Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zappala has faced significant fallout for an email he sent in May to his deputy prosecutors forbidding them from offering.
Screenshot from ZenCity presentation in front of Pittsburgh City Council Standing meeting on May 12, 2021 Starting last year, Pittsburgh began using a social media monitoring software called ZenCity. The software, used by dozens of municipalities throughout the U.S., analyzes public social media posts to gauge community sentiment about issues related to city government like coronavirus responses, natural disasters, local emergencies, transit policies, and misinformation. At a May 12 Pittsburgh City Council Standing Committee meeting, the administration of Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto sought council approval of a new $30,000 contract with ZenCity, so the city may continue to utilize the software for another year, with the option to renew next year. According to Todd Smith of Pittsburgh’s Department of Innovation and Performance, the city has been using ZenCity since last year, and because of a “different procurement method,”
DeWitt Walton On April 27, Allegheny County Council voted to create an Independent Police Review Board for the county police department after a two-year effort to create a commission that would provide oversight and accountability to the region’s second largest police force. Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald said he supports the measure and will sign the ordinance, which passed by a vote of 9-5. The review board will be established in 2022, with nine members and will have jurisdiction over the Allegheny County Police Department. Other municipal departments throughout the county can opt-in to the review board. The bill was supported by nine of the 12 Democrats on council, and was opposed by three Democrats and two Republicans.
CP photo: Jared Wickerham Intersection of Centre and S Highland avenues in Pittsburgh s East Liberty neighborhood Since 2014, the city of Pittsburgh has lost more than 7,000 of its Black residents. Most of those Black people are leaving for suburbs within the Pittsburgh metro area. From 2010-2019, for every Black resident leaving the Pittsburgh metro area entirely, 4.6 Black people are only leaving the city but staying in greater Pittsburgh. This reality has sparked a debate among city leaders. For years, many housing advocates have cited gentrification as the main reason Black people are being forced out of the city, by rising rents and housing prices many can no longer afford. But recently, some elected officials have claimed that Black Pittsburghers are leaving the city by choice.
On Jan. 19, a bill was introduced into Pittsburgh City Council that seeks to ban Pittsburgh Police officers from using “no-knock” warrants. The ban is.