Joseph Sabino Mistick stories

With an election upcoming and the promise of a new mayor, Pittsburgh once again is at the crossroads. If there is a chance to escape the post-covid urban malaise that most American cities are experiencing, Pittsburgh will have to revive the public-private partnership model that was invented here and that...

In 2009, the late right-wing political radio host Rush Limbaugh wrote to President Barack Obama and urged him — in the interest of fairness — to oppose the adoption of an FCC regulation that Limbaugh said would be “the death knell of talk radio.” “I would encourage you not to...

When Sean Charles Dunn cursed and threw his foot-long Subway salami sandwich at a federal agent in Washington, D.C. on Aug. 10 — protesting President Trump’s deployment of federal law enforcement officers to patrol the streets there — it normally would not have been a big deal. But the MAGA...

If you grew up in Pittsburgh or in one of the nearby steel towns, the deadly explosion at U.S. Steel’s Clairton Coke Works last week — killing two workers and hospitalizing 10 — struck home. There are fewer mills now, but this tragedy is a reminder of the values and...

It’s easy to dismiss Tony Moreno and his chances in his race for mayor of Pittsburgh. The retired city police officer is running as the Republican nominee, and the last time Pittsburgh had a Republican mayor was 1934. But for Moreno, it is not about political parties. He ran and...

As public broadcasters and nonprofit organizations across the country struggle with President Trump’s federal funding cuts — including the July congressional recission of funds already granted for this year — the different responses by two Pittsburgh broadcasters provide lessons for others in similar straits. Trump’s war on public broadcasting specifically...

The signs were there back in November 2015 when candidate Donald Trump mocked a physically disabled reporter from the podium at one his rallies. Cruelty was being acted out on the main stage in American politics. New York Times journalist Serge Kovaleski, who has limited use of his arms, debunked...

Pennsylvania’s first-term U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick did a good turn for his adopted city of Pittsburgh when he hosted the energy summit at CMU last week. But if that was two steps forward in his desire to become a true Pittsburgher, he took one step back days later when he...

The phrase “death by a thousand cuts” has come to describe the accumulation of a number of seemingly minor actions that combine to cause the death of a thing. And when it comes to our traditional form of American democracy, those seemingly minor actions are starting to add up. As...

The Washington Examiner reported last week that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced she was terminating funding for a federal program that supports the Eradicate Hate Global Summit, which was started in Pittsburgh after the massacre of 11 Tree of Life synagogue worshippers in 2018, still the deadliest antisemitic act...

After last week’s primary election for mayor of New York City, President Donald Trump let loose with one of his trademark tirades on his Truth Social platform. “It’s finally happened, the Democrats have crossed the line. Zohran Mamdani, a 100% Communist Lunatic, has just won the Dem Primary, and is...

Two new American flagpoles were installed at the White House June 18 at a ceremony attended by President Donald Trump and the national media. What should have been an important expression of what our flag represents turned into a reminder that our relationship with the American flag is complicated. Trump...

“I like Ike” was Dwight David Eisenhower’s successful presidential campaign slogan in the 1950s. Nearly 75 years after he started his first run for the White House, there are still reasons to like Ike. Republican Eisenhower served two terms as president, and it was hard not to like the retired...

Mark “Marco” Machi will tell you that he is the richest man in Pittsburgh. Forty years ago, Marco and his wife Christine, both avid bodybuilders, had a chance to buy an empty industrial building on Liberty Avenue in Bloomfield. The money was going to be tight, but they bet on...

Even in the old mill towns where I grew up, we occasionally had a kid go to Harvard or some other Ivy League school. They might catch some good-natured ribbing about suddenly being too good to hang with us — the kind of banter our fathers perfected in the mill...

“Do the job you were hired to do or you’re fired” seems to be the message Pittsburgh voters sent on primary Election Day last week. For the second time in four years — with challenger Corey O’Connor’s defeat of sitting Mayor Ed Gainey — an incumbent mayor was denied reelection....

Let’s take a look at what the May 20 race for mayor of Pittsburgh is not about. Some people and groups are seeking to use this election to fight their own battles instead of looking out for what’s best for the people of Pittsburgh. This election is not about Donald...

Everyone traveling into Downtown Pittsburgh from the East End through Schenley Park has been stopped in their tracks by a sign that has stood on the edge of the park for a good part of Mayor Ed Gainey’s administration. Against a bright orange background, it reads “All Bridges Closed Ahead.”...

When President Donald Trump was recently asked about giving new mothers “some kind of bonus” to increase the declining birth rate in the United States, he said that it “sounds like a good idea to me.” Vice President JD Vance has endorsed a $5,000 child tax credit, saying, “I want...

It always seemed to me that Pope Francis was a Pittsburgh kind of guy. And it’s appropriate that the first time the public got to view the pope’s body in state was in the Chapel of the Holy Spirit, which was designed by Pittsburgh architect Lou Astorino. The story of...

Surrounded by coal miners, Donald Trump recently announced that he is going to bring back the flagging coal industry, calling the signing of several executive orders “historic action to help American workers, miners, families and consumers.” “This is a very important day to me because we’re bringing back an industry...

The best part of American government and politics is that the people get a do-over every two to four years. The voters of Pittsburgh will have that chance in the upcoming election for mayor. Their rejection of Mayor Bill Peduto’s administration in 2021 was historic — the first ousting of...

The voters of Wisconsin stood up last week and showed the Elon Musks and Donald Trumps of the world the judicial branch of government is not as easily conquered as the executive and legislative branches. In the high-stakes race for a seat on the Wisconsin state supreme court, the Musk-backed...

As Donald Trump’s hatchet man, Elon Musk has embraced his assignment to fire government employees with gusto and bravado, even brandishing a chain saw for the media, as if this is somehow fun and entertaining. Musk’s utter coldness should surprise no one, since he has said, “The fundamental weakness of...

Millions of Americans voted for Donald Trump because he promised to make America great again. It is already clear that the definition of American greatness has somehow changed for some Americans. We know how American greatness has looked and sounded in the past. During his inaugural address in 1961, President...