Julia Felton stories, Page 28
Pittsburgh partners with startups to improve city government, support entrepreneurs
Several of Pittsburgh’s city departments will partner with startup companies in an effort to improve how city government functions and support the participating companies, Mayor Ed Gainey said Tuesday. The mayor said seven startups will join the latest cohort of the PGH Lab program. “Piloting new ideas within city government...
Pittsburgh mayor scraps panel created to appoint PWSA board members
Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey has eliminated an independent board that nominated people to serve on the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority’s board and announced his own nominees. Former Mayor Bill Peduto enacted an executive order to create the board of nominators. Maria Montaño, a spokesperson for Gainey, said the mayor...
Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy to partner with Allegheny Goatscape to improve Hays Woods Park
The Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy said Monday it will use grant money to improve the ecosystem at Pittsburgh’s newly acquired Hays Woods Park and partner with Allegheny Goatscape to remove invasive plants. The nonprofit received a $233,000 grant from the Richard King Mellon Foundation. The wooded space in Pittsburgh’s Hays neighborhood...
Water returning soon for PWSA customers in Highland Park, Morningside after water main repair complication
Morningside and Highland Park residents who have been without water since Thursday night should have their water returning this morning, according the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority. Residents in those neighborhoods have been without water since around 9:50 p.m. Thursday, according to PWSA spokesman Nick Letzkus. He could not say...
Pittsburgh City Council president calls for more oversight of Stop the Violence grants
Pittsburgh City Council President Theresa Kail-Smith introduced legislation Wednesday that would require recipients of the city’s Stop the Violence grants to report to council on how they use the funds. The city announced in November that it had distributed nearly $1 million in Stop the Violence grants to more than...
Pittsburgh Art Commission reorganized, city fund for public art created
Pittsburgh’s Art Commission and the percentage given to the city’s art program are set to be reorganized. City Council voted unanimously last week to approve changes proposed by Mayor Ed Gainey. This comes about a month after the mayor removed all prior Art Commission members with little explanation. He then...
McCandless church’s program for special needs kids, siblings helps parents, children, volunteers
Memorial Park Church in McCandless hosts a monthly event where youth with special needs and their siblings can enjoy a night with friends. The free program, dubbed Friday Nite Kids, is open for kids with special needs and their siblings from ages 2 to 21, said Abbie Nosel, who coordinates...
Pittsburgh’s top stories of 2022
The year 2022 began with Pittsburgh making national headlines as the Fern Hollow Bridge collapsed in the city’s Frick Park. It ended with the death of beloved NFL Hall of Fame running back Franco Harris. Throughout the year, Pittsburgh would see several other major headlines, including the completion of a...
Southwest hopes to return to full schedule Friday after canceling thousands of flights
The nightmare may be over soon for Southwest Airlines flyers whose holiday travels have been anything but smooth sailing. After canceling thousands of flights because of winter weather and a major technology meltdown, company leaders at Southwest told employees Wednesday that they hope to have a full schedule restored by...
412 Blvd. of the Allies in Downtown Pittsburgh earns historic designation
A nine-story building at 412 Blvd. of the Allies in Downtown Pittsburgh has received a historic designation from the city. Pittsburgh City Council voted Wednesday to approve the historic nomination. The building, constructed in 1927, originally housed a hospital and then a pharmaceutical research, manufacturing and sales company, according to...
Pittsburgh City Council tweaks rules on public meetings
Pittsburgh City Council voted Wednesday to clarify rules for people making public comments at its meetings. The measure, first introduced in November and amended last week, explicitly requires commenters to state their name and their neighborhood before commenting — something council had asked of commenters already. The legislation said residents...
Overturned tractor-trailer that tied up Parkway West traffic cleared
An overturned tractor-trailer that was causing traffic headaches on the Parkway West for much of the day Tuesday has been cleared. PennDOT traffic cameras about 4:30 p.m. showed outbound traffic flowing through all lanes near the Campbells Run Road exit. The truck overturned near the border of Robinson and Collier...
Duquesne University to begin construction on new 11-story student apartment building next month
Duquesne University plans to begin construction next month on a new 11-story student apartment building on Forbes Avenue. The 556-bed facility will include amenity spaces, bicycle parking, a fitness area and outdoor courtyards available to residents, students and others in the community, the university said. The new building, located next...
Pittsburgh officials urge residents to stay off roads, help neighbors as winter weather approaches
Pittsburgh officials on Thursday said they’re preparing for a weekend of winter weather with warming centers, extended hours at homeless shelters and overnight snow plowing and salting efforts. They urged residents to do their part by staying off the roads Friday if possible. “Our forecast is showing there’s going to...
Pittsburgh’s new Fern Hollow Bridge reopens to traffic
Pittsburgh’s new Fern Hollow Bridge opened to traffic in the East End early Thursday afternoon, less than a year after it collapsed. Officials had initially said the bridge, which carries Forbes Avenue over Frick Park, would open Friday. Instead, PennDOT said motorists began using it at 1:30 p.m. Thursday. Officials...
Dozens of bridges maintained by Pittsburgh in need of repairs within 6 months, report says
Structural issues with dozens of bridges maintained by the city of Pittsburgh are significant enough that they should be addressed within the next months, according to a report commissioned by Ed Gainey. Gainey called for the report when he unveiled his plans for a new Comprehensive Bridge Asset Management Program...
Completed Fern Hollow Bridge unveiled in advance of Friday reopening
Less than a year after the Fern Hollow Bridge collapsed in Pittsburgh’s Frick Park, officials unveiled a new span that will open in its place this week. “This is the best Christmas gift we could give the city of Pittsburgh,” Mayor Ed Gainey said Wednesday as he stood on the...
‘Destructive, disgusting’ acts force Pittsburgh Regional Transit to alter fare vending machine hours
Pittsburgh Regional Transit on Tuesday announced that the fare vending machines at its Downtown Service Center will be closed outside of regular weekday business hours because of problematic behavior at the site. Starting Wednesday, the fare vending machines at the Downtown Service Center at 623 Smithfield St. will be open...
Proposal to reorganize Pittsburgh’s art commission advances
Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey’s proposal to reorganize the city’s Art Commission and percent for art program received support from City Council this week. The changes come weeks after Gainey dismissed all prior members of the Art Commission with little explanation. City Council on Monday unanimously supported the changes in a...
Proposed $11M development in Lower Hill District includes entertainment venue, parking garage
A proposed $11 million development in Pittsburgh’s Lower Hill District would include a new entertainment venue, a six-story parking garage, retail space and a public safety station on the former Civic Arena site. Pittsburgh Arena Real Estate Redevelopment, the development arm of the Pittsburgh Penguins, and several partners presented plans...
Pittsburgh City Council approves $800M budgets for next year
Pittsburgh City Council on Monday unanimously approved the city’s 2023 operating and capital budgets, as well as an updated American Rescue Plan Act spending plan. The city’s budgets have been tweaked several times since Mayor Ed Gainey introduced them last month, with the spending plan for American Rescue Plan Act...
Pittsburgh delays lease extension for police headquarters
Pittsburgh City Council tabled a proposal to extend the city’s lease for its police headquarters building after discovering that it still has one year left on its existing lease. The mayor’s office proposed a six-year lease extension for the Western Avenue building on Pittsburgh’s North Side last month. That lease...
Crews shut down homeless encampment on Pittsburgh’s North Side
Pittsburgh officials on Wednesday shut down a homeless encampment in the city’s North Side and helped to relocate most people who had been living there. City officials worked to develop “transition plans” for people living at the encampment along Stockton Avenue near Sue Murray Pool before closing it down and...
Pittsburgh City Council makes additional budgetary changes ahead of Monday’s final vote
Pittsburgh City Council gave preliminary approval Wednesday to several proposed changes to next year’s budgets, including measures that would again revise the city’s American Rescue Plan Act spending plan and give themselves a pay raise. Mayor Ed Gainey last month introduced a 2023 budget for American Rescue Plan Act funding...
National award for I-579 cap project, local donations to support Pittsburgh youth programs
A national award for Pittsburgh’s I-579 cap project will provide funding for youth programs. The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials awarded the I-579 cap project — which reconnected the Lower Hill District and Downtown Pittsburgh — the national grand prize in the America’s Transportation Awards last month....
