These topics air Monday February 3, 2014 at noon and 8pm on 90.5 WESA. To leave a question or comment before or after the show dial 412-256-8783. Join the conversation LIVE between 12pm & 1 pm weekdays at 412-246-2002. More Essential Pittsburgh segments can be heard here.
Killer Heroin
A recent spate of deaths in Allegheny County have been attributed to a deadly fentanyl-laced heroin. Authorities are seeking the source of the drug. Joining us for an update on this news story is 90.5 WESA Reporter Liz Reid.
Bhutanese - Nepali Refugees and Health Care
The Bhutanese Nepali community has the highest suicide rate of any refugee group in the U.S. As part of her continuing series on refugees and health care in Pittsburgh, 90.5 WESA’s Erika Beras reports on the statistics.
Open Data and Steel City Codefest
Pittsburgh plans to join 19 other American cities and counties in releasing city data for public use online. As the city works out the details of how this initiative will take shape, they’re looking for public input. Debra Lam, Mayor Peduto's pick for Chief of Innovation & Performance and Laura Meixell, data and analytics manager for the City of Pittsburgh, talk about how open data will be developed and how it stands to impact city life. What are your views on open data for Pittsburgh?
City organizations have encouraged the software community to creatively use municipal data, even before the introduction of this legislation, through Steel City Codefest. Jennifer Wilhelm is the Urban Redevelopment Authority’s Innovation and Entrepreneurship Strategist, and coordinator of Codefest, now in its second year. She joins us to talk about this year’s contest.
The Business of War
Every February George Bromall, a Park Point University business professor, takes a group of students to the battlefields of Gettysburg to teach a class on the business of war. Students learn lessons of supply and demand, transportation, construction and even things like clean water supplies and the delivery of medical services. Professor Bromall joins us to talk about his class, which offers a unique and different perspective on what people may think about how the Civil War was fought and won by the Union.