Pittsburg, PA
Petition for ‘antisemitic’ ballot referendum dropped before judge hears objections
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — A petition for a ballot referendum that Jewish organizations call antisemitic was dropped shortly before a judge was expected to hear objections to the case.
It would have prohibited Pittsburgh from doing business with anyone engaged in working with Israel. A judge said this withdrawal came down to the fact that the petitioners did not have the proper amount of valid signatures to put the referendum on the ballot.
“This is about something that was illegal and not appropriate to be on the ballot,” said Jeff Finkelstein, the CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh.
He referred to a petition for a referendum that sought to prevent the city from funding or engaging with any entity doing business with Israel, until “Israel ends its military action in Gaza.”
It came from a group called ‘No War Crimes On Our Dime,’ with the Pittsburgh Democratic Socialists of America.
Ben Case is one of the leaders.
“This grassroots coalition came together in a matter of weeks this summer on the energy of Pittsburghers who felt this was something we could do to support the people of Palestine and pressure for peace,” Case said.
The federation and other Jewish organizations, with the city controller, filed objections to the referendum, calling it antisemitic.
“If you look at the definition of antisemitism, which is called the IHRA definition, one of the things it talks about is when the State of Israel is held to a higher standard than any other country in the world,” Finkelstein said. “You don’t see any of these groups talking about any country in the world and putting any kinds of sanctions on them. It’s only the State of Israel.”
They also said it is a violation of state law.
“The state has legislation saying that you cannot boycott, divest, or have sanctions against the State of Israel,” Finkelstein said.
Those wanting the ballot question said the county elections office did an initial review of the signatures they submitted and told them the referendum could be on the ballot. Technically, it didn’t have the required number of valid signatures from registered voters in Pittsburgh.
However, both sides say the fight is not over.
“We’ll use every avenue available to us to fight for peace, equality, and justice, from Pittsburgh to Palestine,” Case said.
“This is a community that has persevered, suffered the worst antisemitic attack in American history, and will continue to be strong going forward,” Finkelstein said.
Last week, Mayor Ed Gainey’s office told KDKA-TV that the mayor had serious concerns regarding the implications of the proposed referendum if it were to pass, and wanted to prevent it from becoming part of the home rule charter.
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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