Axios Pittsburgh

February 04, 2026
🪴 Hump day? More like National Hemp Day.
- Just as Pennsylvania relaunches its push to legalize recreational cannabis.
🌤️ Today's weather: Mostly sunny, highs in the mid-20s.
🎧 Sounds like: "Bills, Bills, Bills," by Destiny's Child.
Today's newsletter is 999 words, a 4-minute read.
1 big thing: Scoop — Deluzio wants answers from ICE after Oakmont arrest
U.S. Rep. Chris Deluzio (D-Aspinwall) is pressing ICE after federal agents detained an Oakmont immigrant whose family and local leaders say had legal U.S. status.
Why it matters: The case of Jose Flores, a Nicaraguan immigrant who was taken from Oakmont last week by federal agents, has rattled the community — and now has the attention of a member of Congress.
Context: Flores and his wife, Hariett, arrived in the U.S. from Nicaragua in 2022 and have valid work visas and pending affirmative asylum cases, Hariett told TribLive last week.
- Oakmont Borough Council last night proposed a resolution to formally bar local police from enforcing noncriminal federal immigration laws or entering into 287(g) agreements as a result of Flores' arrest.
- It will also send a statement to ICE demanding justification for Flores' arrest.
Driving the news: Axios obtained a letter Deluzio sent to ICE acting director Todd Lyons yesterday, demanding answers to a series of questions surrounding Flores' detention.
- Those questions included on what basis Flores was detained, whether a warrant was issued, and whether Flores' detention was part of a targeted action.
Zoom in: Deluzio, who represents Oakmont and the surrounding suburbs, also wants ICE to tell him how many people were detained in the borough in January and their status, if there are reasons immigrants are targeted there, and if any removal proceedings have started.
ICE did not respond to Axios' request for comment yesterday.
What we're watching: Deluzio lamented the time it took ICE to respond to his first request.
- "I expect more prompt communication in response to my Congressional inquiries," he wrote yesterday.
2. Shapiro targets AI, data centers in budget plan
Gov. Josh Shapiro laid out his $53.2 billion budget blueprint yesterday, along with a wish list of new rules for data centers and artificial intelligence chatbots.
The big picture: The plan would hike state spending roughly 6% over last year.
What's new
⚡ Data center regulations: Under his plan, data center owners would need to pay for their own energy consumption, commit to community engagement, hire locally, and pledge to high environmental standards.
- Pennsylvania has become a hub for data centers, fueling an AI boom with no end in sight. But the boom has led to strong community pushback and concerns over data centers' massive energy consumption.
🤖 AI chatbots: Shapiro's proposals around protecting children from AI chatbots included mandating age-verification requirements and prohibiting AI chatbots from producing sexually explicit or violent content involving children.
📱Cellphone ban: The governor called for a ban on cellphone usage while students are in school.
💰 Federal response fund: Shapiro wants $100 million from the state's rainy day fund to create a standing war chest aimed at guarding against federal overreach.
- His administration argues the fund is necessary to protect against Trump administration moves.
- Yes, but: The Republican-led Senate is unlikely to support this part of the plan.
What else: Shapiro also doubled down on some of his past policy goals, including:
- 🌿 Legalizing adult-use recreational cannabis
- ⚡ A series of legislation, dubbed the Lightning Plan, that includes a new cap-and-trade program to limit carbon emissions.
- 💵 Raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour (up from $7.25)
What we're watching: Whether Pennsylvania's divided government can pass a spending plan by the July 1 deadline.
3. The Bridge: New pizza joint in Oakland
🍷 Cork & Crust, a new pizza and wine bar, opened last week on the first floor of The Oaklander Hotel on Bigelow Boulevard. Three-time James Beard Award semifinalist chef Kristin Butterworth is leading the restaurant. (Press release)
⚖️ A federal judge on Monday blocked the Trump administration from ending Temporary Protected Status for Haitian refugees, including hundreds living in Charleroi. The administration said it plans to further challenge the ruling. (Axios)
🎵 Lady Gaga will sing her cover of Mister Rogers' "Won't You Be My Neighbor?" in a Redfin Super Bowl ad airing Sunday. (WESA)
🧱 If the Pittsburgh skyline receives 10,000 votes, it might be turned into a LEGO set. Vote here! (TribLive)
4. 🏈 NFL Draft campus renderings revealed
Get ready for 700,000 fans outside of Acrisure.
Why it matters: The NFL Draft is coming to Pittsburgh this April, and tourism group Visit Pittsburgh released renderings yesterday of what it should look like when football fans from across the world descend on the city.
Zoom in: The main stage and theater will be located on the east side of Acrisure Stadium, and other activities will be on the west side.
- The Roberto Clemente Bridge will be closed to vehicle traffic.
- The Gateway Clipper Fleet will provide river transportation between draft sites.

Zoom out: A fan festival will be held at Point State Park, which is fresh off an upgrade. It will include youth programming, food and beverage offerings, and immersive NFL exhibits, according to Visit Pittsburgh.

State of play: Global telecasts will feature shots from the stage of Pittsburgh's skyline, rivers and bridges, showcasing the city's redevelopment to millions of viewers, said Visit Pittsburgh.
What's next: The draft runs from April 23-25.
5. 📸 Caption this: Respect the chair law
Here's your chance to sound off (well, not directly) to Pittsburgh Mayor Corey O'Connor.
Context: After last week's heavy snow, O'Connor told reporters: "There's a lot of chairs popping up on your street, so please respect the chair law — or whatever you want to call it."
- He told Axios on Monday he's been wearing this "respect the chair law" sweatshirt ever since and shared a photo.
Between the lines: A friend made O'Connor's sweatshirt for him, but he told Axios that Pittsburgh Clothing Co. has a line with a similar sentiment.
How would you caption this?
- Hit reply to this email and show us what you got!
🧟 Chrissy is streaming George Romero films on Shudder tonight in honor of the horror icon's would-be 86th birthday.
🚘 Ryan replaced a broken headlight in his car and now feels invincible.
🗓️ Alexis is OOO.
Thanks to Chloe Gonzales for editing this newsletter.
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