Commonwealth Court rules in favor of Pittsburgh journalist, county autopsy reports are public record

What this episode covers

On today’s episode of The Confluence: Commonwealth Court ruled Tuesday that Allegheny County must release full autopsy reports to reporters and the public. Brittany Hailer, director of the Pittsburgh Institute for Nonprofit Journalism, filed the Right-to-Know request three years ago that led to this court ruling, and joins us to explain the impact. Hailer is partnering with PennLive to build a database of every death occurring in Pennsylvania jails, and is soliciting autopsy records to do so. (0:00 -7:36) Earlier this week, Lt. Gov. Austin Davis announced $1.34 million were awarded to organizations in the commonwealth to benefit at-risk students in communities with significant high school dropout and incarceration rates. Amachi Pittsburgh was awarded $300,000 to work with students in Pittsburgh Public Schools. Anna Hollis, executive director of Amachi Pittsburgh, explains what the organization plans to do with the funds. (7:40 - 14:37) The Guam kingfisher, a small bird native to that U.S. territory, is only found in captivity, with none living in the wild. The last sighting of this bird in the wild was in 1988. The National Aviary is part of this survival plan for this species, and it has two chicks and several eggs expected to hatch next week. Kurt Hundgen, senior director of animal care and conservation programs at the Aviary, tells us how the Aviary is part of an effort to reintroduce the bird into the wild. (14:49 - 22:30)

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