Violet Law

At Liberty to Speak

After a half-century of having decisions made for them, East Liberty residents have a say in the future of the city's "second downtown"

• By Violet Law
• Tags: News, Features

Scare Tactics

• By Violet Law
Cyclists are turning to ghost bikes to demonstrate the dangers they face on the roadways, but does anyone actually see them or the message?

North Siders Want More From Casino

Developer says deal on community investment has already been reached

• By Violet Law
Don Barden, the Detroit businessman whose company, PITG Gaming, won the city's lone slot license plans on building a casino on the North Shore. The band of North Siders organized under the umbrella of Pittsburgh UNITED wants Barden to sit down with them to negotiate a community-benefits agreement. However, even though their fight for an agreement is just in its second week, they haven't made much headway, thanks to a casino operator who says he's already penned an agreement and to their alleged best bargaining chip, Mayor Luke Ravenstahl, apparently staying out of the fight.

Wood Street Commons tenants reassured on building's future

Officials insist county will protect the structure

• By Violet Law
As new dormitories have been sprouting up across Downtown, residents of the Wood Street Commons can't help wonder if their building will soon be put on the market. So, once again rumors swirled that the neighboring Point Park University is eyeing the 258-unit building for its expanding student body. But at a Sept. 19 residents' meeting, the residents got the assurances they have longed for: The Commons, which offers much-needed Downtown housing to those who subsist on Social Security or otherwise meager incomes, has not been -- and will not be -- sold.

Casinos: The battle for a Community Benefits Agreement Moves to the North Side

• By Violet Law
On Sept. 15, Pittsburgh UNITED kicked off its second grassroots campaign in front of a bank of TV cameras. The foundation-funded economic-justice group vowed to strive for a Community Benefits Agreement for North Side residents from the casino's builder, PITG Gaming. But while organizers didn't mention it, PITG already had struck a bargain with neighborhood activists -- months before the casino even won the license. And that bargain, forged with the Northside Leadership Conference, may make it hard for Pittsburgh UNITED to achieve its goals.