Julia Burdelski stories, Page 5
‘Cleaner, safer streets’: Shapiro visits Pittsburgh to praise Downtown upgrades
Standing on the North Shore Friday morning, Gov. Josh Shapiro heralded “meaningful progress” in ongoing efforts to make the city’s Golden Triangle safer, cleaner and more vibrant. About a year ago, Shapiro unveiled the $600 million Downtown revitalization plan, which will include about 1,000 new housing units, increased public safety...
Fatal high-speed crash on Parkway East leads to charges
A Pittsburgh man is facing involuntary manslaughter and homicide by vehicle charges stemming from a fatal crash on the Parkway East in March. Donald Isiah Lewis II, 28, of Pittsburgh’s East Hills neighborhood, told police a four-vehicle crash on Interstate 376 that left one person dead was his fault, according...
Morning Roundup: Police say man set fire in Waterworks Giant Eagle; pedestrian hit by car succumbs to injuries
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Friday, Oct. 3: Man faces arson charges over Giant Eagle fire A man was arrested Thursday after allegedly sparking a fire in the Giant Eagle Market District at the Waterworks in Pittsburgh’s Lincoln-Lemington neighborhood. Police said Russell Weleski, 33,...
West View man charged with igniting Ross ATM as anti-government act
A West View man turned himself in connection with the firebombing of an ATM in Ross early Wednesday, telling police he wanted to make a “statement” against the federal government. Keith J. Coyne, Jr., 46, is charged with arson and criminal mischief. Police say Coyne confessed to lighting a Chase...
Man who fell at PNC Park charged with prowling at ex’s house
The man who recently made a triumphant return to PNC Park after suffering serious injuries from a 21-foot fall there in April has been charged with prowling at his ex-girlfriend’s house. Kavan Markwood, 21, of McKeesport faces a misdemeanor charge of loitering and prowling at nighttime. Markwood’s ex-girlfriend, who has...
Morning Roundup: Police arrest man accused of armed robbery in Hazelwood
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Thursday, Oct. 2: Man arrested, accused of armed robbery Pittsburgh police arrested a man suspected of armed robbery in the city’s Hazelwood neighborhood Wednesday evening. Police were dispatched to the GoGo Market in the 5000 block of 2nd Avenue...
‘Not an honest document’: Critics slam Gainey’s 2026 budget plan
Pittsburgh’s controller and several City Council members on Wednesday skewered parts of Mayor Ed Gainey’s budget proposal for next year, with one councilman calling it “unprofessional” and “sloppy.” The $680 million operating budget — released Tuesday evening after a last-minute rush to make final adjustments — avoids tax hikes and...
Morning Roundup: Woman hit by car in South Side; water main break on East Carson
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Wednesday, Oct. 1: Woman critical after being hit by a car in South Side A woman in her late 70s was hit by a car Tuesday while crossing the street in Pittsburgh’s South Side Flats neighborhood. The collision occurred...
Gainey pitches budget plan with no tax hike
Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey’s administration on Tuesday proposed a penny-pinching budget that avoids a tax increase for 2026. Gainey’s $680 million operating budget — which funds basic city functions, like employee salaries, programming and utility bills — would increase spending from the roughly $666 million budgeted this year. That’s an...
Pittsburgh bars landlords from discriminating based on homelessness
Pittsburgh landlords can no longer turn down potential tenants because they are or have been homeless. City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved a measure that bars housing discrimination based on homelessness and a variety of other types of housing status, including lack of rental history and having previously lived in...
Judge pauses Pittsburgh’s plans for bike lane on Strip District’s Penn Avenue
A judge on Monday pushed pause on Pittsburgh’s plans to eliminate a lane of traffic on a bustling stretch of Penn Avenue through the Strip District. Judge Alan Hertzberg granted an injunction for the Strip District Business Association, a group that sued the city earlier this month over the proposed...
Pittsburgh budget guru scrambles to tweak ’26 spending plan after loss of jock tax
Pittsburgh officials scrambled to tweak next year’s budget proposal upon learning the state’s highest court struck down the so-called jock tax — wiping out roughly $4 million in annual revenue. But losing that money is hardly the biggest strain on the city’s proposed 2026 spending plan, which is due to...
$14 million project to bring sidewalk, street upgrades in Hill District
A $14 million initiative is bringing improvements to sidewalks and streets throughout Pittsburgh’s Hill District, aiming to make a neighborhood that has historically suffered from disinvestment safer and more accessible. The New Pathways project — funded largely by a U.S. Department of Transportation RAISE grant the city won under the...
Morning Roundup: Girl shot in Northview Heights; multiple people hurt in Fayette County stabbing
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Monday, Sept. 29: Girl shot in Pittsburgh’s Northview Heights A man has been charged with shooting a teen girl in the leg Sunday night in Pittsburgh’s Northview Heights neighborhood. Hassan Said Abdi, 24, of Pittsburgh, was charged with aggravated...
Steelers vs. Vikings: What they’re saying in Minnesota after the loss
The luck of the Irish was with the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday as they staved off a comeback effort from the Minnesota Vikings in the NFL’s first regular-season game in Dublin, Ireland. The Vikings trailed 24-6 early in the fourth quarter but rallied to end the game with a slim...
Summer Lee rips move to cut 2 PRT bus stops at Waterfront
Pittsburgh Regional Transit’s bus stops within The Waterfront plaza in Homestead will be discontinued next month, though riders will still be able to catch the bus nearby. The transit authority in a news release said routing for the 53-Homestead Park, 53L-Homestead Park Limited, 57-Hazelwood, 59-MonValley, 61D-Murray Short and 64-Lawrence-Waterfront will...
PRT board passes ‘Band-Aid’ budget to avoid transit rate hikes, drastic service cuts
Pittsburgh Regional Transit’s board on Friday formally approved a budget that will stave off rate hikes and drastic service cuts. But officials reiterated the measure to use $100 million in state funds to plug holes in the transit authority’s operating budget is an imperfect fix. “This is not a win,”...
O’Connor far outpaces Moreno in fundraising ahead of Pittsburgh mayoral election
With Pittsburgh’s mayoral race less than six weeks out, new reports show Democratic candidate Corey O’Connor holding a tremendous fundraising advantage over Republican nominee Tony Moreno. O’Connor has about $270,000 to spend ahead of the November 4 election — more than 60 times what Moreno has. Campaign finance reports filed...
Allegheny County Council mulls permitting leg shackles when inmates are taken to hospitals, medical appointments
Allegheny County Jail corrections officers may be allowed to use leg shackles when taking incarcerated people to medical appointments if county council approves a measure repealing a portion of the existing ban on such restraints. The measure, introduced to council Wednesday, would not completely revoke the prohibition on leg shackles....
Complaint filed against UPMC Children’s for denying transgender youths gender-affirming care
A complaint filed Tuesday with the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission claims UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh’s halt on gender-affirming care for transgender patients younger than 19 constitutes discrimination. The Women’s Law Project and Philadelphia law firm Berger Montague filed the complaint on behalf of transgender patients and their parents, who...
Pittsburgh to spend $1.8M on master plan for controversial public safety training center
Pittsburgh will move ahead with plans for a controversial public safety training facility to be built in the city’s Lincoln-Lemington neighborhood. Dozens of residents in recent weeks have urged City Council to pause plans for a massive public safety training center that officials estimate could cost about $86 million. Some...
Civic Arena, Roberto Clemente to be memorialized with historical markers
The old Civic Arena is one of several historic sites to be commemorated with new blue historical markers, the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission decided Thursday. Nearly 2,600 cast-aluminum markers found throughout the state— including 163 throughout Allegheny County — tell the stories of Native Americans, colonization, politics, athletes, entertainers,...
State budget impasse prompts Allegheny County hiring, spending freeze
Allegheny County is freezing hiring and spending because of a state budget impasse that has left funding in limbo. The county is losing out on about $75 million per quarter until the state adopts a budget. The county has a $3.1 billion budget, which has been under increasing pressure. The...
Duquesne Light promises improvements after April storm
Duquesne Light officials on Wednesday vowed to make improvements after customers complained of poor communication and long power outages after a severe storm in April. The April 29 storm left three dead and caused massive, widespread damage, blowing roofs off of buildings, downing massive trees and leaving debris in roadways....
Strip District group sues to block Pittsburgh from swapping traffic lane for bike lane along Penn Avenue
Tim Gaber worries that eliminating a lane of traffic on Penn Avenue in Pittsburgh’s bustling Strip District in order to add a bike lane could cause massive traffic jams and make it harder for fire trucks or ambulances to respond to emergencies. Gaber, a Strip District resident and owner of...
