The biggest Pittsburgh, Allegheny County stories of 2023

Pittsburgh is closing the chapter on another year.

The year 2023 brought the city and Allegheny County closure on one its worst tragedies, the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting trial.

The Steel City’s main hub became the focus on dozens of stories — many tense and political, while others showed Downtown’s might as an entertainment district.

The past year also ushered in new leadership in county government, at the region’s largest university and for one of its most iconic businesses.

Here are 2023’s biggest stories in the Steel City.

Pittsburgh synagogue shooting trial

After five long years of waiting, Pittsburgh’s Jewish community finally saw its day in court this summer with the trial of Robert Bowers. Months of testimony, expert witnesses, mental health evaluations and tension followed. A jury convicted Bowers on all murder and hate crime charges for shooting and killing 11 people at the Tree of Life synagogue in Squirrel Hill in 2018.

U.S. District Judge Robert J. Colville sentenced Bowers to death on Aug 2.

“I will not pretend I can fully understand the depths of the suffering you have endured,” he said that day. Of those who died, he said, they will not be forgotten. “Indeed, may their memory be a blessing.”

They were members of three different Jewish congregations: Tree of Life-Or L’Simcha, Dor Hadash and New Light congregations. They included Rose Mallinger, 97; Bernice Simon, 84, and her husband, Sylvan Simon, 86; brothers David Rosenthal, 54, and Cecil Rosenthal, 59; Dan Stein, 71; Irving Younger, 69; Dr. Jerry Rabinowitz, 66; Joyce Fienberg, 75; Melvin Wax, 87; and Richard Gottfried, 65.

Jean Clickner, a member of Dor Hadash, expressed exasperation Aug. 2 after she exited the courthouse. “It is not final yet,” she said. “I have to process it. There is a lot of healing left. It will take a lot of healing.”

U.S. Steel sale

U.S. Steel announced a sale to Japan’s Nippon Steel Corp. for $14.9 billion on Dec. 18. The announced sale caused shockwaves through the business, labor and political world.

U.S. Steel, an iconic Pittsburgh company, was founded 122 years ago by business titans including Andrew Carnegie, J.P. Morgan and Charles Schwab and has been based in Pittsburgh since. At one time, it was the largest producer of steel and the largest company in the world.

Nippon said it will keep the U.S. Steel brand and keep its headquarters in Pittsburgh. Business analysts have said the sale could be a boon for the region, even as U.S. Steel has canceled upgrade plans for its facilities in the Mon Valley.

Labor unions were caught off guard and lamented the sale. Many politicians followed suit, and local and state Democrats called for the government to block the sale.

New county exec/same DA

Allegheny County government will see a mix of old and new faces come next year, thanks to some historic elections in 2023.

With outgoing Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald term limited, the county elected its first woman county executive in Sara Innamorato. The progressive Democrat squeaked out a close race against Republican and former PNC executive Joe Rockey.

The election showcased the swingy nature of Allegheny County, where progressives flexed their power just enough to take the county’s highest elected office, but Republicans showed, with the right candidate, they are well within striking distance.

In the same election, incumbent Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zappala held off a challenger for the second cycle in a row to retain his office. Zappala, a longtime Democrat who has served for over 25 years, lost his Democratic primary, but secured enough Republican write-in votes to appear on the GOP ballot in November.

Zappala assembled a coalition of enough Republicans, independents and suburban Democrats to keep his seat and defeat Democratic challenger and former Chief Public Defender Matt Dugan.

Rustic Ridge explosion

Aug. 12 was a picture-perfect Saturday morning in Plum’s Rustic Ridge neighborhood. But just before 10:30 a.m., the quiet subdivision was shaken by a massive explosion.

A home at 141 Rustic Ridge Drive was obliterated. Homes on either side of it were in flames. Other homes had doors, windows — even walls — blown in by the blast, which was felt miles away.

A frantic search for survivors ensued. Paul Oravitz was discovered amid the rubble and was pulled to safety. He died days later.

Five others who were in the home when it exploded died that day. The victims were identified as Kevin Sebunia, 55; Oravitz, 56, and his wife, Heather, 51; Mike Thomas, 57; and Casey Clontz, 38, and his son, Keegan, 12.

About a dozen other homes were destroyed or damaged beyond repair.

Authorities have not announced a cause for the explosion, but the Allegheny County Fire Marshal’s Office confirmed it was investigating the possibility that complications with a hot water tank contributed to the blast.

McKeesport officer killed

Officer Sean Sluganski, 32, of McKeesport was shot and killed Feb. 6 after police said he responded to a 911 call requesting a mental health call for Johnathan Jermia Morris. Police said Morris shot Sluganski.

Morris is charged with homicide, attempted homicide, aggravated assault, assault of a law enforcement officer and related charges stemming from the shooting on Grandview Avenue

Sluganski was the second officer in the Pittsburgh region killed in the line of duty in the span of about a month. He was remembered for his passion and his sense of humor, said McKeesport Mayor Michael Cherepko.

“He was charismatic, good with the community and he loved being here in the community,” Cherepko said. “To see a life being taken in a senseless act of violence … is horrific.”

Local political tensions Israel/Hamas

The war that followed the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel has become the international story of the year, and Pittsburgh saw plenty of local ripples from the conflict.

Multiple locations were vandalized with graffiti mentioning the war, a conflict erupted over an Islamic art exhibit at The Frick Pittsburgh art museum, and local politicians have been thrusted into the fray over their stances on Israel and Palestine.

U.S. Rep. Summer Lee, D-Swissvale, has called for a ceasefire in the war, garnering her a rebuke from dozens of Pittsburgh rabbis.

U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, D-Braddock, was confronted by a pro-Palestine protestor at an event at Shorty’s at the Waterfront shopping center. Fetterman has displayed a very strong pro-Israel stance and has been particularly vocal in his support for Israel since the war broke out. A week later, Fetterman was confronted again by pro-Palestine protesters, this time at an election event in McKeesport.

Downtown problems

Downtown Pittsburgh’s present and future became one of the biggest topics of the year for radio commentators, politicians and business leaders.

Since the start of the pandemic, Western Pennsylvania’s busiest business district has seen tens of thousands of workers disappear as many companies have shifted to remote work, but also gained thousands of residents at the same time. Violent crime arrests Downtown are dropping, even as shootings and homelessness are up.

One of Downtown’s homeless shelters closed and homeless camps were cleared.

But the neighborhood still garnerd sold-out shows, and hotel occupancy has returned to about 90% of what it was before the pandemic.

The Golden Triangle became a lightning rod of political discourse in 2023, as the neighborhood is shifting away from its longstanding place as a business-and-office center into a residential-and-entertainment district.

A new future for Downtown will likely attract a lot more focus and scrutiny moving into 2024.

Swiftsburgh

Though Downtown had its set of issues, it also had its victories. The June weekend that singer Taylor Swift visited Pittsburgh brought in tens of thousands to the North Shore for two concerts at Acrisure Stadium, breaking attendance records at the stadium, and more to take in the revelry in Downtown and Point State Park.

The two Pittsburgh concerts generated $46 million in direct spending, according to tourism agency Visit Pittsburgh. The shows also coincided with the city’s Juneteenth celebration, which brought concerts, vendors and large crowds to the city’s Golden Triangle.

Downtown was buzzing.

Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey decreed Pittsburgh “Swiftsburgh” in the singer’s honor.

New Pitt chancellor

The University of Pittsburgh saw a historic hiring in 2023. New Chancellor Joan Gabel become the first women chancellor in the university’s history.

Gabel, 55, took office starting in July. Pitt’s board of trustees in April hired her away from the University of Minnesota, where she was president of the system and its Twin Cities campus.

“I am excited and filled with optimism when I think of leading this institution into its important next chapter,” Gabel said in a statement released by Pitt.

She succeeded Patrick Gallagher, 60, who stepped down after nine years in office with plans to teach on campus.