Noteworthy Summer 2024

Stop the Strike
For the past 18 months, Pittsburgh has endured the divisive antipathy of a newspaper strike between the Post-Gazette and five unions. While it’s understandable that workers would like to see better wages and benefits, it’s also clear that the newspaper industry has been in a steep, often terminal, decline for decades. The only reason the Post-Gazette still publishes is that the Block family subsidizes it with tens of millions of dollars, believing Pittsburgh deserves good journalism. In April, one of the five striking unions — the Teamsters — unanimously voted to settle their strike. We hope the other unions also see their way to settling. The Post-Gazette may not be what it used to be — no paper in the country is, except, perhaps, the Wall Street Journal. But the Post-Gazette is the best daily journalism produced in this region, and its excellence often matches and exceeds the best in the country. Editorial writers Brandon McGinley and Rebecca Spiess recently were chosen as Pulitzer Prize finalists for their editorials on homelessness. And the editorial writers have almost single-handedly held Mayor Ed Gainey and his staff accountable for poor performance and an unprecedented lack of transparency. The mayor’s team has hidden from the PG, citing the strike as their reason for being unresponsive. Ending this strike that’s benefiting no one will remove that ruse, diminish the stain of further toxic labor relations, and help our city move ahead.

Let There Be Lights
Now that summer is nearly here and people are out and about, a wonderful new feature is on display for all Pittsburghers to see: a new lighting system on the Andy Warhol, Roberto Clemente and Rachel Carson bridges over the Allegheny River. Since November, more than 600,000 colored LED lights have been gleaming, with a default setting of a pleasing white and blue, and with red, white and blue on patriotic holidays and black and gold on Steelers Sundays. Credit belongs to artist Rob Long, who designed it, former Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald, federal, state and county funding, and the companies that installed the lights and systems: Mosites Construction, Thoroughbred Construction and Integrated Theater Systems. Taking advantage of every opportunity to beautify this region and make it a fun place to be is what’s going to make people want to come here and stay.

The Sleepy City
If you’ve been out on the later side in Pittsburgh recently — especially a weeknight, but even a weekend — you might have noticed that the sidewalks seem to roll up at 10 p.m. What gives? Yes, we have an older population, but the city of Pittsburgh is the hub of a whole metropolitan area — with more than 130,000 college students. Why is it so hard to find a place to get a drink — and especially a meal — around Pittsburgh later in the evening? Don’t even think about dancing. Now, an appropriate moniker for Pittsburgh might be “America’s Most Well-Rested City.” No doubt, getting eight hours of sleep is good, but if we’re ever going to attract more people under age 40, we need more spots for a late-night bite that give people a reason to linger and enjoy the city. If you build, it they will come…

A Hello to Arms!
It’s been a while since two arms have caused so much excitement in Pittsburgh. But with the arrival of Pirate pitching phenom Paul Skenes — a rookie who throws over 100 mph — and new Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson — fresh from Denver — there’s a sense of sports excitement we haven’t seen in years. Let’s build on it!