It’s only a bit more than a quarter-mile long, but the section of Washington Pike between Alpine and Boyce roads in South Fayette is a congested, dangerous area.

That two-lane section has a daily average traffic count of about 15,000, about 1,278 from 4 to 5 p.m. on weekdays, and receives an “F” grade in Pennsylvania Department of Transportation parlance. Left turns across traffic back up traffic and lead to more than the average amount of rear-end and T-bone accidents.

PennDOT outlined plans Tuesday at the Upper St. Clair Community and Recreation Center that would add traffic lights and turning lanes at each intersection, plus a left turning lane from Boyce to Washington. The project, expected to cost $4.8 million, is in preliminary design and should be ready for a year of construction by late 2026.

Erik Porter, PennDOT’s project manager, told several dozen residents that Washington Pike is projected to add another 1,278 vehicles a day over the next 20 years. Jim Prisk, leading the design team for consultant McCormick Taylor, said the proposed changes will raise the grade for that section to between “B” and “C” because the left-turn lanes will allow through traffic to keep moving.

“It should really help,” Prisk said. “It’s really going to allow that middle section to not be backed up.”

Officials said the intersections at Boyce and Alpine will be extra wide to allow tractor-trailers to navigate turns easily. The traffic lights also will be coordinated to allow through traffic to pass both intersections.

Widening Washington Pike to allow turning lanes can be accomplished without taking any full properties because designers will take some land from each side. Overall, 20 residential and three commercial properties are expected to lose a small part of their land, and PennDOT will pay others for easements used during construction.

Two lanes of traffic will be maintained throughout construction by moving traffic to one side while working on the other side.

Ed covers transportation at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he’s currently on strike. Email him at eblazina@unionprogress.com.

The Trump administration’s move to freeze huge swaths of federal spending drew backlash Tuesday from Democratic officials in Washington and the state’s congressional delegation.

State lawmakers said it further complicates this year’s already difficult budgeting process, while Gov. Bob Ferguson predicted that the courts would determine President Donald Trump is overstepping his executive powers. Washington U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, the top Democrat on the Appropriations Committee, derided Trump’s action as “brazen and illegal.”

Later in the day, a federal judge in the District of Columbia agreed to temporarily block the freeze at least until Feb. 3. This came in response to a lawsuit by the National Council of Nonprofits, the American Public Health Association, and other groups. 

Meanwhile, Washington Attorney General Nick Brown announced that the state joined 21 other states in a separate suit against the Trump administration over the attempted funding pause. 

Much about the scope and consequences of the directive remained unclear Tuesday afternoon. But critics said it could stymie funding in a range of areas, from child care services to road construction to opioid addiction treatment programs.

“This chaos is already hurting people, causing confusion, and causing devastating delays. I mean where do we start here? There are a lot of urgent questions but precious few answers — and the answers keep changing,” Murray said earlier on Tuesday.

It’s commonly understood that Congress, not the president, holds “the power of the purse.” And Murray’s office emphasized that the Impoundment Control Act of 1974, “makes plain that presidents cannot temporarily or permanently withhold enacted funding, and it established procedures the president can and must follow to propose delaying or rescinding funding.”

The episode began when a memo from the White House Office of Management and Budget emerged Monday calling for a “temporary pause” on federal agency grants, loans and other financial assistance. The memo said it was not intended to apply to “assistance provided directly to individuals,” Social Security, or Medicare, which provides health care coverage for older Americans.

“This temporary pause will provide the Administration time to review agency programs and determine the best uses of the funding for those programs consistent with the law and the President’s priorities,” the memo said.

“The use of Federal resources to advance Marxist equity, transgenderism, and green new deal social engineering policies is a waste of taxpayer dollars,” the memo added.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the pause would not apply to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as food stamps, or welfare benefits. An additional memo from the White House said Medicaid payments would not be disrupted, though there were reports Tuesday that Medicaid portals were down in states across the country.

The Washington State Health Care Authority did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the status of the state’s Medicaid portal. Medicaid is the government health insurance program for people with low incomes.

‘We’re sorting it all out’

State Sen. June Robinson, D-Everett, who chairs the state Senate’s Ways and Means Committee, said the attempted funding pause added “another layer of uncertainty in the budgeting process, but one that we have virtually no control over.”

“It is very alarming, and we have to wait and see what happens,” she added. “If federal funding goes away, we do not have the ability to backfill those dollars.”

Robinson flagged public schools, higher education, housing and domestic violence services as some of the areas where the state depends on federal funding. Washington state lawmakers entered this year’s session facing a budget deficit estimated to be around $12 billion over four years.

Ferguson, in an emailed statement, acknowledged that “presidents have significant powers and elections have consequences.” But he added “President Trump’s refusal or inability to advance his priorities in a lawful and constitutional manner is creating needless and cruel chaos.”

A spokesperson for the governor’s office did not respond to questions about whether any state agencies experienced turmoil on Tuesday because of the Trump administration’s maneuver.

The state’s Department of Commerce and the Department of Social and Health Services both said it was too early to know how the action by the Trump administration might affect operations.

“We’re sorting it all out,” said Penny Thomas, a Department of Commerce spokesperson.

Joel Ryan, executive director of the association in Washington that advocates for the Head Start and Early Childhood Education and Assistance programs, said the Trump administration memo “led to complete chaos as several Head Start programs prepared to close their doors” and worried about making payroll.

The Office of Management and Budget later said Head Start programs, which provide early learning services and other supports to kids up to 5, were not covered by the pause, according to Ryan.

“Even after that clarification, the payment portal remained down for several hours making federal funding inaccessible,” he said. “We also continue to be concerned about other grant programs that impact young children like the child care food program which Head Start programs rely upon to serve healthy meals and snacks to low-income children.”

Indiana women’s basketball coach Teri Moren has learned to give her talented shooters space when they go through a prolonged slump. 

She stuck to that game plan in recent weeks while watching Yarden Garzon go 3 of 18 (16.7%) from 3-point range during IU’s three-game losing streak. It was only the second time in Garzon’s career she shot under 20% in three consecutive games, but Moren’s patience paid off. 

Garzon broke out of her slump on Monday night with a career-best performance in a 73-70 win over Washington.

The junior forward scored a career-high 35 points and went 8 of 10 from 3-point range — she had more 3-pointers than the entire Huskies team — to surpass 1,000-career points. She’s the 33rd player to reach the milestone, but that achievement took a back seat to helping IU get a crucial Quad 1 win to add to the team’s NCAA Tournament resume and end a challenging West Coast swing on a high note. 

“It feels amazing just to see the ball go through the net again and again,” Garzon said, with a smile. 

‘I feel like I didn’t change a thing’

Indiana practiced at some unfamiliar places on their road trip including the Seattle Storm’s training facility, but Garzon maintained the same practice routine she’s used throughout her career. 

The Ra’anana, Israel native came into Tuesday night’s game as a 42% career 3-point shooter. While she’s shooting under 40% this season (37.3%), she’s attempting two more triples per game (6.6) than she did last year and ranks among the top 50 Division 1 players with 2.47 made 3-pointers per game.  

It’s why she didn’t even spend much time thinking about her recent shooting woes.

“I feel like I’m really confident about my shot no matter what. I know that they will fall in,” Garzon said. “Last year, I shot it at a really high clip, in some games it doesn’t work or go my way, but I just have to keep showing up every day and doing my thing.”

Moren mentioned Garzon’s confidence in her post-game remarks as well. 

Her unspoken strategy to boost Garzon up in recent games was simply calling the same plays she normally would to get her the ball. It’s the same approach she’s relying on with Sydney Parrish, who has gone through similar struggles of late. 

“I think that can give them the best vote of confidence from me and our staff because we feel like they can come through for us,” Moren said. 

It helped Garzon get on track right out of the gate against Washington. The Hoosiers swung the ball around the perimeter on one of their first possessions to get her an open look. She hit nothing but net and remained locked in for the rest of the night.  

‘We rely on her’

Garzon’s 35 points are the most since Amanda Cahill scored 38 in a four-overtime win over Michigan State in 2018. Garzon’s career-high eight 3-pointers tied for the second most in a game in school history. 

Indiana isn’t expecting Garzon to score 30-plus points every night, but Moren has made it clear on multiple occasions this season that the Hoosiers face an uphill battle when Garzon struggles to score. 

It’s why Moren found Garzon’s 21-point performance against Iowa earlier this month so encouraging. 

After knocking down a 3-pointer right in front of the Hawkeyes’ bench early in the game, the Hoosiers relied on Garzon like they did with Mackenzie Holmes and Sara Scalia last year. 

Garzon had a series of clutch moments against Washington as well — she ended a late-game scoring drought by banking in a contested mid-range jumper that set up a 3-point play and made a 20-footer coming off a screen in the final minute. 

Indiana improved to 8-1 when Garzon scores 20 or more points and it was further proof that when she plays at a high level that the Hoosiers are capable of beating anyone.

“I’m trying to do my best,” Garzon said. “If it goes in, it’s just fun and I’m happy to help the team win. That’s the most important thing.”

Michael Niziolek is the Indiana beat reporter for The Bloomington Herald-Times. You can follow him on X @michaelniziolek and read all his coverage by clicking here.