Laurel: To going down the rabbit hole. Through Wonder Media and support from The Grable Foundation, students from nine Western Pennsylvania school districts worked together to create “Finding Alice in Wonderland,” an animated film focused on anxiety, resilience and emotional honesty.

The project reaches beyond art, giving students ownership of the story and encouraging conversations about feelings, transitions and mental health challenges that can be difficult even for adults to navigate.

In an era when concerns about artificial intelligence and shrinking attention spans dominate conversations about education, this project highlighted something more important. It put the spotlight on authentic creativity, collaboration and empathy.

The result proves young people are capable of meaningful, thoughtful work when adults trust them to create it.

Lance: To the mounting strain on restaurants, bars and breweries reshaping Western Pennsylvania’s dining landscape one closed door at a time.

In recent weeks alone, Pittsburgh lost Goodlander Cocktail Brewery in Larimer, Downtown’s McCormick & Schmick’s, and Oakland’s Viva Los Tacos, while The Abbey on Butler Street filed for bankruptcy protection and Voodoo Brewing Co. warned investors of deep financial trouble. Add in the recent closure of Hemingway’s Cafe after more than four decades in Oakland, and the pattern becomes difficult to ignore.

No two closures are exactly alike. Some businesses are struggling with debt. Others are facing changing customer habits, higher costs, tighter margins or broader industry contraction. Some might reorganize and survive. Others will not. But collectively they point to a hospitality industry under enormous pressure.

Restaurants and bars are not just cogs in an economic machine. They become landmarks, traditions and community gathering places. Neighborhood identity is tied up in them as much it is with schools or churches.

Western Pennsylvania’s food scene has repeatedly reinvented itself through creativity and perseverance. But the growing number of closures is a reminder that even the most beloved places are vulnerable.

Laurel: To a stamp of approval. The enduring legacy of Fred Rogers and the simple kindness he carried from Latrobe to living rooms across the country is not forgotten. In fact, it’s staging a small comeback.

The United States Postal Service will reissue the Mister Rogers stamp after it won the public Stamp Encore contest. It is recognition that the lessons Rogers taught still resonate decades later.

The reissued stamp also highlights something well known in the region: Fred Rogers was never just a television personality. He was a teacher, a comfort and a steady voice helping children understand the joys and fears of the world around them. That message still deserves a place — even if it’s on the corner of a letter.

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