Trans Latina Chilendrina Gracia Dominguez, 42, was shot to death in 2021 in New Mexico

It was January 18, 2021 when a 42-year-old trans Latina was shot to death in Albuquerque. Earlier in 2025, police announced that they have the suspect in custody. According to new reports from 2021 and 2025, this trans woman was known as Chilendrina Gracia Dominguez. They also report her deadname which I will not share, […]

And we go riding, riding in your car or learning how to Uber

For the past 16 months, I have been unable to ride in a vehicle driven by a stranger – especially in the back seat. This is a trauma reaction to the time I was put in handcuffs, put in the backseat of a police car, fastened, and taken away from my home under the pretext […]

Are you seeing this blog post? Great, let’s get more social

Recently, I changed the settings on our Jetpack subscription tool to send out a snip of each post with a link to read more. The email you receive gives you the option of reading the post at the blog or in a WordPress reader. And you can of course use your preferred RSS reader directly. […]

Review: Witch at Carnegie Stage Explores Universal Traumas of Yesteryear

When I learned about a local production of a play about a witch originally drafted around 1621, but updated by playwright Jen Silverstein … I was intrigued. I did not know what to expect, but the involvement of Shammen McCune gave me confidence I would be satisfied. I caught their performance as Gandolf at the […]

The 2025 Political Q&A Series: Amy Bridges, Candidate for New Castle School Board Director

Another gem is the pride our students and families have in our district whether it’s in athletics, the arts, or academic achievement, there’s a deep sense of community here. Meet the Candidate Welcome to the 2025 election season series ‘Political Q&A’ – interviews with candidates throughout Pennsylvania. Since 2013, we’ve published nearly 150 of these […]

On this day in 2024, I came home after six months of being homeless. And now I need your help.

While not the Ides of March, today is auspicious – marking one year since I returned to my home after 6+ months of homelessness. This is an important milestone because I worked really hard to make it happen (with a lot of help, of course) and because almost no one thought it would. I was […]

Update on the 2025 Political Q&A

Political Q&A

Has your candidate agreed to participate? Today was Endorsement Day for the Allegheny County Democratic Committee (ACDC) so it seems a good time to update you on our Q&A. We have reached out to over 30 candidates (it is not too late!) 18 of those candidates agreed to participate in our efforts, I’ve sent out […]

Two school districts, parents sue to dismantle Pennsylvania’s LGBTQ nondiscrimination protections

Pennsylvania’s relationship with LGBTQ affirming legislation has been awkward at best. Most importantly, the PA General Assembly has never managed to extend nondiscrimination protections in employment, housing, and public accommodations to include sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression. There are municipal protections in about a third of the Commonwealth. And there had been some […]

Review: ‘Kimberly Akimbo’ Sticks the Landing

Broadway smash ‘Kimberly Akimbo’ fuses the familiar angst of coming of age stories with atypical elements that don’t so much turn the genre on its head as better align it with our lived experiences. The setup is familiar – new girl in town with a dysfunctional family, some unspoken secrets, optimistic spirit, quirky aunt meets […]

The 2025 Political Q&A Series: Judge Matt Rudzki, Candidate for Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas

I often joke that all former mayors deserved degrees in social work. My time in local  government taught me a lot about what makes people tick, their struggles, their hopes  and fears, and most importantly how to meet them where they are. Many people coming  to court are often there because something bad happened to […]