Pittsburgh's Public Source
banner
publicsource.org
Pittsburgh's Public Source
@publicsource.org
Impactful Pittsburgh journalism. Nonprofit. Sign up for our newsletter: https://publicsource.org/newsletter | Support us: https://publicsource.org/donate
Pinned
Have a tip? We have secure options for sharing information confidentially.
Share your ideas, stories and voices with Pittsburgh’s Public Source
Do you have story ideas or questions about Southwestern PA? Pitch a first-person essay or give tips to our reporter on these forms.
buff.ly
Looking for an artistic break from the NFL Draft madness? Your options may be limited that April weekend. Some organizations still plan to show up for local audiences, including Kelly Strayhorn Theater in East Liberty.
Can Pittsburgh’s arts scene wow incoming NFL Draft fans?
NFL Draft fans will descend on Pittsburgh in late April. Some of the city’s arts venues want to cash in on the uptick in visitors, but many others will go dark.
buff.ly
February 10, 2026 at 2:22 PM
Scooters on sidewalks and speeding cars? Terrace Street’s dangerous traffic may be calming down with the addition of new safety upgrades aimed at curbing pedestrian deaths. buff.ly/RloSuLa
Oakland danger zone sees safety upgrades, and community wants more
Pittsburgh officials aim to curb crashes on Terrace Street with new bike lanes and flex posts. Oakland residents welcome the changes but say more is needed.
www.publicsource.org
February 9, 2026 at 2:22 PM
Our spring interns might have found themselves working in labs or law firms if inquisitiveness and the call of public service hadn’t turned them onto journalism. buff.ly/DeIpCbm
Curiosity cures coyness for budding journalists and Public Source interns
Public Source spring interns might have found themselves working in labs or law firms if inquisitiveness and the call of public service hadn’t turned them onto journalism.
www.publicsource.org
February 8, 2026 at 2:22 PM
“I was desperate to escape steel mill smog and the clatter of industry for clean air and water in remote places.” But even deep in the Amazon forests of Ecuador, Dalia Maeroff found extractive industries that gave her feelings about Pittsburgh a new name: grief.
Six weeks in the Amazon’s headwaters helped me to love post-industrial Pittsburgh
Seeing illegal gold mines despoil remote Ecuadorian forests helped me to understand what happened to Pittsburgh — and to appreciate what we still have.
buff.ly
February 7, 2026 at 8:11 PM
The NFL Draft is more than two months away, the AirBNB market is heading up, and more owners could enter the market if they find they "could take a vacation in Maui for the same price somebody is willing to pay to stay in my house."
The NFL Draft is juicing Pittsburgh's short-term rental market — but for how long?
Bookings for Pittsburgh’s Airbnbs and VRBOs spike as the NFL Draft approaches. City Council’s efforts to regulate short-term rentals may stretch beyond the event.
buff.ly
February 7, 2026 at 2:22 PM
Have a tip? We have secure options for sharing information confidentially.
Share your ideas, stories and voices with Pittsburgh’s Public Source
Do you have story ideas or questions about Southwestern PA? Pitch a first-person essay or give tips to our reporter on these forms.
buff.ly
February 6, 2026 at 2:58 PM
Clear-cut forests and polluted rivers — far from Appalachia, Dalia Maeroff encountered the familiar grief of a landscape shaped by extraction. Illegal mining in the Ecuadorian Amazon reminded her of the environmental degradation across coal country, U.S. buff.ly/nHZX770
Six weeks in the Amazon’s headwaters helped me to love post-industrial Pittsburgh
Seeing illegal gold mines despoil remote Ecuadorian forests helped me to understand what happened to Pittsburgh — and to appreciate what we still have.
www.publicsource.org
February 6, 2026 at 2:22 PM
Bram Gallagher studies the world of Airbnbs for a living. He predicts that 90% of Pittsburgh's roughly 3,500 short-term rentals will be occupied in late April. Why? NFL Draft fans.
The NFL Draft is juicing Pittsburgh's short-term rental market — but for how long?
Bookings for Pittsburgh’s Airbnbs and VRBOs spike as the NFL Draft approaches. City Council’s efforts to regulate short-term rentals may stretch beyond the event.
buff.ly
February 5, 2026 at 2:22 PM
About two dozen proposals related to immigration enforcement are percolating in the Pa. state legislature, but lawmakers acknowledge it’s a long shot to enact reforms in a federally governed arena. From @penncapital-star.com
What is the fate of some two dozen ICE bills before Pa. state lawmakers?
Immigration arrests increased more than three-fold in the commonwealth.
buff.ly
February 4, 2026 at 2:22 PM
Speech and debate isn't just a hobby — it's a source of connection and a skill useful for navigating modern life, "especially in today's political climate." But Pitt debaters are grappling with deep funding cuts and feel abandoned by their university.
Pitt ‘powerhouse’ team grapples with significant funding loss
A University of Pittsburgh debate team is one of the oldest in the country. Funding cuts may shorten their chances of national competition.
buff.ly
February 3, 2026 at 8:11 PM
K-12 educators' main priorities for 2026: lingering COVID absenteeism, lagging enrollment and charter funding, threats from DC for immigrants and students in need, AI in the classroom, accessibility in special ed and improved teacher training pipelines. buff.ly/22sjf2r
February 3, 2026 at 2:22 PM
There is a lot of discussion about the future of news in Pittsburgh in the wake of the Post-Gazette’s closure. Letrell Crittenden weighs in that community voices must be at the center of the evolving media landscape.
Before we talk about Pittsburgh media’s future, how about some deep listening?
Drawing on years of research in Pittsburgh, journalist and academic Letrell Crittenden argues the future of news in the city must center on community engagement.
buff.ly
February 2, 2026 at 8:11 PM
Faculty members at other universities call Pitt’s debate team a “pillar” shaping best practices of intercollegiate debate. Funding cuts leave the students wondering if their “powerhouse” team can return to national competition. buff.ly/k88wbYf
February 2, 2026 at 2:22 PM
UPMC's $10 million gift to the city will bolster an ambulance fleet with at least 10 new vehicles, and the mayor said it will free up money to buy 35 new trucks that can plow snow.
UPMC to give Pittsburgh $10 million for new ambulances
Mayor O’Connor announced a $10 million gift from UPMC that will pay for new ambulances in Pittsburgh, freeing up funds to buy 35 new trucks that can plow snow.
buff.ly
February 1, 2026 at 8:11 PM
“There is a better way forward for the Pittsburgh news ecosystem. Engagement and accountability are that pathway. Reproducing a nostalgic status quo is not.” — Letrell Crittenden, director, Center for Community-Engaged Media, Temple University buff.ly/VhhtHe8
Before we talk about Pittsburgh media’s future, how about some deep listening?
Drawing on years of research in Pittsburgh, journalist and academic Letrell Crittenden argues the future of news in the city must center on community engagement.
www.publicsource.org
February 1, 2026 at 2:22 PM
Between 2015 and 2024, the national number of reported hate crimes doubled, even as violent crime rates declined. Pink Pistols Pittsburgh founders say this drove a “present need for us to create a community of LGBT gun owners.” 📸+🎥 by @stephstrasburg.bsky.social
‘Armed queers don’t get bashed’: Pink Pistols Pittsburgh marks year as Second Amendment community
Pink Pistols Pittsburgh formed one year ago, joining 50 chapters of an international LGBT gun rights group that promotes queer visibility and firearms training.
buff.ly
January 31, 2026 at 8:11 PM
Looking for diverse perspectives where identity intersects with Pittsburgh news? Sign up for Selves, where powerful personal stories converge with the most pressing topics of our time.
Get Pittsburgh news and perspectives on gender and identity, in your inbox.
Don’t miss it. Sign up in advance.
buff.ly
January 31, 2026 at 5:28 PM
411 demolitions since 2020 cost the city about $22 million. Pittsburgh’s 2026 capital budget includes about $25 million for demolition over the next five years, but nearly 2,000 condemned properties pepper the city. buff.ly/Gr5p6FS
January 31, 2026 at 2:22 PM
This builds on Public Source’s track record of community-focused storytelling and constructive accountability journalism. We want to be a resource for others to learn from these sessions, so we’ll also invite other journalists to attend and publish recaps for all to see.
January 30, 2026 at 8:11 PM
We're focusing our energy on serving you in this moment of change — listening closely, reporting carefully and staying rooted in the region we serve. We’ll soon be launching You Have the Floor, a series of town halls across the region where community members can share what matters to them.
January 30, 2026 at 8:11 PM
With the shuttering of the two-century-old Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and the weekly alternative Pittsburgh City Paper, leaders of some local newsrooms gathered Thursday evening to discuss the future of local journalism in the region.
January 30, 2026 at 8:11 PM
Reposted by Pittsburgh's Public Source
New story today, including a map of where the City of Pittsburgh has demolished structures since 2020. It seems the city's demolition money is going to the neighborhoods that need it most — but that need is far greater than the resources.

Story: www.publicsource.org/pittsburgh-m...
January 29, 2026 at 7:45 PM
Reposted by Pittsburgh's Public Source
VIDEO: “We teach queer people to shoot. Then we teach others that we have done so.” A pro-gun, pro-gay group is growing in Pittsburgh & nationwide in the wake of national unrest. Hear why Pink Pistols Pittsburgh is selling out firearms classes in their own words: www.publicsource.org/pink-pistols...
‘Armed queers don’t get bashed’: Pink Pistols Pittsburgh marks year as Second Amendment community
Pink Pistols Pittsburgh formed one year ago, joining 50 chapters of an international LGBT gun rights group that promotes queer visibility and firearms training.
www.publicsource.org
January 30, 2026 at 2:14 PM
Since summer, Pittsburgh’s Public Source spent time with the Pink Pistols Pittsburgh as they practiced their sport and built a community of LGBT gun enthusiasts. @stephstrasburg.bsky.social captured those moments on film.
‘Armed queers don’t get bashed’: Pink Pistols Pittsburgh marks year as Second Amendment community
Pink Pistols Pittsburgh formed one year ago, joining 50 chapters of an international LGBT gun rights group that promotes queer visibility and firearms training.
buff.ly
January 30, 2026 at 2:22 PM
Many mayors have attempted to squeeze funds from Pittsburgh’s major nonprofits. Mayor O’Connor just announced a $10 million gift from UPMC to pay for new ambulances. buff.ly/F0EIb2P
UPMC to give Pittsburgh $10 million for new ambulances
Mayor O’Connor announced a $10 million gift from UPMC that will pay for new ambulances in Pittsburgh, freeing up funds to buy 35 new trucks that can plow snow.
www.publicsource.org
January 29, 2026 at 4:34 PM