Pittsburg, PA
Anthrocon, the Pittsburgh furries convention, expected to set attendance record
15,500 furries expected to generate $17.4 million in direct visitor spending in Pittsburgh
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PITTSBURGH ― Anthrocon, more generally known as the annual furry convention, returns to the David Lawrence Convention Center on July 4-7.
VisitPITTSBURGH announced Thursday that Anthrocon is expected to bring record-breaking attendance and economic impact to Pittsburgh.
“With more than 15,500 furries expected to take on the city, the annual furry convention is anticipated to result in approximately $17.4 million in direct visitor spending, a press release from Pittsburgh’s tourism agency said.
Fursuiters, people who celebrate anthropomorphics, which are human-like animal characters, dress in head-to-toe furry attire.
“Each year, we have the privilege of working with the event organizers to establish strong community connections and partnerships that leave a significant and lasting impact on our city,” Andy Ortale, chief salesofficer at VisitPITTSBURGH, said. “And this year, there are several events on the docket that standto make Anthrocon 2024 bigger and better.”
Attendees are booked across 22 partner hotels, with six shuttle routes facilitating travel to thedowntown Pittsburgh convention center.
Over the four-day event span, attendees will explore the city by foot and partake in Anthrocon’s line-up of community events in and around Downtown, such as:
- Market Square Musicians: The Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership has invited musicians attending Anthrocon to perform on July 4 during the lunchtime concerts in Market Square.
- Anthrocon Block Party: On July 6, will take over Penn Avenue between Ninth and 11th streets from noon through the evening, encouraging attendees to meet with downtown businesses and the community. Nearby restaurants and attractions are encouraged to display signage that invites the fursuiters to stop in.
- The Fursuit Parade: More than 5,000 people are expected to line the street July 6 for a world record-setting event. The Fursuit Parade begins at 2 p.m. on 10th Street near Fort Duquesne Boulevard, proceeding south along 10th Street and routing back to the convention center.
- Harris Theater Screening: A special screening 4 p.m. July 6 of the Don Bluth animated film classic “The Secret of N.I.M.H.” co-presented by Anthrocon. Tickets can be purchased via the Culture Trust at trustarts.org.
- Community Events: Anthrocon has partnered with several local businesses, including the Carnegie Science Center and Gateway Clipper, to provide special offerings toconvention-goers.
Scott Tady is entertainment editor at The Times and easy to reach at stady@gannett.com.
Pittsburg, PA
Man’s body found underneath trailer behind former Shop ‘n Save in Carrick
Pittsburgh Police detectives are investigating after a man’s body was found underneath a trailer behind the former Shop ‘n Save store in the city’s Carrick neighborhood.
Pittsburgh Public Safety said late Monday night that detectives from the Violent Crime division responded to the area of Amanda Street and Wynoka Street in Carrick after a man’s body was found around 8:30 p.m.
Public Safety said the man’s body was found underneath a trailer and that he was pronounced dead by medics at the scene.
A photo provided by Pittsburgh Public Safety shows officers surrounding a taped off area and what appears to be a refrigerated trailer parked at the loading dock along Amanda Street behind the former Brownsville Shop n’ Save, which closed its doors last month.
No details surrounding the circumstances of the man’s death were provided by Public Safety, who said that the cause and the manner of the man’s death will be determined by the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office.
The man’s identity has not been released.
Public Safety said the investigation into the man’s death is “ongoing.”
Pittsburg, PA
Record number of peregrine falcons counted in Allegheny County
In the early 1960s, the peregrine falcon population declined so sharply that the raptors weren’t even nesting in Pennsylvania. But now, the National Aviary says a record number have been counted in Allegheny County.
The National Aviary says six peregrine falcons were recorded in the county during the annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count. The nation’s longest-running citizen science project collects data on bird populations for ornithologists, the aviary says. It also plays a role in guiding conservation action, like what was needed to bring peregrine falcons back from the brink of extinction.
Because of the use of DDT, peregrine falcons were no longer nesting in the state of Pennsylvania by the early 1960s, the aviary said. But after the harmful pesticide, which negatively affects reproduction rates in birds, was banned in 1972, conservation efforts have helped the peregrine falcon rebound. It was removed from the federal endangered species list in 1999 and Pennsylvania’s list in 2021.
The record number of peregrine falcons in Allegheny County is thanks in part to the nest on top of Pitt’s Cathedral of Learning in Oakland. For the past two years, biologists with the Pennsylvania Game Commission have banded chicks born in the nest. Three were banded last year, and two the year before that.
People can watch Carla and Ecco raise their family in the nest on a livestream camera run by the National Aviary. Carla laid her first egg of the breeding season on March 16 last year, so the aviary says the start of another season isn’t too far away.
Pittsburg, PA
Police investigating two late-night McKeesport shootings
Police are investigating two shootings that happened less than 30 minutes apart on Sunday night in McKeesport.
Two men were injured in the shootings that happened at two different locations.
Allegheny County Police said that the department’s Homicide Unit was requested and responded to assist in the shooting investigations.
According to police, officers were first called to the area of Lysle Boulevard and Huey Street, where a man was shot just after 10:30 p.m. on Sunday night.
KDKA’s news crew at the scene saw the outside of the Sunoco gas station along Lysle Boulevard lined with crime tape and what appeared to be blood on the front door of the store.
Police also had an area taped off around the intersection of nearby 5th Avenue and Huey Street. The man who was shot in the area was taken to the hospital in stable condition.
Police said they are also investigating a shooting that happened in the area of an alleyway behind Madison Avenue, where another man was shot Dispatchers said the second shooting happened around 25 minutes after the first.
The two shooting scenes in McKeesport are located around 1/4 of a mile apart.
At the second shooting scene, KDKA’s news crew at the scene saw police taping off an alleyway between Madison Avenue and Petty Street.
Officers at the scene were shining flashlights and looking into a black sedan that had its flashers on. The man who was shot in the area of Madison Avenue was taken to the hospital in stable condition.
Police didn’t specify if the two shootings are believed to be related.
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