Q&A with Will Anderson, Candidate for PA State House District 24

This is the next in a series of blog posts about individuals challenging incumbents or running non-traditional races in Pennsylvania. Will’s campaign reached out to me after I posted a call for respondents. He is running in the primary against a Democrat State Rep in the 24th district. Will has documented his years of community […]

My Family Story: The Complicated Life of Alice Jenkins (1873-1898)

Content Note: slavery, white privilege, sexism One of the few family history things that I knew growing up was that my great-grandmother, Harriet Hackney, was from rural Tennessee. She died before I was born so I didn’t know her personally, just through stories that my mother shared with me about her ‘Nana.’ The general impression […]

Q&A with Sara Innamorato, Candidate for PA State House District 21

I’ve known Sara for about a year, mostly through Facebook and shared interests in organizing. I know that she worked with New Voices Pittsburgh, a venerable progressive organization, and had co-founded She Runs to bring electoral tools to women in the region. Then I read about her decision to challenge Dom Costa and her partnership […]

Suspect Identified in Shooting Death of Pittsburgh Native, Black Trans Woman Phylicia Mitchell

Phylicia Coulson Brown

On February 24, a Pittsburgh native was shot to death in broad daylight outside her Cleveland residence. Her name was Phylicia Mitchell and she was a Black trans woman who had relocated to Cleveland after growing up on Pittsburgh’s Northside. She was 46. Tonight comes word that Cleveland police have identified a suspect in her […]

Q&A with Amber Sloan, Candidate for Allegheny County Democratic Committee

A friend of mine stepped up to run for office, specifically for a seat at the table of the Allegheny County Democratic Committee.  Amber is a powerful voice in the City, especially in her home neighborhood of Homewood. Read her AMPLIFY profile here We’ve been featuring candidates for various offices, but this is our first […]

Nominate Your Pgh Favs for 2018 City Paper ‘Best of Pittsburgh’

The City Paper has changed the schedule for their annual ‘Best of Pittsburgh’ reader awards. Nominations are open now through April 29, 2018.  Nominate by clicking here As a previous winner (2016), I can say how great it is to win. I can also say that it is both boring and distracting for the same […]

A blog as a shared space of issues. The Post-Gazette explores this blog.

A few weeks ago, I had coffee with Diana Nelson Jones for what I thought would be a brief mention in the Post-Gazette about the blog’s nomination for a GLAAD Media Award. The award will be presented this Thursday. Turns out that article was more extensive and expansive than I thought. She called people and […]

Monthly Reminder About Investing in Our Work

Monthly Reminder About Investing in Our Work

A few readers asked me to post gentle reminders about donations and other opportunities to invest in our work. You will find the donation links here. After a winter hiatus of sorts due to surgery, we are gearing up for exciting work in the coming months. This will include a coffee-house tour in the outlying […]

Q&A with Summer Lee, Candidate for PA State House District 34

Summer Lee for PA

The first encounter I had with Summer Lee was when she reached out to me in 2017, asking to meet with me to discuss LGBTQ issues that were on her radar. I learned she is an attorney and children’s advocate, she’s been deeply involved in the efforts to push back against police and staff brutality against students in […]

PICT Staging of ‘Jane Eyre’ Fires the Imagination for a Victorian Classic

You should go see Jane Eyre at PICT Pittsburgh’s Classical Theater, running now through April 28, 2018 in Oakland. We were there for opening night. Let me back up. I read the novel several times, along with others in the Bronte canon. I liked this novel, but I didn’t love it. I also didn’t love sister […]