This week in Critical State, a foreign policy newsletter by Inkstick Media, Sam Ratner takes a deep dive into the history of Freedom House, a Pittsburgh-based Black-led nonprofit hired in 1968 to offer ambulance services in some of the predominantly Black neighborhoods around the city.
Vaccinations have been around for more than a century. So why is the vaccination rate so low in the United States?
Former residents of Northview Heights in Pittsburgh remember marching bands and days at the recreation center. But that was before shootings and drugs became commonplace for some 1,600 residents of the public housing project.
Tiny particles and acid-forming chemicals from industry can affect the air of an entire town or region and the health of its residents. So some people who live in or near Clairton, PA, about 15 miles south of Pittsburgh, are suing US Steel to force them into compliance with clean air standards.
Children living near sources of pollution have virtually the same risk of developing asthma as those exposed to secondhand tobacco smoke, according to early results of a study in western Pennsylvania.
South African-born Gift Ngoepe debuts at second base for the Pittsburgh Pirates.
For a writer from Bangladesh, life in Pittsburgh is safer. But he feels that “I am in exile not just physically, my mind is also in exile.”
Ethane is one of the most useful gases to the petrochemicals industry. But it needs some extra processing before it can become polyethylene, the chemical used in plastics manufacturing — and that processing can cause harmful pollution.
Craving some Koobideh from Iran? Arepas from Venezuela? Head to Pittsburgh’s Conflict Kitchen, where a rotating menu features food from countries in conflict with the United States.
When we think of Cuban exiles we think of Miami, but new Cuban migrants are looking elsewhere for work and housing. In Pittsburgh, one Cuban woman opened her house to more recent arrivals to help them get settled.
Sidney Crosby is one of the NHL's top goal scorers, but he's also one of more than a dozen players currently sidelined with the mumps. The outbreak has led the league to give players and coaches booster shots in an effort to contain the spread of the disease.