Posted By Ryan Deto on Thu, Jan 18, 2018 at 12:51 PM

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Image courtesy of YouTube

A screen shot of the Ending Spending Inc. TV ad supporting Rick Saccone

During his 15 years as a U.S. congressman, former Rep. Tim Murphy (R-Upper St. Clair) held strict socially conservative views, but supported enough liberal economic views that some considered him a moderate. Murphy resigned amidst scandal last year, and a special election for his seat will be held March 13.

Pennsylvania state Rep. Rick Saccone (R-Elizabeth) was nominated by Republicans to compete in the election against former U.S. Assistant Attorney Conor Lamb (D-Mount Lebanon). And recent support from conservative and libertarian political-advocacy organizations suggest Saccone is more economically conservative than Murphy.

Saccone has been endorsed by economically conservative political-advocacy groups FreedomWorks for America and the Club for Growth, groups that have opposed Murphy in the past. And even though Saccone will speak at an event in North Fayette with President Donald Trump on Jan. 18, Saccone's support also suggests that he has different economic policy priorities than Trump, who won the district handily in 2016 thanks, in part, to populist, protectionist economic policies like criticizing free trade.

Tags: RIck Saccone , Tim Murphy , Donald Trump , Conor Lamb , FreedomWorks , Club for Growth , Ending Spending Inc. , Joe Ricketts , Pennsylvania 18th Congressional District , labor unions , Pittsburgh metro area , Southwesern Pennsylvania , infrastructure , PolitiCrap , Image

Posted By Charlie Deitch on Wed, Jan 17, 2018 at 3:40 PM

A screencap of a September 2013 Toledo Blade story about Post-Gazette Publisher John Robinson Block's views on race

In a September 2013 interview with the Toledo Blade, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette publisher John Robinson Block was quoted saying that people of color needed to pull themselves up “by their bootstraps” like they did in the “old days.”

Block shared these thoughts and others about race following a 2013 forum on racism in Toledo. The event was co-sponsored by the Blade, another publication owned by the Block family, and the interview was with one of the paper's reporters, Federico Martinez. Martinez spoke to Pittsburgh City Paper this afternoon about the interview and said the finished piece was vetted and approved by Block before it was printed.

Block’s beliefs on race and racism have been a topic of conversation this week after the Blade on Jan. 14, and the P-G the next day (Martin Luther King Jr. Day), ran an editorial featuring the opening line: “Calling someone a racist is the new McCarthyism.”

The editorial — which defends President Donald Trump's reported statement: “Why are we having all these people from shithole countries come here? We should have more people from Norway” — has drawn stiff rebukes from the heads of the Heinz Endowments and the Pittsburgh Foundation. A letter was also sent to the P-G by several former employees who said the editorial did not represent the “Post-Gazette we knew.” In addition, current P-G writer and former CP editor Chris Potter and others has removed his byline from his stories in protest. You can follow our coverage of the issue here.

Tags: Toledo Blade , Pittsburgh , Post-Gazette , John Robinson Block , racism , Donald Trump , Federico Martinez , Image

Posted By Ryan Deto on Tue, Jan 16, 2018 at 5:15 PM

CP photo by Ryan Deto

Summer Lee at Portogallo Peppers ‘n’ At in Braddock on Jan. 15

On Jan. 15, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, when state house candidate Summer Lee got up to speak in front of the crowd of more than 150 packed into Portogallo Peppers N'at in Braddock, she spoke of a rarely cited detail about King.

“A lot of people don’t know this, but Martin Luther King was a radical,” said Lee. “He called for an end to capitalism. He wanted to unite poor people. He knew that if we can’t end that system, we would fail in our goals.”

King, after the passage of the Civil Rights Act, in 1964, and the Voting Rights Act, in 1965, began to campaign against the effects that capitalism had on poor people of all races and backgrounds. In a 1967 speech, King said, “When machines and computers, profit motives and property rights are considered more important than people, the giant triplets of racism, materialism and militarism are incapable of being conquered.”

Lee is running as a Democrat in the primary election against incumbent Paul Costa (D-Braddock), whose Pennsylvania state House District 34 encompasses towns like North Braddock, Swissvale, Forest Hills and other nearby boroughs.

Tags: Summer Lee , Paul Costa , Tina Doose , Marita Garrett , Braddock , North Braddock , Swissvale , Forest Hills , Wilkinsburg , Harrisburg , Pennsylvania State House District 34 , Democratic Socialists of America , Bernie Sanders , Hillary Clinton , Woodland Hills High School , Fight for $15 , universal healthcare , Martin Luther Kind Jr. , Civil Rights Act , Voting Rights Act , school to prison pipeline , PolitiCrap , Image

Posted By Rebecca Addison on Tue, Jan 16, 2018 at 3:36 PM

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Image affixed to the top of the local foundations' response

Last week, in a tweet from its official Twitter account, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette said its publisher John Block requested it remove President Donald Trump's "vulgar language" from the front page of its Jan. 12 edition. In case you forgot, during immigration-policy talks regarding Haiti, El Salvador and African nations last week, Trump reportedly said, “Why are we having all these people from shithole countries come here? We should have more people from Norway.”

But sanitizing its front page wasn't the only thing the P-G has done in the wake of Trump's remarks, which many have deemed to be racist. Yesterday, on a day named for civil-rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., the P-G published an editorial claiming that "[c]alling someone a racist is the new McCarthyism."

Tags: John Block , Donald Trump , Pittsburgh Post-Gazette , Haiti , El Salvador , Africa , Heinz Endowments , Pittsburgh Foundation , Martin Luther King , Image

Posted By Bill O'Driscoll on Tue, Jan 16, 2018 at 1:30 PM

Tags: United States Artists Fellows , Vanessa German , Bill Shannon , Image

Posted By Charlie Deitch on Mon, Jan 15, 2018 at 5:34 PM

CP photo by Luke Thor Travis

Apparently the Pittsburgh Pirates' plan for future success does not include keeping one of the franchise's greatest stars in black and gold.

Center fielder Andrew McCutchen was traded Monday afternoon to the San Francisco Giants. It wasn't immediately known what the Pirates got in return. However, speculation inside City Paper's newsroom is that the players the Pirates will receive come with both low salaries and low expectations.

Tags: Pittsburgh , Pirates , Andrew McCutchen , San Francisco , Pat Meares , Derek Bell , Andy LaRoche , Image , Video

Posted By Celine Roberts on Mon, Jan 15, 2018 at 4:41 PM

Get ready to unbutton that top button on your pants because today begins Pittsburgh Restaurant Week. Through Jan. 21, participating restaurants will offer special packages to encourage Pittsburgh diners to explore the city's growing restaurant scene. The restaurant list includes newer, trendy establishments like or, The Whale and Superior Motors, as well as veterans of the culinary scene like Nine on Nine and The Capital Grille.

Tags: restaurant week , Pittsburgh , chefs , Image

Posted By Ryan Deto on Mon, Jan 15, 2018 at 3:53 PM

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CP photo by Ryan Deto

Protesters outside Pizza Milano in Uptown on Jan. 15

On Jan. 12, an employee at the Uptown pizza restaurant, Pizza Milano, was caught on video apparently headbutting a woman and tackling her to the ground. The employee, Mahmut Yilmaz, has been charged with one count of aggravated assault and one charge of simple assault. The woman, Jade Martin, sustained injuries and was taken to the hospital following the incident.

The night of the incident, a video was posted on Facebook, and the video went viral. Activists, Pittsburgh residents and community leaders responded over the weekend by protesting in front of Pizza Milano. Those protests continued on Jan. 15, as a group of 50 protesters, gathered in front of Pizza Milano, calling for stronger actions against Yilmaz.

“We will not stand for any abuse of our women,” said Pittsburgh resident Nicky Jo Dawson to the crowd.

Tags: Pizza Milano , Pittsburgh , Evan Neff , Andres Albornez , Duquesne University , Pittsburgh United , Nicky Jo Dawson , Allegheny County , Mahmut Yilmaz , Image

Posted By CP Staff on Mon, Jan 15, 2018 at 2:14 PM

CP photos by Jake Mysliwczyk

The Steelers take the field against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sun., Jan. 14

It's kind of hard to look on the bright side of the Steelers' 45-42 loss to Jacksonville on Sunday. Although if forced to find one, it's that the final score made the game look more competitive than it was. Another bright side? At least Big Ben doesn't have to face disgruntled former teammate James Harrison next week in the AFC Championship at New England.

City Paper photo intern Jake Mysliwczyk braved the cold and the Steelers' crappy defense to capture some sights from the game.

Tags: Pittsburgh , Steelers , Pittsburgh Steelers , Pittsburgh Sports , Image

Posted By CP Staff on Sun, Jan 14, 2018 at 10:13 AM

CP photos by Jake Mysliwczyk

Pittsburgh Steelers playoff pep rally at Stage AE on Sat., Jan. 13

Before the Steelers take the field against the Jacksonville Jaguars this afternoon, fans gathered for a huge pep rally last night at Stage AE near Heinz Field on the North Side. CP photo intern Jake Mysliwczyk was there to take in the excitement. Look for more coverage of the Steelers run for the Super Bowl this week at www.pghcitypaper.com.

Tags: Pittsburgh Steelers , Steelers , Stage AE , Pittsburgh , Pittsburgh Sports , pep rally , Image