Bob Bauder stories, Page 28
Mon Incline will remain closed for six to eight weeks because of water main break
Pittsburgh’s Monongahela Incline will remain closed for six to eight weeks because of “significant damage” caused by three water main breaks in recent weeks, according to the Port Authority of Allegheny County. The Port Authority, which owns the 149-year-old incline, said engineers are determining what will be needed to ensure...
Wife of rabbi who survived Tree of Life shooting opposes death penalty
The wife of a rabbi who narrowly escaped the October shooting rampage at Tree of Life synagogue doesn’t want prosecutors to seek the death penalty against alleged gunman Robert Bowers. In an op-ed piece published Wednesday by the Jerusalem Post, Beth Kissileff writes that she hopes Bowers is convicted and...
South Dakota sex offender arrested at Pittsburgh homeless camp
Deputy sheriffs nabbed a man at a Pittsburgh homeless camp who had been convicted of child pornography charges in South Dakota and violated his parole requirements there, the Allegheny County Sheriff’s Office reported. Deputies received information that Gregory Davis, 58, who was born in Pittsburgh and lived in Sioux Falls,...
Pittsburgh Council considering bill requiring affordable housing in Lawrenceville
Developers would have to make 10 percent of any residential project involving 20 or more homes in Lawrenceville affordable, according to a bill proposed Tuesday by Pittsburgh City Council. Councilwoman Deb Gross of Highland Park, who introduced the legislation, said it would create a zoning overlay district exclusive to Lawrenceville...
Pittsburgh Public School students entertain City Council with songs and drum performanceVideo
Kindergartners and fifth graders from Pittsburgh’s Phillips and Westwood elementary schools entertained City Council with songs and an African drum performance Tuesday in celebration of Black History Month. School officials said this is the second year in a row students from the two schools performed for council. The kids prepared...
Pittsburgh creates $2 million fund to improve child care centers citywide
Private child care centers in Pittsburgh would be eligible for city grants to improve their state quality rankings through a $2 million fund the Mayor’s Office announced on Monday. The Pittsburgh Childcare Quality Fund is the product of a resolution sponsored in 2017 by former Councilwoman Natalia Rudiak. Council allocated...
Demonstrators rally in Pittsburgh over Trump’s emergency declaration
Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto and state Rep. Ed Gainey joined about 150 protesters Monday outside the City-County Building in Downtown to rally against President Trump’s declaration of a national emergency to secure funding for a border wall. The mayor said true emergencies in the United States include the opioid crisis,...
All lanes on I-279 open after truck crash causes traffic restrictions
Both lanes of Interstate 279 southbound are open as police have cleared an earlier crash. The highway had been restricted to one lane of traffic between the Interstate 79 split and Camp Horne Road Exit (Exit 8) because of the crash. The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation reported that emergency personnel...
Pittsburgh URA approves construction for $50M Produce Terminal
Work to convert Pittsburgh’s landmark Produce Terminal into a restaurant, retail and office complex will begin soon following a unanimous vote Thursday by the Urban Redevelopment Authority. Pamela Austin, senior project manager of development for Chicago-based McCaffery Interests, said the $50 million project could begin in March and wrap up...
Pittsburgh Mayor Peduto prepared to take city gun bills to Supreme Court
Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto said he’s prepared to battle all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court over the city’s proposed gun ban. The mayor, in an interview with reporters Wednesday, said the Pennsylvania Supreme Court is another possibility “depending on what’s being challenged.” Gun activists have promised to sue...
Pittsburgh, Lamar Advertising bicker in court over Mt. Washington billboard
Legal arguments reignited Thursday over the large Lamar Advertising sign looming over Pittsburgh from atop Mt. Washington. A Pittsburgh attorney argued that Lamar Advertising has operated a “blatantly illegal” sign for more than three years, while representatives from Lamar contended the city is violating its due process, property and free...
Some people say a gun ban will increase crime in Pittsburgh
A group of speakers panned Pittsburgh’s proposed gun ordinances Tuesday, saying the legislation would do more to increase crime than reduce gun violence in the city. City Councilwoman Darlene Harris of Spring Hill assembled the panel to offer their opinions on bills that would ban certain semi-automatic rifles, ammunition and...
Pittsburgh Planning Commission approves Penn Plaza redevelopment
The Pittsburgh Planning Commission on Tuesday approved redevelopment of the former Penn Plaza Apartment property in East Liberty, ending more than three years of acrimony between the developer, city, residents and community activists. Larry Gumberg, founder and president of L.G. Realty Advisors, called it the most “exciting and time consuming”...
Pittsburgh getting $350K grant to buy recycling bins
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection is giving Pittsburgh a $350,000 grant to purchase recycling bins for city residents. Pittsburgh will use the money to buy 13,000 residential curbside recycling containers and pay for a recycling education program consisting of leaflets, website updates and a social media campaign, according to...
Pittsburgh Council confirms mayor’s choice to head city technology department
Pittsburgh City Council on Tuesday confirmed Mayor Bill Peduto’s pick to head the city’s Department of Innovation and Performance. Council unanimously confirmed Santiago Garces, who formerly served as chief innovation officer in South Bend, Indiana. Garces, a native of Bogotá, Colombia, started South Bend’s Department of Innovation and Technology in...
More than 4 tons of deli meats, cheeses donated to Pittsburgh food bank
The Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank is getting a sizable donation Thursday — about four and a half tons — from a Philadelphia company specializing in deli meats and cheeses. This is the third year that Dietz & Watson Inc. has donated to the Duquesne-based food bank at the suggestion...
Poems about Pittsburgh neighborhoods will be displayed in Port Authority vehicles
A Pittsburgh nonprofit literacy organization is sponsoring a poetry contest designed to bring people together and help heal wounds left by violence in the city, including the October murders at Tree of Life synagogue. Crossing Limits has partnered with Port Authority of Allegheny County on the contest dubbed I Too...
Future of Penn Plaza site in East Liberty about to be finalized
The Pittsburgh Planning Commission has scheduled a hearing and vote for Tuesday on final plans for the controversial redevelopment of the former site of Penn Plaza Apartments in East Liberty. Pennley Park South, a subsidiary of Downtown-based LG Realty Advisors, is seeking to build a $100 million retail and office...
Demolition of Pittsburgh buildings makes way for North Side development
Demolishing three vacant buildings in Pittsburgh has generated considerable controversy in recent years over plans for redevelopment of the North Side’s Garden Theater Block. The latest plan for the block, along North Avenue between Federal and Reddour streets, includes demolition of the three buildings and construction of a new one...
Art Institute of Pittsburgh may have potential buyers
A federally appointed mediator has halted the closure of the Art Institute of Pittsburgh and says he has two potential buyers interested in acquiring the Strip District-based school. Dream Center Education Holdings, which bought the art institute in 2017, filed for federal receivership in January, citing $41 million in debt...
AG Shapiro: UPMC’s ‘corporate greed’ hurting patients
Attorney General Josh Shapiro accused UPMC on Thursday of violating its obligation as a public charity and asked a state court to intervene in its breakup with rival Highmark by forcing it to accept out-of-network patients at affordable rates. In a 73-page legal challenge filed in Commonwealth Court, Shapiro accused...
PUC approves nearly 14 percent PWSA water rate increase for Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority customers will pay about 14 percent more for water and sewer services under a rate hike approved Thursday morning by the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission. Public utility commissioners unanimously approved the increase, which represents a settlement between PWSA and various objectors, including the state’s Office...
4 homes evacuated in Pittsburgh after ‘thick, gooey’ mudslide
Pittsburgh officials were keeping a close watch Thursday on a mudslide that caused the evacuation of four homes in the Allentown neighborhood, officials said. City Operations Chief Guy Costa said “thick, gooey mud” is running down a steep hillside below McClain Street and threatening three houses along Arlington Avenue. Officials...
Penguins to begin construction at Civic Arena site by fall
The Penguins plan to begin the first phase of construction for the long-delayed redevelopment of the former Civic Arena site in Pittsburgh this fall, President and CEO David Morehouse said Wednesday. Morehouse declined to offer project details. He joined Gov. Tom Wolf and local officials at the Allegheny County Intermediate...
Pittsburgh salt truck driver fired after crash that damaged 3 vehicles in Lawrenceville
Pittsburgh has fired a Public Works Department salt truck driver who sideswiped three vehicles in Lawrenceville in January and left without reporting it, a city official said Tuesday. Tim McNulty, spokesman for Mayor Bill Peduto, said the city terminated the driver Friday. City officials are not releasing his name. The...
