✅ ShotSpotter gets council’s OK

New Music Venue to Break Ground This Fall

Crews are nearly finished with the First National Bank skyscraper in the Lower Hill, and planners have their eyes next door. Mockups approved two years ago include a 4,500-seat performance space, retail options, and spacious parking garage at the corner of Wylie Avenue and Logan Street. It’s estimated to cost $110 million. Officials say they expect to break ground by the end of this year. The property will be owned by Live Nation, in partnership with Fenway Sports Group, which bought the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2021. [Pittsburgh Business Times]

• 🐧 Trouble in the neighborhood? The Pens confirmed around two dozen layoffs to the team’s business operations staff, including several executives in charge of communications, revenue, and social media. [KDKA-TV]
• 🏒 Remember the sellouts: For 14 consecutive years — 2007 to 2021 — Penguins management reveled in a 633-game ticket sellout streak but haven’t been able to recapture it. We’ve also missed the playoffs the last couple seasons. [TribLIVE]

City Expands Controversial Gunfire Detection System

Pittsburgh uses ShotSpotter sensors in all six police zones, and City Council has approved expanding the program into Carrick. The $133,000 contract is in addition to the annual $1.2 million the city already spends with ShotSpotter’s parent company, SoundThinking. [90.5 WESA]

• 💰 Does it work? Police chief Larry Scirotto argues yes, but critics say ShotSpotter is ineffective, racially biased, and costly. [PublicSource]
• ⚖️ Others are divesting: Several major cities, including Chicago, Atlanta and Portland, Oregon, are canceling or reexamining their contracts. Some have called it “public safety theater.” [CNN]
• 🎧 Learn more! We talked about ShotSpotter on the City Cast Pittsburgh podcast when the Carrick addition was first proposed.

Admire Vermeer, Monet, and Rembrandt in Pittsburgh

A new exhibition showcases the collections of 19th-century industrialist Henry Clay Frick and his daughter, philanthropist Helen Clay Frick. Inside The Frick Pittsburgh, you’ll find paintings, sculptures, works on paper, and decorative art from Dutch baroque artist Johannes Vermeer, Dutch Golden Age artist Rembrandt, and French impressionist artist Claude-Oscar Monet. Museum offerings include sketching classes, guided tours, and free admission on May 12.

• 🎨 Make your plans! It’s on display through July 14. [NEXTpittsburgh]

Pride Moves, ShotSpotter Expands & Self-Driving Trucks Hit the Highway

Change is in store for some big summer events: Pride is moving back to the North Side, and the city isn’t sponsoring the annual Juneteenth celebration at Point State Park. Plus, Pittsburgh is expanding the controversial ShotSpotter technology into a new neighborhood, and a local company is sending self-driving tractor trailers onto a Texas highway.