Julia Burdelski stories, Page 5
PETA proposes replacing Punxsutawney Phil with giant hologram
The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is again advocating for retiring Pennsylvania’s beloved forecasting groundhog from his meteorology duties. And Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro is not a fan. In a social media post this week, Shapiro seemed to reject PETA’s latest suggestion to replace Punxsutawney Phil with a...
Road restrictions expand across Pennsylvania as forecasters warn of dangerous winter storm
PennDOT and Turnpike officials have announced road restrictions ahead of this weekend’s projected snowstorm. The restrictions include prohibiting commercial vehicles, school buses, commercial buses, motor coaches, motorcycles, RVs/motorhomes and cars towing trailers on major highways. Passenger vehicles including SUVs and pickup trucks will still be allowed to travel, but the...
Morning Roundup: Ohio Township turning golf course into park
Here are some of the latest news items happening this morning, Friday, Jan. 23: Ohio Township eyes golf course as new park Ohio Township will purchase a golf course and turn it into the municipality’s second park. The township secured funding to buy about 138 acres of land along Lowries...
Plane departing Pittsburgh International Airport forced to turn around due to ‘aircraft issue’
An American Airlines plane that departed from Pittsburgh International Airport Thursday morning was forced to turn around due to an “aircraft issue,” according to an airport spokesman. American Airlines flight 1845 was headed to Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, but returned to Pittsburgh “shortly after takeoff,” Pittsburgh International Airport spokesman...
Cold temps, heavy snow predicted for Western Pa. this weekend
The National Weather Service is warning that Southwestern Pennsylvania could get a snowfall of between 8 and 15 inches. The NWS Pittsburgh office in Moon issued a winter storm watch, starting at 7 p.m. Saturday and continuing through 1 p.m. Monday, meteorologist Colton Milcarek said. Bill Modzelewski, another weather service...
Morning Roundup: Police investigate graffiti; Parkway closures; car into Denny’s
Here are some of the latest news items happening this morning, Thursday, Jan. 22: Police investigate graffiti with racial slur at Homewood South auto body shop Pittsburgh police are investigating after graffiti containing a racial slur was found at an auto body shop in Pittsburgh’s Homewood South neighborhood. The owner...
Pittsburgh City Council OKs appointments to Equipment Leasing Authority board amid fleet struggles
Pittsburgh City Council on Wednesday approved the first of a slew of nominees Mayor Corey O’Connor is looking to seat on various boards and commissions and in top posts within City Hall. Sharon Werner, who will be the city’s chief operating officer, and Sheldon Williams, the acting public safety director,...
Pittsburgh Council to interview Lando, department heads under oath
Pittsburgh City Council next week will use a new power to interview under oath the mayor’s picks to run city departments and bureaus. Council has previously conducted public interviews with a mayor’s pick for department heads and bureau chiefs before voting on whether to approve. But council members last year...
Health department installs free naloxone vending machine in Pittsburgh
The opioid overdose reversal drug naloxone is available for free at a new vending machine in Downtown Pittsburgh. The machine, outside the Allegheny County Human Services building at 1 Smithfield St., will provide around-the-clock access to the medication. Naloxone — often known by its brand name Narcan — is being...
Historic Downtown Pittsburgh buildings set to become mixed-income apartments
A pair of historic commercial and manufacturing buildings in Downtown Pittsburgh will be transformed into mixed-income housing, part of a broader effort to revitalize the Golden Triangle and attract new residents and businesses. Boston-based Beacon Communities on Tuesday announced the start of construction at 901-903 Liberty Ave., two buildings that...
East End Cooperative Ministry temporarily halts program offering free lunch
East End Cooperative Ministry this week announced it is temporarily halting its Community Meals program, which offered free lunch each day to anyone in the community. The East Liberty nonprofit said the program won’t be available “for the foreseeable future.” In an online announcement, the ministry said resources and funding...
Pittsburgh Regional Transit now offering sign language interpreters through app
Live American Sign Language interpreters are now available to riders of Pittsburgh Regional Transit through an app. Deaf or hard-of-hearing riders can launch the Aira ASL app to be connected with a professional interpreter within seconds, the authority said in a news release. The app uses the rider’s smartphone camera...
Morning Roundup: Heating issues force McKeesport school online; police tracking truck that fled crash scene
Here are some of the latest news items happening this morning, Wednesday, Jan. 21: Heating issues force McKeesport school online Founders’ Hall Middle School in McKeesport will move classes online Wednesday because of a heating issue at the school. Students there will log in to their classes through Google Classroom...
Ice blockage cleared at Pittsburgh Water operations
Ice that had blocked the Allegheny River water intake at Pittsburgh Water’s treatment plant was broken up and cleared Tuesday afternoon. At 3:30 p.m., officials said, that a barge and tugboat helped break up the ice to clear water intake from the Allegheny River. City officials said the blockage limited...
Morning Roundup: Wilkinsburg shooting victim ID’d; 3 pets killed in Armstrong County fire
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Tuesday, Jan. 20: Medical examiner identifies Wilkinsburg shooting victim The Allegheny County medical examiner has identified a person fatally shot in Wilkinsburg last week as 31-year-old John Jackson. According to TribLive news partner WTAE, it remained unclear Monday...
Subzero wind chills hit Pittsburgh region: Warming centers open, parks and rinks closed
The frigid cold is back with a vengeance in Western Pennsylvania. The National Weather Service’s Pittsburgh office issued a cold weather advisory for the region, urging people to keep pets indoors as much as possible, wear warm clothing and use caution while outdoors. Cold wind chills as low as 15...
Special tax diversion proposed to help revitalize Downtown Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh Urban Redevelopment Authority officials are eyeing a tax diversion as the next step in ongoing efforts to revitalize Downtown in the wake of the covid-19 pandemic. The authority’s board on Thursday voted to start the process of implementing a Transit Revitalization Investment District, known as a TRID. The diversion...
Will Mupeta disliked police but now wants to join the force — a high school program changed his mind
Will Mupeta didn’t know what he wanted to do with his life. Then he attended a career fair the city of Pittsburgh hosted Downtown. He learned about public safety jobs and wondered whether a career as a firefighter or EMT might be in his future. That encouraged him to sign...
O’Connor ramps up Clean and Lien program attacking blight in Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh Mayor Corey O’Connor on a frigid Friday morning stepped over scraps of multicolored wrappers and chunks of concrete in a blighted lot on Dove Way in Knoxville. Behind him sat a city dump truck packed full of trash that crews had cleaned from the property that morning: heaps of...
Plans for $500M Bakery Square expansion retooled by Walnut Capital
Dwindling demand for office space has forced a developer to rethink a major expansion of its sprawling Bakery Square development in Pittsburgh’s East End and focus on retail and housing instead of office space. Pittsburgh-based developer Walnut Capital for years has been eyeing a 14-acre, $500 million extension of its...
Pittsburgh councilman pushes referendum to avert future budget pitfalls
It could have been a deadline-busting budget disaster. Late last year, a dissatisfied Pittsburgh City Council ripped up parts of the 2026 spending plan submitted by then-Mayor Ed Gainey and inserted a 20% property tax hike. A Dec. 21 council vote sent the $693 million spending plan to Gainey. He...
New mayor, new effort by Pittsburgh council to kill master plan contracts
Pittsburgh City Council is trying once again to kill two controversial contracts. Legislation introduced Tuesday proposes to terminate a pair of costly contracts totaling about $6 million for consultants working on a citywide comprehensive plan meant to guide zoning and development for the next 25 years. Council already passed the...
‘It’s the Wild West’: Pittsburgh council eyes short-term rental crackdown
Pittsburgh City Council is once again grappling with how to regulate short-term rentals, like the Airbnb and Vrbo properties that have become popular in recent years. Councilwoman Deb Gross, D-Highland Park, in July introduced legislation aimed at regulating the rentals. The measure died at the end of the year, as...
O’Connor unveils Main and Main initiative to revitalize Pittsburgh business districts
Pittsburgh Mayor Corey O’Connor on Tuesday promised to help rebuild neighborhood business districts, like the stretch of Homewood Avenue in the city’s East End that he toured as he launched his Main and Main initiative. Main and Main, O’Connor said, will promote revitalization and investment in business districts throughout the...
Pittsburgh councilwoman seeks $20M annually to dedicated fund for city fleet
Pittsburgh City Councilwoman Barb Warwick on Tuesday plans to introduce legislation to create a $20 million trust fund dedicated to buying new vehicles. The effort aims to address the city’s longstanding problems with a fleet of aging vehicles that are prone to breakdowns and often in need of costly repairs....
