Julia Burdelski stories, Page 23
Why Walz won the Democrat veepstakes over Shapiro
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s centrist profile might have cost him a spot on the Democratic presidential ticket this November in favor of a more progressive politician, experts said Tuesday. Shapiro, considered a top contender to be Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate during a compressed vetting process, was passed over...
Beechview program hits a bull’s-eye with young archers
Cora Wawrzyniak gripped a lime green compound bow and pulled back the string. She paused a moment, eyeing her target before letting the orange-tipped arrow fly. It stuck just to the left of the bull’s-eye. She immediately reached for another arrow, lined up her shot and fired, hitting the target...
Kamala Harris, VP pick Tim Walz debut at Philadelphia rally
Vice President Kamala Harris ended weeks of speculation Tuesday by announcing Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate in the presidential race, choosing him over a short list of Democratic candidates that included Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro. Harris announced on social media just before 10:30 a.m. that she had...
Critics including Fetterman, UAW put Shapiro on hot seat amid VP speculation
As Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro generates national buzz as a top contender to be Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate, naysayers have been increasingly vocal in their opposition. In recent days, the first-term Democratic governor has been hailed by some as a promising vice-presidential choice who may be able to...
Harris’ vice presidential pick could be key to winning battleground state — and maybe White House
Whoever Vice President Kamala Harris selects to be her running mate might not have a major impact on voters across the country, but he or she could prove pivotal in their home state, political experts said. In the case of candidates in swing states such as Pennsylvania or Arizona, Harris’...
Free vending machines to dispense Narcan at 7 Allegheny County locations
A new vending machine outside Tree of Life Open Bible Church in Pittsburgh’s Brookline neighborhood dispenses free naloxone, the opioid overdose reversal drug often referred to by the brand name Narcan. It’s one of seven naloxone vending machines that Allegheny County will be operating to provide a convenient way for...
Records reveal how violence at Pittsburgh pools prompted chaperone policy
A fistfight among dozens of teenagers, the use of pepper spray and threats with a gun were among a string of violent incidents at Pittsburgh public pools early this summer that raised serious security concerns among city officials, according to documents obtained by TribLive. The incidents, not previously made public...
Pittsburgh controller urges URA to better use $10M affordable housing fund
Pittsburgh Controller Rachael Heisler is calling on the Urban Redevelopment Authority to more efficiently use a fund for affordable housing instead of leaving money unused. Heisler’s recommendation follows an audit released Thursday by her office that showed that in 2022, the authority did not spend several hundred thousand dollars of...
Have a gripe about your flight? Pa. AG launches online aviation complaint form
Pennsylvania travelers facing issues such as flight delays, cancellations or boarding problems now can file complaints through an online form launched Wednesday by the state Attorney General’s Office. Attorney General Michelle Henry said a national uptick in consumer complaints prompted her to act. State residents and travelers who experience airline...
Steelers affiliate receives $850K settlement in dispute over Acrisure Stadium scoreboard
Pittsburgh’s Sports and Exhibition Authority has settled a yearslong dispute over whether it should have to pay for a costly upgrade to the scoreboard at Acrisure Stadium. The authority agreed to pay $850,000 to PSSI Stadium LLC, an affiliate of the Pittsburgh Steelers. The disagreement began when PSSI upgraded the...
Pittsburgh moving ahead with food justice fund grants after slow start
Pittsburgh is moving ahead with a plan to distribute money from its food justice fund after a slow start that left some activists frustrated. The city included $3 million in American Rescue Plan Act dollars for the new fund, which intends to bolster fresh food access across the city, in...
Red-light district: Pittsburgh mulls tech to catch traffic-light scofflaws
Drivers running red lights in Pittsburgh could one day be fined through an automatic enforcement system. Legislation introduced Tuesday to City Council would allow Pittsburgh to install cameras at high-risk intersections to ticket drivers who blow through red lights. “This technology will allow us to crack down on dangerous driving...
Bridge over Pittsburgh’s Saw Mill Run Boulevard to be razed
A poorly rated bridge over Saw Mill Run Boulevard in Pittsburgh’s Mt. Washington neighborhood is set to be torn down this week after a judge denied a request to halt demolition. The bridge, located near Woodruff Street, is owned by the city of Pittsburgh but is not used as a...
Antisemitic graffiti targets Chabad of Squirrel Hill, Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh
Rabbi Yisroel Altein woke up to what he called a troubling sight Monday morning — red spray paint on the facade of Chabad of Squirrel Hill that read “Jews for Palestine.” Under the words was an inverted red triangle, a symbol that Hamas militants have used to indicate they were...
Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy forges forest of the future in face of global warming
In a quiet corner of Pittsburgh’s Schenley Park, Jaci Bruschi has been carefully tending a grove of yellowwood trees since 2019. The trees aren’t native to the Pittsburgh area, but they’ve largely thrived in Fezziwig Grove, a research grove manned by the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy. As the conservancy’s horticultural project...
Hill District residents impatient over ’empty promises’ of neighborhood improvement
Marimba Milliones was among the Hill District residents who on Thursday told local leaders they’re getting impatient after years of waiting for investment in their neighborhood. A major redevelopment is underway in the Lower Hill District at the site of the former Civic Arena. It’s set to include a new...
Pittsburgh seeks to allot up to $2M per year to aid tenants fighting eviction
Jala Rucker was nearly evicted nine years ago from her home on Pittsburgh’s North Side. Rucker didn’t know where she would take her kids if she got kicked out of her Manchester apartment — and she didn’t know what would happen to the dozens of neighbors in her building who...
‘Completely unacceptable’: Committee tours site of Trump assassination attempt
A bipartisan congressional delegation got a firsthand look Monday at the place where a 20-year-old nursing home aide came within a hairsbreadth of killing Donald Trump. After climbing the same Butler County roof from which Thomas Crooks fired shots from an AR-15 rifle, members of the U.S. House Committee on...
Rivers Casino workers, fearful of gambling on health, rally behind effort to ban smoking
Alicia Monahan blames secondhand smoke for two fainting episodes she experienced while working at Rivers Casino on Pittsburgh’s North Shore. The table games dealer said she’s otherwise healthy but sometimes feels the effects of the smoke getting to her. Since she started working at the casino in 2019, she collapsed...
Pittsburgh councilman seeks to restore in-person option to obtain permits
More than four years after the City of Pittsburgh moved all permitting services online because of the covid-19 pandemic, a councilman wants in-person services restored. Pittsburgh has been without an in-person option for those who need permits since March 2020. A new city office building Downtown called 412 Boulevard of...
Backlash prompts Pittsburgh URA to remove for-sale signs on nearly 600 properties
When Pittsburgh’s Urban Redevelopment Authority this summer began placing for-sale signs on hundreds of properties it owns throughout the Hill District, Randall Taylor was alarmed. Taylor, a community leader with the Hill District Consensus Group, said he was concerned that land speculators could see the signs and gobble up land...
Pittsburgh hearing on property taxes puts focus on ‘broken’ system
Regular state-mandated property reassessments would provide school districts with more predictable revenue streams from property taxes and ensure all property owners pay no more than their fair share, experts and local officials said Monday. During a Pennsylvania Senate Democratic Policy Committee hearing in the Allegheny County Courthouse, officials urged lawmakers...
Innamorato asks judge to toss Pittsburgh Public Schools lawsuit on reassessment
Allegheny County and its top official, Sara Innamorato, on Monday asked a judge to dismiss a lawsuit by Pittsburgh Public Schools that is trying to trigger a countywide property reassessment. The school district sued in April to force a countywide reassessment, something that hasn’t been done since 2012. Pittsburgh Public...
Security guard charged in Penn Hills hookah bar killing says gun accidentally discharged
Police said they don’t believe the security guard who is accused of killing a woman at a Penn Hills hookah bar last month had any motive to shoot her, but he will face trial for criminal homicide. Chaz Jackson, 42, of Pittsburgh was charged in connection with the death of...
State bill guarding Pittsburghers from big property tax hikes heads to Shapiro
State legislation passed this week paves the way for Pittsburgh to exempt or defer tax increases for longtime homeowners whose property values have jumped since they purchased their houses. The goal is to protect longtime residents from being taxed out of their homes in developing neighborhoods where skyrocketing property values...
