By Namira HarisNewsWorks Lab data journalist State Rep. Dan Moul, an Adams County Republican who owns and operates his own manufactured home community, has spent the past year trying to convince his colleagues to cap how much companies can raise lot rent. The issue is one plaguing many residents in communities across state as they …
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National companies buy up mobile home parks across southwestern Pennsylvania
Mom-and-Pop industry gives way to investors and publicly owned companies By Namira HarisNewsWorks Lab staff writer Four national companies have purchased at least 30 manufactured home communities – worth an estimated $330 million – across six southwestern Pennsylvania counties, a NewsWorks Lab analysis of public records shows. The companies are part of a national …
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Building ‘brothership’: Baldwin seeks respect, a full roster and a chance to compete
Highlanders leave WPIAL for independent schedule and a path back to winning Story by Jonathan Callard. Art by Sophia Lucente. NewsWorks Lab contributors Editor’s note: NewsWorks Lab has embedded with the Baldwin football team for the 2026 season to document its departure from the Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League (WPIAL) for an independent schedule. The …
Fallingwater’s ‘digital twin’ takes 6.8 billion points of light to build
Technology developed in Pittsburgh preserves world-famous places for future generations By Hannah Frances Johansson NewsWorks Lab staff writer Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater, a modern house tucked into the woods of Fayette County, receives the highest standards of care in the field of historic preservation as a UNESCO World Heritage site. But no one can …
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Demolition of Mount Washington church scheduled for this week
Historic congregation dates to log cabin schoolhouse in 1851 Story by Roger P. Healy and Hannah Frances Johansson Art By Tim Robbibaro Demolition crews could start removing the fire-gutted former Grandview United Presbyterian Church in Mount Washington on Wednesday, a city spokeswoman told NewsWorks Lab. Since the July 7 fire that destroyed the historic church, Grandview Avenue and the …
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You can now buy switchblades in Pa. How dangerous is that?
Banned for nearly 70 years, automatic knives quietly return with bipartisan support By David S. Rotenstein NewsWorks Lab contributor Donald Wright, 22, died early on Easter morning in 1953 when a teenager stabbed him with a switchblade knife in Pittsburgh’s World War II-era Glen Hazel public housing project. Within days, Pittsburgh City Council outlawed switchblades, …
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High schools take drastic steps for competitive football
Butler, Baldwin step away from WPIAL to build back programs By John Grupp NewsWorks Lab contributor Down the hall from the coaches’ office at Butler football stadium, pads and helmets hang from thick hooks and sit stacked on tall metal shelves inside a cramped equipment room. Much of the gear, left untouched in past seasons, is finally returning to …
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High school football rosters surge to highest level in decades
Coaches, experts cite improved concussion safety measures By John Grupp NewsWorks Lab contributor More Pennsylvania boys are playing high school football than at any time since the 1980s, according to data NewsWorks Lab obtained. The PIAA reported to the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) that 28,119 boys played football in Pennsylvania in …
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70,000 Pa. skill games trace roots to this one ‘controlled buy’
State Police will offer path for removing machines if October deadline passes By Sean D. Hamill NewsWorks Lab contributor The skill games that have spread to taverns, social clubs and corner stores all over Pennsylvania in recent years started with one arranged seizure in a small Beaver County social club. On Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2013, Pennsylvania State Police troopers entered Aliquippa’s American …
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Why I’m Returning to the Trib to launch Newsworks Lab
Newsworks Lab involves all of us as an investigative newsroom focused on building a future for local reporting – and for the communities it serves. We’re launching it at Trib Total Media after I spent a decade experimenting with strategies for local journalism through the Center for Media Innovation at Point Park University. Newsworks Lab …
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