Charlie Wolfson

It's FEC filing season...

U.S. Rep. Summer Lee reports having $1.8 million on hand heading into 2026 reelection effort.

The neighborhood that has seen the most city-funded demolitions since 2020 is Homewood North (53 out of 411 total). Click on the article for the fill list of neighborhoods.

“The scale of the problem is probably too much for the city as a system to handle with the amount of resources at its disposal,” @northsidecowboy.bsky.social said.

Demolitions have cost the city an average of $50,000 apiece since 2020, making it difficult to eat into the city's backlog of hundreds of condemned, dangerous buildings.

Federal COVID money helped: The number of demos spiked in 2022-2024.

New story today, including a map of where the City of Pittsburgh has demolished structures since 2020. It seems the city's demolition money is going to the neighborhoods that need it most — but that need is far greater than the resources.

Story: www.publicsource.org/pittsburgh-m...

It's a significant breakthrough for the city that has struggled for years to get cash from major nonprofits.

But it's also short of what many have called for, and far short even of the tax hike residents got hit with in December.

UPMC to give Pittsburgh $10 million for new ambulances Mayor O’Connor announced a $10 million gift from UPMC that will pay for new ambulances in Pittsburgh, freeing up funds to buy 35 new trucks that can plow snow.

News: UPMC to give Pittsburgh $10 million for new ambulances www.publicsource.org/upmc-gifts-p...

Why Pittsburgh's snow plow fleet broke down during the storm of the decade Many of Pittsburgh’s snow plows broke down during the city’s second snowiest day since the 1990s. One councilor points to years of underinvestment.

New: Why Pittsburgh's snow plow fleet broke down during the storm of the decade www.publicsource.org/why-pittsbur...

O’Connor declares emergency in Pittsburgh after snow storm Mayor O’Connor declared an emergency in Pittsburgh to pool resources for clearing snow with dozens of snow plows disabled and secondary roads largely covered.

News: Mayor O'Connor has declared an emergency in Pittsburgh as dozens of snow plows broke down yesterday, leaving most secondary roads untouched after almost a foot of snowfall. www.publicsource.org/pittsburgh-e...

Photo by @stephstrasburg.bsky.social this morning

That seat was flipped by a vote of 248-227.

Coraopolis overturns ICE agreement following community pushback and council shakeup Coraopolis entered into a 287(g) agreement with Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Dec. 23. The Borough Council just terminated the agreement.

The impact of local elections:

Coraopolis borough council approved a cooperative agreement with ICE in Dec. But Dems swept the council elections there last year, including flipping one seat from R to D, and the council voted this week to end the agreement www.publicsource.org/coraopolis-o...

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says it will cease operations in May The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's owners said it has lost $350 million over 20 years and called that "no longer sustainable."

"I can’t think of a city in Pittsburgh’s weight class that is facing the prospect of not having any daily newspaper at all." www.publicsource.org/newspaper-pi...

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette to cease operations in May The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's owners said it has lost $350 million over 20 years and called that "no longer sustainable."

NEWS: Pittsburgh is losing its newspaper of record. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette announced today it will shut down in May.

The end of more than 200 years of chronicling Pittsburgh for the paper. www.publicsource.org/newspaper-pi...

How does Pittsburgh have 20,000 vacant homes — and a housing shortage? One block in Pittsburgh’s Knoxville neighborhood shows how a legacy of population decline and neglect has allowed homes to decay and neighbors to suffer.

New story: How does Pittsburgh have 20,000 vacant homes — and a housing shortage?

I show you one block in the Knoxville neighborhood to tell you why. www.publicsource.org/pittsburgh-h...

Pittsburgh council votes for 20% property tax hike A divided council voted for the steep hike to fully fund vehicle purchases, worker overtime and utility bills, which members said were shorted in Mayor Ed Gainey’s 2026 budget.

News: Pittsburgh City Council just gave preliminary approval to raise property taxes 20% next year. It was a 6-3, veto-proof vote. www.publicsource.org/pittsburgh-c...

How Mayor Ed Gainey changed Pittsburgh, from more housing to fewer police Since Mayor Gainey’s historic election, he had only four years for his policies to take root. Here’s how the city’s first Black mayor changed Pittsburgh.

“There’s been an African American mayor of a major metropolitan city elected with only 22% of the people being Black,” Gainey said. “That’s incredible. That’s incredible.” @chwolfson.bsky.social on outgoing Mayor Ed Gainey's 6 top issues www.publicsource.org/ed-gainey-si...

Miller (D) won the district by 34 points in 2024.

Inbox: The special election to fill PA's 42nd state House district will be Feb. 24, per the speaker's office.

District includes Baldwin Tp., Castle Shannon, Mt. Lebanon and part of Upper St. Clair

Dan Miller resigning the seat to become a judge

What are the key dates in Pittsburgh's budget fight — and when can residents weigh in? Pittsburgh residents can weigh in on City Council’s budget negotiations Saturday, Dec. 20. A final vote on spending cuts and a tax increase will be on Dec. 21.

Here's what you need to know about the final weeks of Pittsburgh's budget negotiations — key dates and when the public can give their two cents. www.publicsource.org/pittsburgh-c...

Pittsburgh City Council to consider 30% property tax hike for 2026 Pittsburgh City Council will consider a 30% property tax hike for 2026. Councilor Barb Warwick introduced the bill. The public can comment at a Dec. 22 hearing.

NEWS: Pittsburgh City Council will consider a bill to raise the city's property tax rate by 30% for 2026 as members race to form a balanced budget by year end.

That % could shift, and unclear if there are enough votes for any increase www.publicsource.org/pittsburgh-c...

Opposition mounts to PPS closures plan as divided board preps for vote tonight Pittsburgh Public Schools will vote tonight on a plan to close 12 schools. Nearly 80 speakers at a recent hearing urged school directors to reject the plan.

Pittsburgh's school board will make a decisive vote tonight its school consolidation plan, a day after 80 speakers urged them to vote against it.

@publicsource.org will cover the vote tonight

Coverage here: www.publicsource.org/pittsburgh-p...

The Roberto Clemente Bridge should become a linear park The Pittsburgh bridge’s real power comes out when it’s closed to automotive traffic. So why not make that permanent and create a new attraction, like Dallas and New York have done?

Guest commentary: The Roberto Clemente Bridge should become a linear park www.publicsource.org/roberto-clem...

O’Connor taps former commander as Pittsburgh police chief Mayor-elect Corey O’Connor taps former Zone 5 commander to lead the Pittsburgh police force. Jason Lando led the response to the 2018 synagogue shooting.

News: Corey O'Connor has chosen Jason Lando, longtime Pittsburgh police officer and commander, to be the next chief of police.

Lando was Zone 5 commander and led response to 2018 synagogue shooting. www.publicsource.org/pittsburgh-p...

Here's our story from last week with interactive versions of all maps: www.publicsource.org/pittsburgh-2...

Those places are concentrated in historically Black neighborhoods, incl. Gainey's home turf in northeast, the Hill District and part of North Side.

O'Connor still did normal Democrat margins there, but Gainey had run up 95%+ of the vote there for years ago.
(7/8)

Every corner of Pittsburgh favored O'Connor on Tuesday. Most precincts gave him bigger margins than they gave Gainey.

But 89/402 precincts gave Gainey more of their vote in '21 than they gave O'Connor this year.

(6/8)

Corey O'Connor swept all 402 Pittsburgh precincts. His opponent Tony Moreno was able to win 57 precincts in 2021 against Ed Gainey, but was shut out Tuesday. Most of the flips were in southern neighborhoods.

Includes 29 precincts where Moreno got 60%+ in 2021.

(5/8)

Highest turnout precinct: Pittsburgh 11-10 (Highland Park), 71% participation

Lowest: McKeesport Ward 1, 8%

Highest turnout municipality: Ben Avon Heights, 64%

Lowest: Braddock, 18%

Biggest turnout drop, 2021-25: Mt. Oliver, -20 pts

Biggest increase: Edgewood, +32 pts

(4/8)

The bluest municipality last Tuesday was Braddock (Neuman +85), the reddest was South Versailles (Battista +27)

The closest? Glenfield (tied at 34 votes apiece)

Biggest swing from '24: Wall (Trump +5 to Neuman +35)

(3/8)