You have the power to hold our politicians accountable. Purples show you what they’re up to, so you can show them who’s boss.
Search people, topics, and morePittsburgh home market could see surge, with more inventory and fewer bidding wars →
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette - Feb 15, 2026
Fact-checking the Pennsylvania mail-in vote fraud claim amplified by Trump and Musk →
FactCheck.org - Feb 15, 2026
The NFL Draft is coming to Pittsburgh in April. Will you be cheering, or hiding? →
Pittsburgh's Public Source - Feb 15, 2026
Pittsburgh business community wants O’Connor to be ‘salesman-in-chief.’ Will he? →
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette - Feb 15, 2026
How Allegheny County’s tax base is collapsing — one appeal at a time →
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette - Feb 15, 2026
Josh Shapiro
Governor of PA and Rumored Democrat Frontrunner for the 2028 Presidential Election
Corey O’Connor
Mayor of Pittsburgh
Chris Deluzio
US Representative for the 17th District
Deb Gross
Pittsburgh City Council Member for the 7th District
John Fetterman
US Senator for PA with a Controversial Independent Streak
The Post-Gazette is out this week with a long report on Mayor Corey O’Connor’s efforts to attract new businesses to, and build more housing in, Pittsburgh. Warwick expressed her hope that O’Connor doesn’t lose sight of affordability:
Councilwoman Barb Warwick added that she hopes Mr. O’Connor’s commitment to building “translates into so much housing that rents go down for everyone — especially young college grads who we want to stay in Pittsburgh.
“Generally speaking, I’m skeptical that developers are going to build so much that it significantly decreases the rent they already collect on a given unit. But I guess time will tell. We’ve already seen rents drop by 5% recently, so we’re going in the right direction.
“However we get there, I think we can all agree that Pittsburgh should not become a town that is only affordable for existing homeowners and people making six-figures- plus.”
Pittsburgh business community wants O’Connor to be ‘salesman-in-chief.’ Will he? →
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
The Post-Gazette is out this week with a long report on Mayor Corey O’Connor’s efforts to attract new businesses to, and build more housing in, the city:
Mayor Corey O’Connor spent the drive to Harrisburg for Gov. Josh Shapiro’s budget address Feb. 3 making calls to CEOs — in Pittsburgh and beyond — aiming to attract investments that could boost the city’s tax base and fuel growth in new sectors such as artificial intelligence.
He said he’s averaging 10 to 20 calls a week to companies curious about turning the city’s vacant spaces into their next headquarters. And his actions, so far, are being viewed positively by local business leaders hoping for a “Salesperson-in-chief” who flies around the country touting the city’s potential.
Pittsburgh business community wants O’Connor to be ‘salesman-in-chief.’ Will he? →
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Earlier this week, the Allegheny County Council approved a new law that protects longtime homeowners from seeing huge tax increases whenever the County reassesses property values and taxes. PA is the only state where tax reassessments don’t take place at regular, fixed intervals. The Post-Gazette reports that Fontana is trying to change that:
In 2025, state Sen. Wayne Fontana, D-Brookline, introduced a bill, now under consideration, that would require regular reassessments in all Pennsylvania counties. An independent board convened to advise Allegheny County on local matters is also hearing from experts about the issue and will provide recommendations this year.
How Allegheny County’s tax base is collapsing — one appeal at a time →
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
As the Trib and other outlets report, a lone pro-ICE counter-protestor threw punches and attempted to upset the otherwise peaceful protest:
“If we were all just a little kinder to our friends, to our family, to our neighbors, to strangers, to ourselves, the world would be a much better place. You took that step today in standing up not only for all the immigrants that we don’t see but the people who have been taken from us, like Randy,” [Williams] said.
“Thank you for standing with his family and demanding answers and demanding that he be released from ICE custody, and be allowed to pursue his asylum claim to stay here safely in America,” Williams said. “Immigrants make us a beautiful country. Thank you all for standing in support of that today.”
This week, Republicans in the US Congress prepared to push forward with the SAVE Act, a new set of restrictions on voting. Meanwhile, President Trump has called for Republicans to “take over” elections, and has threatened to pass an executive order implementing voter ID requirements if the SAVE Act doesn’t pass. Now, the Post-Gazette reports that Garrity — who has already pledged, if she wins the eleciton for Governor this year, to work more closely with Trump on elections — is for voter ID requirements as well:
“We need to make it easy to vote in our elections, but hard to cheat,” Ms. Garrity said in a statement to the Post-Gazette. “If we need an ID to open a bank account, board a plane and even buy alcohol, then it’s a completely reasonable expectation that we should use an ID to vote.”
Pennsylvania on front lines of election power battle ahead of midterms →
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Late last month, Fetterman joined the other Democrats in the US Senate by voting to block a spending package that would cover, among other things, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). That vote set up two weeks of negotiations, in which Democrats sought to reign in the behavior that saw ICE agents kill two legal observers in the agency’s ongoing campaign in Minnesota. Those negotiations don’t seem to have gotten anywhere, as the latest version of the spending bill, which includes DHS, has failed again. Fetterman has consistently said he wouldn’t support shuttting down the government, even partially. He followed through this week by voting in favor of this latest, failed spending package:
"That vote to shut DHS down will have no functional impact on ICE because they have that $75 billion for the big beautiful bill," he said. But the vote against funding would mean "you're going to punish all of these other parts — the very important parts — of our government," such as the Coast Guard, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and cybersecurity operations.
Fetterman has generally refused to join other Democrats in criticizing the tactics of federal immigration officers, even in the wake of fatal shootings of American citizens by those officers in Minneapolis. He has also been silent about the detention of immigrants who have settled into communities in Western Pennsylvania, while his Republican colleague, Dave McCormick, has acknowledged that there are concerns about the moves.
InformUp reports that the City Council moved forward with, but didn’t yet finalize, legislation to allow a special tax agreement for a provider of nonprofit senior housing in Lawrenceville and other neighborhoods. Gross wanted more transparency:
Council Member Deb Gross of Highland Park, who represents Lawrenceville, expressed concern that the request did not include details about the original or extended agreements and that approving the legislation would give the department the ability to negotiate terms without council oversight.
The original contract does not appear to be available through the city’s two public portals.
Council voted to move the legislation forward.
PJM is the electric grid operator for PA and other states. That means that it serves, essentially, as the middle man between our utilitiy companies, like Duquesne Light, and the actual power stations that generate electricity. In 2024, Shapiro successfully sued PJM to put caps on the cost of electricity. Those caps were set to expire, but the Capital-Star reports that, after pressure from Shapiro, other Governors, and President Trump, PJM has agreed to extend the caps for another two years:
Electricity grid operator PJM Interconnection agreed to extend a cap on wholesale electricity prices for two years as surging demand brings greater costs for consumers, Gov. Josh Shapiro’s office said Thursday...
Extending the cap for another two years will save PJM’s 67 million customers an additional $27 billion on their energy bills, Shapiro said in a statement. His office estimates total savings of $45 billion over the four years the cap will be in effect.
The extension would mean about $575 in savings for every Pennsylvania household over the next four years, the administration said.
Grid operator PJM agrees to extension of wholesale electricity price cap →
Pennsylvania Capital-Star
InformUp reports that Gross made the connection by catching a Police Department invoice from surveillance company LeadsOnline:
According to Gross’s conversation with the administration, the police department only requests information from LeadsOnline with a search warrant.
“It means that our policies and our legislation need to be better in order to protect our citizens’ right to privacy,” she said, and “to prevent them from being subjected, even unintentionally by us, to surveillance and surveillance technologies.”
This comes after the City Council last week unanimously approved Lando’s nomination.
The immigration advocacy group Indivisible is organizing weekly protests outside of Fetterman’s Pittsburgh office:
Indivisible Pittsburgh and Mondays With(out) McCormick are re-launching weekly protests outside of Senator Fetterman’s office every Friday at noon. His job is to represent ALL of us. Instead he supports ICE’s actions against our neighbors and buddies around with our other non-responsive senator, Dave McCormick. We need him to do better.
Indivisible
The Trib reports that Powell was at the high school for an “Ought to Be a Law” civics competition. Powell and other State Democrats are currently attempting to raise the PA minimum wage as part of negotiations for next year’s state budget:
“I believe it’s a moral imperative that we have a higher minimum wage, but I think it also makes us more competitive. One of the issues that Pennsylvania consistently has is that we are losing population,” said Powell, who represents District 21 in Allegheny County. “In the city of Pittsburgh, for example, we, at our height, were a city that had about 600,000 people. Right now, our population is about 300,000. We’ve lost half of the population in about 25 years.
Shapiro has been talking a big game about how bad ICE is. But, it seems that the Governor could be doing a lot more to put his money where his mouth is. In a new report, Spotlight PA breaks down all the official ways that PA still cooperates with federal agencies like ICE, and the calls from anti-ICE activists to shut these channels down:
Agencies under Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro's control continue to cooperate with federal immigration authorities as the governor publicly criticizes ICE for its violent actions in Minneapolis and secretive warehouse purchases in Pennsylvania.
While there are limits, collaboration still happens through a handful of key avenues, a Spotlight PA review of Shapiro administration policies and statements shows. Advocates for immigrants say even this limited cooperation threatens their communities.
Axios reports that the constituent — Maklim Gomez Escalante, a legal asylum seeker — has been experiencing medical issues while in ICE custody. This episode comes as our other US Representative, Chris Deluzio, is also seeking answers from ICE on why Jose Flores, a Deluzio constituent in Oakmont, was detained (and later released) by ICE:
Lee sent a letter to ICE acting director Todd Lyons on Wednesday asking for answers about Gomez Escalante's medical care while in detention, why agents weren't in uniforms when they detained him and why they snapped his work permit in half after he presented it to them.
"His family and our community deserve transparency and accountability, and we will not be silent while our neighbors are taken and held without justification," Lee told Axios in a statement...
"When individuals who have done everything asked of them are detained without clear explanation, it sends a chilling message to immigrant families across our region that due process is being eroded," Lee said in a statement.
Deluzio has already been demanding answers from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) over the detention, and eventual release, of Jose Flores, an Oakmont resident and legal asylum-seeker. Now, Randy Cordova-Flores, another of Deluzio’s constituents, has been detained by ICE without explanation:
U.S. Rep. Chris Deluzio, D-Fox Chapel, issued a statement Thursday afternoon saying he was in contact with Cordova-Flores’ family and lawyer.
“Once again, we need answers to basic questions about the reason for his arrest and why our government is seeking to remove him from the country,” DeLuzio’s statement said. “I’ll keep fighting for answers and accountability.”
Late last month, the County Council proposed legislation that would prohibit County agencies from working officially with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Since then, ICE has detained several legal asylum-seekers in the County without justification. Now, Rose and the other Council Members who co-sponsored the legislation are pressing to pass it — despite calls from other Council Members to study the issue further:
One member, Alex Rose, said “we have not been getting very straight answers” from various parts of county government.
Rose asked the council’s chief of staff how to exercise subpoena power to get information. Members discussed accessing security camera footage from the courthouse to see if ICE agents have been present and whether county law enforcement has interacted with them.
Allegheny County Council says it doesn’t know how much county employees interact with ICE →
Pittsburgh's Public Source
Deasy chairs the PA State House Liquor Control Committee, which heard commentary this week on proposed regulations for allowing delivery apps to get in on the alcohol game:
According to the bill, delivery companies would have to verify a customer's age, and drivers would have to complete the state liquor control board training. It would also not allow drivers to leave the alcohol unattended on a doorstep or deliver it to visibly drunk people.
"The industry has changed, so you have to adapt to it and make sure there are safeguards in place," Rep. Dan Deasy (D-Pa. 27) said.
According to the information on Rep. Deasy's website, the bill would propose a new license that would allow those third-party delivery apps to deliver beer, wine, and ready-to-drink cocktails.
The Trib reports that, this week, Shapiro signed into law a requirement that public schools continue to teach cursive:
“I’m definitely rusty, but I think my penmanship was OK!” Shapiro said in his Wednesday announcement.
The bipartisan legislation, House Bill 17, was sponsored by Rep. Dane Watro (R-Luzerne and Schuylkill) with support from 15 other Republicans and three Democrats.
Late last month, the County Council proposed legislation that would prohibit County agencies from working officially with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Since then, ICE has detained several legal asylum-seekers in the County without justification. Now, Filiaggi and other Council Members are pressing to study the issue further — despite calls to pass the bill from the Council Members who introduced it:
Suzanne Filiaggi, council’s only Republican member, said she wants an estimate from the county Human Services director of how much of the department’s federal funding could be put in jeopardy if the bill passes. President Donald Trump has threatened repeatedly to cut off federal funding from cities and counties that are designated as “sanctuary cities.”
Allegheny County Council says it doesn’t know how much county employees interact with ICE →
Pittsburgh's Public Source
As WTAE reports, the new initiative will help keep our riverfront areas clean for the NFL draft, when Pittsburgh will welcome hundreds of thousands of new visitors, and beyond:
"UpKeep" is a new initiative to beautify the city's 15-mile riverfront loop, including parks, trails, and public green spaces. Riverlife and the city of Pittsburgh have entered into a 20-year agreement...
"Finally having a long-term agreement is very helpful," O'Connor said. "We always see these one-offs where it's, oh, this summer, we are going to do something small and help out. Now you have a 20-year agreement where this is going to be constant cleanup, constant investment. That's something that we have never done before, and I think it's beneficial to everybody."
As City & State reports, this new plan is the result of studies that Shapiro had ordered back in 2024:
Shapiro, who signed an executive order in September 2024 to create a plan to increase and preserve housing supply in the commonwealth, promoted the results of a year-plus series of community roundtables focused on addressing housing costs through a multifaceted approach.
Shapiro said the statewide plan seeks to improve housing affordability through five components: building new housing and preserving existing housing; cutting through bureaucratic barriers and strengthening protections for tenants; increasing access to housing support programs; modernizing regulations and zoning restrictions; and increasing coordination between state and local governments in housing.
Gov. Josh Shapiro unveils statewide housing plan in Philadelphia →
City & State Pennsylvania
Late last month, the County Council proposed legislation that would prohibit County agencies from working officially with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Since then, ICE has detained several legal asylum-seekers in the County without justification. Now, Hallam and the other Council Members who co-sponsored the legislation are pressing to pass it — despite calls from other Council Members to study the issue further:
Members seemed divided about whether they needed additional information before they move ahead with the proposed legislation that would bar the county from working with ICE.
Council President Patrick Catena said he is supportive of the proposal, “but I’m a show me person.” He wanted more information about what was happening with immigration enforcement.
Hallam said she didn’t need any data to know she wants something on the books banning cooperation with ICE.
“To me, I don’t need to see anything to want to make sure that the county’s not cooperating with ICE,” she said.
This week, PA’s Independent Fiscal Office (IFO) released a report showing projections for the State’s finances in the coming years. They don’t look great: The report warned about a growing, multi-billion dollar deficit in the absence of way more revenue. As Politics PA notes, Governor Shapiro is arguing that the budget will balance through his proposals for generating new revenue via things like legalizing and taxing marijuana. But, so long as Republicans control the State Senate, that’s far from a sure thing. Garrity, who’s running against Shapiro in this year’s race for Governor, took the opportuntiy to call Shapiro profligate:
“Last week, Governor Josh Shapiro claimed Pennsylvania’s finances have never been better,” she said in a statement. “He went on to call for more than $3 billion in new spending — ignoring the current $4 billion structural deficit covered up with the last of the COVID funds.
“Shapiro insists his spending spree won’t lead to higher income or sales taxes anytime in the next five years and when anyone challenges his math, he accuses them of lying. Now the nonpartisan Pennsylvania Independent Fiscal Office has blown the whistle. Their analysis shows the deficit will explode to nearly $7 billion next year — wiping out the Rainy Day Fund.
You can repeat talking points all you want, but facts are facts. This level of spending proposed by Josh Shapiro will mean higher taxes for Pennsylvanians down the road. Josh Shapiro knows it – he’s just hoping to be gone before the bill comes due.”
He spoke about the assassination attempt in an interview with the New York Post:
“I’m not satisfied about what happened because when you go to the place and you see how close it was, the idea that a lone gunman — I’m typically not one who’s prone to conspiracy theories — but the fact that a lone gunman could get up there at that distance,” McCormick explained.
“It was less than 150 yards, so prominent you now see all the people with the cell phones taking pictures, seems just hard to imagine such a breach — and such a breach in security, such a breach in protocol,” he added.
New York Post
The long-simmering drama around a comprehensive property value reassessment continues. 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. Since most properties in Allegheny County have gone up in value since the last reassessment was conducted years ago, many homeowners will see their taxes increase. Given that that’s the case, the County government has been predictably reluctant to move forward with a new reassessment, even though it would mean a bump in funding available for County services. WESA reports that, this week, the County Council approved a new bill that will protect long-time homeowners from seeing too big of a tax increase whenever the next reassessment does occur. Grzybek was the lead sponsor:
Democrat Dan Grzybek, the bill’s primary sponsor, described it as necessary groundwork for a countywide reassessment that is “certainly rapidly approaching.
“It's definitely a question of when, not if,” he said.
Grzybek introduced the exemptions for longtime owner-occupants, a program also known as a LOOP, last month. The bill aims to ease the tax burden on residents who bought homes years ago in neighborhoods that have since seen skyrocketing property values.
“LOOP really helps protect those who are potentially most disadvantaged by countywide reassessment,” Grzybek said. “Those folks who are older, who are on fixed incomes who have lived in their home forever” in sought-after neighborhoods like Lawrenceville.
The City’s “comprehensive plan” is an effort to guide development and growth in Pittsburgh over the coming decades. Last year, Coghill led a push to cancel the contracts with the consultants running the planning process for two main reasons: (1) The City felt that the consultants weren’t enaging with the community enough, and (2) Everyone realized that the project was costing several million dollars more than comparable processes in other cities. The latter point was especially urgent, as the City Council looked to balance tens of millions of dollars in former Mayor Ed Gainey’s 2026 budget. Now that the budget is stabilized — for now, at least — it sounds like Coghill has had a change of heart, and doesn’t want to leave the “comprehensive plan” as an entirely sunk cost:
The city, [Coghill] pointed out, already spent about $4 million.
“We don’t want that to go by the wayside and just be a waste of $4 million,” he said.
Instead, Coghill intends to ask his council colleagues to pause the bill that would terminate those contracts while the O’Connor administration seeks funding from foundations or other entities.
Coghill’s hope is that the city will be able to finish the plan with a donation from an outside entity and save the $2 million in taxpayer dollars allocated to the project.
Even if the administration can’t find that cash elsewhere, Coghill said he would support spending additional money to get the plan across the finish line — though he hopes it won’t take the full $2 million that remains available.
WESA reports that the City Council unanimously sent Gross’s proposal on to the next stage of approval — a review by Pittsburgh’s planning commission. Notably, this all but confirms that nothing will change prior to this April’s NFL Draft, likely the biggest short-term rental event in Pittsburgh history:
“ We have had nothing in terms of restrictions on locations for short term rentals, ever,” said Councilor Deb Gross, who cosponsored the bill along with Bobby Wilson and Anthony Coghill. “This is now spread across the city in many of the neighborhoods. … It cannibalizes housing and removes it from being a place where people can live, [and] creates problems on streets. We’re long overdue in making sure we do something about it.”
Councilors unanimously sent the bill that would require zoning approval to the city’s Planning Commission for a report and recommendation, a process that can take a few months. The measure would be returned to council for a final vote.
Republicans in the US Congress are looking to pass the SAVE Act, a new set of national restrictions on voting. Earlier this week, Fetterman signaled his support for a key piece of the Act: the requirement that people must have an official ID in order to vote. Now, in a new interview with the Post-Gazette, Fetterman clarified that he doesn’t support other parts of SAVE, such as making it harder to vote by mail. Still, it’s the voter ID piece that really stands out, here; the Post-Gazette notes that Fetterman used to talk a big game about how unfair voter ID requirements are, so this represent quite a turnabout:
Mandatory voter ID is “insidious and unnecessary,” [Fetterman] said in a 2021 speech to Texas Democrats after the veto and at a time when Texas Republicans were pushing new voting restrictions.
Republicans, he said in an interview a few months later, were “ruthless” in their pursuit of “voter suppression” policies.
“They understand that at any given time there’s tens of thousands of Pennsylvanians who typically are on the poorer side and are people of color that are less likely to have their ID at any one given time,” Mr. Fetterman told the progressive podcaster Brian Tyler Cohen in December 2021. “It’s a very insidious and effective strategy that they’re employing.”
Sen. John Fetterman says previous comments against voter ID were ‘out of deference’ to Gov. Tom Wolf →
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
This week, a grand jury rejected charges proposed by the Trump administration against Deluzio and other Democrat lawmakers who made a video reminding the troops that they don’t have to follow illegal orders. Now, the Trib reports that Deluzio and the rest of the group are getting ready to return the favor:
“The Trump administration and their allies in the Justice Department tried to charge us with a crime and throw us in prison for stating the law … for saying things they don’t like,” Deluzio said during Wednesday’s news conference.
“Patriotism demands courage in this moment, in the face of those who would abuse our liberty, who would abuse their power, who would take away our freedom,” added Deluzio, a former Navy officer who is in his second term representing part of Allegheny County and all of Beaver County.
“I have great faith in the American people, I have great faith in our Constitution, and I have little doubt that Donald Trump and those around him are willing to abuse their power. We’ve seen it with us, with other perceived political opponents,” Deluzio said. “There has to be accountability, and there has to be justice. And I know all of us will see that through.”
This year, PA has a new tax benefit called an “Earned Income Tax Credit” — basically a tax break for people who work, but don‘t make too much money. It’s modeled after a federal tax break that does the same thing, but the PA version is capped at just 10% of the federal version’s value. WESA reports that Costa explained the rationale behind the cap:
State Senate Minority Leader Jay Costa, D-Forest Hills, said some legislators wanted to increase the amount of the state credit above the 10 percent of the federal credit, but they had to balance that with the revenue lost to the state.
“That's been the challenge. That was our challenge this past year,” Costa said.
Still, he said the credit benefiting close to 1 million people is “significant.”
Wilson had previously introduced similar regulations, but the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas is still determining whether that old legislation is legal:
The legislation to register short-term rentals (STRs) that Council passed in 2022 was a good first step, one that is still stuck in the Court of Common Pleas. Many neighborhoods in District 1 and throughout the city, are fed up with the lack of regulations and accountability for these poorly run STRs.
That’s why I co-sponsored Councilwoman Deb Gross’ bills, along with Councilman Anthony Coghill, to regulate these businesses and to hold the operators accountable when problems arise.
District 1 Column: New regulations proposed for short-term rentals →
The Northside Chronicle
The Post-Gazette reports that the PA State House is considering new regulations for “stop-and-go” stores — basically corner stores that sell alcohol alongside snacks and stuff. It sounds like they’re vexing Philly neighborhoods by facilitating more public drunkenness, and now they’re starting to become more popular here in Pittsburgh:
And Lauren Brinjac of the Pennsylvania Restaurant & Lodging Association said the bill [to regulate “stop-and-go” stores] might create problems for law-abiding businesses. For instance, she said, its food-serving requirement might force small restaurant-bar operations that close their kitchens or dining rooms at midevening to have to keep them open at a time few people are interested in meals.
House Liquor Control Committee Chairman Rep. Dan Deasy, D-Allegheny, who ran the hearing, said there was “still a lot of work to be done.”
Pa. lawmakers target 'stop-and-go' outlets as problems spread in Pittsburgh, Philadelphia →
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
In a quirk of Pittsburgh civics, the Pittsburgh Public School (PPS) system is its own government body, independent from Pittsburgh City Government. So, the Mayor and the City Council have no direct control over what’s going on with PPS. And these days, a lot is going on: PPS is in the middle of a fairly tortured process of figuring out how to reorganize for the future, since the district is operating with only about half the number of students it was designed for. WESA reports that O’Connor would like to see better collaboration between the City and the school district, especially around tax revenues and underutilized facilities owned by PPS:
The district also has an ongoing lawsuit against the city and the state’s Department of Education over income taxes that have been diverted to the city since 2007. District officials expect to give over more than $26 million to the city this year, as required under a lingering mandate from the era in which the city was in Act 47 oversight...
Asked whether he’d consider returning diverted funds, O’Connor pointed to these budget pressures, adding that any changes to the statute would have to go through the state.
“But I think, if it's part of a long-term conversation where that money is going to be spent on joint efforts and programming…. now you can possibly see where we could put some of our money back into facilities and things like that,” he said.
“But we have to be on the same page that our residents have access to these buildings,” O’Connor added. “ I've always thought a community school model made the most sense.”
The long-simmering drama around a comprehensive property value reassessment continues. 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. Since most properties in Allegheny County have gone up in value since the last reassessment was conducted years ago, many homeowners will see their taxes increase. Given that’s the case, the County government has been predictably reluctant to move forward with a new reassessment, even though it would mean a bump in funding available for County services. WESA reports that, this week, the County Council approved a new bill that will protect long-time homeowners from seeing too big of a tax increase whenever the next reassessment does occur. Walton was the only Council Member to vote “no” on the measure:
Democrat DeWitt Walton was the lone “no” vote at Tuesday’s meeting, saying that although he agreed with “the spirit of the legislation, the devil’s in the detail.” He argued that the income limits eligible for the program should be higher, allowing more people to qualify.
Last year, Deluzio joined a group of other Democrats — all veterans of the military or US intelligence agencies — in releasing a video that reminded active duty service members that they don’t have to follow illegal orders. While that should ordinarily be pretty unremarkable, President Trump cast the video as “seditious” behavior, and the US Department of Justice engaged a grand jury in an attempt to bring (as-yet unknown) charges against Deluzio and the others. WESA reports this week that the group beat the case:
Deluzio responded to the news Tuesday evening with a defiant social media post.
"I will not be intimidated for a single second by the Trump Administration or Justice Department lawyers who tried and failed to indict me today," he wrote.
"American citizens on a grand jury refused to go along with this attempt to charge me with a crime for stating the law in a way Trump and his enablers didn’t like," Deluzio added. "They may want Americans to be afraid to speak out or to disagree — but patriotism demands courage in this moment."
As InformUp explains, the Board voted 8–0 to approve the pilot, which seems to involve having students walk around listening to podcasts:
Director Yael Silk of District 4 said students will use the school’s website to engage in a “Walk-and-Listen Content Journey”, which includes them walking indoors while listening to a curriculum-aligned podcast.
Students will also talk about the lesson after after the walk, Silk said.
“This integrates physical activity with learning and provides about one third of the daily recommended movement,” she said.
President Trump has been rather unsubtle in singling out states with Democrat Governors for punishments, like withholding federal funding. This week, Trump disinvited several Democrat Governors from a special dinner in DC, so Shapiro and other Democrats basically said, “we’re good”:
Following reports that Maryland Gov. Wes Moore and Colorado Gov. Jared Polis had been disinvited from an annual White House dinner that is traditionally bipartisan, Mr. Shapiro on Tuesday joined 17 other Democratic governors saying they won't attend this year’s dinner with the president when the National Governors Association draws state leaders to Washington later this month.
Shapiro, Democratic governors press White House to include all at annual event →
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Earlier this year, Lavelle proposed letting voters decide, via a yes/no referendum on our ballots, how to solve for situations where the City Council passes a budget that goes unanswered by the Mayor. The Trib reports that, now, Lavelle wants to have the City Council figure this out without involving voters:
Lavelle on Tuesday told council members he no longer wished to move ahead with placing a second referendum on the ballot, opting to instead address a problem it aimed to solve through a new city ordinance.
That referendum would’ve asked voters to clarify budget deadlines...
Lavelle is looking to get rid of that 10-day period and create a new rule that says council’s budget becomes law if the mayor doesn’t act on it before the end of the year, regardless of how many days he has to consider his decision.
It’s been weeks since the snowpocalypse dropped a historic amount of snow on the City. Much has been made of how Pittsburgh’s fleet of busted, old snow plows delayed the City’s response to clearing out roadways after the storm, but pedestrian walkways have perhaps had it even worse. Many of the City’s sidewalks are only now starting to clear out, due to this week’s heatwave. Warwick wants to get ahead of this for future storms by creating a database of the pedestrian areas that the City needs to prioritize for snow removal:
This past January “We had this once-in-a-decade winter weather event, and it really has exposed for the city a shortcoming that we have,” Warwick told reporters on Tuesday. “ It is in the gathering of this data and the analyzing of the problem, ultimately, that is the first step to getting to a solution.”
The legislation would create a “Right-of-Way Accessibility Needs Inventory.” It directs officials to collect data on business districts, schools, daycare centers, community centers, houses of worship, and “other locales that require free and clear access to curbs and sidewalks.”
Right now, the law requires that the City must use a major local newspaper when posting public notices for things like government hearings. After the Post-Gazette (which has been the go-to newspaper for this stuff) announced that it’ll shut down in May, Lavelle proposed a new measure that would allow the City to use its official website for announcing public notices. The Trib reports that, this week, the City Council approved the idea; now, it’ll go directly to voters in the form of a yes/no question on our ballots during this May’s elections:
City Council President R. Daniel Lavelle, D-Hill District, sponsored a measure — which his colleagues unanimously approved Tuesday — that would place the question on the ballot.
If voters approve the measure, the city would be permitted to publish its notices “via successor media that reasonably ensures public access,” like the city’s website and digital news publications.
WHTM broke down Garrity’s campaign finance disclosure:
Garrity’s largest donation came from University City Housing Co., a property management company in the Philadelphia area, which donated $250,000 on December 30.
Garrity reported donations from more than a dozen states, including California, Michigan, Missouri, and Texas. She also reported donations from 10 CEOs, most of whom are related to local financial services and construction businesses.
Among those CEOs was William Ward of Ward Trucking, who donated $25,000 to the Garrity campaign, and Jeff Long of Jeff Long Construction, who donated $15,000.
QBurgh reports that Shapiro is the target of a new campaign pushing him to approve legislation that would ban trans athletes from competing in women’s sports:
The campaign calls on Shapiro and Democratic House leadership to bring the so-called “Save Women’s Sports Act” to a vote. The bill would prohibit transgender girls and women from competing in high school and collegiate women’s sports in Pennsylvania...
Governor Shapiro has been vocal in opposing efforts to restrict trans rights in schools and sports. In July 2025, he stated, “What we do not need in Pennsylvania are politicians — extremist politicians like Donald Trump, Doug Mastriano and these others — trying to legislate a student’s participation and legislate the restriction of freedom.”
While marijuana is legal in PA for medical use, it’s not yet legal for recreational use. Last year, Governor Shapiro and State Democrats tried, and failed, to pass a framework for allowing adult recreational use. Now that it’s time to negotiate the next PA State budget, the Democrats are ready to try again. Spotlight PA reports that Frankel, who cheered President Trump’s decision last year to reduce federal research restrictions on marijuana, wants to see some indication that Republicans will even enterain legal marijuana this time around:
State Rep. Dan Frankel (D., Allegheny), a sponsor of the [previous attempt to legal the sale of recreational marijuana in State-owned stores], said his caucus is open to other paths to legalization. But he wants to see the state Senate act so lawmakers can “get to the table and negotiate our differing priorities.”
“There may be different ways to skin the cat, so to speak,” Frankel told reporters after Shapiro’s budget address. “But we need to at least see that in the Senate, there is a willingness and a capacity to pass something.”
Shapiro administration officials told reporters they are open to “any and all options” to legalize cannabis, but want to see a legislative proposal first.
211 is like a catch-all social service hotline; anyone can call to connect with case workers and learn about local resources for things like food and housing. The Trib reports that Lt. Governor Davis was in town this week to rally support for Governor Shapiro’s proposal for the 2026–2027 state budget, which includes a call to increase funding for 211 across the state. The wild part is that, apparently, the budget only calls for an increase from $750,000 to $1 million in 211 funding for the whole of PA. That’s a rounding error in a budget that totals more than $53 billion. You would expect more when Powell is dropping lines like this:
“We’re the neighborhood of Mr. Rogers,” Powell said. “Here in Pittsburgh, we care about our neighbors. We want to make sure everyone has everything they need to thrive and survive.”
211 is like a catch-all social service hotline; anyone can call to connect with case workers and learn about local resources for things like food and housing. The Trib reports that Davis was in town this week to rally support for Governor Shapiro’s proposal for the 2026–2027 state budget, which includes a call to increase funding for 211 across the state. The wild part is that, apparently, the budget only calls for an increase from $750,000 to $1 million in 211 funding for the whole of PA. That’s a rounding error in a budget that totals more than $53 billion. You would expect more when Davis is lavishing praise like this:
[Davis] recalled urging people to call 211 to find food assistance when last year’s federal government shutdown halted the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as SNAP.
“211’s call centers not just stepped up, but were the heroes in a lot of ways during that precarious time,” Davis said.
Across Pennsylvania, 211 call centers saw a 63% jump in calls from people facing food security last year, President and CEO of United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania Bobbi Watt Geer said.
Though the US Constitution empowers states to govern elections by their own rules, Republicans are looking to enforce new national restrictions on voting ahead of this year’s elections. Earlier this month, our Republican US Senator, Dave McCormick, endorsed the SAVE Act, which would require that voters bring official identification in order to vote. WHTM reports this week that Fetterman is on board as well:
Democrats largely oppose voter ID laws because they argue that they would disenfranchise voters. Fetterman rebuffed those worries in a weekend appearance on Fox News.
“It’s not a radical idea for regular Americans to show your ID to vote, and absolutely those things are not Jim Crow or anything,” Fetterman said. “Of course, that’s part of an awful, awful legacy of our nation.”
One of the biggest ongoing stories in tech is the tension between the federal government and state governments over who gets to regulate AI. The Trump administration is largely supportive of America’s biggest AI companies, so the federal government is pushing for permissive national laws that limit the guardrails on how the AI industry evolves. The states, including PA, want to retain the power to shape their own rules. Now, WESA reports that Shapiro has — as part of his proposal for the 2026–2027 State budget — called for regulations specifically to restrict how kids interact with AI:
The governor called for Pennsylvania to require age verification, parental consent and a ban on chatbots producing sexually explicit or violent content featuring kids. He also supports requiring companies to direct users who mention self-harm or violence to the appropriate authorities and to periodically remind users that they’re not engaging with an actual human.
The Hill reports that, while some Republicans are beginning to see Miller’s increasingly toxic brand as a liability, McCormick is standing by him:
Sen. Dave McCormick (R-Pa.), who represents a critical swing state, for example, said Miller “has been instrumental in delivering on the promises President Trump and I made during the campaign.”
“Because of him and other members of the President’s team, critical priorities like stopping deadly fentanyl, unleashing America’s energy, and bringing much-needed economic relief for working families are now a reality for Pennsylvania,” he said.
This comes after President Trump endorsed Garrity late last month:
“I am proud to endorse Stacy Garrity for Governor. Politicians make promises, but leaders keep them, and that’s what we’ll get when Stacy Garrity is governor,” said McCormick.
“When Stacy Garrity ran for Treasurer, she promised to return millions in unclaimed property, reform the mismanaged state pension system, and expand and strengthen Pennsylvania’s 529 college savings program – and she did. Now Stacy Garrity is running for governor to fight overspending, keep taxes down, and restore commonsense values to government – and she will.”
McCormick Backs Garrity In PA Governor’s Race →
Politics PA
After Shapiro’s family was the subject of an arson attack last year at the Governor’s residence, Shapiro installed a number of security upgrades at his family home in Montgomery County. This has already been an issue for Shapiro, as Republicans in the State Senate recently subpoenaed him over the use of State funds for some of these security upgrades (though Shapiro has gone to great lengths to deny any wrongdoing). Now, Spotlight PA reports that Shapiro is also involved in a lawsuit with his neighbors over these same upgrades. It sounds like classic neighbor drama:
On the one side are Shapiro’s neighbors, Montgomery County residents Jeremy and Simone Mock, who on Monday filed a federal lawsuit alleging the Democratic governor abused the power of his position and unlawfully took possession of part of their property to make security upgrades following last year’s brazen arson attack on the first family.
The Mocks allege Shapiro even deployed Pennsylvania State Police troopers to patrol the disputed piece of land.
On the other side are Shapiro and his wife, Lori, who on Monday countersued in Montgomery County’s Court of Common Pleas, asserting they’ve maintained the disputed parcel of land during the nearly 25 years they’ve lived there and own it “as a matter of law by adverse possession.” They also claim the Mocks harassed them over the summer with signs along the disputed area.
Spotlight PA
McCormick has voted in support of continued funding for ICE, and has so far rejected Democrats’ calls to reform or abolish the agency. But, it seems that ICE’s as-yet unjustifed abduction of Oakmont resident, and legal asylum seeker, Jose Flores was enough to raise concerns for our Republican US Senator. It’s interesting, however, to see how much of an effort McCormick’s spokesperson makes to not break rank on ICE’s work in general:
“Sen. [David] McCormick and his team have been closely monitoring and actively engaged with the Department of Homeland Security in the case of Mr. Jose Flores,” a spokesman for the senator told the Post-Gazette Sunday morning. “On Saturday, Mr. Flores’ attorney informed our office that Mr. Flores is being released under monitoring conditions while his case is being adjudicated. We welcome this decision.”
The spokesperson also noted that Mr. McCormick supports enforcing existing immigration laws, securing the border, “and restoring order and effectiveness in our immigration process.”
Jose Flores of Oakmont released by ICE amid pressure from state, local leaders →
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Earlier this week, Jose Flores, an Oakmont resident and legal asylum seeker, was abducted by ICE without any clear justification. He’s since been returned from ICE custody, but Oakmont residents, many of whom rallied for Flores’s release, are still up in arms. The Post-Gazette reports that Lee joined an anti-ICE protest in Oakmont today to repeat her calls to abolish ICE altogether. This comes at a time when more moderate Democrats in the US Congress are calling for less severe changes to ICE, such as requiring officers to not wear masks:
The event began with a rally beside the river trail, where speakers including Congresswoman Summer Lee stood in the snow to speak out against the actions of the federal agents and call for citizens to hold accountable elected officials and citizens who support the actions of ICE agents.
”You can't reform oppression, you can't reform hatred,” Lee said. “You have to abolish it.
"You have to extinguish it wherever it exists. So we're here to say that ICE won't get away with this.
"And we won't stop at abolishing ice. We'll hold everybody accountable who contributed to this unjust system.”
As Axios reports, Bloomberg has been donating to Shapiro’s campaigns since Shapiro’s successful run for PA Attorney General in 2016:
Gun-control groups backed by Bloomberg, including Everytown for Gun Safety Victory Fund, Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action, celebrated Shapiro as a champion of their cause when he was elected governor in 2022.
Everytown for Gun Safety also praised his efforts as attorney general to combat "ghost gun" sales.
It's not surprising Bloomberg would be fond of Shapiro.
Both are moderate, pro-business Democrats who sometimes push back against the left wing of their party while also championing liberal causes such as gun control.
Deluzio had previously written to the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, to demand justification for Flores’s arrest:
Rep. Chris Deluzio, D-Fox Chapel, posted on X Saturday evening that it was “great news” that his constituent, Mr. Flores, was released and headed back to his family.
“Still: my questions about his arrest remain — our community needs answers,” added the congressman, who previously said that Mr. Flores “has no criminal record” and was in the country “legally under a valid work authorization document.”
Jose Flores of Oakmont released by ICE amid pressure from state, local leaders →
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Fetterman stated previously that he was opposed to any measures that would shut down the federal government. But, in the latest rounds of budget votes, he’s actually voted to shut it down in order to drive changes to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the agency that oversees Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Fetterman has already appealed directly to President Trump to fire DHS head Kristi Noem — a move that Trump has shown no sign of entertaining. Now, it sounds like Fetterman is expecting drawn-out negotiations with Republicans in the US Congress:
Democratic Sen. John Fetterman, a key moderate who has occasionally crossed the aisle to vote with Republicans, said he is expecting another partial government shutdown in the coming days after disagreements over reforms for the Department of Homeland Security.
“I absolutely would expect that it’s going to shut down,” Fetterman said on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures.”
“We, the Democrats, we provided 10 kinds of basic things, and then the Republicans pushed back quickly saying that’s a Christmas wish list, and that they’re nonstarters,” he added. “I truly don’t know what specifically are the Democrats’ red lines that it has to be, [they’re] certainly not going to get all 10.”
Richey will still have to officially win the Republican Primary election this Spring, so we’ll see how voters feel about him. As WITF reports, Richey seems to want to focus more on the big picture than the details of the Lt. Governor job:
The lieutenant governor serves as the presiding officer of the state Senate and may cast tie-breaking votes. This office holder also chairs the Board of Pardons, where they play a key role in reviewing pardons and commutations; are first in line to succeed the governor if the office becomes vacant; and sits on various state boards and commissions.
Asked by WITF how he’d handle overseeing the Board of Pardons, Richey pivoted to discuss how he’d serve as a partner to Garrity on “unleashing our energy potential” by “getting — in an environmentally friendly fashion — as much of the natural gas out of the ground as we can.”
Right now, these things operate in a legal gray area, with no clear framework for how to regulate or tax them. During last year’s torturous budget negotiations, Shaprio and State Democrats tried, and failed, to get Republicans on board with a plan for how to tax “skill games.” Now, Shapiro wants to take another swing:
The Democratic governor, putting a need to regulate skill games in the same category as a need to legalize recreational marijuana, said, “We’re putting our communities at risk and losing out on billions of dollars in revenue by doing nothing on both.”
Some of the details of his plan include a 52% tax rate; a maximum of 40,000 total skill games and Video Gaming Terminals, which already are regulated by the state Gaming Control Board; and a maximum of five machines per establishment. The ultimate haul for the state from that combination, he said, could be more than $2 billion a year.
Gov. Shapiro pitches Pa. skill games regulation as potential $2 billion revenue boost →
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Fetterman has had a mixed relationship with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and its subsidiary, Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Following ICE’s campaign in Minnesota, which as already resulted in the deaths of two legal observers, our tall Senator has refused to join progressives’ calls to abolish ICE — but he has appealed directly to President Trump to fire Kristi Noem, the head of DHS. Now, the Post-Gazette reports that Fetterman has written to Noem to oppose DHS’s purchases of two warehouses in PA for use as detention centers for ICE detainees. There have been many troubling stories about the sub-human conditions that ICE maintains for the people held in these kinds of facilities. Oddly, Fetterman’s opposition seems less humanitarian than logistical:
In a letter Saturday addressed to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, the Pennsylvania Democrat demanded more information about the centers.
“While I have been clear in my support for the enforcement of federal immigration law, this decision will do significant damage to these local tax bases, set back decades-long efforts to boost economic development, and place undue burdens on limited existing infrastructure in these communities,” Mr. Fetterman wrote.
Fetterman writes that he is opposed to warehouse purchases for ICE detention centers →
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
One of the recurring story lines in City finances these days is the sorry state of Pittsburgh’s official vehicles: They’re old, failing, and — as we saw with the delayed response to last month’s snowpocalypse — causing real issues for Pittsburghers. Things may be looking up, though. Earlier this year, UPMC donated $10 million for new ambulances and the PNC Foundation donated $2 million for new snow plows. While these moves aren’t the same as reliably paying taxes (which UPMC, as a nonprofit, is exempt from), they’re still a big help. Now, the City has some extra money to spend on other vehicle-related priorities, and the Post-Gazette reports that Heisler is pushing for fire trucks:
Ralph Sicuro, who leads the union representing city firefighters, on Friday urged the Equipment Leasing Authority board to prioritize fire truck purchases as nearly half the fire fleet is operating beyond its recommended life cycle...
Controller Rachael Heisler — who in November released a report highlighting the need for increased investment in the fleet — told the authority Friday that core services like public works and public safety rely on vehicles.
She urged the authority to invest in new fire trucks now.
“Deferring replacement does not save money,” she said. “It shifts costs to emergency repairs, downtime and operational risks.”
Though White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt tried to justify the video as simply depicting characters from the beloved animated classic, “The Lion King,” Politics PA points out that there are, in fact, no ape characters in the movie. The White House is likely well aware of the racist history of depicting black people as apes and monkeys. Shapiro had this to say:
“The idea that anyone would post a video like that, let alone the President of the United States, someone who’s supposed to find ways to bring us together, someone who’s supposed to appeal to our better angels.
“This guy seems to always find a lower and lower common denominator,” [Shapiro] continued. “Here in Pennsylvania, we respect all people, no matter what they look like, where they come from, who they love, who they pray to or who they choose not to pray to. We don’t scapegoat others, and we certainly don’t peddle in racist videos and other racist statements like this President has made. He needs to do better.”
Shapiro Condemns Trump’s Post of ‘Racist’ Video →
Politics PA
This comes after President Trump — on a podcast with Dan Bongino, former Deputy Director of the FBI — called to “nationalize” elections. That is, have the federal government take them away from the states. As WITF reports, this isn’t the first time Garrity has supported Trump’s messaging on elections:
“I would work with the Trump administration, obviously, because we need to turn our state around,” Garrity, who also serves as state treasurer, said while meeting with reporters during the state Republican Party’s winter meeting at the Harrisburg Hilton.
On a podcast this week, Trump called for Republicans to “take over the voting” in “at least 15 places” and “nationalize” future elections — in direct opposition to Article 1, Section IV of the U.S. Constitution, which grants states the authority to run their own elections...
While attending a rally outside the state Capitol the day before the Jan. 6 riots, [Garrity] said the election results were “tarnished forever.” And she falsely told the crowd at a 2022 Trump rally in Greensburg, “We know that he won.”
Though White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt tried to justify the video as simply depicting characters from the beloved animated classic, “The Lion King,” Politics PA points out that there are, in fact, no ape characters in the movie. The White House is likely well aware of the racist history of depicting black people as apes and monkeys. Davis had this to say:
“Can someone please explain to me how I’m supposed to tell my daughter that the person who posts racist videos is our president and worthy of respect?,” wrote Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. Austin Davis on social media. “I’m really struggling as a parent. Over and over again he has shown us who he is. Folks should believe him.”
Shapiro Condemns Trump’s Post of ‘Racist’ Video →
Politics PA
While some parts of the federal budget are tied up in negotiations around the Department of Homeland Security, other parts of the budget continue apace. One part that moved forward this week was a Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development spending bill, which President Trump has officially signed into law. Deluzio announced that it includes millions for Western PA projects:
"A key part of my job is bringing back federal funding to Western Pennsylvania—and today’s wins are big news for our communities,” said Congressman Deluzio. “I fought hard to secure these millions of federal dollars and am proud to bring home these federal investments in local transportation and community development projects. I'll always go to bat for our region down in Washington.”
Congressman Deluzio selected these community projects after comprehensive outreach to local groups and stakeholders. The community project funding process is coupled with eligibility, ethics, and transparency requirements.
Deluzio Delivers $6.8 Million More for Western PA Projects →
Press Release
Spotlight PA reports that it was rare case where Shapiro pulled a move that was received better by Republicans than Democrats, with the Republican-led Senate confirming Shapiro’s nominee, John O’Brien, to the PA Board of Pardons. The Board is responsible for things like approving clemency requests, and O’Brien was unpopular with progressives due to his track record as a hired “expert witness,” called upon in trials to assess the mental state of defendants. Critics feel that O’Brien’s analyses were too punitive:
Senators from both parties said during the hearing that they’d received a large amount of opposition to O’Brien’s nomination from public defenders, clemency advocates, and constituents, who shared their concerns with O’Brien’s work as an expert witness.
Advocates worry O’Brien’s approach to criminal cases, as evidenced by his time on the stand, will presage his work on the Board of Pardons. One letter, obtained by Spotlight PA, is signed by 15 opposing groups, including four public defender offices and the Pennsylvania Prison Society.
Spotlight PA
As the Trib and other outlets report, Innamorato has made housing a core pillar of her focus as the County Executive. Her first signature housing program — “500 in 500,” an effort to move 500 people off the streets into housing — was a smashing success. Now, she’s signed an executive order to spur the development of new housing units. The two key pieces of the order include a call for County agencies to collaborate with private industry on housing, and the creation of a new fund to invest in new development. This comes the same week that Governor Josh Shapiro proposed the creation of a “critical infrastructure fund” with similar goals for the building housing across PA, so hopefully this all translates into actually affordable homes for Pittsburghers:
“Creating more affordable housing and housing options across the board is a top priority for my administration,” Innamorato said in a statement. “Strong communities start with stable housing, and we’re working across every department and function of county government to deliver on a unified, long-term housing strategy.”
As part of the effort, Innamorato set a goal of raising $50 million to $100 million for the Housing Investment Fund. It will pool public and private money to support mixed-income development and housing for low-income and workforce residents.
Deluzio reported to WESA that he’s still waiting for a response from his request earlier this week for more details on why Jose Flores was abducted in Oakmont:
[Deluzio] told WESA that ICE has not been forthcoming about why Flores was arrested.
“We don’t have good visibility into what they’re doing,” he said. “If you’ve got a reason to be detaining someone, let’s be clear and make sure the public understands.”
ICE is “very slow at best to respond to congressional inquiries,” he added. Deluzio said it took more than five months for the agency to supply information about an August operation in Ambridge that ultimately resulted in the arrest and deportation of 10 people.
“I think when you throw that against the context of seeing agents around the country operating with masks on their face, [with] the quotas we’ve heard about for arrests, the detention and deportation of even American citizens, and of course the killing of American citizens, you start to see the problem.”
As Keystone points out, framing the raise as a money-saving measure is a new tactic in trying to get Republicans on board with the proposal:
“Raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour will save this Commonwealth $300 million a year on entitlement programs like Medicaid,” Shapiro said during his speech, adding, “not by adding arbitrary and cumbersome requirements that push people who still need help off the rolls but by literally raising the wages of nearly 61,000 people who currently rely on Medicaid and make less than $15 an hour. We can put more money in their pockets so they don’t need Medicaid anymore.”
One of Shapiro’s major priorities over the last few years has been energy prices — including suing PJM, PA’s electric grid operator, to cap prices at the grid-level. Now, WHYY reports that Shapiro is shifting his focus to the utility-level:
Shapiro created a new watchdog to scrutinize company profits. He wants the [Public Utility Commission] to better examine their books and make financial details of their rate-hike requests more transparent. He asked lawmakers to pass legislation that provides guidelines for the PUC and limits on utility profits.
“We grant these utilities a monopoly — and in exchange, they have a legal responsibility to keep their costs just and reasonable,” Shapiro said. “They shouldn’t get one dollar more than what they need to meet their customers’ needs.”
WESA reports that, while Shapiro’s proposal only came out yesterday, the home healthcare industry was quick to criticize the lack of new funding for workers:
Pennsylvania caregivers are lamenting a lack of new investment in the state’s home care system in Gov. Josh Shapiro’s 2026-2027 budget proposal. The home care industry, which serves seniors and children and adults with disabilities, has struggled to recruit and retain workers as the state’s elder population explodes.
“This proposed budget fails to recognize that an investment in home care is no longer optional — it’s essential,” said Pennsylvania Homecare Association (PHA) CEO Mia Haney.
This week, Governor Shapiro released his initial proposal for the 2026–2027 PA state budget. While it calls for the most spending in PA history, it doesn’t include an increase to funding for rape crisis services. The Post-Gazette reports that the industry feels ignored:
Pittsburgh Action Against Rape — one of nearly 50 rape crisis centers across the commonwealth that collectively helped more than 25,000 people, including almost 6,000 children last year — “strongly [denounced] the absence of increased funding” in the executive budget rolled out Tuesday. The group said the lack of a boost to the last few years’ roughly $13.6 million budgeted — $11.9 million in state and $1.7 million in federal and other funding — marked “a direct contradiction to public claims of supporting survivors of sexual violence.”
“Support is not a statement; it is an investment,” Sadie Sterner Restivo, PAAR’s executive director, said in a statement shared with the Post-Gazette. “Today’s budget fails that test.”
Pa. rape crisis centers urge Shapiro, lawmakers to bolster funding →
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
States govern elections by their own rules. But, Republicans in the US Congress (including our own US Senator, Dave McCormick) are looking to put up new nationwide barriers to voting. In response, Al Schmidt — Shapiro’s Secretary of the Commonwealth, the top person in charge of PA’s elections — had this to say:
"We have a voter-verified paper ballot record of every vote cast that is used in two audits after every election here in Pennsylvania,”Schmidt said.
Further, Schmidt pushed back on notions that the federal government should be more involved in elections.
“The U.S. Constitution gives states the explicit and exclusive authority to administer elections, not the federal government or political parties,” he said.
As The Allegheny Front reports, Shapiro’s proposal — while light on specifics — suggests shifting the cost burden for data centers’ massive energy usage from normal people to the data centers themselves:
To address the widespread pushback on data centers from local communities, consumer advocates and environmentalists, Shapiro announced the creation of the Governor’s Responsible Infrastructure Development standards — or GRID.
Along with hiring local residents, he wants data center developers to generate their own power or pay for the additional draw on the grid. Without giving details, he said there would be “strict transparency standards and direct community engagement,” along with environmental protection and water conservation. “If companies adhere to these principles, they will unlock benefits from the Commonwealth, including speed and certainty in permitting and available tax credits.”
The Sunshine Act requires, among other things, that local government bodies give advance notice to the public before voting on important stuff. But, as the Capital-Star reports, the PA State Supreme Court ruled a few years ago that governments could actually circumvent this requirement if a majority of members voted to do so. The PA State House of Representatives is currently amending the Sunshine Act to close that loophole. Salisbury wants to make sure people don’t get it twisted:
Rep. Abigail Salisbury (D-Allegheny) said the Sunshine Act is often misunderstood by members of the public and elected officials.
“This is not authorizing taking actions on any of these items outside of a meeting, in between meetings, absent a meeting, behind closed doors, via email, via phone, any of these other types of things,” Salisbury, who is a Swissvale borough council member, said. “Sometimes people try to take informal paths, but we want to make sure that there’s full transparency for the public.”
Pa. House panel approves bill to limit exceptions to Sunshine Act notice requirement →
Pennsylvania Capital-Star
The CISO is, according to PA’s official description, repsonsible for “statewide initiatives to strengthen cyber resilience, reduce enterprise risk, and advance a unified, modern security posture across all agencies.” As GovTech reports, the newly-permanent CISO, Andy Ritter, had already been in the “acting” role for the past few months:
Ritter is no stranger to the position, having served as interim CISO since October. Prior to that appointment, Ritter worked as Pennsylvania's deputy CISO dating back to January 2024. All told, Ritter has spent nearly nine years with the state, according to his LinkedIn.
Making Ritter the state's permanent CISO comes amid an ongoing push to strengthen cybersecurity. In January, Gov. Josh Shapiro's office announced $10 million in new cyber funding, noting that it builds on other investments made in the past two years to "keep pace with a rapidly evolving threat landscape, including malicious attacks driven by artificial intelligence."
The Trib reports that the City Council liked what they heard in their official interviews last week, locking in O’Connor’s first appointments to major city roles:
At last week’s interview, Lando and Williams vowed not to cooperate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Other priorities they outlined include improving recruitment and retention, offering more robust officer wellness programs and strengthening relationships between police officers and the communities they serve.
Lando reiterated Wednesday that stopping violent crime would be the bureau’s top priority.
“We always want to be laser-focused on the violent crime” and crimes that impact residents’ quality of life, he said.
Axios reports that, after Jose Flores, an Oakmont resident and legal asylum seeker here in the US, was abducted by ICE agents this week, Deluzio is pushing ICE for more details as to what’s going on:
Axios obtained a letter Deluzio sent to ICE acting director Todd Lyons on Tuesday, demanding answers to a series of questions surrounding Flores' detention.
Those questions included on what basis Flores was detained, whether a warrant was issued, and whether Flores' detention was part of a targeted action.
As the Post-Gazette reports, that money would have a clear path to local schools:
Locally, several districts qualify for adequacy funding, proposed state budget documents show. McKeesport would receive $2.5 million in the 2026-27 total proposed adequacy supplement. Sto-Rox and Woodland Hills would each received close to $1.7 million. And Penn Hills could see close to $861,000...
“We’ve invested a record amount of money in public education, and created a brand-new formula that drives that money out to the schools that need it most,” Mr. Shapiro said Tuesday. “And we pledged to keep doing it until we meet our obligation set forth in … our state Constitution, which guarantees every Pennsylvanian access to a ‘thorough and efficient system of public education.’ ”
Shapiro calls on lawmakers to continue pushing millions of additional dollars to underfunded schools →
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
As the Post-Gazette reports, Shapiro is trying again to get more money for PA public transit, after failing in previous years. The issue has been a non-starter for Republicans, who see public transit as an “urban” problem that takes money away from other transportation projects:
In his budget proposal Tuesday, Mr. Shapiro called for the same increase in transit funding that was unsuccessful the past two years: increasing the share of the state’s Public Transportation Trust Fund earmarked for transit from 4.4% to 6.15%. The difference is Mr. Shapiro is calling for that change to take place in July 2027 rather than this year...
“This budget calls for sustainable, recurring funding for mass transit to begin in 2027,” Mr. Shapiro said. “I bought us two years, but we have to keep working on this because this isn’t a problem we can ignore.
Shapiro wants to start talks now on extra transit funding for 2027 →
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Here we go, again: It’s state budget time. Last year, the negotiations were a disaster, going four months past the official deadline. This week, Shapiro made the first move in avoiding a repeat of that drama by sharing his official proposal for the next state budget. As City & State breaks down, the proposal calls for many of the things that Shapiro and fellow Democrats couldn’t get last year, like: a higher minimum wage; more funding for public transit (including PRT); legal marijuana (to generate new tax revenue); and more funding for education. The rub here is that the proposal calls for more spending than this year, but no new taxes, resulting in a budget deficit. Shapiro’s proposal accounts for that by drawing PA’s emergency “Rainy Day Fund” down from nearly $7.8 billion to $3.3 billion. Davis —the co-chair of PA’s Early Learning Investment Commission — highlighted Shapiro’s call for new funding for education and family-focused programs:
“This budget builds on real progress by staying focused on the people we serve,” said Lieutenant Governor Austin Davis. “I’ve had the privilege of meeting Pennsylvanians who are making their communities safer, teaching our youngest learners, and fighting for victims’ voices to be heard. This budget has their back — investing in afterschool programs, community organizations addressing gun violence, early childhood education and child care, and support for victims of crime. These investments will give every Pennsylvanian the tools to succeed today and build a stronger future.”
Here we go, again: It’s state budget time. Last year, the negotiations were a disaster, going four months past the official deadline. This week, Shapiro made the first move in avoiding a repeat of that drama by sharing his official proposal for the next state budget. as City & State breaks down, the proposal calls for many of the things that Shapiro and fellow Democrats couldn’t get last year, like: a higher minimum wage; more funding for public transit (including PRT); legal marijuana (to generate new tax revenue); and more funding for education. The rub here is that the proposal calls for more spending than this year, but no new taxes, resulting in a budget deficit. Shapiro’s proposal accounts for that by drawing PA’s emergency “Rainy Day Fund” down from nearly $7.8 billion to $3.3 billion. Shapiro sounds optimistic that finalizing the budget will go better than last year:
“We’ve shown what’s possible when we all work together. Even when it takes longer than it should,” he said on Tuesday. “We all recognize it took too long last year – and that had real impacts on Pennsylvanians. But we learned some valuable lessons through that process. We learned that we all need to be at the table, and that we all need to be at the table sooner.”
[Republican State Senate Majority Leader Joe] Pittman, speaking to reporters, said he had previously suggested the idea of meeting earlier in the year to begin budget talks, and said he was glad Shapiro took his advice.
I'm glad the governor took my advice and is engaging much sooner in the process,” he said. “That's what I had suggested we do months ago, and I'm glad that he is following up on that suggestion.”
9 things to know about Josh Shapiro’s $53.3B budget proposal →
City & State Pennsylvania
Here we go, again: It’s state budget time. Last year, the negotiations were a disaster, going four months past the official deadline. This week, Shapiro made the first move in avoiding a repeat of that drama by sharing his official proposal for the next state budget. as City & State breaks down, the proposal calls for many of the things that Shapiro and fellow Democrats couldn’t get last year, like: a higher minimum wage; more funding for public transit (including PRT); legal marijuana (to generate new tax revenue); and more funding for education. The rub here is that the proposal calls for more spending than this year, but no new taxes, resulting in a budget deficit. Shapiro’s proposal accounts for that by drawing PA’s emergency “Rainy Day Fund” down from nearly $7.8 billion to $3.3 billion, a point that Garrity —as both the State Treasurer and Shapiro’s opponent in this year’s Gubernatorial race — made sure to hit:
“Today’s budget address was more of the same from the Governor: more spending, the promise of new programs that have yet to help Pennsylvania families, all while sending the bill to taxpayers,” said Republican guberanatorial hopeful Stacy Garrity. “In what World does Josh Shapiro think he can fund a $53.3 billion budget when he couldn’t cover last year’s $50 billion budget? Governor Shapiro’s budget is the largest in Pennsylvania history, and it is unsustainable, irresponsible, and reckless.”
Here we go, again: It’s state budget time. Last year, the negotiations were a disaster, going four months past the official deadline. This week, Shapiro made the first move in avoiding a repeat of that drama by sharing his official proposal for the next state budget. as City & State breaks down, the proposal calls for many of the things that Shapiro and fellow Democrats couldn’t get last year, like: a higher minimum wage; more funding for public transit (including PRT); legal marijuana (to generate new tax revenue); and more funding for education. The rub here is that the proposal calls for more spending than this year, but no new taxes, resulting in a budget deficit. Shapiro’s proposal accounts for that by drawing PA’s emergency “Rainy Day Fund” down from nearly $7.8 billion to $3.3 billion. Costa highlighted Shapiro’s call for new funding for infrastructure:
Housing was a major focus of Shapiro’s budget speech, with the Democratic governor touting a new initiative called the Pennsylvania Program for Critical Infrastructure Investment that he said could help spur the development of new housing and other infrastructure projects...
Senate Democratic Leader Jay Costa lauded Shapiro’s critical infrastructure program, and said the program, if enacted, is “going to generate resources to be able to make investments in housing programs – building houses, improving housing stock in this commonwealth, but also taking a look at infrastructure investments along the lines of critical infrastructure that we need.”
9 things to know about Josh Shapiro’s $53.3B budget proposal →
City & State Pennsylvania
In a response to Public Source, Walker called out the potential danger that charter schools, which take tax-funded public school dollars away from Pittsburgh Public Schools, pose to the district’s funding:
[Walker] said the recent cyber charter reforms and expansion of brick-and-mortar schools throughout the region could make charter school funding a bigger issue that people should pay attention to.
“I think as charter schools begin to kind of leak into our more rural communities, it’ll become a much bigger issue that folks take seriously, especially around funding.”
Education leaders name their K-12 priorities for 2026 →
Pittsburgh's Public Source
As WESA reports, the County itself is an investor in the building:
The 10-story building is one of the first downtown projects to receive direct investment from Allegheny County, through the Redevelopment Authority of Allegheny County, which invested $750,000 “because of its strategic importance to our downtown revitalization efforts," said Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato, in a statement.
Bassed on reporting in the Post-Gazette and elsewhere, it sounds like there were three main factors that made Pittsburgh’s response to this season’s snow fall so bad: First, we suffered a historically large snow storm. Second, like half of the City’s aging fleet of snow vehicles broke down due to their poor condition. And third, many of the City’s snow plow drivers were new, and lacked the experience to navigate this year’s conditions. Now, in addition to legislative efforts to get more funding for our vehicles, O’Connor says that Pittsburgh is already preparing the snow plow force to be more effective next year:
“Don’t be surprised if you see a truck with a plow on it this summer,” said acting Director of the Department of Public Works John McClory.
That way, drivers get a feel for the roads they will be driving and learn what it’s like to maneuver their truck with a plow attached.
“It was a lot to handle for everybody,” Mr. O’Connor said. “But the good thing is, they have a strategy. We’re already talking about and planning for next year and training when we get the new trucks, to make sure we actually have drivers that aren’t scared to go up and down some of our hills in Pittsburgh.”
Inexperienced drivers, broken trucks slowed Pittsburgh snow response, Mayor O’Connor says →
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
As the Capital-Star reports, Inglis is behind a number of state initiatives to incentivize local support for things like accessory dwelling units (aka ADUs, those little guest houses that people put in their back yards) and multi-plexes:
Proposals like House Bill 2186 would allow municipalities to enact “reasonable” restrictions for accessory dwelling units, which are often smaller homes on the same lot as a single-family house. Sponsor Rep. John Inglis (D-Allegheny) pitched the spaces as affordable options for seniors, young adults or caregivers.
“Right now, many Pennsylvania municipalities either ban them outright or make them nearly impossible to build,” Inglis said. “It’s a simple way to add affordable housing without changing the character of our neighborhoods, and we can’t afford to keep blocking these solutions.”
House Bill 2185, also sponsored by Inglis, requires certain local units of government to permit duplex, triplex and quadplex housing in areas zoned for single-family residences.
Bipartisan coalition of state lawmakers looks to incentivize ‘pro-housing’ communities →
Pennsylvania Capital-Star
States govern elections by their own rules. But, Republicans in the US Congress are looking to put up new nationwide barriers to voting. As WHTM reports this week, McCormick is stumping for one of these efforts, the SAVE Act:
Pennsylvania requires a voter who is voting for the first time in an election district to show proof of identification, which can be either a photo or non-photo ID. Returning voters generally do not need to provide any identification.
McCormick co-sponsored the SAVE Act in the U.S. Senate. The bill would require voters to provide proof of U.S. citizenship when registering to vote in federal elections. Americans already must prove their eligibility when registering to vote.
In an op-ed for The Northside Chronicle, Abeny spoke on the work that Democrats are leading to better fund food programs across the state. This comes just before fellow Democrat Governor Shapiro is expected to unveil his proposal for the next State budget, so this is something of a statement of intent for Abney:
About one in five Pittsburgh residents — or roughly 60,000 people — lives in a household that struggles to put food on the table, according to city data...
In Pennsylvania, Democrats have stepped up. During the shutdown, Gov. Josh Shapiro released $5 million in state funds through an emergency declaration for food pantries.
House Democrats and the governor also made sure the new state budget includes more dollars for two state food programs — an extra $11 million for the programs that connect low-income Pennsylvanians to healthy local food.
As a member of the House Appropriations Committee, I will fight to make sure those programs remain fully funded in future budgets.
We’re also pushing for policies that would address the root causes of food insecurity, such as an increase in our outdated minimum wage.
District 19 Column — Abney: We must address food insecurity →
The Northside Chronicle
This week, City Council began interviewing Jason Lando, Corey O’Connor’s nominee for Police Chief. With Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) still waging their campaign in Minnesota, where ICE agents have killed two lawful observers, Warwick asked about how Lando will approach the agency:
The looming danger of federal immigration enforcement agencies conducting a mass action in the city hung over the afternoon.
“Just like we have a plan for the NFL draft, and just like we make plans for weather events and snow events, I think we need a plan for this. Residents are scared,” Council Member Barb Warwick of Greenfield said.
Lando reiterated the city’s stance that it will not assist federal immigration enforcement. He said, “I don’t ever want to hear about a situation where someone didn’t call for help because they were so worried that the first thing that Pittsburgh Police were going to ask when they got there was immigration status.”
It will, of course, be interesting to see how much of this money actually makes its way to the community:
“When we announced our Economic Development Strategy here in the Lehigh Valley two years ago, we set out to win historic, life-changing deals like the one we’re announcing with Lilly today,” said Shapiro in a release. “Lilly’s commitment to the Lehigh Valley and to Pennsylvania will bring billions of dollars of investment and hundreds of good-paying jobs, solidifying our position as a leader in the growing life sciences industry.”
Shapiro said it was the largest life science investment in state history. It was made possible with $100 million in state incentives, including $50 million in tax credits and $50 million in grant funding for site development and infrastructure.
Up to $5 million through the Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program will be sent to a local community college or technical school to help with workforce development.
Pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly to invest $3.5B in Lehigh County →
Pennsylvania Capital-Star
This week, City Council began interviewing Jason Lando, Corey O’Connor’s nominee for Police Chief. Warwick called on Lando to engage more fairly with black teens:
Warwick asked for community engagement to include allowing teenagers, particularly Black teenagers, to exist in public without “demonization” by adult residents. She said, “They are Pittsburghers, too.” She pointed to the success of local libraries being places where youth can safely socialize in public.
Lando agreed that, for instance, educating business owners on what is typical teenage behavior and does not need police intervention would be beneficial for everyone. “It helps the kids not have to be viewed a certain way, and it also helps us from being called to situations unnecessarily where there’s not a lot we can do.”
This week, City Council began interviewing Jason Lando, Corey O’Connor’s nominee for Police Chief. With protests against various Trump administration policies bubbling around the city, Gross asked Lando how he’ll approach protestors in Pittsburgh:
Council Member Deb Gross of Highland Park asked how the department will handle things differently than in 2020 when officers responded to protestors with force.
Lando said the current expectation is that officers arrive at the scene without visible tactical gear and to introduce themselves, letting protestors know they’re around for protection and stopping traffic if needed. “It was a much more collaborative approach than we had previously,” he said.
The gift comes after half of the City’s snow plow fleet broke day at literally the worst possible time: right in the middle of this month’s snowpocalypse. It also follows the announcement last week that UPMC donated $10 million to help the City buy new ambulances:
According to Mayor O'Connor, the $2 million grant from the PNC Foundation will help the city purchase 15 new vehicles this year. In total, O'Connor said, the city should be able to get up to 50 plow trucks in the future.
"Our [Department of Public Works] crews work hard and around the clock after snow events and, thanks to our local partnerships like this, will now have over 50 new pieces of reliable equipment," O'Connor said. "This kind of investment from PNC shows that we're all in this together and invested in the safety of our crews and our communities."
Several of Pittsburgh’s biggest businesses, like UPMC, are nonprofits, so they pay no taxes to the City. That’s a problem when we keep running into budget crunches each year. Our previous Mayor, Ed Gainey, tried to sue the big nonprofits to get them to pay the City — a strategy that failed spectacularly. New Mayor Corey O’Connor seems to be taking a honey-over-vinegar approach by trying to get the nonprofits to voluntarily pay for City programs that align with the nonprofits’ missions. That strategy had its first win this week, with UPMC announcing a $10 million gift, specifically to pay for new ambulances. That’s a drop in the bucket compared to recurring tax revenues, but it’s a start:
City Controller Rachael Heisler said, “It's been apparent over the course of the last few days that our fleet is old, and these vehicles are old, and they're breaking down, and the situation with our ambulances is dire, and this donation from UPMC will go a long way in addressing that.”
She explained why she says investment in the fleet is needed.
“From my perspective, the fleet needs $15-20 million year over year to keep the vehicles up to par, up to the standards that a city the size of Pittsburgh needs. And we've been investing probably between $3-5 million a year for the last 10, 15, 20 years. So it has not been a priority for any administration in recent memory, and it shows,” Heisler said.
Since enough Republicans also voted to block the funding, the federal government is left without a ratified budget and will shut down. This all comes as a bit of a surprise, since Fetterman had vowed earlier to not vote for a shutdown. But, in recent days he’s been increasingly vocal about his disapproval of ICE’s campaign in Minnesota.
Several of Pittsburgh’s biggest businesses, like UPMC, are nonprofits, so they pay no taxes to the City. That’s a problem when we keep running into budget crunches each year. Our previous Mayor, Ed Gainey, tried to sue the big nonprofits to get them to pay the City — a strategy that failed spectacularly. New Mayor Corey O’Connor seems to be taking a honey-over-vinegar approach by trying to get the nonprofits to voluntarily pay for City programs that align with the nonprofits’ missions. That strategy had its first win this week, with UPMC announcing a $10 million gift, specifically to pay for new ambulances. That’s a drop in the bucket compared to recurring tax revenues, but it’s a start:
“The very first EMS started here in Pittsburgh, but for years we’ve been expecting our critical first responders to deliver life-saving services with an old, unreliable fleet,” O’Connor said. “UPMC saw what was happening, approached us and stepped up to partner with us on this game-changing investment. Their leadership sets the tone for what it means to invest in the well-being of our residents.”
The Lieutenant Governor is basically the “Vice Governor.” But in PA, we actually vote separately for the Governor and the Lt. Governor; they can be on the same “ticket,” but they’re running their own races. This week, Republican Gubernatorial frontrunner Stacy Garrity officially named local Republican Jason Richey as her de facto running mate by endorsing him for Lt. Governor:
“Not only is Jason Richey an accomplished attorney, but he is also a committed civic leader in the greater Pittsburgh area. Jason understands the potential Pennsylvania has, but only if our Commonwealth has the right leadership. Jason shares my serious concerns about Josh Shapiro’s failed tenure as Governor that has placed Pennsylvania 41st nationally, and he is committed to turning Pennsylvania around. Jason Richey will not just be an incredible running mate on the campaign trail, but a terrific partner in governing for all the people of Pennsylvania.”
There are many weird factors at play with Pittsburgh’s housing shortage. One of them is our abundance of derelict homes that are legally uninhabitable, yet still standing. In a recent report looking at the data behind these homes, Public Source notes Mayor O’Connor hoping to get to work on these things:
“We want to do these and do them fast,” newly minted Mayor Corey O’Connor said at a Jan. 16 press conference in Knoxville, a neighborhood home to dozens of condemned structures. “We’re planning to invest more of our capital in it, but then also looking for partners.”
Maps: Pittsburgh has more decaying homes than it can demolish →
Pittsburgh's Public Source
This comes amidst various efforts across PA to regulate phone use in schools. Pittsburgh Public Schools, for example, recently enacted a district-wide ban. Now, with a growing number of parents and teachers looking to cut down on distractions in the classroom, Shapiro wants to see a statewide ban:
In a social media post, Shapiro said that “it’s time for us to get distractions out of the classroom and create a healthier environment in our schools.”
Shapiro continued, “I’m calling on the state legislature to send a bill to my desk requiring our schools to implement policies that take cell phones and mobile devices out of kids’ hands from the time they start class until the time they leave for home — helping teachers and kids focus on learning."
Just a couple of months ago, the plan failed spectacularly as the public criticized the district for weak community engagement and an alarming lack of details regarding implementation. The Board of Directors ultimately voted to move forward with revisiting the plan, so they now have an opportunity to restart the process with better community involvement.
PPS board resumes closures discussion after axing plans in November →
Pittsburgh's Public Source