Pennsylvania's two biggest cities are both finalists for Amazon’s HQ2 that sent elected officials across the country running to their planners to craft their golden ticket for $5 billion in investment and 50,000 new jobs.

Both Philadelphia and Pittsburgh were listed as one of the 20 finalists Amazon announced with a page on their website posted Thursday morning. In total, 238 cities and regions applied for the second headquarters after Amazon announced its plans in the fall 2017.

Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto announced this week that the city will start distributing free water filters next week as part of the citywide effort at lead remediation.

According to the administration, the effort will start with distribution first being available to expectant mothers and families with children less than six years old.

In an effort to recruit more Emergency Medical Services (EMS) workers and reduce forced overtime costs, Pittsburgh plans to increase salaries for newly hired paramedics and emergency medical technicians. 

Mayor Bill Peduto’s administration is introducing an ordinance to close a loophole that allowed performers that come to Pittsburgh to hide income and get out of paying full value for using taxpayer-funded facilities. 

The ordinance is a response to legislation created by Councilwoman Natalia Rudiak (District 4) in 2014 calling on City Controller Michael Lamb to audit the Sports and Exhibition Authority and the Stadium Authority. That audit found a loophole that allowed performers to hide their earnings from the city by paying themselves a small amount and utilizing a trust account to shield the remainder of their earnings.