90.5 WESA Features and Special Reports

The Port Authority of Allegheny County is on a quest to build a transit system that is equitable, sustainable and improves people’s lives . A new round of public meetings on its long-range plan, NEXTransit , comes at a time of uncertainty and fiscal constraint.

In poet Yona Harvey’s latest collection, “You Don’t Have to Go to Mars for Love” (Four Way Books), several poems feel equal parts composition and collage. And there’s a reason for that.

An increasing amount of scientific evidence suggests that in-person learning, especially for younger students, presents a low risk for spreading the coronavirus. But last month, Pittsburgh Public Schools delayed reopening at least until April, a move that frustrated many working parents.

One person’s antagonist is another’s protagonist. It’s true in life, and also in the award-winning young-adult fiction of Sharon G. Flake.

After the state expanded phase 1A of its COVID-19 vaccine distribution plan last month, elderly Pennsylvanians began looking for appointments to get a shot. But since almost all vaccine appointments are booked online, many of the state’s oldest and most vulnerable residents are relying on loved ones to help them get booked.

Pennsylvania certified Democrat Joe Biden as the winner of the presidential election weeks ago. But President Trump’s campaign and some allies are still fighting the outcome in court. For the final installment of our Split Ticket series, 90.5 WESA asked four Western Pennsylvania voters – who we’ve been following for the last year – how they feel about the outcome.

Puerto Ricans have been immigrating to the U.S. for generations. Yet many mainlanders know little about this Caribbean island. For example, in 2017, in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, some Americans seemed surprised to learn that Puerto Ricans are U.S. citizens .

Susan Uffelman, 53, of Pittsburgh and Michele Charmello, 51, of Pitcairn, Pa., stand on opposite ends of the political spectrum—Uffelman to the right, Charmello to the left.

While it’s almost cliché to call western Pennsylvania an election battleground, local political organizers do not take the status for granted. And as this year’s campaign comes to a close in the age of COVID-19, members of both parties are mobilizing voters in their own way.

Two years ago this week, a gunman killed 11 members of Pittsburgh’s Jewish community at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Squirrel Hill. In their conversation for One Small Step, a partnership between StoryCorps and WESA, Amber Neider, 34, of Baldwin and Dan Leger, 74, of Squirrel Hill—who was one of those injured in the shooting—reflect on how they responded to the event as Pittsburghers. They also discuss how it has informed their views on gun rights.

Voting rights activists – as well as Democrats – are pinning their hopes for a big turnout in this year’s election on mail-in voting. But some voters in Black communities don't plan to just sit back and mail it in.

Trains still carry coal past the now-abandoned Mathies Mine, located on the Monongahela River in Washington County. Metal fencing blocks the mine entrance, a cave-like opening where hundreds of miners once trod miles of tunnels.

On a chilly October evening, Vicki Potter stands in a gravel parking lot in Pittsburgh’s Strip District. The scent of popcorn mixes with the gasoline from nearby idling cars. Patrons are masked and sitting in the beds of trucks and trunks of minivans as an old-timey concession stand advertisement blares over the loudspeakers.

Aaron Weidman, 32, of Pittsburgh’s Squirrel Hill neighborhood, says the idea of “luck” plays a limited role in how likely a person is to realize their potential. But Tawnya Davis, 53, of Monroeville, Pa., says not everyone has access to the same resources.

Election Day is in just two weeks. But concerns about slow mail delivery, voter suppression, and baseless claims of fraud have voters on both sides wondering if the results can be trusted.

Suburban Pennsylvania voters may reshape the national political landscape this year, and that’s especially true in places like the 17th Congressional District outside of Pittsburgh, where Democrat Conor Lamb is being challenged by Republican Sean Parnell.

State Senator Jim Brewster, of McKeesport, is one of Allegheny County’s last old-school Democrats — friendly to labor, but socially conservative — to serve in Harrisburg. And now, after his district went narrowly for President Donald Trump in 2016, the lawmaker faces a reelection challenge from first-time Republican candidate Nicole Ziccarelli, of Lower Burrell. A win for Brewster is considered essential to enabling Democrats to flip control of the Pennsylvania legislature .

Pittsburgh’s poetry community is large but tight-knit. One big reason is Jan Beatty, the award-winning poet and educator whose sixth collection was just published by the University of Pittsburgh Press.

During this contentious and divisive election season, taking place on top of a global pandemic and a year of nationwide civil protests, it often feels the opposing political sides are so at odds, no middle ground can be found in between.

Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro has attracted national attention as a frequent foe of the Trump Administration and as a champion of consumers.

The U.S. Supreme Court has been thrust into the political spotlight, following the recent death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. For our Split Ticket series, we’re following four Western Pennsylvania voters for one year, and looking at how issues like the Supreme Court influence their choices. With just a month until the general election, the fight over Ginsburg’s replacement underscores the tensions of a divisive election year.

Criminal defense lawyer Giuseppe Rosselli was confused when his client, George Allen, didn’t show up for a court date in late July. They had texted about the hearing moments earlier.

For the last 20 years, the North Hills suburbs were represented in the state House by conservative champion Mike Turzai. Now that the former House speaker has resigned , there’s a chance for a major shift in representation for a district where demographics are already changing.

With negotiations over a new coronavirus relief package stalled in Congress, extra money for food assistance is among the items hanging in the balance. And in tens of thousands of local households, the impasse compounds the fear of going hungry.

For years, the Democratic Party has struggled to retain support from Catholic voters in southwestern Pennsylvania, and it will likely be hard for Democrats to reverse that trend in November – even with a ticket led by a Catholic presidential nominee.

Gun sales and gun violence have increased during the coronavirus pandemic, but the issue has been largely absent from the 2020 campaign. For WESA’s Split Ticket series, we’re following four Western Pennsylvania voters for a year, asking them about the issues that could sway their decision at the ballot box. This month, they weighed in on firearms. But while they shared common ground on some changes to gun laws, the gun debate is still divisive.

Recent revelations that the U.S. Postal Service will likely struggle to deliver mail-in ballots in time for Election Day has worried voters, campaigns and election officials across the U.S. But the stakes feel particularly high in battleground states like Pennsylvania -- and with less than three months until November, election officials are trying to address mail delivery problems and voter fears.

Sitting in a grassy lot along Braddock’s main avenue, Jona Reyes dreams of restoring the energy that she says once coursed through the neighborhood. Since steel’s decline more than 30 years ago, the Mon Valley community has suffered from chronic disinvestment.

This month, Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden unveiled a sweeping green energy plan. It marks a strong contrast from President Donald Trump, who has long championed fossil fuels.

Despite a pandemic, high voter turnout, and a new election law, Allegheny County finished tallying votes in the June primary before most counties in the state. Now, the people behind that process are looking at what went right -- and what needs to be changed ahead of November.

As protests against police brutality sweep across the country, polling suggests most Americans support law-enforcement reform. In our year-long Split Ticket series , we’ve been asking four voters about the issues that could sway their decision at the ballot box. This month, the many reported acts of police brutality – and the President’s response to them – have deepened one voter’s commitment to be heard in November.

Lenore Williams was living in Homewood when c ivil rights leader Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated on April 4, 1968.

Reopening the economy has become a polarizing issue, and how elected leaders handle the task could sway voters’ decisions at the ballot box in November. For our Split Ticket series, we asked four western Pennsylvania voters about how they view reopening strategies.

Republican Mike Turzai represented the 28th state house District for nearly two decades before announcing his plans to retire at the end of this year. None of the three Republicans vying for his North Hills seat would have the same legislative clout as Turzai, the outgoing Speaker of the House. But they still believe they can help guide the state through the coronavirus pandemic.

During the first few months of this year, the 2020 presidential race dominated the country’s attention – until the coronavirus arrived.

In the run-up to the 2020 election, Democrats struggled to pick the national face of the party: a more moderate candidate in Joe Biden or a more radical choice in Bernie Sanders.

Gov. Tom Wolf has issued stay-at-home orders across Pennsylvania as the coronavirus spreads. The directives are meant to save lives, but for victims of domestic violence, being stuck at home with their abusers can be extremely dangerous.

Four days after the Braddock Carnegie Library temporarily closed because of the coronavirus, executive director Vicki Vargo, who was working from home, stopped by to pick up the mail and a few other things. Outside the landmark building’s front door stood a library regular.

A new election law in Pennsylvania allows registered voters to cast their ballots by mail. It’s meant to make voting more accessible, which is why some organizers have been planning for months to use it to boost turnout. And as the coronavirus spreads, there may be unintended benefits of voting by mail.

Coronavirus has now spread to more than 100 countries, representing two-thirds of the world’s population . In Pittsburgh, large events are being canceled; college classes are moving online; and everyone’s taking extra long to wash their hands. Helping explain the headlines this week from the WESA newsroom: Sarah Boden , health and science reporter Ariel Worthy , government and accountability reporter Katie Blackley , digital producer currently covering coronavirus All of the positive cases are currently in the eastern part of the state in Bucks, Delaware, Monroe, Montgomery, Northampton, Philadelphia, Pike and Wayne counties. No cases have been confirmed in Allegheny County. Carnegie Mellon University , the University of Pittsburgh , Duquesne University , Chatham University , Carlow University , and Robert Morris University announced they are switching all classes to online instruction as the schools prepare for a possible spread of COVID-19 . ​Mayor Bill Peduto said Pittsburgh will

Propel McKeesport elementary teacher Timesha Cohen said she is uncomfortable talking about race in her classroom. But, she said she knows it’s vital for her students.

Polling shows that health care is a top concern for voters across the country, and voters in Western Pennsylvania are no exception. The voters in our Split Ticket series are divided on how to address the issue. Two people want to expand government health care – and while the other two don’t, they have each turned to public services for help.

Two massive stone arches tower over Washington Boulevard in Pittsburgh’s Homewood and Larimer neighborhoods. The intersecting structures over Silver Lake Drive appear out of place along this curving, concrete road.

Legislation to decriminalize marijuana under federal law has gotten some traction in Congress, with a U.S. House committee passing the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement, or MORE, Act in November. But the bill , introduced by New York Democrat Jerry Nadler, is not expected to become law .

Like most people, Brett Stanford likes to unwind after work. Often he smokes cannabis, sometimes while watching the PBS period-drama “Downton Abbey.”

Nancy Black has a host of health problems, including arthritis, fibromyalgia and asthma, and she used to have to take opioids every 12 hours for her pain. However, in 2018 she decided to stop taking her medication, which included OxyContin, and to use medical marijuana instead.

Pro-impeachment rallies are scheduled for Tuesday evening across Southwestern Pennsylvania – just hours before a US House vote on impeaching President Trump will take place on Wednesday. The effort will offer a response to anti-impeachment messages broadcast by Republican groups in recent months.

“I don’t think I’ll ever forget that day,” Pittsburgh attorney Catia Kossovsky said with a laugh. The day was January 4, 2018. And then-U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions had announced he would let prosecutors crack down on the medical marijuana industry, undoing Obama-era guidelines that generally left states to enforce their own marijuana laws.

The path to presidential victory runs directly through Pennsylvania. The state holds 20 electoral votes and Donald Trump’s 2016 win was decided by less than 50,000 votes, or less than one percentage point. Polls show it will be a close race again in 2020. Over the next year, WESA is following four voters at the center of this election about the big issues that will sway their decisions at the ballot box.

Markita Wilburn says cannabis got her through pharmacy school.

This past year has been a big one for climate activism, so much so, that the Collins English Dictionary declared "Climate Strike" the word of the year . Young people have largely led the movement, and 18-year-old Leandra Mira of Upper St. Clair has been the face of climate strikes in Pittsburgh.