A landmark law that fights blight began in Pittsburgh. Decades later, housing groups are waging an intense battle

PITTSBURGH — For Donald Walko Jr., the landmark law that he championed to fight the ravages of blight across the state began in one of Pittsburgh's legendary restaurants.

During lunch at Mitchell's, the century-old bar and eatery, Walko — then an unopposed Democratic candidate for the state House — met with a housing court judge in 1994 and talked about the devastating impact of empty, deteriorating homes on neighborhoods across the city.

As the former president of the Perry Hilltop Citizens Council, Walko had heard complaints from people about residents abandoning their homes, but the meeting with then-judge Irene McLaughlin Clark would impact his public life for years to follow.