PITTSBURG, Kan. — The 2024 Pride Fest in Pittsburg was held today in Lincoln Park.

This is the third time this Pride Fest has returned to Pittsburg, Kansas.

Hundreds of people came out to show some pride or support the cause.

Over 25 vendors set up to give information out and show off their pride merchandise.

The event also held a best dressed and dog costume competition and held three different drag shows in the evening.

“It’s a sense of community, even if it is a small town like Pittsburg it’s still so important to represent yourself anyway you want and that’s what we are here for, we are here for love and community,” said Maxine Knoph, Pittsburg Kansas Pride Secretary.

“It feels pretty nice actually because over the years I didn’t have people I could go talk to about things like sexuality or race and that stuff, it’s like now I can, I have people I can go talk to, hang out with,” said Asben Williams, he/they.

“It’s amazing, it is absolutely wonderful to know there are people out there that will support you and who you are,” said Avery Haraughy.

The next Pittsburg Pride event will be at TJ Leland’s in August.

These are the faces of innocence.

First pictures of a pair of tragic infant twins in Pittsburgh, one of whom was allegedly killed by a “trusted” babysitter last week, have emerged, with the bubbly smiles of 6-week-old Leon and Ari Katz beaming from a set of now heartbreaking photos posted online.

Friends collecting donations for Ethan Katz and wife Savannah Roberts described the couple’s “unbearable loss” after Leon died on Father’s Day — allegedly at the hands of family friend and California PhD student Nicole Virzi, who is believed to be the daughter of a Manhattan cardiologist.

“Leon Katz, a beautiful and healthy six-week old baby boy, was tragically killed under horrific circumstances on June 16, 2024,” friends wrote on a GoFundMe for the couple which has already brought in more than $50,000.

“Leon will always be remembered as a happy, smiley, goofy baby boy. His untimely and tragic death has deeply impacted the Pittsburgh community, occurring on Ethan’s first Father’s Day and the parents’ first wedding anniversary.” 

The couple left Leon in Virzi’s care while rushing Ari to the hospital with a mysterious injury to his genitals, which Virzi, 29, had alerted them to, authorities said.

While the first-time parents were caring for Ari, Virzi claimed Leon had fallen out of his bouncer chair while she stepped away to get a bottle, according to the Daily Mail, which cited police and court records.

But doctors found the injuries “consistent with having been sustained as a result of child abuse, as these are inflicted injuries that are not natural and not accidental,” according to WTAE.

“A trusted family friend has been arrested for homicide, child endangerment, and aggravated assault that the boys experience,” according to the GoFundMe.

Virzi’s LinkedIn, which has now been deleted, indicated she is a fifth year Ph.D. Candidate at SDSU/UC San Diego Joint Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology.

Virzi, who is also accused of abusing Ari, is being held without bail at the Allegheny County Jail and is due in court Friday.

She’s denied the allegations.

The family now faces “significant financial burdens,” the couple’s friends wrote on the fundraising platform, adding, “Funds raised will cover funeral expenses, medical bills resulting from injuries sustained by both Leon and Ari, essential baby supplies, and relocation costs as they navigate this difficult time.”

Virzi is believed to be the daughter of Mount Sinai cardiologist Peter J. Virzi. A man who answered the phone at one of Nicole’s siblings’ homes and identified himself as the suspect’s father said slammed a Post reporter as “inappropriate” and a “horrible person” before hanging up.

“Our client denies these allegations. She is a loving person and a friend to these people and would never harm anyone’s child, let alone theirs,” Virzi’s attorney David Shrager told Pittsburgh’s WTAE.

“She’s going to be 30 years old. She’s a Ph.D. student. She is long-term friends with the family in this situation. As I’ve said, it doesn’t show any criminal history in her background and we’re anxious to get our day in court.”

Savannah Roberts is also a fifth-year PhD student in Clinical and Developmental Psychology at the University of Pittsburgh.

One of Pittsburgh’s most popular and historic park shelters is set to get an upgrade next summer.

The Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy is spearheading an effort to revitalize Riverview Park’s Valley Refuge Shelter and improve accessibility at the site.

The shelter is one of the most popular in the city, with permits issued 77 times last year. It was the tenth most heavily-used shelter out of all of Pittsburgh’s seasonal shelters last year, according to city data, and was used for picnics, parties, reunions and even yoga.

Revitalizing the aging site was a “major priority,” said Brandon Riley, director of community projects and engagement with the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy.

The shelter was originally constructed in 1939 as part of the National Youth Association, which was an arm of the Works Progress Administration, a New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers to conduct public works projects.

One of the stones on the shelter is marked with the year and an indication it was a Works Progress Administration initiative, Riley said.

The conservancy’s work will include upgrades to the bathrooms to make them ADA-compliant, as well as upgrades to the lighting, plumbing and electrical systems, Riley said. A new drinking fountain will be installed to replace one that doesn’t work there now. Crews will repair the roof and historic masonry on and around the structure.

Some of the historic flagstone paving that has “fallen into disrepair” and made the site less accessible will also be fixed, he said.

The goal, Riley said is to give it “an overall repair and upgrade so that it can continue to be a joy for future generations.”

“What we’re really focusing on is improving accessibility, improving functionality and making sure we’re providing for the longevity of the structure,” he said.

A grant from the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission will require the project shows “respect for the history” and meets standards for preserving historic materials, Riley said.

The open-air shelter is used predominantly in the warmer months, Riley said, though it appears at one point there had been sliding doors that could enclose the shelter. He believes those may have been installed during a renovation in the 1960s, but they’ve since been removed.

The project is currently in the design phase, Riley said, with construction expected to start early next spring. Work should be finished by mid-summer 2025.

The $240,000 project is funded, in part, by $130,000 from Pittsburgh’s parks tax.

The city allocated money from the controversial 0.5-mil tax — which the city started collecting in 2021 after voters narrowly approved it in a 2019 ballot referendum — to help the conservancy fund upgrades at Allegheny Commons Park and build a sensory-friendly classroom in Frick Park.

“It demonstrates we can do more, we can get a lot more work done, if we’re partnering on these things and sharing these costs,” Riley said.

Riley said the city also may provide labor from its construction division. Spokespeople for Mayor Ed Gainey did not immediately respond to requests for comment Friday.