Essential Pittsburgh

Jasmine Cook stood in front of her house in the North Side neighborhood of California-Kirkbride. She held her 7-month-old daughter, flanked by her other two children. Her 7-year-old daughter was a self-proclaimed singer-gymnast and her 4-year-old son was a superhero with laser eyes, graciously contained by a pair of plastic red sunglasses. Running around the side yard was a miniature Batman, the boy who lives next door. “All kids around here, nothing else, just all kids,” she said. “Everybody knows each other around here. It’s a good street to live on.” Cook grew up in the South Side, raised by her dad. The 23-year-old works as a home health aide and is firm about her vote for president. “Team Hillary,” she said. Republican candidate Donald Trump is too mercurial for her tastes. “We don’t want a president that pleases everybody, right, because then you never know," Cook said. "We do need a stern president, a friendly one but also who can get down to business and not worry about what