As 2025 draws to a close, Pittsburgh City Paper’s editorial staff members select their favorite stories from the year. Relive staff writer Rachel Wilkinson’s 2025 highlights below:
Got rats? The dogs of the Steel City Ratting Coalition are at your service // July 30, 2025
Dear City Paper readers, if you ever doubt my commitment to old-fashioned on-the-ground reporting, please refer to this story, where, 15 minutes in, rat entrails flew six inches from my face (you’re welcome for the holiday cheer). In all seriousness, it was a blast to shadow the hard-working dogs and people of the Steel City Ratting Coalition, who are providing a public service by tackling the region’s stubborn rat problem in an environmentally friendly and, ah, unique way. Follow SCRC’s adventures on Facebook, including a recent job at the Community Garden at Allegheny Commons Park, brought about by CP’s coverage.
Is Station Square on its death bed, or just about to resurrect? // Feb. 19, 2025
With new ownership promising a revival, it seems we’ll be carrying the question of Station Square’s future into 2026. What I loved about this story was not only imagining a revitalized Station Square, but looking back at the current generation of urban renewal, which, arguably, the Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation kicked off when it converted the soon-to-be 50-year-old complex. It’s easy to take Station Square for granted, but its ongoing transformation remains an important symbol and a bellwether for Pittsburgh’s development.
Despite a bitter campaign, Corey O’Connor says he’s “always been” progressive // April 23, 2025
This year was marked by a heated mayoral primary in Pittsburgh, in which CP profiled both Democratic contenders. Since then, city residents have seen inclusionary zoning in flux, budget woes, missing snow plows, and a 20% tax increase for 2026. In April, Mayor-Elect Corey O’Connor promised progressive change including affordable housing, sustained public transit funding, compelling tax-exempt organizations to “pay their fair share,” and much more. They’re campaign promises worth revisiting before inauguration day.
Zano’s Pub House — the latest iteration of a Greenfield staple — is making new friends, but keeping the old // Oct. 1, 2025
Who doesn’t love a good neighborhood bar? This year, I had the pleasure of visiting Zano’s Pub House in the Run, a staple preserving a slice of Pittsburgh life that must be protected at all costs. (Dollar wing nights, people!) Iterations of Zano’s have been around for at least a century, and its latest owner and manager are doing all they can to keep the bar a place that multiple generations of Pittsburghers want to walk into every day.
From three rivers to 412, count the ways numerology is significant to Pittsburgh // Feb. 6, 2025
At the beginning of the year, I got to consult with a numerologist about Pittsburgh’s “life path” and future — far artsier than expected! — with predictions made on the heels of the announcement we’d host the 2026 NFL Draft. I couldn’t close out 2025 without looking back at how we’ve fared. Collectively, numerologists believe we’re all ending a nine-year cycle, but Pittsburgh itself is only two years in. With 2026 marked as a “three year” for the city, expect color and vibrancy.
