💸 Is Pittsburgh going broke?

Local Rep. Leads Effort to Release Epstein Files

The Republican-led House issued a subpoena to the Justice Department for files involving convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Local Democratic Rep. Summer Lee introduced the motion subpoena to the Justice Department last month. [🔒 Washington Post]

Lemieux Wants the Pens Back

Mario Lemieux, Rob Burkle, and David Morehouse are considering ways they can buy back majority ownership of the Pittsburgh Penguins less than four years after they sold to Fenway Sports Group — but rumor is their bid doesn’t come close to the estimated asking price. Note: Fenway has only said they’re open to new minority owners. [🔒The Athletic / Pittsburgh Hockey Now]

Ohiopyle State Park Gets Top Rating

The Fayette County park earned the number one spot for a “great-value stay” out of 100 state parks across the U.S. The park features trails, waterfalls, gorges, and natural waterslides in the Laurel Highlands — all about a 1.5 hour drive south of Pittsburgh. [HomeToGo]

• Want more getaway tips? Explore these underrated day trips. [🎧 City Cast Pittsburgh]

Kennywood to Debut New Haunted House

The amusement park is opening Detached, a puppet master’s toy store filled with “deranged dolls and manic marionettes” at Phantom Fall Fest, starting Sept. 12. [Kennywood]

Can a city truly go broke? Controller Rachael Heisler has been sounding the alarm on Pittsburgh’s “unsustainable” budget for months — too much overtime, no more savings, and a nationwide “ARPA hangover” as pandemic-era aid runs out.

It’s happened before: In 2003, City Council voted to let the state take over our budget through a process called Act 47, which ended in 2018. Are we headed there again? Heisler joined City Cast Pittsburgh’s Megan Harris to talk about what’s gone wrong, what solutions may be on the horizon, and what all this means for everyone who lives here.

Is Pittsburgh Going Broke?

Heisler: I don’t know. To me, the biggest priority of a city — of a municipal government — is to keep people safe, and secondarily, to keep things clean. So I think that the public shouldn't expect any changes at any point ever to public safety… My goal is to do everything I can to prevent that from happening.

I've been using the word delicate, because this is a really unique period, but what differs from the 1970s when the steel industry contracted overnight is that every city is dealing with this. We just need to do everything we can to see what will work for Pittsburgh.