Hey readers!

Natasha Vicens here, in for Stephanie this week. I'm PublicSource's creative director and I've worked at the news outlet in various roles for (dare I say it ...) 11 years! Time travels fast when you love what you do and care deeply for Pittsburgh.

Speaking of Pittsburgh, we had some great local stories publish this week including a first-person essay from a Carlow University student planning to stay in Pittsburgh post graduation (find out why), a story from our local government reporter Charlie Wolfson (who just won a award!) on plans by Pennsylvania Republicans to boost mail-in ballot numbers in the upcoming presidential election (a drastic shift in strategy from four years ago), plus a story about a county controller audit that shows the Allegheny County Health Department’s Clean Air Fund has millions unspent that the audit urges should be used to work on air pollution issues (the audit was inspired by one of our previous stories about the department's lack of spending — now that's some journalism IMPACT if I don't say so myself.)

Check out more local stories below ⬇️ and I hope you have an amazing Memorial Day weekend.

ICYMI FROM LAST WEEK

• Steve Hanson writes about how Pittsburgh’s city staircases fueled his sense of childhood wonder. With health issues now, his perspective has changed. Check out the story on our website and also experience Hanson reading a slice of it on our Instagram reels.

• Help us meet our goal of getting 500 responses for our audience survey as part of our strategic planning efforts to help shape PublicSource's next three years and the future of local news in the Pittsburgh region.

OUR MISSION