Julia Burdelski stories, Page 14
Pittsburgh Regional Transit to start public hearings
Pittsburgh Regional Transit on Tuesday will begin hosting public hearings about a proposal that would increase fares and drastically cut services. The first public hearing is scheduled for 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. and 3 until 7 p.m. at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center’s Pittsburgh Ballroom. People can sign...
Morning Roundup: Woman shot in Wilkinsburg; 2 dogs abandoned at Dollar General
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Monday, April 28: Woman shot in Wilkinsburg A woman was shot in Wilkinsburg Sunday evening, according to Allegheny County police. Just after 5 p.m. Sunday, Allegheny County 911 was alerted to shots fired in the 1500 block of Park...
Plan for Pittsburgh: GOP mayoral candidates Moreno, West detail visions ahead of primary
Editor’s note: On Sunday, TribLive profiled the policy positions of the two Democrats running in the May 20 primary election for Pittsburgh’s mayor. Here, we look at the two candidates in the Republican primary. Pittsburgh hasn’t elected a Republican mayor in about 100 years, but the candidates competing for the...
Cheesehead U: Pittsburgh leaders mine Green Bay’s playbook for NFL Draft wisdom
There might not be any love lost on the football field between the black and gold and the green and gold. But, for several days last week, Green Bay Packers backers went the extra yard to give Pittsburgh Steelers supporters advice on how to host the perfect NFL Draft. A...
Plan for Pittsburgh: Gainey, O’Connor detail their visions ahead of primary
As Pittsburgh’s mayoral primary draws near, Mayor Ed Gainey is making the case for a second term while his Democratic challenger, Allegheny County Controller Corey O’Connor, tries to unseat him. Gainey, 55, of Lincoln-Lemington is a former state representative who portrays his first three years in office as a success...
Pittsburgh official’s ‘horrible’ social media posts raise ire of police union ahead of contract talks
The union representing most Pittsburgh police officers says it will not negotiate a new contract with a top city official who has posted on social media comments about defunding the police. In a letter dated Wednesday, union President Bob Swartzwelder told Mayor Ed Gainey he should appoint someone else to...
Was O’Connor’s debate story true about ambulance breakdown?
As the ambulance climbed hilly Madeline Street last week in Pittsburgh’s Carrick neighborhood, racing to a man in cardiac arrest, a dashboard coolant light blinked on. The driver for Medic 12 requested a backup ambulance out of an “abundance of caution,” according to Emily Bourne, a Pittsburgh public safety spokesperson....
Doing the math: Spat over affordable housing data frames Gainey vs. O’Connor race
A day after clashing with his Democratic rival in a televised debate, Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey on Wednesday doubled down on his claim that he’s “delivered” 1,600 units of affordable housing during his city hall tenure. Gainey has recited the statistic on the campaign trail time and again. He referenced...
Shapiro reveals he spoke with Trump about arson attack, U.S. Steel
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro revealed Monday he spoke with President Donald Trump two days earlier, nearly a week after authorities said an arsonist set fire to the governor’s residence while Shapiro and his family were inside. Shapiro, appearing at the Mt. Lebanon Fire Department to unveil $30 million in grants...
Gainey, O’Connor spar over affordable housing, city finances, public safety in televised debate
Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey and Allegheny County Controller Corey O’Connor sparred over affordable housing, public safety, city finances and who accepted money from Republican donors in a televised debate Thursday. The two are locked in a tightly contested Democratic primary race. The 30-minute debate hosted by WPXI did not include...
Pittsburgh controller warns city could end year $15M over budget for overtime
The City of Pittsburgh has already spent about 39% of its budget for holiday and overtime pay, reigniting concerns that its spending plan this year may not be feasible. Controller Rachael Heisler projects Pittsburgh will likely end up about $15 million over budget in premium pay if expenses continue at...
Gainey, Lee call for ‘unprecedented unity’ in battling Trump administration
Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey and U.S. Rep. Summer Lee vowed Wednesday to do what they can to protect constituents hurt by President Donald Trump’s administration — but warned they can’t go it alone. Standing up to the White House will take advocacy from labor unions, activists and civil liberties organizations,...
ACLU sues Pitt alleging free-speech violations against pro-Palestine student group
The American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania on Tuesday sued the University of Pittsburgh in federal court alleging the school violated the First Amendment by targeting a student organization advocating for Palestine. The university in March placed Students for Justice in Palestine at Pitt on an indefinite, interim suspension in...
Pittsburgh EMS union sues city over residency requirement
The union representing Pittsburgh Emergency Medical Services personnel on Monday filed a lawsuit challenging the residency requirement now in place for paramedics and EMTs. City officials have said they would not intend to challenge such a lawsuit, part of a deal they struck with the union when settling a recent...
FBI agent testifies Butler man made death threats against Trump, teachers, Marjorie Taylor Greene
A Butler County man charged with threatening to kill President Donald Trump and immigration agents also wrote on YouTube about killing school teachers, shooting U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and carrying out a mass attack in Texas, an FBI agent testified Monday in federal court. Shawn Monper, 32, of Butler...
Black voters in Pittsburgh split over support for Gainey
Ed Gainey swept into office vowing to improve life for Black Pittsburghers. The new mayor of Pennsylvania’s second-largest city formed a diverse cabinet, expanded affordable housing and bettered the lot of minority contractors as he sought to reverse generations of disinvestment and neglect for Pittsburgh’s Black community. But three years...
Butler man charged with threatening to murder Trump
A Butler County man has been charged with threatening to assault and murder President Donald Trump, other U.S. officials and Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, authorities announced Friday. Shawn Monper, 32, of Butler Township is accused of making threats between Jan. 15 and April 5, according to the Justice Department....
URA, Allegheny County pledge nearly $450K for refugee resettlement after Trump cuts
Pittsburgh’s Urban Redevelopment Authority and Allegheny County’s Department of Human Services are helping to replace federal funding President Donald Trump revoked for refugee resettlement agencies. The authority’s board on Thursday authorized $224,000 in total for three organizations — Jewish Family and Community Services, Hello Neighbor and AJAPO. That money will...
Chatham close to taking over Hunt Armory ice rink from Penguins
Pittsburgh’s Urban Redevelopment Authority wants Chatham University to take over running the city’s only indoor ice rink at Hunt Armory when the Pittsburgh Penguins’ lease expires next month. The school would enter into a long-term lease and pour millions of dollars into fixing up the facility, according to the authority,...
‘We keep the country running’: Federal workers rally in Pittsburgh for union rights
Maria Snell feels her work as an Internal Revenue Service contact representative is under attack. She worries about her job, given President Donald Trump’s recent efforts to slash the size of the federal workforce and end collective bargaining with federal labor unions. “Federal jobs, they used to be secure,” Snell...
Ew! Pittsburgh council member warns skeptics trash emergency is not rubbish
Pittsburgh City Councilperson Bob Charland stood Tuesday morning in a Knoxville alley where food wrappers and paper plates poked out of discarded garbage bags and a box of hypodermic needles lay smashed on the road. “I am sick and tired of our neighborhoods looking like no one cares about them,”...
Pittsburgh’s Heinz History Center plans expansion
The Senator John Heinz History Center in Pittsburgh’s Strip District is planning an expansion that will include a new theater, exhibition space and classrooms. “The expansion will help secure long-term sustainability for the museum and further position the History Center as a premier cultural attraction in Pittsburgh,” Brady Smith, a...
Allegheny County debuts disease-testing lab even as Trump seeks $20M in cuts
Government health officials warned Monday that $20 million for equipment to conduct disease testing at a new Allegheny County laboratory could be in jeopardy because of drastic spending cuts by the Trump administration. The federal government is trying to block $11 billion in public health grants that flow through the...
Officials, activists rally for transgender rights, call on UPMC to provide gender-affirming care to minors
Cori Fraser last week was preparing to take their 18-year-old child for a gender-affirming surgery at UPMC. But Salem, Fraser’s child who also uses they/them pronouns, found out just days before the surgery that it was canceled. Fraser said UPMC had scrapped planned gender-affirming treatments for patients under 19 to...
O’Connor pitches ideas to improve public safety as Pittsburgh mayor
Corey O’Connor pledged Thursday that if elected Pittsburgh mayor he would oversee a range of public safety improvements. They would include bettering recruiting and retention of public safety workers, opening resource centers throughout the city and asking Pittsburgh’s hospitals to pay for new ambulances. O’Connor, who is Allegheny County’s controller...
