The Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission (SPC) is awarding Kittanning Borough $500,000 in grant funding to support pedestrian and accessibility improvements for its streetscape project, according to a recently issued press release.

“Kittanning’s streetscape project is an ongoing initiative that has been a borough-driven initiative that the county fully supports,” said John Strate, chairman of Armstrong County’s board of commissioners. “The borough played significant role in our region’s history, and making these kinds of efforts to beautify and revitalize the downtown area for our residents and small business owners is another step in helping to grow the local economy.”

The Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission is sharing plans to lessen traffic at the Squirrel Hill Tunnel inbound.

The project is part of the “Eastern Pittsburgh Multimodal Corridor.”

It will allow public transit buses to bypass the Squirrel Hill Tunnel, by creating a bus lane on the shoulder of the Parkway East (Interstate 376) from Churchill to Edgewood, connecting the parkway to the busway.

Pat Fabian – The Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission – the economic development organization in the greater Allegheny region – has new leadership for the next couple of years. Pat Fabian, a Democratic Armstrong County Commissioner since 2016, was voted as chair of the panel, a promotion from the vice-chair position he most recently held. Fayette County Commissioner Vince Vicites, now vice-chair of that board, and Greene County Commissioner Betsy McClure, who was chosen as secretary-treasurer, were also approved for positions on the panel.

View the full article at cityandstatepa.com.

Gus Faucher, keynote speaker at the annual State of the Pittsburgh Economy conference, apologized “for saying last year that a recession was on the way.” Following his tongue-in-cheek acknowledgment, Faucher, PNC chief economist, said he believes the nation will avert a downturn in 2024 as well.

No one assembled at the James Rohr Auditorium at PNC’s corporate headquarters in downtown Pittsburgh Wednesday morning was disappointed.

The Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission (SPC) board this week elected Armstrong County Commissioner Pat Fabian to serve as Chair, Fayette County Commissioner Vince Vicites to serve as Vice-Chair, and Greene County Commissioner Betsy McClure to serve as Secretary-Treasurer. Commissioners Fabian, Vicites, and McClure were elected by their fellow board members to these positions, and will serve a two-year term.

The board’s new officers will shape the commission’s work for the next several years and intend to focus on workforce and economic development, transportation planning, and other initiatives like investments in broadband, water resources, attracting business investments, and expanding pedestrian and bicycle trails throughout the region.

Fayette County Commissioner Vice Chairman Vincent A. Vicites was elected vice chairman of the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission for a two-year term.

With more than 60 members, including an executive committee, the SPC is a forum for regional collaboration, planning and public decision-making; focused on transportation, development, information systems and more.

The Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission board elected Armstrong County Commissioner Pat Fabian to chair that panel for the next two years.

Fabian was chosen along with Fayette County Commissioner Vince Vicites, who will be vice-chair of that board, and Greene County Commissioner Betsy McClure, who was chosen as secretary-treasurer.