Tom Davidson stories, Page 10
Merrimac Street on Mt. Washington to get speed humps
Pittsburgh will install speed humps on Merrimac Street next month to slow traffic, the city’s Department of Mobility and Infrastructure said Thursday. They will be installed between Grandview Avenue to Woodruff Street in an effort to slow traffic on Mt. Washington. The city collected data in the spring that showed...
As some Hill District residents remain skeptical, URA to vote on plans for Civic Arena site
The team behind the plans to redevelop the former Civic Arena site in Pittsburgh’s Lower Hill District made their case again Wednesday as the long-awaited project awaits further regulatory approvals, this time to the city’s Urban Redevelopment Authority. The URA board will vote on the plans when it meets at...
Will Tony Moreno run as a Republican in Pittsburgh mayoral race?
Democratic Pittsburgh mayoral candidate Ed Gainey may face a Republican opponent in the fall, based on early results of write-in votes released Tuesday. Retired Pittsburgh police officer Tony Moreno, 51, of Brighton Heights, has received 1,379 Republican write-in votes thus far. Moreno ran a populist campaign as a Democrat, but...
Green Party candidate hopes to shake up Pittsburgh councilVideo
A Green Party candidate for the Pittsburgh City Council seat held by Anthony Coghill is hoping to capitalize on a progressive movement that propelled state Rep. Ed Gainey to a win over Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto last week. “People in Pittsburgh and across the country are beginning to realize we...
UPMC touts antibody treatment for covid-19
People who test positive for covid-19 should ask their health care providers about receiving monoclonal antibody treatment as soon as they are diagnosed, UPMC doctors said Wednesday. “Earlier is better. It is important for high-risk patients,” said Dr. Meredith Chuk, allocation, distribution and administration lead for the federal department of...
Hill District, Hazelwood Green projects top list of grants from Heinz Endowments
A $1.75 million grant to help restore the landmark, but long vacant, New Granada Theater in the Hill District and a $1.7 million grant to continue the development at Hazelwood Green top the list of the latest awards from the Heinz Endowments, announced Tuesday. “Strengthening community development is core to...
StarKist to move headquarters from Pittsburgh to Virginia
StarKist says it plans to close its corporate headquarters on Pittsburgh’s North Shore next year. Known for its packaged tuna, StarKist will be moving to Virginia in the Washington, D.C., metro area. The Pittsburgh headquarters will close March 31, 2022. The company “will maintain a presence in the region,” the...
After loss, Peduto touts progressive movement that propelled Ed Gainey to victoryVideo
Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto views his loss in last week’s Democratic primary to be a big win for the city’s progressive movement that he helped start. The loss doesn’t mean his work as mayor is finished, Peduto said Monday. “Our mission is the same. Our list just became a lot...
‘Come on home’: Ed Gainey promises reforms if elected in November as Pittsburgh’s mayor
Pittsburgh residents voted for change when they chose Ed Gainey as the Democratic nominee for mayor. On Friday, Gainey said he intends to deliver. “Our young folks want to see a city of justice,” Gainey said in an interview with the Tribune-Review. “That’s a change that creates opportunities for everybody...
As Pittsburgh mayor, @billpeduto was prolific on Twitter, so he fittingly signaled his concession in a tweet
Shortly after 10 p.m. Tuesday, Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto’s supporters were in the banquet room of a South Side union hall watching their candidate’s lead wither. The mood was strikingly different from two hours prior. Early returns had Peduto with a comfortable lead of more than 3,000 votes. It was...
New names for merged Catholic schools announced, while Vatican considers appeal
The Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh said Guardian Angel Academy will be the name of the school formed from merging Saint Margaret of Scotland, located in Green Tree, with Saint Philip school in Crafton. The naming, announced Wednesday, comes amid a formal appeal to the Vatican to stop the merger. The...
Incumbent Pittsburgh council members edge challengers in Democratic primary
Two of the four Pittsburgh City Council races were contested in Tuesday’s primary election. Unlike the mayoral race, where Bill Peduto failed in a re-election bid, the council races saw the incumbents move on with two-to-one support. Council President Theresa Kail-Smith defeated challenger Jacob Williamson in the District 2 race...
Pittsburgh, Allegheny County voters approve no-knock warrant ban, solitary confinement restrictions
No-knock warrants will be banned in Pittsburgh and solitary confinement will be restricted at Allegheny County Jail after voters overwhelmingly approved two ballot questions in Tuesday’s election. Voters petitioned to add the questions to the ballot and they had broad support from both city and county residents, according to Brandi...
Ed Gainey defeats Bill Peduto as incumbent concedes in Pittsburgh mayoral primaryVideo
Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto conceded defeat to state Rep. Ed Gainey in a four-way Democratic primary race for mayor, positioning Gainey to become the first Black mayor in the city’s history. With 393 of the city’s 402 voting precincts reporting results around 1:15 a.m., Gainey had received about 46.2% of...
Pittsburgh Fourth of July fireworks show returning
Pittsburgh’s Independence Day celebration will return this year, and other summertime events may also resume as coronavirus restrictions are eased, the city announced Monday. The traditional gathering at Point State Park will include patriotic music and food vendors from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m., with the fireworks starting at dusk....
Pittsburgh controller’s audit of police review board validates goals, director says
Pittsburgh’s Citizen Police Review Board was given expanded powers to audit the city’s police bureau when voters passed a referendum last year. This week, city Controller Michael Lamb released an audit of the board itself, the first outside scrutiny of the board since it was created in 1997. “As the...
Ohio offers shot at $1 million through covid vaccines
Get a covid vaccine. Win $1 million. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced Wednesday that the state will award five vaccinated adult residents $1 million as an incentive to get more people vaccinated. About half of Ohio’s 8.4 million adults have at least one dose of a covid-19 vaccination. Two weeks...
With millions of dollars coming to region for pandemic relief, debate over its use continues
With federal funding from American Rescue Plan set to be distributed to state and local governments, the leaders of Pittsburgh’s city government and school system outlined this week the processes by which the money may be allocated. The city of Pittsburgh is set to receive about $355 million, while the...
No-knock warrants, jail confinement on ballot in Pittsburgh, Allegheny County
Allegheny County and Pittsburgh voters will be asked to decide separate criminal justice issues on ballot questions in the May 18 primary. If approved, the ballot questions would ban Pittsburgh police from serving warrants without announcing themselves, and the use of solitary confinement would be restricted at Allegheny County Jail....
Pittsburgh’s mayoral election features 2 established candidates and 2 novices
Pittsburgh’s mayoral race pits two political insiders, the incumbent and a longtime state representative, against two outsiders, a retired cop and an Ivy League-educated math tutor/ride-hailing driver. Talk of equity and reform unite the men, but each have different approaches to the subject. The May 18 Democratic primary likely decides...
Pittsburgh residents, council members take up issue of Black flight from city
Pittsburgh’s Black community is shrinking and some who remain in the city say they are fed up with generations of neglect by city officials, systematic racism and development projects that have caused departures. Between 2014 and 2018, U.S. Census data shows, Pittsburgh’s Black population dropped by about 10% — or...
Poll workers needed in some Allegheny County precincts as primary election prep continues
Election clerks are still needed in six municipalities and three of Pittsburgh’s wards, but most positions at polling places are filled and workers have been trained, Allegheny County Administrative Services Deputy Director Jessica Garofolo told the elections board Tuesday. Allegheny County Councilman Sam DeMarco said Tuesday he is concerned that...
Pittsburgh Planning Commission OKs plans for new FNB headquarters in Lower Hill District
The development of the former Civic Arena site in the Lower Hill District cleared another hurdle in approvals for its $1 billion plan. But it took more than five hours of testimony Tuesday at the Pittsburgh Planning Commission before the vote to approve the first phase of the project. It...
Pittsburgh to consider restrictions on plastic bags
Pittsburgh City Council will be considering legislation to restrict single-use plastic bags under a resolution introduced Tuesday by Councilwoman Erika Strassburger. “It’s not the kind of product that should be used once and then thrown away,” Strassburger said. “If we’re truly going to have a circular economy, we have to...
Plans for redevelopment of Civic Arena site set for approval
The Pittsburgh Planning Commission on Tuesday will consider approving plans for the first phase of development of the former Civic Arena site in the city’s Hill District. The plans are centered on a 24-story, $200 million office tower that will be the new headquarters for FNB Corp. Construction on the...

