These topics air Wednesday February 5, 2014 at noon and 8pm on 90.5 WESA. To leave a question or comment before or after the show dial 412-256-8783. Join the conversation LIVE between 12pm & 1 pm weekdays at 412-246-2002. More Essential Pittsburgh segments can be heard here.
Breaking Down the Budget
Governor Tom Corbett delivered his fourth budget address Tuesday, calling for more than $900 million in additional state spending over the current fiscal year. A sizable portion of Corbett's roughly 3 percent increase in state spending would go to education. Is this year's version of the governor's budget really the "pivot point" that Zogby is calling it? Pittsburgh Tribune-Review capitol reporter Brad Bumsted joins us to break down the budget.
Street Doctor
Dr. Jim Withers is a rare breed of doctor. He still makes house calls. However, these house calls are to the homeless. For over twenty years he has been providing medical services to the city’s homeless population. What began as a nightly service in 1992 has become the non-profit Operation Safety Net. Dr. Withers joins us in Studio A to talk about his continuing efforts to bring health care to the homeless.
Underneath the Lintel
Pittsburgh based actor Randy Kovitz joins us to talk about his one-man play Underneath the Lintel. It's a journey of self discovery in which the hero, a librarian, tries to solve the mystery of a book that's been missing for over a century. "There's the metaphor of 'Underneath the Lintel' that characters make decisions while standing in a doorway between their old life and their new life and regret them later," he says.
