Blue-collar spirit

Lesson Learned: Teachers Across the Country Follow West Virginia’s Lead

Teachers across the country are going on strike after West Virginia’s teachers successfully secured raises in a standoff with state officials that shut down schools in all 55 counties last month. The widely-covered walkout in West Virginia is pointed to as a source of inspiration and empowerment by many teachers […]

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“Roseanne” and Her People: Populist Voters Who Don’t Fit in Either Party

A pro-Trump comedian with a progressive past is a huge hit, raising larger questions about middle-ground voters. Twenty-one years after it went off the air, ABC’s sitcom “Roseanne” has returned to television screens. The moment for the reboot could not have been better. “Everybody seemed to be into it and, you […]

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Swallowing Us Whole: New Regulations on Predatory Lending Felt in Appalachia

In the Borderlands of Appalachia With a population of 494 people, Cumberland Gap, Tennessee might be the smallest township I’ve visited. According to the American Community Survey, the poverty rate here is 48.2 percent. The 2010 census report contradicts this figure with statistics that show no families live in poverty. […]

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The Pittsburgh skyline raises above the newly renovated fountain at Point State Park, left, on Saturday, June 8, 2013, in Pittsburgh. The iconic fountain at the confluence where the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers meet to form the Ohio River, was originally opened in 1974. It had been shut off since 2009 and was reopened on Friday, June 7, 2013 after it underwent an $11.9 million restoration. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)

Can Pittsburgh’s Blue-collar Spirit Rescue Itself From Gentrification?

Once a booming coal town, Pittsburgh powered through a decades-long economic depression to rise from its steel factory’s ashes as a certifiable technology hub. Though easy to market as a Cinderella Story, the particular nature of Pittsburgh’s evolution is more complicated than a simple city-wide rebranding. Rather, the city serves […]

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