City Cast Pittsburgh

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 War...

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 Ru...

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...

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...

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....

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 car...

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 T...

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,...

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 ne...

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 importan...

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 c...

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!

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...

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 &...

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 newslette...

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 o...

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...

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 h...

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 tha...

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...

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. Subscr...

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...

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 C...

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 Pittsburghe...

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...