The Pirates season is over. The backlash? Far from it. 

A bad year (even by Buccos standards) has ended, but not before touching off a spirited debate about the team’s obligations to the city and its fans — and about the use of public funds to boost privately owned sports teams.

Here’s a quick summary: 

A recent column on the DK Pittsburgh Sports site called on fans to “take our Pirates back” from a highly unpopular owner and front office.

“They think we’re all stupid,” the column reads. “And you know what? We are. We have been for a very long time.”

Lots of fans agreed after years of losing — but still highly profitable — baseball in Pittsburgh. A handful wondered what muscles the city could flex in forcing a look at the team’s finances and spending, something many have tied to its poor performance through the years. Angry calls to City Hall soon followed.

On Twitter, Mayor Bill Peduto said there isn’t much the city’s leaders can do on this front.

Others noted that PNC Park is publicly owned and leased by the Pirates. That lease agreement, they added, allows for just such a peek behind the curtain.

Peduto said he’d take another look at the legalese while working with others “to find long-term options.”

Meanwhile, some people inside and outside of government see all of this energy as misplaced.

“I just wish people could find this much passion for civic engagement when it comes to schools, homelessness, equity, & poverty or a host of other items,” the mayor’s executive assistant tweeted.

In a sea of barbed tweets, this one gently cuts to the core.

In other news …

Bedbugs have been banished from the Duquesne Incline. An Incline passenger this weekend got 102 bedbug bites, and fellow riders saw bugs between the slats in the seat. An exterminator was called and will start regularly spraying the cars to ward off bedbugs and other insects. (TribLive)

Your next beer at a local brewery may cost more thanks to a new tax on malt or brewed beverages sold directly to consumers. The tax is on 25 percent of the retail price of the drink, and it’s up to breweries if they want to pass that fee onto customers. (WPXI)

Downtown Uniontown is having a resurgence, but the area around the Fayette County town continues to struggle. Childhood poverty hovers near 50 percent and household income is half the national average. The region is a place of stark contrasts — all set against a storied history. A former industrial powerhouse,Uniontown once boasted more millionaires per capita than any other municipality in America. (Post-Gazette)

Robotics Row may sound like a post-human crew team. It is not. 

Instead, it’s the nickname for a part of Pittsburgh known for a high concentration of companies working in the robotics field.

But while you probably already know this, savvy reader, do you know who coined the term or why so many robotics companies came to town in the first place? Check out the latest entry in our Pittsburghpedia series for all the answers.

Color-changing hockey pucks are coming to the NHL this year, and the technology was created by local company PPG. The pucks change from purple to clear when their temperature is above freezing, showing officials that a puck should be replaced. What a cool (literally) win for science.

See you back here tomorrow, all.