Disciplinary action against Pittsburgh police officers has doubled over the last 10 years, but community activists and experts wonder whether an uptick in internal investigations represents a problem or a solution. The detailed data dump is unprecedented in Pittsburgh, and City Cast’s Megan Harris is here with Rich Lord of PublicSource to talk about what the more than 5,600 allegations really mean for us moving forward. It’s all written up for PublicSource here: https://www.publicsource.org/pitt...
May 03, 2022•25 min
Happy (almost) Arbor Day to all our fellow tree huggers! Ahead of celebrations on Saturday, we’re talking about why it can be so complicated to get a tree planted in some parts of the city — from high rentorship to bad sidewalks to absentee or investor homeowners who can’t be located to even get permission. Danielle Crumrine is about to celebrate her 15th year leading the nonprofit Tree Pittsburgh, and she’s with City Cast’s Megan Harris to talk about what local lawmakers could be doing to help....
Apr 28, 2022•16 min
The Carnegie Museum of Natural History has a lot of weird wonders in its collection, but few have plagued management quite like the diorama “Lion Attacking a Dromedary.” It’s got a lot of inaccuracies, from the meshing of several Middle Eastern and North African cultures, to placements that reinforce violence, colonialism and misogyny. Modern curators struggle to even call it art — which was also the consensus in 1899 when industrialist Andrew Carnegie first acquired it for his new museum in Pit...
Apr 26, 2022•25 min
A moment of silence for some of our now-closed East End favorites: Bitter Ends, B52, and Reed & Co. But there’s still a lot to look forward to on the Pittsburgh food scene, including our first non-alcoholic bottle shop and a Pan-Asian food hall set to open this winter. Our very own Morgan Moody and Francesca Dabecco join City Cast contributor Hal B. Klein, who’s covering it all for Pittsburgh Magazine. Our newsletter is fresh daily at 6 a.m. Sign up here. We’re also on Twitter @citycastpgh &...
Apr 21, 2022•20 min
Pennsylvania’s Senate Finance Committee is set to hear testimony tomorrow in Pittsburgh about potentially raising the Film Tax Credit, which is currently capped at $70 million. While lawmakers consider what to do, we thought we’d tap into what the film scene here is really like. Is the food good? Why is Lawrenceville in every shot? How do you become an extra? Luckily our own Morgan Moody has a few credits to her name and knows how the sausage gets made. Check out more on tomorrow’s hearing, incl...
Apr 19, 2022•28 min
In the grand tradition of building throughways through immigrant neighborhoods, Pittsburgh’s once-thriving Chinatown was decimated in the 1910s and ’20s with the downtown construction of the Boulevard of the Allies. It’s been a long time coming—12 years and four separate appeals to the state—but the neighborhood is finally getting the historic landmark it deserves. Marian Lein, president of the Pittsburgh chapter of the OCA, joins newsletter editor Francesca Dabecco to talk about that history an...
Apr 14, 2022•20 min
Pregnancy and childbirth should be happy and safe, but for way too many Black and brown women, complications before, during and even months after the birth are stealing that joy — and even some women’s lives. Dr. Sharee Livingston, chair of obstetrics and gynecology at UPMC Lititz, joins City Cast’s Megan Harris for a conversation about Black Maternal Health Week and what Pittsburgh could learn from a promising new doula project in Lancaster. If you want to follow the legislation on these topics...
Apr 12, 2022•21 min
In this week’s Friday news roundup, the team talks about the latest round of affordable housing evictions in East Liberty; what we know about the loss of outdoor climbing access in Fayette County; and when Pittsburghers should start stocking up on reusable totes for the inevitable plastic bag ban. Check out the wonderful local journalism and residents that made it possible: TribLive’s Julia Felton on Pgh’s new affordable housing committee: https://triblive.com/local/pittsburgh-city-council-estab...
Apr 08, 2022•23 min
Spirits are high for Opening Day, but Pirates fans should keep their expectations low. We were the worst team in baseball last year, and in the off-season, long-time owner Bob Nutting signed off on a collective bargaining agreement that won’t help small market teams at all. (We spend less money on the whole team than some clubs do for individual player salaries!) Why won’t “Bottom Line Bob” spend more to give us a shot? Post-Gazette beat writer Jason Mackey has a few answers, and he’s just as fr...
Apr 07, 2022•16 min
On March 12, 2020, the drop-in group Tube City Writers met for their final pre-pandemic session. In addition to agreeing that future meetups would need to happen virtually, they also decided a daily blog could be a good way to occupy their time. Mon Valley resident Jim Busch led the charge. For more than a year, he documented life in the shadow of the pandemic, plus one very personal loss — his wife, Glenda, was diagnosed with end-stage pancreatic cancer. He and Pulitzer Prize-winning photograph...
Apr 06, 2022•14 min
Last month, the communications giant Audacity — which already owned KDKA and a slew of radio and television stations across the country — purchased WAMO, an iconic and influential radio station for Pittsburgh’s Black community. Today City Cast Pittsburgh host Morgan Moody talks with Brian Cook, president of the Pittsburgh Black Media Federation, about the history of WAMO, his own experiences with the station, and whether a new owner could bring WAMO back to prominence. Read more about Audacity’s...
Apr 05, 2022•19 min
Students and professors at Carnegie Mellon University have been leaving their mark on the world for generations. Now they're taking it a bit further by leaving their mark on the moon. Red Whitaker is a roboticist and a professor at CMU who has led robotic missions to space and built self-driving vehicles long before Elon Musk. Now he's helping students land a Rover on the moon in search of water. He talks with City Cast Pittsburgh host Morgan Moody about the next space frontier — and how many do...
Apr 04, 2022•14 min
On this week's Friday news roundup, the team discusses a massive infusion of cash for schools and mental health programs in Pittsburgh (including a few dollars from philanthropist, writer, and ex-wife of Jeff Bezos, MacKenzie Scott); a new plan for recreation along Pittsburgh’s rivers; and plenty of options for what to do this weekend. As always, the Friday roundup is powered by great Pittsburgh journalism. This week, check out: Julia Felton from the Trib: https://triblive.com/local/pressley-rid...
Apr 01, 2022•19 min
A Republican-led proposal in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, House Bill 972, aims to ban trans girls and women from school sports teams aligning with their gender identity. Though it was tabled in the House, it’s almost guaranteed to pop back up in April, when the House session resumes. Today — on Trans Day of Visibility — host Morgan Moody talks with activist Dena Stanley, who founded TransYOUniting, to discuss the bill and the many other issues that the trans community faces. Find o...
Mar 31, 2022•16 min
Mila Sanina, until recently the executive director of PublicSource, has family in Russia and Ukraine. To her aunt in Donetsk, the war in Ukraine is one of liberation, and Vladimir Putin is a “man of peace” rather than a tyrant. Mila wrote about her family situation for The Independent, and today she talks with City Cast Pittsburgh host Morgan Moody about how she’s trying to continue relationships — often by making and discussing borsht — with her family when she knows they’re being misled. Read ...
Mar 30, 2022•17 min
For almost two years, a group of neighbors out in Churchill have been fighting a Goliath. The retail giant Amazon has been lobbying to bulldoze the old Westinghouse Research & Technology Park to build a new distribution facility, bringing jobs but also trucking traffic to the largely residential borough. Officials now say that’s over — that Amazon will look elsewhere — but residents and developers are still expected in court on Thursday to make their case. Senior producer Megan Harris is wit...
Mar 29, 2022•18 min
Marijuana is an approved medical treatment for opioid addiction in Pennsylvania. But Ed Mahon of SpotlightPA discovered that researchers don’t recommend cannabis as a primary treatment for opioid abuse — and that questionable claims by cannabis certification companies could put people’s lives in danger. Lead Producer Matt Stroud talks with Mahon today about his reporting, and whether anyone can stop these companies from making these claims. Read Mahon’s reporting for SpotlightPA here: https://ww...
Mar 28, 2022•14 min
Today on City Cast Pittsburgh’s Friday roundup, Megan, Francesca, and Morgan sit down to discuss how structural racism impacts dementia; why food stamp enrollment numbers are on the rise, and whether you’ll ever be able to walk around with open alcohol containers in Pennsylvania. As always, the Friday roundup is powered by local journalism. Check out: Jesse Bunch in the Post-Gazette: https://www.post-gazette.com/news/politics-state/2022/03/19/state-senators-bipartisan-cocktails-restaurants-pande...
Mar 25, 2022•18 min
Writer, astronomer, and Carnegie Mellon University researcher Diane Turnshek has been encouraging cities to address light pollution for decades — and Pittsburgh finally caught on. Today, she talks about the new city ordinance she helped create, what it’ll take to replace 40,000 streetlights in Pittsburgh, and how much humans have in common with birds, bats, and the springtime flora we love most. And don’t forget to set your alarm for 8:30 p.m. on Saturday to participate in Earth Hour, where peop...
Mar 24, 2022•18 min
As Pennsylvania adopts the CDC’s new, lower threshold for children exposed to “high lead levels,” more Pittsburgh families are becoming eligible for home lead testing and remediation. City Cast Pittsburghers Morgan Moody and Megan Harris talk about what this means for families — and how it might help folks still affected by Pittsburgh’s lingering water crisis. Read the Post-Gazette’s latest reporting on the new lead threshold: https://www.post-gazette.com/news/health/2022/03/14/lead-remediation-...
Mar 23, 2022•15 min
Sometimes it can be a real pain to get around Pittsburgh. Especially lately, with Port Authority’s service disruptions causing delays and missed routes. Senior producer Megan Harris and newsletter editor Francesca Dabecco catch up with Bonnie Fan and Paul O’Hanlon from the advocacy group Pittsburghers for Public Transit to talk about what it would take to create a more equitable transit system for everybody. Read PPT’s latest report here: https://www.pittsburghforpublictransit.org/wp-content/upl...
Mar 22, 2022•22 min
When Pittsburgh Author Damon Young released his memoir, “What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Blacker,” it earned him international praise, a spot on NPR’s “Best Book of the Year” list, and took the VerySmartBros founder and former Wilkinsburg high school teacher from Pittsburgh to the world. Tomorrow, his new podcast, "Stuck with Damon Young,” drops, in partnership with Crooked Media and Spotify. Today, he talks with City Cast Pittsburgh Host Morgan Moody about banned books, the plight of middle sch...
Mar 21, 2022•14 min
The team is back for the Friday roundup. This week, we’re discussing understaffing at the Allegheny County Health Department, municipal police departments bringing in social workers, and a full-scale pirate ship — with water cannons! — soon to set sail on the three rivers. As always, the Friday roundup is powered by incredible local journalism. This week, check out: Charlie Wolfson for PublicSource on restaurant inspections: https://www.publicsource.org/allegheny-food-safety-health-inspection-sa...
Mar 18, 2022•18 min
It’s pretty convenient to leave your recycling at the curb, but it can be a lot more convenient for facilities to process those materials when they’re pre-sorted. Two of 10 new glass drop-off facilities just opened in Allegheny County, and officials are hopeful it’ll mean a lot more of our waste gets back on the shelf. (According to the EPA, about 5% of the waste stream is glass.) The Allegheny Front’s Julie Grant is here to explain how that happens. Learn more about local recycling efforts here...
Mar 17, 2022•14 min
In a press conference yesterday, the Venango County District Attorney ruled the fatal shooting of Pittsburgh resident Peter Bernardo Spencer as a “justifiable act of self defense,” and cited Pennsylvania's "Use of force in self-protection" — also known as stand your ground — law. A 29-year-old Black man and Jamaican immigrant, Spencer was shot nine times at a cabin in Rockland Township four months ago. The case is complicated, and there’s been a lot of rumors and criticism surrounding what happe...
Mar 16, 2022•17 min
Recent protests at Sewickley Academy have revolved around the school’s approach to — and avoidance of — teaching anything that could be considered “critical race theory.” But what is CRT? And how should we think about it — both as adults, and as adults explaining it to kids? PublicSource’s TyLisa Johnson explains how to have these conversations — and why they’re so important. Is your child asking about critical race theory? Here’s a guide to navigate those talks: https://www.publicsource.org/par...
Mar 15, 2022•17 min
No one wants to end up behind bars, but if you are arrested, it's a reasonable expectation that you’ll survive to get your day in court. New reporting out today from the Pittsburgh Institute of Nonprofit Journalism shows deaths inside Allegheny County Jail are happening at higher rates than they have in years. Investigative reporter Brittany Hailer explains who’s dying and what needs to be done. Follow Hailer on Twitter here, and read more of her reporting here. Our newsletter is fresh daily at ...
Mar 14, 2022•12 min
For our Friday news roundup, the team hears about student demands at Sewickley Academy; a former lawyer’s five-year federal prison sentence for marijuana distribution; the Warhol docu-series (and the artificial intelligence that replicates his voice); and, finally, some bridge news that doesn’t end in collapse… we hope. Today’s conversation is powered by local journalism, including: Paula Reed Ward has some great background from the Tribune-Review on the antics of former attorney and rapper Dani...
Mar 11, 2022•25 min
March Madness is almost here! The NCAA men’s tournament is coming through the Steel City this year for the first and second rounds of games. Here to walk us through what changes to expect is Pittsburgh native, color commentator, and pro scout Ashley Battle, who played professionally and won three championships with the University of Connecticut. Plus, Ashley gets real about what’s happening in Russia to WNBA phenom Brittney Griner. The Pittsburgh Foundation and local United Way is collecting don...
Mar 10, 2022•17 min
New investments in local transportation have brought more options to help residents commute — but who are all these bikes and rideshares and e-scooters for? Newsletter editor Francesca Dabecco is with disability advocate and leader of Access Mob Pittsburgh, Alisa Grishman, to talk about what it’s like to be a wheelchair user in Pittsburgh and what our neighbors — with or without disabilities — can do to help to create a safer, more accessible city. And tomorrow is the last day to drop off donati...
Mar 09, 2022•13 min
