🔍 Pittsburgh’s connection to the missing Titanic sub

Is Pittsburgh a Good Town for Pedestrians?

A market study from CoWorkingCafe named Pittsburgh No. 10 on the list of best cities in the nation for residents without a car. We rank pretty well for access to public transit, the number of bike lanes, and average fare prices. (As a carless resident myself, I’m very skeptical about this assessment!)

• We still have work to do: State legislators and transportation advocates went to Harrisburg this week to introduce legislation that lets Pennsylvania counties generate more local transit money to help with accessibility and air quality needs. [Pittsburghers for Public Transit]

Everyone Agrees: Downtown Needs More Bathrooms

The Smithfield Street shelter in Downtown is officially closed, which means people will be displaced onto the streets. New temporary housing, called CommUNITY Place, is opening in Homewood, but unlike the Smithfield Shelter, it’s more like transitional housing than a congregate shelter. All other shelters are at capacity. Advocates and council members discussed these issues in a five-hour meeting last week, landing on one common ground: Downtown needs more places for people to wash up.

• What’s next: Council introduced a motion urging County Executive Rich Fitzgerald to explore using the former VA Hospital in Highland Park as a potential shelter. [PublicSource] Plus, new funds are coming: The Hillman Foundation has committed $5.42M to transitional housing, support services. [Pittsburgh Business Times]
• 🎧 Has Downtown become a public urinal? [City Cast Pittsburgh]

Farmers Safe To Grow After Train Derailment?

Residents and growers in East Palestine and nearby Pennsylvania are concerned that the plume of smoke caused by the Norfolk Southern train derailment could have spread harmful chemicals, but after soil testing, the EPA has confirmed that there are no elevated levels of dioxins or other toxic chemicals in the soil. [Allegheny Front)

🐦 Birdwatching Cruise | Saturday | 8-11 a.m

Join the National Aviary and Rivers of Steel for a three-hour bird watching excursion. [$50, North Shore]

🔥 Pride at the Glass Center | Saturday | 10 a.m. - 7 p.m.

Get a one-hour tour and demonstration, plus a guided exploration of the newest contemporary glass exhibition. [free, Friendship]

🏳️‍🌈 Pride Millvale | Saturday | 12-8 p.m.

Celebrate the LGBTQ+ community with comedy, drag, local vendors, and more. [free, Millvale]

🌊 Histories and Mysteries of the Allegheny River | Saturday | 1-3 p.m

Discover secrets of the Allegheny River, from the football stadium to Herr’s Island shore, on Doors Open’s 90-minute boat cruise. [$15-40, North Side]

🎨 Dandy Andy | Saturday | 3-5 p.m.

Get a tour of The Warhol Museum that explores his queer identity along with gay rights history. [$13-25, North Side]

🎶 WYEP Summer Music Festival | Saturday | 3-10 p.m

Listen to national and local music at an open-air concert in Schenley Plaza. [free, Oakland]

🌙 Squirrel Hill Night Market | Saturday | 6-10 p.m.

Shop from small businesses, see talented performers, and try delicious food along Murray Avenue. [free, Squirrel Hill]

🌟 SkyWatch | Saturday | 9-11 p.m

Check out the night sky in the Buhl Planetarium and Observatory at the Carnegie Science Center, then stargaze at a rooftop observatory session. [$10-12, Chateau]

🏳️‍🌈 People’s Pride | Sunday | 10 a.m

Put on your colors for the People’s Pride March, enjoy performances and intersectional artist displays, shop from vendors, and more. [free, Swissvale]

🚲 OpenStreetsPGH | Sunday | 10 a.m - 2 p.m.

Breeze through ​​car-free streets and enjoy activity hubs, classes, performances, and food trucks. [free, North Side / Strip District / Lawrenceville]

🛍️ I Made It! Market | Sunday | 12-5 p.m.

Shop from local vendors under the High Level Bridge at The Waterfront. [free, Homestead]

☀️ Sounds of Summer | Sunday | 5-8 p.m.

Jam out to live music along the Mon at Hazelwood Green with drinks from Goodlander Cocktail and Hazel Grove Brewery, grub from food trucks, local vendors, and games for kids. [free, Hazelwood]

A CMU Prof Went to the Titanic on the Missing Sub

Pittsburgh professor Alex Waibel is proud to call himself an explorer, but today he’s mourning. All this week, a lot of the world was sort of obsessed with the rescue efforts for the submersible that went missing on its descent to the Titanic shipwreck. A big part of the problem was how the sub and others like it communicate with would-be support above water, and Waibel had been working on a way to solve that. Last summer, he tested it on Titan, and he planned to return in a few months. Host Megan Harris connected with him from Germany, where he was waiting to hear the fates of his friends and former colleagues alongside everyone else.