Julia Felton stories, Page 52

A new agreement between the Pittsburgh Land Bank and the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority aims to streamline the process of redeveloping blighted properties with liens against them. A memorandum of understanding announced this week by the Urban Redevelopment Authority outlines a process for clearing outstanding PWSA liens against any...

Martell Covington, a legislative aide to state Sen. Jay Costa, D-Forest Hills, announced Wednesday that he will run for a seat in the state House. Covington, of Homewood, is vying to fill the seat vacated by Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey. A special election on April 5 will determine who finishes...

Pittsburgh wants to come up with ways to make the city more accessible for people with disabilities. The Americans with Disabilities Act requires all government entities to create develop a self-evaluation and transition plan. The city is reevaluating its programs and services to ensure “the highest degree of accessibility and...

Philadelphia attorney George Bochetto launched his campaign for U.S. Senate on Tuesday, joining a crowded field of candidates on both sides of the aisle. “I’m running because I’m very concerned about where this country is headed, and I’m very concerned that if we don’t bring some sensible conservative core values...

Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey said he supports efforts to bring either the Republican National Convention or Democratic National Convention to the city. Pittsburgh is on a shortlist of cities being considered to host the Republican National Convention in 2024, according to a Politico.com report. Other finalists include Milwaukee, Nashville and...

Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey on Monday called for a 30-day pause on the controversial Oakland Crossings proposed zoning ordinance. Walnut Capital, the Shadyside developer known for revitalizing Bakery Square, has proposed a major transformation of a portion of Oakland. Dubbed Oakland Crossings, the 17-acre project would require a zoning amendment,...

In an effort to make vaccines more easily accessible and combat vaccine hesitancy, UPMC opened a covid-19 vaccine clinic in Pittsburgh’s Hill District. “Access to vaccinations is not there for everybody,” said Rachel Marini, an infectious disease pharmacist at UPMC. In underserved communities like the Hill District, she said, it...

Pennsylvania Speaker of the House Bryan Cutler announced Monday that a special election will be held April 5 to fill the state House seat vacated by now-Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey. Cutler is also expected to call for a special election to fill the seat vacated by Jake Wheatley, who will...

A nonprofit that facilitates organ, tissue and cornea donations for the region saw a record-breaking number of organ donors in 2021. The Center for Organ Recovery and Education announced Thursday that 2021 marked the third consecutive record-breaking year. The group — which facilitates donations across western Pennsylvania, West Virginia and...

Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey on Friday announced that he is appointing Krysia Kubiak as city solicitor. As solicitor, Kubiak will lead Pittsburgh’s law department, which includes a team of attorneys who specialize in corporate counsel, civil litigation, labor, real estate and tax, contracts and worker’s compensation. Kubiak previously served as...

Crews with Pittsburgh’s Department of Public Works were still working to clear snowy and icy roads on Friday after the first significant snowfall of the season Thursday evening. Enough city streets remained covered in snow and ice Friday morning to prompt school closures for Pittsburgh Public Schools, which moved to...

Mary Conturo said Friday she will be leaving her positions as executive director of the Sports & Exhibition Authority and Pittsburgh Stadium Authority after about two decades on the jobs. “We are enormously grateful to Mary for her 18 years of skilled leadership as the authorities’ facilities were developed,” said...

Legislation calling for a ban on most single-use plastic bags was reintroduced to Pittsburgh City Council Tuesday. The measure, originally introduced by Councilwoman Erika Strassburger in November, did not pass before the end of the 2021 legislative cycle because council members were seeking to address questions about equity, enforcement and...

State Rep. Daryl Metcalfe announced Tuesday he will not seek reelection this year. The Republican from Cranberry is in his 12th term representing a district that encompasses part of Butler County, including Adams, Clinton, Cranberry, Forward, Middlesex and Penn townships and Callery, Mars, Seven Fields and Valencia boroughs. “After family...

Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey on Tuesday announced the first appointments to his mayoral administration, naming Jake Pawlak as deputy mayor and state Rep. Jake Wheatley as chief of staff. Pawlak, who served as Gainey’s transition director, will be appointed as the director of the Office of Management and Budget. He...

Pittsburgh City Council members Theresa Kail-Smith, R. Daniel Lavelle, Erika Strassburger and Anthony Coghill were sworn in Monday after winning reelection in November. Coghill handily defeated Green Party challenger Connor Mulvaney to earn his second term. Kail-Smith, Lavelle and Strassburger ran unopposed. Council members unanimously voted to elect Kail-Smith to...

Pittsburgh’s Office of Community Health and Safety has hired three community social workers to aid in efforts to address issues surrounding health, safety and community access to care. These first three community social workers will be focused on crisis co-response, meaning they will assist other first responders in answering emergency...

When outgoing Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto’s political career began about three decades ago, the city was far different from the one he said he’s leaving Mayor-elect Ed Gainey. Peduto said he started out working in “a city that was in a depression, a city that had been left for dead...

Six greenways, spanning more than 300 acres, will now become parks, after city council on Tuesday approved a measure to add the green spaces to Pittsburgh’s park system. The new park space will be created in neighborhoods including Allentown, Beechview, Brookline, Glen Hazel, Greenfield, Hazelwood, the Hill District, Mount Washington,...

City officials on Thursday unveiled a new electric vehicle fleet charging depot at Pittsburgh’s Second Avenue Parking Plaza and announced plans to buy new electric recycling trucks. The charging station, housed in the Pittsburgh Parking Authority’s lot in the city’s Bluff neighborhood, is the largest in Western Pennsylvania, according to...

A pilot program will enable Pittsburgh firefighters to distribute food to residents in need who often call 911 for non-emergency health and safety concerns. The program — a collaboration between Mayor Bill Peduto’s office, the Pittsburgh Bureau of Fire, the Office of Community Health and Safety and the Greater Pittsburgh...

Three more senior administration officials on Thursday announced they would be leaving Pittsburgh government jobs ahead of Mayor-elect Ed Gainey taking office next week. Lindsay Powell, who serves as Mayor Bill Peduto’s assistant chief of staff and policy director, began working for the city in 2017 as a policy analyst....