Tom Davidson stories, Page 8
Pittsburgh council sets community meetings on federal covid relief cash
A series of community meetings will be held in August to get more input about how Pittsburgh should spend the $335 million allotted to the city in the federal American Rescue Plan. Last week, city council approved a four-year plan to allocate the money, amid criticism by some residents and...
Contour to offer new flights from Pittsburgh International to Indianapolis, Milwaukee
Contour Airlines will begin nonstop flights from Pittsburgh to Indianapolis and Milwaukee on Oct. 12, the airline announced Wednesday. “Pittsburgh is a new market for us,” said Matt Chaifetz, CEO of the Smyrna, Tenn.-based airline. Contour had been in talks with Indianapolis Economic Development Corp. about adding flights to certain...
‘Dormont called’: Pittsburgh residents may be able to use Dormont’s pool soon
The sunny skies and 88-degree weather Tuesday made for a perfect day for swimming. But in Pittsburgh, 10 of the city’s 18 pools are closed this year because of staffing and maintenance issues. It’s something that’s dogged council members through the Dog Days of summer. During the final city council...
Pittsburgh’s requirement for paid covid sick leave to last for a year
Pittsburgh businesses with more than 50 employees will be required to provide paid sick leave to workers who contract covid-19 or who are required to quarantine for at least the next year under legislation city council adopted Tuesday. The revised ordinance passed by a 7-1 vote, with Councilman Anthony Coghill...
Enough to make you go ‘Wawa’: Sheetz isn’t coming to Oakland as sign indicates
Not yet coming to Pittsburgh’s Oakland neighborhood: A Sheetz store on Forbes Avenue. But a sign that appeared on chain link fencing surrounding a former Marathon gas station appeared to indicate otherwise over the weekend. It had the Sheetz logo on it and “Coming soon!” The site is set to...
UFCW, Giant Eagle announce new contract with wage increases
A new four-year contract that Giant Eagle employees ratified last week includes wage increases, continues no-cost health care benefits and provides new protections for LGBTQ+ workers, according to a joint statement released Monday by the company and union. The agreement covers about 5,300 employees who are members of United Food...
Pittsburgh Council approves plan to spend $335M in federal covid relief money
It wasn’t necessary for Pittsburgh City Council to approve a plan Tuesday that allocates the city’s $335 million in federal covid relief money, Councilwoman Deb Gross said. “We cannot be confident that we are addressing the harm done to our most vulnerable citizens,” Gross said during a council meeting. She...
AG Shapiro meets with Pittsburgh nonprofit about PWSA donation to combat lead dangers
Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro listened Thursday as the staff of a East Liberty-based nonprofit detailed how it is spending the $250,000 donation Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority agreed to make to the group to resolve a state investigation that found the authority exposed people to increased lead levels when...
Pittsburgh receives another $7 million in federal cash for rental assistance program
A rental assistance program to help tenants pay past due rent and landlords to recover unpaid rent because of the coronavirus pandemic was awarded an additional $7 million in federal funding, Pittsburgh officials announced Monday. The money will bolster a program started in March that brings together the city, Allegheny...
Pittsburgh International Airport’s $1 billion modernization project back on trackVideo
Pittsburgh International Airport officials are poised to start a $1 billion-plus project that will create a new landside terminal in Findlay Township, Allegheny County Airport Authority CEO Christina Cassotis said Wednesday. “We have an agreement with the airlines. They have agreed to pay for this, and we will be breaking...
Pittsburgh council advances proposal to spend $335 million in covid relief cash
There will be more public input as Pittsburgh City Council decides how to allocate $335 million in federal coronavirus relief money, council President Theresa Kail-Smith said Wednesday. But that input will likely be heard after council has approved a plan for how to spend the money. “This is the first...
Inclusionary zoning could be expanded to Bloomfield, Polish Hill, under proposed legislation
A requirement that 10% of new multi-unit housing be made affordable in Pittsburgh’s Lawrenceville neighborhood may be tested in Bloomfield and Polish Hill, under legislation introduced Tuesday by Councilwoman Deb Gross. Residents and community leaders from Bloomfield and Polish Hill lobbied Gross for the legislation, she said. It would expand...
Wilkinsburg group seeking merger with Pittsburgh delays action
A referendum about whether Wilkinsburg should merge with Pittsburgh won’t be pursued until next year’s election cycle, its supporters said Tuesday. “We have concluded that the compressed schedule required to place the referendum on the November 2021 ballot would not allow for the productive dialogue appropriate to address important details...
Feds: Lego set found in Capitol attack suspect’s Glenshaw home wasn’t ‘fully constructed’
The Lego model of the U.S. Capitol found in the home of a Glenshaw man charged in the Jan. 6 attack in Washington was not “fully constructed” as federal prosecutors initially described it. “Please note that after a review of the photographs from the search, there appears to have been...
Residents ask Pittsburgh council to slow down spending federal relief cashVideo
Pittsburgh officials should wait until the public has a chance to digest and weigh in on a proposal by Mayor Bill Peduto’s administration that allocates $335 million in federal pandemic relief money, most of the people who spoke at an online hearing over the weekend told council. Residents and community...
Feds: Glenshaw man charged in Jan. 6 riot had Lego model of Capitol, militia notes
EDITOR’S NOTE: The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia filed an updated memo July 9 that detailed how the Lego model of the Capitol was in a box and wasn’t “fully constructed” as prosecutors initially stated. A Glenshaw man facing federal charges for helping to lead the Jan....
Proposal would keep Pittsburgh’s covid paid sick leave until 90% of Pa. is vaccinated
Pittsburgh businesses with more than 50 employees will be required to provide paid sick leave to workers who contract covid-19 or who are required to quarantine, under legislation city Councilman Bobby Wilson introduced Wednesday. The requirement would be in effect until 90% of the eligible Pennsylvania population is vaccinated. The...
Pittsburgh council, teachers’ union leader talk about ’emergency’ in school system
It’s been five months since Pittsburgh City Council declared a state of emergency in the public school system. The legislation was passed to begin a process by which the city’s leaders would work with Pittsburgh Public Schools leaders to address a racial achievement gap between white and Black students and...
Public hearings scheduled about how to spend Pittsburgh’s $335M in relief cashVideo
The debate over how to spend the $335 million Pittsburgh is set to receive under the American Rescue Plan enters its public phase Saturday, when city council holds the first of two hearings on a proposal released last week by Mayor Bill Peduto’s office. The hearing, set for 10 a.m.,...
Some Wilkinsburg residents campaign for Pittsburgh merger, borough leaders opposed
Should Wilkinsburg become Pittsburgh’s 91st neighborhood? A majority of Wilkinsburg’s elected officials say “no.” “A merger would destroy Wilkinsburg,” said Denise Edwards, president pro-tem of borough council. “As an elected official how can you possibly destroy your own community. It doesn’t make sense.” “Because of the negative impact on our...
Council: Could Pittsburgh’s fire hydrants be used for sprinklers? Fire Chief: ‘No’
With a lifeguard shortage and other issues keeping 10 of Pittsburgh’s 18 pools closed this summer, city council members are brainstorming ways to keep youth cool and give them something to do. They’re trying to “be creative,” council President Theresa Kail-Smith said Wednesday. Among the ideas: using special sprinkler heads...
Council, business leaders say Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership’s work is needed amid pandemic recovery
The shutdown caused by the coronavirus pandemic proved the importance of the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership to the city’s business district, its members and administrators told city council members Tuesday. “Everything came crashing down,” said Casey Henderlong, describing how it hurt businesses like the Richard Deshantz Restaurant Group, where Henderlong is...
Controller: Pittsburgh’s finances took hit in 2020, but population loss is bigger worry
If the reason the Pittsburgh labor force is shrinking is a decline in the city’s population, there’s reason to be alarmed, Controller Michael Lamb said Wednesday. “That’s the biggest concern to me,” Lamb said during a virtual news conference when he released the 2020 Popular Annual Financial Report. The report...
Pittsburgh Controller Lamb questions outgoing Mayor Peduto’s federal relief proposal
Pittsburgh’s top fiscal watchdog Wednesday questioned the timing of a four-year plan released Monday by outgoing Mayor Bill Peduto’s administration for the city’s $335 million federal pandemic relief money. “I think it’s premature for the mayor to suggest a four-year spending plan when there’s going to be a new mayor...
Tony Moreno re-enters Pittsburgh mayoral race as RepublicanVideo
Retired Pittsburgh police officer Tony Moreno announced Tuesday that he will run for mayor as a Republican in the November election. “I made a promise in the very beginning that I would not get out of this race until I was voted out,” Moreno said. “I won’t get out.” Moreno,...
