On today’s episode of The Confluence: Advocates argue that Mayor Ed Gainey’s budget proposal allocating funds from a parks tax to purchase trucks, tractors, and other vehicles isn’t the tax’s intended purpose; in a report from University of Pittsburgh’s School of Social Work, many Black families said they struggle to find a school environment that fulfills social needs and academically challenges their students; and a look at how the National Aviary is implementing special glass to protect birds in and outside of the building. Today’s guests include: Kiley Koscinski, city government reporter with WESA; Esther Mellinger Stief, executive director of the Crossroads Foundation, and Anthony Williams, head of school at The Neighborhood Academy; and Robert Mulvihill, ornithologist at The National Aviary.