Phil Ameris, Pres of Construction Worker’s Union, Disparages Affordable Housing, Working Class Families

Philip Ameris

For your consideration from a PublicSource article about the hotly contested campaign for Allegheny County Chief Executive: Phil Ameris, president of the Laborers District Council of Western Pennsylvania, added that Weinstein will “be a fair voice for both labor and development,” and in a dig at more progressive candidates, said he will represent more than […]

26-Year-Old Trans Woman Zachee Imanitwitaho Killed in Louisville

26-year-old Zachee Imanitwitaho was a Black trans woman, born in the African nation of Rwanda. She immigrated to the US in 2019 and settled in the Hazelwood neighborhood of Louisville, Kentucky. On Friday, February 3, Zachee was shot and killed near her workplace at JB Swift in Louisville around 3 PM CST. Police found her […]

Need Your Help to Get More #ProtectTransKids Yard Signs Into Suburbs. Here’s Why …

Protect Trans Kids

From Politico:  More than 180 anti-LGBTQ bills have been introduced so far this legislative session, according to the American Civil Liberties Union, with dozens centered on restricting transgender students in school. Last year, state legislators introduced 315 anti-LGBTQ bills, according to the Human Rights Campaign. More than 90 percent of the legislation failed as only 29 […]

Book Review: ‘1979’ Launches a New Mystery Series from Val McDermid

Several years ago, I dove into a genre described as ‘Tartan noir’ – mysteries set in Scotland. I did some digging into authors and found several women, including several lesbians so that was a promising start. In August 2021, Scottish author Val McDermid published her 35th novel and the launch of the first series she’s […]

Q&A with Bethany Hallam, Candidate for Allegheny County Council, At-Large

Bethany Hallam Allegheny County Council

I’ve conducted numerous unannounced inspections of the jail, talking with incarcerated individuals about their concerns and needs. I’ve advocated for trans folks who are incarcerated, and fought to expose the archaic process by which the jail classifies the gender of incarcerated individuals (according to the gender listed by the police in their arrest report). The […]

Our Groundhog Day Wedding Anniversary

Today marks two years since Laura and I had our backyard COVID-19 wedding. It was brief, simple, and cold. We made it into the ‘Society’ section of the Pittsburgh City Paper. We have a nice little registry and occasionally still get a surprise from it. And we have this Kai Devenitch original artwork to commemorate […]

I’m Taking a Forensic Genealogy Training

This is my 10th year of writing memorial posts for victims of lethal anti-trans violence. Over the time, I’ve tried to stay focused on the very original request from my friend Jacob, a trans activist. He asked me to write a “decent post” that contained information about the crime(s) but also acknowledged the life of […]

Behind the Blog with the Political Q&A Series

Political Q&A Pittsburgh

I appreciate your tireless work to illuminate the workings of government and highlight the people who want to be in our elected offices. You provide a lens that broadens a voter’s perspective. Thank you, Sue! ~ Erica Rocchi Brusselars Probably the most common response to my political/campaign Q&A series is some comment on the length/intensity/depth […]

Q&A with Erica Rocchi Brusselars, Candidate for Allegheny County Treasurer

Erica Brusselars

The makeup of that [Retirement] board speaks to the fact that our government still doesn’t look like us. It also speaks to the fact of what happens when leaders, the electorate, or voting groups aren’t intentional about looking for, promoting, and supporting diversity and folks with different experiences and backgrounds. This is the next post […]

Q&A with Abigail Salisbury, Candidate for PA State House District 34

Abigail Salisbury

I was excited to see Governor Shapiro take office and announce that he would keep a kosher kitchen in the Governor’s Mansion.  Most of the time, Jewish observances are mysterious and holidays are sort of an “also-ran,” just mentioned in passing when they have some relationship in time with Christian holidays, and people don’t really […]