Mamdani Poaches Pittsburgher, School Closure Talks & Party at August Wilson's House

The Pittsburgh Public Schools board is discussing school closures…again. Executive producer Mallory Falk and producer Sophia Lo are with City Cast contributor and TribLive reporter Colin Williams to talk about whether the district will finally make a decision. Plus, they explain why Pine-Richland might reserve its controversial school library policy, and what that says about larger book ban efforts across the country. They also discuss ways to learn about and celebrate local Black history all year long, including attending the premiere of a new documentary about WAMO, and dig into Congresswoman Summer Lee's response to President Trump's State of the Union. Finally, they celebrate a young Pittsburgher who broke the record for Girl Scout cookies sales and went viral in the process.

Notes and references from today’s show:

• PPS board agrees to decide on school closures by end of school year 'one way or the other' [WESA]
• Mayor Corey O’Connor wants to see vacant Pittsburgh Public schools utilized [WESA]
• Pine-Richland takes first step in revamping controversial library book policy [Post-Gazette]
• 7 Ways To Learn About Black History in Pittsburgh [City Cast Pittsburgh]
• PODCAST: Why a Pittsburgher Just Officially Became Baseball’s Best Hitter [City Cast Pittsburgh]
• Democrat cruises to victory in South Hills special election [Public Source]
• In response to Trump, Summer Lee offers a different state of the union [Post-Gazette]
• Pittsburgh City Council bans waste transfer stations within 500 feet of homes, schools, parks [TribLive]
• Allegheny County's human services director leaves to work for Mamdani in New York City [TribLive]
• Pittsburghers took home four medals at the 2026 Winter Olympics [Axios Pittsburgh]
• Crosby out at least 4 weeks for Penguins [NHL]
• NFL Films and Pat McAfee celebrate Pittsburgh with ‘The Football Town’ [TribLive]
• Pittsburgh Girl Scout goes viral after she sells a record-breaking number of cookies [Post-Gazette]

Learn more about the sponsors of this February 27th episode:

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