🚨 O’Connor will reopen city budget

Mayor O’Connor Will Reopen City Budget

Pittsburgh is facing a budget shortfall of up to $40 million, Mayor Corey O'Connor announced Thursday. "The reality is much worse than we thought," he said, even with the 20% property tax increase approved for this year. O'Connor blamed inaccurate predictions and "a lot of false assumptions" by the previous administration. He said he'll reopen the 2026 budget and find places to trim spending. [TribLive]

• The city is bringing in less revenue than previous years because of lower property tax values on major Downtown buildings and the elimination of the city's jock tax, which was found to be unconstitutional last year. [Post-Gazette]

PA Rejects Live Nation Settlement

The Department of Justice reached a tentative settlement with Live Nation in an antitrust lawsuit this week, but top law enforcement officials in dozens of states, including PA, say it doesn’t do enough to protect consumers. The lawsuit accused Live Nation of building a monopoly over live events. The company agreed to pay more than $200 million in damages to states, cap service fees at its amphitheaters, and open up some of its venues to outside promoters — but the case could still go to trial if states don’t sign on to the agreement. [Axios Pittsburgh / City Cast Pittsburgh]

Pittsburgh Makes Moves in Lower Hill

Now that Penguins have given up development rights for the former Civic Arena site in October, the city is pursuing new projects for parts of the 28-acre space, including affordable and market-rate housing. Residents can share feedback on the plan with Pittsburgh's Urban Redevelopment Authority during a 30-day public comment period. [Post-Gazette / URA]

• The Penguins made little progress during their decadeslong control of the land — except for a new live music venue coming this fall. [City Cast Pittsburgh]

UPMC Nurses Advocate for Better Staffing

As part of their contract negotiations, nurses at Magee-Womens Hospital are urging UPMC leaders to adopt evidence-based staffing ratios at the Oakland facility, similar to national standards outlined in nurse contracts at AHN’s West Penn Hospital. UPMC is resisting the call.“Fixed ratios don’t address the underlying nursing shortage or the real drivers of workload,” its vice president said. [WESA]

New Members Join City Planning Commission

City Council approved all seven of Mayor O’Connor’s picks for the Pittsburgh Planning Commission, a group that guides city land use, development, and zoning. Earlier this week, O’Connor announced an overhaul of the city’s permitting system and zoning code, aiming to make it faster and easier to build new developments. [WESA / City Cast Pittsburgh]

Pittsburgh's only public indoor pool, Oliver Bath House, just reopened after years of renovations.

Where can you find it?

• A. North Side
• B. Point Breeze
• C. South Side
• D. West End