the almanac O C T O B E R 19, 2025
SOUTH HILLS COMMUNITY NEWS
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Global interests lead USC grad to CNN, China By Jill Thurston
Pittsburgh from China after earning a global affairs master’s degree from Tsinghua University in Beijing as a Schwarzman Scholar. Zalla left her position as Zakaria’s researcher in 2024 to study in China. Her work with the team at CNN for coverage of the Israel-Hamas War was later nominated and awarded an Emmy in breaking news coverage in September 2024, after Zalla was already in China for her master’s program. “During my time at CNN with the Fareed Zakaria GPS program, we had a total of three Emmy nominations and we won for outstanding breaking news coverage of the Israel-Hamas war, as part of a team effort with the
Staff writer
COURTESY OF CLAIRE ZALLA
Claire Zalla holds her Emmy, awarded to her while working at CNN for breaking news coverage.
Following her graduation from Yale University in 2021, Upper St. Clair graduate Claire Zalla, 26, has taken a deep dive into the field of global affairs and come up with some remarkable experiences, including working at CNN and studying in China under a prestigious graduate scholarship. Zalla is a Schwarzman Scholar and an Emmy Award winner, earned from her time working as Fareed Zakaria’s researcher on his CNN news and analysis program, Fareed Zakaria GPS. A 2017 Upper St. Clair High School graduate, she recently returned to
other CNN programming occurring during that weekend,” Zalla said. “It was a great honor to be included and to be nominated,” Zalla said. Her weeks at CNN were fastpaced. Zalla said she would spend Tuesday and Wednesday researching and preparing, working with Zakaria on his monologue, and with other producers on their interviews for the show, and then tape the show on Thursday, sometimes only to have to start over in the case of newsworthy events on Friday or Saturday before the show would air. “When you are covering the world, a lot of things can occur between Friday night and Sunday morning when the show would air. So sometimes,
we would have an entire show prepared and something big and newsworthy enough would happen and we would have to essentially throw out a lot of what we had done and do a live show on Sunday mornings. This happened when Russia invaded Ukraine. We did many live shows during the Israel-Hamas war. That’s why we were included in the Emmy that we won,” she said. Zalla said her desire to gain a deeper understanding of China prompted her to apply for the Schwarzman Scholarship program, which awards a one-year, fully funded master’s degree in global affairs to a limited number of students. SEE GLOBAL, PAGE A2
Project preservation Steven Fisher of Baldwin peruses the pages of a memory book from John McMillan Elementary School during Bethel Park Community Day. Fisher was working at the Bethel Park Historical Society booth.
PHOTOS: BRAD HUNDT/OBSERVER-REPORTER
About 60 people attended a discussion on book censorship at Mt. Lebanon Public Library on Oct. 10.
Book bans focus of discussion at Mt. Lebanon Library By Brad Hundt Staff writer
bhundt@observer-reporter.com
MT. LEBANON — Perhaps the most insidious effect of book-banning drives isn’t the actual removal of titles from library shelves, but the fear it instills in librarians. When the possibility of an angry call to a trustee or a social media mob being sicced on them is on the table, some librarians might well think twice about stocking a controversial title, especially if they are worried that their job could hang in the balance. It’s a form of self-censorship, according to Katherine Locke, co-president of the Pennsylvania chapter of the group Authors Against Book Bans. “They anticipate a parent or board member will have a problem with it,” she explained. Locke was one of five panelists participating in a discussion on book censorship at Robyn Vittek, director of the Mt. the Mt. Lebanon Pub- Lebanon Public Library, modlic Library on Oct. 10. erated the discussion, “The “The Past and Present Past and Present Concerns of Concerns of Book Ban- Book Banning in America.” ning in America” was moderated by Robyn Vittek, the library’s director. Earlier this year, the library’s board approved a resolution making the library a book sanctuary. As a book sanctuary, books will not be removed from shelves if they meet the library’s collection development policy. The resolution also pledged that the library would offer education on book banning, hold talks on the topic and make endangered books widely accessible. The library became the first book sanctuary in Pennsylvania, following in the footsteps of the Chicago Public Library, which became a book sanctuary in 2022. “Material will not be removed just because a person or group doesn’t like it,” Vittek said. The last couple of years have seen a raft of widely reported attempts to ban books, many powered by activist groups and fueled by social media. A report released this month by the advocacy group PEN America said book censorship in the United States is “rampant and common.” “Never before in the life of any living American have so many books been removed from school libraries across the country,” the report states. “Never before have so many states passed laws or regulations to facilitate the banning of books, including bans on specific titles statewide…” SEE BANS, PAGE A2
UPPER ST. CLAIR New initiative at Streams Elementary PAGE A2 What’s happening, B3
ELEANOR BAILEY/THE ALMANAC
Bethel Park School District, historical society documenting history of closing grade schools By Paul Paterra Staff writer
ppaterra@observer-reporter.com
As the Bethel Park School District moves closer to the opening of its new elementary facility in the fall of 2026, a movement is afoot to make sure that the six closing elementary schools will not be forgotten. Project Preservation is in place to honor the memories of the Neil Armstrong, Memorial, Ben Franklin, Abraham Lincoln, William Penn and George Washington elementary schools while inspiring the future, which involves the new $133 million Bethel Park Elementary Center. The new school will accommodate up to 1,800 students. “The goal is to preserve the history of the community, in particular the schools that will be closing,” said Tim Moury, president of the Bethel Park Historical Society. “We want to document anything special or interesting.” Voices, photos and memorabilia from the closing schools is being collected. There are plans for a video to capture the individual identity of each school.
COURTESY OF BETHEL PARK SCHOOL DISTRICT
Ravi Kancharla, left, and Madeline Dunn show off Memorial Elementary School SEE SCHOOL, PAGE A2 paraphernalia.
UPPER ST. CLAIR Rec center project proposed PAGE A3 Real estate transactions, A6
SPORTS South Fayette wins WPIAL golf title PAGE B1 Classifieds, B4