Rebecca Reese

On today’s episode of The Confluence: The Associated Press’ Marc Levy lays out the Wolf administration’s update to the mask mandate for K-12 schools, and the legal challenges the existing policy has attracted; and a director with a film in the upcoming Three Rivers Film Festival tells us about her movie, while the executive director of Film Pittsburgh previews what to expect at the now in-person event.

On today’s episode of The Confluence: Zachary Sherman, executive director of Pennie, the state’s insurance exchange, explains how the American Rescue Plan has significantly reduced the cost of health care for those who can enroll via Pennie this year; one reporter’s investigation into school board campaign found access to campaign finance disclosures varies widely by county in the commonwealth; and we hear from the plaintiffs in a trial going to court Friday that calls into question how the state funds public schools.

On today’s episode of The Confluence: Zachary Sherman, executive director of Pennie, the state’s insurance exchange, explains how the American Rescue Plan has significantly reduced the cost of health care for those who can enroll via Pennie this year; one reporter’s investigation into school board campaigns found access to campaign finance disclosures varies widely by county in the commonwealth; and we hear from the plaintiffs in a trial going to court Friday that calls into question how the state funds public schools.

On today’s episode of The Confluence: Mayor-elect Ed Gainey joins The Confluence to explain the priorities he’ll take on while in office, ranging from creating a diverse administration to advocating for more community policing; and a look at labor challenges facing the state’s agriculture industry as the average age of farmers rises.

On today’s episode of The Confluence: Allegheny County President Judge Kim Berkeley Clark requested an extension of eviction protections, but since the State Supreme Court denied it, we look at where this could leave tenants; University of Pittsburgh’s David Harris dives into what we learned from oral arguments regarding Texas’s abortion law; and a look at how everyday citizens think about foreign policy.

On today’s episode of The Confluence: Chris Potter and Ariel Worthy from WESA’s government and accountability team share what we know so far about the results from Tuesday’s election; and the Post-Gazette’s John Hayes explains why the Pennsylvania Steelhead Association has put up a surveillance camera at Lake Erie, where anglers and poachers harvest the popular trout.

On today’s episode of The Confluence: Health reporter Sarah Boden explains why some families are suing Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration and UPMC over difficulties in obtaining mask exemptions for children in public schools; more than 4,400 truancy cases were filed in Allegheny County courts in 2020 and the first half of this year, and a PublicSource investigation looks into how these cases impact students; and Prevention Point Pittsburgh’s Alice Bell explains how the state could reduce drug overdoses and infections by legalizing the distribution of clean syringes and other items deemed “drug paraphernalia.”

On today’s episode of The Confluence: An analysis of voter registration shows Republicans could have an edge on Democrats in years to come; the executive director of Women for a Healthy Environment explains how a new ordinance introduced in city council aims to detect and remove lead in homes before exposure; and Pittsburgh City Clerk Brenda Pree is looking to create a statewide professional association for those in the profession that she describes as the jack-of-all-trades in local government.

On today’s episode of The Confluence: Government and accountability editor Chris Potter previews the races that will be decided in Tuesday’s election; reporters from the Post-Gazette describe the findings of an investigation into the rising number of drug-exposed babies born in rural communities, and how neighboring West Virginia’s approach differs from Pennsylvania’s; and we hear a profile of a local artist who immigrated from Guyana as a child and now incorporates Black culture and leaders in his mixed-media work.

On today’s episode of The Confluence: Rabbi Jeffrey Myers describes how his congregation is still healing since the attack at the Tree of Life synagogue; Carol Sikov Gross, president of the congregation, explains how an architect with family ties to the Jewish community is helping restore and refurbish the synagogue; the head of the Community Day School, Avi Baran Munro, reflects on student and faculty actions to mourn the attack; and journalist and author Mark Oppenheimer explains why he focused on the neighborhood of Squirrel Hill in his book about how the community came together.