Ryan Deto stories, Page 12
A canceled Pitt event for congressional candidate heats up 12th District race
The University of Pittsburgh recently canceled a speaking event with a local congressional candidate, adding tension to a three-way Democratic contest among Allegheny and Westmoreland county voters that is becoming increasingly contentious, and local political experts predict things will only get louder and nastier in the run up to the...
Mon Incline set to reopen following monthlong closure
The beleaguered Monongahela Incline will get new life again. The incline, which connects Pittsburgh’s Station Square to the city’s Mount Washington neighborhood, is set to reopen sometime this weekend, pending a state inspection, Pittsburgh Regional Transit announced Thursday. Transit officials said repairs are nearly complete and state inspection workers will...
EPA grant sends 75 electric school buses to Pittsburgh, Southwestern Pa.
Getting to school for thousands of students in Southwestern Pennsylvania is getting a bit quieter and a lot cleaner. Three school districts in Southwestern Pennsylvania will receive 75 new electric school buses thanks to funding from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Pittsburgh Public Schools, the largest district in the region,...
Longtime Allegheny County chief medical examiner Karl Williams to retire after 17 years
Karl Williams, Allegheny County’s longtime chief medical examiner, who toiled largely in obscurity while overseeing some of the region’s most grisly death investigations, is stepping down. A doctor by training, Williams, 75, is retiring Friday after 17 years as the county’s top forensic pathologist. He leaves behind a $238,000 salary,...
Ex-Pittsburgh building inspector pleads guilty to accepting stove, fridge as bribes
A former City of Pittsburgh building inspector pleaded guilty Wednesday to a federal bribery charge for soliciting over $5,400 in items from a developer. Walter Eiseman entered the plea in U.S. District Court before Judge Mark Hornak. Prosecutors said during the hearing that Eiseman, a city building inspector at the...
Pittsburgh Stadium Authority backs Steelers’ bid to host NFL draft
The City of Pittsburgh formally approved a bid by the Steelers to host the next available NFL Draft. The city’s Stadium Authority voted unanimously Tuesday to enter into agreements with the NFL, the Pittsburgh Steelers, marketing groups and municipal agencies to “support, effect or cause to occur an NFL Draft...
Pittsburgh International Airport passenger traffic nears pre-pandemic levels
Travelers are embracing flying out of Pittsburgh at rates close to pre-pandemic levels. The Allegheny Airport Authority, which runs Pittsburgh International Airport, recently announced that 2023 saw nearly 9.2 million passengers, which is 94% of the traffic that Pittsburgh’s airport saw in 2019. Last year’s passenger traffic leaped more than...
Campaign cash flows in for Summer Lee, other progressives, amid Middle East stance
Money is surging into the campaigns of progressive lawmakers like U.S. Rep. Summer Lee, who are facing competitive races and have been outspoken in calling for a ceasefire in the Middle East. Federal campaign filings show Lee, D-Swissvale, raised over $1 million during the the last three months of 2023....
Trump said he’ll block U.S. Steel sale if elected
Former president and Republican candidate Donald Trump said Wednesday he will block U.S. Steel’s sale to the Japanese Nippon Steel Corporation, if elected president, reports Bloomberg. The sale was announced in December, with Nippon acquiring the iconic Pittsburgh-based steelmaker for about $14 billion in a deal that would keep U.S....
Shapiro visits Pittsburgh, grumbles that he’s ‘sick and tired of losing to Ohio’ in economic development
Speaking Wednesday against a backdrop of robot arms and equipment at a Pittsburgh tech hub, Gov. Josh Shapiro pitched his vision for a long-range economic plan that he said was critical to keeping Pennsylvania competitive. The Democrat shared the highlights of a 10-year proposal during a visit to Pittsburgh’s Mill...
Bloomfield community group joins appeal to revive housing, grocery store development
A large development proposal for Pittsburgh’s Bloomfield neighborhood that stalled out last year is gaining an ally in a local community group. The Bloomfield Development Corporation joined in this week on the appeal of a zoning rejection for a plan to build a large housing and grocery store development at...
Shapiro proposal would steer extra $40M a year to Pittsburgh Regional Transit
Southwestern Pennsylvania’s largest transit agency could see a needed boost of about $40 million annually thanks to a budget proposal unveiled Monday by Gov. Josh Shapiro. If passed, it would be the first funding increase for Pittsburgh Regional Transit in years, an agency spokesman said Monday. Transit agencies across the...
Prominent aid worker for Palestinian causes drums up support during Monroeville visit
A prominent figure in Palestinian humanitarian aid circles visited the Pittsburgh region Thursday, the first stop on a national tour to drum up support for a new nonprofit formed in the wake of the latest Israel-Hamas war. Steve Sosebee, the co-founder and former president of the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund,...
Buttigieg pushes for rail safety, touts infrastructure bill in Pittsburgh visit
U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg visited Pittsburgh on Friday to tout funding for improvement projects along the Parkway East corridor, part of the Biden Administration’s signature infrastructure funding effort. He also called for enhanced regulations ahead of the first anniversary on Feb. 3 of the East Palestine train...
Plum’s Dintini vies to flip Brewster’s Pa. Senate seat to GOP
One of Southwestern Pennsylvania’s key state Senate districts that will be up for grabs in November has garnered a Republican challenger. Small-business owner Jen Dintini, of Plum, announced her candidacy in the 45th district, which covers Allegheny County’s Mon Valley, as well as eastern and southern suburbs such as Plum,...
Summer Lee’s campaign rakes in $1M in last quarter, her best showing
Preparing for what could be a tough primary election, U.S. Rep. Summer Lee, D-Swissvale, said she raised $1 million in the last quarter of 2023, putting her on solid financial footing to take on her multiple challengers. It was Lee’s best fundraising quarter to date and one of the highest...
Frequent GOP candidate Shaffer launches bid for North Hills House seat
A frequent Republican political candidate in Pittsburgh’s North Hills is taking another shot at elected office, this time for a state House seat being vacated. Jeremy Shaffer, a former Ross commissioner, announced his candidacy Tuesday for Pennsylvania’s 28th state House District, which includes Bradford Woods, Marshall, Pine, Richland, West Deer...
Rep. Chris Deluzio kicks off reelection campaign in key congressional district
The race for Southwestern Pennsylvania’s most pivotal congressional district got rolling Tuesday. Incumbent U.S. Rep. Chris Deluzio, D-Aspinwall, kicked off his reelection campaign Tuesday evening with an event at a training center for the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades (IUPAT). Deluzio represents Pennsylvania’s 17th Congressional District — a...
$1M artwork allegedly stolen by Nazis and once housed at Carnegie Museum returned to heirs
A drawing that was housed in a Pittsburgh museum and believed to be stolen by the Nazis during the Holocaust was returned to its heirs Friday. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg announced “Portrait of a Man” by Austrian artist Egon Schiele was returned to the family of Fritz Grünbaum, an...
Water main break in Wilkins causes outages and road closure
Most residents who were without water Sunday because of a large water main break on Rodi Road have had services restored, although another active water main break has yet to be resolved. The break was first reported Saturday afternoon, and caused road closures into Sunday, according to Wilkins Township Volunteer...
Man dies in Mount Washington house fire, 4 others displaced
A man was found dead inside a house following a fire in Pittsburgh’s Mount Washington neighborhood Saturday afternoon, according to Pittsburgh Public Safety officials. Pittsburgh Bureau of Fire, Police, and EMS responded to the 100 block of Pasadena Street at about 4:15 p.m. to a fire in a house. First...
Fire destroys home in Bell Township
A home in Bell Township caught fire Saturday evening. A blaze started around 5 p.m. at a house at 125 Johnston St., said Westmoreland County dispatchers. About 12 fire companies responded to the house that was fully involved. 911 distatcher said the Bell Township Volunteer Fire Department Chief described the...
Pittsburgh police: Boy, 17, shoots at grocery workers in Beechview after stealing tip jar
A 17-year-old boy shot at grocery store workers in Pittsburgh’s Beechview neighborhood Saturday afternoon after stealing the store’s tip jar, but was eventually captured, said police. Pittsburgh police were called to the Las Palmas grocery store on Broadway Avenue at around 3:45 p.m. Officials said a juvenile got into an...
Allegheny County exec Innamorato announces new board appointees
Newly elected Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato has named her first slate of board appointees, and they include criminal justice advocates, a state representative from the Allegheny Valley, and others. Innamorato nominated six people on Friday to serve on the Allegheny County Housing Authority, Jail Oversight Board, and Redevelopment Authority...
Pittsburgh engineer played vital role in Astrobotic mission
Four more minutes, and Pittsburgh’s flailing lunar lander could have been lost in space. Pittsburgh-based Astrobotic did not become the first commercial company to successfully land on the moon. But without the quick thinking of a Pittsburgh-based engineer, the company’s lander, which traveled more than 30,000 miles from Earth and...
