That Time When @VerizonSupport Transferred Me to a Fake ‘Loyalty Department’ to Resolve a Problem

Laura and I have been Verizon wireless customers since 2005. While we aren’t upgrading our phones every few years, we are a consistent part of their customer base. It is a conservative guesstimate that we’ve spent over $20,280 to be part of the Verizon network for all of these years. That doesn’t include phones. I’ve […]

Dejanay Stanton, 24, is 17th Trans Person Reported Killed in the US in 2018

Dejanay Stanton, 24, is 17th Trans Person Reported Killed in the US in 2018

24-year-old Dejanay Stanton was murdered in Chicago on August 30, according to the Windy City Times. Her body was discovered at the alley of 40th Street and King Drive at 12:30 p.m., after persons 88nearby said that they had heard gunshots. According to a Chicago Police Department spokesman, Stanton was discovered with a gunshot wound […]

Meg, 34, Wants to Make an Impact With Grace #AMPLIFY

Pittsbrugh Queer

Name: Meg Age: 34 County of Residence: Butler County, previously Allegheny County, Ohio and Mississippi Pronouns:The/ them/ she/ her How do you describe your identity? I don’t. Nothing I am is physical. I decorate my meat sack. It holds my being. Very simple. Please describe your coming out experience. Where did you find support? What challenges did you face? Coming out […]

WESA Revamped Daily ‘Confluence’ News Program Misses the Point

Most Liveable Boosterism

I heard a long time ago that local NPR affiliate WESA 90.5 FM was planning to launch a daily newsprogram. It seemed like a good idea. We need daily news here in Pittsburgh. I wasn’t particularly thrilled that existing program The Confluence would be expanded rather than create a new program. The Confluence was originally […]

Today I Learned My Then-80-Year-Old 5th Great-Grandfather was Recruiting Newspaper Subscribers in 1858 for the Pittsburgh Gazette

My whole life long, I’ve had a connection to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette through my great-grandfather, Gilbert Remley. Gil had a long history as a newspaperman, starting as a copy boy for the Pittsburgh Sun in 1906 and retiring in August 1958 as the Executive Sports Editor for the Post-Gazette. Today, I learned something astonishing about […]

Carla, 39, Identifies as a Bisexual, Non-Binary Scientist and Educator #AMPLIFY

Bisexual Non-Binary Pittsburgh

Name:  Carla Age: 39 County of Residence: Allegheny County. I grew up in Ohio and moved to Allegheny County in the late 90s for college. Pronouns: He/She/They How do you describe your identity? Bisexual, Non-Binary Scientist and Educator Please describe your coming out experience. Where did you find support? What challenges did you face? I have never come out in […]

Not in Kerryville Anymore

Mick Jagger flower

Grief is a tricky bastard. You are doing the most benign task, have a casual or sweet or amusing thought, and reach for the phone to share the moment. Then, you remember. The other person, in this case my friend Kerry S. Kennedy, isn’t there to read the text or answer the phone or listen […]

My Family Story: The Overshadowed Legacy of Caroline Ritter (1852-1906)

The final profile in my 2x great-grandmother series is Caroline Ritter (1852-1906) Caroline is the paternal grandmother of my paternal grandfather, James Vincent Pryor. I didn’t learn her name for several years of my family tree research, after I stumbled upon a 4th cousin who filled me in on the Pryor history. The Backstory To […]

Allie, 51, Talks Living as a Trans Woman in Washington County #AMPLIFY

Transgender Washington County

Name: Allie Age: 51 County of Residence:  Washington County Pronouns: she/her/hers How do you describe your identity? Transfemale Please describe your coming out experience. Where did you find support? What challenges did you face? It was kinda slow and steady. I was outed to a coworker by a family member. It ended up as a victory for me since I […]

Mon Valley Catholics Worried About Losing Church Building, No Mention of Grand Jury Report: My Response

Catholics Sex Abuse Scandal Pittsburgh

On August 16, 2018 – just days after the release of the Grand Jury Report detailing the sexual victimization of more than 1000 children and youth by nearly 300 Pennsylvania priests – the investigative journalism site PublicSource published an in-depth piece on another failure of the Diocese of Pittsburgh. They chose to scrutinize how the […]