The Confluence, where the news comes together, is 90.5 WESA’s weekly news program.
Each week reporters, editors and bloggers join veteran journalist and host Kevin Gavin to take an in-depth look at the stories important to the Pittsburgh region.
This week's stories include a look back on the career of medical pioneer Dr. Thomas Starzl, known as the "father of transplantation," who passed away last Saturday. Transportation continues to be a major issue in the region. We'll discover the latest plans to better connect the counties. And in our final segment, we'll get updates on the mayoral primary, Wilkinsburg a year after a tragic shooting and the Mon-Fayette Expressway.
Remembering Dr. Thomas Starzl
Funeral services are scheduled for Saturday for world-renowned and pioneering surgeon Thomas Starzl. Nicknamed the “father of transplantation,” he passed away last Saturday at age 90. We’ll remember Thomas Starzl and his impact on medicine and Pittsburgh with Pittsburgh Tribune-Review Editor Luis Fabregas and Anita Srikameswaran, a former Pittsburgh Post-Gazette medical reporter who covered Starzl’s research.
Imagine Transportation 2.0
After an 18-month process, government, transportation, community and business leaders unveiled a plan to better connect the 10 counties and residents of the Pittsburgh region. What’s in the plan? We’ll pose that question to 90.5 WESA senior reporter Mark Nootbaar and freelance journalist Kim Lyons.
News Updates:
Mayoral Challengers
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette political reporter Chris Potter spoke with us recently about possible challengers to Mayor Bill Peduto in the upcoming mayoral primary. North Side Councilwoman Darlene Harris and former Peduto supporter Rev. John Welch both filed petitions. Chris Potter of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette joins us to discuss this latest development.
Wilkinsburg: One Year Later
It’s been one year since an ambush-style backyard shooting left five adults, including a pregnant woman, dead in Wilkinsburg. The incident garnered national headlines. WESA reporter Virginia Alvino Young updates us on how the community has come together to heal and move forward.
The Zombie Road
In his latest piece for the Pittsburgh City Paper, reporter Ryan Deto writes about the Mon-Fayette Expressway. It’s a road some have named the “zombie highway” because of the project's refusal to die. Deto shares the latest developments.
Past editions of The Confluence can be heard here.
Dr. Thomas Starzl audio courtesy UPMC/Pitt Health Sciences/Tim Betler
