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September 24, 2026

A Warrant, a Budget & Pittsburgh’s Missing $250M

City Cast Pittsburgh

A Warrant, a Budget & Pittsburgh’s Missing $250M

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Former Mayor Ed Gainey is under investigation and facing allegations of improper contracts, questionable financial decisions, and potentially misleading information in bond documents. No charges have been filed, but the details revealed this week in a newly unsealed search warrant follow a pattern of rumors we've been hearing for years. Host Megan Harris is with the Post-Gazette's Hallie Lauer to talk about the many nonprofits, vendors, and city employees who've been implicated, what we know about what's real, and the very serious consequences if Pittsburgh deceived its creditors — plus what Mayor Corey O’Connor faces as his first budget deadline approaches on Wednesday.

Notes and references from today’s show:

  • Gainey administration may have rigged Pittsburgh’s contract-bidding system, unsealed search warrant says [Post-Gazette]
  • ‘We are sounding the alarm’: Mayor says the city’s financial picture is far more dire than previously known [Post-Gazette]
  • PODCAST: Can Pittsburgh Afford the NFL Draft? (with Jake Pawlak) [City Cast Pittsburgh]
  • PODCAST: Does Mayor Gainey Have Any Regrets (with Ed Gainey) [City Cast Pittsburgh]
  • PODCAST: Is Pittsburgh Going Broke? (with Rachael Heisler) [City Cast Pittsburgh]

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Learn more about the sponsors of this Thursday, September 24th episode:

Carnegie Library

The Frick Pittsburgh

Hazelwood Local

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