Latest news with #AlleghenyRiver
CBS News
5 days ago
- General
- CBS News
A fire destroyed a Harmar Township home. Residents say it could have been saved if the neighborhood had fire hydrants.
After flames tore through a Harmar Township home, fear has set in among neighbors due to the absence of fire hydrants. Neighbors in this community believe one home would not have been a total loss if there were fire hydrants in this neighborhood. "The first thing the police asked me was, 'Where are the fire hydrants?'" Christy Gaul recalled. Gaul has lived in a tucked-away community situated along the Allegheny River in Harmar Township since 2010. She moved here for the amenities, beautiful views of the river and the waterfront access. But what it doesn't have, she says, is concerning: zero fire hydrants. "We have all been discussing this as a neighborhood that we don't have them and we were concerned," she said. Exactly what Gaul and her neighbors feared took place early Saturday morning. A home on Werner Camp Road caught fire, forcing firefighters to shut down Freeport Road and an active set of railroad tracks so the closest fire hydrants near Target could be accessed. "If the firefighters [hadn't gotten] here soon enough, we could have all, I mean, there's a car right there, it could have exploded, we could've all been gone," Gaul said. Why aren't there any fire hydrants? KDKA-TV was told by the property owner, Evergreen Werner Hancock, that there are no requirements for fire hydrants. Werner Camp homeowners lease their land from Evergreen. The company acquired the property in 2020. They say they were never notified by the township that hydrants were required, even though they knew there weren't any. In a statement to KDKA-TV, the company says, in part: "After the fire this week, we contacted Harmar Township, and they informed us that the township suggested the idea of installing fire hydrants to the prior owners, but they chose not to install them. We have reached out to the Oakmont Water Authority about installing hydrants. When we get information, we will work with Oakmont Water Authority and Hammer Township about the possibility of installing hydrants." Until that happens, Gaul says she's still going to worry every time she goes to bed at night that she's going to be awakened again by the sound of emergency sirens and the smell of smoke. Only, that time, she says, it may be her home. "After seeing that, it was horrible, it was horrible," Gaul said. Officials have not released the cause of the fire. KDKA-TV reached out to the township for comment on the lack of fire hydrants and is waiting to hear back.
CBS News
24-06-2025
- Automotive
- CBS News
Parkway North HOV lanes remain closed due to repairs, impacting around 30,000 drivers daily
Around 30,000 drivers a day are being impacted due to the Parkway North's HOV lanes ongoing closure due to repairs in Pittsburgh. PennDOT found five bridge piers considered "high priority" with problems. 18 other piers will also be repaired during the traffic restrictions. PennDOT emphasized that the open lanes are safe. If there was any doubt, they would be shut down. The closed HOV lanes will put more stress on the I-279 main lines in both the morning and afternoon. As the repair work began with a single cracked pier, it has now extended to quite a few more, the most critical of which is holding up the I-579 main line on the north end of the Veterans Bridge. "We've got to utilize the HOV to maintain mainline, 279, traffic while we perform the repairs," said Jason Zang, PennDOT District 11 executive. "The repairs require us to jack the beams off of the substructure, off of the piers and we can't do that with the traffic on them." While crews continue the aforementioned work to make the repairs, all southbound destined mainline I-579 traffic will be diverted onto the HOV Lane just south of McKnight Road. "Traffic wants to go to the Veterans Bridge, and I-579 will have to cross into the HOV lanes there, and then it will cross back out on the main span of the Veterans Bridge over the Allegheny River," said Zang. This will result in a complete reversal of the pattern drivers have been taking since the Parkway North opened in 1989. Traffic to the Veterans Bridge will now have to get over to the left to get into the cross under the Swindel Street Bridge. It's going to take crews until July 11 to get everything configured and the switch made before they can even start the repairs on the southbound side. Zang said it will take two months to do all that work and then switch it over to a northbound crossover. The HOV lane is closed until further notice and when that northbound crossover happens, the ramp from southbound Route 28 to the Veterans Bridge, which carries 11,000 vehicles a day, will also close. The biggest wrinkle in all of this will be for the 30,000 drivers who are used to coming down through the East Street valley on the right side to get to the Veterans Bridge. They will now have to get to the left side at McKnight Road to get into the crossover onto the HOV lane.
Times
12-06-2025
- Sport
- Times
Rory McIlroy fades fast as Oakmont brings best to their knees
For a couple of hours all the talk of Oakmont's terrors seemed overstated and this near mythical beast by the Allegheny River looked about as dangerous as a stuffed fish on a marble plinth. The reputation has been well-earned, though, and by the end of the first day at a sun-baked US Open, players were using words like brutal and bloodbath, and Rory McIlroy's promising start had faded into more anti-climax. After a bogey-free first nine, he dropped six shots, finished at four over par and was not in the mood for discussing it afterwards. The frustration was palpable as he again walked past journalists shaking his head. For the fifth consecutive round at the majors, the man who inspired post-Augusta paeans had scribes sheathing their pens. Scottie Scheffler was just starting out on his own troubled path at that point, and JJ Spaun was talking into a camera after setting the clubhouse lead with a round of 66, some eight shots clear of McIlroy. It was very much a round of two halves for McIlroy. After all the talk about having to replace his 'non-conforming' driver at last month's US PGA Championship and his own questions about motivation, he began with the requisite calm and control. Playing the easier back nine first, he was able to open with an iron off the tee and on his third felt able to bludgeon a 392-yard drive down the middle. The ensuing eagle chance went awry but he was two under in three holes. The toughest course in the world? Pah. But as the day lengthened, that 'ugly old brute' of a course got under the skin and scraped the scabbing from weakness. Tiger Woods had warned that there is no faking it here, and it duly provided a true test of technique, strategy and psyche. It is a course where you need to make putts from inside ten feet to stay afloat and, significantly, McIlroy missed three from within seven feet after the turn. And then came his penultimate hole, the much-vaunted long par-three measuring 279 yards and due to get longer. He missed the green right and needed two swipes to get out of the dense rough. That double bogey was the final blight on a day of dwindling promise. One of the keys to winning here is damage limitation and the 4th hole, McIlroy's 13th, was a little odyssey. It took some time to locate his ball and, deep in trouble, McIlroy ignored caddie Harry Diamond's suggestion to take a drop. He could only hack his ball some 20 yards forward and the next shot was even worse, his relatively serene progress in danger of unravelling in one, disastrous hole. In fairness to McIlroy, he then managed to get up and down from 180 yards for what was a bonus bogey, but he had started to creak. It will be no consolation that he was better than his playing partners. Shane Lowry, who started the final round of the 2016 US Open here four shots clear, was nine over, despite an eagle from 160 yards, and Justin Rose was only two shots better. It meant a trio with a combined seven majors finished at a collective 20 over par. Pretty beastly, that. Although 23 of the past 24 US Open winners have been within four shots of the lead after the opening round, McIlroy was in good company in the trauma ward. Tommy Fleetwood and Matt Fitzpatrick were among those on the same score, while Gary Woodland, the 2019 champion, was another whose flying start segued into an Icarus descent after six dropped shots in six holes. Bryson DeChambeau, the defending champion, was alongside him at three over par after struggling with his putter, but predicted that could be the winning score if the rain holds off over the weekend. The sun and breeze sapped the course of any lingering moisture, and anyone finishing under par had cause for a panoramic smile. Bob MacIntyre, the pride of Oban, was one of those delighted to walk away at even par. 'You shoot four level-par rounds, you're walking away with a medal and a trophy,' he said. 'That's up there in the top ten rounds I've played. It's just so hard. Honestly, every shot you're on a knife edge. I felt I played beautifully and I drove it as good as I can drive the golf ball.' His excitement with a 70 shows the scale of this challenge. Belgium's Ryder Cup hopeful Thomas Detry, one of the select bunch in the red numbers, warned that it could even become 'a bloodbath' if the wind starts to blow harder. The rough is part of it, but the speed and slopes of the greens provide a potent combination. So Spaun deserved huge credit, as did Thriston Lawrence who was only a shot behind with Kim Si-woo , another stroke adrift. Spaun, beaten by McIlroy in the play-off at The Players in March, chipped in for a birdie on his opening hole and that set the tone for a scrambling round. 'I rode that momentum through the day,' he said. As for McIlroy, he does not need to rewind very far for proof that he can overcome first-round deflation. At the Masters he was written off by many after making two double bogeys down the first-round stretch. Opportunities for salvage streaks are scarcer at Oakmont, though, and his first task is to make the cut. Failure to do so would spawn more enquiries about how he can rekindle his fire after achieving his career goal. Even Scheffler said the post-major comedown last month left him feeling like he had been hit by a bus due to the heightened emotion. He probably felt something similar after a string of early bogeys had him fighting fire and rarely-seen foible. Patrick Reed was another suffering the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune with his 286-yard albatross from the fourth fairway straddled by bogeys. For all the suspicion that McIlroy needs time to regather his mojo, he hates the thought that anyone might think he is not up for golf's hardest tests and, indeed, after three missed cuts at the US Open, he has not been out of the top ten for six years. But Oakmont is tougher than the rest. John Bodenhamer, the USGA's chief championships officer, said with a tinge of sadism that part of the place's appeal is psychological. 'Oakmont is relentless,' he said. 'It's a grind and there are limited opportunities to catch up when you are behind.' They will all try to keep on hanging on today.
CBS News
05-06-2025
- Business
- CBS News
Oakmont businesses excited to cash in on U.S. Open
Next week, it's estimated that more than 200,000 people will pass through the Oakmont area for the U.S. Open. While the focus of the U.S. Open will be at the Oakmont Country Club, small businesses in the region are hoping people will flock down so they can cash in. The borough is quietly nestled along the Allegheny River, but it becomes the center of the golf world next week. Local Remedy hopes to get their name out there For some businesses like Local Remedy, which opened earlier this year, it's a chance to get their name out there. "We think it will be a great opportunity for us to get some new people in the door," tavern manager Maria Synan said. They're working with food trucks and bringing in a popular golf podcast. "They have their own following of people who listen to the podcast and want to come see them live. So bringing them here is going to be a huge opportunity for us," Synan said. Business exploded in 2016 for Amanda Lee Glassware Others have been through the crowd rush before and they've seen business explode after everyone left. Amanda Lee started her business just before the 2016 tournament. "I had only been in business about two years then and it really propelled me. It got us a lot of online sales, so now we're in all 50 states," Lee said. Before this year's championship, Amanda Lee Glassware started seeing buyers. The shop worked with the USGA in 2016 and is again making glassware that's in the U.S. Open merchandise tent; 3,000 of a special glass set were made. Part of the set has the country club clubhouse and squirrel logo painted on it. This is in addition to all the other glassware she sells. "I've been painting it in my sleep," Lee said. Somma Pizza and Sports Bar caters to USGA Somma Pizza and Sports Bar is literally across the street from the country club. It's been catering the United States Golf Association during their stay and will continue through the championship next week. "I'm like, we're part of this. We're bringing food to these guys," Somma owner Susan Somma said. They've been in their spot for 22 years and have seen the rush of customers in the past. Preparing for next week is not an easy task. "Took me two weeks to do the schedule. I wanted to pull my hair out, because I don't know. I don't know what's going to happen, but we're busy, so that's all that matters," Somma said. Several businesses, including the ones in this story, plan on extending hours and opening on days they are normally closed to accommodate crowds.
CBS News
30-05-2025
- Entertainment
- CBS News
USGA hosts meet-and-greet event in Oakmont ahead of next month's U.S. Open
The U.S. Open will be teeing off in less than two weeks and on Thursday night, the United States Golf Association held a meet-and-greet event for people who live in the Oakmont area. Members of the community were invited to the Oaks Theater along Allegheny River Boulevard to learn about the upcoming event and see the coveted U.S. Open Trophy. The United States Golf Association held a meet-and-greet event in Oakmont ahead of next month's playing of the U.S. Open. KDKA Photojournalist Bryce Lutz "It's really cool to be working with and for an event that has such rich history," said Tim Lloyd, Senior Director of the U.S. Open Championship for the USGA. "We want to preserve that history, the tradition of the event and the game, but also look at how we can modernize and innovate as we look to incorporate the future as well. So blending those two together can be tricky at times, but to have a trophy with 124 names really reminds you of how historic this is." The U.S. Open is being hosted at Oakmont Country Club for a record 10th time next month. The tournament will take place from June 12 to June 15.
