Summer Lee champions congressional medal for Pittsburgh’s pioneering Freedom House Ambulance Service
John Moon and his colleagues at Freedom House Ambulance Service played a pivotal — if sometimes forgotten — role in the creation of modern emergency medicine. Decades after they formed the nation’s first professional paramedic unit, they are now starting to receive recognition for their trailblazing work, with U.S. Rep....
Pittsburgh GOP urges tracking of how city spends $12M from UPMC, PNC
The City of Pittsburgh Republican Committee is calling for accountability and transparency from city officials who will be spending millions of dollars gifted by UPMC and the PNC Foundation. In a letter to City Controller Rachael Heisler, committee chair Todd McCollum urged called for a “clear, itemized ledger” showing how...
Innamorato launches Main Streets Allegheny to support county’s business districts
Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato on Thursday announced a $4 million initiative to support main streets, providing funding for public space improvements, small business support and local events. The Main Streets Allegheny program will distribute grants this year to municipalities, community organizations and small businesses. “Main streets are the heart...
‘Unconscionable’: At Ash Wednesday vigil in Pittsburgh, Christians decry ICE tactics, pray for immigrants
Michael Airgood felt compelled Wednesday to join dozens of fellow Christians who prayed for peace and called for humane treatment of immigrants during a vigil in Downtown Pittsburgh. “I’m here because I think what our government is doing to immigrants and people of color is unconscionable,” said Airgood, a minister...
Construction to begin on Oakland’s Panther Hollow Bridge
Construction is set to begin on the Panther Hollow Bridge, which has been closed since inspectors discovered corrosion on the span’s steel trusses during an inspection in fall 2024. Pittsburgh on Wednesday said repairs on the 640-foot-long bridge — which spans Panther Hollow near Anderson Playground — will start within...
Pittsburgh City Council approves new solicitor, planning director
Pittsburgh officially has a new solicitor and planning director. City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved Mayor Corey O’Connor’s picks to lead the Law Department and the Department of City Planning. Lisa Zeidner Marcus is the city’s top lawyer and Ivette Mongalo-Winston oversees planning. Both had been serving in their roles...
Pittsburgh City Council calls on Harrisburg to legalize marijuana
Pittsburgh City Council members on Tuesday called on Gov. Josh Shapiro and lawmakers in Harrisburg to legalize cannabis. Councilwoman Barb Warwick, D-Greenfield, sponsored a will of council that urged Pennsylvania officials to pass adult-use cannabis legalization during this year’s legislative session. Warwick’s statement said such a measure is a “necessary...
O’Connor pitches vision of economic growth to Pittsburgh Technology Council
Pittsburgh Mayor Corey O’Connor on Tuesday outlined a vision of economic growth before a consortium of technology companies, reiterating a mantra he has focused on since his mayoral campaign. “If we want to grow Pittsburgh, we have to do it, and we have to do it fast,” O’Connor told roughly...
Allegheny County Council members concerned about employees working with ICE
Allegheny County Council members during a Thursday meeting raised concerns that some county employees may be cooperating with U.S. Customs and Immigration enforcement. Six council members last month sponsored a bill that would prohibit the county from cooperating with ICE. The bill comes amid an uptick in ICE actions and...
Multifamily housing could sprout from a 13-story former office building in Downtown Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh’s Urban Redevelopment Authority is seeking a new buyer to take over its former Downtown office building. The URA moved out of 200 Ross St. about five years ago. The Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh and several city departments who used the building have since left, too, all...
Casa San Jose to move into new building in Beechview
Casa San Jose is working virtually amid an uptick in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement actions — but when they return to in-person programming, they’ll have a new facility. The nonprofit immigrant advocacy organization is buying a building on Broadway Avenue in Pittsburgh’s Beechview neighborhood — which has a significant...
Man killed in fall from building in Downtown Pittsburgh
A man died after falling from a building in Downtown Pittsburgh Thursday morning, public safety officials said. The fatal fall was reported around 11 a.m. Medics pronounced the man dead at the scene. He landed on scaffolding from an unknown height, police said. Officials did not immediately identify the man....
New effort aims to clean, maintain Pittsburgh’s riverfronts
Pittsburgh’s three rivers are often the first image that comes to mind when people think of the city. They welcome visitors emerging from the Fort Pitt Tunnel and dominate the skyline shots shown on television whenever Pittsburgh is in the spotlight, Mayor Corey O’Connor said. A new partnership between the...
Compromise sought to salvage controversial $6M Pittsburgh master plan
A Pittsburgh councilman has offered a compromise that could pave the way for consultants to finish a costly, controversial master plan for the city. Councilman Anthony Coghill, D-Beechview, previously pushed for clawing back about $2 million that had not yet been spent on the $6 million effort. On Wednesday, he...
Pittsburgh push to regulate Airbnb, other short-term rentals, draws mixed reviews
Depending on who’s talking, short-term rentals are either depleting Pittsburgh’s housing stock and destroying local communities or helping the local economy and providing visitors with options beyond hotels. The dueling opinions were presented Wednesday to Pittsburgh City Council members, who are contemplating regulating short-term rentals like those through Airbnb and...
Pittsburgh councilwoman pushes for better sidewalk snow removal
After a massive storm late last month dumped about a foot of snow on Pittsburgh, many sidewalks, parking spots and transit stops remained covered for days. That made it challenging for people, especially those who are physically disabled, to navigate the snow, slush and ice. It’s a problem Councilwoman Barb...
Pittsburgh council approves 1 ballot question for May primary
Pittsburgh voters casting ballots in the May primary will be asked whether the city should change its requirement that notice for public hearings be advertised in a newspaper of general circulation. That includes notice for hearings pertaining to the budget and zoning changes. City Council President R. Daniel Lavelle, D-Hill...
Lt. Gov. Austin Davis stumps in Pittsburgh for boosting 211 help line budget
About a decade ago, Erica Evans was a single mother who had just lost her job as an at-home caregiver. She was living on the streets of Downtown Pittsburgh, where someone handed her a card for 211, the statewide phone line that connects people with a variety of public and...
Ed Gainey gets new job on Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board
Former Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey secured a new job on the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board. He was appointed by Pennsylvania House Speaker Joanna McClinton and sworn in Thursday, Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board spokesman Doug Harbach told TribLive Friday. The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board is an independent state agency tasked with...
Black History Month display at City-County Building honors Vashon family
When people think of abolitionists, they probably think of well-known figures like Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman or William Lloyd Garrison. But Paul N.D. Thornell — great-great-grandson of abolitionist John B. Vashon — is striving to ensure his family is remembered in those conversations, too. “Oftentimes, I think historians and history...
What urgently needed vehicles will Pittsburgh buy with $27M?
Even as Pittsburgh officials laud significant donations that will pay for new ambulances and snowplows, pressure is mounting to buy updated fire trucks, too. Ralph Sicuro, who leads the union representing city firefighters, on Friday urged the Equipment Leasing Authority board to prioritize fire truck purchases as nearly half the...
Innamorato launches Housing Investment Fund to ‘address full spectrum of housing needs’
Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato on Thursday signed an executive order creating a new housing strategy, including a fund aimed at investing in affordable and workforce housing. Dubbed HOUSING for All, the order directs county agencies to work with nonprofit, municipal and private partners to “address the full spectrum of...
Walnut Capital seeks exception from inclusionary zoning mandate in Oakland apartment project
Pittsburgh developer Walnut Capital is asking the city’s zoning board to allow it to build a new apartment complex in Oakland without earmarking any units as affordable housing. Oakland is one of several neighborhoods — along with Lawrenceville, Bloomfield and Polish Hill — where Pittsburgh’s inclusionary zoning ordinance mandates that...
Pittsburgh property owners could see later deadline for early-filing discount
Pittsburgh property owners are set to get a bit more time to take advantage of the tax discount offered to early filers. Mayor Corey O’Connor and City Council members want to extend the deadline for the 2% property tax discount by one week, to February 17 from February 10. Officials...
Pittsburgh council confirms O’Connor’s picks for police chief, public safety director
Pittsburgh City Council on Wednesday unanimously approved Jason Lando as police chief and Sheldon Williams as public safety director. The pair have been serving in their roles in an acting capacity since Mayor Corey O’Connor took office last month. A Squirrel Hill native and veteran of Pittsburgh’s police force, Lando...
