Pittsburgh and Allegheny County stories of the year in 2021

The covid-19 pandemic continued to dominate daily news cycles this year in Western Pennsylvania and beyond.

But many other news events occurred in Pittsburgh and Allegheny County in 2021 — including the election of Pittsburgh’s first Black mayor and the arrests of dozens of Western Pennsylvanians after the riot at the U.S. Capitol.

Here are some of the local stories of note covered by the Tribune-Review in Pittsburgh and Allegheny County from the past year.

Ed Gainey makes history as Pittsburgh’s first Black mayor

State Rep. Ed Gainey, 51, of Lincoln-Lemington, won a landslide victory to become Pittsburgh’s first Black mayor.

After defeating incumbent Mayor Bill Peduto in the May primary, he handily defeated former police officer Tony Moreno in the general election. He earned more than 70% of the votes in the general election.

Campaigning on promises to promote diversity, reform the police department and create more affordable housing, Gainey said he would make Pittsburgh “a city for all.”

Gainey’s mayoral win was seen as a hopeful sign for many Black Pittsburgh residents.

He will be inaugurated Jan. 3 in a virtual ceremony.

District Attorney Stephen Zappala denies plea deals to Black lawyer who called office 'systematically racist'

Longtime Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zappala sparked controversy after the Tribune-Review reported on a May email he sent to prosecutors instructing them to offer no plea deals to a Black lawyer who called his office “systematically racist.”

Several public officials and criminal justice advocate called on Zappala to resign after barring plea deals to well-known attorney Milton Raiford and his clients. Raiford said in court that the system was racist and his Black clients got worse plea deals than their white counterparts.

Zappala initially tried to defend the policy, saying it was enacted “to ensure that this office makes consistent, evidence-based decisions, and avoids false claims of racism.” However, he rescinded the policy amid public backlash.

Western Pennsylvanians arrested for their roles in Capitol riot

After a mob of rioters on Jan. 6 stormed the U.S. Capitol in an effort to halt the certification of a presidential election they claimed was fraudulent, authorities began arresting people for their roles in the chaos.

More than 700 people have been charged in connection with the incident and nearly 40 of them were Pennsylvanians.

Among them was Robert Morss, 28, a Shaler substitute teacher. A judge described Morss as an instigator in the riot. According to the criminal complaint against him, Morss was seen in videos trying to breach police lines, trying to grab an officer’s baton and trying to take an officer’s helmet visor, according to a criminal complaint. He organized a shield wall with other rioters in a violent attack on officers inside the Lower West Tunnel of the Capitol.

Other rioters from Pennsylvania are accused of using a pipe like a battering ram to break a window in the Capitol, livestreaming themselves inside the Capitol and reading documents from a desk on the U.S. Senate floor.

The Rolling Stones play for Heinz Field in what may be their last tour stop in Pittsburgh

The Rolling Stones performed for a crowd of over 50,000 fans at Heinz Field in October. The show may have been their last tour stop in the city.

Part of the “No Filter Tour,” the show had originally been slated for June 2020, but as postponed because of the pandemic. Not even the death of longtime drummer Charlie Watts, just six weeks before the show, would put the concert on pause a second time.

Singer Mick Jagger dedicated the show to Watts.

Homeless Black man dies after police use taser on him

Jim Rogers, a 54-year-old Black man, took a bicycle from a yard in Bloomfield before returning it. When police arrived, they used a taser on him multiple times.

He died the following day at a hospital.

An ongoing investigation has revealed that Rogers asked for help at least 13 times as he sat in the back of a police car after Officer Keith Edmonds stunned him with a taser eight times. Medics on the scene did not tend to him, and he became unresponsive on the way to the hospital.

Months after the October incident, his family is calling for accountability from local officials. Pittsburgh police have begun the disciplinary process for nine people involved in the incident, though a spokeswoman for the family said they are still calling for criminal charges.

Allegheny County Jail bans solitary confinement, chemical weapons, other measures

Allegheny County voters in a ballot referendum put an end to solitary confinement, chemical weapons and the restraint chair at Allegheny County Jail. The measure passed with nearly 70% voting in favor of banning the practices.

Pittsburgh voters also voted to prohibit no-knock warrants in the city.

Local activists praised the measure — which allows solitary confinement only for short-term periods in emergency settings or if the warden issues a facility-wide lockdown. It also prohibits the use of chemical weapons, leg shackles and the restraint chair.

Jail Warden Orlando Harper subsequently tried to hire a controversial company to conduct militaristic training for jail guards. Harper proposed a more than $300,000 contract with Corrections Special Applications Unit, an organization run by Joseph Garcia, who was scrutinized by the Jail Oversight Board.

The board ultimately voted to end the contract with the controversial company.

Amazon wins lengthy fight to build distribution center in Churchill

After a year of debate, Churchill Borough Council approved plans for an Amazon distribution center at the former site of the George Westinghouse Research Park. The final decision came in a 5-2 vote.

A vocal group of residents fought the proposal for months, hosting protests and speaking out against the proposed development at planning commission and borough council meetings. They voiced concerns that the development could lead to increased air pollution, as well as light and noise pollution. They objected to the potential influx of traffic as well as impacts on stormwater.

Advocates for the development pointed out that it could bring over 1,000 full-time jobs with benefits, plus tax revenue, which would include between $600,000 and $660,000 annually to Churchill and between $2.3 million and $2.5 million for Woodland Hills School District.

Pittsburgh Public Schools Superintendent Anthony Hamlet resigns amid Ethics Act controversy

Pittsburgh Public Schools Superintendent Anthony Hamlet resigned after the Pennsylvania Ethics Commission found he violated the state’s Ethics Act.

His resignation came after the commission determined he violated the Ethics Act with regard to travel expenses, accepting cash for speeches and failing to make required disclosures of financial interests between 2016 and 2018.

The commission ordered Hamlet to pay $5,000 — $3,250 to the district for use in the Pittsburgh Promise program and $1,750 to the ethics commission — and forfeit 14 days of vacation time.

Hamlet will receive a severance package of $399,687 in accordance with his contract and state law, district solicitor Ira Weiss said.

Penguins, FNB break ground on FNB Financial Center at former Civic Arena site

The new FNB Financial Center, set to anchor a new development at the former site of the Civic Arena, was celebrated at a groundbreaking ceremony in Pittsburgh’s Lower Hill District in September.

Officials say the development will transform the neighborhood that was razed six decades before to make way for the former Civic Arena.

The $220 million, 26-story FNB tower comes after officials have spent more than a decade trying to navigate plans for the site.

This was the second groundbreaking at the location, after U.S. Steel had originally planned to be the site’s anchor tenant. Their plans changed during a market downturn in 2015.

FNB announced plans to utilize the site in late 2019.

Wild animals draw attention in Pittsburgh

A massive snake spotted in Frick Park sent Animal Care and Control Officers looking for a reptile found in a tree at Frick Park in the spring.

Despite initial concerns it may have been a non-native species, experts identified the large snake as a black rat snake, which is native to the area. The species is nonvenomous and can grow up to seven feet long.

In December, an even larger wild animal was trapped in the city — a 260-pound black bear discovered in the Lower Hill District.

The bear had been living in a wooded area near Bigelow Boulevard, raiding nearby dumpsters.

Officials trapped the bear — baiting a 10-foot-long steel trap with meat and doughnuts — and released the animal in Somerset County.

Covid-19 persists, despite vaccines

Many felt optimistic about the pandemic at the start of the new year, as vaccines became available for all adults. Vaccines were later approved for younger children.

But the vaccine did not herald the end of the pandemic as many had hoped. Instead, new variants — including delta and now omicron — sparked new surges in the virus, again threatening to overwhelm hospitals.

Nonetheless, students returned to school — though they had to navigate hotly-debated mask mandates, switches to temporary remote learning and shortages of teachers, substitutes and bus drivers.

In response to continuously climbing covid-19 cases, the city of Pittsburgh said it would require all of its employees to be fully vaccinated against the virus. Pittsburgh then paused the mandate as it began negotiating with various unions.

Officials enacted a vaccine mandate for most Allegheny County employees.