It’s Friday, 8/2/19

An interview with Laura Wiens, director of Pittsburghers for Public Transit
Pittsburghers for Public Transit (PPT) is a grassroots organization fighting for more equitable, affordable, and sustainable public transit in Pittsburgh and Allegheny County.

Our conversation begins with insight into Wiens’s personal background in labor organizing and the history of PPT. We discuss how PPT members build their campaigns, and Wiens explains their Riders’ Vision for Public Transit. Some of their recent work has resulted in success, including an effort — alongside the Alliance for Police Accountability, Casa San Jose, and the Thomas Merton Center — to prevent a policy that would have allowed armed Port Authority police officers to enforce light-rail fares. And with community input and leadership, they’ve helped to retain bus service connecting the city with the Mon Valley and the eastern suburbs. But challenges remain, like equity in fare pricing, making connections between transit and housing — and applying political pressure to bring about change. And we touch on climate change, the tension between the public and the private, and ultimately the issue of automation innovation and tech companies offering “silver bullet” solutions.

Learn more about Pittsburghers for Public Transit at their website at pittsburghforpublictransit.org or on social media. And check out their new “Beyond the East Busway” map survey at eastbusway.pittsburghforpublictransit.org.

The Pittsburgh Record, from Postindustrial Media, is created by Adam Shuck and edited by Matt Stroud, with music by Phil Ortmann and sound editing by Tim Mulhern.

Adam Shuck is the creator and host of "The Pittsburgh Record," Postindustrial's daily email newsletter and podcast. Previously, he compiled the daily email newsletter "Eat That, Read This," which he began in 2014. Adam lives in Pittsburgh and is also a freelance German translator and DJ.

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It’s Wednesday, 9/25/19

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It’s Tuesday, 9/24/19

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It’s Monday, 9/23/19

Pittsburgh-based employees of HCL America, a tech contractor working with Google in Bakery Square, will hold a vote tomorrow to decide whether to unionize. Management — and some employees — are against the effort...

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It’s Thursday, 9/19/19

A ruling from the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board’s Hearing Examiner found that the University of Pittsburgh inappropriately coerced graduate student workers out of voting to form a union, and a new election has been ordered — a victory for student workers organizing for democracy in the workplace...

It’s Wednesday, 9/18/19

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It’s Tuesday, 9/17/19

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It’s Monday, 9/16/19

An analysis from the Philadelphia Inquirer and Spotlight PA shows how the Pennsylvania Legislature has passed fewer and fewer pieces of actual legislation over the past four decades, instead relying on the more ceremonial path of “resolutions” — but the report leaves out some key factors....

It’s Friday, 9/13/19

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It’s Thursday, 9/12/19

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Following the passage of Assembly Bill 5 in California, what’s the future for gig workers across the country and in Pittsburgh — and what’s the future for companies like Uber, whose model rests on their exploited labor?...

It’s Tuesday, 9/10/19

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It’s Thursday, 9/5/19

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It’s Wednesday, 9/4/19

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It’s Tuesday, 9/3/19

From the early 19th century “pauper schools” to today’s mixed state-and-local education funding, despite various reform measures in between, the way we pay for Pennsylvania schools rests on staggeringly unequal disparities between rich districts and poor districts. But a forthcoming Commonwealth Court case could create a “landmark” change....

It’s Friday, 8/30/19

Back in his home district for August recess, freshman Democratic Congressman Conor Lamb’s careful moderation has faced an impatient progressive base demanding more action against Trump and the GOP....

It’s Thursday, 8/29/19

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It’s Wednesday, 8/28/19

As PublicSource’s Brittany Hailer has reported, schools across the county are spending thousands of dollars to hold role-play trainings where staff, teachers, and students are taught how to actively combat a potential active shooter. But are these trainings helping?...

It’s Tuesday, 8/27/19

* Though members of the Amish community are only a handful in the grand scheme of the United States, their politics — whether or not they choose to participate in the system — are fascinating, and part of Pennsylvania’s diverse electorate...

It’s Monday, 8/26/19

Polling showing an appetite for gun control in American suburbs, including in Pennsylvania, comes as Pittsburgh-based retailer Dick’s shows its relative strength after tightening firearms sales in its stores...

It’s Friday, 8/23/19

Governor Tom Wolf’s sweeping proposal Restore PA would remediate brownfields, strengthen internet access, and improve stormwater infrastructure. But its financing relies on the production capacity of the fossil fuel industry, tying Pennsylvania to 20 more years of fracking....

It’s Thursday, 8/22/19

After some six months on the shelf, yesterday Allegheny County Council held its first public hearing on proposed legislation that would create a county-wide citizen police review board....

It’s Wednesday, 8/21/19

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It’s Tuesday, 8/20/19

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It’s Monday, 8/19/19

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It’s Tuesday, 8/13/19

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It’s Monday, 8/12/19

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It’s Friday, 8/9/19

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It’s Thursday, 8/8/19

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It’s Wednesday, 8/7/19

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It’s Monday, 8/5/19

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It’s Friday, 8/2/19

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It’s Thursday, 8/1/19

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It’s Wednesday, 7/31/19

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It’s Tuesday, 7/30/19

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It’s Wednesday, 7/24/19

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It’s Tuesday, 7/23/19

Pioneering funk artist Betty Davis has been called “provocative,” “ahead of her time,” and, over the past four decades, “reclusive.” Yesterday, the world heard her first newly released song in forty years...

It’s Monday, 7/22/19

As the Trump Administration tweaks its Title X gag rule to silence health care providers from referring patients to abortion services, Planned Parenthood of Western Pennsylvania vows to continue offering clinical care...

It’s Friday, 7/19/19

An interview with Matt Mehalik, executive director of the Breathe Project...

It’s Thursday, 7/18/19

Just as a pair of new-construction townhouses in Lawrenceville hits the market for a record $1.1 million, City officials are set to consider a new affordable housing policy of “inclusionary zoning” for the neighborhood...

It’s Wednesday, 7/17/19

After four years, the ordinance passed by City Council to mandate paid sick leave in Pittsburgh has been vindicated with a 4-to-3 Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruling...

It’s Tuesday, 7/16/19

A proposal from the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy would increase property taxes to care for hundreds of parks across the city. But what are the political and policy underpinnings of continued public-private solutions to municipal maintenance?...

It’s Monday, 7/15/19

Progressive County Council candidates Bethany Hallam and Liv Bennett are hoping to bring new energy to a legislative body frequently deferential to County Executive Rich Fitzgerald...

It’s Friday, 7/12/19

Tomorrow you may be celebrating two wacky holidays of special interest to Pittsburghers: National French Fry Day and Jeff Goldblum Day. Where did they come from? And why?...

It’s Thursday, 7/11/19

From its roots in the late 19th century to its dire financial straits today, the Hill House has a proud history of community support and service — one in conflict with the logic of American neoliberalism...

It’s Wednesday, 7/10/19

Daniel, Toby, and Derek Rice — with a lot of help from dad — have emerged as victors in their months-long struggle for control of EQT...

It’s Tuesday, 7/9/19

Pittsburgh-area Democratic State Senators plan to introduce an Emergency Relief Program, similar to the recently scrapped General Assistance...

It’s Monday, 7/8/19

Co-working juggernaut WeWork may be aiming for Pittsburgh’s tallest building...

It’s Wednesday, 7/3/19

Federal ICE agents are seizing and deporting more residents per capita in Pennsylvania than in any other state...

It’s Tuesday, 7/2/19

Domestic violence abusers’ relinquishing of weapons leads to county sheriff’s office scrambles...

It’s Monday, 7/1/19

A last-minute Pennsylvania fiscal code amendment preventing single-use plastics regulation is about more than just shopping bags...

It’s Friday, 6/28/19

In our interview, the first for The Pittsburgh Record, The Allegheny Front’s energy reporter Reid Frazier joins me for a discussion about his reporting on a Range Resources settlement in Washington County — a report that a judge had temporarily prevented him from publishing, before eventually releasing the gag order...

It’s Thursday, 6/27/19

An extraordinary display of Republican rage in the State Senate...

It’s Wednesday, 6/26/19

Gaveled down by House Speaker Mike Turzai, with comments stricken from the record, House Democrats protest a budget lacking a minimum wage increase...

It’s Tuesday, 6/25/19

UPMC and Highmark are now in cooperation, but what about the details?...

It’s Monday, 6/24/19

Colcom Foundation’s anti-immigration giving is growing...

It’s Friday, 6/21/19

Record-breaking rain complicates and imperils Pennsylvania agriculture...

It’s Thursday, 6/20/19

After more than a year of undercover work, FBI agents yesterday arrested 21-year-old Mustafa Alowemer for the planning of a bomb attack in Pittsburgh...

It’s Wednesday, 6/19/19

The Allegheny County Health Department issues a more forceful response to the latest Clairton Coke Works fire...

It’s Tuesday, 6/18/19

Allegheny County Council selects an interim member to fill the late Charles Martoni’s seat...

It’s Monday, 6/17/19

Another fire at the Clairton Coke Works...

It’s Friday, 6/14/19

The literal and symbolic reconnections of the Crosstown Boulevard pedestrian park...

It’s Wednesday, 6/12/19

The Heinz History Center will recognize the work of pioneering filmmaker Lois Weber...

It’s Tuesday, 6/11/19

A proposed Allegheny County police review board would be opt-in...

It’s Friday, 6/7/19

Record-breaking rain, Pennsylvania politics and policy, and the power of the status quo in the face of climate change...

It’s Thursday, 6/6/19

A multi-state Ohio River commission vote will have sweeping regional pollution impacts...

It’s Wednesday, 6/5/19

Pride month has kicked off in Pittsburgh...

It’s Tuesday, 6/4/19

Pennsylvania Republican legislators focus on gun issues in the State House’s first-ever recreational marijuana hearing...

It’s Monday, 6/3/19

In the absence of state and federal action, cities like Pittsburgh are pushing forward on progressive legislation—but municipal powers are limited by preemption...

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