Julia Felton stories, Page 4
Pittsburgh to start sending parking tickets by mail
City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved allowing the Public Parking Authority to ticket by mail. It’s a measure that aims to improve safety and efficiency for the authority’s parking enforcers, said David Onorato, the authority’s executive director. The move comes as the authority continues to struggle with staffing since the...
Councilman Wilson pitches latest idea to fill Pittsburgh’s Downtown buildings
Pittsburgh leaders are eyeing a new proposal to jump-start development Downtown by cutting property taxes, marking the latest effort to address the city’s gloomy fiscal outlook. The measure would offer a 10-year real estate tax break for developers who transform empty office space into housing or put them to other...
Pittsburgh controller warns of threat to city’s fiscal health, urges changes to budget
Pittsburgh Controller Rachael Heisler Wednesday urged city officials not to count on nearly $10 million in revenue included in this year’s budget, sounding a strong warning about an increasingly grim fiscal picture. In a letter to Mayor Ed Gainey and City Council members, Heisler described the city’s tenuous financial situation...
Officials break ground on long-delayed public works facility for Pittsburgh’s South Hills
After years of delays, Pittsburgh officials on Wednesday broke ground at a new Department of Public Works facility in the city’s Knoxville neighborhood. Officials have promised the facility — which will service 16 neighborhoods in the South Hills area of Pittsburgh — will allow crews to plow and salt roads...
Pittsburgh councilman rips Gainey administration for poor communication
In an unusual display of frustration, Pittsburgh Councilman Anthony Coghill on Wednesday publicly lambasted Mayor Ed Gainey’s administration for what he called a lack of communication with council. The Beechview councilman criticized the mayor and his staff for not consulting council before submitting a plan on how to spend $8...
Zoning change to allow more townhouses supported by Pittsburgh Planning Commission
A proposal that would make it easier to build attached housing — like townhomes and rowhouses — in Pittsburgh earned unanimous support from the Planning Commission on Tuesday. The legislation now will be sent to City Council for a final vote. The zoning change, spearheaded by Councilman Bobby Wilson, D-North...
Pittsburgh recognizes Frick Park, synagogue as historic, considers designation for cemetery
Pittsburgh’s Frick Park and B’nai Israel Synagogue now are recognized with historic designation, and the city is considering designating a cemetery as historic for the first time. City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved historic recognition for the park and the synagogue after the city’s Planning Commission and Historic Review Commission...
Pittsburgh’s Saw Mill Run corridor floods a lot. Planners aim to dry it out
A proposed master plan for Pittsburgh’s Saw Mill Run Boulevard would aim to promote pedestrian safety and reduce flooding along the problematic corridor. Saw Mill Run Boulevard has flooded 24 times over the last 11 years, said Lisa Werder Brown, executive director of Watersheds of South Pittsburgh, which led the...
Pittsburgh to pay Garfield woman $7K to fix home after SWAT shootout
A Pittsburgh homeowner whose house was damaged during a SWAT shootout in August will receive money from the city to repair her home. Thousands of bullets were exchanged during a six-hour standoff Aug. 23 between police and a man in Pittsburgh’s Garfield neighborhood. The shooter, William Hardison, Jr., 63, died...
Pittsburgh City Council OKs budget changes for new firefighters contract
Pittsburgh City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved budget changes to cover the cost of a new contract with the city’s firefighters. The city and the union reached the deal late last year. It includes pay raises, new parental and pregnancy leave policies and upgrades to fire stations. The contract covers...
Pittsburgh looks to reinstate limited spay and neuter program
After abruptly halting the program in February, Pittsburgh officials are looking to partially restore its spay and neuter initiative. The city plans to restart free spay and neuter services only for feral cats, Public Safety Director Lee Schmidt said. The portion of the program that allowed city residents to get...
Pittsburgh doubles down on goal to reduce car crashes
Pittsburgh officials on Monday reaffirmed a commitment to reducing fatal vehicle crashes through speed hump installations and similar projects. The initiative, called Vison Zero, aims to curb car crashes and eliminate fatal crashes. City officials have dedicated $1.4 million to traffic safety initiatives this year, about double the amount set...
Pittsburgh could begin mailing parking tickets rather than leaving them on windshields
People parking illegally in Pittsburgh could soon get tickets in the mail rather than on their windshields. The change could improve safety and efficiency for the parking enforcers tasked with ticketing cars that don’t pay meters or violate other parking rules, said David Onorato executive director of the Public Parking...
Young girl slips away from babysitter, wanders Pittsburgh streets in freezing temperatures wearing only T-shirt
A young girl was found wandering outside early Thursday morning in sub-freezing temperatures and suffering from hypothermia in Pittsburgh’s Duquesne Heights neighborhood. Police received a 911 call from an unknown caller at 4:04 a.m. for a child walking in the area of Grandview Avenue and Cohassett Street, said public safety...
World War I memorial at Pittsburgh’s Obama Academy to be restored for 100th anniversary
A bronze World War I memorial outside Obama Academy in Pittsburgh’s East Liberty neighborhood is getting a facelift for its 100th anniversary. The memorial bears the names of more than 500 World War I veterans who were students at the former Peabody High School, now Obama Academy, on North Highland...
Pittsburgh building inspection department gets new boss
Pittsburgh’s Department of Permits, Licenses and Inspections has a new director, a veteran employee who has been running the department for months. City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved David Green of Lawrenceville to replace Sarah Kinter, who stepped down in July. Mayor Ed Gainey previously praised Green as the “most...
Pittsburgh City Council OKs giant video screen on North Shore
Pittsburgh City Council on Tuesday approved plans by a private venture to erect a giant video screen near PNC Park for people to watch Pirates games. Some members of the Planning Commission had previously voiced concerns that the screen would be visible from Interstate 279. But their fears seemed to...
‘A big fumble’: Pittsburgh’s clunky rollout of plastic bag ban sows confusion
Jake Diettrich, manager of Market Outlet, a Pittsburgh produce shop, has been grappling since January with the city’s plastic bag ban. Diettrich has had to calm grumbling patrons, swap his stock of outlawed plastic bags for pricier paper ones and contend with worries that the bag ban and mandatory fees...
Pittsburgh’s top engineer pledges better bridge maintenance to avert another disaster
Pittsburgh is already making improvements to the way it handles bridge upkeep, the city’s chief engineer said a day after the National Transportation Safety Board pinpointed the city’s lack of maintenance as a key reason the Fern Hollow Bridge collapsed. The NTSB on Wednesday condemned the city for years of...
Pittsburgh Planning Commission delays vote on controversial plan to help homeless
Pittsburgh’s Planning Commission on Tuesday delayed its vote on a controversial zoning change meant to address homelessness, even as commissioners and other officials agreed it’s an urgent issue in need of immediate attention. The measure — sponsored by City Council members Anthony Coghill, D-Beechview, and Deb Gross, D-Highland Park —...
City Council makes it easier for child care businesses to operate in Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh City Council voted Tuesday to make it easier for child care businesses to operate in the city. The new measure will allow businesses that care for up to six children to operate in residential neighborhoods without getting a special exemption. The measure also eliminates a requirement that such businesses...
Pittsburgh commission to vote on controversial plan addressing homelessness
Pittsburgh’s Planning Commission is poised to vote Tuesday on a controversial zoning change meant to tackle homelessness, one of the city’s most vexing and intractable problems. The move, pushed by two City Council members, would permit regulated homeless camps Downtown complete with utilities and perhaps even tiny houses. They would...
Pittsburgh braces for snow with aging but ample fleet of plows
Pittsburgh has enough snowplows and drivers ready to clear the city’s streets as the area braces for up to 4 inches of snow this weekend, Public Works Director Chris Hornstein said Friday. The city had about 20 vehicles in its snow-clearing fleet of 75 out of commission during the last...
Pittsburgh City Council extends discount deadline for property tax payments
Pittsburgh residents who haven’t paid their property taxes now have a little extra time to get a discount. City Council on Tuesday approved legislation that pushes back the deadline for a 2% discount on real estate taxes. People now must pay by Feb. 20, or have their payments postmarked by...
Morning Roundup: 1 injured in industrial accident in Chartiers; missing Jeannette teen found safe
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Friday, Feb. 9: 1 injured in industrial accident in Chartiers One person was sent to a local trauma center Thursday after an industrial accident in Chartiers Township, according to Ambulance & Chair EMS. The EMS service said it worked...
