CP photo: Kaycee Orwig Outdoor diners in Pittsburgh s South Side neighborhood Gov. Tom Wolf recently announced that Pennsylvania will be loosening gathering restrictions for indoor and outdoor ventures, with those restrictions being lifted completely two weeks later. Effective Mon., May 17, the maximum capacity limits for indoor events and gatherings will be increased to 50% and outdoor events and gatherings will be upped to 75%. Then on Mon., May 31, all gathering restrictions will be lifted entirely. In a press release from May 4, Pennsylvania Department of Health Acting Secretary Alison Beam encouraged all Pennsylvanians to get vaccinated as a way to combat COVID-19 spread, and said the state is set to loosen restrictions because of its good progress at distributing the vaccine. As of May 12, nearly 4 million Pennsylvania
Tony LaRussa | Tribune-Review
The pool in Bellevue Memorial Park has since been filled with water and ready for swimmers, but a date hasn’t been set for the opening because the borough has not received enough applicants to fill lifeguard positions, according to officials.
Tribune-Review file photo
Despite uncertainties about whether all the pandemic restrictions will be lifted, Cranberry Township plans to open its popular waterpark and swimming pool for the season on May 29.
Tony LaRussa | Tribune-Review
Workers scrape and hose down the surface of the toddler pool in North Park on May 7. Allegheny County officials are still trying to decide if social-distancing guidelines or other measures to slow the spread of coronavirus will prevent them from opening the swimming pool it operates in North Park and three other locations.
Kristina Serafini | Tribune-Review
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Allegheny County officials on Wednesday said the region soon will move into a new phase of the covid-19 pandemic, as infection levels drop and the state braces for loosened restrictions next week.
“We’re going to be following the governor’s guidelines where they are,” Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald said at a virtual news briefing. “It’s good news, but we want to make sure people follow the guidelines. Don’t go too far. Don’t go beyond what’s going to be coming out.”
“Our hope is that the video cams will help lead to the truth in any potentially controversial stop or interaction between citizens and police officers,” Black Political Empowerment Project CEO Tim Stevens told councilors Tuesday. “Our hope is that the existence of body cams will remind officers on a daily basis … that the misuse and abuse of [their] powers might be recorded on video.”
But the cameras have gained popularity among members of law enforcement, too.
“My officers love having the body cameras,” said John Sicilia, chief of the Northern Regional Police Department and president of the Allegheny County Chiefs of Police Association.