Morning Roundup: Picklesburgh dates announced

Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Wednesday, March 8, 2023:

Dates announced for Picklesburgh 2023

The Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership has announced the dates for the city’s annual ode to all things pickled.

The Picklesburgh festival will be held Downtown from July 21 to 23 — a Friday through Sunday event.

The popular pickle-themed festival features live music, pickle cocktails, pickle beer, a pickle juice drinking contest and a variety of pickle-themed clothing and merchandise.

Picklesburgh has again been nominated for the title of Best Specialty Food Festival by USA Today 10Best Readers’ Choice travel awards. Supporters can vote until March 20.

Police search for McCandless girl

Update: McCandless officials said Wednesday that Alayah Goetz has been located “safe and sound.”

McCandless police report that they are looking for a girl who was last seen late Monday.

They are looking for Alayah Goetz, 13. She was last seen Monday, March 6 at 11 p.m. in the area of Sloop Road in McCandless.

House explodes in New Castle

At least 35 homes in New Castle were reportedly damaged from an explosion Wednesday, according to police.

The explosion happened as a contractor was using an excavator to remove debris from a house and garage on Pollock Avenue that has been demolished the previous day, New Castle police said.

Most of the damage reports received were for broken windows and cracked foundations, officials said.

Investigators said the blast was not caused by the ignition of natural gas.

In addition to New Castle police, the incident is being investigated by the city’s fire department, the Allegheny County Bomb Squad, the FBI and the federal department of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Mall at Robinson launches youth escort policy

Officials for the Mall at Robinson announced that visitors under 18 must be accompanied by an adult from 3 p.m. until closing on Friday and Saturday nights.

The new policy covers the entire mall except stores with exterior entrances such as Macy’s, Dick’s Sporting Goods and JCPenney.

The policy includes walkways and any corridor leading to the mall. In addition, unsupervised shoppers under the age of 18 will not be permitted to congregate in the mall parking lot.

Violators could be prosecuted for trespassing.

Underage people who work at the mall must provide proof of age, such as a photo ID from a school or other agency.

In February, the Waterfront shopping center in Homestead instituted a curfew and youth supervision policy. The Monroeville Mall has had a youth escort policy since 2015.