This week’s biggest Winners & Losers

Other cities may be sour, but it’s clear Pittsburgh is brewing up something special. Beer, wine and spirit reviewer VinePair ranked the Steel City as the 5th-best beer destination in the world for 2025. Pittsburgh was one of only three American cities to make the list. All hail the ales of Allegheny.

An Ironman athlete from Spring Garden Township who completed five races in a year’s time is making headlines for a different kind of feat: donating one of his kidneys to a person in need. The donor, Andrew Langston, made the decision after seeing a social media post about 20-year-old Gino Serafini being in desperate need of a kidney, and Langston turned out to be a good match, per ABC 27. Now, Langston is preparing for his next test: September’s Ironman World Championship in Nice, France.

March Madness might’ve lacked major upsets, but in the Pennsylvania Chamber’s “Coolest Thing Made in PA” contest, Sheetz was the Cinderella Story. The voting-driven bracket-style competition, featuring 64 products from around the commonwealth, resulted in Sheetz’ Made-to-Order defeating Crayola Crayons to take home the title – MTO for MVP.

Lancaster City Councilmember Janet Diaz is facing calls to resign following comments that colleagues say were xenophobic, which Diaz said were written by a teen volunteer. The post, which referenced Diaz’s colleague, Councilmember Ahmed Ahmed, said that Ahmed "responded with noticeable rudeness, particularly toward the woman presenting" at a City Council meeting, adding that “we have other candidates running, that were born/raised in Lancaster.” Local news outlet WGAL also revealed a separate occasion where Diaz reportedly wrote to Ahmed in an email: “I would be happy to explain in simple English if you would like.” Lancaster City Council President Amanda Bakay has called on Diaz to resign.

Imagine you are a Pennsylvania college student, relying on a state grant to pay your tuition – and well into the second semester, that money is AWOL. That’s the situation affecting more than 100,000 commonwealth students this year, when the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency’s new software system encountered snafus that delayed money already late due to the problematic rollout of new federal financial aid forms. The state grant program provides an average of $2,000 per student each semester – and many students, frustrated by the lack of communication, are still scrimping and waiting.

You would think that after pleading guilty to federal election fraud, elected officials would resign in disgrace. In Delaware County, you would be wrong. Despite felony convictions and pending charges, Md Nural Hasan, vice president of the Millbourne Borough Council, and fellow councilmember Md Munsur Ali are still in charge and even planning new board appointments – after admitting to a scheme to steal an election for Hasan by registering nonresidents to vote. State law bars convicted felons from holding office, but as we’ve all learned, it doesn’t specify when, exactly, they have to skedaddle.