Posted By Ryan Deto on Thu, Jul 20, 2017 at 3:57 PM

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CP photo by Ryan Deto

Pittsburgh City Councilors meet at an July 18 post-agenda meeting on affordable housing.

When Pittsburgh City Council convened a post-agenda meeting on July 18, councilors in attendance were given a sales pitch on why the best way to fill the city’s affordable-housing trust fund is to take out a $100 million bond and pay it back by raising Pittsburgh’s real-estate transfer tax by 1 percent. Councilor Daniel Lavelle (D-Hill District), who hosted the meeting, invited eight guests to speak, and all agreed raising the real-estate transfer tax is the way to go.

Tags: Daniel Lavelle , Dan Gilman , Theresa Kail-Smith , Pittsburgh City Council. Housing Opportunity Fund , Pittsburgh Community Redevelopment Group , Urban Redevelopment Authority , Realtors Association of Metropolitan Pittsburgh , Image

Posted By Bill O'Driscoll on Thu, Jul 20, 2017 at 2:45 PM

The August Wilson Center, which in 2014 came close to a permanent shut-down, seems to be recovering nicely. And it has taken the next step by selecting an experienced new leader, respected local arts programmer and administrator Janis Burley Wilson.

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CP Photo by Bill O'Driscoll

Janis Burley Wilson stands before a mural by Tarish Pipkins at the August Wilson Center.

Wilson’s selection as president and CEO was announced this morning in a press event at the Center, located Downtown. Her hiring was praised by speakers including Wilson Center board chair Michael Polite, Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto, Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald, and Pittsburgh Cultural Trust President and CEO Kevin McMahon, who for the past 16 years has been Burley Wilson’s boss.

As the Trust’s Vice President of Strategic Partnerships and Community Engagement, and Director of Jazz Programs, Burley Wilson developed such popular events as Downtown’s quarterly Gallery Crawls, the weekly JazzLive series, and the annual Pittsburgh JazzLive International Festival.

Tags: August Wilson Center , Janis Burley Wilson , Pittsburgh Cultural Trust , Michael Polite , Bill Peduto , Image

Posted By Jordan Miller on Thu, Jul 20, 2017 at 12:43 PM

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CP photos by Jordan Miller

Phish performs at Petersen Events Center on Wed., July 19.

“Phish heads” packed into the Petersen Events Center in Oakland last night to see the jam band’s summer tour stop in Pittsburgh. The scene was laid-back and chill, with a thick cloud of weed smoke in the air and beach balls constantly bouncing through the crowd.

Tags: Phish , Petersen Events Center , Pittsburgh , Oakland , Pittsburgh concerts , jam band , Trey Anastasio , FFW>> , Image

Posted By Meg Fair on Thu, Jul 20, 2017 at 12:37 PM

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CP photos by Meg Fair

War On Women

War On Women is a metal band that uses its raw musical power to spread a message of feminist empowerment. Vocalist Shawna Potter has an explosive stage presence and spreads an anti-racist, anti-transphobic, anti-sexist message through her songs and her stage banter. It’s an electric sight to behold.

Tags: War on Women , Shawna Potter , Warped Tour , Burgettstown , FFW>> , Image

Posted By Charlie Deitch on Wed, Jul 19, 2017 at 4:46 PM

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Thunderbolt Patterson

Throughout the history of professional wrestling, what a performer can do on the mic is often just as important as what they do in the ring. Each afternoon, Smark Attack will highlight a wrestling promo that shows off the best, and sometimes the worst, in pro wrestling microphone work.

And we're not just looking for classic promos. If you're a local wrestler or if you've always wanted to be a pro wrestler and want to show off your mic skills send your best promo: 45 seconds or less to info@pghcitypaper.com. If we end up running it on the blog, we'll give you a City Paper t-shirt.

Tags: WCW , NWA , Thunderbolt Patterson , Ole Anderson , If you move , Smark Attack , Image , Video

Posted By Meg Fair on Wed, Jul 19, 2017 at 1:29 PM

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Photo courtesy of Sick Of It All

Sick of It All has been taking the hardcore scene by storm since its inception in 1986. Twenty years since its last Warped Tour, the group sat down with CP to chat about how the scene has changed, what it’s like to tour with a family at home and why playing Europe is so damn cool.