🏕️ State parks get glamping sites

PA State Parks Get Glamping Sites

Timberline Glamping is bringing luxury camping to eight state parks next year, including Western PA’s Pymatuning State Park and Laurel Hill State Park. The glampsites include canvas tents; king, queen, and/or bunk beds; heat and A/C; outlets; and amenities like coffee stations and outdoor hammocks. [Axios Pittsburgh]

• Want more trip tips? Here are our guides to the best camping around Pittsburgh and perfect fall getaways for leap peeping. [📝🎧 City Cast Pittsburgh]

CMU Lays Off SEI Employees

Carnegie Mellon University laid off 75 staff members — about 10% of the Software Engineering Institute — because of changes in federal priorities. The Institute is a federally funded research center focusing on AI and cybersecurity that has worked with the U.S. Department of Defense since 1984. [WESA]

• Pittsburgh got big promises for AI investments earlier this year. [🎧 City Cast Pittsburgh]

Pittsburgh Botanic Garden Uses Fire for Good

The Oakdale garden is planning to use controlled burns to manage habitat and protect native biodiversity. Experts say it’s the first conservation organization in Allegheny County to use prescribed fire in decades. Here’s how it works. [Allegheny Front]

Pittsburgh Books Land on Banned Lists

“The Perks of Being a Wallflower” by Stephen Chbosky — the bestseller with a movie adaptation filmed in Pittsburgh — ranks #6 on PEN America’s 2025 banned book list. We share some other reads with local ties that we were shocked to see on banned lists. [PEN America / 🎧 City Cast Pittsburgh]

• If you buy a book from Stay Gold Books for the Pittsburgh Prison Book Project this week, your purchase will be matched with a donation from the store. [Stay Gold]

💥 Pop quiz, Pittsburgh! Test your knowledge of local history and current events. 🗓️