There is no doubt that parking is a perpetual problem in Pittsburgh. Our Residential Permit Parking system can’t keep up with demand and development, our neighborhood business districts create parking pressure on nearby residential streets, and large institutions with tens of thousands of employees can’t always provide the parking necessary for people who need to drive to work. While there is no silver bullet to solve all of our parking woes, I believe that we can learn from best practices around the country to make our system smarter and decrease pressure on our business districts and residential neighborhoods. We should be able to provide adequate parking for everyone without having to construct more unsightly surface parking lots or invest tens of millions of dollars in hulking parking garages. We can utilize free-market-based pricing technologies to provide the parking spaces needed and incentivize behavioral changes that will benefit everyone.

There is no doubt that blight and abandonment have a significant impact on our neighborhoods. Blight is an economic crime committed on our residents. I have attended dozens of meetings across the city, where the topic of conversation invariably goes to what can be done about homes that are in poor condition. I truly believe that we cannot sit idly by and let blight claim streets and blocks throughout the city. Our Bureau of Building Inspection has made strides in recent years, but it is still woefully understaffed and without the most critical technology to do the vital work of keeping our neighborhoods up to code. Pittsburgh deserves a code enforcement division that will support the work of our community organizations in weeding out eyesores and public safety hazards.

Pittsburgh was built on the business of building things. Our industrial economy propelled us to become an economic and political powerhouse and laid the groundwork for a middle class that sustained the city for generations. Though we all know the terrible story of how that industrial glory turned to decades of tough, painful times for families across the region, we can write a new chapter today and bring back good quality jobs making quality goods. Pittsburgh is well positioned to become a center for manufacturing of high-tech goods that will be in demand across the country and the world. As Mayor, I will make it a priority to bring new companies to our city and create hundreds of good jobs for everyone – from people with PhDs to people with GEDs.

Pittsburgh has a proud tradition of small, independently owned businesses. Our business districts are lined with start-ups and small businesses providing critical services to our neighborhoods. However, Pittsburgh lags behind the national average in the number of small business start-ups – the businesses that tend to create the most local jobs and economic opportunity. We should find ways to make it easier to start a business in Pittsburgh by providing a centralized information clearinghouse where anyone who is interested in starting a business can find all of the resources they need.

March 21, 2013, Pittsburgh, PA – Pittsburgh Mayoral Candidate Bill Peduto filed an injunction today in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court to defend the city’s campaign finance ordinance against blatant violations being committed by Michael Lamb and Jack Wagner.

Our three rivers define us. For years, industry and infrastructure kept our neighborhoods separated from the river. We now have an opportunity to make them as integral to the fabric of our city as the Danube is to Prague or the Thames is to London. I will work to connect our communities to these rivers and turn the rivers into highways for people. Water-based transit is becoming more popular across the country and almost no city is better suited to take advantage of it than Pittsburgh. New York City’s new water taxis transport thousands of people between their growing riverfront neighborhoods to their jobs in midtown and the financial district, there is no reason that Pittsburgh can’t provide the same option for our growing riverfront neighborhoods.

Neighborhood-enhancing development and redevelopment is the backbone of economic growth for any city. However, even for experienced developers, navigating the city bureaucracy to bring a plan to fruition can be extremely time consuming and costly. These barriers to entry can dissuade smaller developers and even push larger developers out to the suburbs where there are fewer hurdles to jump. The answer is not to relax our standards; it is to create better coordination between developers and city departments and among the various departments themselves.

Pittsburgh Paramedics have endorsed Councilman Bill Peduto in his bid to become the next mayor of the City of Pittsburgh. “The hard-working men and women who represent Pittsburgh EMS stand with Bill Peduto for Mayor because of his continued support of our organization and concern for the safety and well being of all residents in the City of Pittsburgh,” says Fraternal Association of Professional Paramedics, Local 1 President Anthony Weinmann.

March Madness is upon us! Have you obsessed over your bracket strategy or are you relying on plain old luck? Either way, you have a chance to win at Brackets with Bill. It’s time once again for Councilman Bill Peduto’s bracket tournament. The grand prize this year is Dinner with Bill and two of your friends at the renowned Salt of the Earth. The runner-up will receive a signed DVD copy of “Undaunted: The Forgotten Giants of the Allegheny Observatory,” a bottle of Peduto wine and some microwave popcorn.

Pittsburgh’s construction industry is booming, thanks to a healthy regional economy and some of the best developers and contractors in the United States. We all want to see high-quality, community-supported development happening across the City of Pittsburgh and as Mayor I will make sure that this development boom continues and starts to spread to neighborhoods that have lacked investment for far too long. In supporting development, we also need to take some steps to make sure that we minimize waste and environmental impacts. One way to do this is to work with developers and construction companies to help them recycle or reuse as much building material as possible when they demolish or renovate existing buildings and to preserve historical materials and building components.