Results for: Pittsburgh

An Italian heritage group has won a partial victory in their challenge to Pittsburgh’s efforts to remove a statue of Christopher Columbus from a city park. The Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court has sent the case back to the lower court for further consideration, ruling that the group’s claims that the city violated its charter, code, and ordinance were not irrelevant. The dispute over the statue, which has been vandalized several times, has drawn national attention, with similar disputes occurring in Philadelphia, Camden, Wilmington, Richmond, Columbia, and Boston.

An appeals court in Pennsylvania has allowed an Italian heritage group’s challenge to the city of Pittsburgh’s efforts to remove a statue of Christopher Columbus from a city park to proceed. The Commonwealth Court ruled that the group’s claims of violations of the city’s charter, code, and ordinance cannot be dismissed as merely procedural issues.

The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania has ruled that an Italian heritage group can challenge the city of Pittsburgh’s efforts to remove a statue of Christopher Columbus from Schenley Park. The Italian Sons and Daughters of America had filed a lawsuit after the Pittsburgh Art Commission voted to remove the statue in 2020. The group argued that the mayor could not override a 1955 city council ordinance that authorized the statue’s installation. The Commonwealth Court ruled that the previous judge had erred in dismissing the group’s claims entirely. The court also rejected the group’s challenge to the judge’s refusal to recuse himself from the case. The statue, which has been vandalized several times, remains in the park, but is currently covered in plastic. Disputes over Columbus statues have occurred in other cities across the country, including Philadelphia and Richmond, Virginia.

An appeals court in Pennsylvania has sent back to a lower court a challenge by an Italian heritage group to the city of Pittsburgh’s efforts to remove a Christopher Columbus statue from a city park. The Italian Sons and Daughters of America had sued in 2020 after the Pittsburgh Art Commission voted to remove the statue, and then-mayor Bill Peduto also recommended its removal. The group argued that the mayor could not override a 1955 city council ordinance that cleared the way for the statue’s installation. The Commonwealth Court rejected the group’s challenge to the lower court’s refusal to remove himself from the case, but said the lower court erred in dismissing all of the group’s claims.

The City of Pittsburgh has unveiled a new bronze sculpture titled ‘Flora’ in the Highland Park entry garden. The statue, crafted by local artist Marlana Adele Vassar, is part of the city’s Art in Parks program and is the first to depict a woman of color in the city’s collection. Vassar states that the artwork aims to symbolize progress and possibility, while Mayor Ed Gainey highlights its importance in reflecting the diversity of the city’s residents who enjoy its parks.

This morning, multiple news events have unfolded in the Pittsburgh area. In the Beltzhoover neighborhood, a man suffered critical stab wounds during an apparent domestic violence incident. Allegheny County Police have announced a medication take-back event for residents to dispose of old and expired medications safely.

Michael Ernest Buyna, 44, of Beechview, was killed in a multi-vehicle crash on the Parkway East in Penn Hills early Saturday morning.