Julia Felton stories, Page 25
Pittsburgh City Councilman Anthony Coghill announces bid for Allegheny County treasurer
Pittsburgh City Councilman Anthony Coghill is launching a campaign for Allegheny County treasurer. Coghill, a Beechview Democrat in his second term on council, said his experience as a city councilman, business owner and Sports & Exhibition Authority treasurer has prepared him for the role of county treasurer. “I feel like...
Architect named to Pittsburgh’s revamped Art Commission
The owner of an architectural and development firm has been appointed by Pittsburgh’s newly reorganized Art Commission. Gerrod Winston, an adjunct professor at Carnegie Mellon University’s school of architecture and owner of Pittsburgh-based Winston Design + Development, will join the commission’s Civic Design Committee. City Council last week approved Mayor...
Oakland zoning package gains final approval
A long-debated zoning package for Pittsburgh’s Oakland neighborhood gained final approval Tuesday. City Council postponed a vote on the zoning package in December after a lengthy public hearing where residents, developers and other Oakland stakeholders voiced an array of concerns. The zoning legislation will create three new base zoning districts...
Final vote on controversial Oakland zoning package expected next week
Pittsburgh City Council is expected to take a final vote next week to approve what has been a heavily debated zoning package for the Oakland neighborhood. City Council had initially planned to vote on the zoning package in December after a lengthy public hearing where residents, developers and officials from...
Gisele Fetterman shares window into family since husband’s hospitalization
After U.S. Sen. John Fetterman last week checked himself into a hospital for clinical depression treatment, his wife, Gisele, found her home circled by media trucks. In a series of tweets Friday morning, Gisele Fetterman explained how her children were home from school and her home surrounded by press when...
Pittsburgh investigators uncover new evidence in 1994 unsolved slaying of woman
Pittsburgh police have a new suspect in an unsolved 1994 killing. Florence Simon was 68 years old when she was “brutally strangled” inside her home at the 700 block of North St. Clair St. in East Liberty. She lived alone at the time. George Satler, a Pittsburgh detective assigned to...
Proposal to build new Citizens Bank branch in East Liberty receives approval on 3rd try
Pittsburgh’s Planning Commission on Tuesday approved a plan to tear down and replace the Citizens Bank branch in East Liberty after previously denying two similar proposals. The building at 6112 Penn Ave. was constructed in 1969 and 1970, originally housing a Mellon Bank branch. Citizens Bank opened a branch there...
Pittsburgh officials considering more extensive repairs on Swindell Bridge
Pittsburgh’s Swindell Bridge, closed briefly for repairs last summer, is scheduled to undergo a more significant rehabilitation. Legislation before Pittsburgh City Council would award a $1.2 million contract to Pittsburgh-based HDR Engineering to handle preliminary engineering design work, said Emily Bourne, a spokeswoman for the city’s Department of Mobility and...
Committee to study opening resource centers for youth, families in Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh officials on Monday announced members of a new committee that will study curbing youth violence in the city and launching resource centers geared toward youth and families. Pittsburgh City Council President Theresa Kail-Smith and Mayor Ed Gainey teamed up to form the new Advisory Committee for Youth and Family...
Members appointed to Pittsburgh’s reorganized Art Commission
Pittsburgh City Council has approved Mayor Ed Gainey’s appointments to the city’s Art Commission, which officials reorganized last month after the mayor disbanded the prior commission. Gainey in November removed all prior Art Commission members with little explanation. He then proposed a plan to divide the Art Commission into a...
Newly elected City Councilwoman Barb Warwick facing 2 Democratic challengers
Months after being sworn in, Pittsburgh City Councilwoman Barb Warwick, D-Greenfield, is preparing to face two Democratic challengers in the May primary as she looks to keep the seat she won in a special election in November. Warwick, who joined council in December, filled a seat left vacant by Corey...
Conservancy looks to create accessible areas for people to connect with nature at Frick Park
The Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy is looking to create a series of accessible sensory areas in Frick Park. Many of the sites the conservancy uses for nature programming and other activities at the park aren’t accessible for everyone, said Brandon Riley, the conservancy’s capital projects manager. “We’re trying to provide that...
The Waterfront institutes curfew, youth supervision policy
The Waterfront shopping and dining complex in Homestead will implement a new curfew policy next week. Under the new curfew policy, visitors under the age of 18 must be accompanied by a supervising adult who is 21 or older and carrying identification after 6 p.m. Visitors under 18 who are...
Inbound Armstrong Tunnel to close for nearly 2 years for rehab
The inbound Armstrong Tunnel is scheduled to close for a $13.1 million rehabilitation project. The closure is expected to start at 6 a.m. March 4, according to county officials. It’s not expected to reopen again until winter 2024. The right lane for inbound traffic on Second Avenue also will close...
Mellon Park Tennis Center reopens after months of renovations
The Mellon Park Tennis Center reopened this weekend after being closed for renovations for seven months. The Department of Public Works replaced the dome over the five tennis courts at the tennis center in Mellon Park in Pittsburgh’s Shadyside and Point Breeze neighborhoods. The dome was at the end of...
Show goes on for Elizabeth Forward High School band, musical after blaze
School districts from across the region and beyond are chipping in to help raise money to ensure Elizabeth Forward High School’s musical production goes on after a massive fire destroyed the auditorium, band and choir rooms. James Benedek Jr., the school’s musical director, on Monday said the school’s production of...
3 Pittsburgh bridges in urgent need of work not addressed for months
Pittsburgh officials waited months to address structural problems on three bridges that experts said needed to be addressed within a week, according to a spokeswoman for Mayor Ed Gainey. Gainey released a comprehensive report on the condition of 147 city-maintained bridges in December. The collapse of the former Fern Hollow...
Pittsburgh’s Urban Redevelopment Authority announced $43.2 million in state Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program grants
Pittsburgh’s Urban Redevelopment Authority has announced 31 projects throughout the city are receiving $43.2 million in state Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program grants. “It’s tremendous the resources that are coming into our area,” said City Councilman R. Daniel Lavelle, who serves on the URA board. The grant program, administered by the...
‘Borg’ drinking trend gains popularity on TikTok
A new TikTok trend that promises a hangover-free drinking spree appears to be gaining in popularity, particularly on college campuses. The borg — short for “blackout rage gallon” — is an alcoholic drink made by filling a one-gallon jug about halfway with water and then adding up to a fifth...
Pittsburgh’s URA creates program to preserve existing affordable housing
Pittsburgh’s Urban Redevelopment Authority is moving forward with plans for an affordable housing preservation program. The program will work to prevent existing affordable housing from being converted to market-rate units or taken off the market. “This program is going to help with funding the acquisition, rehab and operations of existing...
Pittsburgh to use grant money for citywide trail condition study
Pittsburgh officials are planning to launch a comprehensive study to analyze the condition of walking and biking trails throughout the city. The city is poised to accept a $73,000 grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources’ Community Conservation Partnerships Program to fund the trail condition study. Jeff...
Pittsburgh activists call for better public transit
Lorena Pena said she loves living in Pittsburgh, but struggles with the stress of using the region’s public transit system, which she said is often unreliable. Pena, who has lived in the city for about two years, gets up at 4 a.m. to make sure she has time to catch...
Crisis training to prepare Pittsburgh retail, restaurant workers to deal with overdose, mental health issues
Pittsburgh City Council on Tuesday unanimously voted to create a training program catered to restaurant and retail workers who want to learn how to handle people experiencing crises. Introduced by Councilwoman Deb Gross, D-Highland Park, the measure will create a training program through the city’s Office of Community Health and...
Allegheny County Police assisting Pittsburgh officers in patrolling Downtown
The Allegheny County Police Department is sending officers into Downtown Pittsburgh to assist an understaffed Pittsburgh Bureau of Police. Officials with the county police and Pittsburgh’s public safety department confirmed that county police began assisting in the Downtown area Monday. Allegheny County uniformed police officers in marked cars will be...
Schools, youth leagues to get first dibs for Pittsburgh’s athletic fields
Pittsburgh’s schools and youth athletic teams will have first dibs on the city’s athletic fields under legislation approved Tuesday by City Council. The legislation creates a priority list to determine who gets to use the city’s athletic fields first. Council members acknowledged that there are often various groups vying for...
