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PicksBURGH Celebrations To Kick Off Draft

Downtown and North Shore will transform “into a vibrant, walkable festival” with PicksBURGH activities, starting Wednesday during draft week. Check out a live music crawl, the grand reopening of Market Square, Pitt Block Party in the new Arts Landing, a Draft Day 5K, and more. [City Cast Pittsburgh]

• Plus, the Steelers are hosting a fan experience in Point State Park featuring a Steelers Nation Unite Bar, an immersive fan cave styled after a 1970s Pittsburgh basement, oversized replicas of the team’s six Super Bowl rings, and a custom art installation honoring the Terrible Towel. It’s free and open to the public, April 23 to 25. [KDKA]

Third Eye Blind, Nelly To Headline Free Concert

The rock band and hip-hop artist will perform a free concert in Point State Park on June 27 as part of PA’s official America250 celebration. Other performances will take place in Erie, State College, Hershey, and North Eastern PA. Nelly is already coming to the Burgh this month for an NFL Draft opening party at The Plaza on the North Shore. [America250PA]

PPS To Lease Parking During NFL Draft

Pittsburgh Public Schools will open four lots to NFL Draft attendees as students move to remote learning during draft week. The district says revenue will “support the core work of educating students and maintaining school operations." Big businesses in Downtown, like PNC, PPG, and Highmark, are also going virtual to avoid traffic headaches and high parking costs. [WTAE / TribLive]

• The decision to close schools has received some pushback. We debate why going remote does (and doesn’t) make sense. [Washington Post / City Cast Pittsburgh]
• Hundreds of parking spaces are also available to purchase in advance with ALCOA and other operators. It costs an average of $87.25 per day. [TribLive]

ICE Leaves Pittsburgh International Airport

Federal agents are no longer stationed at PIT, although it’s unclear why they were removed or what their duties were in the first place. The Trump administration sent Immigration and Customs Enforcement to airports across the country two weeks ago in response to the partial government shutdown that left DHS (including TSA) without funding. Allegheny County Airport Authority says airport operations are “unaffected.” [TribLive / City Cast Pittsburgh]

• Charges against a Sewickley man detained by ICE, whose daughter is receiving cancer treatment in Pittsburgh, have been dropped. [TribLive]
• ICE arrests continue to rise in the Pittsburgh area, and data shows that the majority of people detained have never been charged or convicted of a crime. [🔒 Post-Gazette]
• PA county jails have made millions of dollars off of detaining immigrants for ICE in recent years, a new report finds. [SpotlightPA]