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Venuri Siriwardane

@venuri.bsky.social
816 followers 760 following 43 posts

Journalist covering public health in PGH. Get your news from trustworthy BIPOC, LGBTQ+, disabled, immigrant, working class or otherwise marginalized journalists.

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Venuri Siriwardane @venuri.bsky.social · 17/04/2026
Some personal news: This was my last assignment for Public Source. I tried to report every story on behalf of our most vulnerable neighbors. It's been my honor to serve them and the people of PGH for the past three years. I'll be freelancing for the foreseeable future. My DMs are open for tips.
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Venuri Siriwardane @venuri.bsky.social · 17/04/2026
Got something to say about your experience as a patient at UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital? Or any other UPMC facility? Union nurses want to hear your feedback through their community survey. Here's how this novel approach is informing their collective bargaining. www.publicsource.org/upmc-magee-w...
publicsource.org
Magee-Womens nurses take to streets, surveys to bolster bargaining with UPMC
Unionized nurses at Magee-Womens are asking Pittsburgh patients to weigh in as they bargain their first contract with UPMC over staffing levels.
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Venuri Siriwardane @venuri.bsky.social · 01/04/2026
Thanks for taking such beautiful and poignant photos, Steph! It's always great to work with you.
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megan. @twointheschink.bsky.social · 31/03/2026
“This city looks quieter and calmer and less lively since this whole thing started,” the Afghan community leader said, referring to the administration’s crackdown on refugees and immigrants.” this is heartbreaking. this point of this second term is cruelty.
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Venuri Siriwardane @venuri.bsky.social · 31/03/2026
And here’s how resettlement agencies are prepping refugees if Trump admin policies are held up by the courts. During "detention preparation" trainings, attendees are asking gut-wrenching questions about family separation and physical force during ICE arrests. www.publicsource.org/pittsburgh-r... 2/
publicsource.org
Pittsburgh-area refugees, advocates prepare for Minnesota-style detentions
Operation PARRIS aims to detain refugees who haven’t reached permanent residency. It’s stalled in court, but local advocates are sharing a new emergency app.
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Venuri Siriwardane @venuri.bsky.social · 31/03/2026
Years ago, city officials tried to make PGH a more inclusive place for refugees, who curbed population loss and boosted the economy. My reporting shows they now face hate speech and the possibility of detention. Some are leaving the U.S. for third countries. www.publicsource.org/pittsburgh-r... 1/
publicsource.org
Trump administration rhetoric, policies raise fears in Pittsburgh's refugee communities
Federal efforts to detain and deport many refugees and characterizations of some as “criminals” have prompted some to hide — or leave.
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Rep. Summer Lee @repsummerlee.bsky.social · 12/03/2026
Local journalism is essential to a healthy democracy. As Pittsburgh loses critical newsrooms, conversations about what our communities need matter more than ever. Join @publicsource.org for a community town hall in McKeesport this Friday. Learn more & RSVP: www.publicsource.org/you-have-the...
publicsource.org
You Have the Floor: 7 town halls in 7 days
Public Source invites Pittsburgh-area residents to share what information communities need most and what local news can do for them.
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Andrea Pitzer @andreapitzer.bsky.social · 11/02/2026
When I got the contract to write a history of concentration camps in 2014, I hoped to keep the US from ending up here. That didn't work out! But now it's critical to understand how much is already in process and the enormity of what's coming. The sooner we act to stop it, the more people we'll save.
degenerateart.beehiiv.com
Building the camps
The warehouseification of detention and initial thoughts on stopping it.
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Charlie Wolfson @chwolfson.bsky.social · 11/02/2026
New from @jamiewiggan.bsky.social and @stephstrasburg.bsky.social : Turn-signal stop prompts ICE detention for father of two in Springdale www.publicsource.org/ice-detains-...
publicsource.org
Turn-signal stop prompts ICE detention for father of two in Springdale
The Peruvian national’s family said he was legally in the country and complying with asylum processes when local police pulled him over and turned him over to ICE. The borough has an agreement with th...
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Venuri Siriwardane @venuri.bsky.social · 01/02/2026
Great piece that draws parallels between what it took to activate white moderates during the Civil Rights Movement and the impact that Renee Good and Alex Pretti’s tragic deaths are having now. www.salon.com/2026/02/01/a...
salon.com
A wake-up call for white Americans
The deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti are forcing white people to face hard truths about state power and violence
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Katrina Eames @katrinaeames.bsky.social · 01/02/2026
We shouldn't have to carry around our passports while running errands, but so many of us are.
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Venuri Siriwardane @venuri.bsky.social · 28/01/2026
Most newsroom leaders come from families who've been in this country for generations. Many aren't capable of empathizing with those who endure the most brutal aspects of the immigration system. Some don't even try. These are the people who are shaping coverage of what's happening right now.
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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 26/01/2026
Just say the government is lying. The goal of journalism should be to inform, not gaslight.
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Mia Sato @miasato.bsky.social · 25/01/2026
If you have seen your favorite sex subreddit become abolish ICE overnight please DM me so I can write about it for The Verge dot com ✨
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Faine Greenwood @faineg.com · 25/01/2026
Wow, yeah, reddit.com/r/all is a remarkable tapestry of fuck ICE posts
r/LivestreamFail 8h
Join
Asmongold on the ICE shooting: "There needs to be accountability or this is the Gestapo"r/DesignPorn 7h
Comic Sans has entered the chat.
Join
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FOR THE LOVE DE KATURE
FUCKr/NFCNorthMemeWar 1h
LIONS
However...
Join
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Ther/climbing 8h
ICU nurse Alex Pretti, killed by ICE agents in Minneapolis today
Join
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66.1k
D 572
r/AccidentalRenaissance 5h
The Marine
呼
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Julia Carrie Wong @joolia.bsky.social · 23/01/2026
is it good that the guardian’s Berlin correspondent is reporting on a US paramilitary leader?
theguardian.com
German media likens US border patrol official’s coat to ‘Nazi look’
Gregory Bovino’s outwear choice prompts German commentators to compare it to fascist aesthetic
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Amanda Katz @katzish.bsky.social · 24/01/2026
They messed with Texas Monthly’s James Beard Award-winning senior taco editor (truly one of the best job titles in journalism) www.sacurrent.com/news/texas-n...
sacurrent.com
ICE pulls over Texas Monthly’s senior taco editor while reporting in West Texas
'They wanted us to get anxious. It worked,' the award-winning food journalist said of his encounter with ICE agents.
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Liz Szabo @lizszabo.bsky.social · 18/01/2026
How sad is this? The CDC closed its FOIA office, so this story could only be published because a Danish journalist provided Rolling Stone with the documents, after obtaining them through a freedom of information request to the University of Southern Denmark www.rollingstone.com/politics/pol...
rollingstone.com
HHS Gave a $1.6 Million Grant to a Controversial Vaccine Study. These Emails Show How That Happened
Two Danish researchers faced accusations of “questionable research practices” as RFK Jr.’s top appointees made their study a “funding priority.”
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Pixie Thinks🧚🏽‍♀️ @pixiethinkss.bsky.social · 08/01/2026
ICE killed a Black man, Keith Porter, 7 days before Renee Good, and I hadn't heard about it until today. His vigils went unnoticed. His life came and gone and America forgot to blink. Two Americas.
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Christopher Wiggins @cwnewser.bsky.social · 07/01/2026
NEWS: In a heartbreaking video, after ICE shot and killed a woman in Minneapolis, a woman who was in the same SUV cries out: “They killed my wife. I don’t know what to do." “We stopped to videotape, and they shot her in the head,” the distraught woman sobs. www.advocate.com/news/minneso...
advocate.com
Distraught woman says ICE killed her wife in video after deadly Minneapolis shooting
“They killed my wife,” the distraught woman says, adding, “They shot her in the head.”
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anna @fritesflagey.bsky.social · 05/01/2026
I still haven't totally wrapped my head around what losing the CP means, because it's hard to believe that all of that reporting and writing—especially on the arts, small businesses, and marginalized neighborhoods—just won't happen regularly anymore. Support its staff who made all that possible.
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Colin Williams @colinbwilliams.com · 31/12/2025
Well folks, some news. Ownership is folding @pghcitypaper.com. I wish I could say this was more surprising. I'll be on the lookout for new roles while I continue to teach and hopefully find places to publish some stories I haven't finished. In the meantime, I'm all ears for opportunities.
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Pittsburgh's Public Source @publicsource.org · 30/10/2025
As we enter the fall and winter respiratory virus season, @venuri.bsky.social interviewed local public health experts to learn how Allegheny County is navigating the shifting landscape of federal vaccine policy.
bit.ly
Q&A: As vaccination rates dip, how are Allegheny County leaders responding?
As the Trump administration tries to upend vaccination practices, Allegheny County's top immunization official and a key advocacy group counter with research.
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Sarah Kelly @sarahkelly.bsky.social · 16/09/2025
Actually I think more media unions should work some kind of right to expression into their contracts. It’s ridiculous that every major newspaper chain plus NYT and WaPo restricts journalists from expressing any meaningful opinion for the entirety of their careers.
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Stephanie Strasburg @stephstrasburg.bsky.social · 28/08/2025
Treble NLS suggested we return to the place where he was handcuffed in the midst of a mental health crisis for portraits for @venuri.bsky.social's story on how involuntary ‘302’ hospitalizations fall more heavily on Black patients. Trusting his vision, I met him at the edge of the Mon Wharf. 🧵
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Pittsburgh's Public Source @publicsource.org · 30/07/2025
Do you live in Allegheny County and have you or a loved one experienced involuntary mental health commitment? Public Source would like to learn from you for our ongoing series When Care is Compulsory. Please email venuri@publicsource.org if you are in a position to share.
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Alt NIH Bluesky 🧪 @altnih4science.bsky.social · 04/07/2025
And experts are very clear: these people are fringe. Scientific consensus is that race and IQ studies are shoddy. But journalism has trouble saying that; it’s nearly impossible for them to figure out what whole fields believe. That’s why “Merchants of Doubt” work.
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Pittsburgh City Paper @pghcitypaper.com · 29/05/2025
Magee nurses say executives' jetsetting stands in contrast to low staffing levels and employee burnout:
pghcitypaper.com
Magee is the latest hospital to push for a union amid anger at UPMC executives
Nurses say executives' jetsetting stands in contrast to low staffing levels and employee burnout.
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jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 15/05/2025
political journalists obsess over the public’s lack of trust in our profession but strangely see that as downstream of things like “we didn’t talk enough about how biden was old” and not “many of us appear to be indifferent to a nihilistic attack on the constitution”
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David_j_roth @davidjroth.bsky.social · 16/05/2025
This kid is 15, and so has a moral clarity and uprightness that no adult elected official would or could ever have. There aren't really and never have been two sides of this issue, but if it has to be argued as a binary thing I don't see how anything less than this could seem like the side to be on.
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Stephanie Strasburg @stephstrasburg.bsky.social · 22/04/2025
Emerging journalists/photojournalists– come join our independent, nonprofit newsroom in Pittsburgh! Delight in the joys of holding power to account & Pittsburgh's fries on salad habit. @publicsource.org interns get to work across their interests from reporting to fact checking to engagement & more.
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Venuri Siriwardane @venuri.bsky.social · 21/04/2025
Pitt faculty, students and staff sent an open letter to university officials this morning. It's got 902 signatures and counting. Among their demands: 1) Protect the campus from immigration raids 2) Fight "unjust federal grant termination" 3) Avoid layoffs 4) Create a crisis task force
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Pittsburgh's Public Source @publicsource.org · 17/04/2025
The Trump administration is cutting staff and grant funding at Health and Human Services including the NIH. Those agencies fund much of Pittsburgh’s research. Are you an affected researcher? Please consider emailing PublicSource at encrypted publicsource412@proton.me or Signal at PublicSource.412
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Asawin Suebsaeng @swin24.bsky.social · 16/04/2025
New from @tessastuart.bsky.social www.rollingstone.com/politics/pol...
rollingstone.com
'Democrats Lost Them': Here's Why 2020 Biden Voters Sat Out The 2024 Election
Dems staying home fueled Donald Trump’s 2024 win and cost Kamala Harris, according to research from Way to Win, Catalist, and Lake Research Partners.
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Doctah Beard @realcoachbeard.bsky.social · 13/04/2025
My uncle is a big time IP lawyer in NYC. I cannot stress enough how taking away IP laws would benefit the wealthy who would steal and then out produce any ideas they find useful. Thus destroying all creatives and their livelihoods.
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Greg Pak @gregpak.net · 08/04/2025
Follow a buncha local journalists and news outlets here: go.bsky.app/FzSc9z They're way better than our substandard national press.
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Will Bunch @willbunch.bsky.social · 09/04/2025
So many student visas have been revoked that Inside Higher Ed started mapping them
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Pittsburgh's Public Source @publicsource.org · 04/04/2025
Want to stay up to speed with what our PublicSource journalists are sharing about news in Pittsburgh? Check out our PublicSource journalist starter pack: go.bsky.app/8xEPt5J
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Lauren Rivera @larivera.bsky.social · 27/02/2025
Many Medicaid recipients do not know they receive it because Medicaid is called different things in different states. The public narrative of Medicaid focuses on a distant other, but 40% of US children and 60% of nursing home residents receive Medicaid. Just SOME of the names by state are below:
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Venuri Siriwardane @venuri.bsky.social · 31/03/2025
7/ Many thanks to @anastasiabusby.bsky.social for taking some great 📷 of Dr. Jarlenski.
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Venuri Siriwardane @venuri.bsky.social · 31/03/2025
6/ It would be very hard for states to find the funding to mitigate the damage at scale, but they can band together to do it. Interstate compacts already exist and “I don’t see why that type of agreement can’t be developed" for medical assistance, said Dr. Jarlenski. compacts.csg.org/faq/
compacts.csg.org
FAQ – National Center for Interstate Compacts | The Council of State Governments
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Venuri Siriwardane @venuri.bsky.social · 31/03/2025
5/ Trump and Republicans in Congress said cuts would only target Medicaid fraud. Experts said that's misleading. And PA has a robust system for combating fraud, said Dr. Jarlenski. Our state prosecuted more fraud cases than any other in the last fiscal year. www.attorneygeneral.gov/taking-actio...
attorneygeneral.gov
Report: Pa. Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Section Charged More Medicaid Fraud Cases than any other State in the 2024 Fiscal Year
AG Sunday’s Medicaid Fraud Control Section ranked No. 3 in criminal convictions nationwide; a few recent cases are highlighted HARRISBURG – Attorney General Dave Sunday announced the release of an ann...
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Venuri Siriwardane @venuri.bsky.social · 31/03/2025
4/ And cuts to Medicaid would mean fewer insured people seeking care at hospitals and community health centers, which would have ripple effects through the health care industry, Dr. Jarlenski said. Pittsburgh's economy — powered by "eds and meds" — could take a hit. www.kff.org/medicaid/iss...
kff.org
What Does the Recent Literature Say About Medicaid Expansion?: Economic Impacts on Providers | KFF
This issue brief updates prior KFF literature reviews by summarizing 24 studies published between April 2021 and December 2022 on the economic impact of Medicaid expansion on providers.
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Venuri Siriwardane @venuri.bsky.social · 31/03/2025
3/ Even if you’ve been financially comfortable your whole life, your assets will likely be gobbled up by the cost of nursing home care. That’s when Medicaid would kick in, but these cuts could put that safety net in jeopardy, said Dr. Jarlenski. www.kff.org/medicaid/iss...
kff.org
How Many People Use Medicaid Long-Term Services and Supports and How Much Does Medicaid Spend on Those People? | KFF
KFF examines how many Medicaid enrollees used Long-Term Services and Supports (LTSS) for aging, illness, or disability in 2020, how much Medicaid spent on these enrollees, and policy issues to watch i...
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Venuri Siriwardane @venuri.bsky.social · 31/03/2025
2/ I sat down with Dr. Marian Jarlenski of the University of Pittsburgh’s School of Public Health. An expert on Medicaid policy, she broke down the most likely types of cuts and how they could hurt everything from reproductive care to benefits for people with disabilities to local economies.
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Venuri Siriwardane @venuri.bsky.social · 31/03/2025
1/ Think cuts to Medicaid won't affect you because you have fancy private insurance? Here's my Q&A with an expert who explained how even those with high incomes could suffer under the cuts that Congress is considering. www.publicsource.org/medicaid-cut... 🧵
publicsource.org
Pitt researcher: Cutting Medicaid would reduce health care
Marian Jarlenski researches health equity at Pitt. She says you can’t slash Medicaid without hurting the health care access of people with disabilities, low-income workers, children, pregnant people.
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Anirvan Chatterjee @chatterjee.net · 31/03/2025
THIS IS SERIOUS: The Times of India is reporting that there are hundreds of international students getting their student visas immediately revoked, reportedly for supporting Gaza on social media, based on a Marco Rubio directive to analyze/surveil students' social media posts.
timesofindia.indiatimes.com
Hundreds of international students wake up to an email asking them to self deport for campus activism - The Times of India
US News: The US Department of State has asked hundreds of international students, including Indians, to self-deport over alleged campus activism. Learn about the visa revocations and government…
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Ida Bae Wells @nhannahjones.bsky.social · 26/03/2025
When scholars of authoritarianism and fascism leave U.S. universities because of the deteriorating political situation here, we should really worry.
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Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 26/03/2025
An ICE agent told Neri Alvarado "We're finding and questioning everyone who has tattoos, and that's why he was arrested. Stunningly, after Neri explained his autism tattoos' meanings, THE ICE AGENT SAID HE WAS CLEAN. And yet he stayed detained — then got sent to El Salvador!
Still, Alvarado was detained by ICE outside his apartment in early February and brought in for questioning, Juan Enrique Hernández, the owner of two Venezuelan bakeries in the Dallas area and Alvarado’s boss, told Mother Jones. One day later, Hernández went to see him in detention and asked him to explain what had happened. Alvarado told Hernández that an ICE agent had asked him if he knew why he had been picked up; Alvarado said that he did not. “Well, you’re here because of your tattoos,” the ICE agent replied, according to Hernández. “We’re finding and questioning everyone who has tattoos.”

The agent then asked Alvarado to explain his tattoos and for permission to review his phone for any evidence of gang activity. “You’re clean,” the ICE officer told Alvarado after he complied, according to both Hernández and María Alvarado. “I’m going to put down here that you have nothing to do with Tren de Aragua.” 

For reasons that remain unclear, Hernández said that another official in ICE’s Dallas field office decided to keep Alvarado detained. María Alvarado said her brother told her the same story at the time.
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