37 minMar 20, 2026

City Paper's Back! Plus, City Spends Big on Car Washes & Master Plans

Show Notes

Pittsburgh will finish its controversial $6 million master plan thanks to a contribution from the Heinz Endowments. But the city's still in rough financial shape — and it doesn't help that some police officers are spending big on premium car washes. Host Megan Harris, producer Sophia Lo, and contributor Colin Williams share the latest on the budget and talk about distressing body cam footage that emerged after a local ICE arrest. Plus, they celebrate the return of Pittsburgh City Paper, mourn a Downtown grocery store that never even opened, and discuss both fish (a potential North Shore aquarium) and fowl (a bird tornado).

Notes and references from today’s show:

Pittsburgh comprehensive plan to receive Heinz Endowments funding [WESA]
POD: Why Pittsburgh's $6 Million City Plan Might Stall Out [City Cast Pittsburgh]
Creative Math with Ed Gainey [Breathing Space]
Pittsburgh council, caught off guard by depths of budget woes, blames data dearth [TribLive]
Pittsburgh police spent thousands on premium car washes as city faces large deficit [WPXI]
Pittsburgh police bodycam shows they assisted ICE, mocked the situation, and were ready to detain the victim's wife [Instagram]
Pittsburgh police chief orders review of alleged order for officers not to intervene in ICE arrest [Post-Gazette]
POD: How To Join Pittsburgh's ICE Rapid Response Network [City Cast Pittsburgh]
Pittsburgh Zoo Exploring North Shore Aquarium [Pittsburgh Zoo]
Entrepreneurs behind Well Well Market cancel plans for downtown Pittsburgh grocer [Pittsburgh Business Times]
Boards of Pittsburgh Public Theater, Pittsburgh CLO approve merger [TribLive]
Pittsburgh, City Paper is BACK! [City Paper]
Goodness, gracious, great balls of fire: Meteor lights up sky over Pittsburgh [Post-Gazette]
POD: UPMC Didn't Challenge Trump, So These Pittsburgh Families Did [City Cast Pittsburgh]
UPMC: Some patient records may have been 'improperly accessed' [WTAE]
Raucous bird tornado touches down as snow geese make annual flight to Arctic [AP News]

Learn more about the sponsors of this March 20th episode:

P3R

The Westmoreland

Carnegie Library

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