Bob Bauder stories, Page 12
Pittsburgh City Council wants to eliminate pension provision
Pittsburgh City Council is moving to eliminate a provision in the city’s pension ordinance that would reduce payments to some elected officials. As it stands, the provision would cost Councilwoman Darlene Harris about $700 per month in her monthly payout after she retires in January. Councilman Ricky Burgess of North...
Pittsburgh activists call for budget transparency during hearingVideo
Pittsburgh activists turned out in force Monday for a public hearing on the city’s 2020 budgets, calling for more transparency and community participation in the budgeting process and additional funding for such things as affordable housing. About 40 representatives of the Economic Justice Circle, a coalition of at least 14...
Officials at Beaver County home for disabled shocked by abuse allegations
Officials at McGuire Memorial Home said they were shocked to learn of allegations that two employees abused disabled residents of the Beaver County facility and immediately notified families of the alleged victims as soon as authorities permitted them to do so. Christopher Shay, president and CEO of McGuire, offered his...
Official: Pittsburgh pension funds on the rise
Pittsburgh’s employee pension funds are growing again after a loss of about $20 million in 2018, a pension official said. The invested portfolio increased by about 2.6% from September 2018 through this September for an increase of about $33.7 million, according to the Comprehensive Municipal Trust Fund board of directors....
Kids can skate with Santa this month at Allegheny County ice rinks
Good boys and girls can skate with Santa on Sunday at the South Park Ice Rink during an annual holiday event hosted by the Allegheny County Parks Department. Santa Claus will skate at the outdoor rink and pose for pictures with kids from noon to 4 p.m. Parents and guardians...
Racism widespread and systemic in Pittsburgh, experts say
Racism is the fundamental cause of health disparities and other inequities in such areas as housing, employment and wealth accumulation that Pittsburgh black residents face daily, a group of experts told city council on Thursday. Councilmen Ricky Burgess and R. Daniel Lavelle assembled the panel in an effort to push...
Autonomous vehicle company Aptiv moving to Pittsburgh’s Hazelwood GreenVideo
A self-driving car company is the first private business to announce it will move into Hazelwood Green, a development taking shape at the site of a former LTV Steel mill along the Monongahela River in Pittsburgh. Aptiv announced Wednesday that it is moving its research and development operation from O’Hara...
Pittsburgh council requires owners of alligators and other reptiles to register with cityVideo
Pet owners in Pittsburgh must register alligators and other dangerous reptiles with the city under an ordinance City Council approved on Tuesday. Councilwoman Darlene Harris, who represents the North Side and sponsored the bill, said the regulations are needed, particularly after several incidents this year of alligators being caught in...
Pittsburgh Council advances plans for North Side pedestrian bridge
Pittsburgh is moving forward with plans to build a pedestrian bridge in place of the North Side’s demolished Davis Avenue Bridge. City Council on Tuesday unanimously authorized the Mayor’s Office to apply for a $1.8 million grant from PennDOT’s Multimodal Transportation Fund and pledge matching funds totaling $772,943 for the...
Pittsburgh Mayor’s Office says funding dwindling for URA projects
The Pittsburgh Urban Redevelopment Authority is facing a tough financial future with less money coming in from the city and federal government each year for such funding priorities as affordable housing and small business development, city officials said Monday. Under Mayor Bill Peduto’s $608 million proposed budget for 2020, the...
Pittsburgh leaning toward silver-colored police cars with purchase of first hybrids
Pittsburgh is getting its first hybrid police cruisers and the mayor is “leaning toward” a color change from the current white, black and gold to a silver aimed at signifying steel. Mayor Bill Peduto said he would make a decision on the color change before ordering the purchase of 32...
Pittsburgh appeals Mt. Washington billboard ruling to state Supreme Court
Pittsburgh contends Pennsylvania’s Commonwealth Court erred in upholding a ruling that a controversial sign atop Mt. Washington owned by Lamar Advertising can remain. The city has appealed the ruling to the state Supreme Court, arguing that Commonwealth Court contradicted previous case law involving Lamar signs in Monroeville and violated a...
New Module homes a ‘milestone’ for Garfield developmentVideo
Private developers are again eyeing Garfield as a good place to build market-rate homes after years of disinvestment. Module, an East-Liberty-based housing startup, on Tuesday outlined $1 million plans to build two single-family homes and a two-unit duplex along Black Street. One of the single-family homes would be offered to...
Bankruptcy hearing canceled for former Pittsburgh regatta promoter
A Ross company blamed for this year’s Pittsburgh Three Rivers Regatta debacle was scheduled to appear in federal bankruptcy court Monday, but the hearing was canceled because the company president is out of town. Derek Weber, 44, president of LionHeart Event Group LLC, in September filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy...
Pittsburgh ordinance would regulate reptile ownership
Reptile owners in Pittsburgh would have to register their alligators and snakes with the city under legislation City Council proposed on Monday. The bill introduced by Councilwoman Darlene Harris, an avowed animal lover from Spring Hill, would also require owners to keep reptiles in secure cages and rooms and post...
Pittsburgh approves free on-street parking through Thanksgiving weekend
Parking at meters and in city-owned metered lots will be free on Thanksgiving through Sunday, Dec. 1, according to the Pittsburgh Parking Authority. The authority’s board of directors Wednesday unanimously agreed to waive meter enforcement for Saturday, Nov. 30, a busy shopping day dubbed Small Business Saturday. Parking at meters...
Families sue Beaver County home for disabled, alleging repeated abuse of residentsVideo
Four families on Friday sued McGuire Memorial Home in Beaver County, alleging two of its former employees physically and sexually abused 17 disabled residents between 2017 and 2018, causing the deaths of at least two of them. The lawsuits contend Zachary Lee Dinell and Tyler James Smith, both former caretakers...
Pittsburgh sinkhole that swallowed a bus could take months to repair
City officials believe it will take several more months to repair utility lines on Pittsburgh’s 10th Street that were damaged when a sinkhole opened up in October and swallowed a bus. Karina Ricks, director of the city’s Department of Mobility and Infrastructure, said the mishap damaged multiple utility lines that...
Penn American settles with Carrick homeowners displaced by water main break
The Pennsylvania American Water Co. has finished repairs to Pittsburgh streets damaged in September during a major water main break, and its insurance company has settled claims with three homeowners whose properties were condemned after the flooding, an official said. Penn American spokesman Gary Lobaugh said the three property owners...
Pittsburgh appoints acting director of Permits, Licenses and Inspections
Mayor Bill Peduto on Wednesday promoted the assistant director of the Permits, Licenses and Inspections department to acting director. Sarah Kinter, 31, will replace Director Maura Kennedy, who is leaving for a job as an economic development manager with Amazon in Washington, D.C. Kennedy’s last day is Friday. Kinter begins...
Pittsburgh council members request documents, audit related to park tax
Several Pittsburgh City Council members want to examine all agreements between the city and Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy before considering how to deal with an estimated $10 million in annual revenue from a parks tax approved by voters earlier this month. Council on Tuesday introduced two resolutions that would require the...
Food giveaway helps feed 400 families in Pittsburgh’s West EndVideo
Robin Matthews didn’t think she would have Thanksgiving this year. She suffered a heart attack and had surgery in October. Her fiancee died of a heart attack the same month. A fire last week caused heavy damage to her Sheraden home. “I have nothing,” Matthews, 61, said. “My second floor...
Pittsburgh Controller Michael Lamb enters already crowded 2020 auditor general race
Pittsburgh Controller Michael Lamb announced Tuesday that he will run for Pennsylvania auditor general in 2020. Lamb, 57, of Mt. Washington, touted audits conducted during his 12 years as city controller that exposed waste and abuse of tax dollars and led to savings and improvements. “I look at this job...
Pittsburgh receives grant for purchase of blue recycling bins
Pittsburgh has another $500,000 to purchase blue bins for its curbside recycling programs. The Recycling Partnership, based in Virginia, approved a $500,000 grant to purchase the bins for residents. Mayor Bill Peduto earlier this year announced plans to allocate $500,000 in 2020 for bins. The money will be used to...
CCAC announces $65 million plans for new training center, expanded coursesVideo
The Community College of Allegheny County on Monday announced plans for a $40 million Workforce Training Center on campus and a $25 million investment in expanded workforce programming and system wide upgrades to existing educational facilities. CCAC has so far raised $44 million for the Pioneering Pittsburgh’s Workforce Campaign. It...
