Ryan Deto stories, Page 27
3 special elections in Allegheny County will determine state House majority
Three special elections being held Tuesday in Allegheny County will determine which party has the majority in the state House for the next two years. Voters who live in the 32nd, 34th and 35th state House districts will elect new legislators. With those seats now empty, Republicans hold a slim...
Bus service temporarily altered through Millvale following bridge inspection
Pittsburgh Regional Transit announced Friday that most of Millvale’s bus service has been temporarily discontinued due to a weight limit imposed on one of the borough’s bridges following a recent inspection. PRT said that effective immediately, the public transit agency is unable to serve most of Millvale and had to...
Pittsburgh Regional Transit offering bulk transit passes in pilot program
Pittsburgh Regional Transit is accepting applications from businesses and multifamily, residential buildings for its new Bulk Pass Pilot Program, which would provide transit passes for employees or tenants at significant discounts. The pilot would allow businesses and multifamily residential buildings that are located within a half-mile of PRT service to...
Shapiro to become just 3rd sitting governor to attend Pa.’s Groundhog Day celebration
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro will attend the annual Groundhog Day ceremony in Punxsutawney on Thursday, becoming just the third sitting governor to ever attend the Feb. 2 event. Shapiro, a Democrat from Montgomery County, is looking forward to joining the “storied Pennsylvania tradition” and the famed Punxsutawney Phil groundhog, according...
Allegheny County opens special appeal period for 2022 property assessments
After a year of legal wrangling and court challenges, some Allegheny County property owners have been given a second chance to appeal their 2022 property assessments, and an expert says that could provide tax refunds to some of the property owners. School districts and municipalities filed several thousand property assessment...
Allegheny County seeks to clarify confusion over permanent mail-in ballot applications
Allegheny County election officials are reminding voters that mail-in ballots are not sent to their homes on a permanent basis, and voters must complete an application at least once a year if they want to vote by mail. This week, the county will be sending out 300,000 mailings to voters...
A year after Fern Hollow Bridge collapse, are Western Pa.’s bridges in better shape?
It took less than 11 months to replace Pittsburgh’s Fern Hollow Bridge after it collapsed in Frick Park. The speed of the bridge replacement project was an achievement — it normally takes three to five years to replace a span of that size, officials said. Emergency declarations from state and...
Censure vote fails against Allegheny County Councilwoman Bethany Hallam
Allegheny County Council voted down Tuesday night an attempt to censure Councilwoman Bethany Hallam over foul language she directed at a fellow board member earlier this month. Council members voted 3-10 for the censure, with two council members abstaining. Several council members said it was inconsistent to bring a censure...
Allegheny County releases public health plan for next 5 years
As Allegheny County transitions between health directors and is poised to elect a new county executive this year, its Health Department has released a plan that lays out public health goals for the next five years. The 2023-27 Plan for a Healthier Allegheny released Monday was completed under former Health...
Allegheny County Manager William McKain leaving for private sector
The manager of Allegheny County’s government for the past 12 years is moving on. The county announced Monday that Manager William McKain will be leaving his post on Feb. 3 to take a job in the private sector. He has served as county manager since his appointment in July 2012....
Google parent company to lay off 12K workers, unclear how that will affect Pittsburgh office
Google’s parent company announced Friday that the tech giant plans to lay off about 12,000 employees across its workforce. Alphabet Inc., Google’s parent company, reported in October that it employed nearly 187,000 people globally. Pittsburgh is home to a Google office in Pittsburgh’s Larimer neighborhood. It’s unclear how the broad-based...
UPMC grew too fast, gained too much market share, report says
A report released Thursday said Pittsburgh-based health care giant UPMC has gained too much share of the market and has too much power. The American Economic Liberties Project, which produced the report, is a nonprofit group that formed to research consolidated corporate power and advocate for stronger antitrust regulations. In...
Allegheny County special election date set, results will determine state House control
The dates for three pivotal state House special elections in Allegheny County are set following legal wrangling over who could schedule them and when they would be held. The outcomes of the races will determine which party controls the state House for the remainder of the two-year session. The Allegheny...
Pittsburgh Councilman Bruce Kraus won’t seek reelection, his top staffer Bob Charland looks to replace him
Longtime Pittsburgh City Councilman Bruce Kraus said Wednesday that he will not seek reelection. Kraus, a Democrat from the South Side, is in his 16th year representing the city’s District 3 and served as council president from 2014 to 2020. He was the first openly gay person elected to council....
Austin Davis inaugurated as Pa.’s first Black lieutenant governorVideo
Former state Rep. Austin Davis, D-McKeesport, was sworn in as Pennsylvania’s lieutenant governor Tuesday, becoming the state’s first Black person to hold that position. Davis was inaugurated alongside Gov. Josh Shapiro, D-Montgomery, in Harrisburg. Davis is succeeding John Fetterman, who was recently sworn in as Pennsylvania’s newest U.S. Senator. “Today...
Pittsburgh light-rail service temporarily shut down following fire beneath rail bridge
Pittsburgh Regional Transit shut down parts of its light rail service for about an hour Tuesday as a small fire started on the ground underneath Pittsburgh’s Panhandle Bridge. Spokesman Adam Brandolph said the fire originated from the ground on the South Side side below the bridge, which stretches over the...
$1.3B expansion of Mon-Fayette Expressway to begin soon, Pa. Turnpike Commission says
A $1.3 billion expansion project of the Pennsylvania Turnpike’s Mon-Fayette Expressway between Route 51 and Interstate 376 is expected to get underway soon, according to the Turnpike Commission. The 8-mile extension will expand the Mon-Fayette Expressway, which now stretches 54 miles from Jefferson Hills to Morgantown, W.Va. When complete, the...
Twitter storm hovers over Allegheny County Council race between Hallam, Doven
That escalated quickly. A race for an at-large seat on Allegheny County Council had barely gotten underway this month when attacks started flying. Many of them came from observers of the race on social media, particularly Twitter, and almost immediately put the race’s two candidates on the defensive. Joanna Doven...
Popular food pop-up Fet Fisk eyeing restaurant in Bloomfield’s former Lombardozzi space
The former Lombardozzi restaurant space in Pittsburgh’s Bloomfield neighborhood could be getting new life as the well-known food pop-up business Fet Fisk is eyeing the space for a bar, restaurant and event space. Fet Fisk has run a pop-up dinner business for the past few years, serving Scandinavian-inspired dinners at...
Allegheny County Treasurer John Weinstein announces run for county executive
One of Pittsburgh’s most veteran public officials announced his candidacy Thursday for Allegheny County executive, joining a large field in the Democratic primary for the region’s top elected official. Allegheny County Treasurer John Weinstein spoke in front of a crowd of around 1,000 supporters at the Heinz History Center in...
Judge temporarily halts evictions for Roosevelt Building residents following fire
Residents of Downtown Pittsburgh’s Roosevelt building can stay in the partially condemned apartment building following a fire and response that caused serious damage, but it is unclear for how long. Tenants were initially told they would be evicted on Friday, but a verbal order was given by Allegheny County Common...
PennDOT lifts occupancy requirement on outbound HOV lane
PennDOT has temporarily lifted the occupancy requirement on the outbound High Occupancy Vehicle lanes on Interstate 279 and I-579 because of ongoing utility work near the HOV lane entrance in Downtown Pittsburgh. The occupancy requirement of at least two people per vehicle was lifted Wednesday, allowing motorists traveling alone to...
Rep. Chris Deluzio honors fallen Brackenridge police chief in House floor speech
Newly elected Rep. Chris Deluzio, D-Aspinwall, honored fallen Brackenridge Police Chief Justin McIntire during a speech on the House floor Wednesday. The speech came the same day as McIntire’s funeral, which brought thousands of law enforcement officers and other mourners to the Alle-Kiski Valley. McIntire was shot and killed Jan....
Allegheny County health director Bogen nominated for Pa. health secretary
One of Allegheny County’s public health leaders could be getting a promotion as Gov.-elect Josh Shapiro on Wednesday nominated Allegheny County Health Department Director Dr. Debra Bogen for Pennsylvania’s secretary of Health. The cabinet position is the top public health official in the state, and is responsible for statewide health...
Allegheny County Councilwoman Bethany Hallam faces censure vote for ‘vulgar’ language
An initial attempt to censure Allegheny County Councilwoman Bethany Hallam, over foul language directed at a fellow member, was defeated Tuesday night. A full vote to censure will occur later this month, a councilman said. Hallam called the attempt to censure her “political theater.” The action came after a few...
