Ryan Deto stories, Page 40
Bloomfield Starbucks becomes 1st unionized location in Pennsylvania
Workers at the Starbucks on Liberty Avenue in Pittsburgh’s Bloomfield neighborhood unanimously voted to form a union Wednesday. The Bloomfield store was the first of the chain’s locations in the Pittsburgh region to file to unionize — and the first in the state to vote in favor of unionizing. Workers...
2 people carjacked in Hill District, police say — with 1 person still inside
Pittsburgh police said two people were carjacked early Wednesday in the city’s Hill District neighborhood. Police said they were alerted at 1:15 a.m. about the incident on the 2900 block of Bedford Avenue. A woman in the car was able to exit the vehicle before the three suspects drove off,...
2-alarm fire damages house in Ross
Flames engulfed a home early Wednesday morning in the 600 block of Bascom Avenue in Ross. The two-alarm fire started just after 2 a.m., and firefighters used a ladder truck and cut holes in the roof to extinguish the flames, according to Tribune-Review news partner WPXI. No injuries were reported,...
Crash closes section of East Carson in Pittsburgh’s South Side
Pittsburgh police responded to a vehicle crash early Wednesday morning in Pittsburgh’s South Side neighborhood. The crash resulted in a section of East Carson Street being closed from 33rd Street to Becks Run Road. The inbound lanes of East Carson — also known as Route 837 — were reopened to...
Bill proposal would allow medical marijuana edibles in Pa. dispensaries
Pennsylvania medical cannabis patients currently have access to tinctures, pills, oils, topicals, and dry leaf to vaporize. A new bill will soon be introduced by state Sen. Dan Laughlin, R-Erie, to possibly expand those options and allow patients to purchase medical cannabis edibles. Launglin said that 25 other states already...
Forward Township votes to disband local police department
At their monthly meeting Monday, supervisors in Forward Township voted unanimously to disband their police department. The Mon Valley municipality of about 3,000 people had four full-time offices and three part-time officers. The department was disbanded as of midnight Tuesday. According to a Facebook post from the Forward Township police...
Car crashes, catches fire on Liberty Bridge
A car crashed and caught fire early Tuesday morning on the Liberty Bridge, according to Pittsburgh police. According to a Pittsburgh Public Safety report, the vehicle was headed inbound at a high rate of speed when it crashed just outside of the tunnel into a guardrail and caught fire. Police...
Proposed Lawrenceville food hall wins zoning appeal, hopes to open in 2023
Lawrence Hall, a proposed food hall on Butler Street in Lawrenceville, has been held up for about three years, unable to clear challenges to a zoning variance sought by the owners. The main issue was the hall was four off-street parking spaces short of regulations, and despite mitigation efforts —...
Kenyatta criticizes Fetterman over 2013 Black jogger incident in virtual Senate forum
State representative and U.S. Senate candidate Malcolm Kenyatta called out challenger Lt. Gov. John Fetterman this past weekend over a 2013 incident in which Fetterman, shotgun in hand, confronted a Black jogger he suspected of being involved in nearby gunfire. Kenyatta’s criticism occurred during a virtual forum held by statewide...
Goose flies into motorcyclist’s head, killing rider in Pa. crash, police say
Police in Bucks County said a deadly crash was caused by a goose flying into the head of a motorcyclist on Friday morning. According to a report by police, a motorcyclist was riding a 2013 Harley-Davidson in the Southeastern Pennsylvania county about 9:55 a.m. Friday when a goose flew out...
2 men shot, 1 fatally, on Bedford Avenue in Hill District
Pittsburgh police said two men were shot, one fatally, in the city’s Hill District late Sunday. At about 10:10 p.m. Sunday, police responded to multiple Shotspotter alerts and 911 calls for gunshots in the 2400 block of Bedford Avenue. When Zone 2 officers arrived on the scene, they said they...
Republican state House candidate Tony Moreno kicked off primary ballot in 20th District
Former Pittsburgh mayoral candidate Tony Moreno is on his third attempt at elected office in less than a year, and his path just got more difficult. Moreno, a former Pittsburgh police officer who ran unsuccessfully for mayor as a Democrat and then as a Republican in 2021, has now been...
Pittsburgh firm LUMA acquired by San Francisco tech company
The Pittsburgh-based tech firm LUMA was acquired last week by Mural, a fast-growing company based in San Francisco that has been deemed a unicorn because the privately held startup is valued at more than $1 billion. LUMA created the LUMA System, a collection of design methods that provides a common...
University of Pittsburgh Chancellor Patrick Gallagher to step down
After nine years of leading the University of Pittsburgh, Patrick Gallagher announced Thursday that he intends to step down as chancellor in the summer of 2023. “Serving as chancellor at one of the greatest public research universities in the nation is deeply fulfilling and rewarding,” wrote Gallagher in a message...
Discrimination lawsuit and investigation dropped against Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
After former Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reporter Alexis Johnson said she was removed from covering Black Lives Matter protests in 2020, she filed a discrimination lawsuit claiming her former employer violated her civil rights. Now, she is dropping the case. Johnson, who is Black, requested to drop her lawsuit in March. On...
Benham, Kinkead criticize Allegheny Democratic committee after failing to win endorsements
The Allegheny County Democratic Committee traditionally endorsed incumbents seeking reelection when it gathered for its annual spring endorsement meeting. But the committee has veered from that norm in recent years, starting in 2020 when the committee did not endorse state Rep. Summer Lee, D-Swissvale, an outspoken progressive lawmaker who had...
Deterioration under Pittsburgh’s Charles Anderson Bridge raises concerns; city says bridge already in rehab process
Squirrel Hill resident William Markley lives just a few blocks away from the site of the Fern Hollow Bridge collapse in Pittsburgh. He is understandably concerned about the state of the region’s bridges. During his daily commute to his case manager’s job at a recovery clinic in the North Side,...
Conor Lamb votes for federal marijuana decriminalization, after opposing it in 2020
U.S. Rep. Conor Lamb, D-Mt. Lebanon, voted Friday to support a bill that would decriminalize marijuana on the federal level and allow for some marijuana-related convictions to be expunged. It’s a change of course for Lamb, who in 2020 was one of only four House Democrats to vote against the...
Emsworth Locks and Dams receive $77M to improve cargo ship travel
The White House has announced $77 million in federal infrastructure funding for upgrades to the Emsworth Locks and Dams on the Upper Ohio River in Allegheny County. The funding will go to constructing new lock chambers that “will allow large cargo ships to reliably and efficiently pass through the upper...
Senate candidate Oz talks fracking support and election fraud at Canonsburg campaign event
Republican Senate candidate Dr. Mehmet Oz spoke at a campaign event in Canonsburg on Wednesday evening, highlighting his energy policies and taking questions about the legitimacy of the 2020 election. Oz, the surgeon and former host of the Dr. Oz television show, held a panel discussion with prominent campaign supporters...
Bitter Ends restaurant in Bloomfield to close
After nearly five years of serving diners breakfast, coffee, fresh-baked bread, and inventive brunch and take-out items, Bitter Ends will close in April. The popular spot took over the former Bloomfield Sandwich Shop location in 2017, and quickly built a passionate fan base. Bitter Ends focused on hearth-baked bread and...
Union says Urban Pathways charter school teachers being cut over organization efforts
Nearly three dozen teachers at Urban Pathways K-5 charter school in Downtown Pittsburgh have filed to unionize with the American Federation of Teachers labor union. According to AFT Pennsylvania, administrators at Urban Pathways K-5 doled out non-renewal contracts to some staff and fired one employee in response to March 22...
Democratic congressional candidate Chris Deluzio nabs labor endorsements in 17th District
Democratic congressional candidate Chris Deluzio said he has solidified labor support with several key endorsements in Pennsylvania’s 17th District race. Last week, Deluzio nabbed the endorsement of Allegheny-Fayette Central Labor Council, the largest labor coalition in the region with 135 unions and 100,000 workers. On Friday, three more local labor...
Steelers, Kraft Heinz in talks over naming rights for North Shore stadium
The Pittsburgh Steelers are in talks with Kraft Heinz Co. over possibly extending the longstanding naming rights for the team’s North Shore stadium. The stadium has been named Heinz Field since it opened 21 years ago, the result of a 20-year, $57 million naming rights deal that was extended by...
Landside terminal construction underway at Pittsburgh International Airport
Cranes and construction crews are making headway at Pittsburgh International Airport, as work building a new landside terminal is well underway. Airport officials said progress for the $1.3 billion project is on schedule and the new, upgraded terminal is on track to open by 2025. In fact, Allegheny County Airport...
