The Board of Health and its committees currently have members who have conflicts of interest that make it difficult for them to hold polluters responsible. New members must be committed to addressing the health crisis that air pollution represents, placing us in one of the worst 1% of locations for cancer, lung and heart diseases …
Michael Lamb – ACE Candidate Responses To Our Open Letter Read More »
On May 16, Pittsburghers will go to the polls to elect a new Allegheny County Executive (ACE). What’s at stake in this election is literally a matter of life and death. The American Lung Association’s (ALA) “State of the Air” report issued on April 18, 2023, documents that the Pittsburgh region is the 20th worst …
New Leadership can Overcome Dysfunction at the Allegheny County Health Department Read More »
Dear Candidates, On March 13th, 2023, we sent a letter to you and to all the other candidates for Allegheny County Executive (ACE), seeking your plan to strengthen the Allegheny County Health Department (ACHD). On April 4, 2023 we will share the responses that we have received in writing from each candidate with the over …
Open Letter to Allegheny County Executive Candidates -responses requested Read More »
Dear Dr. Rieger: Thank you for your recent letter regarding your community’s ongoing concerns with fine particulate matter pollution in Southwestern Pennsylvania. As you are aware, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has undertaken reconsideration of the 2020 final decision on the primary (health-based) and secondary (welfare-based) National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for Particulate Matter …
Response from EPA Region #3 Administrator Adam ortiz Read More »
Pittsburgh once called itself the “City of Champions.” We could be again, but to merit that designation, we are calling for stronger leadership that is grounded in the values of democracy, human dignity, public health, and justice. It takes courage to take on these big questions, and courage is a primary virtue of effective leadership. This …
YOU CAN ONLY SOLVE A PROBLEM IF YOU ARE PREPARED TO ASK DIFFICULT QUESTIONS Read More »
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEJan. 16, 2023 Contact: Howard Riegerhmrieger@gmail.com, 412-303-4942Debra Smit, dsmit@breatheproject.org, 412-760-7677 SWPA’s 9th Virtual Resident-Led Town Hall – ZOOM MONDAY, Jan. 23, 2023, 6:00 p.m., Zoom The next SWPATH Resident-Led Town Hall will focus on personal stories from residents living in the environmental justice communities of Allegheny and Beaver counties who continue to suffer …
SWPA’s 9th Virtual Resident-Led Town Hall – ZOOM Read More »
As the convener of Southwest PA Grassroots Resident-Led Air Quality Town Halls, I am conveying the concern of many residents with whom I volunteer my community organizational expertise in order to advocate more effectively for positive change. Living in one of the unhealthiest places in the country for PM2.5 is a burden measured in lives …
By Rosemary Bezy, Mike Stout, Patricia DeMarco, Willard Jones, Mike Fallon and Matt Mehalik Silence. Total lack of leadership. It has been two months since United States Steel Corp. announced it was investing $3 billion in Arkansas for its advanced steelmaking facilities, and not one regional leader has said a word about it. This silence …
05/26/2022 A Plan To Unite Workers And Build Communities Read More »
“What’s Past Should Not Be Prologue When It Comes To Our Region’s Air Quality” OpEd By Howard Rieger In response to the 2022 “State of the Air” report released in April by the American Lung Association (ALA), the Allegheny County Health Department (ACHD) ran a victory lap for what it referred to as measurable progress …