Julia Felton stories, Page 47

Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey has appointed Maria Montaño, the city’s first transgender press secretary, to the LGBTQIA+ Commission. The appointment was unanimously approved by City Council on Tuesday. “Our great city has a rich history of advancing the rights of the LGBTQIA+ community,” Montaño said. “I feel humbled to be...

The UPMC Matilda H. Theiss Health Center will begin seeing patients in Pittsburgh’s Hill District again on Friday. The clinic moved out of the Hill District last August because of structural problems at its prior facility, and it operated temporarily in the South Side, according to Dr. Jonathan Yadlosky, the...

Pittsburgh’s Uptown Partners is holding an event Saturday to educate the community about the Tito House, a building nominated for historic designation. The event is part of a larger effort to rally support for preserving the Fifth Avenue building, which is at risk of being demolished to make way for...

Pittsburgh’s Urban Redevelopment Authority said Friday that Deputy Executive Director Diamonte Walker is stepping down this spring to take a job in the private sector. Walker began working for the URA in June 2017, serving as the minority and women-owned business enterprise program officer and helping to expand the program...

Nine people graduated Friday from UPMC Health Plan’s Freedom House 2.0 program, an initiative that trains people from economically disadvantaged communities as emergency medical technicians and community health workers. The 10-week program is based on the groundbreaking 1960s Freedom House program, which similarly recruited, trained and employed people for jobs...

The Rodef Shalom synagogue in Pittsburgh’s Shadyside neighborhood is being considered for historic designation. “It’s just wonderful that our history is going to be recognized as part of Pittsburgh’s history,” said Matthew Falcone, president of the board of trustees at Rodef Shalom Congregation. “We’re very excited that our historical narrative...

Duquesne University will move forward with plans for a new school of medicine after Pittsburgh’s Planning Commission on Tuesday approved the school’s plans for a new building to house its College of Osteopathic Medicine. The five-story structure will replace the former Life Works building being demolished at Forbes Avenue and...

Pittsburgh’s Planning Commission signed off on UPMC’s plans for a new 363-bed hospital in Oakland on Tuesday, paving the way for finalized plans to go to the city’s zoning administrator for approval. UPMC said the new hospital, planned for the former Children’s Hospital site at the corner of Fifth Avenue...

Pittsburgh’s planning commission voted 5-0 to recommend the controversial Oakland Crossings development zoning amendments to Pittsburgh City Council, which will have the ultimate vote on the measure. The recommendation comes with several conditions, including that university and college campuses are excluded from acceptable uses for the site and that City...

Pittsburgh is planning to resume street sweeping with related parking enforcement in April, after a two-year enforcement hiatus during the covid-19 pandemic. The street sweeping and related parking enforcement will begin on April 1 and continue through Nov. 30. For the past two years, the city has not implemented parking...

A section of Pioneer Avenue in Pittsburgh’s Brookline neighborhood will be closed through mid-July because of gas line replacement work. Pioneer Avenue will be closed between Dunster Street and Berkshire Avenue from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays and from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays, according to...

News that Amazon will not forge ahead with its plans to build a massive warehouse in Churchill was met with mixed reactions Friday. Amazon’s decision to nix the proposed 2.6-million square-foot warehouse, which was to be developed at the former site of the George Westinghouse Research Park, came after more...

A developer is looking to build a mixed-use development on Fifth Avenue in Pittsburgh’s Uptown neighborhood — though the fate of the project may be determined by whether the Tito House, which is located on the site, earns historic designation. Fountain Residential Partners — which specializes in college housing —...

Allegheny County’s Elections Division has begun sending mail-in and absentee ballot packets to voters who will be participating in the special elections to fill state House seats vacated by Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey and his chief of staff, Jake Wheatley. The special elections to fill the seats in the 19th...

Pittsburgh’s Department of Mobility and Infrastructure announced Thursday they will be closing a portion of the sidewalk on Meadow Street Bridge for repairs. The bridge, located in the city’s East Liberty and Larimer neighborhoods, spans Negley Run Boulevard. Officials are closing the northeast sidewalk to accommodate necessary repairs, a decision...

The Apartment Association of Metropolitan Pittsburgh is suing the city over its rental registry, a program that was struck down in court once before. Pittsburgh City Council in November approved legislation to create a rental registration and inspection schedule for rental units, though a similar measure enacted in 2009 failed...

Some people opposed to a Pittsburgh City Council proposal to levy a 1% tax on college tuition and medical bills to generate money for infrastructure improvements appear to be more open to a separate proposal to seek money from nonprofits instead. The Fern Hollow Bridge collapse in January heightened concerns...

New rules at Pittsburgh’s Point State Park call for large events at the park to be held at least five days apart and limit events to no more than seven days. The rules prompted the Three Rivers Arts Festival, a 10-day event that traditionally has been held at Point State...

Pittsburgh City Council on Tuesday approved legislation that will require the mayor’s office to make sure budget proposals comply with federal, state and local laws and the city’s home rule charter before they are introduced to council. The measure comes after former Mayor Bill Peduto proposed a major pay increase...

Legislation being introduced to Pittsburgh City Council on Tuesday would seek voluntary payments from nonprofits to help pay for infrastructure improvements and, in turn, replace a controversial proposal to get the money by imposing a 1% tax on tuition and medical bills. The legislation cosponsored by Burgess and Councilman R....

Work related to the Oakland Portal development project will result in lane closures along Fifth Avenue in Pittsburgh’s Oakland and Uptown neighborhoods, the city’s Department of Mobility and Infrastructure said Monday. Work being done by Peoples Gas will obstruct one or two travel lanes on Fifth Avenue between Robinson Street...

Pittsburgh City Controller Michael Lamb’s office has launched a webpage where people can track how the city is spending its American Rescue Plan money. The American Rescue Plan Trust Fund Monitoring Page is part of the website Fiscal Focus Pittsburgh, which the Controller’s Office has maintained since 2018. The site...

Pittsburgh’s Urban Redevelopment Authority is poised to create two new social impact pilot programs aimed at encouraging minority entrepreneurship and business expansion. URA Ventures and the Minority and Women-owned Business Enterprise Developer Equity Fund programs will provide risk capital to minority and women-owned businesses. The redevelopment authority is hoping to...

Pittsburgh City Council approved legislation this week to create a committee to address the city’s affordable housing needs. Councilman Ricky Burgess, who introduced the legislation in February, said the measure was spurred by his belief that everyone in the city deserves access to “clean, decent, affordable housing (that is) affordable...

A man was taken to the hospital in stable condition after being shot in the leg in Pittsburgh’s Squirrel Hill South neighborhood early Friday morning, police said. Police said said they responded to a call for a man who had been shot at the 5700 block of Forward Avenue just...