Julia Felton stories, Page 31
Plans unveiled for shuttered Shadyside Giant Eagle property
A proposed development would bring an updated Giant Eagle store, additional retailers and restaurants and over 200 new housing units to Pittsburgh’s Shadyside neighborhood. The development, owned by O’Hara Township-based ECHO Realty, is proposed for a site on Penn Avenue and Shakespeare Street that had previously housed a Giant Eagle....
Pittsburgh budget process begins with overview of city’s financial position
After Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey presented his 2023 budget to City Council this week, council members are diving into the proposal before taking a final vote on it. Their weekslong budget process began Tuesday with a budget proposal overview. On Wednesday, they will begin a series of budget hearings that...
Pittsburgh sets goal to clear roads within 24 hours of snowfall
Pittsburgh officials outlined the city’s plans for snow removal efforts this winter in a virtual meeting Tuesday evening, saying they hope to have all of the city’s roads cleared within 24 hours of snowfall. “We’re going to do all we can to make sure these streets (are clear),” Pittsburgh Mayor...
Winter shelter to open for homeless in Downtown Pittsburgh
A winter shelter for people experiencing homelessness was scheduled to open Tuesday evening in Downtown Pittsburgh, Allegheny County officials said. The seasonal, low-barrier shelter is slated to open temporarily to provide cold weather shelter until Second Avenue Commons — a new 45,000-square-foot, year-round shelter built Downtown — is open. The...
Pittsburgh unveils plans for Light Up Night Saturday
Pittsburgh will ring in the holiday season Saturday with a Light Up Night celebration that includes the lighting of the city’s official holiday tree, four hours of music and the unveiling of the city’s annual gingerbread house display. The city will light its 107th annual Christmas tree — a 40-foot...
Pittsburgh City Council approves contract with consultant in search for new police chief
Pittsburgh City Council on Monday voted to award a contract to an independent firm to lead a national search for the city’s next police chief. Council members unanimously approved an $80,000 contract with California-based Public Sector Search & Consulting, Inc. The company will be tasked with gathering additional public input...
Pittsburgh to use $400K designated for public safety training facility on road work
Pittsburgh City Council on Monday voted to reallocate more than $400,000 initially earmarked for a new public safety training facility in the city’s Lincoln-Lemington neighborhood to road paving projects. The decision comes after city leaders last week said there is no timetable on when construction may begin at the new...
Gainey touts investments in infrastructure, public safety in Pittsburgh budget
Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey on Monday touted investments in infrastructure, public safety and public works in his first annual budget address before City Council. The city has faced an array of challenges since Gainey took office in January — including the collapse of the Fern Hollow Bridge in the city’s...
Some Republican leaders say GOP needs to embrace mail-in voting
Allegheny County’s GOP chairman and a North Hills Republican who came up short in his bid for Congress are placing at least some blame for the party’s poor midterm election performance on the party’s refusal to embrace mail-in voting. Sam DeMarco, the county’s GOP chairman, said Republicans applied for less...
Hill District nonprofit buys URA property for affordable housing, retail project
Pittsburgh’s Urban Redevelopment Authority on Thursday agreed to sell a Hill District property to Amani Christian Community Development Corp., which will use the site to create retail space and affordable housing. The Hill District-based nonprofit bought the property on Centre Avenue for $27,300 plus costs. Plans call for an 18,000-square-foot...
URA to provide funding for affordable housing projects in Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh’s Urban Redevelopment Authority has approved funding to support affordable housing initiatives in the city’s South Oakland, East Hills and East Liberty neighborhoods, as well as a loan to help upgrade affordable senior apartments in the Central North Side. This comes as city leaders have said they are working to...
Pittsburgh considers using $400K earmarked for public safety training facility on road work instead
Pittsburgh City Council is again looking to reallocate money intended for a new public safety training facility in Pittsburgh’s Lincoln-Lemington neighborhood, as city leaders said it’s unclear when work on the facility might begin. Council is considering moving over $400,000 allocated for the proposed public safety facility to use for...
About 680 Pittsburgh customers remain without power
About 680 Duquesne Light customers in the Pittsburgh area were without power around 2 p.m. Friday. Over 2,200 customers had been without power earlier Friday afternoon. Impacted neighborhoods included Bloomfield, East Liberty, Garfield, Green Tree, McKeesport, Shadyside, Squirrel Hill, Stanton Heights, Westwood and Wilkins. The utility company expects all service...
Portion of Brookline Memorial Park may be converted into urban farm
An empty field in Brookline Memorial Park could be converted into an urban farm, which would produce food for city residents and local food banks. City Councilman Anthony Coghill said the site, located within the roughly 20-acre park in Pittsburgh’s Brookline neighborhood, was the last active farm in Pittsburgh. He’d...
New public works facility won’t be ready to help Pittsburgh’s South Hills neighborhoods this winter
Residents in Pittsburgh’s South Hills neighborhoods might not be wishing for a white Christmas this year. A Department of Public Works facility that was supposed to bring snow plows, salt and other supplies to the district won’t be built this winter, Councilman Anthony Coghill said. Coghill represents Pittsburgh City Council...
Pittsburgh City Council president says West End ‘excluded’ from public discussions about police chief search
Pittsburgh City Council President Theresa Kail-Smith on Wednesday said she felt her West End council district was “excluded” from conversations about what city residents hope to see in the city’s new police chief. Mayor Ed Gainey’s administration held listening sessions over the past few weeks at Carrick High School, PPG...
Pittsburgh officials look to clean up homeless encampment under 10th Street Bypass
Pittsburgh officials are hoping to relocate homeless people living in an encampment under the 10th Street Bypass and clean out the site. Outreach workers from the city, the county and various organizations have worked with the “small handful” of homeless people who actually live at the site to help them...
Portion of Pittsburgh’s Liberty Avenue to close for Veterans Day parade
A portion of Liberty Avenue will be closed Friday morning for Pittsburgh’s annual Veterans Day Parade, city officials said. Liberty Avenue will be closed between 10th and 26th streets starting at 9 a.m. The parade, which starts at 10 a.m., will march from 10th Street and Liberty Avenue to Commonwealth...
Warwick up big in Pittsburgh City Council special election race
Democrat Barb Warwick held a commanding lead Tuesday night in a special election race to fill a vacant Pittsburgh City Council seat. With about nearly 83% of precincts reporting results in the 5th District as of 10:05 p.m., Warwick had collected over 76% of the votes counted compared with under...
Deluzio defeats Shaffer in 17th Congressional District race
Iraq War veteran and voting rights attorney Chris Deluzio defeated former Ross Commissioner Jeremy Shaffer in Pennsylvania’s newly redrawn 17th Congressional District. The district includes all of Beaver County and part of Allegheny County. Most of the area has been represented by U.S. Rep. Conor Lamb, who chose not to...
Pittsburgh leaders seek solutions to reduce gun violence
Pittsburgh City Council members on Monday met with outreach workers to discuss possible solutions to help quell the uptick in homicides and protect the city’s youth. “We’re attempting to treat this disease of violence,” said Taili Thompson, director of Operation Better Block’s Violence Prevention Initiative. Thompson and others who are...
Pittsburgh looks to extend smart loading zone program for 3 years
Pittsburgh officials are looking to expand a program that aims to make it easier for delivery drivers and others to find on-street parking spots outside of local businesses. The pilot program, unveiled in the spring, was originally scheduled to last for one year. Legislation introduced to City Council on Monday...
Part of Downtown Pittsburgh’s Grant Street to close over weekend for Christmas tree installation, decoration
Part of Downtown Pittsburgh’s Grant Street will be closed for portions of Saturday and Sunday as crews install and decorate the city’s official Christmas tree on the City-County Building’s portico. Grant Street will be closed from Third Avenue to Fifth Avenue from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday while Forestry...
Plans for 2 apartment buildings in Pittsburgh’s Strip District move forward
Two apartment complexes are planned for construction in Pittsburgh’s Strip District. The city’s Planning Commission this week approved two separate developments that will bring additional housing to the area. “Neighborhoods like the Strip District have an incredible opportunity to add abundant housing and become more vibrant communities by adding more...
Pittsburgh officials hoping to move homeless people from encampments to new shelter
As a new shelter is scheduled to open in Downtown Pittsburgh in the coming weeks, officials said they are hoping to move homeless people from encampments to the new site. Dubbed Second Avenue Commons, the 45,000-square foot, five-story facility will have 43 single-room apartments and operate year-round. It will be...
