We’ve Fostered 24 Kittens Since 2018

Dear friends, I hope you are having a safe and healthy holiday season. Laura and I are well. We did not expect to spend nearly our entire first year as a married couple in a pandemic, but we are both triple vaccinated, practicing social distancing, and wearing our masks. Our cats have been a source […]

Allegheny Health Network Esophageal Institute Mistakes are Hard to Swallow

Allegheny Health Network

This is somewhat jumbled in my brain, but I’m going to try to write it down. I went for an endoscopy this AM at Allegheny Health Network, the goal was to affix a Bravo chip to my esophagus to monitor ph levels for a few days. I woke up in agony. In addition to the […]

Autoimmune Dysmotility and Me: Part Five Subtitled “Allegheny Health Network is Not Doing So Great”

Tomorrow morning, I’m heading in for my second endoscopy in about eight months. This one is supposed to attach a ph monitoring device called a Bravo to my esophagus. My procedure is scheduled with Dr. Blair Jobe at the Allegheny Health Network Esophageal Institute in West Penn Hospital. The Esophageal Institute is supposedly among the […]

Another Santa Claws Gift Card Drive Update – 8 adopted, 17 to go

gift card drive for cats

Overnight, we received word that five additional cat colony caretakers were adopted for the holidays.  – that’s a total of eight, leaving us to find gift card donations for 17 other caretakers. Please don’t wait to at least tell me you plan to participate. My heart races wondering if we’ll find enough donors. Best way […]

Santa Claws Update: 3 Caretakers Adopted, 22 Still Unclaimed

We are asking the community to “adopt” neighbors who care for community cats throughout the region. Adoption means purchasing a gift card to let the caretakers know that they matter, that they deserve support and kindness. To thank them. Three donors have adopted three caretakers. That leaves 22 who need a gift card. Please don’t […]

Black Trans Woman Nikai David Fatally Shot in Oakland, California, 50th Trans Victim of 2021

Nikai David

Friends of Nikai David are in shock after learning of her murder this past week. The 33-year-old was a model and aspiring social media influencer who had celebrated her birthday not even a week ago. Police said just after 4 a.m., officers responded to a shooting on Castro Street in West Oakland and found Nikai, […]

Political LGBTQ&A with Gregory O. Yorgey-Girdy, Judge-Elect

Greg Yorgey-Girdy

  As gay people, we are not one to sit around and be quiet. We have a history of being marginalized. In 2020, we had one of the highest voter registrations. It’s queer people getting out and doing it. A few days after Election Day 2021, the Victory Fund released a list of known out  […]

Update on Santa Claws Gift Card Drive – 2 caretakers adopted, 24 to go

As of December 2, we have two caretakers “adopted” for the holidays. That leaves the following caretakers to be adopted with a gift card donation. Al and Karen (72), West Mifflin, 5 catsBarbara (79), Oakland, 25 catsCindy, Hill District, 18 catsDenise, (61), Carnegie, 20+ catsErica, (30), Regent Square, 10+ catsHolly, Northside, 10+ catsJuly, (78), Moon […]

Trans Woman Cris Blehar, 65, Murdered in Kentucky in May 2021.

Cris Blehar

Cris Blehar was a 65-year-old white trans woman whose life was taken on May 19, 2021 in the Meade County, Kentucky region. Cris has served our nation and retired from the US Air Force. According to local news, a suspect has been charged with her murder and a trial date has been set for June […]

Pittsburgh LGBTQIA+ Commission Statement on World AIDS Day

World AIDS Day • December 1, 2021   Pittsburgh LGBTQIA+ Commission Honors Those Who Have Died  from HIV/AIDS, Elevates the Dignity of Persons Living With HIV, and  Joins The Call To End The AIDS Epidemic By 2030  Forty years ago, in June 1981, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report published an article  describing five cases of Pneumocystis […]