Darlene Harris, Donald Trump, and Doing the Right Thing in Pittsburgh

You may have heard that Pittsburgh City Councilor Darlene Harris raised a ruckus when she used her personal vehicle to drive through a Northside Park along the walking paths. She claims she was investigating City stuff. This quickly deteriorated into the ‘Darlene, woman of the people’ folks and ‘Darlene is a self-entitled jagoff’ folks. I […]

Til We Wise Up

Transgender Bigotry in Sharon, Butler Reinforce Need for NonDiscrimination Protections

Pittsburgh Transgender

Content Note: misgendering, deadnaming, lies, transphobia. On Sunday, the Sharon Herald printed a newspaper article updating the community on the status of a civil lawsuit against the Sharon Police Department involving the shooting death of 23 year-old Sean Hake. Sean was a transgender man. The Sharon Herald first reported that he was a trans woman, […]

Two Questions for the Pgh Mayor’s LGBTQIA+ Advisory Committee

Pittsburgh Mayor's LGBTQIA+ Advisory Council

I have a few questions about local governing and LGBTQ issues. I will be sharing these directly with the members of the Council whom I personally know. I’ve asked if I could attend a meeting to discuss my concerns, but was informed that the Department of Personnel would not permit me to do so.  Earlier […]

Robert E. Lee Was a Cousin of Mine

This weekend, a lot of rhetoric flowed exhorting us to respond to a horrifying display of white supremacy in Charlottesville, Virginia. One thing that resonated with me was the exhortation by some of my black friends to me, as a white woman, that I need to collect my people. The only people who should be […]

An Open LGBTQ Pride Letter to @SenCasey UPDATED

Senator Casey LGBTQ

Senator Bob Casey has been working hard to move left and seize the post-electoral mantle of a progressive leader in Pennsylvania. And we absolutely need him to continue his aggressive leadership on choice, healthcare, immigration and more. So it was quite jarring to come across this the other day. It is a photo from the […]

UPDATED: Dozens of Ducklings Have Died in Highland Park Reservoir, Access Ramp Needed to Save Remaining Few

Content Note: photo of the bodies of the dead ducklings As of 2:45 PM, I’ve not heard back from Mayor Peduto’s spokespersons, or really anyone except a staffer for Councilor O’Connor who said he was sharing my information with the Parks Director. Whom I told him is out of the office, as is Councilor O’Connor. […]

Rumors Abound in 2017 Pittsburgh Democratic Primary

WTAE broke the story about Darlene Harris alleging Bill Peduto is registering homeless people to bolster his chances of winning reelection. You can see the whole clip here.  “I was told by his people that they’re registering them to vote on Watson Street in the Hill (District),” Harris said. “So, you know, talking about politics, […]

Does it Matter if a Mayor or District Magistrate Will Perform Same Sex Marriages?

There’s been some furor lately in the electoral race for an East End magisterial judge seat. Incumbent Judge Dan Butler is under scrutiny for not performing marriages – he doesn’t perform any marriages. The tricky part is that he belongs to a socially conservative Jewish congregation that defines marriage as between a man and a […]

Updated: Open Letter to John C. Welch, Candidate for Mayor in Pittsburgh

Dear Reverend Welch, A robust primary election process is necessary for a healthy democracy, so I have been watching your early candidacy days with anticipation of your agenda for Pittsburgh. Because I have yet to see any public statements by you on LGBTQ issues and the LGBTQ residents of Pittsburgh, I am writing this letter. […]