The city and the Urban Redevelopment Authority are supposed to make vacant property available for purchase through something called the Pittsburgh Land Bank. It's been a mess for years, and the URA hired an urban planner, Greg Miller, to reorganize the process. But just a few months in, he quit too. Ariam Ford of Grounded Pittsburgh is here to explain what’s at stake and what both the city and its residents can do to help. Our newsletter is fresh daily at 6 a.m. Sign up here. We’re also on Twitt...
Mar 08, 2022•13 min
Whether you’re a regular Sunday church-goer or not, packing church basements or a VFW for a Lenten fish fry is still very much a tradition in Pittsburgh this time of year. Host Morgan Moody talks with Pittsburgh native and fish fry aficionado Rossilynne Skena Culgan about the history of the tradition and where to find the best fish fry dinner in Pittsburgh. Our newsletter is fresh daily at 6 a.m. Sign up here. We’re also on Twitter @citycastpgh & Instagram @CityCastPgh! Learn more about your...
Mar 07, 2022•14 min
For our Friday news roundup, the City Cast Pittsburgh team discusses the movement to encourage a local foundation to stop funding hate groups; a possible dispatcher strike on the day of the St. Patrick’s Day Parade; and rising prices at the Pittsburgh International Airport. We also dig back into a story about regional police charging sex workers with “possessing an instrument of crime” if they carry condoms. Check them out: Jordana Rosenfeld for City Paper on the Colcom Foundation: https://www.p...
Mar 04, 2022•18 min
Peter Spencer was 29 when he went camping in Venango County with a group of white men in December. The next morning, Spencer, who was Black, was found dead in the lawn with nine bullets in his back and front. And while news reports have said that the person who killed Spencer admitted to it, no charges have been filed. Lead producer Matt Stroud is with longtime Pittsburgh Post-Gazette columnist Tony Norman about the case and where it might go in coming weeks. You can read his piece here: https:/...
Mar 03, 2022•11 min
A week ago, native Russian Anastasia Gorelova and Ukrainian-born Karina Shevchenko had never met. Then came the invasion. Hear how conflict brought them together, what their friends and families are experiencing back home, and what they need now from their adopted neighbors in Pittsburgh. If you’re hoping to help, Karina suggests donating directly to St. John the Baptist Ukrainian Catholic Church, 109 S. 7th St., in the South Side. They’re collecting medical supplies like analgesics, gauze and t...
Mar 02, 2022•19 min
All 67 Pennsylvania counties have now signed on to a $1 billion settlement from opioid manufacturers to deliver drug treatment and prevention in the commonwealth. As officials figure out how to divvy up that money, Senior Producer Megan Harris checks in with Dr. Payel Roy, Director of UPMC’s Addiction Medicine Consult Service, to find out how recovery services could be better in the 'Burgh. Our newsletter is fresh daily at 6 a.m. Sign up here. We’re also on Twitter @citycastpgh & Instagram @...
Mar 01, 2022•22 min
The NFL Combine, a national week-long tryout for all the teams in the league, marks the start of a new — and hopefully promising — Steelers season. So who is Pittsburgh looking at? What can we expect from the draft? And can we start planning that next Super Bowl parade? Sean Gentille, senior writer for The Athletic, is here to talk through it all, plus how the team is reacting to one very important coaching hire. The newsletter is fresh daily at 6 a.m. Sign up here. We’re also on Twitter @cityca...
Feb 28, 2022•14 min
For our Friday news roundup, the City Cast Pittsburgh team discusses UPMC's newest high-profile lobbyist, a massive donation for a local private school, and the question of whether we love or hate the recent onslaught of e-scooters. Our newsletter is fresh daily at 6 a.m. Sign up here. We’re also on Twitter @citycastpgh & Instagram @CityCastPgh! --- We talked about a bunch of stories in today's conversation. Check out the Post-Gazette’s investigation into the Ukrainian oligarchs who routed p...
Feb 25, 2022•22 min
Not long ago, you’d be hard-pressed to find a brew pub with an all-local rotation — let alone one with a fire pit or board games or dogs and babies at the bar. But today, it’s not just normal, it’s expected. Our buddy Hal B. Klein is here to talk about why. Read his excellent piece in Pittsburgh Magazine here. Sign up for our daily newsletter and follow us on Twitter & Instagram @CityCastPgh! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Feb 24, 2022•15 min
Should a 138-year-old house in Uptown linked to bootlegging and an illegal lottery be preserved as a historic landmark? Or demolished for new development? Folklorist and public historian Dr. David Rotenstein researched the Tito-Mecca-Zizza house and its garage for NEXTpittsburgh, revealing its connections to Pittsburgh’s Black history, prohibition, the secret history of Rolling Rock beer, and the Italian immigrant experience in the 1920s and ’30s. Our newsletter is fresh daily at 6 a.m. Sign up ...
Feb 23, 2022•17 min
Funeral director Sarah McAlee is a soup-lebrity on the North Side. She goes by Brothmonger, and you have to be at Mayfly Market eeeearrly in the morning if you want to snag her daily offerings. Hear about her journey from the morbid kid to comfort-maker-in-chief, plus all her best-kept, soup-making secrets. Our newsletter is fresh daily at 6 a.m. Sign up here. We’re also on Twitter @citycastpgh & Instagram @CityCastPgh! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Feb 22, 2022•13 min
Artist Alisha Wormsley is best known in Pittsburgh for her incisive, compelling — and weirdly controversial — East Liberty billboard reminding us all that “There Are Black People in the Future.” But her latest exhibit at Concept Art Gallery in Regent Square goes way beyond the billboard that drew so much attention. Want some more Pittsburgh news? Then make sure to sign up for our morning newsletter and follow us on Instagram & Twitter at @CityCastPgh. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit ...
Feb 17, 2022•15 min
Dating in Pittsburgh is hard enough — and getting on the apps is like, a whole other thing. What pictures do you post? What should you say? Are like, mask selfies ok? There’s a lot to figure out, but not to worry—Pittsburgh City Paper arts and culture writer Dani Janae is here to help you get all the dates. Plus, an estimated 11,000 love locks will be cut off the Clemente Bridge today in advance of restoration work. We've got a tribute to all the Pittsburghers who locked their love and threw awa...
Feb 14, 2022•19 min
Without the Fern Hollow Bridge, a main artery connecting neighborhoods on either side of Frick Park, businesses in Wilkinsburg and Regent Square are cut off from their neighbors in Squirrel Hill. Senior producer Megan Harris and Morgan Moody stopped by Smashed Waffles, Madeleine’s Bakery & Bistro, and Dee’s Six Pax and Dogz to see how they’ve been impacted by the bridge collapse and their concerns for the future. Want to help? Take the detours and spread a little love to your favorite spots ...
Feb 10, 2022•17 min
Gag gifts are supposed to be funny, but should that novelty extend to a box of anonymous feces at your doorstep? For 15 years, the mysterious owners of Pittsburgh-based poopsenders.com have been leaving their mark in an unusual way. Freelance journalist Nick Keppler flushed out the father-son duo for Vice. And a bunch of local bridges will be renovated over the next two years. Check out the list here. Subscribe to our morning newsletter and follow us on social @CityCastPgh! Learn more about your...
Feb 08, 2022•14 min
When school districts have a discipline problem — or a perception of one — they often hire police officers, rather than teachers or school administrators, to patrol schools. A new report from the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania finds that student arrests happen way more frequently than they’re reported. And that students in Allegheny County schools are more likely to be arrested than students anywhere else in the commonwealth. ACLU Pennsylvania community advocate Ghadah Makoshi te...
Feb 03, 2022•18 min
As the City of Bridges, we’re also going to be a city of bridge failures. The Fern Hollow collapse last week is just the latest in an unfortunate history of calamities that have accompanied the Steel City's rise to transportation prominence. Senior producer Megan Harris talks to historian and author Mark Houser about our past and what we can glean from the federal database keeping track of it all. Check out his wonderful book “MultiStories: 55 Antique Skyscrapers & the Business Tycoons Who B...
Feb 02, 2022•15 min
It's been a few days since the Fern Hollow Bridge collapsed in Frick Park. With two years and more than $25 million estimated for repairs, what should we know about all those other "poor" bridges in Pittsburgh? Host Morgan Moody dives into the details with Kent Harries, an associate professor of engineering at the University of Pittsburgh. Our morning newsletter is fresh every day at 6 a.m. Subscribe and follow us on Twitter & Instagram @CityCastPgh Learn more about your ad choices. Visit me...
Feb 01, 2022•12 min
Pittsburgh artists Mikael Owunna and Marques Redd have adapted the lore of southeastern Nigeria’s Igbo people to explore how our collective mythologies influence our cosmic destinies. You can see their heady, beautiful installations all over town, and they’re collaborating with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra on a free show tonight. Morgan Moody talked to the artists about their own beginnings and what inspires them today. You can also snag tickets to their upcoming film Obi Mbu here. Get more...
Jan 27, 2022•19 min
Every 10 years, states calibrate voting districts to reflect their changing populace. But Pennsylvania’s new legislative and Congressional maps are late. How will that affect voters and candidates? And what makes a map fair? Senior producer Megan Harris talks to reporter Kate Huangpu with Spotlight PA and David Thornburgh, senior advisor with the Committee of 70, which submitted a collaborative Congressional map for consideration last year. Read the latest on Kate’s redistricting reporting here:...
Jan 25, 2022•16 min
Single-digit temperatures put people without stable housing at serious risk, and challenges can multiply if you're relying on people who don't recognize or support you. Senior producer Megan Harris checks in with Lyndsey Sickler, executive director of Proud Haven on Pittsburgh's North Side, about how their clients are faring, what they've learned from the new Haven House space, and how Pittsburghers like you can help. Sign up for our morning newsletter and follow us on social. We're on Twitter a...
Jan 20, 2022•15 min
It’s been nearly 70 years since Pittsburgh expanded its borders into a neighboring town or borough, and Wilkinsburg could be next. What’s at stake for residents of both communities if elected leaders — and eventually voters — decide to proceed? Wilkinsburg Mayor Dontae Comans joins host Morgan Moody to sort through everything we still don't know. Plus, senior producer Megan Harris checks in with Light of Life Rescue Mission about how clients are faring in all this snow. Be sure to sign up for ou...
Jan 18, 2022•13 min
A lot of people stop drinking after their boozy holidays to start off the new year sober and refreshed. But for some, “Dry January” is a life-saving, year-round commitment they make every day. Host Morgan Moody talks candidly about her own experience with Pittsburgh author Brian Broome. A special thanks to City of Asylum Bookstore for hosting the conversation. Snag Brian’s wonderful memoir “Punch Me Up To The Gods” from them here. Want some more Pittsburgh news? Sign up for our morning newslette...
Jan 13, 2022•18 min
The coronavirus is seemingly ever present, but we still gotta eat! Hal B. Klein of Pittsburgh Magazine chats with Morgan Moody and Megan Harris about takeout, food trucks, and the one thing to avoid when ordering out in the city. And Damon Young, author of “What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Blacker,” shares his remembrance of one closing Pittsburgh restaurant he'll sorely miss. And not because of the food. Redd up on Hal’s 2021 roundup of Pgh's Best New Restaurants Subscribe to our morning newslet...
Jan 11, 2022•18 min
City Cast Pittsburgh is the nebby neighbor you wish you had — with conversations you want to hear and insights that help you question and celebrate the city we share. Starting January 11th, it's 15 minutes every day of the news you need about the most pressing local issues of our time. Subscribe to the newsletter at pittsburgh.citycast.fm Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jan 05, 2022•1 min
