Christopher Flowers
@c-flowers-write.bsky.social
Christopher Flowers calls Pittsburgh home after a 20-year journalism career in the two Virginias. The Substack is a spot to explore and examine the news as it's happening locally and globally.
The topline from Abdul El-Sayed’s win is that his platform for change still managed to win despite grotesque levels of outside campaign spending and a racist smear campaign to paint him as un-American. The grassroots desire to upset the status quo is that powerful.
I read and summarized the main points of the Pittsburgh Commission on Human Relations 2025 report. They do important work. cflowerswrite.substack.com/p/pghchr-rep...
Pittsburgh Commission on Human Relations saw 126 discrimination complaints in 2025
Plus more stats and facts their annual report
cflowerswrite.substack.com
Gas prices have gone down nationally by 1 cent, and Pittsburgh is still above the average cflowerswrite.substack.com/p/gas-prices...
Gas in Pittsburgh about 20 cents above national average
How much is a gallon in your area?
cflowerswrite.substack.com
Fresh off the press! The August issue of QBurgh is officially making its way around Pittsburgh starting today! Look for free copies at community spots throughout the region soon, and if you’re a subscriber, keep an eye on your mailbox over the next few days!
Today, August 4, 2026, is the setting of Ray Bradbury’s short story “There Will Come Soft Rains” about a fully automated house continuing on after the family who lived there and the world around it died in a nuclear blast.
Gas is $4.27 in Pittsburgh. Polling shows 60% of voters oppose military action against Iran. Another shows that 74% overall, and 43% of Republicans, said the war “had not been worth the cost in terms of the financial burden or American casualties.” cflowerswrite.substack.com/p/gas-prices...
Gas in Pittsburgh about 20 cents above national average
How much is a gallon in your area?
cflowerswrite.substack.com
Everyone must register to vote. Everyone must vote in the best interest of America, which at this point generally means not Republican.
Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · yesterdayBooker: "Ghislaine Maxwell is sitting in the lowest possible confinement after giving no information that helped us get one more investigation started and has been silent, and the man responsible for that we're about to make the attorney general of the US ... this is farcical."
"Donald Trump's conquering of the country is complete. The blows he's inflicted on American democracy will take a lifetime to heal." captimes.com/opinion/gues...
Opinion | The evil that Trump does will live on after his presidency
Jamie Stiehm: Trump's long list of outrages will leave government, the environment and the lives of Americans in disarray long after he leaves office.
captimes.com
A Pittsburgh paramedic was suspended due to working a second job at the Allegheny County Fire Academy, a violation of the city charter. “I wasn’t doing anything malicious. I thought it was all above board,” the employee said. cflowerswrite.substack.com/p/weekly-rou...
Pittsburgh Land Bank struggles, paramedic suspended, theaters merge, and more
What’s happening locally, nationally, and globally
cflowerswrite.substack.com
Gas is $4.27 in Pittsburgh. Polling shows 60% of voters oppose military action against Iran. Another shows that 74% overall, and 43% of Republicans, said the war “had not been worth the cost in terms of the financial burden or American casualties.” cflowerswrite.substack.com/p/gas-prices...
Gas in Pittsburgh about 20 cents above national average
How much is a gallon in your area?
cflowerswrite.substack.com
Shell had $9.84 billion in profit from April to June, more than doubled in the second quarter of this year compared to the same period in 2025. Estimates say businesses and households will spend over $700 billion due to the war. cflowerswrite.substack.com/p/gas-price-...
Gas price index: July 2026
A gallon in Pittsburgh averaged $4.27 in the month of July
cflowerswrite.substack.com
The Pittsburgh Land Bank, which works to revitalize abandoned buildings, is running out of funding, per the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “It would be a shame if we get this far and just stop,” said Chris Rosselot, policy director. cflowerswrite.substack.com/p/weekly-rou...
Pittsburgh Land Bank struggles, paramedic suspended, theaters merge, and more
What’s happening locally, nationally, and globally
cflowerswrite.substack.com
Racism is well and alive in this country. This is shameful. Everyone of th3 people who signed the petitions should be shamed.
USA TODAY@usatoday.com · 4d agoA petition with more than 65,000 signatures urges NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani not to attend this year's 25th anniversary 9/11 memorial.
Vivian Greenwood writes in Pittsburgh's Public Source about the widening gap between policy protections and realities faced by those who need them the most. www.publicsource.org/big-ambulanc...
Congress didn’t ban shocking ambulance bills, leaving rural patients especially vulnerable
New surprise billing regulations don’t include ground ambulances. Here’s how rural Pennsylvanians could be impacted.
publicsource.org
Laura Zurowski visits Pittsburgh's Firstside Park, located between First and Second Avenues at Grant Street — a green space owned by PNC Bank. pghgreenandgray.substack.com/p/a-visit-to...
A Visit to... Firstside Park, Downtown
Pittsburgh's Parks, Playgrounds, and Trails
pghgreenandgray.substack.com
The latest West Virginia happenings, nice and tidy in one spot from Giles Snyder wvweakly.substack.com/p/gov-morris...
Gov. Morrisey, State Treasurer Larry Pack and school clothing vouchers
The West Virginia Weakly Reader for Saturday, August 1, 2026
wvweakly.substack.com
"To the aggrieved whites, standing up to someone Black meant standing up for them. Add transphobia to her portfolio, and the result is a star, the latest participant in an old game no more complicated than checkers but far less interesting." www.theguardian.com/sport/2026/a...
Sophie Cunningham isn’t rejecting politics. She’s cashing in on them
Sophie Cunningham’s rise says less about basketball than the incentives of a sports culture where outrage, identity politics and attention have become lucrative commodities
theguardian.com
Laura Zurowski visits Pittsburgh's Firstside Park, located between First and Second Avenues at Grant Street — a green space owned by PNC Bank. pghgreenandgray.substack.com/p/a-visit-to...
A Visit to... Firstside Park, Downtown
Pittsburgh's Parks, Playgrounds, and Trails
pghgreenandgray.substack.com
Hat's off to Kevin Colbert for earning induction into the #Pittsburgh #Steelers Hall of Honor. When Colbert arrived, the Steelers had just suffered 2 consecutive losing seasons. When Colbert retired, they'd added two more Lombardis....
How many innings was the longest baseball game ever played at Three Rivers Stadium? Which Pittsburgher was the first African American to ever serve on Pittsburgh City Council? How many cat permits are issued in Allegheny County each year? cflowerswrite.substack.com/p/pittsburgh...
Pittsburgh Trivia: Vol. IV
Yinz might learn something
cflowerswrite.substack.com
Is it sinking in that this is the new normal? The wildfire haze happened last summer, and it will happen again. A few weeks before the pickle festival, extreme heat canceled the annual furry fandom parade. cflowerswrite.substack.com/p/pittsburgh...
COMMENTARY: Pittsburgh must become ‘Climate-Ready City’ from comprehensive plan
Pittsburgh must be proactive when it comes to climate change
cflowerswrite.substack.com
How many innings was the longest baseball game ever played at Three Rivers Stadium? Which Pittsburgher was the first African American to ever serve on Pittsburgh City Council? How many cat permits are issued in Allegheny County each year? cflowerswrite.substack.com/p/pittsburgh...
Pittsburgh Trivia: Vol. IV
Yinz might learn something
cflowerswrite.substack.com
Laura Zurowski explores Robert E. Williams Park, named after Pittsburgh's first Black magistrate pghgreenandgray.substack.com/p/a-visit-to...
A Visit to... Robert E. Williams Park, Upper Hill
Pittsburgh's Parks, Playgrounds, and Trails
pghgreenandgray.substack.com
Is it sinking in that this is the new normal? The wildfire haze happened last summer, and it will happen again. A few weeks before the pickle festival, extreme heat canceled the annual furry fandom parade. cflowerswrite.substack.com/p/pittsburgh...
COMMENTARY: Pittsburgh must become ‘Climate-Ready City’ from comprehensive plan
Pittsburgh must be proactive when it comes to climate change
cflowerswrite.substack.com
Vivian Greenwood writes in Pittsburgh's Public Source about the widening gap between policy protections and realities faced by those who need them the most. www.publicsource.org/big-ambulanc...
Congress didn’t ban shocking ambulance bills, leaving rural patients especially vulnerable
New surprise billing regulations don’t include ground ambulances. Here’s how rural Pennsylvanians could be impacted.
publicsource.org
