Downtown Pittsburgh category, Page 44
Pittsburgh police cracking down on off-road vehicles riding on city streets, tip line set up
Pittsburgh public safety officials have created a tip line to crack down on people riding off-road vehicles on city streets and sidewalks. Authorities said the increase in so-called “flash mobs” and “ride-outs” that involve groups of people riding all-terrain vehicles, dirt bikes and other off-road vehicles on city streets and...
Penguins fans eager to return to PPG Paints Arena
It was a great day for hockey — especially for Pittsburgh Penguins fans returning to PPG Paints Arena to enjoy the game in person. Tuesday night’s matchup against the Philadelphia Flyers marked the first hockey night in Pittsburgh with fans in attendance since last March. Gov. Tom Wolf eased some...
Pittsburgh’s Three Rivers Arts Festival returns in a new format
The Dollar Bank Three Rivers Arts Festival will return this June in a hybrid format, featuring both in-person and virtual events. But none of the real-life events will take place in Point State Park or Gateway Center, where the festival is traditionally held. Organized by the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, the...
Pittsburgh Home & Garden Show postponed again, Duquesne Light not a sponsor
The 2021 Pittsburgh Home & Garden Show has been rescheduled a second time, to October. And for the first time in 20 years, title sponsor Duquesne Light will not be a part of the show. “We are taking a pause,” said Hollie Geitner, a Duquesne Light spokeswoman. “It just doesn’t...
Covid cases continue to climb at Allegheny County Jail
The number of inmates at Allegheny County Jail who are positive for covid-19 has doubled in the last week. As of Sunday, 76 inmates were positive for the novel coronavirus, with another 27 tests pending, according to the county’s website. Also on Monday, six pods at the jail were in...
Pittsburgh officials advance plan for new steam heating system
For more than a century, many of Pittsburgh’s office buildings in the Golden Triangle have been kept warm using steam heat generated at a North Shore factory that is conveyed Downtown. But the Pittsburgh Allegheny County Thermal (PACT) system is old, failing and beyond repair, Mayor Bill Peduto said last...
Point Park University union speaks against layoffs of 17 faculty
Point Park University’s faculty union spoke up in opposition of the school’s move to eliminate 17 full-time, non-tenured faculty members this week. Point Park officials announced the contracts of 17 full-time, non-tenured faculty members would not be renewed at the end of this academic year, citing financial difficulties related to...
Point Park won’t renew 17 faculty contracts
Point Park University will not renew the contracts of 17 non-tenured faculty members, the university announced this week. A university spokesman did not answer questions about what specific academic departments would be affected in the Downtown institution, which serves around 4,000 students. The change was allowed through a collective bargaining...
Nearly 40 inmates at Allegheny County Jail test positive for covid
Terrell Leonard is being held at Allegheny County Jail on a probation violation. In late January, he learned that one of the correctional officers who worked on his pod, 2D, tested positive for covid-19. A short time later, he said in a court declaration, pod workers and then inmates on...
North Hills teen shot in Pittsburgh’s Strip District Sunday dies Monday morning
A recent North Hills High School graduate died after being shot in Pittsburgh’s Strip District. Officials said Ahmir Tuli, 18, was shot in the head shortly after 9 p.m. Sunday along the 2700 block of Penn Avenue outside of Preeti’s Pitt restaurant. He was taken to a hospital in critical...
That 4 p.m. anxiety for Downtown street parkers? It started 100 years ago
Pittsburghers know the feeling. It’s a minute before 4 p.m. and you’re running errands on Wood Street, Downtown. But your car is parked on Smithfield, one street up and several blocks down. You sprint frantically. When you get to Smithfield, you can see the tow trucks circling like sharks, ready...
Point Park University offers students no-contact ashes during pandemic Ash Wednesday
Samuel Paratore emailed his professor to say he would be late for class. He had an important stop to make. The Point Park University freshman from Johnstown wanted to make sure he received ashes for Ash Wednesday, which signifies the beginning of Lent. “I was raised Catholic and I wasn’t...
Port Authority to discuss transit improvement ideas at community meetings
Port Authority will host a series of public meetings in the coming weeks to discuss NEXTransit, the service’s plan for improving Allegheny County transit. There will be four meetings in total: at 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. on Feb. 25, and at 11:30 a.m. and 6 p.m. on March 2....
Pittsburgh’s Original Oyster House to reopen just in time for Lent
The Original Oyster House is reopening Tuesday, a day before Ash Wednesday. The Lenten season that begins Wednesday is usually a busy period for the seafood restaurant. “We are ready to go and excited to be back,” said owner Jennifer Grippo. “The staff is super-pumped. When they all came back...
Heinz History Center to host Ohio State professor for virtual Black History Month event
Hasan Jeffries grew up in Brooklyn in the 1980s. His childhood experiences of inequality inspired him to stand up for the rights of all. “The interest is partly personal,” said Jeffries, an associate history professor at Ohio State University, who will host a virtual lecture on the civil rights movement...
Steel City Clothing evolves from a basement to a buildingVideo
The Pittsburgh brand continues to grow in popularity as does Steel City Clothing, a one-stop shop for all things ‘Burgh, be it socks, hats, hoodies and T-shirts. Steel City Clothing, located Downtown, sells clothing showcasing an array of Pittsburgh staples ranging from Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood and Heinz to pierogis and...
Digital series connects music lovers to Pittsburgh Symphony
On a warm fall night in Downtown Pittsburgh, members of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra performed in the Heinz Hall garden. Principal oboist Cynthia Koledo DeAlmeida complemented the symphony’s strings ensemble for Ennio Morricone’s “Gabriel’s Oboe” with a sound that resonated, a memorial to the composer who died in July. Port...
Developer appeals ruling preserving former Froggy’s building in PittsburghVideo
A developer’s desire to raze a group of decaying brick buildings, nearly 125 years old, in Downtown Pittsburgh’s Firstside historic district will be heard by a state court. The heart of the site is the former Froggy’s, a popular watering hole from the late 1970s until it closed in 2004....
Pittsburgh Opera’s ‘COVID fan tutte’ documents pandemic production
With most of the performing arts world shut down by the pandemic, Pittsburgh Opera went ahead with its October production of Mozart’s “Còsi fan tutte.” “Every time we would tell folks we were having the performance, they would ask, ‘How are you going to do it?’” said Chris Cox, the...
Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership’s ‘Spread The Love’ campaign to provide money vouchers to customers
A campaign by the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership gives hotel guests $100 in vouchers when they check in that can be redeemed on matched purchases at 15 hotels, 30 restaurants and 24 retailers in the city. The campaign is called “Spread The Love.” The list can be found here. “If you’re...
Pittsburgh Opera’s free February livestreams offer timely themes
Pittsburgh Opera will offer two timely programs during February. Six resident artists will perform in “Songs from the Heart: A Valentine from Pittsburgh Opera,” streaming free at 5:30 p.m. Feb. 14 on the opera’s YouTube channel and Facebook page. Making for an even sweeter experience, viewers can order a five-piece...
Pittsburgh police: Man found dead in Downtown alley after falling from building
Updated: Police on Thursday identified the man as Howard Letcher, 45, of Espyville. Authorities are investigating after police say a man fell off a building at about noon Tuesday in Downtown Pittsburgh. Police and paramedics responded to the call at about 12:15 p.m. for a man who had fallen several...
Man arrested after bomb threat prompts evacuation of Federal Building in Pittsburgh
One person is in custody after a bomb threat prompted police to evacuate the federal building in Downtown Pittsburgh Monday evening, officials said. Albert Henard Morris, 60, was arrested at a house in Homewood and is charged with terroristic threats and a threat to use weapons of mass destruction, according...
Pittsburgh Home & Garden Show set to open a month later than usual
The annual Duquesne Light Home & Garden Show is still on, officials said Monday. Show Executive Director John DeSantis said the 10-day event is planned for April instead of its usual March time slot. Celebrating its 40th anniversary, the show is planned for April 9-18 at the David Lawrence Convention...
City cancels 2021 Pittsburgh Marathon; smaller regional races still on
The City of Pittsburgh has announced it will not grant a permit for the 2021 Dick’s Sporting Goods Pittsburgh Marathon, effectively canceling this year’s event. Officials decided that May, when the marathon has traditionally been held, was too early to host such an event in a year with an ongoing...
