Solar Power Comes to University of Pittsburgh Campus

Officials and community members recently cut the ribbon on one of the largest solar projects in western Pennsylvania.

Through a partnership between the University of Pittsburgh and Vesper Energy, the school says it is achieving its renewable energy commitments while providing educational opportunities. 

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Shapiro Touts Broadband Expansion as Industry Worries Over Regulatory Hurdles

Gov. Josh Shapiro touted federal money for broadband expansion in western Pennsylvania on Friday, arguing for bipartisanship and efficient governance.

“I wanted to be here today because Beaver County’s got its act together,” Shapiro said. “Folks want people in government — regardless of what party they’re in — to find ways to work together, to come together and actually solve problems, and to get stuff done.”

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Norfolk Southern CEO Tells Pennsylvania Senate Panel State Authorities Were ‘Aligned’ on Vent-and-Burn

Norfolk Southern Corp. Chief Executive Officer Alan Shaw told Pennsylvania lawmakers on Monday that the response to February’s Ohio train derailment “worked” and that state officials thoroughly backed it. 

Shaw’s appearance before the state Senate Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness Committee came about as a result of a subpoena earlier this month after the rail-company executive initially declined to speak to the panel. Senators also subpoenaed the corporation’s internal communications related to the wreck, some of which committee Chair Doug Mastriano (R-Gettysburg) said have been turned over and others of which he says he still awaits. 

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Norfolk Southern Faces New Pennsylvania Lawsuit over Ohio Derailment

The Pittsburgh-based law firm Lynch Carpenter and the Philadelphia-based firm Seeger Weiss this week announced new class-action litigation against the Norfolk Southern rail company for the aftereffects of the February 3 train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio.

After the accident, Norfolk Southern personnel ordered the venting and burning of five of the train’s cars containing toxic vinyl chloride. The release-and-burn strategy has since drawn widespread denunciation after citizens and public officials pointed out apparent deleterious health and environmental consequences. Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro (D) initially supported the “controlled burn” but later reversed himself, claiming he was not informed that the rail corporation would incinerate five cars instead of one.

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Pennsylvania Residents Speak to State Senate About Ill Effects of Train Burn

Western Pennsylvanians who live near the site of the February 3 Norfolk Southern train derailment and subsequent burn went before a State Senate Committee Thursday to state that the event is causing deleterious health consequences.  The 53-car train derailed in the village of East Palestine, Ohio, less than a mile from where the Buckeye State abuts Beaver County in Pennsylvania. In the crash’s aftermath, the train company proceeded to burn five rail cars containing vinyl chloride, a course of action company officials said would avert a potentially disastrous explosion. Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro (D) initially supported what has been called the “controlled burn” but has subsequently blasted Norfolk Southern for its handling of the incident, particularly its decision to burn five cars; Shapiro asserted he was only told one car would be incinerated. 

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Pennsylvania State Senator Holds Hearing with Testimony from Those Affected by East Palestine Disaster

State Senator Doug Mastriano (R-Adams/Franklin), along with fellow lawmakers held a bipartisan hearing Thursday in order to gather testimony directly from those Pennsylvanians affected by the train derailment in nearby East Palestine, Ohio.

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