Pittsburgh category, Page 406
How do you cut the red tape out of government? Use common sense, panelists sayVideo
Before she joined the faculty at the University of Pittsburgh, Jennifer Brick Murtazashvili worked in various federal government positions. While she had hoped the work she was tasked with would make a difference, it didn’t always appear that way. Murtazashvili called her work with the U.S. Agency for International Development...
Truck drivers claim racial discrimination in suit against Giant Eagle’s distribution center
A federal race discrimination lawsuit filed Thursday against Giant Eagle’s OK Grocery Company contends that Black truck drivers were subjected to racial epithets and harassment by their white counterparts with no repercussions. The plaintiffs, Ulysses Robinson, Anthony Hill, Davone Grayson and Showayne Samuels, were all terminated by the company between...
Pittsburgh Bishop Zubik issues letter as pundits call Catholic vote ‘crucial’ to presidential race
Pittsburgh Catholic Bishop David A. Zubik won’t endorse either presidential candidate. By federal law, he isn’t allowed to in his official capacity. Church law also bans clergy from making endorsements. But Zubik, the spiritual leader of more than 600,000 Catholics in Allegheny, Beaver, Butler, Greene, Lawrence and Washington counties, said...
Pittsburgh school district will review, publicize school police arrest data
Pittsburgh Public Schools is taking new measures to analyze and address school police data. The district this week approved a proposal by Superintendent Anthony Hamlet to conduct an external investigation into data pertaining to school arrests, citations and out-of-school suspensions. The data will be sorted into characteristics like gender, race...
Pittsburgh hip-hop artist Mars Jackson talks new album, social justice, ways to ‘Look Up’
Pittsburgh hip-hop artist Mars Jackson has a knack for surprising people. He performed in art galleries, like Penn Avenue’s Most Wanted Fine Art, when clubs weren’t his style. Threads of soul, jazz and gospel are prominently displayed in his melodic brand of hip-hop music. He openly discusses the benefits of...
Hundreds march through Downtown Pittsburgh in wake of Louisville police decisionVideo
Hundreds of demonstrators marched through Downtown Pittsburgh on Wednesday night in honor of Breonna Taylor, to protest the lack of harsh charges against the Louisville officers involved in her killing and to amplify the voices of Black women. Organizers told the crowd, which formed at Freedom Corner in the Hill...
Pittsburgh police: 1 man dead, 2 others injured in Homewood shooting
A man is dead and two others injured Wednesday night in a shooting incident in Pittsburgh’s Homewood neighborhood. The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office identified the deceased as Anthony E. Williams, 44, of Swissvale. Police responded to a ShotSpotter alert of multiple shots fired around 9:20 p.m. along the 7100...
Pittsburgh schools will join districts suing JUUL, other e-cigarrette makers
Pittsburgh Public Schools will soon join the ranks of districts suing JUUL, the e-cigarettes manufacturer. The school board voted to retain legal counsel at a meeting Wednesday. “I think that this is a wise decision to join in and file and participate,” said board member Terry Kennedy. “It costs us...
Bloomfield’s Little Italy Days rescheduled again
Bloomfield’s Little Italy Days festival has been moved to 2021. The four-day Italian festival was originally to be held in August. It was then moved to Oct. 8-11 because of the coronavirus pandemic. The event will, hopefully, go on in 2021, producer Sal Richetti said Wednesday. Dates are tentatively set...
Pittsburgh’s Columbus Day Parade canceled this year
There won’t be a Columbus Day Parade in Pittsburgh this year, the city said. A tradition in the city for decades, the parade has been held in Bloomfield nearly every year. Earlier this month organizers said it was uncertain if the parade would be held because of the coronavirus pandemic...
Woman who claims Pittsburgh police used excessive force on her up for $40K settlement
Pittsburgh City Council is poised to approve a $40,000 settlement for a Trafford woman who claims she was assaulted by officers in her own home five years ago. Deborah Trzeciak, 60, filed a civil lawsuit against the city and five individual police officers in December, alleging excessive force and failure...
Pittsburgh Art Commission recommends removal of Columbus statue from Schenley Park
The Pittsburgh Art Commission unanimously recommended removal of the statue of Christopher Columbus that has been in Schenley Park for over 60 years. The recommendation, made during a Wednesday meeting of the commission, puts the issue before Mayor Bill Peduto, who will consider the issue and make a decision. The...
Pitt dean says U.S. is in a great racial crisis
If Larry E. Davis had been able to give the lecture he gave Tuesday evening back when it was originally scheduled last spring, it might not have had the same effect. His lecture “Will Race Always Matter?” was sponsored by the Dick Thornburgh Forum for Law and Public Policy at...
Car crashes into apartment in Pittsburgh’s Carrick neighborhood
A car crashed into the front of an apartment building in Pittsburgh’s Carrick neighborhood early Wednesday, according to Tribune-Review news partner WPXI-TV. It happened on Brownsville Road, near the corner of East Cherryhill Street, around 1 a.m. The car slammed into the building’s front door, knocking out numerous bricks around...
40 years ago, reggae legend Bob Marley jammed Pittsburgh in his final concertVideo
When David Meerman Scott snuck down from the Stanley Theatre balcony to snap photos of Bob Marley’s performance 40 years ago, he was just happy to be closer to the music. “I was never rich or connected enough to have really great seats at a show,” said Scott, who at...
Cops: Search in Banksville Park called off as abduction reports prove false
Authorities called off a search in Pittsburgh’s Banksville neighborhood early Wednesday morning after determining that a witness’s report of a child abduction was incorrect, according to the city Department of Public Safety. Police say a girl who was at Banksville Park with her family said she saw a man take...
Shaler man pleads guilty to starting May riot in Pittsburgh during peaceful protest
A Shaler man pleaded guilty in federal court Tuesday to initiating the destruction of a Pittsburgh police car during a May protest over the death of George Floyd outside PPG Paints Arena. Brian Bartels, 20, pleaded guilty to a charge of obstruction of law enforcement during civil disorder before U.S....
U.S. officials meet at CMU to discuss artificial intelligence
As part of his two-day visit to the Pittsburgh region this week, U.S. Secretary of Energy Dan Brouillette participated in a discussion at Carnegie Mellon University, along with U.S. Chief Technology Officer Michael Kratsios. The “fireside chat,” moderated by CMU’s Vice President of Research Michael McQuade and livestreamed via Brouillette’s...
U.S. Energy Secretary promotes energy versatility in Pittsburgh visit
U.S. Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette visited the Pittsburgh region this week, stopping at a multibillion-dollar ethane cracker plant being built in Beaver County, Carnegie Mellon University and the United Association Local 449 Steamfitters headquarters in Pittsburgh. The visit, according to Brouillette’s staff, was to highlight the importance of Appalachian natural...
Square Café completes relocation to East Liberty
The Square Café plans to open Oct. 1 at its new East Liberty location. “It feels so good to have a date,” owner Sherree Goldstein said. “I am super excited. We’ve been doing some staff training, and we will be ready to go. East Liberty has been so welcoming and...
Pittsburgh, Allegheny County officials talk about household lead issues with experts
Children exposed to lead have lower IQs and are more likely to develop attention deficit disorders, and adults who are exposed are at greater risk for heart disease. That’s what a leading researcher of the problem told Pittsburgh City Council members Tuesday. While the effects of exposure to lead have...
Judge denies Gov. Wolf’s attempt to stop covid restriction ruling
A federal judge has denied a request from Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf to stay his Sept. 14 ruling that found the state’s pandemic restrictions unconstitutional, possibly paving the way for large gatherings without crowd-size limits pending the outcome of an appeal. In Tuesday’s order rejecting Wolf’s request to temporarily halt...
South Side’s Rex Theater closing permanently
Pittsburgh’s Rex Theater, a South Side concert venue, will close permanently, theater management announced Tuesday on social media. “Due to the ongoing hardship and uncertain future caused by the covid-19 pandemic, The Rex Theater will be closing our doors after over a decade of live music and events,” they wrote on...
Mayor Peduto to sign legislation restricting facial recognition in Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto plans to sign legislation passed Tuesday by city council that restricts the use of facial recognition software and predictive policing technology by police, mayoral spokesman Tim McNulty said. The legislation passed with no opposition. Councilman Anthony Coghill abstained. Councilman Ricky Burgess voted in favor of the...
Cops: Vandals shot paintball guns at Pittsburgh Black Lives Matter mural
Pittsburgh police are looking for two men suspected of using paintball guns to vandalize a Black Lives Matter mural Downtown Saturday. The police department shared photos of the men walking near the mural along the Allegheny River, near Point State Park. One can be seen carrying a paintball gun in...
