Julia Felton stories, Page 15
Pittsburgh’s South Side not getting more violent, crime stats show
Though some have voiced concerns that Pittsburgh’s South Side neighborhood is more dangerous, crime data from Pittsburgh police indicate violent crime there is decreasing. From January through June, the neighborhood saw eight aggravated assault charges, 21 simple assault charges and four criminal mischief charges, according to crime statistics provided by...
‘We need homes, not vacant lots’: Pittsburgh council hears public land bank support
Pittsburgh City Council on Thursday heard public support for legislation that aims to make it easier for the city’s land bank to take the city’s blighted properties and bring them back to reuse. The proposed legislation deals with what city officials refer to as the tri-party agreement, which outlines how...
Traffic-calming projects starting in Homewood this week
Pittsburgh officials on Tuesday announced construction will start this week on several traffic-calming projects in the Homewood area. Traffic-calming efforts are slated for Frankstown Avenue between North Dallas Avenue and North Murtland Street in the city’s Homewood West neighborhood and at Oakwood Avenue between Batavia Street and Mulford Street in...
Taylor Swift’s shows in Pittsburgh generated $46M, agency says
Taylor Swift’s two Pittsburgh concerts generated $46 million in direct spending, according to tourism agency Visit Pittsburgh. The megastar singer brought record-setting crowds to Acrisure Stadium for her Eras Tour in June. About 83% of ticketholders came from outside of Allegheny County and packed the region’s hotels. According to Visit...
Pittsburgh pool reopens after fatal shooting
Jack Stack Pool in Pittsburgh’s Brighton Heights neighborhood reopened Wednesday with new safety measures in place after a fatal shooting nearby last week. Mayor Ed Gainey and public safety officials said they met with lifeguards and pool management to offer trauma support care, listen to concerns and begin crafting a...
Pittsburgh police chief says staffing ‘not in crisis’ despite officer shortage
Pittsburgh Police Chief Larry Scirotto said the police bureau’s staffing levels are “not in crisis,” as officials on Wednesday released the bureau’s first staffing study in more than a decade. According to the study, conducted by California-based Matrix Consulting Group, the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police has an “exceptional” response time...
Overnight closures of Andy Warhol Bridge end; work on Clemente underway
Overnight closures of the Andy Warhol Bridge have ended, Allegheny County officials said Tuesday. The closures, which began in late April, allowed for crews to install an enhanced lighting system on the span. There will be periodic single-lane closures during the day on the Andy Warhol and Rachel Carson bridges...
Hays Woods officially designated a Pittsburgh park
Hays Woods is officially a Pittsburgh park. City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved legislation that officially recognizes the 624-acre site — which includes city-owned land in Pittsburgh’s Hays and St. Clair neighborhoods as well as Baldwin — as a park. The sprawling wooded area will be the second-largest park in...
Downtown Pittsburgh’s last McDonald’s to become a Huntington National Bank
Huntington National Bank is slated to take over the Stanwix Street site that formerly housed Downtown Pittsburgh’s last McDonald’s. The fast food restaurant in the spring opted not to renew its lease at the location just outside Market Square. The Golden Arches had been at the site for about 50...
Pittsburgh moving ahead with plan for medical debt relief
Pittsburgh officials are moving ahead with plans to alleviate medical debt for some city residents. Councilman Bobby Wilson, D-North Side, introduced a measure last year that would use $1 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act dollars to contract with a company that will buy dischargeable health care debt from...
Animal Rescue saves 27 dachshunds from North Fayette home
Humane Animal Rescue of Pittsburgh is caring for 27 dachshund dogs that were rescued from a North Fayette home Monday. With help from North Fayette Police Department, Humane Animal Rescue officers executed a search warrant on a North Fayette house Monday. Officers were investigating neighbors’ concerns about unsanitary conditions and...
Morning Roundup: Troopers investigate man’s death in police custody in Monaca
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Tuesday, July 18: State troopers investigate after man dies in police custody in Monaca Pennsylvania State Police are looking into the case of a man who died Saturday while in police custody in Monaca. The Beaver County District Attorney’s...
Westmoreland County woman killed in W.Va. motorcycle crash
A Westmoreland County woman was killed Sunday in a motorcycle crash on Interstate 79, according to the Monongalia County Sheriff’s Office. Sheriff’s deputies responded to I-79 near mile marker 150 after 2 p.m. Sunday for a crash involving a motorcycle and a passenger vehicle. Christina Barnes, 55, of Bradenville was...
Woman found dead in Mon Wharf area
Pittsburgh police on Monday found a woman who died in the area of the Mon Wharf. Officers were called to 1 Fort Pitt Blvd. around 5:45 a.m. Monday for a report on a 35-year-old female found unresponsive. The woman, who has not yet been identified, was pronounced dead by medics...
Berg Place site in Carrick could become affordable senior housing development
A proposal before Pittsburgh’s Urban Redevelopment Authority would see Carrick’s Berg Place site redeveloped into affordable senior housing. The Berg Place site, which sits off of Brownsville Road, had previously been a multi-unit housing complex, but was condemned in 2014 after years of “disrepair,” said Niklas Persson, a lending analyst...
Police issue dozens of citations in South Side crime crackdown
Pittsburgh police say they issued dozens of citations over the weekend in the city’s South Side neighborhood amid efforts to curb violence and crime in the area. Police on Monday said they had “conducted focused enforcement to ensure public safety” along the East Carson Street entertainment district. With assistance from...
Salem’s Market & Grill hopes to add grocery store to Hill District plaza
Pittsburgh-based Salem’s Market and Grill will purchase a shopping plaza in Pittsburgh’s Hill District where its ownership hopes to open a grocery store by the end of the year. The city’s Urban Redevelopment Authority last week unanimously voted in favor of selling the Centre Avenue property that formerly housed a...
Wildfire smoke again returns to Western Pa.
The Pittsburgh region is again suffering from poor air quality as smoke from Canadian wildfires has returned. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection on Monday declared a statewide code orange air quality action day. Pennsylvania officials warned that a number of locations could see a rise in particulate matter that...
Planning Commission to consider plans for 1st phase of Bedford Dwellings project
Pittsburgh’s Planning Commission is considering plans for the first phase of the Bedford Dwellings redevelopment project, which is expected to include 123 housing units. “It’s part of a much larger redevelopment effort in the Hill District,” said Joe Hackett with Pittsburgh-based LBA Landscape Architecture, which is working on the project....
‘False narrative’ on South Side violence is bad for the neighborhood and business, councilman says
Brianna Cobb believes all the talk about violence on Pittsburgh’s South Side is the reason why Urban Tap isn’t packed late on Friday and Saturday nights anymore. Cobb, a manager, bartender and server at the East Carson Street bar and restaurant, said she doesn’t feel like the surrounding area is...
51 apartments planned in Pittsburgh’s Uptown
A proposed development in Pittsburgh’s Uptown would bring 51 new apartments to the neighborhood. The Standard on Fifth would be situated on what is now vacant land at Fifth Avenue and Moultrie Street. The four-story building would include a mix of market-rate and affordable apartments, according to information presented to...
UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh gets approval to expand Heart Institute
UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh has received approval from the city’s Planning Commission to build an addition at its Lawrenceville site to expand its Heart Institute. Plans call for a 50,000-square-foot addition atop an existing parking structure. The addition will accommodate the growing Heart Institute and create space for new...
Plans for 234 apartments in Pittsburgh’s Strip District receive Planning Commission approval
Plans for 234 new apartments in Pittsburgh’s Strip District received approval this week from the city’s Planning Commission. The proposed development includes two six-story apartment buildings — one on Smallman Street and the other at an adjacent property on 30th Street. The plans from Hermitage-based Hudson Companies call for one-...
Carnegie Mellon plans new robotics center at Hazelwood Green
Carnegie Mellon University is looking to build a new robotics center at the Hazelwood Green site in Pittsburgh. Plans for the robotics center were presented to Pittsburgh’s Planning Commission on Tuesday. The center would include a 150,000-square-foot research building with a two-story enclosure for testing on robots and drones and...
New law will make it easier for Pittsburgh’s Land Bank to purchase properties
A new Pennsylvania law is expected to make it easier for Pittsburgh’s Land Bank to purchase blighted properties. An amendment to the Municipal Claims and Tax Lien Law included a few technical and procedural changes to the way Sheriff Sales are conducted in Allegheny County. The changes will allow the...
