DEVELOP PGH
As home prices rise, neighborhoods turn to community land trusts to preserve affordability
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Affordable housing needs shape the model in different neighborhoods. But first community organizations need to figure out what these needs are.
FIRST PERSON
My preference for buses puzzles some people. But consider the benefits of ditching your car.
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Compelling personal stories
told by the people living them. Each weekday, I wake up in Pittsburgh’s Oakland neighborhood, take two buses to reach Moon Township and walk about half a mile to get to my workplace. The whole commute takes between 60 and 90 minutes, and it perplexes just about everyone. My parents tried to talk me out of taking the bus; one of my coworkers has called my commute a trek; and, in the early days of this “trek,” my friends often asked me how my commute was going right after or instead of asking, “How are you?”
Why should the way I get to work garner so much attention? Though my parents often bike around my hometown in suburban Philadelphia, they drive when they need to make longer trips.
ENVIRONMENT
Climate change in Pittsburgh: Locals aired concerns on pollution, industry and legislation at town hall
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U.S. Rep. Mike Doyle, who led Wednesday's event, called out President Donald Trump for framing climate change as a 'hoax.'
PUBLIC SAFETY
Active shooter drills have become common in Pittsburgh-area schools but mental health effects remain unknown
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With mass shootings on the rise, school districts find themselves with the responsibility to prepare students and staff. But there is little study to how effective drills are and if there are long-term implications.
PUBLIC SAFETY
A look inside the ALICE active shooter training taken by Pittsburgh Public Schools administrators
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Oh, I feel nervous, and I know it’s a drill,’ said one principal, hiding under a desk.
EDUCATION
Fox Chapel school district board hired law firm to conduct an investigation they won’t tell the public about
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The Fox Chapel Area School District board hired a Butler law firm to act as special counsel in an investigation without telling the public what the investigation is about or how much it would cost the taxpayers. The board retroactively voted to approve the ongoing investigation at Monday's board meeting.
affordable housing
Bed bugs at Glen Hazel senior community stir new resident frustrations
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There were bed bugs at the Glen Hazel subsidized housing facility, but the two organizations responsible for ongoing renovations gave conflicting accounts on if the infestation halted construction. Some residents reached out to PublicSource about the issue, and they were on the same page. “The contractors aren’t allowed to work in the mess, but we’re allowed to live in the mess,” said Ralphina Coleman, a resident of the Bernice Crawley high-rise in Glen Hazel, a small neighborhood south of Hazelwood. The bed bugs are the latest in a list of frustrations this year that residents felt at the high-rise for seniors and people with disabilities. Michelle Sandidge, chief community affairs officer for the Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh [HACP], said no construction stopped at the building.
PFAS CONTAMINATION
Former firefighters describe how they used foam with PFAS chemicals at Pittsburgh’s airport for decades
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PublicSource spoke to five former firefighters who worked there between 1972 and 2010 about how the PFAS-containing firefighting foam was typically used. Their accounts, along with the military review, airport records and scientists who study PFAS, indicate that contamination at the airport is likely.
PFAS CONTAMINATION
PFAS contamination is likely at Pittsburgh airport. Airports may face legal challenges by doing nothing.
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Airport officials say they're doing everything the law requires regarding PFAS. Experts say the law doesn't go far enough.
FIRST PERSON
Sun still shines on your heavy head
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"My first mental health crisis almost took my life. Recovery gave me an opportunity to build my life worth living," writes singer-songwriter Jamie Kunning.
