Bob Bauder stories, Page 29
State Rep. Wheatley says time is now for recreational marijuana legalization
State Rep. Jake Wheatley knows the marijuana bill he introduced Tuesday will be a tough sell in the Republican-controlled legislature. But he predicted the GOP would eventually sign on as more and more state residents call for legalization. Wheatley’s legislation would legalize recreational use of marijuana in Pennsylvania for people...
Pittsburgh’s free water on the table as PWSA seeks to renegotiate contract
Pittsburgh’s free supply of water could run out as the city and the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority sit down to renegotiate a 24-year-old agreement outlining duties and responsibilities for operating the city-owned water system. The Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority board of directors voted Monday to renegotiate the contract....
Dolly Parton Imagination Library planned for Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh plans to open a branch of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library in the city with help from a Downtown charitable foundation. The Benter Foundation has offered Pittsburgh a $250,000 grant that would be distributed over five years to help fund the free book program for children up to age 5....
PWSA rates would increase by nearly 14 percent under recommendation
The Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority would hike rates nearly 14 percent for average residential customers under a recommendation from an administrative law judge. The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission is expected to vote on the recommendation during its regularly monthly meeting Thursday, according to Robert Weimar, PWSA’s executive director. A...
PWSA faces 161 criminal charges for lead water line violations
Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro on Friday charged the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority with potentially endangering the health of 161 households by failing to notify residents when the agency replaced lead water lines. Shapiro said investigators found no evidence that anyone working for PWSA intended to harm Pittsburgh residents,...
Pittsburgh poised to pay interest on employee contributions to pension plans
Non-union Pittsburgh city employees may soon receive interest on contributions they made to their pensions if they leave their jobs before they are eligible for them. Unionized employees already receive interest on pension contributions. City Council is poised to amend an ordinance governing employee pensions after learning that 78 former...
Pittsburgh man sues Greyhound, accuses driver of racial discrimination
A Pittsburgh man is suing Greyhound Lines Inc., accusing a driver of racial discrimination during a trip in early January from Pittsburgh to Washington, D.C. William Anderson, 46, of Homewood, who is black, contends in the federal lawsuit that the white driver accused him several times of vaping during the...
Private criminal complaint filed against Bill Peduto, officials over gun bills
A Kennedy Township man filed a private criminal complaint Wednesday against Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto, seven members of City Council and the city solicitor over a proposed gun ban, but the Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office says it contains no grounds for prosecution. Mike Manko, spokesman for District Attorney Stephen...
Pittsburgh is again offering free grass cutting services for seniors and disabled
Pittsburgh for a second straight year will offer free grass-cutting to older residents who can’t mow their lawns and is seeking bids from local contractors to perform the service in 2019. The City Cuts program, sponsored by Councilwoman Theresa Kail-Smith, assisted more than 950 senior citizens and residents with disabilities...
Pittsburgh salt truck driver suspended following sideswipes in Lawrenceville
A Pittsburgh Public Works Department salt truck driver has been suspended without pay and is facing termination after sideswiping three vehicles in Lawrenceville on Jan. 13, a city official said Friday. The driver isn’t the only DPW employee facing discipline, according to Guy Costa, the city operations chief. Two other...
Pittsburgh officials receive death threats from gun ban opponents
Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto and City Councilman Corey O’Connor said Wednesday that they have received death threats from people who disagree with the city’s proposed gun ban. O’Connor, one of the sponsors of the gun legislation, said he received a telephone voice mail two weeks ago from someone threatening to...
Pittsburgh Council approves $62M bond issuance for capital projects in 2019
Pittsburgh City Council on Tuesday approved a $62 million bond issuance for capital improvements in 2019. The money will be used for such things as street paving, facility improvements and equipment listed in the city’s 2019 capital budget. Members also approved the hiring of Clark Hill, a Downtown law firm,...
Pittsburgh preparing for Arctic blast predicted for Tuesday and Wednesday
Pittsburgh is gearing for a blast of Arctic cold this week by opening warming centers and having emergency personnel ready to contend with weather-related problems. Pittsburgh will extend hours of city senior centers and make recreation centers available for residents to escape frigid temperatures. Tim McNulty, spokesman for Mayor Bill...
Pittsburgh’s Rachel Carson Bridge closing in February for more than a year
One of Pittsburgh’s three “Sisters Bridges” connecting Downtown to the North Side will close in February for more than a year during a $23.3 million rehabilitation project, Allegheny County announced Monday. The Ninth Street Bridge, dubbed the Rachel Carson Bridge, will close on Feb. 11 and remain closed through the...
Pittsburgh resident takes aim at impeaching Mayor Bill Peduto
A Pittsburgh Republican official is attempting to impeach Mayor Bill Peduto over the city’s proposed gun ban, but an Allegheny County judge 16 years ago dismissed a similar case filed against former Mayor Tom Murphy. Brooke Nadonley, 42, of Mt. Washington said she was following the charter when she attempted...
Amendments planned for Pittsburgh proposed gun restrictions
Pittsburgh City Council got a feel this week for what people think about its proposed ban on certain semi-automatic weapons, ammunition and firearms accessories. More than 100 people signed up to speak at a public hearing on the restrictions Thursday that went for hours. So what’s next on the gun...
PWSA awards $35.9 million in contracts for lead line replacement in 2019
The Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority board of directors on Friday approved contracts totaling $35.9 million for the replacement of lead water lines in 2019. PWSA plans to replace up to 3,400 lead lead lines this year. Board members unanimously approved the following contracts for construction and construciton oversight:Independent Enterprises...
Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority aims to replace 3,400 waterlines in 2019
The Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority will replace at least 2,800 lead waterlines this year and try to finish an additional 600 before year’s end, the executive director said Friday. Authority board members during a meeting unanimously approved construction contracts totaling $35.9 million for the lead program this year. Executive...
Residents argue for and against Pittsburgh gun ban during public hearingVideo
Scores of people stood for hours Thursday night in a reconfigured first floor of Pittsburgh’s City-County Building to argue for three minutes each for or against the city’s proposed firearms ban. They included military veterans, attorneys, moms, dads, friends of people killed in Squirrel Hill’s Tree of Life synagogue on...
Residents argue for and against Pittsburgh gun ban during public hearingVideo
Scores of people stood for hours Thursday night in a reconfigured first floor of Pittsburgh’s City-County Building to argue for three minutes each for or against the city’s proposed firearms ban. They included military veterans, attorneys, moms, dads, friends of people killed in Squirrel Hill’s Tree of Life synagogue on...
Confused about REAL ID? This Q&A session could help
State Sen. Lindsey Williams and Rep. Sara Innamorato have scheduled a workshop for Friday in Millvale to help constituents navigate Pennsylvania’s REAL ID program. Starting in October 2020, state residents will need federally accepted identification such as a REAL ID drivers license for domestic air travel or to enter a...
Pittsburgh moving hearing on gun ban to first floor of City-County Building, Downtown
Citing public safety concerns, Pittsburgh officials Wednesday announced a change of location for Thursday’s highly anticipated public hearing on a proposed gun ban. The hearing will be held on the first floor of the City-County Building on Grant Street, Downtown, but the city will provide seating only for disabled people,...
Guy Costa to retire from public service for 2nd time, this time for good
Guy Costa parlayed a part-time job during college in the 1970s sweeping out the old Civic Arena into a public service career that spanned 40 years. Costa, 63, of Squirrel Hill announced Wednesday that he will retire at the end of March. It is the second time Costa has retired...
Pittsburgh looking to borrow $62M for capital projects in 2019
Pittsburgh is poised to borrow $62 million for capital improvements in 2019. City Council on Wednesday gave preliminary authorization for the issuance of bonds to pay for such things as street paving, facility improvements and equipment. Members also approved the hiring of Clark Hill, a Downtown law firm, to serve...
Botched SWAT raid would cost Pittsburgh $80,000 under proposed legal settlement
Pittsburgh would pay a Brighton Heights woman $80,000 to settle a lawsuit alleging city SWAT officers five years ago wrongly broke down her front door and terrorized her children after mistaking her apartment for a drug dealer’s. City Council on Tuesday introduced a resolution that would end the lawsuit filed...
