While the election grabbed attention, Pittsburgh, Allegheny County and the Southwestern Pennsylvania region also saw big changes in government spending, housing, energy, the environment, education and health.
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Then there was that other Tuesday, last month, on which another glass ceiling held firm.
In between those Tuesdays (and indeed since Nov. 5), the Pittsburgh region has been second to none for news. We’ve been a place in which catalytic events have abounded and national trends have crystallized. The 16-person PublicSource team has — we’ll be honest — scrambled to bring it all into focus, fast.
Your mission, today, should be easier.
Check out the 17 trends we identified below. Heck, read a few of the linked stories if you fancy.
Then fill out the ballot at the bottom. In early January, we’ll announce the winners of the 2024 News Election.
▢ The Innamorato effect
The new county executive kicked off by urging the region not to “fear change,” and closed the year with a change some don’t embrace — a property tax hike. That revenue raiser allows Innamorato to keep social services intact, maintain the county roster and continue initiatives like the 500-in-500 push to add options for housing-insecure people. It also gives the opposition Republicans a rallying cry against her.
▢ The PPS plunge
Pittsburgh Public Schools has weathered eroding enrollment for decades, and this year things got real. The district went through a lengthy review of its facilities leading to a consultant’s plan to close the book on around 15 schools, though by autumn the concept was shelved for a year. The district sued the county in an ongoing effort to force a property reassessment, as it sought to address emerging student needs.
▢ Housing shortage endures
The year dawned with 916 people in Allegheny County known to be in emergency shelters or living unsheltered. From tiny houses to an all-hands-on-deck initiative to zoning overhauls in the city and suburbs, plans were plentiful — and so far, largely fruitless. By mid-December, the tally of the unhoused was around 1,050. Will a new housing health panel or apartments in the shadow of a Ferris wheel help to shelter us all?
▢ College aid tangle
A flawed U.S. Department of Education effort to improve the financial aid process added uncertainty to the college admissions process, frustrating students, parents and school administrators. The good news: Community organizations jumped in to keep potential college students from “melting” away. Those organizations are still at it, and this time the feds appear to have their act together, to the relief of all. Now if we could just address the student debt crisis …
▢ Steelworkers on campus
After a year of salary cuts and layoffs, faculty at Chatham University began 2024 with a union drive that lent a spurt of fresh optimism. By the end of the year, though, with no progress to show and the threat of a hostile federal labor environment, the organizing committee made a “strategic legal decision” to withdraw from the case. On the other hand, University of Pittsburgh grad students voted overwhelmingly to become United Steelworkers members.
▢ University billions
While students and faculty fight for living wages and job security, top administrators at Pittsburgh’s elite universities earn seven-figure salaries. Schools like Carnegie Mellon and Pitt have amassed multibillion-dollar endowments, while tuition costs have swelled. Why? Does CMU’s reliance on military research dollars compete with its civic aspirations? We addressed these questions and more in a deep-dive into university finances.
▢ EQT fuels up
Downtown-based EQT Corp.’s fracking in West Virginia drew federal investigators. Its claims that liquefied natural gas is a climate-change cure had scientists scoffing. Pennsylvania residents complained of ongoing effects from a 2022 frack-out, and sued EQT in a bid for clean water. Did that make it a bad year for EQT CEO Toby Rice? Not after Nov. 5. Change in Washington could affect an EPA investigation, but won’t likely stop a local lawsuit.
▢ Jail care unbound
One of Innamorato’s first acts was to attend a Jail Oversight Board meeting, where she pledged to convert the oft-contentious panel into a place of “productive dialogue.” A consent order on jail mental health care pledged improvements, but a PublicSource investigation revealed the county jail’s ongoing difficulty administering medication for opioid use disorder — a longstanding challenge. Post-release referrals for care remained a frontier for improvement.
▢ Trump shooting’s echoes
Before the debates and the conventions, there was the shooting. When a Bethel Park resident nipped Donald Trump’s ear during a campaign rally in Butler, the 2024 election got its most iconic moment, which electrified the Republican’s base. It also catalyzed conversations about political polarization nationally and locally, the region’s reputation, school gun clubs and firearm regulation.
▢ History shadows housing
America’s dark history of mistreating Black people reverberates in the lack of diversity in communities where non-white households were once barred from buying homes. Sometimes it took a secret advocate with an unusual background to break a color barrier. Even where Black households set down suburban roots, some face disinvestment or gentrification.
▢ North Side buzz
One of the biggest development proposals in Pittsburgh in years, Esplanade, broadened the North Side gentrification buzz that had previously centered around East Ohio Street. Tensions between advocates for homeless people and neighbors concerned with concentrated poverty flared. Elsewhere, rival groups jockeyed for official standing to speak for neighborhoods poised for growth, but leery of displacement.
▢ Immigration’s promise, challenges
While immigration was a lightning-rod issue in many parts of the country, the Pittsburgh region needs new residents to fill workforce needs and add diverse amenities. Newcomers sometimes face unmet dietary needs, educational challenges and culture shock. The region’s diversity and growth depend in large measure on their success
▢ LGBTQ folks targeted
Powerful forces in Washington, D.C., and elsewhere have long sought to use gender and identity as a wedge to drive people apart. That strategy emerged in election ads focused on demonizing gender-affirming care and trans rights. The heated rhetoric left many in Pittsburgh anxious about the availability of care and the rising level of hostility.
▢ Grant Street penury
Built on the twin pillars of inconsistent and eroding property tax assessments and federal pandemic aid, the city’s and county’s finances were set to totter. While Innamorato raised the property tax, Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey reduced the police roster goal and spent reserve funds while acknowledging limits on new investments. County Controller Corey O’Connor telegraphed his plan to bash Gainey’s budgeting while trying to best the mayor in the May 2025 Democratic primary.
▢ Juvie revisioned
Thoughtfully addressing the needs of young arrestees has not been a historic strength of Allegheny County. Will a new, privatized approach change the narrative? County Council, which sued to stop a pact with Latrobe-based Adelphoi Western Region, eventually agreed to let it play out. Experts and advocates wonder: Could a lull in youth crime provide opportunities for reform?
▢ Environmental efforts extended
Allegheny County committed to adopting a potentially sweeping Climate Action Plan through a council bill passed last September. But little happened until a “rushed” bidding process less than a month before a self-imposed deadline. This set off alarm bells for advocates, whose ire at the apparent preference given to big corporate contractors led to a one-year extension and a public hearing on the process. A new county Health Director invited advocates to clear the air.
▢ Election’s final act
The partisan jockeying started early, with a Republican’s effort to purge thousands from Allegheny County’s voter rolls. That failed, and ultimately the county voted roughly as it did in 2020, even as many other areas trended red. In between, we endured many a misleadingad and two of the campaign’s final rallies. When the results rolled in, you were thrilled or terrified — but either way, probably exhausted.
Memory refreshed? Then vote in the inaugural PublicSource news ballot. We’ll announce the results Jan. 3.
See ballot and vote here. https://www.publicsource.org/pittsburgh-allegheny-county-top-news-stories-from-2024/
Rich Lord is PublicSource’s managing editor and can be reached at rich@publicsource.org.
Jamie Wiggan is PublicSource’s deputy editor and can be reached at jamie@publicsource.org.
Photos and graphics by Stephanie Strasburg, Quinn Glabicki, Natasha Vicens, Benjamin Brady and Michael Swensen.
This article first appeared on PublicSource and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
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