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Search people, topics, and moreMost students owed pandemic services haven’t received them as 80% of funds remain unspent →
InformUp - Mar 24, 2026
From ethics to zoning, Local Government Academy teaches new officials the job in Southwestern Pa. →
WESA - Mar 24, 2026
Pa. DEP says ‘no risk’ to the public from radioactive materials in oil and gas waste sent to landfills →
Allegheny Front - Mar 24, 2026
How historic overtime payments in 2025 drove up Pittsburgh’s budget →
Pittsburgh's Public Source - Mar 24, 2026
O'Connor proposes $28.3M in new spending as Pittsburgh reopens 2026 budget →
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette - Mar 23, 2026
Public Source is out this week with a troubling report on Pittsburgh’s massive overspending on overtime pay for City employees, like first responders. Heisler doesn’t like it:
The city controller told Public Source that even without the secondary pay by private entities, city-funded overtime ran $20 million over budget. Last year was the second in a row in which extra compensation reached that historically high level.
“We can’t make good fiscal decisions if we’re not being realistic about things we know we will have to pay for,” said Controller Rachael Heisler, who repeatedly criticized former Mayor Ed Gainey’s administration for underestimating the amount of overtime in the budget.
She said the problems associated with high overtime are not only financial: It forces first responders to work longer and more dangerous hours.
How historic overtime payments in 2025 drove up Pittsburgh’s budget →
Pittsburgh's Public Source
As the Post-Gazette reports, O’Connor’s new proposal calls for considerably more in spending, and relies on taking millions from the City’s “rainy day” fund to balance things out:
After weeks of review, Mr. O’Connor previously said his administration is reopening the 2026 budget to make adjustments to this year’s spending plan, as well as the five-year forecast.
The proposed amendments add $28.3 million in spending, largely to bolster programs and obligations Mr. O’Connor says were underfunded. Increased allocations include retiree health care, fuel expenses, boiler and roof replacement, and overtime payments.
O'Connor proposes $28.3M in new spending as Pittsburgh reopens 2026 budget →
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
As the Post-Gazette reports, the County has seen an increase to both the number of permit applications, and, unfortunately, the wait time for their approval:
“My office heard from small businesses that they were losing money while they waited for their permits,” said Ms. Innamorato in the statement.
Those lags coincided with an increase in restaurant permit requests. Allegheny County received 511 in 2023, according to the release, and 647 in 2025 — a 26% jump.
“It is a healthy sign that permit requests have increased so much over the last few years,” Ms. Innamorato said.
Allegheny County aims to speed up restaurant permit process with new executive order →
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
As the Post-Gazette reports, the proposed legislation would introduce a number of measures to prevent the City from cooperating with ICE, including an official ban on partnering with the federal government on immigration enforcement:
“It’s time for Council to take action and ensure that you feel safe in your communities. The City of Pittsburgh cannot allow federal overreach to keep you from enjoying your community spaces and using your public streets. Public spaces are for the benefit of our residents, and we should protect you from being surveilled, targeted or threatened,” Ms. Gross said in a statement.
Pittsburgh City Council to propose ban on cooperation with ICE →
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
As the Post-Gazette reports, the proposed legislation would introduce a number of measures to prevent the City from cooperating with ICE, including an official ban on partnering with the federal government on immigration enforcement:
“Many residents have seen the terror wrought by ICE agents in other places in the country and have demanded action here in Pittsburgh to protect our residents’ safety and Constitutional rights,” Ms. Warwick said in a statement. “As we hear about increased ICE enforcement locally, it is our responsibility as a City government to ensure our resources go toward actually keeping Pittsburghers safe, not supporting federal actions which lead to fear and violence.”
Pittsburgh City Council to propose ban on cooperation with ICE →
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
As the Trib reports, the proposed legislation would introduce a number of measures to prevent the City from cooperating with ICE, including an official ban on partnering with the federal government on immigration enforcement:
“Pittsburgh should be a place where people feel safe going to work, taking their kids to school, or accessing city services,” Councilwoman Erika Strassburger, D-Squirrel Hill, said in a statement. “This legislation makes it clear: Our focus is on supporting residents and making sure city government is a resource folks can turn to, not something they avoid.”
PA is the only state without a fixed schedule for when counties need to conduct tax reassessments, the official measurements of how much properties are worth and how much they need to pay in taxes. Seemingly no one likes this, and it’s costing the region millions in tax revenue each year. On the State level, lawmakers like our State Senator Wayne Fontana are pushing to enforce regular reassessment schedules across PA. Meanwhile, the Post-Gazette reports this week that, on the County level, Grzybek and other County Council Members are planning to introduce a proposal of their own:
“The best time to do [this] was yesterday,” said Allegheny County Councilman and bill co-sponsor Dan Gryzbek. “The second best time is today.
“We can’t continue to choose inaction on this topic, because every day that we do so, there are people in Allegheny County who are paying too much in taxes, and people who are paying too little”...
In practice, homeowners in growing neighborhoods are getting “artificial tax breaks,” Mr. Gryzbek said, while those in stagnant areas — including many low-income Pennsylvanians — often pay more than they should.
“Every day you have people that are paying more in taxes than they should be,” Mr. Gryzbek said. “There really couldn't be much more urgency than that.”
Allegheny County eyes mandatory property reassessments →
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
With the US Congress still negotiating the budget for the Department of Homeland Security, the TSA — the agency responsible for the security check people at airports — is currently going unpaid. The Trump administration decided this week to supplement their work by deploying ICE agents to assist with security at PIT International and other airports. Innamorato, who just approved a new Allegheny County law to prevent County employees from cooperating with ICE agents, doesn’t like it:
Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato was not in support of the latest ICE development.
“Just like Allegheny County does not need ICE agents patrolling our neighborhoods, we don’t need ICE at the airport where TSA lines have remained short and manageable,” she said in a statement. “Sending ICE into our public spaces and communities is never about safety and security threats and has led to racial profiling and harassment of our neighbors.”
With the US Congress still negotiating the budget for the Department of Homeland Security, the TSA — the agency responsible for the security check people at airports — is currently going unpaid. The Trump administration decided this week to supplement their work by deploying ICE agents to assist with security at PIT International and other airports. Deluzio doesn’t like it:
“Pittsburgh International Airport did not ask for ICE to come to the airport. Instead of sending untrained ICE agents here to do TSA agents’ jobs, this administration should support — as Congressman Deluzio does — paying our hardworking TSA officers and reopening the government alongside commonsense ICE reforms to protect American lives and liberties,” said Zoe Bluffstone, spokeswoman for Deluzio’s office in the statement.
The “rainy day” fund is, naturally, meant for emergencies, but our elected officials have made an unfortunate trend of relying on it to balance Pittsburgh’s budgets in recent years. Heisler doesn’t like it:
“While we’re still evaluating the changes that Mayor O’Connor proposed to the 2026 operating budget, I am glad these amendments will address large shortcomings regarding employee benefits, legal settlements, along with bridge, facility, and fleet maintenance,” City Controller Rachael Heisler said in a statement. “It’s imperative City Council evaluates each expense and evaluates its necessity"...
Ms. Heisler warned against using the rainy day fund as a revenue source to balance the budget — something that has been done regularly in Pittsburgh.
“This cannot become a regular practice,” she said in her statement. “The fund balance is our budgetary lifeline. I urge Council and the Mayor's Office to develop a detailed plan to reduce our dependence on our fund balance in the years ahead.”
O'Connor proposes $28.3M in new spending as Pittsburgh reopens 2026 budget →
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
As negotiations for the next State budget get underway, the Northside Chronicle has Powell’s latest pitch for Shapiro’s budget framework:
I’ve always said budgets are moral compasses — and Governor Shapiro’s budget address in early February made that clear.
District 21 Update: Discussing Gov. Shapiro’s proposed 2026 PA state budget →
The Northside Chronicle
Lehighvalleylive has a concerning report out about the mysterious disappearance of PA’s public gun tracing database. The database was a big initiative by Josh Shapiro when he was PA’s Attorney General, but sometime after he left that post to become our Governor, the database was taken down. Sunday says he can’t say why:
Since then, the database has quietly disappeared with no public explanation as to why from state governmen. A Shapiro spokesperson said it was still live in February 2023 after Shapiro had moved on to the governor’s office. But the spokesperson didn’t say when the site was taken down or why.
No news release was issued when it was removed. No one from the office of Pennsylvania Inspector General Michelle Henry responded to requests for comment. She took over as attorney general when Shapiro left.
Brett Hambright, the spokesman for Attorney General Dave Sunday, wouldn’t comment on when or why the database was taken down. Sunday followed Henry and currently serves as attorney general.
“We cannot offer commentary on behalf of a prior administration or another office / agency,” Hambright said.
lehighvalleylive
The Post-Gazette reports on the latest efforts by Shapiro and his Tansportation Secretary, Mike Carroll, to get State lawmakers on board with more funding for PRT and other public transit agencies across PA. Similar efforts from Shapiro and Democrats failed to win the support of Republicans, so we’ll see what changes this time:
Mr. Shapiro, who included his call for additional transit funding in this year’s budget proposal, and Transportation Secretary Mike Carroll met with legislative leaders last week, and Transit for All PA has hired local advocates to push the importance of transit in areas other than Pittsburgh and Philadelphia.
The governor, Mr. Carroll and the advocates all are taking a similar approach to push legislative leaders to approve more money for transit — stressing the importance of service in all counties and the benefits smaller counties get from robust service in the state’s job centers. They face a tall task because the Republican-controlled Senate says residents if those counties don’t see how transit funding benefits them when more than 87% of the money goes to Pittsburgh and the Philly area and their areas need help with roads and bridges.
Pennsylvania transit advocates and Gov. Josh Shapiro push for funding now, rather than next year →
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Surprisingly, the City Council doesn’t have full visibility into the Police Department’s various programs. The only way for our elected officials to learn about some of what the Police are up to is through the invoices that the Police Department sends to the City for approval. Last month, Gross uncovered, through one of these invoices, that the Police Department is using cell phone surveillance technology. Now, Informup reports that Gross has caught an invoice showing that the Police are using PlateSmart license plate-tracking tech to follow cars around the city. Despite the privacy implications, the Council approved the invoice:
The software can track individual vehicle travel history, its most common routes and travel time between cameras...
Internal policy for PlateSmart software allows the city to share data with outside agencies, “which is maybe too vague for the current situation that we’re in historically,” said Gross. She added that, according to the administration, “outside agencies” does not include the federal government.
As with the previous invoice Gross pulled for discussion, a contract for the software is not publicly available.
Surprisingly, the City Council doesn’t have full visibility into the Police Department’s various programs. The only way for our elected officials to learn about some of what the Police are up to is through the invoices that the Police Department sends to the City for approval. Last month, Council Member Deb Gross uncovered, through one of these invoices, that the Police Department is using cell phone surveillance technology. Now, Informup reports that Gross has caught an invoice showing that the Police are using PlateSmart license plate-tracking tech to follow cars around the city. Despite the privacy implications, the Council approved the invoice. Coghill seemed to see the bright side of surveillance:
Council Member Anthony Coghill of Beechview cited an incident from last month where a license plate reader could have helped police find a gunman after someone fired almost 30 rounds outside of a bar on Brookline Boulevard. Security cameras only captured the make and model of the car; the shooter remains unidentified.
Shapiro has been calling for bans on cell phones in schools, and, just this month, the PA State Senate passed a version of legislation to regulate how minors can use AI chatbots. Now, WHYY reports this week that Shapiro hosted a roundtable discussion on AI, students, and tech in schools:
Sunday said that law enforcement can help and that the results in cases like the one in Lancaster County [in which students used AI to generate non-consensual, inappropriate deepfakes of classmates] will have a deterrent effect.
“I think that when people see that happening, that shows them that this isn’t just a conversation — that it’s very, very real — and those are real-life, real-world consequences that will impact someone’s entire future,” he said.
With Oklahoma Senator Markwayne Mullin set to beomce the next Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, Shapiro took the opportunity to restate that he doesn’t want the agency to move forward with their plans to convert PA warehouses into ICE detention centers:
“I’ve been very clear: We do not want these ICE detention centers in Pennsylvania,” Shapiro said. “I’ve been very outspoken about that. I made it very clear to [former DHS Secretary Kristi] Noem, who I know is on her way out. And I’ll reiterate this to Markwayne Mullin, should he become Secretary, that we’re not going to stand for this in Pennsylvania.”
ICE asks for more time to address environmental concerns around proposed Pa. detention centers →
Pennsylvania Capital-Star
Shapiro has been calling for bans on cell phones in schools, and, just this month, the PA State Senate passed a version of legislation to regulate how minors can use AI chatbots. Now, WHYY reports this week that Shapiro hosted a roundtable discussion on AI, students, and tech in schools:
“The mental health of our students — of our young people — it’s been a top priority of mine since I served as attorney general in my previous life,” Shapiro told the group. “I come to this issue as both your governor and also as a father of four. I know the challenges that young people are facing.”
McCormick has made energy production a major focus of his messaging around PA’s future. Now, the Post-Gazette reports that he’s pumped for President Trump’s detail-light announcement of a massive new power plant... somewhere in the area:
Among the questions: Where will the plant be located and when will construction begin...
And among most Pennsylvania officials, crickets. Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat; U.S. Sen John Fetterman,D-Pa.; and Rep. Guy Reschenthaler, R-Peters, who represents southwestern Pennsylvania, all did not respond to requests for comment.
Only U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick, R-Pa., weighed in on Friday.
“Pennsylvania is at the center of America’s energy future, and this kind of investment is the result of the president’s pro-growth and pro-energy policies,” Mr. McCormick said. “A major new natural gas power project in southwestern PA means good-paying jobs, stronger grid reliability, and the ability to power the next generation of AI and advanced manufacturing. We must do everything possible to accelerate projects like this and ensure Pennsylvania leads the way.”
Pa. awaits information about announced new $17B southwestern Pennsylvania power plant →
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
This adds to Shapiro’s growing list of lawsuits against the Trump administration:
Shapiro said that as a result of the [Trump] administration’s actions, Pennsylvanians face growing threats from increased air pollution and its associated health risks.
“Pollution puts people’s health at risk, makes severe weather worse, threatens our farmers’ crops, and makes health care more expensive,” said the governor. “By trying to roll back protections that keep pollution out of the air we breathe, the Trump Administration is once again throwing science out the window and putting Pennsylvanians’ lives at risk – so I’m taking them to court to put a stop to it. I will continue to stand up against this Administration’s harmful actions and protect the health and safety of all 13 million Pennsylvanians.”
This comes in response to mutliple shooting incidents at short-term rentals in Pittsburgh in recent years. The Pittsburgh City Council, meanwhile, is currently working through its own regulations at the City level, as well. We’ll have to see which bill hits first:
The bill would require counties to keep a registry of all permitted short-term rentals, hotels and other lodging in their jurisdiction. Each county will need to share an annual report on the short-term rentals with the Department of Community and Economic Development...
“This bill strikes a necessary balance of protecting public safety, supporting responsible operators and ensuring transparency for local officials and law enforcement,” Powell said. “As short-term rentals continue to grow across Pennsylvania, we have a responsibility to put common-sense safeguards in place to protect our communities.”
PennLive, via the Trib, quotes Fetterman from a recent podcast appearance:
During an appearance on the “All-In” podcast, host David Friedberg asked Fetterman to name the leader of the Democratic Party and the senator replied, “We don’t have one,” before adding that “TDS” is the party’s guiding principle.
“Our party is governed by the TDS,” said Fetterman, according to Fox News.
TDS is derisively used by Trump supporters to dismiss his opponents.
As WESA reports, this comes in response to President Trump’s efforts to dismantle the US Department of Education:
“Right now, I would say there's not much enforcement at all, if any, and right now, there's no state mechanism to enforce federal OCR complaints,” said Williams, who is drafting a bill that would shift enforcement responsibilities to Pennsylvania’s Department of Education...
And the state Department of Education (PDE) already has a dispute resolution office dealing with issues involving the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, housed within its Bureau of Special Education.
Williams said her legislation would build upon that foundation by creating a new office within PDE to enforce federal civil rights laws. Embedding the office inside the department, she said, would ensure experts are on hand to address the unique challenges school settings pose.
The Capital-Star reports that Williams, alongside Northumberland State Senator Lynda Schlegel Culver, pushed for the new bill at a recent Senate Finance Committee meeting:
Culver and Williams’ proposal would allow living organ donors to deduct up to $10,000 in unreimbursed expenses related to the donation from their taxable income. That would include costs like travel, lodging, lost wages and medical expenses.
According to Culver, studies show the average living organ donor faces roughly $5,000 in expenses, which includes things like travel, lost wages and child care during recovery.
“If only a tiny percent of adults find it a little easier to become a living donor, we could eliminate our transplant waiting list entirely,” Williams said.
Pa. senators mull inheritance tax cut, deductions for organ donors →
Pennsylvania Capital-Star
As WESA reports, Fetterman used his speaking time in the nomination hearing primarily to criticize Democrats on immigration policy, rather than to actually interview Mullin. That’s all the more bizarre given how critical Fetterman was of the previous Department of Homeland Secu Secretary, Kristi Noem:
[Fetterman] blamed fellow Democrats for the funding uncertainty taking place as well: "We need to have a secure border, and we have to round up and deport every single criminal in our, in our nation. I can't imagine why that's controversial for anybody."
The ongoing partial government shutdown, he and Republicans on the committee observed, put the nation at risk.
Fetterman barely mentioned controversies around how immigration officials have treated U.S. citizens and immigrants who hadn't committed offenses, though he did say he "grieve[d]" for Americans killed by ICE in Minneapolis. Nor did he address repeated assertions by Democrats on the committee that they had offered to immediately fund DHS operations that were not involved with immigration enforcement, where they are demanding reforms.
Fetterman barely asked Mullin a question during remarks that lasted six and a half minutes
As WHTM reports, the specifics of the bill are still in-progress:
“While not always malicious, these tools pose real harm and the opportunities to present misinformation or deceive the public are abundant,” said State Sen. Lindsey Williams (D-Allegheny) in a co-sponsorship memo to colleagues on Tuesday.
Williams said she plans to introduce a bill that would require political advertisements to disclose if AI was used in their creation.
As WESA reports, the new bill sets regulations that prohibit chatbots from generating content around mature topics like self-harm, when engaging with kids. While the bill will still need to pass the PA State House of Representatives, Costa was happy to see progress:
“While Pittsburgh continues to drive innovation in the Artificial Intelligence space, it’s important that legislators in Harrisburg ensure that AI chatbots accessible to minors are safe, accurate, and regulated,” said Senate Democratic leader Jay Costa, calling the bill “a meaningful step in the right direction.”
“But there’s a lot still to do in delivering an internet landscape that is safe for young users,” he added. “I look forward to continuing this difficult and necessary work so that Pennsylvania can continue to lead the nation in AI advancements and safeguards.”
PA has the biggest — and one of the highest-paid — state governments in the country. And, though our State minimum wage is still stuck at a mind-blowing $7.25 per hour, our State lawmakers get still get regular cost-of-living raises. Kinkead is looking to change that:
“It is shameful that state lawmakers have seen a more than 45% increase in salary over the last 17 years while the minimum wage has remained unchanged. For this reason, we plan to introduce legislation that will increase the minimum wage in Pennsylvania by the same percentage calculated for the salaries of members of the General Assembly,” Kinkead and Green wrote in their co-sponsorship memorandum. “This means that the annual cost-of-living adjustments (COLA) received by state lawmakers will raise the minimum wage at the same rate. If we are getting a raise from taxpayers, then taxpayers should get a raise, as well.”
New minimum wage proposal tied to legislators’ pay →
Times Observer
Last late month, Lee announced that she was preparing to move forward with the impeachement. Now, City & State reports that Lee has made it official:
In the measure, Lee cites Bondi’s “defiance of the Oversight Committee’s subpoena to release the full, unredacted Epstein files,” along with abuse of investigatory and prosecutorial authority, defiance of federal court orders and perjury in congressional testimony as the alleged offenses that led to her introducing the articles of impeachment.
“The Attorney General of the United States is entrusted with one of the most solemn responsibilities in our democracy: to enforce the law fairly, impartially, and without political influence. Instead, Pam Bondi is breaking the law to protect pedophiles and prosecute Trump’s political opponents,” Lee said in a statement. “This is about accountability, transparency, and justice. We deserve a justice system that serves the people, not one that is weaponized for political gain.”
U.S. Rep. Summer Lee introduces articles of impeachment against Attorney General Pam Bondi →
City & State Pennsylvania
The Capital-Star reports this week that PA has upgraded Workers’ Comp coverage in the State to better cover Post-Traumatic Stress injuries among first responders. Now, Davis and others are pushing to upgrade the law further by extending coverage for first responders operating outside their immediate jurisdictions:
Regardless of party, Lt. Gov. Austin Davis urged lawmakers to “take off our red jersey and our blue jerseys” in favor of a “Pennsylvania jersey” to quickly move new legislation.
“I hope that we can once again find bipartisan support where Democrats and Republicans will come together to get this done for the good people of Pennsylvania and to keep our communities safe,” said Davis.
Davis noted the increasing number of extreme weather events across the commonwealth, which scientists link to global warming and climate change. Despite the increase, the number of first responders has fallen to a “crisis” level in some areas, with younger generations opting for other careers.
Pa. officials seek PTSI coverage for more first responders →
Pennsylvania Capital-Star
As the City Controller, Heisler has the power to audit, but not actually influence Pittsburgh’s finances. As previous Mayor Ed Gainey and the City Council were preparing the earliest versions of the 2026 City budget, Heisler warned that the numbers weren’t adding up. Now, even after the City Council made drastic changes to the budget, current Mayor Corey O’Connor has found that the budget is an astonishing $30–$40 million short. Heisler is being surprisingly humble about the whole thing:
“I believe that the controller’s office has made every effort to be straightforward, direct and honest with the public about the trajectory of the city’s finances,” Heisler told TribLive Friday, a day after O’Connor held a press conference discussing the city’s financial woes.
“The reason you put out warnings, though, is not so you can be proven right,” she added. “The reason you put out warnings is so action can be taken.”
Garrity is, of course, both our current State Treasurer and the leading Republican candidate for Governor in this Fall’s Gubernatorial election. Spotlight PA reports this week that she may have blurred the lines between the two roles by showing up as an election candidate to a party for a firm with which she’s officially done business as the Treasurer:
Garrity has invested $45 million in taxpayer money into Israel Bonds since the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks, a move that overrode earlier concerns within the Treasury that the bonds could be a risky investment. In gratitude, the firm behind the bonds invited her, in her capacity as state treasurer alongside an unknown number of other Pennsylvania investors, to a thank-you event.
Garrity attended — but she paid for her ticket, costing $450, out of her campaign funds.
“Treasurer Garrity believed that the Israel Bonds event crossed the line beyond her official capacity as Treasurer and into the political, so she decided to pay for her ticket from her campaign funds because she did not believe taxpayer dollars should be used for those purposes,” campaign spokesperson Matt Beynon told Access Harrisburg.
The Capital-Star reports that advocates for the program — which would provide funding for things like private school tuition — are pressuring Shapiro to opt in. But, it sounds like the devil will be in the details:
The U.S. Treasury Department is developing rules outlining how much authority states will have over the program. Those rules could spell out how public school students could benefit alongside private school students, or whether states could require that scholarship granting organizations serve only low-income families or prohibit them from discriminating against LGBTQ students and teachers.
The rules could also outline how the federal program may or may not stack with existing state tax-credit scholarships.
A spokesperson for Shapiro said in a statement Thursday his office is “awaiting federal guidance to address key questions about how this program would work, including which students will be eligible, how this federal initiative will interact with existing programs.”
Supporters of the new federal school choice tax credit pressure Gov. Shapiro to opt in →
Pennsylvania Capital-Star
In a sad reminder of how our elected officials have mismanaged the City’s finances in recent years, O’Connor announced that Heinz has stepped in to pay for Pittsburgh’s overpriced and problematic comprehensive plan — a framework that’s supposed to guide growth and development in the city over the coming decades:
“It’s important that we finish this plan so that we have a comprehensive growth strategy through engagement with our residents,” Mr. O’Connor said in a statement. “Through this partnership with the foundations and the adjustments we’ve made, we are able to deliver a Comp Plan while saving taxpayers over $1 million.”
Heinz Endowments to give Pittsburgh $750,000 to finish comprehensive plan →
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
PPS is actually its own kind of governmental body, run independently from Pittsburgh’s City government. With the district working through an enrollment and management crisis, O’Connor said that he wants the City to work more closely with PPS on next steps — particularly around district facilities that may be closed as part of a forthcoming restructuring:
“Whatever comes of that plan [to restructure the district], we need to definitely be involved because that’s going to impact our neighborhoods,” Mr. O’Connor said. “So, what does that look like? Have we had a long-term plan about what these buildings are going to be 20 years from now?”
Mr. O'Connor said the city would be a willing partner in that plan, potentially putting funding and resources into those buildings to turn them into community centers, housing or finding other uses for them.
The mayor said he’s spoken with Mr. Walters about ways in which the city can work with the school district and connect PPS to other partners, like foundations.
Mayor O'Connor looks to strengthen partnership with Pittsburgh Public Schools →
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Local investigative nonprofit Public Source produces regular transparency reports on how our local governments spend our tax dollars. This week, the newsroom reports that the Sheriff’s office is withholding the names of deputies on the payroll:
We reached agreements with the county police department and the district attorney’s office. The county police agreed only to redact the names of officers who had been undercover the prior year, or were currently undercover, or would be undercover in the following year. As a result, the public ultimately gained access to a far higher percentage of those entities’ employee names than the county initially provided.
The sheriff’s office declined to settle out of court.
During testimony, the sheriff’s office acknowledged that fewer than 50 deputies were actively performing undercover or covert work. But it argued that the names of many more deputies should be withheld because they might perform undercover work in the future or could face threats if identified.
Public Source challenges Allegheny County Sheriff’s Office decision to redact deputy names →
Pittsburgh's Public Source
The drama surrounding the 2026 City budget continues. First, previous Mayor Ed Gainey turned in a budget proposal that City Council described as dysfunctional and unrealistic. Then, the City Council made a number of big changes, including an increase to Pittsburgh real estate taxes to add a necessary $20 million in revenue for the City. Now, O’Connor has officially reopened the budget after his team determined that it’s STILL busted. We really need to hold our City officials accountable for this debacle:
Pittsburgh Mayor Corey O’Connor said Tuesday the city’s budget needs a major overhaul — not next year, but in the coming weeks.
He said his team identified $30 to $40 million in underestimated costs after he took office in January and that he will move to revise the 2026 spending plan starting this month.
“The reality is much worse than we thought,” O’Connor said.
O’Connor says Pittsburgh budget short some $30 million in key areas →
Pittsburgh's Public Source
The drama surrounding the 2026 City budget continues. First, previous Mayor Ed Gainey turned in a budget proposal that City Council described as dysfunctional and unrealistic. Then, the City Council made a number of big changes, including an increase to Pittsburgh real estate taxes to add a necessary $20 million in revenue for the City. Now, O’Connor has officially reopened the budget after his team determined that it’s STILL busted:
Councilor Erika Strassburger, the chair of the Committee on Finance and Law, attended the press conference and said after that Council last year “made the best decision we could with the information we had … Certainly new information has come to light.”
O’Connor says Pittsburgh budget short some $30 million in key areas →
Pittsburgh's Public Source
The Post-Gazette reports that the funding will help cover things like street cleaning and homeless services:
Representatives from Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s administration on Thursday highlighted a nearly $3.5 million state investment in Downtown Pittsburgh that will support ongoing efforts to revamp the corridor...
“We're making these improvements for the long term — for the quality of life of Pittsburgh,” said Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development Secretary Rick Siger.
New businesses and busier streets: Downtown's revival gets another boost ahead of NFL Draft →
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Though Fetterman had previously signaled his support for some elements of the SAVE Act, like voter ID requirements, our tall Senator said that the current version of the bill’s attacks on mail-in voting are a no-go for him:
Fetterman also said last month that the changes under the SAVE Act to restrict mail-in voting, which Trump has railed against even as Republicans implore their voters to use it, was a “nonstarter” for him.
On Wednesday, Fetterman reiterated that view with CBS News, insisting that Trump’s calls to ban mail-in voting made no sense.
“The president is constantly critical on mail-in voting and that’s ridiculous,” said Fetterman. “It’s safe. Some of the best examples in the country are from red states like Ohio and Florida.”
Deluzio, a Navy veteran of the Iraq war, has been one of the most outspoken critics of Trump’s aggression in the Middle East:
Mr. Deluzio said he sees “strong parallels” between the Trump administration’s shifting reasons for the attacks and the justifications that sent soldiers like him to the region two decades ago. The situations aren’t the same, he’s quick to acknowledge. Iran has been widely condemned for decades as a state sponsor of terrorism. Its leaders helped arm and fund proxies to fight against Americans when he was deployed, Mr. Deluzio said...
“I don't want to see another generation of Americans be sent to fight the war that we didn't have to fight,” he said after a new conference earlier this month in which he, for the second time in six weeks, raised concerns about Trump instigating another “forever war.”
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Now that the former owners of the Penguins have forfeited the rights to develop the part of the Hill District surrounding PPG Paints Arena, two agencies are responsible for what happens next: Pittsburgh’s Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) and the Sports and Exhibition Authority (SEA). Lavelle sits on the Board of the URA, and said that, oddly, the agency has actually walked back affordability requirements for new housing developments in the area:
In 2014, an agreement between the Penguins and groups representing Hill District residents set standards for housing in the lower Hill, requiring at least 20% of new units be affordable for residents earning below certain income thresholds.
Continuing to follow those standards is critical, said Hill Consensus Group leader Carl Redwood, adding that new housing “needs to be affordable for average Black families.”
The URA’s request for proposals does not set affordability requirements but will reference the 2014 agreement and encourage developers to “look at it and read it,” Mr. Lavelle said.
After the Penguins move on, Pittsburgh takes steps to revive lower Hill with multiple housing plans →
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Politics PA reports that a Mauritanian citizen living in Philly has somehow voted in every US federal election since 2008, which is definitely weird. Garrity took the opportunity to hit at Shapiro:
The Garrity for PA campaign is calling for Shapiro to act “to give voters confidence in their vote and protect our elections. It’s past time Josh Shapiro did his job for the people he was elected to represent.”
Garrity Calls On Shapiro To Secure Elections →
Politics PA
Now that the former owners of the Penguins have forfeited the rights to develop the part of the Hill District surrounding PPG Paints Arena, two agencies are responsible for what happens next: Pittsburgh’s Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) and the Sports and Exhibition Authority (SEA). Fontana chairs the SEA:
As the URA awaits public comments on the plans for housing in the lower Hill, a new operator will be brought in to manage the surface parking lots that currently cover the site.
The Sports and Exhibition Authority — responsible for oversight of the lots — announced on Tuesday that it is looking for a new firm to take over. Interested parties must respond by April 26.
“That land will eventually get developed in a different way,” said state Sen. Wayne Fontana, D-Brookline, chairman of the Sports and Exhibition Authority’s board. “In the meantime, this gives another opportunity [for companies] to bid on it.”
After the Penguins move on, Pittsburgh takes steps to revive lower Hill with multiple housing plans →
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Late last year, a whistleblower within the Department of Aging sued Shapiro over the State’s handling of elder abuse. Now, Spotlight PA reports that State lawmakers are officially seeking answers:
All are issues revealed by Spotlight PA in a 18 month-long investigation into failures by some counties to conduct thorough and timely abuse and neglect investigations and the resulting devastating consequences for older adults. Many of those older adults lack financial resources for alternative care or a network of family and friends to watch out for them — so they rely on the system to remain safe.
Despite the failures, those agencies have not faced any penalties by state aging officials, even as the number of older adults who die during open investigations has skyrocketed over the past decade.
Earlier this year, O’Connor introduced the “Main & Main” initiative, which he billed as a series of programs to help support main streets and business districts throughout the City. Now, the Trib reports that O’Connor has announced a new piece of the initiative — $500,000 in funding for facades:
“Main & Main is about identifying what our neighborhoods and business districts need and finding ways to meet those needs through partnerships, investments and support,” O’Connor said in a news release. “Our small businesses are looking for support to update and maintain their storefronts to attract customers and improve how their main street looks.”
The Trib reports that it’s been a big week for Lee: She won the official endoresement of the Allegheny County Democratic Committee, and her biggest opponent, Turtle Creek Mayor Adam Forgie, has dropped out of this May’s primary:
Turtle Creek Mayor Adam Forgie announced Tuesday he is shutting down his campaign.
Lee, a Swissvale Democrat seeking her third term to represent Pennsylvania’s 12th Congressional District, was officially endorsed Sunday by the Allegheny County Democratic Committee.
“Many circumstances have brought me to this decision,” said Forgie, 48, in a prepared statement. “I am extremely grateful for all of those who supported me during this campaign.”
Forgie, a middle-school history teacher whose fourth term as mayor started in January, has criticized Lee as polarizing and out of touch with district voters.
WESA reports that all of O’Connor’s nominees were ultimately approved by the full City Council:
Councilors Barb Warwick and Deb Gross voted against [controversial Pro-Housing Pittsburgh founder David] Vatz’s nomination Tuesday. Warwick also voted against confirming the appointment of Gerardo Interiano, a government affairs official at the self-driving vehicle company Aurora.
Warwick declined to comment on either of those votes.
PA is the only state in the country that doesn’t have a standardized statewide standard for property tax reassessments — a quirk that has cost the Pittsburgh region millions in tax revenue, since many of our properties’ tax values are many years out of date. KDKA reports this week that Fontana is pushing to finally take this responsibility away from counties, and put it in the hands of the State:
State Senator Wayne Fontana said now is the time for a statewide property assessment.
"We're the only state that hasn't done it," he said on Tuesday. "Every other state has a statewide scheduled reassessment."
Fontana told Allegheny County's Government Review Commission that his new legislation would require all counties in Pennsylvania to conduct property reassessments once every five years. Many haven't reassessed in decades, and that causes disparities, as similar houses on the same streets can be taxed differently depending on when they hit the market.
WESA reports that all of O’Connor’s nominees were ultimately approved by the full City Council:
Councilors Barb Warwick and Deb Gross voted against Vatz’s nomination Tuesday. Warwick also voted against confirming the appointment of Gerardo Interiano, a government affairs official at the self-driving vehicle company Aurora.
Warwick declined to comment on either of those votes. Gross said she opposed Vatz’s nomination because of objections raised to his appointment by neighbors and community groups.
She declined to expand on her objections Tuesday.
Back in January, County Council members Bethany Hallam, Dan Grzybek, Kathleen Madonna-Emmerling, Lissa Geiger Shulman, Alex Rose, and Jordan Botta co-sponsored a bill to bar the County from working from Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Now, the Trib reports that the County Council has officially passed it into law. Adams, in his opposition, attempted to soften the bill with an amendment:
Adams and Filiaggi attempted to add provisions in the bill that would have employees consult with and follow recommendations from the county’s law department before acting on an ICE request, and have the legislation sunset on Jan. 1, 2029. Council rejected the amendments.
WESA reports that all of O’Connor’s nominees were ultimately approved by the full City Council:
O’Connor only renominated one of the planning commissioners he inherited from Gainey: LaShawn Burton-Faulk.
Councilor Bob Charland voted against giving her another term on the commission. Afterwards he declined to say why he had done so, although he had often been critical of Gainey’s development agenda, which Burton-Faulk had supported on the commission.
Back in January, Hallam — alongside fellow County Council members Dan Grzybek, Kathleen Madonna-Emmerling, Lissa Geiger Shulman, Alex Rose, and Jordan Botta — co-sponsored a bill to bar the County from working from Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Now, WESA reports that the County Council has officially passed it into law. Hallam emphasized that it gives real legal power to the County position:
Hallam said the measure, which will cover the county’s nearly 6,000 employees, is meant to give teeth to the formal policies and informal practices that currently exist across government.
“Our job is to create laws, not non-binding resolutions, not policies from the different row offices,” Hallam told her fellow council members before Tuesday’s vote. Existing practices “are all fine and dandy,” she said, but ensuring they’re codified in law provides stability.
As WESA reports, this comes at a time when O’Connor is building momentum in his push to remake Pittsburgh’s development process:
Council’s confirmations come in a week where O’Connor is moving quickly to change the way city government approaches development. On Monday, he announced plans to undertake a large-scale zoning refresh in the coming months — decisions on which would eventually come before the planning commission. The new commissioners are also likely to take up a revamped approach to inclusionary zoning, a Gainey-backed program that requires new developments to set aside a percentage of housing units at costs that would be affordable to people of modest incomes.
Back in January, County Council members Bethany Hallam, Dan Grzybek, Kathleen Madonna-Emmerling, Lissa Geiger Shulman, Alex Rose, and Jordan Botta co-sponsored a bill to bar the County from working from Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Now, the Trib reports that the County Council has officially passed it into law. Filiaggi, in her opposition, attempted to soften the bill with an amendment:
Adams and Filiaggi attempted to add provisions in the bill that would have employees consult with and follow recommendations from the county’s law department before acting on an ICE request, and have the legislation sunset on Jan. 1, 2029. Council rejected the amendments.
Back in January, County Council members Bethany Hallam, Dan Grzybek, Kathleen Madonna-Emmerling, Lissa Geiger Shulman, Alex Rose, and Jordan Botta co-sponsored a bill to bar the County from working from Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Now, WESA reports that the County Council has officially passed it into law. Catena, the Council President, reported dismayingly that he abstained from the vote after receiving death threats:
Council President Pat Catena abstained. He said a person came to his house and threatened his and his family’s lives ahead of the vote.
Catena, who participated in the meeting by phone, said he notified law enforcement of the threat. He did not disclose the person’s position on the bill, but said the threat “crosses a line that should alarm every single person that believes in democracy.” He said he was abstaining because he refused “to allow anyone to claim that threats or intimidation had any influence over the democratic process or the outcome of my decision.
“If the goal of this threat was to silence me or intimidate this council, clearly you can see that it has failed,” he added.
Back in January, County Council members Bethany Hallam, Dan Grzybek, Kathleen Madonna-Emmerling, Lissa Geiger Shulman, Alex Rose, and Jordan Botta co-sponsored a bill to bar the County from working from Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Now, WESA reports that the County Council has officially passed it into law. Walton, in his opposition to the bill, cited his concerns that it doesn’t go far enough:
Walton, one of the bill’s most vocal critics, called the measure “fundamentally worthless.”
“I don’t believe that ICE agents are going to give a damn on whether we pass this ordinance or not,” he said.
Instead, he argued council would be better off “ drafting a resolution to clearly state wherever ICE violates a person's civil rights, legal rights, they violate Pennsylvania criminal code, we arrest their ass. Lock them up.”
As the Capital-Star reports that, while the package of bills has now passed the House Judiciary Committee, it still needs to be approved by the full legislature:
Proposals advancing similar legislation to many of the measures voted on Tuesday have advanced in the House or been introduced in the Republican-controlled Senate, but have never been able to make it through both chambers.
For example, Rep. Dan Frankel (D-Allegheny), who has sponsored previous versions of the Fairness Act, said in a statement that he’d been trying to expand nondiscrimination protections in the state for more than 20 years.
“When talented people are excluded or marginalized, our communities lose out,” he said. “The Fairness Act helps ensure that opportunity in Pennsylvania is truly open to all.”
Pa. House panel advances package of bills to codify LGBTQ protections →
Pennsylvania Capital-Star
Back in January, County Council members Bethany Hallam, Dan Grzybek, Kathleen Madonna-Emmerling, Lissa Geiger Shulman, Alex Rose, and Jordan Botta co-sponsored a bill to bar the County from working from Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Now, WESA reports that the County Council has officially passed it into law. Futules cited his personal experience with constituents whose lives have been upended by ICE:
“In my heart I had Jose Flores from Oakmont — taken when he was getting his daughter ready for school,” said Futules, who represents that community, before the vote. “He was my neighbor and I know him. He works at Oakmont Bakery. Randy Cordova Flores from Springdale was also taken in my district. How horrible is that?” Futules said he had another friend who, although an American citizen, “lives in fear. He carries his passport with him because he's afraid that ICE will pick him up.”
“On behalf of these three people, I’m a yes vote for this bill,” Futules said.
As the Capital-Star reports that, while the package of bills has now passed the House Judiciary Committee, it still needs to be approved by the full legislature:
“The idea that we don’t deserve to be discriminated against because of who we are or who we love should not be seen as controversial. We understand, and most Pennsylvanians believe, that our commonwealth is better when it’s fairer,” said Rep. Jessica Benham (D-Allegheny), the bill’s co-sponsor.
Pa. House panel advances package of bills to codify LGBTQ protections →
Pennsylvania Capital-Star
WPXI reports that Lee was in Braddock for the ceremony:
The funding is provided through the Community Project Funding program, which allows members of Congress to direct federal resources toward specific local priorities. These dollars are intended to help develop and preserve housing for working families while expanding access to safe living environments throughout the region.
Rep. Lee emphasized that the funding is designed to provide stability for various members of the community, including working families and seniors.
“Stable housing means families can plan for the future instead of worrying about the next rent payment, seniors can stay in the communities they helped build and children don’t have to change schools because housing fell through,” Lee said.
She noted that her team worked specifically to ensure resources reached communities like Braddock.
McCormick has so far been a big booster of President Trump’s new war in Iran. Now, the Inquirer reports that McCormick is building a narrative around potential retaliation at home:
During a visit to two Conshohocken technology companies, the Pennsylvania Republican said that Iran has “proxies in the United States” who could put American lives at risk.
“I am worried about it because of all the underwriting of terrorism Iran has done,” McCormick said in wide-ranging remarks on the war and the role of the United States will play in Iran’s future once the shelling has stopped...
In discussing possible terrorist threats, McCormick criticized congressional Democrats for withholding funding to the Department of Homeland Security.
“We should pass the appropriations for Homeland Security and take steps to mitigate the [terrorism] risk,” McCormick said.
As the war rages, McCormick worries about terrorists, says U.S. should avoid Iranian governance →
The Philadelphia Inquirer
When O’Connor assumed the Mayor’s office in January, his first executive order directed the City to determine how to improve Pittsburgh’s dysfunctional permitting process for businesses and housing. Now, WESA reports that O’Connor has revealed the first details from those efforts:
The solutions O’Connor hopes to enact are divided into phases. Phase I, which is intended to go into effect in the next several months, will see a host of smaller changes, such as streamlining service for simpler permit approvals, more efficient pre-application meetings to head off confusion down the road, and prioritizing projects by size, type, and complexity.
“ It's speeding this process up so that we can be upfront with the details for our residents for what they need right away,” he said. He emphasized that the reforms would benefit projects of all sizes.
“ This is not just for big developers. This is more for your neighborhoods,” O’Connor said. “These are for individuals that are trying to get a permit to do work on their house. This is for a storefront that hasn't been able to open. That's really where this is gonna impact.”
In 2024, a group of 40 states sued Ticketmaster over monopolistic pricing practices for events like concerts. This week, the US Department of Justice agreed to a settlement in the case, but the states are pushing back. WTAJ reports that Sunday and the other Attorneys General are calling for a mistrial in hopes of continuing the lawsuit:
“Pennsylvania joined this bipartisan coalition because free markets require real competition,” Attorney General Sunday said. “For too long, Ticketmaster has leveraged its monopoly to drive up prices and fees while limiting choices for fans, artists and venues. While the federal government has chosen to settle, Pennsylvania and our partner states are committed to continuing this case to hold Ticketmaster accountable and restore competition to the entertainment marketplace.”
The Post-Gazette reports on the cross-sector effort to prepare downtown for next month’s mega-event, the NFL draft. O’Connor, of course, declared that it was time to “redd up” when he took over the Mayor’s office earlier this year:
Across Downtown Pittsburgh, about 100 weathered newspaper kiosks have been removed over the last few months, according to Mayor Corey O’Connor. Dark street corners are getting lights, empty store windows are getting filled and streets will be swept clean.
Put simply, “details matter,” the mayor said at the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership’s annual meeting Thursday.
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
WPXI reports that two Democrat State Representatives are asking Sunday to investigate the suspicious coordination between President Trump’s moves to start war with Iran, and the rise of local gas prices:
In a joint statement, democratic state representatives Joe Ciresi and Jim Haddock alleged that gas prices started rising in Pennsylvania “as soon as the first bomb struck in Iran,” even though gas flowing at the pumps had already been paid for.
“Now, Pennsylvanians will have to figure out not only how to put food on the table, but how to get to the grocery store in the first place – and this is after costs have been rising faster than worker pay,” the joint statement continues.
WESA reports that Michael Fanone, a former DC police officer who was hospitalized after sustaining injuries during the January 6th assault on the Capitol, has been throwing shade at Fetterman. During Fetterman’s run for the US Senate, Fanone actually endorsed him — but now seems to regret the decision:
“He doesn’t return our calls. He doesn’t pick up the phone,” Fanone said. “To John Fetterman, it’s ‘You got me elected, now it’s my way or the highway.’ … This, to me, is a prime example of American politics and American politicians run amok. This is why our younger generations feel politically disillusioned’...
Fanone had his own story of getting the cold shoulder, even though he backed Fetterman’s 2022 Senate victory over Republican Dr. Mehmet Oz with a video endorsing him on the eve of the election.
In that recording, Fanone accused Oz of having “filled his campaign ranks with election deniers” and Jan. 6 participants, while he touted Fetterman as ”a representative committed to our democratic process, and one who respects the rule of law.”
WESA reports that, as part of a series of State Seate hearings around the upcoming State budget, Williams highlighted career programs as an important consideration for the PA Department of Education:
Meanwhile, long waitlists at career and technical centers, seen as alternatives to traditional academic programs in high schools, have been a bipartisan concern.
Tech-ed schools can prepare students for a career in the trades, said Pittsburgh’s Lindsey Williams, who is Democratic chair of the Senate’s Education committee.
“Some of our [career and technical education] programs are busting at the seams,” Williams said. “In my district, A.W. Beattie [career center in Allison Park] has over 600 students on their wait list for next school year.”
Public Source reports that O’Connor joined Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato at a recent discussion of the local arts scene, ahead of next month’s NFL draft:
The Boulevard of the Allies, [O’Connor] said, shouldn’t feel like “a six-lane highway cutting through Downtown.” A future redesign could incorporate green infrastructure and art as part of a multimillion-dollar project to reshape the corridor.
Elsewhere, the city owns roughly 11,000 vacant parcels that could become canvases for creative use.
“Let’s get creative,” O’Connor said, suggesting possibilities ranging from sculptures to music venues...
Both O’Connor and Innamorato urged artists to see themselves not only as creators but also as civic participants.
Sit on boards. Pitch ideas to local government. Help shape what the region becomes.
Pittsburgh's Public Source
As Spotlight PA reports, Shapiro, powered by billionaire mega-donors like Michael Bloomberg, is hoping to raise a record-setting amount of money this election cycle:
All told, Shapiro raised $23 million in 2025 and had $30 million left in the bank as of Dec. 31. Garrity raised $1.5 million in the same period and had $1 million left as of the same date...
By total donors, Shapiro again has Garrity beat. He accumulated 5,100 unique donors in 2025; Garrity had just 1,200.
The Allegheny Front reports that, following the construction of new chargers along State highways, PennDOT is now preparing a $100 million push for new chargers in residential areas:
“Community charging is the culmination of an extraordinary effort by the Shapiro Administration to deliver accessible EV infrastructure to PA travelers,” said PennDOT Secretary Mike Carroll in a press release. “We’re excited to bring EV chargers to neighborhoods around the Commonwealth.”
Pennsylvania moves to build more EV chargers in neighborhoods →
Allegheny Front
Public Source reports that Innamorato joined Mayor Corey O’Connor at a recent discussion of the local arts scene, ahead of next month’s NFL draft:
Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato framed it simply, with a phrase that drew laughs in the room: The arts contribute to the region’s “cool shit factor”...
Both O’Connor and Innamorato urged artists to see themselves not only as creators but also as civic participants.
Sit on boards. Pitch ideas to local government. Help shape what the region becomes.
Innamorato pointed to the county’s broader planning work, including its comprehensive plan, as a place where artists should be involved early.
Pittsburgh's Public Source
Fetterman had previously appealed directly to President Trump to fire the former Department of Homeland Security Secretary, Kristi Noem, whose oversight of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE, a subsidiary of DHS) campaign in Minnesota resulted in the deaths of two legal observers. Now, Noem has been forced out and Fetterman is on board with Trump’s new nominee, Oklahoma Senator Markwayne Mullin:
“As a member of the Homeland Security Committee + Ranking Member of Subcommittee on Border Security: I’m not sure how many fellow Democrats will vote to support our colleague @SenMullin as the next DHS Secretary, but I am AYE,” Fetterman said in a Thursday afternoon post on the social platform X.
Late last month, the Supreme Court ruled that it was unconstitutional for President Trump to use presidential emergency powers to unilaterally declare tariffs on trade partners around the world. Trump quickly pivoted to using other special presidential powers to justify a new set of global tariffs. In response, Shapiro and officials from other states are suing to stop him again:
“The Supreme Court got it right — but instead of following the law, Trump decided to double down,” tweeted Shapiro.
“This President’s tariffs have done nothing but cause chaos and raise prices for our farmers, small businesses, and families. I’ve gone to court before to protect Pennsylvanians from the costs of this disastrous trade war — and I’m ready to do it again.”
Pennsylvania Sues Over Trump’s New Global Tariffs →
Politics PA
NOTUS confirms what Fetterman had already signalled, prior to the vote:
The bipartisan measure, led by Sens. Tim Kaine and Rand Paul, failed 47 to 53. Other than Paul, all Republicans opposed it. Democratic Sen. John Fetterman also voted “no.”
WESA reports that local authorities have not yet been able to stop the anonymous person who keeps, somehow, using our public safety radio network to send antisemitic threats to officials like Mayor Corey O’Connor. Police have, however, stepped up patrols around religious organizations — a move cheered by Coghill:
“ I just want people to know that we are on it. We won't tolerate it,” said City Councilor Anthony Coghill, who chairs council’s public safety committee. “Threatening calls like that have no place in the city of Pittsburgh or society in general.”
Coghill called the messages “disturbing” and emphasized that they are under investigation. “Threats made of any sort or type, toward whether it be the mayor or a council member or public in general, we take very seriously.”
As the Trib reports, the bill calls for stronger regulations around trains carrying hazardous materials — like those in the East Palestine disaster from 2023:
Fetterman called the [East Palestine] derailment a “complete tragedy and something that could have been prevented”...
Fetterman also was an original cosponsor of a nearly identical rail safety bill in 2023. Other original cosponsors included former Republican U.S. Sens. JD Vance of Ohio, now the vice president, and Marco Rubio of Florida, now secretary of state. Deluzio also introduced a similar rail safety bill last year.
Kinkead’s question came after Sunday explained why he’s letting Shapiro’s office take the lead on prosecuting the Trump administration, when the Attorneys General of other states are doing so themselves:
But Sunday hasn’t always let Shapiro take charge on issues of partisan sensitivity. As Rep. Emily Kinkead, D-Allegheny County, pointed out, Sunday has been involved in defending Pennsylvania’s longstanding prohibition on Medicaid funding being used for abortion-relation healthcare.
A suit against this statute was brought by several providers affiliated with Planned Parenthood, and Shapiro declined to defend the law, with Sunday’s office stepping in last year to argue in favor of the ban.
But this is simply part of his job description, Sunday said, regardless of how he personally feels about the abortion funding rules.
“We will follow the law, we will defend every statute that is passed by this body whether I like it, I don’t like it, I’m indifferent to it,” Sunday told Kinkead. “We are going to defend each statute that is passed by this body, signed by the governor, and has not been ruled unconstitutional yet.”
The Trib reports that the messages are somehow being broadcast on local public safety radio systems:
Mayor Corey O’Connor, whose late mother was Jewish, said he attended an event at a local synagogue Monday evening.
“We know there’s been a lot of antisemitic speech. It’s a lot more than in the past,” O’Connor told reporters Tuesday morning outside the City-County Building.
He said he was more concerned about his wife and two young children than about himself after the threatening remarks.
The mayor added he wants people to feel safe and welcome in Pittsburgh and said he had “all the faith” in Pittsburgh’s police force.
“It’s just being as cautious as we can and taking every threat seriously,” the mayor said.
WPXI reports that Sunday has joined nearly two dozen other Attorneys General in demanding answers from GoFundMe, after the organization spun up unauthorized donation campaigns for more than a million charities:
“GoFundMe provides families and communities with the ability to raise money in times of need, but these many unauthorized postings with solicitations confuse donors, while also harming the charities who did not give consent,” Attorney General Sunday said. “These unauthorized pages can result in donations not reaching the donors’ intended recipients. Full transparency is absolutely necessary on online platforms soliciting and advertising donations.”
This came in response to a question from one of our State Representatives, Emily Kinkead, after Sunday explained why he’s letting Shapiro’s office take the lead on prosecuting the Trump administration, when the Attorneys General of other states are doing so themselves:
But Sunday hasn’t always let Shapiro take charge on issues of partisan sensitivity. As Rep. Emily Kinkead, D-Allegheny County, pointed out, Sunday has been involved in defending Pennsylvania’s longstanding prohibition on Medicaid funding being used for abortion-relation healthcare.
A suit against this statute was brought by several providers affiliated with Planned Parenthood, and Shapiro declined to defend the law, with Sunday’s office stepping in last year to argue in favor of the ban.
But this is simply part of his job description, Sunday said, regardless of how he personally feels about the abortion funding rules.
“We will follow the law, we will defend every statute that is passed by this body whether I like it, I don’t like it, I’m indifferent to it,” Sunday told Kinkead. “We are going to defend each statute that is passed by this body, signed by the governor, and has not been ruled unconstitutional yet.”
Sunday, when questioned by the PA State House of Representatives, gave a bit of a non-answer, here. It seem that he and Shapiro have just mutually agreed to carve out their own lanes. As a Republican, Sunday is probably less comfortable going after President Trump, and as a Democrat (with likely Presidential aspirations), Shapiro is more comfortable:
At Monday’s hearing, House Democrats pressed Sunday as to why he had spent the past year abdicating what they considered to be his responsibility to pursue litigation against the federal government, and instead foisted the job onto the [Governor’s Office of General Counsel] OGC.
“We took a lot of time to dive into this and figure what is the right way to handle all of this,” Sunday responded, noting that, in most states, the OGC would be under the purview of the attorney general and not a separate executive agency...
“There are some things that the OGC can do that we also can do, but there are tons of things that I do that they can’t do,” Sunday said, and “everything that we say ‘yes’ to means we say ‘no’ to something else.”
As the Trib reports, the bill calls for stronger regulations around trains carrying hazardous materials — like those in the East Palestine disaster from 2023:
“Three years is a long time to wait for change,” said Deluzio, who introduced the House bill with U.S. Reps. John Garamendi, D-Calif., Nick LaLota, R-N.Y., and Michael Rulli, R-Ohio.
“It’s time to hold big, corporate railroads accountable and make life safer for people that work and live along the tracks. It’s taken too long, but it’s never too late to do something good,” added Deluzio. His congressional district includes portions of Beaver County along the Ohio border that were impacted by the derailment and subsequent controlled burn of chemicals that Norfolk Southern had been hauling.
After Charland joined the board for Pittsburgh Urban Redevelopment Authority earlier this year, he proposed creating an official database of Pittsburgh’s housing stock. The Post-Gazette reports that the measure has officially passed:
“Actually measuring places where a family or individual can live is something that’s really important and something that modern cities do that we have not done yet,” Councilman Bob Charland said last week. “We don’t display the data anywhere.”
Mr. Charland pointed to Minneapolis and New York City as having dashboards Pittsburgh could model after.
The dashboard is supposed to be up and running by the end of the year, according to the legislation. There are plans to further expand the dashboard once it’s created to include data that monitors how many units are taken offline and whether new construction received subsidies.
Pittsburgh to launch public housing data dashboard →
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
This comes as no surprise, given that Fetterman last week celebrated Trump’s decision to assassinate the Supreme Leader of Iran and start war with the country:
Speaking on Monday night to Fox News host Sean Hannity — who, in another interview over the weekend, said he and Mr. Fetterman had been texting back and forth in the early morning hours after the initial attack — Mr. Fetterman also argued that previous sanctions, treaties and negotiations hadn’t been effective.
“If you want real peace, tweets and harsh language isn't going to work,” he said, adding that he was “just baffled” why people “can’t just celebrate” the killing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other leaders of the Iranian regime.
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Gross’s fellow Council Member, Bob Charland, proposed building the database earlier this year:
“I am enthusiastic about this legislation,” Councilwoman Deb Gross said. “I’m really excited that we’re moving forward with it.”
She said she has years worth of emails asking various city departments for these exact data points and she got back partial or incomplete information.
“It’s harmed our policy in the end,” she said. “It’s really critical that we have this information to ensure that we’re doing housing policy better.”
Pittsburgh to launch public housing data dashboard →
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
With enrollment down, a budget deficit, and no clear plan for what to do with underutilized facilities, Pittsburgh Public Schools remains in an ongoing crisis. This week, Heisler released a report that builds on previous findings that PPS runs an inefficient procurement process for vendor contracts. As the Post-Gazette reports, Heisler sees an extraordinary amount of money being left on the table — and, for PPS, every dollar counts:
“The story of this one contract [in which PPS decided, for some reason, to turn down $2 million in potential savings] shows that procurement practices within PPS, to the extent that they exist, are vague and confusing,” Ms. Heisler said. “It shows that as soon as a second vendor became involved, the price came down by $1 million. Furthermore, PPS still may have lost out on another million in savings. There is just no reason we should be leaving so much money on the table.”
City controller suggests Pittsburgh Public Schools enhance RFP protocols →
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
The vote came as part of the County Council’s Public Safety Committee’s consideration of the proposal. The Committee voted 4–3 to advance the legislation to a final vote from the full Council:
“Just because a policy says one thing does not mean that it is set in stone,” said Hallam. “Row officers change, elected officials change, department heads change.”
Hallam also voiced concerns that some deputies go beyond the stated noninterference policy. She said deputies at the courthouse have told lawyers “not to tell [their] client that ICE is waiting for them.” Some deputies, she alleged, have moved people at the courthouse “into other rooms … so that they can wait for ICE to come and pick them up.”
This comes as more Republicans show their disapproval of President Trump’s decsision to start war with Iran:
[President Trump] is laying the groundwork for the people of Iran to pursue a new destiny. He gave the Iranian regime every opportunity for an off-ramp, but they refused.
We must seize this moment, stay on offense, and eliminate the regime’s ability to kill Americans and threaten our allies across the region.
WESA reports from the latest PA House Appropriations Committee meeting:
But it was a $5 copay to see doctors in prison that Mayes focused on in her questioning.
She called it “a barrier to healthcare for inmates, especially those who don't have family support or are not able to earn the wages while they're incarcerated.”
[PA Department of Corrections Deputy Secretary for Administration Christopher] Oppman said $526,000 was collected from copays over the last year, which is used to help cover spending. And officials said the money is needed for a prison healthcare system that was badly stretched during the COVID-19 pandemic, when prison officials saw medical requests increase by up to 42%.
“Our providers simply could not keep up with the demand. They were not able to see individuals within 24 to 48 hours. The individuals who actually have chronic care conditions, they couldn't be seen, and it really overburdened our providers,” Harry said.
The vote came as part of the County Council’s Public Safety Committee’s consideration of the proposal. The Committee voted 4–3 to advance the legislation to a final vote from the full Council:
Council members Bethany Hallam, Michelle Naccarati-Chapkis, Kathleen Madonna-Emmerling and Paul Klein voted in favor; DeWitt Walton, Suzanne Filiaggi and committee chair Aaron Adams voted against...
All three members who opposed the bill said they take issue with how ICE has operated throughout the nation, but did not think the legislation would make any improvements.
Allegheny County Council advances bill restricting ICE cooperation →
Pittsburgh's Public Source
The vote came as part of the County Council’s Public Safety Committee’s consideration of the proposal. The Committee voted 4–3 to advance the legislation to a final vote from the full Council:
“If we don’t do this we’re dependent on the good will of the people who work for the county,” Klein said. “I think the purpose of enacting the law is that it does bring some clarity.”
Allegheny County Council advances bill restricting ICE cooperation →
Pittsburgh's Public Source
The vote came as part of the County Council’s Public Safety Committee’s consideration of the proposal. The Committee voted 4–3 to advance the legislation to a final vote from the full Council:
Council members Bethany Hallam, Michelle Naccarati-Chapkis, Kathleen Madonna-Emmerling and Paul Klein voted in favor; DeWitt Walton, Suzanne Filiaggi and committee chair Aaron Adams voted against...
All three members who opposed the bill said they take issue with how ICE has operated throughout the nation, but did not think the legislation would make any improvements.
Allegheny County Council advances bill restricting ICE cooperation →
Pittsburgh's Public Source
The vote came as part of the County Council’s Public Safety Committee’s consideration of the proposal. The Committee voted 4–3 to advance the legislation to a final vote from the full Council:
“I don’t think there is anyone in this room who is not appalled, aghast, virulently opposed to what has been taking place by government agencies in this country,” Councilman DeWitt Walton, D-Hill District, said. “I believe there is uniform distaste.”
But he dismissed testimonies from residents who claim to have seen county employees cooperating with ICE, noting that council has not heard such assertions under oath.
He pointed out all county offices and departments, when asked by council, responded they had policies already that stated their workers would not cooperate with ICE absent a judicial warrant.
As the Herald-Standard reports, Shapiro later visited Carnegie for a roundtable discussion on AI:
“What the rules need to be, what the law needs to be, I need your help, I need your guidance,” Shapiro explained.
The governor’s visit to Carnegie came on the same day his administration announced initiatives it believes will boost the responsible use of AI. It will be working to fortify consumer protections when it comes to the use of AI companion bots; putting together an AI Enforcement Task Force and a formal complaint and reporting process for AI-powered bots engaged in unlicensed professional practice, such as providing mental health services; and launching an AI literacy toolkit, which the administration says will help Pennsylvanians navigate the world of AI, outlining its benefits and risks. The toolkit will have a specific focus on children, seniors, and individuals with intellectual disabilities, mental health issues and substance abuse problems.
Shapiro: AI poses ‘real risk’ to students →
Herald-Standard
The vote came as part of the County Council’s Public Safety Committee’s consideration of the proposal. The Committee voted 4–3 to advance the legislation to a final vote from the full Council:
“I stand with all of the people who fear going out without their passports because they might have to show proof of citizenship,” said Filiaggi, council’s only Republican member. “That is Nazi Germany and that is the Soviet Union. But that is not what this legislation is taking care of.”
She added that she fears the bill’s passage could spur the Trump administration to pull federal funding from the county.
“We have a president who is vengeful,” she said.
Allegheny County Council advances bill restricting ICE cooperation →
Pittsburgh's Public Source
The vote came as part of the County Council’s Public Safety Committee’s consideration of the proposal. The Committee voted 4–3 to advance the legislation to a final vote from the full Council:
“There is a difference between policy and legislation,” Councilor Alex Rose said. “Just because a policy says one thing does not mean a policy is set in stone forever. It is important to legislate because administrations change, department heads change.”
Allegheny County Council advances bill restricting ICE cooperation →
Pittsburgh's Public Source
Lee responded to the stunning development that President Trump collaborated with Israel to assassinate the Supreme Leader of Iran and initiate war:
Trump’s words make it clear he doesn’t care about the safety of Americans and his actions make clear he doesn't care about the safety of the Iranian people. If he did, he wouldn’t be risking the lives of American troops for the sake of another endless war or trying to turn Iran into a war zone.
From day one Trump has shown us his corruption and desire for regime change in multiple countries that he has no business being in.
This is an insanely unpopular, dangerous, and illegal act of war. Congress must pass a War Powers Resolution immediately and hold this lawless president accountable.
Pennsylvania Responds to Strikes on Iran →
Politics PA
Deluzio responded to the stunning development that President Trump collaborated with Israel to assassinate the Supreme Leader of Iran and initiate war:
Once again, an American President is sending brave Americans to fight and bleed in a Middle East regime change war. Let’s be clear: Donald Trump is ordering other people’s kids to risk their lives in an unauthorized war the Congress and the American people have not approved...
Congress should reconvene immediately and put an end to this before the region is further destabilized and precious American lives are lost.
To every hawk cheerleading this war—answer a simple question: how many American troops should die for this?
Pennsylvania Responds to Strikes on Iran →
Politics PA
Fetterman responded to the stunning development that President Trump collaborated with Israel to assassinate the Supreme Leader of Iran and initiate war:
Operation Epic Fury.
President Trump has been willing to do what’s right and necessary to produce real peace in the region.
God bless the United States, our great military, and Israel.
Pennsylvania Responds to Strikes on Iran →
Politics PA
Rachael Heisler
Pittsburgh City Controller