Downtown Pittsburgh category, Page 15
Pittsburgh targets more tax-exempt properties, including 61 owned by UPMC
Pittsburgh is challenging the tax-exempt status of more than 100 properties as part of its review of sites exempted from property taxes, Mayor Ed Gainey said Wednesday. Sixty-one properties — more than half of the 104 properties the city will challenge this year — are owned by UPMC. Also included...
Bicyclist hospitalized after truck struck him at Pittsburgh intersection
A bicyclist was hospitalized in critical condition Tuesday after a semi-truck struck him while he crossed a Downtown Pittsburgh intersection. Pittsburgh police, firefighters and first responders were dispatched just before 10:30 a.m. to the intersection of Liberty Avenue and Stanwix Street for reports of the collision, police spokeswoman Emily Bourne...
5 things to do in Pittsburgh this weekend: March 22-24
We’ve made it to the weekend. Here are some ways to spend it if you aren’t attending the NCAA men’s basketball tournament hosted by Duquesne at PPG Paints Arena, Uptown. Eggstravaganza The National Aviary on the North Side is hosting Eggstravaganza from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday and...
Ben Folds, Los Lonely Boys among Three Rivers Arts Festival’s featured concerts
This year’s free featured concert lineup for the Dollar Bank Three Rivers Arts Festival was announced Thursday. The festival, running May 31-June 9 in Pittsburgh’s Cultural District, will feature singer-songwriter Ben Folds, seminal hip-hop groups the Sugarhill Gang and the Furious Five, among others. The main stage is moving to...
Pittsburgh reinstates limited spay and neuter program for feral cats
Pittsburgh City Council on Tuesday approved a contract for spay and neuter services for the city’s feral cats, but the troubled program itself remains on hold. The city in February abruptly halted its spay and neuter services. Officials cited concerns that suburban pet owners were faking their address to make...
5 things to do in Pittsburgh this weekend: March 15-17
It is St. Patrick’s Day weekend, which includes the annual parade at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Downtown. The Pittsburgh Home & Garden Show is happening all weekend and the Penguins host games on Saturday and Sunday, so plan accordingly. Here are some ways to spend it. Go to the movies...
Pittsburgh council gripes about Gainey but passes his housing plan
Members of Pittsburgh City Council on Tuesday renewed their complaints that Mayor Ed Gainey’s administration didn’t communicate with them about a plan to spend $8 million in federal funds meant to address homelessness and affordable housing. Council ultimately approved the spending plan, despite pleas from exasperated council members for better...
Pittsburgh closing Downtown homeless encampment
Pittsburgh officials are tearing down a Downtown homeless encampment amid concerns that the people living there are living in dangerous conditions. People living at the homeless camp along Fort Pitt Boulevard near Grant Street will have to leave by 5 p.m. Wednesday, said Emily Bourne, a spokeswoman for the city’s...
Pittsburgh to start sending parking tickets by mail
City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved allowing the Public Parking Authority to ticket by mail. It’s a measure that aims to improve safety and efficiency for the authority’s parking enforcers, said David Onorato, the authority’s executive director. The move comes as the authority continues to struggle with staffing since the...
Councilman Wilson pitches latest idea to fill Pittsburgh’s Downtown buildings
Pittsburgh leaders are eyeing a new proposal to jump-start development Downtown by cutting property taxes, marking the latest effort to address the city’s gloomy fiscal outlook. The measure would offer a 10-year real estate tax break for developers who transform empty office space into housing or put them to other...
Guard punched inmate in Allegheny County Jail cell, police say
An Allegheny County Jail guard has lost his job and been charged after he punched an inmate multiple times, authorities said. Robert Veith, 49, of Plum, was conducting window cell checks Jan. 3 when the incident occurred, Allegheny County Police spokesman Jim Madalinsky said Monday. Surveillance video showed Veith talking...
5 things to do in Pittsburgh this weekend: March 8-10
It’s the weekend. If you are not attending the opening weekend of the Pittsburgh Home & Garden Show at the David Lawrence Convention Center, here are some other ways to spend it. Pierogi contest The St. Practice Day Pierogi Contest and Charity Crawl starts at 2 p.m. on Saturday on...
5 things to know about the St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Pittsburgh
A sea of green will make its way through Downtown Pittsburgh on March 16. What began more than 150 years ago as a way to honor the patron saint of Ireland has evolved into a city-wide celebration held the Saturday before St. Patrick’s Day — unless March 17 falls on...
Pittsburgh controller warns of threat to city’s fiscal health, urges changes to budget
Pittsburgh Controller Rachael Heisler Wednesday urged city officials not to count on nearly $10 million in revenue included in this year’s budget, sounding a strong warning about an increasingly grim fiscal picture. In a letter to Mayor Ed Gainey and City Council members, Heisler described the city’s tenuous financial situation...
Pittsburgh councilman rips Gainey administration for poor communication
In an unusual display of frustration, Pittsburgh Councilman Anthony Coghill on Wednesday publicly lambasted Mayor Ed Gainey’s administration for what he called a lack of communication with council. The Beechview councilman criticized the mayor and his staff for not consulting council before submitting a plan on how to spend $8...
Pittsburgh City Council OKs budget changes for new firefighters contract
Pittsburgh City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved budget changes to cover the cost of a new contract with the city’s firefighters. The city and the union reached the deal late last year. It includes pay raises, new parental and pregnancy leave policies and upgrades to fire stations. The contract covers...
Pittsburgh looks to reinstate limited spay and neuter program
After abruptly halting the program in February, Pittsburgh officials are looking to partially restore its spay and neuter initiative. The city plans to restart free spay and neuter services only for feral cats, Public Safety Director Lee Schmidt said. The portion of the program that allowed city residents to get...
Pittsburgh could begin mailing parking tickets rather than leaving them on windshields
People parking illegally in Pittsburgh could soon get tickets in the mail rather than on their windshields. The change could improve safety and efficiency for the parking enforcers tasked with ticketing cars that don’t pay meters or violate other parking rules, said David Onorato executive director of the Public Parking...
5 things to do in Pittsburgh this weekend: March 1-3
It’s the first weekend in March. Here are some ways to spend it. Disney on Ice Disney on Ice presents “Find Your Hero” at 10:30 a.m. and 7 p.m. Friday, 11 a.m., 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday at PPG Paints Arena, Uptown. An immersive experience includes...
Pittsburgh building inspection department gets new boss
Pittsburgh’s Department of Permits, Licenses and Inspections has a new director, a veteran employee who has been running the department for months. City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved David Green of Lawrenceville to replace Sarah Kinter, who stepped down in July. Mayor Ed Gainey previously praised Green as the “most...
Data prompts Pittsburgh police chief to empty stations of overnight desk officers
No one will be manning Pittsburgh’s police precincts overnight any longer under policy changes announced Friday by Chief Larry Scirotto for the 743-officer force. The changes, which have already begun, affect all six zone stations across the city and the new Downtown substation from 3 a.m. to 7 a.m., seven...
5 things to do in Pittsburgh this weekend: Feb. 23-25
It’s the final weekend of February. Here are some ways to spend it. Take the plunge The 14th annual Pittsburgh Polar Plunge is Friday and Saturday on Art Rooney Avenue near Acrisure Stadium on the North Shore. This event invites participants of all ages — plungers under 18 will need...
Pittsburgh’s top engineer pledges better bridge maintenance to avert another disaster
Pittsburgh is already making improvements to the way it handles bridge upkeep, the city’s chief engineer said a day after the National Transportation Safety Board pinpointed the city’s lack of maintenance as a key reason the Fern Hollow Bridge collapsed. The NTSB on Wednesday condemned the city for years of...
New Pittsburgh police substation opens Downtown on Wood Street
A new, bigger Pittsburgh police substation opened Downtown on Wednesday, as police and city officials touted the two-story building as key to controlling crime in Pittsburgh’s central business district. A total of 17 Pittsburgh police officers, two sergeants and one lieutenant will operate out of the Wood Street location, police...
Pittsburgh Planning Commission delays vote on controversial plan to help homeless
Pittsburgh’s Planning Commission on Tuesday delayed its vote on a controversial zoning change meant to address homelessness, even as commissioners and other officials agreed it’s an urgent issue in need of immediate attention. The measure — sponsored by City Council members Anthony Coghill, D-Beechview, and Deb Gross, D-Highland Park —...
