The Return of #AMPLIFY

AMPLIFY MLK Day

At the end of 2017, the #AMPLIFY project took a hiatus. This was in large part because of surgery that I (Sue) had scheduled for early January 2018. We also used the time to get some ducks in a row and plan ahead. Here are a few things we think you should know We posted […]

Winter, 18, Identifies as a Genderquestioning Bisexual Person #AMPLIFY

Allegheny County LGBTQ

Name: Winter Age:  18 County of Residence:  Allegheny Pronouns: She/her How do you describe your identity? I am a genderquestioning bisexual. Please describe your coming out experience. Where did you find support? What challenges did you face? I’m not fully out. I only came out two years ago to my friends and a few family members. My mom, stepdad, […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

Fish Fry Friday: Elks Lodge 339

Welcome to Fish Fry Fridays, 2018 Edition! Click here to learn more about this project. Name: The ELKS Lodge 339 (Northside)  Date: March 29, 2018 Time We Ate: 5:50 PM Random review of #fishburgh adventures during Lent. Find a fish fry on this map! You can also follow them on Facebook and find tons of reviews and suggestions. And vote in The Incline’s Fish […]

Q&A with a March for Our Lives Pittsburgh Student Organizer #MarchForOurLivesPGH

March for our lives Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh is one of more than 800 cities hosting sister marches with the National March for Our Lives in Washington, D.C. on Saturday, March 24. Pittsburgh’s march will kick-off at 11:30 AM at the City County Building on Grant Street. The march route will take you down Grant Street to Fifth, then Fifth to Liberty […]

An Essay About St. Patrick’s Day and My Not-So Irish-American Cultural Heritage

Irish American Pittsburgh

Growing up in a working class Pittsburgh suburb, I knew two things to be true about my family – we were Roman Catholic and we were Irish (with a little German.) We were Irish Catholics and celebrated St. Patrick’s Day robustly. St. Patrick’s Day is also my younger brother’s birthday. Robustly meant lots of green […]

Pgh Native Phylicia Mitchell, 46, is 5th Trans Person to be Killed in 2018

Phylicia Coulson Brown

This past Friday, February 23, 2018, Phylicia Mitchell was shot and killed in front her Cleveland home at 6 PM in the evening. She was shot about 6 p.m. Friday on West 112th Street near Detroit Avenue, in the Edgewater neighborhood of Cleveland, according to police reports.  No arrests have been made and the shooting remains […]