MONEY & POLITICS
During five years in office, has Mayor Peduto fulfilled his pledges to Pittsburgh?
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Five years into being mayor, has Pittsburgh seen results from Mayor Bill Peduto’s ideas?
DEVELOP PGH
Owner of troubled Valmar Gardens apartments has record of problem properties, unpaid taxes and ‘shell games’
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Property owner Prasad Margabandhu’s practices serve as a prime example of the challenges municipalities and tenants face when trying to hold landlords accountable for failed properties and dangerous conditions.
Aftermath: Synagogue attack
The historic roots of anti-Semitism and how they play out today
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Explosions of anti-Semitic violence like the Tree of Life shooting can sometimes appear to come out of the blue. And many people reference only the Holocaust in Hitler’s Germany when discussing anti-Semitic violence. But in reality, anti-Semitism functions as a system of oppression that goes beyond these violent acts.
Aftermath: Synagogue attack
Treating trauma and society’s ‘collective illness’: Mental health experts rally to provide long-lasting care after Tree of Life shooting
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Some public health researchers believe we need to address a “collective illness” that allows such hate to thrive in the first place
Transparency
Seeking information from Pittsburgh or Allegheny County? About half of formal requests are deemed ‘public records’
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In the past four years, residents and journalists have filed at least 4,540 requests for public records with the City of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County. About half the time, the city or county agreed to release all or some of the records.
While the city granted more records than the county, city records came at a higher price. The city charged requesters a total of $13,000 in copying and other costs, showing its reliance on paper records. In all but six cases, the county released records at no cost and in digital format whenever requested.
DEVELOP PGH
Booming Lawrenceville has priced out some residents. Would inclusionary zoning prevent displacement?
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“Are we really providing opportunities for families to live here — for people to really grow roots in the neighborhood?”
DEVELOP PGH
Inclusionary zoning could help Pittsburgh generate more affordable housing, but progress has taken years
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During the past five years, campaign pledges and task forces aimed at boosting affordable housing in Pittsburgh have pointed to the need for an inclusionary zoning [IZ] policy. More than 800 jurisdictions across the country have implemented IZ policies. So, what is IZ? How is Pittsburgh implementing it? And will the policy tool ease housing costs for low-income Pittsburghers?
DEVELOP PGH
Pittsburgh task force takes on issue of landlords turning away renters with convictions
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As housing prices and rents rise in the Pittsburgh region, some residents face an additional hurdle — they're often denied housing they can afford.
AMAZON HQ2
Amazon’s ripple effects: Six things that might happen if Pittsburgh gets HQ2
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PublicSource spoke to more than a dozen local and national experts and public officials to gauge what kind of impact Amazon might have on Pittsburgh’s housing, job market, tech sector, education system and local governments. Here are six things that are likely to happen were Pittsburgh to become the HQ2 city.
VIDEO
Watch: The First Amendment comes to life in Pittsburgh
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What does the First Amendment look like in practice? In Pittsburgh, it looks like men and women gathered in prayer at First Presbyterian Church of Pittsburgh, Rodef Shalom or the Islamic Center of Pittsburgh. It looks like journalists asking questions and holding those in power accountable, or demonstrators outside a federal courthouse on Grant Street protesting immigration policy.
