By Sean P. Ray | Managing Editor

The end of a year and the start of a new one is often a time of reflection for many people.

For The Northside Chronicle, it has become tradition in our January issue to do a year in review, where we look back at our top stories from the past year.

How do we determine what our top stories are? With the help of our readers! The entries for our year in review are picked based on the most read article on our website from each month of the year.

So let’s take a look back at all the big pieces of news from the past year as we bid adieu to 2024.

January: Town Talk: The Historic Day House — Northside’s Historic B&B’s Part 2

Kicking things off for our year in review was the January 2024 entry of Town Talk, our column by Anna Yoder taking a look at different Northside businesses and organizations.

The January entry was the second part of a two-part series on Northside’s historic bed and breakfasts. The second part covered The Historic Day House, a 7,200-square foot Victorian home built in 1871.

Yoder spoke with Dennis Vodzak, who purchased the home in 2004, though the building had been used for apartment spaces since 1934.

Vodzak transformed the house with a renovation plan which he said restored its “original beauty.” The home offers four guest suites: The Parkview, The Heinz, The Allegheny and The Balcony.

As a bit of a spoiler for later on, this won’t be the last time Town Talk is featured on our Year in Review. It’s a column a lot of readers really enjoy, and a chance to learn the history of many Northside institutions.

Town Talk will be published intermittently during 2025, but our readers can be assured that Yoder’s columns will continue to be printed in The Chronicle for as long as she wants to keep writing them for us.

February: Catching up with Tom Friday’s new owners

Tom Friday’s, which has been a Northside staple since 1955, came under new ownership in November of 2023.

Longtime owner Tom Friday Jr. handed the keys of the business over to Alex Ansari and Ali Sajit, owners of the Coraopolis Cash Market. We caught up with the pair a few months into their ownership to see how things were going, what was being changed and what was staying the same.

Ali Sajit, co-owner of Tom Friday’s Market, helps a customer at the store’s front register. Sajit purchased the business alongside his business partner Alex Ansari in November 2024. Photo by Sean P. Ray

In regards to that last category, there was quite a bit. Ansari and Sajit kept the existing employees of the business and the cut meats that Tom Friday’s is so well known for. Friday Jr. even assisted the pair during the holiday season rush, a major moment in the Tom Friday’s Market year.

some good news in our May issue, news that our readers were keen to learn. Pittsburgh Senior Park Ranger Erica Heide told The Chronicle that the 2024 generation of spotted lanternflies was expected to be smaller than previous years.

Heide said that invasive species typically have their most explosive population boom in their third year. After that point, natural predators begin identifying the invaders as a reliable food source and cull their populations to more manageable levels.

Was that the case this year? Our readers seem to think so. In our August poll results, 75% of respondents said they saw fewer lanternflies than in previous years.

While it’s uncertain if these bugs will ever get wiped out in the US, it is nice to know there will be fewer of them around in the coming years, if the trend stays true.

March: ALCOSAN gives update on new tunnel plan

A major ongoing story on the Northside (and many other areas of Pittsburgh) for the past few years is the planned new tunnel system by the Allegheny County Sanitary Authority (ALCOSAN).

This map shows ALCOSAN’s planned new tunnel system, designed to address overflowing issues the sanitation authority is currently facing. Tunneling is set to begin sometime in 2025. Image courtesy of ALCOSAN

In our March issue, we talked with ALCOSAN officials to get a timeline for this project, which will involve the drilling of underground tunnels along Pittsburgh’s three rivers. This project majorly impacts the Northside, as one of the starting points for the tunnel drilling will be in the neighborhood, specifically in the vicinity of South Canal Street.

Drilling for the Ohio River tunnel system is expected to start this year, with work continuing through 2029. Drilling for the Allegheny River tunnel is scheduled to begin in 2028, and also begin on the Northside.

The tunnels are part of an effort by ALCOSAN to comply with a consent decree established in 2008 by the Environmental Protection Agency. Currently ALCOSAN’s systems discharge too much undiluted sewage — around 9 billion gallons yearly — into the environment. This, ALCOSAN officials told The Chronicle, is because the current system overflows too easily, with 1/10th of an inch of rainfall capable of causing overflowing.

Drilling for all three tunnel systems is scheduled to end by 2036. However, the tunnels will only reduce ALCOSAN’s overflow to about 3 billion gallons annually, and further renovations are expected to bring ALCOSAN into compliance with federal regulations.

During drilling, there will be an open access shaft on the Northside, which will be replaced with a manhole or similar covering once work is completed. ALCOSAN officials told The Chronicle that residents might hear noise from the drilling, but should not expect any foul odors to be released from the shaft.

April: Chamber Update: Northside Job Fair coming to PNC Park on April 26

Job hunting was popular in April on the Northside, as our most read story was the then-latest Chamber Update, which focused on the NorthSideWorks! job fair.

NorthSideWorks! is the Chamber’s workforce development program, helping job seekers improve their skills and find the right employer. The job fair occurred on April 26 at PNC Park and featured 64 employers, service organizations and training providers.

As revealed in the June Chamber Update, the event was a success, with more than 250 job-hunters attending.

The Chamber Update provides a great source of Northside business information to our readers, both for employees and employers. We’re proud to continue featuring this column to help keep our readers informed on the local economy and business opportunities.

May: Spotted lanternfly population expected to be smaller this year

It’s no secret that many people across the Northside (and Pennsylvania in general) are sick of spotted lanternflies at this point.

Ever since they made their way into Allegheny County in 2021, these jumping insects have become an unfortunate feature of spring and summer, and seem to take over the neighborhood.

It is with that in mind that we were able to deliver some good news in our May issue, news that our readers were keen to learn. Pittsburgh Senior Park Ranger Erica Heide told The Chronicle that the 2024 generation of spotted lanternflies was expected to be smaller than previous years.

Heide said that invasive species typically have their most explosive population boom in their third year. After that point, natural predators begin identifying the invaders as a reliable food source and cull their populations to more manageable levels.

Was that the case this year? Our readers seem to think so. In our August poll results, 75% of respondents said they saw fewer lanternflies than in previous years.

While it’s uncertain if these bugs will ever get wiped out in the US, it is nice to know there will be fewer of them around in the coming years, if the trend stays true.

June: New women’s festival coming to the Northside

The Babesburgh Bash, a one-day festival dedicated to women, made its debut in 2024, taking place at Allegheny Landing on the North Shore on June 29.

Attendees at a Babesburgh bus crawl pose for a photo with the group’s banner. Babesburgh is a women-focused organization founded in summer 2023. Contributed photo

The Bash built up a lot of hype with Chronicle readers, as our preview of the event was our most popular story in June.

Cat Bruno, executive director of Babesburgh, gave all the details about the organization’s founding and mission. The group holds women-focused networking events, self-defense classes and other such activities.

A big reason the event was held on the North Shore was due to the presence of a nearby historical marker for the Allegheny Cotton Mill Strikes, which occurred in 1845 and 1848. The strikes by women cotton factory workers were in protest of 12-hour work days they experienced while laboring in cotton mills.

The strikes led to legislation reducing workdays to 10 hours and prohibiting children under the age of 12 from working in cotton and textile mills.

As for anyone who enjoyed the Bash, which featured a variety of vendors and food stands, Babesburgh has already announced that the second Bash will take place on June 14, 2025. We’ll see if we can get more details as the event date approaches.

July: Northside Music Festival back for 2nd year

Summertime is festival time, and our readers  especially anticipated one festival in particular.

The Northside Music Festival returned for its second year on July 12-14. We ran a preview article of the event in our July issue, letting readers know what to expect for this celebration of all things musical.

Technically the festival had been going on for longer than just two years. It began as the Deutschtown Music Festival, but changed names in 2023, as well as a scaling back that made the event more manageable and intimate.

Previously the Deutschtown Music Festival had grown to feature around 400 bands, while Northside Music Festival cut that down to 70. This allowed for more attention on each individual act, something organizer Ben Soltesz said worked very well.

The capstone to the festival is the Gospel Sunday program, where various local churches have their choirs perform, singing religious songs to close things out.

Hopefully Northside Music Festival continues to return year after year, and our readers continue to find it a joy to see in the paper.

August: Northside Park News: Red-shouldered hawk family spotted in Allegheny Commons

The past year saw the return of the Northside parks column by Ranger Stevie. While the column is on a hiatus for now, we’re sure more will be coming in 2025.

The August column by Ranger Stevie had some big news with the spotting of an active family of red-shouldered hawks in Allegheny Commons Park. A mother hawk was seen teaching her two babies how to hunt, certainly drawing the attention of park goers.

However, the column also came with some bad news, discussing the then-recent death of Gus Kalaris, owner of Gus & Yiayia’s, the frozen ice stand that’s been a Northside staple for decades.

Kalaris’s passing in June was a difficult time for the Northside, and multiple columns and articles in the paper touched on his impact.

As with every year in the news business, it cannot all be happy. Bad news always appears from time to time. But, fortunately, we’re able to deliver the good with the bad and keep things balanced out.

Ballfield Farm Crop Manager Carol Gonzalez stands by the field’s old dugout which was repainted to serve as a sign. The farm is located in Perry South.  Photo by Anna Yoder

September: Town Talk: Ballfield Farm — A true grand slam

We told you January was not Town Talk’s only appearance on our most popular articles list.

Our readers loved Yoder’s look at Ballfield Farm in September, detailing the work of Carol Gonzalez in transitioning an abandoned baseball field into a truly unique urban farm.

Begun in 2008 by The Pittsburgh Project with the help of Courtney and Mark Williams, Ballfield Farm features a wide variety of produce, including tomatoes, blueberries, green beans and more.

These crops are grown in a “no-till approach,” wherein the soil is not disturbed, using cover crops, leaves and mulch to control weeds. Leaving the soil intact allows for better soil health, moisture retention and encourages beneficial organisms to stick around and help the crops out in their own way.

A volunteer effort, Ballfield Farm has around 30 members who help maintain it, a great sign of community and teamwork.

In addition to the plants, Yoder also caught sight of some wildlife while visiting the farm, including a pileated woodpecker!

If you haven’t paid a visit to Ballfield Farm, 2025 would be a great time to do so. Though, maybe wait until the weather warms up first.

October: Tidioute riverscape wins Northsiders on Vacation Photo Contest

Our quarterly photo contests continue to be a loved part of The Northside Chronicle’s year. We even announced the latest winner and next contest in this very issue.

For our summer contest, we asked our readers to send in their photos of vacation. Instead of the beach or Disney World, the winning photo was of something more peaceful and naturally beautiful.

Robyn Barber submitted a photo of a girl and her dog wading through the water of a river in Tidioute. They’re surrounded by the scenic forests and rolling hills of Pennsylvania, presenting a calming and relaxed atmosphere that the contest voters enjoyed.

We somewhat expect it was the inclusion of a dog that helped this photo win. Pets are always a popular part of our photo contests.

Speaking of which, check out page 4 to see what our next contest entails. Fans of furry friends might find the theme particularly exciting.

November: Northside Art Factory launches project to beautify Virgin Way

Ashley Hodder, lead artist on the Virgin Way Revitalization project, spray paints a wall in the alley on Oct. 5. Photo by Sean P. Ray

Virgin Way has long had a maligned reputation on the Northside, with residents frequently encountering used syringes in the alley. This fall, an effort to turn Virgin Way’s reputation around launched and was a big hit with Chronicle readers.

The Virgin Way Revitalization project kicked off on Oct. 5. Various artists from across Pittsburgh and the wider United States were invited to adorn the walls of the alley with murals, providing some much needed color to the locale.

The goal is to reduce crime in the area of Virgin Way by showing people care for the alley, according to Matthew Hartford, executive director of Northside Art Factory. The project was organized by Northside Art Factory with funding from the Buhl Foundation.

With the popularity of the article, we wonder how many of our readers have taken a trip down to Virgin Way to see these murals? Let us know if you have and your thoughts on the artwork.

Chimechi Oparanozie, an actor who grew up on the Northside, walks the red carpet at the Toronto International Film Festival premiere of the movie ‘Unstoppable,’ in which Oparanozie has a major role. Our article on him was the most popular story of December. Courtesy photo

December: Northsider reaches silver screen with upcoming major film ‘Unstoppable’

Northside met Hollywood in 2024. Well, sorta.

Chimechi Oparanozie, who grew up on the Northside, had his acting breakthrough when he appeared in the film “Unstoppable” alongside stars like Jharrel Jerome, Jennifer Lopez, Michael Peña and Don Cheadle. The film is based on the true story of Anthony Robles, a one-legged wrestler who won the 2011 NCAA individual wrestling championship. Oparanozie plays Brian Corwin, a friend of Robles who encourages him on his wrestling journey.

While experiencing some nerves at first, Oparanozie said he was able to relax even while performing with major stars. The film was his first speaking part, having previously done extra work on the show “All American,” which is about football players.

Oparanozie is truly an inspiration to all Northsiders, someone who has found major success in one of the biggest entertainment industries on Earth. We definitely are excited to see where his career takes him and what other roles he’ll appear in.