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PublicSource | News for a better Pittsburgh (https://www.publicsource.org/category/money-and-politics/)

MONEY & POLITICS

Proposed cuts to URA budget may not be as deep, but Pittsburgh’s affordable housing advocates remain concerned

By J. Dale Shoemaker

New Pittsburgh ordinance mandates developers talk to ‘registered’ community groups. Critics say the law will exclude some groups.

By J. Dale Shoemaker

When Pittsburgh and Allegheny County ‘piggyback’ on contracts, are taxpayers getting the best deal?

By J. Dale Shoemaker

Allegheny County voters veto proposed tax hike to establish $18 million children’s fund

By Mary Niederberger

How voter registration rolls in Southwestern PA have changed since 2014

By Paul Ricci

Aftermath: Synagogue attack

In the wake of the shooting at Tree of Life, Pittsburgh City Council promises action on gun control. What is even feasible in Pennsylvania?

By Jeffrey Benzing | October 31, 2018

City Councilman Corey O’Connor said now is the time for Pittsburgh to take bold action on gun control, even if it means confronting lawsuits and the ire of a Republican-controlled state Legislature and powerful gun rights groups like the National Rifle Association. “We will fight this. Pittsburgh will take a stand,” O'Connor said, holding back tears at a council meeting three days after a heavily armed man killed 11 people at the Tree of Life synagogue. “And we will get sued... You want to fight?

Aftermath: Synagogue attack

Dozens of online fundraisers have sprouted since Saturday’s tragedy at Tree of Life. We’ve checked out the biggest ones.

By | October 29, 2018

As Pittsburgh grapples with the aftermath of the deadliest attack on the Jewish community in U.S. history, how can potential donors separate legitimate fundraisers from scams?

MONEY & POLITICS

Braddock Borough Council president Tina Doose sits in council chambers at the borough municipal building. (Photo by John Altdorfer/PublicSource)

Act 47 was intended to help distressed municipalities but has an unintended side effect on their police departments

By Nichole Faina | October 2, 2018

It's been more than 30 years since the state implemented Act 47 to help financially distressed communities, and it's still a big player in the lives of people in towns across Pennsylvania.

MONEY & POLITICS

Has Amazon HQ2 been a deviation in Pittsburgh’s transparency practices?

By | September 17, 2018

The yearlong mystery surrounding Pittsburgh’s Amazon HQ2 bid has provoked activists, residents and journalists to call for more transparency by local government officials.

MONEY & POLITICS

Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald speaks at an event at Montour Elementary School on Feb. 22. (Photo by Ryan Loew/PublicSource)

Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald won’t disclose his calendar to the public. Why not?

By | September 10, 2018

Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald has been in office since 2012 and will be up for reelection next year. But unless he makes a public appearance or a tweet is sent out from @ACE_Fitzgerald, the citizens of Allegheny County know little else about how he’s spending his time in office.

MONEY & POLITICS

Pittsburgh is the only city in Pennsylvania without a record retention policy. Here’s why that matters.

By | July 30, 2018

The City of Pittsburgh and most of its city departments don’t have record retention policies. In fact, Pittsburgh is the only city in Pennsylvania without a record retention policy, though it’s working to change that.

ENVIRONMENT

Buildings in downtown Pittsburgh can be seen from Hays Woods. (Photo by Ryan Loew/PublicSource)

Pittsburgh is no longer a smoky city, but that doesn’t mean it has cleaned up its act

By Oliver Morrison | July 19, 2018

This is the paradox of Pittsburgh’s current environmental identity: The city is claiming the role of environmental leader but still touts its success relative to its dirty past.

MONEY & POLITICS

City of Pittsburgh’s IT is too scattered, too custom and scantily documented, an audit showed. What is the city doing about it?

By | July 17, 2018

The Deloitte report and interviews with current and former officials reveal a department struggling to keep the city’s IT running on a day-to-day basis while trying to modernize their operations.

PublicSource Investigation

Is Pittsburgh prepared for a cyberattack? The city stays mum on report that found numerous flaws.

By | July 16, 2018

The City of Pittsburgh doesn't want to talk about its cybersecurity. Its top tech official is staying tight-lipped, saying the stakes are too high to say much publicly.

AMAZON HQ2

Court testimony reveals another way Pittsburgh and county officials justify sidestepping state open records law in Amazon case

By | July 5, 2018

Who owns Pittsburgh’s bid to host Amazon HQ2? The answer to this question appears to be a critical point in determining if the public has the right to see what the city and Allegheny County have offered to Amazon to lure its second headquarters to Pittsburgh. On the stand in the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas on Thursday, CEO of the Allegheny Conference on Community Development Stefani Pashman testified that PGHQ2, a private subsidiary of the conference, owns the bid and merely shared copies of it with the city and county. City and county lawyers argued before Judge Terrence W. O’Brien that the city and county do not own the bid, which means the governments can’t be compelled to release it and that they don’t have the right to anyway. “They own the proposal, it’s their proposal,” said George Janocsko, a solicitor with the county law department, during arguments on behalf of the government Thursday.