The Confluence

On today’s program: Joseph DiStefano from the Philadelphia Inquirer explains how the state’s Public School Employee Retirement System board has decided to change its investment strategy after underperforming for years and being the subject of federal probes; the National Aviary’s director of animal program and experiences recounts how Kodiak, the Steller's Sea Eagle, was safely returned after escaping his enclosure and living on his own for nine days; and a look at how the state’s assistive technology program is increasing accessibility to residents with 3-D printed tools, all while gaining hundreds of thousands of TikTok followers.

On today’s program: WESA’s Lucy Perkins breaks down the latest fundraising data for candidates vying to fill outgoing U.S. Senator Pat Toomey’s seat; David Card, an economics professor from the University of California-Berkeley, will receive a Nobel Prize for his body of work of which includes a landmark minimum wage study that took place in Pennsylvania and New Jersey; and how public school districts across the country are addressing the bus driver shortage.

On today’s program: Acting U.S. Attorney Stephen Kaufman explains a new policy enacted to crack down on the record-breaking number of firearms being found in air travelers carry on bags; and Women and Girls Foundation CEO Heather Arnet is stepping down next year, leaving a legacy that shifted the organization’s mission from supporting equity to achieving it.

On today’s program: Republican State Sen. Jake Corman weighs in on the state’s 2020 general election audit and why it will give the legislative branch oversight of the Department of State; a new report found the Pittsburgh region experienced 57 days of bad air in 2020, a slight improvement from previous data; and we hear how worker shortages are affecting the care available to people with disabilities.

On today’s program: Interim Pittsburgh Public Schools Superintendent Wayne Walters, whose appointment is for a year, talks about building trust among families as the district searches for a permanent replacement; a Post-Gazette investigation found more than half of apartment complexes managed by the city’s Housing Authority failed their latest federal inspections; and a PNC Bank survey of small and mid-sized businesses nationwide found owners and managers are optimistic about the future, particularly those with vaccinated employees.

On today’s program: The U.S. Supreme Court begins their session today with a docket full of divisive issues in our society, such as abortion, the Second Amendment, and affirmative action; Ken Gormley will stay on as Duquesne University’s president after his contract was extended, and he says under his tenure the university has grown and reconnected with the community; and we’ll hear one perspective on why the city doesn’t need businesses to build as many parking spaces as the municipal code calls for.

On today’s program: Mark Nordenberg, chair of the legislative reapportionment commission, explains how the group tasked with drawing state House and Senate districts is trying to maintain a transparent process while also operating on a tight deadline; the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy is celebrating 25 years in a year when parks and programming have seen a record number of visitors; and a local therapist describes the impact race-based trauma has on their clients.

On today’s program: The director of public policy from Trying Together explains how millions of dollars from the American Rescue Plan will support child care providers; we discuss whether workers whose employment is terminated because they don’t comply with vaccine mandates can collect unemployment benefits; and local poet Toi Derricotte considers how her work has changed others in light of receiving the Academy of American Poets’ Wallace Stevens Award.

On today’s program: Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs Secretary Jen Smith reflects on how the pandemic and end to Gov.Tom Wolf’s opioid disaster declaration has affected the department’s work; Spotlight PA reporter Ed Mahon explains why an investigation into exactly how many people are using medical marijuana to treat opioid addiction in the commonwealth has been stalled by state agencies; and a listener asks why trolley tracks continue to exist on Chestnut Street, as part of our Good Question series.

On today’s program: Karina Ricks reflects on shaping priorities as the city’s first Department of Mobility and Infrastructure director before moving on to a role with the Federal Transit Administration; and the principal oboist with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra shares what it was like to not practice with the full orchestra for 17 months, and how it feels to be reunited, making music again.