In a 2012 ranking of 277 metropolitan areas in the United States, the American Lung Association ranked the Pittsburgh metropolitan area as having the sixth-worst pollution in both short-term and year-round particle pollution and the 20th worst ozone ( smog ) pollution, results that have been disputed by government.

Saks closed its 60 year-old downtown Pittsburgh location on March 17, 2012.

In September 2012, Carnegie Mellon announced the construction of the Sherman and Joyce Bowie Scott Hall on the Pittsburgh campus.

The Allegheny River Tunnel, utilized by Pittsburgh Light Rail, went into service in 2012.

Despite the off-ice difficulties, Pittsburgh finished with a 56 – 21 – 7 record-the franchise's best regular season ever-winning the franchise's first ( and, as of 2012, only ) Presidents ' Trophy.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that Mirkin had been " forced off the show ," due to the negative reaction of Spelling and others, though in 2012, Mirkin stated that he left the series after refusing to accept a substantially reduced budget.

According to a Monday, March 15, 2012 online Pittsburgh Post-Gazette article by Eric Schwartzel ,: " Shell Oil Co. announced it will build a massive petrochemical " cracker " plant in Potter, Beaver County, making Pennsylvania the winner in a tri-state competition for the billion-dollar operation.

Pittsburgh rapper Mac Miller samples the opening chords of " Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds " in the outro to the song Desperado off of his 2012 mixtape Macadelic.

In 2012, Wigle Whiskey, the first distillery in Pittsburgh since Prohibition, was founded.

Filming began in the Pittsburgh metropolitan area on October 3, 2011, and continued through the end of January, 2012.

GBV began touring again in September 2012 with its 13 show " Tour of the South ", starting in Dayton, OH, on September 8, 2012, which included gigs in Cleveland and Pittsburgh, and stops in North Carolina, Florida, Georgia, New Orleans, Texas ( Houston and Austin ), Missouri and Kansas, with the final show on September 29, 2012 in St. Louis.

The list of 19 markets identified by Gross in December ( not including North Carolina and Ohio where the 2012 teams are set to go ) include, in alphabetical order: Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, Indianapolis, Miami, Minneapolis, Nashville ( Tenn .), Orange County ( Calif .), Orlando ( Fla .), Pittsburgh, Salt Lake City and Virginia Beach ( Va .).

Eighteen teams have all hosted an all-star game at least twice since the Mets last did: Atlanta Braves ( 1972 and 2000 ), Chicago White Sox ( 1983 and 2003 ), Cincinnati Reds ( 1970 and 1988 ), Cleveland Indians ( 1981 and 1997 ), Detroit Tigers ( 1971 and 2005 ), Houston Astros ( 1968, 1986, and 2004 ), Kansas City Royals ( 1973 and 2012 ), Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim ( 1967, 1989, and 2010 ), Milwaukee Brewers ( 1975 and 2002 ), Minnesota Twins ( 1965, 1985, and 2014 ), New York Yankees ( 1977 and 2008 ), Philadelphia Phillies ( 1976 and 1996 ), Pittsburgh Pirates ( 1974, 1994, and 2006 ), San Diego Padres ( 1978 and 1992 ), San Francisco Giants ( 1984 and 2007 ), Seattle Mariners ( 1979 and 2001 ), and St. Louis Cardinals ( 1966 and 2009 ), and Washington Senators / Texas Rangers ( 1969 and 1995 ).

* On June 7, 2012, Mac Miller attempted to punk fellow Pittsburgh rapper Wiz Khalifa by having his friend help " rob " a marijuana clinic without Wiz's knowledge.

However, the team then went on a five-game losing streak, which included some controversy when on June 8, 2012, the Gladiators lost by forfeit to the Pittsburgh Power.

The most recent no-hitter was thrown on September 28, 2012, by Homer Bailey of the Cincinnati Reds, against the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park.

Wakefield began his pitching career with the Pittsburgh Pirates, but is most remembered for his 17-year tenure with the Boston Red Sox, starting in 1995 and ending with his retirement in 2012 as the longest-serving player on the team.

On August 15th 2012 a United States federal grand jury returned two indictments charging Busby, a resident of Dublin, Ireland, with emailing bomb threats targeting the University of Pittsburgh, three federal courthouses and a federal officer.

Manning made his regular season debut as a Denver Bronco in the prime time game on the first Sunday of the 2012 NFL Season, against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

On June 4, 2012, Vokoun was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins for a 7th round pick in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft and was subsequently signed to a two-year, $ 4 million dollar contract.

On January 8, 2012, Sports Authority Field at Mile High hosted its third NFL Playoff game, an AFC Wild Card Weekend match against the Pittsburgh Steelers ( now known as the 3: 16 game ).

Four St. Bonaventure alumni have been elected to professional halls of fame: Baseball legends Hughie Jennings and John McGraw, for whom the university's athletic fields are named, are in the Baseball Hall of Fame ; Bob Lanier, ' 70, who led St. Bonaventure to the NCAA Final Four, is in the Basketball Hall of Fame ; and Jack Butler, ' 51, who had a stellar career with the Pittsburgh Steelers and was named to the NFL's All-Decade Team in the 1950s, was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2012.

** Pirates of the Savage Sea Adventure ( 2012 )

On July 21, 2012, D ' Onofrio and members of his family won first place in the ' mixed ' category for families at the Coney Island Sand Sculpting Contest with their ' Pirates Fantasy ' entry.

On July 22, 2011, it was confirmed that Kaczmarek will make a vocal appearance as Red Jessica in the television series Jake and the Never Land Pirates during its second season early 2012.

As of the 2012 season, Beckley holds the all-time best batting average amongst Pirates first basemen (. 300 ).

However, KMOX reacquired the Cardinals ' broadcast rights in 2011, and KDKA's FM sister all-sports station acquired the Pirates ' broadcast rights in 2012, in addition to New York Yankees games being renewed on WCBS-AM after the conclusion of the 2011 season.

As of 2012, Loeb provides the voice of Princess Winger on the Disney Junior animated series Jake and the Never Land Pirates.

* 2012 The Pirates Next Door by Jonny Duddle

On February 20, 2012, Burnett was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Yankees signed Raul Ibanez to be the DH.

The “ Z ” hand gesture became the celebratory sign of choice among the members and fans of baseball's Pittsburgh Pirates, of whom Sparks is a fan, starting in 2012.

On July 25, 2012, he threw out the first pitch during a Pirates / Cubs series at PNC Park.

After a Twitter campaign to encourage the " real " Zoltan to appear at a game, Sparks flew to Pittsburgh on July 25, 2012 to throw out the honorary first pitch, and was on hand to see the Pirates win 3-2 over his hometown team, the Chicago Cubs.

* On June 9, 2012, in Pittsburgh, the Pittsburgh Pirates played the Kansas City Royals.

On September 28, 2012 PNC Park saw its first no hitter when Reds pitcher Homer Bailey no-hit the Pirates 1-0 PNC Park has yet to see a no hitter and / or perfect game thrown by a Pirate.

The low attendance has come as a result of the Pirates ' play ; as of 2012, the team has not had a winning record since 1992.

There is also a box set of Pirates of the River Rother and Spooky Goings On released in 2008, and an annual is due to be released in 2012 ( another was published in small amounts, supposedly, in 1995 ).

One of these screenplays, an adaptation of the story of Terry and the Pirates, had already been accepted for filming, and it was scheduled for the start of production in Hong Kong later in 2012, with Culp being the film director.

After a decade of affiliation with the Miami Marlins, the Jammers signed a player development contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates on September 18, 2012.

The Pittsburgh Pirates changed their affillation from the Muckdogs to the Jamestown Jammers after the 2012 season.

Garcia is scheduled to star in the movie When We Were Pirates due out in 2012.

On 24 January 2012, it was confirmed by Orlando Pirates boss Irvin Khoza that Boa Morte had signed an 18-month deal.

He made only two starts for Pirates until he left the club on 14 May 2012.