Tom Davidson stories, Page 21

A pilot program announced by Pittsburgh officials could be another step toward enacting the law enforcement reforms that community activists have asked for in regular protests in the region that followed the May 25 killing of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis. Details about the program and how it will...

In a few weeks, people will be able to stroll around the reservoir in Pittsburgh’s Highland Park again, a spokeswoman for the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority said. The popular walkway closed last August for repairs and to allow for more than $14 million in upgrades to the filtration plant...

Police are trying to identify a man who they suspect was throwing bricks at police during a protest June 1 in the vicinity of Centre and Negley avenues in Pittsburgh’s East Liberty neighborhood. He was wearing a camouflage baseball cap, a “Curators of Hip Hop” T-shirt and Nike Air Max...

An 86-year-old Carnegie man’s July 15 drowning death has been ruled an accident by the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s office. John Kirby was found in a pool in the 500 block of Flynn Ave. at 4:22 p.m. and pronounced dead about a half-hour later, the medical examiner’s office said. Allegheny...

Rialto Street will be closed from July 27 through December in Pittsburgh’s Troy Hill neighborhood because a 48-year-old bridge that crosses over it will be replaced in a $1.1 million project. The Lowrie Street Bridge has been deteriorating in recent years. The project will replace the bridge beams, deck, sidewalks...

A former steelworker who became a journalist when the mills closed is retiring from the trade Friday. Tribune-Review reporter Bob Bauder, 66, has covered the Pittsburgh City Hall beat for the Trib for nine years. In all, Bauder has worked 31 years as a reporter. After graduating from Hopewell High...

Pennsylvanians who are working in life-sustaining jobs during the coronavirus pandemic will be getting temporary pay increases, Gov. Tom Wolf announced Thursday. “These people deserve to be paid for the risks they’re taking for all of us,” Wolf said. The state will use $50 million of its federal pandemic stimulus...

The Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority will hire an independent monitor and make $500,000 in donations to organizations that promote safety for those exposed to lead in old water pipes, Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro said Thursday, announcing an agreement between PWSA and his office. PWSA unnecessarily exposed people to...

Researchers are seeking at least 750 people in Western Pennsylvania to take part in trials for vaccines against the novel coronavirus that causes covid-19, UPMC and the University of Pittsburgh announced Wednesday. The trials are part of what is called Operation Warp Speed, a national push to rapidly develop a...

A 180-year-old Greek revival house in Pittsburgh’s Lawrenceville neighborhood is set to be designated a historic landmark, despite opposition from its present owners, Eric and Beth Rupert. Known as the Ewalt House, the property at 186 Home St. was inherited by Eric Rupert when his father died in 2016. Late...

Sixteen City of Pittsburgh employees are off of work because of confirmed cases of covid-19, according to Mayor Bill Peduto’s office. They include:Two environmental services (waste collection) employees.Seven police department employeesFive fire bureau employeesTwo emergency medical services employees. Workers are screened at the beginning of their shifts and the city...

After an East Pittsburgh police officer shot and killed Antwon Rose II two years ago, critics of the officer wondered how he had been hired so easily after facing previous misconduct complaints. Rose would have celebrated his 20th birthday Sunday The officer, Michael Rosfeld, had a checkered past, Pennsylvania Attorney...

An Ohio man won’t face criminal charges after federal authorities found a loaded handgun in a bag at Pittsburgh International Airport on Saturday, Allegheny County Police said. Transportation Security Administration officers found the .32-caliber handgun loaded with seven bullets, TSA said in a news release. The bag belonged to an...

A person who fell off a Jet Ski in the Allegheny River near Arch Street in Verona on Sunday, July 12, was transported to an area hospital, an Allegheny County 911 shift commander said. Verona police and fire departments were dispatched at about 7 p.m. They could not be reached...

The surge in covid-19 cases in Southwestern Pennsylvania is infecting a younger, less vulnerable demographic, and thus far the most recent cases appear to be less severe, doctors at UPMC said Thursday. The latest cases are mainly linked to younger people who contracted covid-19 after traveling out-of-state or while socializing,...

A 48-year-old North Versailles woman accused of spending more than $12,000 of federal school lunch subsidies on personal expenses between 2014 and 2016 turned herself in to authorities Thursday, according to the Allegheny County District Attorney’s office. Rebecca L. Moore was food service director for St. Benedict the Moor School...

A 34-year-old man died after he was shot Sunday morning in Pittsburgh’s Larimer neighborhood, police said. Keith D. Byrd died at 5:58 a.m. Sunday at a local hospital, according to the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s office. Byrd was found shot in the 100 block of Shetland St. at about 4...

Allegheny County court employees and prosecutors are among recent covid-19 cases in the county, officials confirmed Monday. Six employees have been diagnosed with the disease, according to Allegheny County court administrator Christopher Connors. Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr.’s office also posted on social media that three of...

Allegheny County Health Department officials reported 218 new covid-19 cases on Monday, one new death and four new hospitalizations. The new death reported Monday brings the toll to 188. This is the second time the daily report has surpassed 200 cases. It ends a trend of declining daily totals since...

Another Port Authority of Allegheny County employee who works out of the authority’s West Mifflin garage has tested positive for covid-19, the authority said Wednesday. It is the 17th case involving a Port Authority employee. The employee has been in a medically directed self-quarantine since March 19, but they tested...

Pittsburgh’s public safety agencies are taking a different approach to monitoring gatherings to mark Independence Day because of the coronavirus pandemic. “We all know that these are uncertain and trying times,” Public Safety Director Wendell Hissrich said in a statement. “But if we can pull together as a city and...

The sports bar owner who was organizing a protest against Allegheny County’s covid-19 restrictions closed his West Deer business Tuesday night after an employee tested positive for the virus, according to a post on the bar’s Facebook page. Xtra Innings Sports Bar and Grille on Saxonburg Boulevard is owned by...

As covid-19 cases continue to increase in Allegheny County, state officials Tuesday launched a new online dashboard that put the numbers into perspective by comparing them on a week-to-week basis. “This dashboard provides the entire community with early warning to changes in covid-19 infection so that we can take action...

A 25-year-old Pleasant Hills man on Tuesday received a 3- to 6-year prison sentence for a December 2019 crash in Whitehall that killed a passenger. Tyler DeGraffenreid told police he smoked marijuana that day and drank numerous beers and several shots of whiskey before the Dec. 15, 2019, crash on...