Armstrong County Commissioner Chairman John Strate, Commissioner Vice Chairman Anthony Shea and Commissioner Secretary Pat Fabian participated in a joint visit consisting of the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission (SPC) and Allegheny Conference in front of national leaders to advocate for economic development within the region.

The two-day trip started with a PA Business Leadership event at the White House.

Our Executive Director, Rich Fitzgerald, returned for his weekly spot on KDKA Newsradio with Larry Richert to talk regional news. The show featured Dr. Roger Davis, President of Community College of Beaver County, who joined the show to highlight CCBC’s recent expansion into Washington County PA and other developments at the college. This expansion has created accessible education and career pathways for residents of Washington, Fayette, and Greene Counties.

Our Executive Director, Rich Fitzgerald, returned for his weekly spot on KDKA Newsradio with Larry Richert to talk regional news. The show featured Robert Cherry, CEO of Partner4Work, who joined the show to discuss a first-of-its-kind EV apprenticeship program in the country. The program is a collaboration between local stakeholders that include Partner4Work, the Community College of Allegheny County and the German American Chamber of Commerce, Pittsburgh chapter.

The Indiana County Board of Commissioners approved four proclamations Wednesday.

• On the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist bombings, one proclamation designated Indiana County as a Green Light for Veterans county, honoring “the service and sacrifices of our men and women in uniform who have transitioned or will transition from active service.”

Indiana County’s new Director of Veterans Affairs Jessica Walker said 9/11 “ultimately changed the course of this country, changed my life and changed my husband’s life.” She said 5,000 veterans now live in Indiana County.

Change comes in both words and deeds – and that’s Southwestern Pennsylvania’s economic development approach. 

Western Pennsylvania’s economic stewards have a vehicle in the New Economy Collaborative (NEC) of Southwestern Pennsylvania, a public-private partnership created to administer the $62.7 million Build Back Better grant from the federal government announced back in 2022.

The big goal of the project? Help Pennsylvanians transition into jobs expected to grow, and goad the state’s manufacturing businesses into investing.

Our Executive Director, Rich Fitzgerald, returned for his weekly spot on KDKA Newsradio with Larry Richert to talk regional news.
 
This week’s show featured Audrey Russo, President & CEO of the Pittsburgh Technology Council. Audrey talked about #SWPA’s booming tech industry and the region’s transformation into an innovation hub.
 
Also on the show was Jennifer Apicella, Executive Director of the Pittsburgh Robotics Network. Jennifer talked about the region’s history of robotic development and why companies want to invest here. 

The good news about traffic deaths after the pandemic is continuing: Preliminary figures through the second quarter this year show deaths declined another 3.2%, the ninth straight quarter that deaths have gone down.
 
That’s a marked difference from the pandemic, when reduced traffic and lack of enforcement seemed to encourage motorists to engage in dangerous activities on empty roads such as speeding, distracted driving and impaired driving. That led to some of the highest increases in traffic deaths since federal agencies started keeping statistics in the 1970s after nearly a decade of regular declines.

Executive Director of the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission, Rich Fitzgerald, joins Larry Richert in the KDKA radio studio each Wednesday morning.
 
On this week’s show, Bob Kerlik, Director of Public Affairs at the Allegheny County Airport Authority was on to talk about the airport modernization program. Kelsey Ripper, Executive Director of Friends of the Riverfront dialed in to discuss a recent kayaking event through a lock on the Allegheny River.

The Butler Transit Authority board voted in August to apply for up to $2.6 million to purchase up to four new buses to increase the number of trips available in the five local routes.

The application is being made to the state Department of Transportation, which will rule on whether or not to grant the $2.6 million request.

Executive Director of the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission, Rich Fitzgerald, joins Larry Richert in the KDKA radio studio each Wednesday morning.

On this week’s show, Beaver County Commissioner Jack Manning was on to talk about the Hookstown Fair and Big Knob Grange Fair. Westmoreland County Commissioner Doug Chew dialed in to promote the Westmoreland County Fair.