Read the full story here. Tribune-Review will end Pittsburgh edition
Showing posts with label Trib Total Media. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Trib Total Media. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 28, 2016
Trib Total Media to end Pittsburgh print edition, lay off 106
Pittsburgh will become a one-newspaper town by the end of the year withTrib Total Media's announcement Wednesday that it will no longer publish a print edition of the Tribune-Review after Nov. 30. The newspaper, which has had a Pittsburgh edition since 1992, will go online-only Dec. 1.
Saturday, November 29, 2014
Mt. Lebanon approves archery, trapping to cull deer population UPDATED AGAIN
I moved this topic "above the fold" and added this photo to go along with the November 29, 2014 at 3:39 AM comment. Thank you for your series of comments, 3:39 AM.
OK Kristen, you win. Now go away.
The commissioners approved the deer management plan that I shared on this blog. They have approved archery and "trap and bolt,: as their lethal deer management plan.
http://www.wpxi.com/news/news/local/mt-lebanon-council-votes-how-deal-growing-deer-pop/njFZ7/
Update November 29, 2014 6:56 PM
OK Kristen, you win. Now go away.
The commissioners approved the deer management plan that I shared on this blog. They have approved archery and "trap and bolt,: as their lethal deer management plan.
Mt. Lebanon is applying to the Game Commission for a broader archery program and the use of “trap-and-bolt” methods that can take place on public or private land with the homeowner's consent. With trapping, deer are lured into a corral with bait, shut in with an automatic gate, then killed with a captive-bolt gun to their heads similar to those used in slaughterhouses.
The commission will then submit a second application for using surgical sterilization to control the deer population, though Benner's report noted that Pennsylvania has never approved it before.Read more: Mt. Lebanon approves archery, trapping to cull deer population
http://www.wpxi.com/news/news/local/mt-lebanon-council-votes-how-deal-growing-deer-pop/njFZ7/
Update November 29, 2014 6:56 PM
The game commission requires any deer-management plan to include controlled hunting on public land, which the staff and Mt. Lebanon commissioners decided could be implemented fastest by signing up municipal employees who are experienced hunters.Read more: Mt. Lebanon staffers become hunters to attack deer problem
Thursday, October 23, 2014
Report linking field surface to cancer elicits Mt. Lebanon protest UPDATED
Report linking field surface to cancer elicits Mt. Lebanon protest
The grass on the baseball fields along Cedar Blvd. in Mount Lebanon is removed for the installation of artificial turf on Thursday, Oct. 23, 2014.
Google+ Staff Reporter
Thursday, Oct. 23, 2014, 10:25 p.m.Updated 30 minutes ago
Construction on Mt. Lebanon's controversial $1.05 million artificial turf project began Thursday, but residents concerned about possible health and environmental effects are not giving up.
Contractors started to tear up grass on a pair of overlapping baseball diamonds in Mt. Lebanon's Main Park soon after the state Department of Environmental Protection and Allegheny County Conservation District granted the municipality a storm water discharge permit.
Mt. Lebanon Manager Steve Feller said Massillon, Ohio-based Vasco Sports Contractors could finish the project before winter sets in, despite delays of more than two months from the planned Aug. 1 start date.
A residents' group known as Mt. Lebanon Advocates for Child Health has scheduled a protest at 11 a.m. Sunday in the park, and hopes to get the municipal commission to delay or change the project.
“I'm against the turf because of the health risks,” said resident Susy Tybl, who plans to attend the protest. “The materials... contain a lot of toxins, including known carcinogens. I just wish Mt. Lebanon would wait until more is known.”
An NBC News report this month highlighted more than 30 soccer players, mostly goalies, who contracted cancer after playing extensively on artificial turf, leading them to question whether there was a link.
The report highlighted the back and forth over the topic: Environmental groups point to toxins such as benzene, lead or zinc in ground-up tire rubber used to cushion and fill in fields, while turf advocates produce studies that say those materials are locked in or aren't released in high enough quantities to affect health.
“Now with the NBC news about goalies, I'm more convinced than ever that Lebo needs to hold off on artificial turf,” said resident Dean Spahr, who originally opposed the project because he preferred grass, but became more concerned about health questions.
Jeff Heiskell, who lives near the field, said he and his wife were reconsidering having children because of their proximity to the field and their worry over whether it could affect her pregnancy.
Commission President Kristen Linfante said she and the commission knew about the goalie issue, from prior news reports, before awarding the contract in July, but felt it was outweighed by studies that said turf was safe.
“Each of us did our due diligence, and the overwhelming evidence of safety has made us feel more than confident with the decision we've made,” she said, noting artificial turf is at the high school stadium and similar material is used in local playgrounds.
Proposals for the Main Park fields included an alternative, organic infill made from ground coconut shells and cork, but contractors' bids for that option came back too high.
Dave Franklin, a coach and member of the sports advisory board that pushed for the project, said the board made its recommendation to move ahead with turf based on “the totality of the circumstances.” The board compared studies, and weighed them against the desire to create a more durable field to squeeze in more playing time and whether other institutions were choosing turf or natural grass for their fields.
“I certainly respect (the opponents') position,” he said. “Parents weigh risks for their kids every day: I don't let my kids play on trampolines; I don't let my kids swim in a pool without a lifeguard.”
In approving the storm water permit, the DEP echoed the commission majority and the EPA when it wrote that studies couldn't conclusively point to health risks from turf, though the EPA and other state and federal agencies also have said more research was needed to draw broad conclusions.
DEP approval, spokesman John Poister said, was based on whether the application met the state's regulations for runoff, which it did after Gateway Engineers modified plans for the drainage system. No one had appealed DEP's decision to the state's environmental hearing board as of this week, he said.
“The whole process was very disappointing to me,” said Elaine Gillen, who runs the Lebo Citizens blog, and said she thought government agencies would “do the right thing.”
Matthew Santoni is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at 412-380-5625 or msantoni@tribweb.com.
Update October 25, 2014 11:27 AM Two additional and very disturbing articles were sent to me this morning.
Is Synthetic Turf Giving Athletes Cancer?
ARTIFICIAL TURF COULD BE CAUSING CANCER AMONG FORMER PHILLIES/MLB PLAYERS
 |
| Stephanie Strasburg | Trib Total Media |
Report linking field surface to cancer elicits Mt. Lebanon protest
By Matthew SantoniGoogle+ Staff Reporter
Thursday, Oct. 23, 2014, 10:25 p.m.Updated 30 minutes ago
Construction on Mt. Lebanon's controversial $1.05 million artificial turf project began Thursday, but residents concerned about possible health and environmental effects are not giving up.
Contractors started to tear up grass on a pair of overlapping baseball diamonds in Mt. Lebanon's Main Park soon after the state Department of Environmental Protection and Allegheny County Conservation District granted the municipality a storm water discharge permit.
Mt. Lebanon Manager Steve Feller said Massillon, Ohio-based Vasco Sports Contractors could finish the project before winter sets in, despite delays of more than two months from the planned Aug. 1 start date.
A residents' group known as Mt. Lebanon Advocates for Child Health has scheduled a protest at 11 a.m. Sunday in the park, and hopes to get the municipal commission to delay or change the project.
“I'm against the turf because of the health risks,” said resident Susy Tybl, who plans to attend the protest. “The materials... contain a lot of toxins, including known carcinogens. I just wish Mt. Lebanon would wait until more is known.”
An NBC News report this month highlighted more than 30 soccer players, mostly goalies, who contracted cancer after playing extensively on artificial turf, leading them to question whether there was a link.
The report highlighted the back and forth over the topic: Environmental groups point to toxins such as benzene, lead or zinc in ground-up tire rubber used to cushion and fill in fields, while turf advocates produce studies that say those materials are locked in or aren't released in high enough quantities to affect health.
“Now with the NBC news about goalies, I'm more convinced than ever that Lebo needs to hold off on artificial turf,” said resident Dean Spahr, who originally opposed the project because he preferred grass, but became more concerned about health questions.
Jeff Heiskell, who lives near the field, said he and his wife were reconsidering having children because of their proximity to the field and their worry over whether it could affect her pregnancy.
Commission President Kristen Linfante said she and the commission knew about the goalie issue, from prior news reports, before awarding the contract in July, but felt it was outweighed by studies that said turf was safe.
“Each of us did our due diligence, and the overwhelming evidence of safety has made us feel more than confident with the decision we've made,” she said, noting artificial turf is at the high school stadium and similar material is used in local playgrounds.
Proposals for the Main Park fields included an alternative, organic infill made from ground coconut shells and cork, but contractors' bids for that option came back too high.
Dave Franklin, a coach and member of the sports advisory board that pushed for the project, said the board made its recommendation to move ahead with turf based on “the totality of the circumstances.” The board compared studies, and weighed them against the desire to create a more durable field to squeeze in more playing time and whether other institutions were choosing turf or natural grass for their fields.
“I certainly respect (the opponents') position,” he said. “Parents weigh risks for their kids every day: I don't let my kids play on trampolines; I don't let my kids swim in a pool without a lifeguard.”
In approving the storm water permit, the DEP echoed the commission majority and the EPA when it wrote that studies couldn't conclusively point to health risks from turf, though the EPA and other state and federal agencies also have said more research was needed to draw broad conclusions.
DEP approval, spokesman John Poister said, was based on whether the application met the state's regulations for runoff, which it did after Gateway Engineers modified plans for the drainage system. No one had appealed DEP's decision to the state's environmental hearing board as of this week, he said.
“The whole process was very disappointing to me,” said Elaine Gillen, who runs the Lebo Citizens blog, and said she thought government agencies would “do the right thing.”
Matthew Santoni is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at 412-380-5625 or msantoni@tribweb.com.
Update October 25, 2014 11:27 AM Two additional and very disturbing articles were sent to me this morning.
Is Synthetic Turf Giving Athletes Cancer?
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