👀 🏙️ Downtown gets busy

🏙️ Downtown Rebounds, But Retail Lags

Gov. Josh Shapiro visited Downtown this week to show support for renovation projects ahead of the NFL Draft next year — like the Arts Landing in the Cultural District, upgrades to Point State Park, and Market Square’s makeover. [Axios Pittsburgh]

• 📈 In a “State of Downtown” meeting, the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership said the city gained 16 new businesses in the last two years and could return to pre-pandemic business levels in the next five to seven years. While restaurants are thriving, officials hope incentive programs may attract more retailers. [🎧 City Cast Pittsburgh]

🚨 Police Union Wants Chief Officer Out

Pittsburgh’s police union is calling on Mayor Ed Gainey to remove Chief Operating Officer Lisa Frank before they negotiate their 2026 contract. In a letter to the mayor, the union cited social media posts Frank made in 2020 about defunding the police, during the height of the George Floyd protests. Frank says her views have since changed. [WPXI]

📣 Local Lawmakers Blast RFK Jr.’s Autism Rhetoric

Pittsburgh state Rep. Jessica Benham, the first openly autistic member of the PA General Assembly, joined other state lawmakers to denounce disparaging comments Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. recently made about autism. “We need more supports and services for autistic people, not insults about how we contribute to society,” Benham said. [90.5 WESA]

• 👎 RFK said autism “destroys families” and proposed collecting peoples' private medical records as part of a study to “cure” autism. He's previously suggested a link between vaccines and autism, which has been disproven. [NPR]

💥 Pop quiz, Pittsburgh! Test your knowledge of local history and current events 🗓️