Rest In Power, Dakota James

Dakota James Missing Person

I read with mixed emotions the news that the body of 23-year-old Dakota James had been found in the Ohio River near Neville Island. Dakota has been missing since January 25, 2017. There’s no appropriate comment, nothing I can think of that would bring comfort to the exhausted family who lost a 23-year-old adult child […]

#FishFryFriday – Shrove Tuesday Pancake Dinner Edition

pancakes

Welcome to Lent 2017! Well, technically, it is still Shrove Tuesday and Lent starts tomorrow, but you get the drift. We are bringing back our regular Lenten feature (OF COURSE WE ARE) – our reviews of regional fish fries. But tonight we have a special pre-Lenten chance to flex our fish fry review muscles with […]

Chris, 40, is an Aspie Queer Girl With Some Kinks #AMPLIFY

Pittsburgh Queer

Name: Chris Rickert Age: 40 County of Residence: Allegheny County. Born in upstate NY, moved to Pittsburgh to attend CMU. Never left. Preferred Pronouns: she/her How do you describe your identity? I’m an Aspie. A queer girl with some kinks. Italian-Scottish-Irish-German. Please describe your coming out experience. Where did you find support? What challenges did you face? Coming out was definitely […]

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. […]

When Two Pittsburghs Collide: Our Uncomfortable (Not) New Reality

This past month, discussion raged on social media about plans by a group of Pittsburgh Socialists to counterprotest a large anti-choice protest at Planned Parenthood. There was a somwhate general consensus that the idea was ill-thought out, but the conversation spun out from there in multiple directions. I wrote my own thoughts here.  It was […]

Ally, 20, Describes Her Fluid Sexual Orientation #AMPLIFY

Lawrence County

Name:  Ally Age: 20 County of Residence: Lawrence County. My parents house is in Lawrence county but I currently live in Allegheny for school with my girlfriend. Preferred Pronouns: She/her How do you describe your identity? That’s a good question. I do identify as a white female, but as for sexual orientation I don’t know. I don’t like to label […]

$10,000 Reward Offered To Find Missing Gay Pittsburgh Man #DakotaJames

Dakota James Missing Person

The family of Dakota James have been crisscrossing the streets of Downtown Pittsburgh every day, all day in hopes of finding someone who has a clue to their son’s disappearance. 23-year-old Dakota, a Northside resident and Duquesne University grad students, has been missing since January. Dakota also happens to be a member of the LGBTQ […]

#PghWaterCrisis – How You Can Help East End Neighbors (& Where To Donate Water)

As you may have heard by now, the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority has issued a ‘water boil advisory’ for 100,000 residents in eastern Pittsburgh neighborhoods in response to a concern about giardia contamination. Read more here.  The advisory is expected to last at least 3 days while PWSA addresses the problem. This boil advisory […]

Small Update in Search for #DakotaJames in Pittsburgh #MissingPerson

Dakota James Missing Person

As we reported earlier, 23 year old Dakota Leo James has been missing for nearly a week from Pittsburgh. A Maryland native, Dakota now lives on the Northside of Pittsburgh where he works fulltime for JB Hunt and attends grad school at Duquesne University. This morning, Dakota’s mother Pamela James shared this update on Facebook […]

3 Pieces of Advice for Mayor Peduto’s LGBTQIA+ Advisory Council

Pittsburgh Mayor's LGBTQIA+ Advisory Council

I was moved by the reactions of several members of the new LGBTQIA+ Advisory Council to their official swearing-in yesterday at the City County Building. I love that I don’t know everyone and I love the expanse of voices that will now be officially at the table. You know I’m not one to mince words. […]