💰 FINALLY, a state budget!

PA Finally Passes a Budget

The four-month-long stalemate came to an end Wednesday when lawmakers approved a $50.1 billion spending plan. Democrats agreed to pull out of an interstate program that charges power plants for their carbon emissions. In return, Republicans agreed to more spending for public education and a new tax credit to help low- and moderate-income Pennsylvanians. The deal does not include additional funding for public transit, a high priority among Democrats. [SpotlightPA]

O'Connor To Announce Police Chief Pick Today

Sources say Jason Lando is headed home to lead the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police, where he served for more than 21 years before taking the chief job in Frederick, Md. Lando was a top pick in 2023 when Mayor Ed Gainey selected Larry Scirotto instead, who then left to pursue NCAA basketball refereeing. [WTAE]

• City Cast Pittsburgh host Megan Harris called it last week 👏 Hear the pod squad run down who else might get a gig in the new administration. [🎧 City Cast Pittsburgh]

National Press for Pgh’s ‘Affordable’ Housing

The Washington Post calls the Pittsburgh area “uniquely livable” with a $229,000 average home price and mortgage rates that are often more economical than rent. But the city is also riddled with fixer uppers and prices can differ wildly from neighborhood to neighborhood. [Washington Post]

• How true are the headlines? Dig into the data. [Public Source]
• Don’t miss these tips for buying a home in Pittsburgh. [🎧City Cast Pittsburgh]

Paul Skenes Wins Cy Young Award

In a unanimous vote, the 23-year-old Pirates pitcher won one of baseball’s most prestigious awards last night. He’s the Buccos’ third-ever winner, joining Vern Law in 1960 and Doug Drabek in 1990. [🔒The Athletic]

🎶 It’s a beautiful day in this neighborhood. A beautiful day for a neighbor. Would you be mine? Could you be mine? 🎶

Mister Rogers walks through the door singing that familiar tune, trading his sport coat for a cozy sweater and dress shoes for sneakers — setting the warm, inviting tone for viewers to enter his home, his neighborhood.

The routine made the iconic sweaters synonymous with Mister Rogers himself. In honor of World Kindness Day, here are some fun facts:

Mister Rogers’ Mom Knitted His Sweaters

Up until Nancy McFeely Rogers died in 1981, she knitted all of Fred’s cardigans seen in “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.” Every Christmas, she’d give each of her children a hand-knit sweater.

In this Television Academy interview, Rogers said that during WWII, his mom was a volunteer nurse aide and was in charge of making surgical dressings for the troops — but she also knitted sweaters for them too.

His Famous Red Cardigan Sits in the Smithsonian

In 1984, Rogers donated his cherry red sweater to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History in D.C. He wore this very cardigan when he met President George W. Bush in 2002, nearly three decades after he testified before Congress on the importance of public television.

He Actually Wore Green More Than the Iconic Red

Data writer Owen Phillips used info from The Neighborhood Archive to create a chronological chart tracking the color of every sweater Rogers wore from 1969 until the show’s final episode in 2001.

The chart reveals trends, like how harvest gold was in regular rotation, some colors (like neon blue) were worn once and never again, and how he swapped pastels for darker tones over time. Perhaps the most surprising takeaway is that the iconic red cardigan wasn’t actually Rogers’ most frequently worn — it was green. But Phillips notes that Rogers was actually red-green colorblind, so they were truly just different shades of brown to him.

Replacing Cardigans Wasn’t Easy

After Nancy died, art director Kathy Borland was tasked with finding replacements that had the same kind of cozy, vibrant feel — and a smooth zip that wouldn’t snag on camera. Borland eventually found a suitable sweater when she saw a USPS worker walking in Pittsburgh. She got a supply of white sweaters from the postal service and dyed them — a fun connection when you think about the show’s mail carrier character, Mr. McFeely.