The Confluence

On today’s episode of The Confluence: We speak with Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey about the latest in his Plan for Peace, his administration’s new Office of Equal Protection, and his thoughts about the now-public staffing study of the city’s police force.

On today’s episode of The Confluence: The jury has reached a sentencing verdict in the trial of the man who carried out the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting in 2018; we speak to Joe Rockey, the Republican nominee running for Allegheny County Executive; and the city is looking to change how it uses funds from the American Rescue Plan Act.

On today’s episode of The Confluence: We speak to Sara Innamorato, the Democratic nominee running for Allegheny County Executive; and we revisit the author of “100 Things to Do in Pittsburgh Before You Die” for an update three years since the pandemic.

On today’s episode of The Confluence: There seems to be slight movement in the budget stalemate, with Senate Republican leaders indicating they might return in August instead of September; local Republicans have nominated Erin Connolly Autenreith to run for the 21st House District seat left vacant by the resignation of Sara Innamorato; and Point Park University’s Board of Trustees has appointed Chris Brussalis as the university’s ninth president.

On today’s episode of The Confluence: CMU is sending a rover the size of a suitcase to the moon, we talk about this and other robotic ventures happening in the region; and where business and development stand in the Strip District.

On today’s episode of The Confluence: Pennsylvania Senate Republican leaders have decided not to appeal to the state Supreme Court a ruling that the state’s education funding system violates the state constitution. We ask a panel of education experts where the state’s school funding policies could go next.Today’s guests include: Ron Cowell, founder and senior fellow at the Education Policy and Leadership Center; Michael Griffith, senior researcher and policy analyst at the Learning Policy Institute; and Matthew Kelly, assistant professor of education at Pennsylvania State University.The Confluence, where the news comes together, is 90.5 WESA’s daily news program. For those who have enjoyed listening to the show, find more episodes of The Confluence here, or wherever you get your podcasts.

On today’s episode of The Confluence: An Allegheny County Jail inmate died over the weekend while he was awaiting transfer to a state mental health facility; the oldest housing development in the city just received a federal grant to revitalize and develop the property; and the Lenape Nation of Pennsylvania is calling for official recognition from the commonwealth.

On today’s episode of The Confluence: A new study looks at how doctors could prevent the over-prescribing of antibiotics for a common childhood illness, sinusitis; the small Pittsburgh suburb of Etna is leading the state with innovative protections for animals; and three exhibits currently showing in Pittsburgh investigate the dangers Black Americans have historically faced while driving across the U.S., and how they have endured.

On today’s episode of The Confluence: A third of providers for people with intellectual disabilities have reported closures since the start of the pandemic, largely due to staffing shortages, and many want the state to act on this crisis of care; Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy has brought a cohort of student interns to Frick Park to teach them about forest restoration; and an Indiana County farm is running a trial to see if sunflowers can become a viable crop in Western Pennsylvania.

On today’s episode of The Confluence: A Senate bill has been introduced that attempts to legalize recreational marijuana in Pennsylvania; training camp for the Steelers kicks off Wednesday in Latrobe; and a look at how the state is planning to manage $1.2 billion for broadband access across the commonwealth.

On today’s episode of The Confluence: A dark money group has pressured state lawmakers to approve school vouchers, which has held up the budget after Gov. Josh Shapiro told Democrats he would line-item veto the program. Following the resignation of Rep. Sara Innamorato, we discuss the balance of power in the state House on our state politics roundtable.

On today’s episode of The Confluence: The city hired an outside consultant to assess staffing among the Pittsburgh Police, we hear about the results of that study; the Children’s Museum turns 40 years old, and is celebrating it’s growth and impact; and a look at an investigation into whether new accountability measures at Penn State have tamped down misconduct.

On today’s episode of The Confluence: Many consider Pennsylvania’s probation system to be outdated, but the most recent push to fix it is opposed by some civil rights advocates who say this update could make the system worse; Medicaid will now reimburse Pennsylvania providers who practice street medicine, giving medical care to unhoused people in non-clinical settings; and a look at whether poor air quality alerts in the Mon Valley apply to those living further away from the Mon River.

On today’s episode of The Confluence: We speak to Lt. Gov. Austin Davis about the delayed state budget, which has been stalled in the legislature, while Davis embarks on a tour of local initiatives to reduce gun violence and address the health of communities; and we speak to a child abuse prevention advocate about where things stand in expanding statute of limitations for survivors of childhood sexual abuse.

On today’s episode of The Confluence: We discuss what’s to come in the final phase of the federal trial for the man who carried out the 2018 Pittsburgh synagogue shooting; Pittsburgh City Council is developing a framework for how to use federal dollars to address food insecurity; and an amendment to a state law will allow the city to more easily take control of privately owned, blighted properties.

On today’s episode of The Confluence: A jury has found the person responsible for a shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue in 2018 is eligible for the death penalty; and it has been more than five months since a Norfolk Southern train derailed in East Palestine, Ohio — we discuss railroad safety and policy changes on the horizon.

On today’s episode of The Confluence: The Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court has ruled that autopsy records are public records after a Pittsburgh journalist sued Allegheny County for not making such records available through a Right-to-Know request; a local organization has been awarded $300,000 from the state for the inaugural First Change Trust Fund Program to support at-risk students; and the National Aviary is now home to two Guam Kingfisher chicks who are helping repopulate a species that has become extinct in the wild.

On today’s episode of The Confluence: The state Attorney General’s office charged five Jehovah’s Witnesses with rape and exploitation of children, and a survivor of sexual abuse is suing the leaders of her former congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses for allegedly destroying records and ignoring the state’s Child Protective Services Law; we look at the impact of raising the minimum wage as proposals to raise it for county employees and statewide are percolating in the respective legislatures; and a study about how machine learning can identify patients at a high risk for complications after surgery.

On today’s episode of The Confluence: We speak with reporters about their coverage of the closing of the downtown Smithfield Shelter, and how some of the residents who relied on this shelter are doing without this option; a look at how a proposed bill could relieve medical debt for some Pennsylvanians; and a live-performance series profiling Braddock resident Mary Carey.

On today’s episode of The Confluence: Last week Gov. Josh Shapiro said he will sign the budget after the state Senate sends it to his desk, but with the next Senate session not scheduled until September, it could be a while; the Penguins have been busy during the free-agency period, with the new president of hockey operations Kyle Dubas bringing in several new forwards and shaking up the team's roster; and a conversation with the Pittsburgh Silent Film Society director who’s bringing the medium to local theaters with a festival this fall.