Tom Davidson stories, Page 8

EDITOR’S NOTE: The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia filed an updated memo July 9 that detailed how the Lego model of the Capitol was in a box and wasn’t “fully constructed” as prosecutors initially stated. A Glenshaw man facing federal charges for helping to lead the Jan....

Pittsburgh businesses with more than 50 employees will be required to provide paid sick leave to workers who contract covid-19 or who are required to quarantine, under legislation city Councilman Bobby Wilson introduced Wednesday. The requirement would be in effect until 90% of the eligible Pennsylvania population is vaccinated. The...

It’s been five months since Pittsburgh City Council declared a state of emergency in the public school system. The legislation was passed to begin a process by which the city’s leaders would work with Pittsburgh Public Schools leaders to address a racial achievement gap between white and Black students and...

Should Wilkinsburg become Pittsburgh’s 91st neighborhood? A majority of Wilkinsburg’s elected officials say “no.” “A merger would destroy Wilkinsburg,” said Denise Edwards, president pro-tem of borough council. “As an elected official how can you possibly destroy your own community. It doesn’t make sense.” “Because of the negative impact on our...

With a lifeguard shortage and other issues keeping 10 of Pittsburgh’s 18 pools closed this summer, city council members are brainstorming ways to keep youth cool and give them something to do. They’re trying to “be creative,” council President Theresa Kail-Smith said Wednesday. Among the ideas: using special sprinkler heads...

The shutdown caused by the coronavirus pandemic proved the importance of the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership to the city’s business district, its members and administrators told city council members Tuesday. “Everything came crashing down,” said Casey Henderlong, describing how it hurt businesses like the Richard Deshantz Restaurant Group, where Henderlong is...

If the reason the Pittsburgh labor force is shrinking is a decline in the city’s population, there’s reason to be alarmed, Controller Michael Lamb said Wednesday. “That’s the biggest concern to me,” Lamb said during a virtual news conference when he released the 2020 Popular Annual Financial Report. The report...

Pittsburgh’s top fiscal watchdog Wednesday questioned the timing of a four-year plan released Monday by outgoing Mayor Bill Peduto’s administration for the city’s $335 million federal pandemic relief money. “I think it’s premature for the mayor to suggest a four-year spending plan when there’s going to be a new mayor...

Pittsburgh will use more than half of the $335 million in federal relief money to make up for revenue losses projected through 2024, according to proposed allocations released Monday by Mayor Bill Peduto’s office. The money from the American Rescue Plan will be received in two $167.5 million installments, one...

Allegheny County’s swimming pools will be open for swimmers Tuesday. It’s just in time for the high temperatures expected — Pittsburgh’s high is forecast to be 91 degrees, with a slight chance of thunderstorms. All four pools will be open from 11:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., weather permitting. On Monday,...

The benefit of free sun rays doesn’t appear to be enough to lure experienced lifeguards into the pool of applicants for a summer job that pays as much as $15.76 per hour from the City of Pittsburgh. City Parks and Recreation Director Ross Chapman told city council members Wednesday the...

After more than a year of doing business remotely, Pittsburgh’s city employees will be returning to work in upcoming weeks. But council meetings and similar meetings of the city’s boards and commissions will continue to be virtual until further notice, the city said Tuesday. “We are starting to see the...

A requirement that 10% of multi-unit housing is made affordable in Pittsburgh’s Lawrenceville neighborhood was made permanent Tuesday with approval from city council and support from Mayor Bill Peduto. The inclusionary zoning change codifies a program that started in 2019 that requires 10% of any housing project that includes 20...

City officials on Tuesday joined local labor leaders in protesting work that’s being done at the Sheraton Station Square Hotel on Pittsburgh’s South Side. The city and Allegheny-Fayette Central Labor Council say the work is being done without the required permitting and is using out-of-state non-union workers to do work...

A rapid bus line linking Downtown Pittsburgh to its Oakland neighborhood will receive another $19.3 million in federal funding. The allocation was announced last week by the U.S. Department of Transportation to the Port Authority of Allegheny County as part of $250 million in funding made available under the American...

Fifteen Black artists are teaming up with 1HoodMedia for an arts and culture celebration Friday on Pittsburgh’s North Side that’s one of several Juneteenth events in the region. Juneteenth marks June 19, 1865 — the day Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas, with news of the Emancipation Proclamation and slaves...

The Tarentum Bridge reopened Sunday to traffic going toward New Kensington. The bridge closed Wednesday to all traffic, and the closure for vehicles headed toward Tarentum is expected to remain in effect through June 27. The closure is needed for a $3.4 million rehabilitation project, which is expected to be...

The proposed redevelopment of part of the former Civic Arena site in Pittsburgh’s Lower Hill District cleared another hurdle Thursday, when the city’s Urban Redevelopment Authority approved a series of actions that will allow the first part of the project to move forward. But the URA board, which includes city...

A bevy of organizations and businesses made their initial pitch Thursday to college students in the Pittsburgh region to encourage them to stay here. The pitch was part of the kickoff the third year of the Pittsburgh Passport program, led by the Allegheny Conference on Community Development. The program provides...

A 48-year-old East Liberty man who works as a benefits consultant will be announcing an independent run for Pittsburgh mayor Thursday evening. “Leadership is my product and I believe in it,” Marlin Woods said in an interview before his campaign kickoff, which is set for 6 p.m. at Highland Park...

With only eight of the city’s 18 pools set to open next week, Pittsburgh City Council members Wednesday are wondering what they can do to get more pools open as coronavirus restrictions are eased and people try to enjoy summer. “The support, the concern, is appreciated,” Pittsburgh Parks and Recreation...