Latest News
Director of PINJ sues Allegheny County over First Amendment claim
Attorneys from the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and the Yale Law School Media Freedom and Information Access Clinic sued Allegheny County, on behalf of Brittany Hailer, the director and co-founder of the Pittsburgh Institute for Nonprofit Journalism. The lawsuit alleges the jail’s overly broad policies on employee interactions with journalists violate the…
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Allegheny County Jail warden announces retirement
By Brittany Hailer After over ten years at the helm, Allegheny County Jail Warden Orlando Harper announced his retirement on Tuesday. His last day as warden will be Sept. 29. “I have been honored to serve in this role for over a decade and am announcing my retirement with mixed feelings,” Harper said in a…
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Allegheny County quietly settles lawsuit with banned “corrections special operations” vendor CSAU-1 for full amount
A nearly $215,000 payment came despite still unanswered questions over Joseph Garcia’s training methods, credentials, and scope of work at the Allegheny County Jail during summer 2021. Brittany Hailer and Brian Conway This story was published in partnership with the Pittsburgh Independent. Allegheny County has paid private security consultant Joseph Garcia the full amount his…
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PINJ has paid particular attention to the Allegheny County Jail throughout the pandemic, tracking the deaths of those in custody as well as the conditions incarcerated individuals have been forced to endure.
View all of our coverage on the Allegheny County Jail by clicking here.
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Quantum Theatre’s “Hamlet” Creates New Space and Life for Shakespeare’s Heavy-Hearted Prince
by Matthew Benusa Shakespeare is old hat. Every theater in the world does “Hamlet.” There are thousands upon thousands of different versions of Hamlet from the Miltonian Hamlet of the 17th century to recent editions like Kenneth Branagh’s spy-Hamlet, or the 2022 Pulitzer winner “Fat Ham” by James Ijames. Quantum Theater’s take on Hamlet makes…
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Smithfield United Church of Christ leaders break silence after county closes homeless shelter
By Matt Glover Allegheny County Department of Human Services closed the Smithfield United Church of Christ homeless shelter in June due to lack of air conditioning, but church employees say taxpayer dollars are still being spent a month later to cool a space nobody occupies. Parish administrator and former church council president Jon Colburn was…
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Shadyside’s Cozy New Bookstore
story by Matthew Benusa /photos by Matthew Glover Pittsburgh’s newest bookstore doesn’t care to sell you books. The Cozy Corner Bookstore is here to give away the vibes. Enter the store at 5879 Ellsworth Ave in Shadyside, and you’ll find two pairs of shoes by the front door. Light filters through the picture window facing…
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Advocating for accommodations has been a constant, but largely quiet, struggle for college students with disabilities since the Americans with Disabilities Act became law in 1990.
Read from our award-winning series, Leveling the Playing Field, here.
Books
“Here in the Dark” by Meagan Lucas Is Gritty, Irresistible and Devastating
by Jody DiPerna “I will lay in bed at night with my anxiety and try to dream up ways to dig myself out of the problems I’ve created for myself.” Meagan Lucas’ imagination is a wild place, roiling with danger, women pushed to the edge, and everyday demons. There are cruel men and the dangers…
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Paola Corso’s Photography and Poetry Find Life on Pittsburgh’s Vertical Bridges
by Matthew Benusa Paola Corso’s book, “Vertical Bridges: Poems and Photographs of City Steps” (Six Gallery Press), explores her fascination with the public stairs built to navigate Pittsburgh demanding topography, alongside more personal reflections about family, community, and immigration. “There are so many metaphors built into these steps,” Corso said at a recent photography showing…
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Ben Gwin’s New Book, “Team Building,” Is an Essential Labor Story for Our Time
Jody DiPerna Gwin combines the story of the challenges facing labor unions in the 21st century and workforce realities with a deeply personal exploration of his own relationship to work and his struggles as a single parent. Ben Gwin writes. He writes beautifully, with specificity and insight. He is also a single dad. And, like…
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Education in Pittsburgh was upended in March 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic abruptly closed schools. Since then, as multiple virus waves have swept the nation, students have been in and out of physical classrooms, learning sometimes online, sometimes in person, sometimes not at all. How will they rebound?
Commentary
Pittsburgh Institute for Nonprofit Journalism turns two years old
By Brittany Hailer I started considering that PINJ was turning two in the wee hours of a maternity leave morning, and realized that my co-founder, Jody DiPerna, and I are not the best at patting ourselves on the back. But, I want to acknowledge the hard work of establishing and developing this young newsroom as…
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Review of “We Shall Not Be Moved,” a Modern Opera Exploring the Long Reach of the MOVE Bombing
by Matthew Benusa In May, 1985, the Philadelphia police dropped explosive devices onto the roof of the building occupied by the Black liberation MOVE organization. Fire spread through West Philadelphia. Six adults and five children were killed. More than 250 people were made homeless. “We Shall Not Be Moved,” a contemporary opera recently shown at…
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Labor, Solidarity and Nursing
Soon, nurses saw the gulf widen between their values and those of an increasingly commodified healthcare system by Eva Rosenfeld for Belt Magazine “Why do nurses strike?” A nurse and state union leader named Nadine Furlong delivered a speech with this title at a 1984 ethics conference sponsored by the University of Michigan. Furlong was…
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Social Justice