Ryan Deto stories, Page 36
Pa. AG Josh Shapiro says his office will protect abortion providers, out-of-state patients from prosecution
Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro vowed Thursday to protect the state’s abortion clinics and patients seeking abortions in Pennsylvania, which is seeing an increase in out-of-state patients following the U.S. Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe V. Wade. During a stop at a Pittsburgh abortion clinic, Shapiro called the Supreme...
Fitzgerald vetoes bill seeking more oversight of top Allegheny County hires
Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald on Wednesday vetoed a bill that proposed giving more authority to county council on executive staff hiring decisions. The bill would have required that county department directors and division directors be approved by county council before being hired. Currently, only county manager and the county...
Fitzgerald defends decision to veto Allegheny County parks fracking ban bill
Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald called a news conference Wednesday to further explain his decision to veto a bill to prohibit new natural-gas leases in county parks. Fitzgerald and said that the language in the bill is unfairly critical of all fracking companies. He said not all fracking companies are...
Western Pa. U.S. Attorney Cindy Chung nominated to 3rd Circuit bench
President Joe Biden on Tuesday nominated Cindy K. Chung to become a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. Chung, 46, has served as the U.S. Attorney for Western Pennsylvania since 2021. She would become the first Asian American to sit on the Third Circuit court...
Man who jumped from crane in East Liberty identified
The Allegheny County Medical Examiner has identified Hyoung Kee Park as the man who jumped from a crane in Pittsburgh’s East Liberty Ave on July 5. The fall resulted in Park’s death. He was 54 years old and his home address was listed as Flushing, NY. At 5:45 a.m. on...
What does the proposed abortion constitutional amendment mean for Pennsylvania?
The Pennsylvania Senate passed a constitutional amendment proposal Friday that, if enacted, would ensure the state constitution does not grant rights to abortions. The passage doesn’t have any immediate effect on the state’s abortion laws. The process for this amendment started late Thursday night, when Republicans proposed the change with...
Pittsburgh-based autonomous vehicle company Argo AI lays off some staff
One of Pittsburgh’s autonomous vehicle companies confirmed layoffs on Thursday. Argo AI, which is headquartered in the Strip District, didn’t specify how many people were let go. The company said in a statement that the layoffs were part of prudent adjustments after aggressive hiring over the last several years. Since...
Police officer who killed Tamir Rice leaves Tioga police position amid controversy
The small borough of Tioga in Northcentral Pennsylvania recently hired Timothy Loehmann, the former Cleveland police officer who shot and killed 12-year-old Tamir Rice in 2014. But following criticism from residents and outcry on social media, Loehmann has withdrawn from the borough’s police force, according to reports. Rice’s killing led...
Baked True North opens gluten-free bakery and storefront in Ross
After years of operating as a wholesale, gluten-free bakery, Baked True North has opened a brick-and-mortar location on Perry Highway in Ross. Owner Lauren Marts said Baked True North has been supplying gluten-free pastries and baked goods to cafes and restaurants since 2016, operating out of a commercial kitchen near...
Allegheny County Council passes park fracking ban, Fitzgerald vows to veto
Allegheny County Council passed a bill that would ban fracking at nine Allegheny County parks, but the bill still has to clear the desk of Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald, who has vowed to veto it. The fracking-ban proposal would prohibit new leases on county-owned park land for industrial use....
Democrat Josh Shapiro picks up Republican endorsements in race for governor
Attorney General Josh Shapiro’s gubernatorial campaign has earned a slew of endorsements from prominent Republicans. Shapiro, a Democrat from Montgomery County, said his campaign has received nine GOP endorsements from across Pennsylvania. In a swing state like Pennsylvania, having crossover appeal can be paramount to success in statewide races. Republicans...
Man jumps from crane, dies in East Liberty, police say
A man climbed a crane in Pittsburgh’s East Liberty neighborhood early Tuesday morning and eventually jumped from what appeared to be more than 100 feet. Police said the man did not survive the fall. The crane is in the 5800 block of Centre Avenue in East Liberty. Pittsburgh Police closed...
Black Forge coffee in Allentown reopening under new ownership
After announcing in May that its Allentown coffee shop was closing after nearly seven years in operation, Black Forge will be reopening this month thanks to new ownership. Kelly Braden owns and operates the eccentric gift shop The Weeping Glass just down the street in Pittsburgh’s Allentown neighborhood. She officially...
What the Supreme Court’s EPA ruling means for emissions in Pittsburgh and the state
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in a 6-3 vote Thursday that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency doesn’t have broad power to regulate carbon emissions at power plants across the country. It was a major setback for President Biden’s plans to reduce carbon emissions and combat climate change. Power plants make...
June had the fewest rainy days in Pittsburgh in past 10 years
It’s been a dry June in Pittsburgh, to say the least. There were only nine days in Southwest Pennsylvania with more than 0.01 inches of rain. This was the least amount of rainy days in the month of June since 2012, which also had nine rainy days. With no rain...
Pittsburgh City Councilman Corey O’Connor poised to become Allegheny County’s controller
Pittsburgh City Councilman Corey O’Connor is slated to take over as Allegheny County Controller, the county’s top fiscal watchdog. The position opened up after former controller Chelsa Wagner was elected as an Allegheny County Common Pleas judge. O’Connor said he sent a letter to Gov. Tom Wolf earlier this year...
Officials say Western Pa. can lead way in clean energy industry
The Pittsburgh region has a long history of energy production, from its former proliferation of coal mines to a more recent boom in natural gas, and it may be looking to add to that energy profile by transitioning to renewable and clean energy technology. On Tuesday, U.S. Secretary of Energy...
Pittsburgh nurses say overturning Roe will endanger patients, increase burnout
About half a dozen nurses gathered Tuesday outside of West Penn Hospital in Bloomfield to decry the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, essentially making abortion illegal in several states. Pennsylvania still allows abortions up to 24 weeks into pregnancies and will continue at least through...
Sue Murray pool to open in North Side following community outcry
Following community campaigns and public criticism, Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey announced Monday that one of the North Side’s pools will reopen this summer after it was initially left off the list of openings. Sue Murray pool on Cedar Avenue will reopen starting on Wednesday. It will initially be open Mondays...
More passenger rail service coming between Pittsburgh and Harrisburg
Pittsburgh and other Western Pennsylvania municipalities are set to receive additional passenger rail service to Harrisburg, with plans to add another line within three years of the start of construction. The state of Pennsylvania and Norfolk Southern first proposed adding a passenger line in February. The private railway owns the...
Server issue causes delays in Pittsburgh T light-rail service
Light-rail cars for Pittsburgh Regional Transit were suspended for about an hour Monday because of a server issue. Service has resumed, but light-rail riders should expect delays at least through noon Monday, said Pittsburgh Regional Transit spokesperson Adam Brandolph. “We will have some residual delays for the next hour, but...
Large raises for Allegheny County’s top staffers raise timing questions
Some of Allegheny County’s top staffers have received large pay raises over the past few years, and elected officials and a good government group are questioning the timing and amount of the raises. Allegheny County salary documents published online show County Manager William McKain and Jennifer Liptak, the chief of...
Supreme Court abortion decision places higher stakes on Pa. election, experts say
The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade places even higher stakes on Pennsylvania’s November election, particularly the race for governor, observers say. Alison Dagnes, a political science professor at Shippensburg University, said the right of women to choose to have an abortion in Pennsylvania “quite literally hangs...
Allegheny County GOP chair interviewed by FBI in probe of Trump and 2020 election
FBI agents interviewed Allegheny County Republican Chairman Sam DeMarco at his North Fayette home on Thursday as part of an investigation into whether President Trump tried to send alternate electors in several states to Washington in an attempt to reverse the 2020 election. DeMarco, who also is a county councilman,...
Allegheny County certifies primary results, with undated mail-in ballots included
The May primary has finally come to a close, with all races decided and certified. The Allegheny County Board of Elections voted Thursday to certify the 2022 primary results with tallies of undated mail-in ballots included, as directed by the Pennsylvania Department of State. This came following the county completing...
