Tom Davidson stories, Page 18
Pittsburgh allocates $1.8 million for Riverview Park landslide repairs
More than $1.8 million will be allocated to address landslides around Riverview Park on Pittsburgh’s North Side, Mayor Bill Peduto’s administration announced Wednesday. The money will come from the Regional Asset District’s capital fund and the first area to be addressed is the hill near Riverview Park’s Chapel Shelter. “Residents...
Pittsburgh and Pennsylvania people named to Biden’s transition team
President-elect Joe Biden has named several people with Pittsburgh and Pennsylvania ties to the agency review teams that will guide a transition before Jan. 20, when Biden is scheduled to take office. Although they don’t have a say in the matter, political science experts in the region say Biden should...
Pittsburgh posts ‘No Hunting’ signs in Frick Park
There are now “No Hunting” signs in Pittsburgh’s Frick Park. The city’s Public Safety Department put up the signs at key points in the more than 600-acre wooded greenspace in the city’s Squirrel Hill, Point Breeze and Regent Square neighborhoods. “There are numerous children, bicyclists, pedestrians and pets within the...
Pittsburgh allocates $3 million in federal funding for covid-19 relief programs
Five Pittsburgh-area programs will benefit from more than $3 million from previously-approved federal coronavirus relief legislation, Mayor Bill Peduto’s administration announced Tuesday. The bulk of the money, $2 million, will go to the Urban Redevelopment Authority for rental assistance under the URA’s Housing Stabilization Program. About 1,000 households have been...
UPMC study: No clear benefit using hydroxychloroquine to treat covid
Hydroxychloroquine, a malaria drug pushed by President Trump to treat covid-19, has again shown to be ineffective in treating people hospitalized with covid-19, according to results of a study published Monday. The study “puts to rest any lingering hope that hydroxychloroquine is an effective treatment against covid-19,” said co-author Dr....
Peduto: Without federal aid, Pittsburgh will cut over 630 jobsVideo
Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto introduced a $564 million operating budget for 2021 on Monday that doesn’t include a tax increase. But he said cuts will be required if federal relief for cities impacted by the coronavirus pandemic isn’t approved soon. “It never should have come to this — and it...
NSF grant will help STEM programming in Pittsburgh, Baltimore
A $1.5 million grant from the National Science Foundation will help leaders in Baltimore and Pittsburgh work to develop new STEM learning programs at their recreation centers. The grant, awarded to the Baltimore-based Digital Harbor Foundation, will help the foundation build on its programs in the cities. Science, technology, engineering...
Report: Pa. liquor profits up despite pandemic challenges
The covid-19 pandemic was as big a driver of alcohol sales as Christmas in Pennsylvania, according to the latest report from the state Liquor Control Board. Allegheny County reported the top sales figures, with more that $288 million in 2019-20, according to the report. Westmoreland County ranked 9th with sales...
Pittsburgh residents vote to expand powers of Pittsburgh police review board
The independent board tasked with reviewing police conduct in Pittsburgh received an endorsement from voters Tuesday, who overwhelmingly voted to expand the board’s power. More than 76% of voters supported a ballot question expanding the board’s power, according to unofficial, incomplete election results as of Wednesday afternoon. “It’s a very...
Peters Township School District apologizes for ‘insensitive’ costumes at Woodland Hills game
Peters Township School District officials formally apologized to their counterparts at Woodland Hills for an “insensitive” choice of costumes by two drum majors during an Oct. 30 football game between the schools. The two students wore black, full-body spandex suits that appeared to some as if they were in blackface...
Gov. Tom Wolf urges patience as vote count continues
Gov. Tom Wolf and Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar said Tuesday night that there were only isolated problems at the polls and no significant issues reported during Tuesday election. They also reiterated people to be patient as the votes are tallied. “I encourage all of us to take a deep...
Ziccarelli holds slight lead in attempt to unseat Pa. Sen. Jim Brewster in race for 45th District
Republican challenger Nicole Ziccarelli maintained a slim lead over incumbent state Sen. Jim Brewster in a race for Pennsylvania’s 45th State Senate District, according to incomplete and unofficial election results. Ziccarelli had received 50.67% of the 124,396 votes counted, leading Brewster by 1,658 votes. Early election returns Tuesday night showed...
Voters to decide if Pittsburgh’s police review board’s powers should be expandedVideo
Voters in the City of Pittsburgh will be tasked Tuesday with deciding if the city’s police review board’s powers should be expanded so police officers are required to participate in investigations. The group, formally known as the Independent Citizen Police Review Board, also would be allowed to do performance audits...
Behind the scenes at the Allegheny County elections warehouseVideo
A combination of high-tech machinery and old-fashioned paper pushing will be used to process and tabulate election results on Election Day in Allegheny County. Workers from the county’s election division will be joined by scores of others from 17 other county departments to process votes this year at the warehouse...
Pittsburgh, PWSA seek proposals for innovative stormwater planVideo
About 1 million gallons of stormwater runoffs are gathered and redirected to be absorbed by trees and plants at Centre and Herron avenues in Pittsburgh’s Upper Hill District, thanks to a 585-foot bioswale built in 2017. The project won a national engineering award as an example of environmental sustainability. On...
Pittsburgh Art Commission votes to remove Columbus statue; legal challenge continues
An Allegheny County judge will likely decide the fate of the Christopher Columbus statue in Pittsburgh’s Schenley Park. Judge John T. McVay Jr. has set a virtual status conference on a lawsuit filed by the Italian Sons and Daughters of America, for 1 p.m. Thursday. The lawsuit seeks to halt...
Historic roundhouse at Hazelwood Green being transformed into technology centerVideo
A 133-year-old railroad roundhouse in Hazelwood is on its way to becoming the Pittsburgh location of a global entrepreneurship platform for economic development. Leaders of the regional foundations that are working to redevelop the area, known as Hazelwood Green, toured the roundhouse Monday and heard from its designer that the...
New recycling bins to be distributed in East Liberty, Garfield and Highland ParkVideo
Residents in Pittsburgh’s East Liberty, Garfield and Highland Park neighborhoods will be the next to receive blue recycling bins that will ultimately replace bags for recycling citywide by 2023. The 32-gallon bins will be distributed to 5,500 homes starting Nov. 2, Pittsburgh officials said. The bins are manufactured with at...
Pittsburgh mayor calls for moment of silence Tuesday to remember Tree of Life attacks
Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto is asking Pittsburgh residents to observe a moment of silence and reflection at 9:54 a.m. Tuesday, the moment when the shooting started in 2018 at the Squirrel Hill synagogue that left 11 people dead and wounded two others. “My thoughts continue to be with everyone impacted...
New sculptures are part of improvements to Squirrel Hill’s Wightman Park
A bee, a butterfly and a lightning bug gather at a park next to a waterfall. This isn’t the opening of a joke — it’s a public art project that’s part of $4.2 million in improvements to Wightman Park in Pittsburgh’s Squirrel Hill neighborhood. The park is set to reopen...
Pittsburgh Public Schools move forward with in-person learning in NovemberVideo
Pittsburgh Public Schools are poised to begin a hybrid form of in-person learning on Nov. 9. The district is making the move despite a fall rise in covid-19 cases in Pennsylvania that was expected. The surge in cases, at least in Allegheny County, doesn’t mean the district should not move...
From Pittsburgh’s Manchester to the moon: Astrobotic pioneers new lunar missionsVideo
Ground control for the first commercial trip to the moon will be at a nondescript building on Pittsburgh’s North Side near the Manchester neighborhood. A group of federal, state and local officials on Monday celebrated a private ribbon-cutting for Astrobotic’s headquarters at the 47,000-square-foot complex at 1016 North Lincoln Ave....
Black residents in Pittsburgh, Allegheny County gain protection from hair style discrimination; Juneteenth officially a holiday
Pittsburgh and Allegheny County officials this week approved measures protecting Black residents from being discriminated against because of their hairstyles. County Council also joined Pittsburgh in recognizing the African American observance Juneteenth as a paid holiday for county employees and approved a motion urging Congress to designate Juneteenth National Freedom...
Pittsburgh set to settle lawsuit filed by former cop for $250K
Pittsburgh officials are poised to settle a 2018 lawsuit filed by a former Pittsburgh police officer who alleges police officials harassed him and retaliated against him for investigating a company that provided the department with costly software upgrades that either weren’t used or did not work. The $250,000 settlement, recommended...
Allegheny County election phone lines jammed with more than 7,000 calls a day
If you have a question about voting in Allegheny County and want to talk to someone on the phone, be prepared to get a busy signal or wait a while. “We have expanded phone lines, are utilizing a call center and a queue, but the demand is still greater. We...
