“If you’re in the quiet place I was in, if you feel like you’re disappearing, I want you to know there is still a way forward, even if you can’t see it yet,” Jeremy Carter writes about finding hope through peer support as a suicide survivor. buff.ly/gDcGgPj

An audit of five cyber charters released earlier this year found that their revenue had nearly doubled from 2020 to 2023, and their financial reserves had increased by nearly 150% in that period. From @spotlightpa.org

Unions typically bargain for pay, vacation, health insurance and safety. At Pitt, unionized graduate students want academic freedom protections too, but the university has largely rejected their demands.

In this guest commentary, Simi Olusola-Ajayi considers AI optimism and asks who benefits from the value of technological efficiency. What do you think, is AI likely to improve the quality of life in the Pittsburgh region?

The delayed state budget allows public schools in Pennsylvania to deduct more expenses from cyber charter schools, a major player in K-12 education since the pandemic. From Spotlight PA buff.ly/DDyuQmX

Giving Tuesday ends at midnight! We hope you’ll make a gift today and help sustain paywall-free, fact-checked local journalism for your neighbors. buff.ly/Sgz4SSY

There’s still time to donate! On Giving Tuesday, people in our region show up for the causes they care about and the organizations that serve our communities. We hope you’ll make a gift today and help sustain paywall-free, fact-checked local journalism for your neighbors. buff.ly/Sgz4SSY

John Funk landed a $369 snow globe inflatable for $50. He’s grossed $445 selling inflatables, spending it on ... more inflatables. Would profits mean changes to Social Security and Medicaid benefits?

Nearly two-thirds of 228 resolutions passed by Pittsburgh Water’s board proceeded with no indication of discussion. Researchers say prolonged unanimity can signal weak oversight as the utility pursues a two-year rate hike. buff.ly/6Jcotam

Each year, on Giving Tuesday, people in our region show up for the causes they care about and the organizations that serve our communities. We hope you’ll make a gift today and help sustain paywall-free, fact-checked local journalism for your neighbors. buff.ly/Sgz4SSY

Disability employment has approached 40%, up from 30% in 2009. For John Funk, an inflatable hobby could become paid work. “You cannot work, you’ll lose your benefits,” some are told. “Not true,” a benefits counselor says. buff.ly/oVWjpms

“This was a plan for them to have something better across the district and not at only a few schools,” PPS board member Sylvia Wilson expressed frustration at the 11th hour takedown of a proposal to reconfigure the school district.

“A huge resource” or “the most controversial thing that we've had in Allentown” — Hilltop residents debate the temporary T line as PRT weighs options for its future.

In this guest commentary, Lavender Sedlock writes how “parenting is unpaid, unseen around-the-clock labor.” Her solution: a family care stipend. buff.ly/EvQJSvk

From our Oakland Zine: In a neighborhood where students come and go, longtime residents share optimism for the community that endures. buff.ly/5lMglPb

Union membership is down nationally from 20% in 1983 to just under 10% last year, but organizing locally has been vigorous at UPMC, AHN, Pitt and Starbucks. buff.ly/kLVZUjE

No appointment? No problem — “some people just come and just want to be around good energy,” at The Natural Choice Barbershop in Oakland. www.publicsource.org/oakland-thir...

From our Oakland Zine: In a neighborhood where students come and go, longtime residents share optimism for the community that endures.

What is the 2050 Comprehensive Plan? Why is funding being questioned? What are stakeholders saying? Here’s a guide to the renewed debate over the plan. From NEXTpittsburgh: buff.ly/A1E7YCH

New Mexico, Finland and Norway put taxpayer money toward support for stay-at-home parents. Should Allegheny County do the same? buff.ly/EvQJSvk

During a turbulent board meeting, just three PPS directors voted for the comprehensive proposal to address some of the district’s overcapacity and inequity issues by closing 12 schools across nine buildings.

NEW SHIRT ALERT! We’re so excited about our new t-shirts. These shirts are a member exclusive — one small way we show gratitude to the people who make our work possible. They’re available when you make a $7/month recurring donation, or a one-time gift of $75. Get yours today! buff.ly/Sgz4SSY

On March 19 the U.S. House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party urged CMU to curtail Chinese enrollment. This year, CMU has 223 fewer students from China.

Almost all the 80 speakers testifying during a public hearing Monday urged school board members to reject, or at least delay, the years-in-the-making facilities plan. The PPS board will vote on the plan tonight.

Pittsburghers have an expression: ‘yinz can’t get there from here,’ but residents in Allentown may feel it even more as PRT aims to shutter the temporary T line that connects the Hilltop to the rest of the city. buff.ly/lD7sFYK

“Take our pen and hold power to account,” Andrew Goldstein, president of the Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh, urged striking Starbucks workers this morning as Post–Gazette workers returned to their desks after a three-year strike. buff.ly/O6kji74

“We should be righting the wrongs of the past, not making them worse,” Councilor Barbara Warwick told the Pittsburgh City Planning Commission before it advanced a Hazelwood rezoning plan to City Council for a final vote.

In the global race for AI, rhetoric from U.S. policy makers is taking on “red scare” tones. On CMU’s campus some people “feel really scared about saying anything that might be construed as un-American.” buff.ly/Ljh74nu

At the corner of Federal Street Extension and Perrysville Avenue on the North Side, a diverse group of volunteers cultivate a space for friendship and passersby who simply “want to take a break halfway up that huge fricking hill.” buff.ly/NZVYurP

From the archives: See how air pollution travels across the Pittsburgh region with a CMU-built tool that inspired Al Gore’s new global tracker. buff.ly/bDNStcd

Saw Mill Run, Four Mile Run. These small creeks pose big problems for the flood-prone communities that surround them. These three local leaders are working to change that. bit.ly/4o0qr6B

A federal judge lifted Pitt’s suspension of a pro-Palestinian student group. The need for court intervention is “not a sign that academic freedom on this topic is safe at Pitt,” says prof Ruth Mostern.

From Picklesburgh to Pirates’ games, the Roberto Clemente Bridge is frequently closed for community events. So why not make it permanent? A local architect shares his thoughts. buff.ly/DJzgcYp

29 years separate Carla and Tricia, but a love of flowers and a hatred of grazing deer brought them together in a Perry Hilltop garden club. buff.ly/NZVYurP

WE NEED 100 NEW MEMBERS! Through Dec. 31, donating to our newsroom for the first time can help us get an extra $2,000 — and your gift will be fully matched! Please consider becoming a member today. buff.ly/6RAVLAE

When it comes to her neurodivergent peers, Shannon Parris sees “transitional characters breaking the cycles of our lineages and charting new paths for our children.” buff.ly/DawkkU2

In 1910, landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. recommended that Pittsburgh turn the Saw Mill floodplain into a park. “By 1939, the entire floodplain was developed,” says Lisa Werder Brown, executive director of the Watersheds of South Pittsburgh. buff.ly/XQ9PHfv

Dallas and New York have converted famous bridges to pedestrian-only attractions. Should Pittsburgh do the same? buff.ly/DJzgcYp

Pittsburgh’s City Planning Commission recommended rezoning Hazelwood’s riverfront district in a 4-2 vote Tuesday after months of delays and legal saber rattling by property owners.

“I’ve lived this all my life,” said Pamela Lee, during an Allegheny County Council meeting where members hiked fees levied on industrial polluters. As soon as I moved, "I felt like someone should’ve handed me an air filter and said: Welcome to Clairton.” buff.ly/6Ygfis3

Hedge fund or higher ed? When it comes to calls for divestment, Point Park University professor Robert Ross asks, “What are we for as institutions of higher education, if not to change the world for the better?”

“It’s not that there were no other Asian kids around me; there just weren’t enough to allow us to be people.” Shannon Parris reflects on years of overt racism and microaggressions on her path to identity and belonging in Pittsburgh. buff.ly/DawkkU2

Students and faculty members at the University of Pittsburgh continue to call for financial transparency and divestment from Israel. Campus expression has felt the strain, and professors debate the school’s response. buff.ly/mo0wbaz

For all the promise of new tools and adaptive technologies, care still depends on people. But “Aging services have been struggling with the workforce since before the pandemic,” says Erin McDermott, director of workforce solutions at LeadingAge.

From the archives: Outreach worker David Lettrich reflects on the successes and shortcomings of Allegheny County’s shelter system for people experiencing homelessness.

A street outreach pioneer left Pittsburgh for a year, returned, and now says “we allow the visual impact, the negative community dialogues, to drive our decision making” and it’s “problematic.” buff.ly/o5smzSw

In 2018, Jason Lando led the response to the Tree of Life shooting. Now he is poised to become Pittsburgh’s next police chief.

The GOP scores a climate concession in a Pennsylvania budget bill that ended a monthslong impasse. The deal: back off the carbon dioxide cap-and-trade regulation on power plants.

“They told me I wasn’t homeless enough.” Chris Miller said he was unable to get housing through the county’s services hotline, has had issues at shelters and this winter he plans to stick to a tent. buff.ly/o5smzSw

You count on us for factual information. We count on you for support. Today and every day, our nonprofit newsroom is dedicated to serving our community. Please consider making a matched gift today so we can report on whatever comes next for our region. buff.ly/6RAVLAE