Megan Guza stories, Page 37
In solar project, Pitt looks to the sky in latest renewable energy endeavor
The University of Pittsburgh has signed an agreement to buy all of the solar energy produced by a planned local solar plant, which amounts to about 13% of the Oakland campus’s energy consumption. The announcement came last week from Aurora Sharrard, Pitt’s director of sustainability. It is part of the...
Family of ‘Baby Marcus’ wants DA Zappala off homicide case, citing ‘repeated failures’
The family of a toddler fatally shot in 2013 is alleging the Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office knew for years who killed the child but did nothing, and they’re now calling for the case to be turned over to the state or the U.S Attorney General’s Office. Gregory Parker, 22,...
‘Nowhere to run to’: Lawsuit filed against Mayor Peduto, Pittsburgh police in wake of East Liberty protest
Christopher Juring said he was trying to leave, trying to follow orders. In a cloud of tear gas and smoke, Juring was walking on Centre Avenue sometime after 6:30 p.m. June 1, unable to see in front of him and unable to see the wall of Pittsburgh SWAT officers moving...
Comcast offering free Wi-Fi for rest of year as nation works to reopen amid coronavirus
Comcast will keep its public Xfinity Wi-Fi hotspots open to everyone, including non-Xfinity customers, for the remainder of the year, the company said Thursday. The provider in March announced it would open access to its 1.5 million hotspots to anyone amid the coronavirus pandemic. “We saw a huge jump in...
‘We started getting sores all over us’: Grand jury report blasts DEP, health department over fracking failures in Pa.
A scathing Pennsylvania grand jury report two years in the making blasted the state departments of Environment Protection and Health, alleging years of turning a blind eye to complaints against the oil and gas industry left residents exposed to harmful water and air pollution that caused nosebleeds, mysterious sores and...
New alert system designed to save Pittsburgh firefighters time, stress
A new alert system installed across Pittsburgh’s firehouses will streamline responses and cut down on stress that wears on firefighters from listening to every call every moment they’re in the station, Public Safety officials said in introducing the system on Wednesday. Dispatches are only heard by the station or stations...
Protesters: Pittsburgh bar has dress code that discriminates against Black peopleVideo
More than 100 protesters gathered outside a Downtown Pittsburgh bar Wednesday, protesting a dress code they say discriminates against Black individuals and Black members of the LGBTQ+ community. An incident happened over the weekend at 941 Saloon on Liberty Avenue, that sparked the protest, according to Devar Ferguson, a leader...
Review board seeks consultant to probe Pittsburgh police tactics during protests
The Citizen Police Review Board voted Tuesday to seek funding to hire an outside consulting group to assist in its investigation into Pittsburgh police tactics against protesters earlier this month in East Liberty, though some board members feared the group’s reputation will hinder any good it might do. Densus Group,...
Pittsburgh plans to add 120 miles of bike lanes, trails over next 10 years
A 10-year plan aimed at making bicycling safer and accessible across Pittsburgh includes the addition of 120 miles of new trails, bicycle lanes and other street improvements. The plan, announced Tuesday, is five years in the making, and it is geared toward not only traditional bikes but also motorized scooters,...
Carnegie Mellon appointment of ex-Trump cabinet member Richard Grenell draws criticism from faculty, staff
More than 200 Carnegie Mellon University faculty, staff and students have signed on to an open letter rebuffing the appointment of a former ambassador and Trump administration cabinet member as a senior fellow at the university’s Institute for Politics and Strategy. Richard Grenell, the former U.S. ambassador to Germany who...
Port Authority tool allows riders to gauge social-distance capacity on buses
A new tool from the Port Authority of Allegheny County will tell riders whether the bus headed for their stop is at a safe social-distancing capacity, officials said Monday. The Room2Ride tool on the Port Authority’s website relies on the past two weeks of ridership data to let people know...
West Mifflin homicide suspect arrested 400 miles away in Indiana
Indiana State Police on Monday arrested a West Mifflin man wanted for more than a month on homicide charges in Allegheny County, according to county police. Daymond Wiggins, 37, was charged May 20 with the shooting death of Thomas Johnson outside a West Mifflin apartment complex two days earlier. Police...
State police cite ‘significant advances’ in case of Pa. boy missing since 1986
State police in North Central Pennsylvania said Sunday they are confident they are getting closer to solving the cold case of a toddler missing since the 1980s, according to newspaper reports from across the region. Corey James Edkin was 2 years old when he vanished from a home in White...
Community gathers in East Pittsburgh to remember Antwon Rose II 2 years after his deathVideo
Michelle Kenney said being a mom is all she knows how to be. “I’m not a perfect mom. Lord knows sometimes I wasn’t even a good mom,” she told a crowd gathered in East Pittsburgh on Friday, two years to the day after a borough police officer shot and killed...
On this Juneteenth, black leaders in Western Pa. feel tangible change stirring
In the days leading up to Juneteenth — amid the protests and unrest, the uncertainty and the mourning of another black man dead at the hands of police — Tim Stevens felt something. A shift. A change. Some hope. Nearly four weeks after the world watched a Minneapolis police officer...
Charges dropped for 22 protesters arrested in East Liberty melee
The Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office on Thursday dropped charges against 22 protesters arrested in the aftermath of protests in Pittsburgh’s East Liberty neighborhood earlier this month. Office spokesman Mike Manko said none of the charges dropped involved allegations of violence or property damage. “Until such time as we have...
Police seek another suspect in vandalism, looting, assault during Pittsburgh protest
Police on Thursday released photos of another man suspected of assault, vandalism and looting during Downtown Pittsburgh protests last month. Authorities offered little information about the man outside of his photos, which show him wearing a white hooded sweatshirt and gray pants. He’s alleged to have damaged a marked police...
Police seek another suspect in vandalism of Pittsburgh police vehicles, Downtown looting
City and federal authorities on Wednesday asked for help identifying another person suspected of violence during what began as peaceful protests last month in Downtown Pittsburgh. The latest, according to Pittsburgh police, is a man accused of vandalizing two police SUVs, throwing objects at police officers and looting Downtown businesses...
Peduto announces formation of Pittsburgh Community Task Force on Police Reform
A task force made up of community leaders and activists — some of whom have been at the forefront of recent Black Lives Matter protests — will work with Pittsburgh officials to examine and reshape police policies and ultimately put those plans into action. Mayor Bill Peduto on Wednesday announced...
Western Pa. police chiefs support some reforms in Trump executive order, question others
Police departments in parts of Southwestern Pennsylvania applauded some elements of President Trump’s executive order on police reform and expressed skepticism toward others, particularly those aimed at bringing social services into some police situations. Trump announced the executive order Tuesday in a Rose Garden press briefing after weeks of protests...
Shaler man accused of destroying Pittsburgh police SUV pleads not guilty to federal charges
A Shaler man accused of sparking violence at a peaceful protest last month in Downtown Pittsburgh pleaded not guilty to federal charges Tuesday morning. Brian Bartels, 20, faces federal charges of obstruction of justice during civil disorder as well as criminal charges filed by the Allegheny County District Attorney’s office...
Ohio restaurant names Pennsylvania Gov. Wolf employee of the month for driving business
An Ohio barbecue joint just across the border from Erie named Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf its employee of the month for bringing so much business to the lakefront eatery over the past weeks. The Facebook post from Breakwall BBQ owner Mike Morgan is a wink and a nod to Pennsylvania’s...
Police: Highland Park man left cash, 6 pounds of pot in loaner vehicle
Police say a Highland Park man left drugs and cash in a loaner Lexus SUV he used while his own vehicle was receiving service, leading Pittsburgh police to a drug bust that netted hundreds of stamp bags of heroin and 6 pounds of marijuana, authorities said. Patrick Kim, 34, faces...
Police arrest Whitehall man accused of setting Pittsburgh police SUV on fire during protest
A Whitehall man police say attended multiple protests in the past weeks faces riot and other charges for his alleged role in setting a Pittsburgh police SUV on fire last month. Police say Shaheed Hatch, 26, was among those who helped start the fire that destroyed an unmarked police cruiser...
9 file lawsuit against Pittsburgh diocese over alleged sexual abuse
Nine people have filed a lawsuit against the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh alleging sexual abuse by seven priests and years of cover-up by diocesan officials. The seven priests named in the lawsuit had already appeared and had allegations leveled against them in the August 2018 grand jury report blasting the...
