Pittsburgh area gets first passing air pollution grade; still ranks among worst nationwide
The Pittsburgh metropolitan area finally has its first passing grade in year-round particle pollution, one of “the most harmful and widespread types of air pollution,” according the American Lung Association’s newest “State of the Air” report. However, the Pittsburgh metropolitan area, which the association defines as 12 counties making up the Pittsburgh-New Castle-Weirton area, still…
Enjoy live music, deals, and more during Record Store Day at The Government Center
In 2020, The Government Center put together an event for Record Store Day. They printed flyers and booked a lineup of musicians to play. Then the pandemic happened and the celebration was indefinitely postponed. Now, they are finally ready to put on Record Store Day with some of Pittsburgh’s finest talent. The Government Center’s Record Store…
Central Outreach Becomes Pillar in Community Health care: Annual Report
In just its sixth year in business, Central Outreach Wellness has become a leader in Western Pennsylvania for culturally competent care, expanding while keeping their high level of quality for patients. Specializing in care for the LBBTQ+ and HIV(+) communities, Central Outreach’s Annual Report for 2021 shows how much help has been delivered to those…
Pittsburghers for Public Transit “condemns” end of Port Authority’s mask mandate
Port Authority of Allegheny County announced on April 18 that they will no longer enforce a requirement that riders wear masks, a move local transit rider advocacy group Pittsburghers for Public Transit “condemns” as “irresponsible.” Port Authority’s decision comes hours after a federal judge in Florida struck down the CDC’s mask mandate covering airplanes and…
Pittsburgh-trained Britt Baker cleans teeth and kicks ass as only dentist in pro wrestling
When Brittany Baker sees patients as a dentist she sometimes has to navigate questions about her professional wrestling career. “A lot of times before you go to a physician, you Google them and you see, “What are the reviews? What are they? Where do they go to school? How long they’re practicing?,'” says Baker, who practices dentistry…
Pittsburgh filmmaker conveys impact of isolation with Quarantine Roommate
Filmmaking is entering the weird phase where the works made in the quiet of the pandemic are starting to emerge. Those have taken shape in ways big (think Bo Burnham’s Netflix hit Inside) and small, like Pittsburgh filmmaker Kyle Holbrook’s new short film Quarantine Roommate. A kaleidoscopic vision of life living alone during the early…
Reed & Co. closes, The Gobblerito returns, and more Pittsburgh food news
Mediterra Cafe 430 Beaver St., Sewickley. mediterracafe.com Last week, this popular cafe announced the bar at their Sewickley location is now open. Bring a date and check it out for yourself. Adda Tea and Coffee House 926 Western Ave., North Side. addacoffeehouse.com Announced via Instagram, Adda will now host High Tea at its North Side…
Hill District Thelma Lovette YMCA celebrates turning 10 with rooftop party, open house
The Hill District’s Thelma Lovette YMCA celebrates its 10th birthday this week, capping off a decade of offering community services, including before- and after-school programming, wellness classes, youth sports programs, and more. On Thu., April 21, the organization will host a “10 Year Rooftop Celebration,” from 6 to 9 p.m. Tickets are $20 and can…
Lynn Cullen Live -04/19/22
Lynn and Susan are discussing the Trump appointed judge Kathryn Mizelle who struck down the mask mandate, plus banning books, the Mississippi governor announcing a Confederate Heritage month, and Tucker Carlson promoting Testical Tanning. Audio Only Archive Stream or download the last 5 shows on the MP3 downloads page.
Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre to stage outdoor festival on Sharpsburg riverfront
Even as spring continues to deliver dreary, wet weather, Pittsburgh arts organizations are looking forward to the summer. To that end, the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre announced that it would bring back its Open Air Series, a collaborative project that delivered dance, theater, music, and more on a mobile outdoor stage. Over a weekend in June,…
LGBTQ and BIPOC communities in crosshairs of banned book movement
Students in one Pennsylvania school district were not allowed to read a biography of the first Black president, Barack Obama. In some Tennessee classrooms, a nonfiction comic book about the atrocities of the Holocaust is banned. And one school district in Wisconsin banned from libraries a picture book about a gay rights activist who was…
Kennywood amusement park officially opens for 125th season
Excited screams, tilting rides, giant stuffed animals, and brand new updates — Kennywood is officially back in operation for the 2022 season. Hundreds of people enjoyed the warm weather and sunshine at Kennywood Park’s first day open to the public on Sun., April 17. The 2022 season marks a multi-year “celebration of the fun that…
Society of Architectural Historians invites artists to envision better future for Pittsburgh
The Society of Architectural Historians will welcome a group of Pittsburgh artists, civic leaders, and others for a panel covering how to better approach development in the city. The national organization, which focuses on promoting the study, interpretation, and conservation of architecture, design, landscapes, and urbanism, will host its annual International Conference from Wed., April 27…
Lynn Cullen Live – 04/18/22
If you’re thinking ‘It didn’t used to be this way,’ it’s true it didn’t. It has gotten worse. For most of my life, or in fact all of my life, up until 5 years ago, the leading cause of death among Americans aged 1 – 24: car accidents. Well, you know that that’s not true…
Now Hiring: Assistant Brewer, Sales Manager, and more Pittsburgh job openings
We searched the web to find some of Pittsburgh’s best job openings this week. If your company is hiring, send info including a job title, description, and salary range to jobs@pghcitypaper.com. Nonprofit Program Coordinator. National nonprofit The CDC Foundation, which aids the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is seeking a Program Coordinator to work in…
Mass shooting at Pittsburgh party results in multiple deaths, injuries
Two teens have died and multiple others are injured after a mass shooting occurred during a party in the East Allegheny section of Pittsburgh’s North Side early on April 17. According to an official statement, there are at least 10 gunshot victims, including two juvenile males who were pronounced deceased. The shooting took place at…
Wilkinsburg officer strikes protester during demonstration against police brutality
A Wilkinsburg police officer, who Pittsburgh City Paper has identified as Seth Taylor, punched a protester to the ground during a demonstration against police brutality on April 16. The group of around 20 people gathered to demand justice for Jim Rogers, a Black man who died in October 2021 less than 24 hours after Pittsburgh Police…
5 Questions with Valerie June
Over the years, Tennessee singer/songwriter Valerie June has risen from the stages of the Three Rivers Arts Festival to recently performing on The Kelly Clarkson Show. Her distinctive vocal styling has drawn some interesting comparisons and descriptions — one Pittsburgh City Paper writer called her an “Americana-Rock with folk and blues/roots performer,” while another said she…
Pittsburgh law firm argues “first-of-its-kind” case in front of state Supreme Court
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court traveled to Pittsburgh this week to hear oral arguments on a number of cases, including one that the appellants’ lawyers say is the first of its kind nationally. The case, Scott v. Pennsylvania Board of Probation and Parole, involves four people who were convicted of felony-murder in their late teens or…
Pittsburgh leaders launch hygiene kit drive for Ukrainian refugees
As the conflict between Ukraine and invading Russian forces rages on, people in Pittsburgh and throughout the United States are looking at ways to help those affected by the war. Throughout April, you can donate much-needed items to hygiene kits benefitting impacted Ukrainians. Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald and City of Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey…
Trans people can now get free legal help for name changes in Beaver and Washington counties
A new collaboration between the national law firm Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott, LLC, Hugh Lane Wellness Foundation, and Central Outreach Wellness Center will provide low-income transgender, nonbinary, and gender non-conforming individuals with pro bono legal services to facilitate legal name changes in the counties of Beaver and Washington. Derek Illar, a Member and Inclusion…
On the Tahn: Dance parties and live music at Mr. Roboto, P Town Bar, and more (April 14-16)
Thu., April 14 Kowloon Walled City The Mr. Roboto Project 7-11 p.m. Kowloon Walled City released its album Piecework in September 2021 and will now stop in Pittsburgh as part of its latest tour. The band will be supported by Rid of Me, a noise-punk act out of Philadelphia, as well as some local acts.…
Lynn Cullen Live – 04/14/22
Lynn is talking with Theresa Brown, who was a oncologist nurse that found out that she had cancer and wrote a memoir, “Healing: When a Nurse Becomes a Patient,” about her experience with the medical system as a patient. Audio Only Archive Stream or download the last 5 shows on the MP3 downloads page.
Pittsburgh museum puts gruesome Italian painting in modern context
Besides being one of the few women to secure her place in the historic art world, Italian Baroque painter Artemisia Gentileschi endures as the visionary behind “Judith Slaying Holofernes,” one of the most gruesomely striking paintings ever displayed. Produced in the early 1600s, the Old Testament story depicts the beheading of an Assyrian general, in…
Psychedelia provides unique history of mind-altering drug research
Psychedelics are still viewed with a degree of caution by most of the American public, but that wasn’t always the case. A new documentary coming to Pittsburgh dives into the short-lived period when psychedelic drugs were taken seriously as legitimate research tools. Pat Murphy’s new film, Psychedelia: The History + Science of Mystical Experience, will…
Billions on way to attack abandoned mine pollution in Pennsylvania
The $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act passed by Congress in November is sending an unprecedented $6.4 billion for abandoned mine lands cleanup to Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia over the next 15 years. The record cleanup money will enable a quantum leap in removing the readily visible scars that still harm the…
After Hours: Natalie Bencivenga interviews Terri Minor Spencer
View this post on Instagram A post shared by Pittsburgh City Paper (@pghcitypaper) After Hours host Natalie Bencivenga interviews Terry Minor Spencer, president of West End P.O.W.E.R. and a member of the Community Advisory Council of the Prison Society. Listen as they discuss the failure of the War on Drugs, how it led to the rise…
New bill proposes giving employees time off to vote
From the legislative roadblocks thrown up by Republican-controlled state legislatures (including Pennsylvania) to outright voter suppression, there are plenty of impediments that stand in the way of Americans getting to the polls to exercise their constitutionally protected right to vote. One of the biggest, however, may be time. For too many working Americans squeezing in…
LGBTQ Catholics question: Can the church be inclusive?
Editor’s note: Three of the LGBTQ Catholics featured in this story, Jane, Richard, and Jamie, are using pseudonyms to protect their safety and privacy in their religious communities. Jane was born and raised Catholic. When she came out as bisexual about 10 years ago, her father told her it was probably just a phase. Or…
Squirrel Hill shop aims to save the world — one refillable jar at a time
A woman-owned business in Squirrel Hill has taken on one of the world’s biggest challenges in an effort to make the city more environmentally friendly: single-use plastics. Pittsburgh-born and raised Larissa Russo started The Refillery to try and reduce consumers’ use of nonrecyclable plastics used in packaging for household items like dish soap and makeup.…
August Wilson: The Writer’s Landscape immerses audiences in life of legendary playwright
For all the works dedicated to the legacy of late Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright August Wilson — the productions, the award-winning film adaptations, the entire arts and cultural center named after him — he had yet to receive an exhibition. Now, the celebrated writer of plays about Black life in Pittsburgh has, for the first time,…
Downtown Pittsburgh celebrates Chinatown’s official recognition as historic landmark
After 12 years of advocacy, four separate application attempts, and a successful fundraising push, OCA Pittsburgh, an organization dedicated to advancing the social, political, and economic well-being of Asian Pacific Americans in Pittsburgh, will celebrate the official recognition of Pittsburgh’s Chinatown as a historic landmark. The Historic Pittsburgh Chinatown Celebration, scheduled for Sat., April 16…
The top events in Pittsburgh for April 14-20
Thu., April 14 ART • IRL For over 40 years, Fireborn Studios has been teaching classes and featuring the ceramic works of regional artists in their gallery. Join them for the next Ceramixer, an event where you can fire your own creations in their gas kiln, have a cocktail, and chat with other makers. This…
Soulshowmike’s Album Picks: Hugo Cruz and Caminos
Pittsburgh’s Latin music scene experienced a palpable bump when Cuban percussionist Hugo Cruz started visiting the city several years ago. It began with a friendship with musicians Gizelxanath Rodriguez and Ben Barson of local jazz band Afro Yaqui Music Collective. He is now firmly planted in the Steel City with his own band, Hugo Cruz…
FREE WILL ASTROLOGY: April 14-20
ARIES (March 21-April 19): “I have lived my life according to this principle: If I’m afraid of it, then I must do it.” Aries author Erica Jong said that. Since I’m not an Aries myself, her aspiration is too strong for me to embrace. Sometimes I just don’t have the courage, willpower, and boldness to…
