Tom Davidson stories, Page 20
Lawyer: Notes on report show Wilkinsburg police may have been chasing the wrong man before deadly shooting
There’s no video footage of the 43-second pursuit of Romir Talley by Wilkinsburg police in December 2019, which ended in Talley’s death after being shot seven times by police. But an emergency medical services log obtained by the attorney representing Talley’s family indicates that police may have been going after...
Pa. Health Secretary Levine urges college students to protect themselves from covid
Pennsylvania Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine called on college students to follow the coronavirus safety guidelines recommended by their institutions and by health care professionals. The bulk of Levine’s message Monday was directed at people between the ages of 19 to 24, many of whom are college students, where...
‘Floating Cinema’ passing on Pittsburgh; company blames covid
An Australian entertainment company that initially touted a floating cinema tour of U.S. cities, including a stop scheduled Wednesday through Friday in Pittsburgh, now says it is postponing the events because of the coronavirus pandemic. Officials with the Pittsburgh Special Events department and the U.S. Coast Guard’s Pittsburgh auxiliary unit...
With Pittsburgh’s 2021 budget facing $100 million shortfall, city seeks input from residents
Pittsburgh residents have several ways to provide input about the city’s 2021 budget, which will be introduced later this year because of uncertainties surrounding the covid-19 pandemic. “It is obviously going to be challenging budget year for the city, with estimates of a $100 million shortfall, so we are greatly...
FNB Corp. works with Pittsburgh Penguins as plans for new headquarters continue
In a post-covid-19 future, executives with FNB Corp. meet with clients at its 24-story headquarters Pittsburgh’s Lower Hill District and walk across the street to PPG Arena, entering through the FNB Gate to seats in the FNB Club section in time for the puck drop at a Penguins game. Now...
Public opinion could guide whether Pittsburgh’s Columbus statue will remain
The fate of a 62-year-old statue of Christopher Columbus that towers over Schenley Drive near Phipps Conservatory in Oakland will be decided Sept. 23 by the Pittsburgh Art Commission. Before the commission meets, it is working to gauge public sentiment about the statue, one of Pittsburgh-based Italian artist Frank Vittor’s...
Weekend fracas in Downtown Pittsburgh viewed by some as isolated; others waryVideo
The actions of protesters Saturday on Penn Avenue in Downtown Pittsburgh were “an isolated incident,” Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership President Jeremy Waldrup said Wednesday. “We welcome protests, and we understand the needs for folks to get out during these times and demand change,” he said, while adding the public conflicts Saturday...
Input sought for riverfront plan at Hazelwood Green
Terri Shields remembers when the Hazelwood neighborhood was the heart of Pittsburgh’s industrial base. The steel mill, operated by Jones & Laughlin and later LTV, was on the shore of the Monongahela River there. “I remember when it was a stinky mill. All of the stinky air,” said Shields, 59....
Leader of White House covid-19 response team visits Pittsburgh
White House coronavirus response coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx met privately Thursday with Pittsburgh and Allegheny County officials about the region’s handling of the covid-19 pandemic. She also visited Harrisburg and met with Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf, according to the Penn Capital-Star. News: White House COVID task force coordinator Deborah Brix...
Covid vaccine will not end pandemic, UPMC doctors say
A safe, effective vaccine for covid-19 will not be the end of the coronavirus pandemic, UPMC doctors said Thursday. The disease is “incredibly dynamic,” said Dr. Oscar Marroquin, UPMC chief health care data and analytics officer. The ways people respond to the virus and how doctors treat it keep changing....
McKees Rocks man charged with homicide in death of woman who was found in a refrigerator
Before she was found dead May 4 in a refrigerator in the hallway of a McKees Rocks apartment building, Kristy Jefferson told her mother that if anything ever happened to her, Daryl Jones would be the man to blame, according to court documents. Jones, 41, was charged Thursday with homicide...
Pittsburgh City Council told facial recognition bill should be stronger
Restrictions on using facial recognition software and predictive police techniques proposed by Pittsburgh City Councilman Corey O’Connor don’t go far enough, a handful of computer science researchers told council Wednesday. Instead, council should consider a full-fledged ban on using such software and techniques, said David Widder, a doctoral student in...
City treasurer: Pittsburgh faces $100 million less revenue because of pandemic
The coronavirus pandemic’s toll on Pittsburgh’s finances could mean the city collects $100 million less in revenues than projected, Treasurer Douglas Anderson told council members Wednesday. This year will be a “weird budget cycle,” Councilman R. Daniel Lavelle said, as council heard from Anderson about how the 2021 city budget...
ForgingPGH land-use plan to be developed in PittsburghVideo
Pittsburgh is a city of 90 neighborhoods that has never had a single, coordinated plan that details what should be done to improve it. That’s set to change in the next year, as city officials Tuesday announced a comprehensive land-use planning effort they call ForgingPGH. The approach was used in...
Mayor Peduto says protest tensions have eased in Pittsburgh, activist disagreesVideo
Changes in the way the Pittsburgh police department responds to protests in the city appear to be working, Mayor Bill Peduto said Tuesday. “I think that we have been able to scale back our response from one that was more about domination to one that looks to deescalate,” Peduto said....
Joe Biden makes campaign stop in Pittsburgh, says he’s not banning fracking
Using the repurposed site of a former Pittsburgh steel mill as a backdrop, Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden gave his first major campaign speech following the August convention. At the limited-access event, Biden called President Donald Trump a “toxic presence,” and forcefully condemned the violence at recent protests, while also...
Penguins, FNB team to donate $100K for youth technology center in Pittsburgh’s Hill District
Youth in Pittsburgh’s Hill District use the Ammon Community Recreation Center as a place to play flag football, basketball, lift weights and play video games. They’ll soon be able to use a computer lab and maker space that are planned to be added to the center. The Ammon Rec2Tech Education...
Business, nonprofit players work together on $21M homeless shelter in Pittsburgh
On a January night this year, 887 homeless people were counted in Allegheny County. One hundred sixty-three of them weren’t at a shelter and 76 people were part of families. The numbers are part of the county’s “point-in-time” homeless data required annually by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban...
Lawrenceville’s Ewalt House may not get historic designation, owners ‘cautiously excited’
The owners of a deteriorating, 180-year-old Greek revival house in Pittsburgh’s Lawrenceville neighborhood are “cautiously excited” that it appears the property, which had been set to be designated a historic landmark, won’t achieve that designation after all. City Councilman Bobby Wilson withdrew a bill to make the designation Wednesday, but...
Get aht, yinz! Rankings indicate Pittsburgh accent among ‘ugliest in all of America’
Don’t tell the locals in the crowd dahn Carson Street on a non-pandemic Saturday night, but the way Pittsburghers talk isn’t sexy. “The Western Pennsylvania English accent is often considered the ugliest in all of America, so Pittsburgh locals can feel lucky that they’ve escaped last place this time around,”...
Pittsburgh to cover the cost of infertility treatments for its employees
Next year, Pittsburgh will offer free fertility coverage to its employees, the city announced Wednesday. “City officials heard from employees that they would like the coverage,” said Tim McNulty, Mayor Bill Peduto’s spokesman. “The city is always seeking ways to support its workers, including watching best practices used by other...
Pittsburgh councilman to introduce bill that restricts facial recognition use
Pittsburgh City Councilman Corey O’Connor intends to introduce legislation Tuesday that would regulate the usage of facial recognition and predictive policing technology in the city. “This technology has harmed more people than it has helped,” O’Connor said. Under O’Connor’s legislation, council approval would be needed for the police to use...
Pittsburgh LGBTQ Coalition announces continued activism, will organize Pride 2021Video
A group of Black LGBTQ activists announced Monday they are taking the lead in organizing a Pittsburgh Pride festival next year. They also reaffirmed their commitment to regularly protesting in the city to call attention to racial inequity and outlined demands they have for leaders in the region to address....
‘Road to recovery’: Dealers say car sales brisk across Pittsburgh region
After the mid-March economic shutdown to halt the spread of covid-19, Paul Schimizzi didn’t know what to expect when his auto dealership reopened in May. “I didn’t know if we were going to sell 50 cars,” the president of Hillview Motors in Hempfield said. Instead, the dealership sold substantially more...
Duquesne officials say they’ve met all of grieving mom’s demands for answers about her son’s 2018 death
Duquesne University officials said Thursday that they have met all of the demands of the mother of a student who died after he fell 16 stories from his dorm room in 2018. Dannielle Brown has been on a hunger strike for 48 days as she seeks answers from the university...
