Julia Burdelski stories, Page 22
Pittsburgh council rejects proposal for animal shelter study
Pittsburgh City Council rejected a proposal on Tuesday for a feasibility study on creating a city-run animal shelter In an unusually divisive move, council members split five to four on a final vote on legislation that would’ve paid nearly $50,000 to Arlington, Texas-based Shelter Planners of America to determine whether...
Pittsburgh council approves automated red light cameras
Pittsburgh City Council on Tuesday unanimously authorized the use of automated red light enforcement, technology touted by officials and activists as a way to make the city’s streets safer. Council’s vote allows the city to install cameras at high-risk intersections to ticket drivers who run red lights. The technology will...
Former district judge accused of DUI
Here are some of the latest news items for Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024: Former district judge accused of DUI A former district judge who resigned from the position earlier this year after allegations of misconduct with teenage boys is now facing DUI charges. Online court records show Anthony Saveikis, 57,...
Pilot program in Pittsburgh area boosts survival odds for cardiac arrest patients
Mary Fischer didn’t know she had heart problems until she collapsed one day in early June. Fischer, 51, was in her home in Pittsburgh’s West End, slicing pepperoni in preparation for a pizza night with her boyfriend on June 11. While she was trying to plug in her pizza oven,...
Gainey pitches major affordable housing reforms, draws councilman’s ire
Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey on Thursday unveiled sweeping reforms to boost the city’s supply of affordable housing, seen as a key strategy to combating homelessness. The reforms, which involve changing the city’s zoning code, would force new housing developments or those undergoing major renovations anywhere in the city to set...
‘Not acceptable’: Audit finds Allegheny County homeless stuck on waiting lists while beds sat empty
Hundreds of homeless people throughout Allegheny County were placed on waiting lists for transitional housing last year while dozens of housing units sat empty, according to an audit from county Controller Corey O’Connor. O’Connor’s audit — which examined how the county’s Department of Human Services spent state money on a...
Pittsburgh OKs expanding legal aid for low-income renters fighting eviction
Pittsburgh renters fighting eviction could soon have increased access to free legal aid. City Council on Wednesday voted to dedicate up to $2 million to connect low-income renters facing eviction with lawyers who can help them navigate the legal process. The money also could fund mediation between tenants and landlords...
New council bill could set stage for tiny houses to shelter Pittsburgh’s homeless
A zoning change that would allow for tiny houses and other temporary managed communities to provide safe shelter for Pittsburgh’s homeless population is back on the table. Nearly a year ago, City Council members Anthony Coghill, D-Beechview, and Deb Gross, D-Highland Park, introduced a proposal to allow such temporary communities...
Pittsburgh’s Bakery Square expansion plan passes zoning hurdle, heads to City Council
Pittsburgh-based developer Walnut Capital is one step closer to expanding its flagship Bakery Square site in the city’s East End. The commercial and residential development, which opened in 2009, now spans 20 acres in the city’s Larimer and Shadyside neighborhoods. Walnut Capital is seeking to expand office, residential and retail...
Landslide work to close Pittsburgh’s P.J. McArdle Roadway for 5 days
Pittsburgh’s P.J. McArdle Roadway is set to close for five days for landslide work. The closure of the steep road linking the Liberty Bridge to Mount Washington is scheduled to start at 5 a.m. Wednesday. Officials said the road will reopen by 7 p.m. Sunday. During the closure, a contractor...
Mayor Ed Gainey launches re-election campaign
Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey has launched a re-election campaign. The first-term mayor launched a new website announcing his bid for another four-year term. “I’m running for re-election because I know that Pittsburgh can be the safest, most welcoming, and most thriving city in America,” Gainey wrote on the site. “Over...
Pittsburgh leaders divided over proposal to limit discounted land sales
Some Pittsburgh leaders on Wednesday voiced concerns that a proposal to ban landlords from purchasing properties at a discounted rate through the city’s Side Yard Sale Program could inadvertently lead to blight. Councilwoman Deb Gross, D-Highland Park, sponsored legislation that would limit the Side Yard Sale Program — which allows...
Gainey, top budget official say Pittsburgh revenue dips mean ‘some difficult years ahead’
Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey on Thursday acknowledged the city is bracing for tight financial years ahead, but told residents there’s no reason to worry about major cuts in city services. “The sky’s not falling, but we do have some difficult years ahead,” Gainey said. Gainey and Director of the Office...
Pittsburgh mulls study on whether city should build its own animal shelter
Pittsburgh officials are looking into whether it would be more efficient for the city to open its own animal shelter instead of paying a local nonprofit for services. Currently, the city pays Humane Animal Rescue of Pittsburgh $375,000 a year to house abandoned animals, according to Emily Bourne, a public...
$2.4 million grant to help Pittsburgh install electric vehicle charging stations
The city of Pittsburgh plans to install dozens of new electric vehicle charging stations through nearly $2.4 million federal grant. Officials on Wednesday announced Pittsburgh will receive money from the U.S. Department of Transportation to bolster public access to electric vehicle charging sites throughout city parks, parking garages and curbside...
Pittsburgh council goes back to drawing board with tiny house bill
A proposal before Pittsburgh City Council to permit regulated homeless camps Downtown, complete with utilities and services and possibly tiny houses, was withdrawn Wednesday. Two council members spearheading the initiative, however, said they intend to reintroduce the idea soon. Councilwoman Deb Gross, D-Highland Park, said she and co-sponsor Anthony Coghill,...
Pa. AG probes missing funds, financial irregularities at Allegheny County police union lodge
A local Fraternal Order of Police lodge that represents most Allegheny County police departments is implementing new safeguards to ensure money is handled properly as the Pennsylvania attorney general’s office investigates missing funds. FOP Lodge 91 President Mike Slawianowski, a Leetsdale police sergeant, said he asked the state attorney general’s...
Morning Roundup: 8 students, driver injured in Fort Cherry bus crash
Here are the latest news items from this morning, Friday, Aug. 23: 8 students, driver injured in Fort Cherry bus crash Eight students and their bus driver were injured in a crash Thursday afternoon in Washington County. The students from Fort Cherry Jr./Sr. High School attend the Western Area Career...
Medical examiner identifies Penn Hills man found fatally stabbed in his home
A man was fatally stabbed Thursday inside his Penn Hills home, Allegheny County Police said. The county’s 911 center was notified at 4:20 a.m. of a stabbing in the 100 block of Pennoak Drive. First responders said they found the victim, who had been stabbed multiple times. The man was...
Morning Roundup: Pittsburgh light-rail stops set to close this weekend
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Thursday, Aug. 22: Pittsburgh light-rail stops set to close this weekend Multiple light-rail stations on the Blue Line will be closed over the next several weekends for maintenance, Pittsburgh Regional Transit announced Wednesday. The closures will allow crews to...
West Penn Hospital Nurses vote to authorize strike
On Wednesday, nurses at West Penn Hospital in Pittsburgh’s Bloomfield neighborhood voted to authorize a strike. The union nurses, represented by SEIU Healthcare PA, voted 99.3% in favor of authorizing their negotiating committee to send a strike notice if necessary. The union in a news release said it rejected contract...
Saxonburg motorcyclist killed in crash with school bus in Jefferson Township
A motorcyclist was killed after a crash with a school bus Wednesday in Jefferson Township, Butler County. Knoch School District said a bus of elementary school students, who were being driven home, collided with a motorcycle near the intersection of Victory and Dinnerbell roads. The motorcyclist, a 79-year-old man from...
Pittsburgh chalks up credit-card scandal to ‘honest mistakes’; DA’s office executes search warrant
An internal probe spurred by misuse of City of Pittsburgh-issued credit cards revealed “honest mistakes” by employees and resulted in little discipline and few policy changes, a top city official said Wednesday. The three-month investigation, released by Jake Pawlak, the city’s Director of the Office of Management and Budget, found...
Windber woman killed in Monroeville crash
A woman was killed in a crash Tuesday afternoon in Monroeville. Jamie Piper, 44, of Windber was killed in a wreck near the intersection of Interstate 376 and Route 22 just after 4 p.m., according to the Allegheny County medical examiner. Piper’s vehicle struck a tree, according to the medical...
Morning Roundup: Police make arrest after SWAT response in Pittsburgh’s Banksville neighborhood
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Wednesday, Aug. 21: Police make arrest after SWAT response in Banksville Pittsburgh police arrested a man after a SWAT team responded late Tuesday night to a domestic assault call in the city’s Banksville neighborhood. The man had barricaded himself...
