1Killed, 3 Injured In Hill District Shooting

One person died and three were wounded in two shootings Sunday evening in the Hill District, authorities said.

Police at the Zone 2 Station on Centre Avenue heard gunfire from an area near Dinwiddie and Wick streets about 5:20 p.m. and went to investigate, Public Safety spokeswoman Sonya Toler said.

Officers found two men wounded at the scene and another dead with a wound in the torso on nearby Kearney Way, a tiny alley between Dinwiddie and the parking lot of a Shop ‘n Save grocery store.

The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office identified the man who died as Christopher Richardson, 20, of West Oakland.

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Pittsburgh’s Hill District Revitalization Project Hits Financial Hurdle In TIF

A plan to revitalize the Hill District and Uptown with tax money from a redeveloped Civic Arena site is more complicated than envisioned, say officials who hope to make public a proposal in January.

“There are a lot of moving parts,” said Robert Rubinstein, acting executive director of Pittsburgh’s Urban Redevelopment Authority, which is crafting a plan to pay for improvements.

An agreement reached this fall by city, neighborhood and Pittsburgh Penguins officials established conditions for the proposed $440 million project. The hockey team won the development rights to the site in a 2007 deal to build Consol Energy Center.

Among conditions in September’s agreement, the parties will borrow as much as $50 million, then use 65 percent of the anticipated increase in property tax money from the 28-acre site to pay for improvements and programs in the Hill and Uptown.

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Fear Grows Along With Body Count In Week Of Violence On Pittsburgh Streets

Locator map with the Glen Hazel neighborhood in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania highlighted. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Gunmen targeted three victims in two apparently unrelated incidents Monday after a “pretty violent” week around the city that left some residents fearing for their lives.

A Pittsburgh sanitation worker was shot to death in his car Monday morning as he prepared to begin his route. Less than five hours later, two masked gunmen chased two victims on the streets of Glen Hazel in full view of neighbors, killing one and leaving the other in critical condition. A Chicago man was shot in the face and killed Saturday night in Beltzhoover. Arlington Heights was the scene of two daylight shootings Saturday and Sunday that wounded four.

Police are treating the incidents as unrelated, said Public Safety spokeswoman Sonya Toler.

“Right now, there’s no reason to believe they’re connected,” Toler said. She described the past week as “pretty violent” and said the people involved in most of the shootings participated in “undesirable activities.”

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Woman Shot Dead, Mother Wounded In Hill District Shooting

A map of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with its neighborhoods labeled. For use primarily in the list of Pittsburgh neighborhoods. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Three gunmen firing at least 20 shots killed a woman and wounded her mother Friday afternoon in front of the garage of their Hill District home, police said.

The shooting occurred about 3:15 p.m. in the 900 block of Cherokee Street near the intersection of Iowa Street. Neighbors heard multiple gunshots and called 911, Pittsburgh Public Safety spokeswoman Sonya Toler said.

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Pittsburgh-Allegheny County SEA Moves Ahead On Redevelopment Of Civic Arena Site

Mellon Arena in downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Pittsburgh-Allegheny County Sports & Exhibition Authority board has taken another step in preparing the former Civic Arena site for redevelopment.

Board members authorized a $555,685 contract with Michael Baker Jr. today to do final design work for four roads — Centre Avenue, Washington Place, Bedford Avenue, and Crawford Street — that border the 28-acre site in the lower Hill District.

Plans call for those existing roads to be repaved, with upgraded signals, intersections and sidewalks at an estimated cost of $12 million.

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/local/city/2014/07/10/Pittsburgh-Allegheny-County-SEA-moves-ahead-on-redevelopment-of-Civic-Arena-site/stories/201407100268#ixzz375Nwumqr

Tours To Show Off Different Facets Of Pittsburgh

A map of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with its neighborhoods labeled. For use primarily in the list of Pittsburgh neighborhoods. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

A decades-old Pittsburgh transportation company is adding to its repertoire a series of tours exploring the city’s quirky and eclectic side, from its famed slaw-and-fries sandwich to a Hill District home once rented by Pirates great Roberto Clemente.

Pittsburgh Tours and More, a division of Pittsburgh Transportation Group, also will offer a look at Western Pennsylvania’s Amish life and silver-screen locations, as well as stops at breweries where patrons can wash down local history with a cold pint.

“This provides another way to spotlight the city,” said Sherris Moreira, director of Tours and More. “We saw there was a need in Pittsburgh.”

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Work On Civic Arena Site To Begin In August

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Construction of streets at the former Civic Arena site, now a sprawling parking lot in the heart of Pittsburgh, will begin in August, officials said on Thursday.

It will be the first significant activity on the 28-acre site since crews completed demolition of the arena about two years ago. More than $500 million in redevelopment is planned.

“We’re almost ready to start construction of the urban street grid,” said Mary Conturo, executive director of the city-county Sports & Exhibition Authority.

The first phase is expected to cost $9 million and focus on building interior streets on the eastern part of the site, Conturo said. The work is expected to take about a year.

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Pittsburgh City Council Members Air Doubts About Land Bank Legislation

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A letter that four Pittsburgh City Council members sent to 30,000 Pittsburgh residents called a land bank proposal “predatory” and promoted a meeting set for Tuesday evening to discuss potential alternatives.

The letter, dated March 18, is signed by council members R. Daniel Lavelle of the Hill District, Darlene Harris of Spring Garden, Theresa Kail-Smith of Westwood and Ricky Burgess of North Point Breeze. It went to residents of their council districts.

A proposal from Councilwoman Deb Gross of Highland Park would establish a city land bank as a way to transfer vacant city-owned or tax delinquent properties to homebuyers and developers.

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Brian O’Neill: Blight-Ridding Bill In Pittsburgh Shows Plenty Of Potential

A map of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with its neighborhoods labeled. For use primarily in the list of Pittsburgh neighborhoods. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Drive down Hamilton Avenue or its side streets in Homewood and you’ll see a whole lot of not there anymore.

City Council is trying to hash out a plan to “land bank” the acres of vacant and boarded-up properties the city controls so they can be cleared for sale. That would take in about half of Homewood and almost half the Hill District.

When I asked Councilman Ricky Burgess, who represents Homewood, if he could give me a quick tour of the problem sites, he said, “You don’t need me. I’m dead serious. Drive down Hamilton Avenue and drive around at your leisure. It’s so bad … it’s breathtaking.”

He was right. It came as advertised.

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/opinion/brian-oneill/2014/01/26/Brian-O-Neill-Blight-ridding-bill-in-Pittsburgh-shows-plenty-of-potential/stories/201401260059#ixzz2reCwstxI

3 Pittsburgh Construction Projects Hang In The Balance in 2014

Mellon Arena in downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

This year could be a pivotal one in the development of the former Civic Arena site in the lower Hill District, the LTV Coke Works in Hazelwood and the Strip District produce terminal.

Both the arena redevelopment and the Buncher Co.’s plans for the produce terminal not only have the potential to generate drama but could pose the first development-related challenges for Mayor-elect Bill Peduto, who takes office Monday.

Nearly two years after the Civic Arena came down, 2014 could bring the first wave of new development to the site, which is considered among the most valuable pieces of real estate in the region.

But there’s a potential fight brewing.

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/local/city/2014/01/03/3-city-construction-projects-hang-in-the-balance-in-2014/stories/201401030104#ixzz2pMlbpeNL

Supermarket Opens In Pittsburgh’s Hill District, The First In Three Decades

Locator map with the Upper Hill neighborhood in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania highlighted. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Hill District‘s long-awaited Shop ‘n Save supermarket opened this morning in the Centre Heldman Plaza.

Neighborhood and elected officials, including Mayor Luke Ravenstahl, celebrated the opening of the 29,500-square-foot grocery at 10 a.m. The full-service facility, described as the first in the neighborhood in more than three decades, ends what has been known as a “food desert” there.

After many starts and stops, the $12.5 million store was completed by Ross Markets. In a press release, owner Jeff Ross said the store will have more than 100 employees, 95 percent of them minorities and 65 percent from the neighborhood.

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/local/neighborhoods-city/supermarket-set-to-open-this-morning-in-pittsburghs-hill-district-707982/#ixzz2i0k29Zed

Man Arrested In Shooting Death In Hill District

Locator map with the Homewood West neighborhood in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania highlighted. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Pittsburgh police arrested a man late Thursday in connection with the shooting death of a man with gang ties last week in the Hill District.

Jay Morrison, 37, is scheduled to be arraigned today on charges of criminal homicide and a firearms violation in the killing of Harold Cabbagestalk, 40.

Morrison was arrested about 11:35 p.m. at Lady Di’s bar in Homewood based on a lead from the U.S. Marshal’s Fugitive Task Force, Pittsburgh police major crimes unit Lt. Daniel Hermann said in a press release.

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/local/neighborhoods-city/man-arrested-in-shooting-death-in-hill-district-705143/#ixzz2g718m2HT

Man With Gang Ties Is Shot To Death In Hill District

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Pittsburgh police knew Harold Cabbagestalk because they had charged him with two killings, although he was never convicted. Now, they are looking for the person who killed him.

Cabbagestalk, 40, once a member of the notorious Hazelwood Mob street gang, died at UPMC Mercy at 9:22 a.m. today, according to the Allegheny County medical examiner’s office. Pittsburgh police said he was shot the night before at the Flamingo Bar on Wylie Avenue in the Hill District.

A woman called 911 about 11:35 p.m. Monday and asked the call-taker to send medics to the bar.  When police arrived, they found Cabbagestalk lying on the floor with eight gunshot wounds, including one to the center of his chest, Major Crimes Lt. Daniel Herrmann said.

It was the second serious shooting that night.  Pittsburgh police were on the scene of a fatal shooting in Homewood when they learned that Cabbagestalk had been seriously injured.

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/local/neighborhoods-city/man-with-gang-ties-is-shot-to-death-in-hill-district-703721/#ixzz2fBzJkwqo