Author
Stories by Amy Whipple
City Council
With a tap on their phones, city park superintendents may soon run ballfield lights. On July 29, council agreed to move forward with a $73,050 payment for the remote-control software. The system can time lights to a field permit and adjust their brightness. Residents can still switch on lights by hand at spots like basketball courts that aren't under a permit.
City Council
Custodians, security officers, and maintenance workers in Downtown buildings could gain job protections under the proposed TRID. Changes made after a June 3 committee meeting require a prevailing wage and union contracts. However, those contracts must bar strikes and picketing until financial recovery is complete. Council voted 6-3 to move the TRID forward, and a final vote is set for next week.
City Council
Pittsburgh ran a $44.7 million deficit in 2025 and expects another this year. Three years of deficits would put city finances under state control. This week, the controller emailed council arguing against the proposed Downtown TRID, citing that financial strain. She warned the city could owe over $3 million in 2027 without money set aside for early debt payments.
City Council
Forty people addressed council about the Downtown TRID, and nearly all were opposed. Critics objected to 80% of the money going to developers and to vague plans for public infrastructure. Many also called the process rushed and opaque. In their own discussion, council members later turned to one speaker, a cleaner recently laid off after nearly 40 years.
City Council
Downtown property values have fallen $813 million since 2024, the Urban Redevelopment Authority said. On July 22, it pitched council on the Downtown TRID to turn that around. Under the plan, 80% of the money would go to developers and 20% to unspecified public infrastructure. Still, transit got little attention, and one council member called any public benefit murky.
City Council
EMS crews from nearby municipalities helped cover April's NFL Draft, and those towns billed Pittsburgh about $27,000. Now, council has approved those bills along with six other invoices. The budget director assumed a $2 million VisitPittsburgh grant would cover them but couldn't confirm it. For now, the controller is preparing a report on the draft's impact, a council member said.
City Council
The intersection of Larimer Avenue and Meadow Street sees heavy traffic. On July 15, council advanced an agreement letting a community group install a street mural there. Such murals are meant to calm traffic, and a 2022 study found intersections with art saw 50% fewer crashes involving pedestrians.
County Council
Allegheny County has been awarded $2.15 million in state money for alternatives to incarceration. On July 9, a council committee voted to move forward with accepting it. The grant would pay for two probation officers, a hearing officer, staff training, and equipment. Council's final vote is set for July 14.
County Council
Allegheny County Jail Warden Trevor Wingard leaves at the end of July after 18 months. Now, it's up to the county executive and the Jail Oversight Board to find his replacement. The county executive will name an interim warden before he leaves. A search for a permanent warden begins within a few months, a council member said.
County Council
Paying taxes, buying pool passes, and requesting public records each take a separate login in Allegheny County. On July 9, a council committee advanced a non-binding resolution calling for a study of one online system for county services. If council passes it on July 14, three county departments would have 180 days to report back.
City Council
Right now, Saundra and James Cole run children's activities at Glen Hazel's Burgwin Recreation Center, but that's no longer sustainable. On July 8, 16 residents, including six children, came to council to back funding programs there. The area's council member argued the Stop the Violence fund should pay. Council held the bill two weeks to give the mayor time to work toward a solution.
City Council
The city's IT department is working to run Pittsburgh's computer network in-house. Now, council has agreed to move forward with a $95,440 one-year contract with an outside firm to help with that shift. Council also advanced a $58,283 interest payment the budget missed on a Dell lease-to-own deal. That would finish buying over 2,000 Dell devices.
County Council
Allegheny County employers of all sizes could have to provide 18 weeks of paid parental leave. In May, the county board of health advanced the measure. On June 25, four community members spoke to a council committee about paid leave, or the lack of it. A council member said the board could vote in September at the earliest, and approval would send it to council.
County Council
Almost 900 nurses and advanced practitioners at Magee-Womens Hospital have bargained for their first union contract since January. On June 23, ten county council members introduced a resolution backing them. It says the county's relationship with UPMC depends on UPMC being a fair employer. Union members planned to vote on legal action if there was no contract by July 4.
County Council
Allegheny County Council doesn't vet appointees to county boards and authorities, one council member said. On June 23, some members said council needs more than its three shared staff members. Council then voted 9-6 to ask voters in November to remove its budget cap. Still, another member said staff told him nothing needed doing that wasn't being done.
City Council
Student ambassadors in six Pittsburgh public high schools work to interrupt violence, but the program's state grant has ended. On July 1, council agreed to move forward with a $250,000 deal to keep it going this fall. The council president said that should cover about six months. Still, the school district hasn't authorized money to continue it.
City Council
City outreach workers could soon get a wheelchair van to help residents with disabilities. Council moved forward with the request on July 1. Meanwhile, unexpected repairs to the city's aging fleet are on track to cost almost $5.3 million this year, against $3.9 million budgeted. The acting fleet manager said new vehicles should help bring those costs down.
City Council
Seniors in the Hill District don't have a senior center nearby, a city parks official said. On July 1, council gave preliminary approval for Macedonia FACE to run meals and programs at the Ammon Recreation Center rent-free. The nonprofit previously offered senior services at the Thelma Lovette YMCA. A council member also said residents without a nearby city senior center miss out.
City Council
Learn and Earn, the city's youth jobs program, has run only in summers. A $1 million Richard King Mellon Foundation grant will fund a year-round pilot starting this fall. Younger teens would get work exposure, and 18- to 23-year-olds would get hands-on job training. On June 24, council advanced using the Stop the Violence fund for the required $1 million match.
City Council
City income from permits, licenses, and investment interest is already falling short this year. The acting budget director said the 2026 deficit could top $24 million. If so, the city would have one more year to turn things around before falling under state financial control. Still, she said the city will have a better picture in about a month.