This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Community Corner

$500 Mil Pitt Upgrades + Homestead Fire + Steelers Win

The quickest way to get caught up on the most important things happening today in Pittsburgh.

Rachel Tasker's profile picture
Rachel Tasker, NeighborVerified User Badge
(Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Welcome back, Pittsburgh. I'm here in your inbox per usual to tell you everything you need to know about what's going on around town. Today we have these stories and more:

  • Growing bigger: Pitt investing more than $500 million in campus upgrades and new buildings
  • Steelers 19, Falcons 16: Reaction to the team's second straight win
  • Pittsburgh council president calls for greater accountability in how Stop the Violence grants are spent

Mostly sunny and warmer. High: 52 Low: 41.

🏡 Attention, real estate agents in Pittsburgh! We're now offering an exclusive sponsorship opportunity for an agent interested in attracting local clients and standing apart from the competition. Click here to learn more.

Here are the top stories in Pittsburgh today:

1) The Steelers added a win to their record yesterday, with a final score of 19-16, against the Falcons. This marks the team's second straight win. Here's what sports writers from across the country thought about the game: Greg Auman, Fox Sports: "Pittsburgh set the tone early, opening the game with two long, grinding drives, converting four third downs on the first, and while they stalled and only netted a pair of 46-yard Matthew Wrightfield goals, the Steelers showed they had control of the line of scrimmage."; John Breech, CBS Sports: "The Steelers didn't do anything flashy against the Falcons, they just beat them the old-fashioned way with a well-rounded performance in all three phases of the game... The Steelers might not make the playoffs, but they did take one step closer to helping Mike Tomlin finish with a winning record for the 16th straight season."; Michael Baca, NFL.com: "Pittsburgh put together its first consecutive wins of the season with an offensive efficiency that promoted results over frills. The Steelers offered a healthy balance of run and pass plays that sustained long drives to keep their defense fresh and five of seven of their offensive possessions resulted in points (not counting the one-play drives)."

(Pittsburgh Patch)

2) An intense fire, being described as 'looking like the Fourth of July', tore through a house in Homestead early this morning. The fire was reported a little before 2 a.m. at a house near the intersection of Mifflin Street and East 13th Avenue. Multiple fire crews were called to the scene. Homestead Fire Chief, Tim Eads told Pittsburgh's Action News 4 that the homeowners are on vacation, so no one was in the structure when the flames began. The chief said the homeowners received an alarm alert and had the company call first responders for them. A second home was also burned by the fire and had exterior damage. Charles Turner was inside of his house with his cat and dog when he realized what was happening. "The whole street was lit up. It was sparkling and cracking. The police just started pulling up and they were banging on my door to get me outside," he said. At this time, there are no reports of injuries. The Allegheny County Fire Marshal was on scene trying to determine the cause of the fire. He believes that the fire likely began in the first room, and is not considered suspicious at this point.

(WTAE Pittsburgh)

3) Pittsburgh City Council President Theresa Kail-Smith called for greater accountability in how Stop the Violence grant money is spent. Last week, the city announced the first round of Stop the Violence grant recipients. Over 30 organizations received nearly $1 million in total from the grant funding, which is meant to be spent on violence intervention programs or other initiatives to address root causes of violence throughout the city. "My thing with Stop the Violence is I want to make sure there's accountability," Kail-Smith said. Last week, she requested that Public Safety Director Lee Schmidt be directly involved in deciding which organizations receive grant funding in the next round of Stop the Violence grants. She also called for the selected organizations to come before City Council.

(TribLIVE)

4) The University of Pittsburgh is well underway with its half-billion dollar development boom at the Oakland campus. The university is erecting two new major sports and recreation facilities and upgrading three existing buildings, including the home of its medical school. In some ways, Pitt is now making up for lost time. "Projects that were paused due to the pandemic are now underway, hence the additional development activity," a university spokesman said. Construction has already started on the $250 million recreation and wellness center being built on O'Hara Street in North Oakland at the site of a former parking garage. Perhaps the most visible project will be the ongoing $34 million renovation of Hillman Library.

(Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

5) Guests could visit Pitt's Cathedral of Learning to learn more about holiday celebrations happening around the world during the university's open house. All of the building's nationality rooms were open and featured different holiday decorations. Guests could learn about various holiday traditions in each of the available rooms. This was the first time in three years the event was open to the public due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Committees for each nationality room were on the floor. They met with guests and sold various treats and souvenirs. "From young guides who are undergraduates to older committee members who have been on their committee for decades, this is a celebration of all of that today," said Michael Walter, a tour coordinator. The open house also included musical performances from different nationalities.

(WPXI Pittsburgh)

Today in Pittsburgh:

  • Taps & Apps Happy Hour (5:00 PM)
  • Dazzling Nights Pittsburgh (5:30 PM)
  • Sahaja Meditation - Mount Lebanon Public Library (6:30 PM)
  • Infrastructure and Blight Committee Meeting (6:30 PM)
  • Pittsburgh Poetry Exchange - Brentwood Library (7:00 PM)
  • Music Performance Showcase - University of Pittsburgh (8:00 PM)

From my notebook:

  • Pittsburgh Bureau of Police: "MISSING: Pittsburgh Police Special Victims Unit detectives are asking for the public's help to find a missing juvenile. Nakira Taylor-Jones, 13, is described as 5'5, 120 pounds, with brown eyes, and box braids." (Pittsburgh Bureau of Police via Facebook)
  • Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium: "Today is #WorldWildlifeConservationDay! One of our conservation projects is the Sea Turtle Second Chance Program, where our team rescues and rehabilitates injured sea turtles. " (Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium via Facebook)
  • Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh: "❓ Could you be a CLP librarian circa 1899? Try your luck to answer all the questions on this application found at our CLP - West End branch!" (Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh via Facebook)
  • The Andy Warhol Museum: "Join us this Thursday, December 8 from 6:30–9:30 p.m. for a night of drag, music and creativity. Drag & Draw is a three-hour educational event and figure drawing class for ages 18+ focusing on Andy Warhol's inspiration." (The Andy Warhol Museum via Facebook)
  • The Children's Home of Pittsburgh & Lemieux Family Center: "The Children's Home kicked off the month of December by getting in the holiday spirit! Seasons Greetings from our Home to yours ❄️" (The Children's Home of Pittsburgh & Lemieux Family Center via Facebook)
  • The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust: "🚨 LAST CHANCE! 🚨 Auditions for the the Williams SING-OFF close tonight! 🎤 Singers grades 6-12 could win $500 cash, $1,000 for their school's music department, and the chance to perform on stage at Highmark #FirstNightPGH! CLOSING AT Midnight!" (The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust via Facebook)

More from our sponsors — thanks for supporting local news!

Events:

Alrighty, you're all good for today! See you tomorrow morning for another update.

— Rachel Tasker

About me: Rachel is a native Pennsylvanian with stops in Erie and State College before making Pittsburgh her home in 2020. She's got a background in a little bit of everything... from working in media newsrooms and public health to the 2016 Presidential election in Washington, D.C. and the 2019 Super Bowl where (surprise!) Tom Brady won... AGAIN. She loves good coffee, bad reality T.V., attending local events and trying new food in the 412. She resides in the South Hills.

Have a news tip or suggestion for an upcoming Pittsburgh Daily? Contact me at pittsburgh@patch.com

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?

More from Pittsburgh