Tom Davidson stories, Page 12

When Pittsburgh’s Lower Hill District was redeveloped to make way for the Civic Arena more than 60 years ago, thousands of people and hundreds of businesses were displaced. More recently, people have been displaced by upscale development in the city’s East Liberty and Lawrenceville neighborhoods, partially spurred by demand from...

Despite challenges that included a 17% unemployment rate and loss of more than 200,000 jobs at the height of the coronavirus pandemic last year, the leaders of the Pittsburgh region’s primary development agency are optimistic for a rebound and excited for the future. “This has been a deep human tragedy,”...

No one on Pittsburgh City Council is opposed to enacting legislation to ban no-knock warrants in the city. But council members Wednesday delayed passage of a proposed bill until it can iron out any legal issues with the law and meet with community members who are lobbying for it. Bans...

Pittsburgh Councilman Ricky Burgess on Wednesday proposed setting up a series of televised public meetings with school district officials to update council members on the school district’s response to the coronavirus pandemic. The city’s government and school district operate as separate entities. Pittsburgh Public Schools board members are considering a...

A man who claims his face and skull were fractured by an aggressive Pittsburgh police response to a protest in East Liberty is suing city officials in connection with his life-changing injuries. The civil rights suit was filed in U.S. Western District Court on behalf of a man who says...

A new parking garage and lab that will allow the Allegheny County Sanitary Authority to meet a 2036 deadline to upgrade its facilities was approved Tuesday by Pittsburgh Planning Commission. Alcosan presented plans for the parking garage and environmental compliance building to the commission earlier this month. “We are pleased...

A Chicago-based developer Tuesday presented plans for a 10-story, 300-unit apartment building at the now-vacant site of a former gas station on Forbes Avenue in Pittsburgh’s Oakland neighborhood. Pittsburgh Planning Commission members heard from Jessica Leo of CA Ventures, the developer of the project, and Jay Silverman of Dwell Design...

Pittsburgh officials were united Tuesday in formally condemning the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol and affirmed there is no place in Pittsburgh for the views that led up to the Washington insurrection. Council members Erika Strassburger and Corey O’Connor sponsored the will of council that condemns what happened...

A former school atop Mt. Washington with a commanding view of the Downtown Pittsburgh skyline is set to be converted into loft apartments. Grandview Lofts would be located in the former Bishop Leonard-St. Mary of the Mount Academy building at 115 Bigham St. Its rooftop deck would offer the skyline...

After Tony Moreno retired from the Pittsburgh police in 2018, he intended to move to Florida. But Moreno, 51, of Brighton Heights, said he had ideas about how the city could be improved. He looked for someone to share them with, someone who could run for office. “I started seeing...

Ed Gainey says all the words a Pittsburgh mayoral candidate is expected to say. If elected, he’d like to engage with people who live in each of the city’s neighborhoods, increase affordable housing opportunities, enact meaningful police reform and improve the way Blacks and other minorities are treated in the...

Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto is among the more than 280 mayors calling on congressional leaders to “take immediate action” on coronavirus relief legislation proposed by President Joe Biden. The legislation, called the American Rescue Plan, would provide $350 billion to state and local governments. “Providing direct, flexible aid to cities...

A former Pittsburgh councilwoman’s fine for refusing to file financial disclosure reports in 2019 and the law requiring those reports was upheld Tuesday by an Allegheny County judge who concluded the city is within its powers to require them. “We’re looking at appeal options,” said Jim Burn, the attorney for...

State Rep. Ed Gainey announced Tuesday he is challenging Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto in the Democratic primary. “I’m running for mayor because I know that the working people of Pittsburgh need opportunities for good union jobs with a living wage and benefits, affordable housing, genuine public safety, and a city...

Breonna Taylor’s shooting death last year by police in Louisville, Ky., has inspired cities across the country to enact legislation banning no-knock warrants. Taylor, 26, was shot March 26, 2020, by plainclothes police officers with a no-knock warrant. They entered her boyfriend’s apartment, where she was at the time, and...

Pittsburgh will participate in this evening’s national Memorial to Lives Lost to covid-19. The City-County Building Downtown will be illuminated in amber for the memorial at 5:30 p.m. Other government and private buildings are expected to be included. In Washington, President-elect Joe Biden and incoming Vice President Kamala Harris plan...

As he launches his campaign to seek a third term in office, Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto isn’t kissing babies, shaking hands or doing any of the usual things associated with a politician. Instead, on Thursday he shared a recorded interview with supporters on Facebook. On Friday, he began a series...

Pittsburgh Controller Michael Lamb has tapped a former congressional staffer who most recently worked with a federal budget watchdog group to be his deputy. Rachael Heisler replaces Douglas Anderson in the post. In August, Anderson was appointed Pittsburgh’s treasurer and finance director. “Rachael’s experience and expertise, particularly in the areas...

With Pittsburgh poised to float more than $55 million in new bonds for its 2021 capital improvement projects, city council members Wednesday heard from the city’s finance director about interest rates reaching historic lows. Council member discussed the potential to borrow even more to pay for affordable housing projects. The...

Allegheny County officials are promoting from within to replace Human Services Director Marc Cherna, who will retire in March. Erin Dalton is executive deputy director of the department, and on Tuesday, County Executive Rich Fitzgerald named her as Cherna’s replacement. “With her leadership, the department will not miss a beat....

Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority isn’t allowed to raise its rates to cover $500,000 it will invest into a compliance program as punishment for seven years of illegal sludge dumping into the Allegheny River from its Aspinwall plant, according to an agreement with federal prosecutors. U.S. Attorney Scott W. Brady...