Bridge Toll

Cash-strapped PAT on hook for costly bridge maintenance

• by Chris Young

On the Rocks

Watered-down regulations can make it hard for bars and neighborhoods to mix

• by Lauren Daley

Undermined

A new law would give gas-drilling opponents no ground to stand on

• by Chris Potter

Magnolia Café

• by Chris Potter

Pastitsio

A new Greek deli makes a welcome splash in Lower Lawrenceville.

• by Angelique Bamberg and Jason Roth

A Conversation with Abby Ahmad

"It's acting; it's singing; it's art; it's creating; it's communication. Some people don't understand it."

• by Aaron Jentzen

High school punks Code Orange Kids play shows like it's their summer job

"There's not really anything else to do when you're in high school unless you're into partying or you're really good at social interactions, which none of us really are."

• by Margaret Welsh

Young singer-songwriter Jordan Umbach's music hails back to the classics

Overall, Silhouette of Steel is a truly impressive album. The songs feel very rounded and complete, with a refreshing sense of honesty.

• by Kelsey Shea

Terry Lee Spencer's debut EP is all about America, family and modern country

Spencer sings about "That new red, white and blue American Dream" and dismisses the Internet, politicians and "them damn cell phones."

• by Kelsey Shea

The Flaming Lips play a not-to-be-missed Pittsburgh show

Yoshimi concerned empathy, much like Dark Side does -- something about isolation and communication and mortality and we might as well talk now before it's too late.

• by Aaron Jentzen

The Sorcerer's Apprentice

A nerdy young guy (Jay Baruchel) learns to cast spells from an master (Nicolas Cage) and thus saves the world from a newly reconstituted evil wizard. But his name is not Harry Potter -- it's Dave! Frankly, Apprentice can't come near the Harry Potter films but at least it knows it. The film eschews any compelling character arcs; buys a nickel's worth of backstory; and blows the rest of the budget on flash-and-crash, New York City location shooting and lots of hair product. It's self-consciously junky, but its entertainment value is pretty hit-or-miss. The Sorcerer's Apprentice is produced by the King of Big, Loud Movies, Jerry Bruckenheimer, and directed by Jon Turteltaub. In lieu of story, Apprentice cranks up the action in a few "blockbuster" scenes, including a dragon rampage in Chinatown and a monumental battle of sparks, forcefields and fireballs at Battery Park. The film borrows its title from a sequence in Disney's 1940 animated film, Fantasia, in which Mickey makes a big mess conjuring over-eager brooms and buckets. One has to wonder what Mr. Walt Disney would make of this rote craptacular that so blithely trades on one of his studio's most memorable and beloved animated works. It's certainly more trick than treat. (AH) [2 out of 4 stars]

• by Al Hoff

The Mattress Factory's Nothing Is Impossible doesn't quite achieve what no one can.

The work's weathered, orange-tinted canvas, flecked with stains and mildew, indicate its survival of some epic misadventure.

• by Savannah Schroll Guz

Nineteenth-century victims of murder -- and other crimes committed Downtown -- speak out in Public Record.

"There is no way to know anything about them other than this one thing -- the time they got robbed or robbed someone or murdered."

• by Jenelle Pifer

This Just In: July 15 - 22

Highlights from the local TV news: Eye Yay Yay!

• by Frances Sansig Monahan

The Producers

This wild and crazy visit to summer camp features perfectly looney-tuned performances amid snazzy sets.

• by Gordon Spencer

Years Ago

None of the writing here is bad; it's just that there's far, far too much of it.

• by Ted Hoover

After three years away, superstar magician and area native Mike Super returns ... debuting a brand-new trick.

Super's shows are sly contraptions of illusion and truth, wit and humor.

• by Bethany Hensel

Short List: Week of July 15 - 22