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March 20-26 Explained: Solidarity With Asian Americans, Unemployment Turmoil & PA's Solar Future

Kiley Koscinski
/
90.5 WESA
A sign held by a demonstrator at a show of solidarity for the Asian American and Pacific Islander communities on Wednesday, March 24, 2021.

On this week's Explainer:

Over the past week demonstrators across the country have rallied around the Asian American and Pacific Islander communities following a shooting rampage in Georgia that left eight people dead, including six women of Asian descent. General assignment reporter Kiley Koscinski covered one of the demonstrations in Pittsburgh and said the action is the third show of solidarity with the community.

Over the last year, the state has approved billions of dollars in unemployment benefits to Pennsylvanians who lost work during the pandemic. But as economic reporter Kate Giammarise reports, tens of thousands of people are still struggling to get help.

The Wolf administration this week shared plans to power half of the state government’s electricity with solar energy. Officials say it’s the largest commitment by any state government in the country. StateImpact Pennsylvania's Rachel McDevitt breaks down what that'll mean for the state's future.

Pittsburgh Explainer is hosted by Liz Reid 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