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Jan. 23-29 Explained: Improved Air Quality, PPS Delays In-Person Start & Union Campaign Donations

Smoke rises from U.S. Steel's Clairton Coke Works.
Reid Frazier
/
StateImpact Pennsylvania
Emissions from U.S. Steel's Clairton Coke Works.

On this week's Explainer:

Pittsburgh Public Schools students will continue learning remotely until at least April. Education reporter Sarah Schneider spoke with guest host and The Confluence editor and producer Marylee Williams. Schneider says it's just the latest in a series of delays by the district to in-person instruction.

Allegheny County is meeting federal air quality standards for the very first time, according to preliminary county data. Reid Frazier covers the environment for The Allegheny Front and StateImpact Pennsylvania and says the benchmark is significant.

Following the pro-Trump mob storming the U.S. Capitol earlier this month, some Western Pennsylvania Representatives continued to object to the state’s election results. The decision could cost these Republican representatives future corporate campaign contributions.

But, government and accountability reporter Lucy Perkins found that union-affiliated Political Action Committees aren’t pulling their campaign dollars yet. 

Pittsburgh Explainer is hosted this week by Marylee Williams and produced by Katie Blackley. New episodes come out every Friday. Listen on the NPR One app or subscribe on iTunesGoogle PlayStitcherSpotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Katie Blackley is a digital editor/producer for 90.5 WESA and 91.3 WYEP, where she writes, edits and generates both web and on-air content for features and daily broadcast. She's the producer and host of our Good Question! series and podcast. She also covers history and the LGBTQ community. kblackley@wesa.fm