renewals were approved for:

• Family Cares for Children and Youth in Milton, Northumberland County.
   
• LifeSpan Family Services in Punxsutawney.
   
• Professional Family Care Services Inc. in Johnstown.
   
  Also approved were group home placements for 2024-25 with:
   
• Pentz Run Youth Services Inc. in DuBois for its Supervised Independent Living and Transitional Living programs.
   
• George Junior Republic in Pennsylvania, in Grove City, for males ages 10-21.

Also approved for CYS was a new contract for 2024-25 with Altior Healthcare-Innercept of Los Angeles, Calif., providing a residential setting for drug and alcohol and mental health treatment for teenage youth at a location in Idaho.

View the full article at indianagazette.com.

Change comes in both words and deeds – and that’s Southwestern Pennsylvania’s economic development approach. 

Western Pennsylvania’s economic stewards have a vehicle in the New Economy Collaborative (NEC) of Southwestern Pennsylvania, a public-private partnership created to administer the $62.7 million Build Back Better grant from the federal government announced back in 2022.

The big goal of the project? Help Pennsylvanians transition into jobs expected to grow, and goad the state’s manufacturing businesses into investing.