Latest News
Stripped: Unveiling the unseen trauma of strip searching juveniles in the Allegheny County Jail
Tanisha Long Editor’s Note: This essay is part of our series exploring the juvenile justice landscape in Pittsburgh with a focus on education and mental health. These stories were funded by Staunton Farm Foundation and The Grable Foundation. You can read other essays from inside of the juvenile justice system here and here. Over 20…
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Here’s how we created Pa.’s first-ever jail-death database
Brittany Hailer and Joshua Vaughn Editor’s Note: This investigation was supported by a grant from the Pulitzer Center. To create Pennsylvania’s first-ever database of in-custody deaths, the Pittsburgh Institute for Nonprofit Journalism and PennLive had to navigate a patchwork of inconsistent systems and records. We requested records submitted to state and federal agencies, and scanned federal lawsuits…
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How many deaths occurred in your county’s jail? See our database
Brittany Hailer and Joshua Vaughn Editor’s Note: This investigation was supported by a grant from the Pulitzer Center. The lack of proper reporting by Pennsylvania jails is widespread, resulting in severe undercounting of in-custody deaths in the Commonwealth. PennLive and the Pittsburgh Institute for Nonprofit Journalism spent 6-months investigating in-custody deaths to create the first comprehensive database…
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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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Deaths in Pa. jails are undercounted. Our investigation found dozens of hidden cases
Brittany Hailer and Joshua Vaughn Editor’s Note: This investigation was supported by a grant from the Pulitzer Center. Jeff Lagrotteria and Tina Talotta waited 30 minutes before doctors would allow them to enter the hospital room where their cousin Anthony Talotta was barely alive, breathing on a ventilator. “Because they had to prepare him for us to…
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Former Shuman Detention Center Principal: ‘We have an obligation to care for all of our children.’
Shuman Juvenile Detention Center has been discussed and debated for over a year. What should we do moving forward? Jay Moser is an educator and the former principal for the now closed Shuman Juvenile Detention Center. He writes about his experience as an educator and proposes that the facility should remain county-run in the future.…
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Book Bans Have Reached Greater Pittsburgh’s Boardrooms and Ballots
Colin Williams Clashes around censorship have pitted parents against educators, and against each other, while outside funding raises the stakes. This article was written and edited collaboratively between the Pittsburgh Institute for Nonprofit Journalism, Pittsburgh City Paper, and Belt Magazine with support from the Pittsburgh Media Partnership. Hear more about this story on the City…
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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
The Beehive — A Caffeinated Look Back
Jody DiPerna With his new book, “Gen X Pittsburgh: The Beehive and the 90’s Scene” (The History Press) journalist David Rullo seeks to commemorate the end of the analog era in Pittsburgh and how the Beehive became a community center for DIY art, music and creation. Rullo sat down to talk about his new book,…
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Book Excerpt, “Death in Custody: How America Ignores the Truth and What We Can Do About It”
Roger A. Mitchell Jr., MD, and Jay D. Aronson, PhD. This month, Johns Hopkins University Press released “Death in Custody: How America Ignores the Truth and What We Can Do About It” by will be published on September 5 by Johns Hopkins University Press by Roger A. Mitchell Jr., MD, and Jay D. Aronson, PhD.…
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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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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
‘I wanted to read books’: Former Shuman Detention Center resident shares his story
Sean Johnson Editors Note: Sean Johnson was of the last cohort to be housed at the now shuttered Shuman Juvenile Detention Center in 2021. He writes that the education programming in the facility and a diverse library are the two most essential needs for child rehabilitation and learning. This is the first essay in a…
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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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Social Justice