Pittsburg, PA

Sale of US Steel kicks up a political storm, but Pittsburgh isn't Steeltown USA anymore

Published

2 years ago

July 11, 2024

Sale of US Steel kicks up a political storm, but Pittsburgh isn't Steeltown USA anymore

PITTSBURGH — Generations of Pittsburgh residents have worked at steel mills, rooted for the Steelers or ridden the rollercoaster at Kennywood amusement park, giving them a bird’s eye view of the massive Edgar Thomson Works, the region’s last blast furnace.

Now, Steeltown USA’s most storied steel company, U.S. Steel, is on the cusp of being bought by Japanese steelmaker Nippon Steel Corp. in a deal that’s kicking up an election year political maelstrom across America’s industrial heartland.

The sale comes during a tide of renewed political support for rebuilding America’s manufacturing sector and in the middle of a presidential campaign in which the politically dynamic Pittsburgh region is a destination for President Joe Biden, former President Donald Trump and their surrogates.

The deal follows a long stretch of protectionist U.S. tariffs that analysts say has helped reinvigorate domestic steel. And it is eliciting complicated feelings in a region where steel is largely a thing of the past after people, particularly those 50 or older, watched mills shut down and their Rust Belt towns wither.

“The fear is that these jobs went away once, and the fear is that these jobs could go away again,” said Mike Mikus, a Pittsburgh-based Democratic campaign consultant whose grandfather lost his steel mill job 40 years ago.

U.S. Steel is no longer a major steelmaker in an industry dominated by the Chinese. But its workers still carry political heft in what some see as a larger symbolic fight to save what’s left of manufacturing in the United States.

With the United Steelworkers against the deal, Biden — a Democrat who has made his support for organized labor explicit and has won the union’s endorsement — has all but vowed to block U.S. Steel’s sale, saying in an April rally with steelworkers in Pittsburgh that the company “should remain totally American.”

Trump, a Republican who as president opposed union organizing efforts but describes himself as pro-worker, has said he would block it “instantaneously.”

Biden’s White House has indicated the secretive Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States will review the transaction for national security concerns. The committee can recommend that the president block a transaction, and federal law gives the president that power.

In the meantime, the Department of Justice is reviewing it for antitrust compliance, and the steelworkers union has filed a grievance over it.

In a rare flurry of bipartisan unity, the sale has drawn opposition from Democratic Sens. Bob Casey and John Fetterman of Pennsylvania and Sherrod Brown of Ohio and from Republican Sens. J.D. Vance of Ohio, Ted Cruz of Texas and Josh Hawley of Missouri, on both economic and national security grounds.

Nippon Steel has scheduled the deal to close later this year.

Once the world’s largest corporation, U.S. Steel was the world’s 27th-largest steelmaker in 2023, according to World Steel Association figures. It reported just under $900 million in net income on $16 billion in sales last year.

The deal includes all of U.S. Steel’s ore mining, coking, steelmaking and processing plants around the country, including the Edgar Thomson Works, which looms over the Monongahela River just south of Pittsburgh and still churns out steel slabs 150 years after it was built. U.S. Steel employs 3,000 people at its four major Pennsylvania plants, including the Edgar Thomson and the nation’s largest coke-making plant in nearby Clairton.

Nippon Steel — the world’s fourth-largest steelmaker in 2023, according to association figures — and U.S. Steel are now in the midst of a broad public relations effort to promote the sale.

Their ads are on social media, TV screens and billboards, as the companies promise to protect jobs, move Nippon Steel’s U.S. headquarters to Pittsburgh from Houston and invest in the badly aging Pittsburgh-area plants to make them cleaner and more efficient.

Flyers landing in Pittsburgh-area mailboxes tout the “future of American steel” and urge residents to contact their elected officials to support the companies’ “partnership.”

And, they say, “U.S. Steel remains U.S. Steel.”

Meanwhile, Pittsburgh is a changed place.

It is no longer a destination for new steel investment. Gone are the 20 or so miles (32 kilometers) of contiguous iron and steel mills from downtown Pittsburgh and up the Monongahela River that helped the U.S. industrialize and wage wars.

Now, Pittsburgh is seen as an “eds and meds” city in which universities and hospitals are the major employers.

Allegheny County, which surrounds Pittsburgh, just began growing again, after decades of population decline. Some city neighborhoods have emerged from a long period of struggle and are thriving, and a younger generation is attracted to the city’s growing high-tech industry.

Younger residents or transplants don’t necessarily want steelworkers to lose jobs, but they care about the environment, too. Local elections are increasingly elevating insurgent progressives who take a dim view of fossil fuels and heavy industries — such as U.S. Steel’s plants — that use them.

Edith Abeyta, an artist and California transplant who lives near Edgar Thomson Works, keeps an air monitor at her house to check daily for air quality.

For her, Edgar Thomson Works is a massive eyesore and a health threat.

“Not every place you go smells like rotten eggs or burning metal or you see big plumes of red smoke or black smoke or flares that are burning all night long,” Abeyta said. “Not everybody lives with that.”

Steelworkers have changed too.

The union still endorses Democrats, but rank-and-file blue-collar union members, like the steelworkers, are no longer viewed as a bedrock of the Democratic Party’s coalition, in part because of shrinking union numbers but also because there were defections to Republicans. In 2016, Trump became the first Republican to win Rust Belt states Michigan and Pennsylvania since 1988.

Christopher Briem, an economist at the University of Pittsburgh’s Center for Social and Urban Research, estimated there are 5,000 steel mill jobs in the region, a tiny percentage of the number of mill jobs when steelmaking there was at its peak. He puts the region’s competitive steelmaking peak in the 1920s, before technological advances rendered the region’s metallurgical coal unnecessary for steelmaking and gave rise to electric arc furnaces that don’t require coal.

And while Pittsburgh has recovered from the collapse of steel, some smaller neighboring towns haven’t.

“And that’s what got people so concerned, is the fact that we’ve been through this before and it changed the region and it devastated people’s lives,” said August Carlino, president and chief executive officer of the Rivers of Steel Heritage Corporation, based in Homestead.

Tony Buba, a filmmaker who lives near the Edgar Thomson plant and whose father worked for 44 years at a steel mill, sees a misplaced nostalgia around Pittsburgh’s steel industry.

Mill jobs were dangerous work that didn’t pay decent wages until shortly before steel’s collapse in the early 1980s, he said. “Sirens would go off when someone got hurt, and mother would start praying,” he said.

Regardless of who owns them, Buba expects that Pittsburgh’s steel plants will be gone in 30 or 40 years — and that political support will be fleeting.

“It’ll be interesting to see after the election,” Buba said, “how many people are opposed to the sale.”

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Follow Marc Levy at twitter.com/timelywriter.

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Follow the AP’s coverage of the 2024 election at https://apnews.com/hub/election-2024.

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Pittsburg, PA

Plan ahead: Multi-day closures of Parkway East are coming up

Published

4 hours ago

April 3, 2026

Press Room

Plan ahead: Multi-day closures of Parkway East are coming up

PennDOT has announced several major construction projects on the Parkway East this year, including a significant 25-day closure for the Commercial Street Bridge project.”I think the biggest thing is for all folks, plan ahead. Know where you’re starting from and where you’re going to, and to best determine the route that you should take during the closure period,” PennDOT senior construction manager John Myler said.Crews are working to finalize preparations to move a new bridge into place. “It’s not like launching a cruise ship where you just cut some cords and it falls into the water. It will be a very slow process,” Myler said. “We’ll continue to monitor the bridge as we’re moving it, and it will take many hours to move the bridge.”Transportation officials also provided updates on current projects and a look ahead at future plans. Part of those plans addresses issues with the notorious “bathtub” portion of I-376 in downtown Pittsburgh.In 2027, drivers can expect an 11-day closure to the section, which is often prone to flooding. “Right now the bathtub floods at 25 feet,” PennDOT executive Jason Zang said. “This would get us five more feet, and we think it will drastically reduce how much the ‘bathtub’ floods.” PennDOT officials assure that, much like the Commercial Street Bridge project, the inconvenience will be worth it in the end.

PITTSBURGH —

PennDOT has announced several major construction projects on the Parkway East this year, including a significant 25-day closure for the Commercial Street Bridge project.

“I think the biggest thing is for all folks, plan ahead. Know where you’re starting from and where you’re going to, and to best determine the route that you should take during the closure period,” PennDOT senior construction manager John Myler said.

Crews are working to finalize preparations to move a new bridge into place.

“It’s not like launching a cruise ship where you just cut some cords and it falls into the water. It will be a very slow process,” Myler said. “We’ll continue to monitor the bridge as we’re moving it, and it will take many hours to move the bridge.”

Transportation officials also provided updates on current projects and a look ahead at future plans.

Part of those plans addresses issues with the notorious “bathtub” portion of I-376 in downtown Pittsburgh.

In 2027, drivers can expect an 11-day closure to the section, which is often prone to flooding.

“Right now the bathtub floods at 25 feet,” PennDOT executive Jason Zang said. “This would get us five more feet, and we think it will drastically reduce how much the ‘bathtub’ floods.”

PennDOT officials assure that, much like the Commercial Street Bridge project, the inconvenience will be worth it in the end.

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Pittsburg, PA

Pittsburgh native, Multi-Platinum recording artist Bret Michaels joins ‘GMFB’ to share fond memories with Steelers

Published

16 hours ago

April 2, 2026

Press Room

Pittsburgh native, Multi-Platinum recording artist Bret Michaels joins ‘GMFB’ to share fond memories with Steelers

Multi-Platinum recording artist Bret Michaels joins “Good Morning Football” to chat all things Pittsburgh, from his roots there to the upcoming 2026 NFL Draft, and what that all means for his beloved Steelers.

Video Transcript

We are 21 days away from wow, I mean, come on, I’m supposed to read something and I get to look at Wiz, Brett and Kane.

Let’s go.

The NFL draft kicks off in Pittsburgh and Steel City is bringing it.

They’ve just announced the entertainment series lineup presented by Bud Light.

Kane Brown performing on Saturday, April 25th.

Pittsburgh natives Brett, Michael, and Wiz Khalifa taking the stage Friday, the 24th, dare I say.

Nothing but a good time.

Oh my, look who we got Bret Michaels, friend of our show, we know him we love him.

He is a longtime GMFB legend.

Mr. Brett, good morning.

Good morning.

Good morning, man.

I am fired up and thank you for having me back on.

This is awesome.

I mean, what a promotion to be a part of, to be invited with this.

What is, why is it so special for you though, Brett?

We love the origin story for you in this participation.

Here it is, uh, first of all, uh, where I was born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Butler, uh, you know, my whole family lives there, works there, my dad not only oncoste, uh, also a veteran, and the reason I’m so excited, I grew up with loving football, sports, music, and to be able to come back to Pittsburgh with my good friend Wiz Khalifa.

And we have, we have rocked before together.

We’re going to mash this up and on Friday night at 5:30 make this the most incredible.

We’re going to hit that stage and just explode.

I called it all killer hits, no filler.

It’s going to be awesome.

OK, OK, OK, Brett, you said you’re going to mash up.

You mentioned Wiz Khalifa.

Could there be a mashup ?

Of like a rock, hip hop, black and yellow remix there going on like come on, fill me in some details, man.

I’m giving you full detail right now.

Here’s the scoop.

We, so we, we started, we started talking about this.

We’re calling it black and yellow, nothing but a good time, nothing but a good draft right in Pittsburgh 2026.

We are mashing it up.

We’re building the stage out together.

It it’s gonna be unbelievable, and then we, we’re making a song that we’re kind of putting together ourselves, and this, it’s just gonna be, like I said, I’m ready to be there now.

Like I’m ready to go.

I’m ready to go.

Let’s go, Brett.

I absolutely love it, man.

You are the definition of Steeler Nation, and you’re constantly rocking the gear.

So I gotta ask, how many terrible towels do you have and do you have any good luck charms, any superstitions before the game?

Great question.

I, I’m not gonna lie to you, I have hundreds of terrible towels because it’s all I asked for.

When I was a kid, um, I got, so football and music, quick story, saved my life, right?

I’m a diabetic since the age of 6. when you’re growing up, uh, in, in a town when you didn’t have a lot of, uh, answers for diabetes yet.

It gave me a lot of hope right to this day and inspiration, and with that came a lot of superstition for wins, right?

We would, we had all kinds of things in my family, but one of them, I’m going back, I’m harking back to this , right?

I, I, I rub it for good luck and I got this.

I don’t know, you, you’re all young.

I’m gonna say this, my my.

Christmas gift came in an octagon cardboard box with a Pittsburgh Steelers uniform.

They forgot to inform us the helmet wasn’t protective.

That may have been part of my, uh, my issues.

I’m not making light of it.

I’m saying that, but they, it is the best thing, we rub it for good luck, um, and in Pittsburgh, we have Pittsburghhes.

So we’ll always be like, hey, Jin wanna come on down here.

Yin’s gonna go down there to the game to see the Steelers, and, and I’m telling you, it’s, it’s real, but we are passionate about football.

It is a football city.

Obviously got terrible towels, stuff hanging.

All over the guitars and I love it.

I love it.

Brett, that’s awesome.

Hey, I first of all, before I ask the question, I gotta give some love to the T1D nation out there.

I have a daughter who’s 14 now who’s been T1D since she was she was 3 years old, so shout out to you.

I know, I know the journey all too well.

Uh, but yes sir, and to her, we are, we are the diabetic duo, and that’s what with my like Rocks Foundation, we’re doing a big thing there with the draft in the NFL, uh, and a big part of it with diabetes, and you just tell her to keep on rocking the world.

I definitely will let her know, man.

Well, Brett, OK, I need to know.

I need you to set the stage for us.

We’re about to come to your house and watch a Steelers game.

What is the environment?

What’s required?

How’s it going down?

Alright, so first of all, it’s a party.

I, I, I’m one of these guys.

I’m not making this up.

It, it’s anyone who’s been there knows my whole family.

There’s a lot of food.

There’s a lot of pierogi.

Uh, I’m just throwing it out there.

There’s a lot of, there’s a lot of adult beverages everywhere, right?

Good times are happening.

Uh, the game is on and there’s two rooms.

There’s the party happy, we’re winning room.

And then there’s the room they put me in if I’m not winning.

That’s all I’m gonna say.

I, I get isolated quickly, uh, a lot of remotes have been broken, right?

And a lot of great times have been had, so it’s, but honest to God, it’s a, it’s a party with music jamming, everyone having a great time, and I said.

If I’ve learned one thing about uh being able to go out and play music, be able to be at the draft in the amazing city of Pittsburgh, uh, is that just treat people amazing and and be passionate about what you do.

It’s the reason I love your show, the passion you all have for a game that I love as a fan.

And you all being incredible, that that’s what matters to me, Brett.

We love having you on GMFB.

So many ideas already.

Like your next tour name should be called Pererogis and Red Solo Cups.

I think the fact that you just said that, you better TM that you can have it.

It’s my gift to you.

And also what did you say it was uh killer hits and no filler.

Like that’s all the linebackers here at the table today.

I know all line.

Let me say this all killer, no filler.

It’s all killer hits.

That’s linebacker lingo, Brett.

I’m giving it to you.

Go ahead.

Sorry.

It’s just an exchange of ideas.

All right, Bret Michaels, everybody, uh, everyone go out and see Brett on the road and a live and amplified tour.

Check out the dates and tickets at retmichaels.com.

Bret Michaels, everybody, OK, I didn’t go to your, go to your house and watch games.

That’s what I did, right?

I love you guys.

We are gonna do that.

It’s gonna happen.

I love you too, buddy.

Heck yes.

Someday we’re gonna do GMFB live from Brett’s house.

Bye, Brett.

Thank you.

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Pittsburg, PA

Pittsburgh-area couple charged in death of 15-month-old appear in court for first time

Published

1 day ago

April 2, 2026

Press Room

Pittsburgh-area couple charged in death of 15-month-old appear in court for first time

The Mount Pleasant Township couple that is accused of killing their 15-month-old baby was in court for the first time on Wednesday.

Michael Blasser and Ashley Makarsky face multiple charges, including involuntary manslaughter, endangering the welfare of a child, and third-degree murder of their 15-month-old baby, who the county coroner said likely died from ingesting methamphetamine, which he got through his mother’s breast milk back in February.

The couple did not speak with the media, but they did waive their right to a preliminary hearing, expediting this case to move to the Court of Common Pleas.

KDKA-TV spoke with Makarsky’s attorney, Jonathan Nace, who said that murder charges like this can be complex and that he needs to collect all the facts to aid in his client’s defense.

“She’s gutted by this whole situation, and this is tough for anyone,” Nace said. “As far as I am aware, this is the first time she’s in trouble. So, serious cases need to be taken seriously, and that means you are careful, you’re deliberate, you’re doing what you need to do. It is not going to be a fast process; it never is. But I’m not worried about doing things fast, I am worried about doing things right.”

While this couple remains incarcerated in the Westmoreland County Prison, they are due back in court on May 13.