Duolingo’s Iran War Problem, Airport Auctions & Eviction Wins

0:00Today's show is supported by the Carnegie Library. Something magical happens every day at your neighborhood library. You can be teleported to the past wonder and the present even traveled to the future. Kids can connect to their wildest imaginations while teens can meet, greet and retreat. Libraries are work hubs. The community centers meet places, skill builders, entertainers, world expanders. Just about anything you can imagine you can do at the library. September is love your library month, so they love it if you make a donation and spread some of that love today at loveyourlibrary.org. This is CityCast Pittsburgh. I'm Megan Harris and here's what Pittsburgh's talking about. What is your relationship to online auctions? Like eBay, Mac, Bed, Threadup, Parchmark, whatever? So a guilty pleasure of mine is vintage and niche sports apparel

1:05and eBay is absolutely the place to go for that sort of thing. So if I'm looking for like a specific jersey or I'm like getting a patch, like I recently bought it in a way jersey for the Cleveland Guardians. I was going to ask if this was going to be a high-o-team or a Pittsburgh team and I already know. This is my beloved guardians, but I got in a wager'sy from their 1997 World Series era and I bought a World Series patch on eBay that I could sew onto it. So that was my most recent online auction experience. Okay, so Pro, Mallory, I've only dipped my toe in once. I was a little tipsy at a journalism award dinner and our contributor, Sophia Lowe, walked me through bidding on a water table on Mac.Bed because I really had my eye on one. I won, it was great quality, it was a very positive experience. But when I opened that app, I saw how it could become so addictive so quickly, so I've tried to never go back in. I think I'm anti-Millennial in this way. Like online shopping stresses me out. So these auction sites are like my actual nightmare.

2:05This is going to be relevant here in a minute. I'm with Executive Producer Mallory Falk and CityCast, Pittsburgh contributor and City Paper Managing Editor, Colin Williams. We're talking about a bunch of things. Also, Mother Nature is joining me here in the background as we're recording. It is D-Day for a Pittsburgh-based company. And one of its services has gotten really tangled into the US War with Iran. There is an online auction for people to take home all the weird and sometimes very expensive junk that people have left or lost, left behind at the Pittsburgh International Airport. We also have some fresh hallmarks that fall is on the way. And there has been a big win for renters and housing advocates in our region. Also, on today's members, only bonus segment we're going to be talking about the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and their Biannual Tour across Europe. So why that matters and what the groupies are saying. I'm being serious, actually. So we'll start with that D-Day moment for Duolingo, which is headquartered here in Pittsburgh. Yeah, I mean, as you mentioned, Megan, it has gotten swept up in the war on Iran.

3:08In case you missed this news, last week the Trump administration announced even more sanctions against Iran. They went into effect this week, September 1st. The idea is to isolate Iran from the rest of the global economy. This is officially called Operation Economic Outcast, but the Trump administration is referring to it as economic D-Day. Absurd titles. I'm still reckoning with all of those names. I mean, I feel like we don't need references to World War II. There's also been so few briefings about this. I was just reading about the Iran War generally and how our government is just not talking to us about what's happening despite the fact that people are dying. Usually there's a historical precedent for people. The government telling you what's up daily, and that's just not happening right now. Well, that's because everybody is waiting to hear what Trump decides at any given moment is going to be the policy moving forward. So this also happens when you put like a broadcaster in charge of the defense department, but okay. Indeed. Yeah. Well, in any case, regardless, all of the very epic naming aside, let's say,

4:13Duel Lingo is getting swept up in this in part because these new restrictions are basically making anybody doing business with Iran in various sectors into a, quote, blocked party. So this is not only affecting people who are running language tests. It's also affecting organizers of pro and amateur sports competitions. It's affecting people who organize academic conferences and it's hit other parts of the education sector. But as for Duel Lingo, you know, there were a lot of exemptions for these educational services. That's no longer the case. And the reason that they're kind of in the crosshairs here is because they're one of the largest administrators of English language testing in Iran. So the license that had allowed for these activities has been suspended. That's also affected the educational testing service, which runs the TOEFL exam. The test of English is a foreign language, as well as the GRE for grad school applicants. But Duel Lingo, you know, administers these tests for many people. And there are still a lot of folks inside Iran who are looking to burnish their language skills in hopes of getting to somewhere more stable.

5:13Ideally, as many have said, an English-speaking country, because many of them already know the language or have relatives elsewhere. So yeah, this is an interesting sort of wrinkle in the war as far as allowing people to potentially come to America. I mean, obviously Trump has kind of shut most of that off. I do wonder sometimes if like America is truly more stable, but I take you at your word, Colin. Yeah, this is from a quote from I can't remember if this was from the Al Jazeera, The New York Times, right up of this situation. There were a lot of people talking about the fact that they wanted to move to an English-speaking country. I saw one quote where a woman said, I won't let it stop my plans for going to an English-language country or Germany as a backup. My plans will be delayed at best by the pause in English language testing. Germany as a backup. Germany as a backup. Yeah, and I mean, so just to be clear, because I think a lot of people just think of Duel Lingo as a language learning app.

6:13Kind of heard it derisively referred to as a candy crush for language learning, but you know, take that for what you will. But another big part of what they do is they have this English proficiency test that, you know, students who want to study and in English-speaking country, a piece of qualifying to do that is to take this test and demonstrate a level of English proficiency. I guess they started offering this test in 2016 and according to the Pittsburgh Business Times reporting that I was reading it like really took off during the pandemic, because at that time these other, you know, more standard tests didn't have the infrastructure to do online testing. So it's kind of taken off and grown in popularity since then. I think it's also less expensive to sit for the remote test than to go physically sit somewhere that the test is being administered in person. And so like this testing is a big part of Duel Lingo's business. And yes, so the like app itself, like the full app is not blocked in Iran. People can still use it to try to learn English, but they no longer have this resource to do one of the necessary steps to like get into a university in an English-speaking country.

7:21And you know, Colin, you mentioned to full that's like one of the most widely used tests that students use to demonstrate English language proficiency. So you've canceled that in Iran and they canceled the GRE. So you're cutting out like the pathway to trying to get an education and then potentially build a life in an English-speaking country. I have a question about how like that works in the collegiate level. Colin, I know that you've taught at Pitt, for example, like our major university is still using GRE because like we had a moment where they went away from the standardized test as the metric for creative ability and potential. But that may not be true anymore. I know that a lot of graduate institutions have moved to test optional for GRE where it's like a nice to have, but not a need to have for your application. I think it's, you know, it's more existential and we're talking about TOEFL because for folks who are looking to study in the United States, I mean, English proficiency is a must. And it was interesting to me to read in a couple of these articles kind of how people plan to find workarounds and just what a potential burden this actually is for them.

8:26With educational testing service, you know, they're saying that they're hoping to get this back online for people who would potentially be taking the GRE or the TOEFL test in Iran. And in the meantime, a lot of Iranians who were quoted in the New York Times and Al Jazeera pieces that I looked at for this, they said that they were still planning to take these tests, but in some cases they were going to spend a lot of money to go to a third countries. I saw one source was quoted as saying that they plan to go to Turkey or go to Armenia potentially. But one grad student who was potentially considering this option told the New York Times that the quote, cost of this trip alone would be more than what my entire family spends on food for a whole year. So, you know, just like the person I said who they said that their plans would be delayed at best, it does still seem like a lot of people are are planning to find workarounds because they're really desperate to change their circumstances. And in the meantime, a couple other heartbreaking quotes I saw one person said in a way the Trump administration is helping the Islamic Republic keep us trapped here.

9:26And another person said quote, it feels like they're taking Iranians out of the list of accepted human species. Oh, man, that one's got wrenching. Yeah, I mean, and you know, my understanding is that yes, that option does exist if people can get the money together to go to another country to sit for TOEFL. But they can't go to another country and then just do the Duolingo test virtually because for Duolingo, it's not just looking at like, oh, if your IP addresses in Iran, you're blocked. Duolingo said like anyone who's Iranian and can't register as the citizen of another country is blocked from taking this test. So there's really no no workaround for that one. But yes, Colin, there is this workaround to go sit for the exam, the TOEFL exam in another country. Is there any hope that this is short lived? I mean, I do a Lingo, I think at like any tech company has proven itself capable of switching out a dime if needed if circumstances change. And as we know with our federal administration, circumstances change all the time.

10:27If that happens, if these sanctions are lifted or changed, like can folks apply for college again quickly? Like it's fall. So to me that like reads is like, okay, well, maybe maybe there's a moment like we could still get folks in for spring admission. There's still a year for the next year. It's just I know none of it. All of it sucks. There's no good here. I'm just looking for like, is there a chance for folks in the near term? I mean, it seems to me just like as an outside observer who's not super in sconson foreign policy that there's just been a lot of whipsawing on our economic policies with Iran on any given day. So I think that there's a it's as reasonable to hope that these sanctions are lifted soon as it is to prepare as if they're not. I mean, ETS in the statements that they've issued or you know details that they've confirmed to some of these news outlets, they've all said that they would like to re-implement access to these tests as soon as they possibly can. So I would imagine it's kind of like Google maps and Apple maps renaming Lake Ontario to sort of meet the president's whims.

11:31Another thing that happened this week. That is that gives me the impression that I think dualingo could probably basically flip a switch and turn this access back on if the sanctions were lifted, but I'm not entirely sure. Yeah, there's just there's so many things that this administration is affected that will take years, maybe decades to undo to roll back to build back up. This doesn't feel like it has to be one of those things from an outside observer, but like you said, Colin, definitely famously not foreign policy experts here. And you know, while we're talking about international students, obviously Pittsburgh is a big college town with a lot of international students studying here. And there are new visa restrictions for international students going into effect later this month, September 15th, that are going to affect students out local schools. Yeah, so students who have come to the United States on F1 and J1 visas for study can now only stay for four years before they have to apply for an extension. So visa holders could previously stay under duration of status, which basically meant that as long as they were a student, they could continue to extend their visa.

12:34They're not going to be cut off after four years. This is a pretty big deal, I think, particularly for folks who are doing PhD programs, which often last like five years. I mean, there's a potential for people to be kicked out of the country before they've actually been able to finish their degree program. So it's going to put a lot of pressure on international students who are here under those visas. And we're already seeing these knock on effects on enrollment numbers. Pitt actually had 4% fewer international students enroll last fall. That's actually smaller than I would have thought it would be. Yeah, me too, honestly. And I know CMU has had some issues with this as well. I don't have a number handy for that. I don't either, but I have her anecdotally. It is shifting a lot in terms of how they talk to their international audiences, how they do admissions, how they do outreach, how they do some of the student groups within the campuses. And also like not that I feel bad for the finances of Pitt or CMU, but it does radically shift all their budgeting processes behind the scenes because international students pay the most to be here, even with scholarships and other accommodations.

13:37So without them without these masters programs, these PhD programs, that is where the bulk of the bottom line comes from for these colleges and without that or cut into that. That changes a lot about what kinds of things they can do, not to mention all the tech community stuff that like these young people would be developing. They could be creating things they could be learning about like biology and immunology and like contribute of vaccine research. Like there's so many things. And I feel like this is one of those that it's like kind of like opportunity cost, like the loss of what we don't know we could have had. Yeah, I mean, I guess less we end on a down note. I will say the positive for Pittsburgh universities is that enrollment is really strong this fall colleges like Point Park that were, you know, having some concerns about fiscal status and things like that in the last decade or so have seen a really strong freshman enrollment. Point Park is again going to be housing students in a hotel because of the size of their freshman class and Pitt is actually. I think it was going to but then there was like an issue with the zoning adjustment board and whether this had to qualify as like a dormitory or not.

14:44It was just like never mind. We'll find other spaces. I love it. Pittsburgh is out. It is like constantly inserted itself and like good at bad ways. They're chaos agents. I swear. But yeah, Colin, I've read similar stuff that they're I mean separate from international, but there was supposed to be an enrollment cliff this year that hit because of the lack of babies that were born in the wake of the 2008 recession. But that like isn't showing up at least in college classes. Yeah, all this to say basically like whatever enrollment cliff may be affecting other universities and in spite of all these rules that have made it really hard for international students. Pittsburgh seems to be fine on the higher ed front for now at least. Today's show is brought to you by P3R and it is time to lace up because one great weekend is almost here. I'm talking about the 49th annual Richard S. Caligiri City of Pittsburgh Great Race presented by Highmark plus the dollar bank junior great race.

15:49This is the city's oldest fall running tradition and it is one of the best weekends of the year to be outside in the city. The junior great race is at point state park on Saturday, September 26th. There's a one mile family fun run, taught trot and the always adorable diaper dash. If your kid is excited about racing or you just want to soak in some cuteness, you do not want to miss this. And then the next day Sunday, September 27th, it is your turn. You can join thousands of fellow Pittsburghers to run the 5K, tackle the classic 10K or go big and do both as part of one great challenge. Whatever distance you choose, it is a Pittsburgh tradition worth being part of and the perfect way to experience the start of fall in our city. Head to rungreatrace.com to learn more and register today and use code citycast 20 for 20% off any event. That's rungreatrace.com. See you at the start line. Moving over to the Pittsburgh International Airport, I cannot believe how much I have talked about the airport this month. Well, in the last few weeks, this time we're talking about the annual airport auction.

16:57This is for all the stuff that ends, leave behind in the airport. It's almost never connecting flights because like people don't connect through Pittsburgh. So it is literally folks who have landed here and left stuff here. People who have taken off from here and left stuff here. Like some of it is a genuine loss, but a lot of this stuff is just like really nice things that people just leave and it's perplexing to me every single time. This is an enormous auction. Yeah, it was really remarkable to actually visit the auction warehouse and see all this stuff laid out and just like the sheer scope of things that people leave behind at the airport was really, really baffling to me. I mean, we're talking everything from air pods to belts to a camera of air pods, the houses of Mercedes-Benz 2008, but still Mercedes-Benz. Yeah, two fake Rolexes. They were very prominently displayed there. It's real, it's a catalog of just like really incredible sort of carelessness in a way. I have to say like touring this warehouse, I was a little bit like bummed out at first because I was just like it's insane kind of the materialism that leads people to accumulate so much stuff that they can just be like, I guess I don't need my 2007 Toyota camera anymore.

18:11But that said, I mean, I think there is like a little redemption in the fact that they're expecting two to three thousand bidders here. Joe Arpile is running this auction. This is a West Virginia based auction company and they're currently managing this auction out of a warehouse space in the Washington County Crown Center mall. But the fact that they're able to like find new homes for some of this stuff ultimately is really good and the cause is pretty good as well. Anything that the airport is selling that is equipment that has kind of aged out of use for the airport authority, that will go into airport operations funding. But all the rest of the proceeds are going to be donated to the airports charitable foundation and Bob Curlick of the airport told me that some of those funds in the past have been used for things like aviation programs at the community college of Beaver County and improvements to the airports military lounge. So there is like a sort of silver lining to all of this waste, I guess. And when you take catalog Colin, I do want to emphasize to folks like you mean that literally so like just like an eBay or any other online auction site you've ever been to. There is a website for this. I think they think the website's been up for what two years is all right.

19:15Yeah, I think this is the second year that they're doing this is a fully online auction and not an in-person event. Yeah, I mean, they've had the auction for years. Either way, the website portion like everything in Pennsylvania is still relatively young. But you can like just scroll through it and see all of this stuff. It is so much more than you think it's going to be. We'll put the link in our show notes if you want to scroll through. But I'm wondering if you all saw anything that like particularly peaks you. There are a lot of things, honestly, that I was I was kind of like baffled by the stuff Daniel Tiger made me a little sad. I was like, some kid is missing their stuff. Stuff to handle digger lost their stuff. They're there are a bunch of lost stuffies. There was an alien squishmallow. I don't know if this belong. You know, obviously this is all airport property. So nobody claimed it. But there were also I saw an entire box of plastic dinosaurs and other little ephemera. It just makes me really think of all the parents who've had bedtime go horrendously because their. Daniel Tiger stuff is putting in a box in the airport. Baller there and wear a whole reaction to the stuffy.

20:18It's like the worst day in someone's life, maybe as a child or as a parent. One thing that's interesting to me is there are some offerings that are sort of like boxes that have been assembled of different items that I guess maybe like loosely fit together organized around a theme. I'm looking in particular at this one box that maybe like vaguely has a Christmas theme, but it's got an electronic digital safe, a Garth Brooks legacy vinyl box set. A bunch of snow globes, including a Harley Davidson snow globe. And then there's like a tambourine that says blessed in cursive with like a floral design around it. I do appreciate that you're given like a little extra detail about the condition of things. It says Garth Brooks box has significant edgeware and peeling. So like maybe not the nicest Christmas present unless you're going to like a white elephant event. But like I am just so curious about the person whose job it is to like take all of this random junk and try to organize it together by sea. And create like a box where someone would say this jumble of random items. This is perfect for me.

21:20It must have been fun to set this up and like rubber band all the belts and things like that. I mean, you can tell that there was some thought that went into it and how everything was grouped. And theoretically like pile like the company that does it like would have some experience with this sort of thing because they run auctions of all kinds like all year round. They just happen to also contract the airports. Yeah, some of the other interesting ephemera that I saw there was a ribbon and it's still in its package that said birthday girl. So somebody didn't get part of their present apparently. There were shoes, there were hats. I was really shocked at the amount of Apple watches. Pairs of shoes are just single shoes. Mostly pairs, although I did open one of the little earbud charging things and I saw only one earbud inside. So your mileage may vary depending on what you bid on. But there's also apparently there's a new microwave in a box. There were some really nice tools actually that used to be the airport authorities including there was like a gigantic tool chests that's up for auction. There's a folding e-bike. And yes, actually some newer cars as well. I think the newest car was like a 2022 CRV.

22:21Oh, Malhoew, are you interested? No one is going to say is, oh, if I wish I'd known about that before we got our CRV. I also saw like there are also some items that I feel like on their face seem great. But then there's like a caveat like I saw there's a lot of car seats, which on the one hand car seats are pricey could be great. But like you really got to know about the accident history. You really got to know like if your car gets the tiniest bump that thing is not supposed to be used anymore. So I would be quite cautious before picking up an auctioned airport car seat. One also like are those are those like left behind car seats or are they part of maybe a lump of like the rental car companies don't want these car seats anymore so they're passing them on at least with the car seats though they have like serial numbers so you can check how old they are worst case you know you could grab some car seats and then use them trade them into target or one of the box stores and get there like they have pretty hefty coupons if you turn in like major baby items actually that's actually a great pro tip.

23:23I'm not going to do it but maybe that's your journey. There's also a lot of strollers and stuff there too so that that could be a piece of this as well. Yeah strollers as far as the I could see get your stuffy get your stroller and your child is fully outfitted. I have to say it's it was a bit of a shame in some ways that that the items were as tame as they were because a curlic told me also that things that they found in the past have included a taxidermied alligator head. Apparently found a Picasso painting that was actually verified to be real later. They I heard something about Marilyn Monroe's underwear which I don't know about but. Curlic also told me that apparently in at one point in the past a stealer had left his escalate at the airport and then was then traded to Chicago or something mid season and just left this escalate that was like full of clothing that his girlfriend or fiance or somebody had bought. So yeah this this year's auction I think was a little bit more like utilitarian than some of that stuff in spite of these weirder items.

24:26You can get one half of a set of earbuds this year but then you can get an entire box of 200 individual buds and see what works for you. Yeah I'm still I'm still stuck on the provenance of the Marilyn Monroe brawn underwear like I'm going to that's going to be locked in the dome for a few days. There's definitely a story there. Yeah also we'll throw out some good news the new terminal and its customer service building just got lead certified the airport announced lead gold certification so that's for environmental sustainability. And saying that the facilities were designed and constructed to reduce environmental impact improve efficiency conserve resources create healthier spaces using air quotes for travelers staff and airline partners that's all according to the airport. Also that new enormous garage was certified Park smart gold and you have to apply for lead certification but it is obviously something it's like the kind of distinction you sort of have to plan for in advance. But it does maybe wonder sometimes I actually don't know the answer to this but like is lead real is like does it mean anything and like the broader sense or is it kind of like having like a Michelin star where it's like pay to play to some extent.

25:36There's been some criticism of lead over the years just in terms of being yeah this kind of like big juggernaut nonprofit that does in fact. You know require I think some sort of some sort of pay to play I don't know exactly the nature of all that stuff. Some of the other criticisms that I've seen though are that they actually incentivize kind of lower lifts so the criticisms I've seen of lead have been that they rather than like incentivizing lower energy use will place a lot of weight on things like upcycled materials or sustainable materials. And permeable pavement and things like that which are good to be clear like I think being lead certified is definitely better than not being lead certified. It's something I'll take it. Yeah but I saw the term point mongering used I think in one right up of of lead certification. All this to say though like having toward the airport I do think that they're taking some pretty serious steps here they've got a solar array they've got an apiary like beekeeping operation on the airports grounds. That for ages yeah. And they're also working on things like sustainable aviation fuel and the actual building itself has a bunch of like upcycled wood that was you know harvested from like windfall and things like that so there I think the airport actually does kind of live up to the sustainability building.

26:51Insofar as an airport where you know jets are taking off multiple times a day can actually do that. Yeah we recently talked about the airport and some of its efforts towards like energy conservation for example because it has its own energy microgrid. We've talked about that on this show but also recently and citycast national podcast your city could be better so we will also link that in the showouts. Alright it's time for one of our shout outs from a citycast Pittsburgh neighbor this is our membership program if you're new here. We so appreciate those of you that are willing to financially help support us to keep us around this is a free product and so is our newsletter but it does take ads and it takes folks like you to help keep us going and keep us telling you what's new what's good and sitting. Yes so this one is from Danielle E shouting out the nest a nearly new children's clothing store on East Ohio street in the north side. Danielle says when you walk in you feel like you're in a high end boutique but the prices are the same as the thrift store they have an amazing staff who cares for every person that walks in and makes sure you find the cutest things for your little.

27:59They serve their community well and work to ensure that marginalized moms and families who lack resources can find an afford clothing baby gear and more for their kids. I absolutely love shopping here and supporting what they do. PS they also have an amazing vintage section on the back wall with pieces from multiple different decades that is incredible and definitely worth checking out. Danielle even inspired me to go see if I can find some of those old school gosh gosh bagosh overalls that were like all the rage when I was a child and I would love a pair for my own daughter so thank you for this rack and I love that they're giving back to their community. I know I it's never once occurred to me that there is a specific market for vintage children's things but it does make sense because like my personal most treasured items and my own kids collection is two ancient t shirts they're so faded. One is back street boys and one is Ninja Turtles and I'm like of course of course there is like an entire industry for folks like me that are like no I want the good quality t shirts that were made 30 years ago and are still fine.

29:01Now I really want to see your child size back street boys t shirt. Oh it's right here out there I got it for you. If you have a local business nonprofit someone who's doing good in the community or just like serving up food you really like to eat. You can shout them out on the podcast and in our newsletter when you become a city cast Pittsburgh neighbor you can join today at membership dot city cast dot F M you get to share the places you love and unlock other great perks like bonus segments on our Friday shows so once again that is membership dot city cast dot F M also want to take this moment to welcome our newest neighbors Jonathan F Kayla K JB Heather C Raiden M Nick S Aaron S and Oliver M. Now we'll move on to our wins our losses our things to know I'm going to start with a loss kind of small potatoes and the grand scheme of all things we have talked about today but it is devastating because I hate daylight savings time and that is coming soon to our last post 8 p.m. sunset of the year was this week and we're not going to have another sunset that is after eight o'clock until April of 2027.

30:10One of the things that gets me about this is that it's just been so freaking cloudy this summer like with all the rain that we've had this August it's like we didn't even get any daylight to begin with and now the sun is going down earlier that's normally I'm like fine when we get into fall just because I love fall so much but this year I was like I feel like we were kind of denied the perks of summer. Yeah, daylight savings coming by the way on November 1st, so I mean we do have a minute but it's just I feel like it's like one of those like tiny hallmarks of like getting into fall which I love but it's just I also really like late sunsets I love daylight. Yeah, yeah, I mean in a city like Pittsburgh it's extra critical. Yeah, this is a city where vitamin D is at a premium so we got to take what we can I guess in the next month or so here. Well, in more positive news on a win note eviction prevention programs are actually having a major impact across Pennsylvania so this was really good news. The trip had a really good story about this that where they kind of broke this all down but basically a housing alliance of Pennsylvania study showed that counties including Allegheny County that actually have these programs have far far lower rates of evictions.

31:17A lot of this stuff dates to COVID sort of uncertainty around the job market when people were losing their jobs and their source of rental income but these programs have continued to exist and serve the population here. And Allegheny County is now seeing withdrawal of eviction cases and settlement of eviction cases at a far higher rates and counties without these programs and they're actually seeing we're seeing fewer cases brought overall. So just some numbers here one and 3.5 cases of eviction in counties that actually have these mitigation programs in place are settled or withdrawn so that's you know a little less than a third. But in counties without these programs that number is one in 13 meaning that 12 of 13 people are ultimately evicted from from their homes in these situations. And in Allegheny County what that looks like in terms of just raw numbers is there were 13,600 eviction cases filed in the county this is actually down about 780 from 2024. But that's the same number of eviction cases also filed in Philadelphia and even though that maybe seems like a lot that's per capita filings less than half of what they have in York and doffan counties.

32:26So overall just this study I think says that there's still some ground to be covered here obviously there's still a lot of people being evicted. Allegheny County is very rental heavy and there were actually there was a mild uptick in evictions in Westmoreland County but the study basically concludes that these programs have created quote a new landscape in evictions overall and made it a lot easier for people to stay in their homes. And if any of this feels like it's not a thing that like affects you I would point you to an oldie but a goodie the book evicted by Matthew Desmond. It's so good I read it like once every three or four years like because it's like a good reminder of why housing policy and how we treat marginalized communities like folks that live with lower incomes like that matters and it has such a huge societal impact. I also want to shout out public source because they just put out this guide that walks people through the eviction process like what to know how to navigate the court system what resources are available so if anyone is facing a eviction or knows someone in your life who is at risk it's a really good resource for just like understanding what the process is and how you can get help so we will drop a link to that guide in our show notes too.

33:33And we'll end today I guess with a few a terminal things to know I know I started this by like complaining about fall but I feel like there are positives here. What in particular that has just tickled me to death because it had to have been planned months and months ago and here we are iron mills farmstead over in Mercer County little far away but they launch their corn maze they said it's ready to go last week and it is designed and tribute in homage to Dolly pardon which like all of that was planted and planned ages ago like what timing for on their parts. Yeah I was looking at this and it just like the little touches honoring her there's butterflies there's books there's a guitar of course Dolly herself like it's just so well done and I mean I think it just speaks to how beloved she was that this yeah you're right Megan I even thought about it but the timing would not have worked out to like get this whole thing up in a week. And so the fact that this was pre planned I mean just I don't I don't need to tell anyone what a wonder Dolly part was everyone knows and yet we did last week at our bonus segment my only my only mild very mild critique of this corn maze the image is really fun we had an

34:42an our newsletter earlier this week but we'll put a link to in the show notes her hair is not nearly big enough like as a as a southern or myself like the hair has to be Jack to Jesus as we like to say yeah bigger the hair closer to God. There you go call the house. Well another another sure sign that follows just around the corner in Pittsburgh at least is that the Goblerito is back and actually turns 20 this year. If you are living under a rock the Goblerito is a gigantic burrito that is basically filled with Thanksgiving at Mad Max it consists of roasted turkey black bean mashed potatoes stuffing in corn and it's all smothered in gravy with a little side of cranberry sauce. Personally love the Goblerito very excited for the return of this this magical delicacy. And the fact that it's 20 this year is pretty cool that's a that's a good run right there. So definitely a real taste of fall coming down the line at Mad Max soon I was looking for a date on this but I didn't find a definitive start date for this for the celebration. I have actually seen that it makes its return this coming Monday September 7th so if you've been waiting if this is I really think depending on your point of view.

35:52This is either like a masterpiece or a monstrosity if you fall in the masterpiece camp then you just get to get from now to Monday and you can enjoy that sweet Thanksgiving dinner in a burrito. And if you are looking for other food and maybe you know turkey is not your saying you are in luck because Pita's free the chicken truck which I guess has been making a national tour. They are in Pittsburgh they're giving away free vegan chicken in Oakland at Forbes and atwood now through Monday. I guess they're going to be parked near lanes which very subtle lanes chicken joint or whatever their official name is. So yeah if you want some free vegan chicken now's the time and it can tide you over until the goblor you know is here that Pita would be really upset that I just. Like those two you know choose your own adventure. That is it for today's show city caspitzburg neighbors good to stick around now for more about our truly world renowned symphony and how they are being perceived abroad and also what their fame maybe means for us back at home.

36:53If you are not a member you can become so now at membership dot city cast dot FM slash Pittsburgh. That is all for today here on city caspitzburg you can still support us by becoming a city caspitzburg neighbor all the details are at membership dot city cas dot FM slash Pittsburgh. Our music is by Los Maccateches Aaron Taylor Waldman all the kimonos fan Lindball and Sarah the instrumentalist and epidemic sound with additional mixing by Tyler Lindgren. Mallory Falk is our executive producer our interim team this week includes Laura Satsui Laura Condor Ragean and Elizabeth Cama. Adrienne Gonzalez is our post producer also we are so excited to welcome our new creative producers you're going to hear from them very soon. Marla Kaufman and Bowen Wong. I'm your host Megan Harris we will be back on Tuesday and observance of Labor Day we hope you'll have a great long weekend. And now we're going to devolve a little bit.

38:00I think that's good loaded all up top and then just yeah about Marilyn Monroe's underwear.