Everyone’s favorite neighbor, Mister Rogers, once famously said that when the world looks scary, “look for the helpers.” Even when the outlook is bleak, “you will always find people who are helping.”

Well, this year, the world has looked pretty scary — here in Pittsburgh, and beyond. There’s no shortage of bad news. It’s enough to sometimes make you feel like there’s no hope.

Unless you listen to Mister Rogers.

Because even though there’s devastation all around, there are tons of people right here at home who are helping in their own way. They’re organizing, innovating, pitching in, growing, fighting, and building. They’re the helpers Fred Rogers told us about, and we can look in any direction to find them. Right here in Pittsburgh, there are union organizers climbing a steep hill, restaurateurs going the extra mile, and progressives beating the odds. There are pioneers expanding access to art, uplifting forgotten voices, and rebuilding communities.

In this issue, Pittsburgh City Paper is proud to shine a light on these helpers, all of whom are making our city a better place in a different way, in the world of politics, business, culture, and beyond. With these folks calling Pittsburgh home, nothing seems quite as scary.

-Ali Trachta, Executive Editor

Queer history has undergone more than its fair share of erasure, including in Pittsburgh. Local bars, clubs, and other spaces that, over the decades, served as safe havens for the city’s LGBTQ populations have been torn down or repurposed. Important queer figures who, out of necessity, existed in relative obscurity have become lost to time.…

When Janis Burley took over as leader of the August Wilson African American Cultural Center (AWAACC) in 2017, she knew what kind of organization she wanted to develop. “My vision for the center, then and now, is to be a world-class performing arts center recognized for the power of our programming and a leader in…

In 2024, Pittsburgh nearly lost Club Cafe, a longtime music venue that helped define the South Side’s busy entertainment district and offered a smaller, more intimate alternative to the city’s large arenas and concert halls. Just as local fans and musicians prepared to mourn the beloved space, however, two women stepped in to save it.…

While framed as a much-needed rightsizing, the transformation of Pittsburgh International Airport also feels like a coming-of-age project for the airport and the region. The new facility is spacious, studded with public art, and Pittsburgh proud down to its smallest details — something Allegheny County Airport Authority CEO Christina Cassotis says is by design. “I…

Since unionizing in June, workers at the Allegheny Reproductive Health Center (ARHC) have been holding the line. The newly-formed Allegheny Reproductive Justice Union (ARJU), affiliated with the Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU), began bargaining for its first contract in August. Employees at the region’s only independent abortion clinic are negotiating for higher pay,…

How does any business owner make an environment feel welcoming, particularly to a wide swath of community members? There’s an answer so simple that it’s surprisingly easy to miss: you invite them. Alaina Webber and Matt Katase, who have owned and operated Brew Gentlemen for more than 10 years, opened Braddock Public House inside the…

Whatever may be happening at the national level, progressives in Pittsburgh are undeterred. The local Democratic Party has shored up and built on its base. Prominent left-leaning candidates now hold office everywhere from the county to Congress. Following November’s blue wave election, high off-year turnout propelled even more local progressives into office.  Among their number…

Pittsburgh, you may have noticed, continues making “most livable” and “most affordable” lists in 2025 for our comparatively cheap housing and high quality of life. In spite of this, average rent ($1,515) and the price of a house ($229,000) have risen fast, while job and wage growth remain “sluggish.” These contradictions aren’t lost on Randall…

This year, public health faced unprecedented obstacles, among them federal funding cuts, threats to food aid programs including SNAP and WIC, and official mistrust in vaccine science leading to restricted access. With state and local agencies left to fill the leadership vacuum, the Pennsylvania Department of Health (DOH), helmed by Pittsburgher Dr. Debra Bogen, charted…

Emma Honcharski is a classic multihyphenate: an artist, writer, event producer, and self-described “food person” whose time working in the service industry informs all of the above. But perhaps her most significant descriptor is collaborator. “For me, it’s the only way things can happen,” Honcharski tells Pittsburgh City Paper. “I love facilitating other people’s [art…