☘️ What to do in Pittsburgh in March

PPS Students Say ‘Don’t Close My School’

Nearly 100 Pittsburgh Public Schools students, parents, and staff gathered for a five-hour hearing this week to discuss budget cuts and potential school closures. A 2021 report found that nearly half of the district’s 61 buildings are at 50% capacity or less. The district is still working on an updated utilization study. [90.5 WESA]

What Are CMU & Pitt Doing With Their Money?

Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh are already some of the nation’s wealthiest schools, but new reporting says they’re growing their riches with private, offshore investments — some tied to fossil fuels. These investments are harder to find because their portfolios have become less transparent, making public oversight more difficult. PublicSource’s Emma Folts followed the money.

• Read on: Did you know CMU partners with the U.S. Department of Defense for research into artificial intelligence, threat recognition tools, and drones? This month, students rallied on campus to draw attention to “the CMU-to-war-machine pipeline,” calling on the university to stop contracts with the U.S. military amidst the war in Gaza. [PublicSource]

US Steel Hit With $1.9 Million Fine

The Mon Valley’s Clairton Coke Works just got a $2.2 million fine in late December for violating state emission standards, and this week, they were fined another huge penalty for uncontrolled emissions. The steel giant appealed the fine, which works out to “one-fifth of 1%” of the $895 million U.S. Steel made last year. [TribLIVE]

Listen to Local Black Artists

From Billy Strayhorn to Mary Lou Williams, Pittsburgh’s Black community has a rich jazz history. But what about modern artists? Check out the Pittsburgh Arts Council’s list of 13 Black musicians you should know — like Benji, “NPR Music’s Artists to Watch” and the musician behind the City Cast Pittsburgh podcast theme song. [Pittsburgh Arts Council]

Celebrate the Spring Equinox

March 19 marks the start of Spring, and now is the time to start planning your garden. There are a bunch of great local shops to get your plants. Plus, Grow Pittsburgh has workshops on seed starting, organic gardening basics, and more.

Get outside and in touch with nature with the Western PA Mushroom Club for a mushroom hike, or learn how to be a good steward with the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy.

Plus, you can welcome in the warmth of the season by grabbing a cone at Page’s Dairy Mart. Opening day is March 8!

Rally for St. Practice & St. Patrick’s Day

Pittsburgh likes to claim it has the largest St. Patrick’s Day celebration in the country. Watch Irish step dancers, bands, and even Punxsutawney Phil march down Grant Street at the parade Saturday, March 16. Or, check out these other events:

• March 9: St. Practice Day pierogi contest and charity crawl in the South Side benefiting PAAR. $10-$15
• March 14: St. Patrick's Irish Diplomacy Cocktails at PA Market in the Strip District. $45
• March 16: Irish City at Pittsburgh Brewing Company in Creighton. $15-25
• March 16: Keggs n’ Eggs at City Works in Downtown. $25
• March 16: Leprechaun Loop brewery tour on the Burgh Bus. $30

Honor Women’s History Month

Celebrate legendary journalist Nellie Bly, Pittsburghers who played in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, civil rights activist Daisy Lampkin, groundbreaking filmmaker Lois Weber, and more trailblazing Pittsburghers at the Heinz History Center’s new exhibit: A Woman’s Place: How Women Shaped Pittsburgh, opening March 23.

Start here ➡️ with the stories on Mary D. Dudley, Gertrude Stein, and Mary Cassatt.

Your Guide to March in Pittsburgh

Looking for fun places to go? Interesting stuff to do? Yummy noms to eat? Yinz, we’ve got five weekends to celebrate this month, plus an extra hour of daylight to do it! The City Cast team is here to help you make the most of every second in Pittsburgh.