Zoo Deaths, Water Quality & What Went Wrong on the Fern Hollow Bridge

It’s the Friday news roundup! The National Transportation Safety Board released its findings into the cause of the 2022 Fern Hollow Bridge collapse, the zoo closed for a day out of respect for recent animal deaths, and Presidential election season is heating up in Pittsburgh. We’re talking about our improved water quality and what, if anything, it means to have so many national political leaders darken our regional door.
We always cite our sources:

You can watch the animation summarizing what led up to the Fern Hollow Bridge collapse.

PublicSource did a great job explaining what caused the collapse, and the Pittsburgh Union Progress shared ways the city has improved its bridge care since the collapse.

Check the Trib for a good summary of recommendations for future bridge maintenance.


The Trib, WESA, and the Penn Capital-Star covered VP Harris’ visit to Pittsburgh.

You can get a free lead testing kit if you are a PWSA customer. 

The zoo recently closed for a day, shortly after announcing the deaths of 2-year-old elephant calf Tsuni and 18-year-old sea lion Hawk.

The Pittsburgh Zoo forfeited AZA accreditation in 2015, but new leadership says they’re reapplying — in part, to fulfill the terms of their lease with the city of Pittsburgh.

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