Latest news with #DiLucente
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
11 Investigates: Judge sets 24-hour deadline in Juneteenth permit controversy
An Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge on Monday told attorneys for the City of Pittsburgh and for the man who runs one of the largest Juneteenth celebrations in the country to provide an update on the permit application by noon on Tuesday. The four-day festival at Mellon Park in East Liberty is only ten days away, and the organizer, B. Marshall, has yet to receive his permit from the city. He applied for the permit in February. Marshall hired an attorney and filed a petition last month asking a judge to force the city to act on the permit. At a hearing last week, the city failed to show. RELATED COVERAGE >>> 11 Investigates: Attorney for Juneteenth organizer blasts city permit process, files legal action A city spokesperson told 11 Investigates the city had not been formally served with the court petition and was unaware of the hearing. The city has since been served and representatives from the solicitor's office attended Monday's hearing. The big sticking point had been the potential closure of Penn Avenue. The city said they couldn't rule on Marshall's permit because closing Penn Avenue was up to the state. Marshall has said he withdrew the request to close Penn Avenue in April, but the city still said he had failed to update his permit application. In court Monday, Marshall's attorney said he filed an updated permit application over the weekend and sent it to the city. An attorney for the city said it would take up to seven days to review the permit, but the judge said he wanted an update by noon on Tuesday. And he suggested that both sides get together and work out an agreement. The judge said the issues were not too complex and could be worked out. Outside the courtroom, Marshall was upbeat and optimistic about the outcome. 'I'm glad that the judge decided that, you have to make a decision by tomorrow, by 12 o'clock. You have to give us some information instead of delaying it,' Marshall said. 'I call today progress, big time progress,' said Phil DiLucente, Marshall's attorney. In court Monday, DiLucente chided the city attorney for not appearing at last week's hearing. DiLucente said they were aware of the petition because he sent them an email copy. 'I know they weren't technically served, but you would have thought they would have an interest to be here because we sent it to them,' DiLucente said. DiLucente said it's been a frustrating experience for Marshall. 'As I said in open court every time we try to go one step forward, it's two steps back,' said DiLucente. Marshall said it's no coincidence. He's been at odds with the administration ever since Mayor Ed Gainey pulled his funding last year. After public outcry, city council reinstated it. He didn't get any funding this year. 'After 2023, every year, there's a delay, there's a process, there's a stall, but we know the festival's going to happen and we're just happy,' Marshall said. Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW
CBS News
18-03-2025
- CBS News
Attorney explains why family of missing Pitt student Sudiksha Konanki would want her declared dead
The parents of missing Pitt student Sudiksha Konanki wrote a letter to investigating authorities asking them to declare her legally deceased and noting that at this point there has been no evidence of foul play. The Loudoun County Sheriff's Office says Konanki's family believed the 20-year-old drowned while on spring break in the Dominican tourist town of Punta Cana . So what's behind the parents asking authorities to declare their daughter dead? Is it a request for closure or for legal reasons? KDKA-TV asked Pittsburgh attorney Phil DiLucente. "I think it was very clear this is what's called a power play," DiLucente said. DiLucente believes this is a strategic move and wouldn't be surprised if the parents' legal counsel suggested it. "They want to make sure that all the rescue and efforts and capital and all the money that is being put into this investigation that it just be focused on who did this to my child, not where is my child, not what happened as far as there being a potential rescue. So, the parents are very strategic," he said. Another reason to declare a missing person deceased includes processing a person's estate, but the timing depends on the missing person's home state. "A lot of times it's for insurance purposes, a lot of times it's for estate, but as you know, she's from Virginia, that's a 7 year that has to pass before you can be declared deceased, same as Pennsylvania," DiLucente said. That means the state of Virginia's code says 7 years need to pass before a missing person is presumed dead. It also states if a person disappears in a foreign country and the body is not found, then the Department of State can issue a report of presumptive death. DiLucente adds a death certificate will need to say one of four things. "Manners of death, once again: accidental, suicide, unknown, homicide. We just don't know yet," he said. Konanki's family says they believe she drowned, but her body hasn't been found . "While a final decision to make such a declaration rests with authorities in the Dominican Republic, we will support the Konanki family in every way possible as we continue to review the evidence and information made available to us in the course of this investigation," the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office said in a press release.
