{"id":74484,"date":"2025-12-31T06:27:10","date_gmt":"2025-12-31T06:27:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/74484\/"},"modified":"2025-12-31T06:27:10","modified_gmt":"2025-12-31T06:27:10","slug":"cp-year-in-review-staff-writer-rachel-wilkinsons-favorite-stories-of-2025-pittsburgh-city-paper","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/74484\/","title":{"rendered":"CP Year in Review: Staff writer Rachel Wilkinson\u2019s favorite stories of 2025 – Pittsburgh City Paper"},"content":{"rendered":"

As 2025 draws to a close, Pittsburgh City Paper\u2019s editorial staff members select their favorite stories from the year. Relive staff writer Rachel Wilkinson\u2019s 2025 highlights below:<\/p>\n

Got rats? The dogs of the Steel City Ratting Coalition are at your service<\/a> \/\/ July 30, 2025<\/p>\n

Dear City Paper readers, if you ever doubt my commitment to old-fashioned on-the-ground reporting, please refer to this story, where, 15 minutes in, rat entrails flew six inches from my face (you\u2019re welcome for the holiday cheer). In all seriousness, it was a blast to shadow the hard-working dogs and people of the Steel City Ratting Coalition, who are providing a public service by tackling the region\u2019s stubborn rat problem<\/a> in an environmentally friendly and, ah, unique way. Follow SCRC\u2019s adventures on Facebook<\/a>, including a recent job<\/a> at the Community Garden at Allegheny Commons Park, brought about by CP\u2019s coverage.<\/p>\n

\"\"Station Square Credit: CP Photo: Mars Johnson<\/p>\n

Is Station Square on its death bed, or just about to resurrect?<\/a> \/\/ Feb. 19, 2025<\/p>\n

With new ownership promising a revival<\/a>, it seems we\u2019ll be carrying the question of Station Square\u2019s future into 2026. What I loved about this story was not only imagining a revitalized Station Square, but looking back at the current generation of urban renewal, which, arguably, the Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation kicked off when it converted the soon-to-be 50-year-old complex. It\u2019s easy to take Station Square for granted, but its ongoing transformation remains an important symbol and a bellwether for Pittsburgh\u2019s development.<\/p>\n

\"\"Corey O\u2019Connor poses for a portrait at his campaign office in East Liberty. Credit: CP Photo: Mars Johnson<\/p>\n

Despite a bitter campaign, Corey O\u2019Connor says he\u2019s \u201calways been\u201d progressive<\/a> \/\/ April 23, 2025<\/p>\n

This year was marked by a heated mayoral primary in Pittsburgh, in which CP profiled both<\/a> Democratic contenders. Since then, city residents have seen inclusionary zoning in flux, budget woes, missing snow plows<\/a>, and a 20% tax increase<\/a> for 2026. In April, Mayor-Elect Corey O\u2019Connor promised progressive change including affordable housing, sustained public transit funding<\/a>, compelling tax-exempt organizations to \u201cpay their fair share,\u201d and much more. They\u2019re campaign promises worth revisiting before inauguration day.<\/p>\n

\"\"Dana Provenzano and Terry Rutherford chat on the patio of Zano\u2019s on Aug. 29, 2025. Credit: CP Photo: Mars Johnson<\/p>\n

Zano\u2019s Pub House \u2014 the latest iteration of a Greenfield staple \u2014 is making new friends, but keeping the old<\/a> \/\/ Oct. 1, 2025<\/p>\n

Who doesn\u2019t love a good neighborhood bar? This year, I had the pleasure of visiting Zano\u2019s Pub House<\/a> in the Run, a staple preserving a slice of Pittsburgh life that must be protected at all costs. (Dollar wing nights, people!) Iterations of Zano\u2019s have been around for at least a century, and its latest owner and manager are doing all they can to keep the bar a place that multiple generations of Pittsburghers want to walk into every day.<\/p>\n

\"\"Visitors inside the Senator John Heinz History Center Credit: CP Photo: Mars Johnson<\/p>\n

From three rivers to 412, count the ways numerology is significant to Pittsburgh<\/a> \/\/ Feb. 6, 2025<\/p>\n

At the beginning of the year, I got to consult with a numerologist about Pittsburgh\u2019s \u201clife path\u201d and future \u2014 far artsier than expected! \u2014 with predictions made on the heels of the announcement we\u2019d host the 2026 NFL Draft<\/a>. I couldn\u2019t close out 2025 without looking back at how we\u2019ve fared. Collectively, numerologists believe we\u2019re all ending a nine-year cycle, but Pittsburgh itself is only two years in. With 2026 marked as a \u201cthree year\u201d for the city, expect color and vibrancy.<\/p>\n

RELATED\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As 2025 draws to a close, Pittsburgh City Paper\u2019s editorial staff members select their favorite stories from the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":74485,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[15116,37254,992,73,75,74,24960,38488,38489],"class_list":{"0":"post-74484","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-pittsburgh","8":"tag-corey-oconnor","9":"tag-cp-year-in-review","10":"tag-home-feature","11":"tag-pittsburgh","12":"tag-pittsburgh-headlines","13":"tag-pittsburgh-news","14":"tag-station-square","15":"tag-steel-city-ratting-coalition","16":"tag-zanos"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74484","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=74484"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74484\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/74485"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=74484"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=74484"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=74484"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}