🌱 East End Crash + Allegheny River Greenway Expansion + Fish Fry

Hello all. It's me, Rachel Tasker, your host of the Pittsburgh Patch newsletter — back in your inbox with everything you need to know about what's happening locally. Today you'll find news about:

• First responders investigating after crash impacts utilities in East Pittsburgh
• Pittsburgh looks to expand Allegheny River Greenway to include landslide-prone properties
• Need a Lenten fish fry? There's an interactive map for that in Pittsburgh

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But first, today's weather:

Mild with periods of sun. High: 61 Low: 37.

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Business owners and marketers in Pittsburgh: Do you want to build awareness with local customers? I have a limited number of sponsorships available to introduce our readers to local businesses they need to know. Click here to learn more.

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Here are the top stories in Pittsburgh today:

1) An investigation is ongoing related to a vehicular crash that occurred on Sunday afternoon in Pittsburgh's East End neighborhood. The incident resulted in an evacuation. "Police, paramedics and fire crews were called around noon to the 1400 block of Electric Avenue, Allegheny County dispatch confirms, near the intersection with Electric and North avenues." Reports of the crash state that a vehicle crashed into "neighboring structures," damaging the structures as well as the nearby utilities. First responders helped evacuate residents on Electric Avenue, assist with medical evaluations and control traffic. Though no injuries have yet to be reported, displaced residents due to the evacuation are annoyed. This is not the first time a vehicle has hit a structure in this intersection. "They go through that stop sign every day. They fly 40, 50 miles an hour through there, consistently," resident A.J. Nicholls said.

(WTAE Pittsburgh)

2) Expansion plans for the Allegheny River Greenway could include the addition of several parcels to the green space that officials say should not be developed because of landslide risk. "The existing greenway includes 35 acres of noncontiguous greenspace in the city's Upper Lawrenceville and Stanton Heights neighborhoods and the current legislation before City Council would add 24 empty city lots."While some city officials are in favor of the plan, others are against it. '"All those properties are on landslide-prone properties," said James Murray, Gross's chief of staff. "They should not be developed on. We're protecting the residents that are there and future residents from being in landslide-prone properties."' Potential property areas that are being considered for new green spaces are located on Keystone, Wickliff, 56th, Carnegie, 57th and Duncan streets.

(TribLIVE)

3) Locals looking for a Lenten fish fry have plenty of options. Fish fry Friday dinners, a long-established staple during Lent, is roaring back from COVID in the Pittsburgh area with an assist from something decidedly newfangled: an interactive map built by local volunteer coders that points the way to scores of churches, fire halls and other places that offer battered and breaded seafood for the taking. "The map is designed to turn the western Pennsylvania fish-fry culture into an adventure stamped onto the landscape that fosters community engagement and understanding for natives and newcomers alike."

(The Sentinel)

4) Motorists traveling on I-79 should prepare for slowed traffic conditions beginning on Wednesday night and running through mid-May. Restrictions include single-lane and shoulder closures in both directions half a mile north of the Route 60 (Crafton/Moon Run) interchange to the Neville Island Bridge, nightly. Shoulder restrictions will also be in place on Monday and Tuesday while crews set up equipment on I-79 southbound at the Forest Grove Road overpass and about half a mile north of the Forest Grove Road overpass. "The work is part of the $43.9 million I-79 "S-Bend" Project that includes pavement reconstruction, bridge preservation work on five mainline structures (I-79 northbound and southbound over Clever Road, I-79 northbound and southbound over Route 51, and the Neville Island Bridge)."

(TribLIVE)

5) Potential jurors for the upcoming trial of the alleged Tree of Life shooter, Robert Bowers, will start completing questionnaires for participation. Bowers is being accused of killing 11 worshipers in October 2018 during a mass shooting at the synagogue while three congregations were holding services. Jury selection will officially begin on April 24.

(CBS Pittsburgh)

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Today in Pittsburgh:

• Shakespeare Readers - Mount Lebanon Public Library (10:30 AM)
• Family Storytime - C.C. Mellor Memorial Library (10:30 AM)
• Pre-K Story Time - Avalon Public Library (10:30 AM)
• Coloring - Plum Community Library (11 AM)
• Heinz Chapel "Women in the Windows" Tour (Noon)
• Monday Movie - New Releases - Brentwood Library (2 PM)

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From my notebook:

• The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust: "Can't wait to hear what shows are coming to town? Yes, you can can can! 1 down, 7 to go... 🔜 2023-2024 PNC Broadway in Pittsburgh announcement coming on March 13 🎭" (The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust via Facebook)
• US National Weather Service Pittsburgh PA: "Quiet weather continues today with highs in the 40s and 50s." (US National Weather Service Pittsburgh PA via Facebook)
• Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens: "Today is the final day for our Garden Railroad: Our National Parks! We're sad to see it go, but that means spring is right around the corner! Don't miss your chance to see our garden railroad today! Learn more: https://www.phipps.conserv..." (Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens via Facebook)
• Buy Fresh Buy Local/Farm to Table Western PA: "Another day to learn & have fun with us! Here is today's Buy Fresh Buy Local stage schedule & some scenes from day 2 - poetry, vermicomposting, regrowing veggies from kitchen scraps & more! * Sample & buy awesome local foods" (Buy Fresh Buy Local/Farm to Table Western PA via Facebook)

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Thanks for following along and staying informed. See you all 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 Patch newsletter? Contact me at pittsburgh@patch.com