Julia Burdelski stories, Page 11

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-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...

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...

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...

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...

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 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...

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...

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,...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

One man was killed and another injured in a crash Tuesday night in Menallen Township, Fayette County. A 65-year-old man was killed in the crash around 10 p.m. on Route 51, Fayette County Coroner Bob Baker said. The coroner has not yet released the victim’s identity until next of kin...

The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board announced Tuesday it will open a limited-release lottery giving state residents and licensees a chance to purchase 1,252 bottles of rare whiskeys. People can opt in to one or more lotteries through the Limited-Release Lottery website until 5 p.m. Friday. The lottery features nine products...

Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Tuesday, Aug. 20: Fire marshal investigating South Park blaze The Allegheny County Fire Marshal is investigating what caused a fire to break out Monday evening in a commercial building in South Park. The blaze was reported along Brownsville Road...

Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Monday, Aug. 19: Man hospitalized following East Allegheny shooting A man was taken to the hospital after a shooting Sunday in Pittsburgh’s East Allegheny neighborhood. Police were dispatched around 4:30 p.m. to the intersection of Nash Street and Virgin...

Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato on Wednesday nominated John Fournier — the deputy city administrator for Ann Arbor, Mich. — to serve as county manager. Fournier previously spent a decade living in Pittsburgh and worked as deputy chief of staff for former Mayor Bill Peduto. Allegheny County Council must approve...

A Pittsburgh food vendor has paid workers $15,000 in back wages and damages for refusing to pay workers the mandated overtime rate and threatening employees, the U.S. Department of Labor said Monday. Simon’s Food Concessions, located in Pittsburgh’s Brookline neighborhood, denied time-and-a-half wages to six employees for work beyond the...

After a June fire displaced about 175 homeless people staying at Second Avenue Commons in Downtown Pittsburgh, officials are hopeful the five-story shelter will reopen in time for winter. The first three floors are on track to restart services in November, when winter shelters typically open to provide added indoor...