On today’s episode of The Confluence:With the race for a new county executive in full swing, we look at how much money candidates are bringing in and discuss how some Allegheny County officials want to bring the county campaign finance rules in line with federal and city regulations. PublicSource enterprise reporter Charlie Wolfson reports one county councilor has introduced a bill to limit campaign contributions for county candidates.Allegheny County will spend $50 million over five years on violence prevention initiatives. We speak with Richard Garland, executive director of Reimagine Reentry, which will receive funding for interventions where caseworkers visit shooting victims at hospitals to stop retaliatory violence.From new productions of his plays to his restored childhood home, August Wilson’s legacy keeps growing in his hometown of Pittsburgh. Another piece is Wilson’s archive at the University of Pittsburgh, which officially opens this week.
On today’s episode of The Confluence: The region is experiencing a shift in power dynamics as new leaders are elected and voters will soon weigh in on who should become the next Allegheny County executive; the local Audubon Society’s annual Christmas Bird Count tallied 20,000 crows over Duquesne University; and a report on conventional drillers finds many aren’t following state regulations to protect public health and the environment. Today’s guests include: Charlie Wolfson, local government reporter with PublicSource; and Brian Shema, operations director for the Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania.
City Council President Theresa Kail-Smith plans to introduce a resolution directing the city to enforce an existing curfew law, but some community members and leaders think enforcing a curfew would do more harm than good.