Julia Burdelski stories, Page 2
O’Connor unveils Pittsburgh permitting system reforms
Pittsburgh Mayor Corey O’Connor on Monday announced permitting reforms to make it quicker and easier to build in the city, following through on a campaign promise to slash red tape for new development. “My goal as mayor is to see growth across Pittsburgh and to have a transparent and efficient...
Pittsburgh leaders bullish on plans for Downtown leading up to, after 2026 NFL Draft
Pittsburgh officials on Thursday painted a bright picture of a Downtown in the midst of revitalization efforts that will allow the city to shine during the 2026 NFL Draft next month. They vowed also to build on efforts to make the Golden Triangle safe, clean and vibrant long after the...
Pittsburgh set to roll out red light cameras this summer
Pittsburgh this summer will roll out automated red light cameras in an effort to curb dangerous driving at intersections throughout the city. City officials in 2024 approved legislation paving the way for such technology to be implemented. It’s part of a broader effort to reduce traffic fatalities and make Pittsburgh’s...
As 2026 NFL Draft nears, secrecy dominates vendor selection
Davis Ellis hoped to head to Downtown Pittsburgh and cook soul food for the throngs of football fans expected to jam the city for the 2026 NFL Draft. He won’t get the chance. The NFL denied his vendor application, and the owner of the ChefnaBox food truck said Wednesday he...
Event organizer feuds with Pittsburgh over 2026 NFL Draft permit
An event organizer with a history of clashing with Pittsburgh officials is once again at odds with the city, accusing it of slow-walking his permit application to host 100 Black vendors Downtown for the NFL 2026 Draft. William “B” Marshall is alleging the city, a Downtown nonprofit and the NFL...
Oliver Bath House, Pittsburgh’s only indoor public pool, to reopen this weekend
Oliver Bath House, Pittsburgh’s only indoor public pool, is scheduled to reopen this weekend after a yearslong closure for renovations. Located in the city’s South Side neighborhood, the two-story structure is more than 100 years old. “It means a lot to South Side, but it’s not just South Side,” Councilman...
How many new housing units are built in Pittsburgh each year? A new tool will track that
Discussions about Pittsburgh’s housing stock last year led to public bickering by the city’s mayoral candidates. During a debate before the May primary, Pittsburgh Mayor Corey O’Connor slammed his predecessor over the topic. Did Ed Gainey deliver 1,600 units of affordable housing as he boasted? Or, as O’Connor put it,...
Bill to bar Allegheny County cooperation with ICE advances to council vote
Allegheny County Council’s public safety committee on Monday voted to move ahead with a bill that would prohibit county employees from cooperating with U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement. The 4-3 vote followed about an hour of debate among council members about whether to amend the bill, whether existing policies already...
Squirrel Hill’s Lunar New Year parade canceled amid ICE concerns
An annual Lunar New Year parade in Pittsburgh’s Squirrel Hill neighborhood was canceled this year amid concerns that federal immigration enforcement might target Asian attendees. “The climate this year, with everything going on, just made it challenging to put on a Lunar New Year,” Maria Cohen, executive director of the...
Pittsburgh Regional Transit CEO Katharine Kelleman gets $55K bonus
Pittsburgh Regional Transit CEO Katharine Kelleman is getting a $55,000 bonus, but exactly how the extra pay bump was determined is unclear. The transit agency’s board on Friday unanimously approved the performance bonus with no discussion. Under the terms of Kelleman’s contract, the board could’ve given her up to $62,400....
Fort Pitt Museum unveils ‘Pittsburgh’s Revolution’ exhibit ahead of America’s 250th anniversary
A new exhibition exploring Western Pennsylvania’s role in the Revolutionary War was unveiled Sunday at the Fort Pitt Museum. The museum, part of the Senator John Heinz History Center’s family of museums, had been closed since the start of the year as the new display was prepared. “Pittsburgh’s Revolution” uses...
Pittsburgh’s housing authority sets aside $5M to protect low-income tenants in Homewood building
The Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh on Thursday earmarked $5 million that could be used to acquire a Homewood apartment building if the city needs to seize it to protect tenants. The 100-unit Homewood House on Frankstown Avenue in Homewood is one of several properties throughout the region...
Cutting-edge BioInterphase moves into Troy Hill’s historic firehouse
When Noah Snyder walks into his new office and laboratory space at a historic firehouse in Pittsburgh’s Troy Hill neighborhood, he’s met with a “whimsical” mix of old and new. A fireman’s pole descends from a circular hole — now patched over with plywood — in the engraved black ceiling,...
‘Dangerous trend’: Pittsburgh ended 2025 with $8.6M budget deficit
Pittsburgh officials spent much of 2025 arguing about how grim the city’s financial situation was. Year-end figures released by the Office of Management and Budget this week revealed the city ended 2025 with an $8.6 million operating deficit. “The financial situation was much more dire than I think we even...
Pittsburgh approves new Parks & Recreation head
Pittsburgh City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved Eric Sloan’s nomination to head the Department of Parks and Recreation. Sloan, of Highland Park, has worked in the private sector and led Pittsburgh Dynamo Youth Soccer. His resume includes coaching youth baseball and serving as a founding board member of Bridges FC,...
Pittsburgh City Council bans waste transfer stations within 500 feet of homes, schools, parks
Residents in Pittsburgh’s Hazelwood neighborhood won’t be living alongside a waste transfer station after Pittsburgh City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved legislation keeping such facilities away from homes. Councilwoman Barb Warwick, D-Greenfield, sponsored a zoning bill that prohibits waste transfer stations — where garbage trucks dump trash that eventually will...
Home for sex offenders on Pittsburgh’s South Side prompts uproar
About a dozen sex offenders living in a recovery house in Pittsburgh’s South Side Slopes will be moving out amid community uproar, according to the city councilman who represents the neighborhood. The three-quarter house on Salisbury Street spurred concerns among neighbors who received notifications that sex offenders were moving in,...
Summer Lee champions congressional medal for Pittsburgh’s pioneering Freedom House Ambulance Service
John Moon and his colleagues at Freedom House Ambulance Service played a pivotal — if sometimes forgotten — role in the creation of modern emergency medicine. Decades after they formed the nation’s first professional paramedic unit, they are now starting to receive recognition for their trailblazing work, with U.S. Rep....
Pittsburgh GOP urges tracking of how city spends $12M from UPMC, PNC
The City of Pittsburgh Republican Committee is calling for accountability and transparency from city officials who will be spending millions of dollars gifted by UPMC and the PNC Foundation. In a letter to City Controller Rachael Heisler, committee chair Todd McCollum urged called for a “clear, itemized ledger” showing how...
Innamorato launches Main Streets Allegheny to support county’s business districts
Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato on Thursday announced a $4 million initiative to support main streets, providing funding for public space improvements, small business support and local events. The Main Streets Allegheny program will distribute grants this year to municipalities, community organizations and small businesses. “Main streets are the heart...
‘Unconscionable’: At Ash Wednesday vigil in Pittsburgh, Christians decry ICE tactics, pray for immigrants
Michael Airgood felt compelled Wednesday to join dozens of fellow Christians who prayed for peace and called for humane treatment of immigrants during a vigil in Downtown Pittsburgh. “I’m here because I think what our government is doing to immigrants and people of color is unconscionable,” said Airgood, a minister...
Construction to begin on Oakland’s Panther Hollow Bridge
Construction is set to begin on the Panther Hollow Bridge, which has been closed since inspectors discovered corrosion on the span’s steel trusses during an inspection in fall 2024. Pittsburgh on Wednesday said repairs on the 640-foot-long bridge — which spans Panther Hollow near Anderson Playground — will start within...
Pittsburgh City Council approves new solicitor, planning director
Pittsburgh officially has a new solicitor and planning director. City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved Mayor Corey O’Connor’s picks to lead the Law Department and the Department of City Planning. Lisa Zeidner Marcus is the city’s top lawyer and Ivette Mongalo-Winston oversees planning. Both had been serving in their roles...
Pittsburgh City Council calls on Harrisburg to legalize marijuana
Pittsburgh City Council members on Tuesday called on Gov. Josh Shapiro and lawmakers in Harrisburg to legalize cannabis. Councilwoman Barb Warwick, D-Greenfield, sponsored a will of council that urged Pennsylvania officials to pass adult-use cannabis legalization during this year’s legislative session. Warwick’s statement said such a measure is a “necessary...
O’Connor pitches vision of economic growth to Pittsburgh Technology Council
Pittsburgh Mayor Corey O’Connor on Tuesday outlined a vision of economic growth before a consortium of technology companies, reiterating a mantra he has focused on since his mayoral campaign. “If we want to grow Pittsburgh, we have to do it, and we have to do it fast,” O’Connor told roughly...
