Pennsylvania

For NFL Draft, how Pa. police are working to keep fans safe

Published

3 hours ago

March 17, 2026

Press Room

For NFL Draft, how Pa. police are working to keep fans safe

How the Point will transform to host the three-day event

Erin Yudt/Pittsburgh Media Partnership Newsroom
| Special to The Times

State and local agencies are collaborating on public safety plans for the NFL Draft in Pittsburgh.
The event is expected to draw up to 700,000 visitors to Point State Park and the North Shore.

With the NFL Draft less than six weeks away, state police and park rangers are ramping up public safety preparations at Point State Park in downtown Pittsburgh’s Golden Triangle.

Pennsylvania State Police Troop B Public Information Officer Rocco Gagliardi said representatives from all 16 troops have been working together for over a year to create emergency-ready plans for the three-day event, which is projected to bring 500,000 to 700,000 visitors. The draft is scheduled for April 23-25.

“You don’t see that page two of the plan book where we exercise those plans,” Gagliardi said. “We want to make sure that [the Draft] just goes as seamless as possible with all of those different groups that we have to work with 100%.”

One of these key groups, Gagliardi said, includes the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency.

PEMA spokesperson Jeff Jumper said they have been in communication with local and state agencies since the fall to “ensure readiness of Pennsylvania assets ahead of the NFL Draft and other events scheduled throughout 2026.”

One of those assets includes the Urban Search and Rescue Strike Task Force (PA-ST1), based in Pittsburgh. The group assists emergency management agencies in structural collapse rescues.

“We have to make sure all grounds are covered, whether that’s with [the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources] directly, whether that’s with the governor’s office and PEMA, or whether that’s maybe just with a more local entity, like hazardous fire crews and EMS personnel … the list kind of just continues theoretically forever,” Gagliardi said.

As of 2021, PSP has operated with about 4,547 active troopers, supported by over 1,850 staff members. Gagliardi said Troop B will be pulling resources, like individual troopers, from surrounding troops during the draft week.

“You’re going to see [PSP] troopers from Troop B, and then you’re going to see other troop letters from D, C, and A possibly that also come in just because of the influx of public,” Gagliardi said. “We want to make sure that safety is a priority.”

In an email, a VisitPittsburgh spokesperson said the organization does not “generally discuss” security and safety protocols. VisitPittsburgh is part of the local organizing committee for the draft.

State officials have helped facilitate communication between Pittsburgh public safety officials, county sheriff’s offices, and state police, said State Department of Community and Economic Development Secretary Rick Siger.

“Our [Commonwealth] teams are focused on public safety, transportation … making sure we’re fully integrated with local teams to make sure the draft is a safe and an outstanding experience for all comers,” he said.

Providing a positive experience

The main stage will be located outside of Acrisure Stadium on the North Shore. Renderings of the planned stage were released in early February. NFL Vice President of Global Events Nicki Ewell said similar renderings will be released for events at Point State Park in early April.

“That’ll come with our fan-facing map. The plans for the Point are the red-carpet experience where the prospects will get ready with mom and dad and girlfriend before they head over to the green room,” Ewell said.

Pop-up bars, large viewing screens, games, exhibits, and an autograph stage will also be scattered throughout the park. For food, the same vendors will be at draft events all three days, said Jerad Bachar, president and CEO of VisitPittsburgh.

Last December, planning officials with the NFL visited the region and gathered local businesses to meet with subcontractors, in hopes of securing a contract to become an official vendor for the draft. These businesses underwent months of NFL-led training to be a part of the NFL Draft Source Program.

There are about 100 businesses in the program that were selected out of several hundred applicants, Draft Source lead Myisha Boyce said.

Point State Park improvements

Construction upgrades at Point State Park are helping public safety preparations, Gagliardi said.

The first phase of $3.4 million in significant improvements to Point State Park ahead of the NFL Draft was completed in December. DCNR made repairs to address leaks and to improve the lighting of the fountain, as well as repairs to walkways, utilities and landscaping.

While Duquesne Light did not do any electrical upgrades at Point State Park, company workers are doing manhole inspections at the park and North Shore areas ahead of the draft, External Communications Associate Alyssa Battaglia said. She also said the NFL is bringing its own power generation to run the events at the North Shore and the park.

Road work to be suspended during NFL Draft

Another element of public safety planning, Gagliardi said, is transportation and streamlining communication around construction projects.

“PennDOT will suspend any lane restrictions on projects in and around the City of Pittsburgh during the draft days, said Steve Cowan, District 11 press officer for the state Department of Transportation.

Most public safety announcements on the days of the draft, like traffic alerts, will be communicated through Troop B’s X account, as well as the City of Pittsburgh’s, Gagliardi said.

“With PennDOT, we’re going to have a large number of people and drivers coming into the city. What does that look like for road closures, especially on the North Shore or in tunnels or bridges?” Gagliardi said. “Maybe there’s a serious crash. How do we alert drivers in rerouted directions? Working with PennDOT for signage boards … the list goes on and on, and we are all working together on that.”

State police will also soon release information on a tips program to report any incidents of suspected terrorism or human trafficking, for example, he said.

To report criminal activity to the Pennsylvania State Police, call 1-888-292-1919 or email tips@pa.gov.

Erin Yudt is a reporter with the Pittsburgh Media Partnership Newsroom, part of the Center for Media Innovation at Point Park University. She most recently was a multimedia content producer and digital reporter at WKBN in Youngstown and is a graduate of Point Park University. Reach her at erin.yudt@pointpark.edu.

The PMP Newsroom is a regional news service that focuses on government and enterprise reporting in southwestern Pennsylvania. Find out more information on foundation and corporate funders at https://www.pghmediapartnership.org/sponsors.

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Pennsylvania

Tornado Watch: Tracking severe weather in the Philadelphia region | Live updates

Published

15 hours ago

March 16, 2026

Press Room

Tornado Watch: Tracking severe weather in the Philadelphia region | Live updates

With the region under a tornado watch, folks were trying to plan their day to avoid traveling in severe weather.

“My car doesn’t do really well in the rain, so we’re just trying to get out as early as we can,” said Dalexa Rodriguez of Reading, Pa.

Rodriguez and Kiancy Reyes were heading back to Penn State’s main campus on Monday.

Crews cleaning storm drains ahead of possible downpours

“You just gotta keep your head on a swivel, pay attention. We’ll be fine,” said Kiancy Reyes of Bristol Twp., Pa.

They hit the road early, hoping to avoid some nasty weather.

Officials say crews in New Jersey and Pennsylvania spent the day cleaning storm drains and inlets in preparation for downpours.

“Today, they are picking up litter, which will hopefully prevent clogging storm drains or just having other obstructions along the road,” said Helen Reinbrecht, PennDOT’s District 6 Community Relations Coordinator.

Another concern with high winds expected: downed trees, wires, and power outages.

“PECO has developed an enhanced staffing plan for this event to ensure we have additional field crews on hand and on standby to respond to any outages to safely restore service for our customers,” said PECO spokesperson Izamarie Camacho.

PECO says they’re monitoring conditions and will call in help from outside the area if needed. They’re urging people to be safe in case of an outage – and to be prepared.

“PECO customers should always assume that equipment is energized. We tell customers to report downed power lines by contacting us at 1-800-841-4141,” added Camacho.

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Pennsylvania

Why Pennsylvania leads the nation in preserving agricultural farmland

Published

1 day ago

March 16, 2026

Press Room

Why Pennsylvania leads the nation in preserving agricultural farmland

Two farms in Beaver and Somerset counties will be preserved for farming now that Pennsylvania has purchased the development rights to those properties.

The Shapiro administration announced in February that state and county governments bought the development rights to 25 farms in 17 counties, investing $7.1 million under Pennsylvania’s Farmland Preservation Program to ensure the 1,905 acres of land included on those farms would always be used for agricultural purposes and not sold to residential or commercial developers.

In Beaver County, the development rights on a 62-acre crop and livestock farm in Hanover Township, owned by William McNary Jr. and Deborah K. McNary, were purchased for $234,140, using state funds.

In Somerset County, the development rights on a 125-acre crop and livestock farm in Somerset Township, owned by Tim E. Bell, Thomas E. Bell and Suzanne K. Bell, were purchased by state and local governments for $187,104, with the state paying $181,635 and the county paying $5,469.

“Farmland tells the story of Pennsylvania, of generations who worked the land, cared for its resources and built communities that endure,” said Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding in the Feb. 12 announcement.

“In this America250 year, and through the 2025-26 budget, the Shapiro administration is honoring that legacy by protecting our land, water and soil, supporting the next generation of farmers and investing in the innovation and infrastructure that will sustain Pennsylvania agriculture for generations to come.”

Pennsylvania voters approved the creation of the Farmland Preservation Program in 1988, and since then, 6,673 farms and 662,940 acres of farmland have been preserved for agricultural production across 58 counties, the announcement said.

Agriculture contributes $132.5 billion to Pennsylvania’s economy and supports almost 600,000 jobs, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture.

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Pennsylvania

Senator says Pennsylvania bus driver had ‘God-given’ right to wear MAGA hat

Published

2 days ago

March 15, 2026

Press Room

Senator says Pennsylvania bus driver had ‘God-given’ right to wear MAGA hat

ADAMS COUNTY, Pa. (WHP) — Senator Doug Mastriano (R-Pa.) has released a statement addressing a former school bus driver in Littlestown, Pennsylvania who left his job after he claimed he was given an ultimatum for wearing a ‘Make America Great Again’ hat on his bus.

The treatment of Littlestown bus driver Dave Bonhoff should outrage every Pennsylvanian who believes in liberty, fairness and the constitutional freedoms that define our nation.

Dave Bonhoff, a retired Baltimore County police officer, stepped away from driving for the Littlestown Area School District after he received a call from his boss at Krise Transportation informing him that one of the students had complained about his hat.

She contacts me and says, ‘Hey, listen, I’m going to buy you a hat, an American flag hat, because the school district has deemed that they don’t want you to wear that ‘Make America Great Again’ hat,” Bonhoff said.

Bonhoff left the company the same day.

Mastriano said in a statement Friday that political correctness has become a “tool of intimidation.”

Mr. Bonhoff is a retired police officer who continued serving his community by safely transporting children to school. Yet he was effectively forced out of his job because he wore a hat that read ‘Make America Great Again.’ Whether someone agrees with that message is completely irrelevant. In America, citizens do not lose their First Amendment rights simply because someone else claims to be offended.

What happened here is not about ‘sensitivity’ or ‘respect.’ It is about the suffocating culture of political correctness that is spreading through our institutions — a culture that demands conformity, punishes dissent and attempts to silence anyone who refuses to bow to its ideology. Political correctness has become a tool of intimidation. It is used to shame, threaten and drive ordinary Americans out of their jobs and public life simply for expressing views that do not align with the approved narrative. That is not tolerance. That is coercion.

Mastriano said it was brave of Bonhoff to stick to his beliefs, “Dave Bonhoff showed more courage in standing by his principles than many institutions have shown in defending the rights they claim to value. No American should ever be forced to choose between their livelihood and their constitutional freedoms.”

Bonhoff said his hat had nothing to do with political views, “There’s nothing in this hat that says anything about partisanship,” he said. “I think that saying that this hat is political is absurd. It’s patriotic.”

He noted the phrase had been used by both republican and democratic administrations.

Mastriano said wearing political views should be respected on both sides of the party system, as protected by the Constitution.

I stand firmly with Dave Bonhoff and with every Pennsylvanian who refuses to be bullied into silence. Free speech does not exist only for views that are popular or politically fashionable. It exists precisely to protect the right of Americans to speak their minds without fear of retaliation. Freedom of expression is not granted by bureaucrats, administrators or activists. It is a God-given right protected by the Constitution — and it must be defended without apology.

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