January 16, 2026 | 27 Tevet 5786
Candlelighting 5:01 p.m. | Havdalah 6:04 p.m. | Vol. 69, No. 3 | pittsburghjewishchronicle.org
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Community reacts to announced Gov. Josh closure of Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Shapiro announces reelection bid
NOTEWORTHY LOCAL Finding meaning in Israel
By David Rullo | Senior Staff Writer
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In 2021, the Post-Gazette cut its print edition to just two days a week, moving to a digital-first model. That followed a 2018 decision by the Blocks to stop publishing on Tuesdays and Saturday, and a 2019 decision by the owners to slash two more issues, leaving only three daily editions a week. Although print editions were reduced over the years, the Post-Gazette continued to publish a print facsimile online daily. The company will continue to own the Toledo Blade. The announced closure of the Post-Gazette comes at a time of shrinking local media nationwide. According to a 2025 report from Medill at Northwestern University, the number of newspapers published in the U.S. dropped from 7,325 in 2005 to 4,490 now. There are fewer than 1,000 dailies remaining in the U.S. The Newspaper Guild blasted the announcement in a statement, saying that Block Communications “couldn’t bust the union, so they shut down the paper,” accusing the owners of “wasting millions of dollars losing court battles in attempts to deny their workers’ basic rights,” before announcing the paper’s closure. Andrew Goldstein, president of the Guild, told the Chronicle that after losing at the Supreme Court, the Blocks “decided to pull the plug, to take their ball and go home.”
ennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro launched his reelection campaign in Pittsburgh Jan. 8 at an afternoon rally at the Carpenters Union Local 432. The announcement was made amid a steady lineup of speakers — politicians, union leaders and community advocates — who each emphasized Shapiro’s record in western Pennsylvania and across the state. The theme of the news conference, “GSD”— short for either “get stuff done” or “get sh-t” done, depending on the speaker — was repeated in each of the speeches. It’s a theme Shapiro amplified, using the off-color version of the phrase on X in a post that contained a red, white and blue campaign sign with the same declaration. Steve Mazza, a representative of the East Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters, opened the rally by highlighting Shapiro’s support of the building trades and construction in the region. “His administration has made clear that construction and downtown conversion projects should create family-sustaining union jobs, not race to the bottom like a lot of other developers and elected officials,” he said. Mazza pointed to the Shapiro administration’s expansion of apprenticeship and pre-apprenticeship programs, which he said are the backbone of union trades like carpentry. “Since taking office the Shapiro administration has enrolled almost 18,000 new apprentices and more than 3,000 additional students enrolled in CTE [career and technical education] programs and VO tech programs,” he said. Mazza drew attention to Shapiro’s 10-year plan for downtown Pittsburgh, the governor’s support of the Montgomery lock and dam improvement project, the Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program and his support of the Esplanade Project on the city’s North Shore, among other things. State Democrat Party Chair Eugene Depasquale spoke of working with Shapiro in the state’s general assembly, when they both served on the budget and judiciary committees.
Please see Closure, page 12
Please see Shapiro, page 12
Bonds built on Birthright LOCAL
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An interview with Rabbi Angela Buchdahl
p The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette building in downtown Pittsburgh, which housed the paper from 1962 to 2015 Photo by Allie Caufieldderivative work: GrapedApe, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Reflections on Jewish identity
By David Rullo | Senior Staff Writer
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LOCAL A teen asked for ‘some cereal’
Kellogg’s responded Page 4
LOCAL A forgotten Holocaust story
‘The Mischlinge Exposé’ Page 17
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he Pittsburgh Post-Gazette announced plans to cease operations on May 3, 2026, after nearly 250 years in print. The Jan. 7 announcement came hours after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against the paper’s owner, Block Communications Inc., ending a more than three-year legal battle with the Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh, which began when writers, mailers, production workers and advertising staff went on strike in October 2022. Workers were notified of the impending closure by Jodi Miehls, president of Block Communications, on a pre-recorded Zoom call lasting slightly more two minutes. The paper’s owners said they have lost more than $350 million in the last 20 years running the Post-Gazette. The announcement came about a week after Block Communications shuttered the Pittsburgh City Paper. The alternative paper was acquired by a Block Communications subsidiary, Cars Holding Inc., in 2023 from the publishers of the Butler Eagle. Block Communications said it was shuttering the City Paper because its “business model has not reached a level of financial performance that allows Block Communications to continue operating it responsibly.” In August 2025, Gray Media Inc. acquired WDRB, Block Communications’ broadcast division, for $80 million.
Financial Planning
Special section begins on page 8
InsideCreativeHouse / Adobe Stock