The Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority announced it will enter into a new cooperation agreement with the City of Pittsburgh when its current one expires in July. That is, if Pittsburgh City Council signs off. 

Much to the relief of many concerned Pittsburgh residents who expressed their distaste for the possibility of privatization at protests and public hearings, the new agreement holds language mandating that the water authority remains public-owned. According to the announcement’s press release many aspects of the agreement reflect recommendations from the mayor’s Blue Ribbon Panel and requirements handed down from the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission. 

Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto Friday signed an executive order creating the city’s first ever Office of Equity. According to Peduto the office, which will replace the Bureau of Neighborhood Empowerment, will focus on addressing inequality throughout the city.

“Based upon the research from the Equity Indicators Report, OnePGH, and the concerns I hear from constituents daily, we know we have more work to do on equity but I am proud of what this administration has been able to do thus far,” Peduto said in a press conference Friday.

The city of Pittsburgh released its second annual report on the Pittsburgh Equity Indicators, a set of 80 measures that examine disparities based on race, gender, and/or income in multiple areas to better understand opportunities available to Pittsburgh residents.

“This analysis is a start towards untangling the deep roots of inequality that exist in this city,” Mayor Bill Peduto said.

To the relief of gun control proponents and ire of gun advocates, Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto signed City Council’s much debated gun control legislation into law Tuesday. For the law’s supporters, in the aftermath of the Tree of Life massacre, the regulations that include an assault weapons ban with accessories as well as allowing the confiscation of firearms from residents deemed an “extreme risk” is long overdue.

But, there’s a major hitch, as state law prevents municipalities from passing gun control measures. Which is why, with the ink barely dry on the new laws and shortly after the signing, organizations such as Firearm Owners Against Crime, the Firearm Policy Coalition, and the Firearm Policy Foundation followed through on threats made in public hearings and council meetings and filed a lawsuit against the steel city.

In chambers filled with hopeful supporters and angry opponents, after months of debate Pittsburgh City Council passed its controversial and possibly unconstitutional gun legislation, Tuesday, by a 6-3 vote. 

After months of tense public hearings, grieving constituents, post-agendas, and the looming threat of lawsuits against the city by gun advocates, in 60 days following Mayor Bill Peduto’s signature, the ordinances that ban assault weapons and their ammunition as well as allow courts to confiscate firearms from residents deemed an “extreme risk” will enter the books. But there’s a catch.