Pittsburg, PA
The passion never fades for the Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — Sunday was the last day of the Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix.
It was created by late Steelers color commentator Myron Cope 42 years ago. The event benefits charities that help people with autism, which Myron’s son, Daniel has.
Cope’s daughter, Elizabeth, thought about how her father started all of it over four decades ago.
“He goes, ‘The only way I can get wealthy people possibly to get involved and give money is if it has something to do with cars,’” she said.
Cope says her father didn’t like cars, plenty of people in Schenley Park Sunday do.
Brian Blain is one of them. He came here from Visalia, California.
“You know, we’ve read about it for decades and always wanted to come,” he said. “But this is the first time I’ve been able to make it happen.”
Blain’s vintage Indy car is over a century old. It’s from 1911, and he said it ran in the first Indianapolis 500.
Riding in Schenley Park was a scenic change from the dry, hot racetracks back home in the Golden State.
“Here, it’s so green and beautiful,” Blain said. “It’s quite a treat to be racing through a park and the shade of trees.”
Between the park and the shade of trees, there are a lot of prized possessions.
For many, it’s worth the time and money, sometimes hundreds of thousands of dollars.
“You end up with a piece of rolling art,” VintageIndy president Michael Lashmett said.
For the many who volunteer at the Vintage Grand Prix, it’s also worth their time; they keep coming back.
“We even awarded a patch to volunteers who’ve been here 25 years or longer,” Dan Delbianco, the Grand Prix’s executive director, said. “We gave out 210 patches this year.”
Forty-two years later, it’s people that power this huge event – the baby of Myron Cope.
“You know, [it] makes me feel proud, and he would be happy,” Elizabeth Cope said.
Gas prices continue to sit near the $5 mark for the better part of the Pittsburgh region. Not only is it impacting people’s wallets, but it’s also hitting the bottom lines of first responders’ operations.
While gas prices are not impacting day-to-day operations, budgets are always tight, and if prices stay high, it could have some long-term impacts. First responders say they’ll still come when you call 911, so there’s no need to panic, but there is some concern behind the scenes.
“We can’t charge more for our services. The only way to weather the storm is to become more efficient,” Regional Emergency Support Quick Response Service director Mike Gallagher said.
RESQRS said gas is normally about $2,500 to $3,000 a month. From March to April, it was $5,500. The ambulance they wanted to get this year is now on hold as costs go up.
“It definitely has affected other parts of the business and how we operate,” Gallagher said over Zoom.
It’s the same for volunteer firefighters. Southern Allegheny Valley Emergency Services had its bill go from $300 to $400, up to $1,000 last month. This price spike was, of course, never anticipated when making the budget last year.
“It absolutely wasn’t. We just have to take money from other things and reprioritize,” SAVES fire chief Mike Daniher said.
Medic Rescue in Bridgewater, Beaver County, covers that county and takes patients to Wexford and Pittsburgh hospitals. They easily rack up hundreds of miles a day driving. Insurance doesn’t cover gas spikes, and fuel reimbursements are set from the prior year.
“I don’t see how it would be sustainable in the long term without some changes in financing,” Medic Rescue director of operations Bill Pasquale said.
An immediate impact for many services is putting new equipment on the back burner. While grants can be used for that, there’s no guarantee it’s accepted.
Pittsburg, PA
Pittsburgh will have afternoon storm chances on Wednesday with gusty winds and lightning
It will be stormy this afternoon, and then cooler for the rest of the work week.
Temperatures then warm up with record-setting temperatures possible early next week. It’s going to be a busy stretch of weather. Let’s get right into it.
Rain chances today are low overall. The headline is the storm chance that occurs this afternoon. Gusty winds, frequent lightning, and isolated but intense downpours are expected as a narrow line of storms develops and rolls through Western Pennsylvania. The line of storms will be intensifying as it moves from the west to the east.
Right now, it looks like the storms will roll through between 1 p.m. and 4 p.m.
By the time you see this blog, our best chance for morning rain should have come and gone. Rain totals will not be very impressive today; most will see less than 0.05 inches of rain.
That excludes rain coming from afternoon storms.
Afternoon storms could add another fifth of an inch of rain for those who see the most ‘intense’ cells sliding through their areas. Temperatures in the morning are in the 50s. We will quickly rise up to the mid-60s for temperatures this afternoon ahead of storms. Temperatures will then dip back down to the 50s for the rest of the day, with brisk winds coming in from the northwest at around 15 mph.
Thursday highs will only hit the mid-50s.
We stay cool through Friday morning. We’d have to worry about frost on Friday if it wasn’t for the cloud cover that’s expected. Friday highs will be near 70°. Saturday and Sunday highs are expected to hit the low 80s both days.
A perfect ‘storm’ of low humidity levels, plenty of sunshine, and a strengthening sun angle will allow us to potentially see record highs early next week. I have high temperatures in the 90s on both Monday and Tuesday next week.
The record high for Monday is 91°, and that is what I am forecasting for a high.
A small kitten was tied up in a bag and thrown from a moving pickup truck in Warren County, Pennsylvania State Police said.
State police posted on the PSP Tips Facebook page on Tuesday, asking for help figuring out who threw the kitten out of a moving vehicle on Conewango Avenue in Glade Township around 6:45 p.m. on May 4.
Troopers said the kitten, estimated to be six to eight weeks old, was tied up in a black disposable bag. The kitten wasn’t hurt. Police shared a photo of the tiny gray kitten perched on a trooper’s shoulder.
Investigators described the vehicle involved as a white, single-cab Chevrolet pickup truck with no registration plate and rust on the body of the truck. It was seen heading north on Conewango Avenue around 6:45 p.m. on May 4, so anyone with cameras in the area is asked to check their footage between 6:30 p.m. and 7:15 p.m. that night.
Anyone with information is asked to contact state police in Warren at 814-728-3600 and ask for Trooper Holsopple or Corporal Koebley. People can also call the PSP Tips line at 1-800-472-8477 or submit a tip online.
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