Dear Reader,
 
As the forever year of 2020 comes to an end, we are inviting you to reflect with us on its twists and turns. While delivering daily coronavirus updates and covering election drama with explainers and on-the-ground perspective, our incredibly talented crew at PublicSource has also launched big projects, spearheaded a podcast and mentored a dozen amazing interns that we hope will continue shaping the world of local journalism.  

We're thankful for all the ways our readers support PublicSource, whether it’s by reading our stories, sharing them with friends and colleagues, or making a gift. Our team depends on that support, in whatever way you can offer it. 

Just in case you need additional reasons for why PublicSource matters, we put together a list of the year’s most impactful and most popular stories, which would not have been possible without our supporters. If you are not a PublicSource member, please consider joining today. What's even more exciting is that if you give before Dec. 31, every dollar will be matched, thanks to our $10,000 local match pool funded by generous donors.

• Our “True Cost of Court Debt” series examined the far-reaching impacts that legal fines and fees impose in the half-million cases of court debt in Allegheny County. 


• This slow-motion video essay provided a window into the energy of the Black Lives Matter protests in Pittsburgh.


• 10 of the biggest problems with policing in our region, and how they could be solved. 


• Our Board Explorer project shed light on the people who make up the unelected city and county boards and commissions that shape much of our region’s development and policy. 


• This first person essay detailed the existing frustrations Black mothers had with Pittsburgh Public Schools, as well as how the pandemic exacerbated them. 


• In this popular piece, we talked to experts about the impacts of the pandemic on infant mental health, both positive and negative. 


• A first-person essay by a Bellevue mom with COVID-19 told the story of struggling to breathe while enduring being separated from her daughter.


• An entrepreneur and business leader told us how her family’s immigration nightmare forced them to leave not just Pittsburgh, but the country entirely.


• What happens to unhoused and displaced people who are exposed to COVID-19? We followed how Allegheny County is scrambling to meet the challenges of people who can’t ‘just stay home.’


• Another popular story mapped COVID-19 risk factors in Allegheny County.


• We covered Fox Chapel students and alumni’s calls for the district to address racism and lack of diversity, as well as the district’s response.

Together, we can make sure PublicSource continues telling stories for a better Pittsburgh.

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