Campaign 2016’s Silly Season: A Weekly Tweet Round-Up Holiday Edition
In this week’s round-up of tweets from the campaign trail, Ben Carson advertises his holiday coloring book, Rand Paul celebrates Festivus, and Hillary Clinton offers an automated holiday greeting.
Pittsburgh paid-sick-leave law falls under court challenge
A county judge ruled against Pittsburgh’s new paid-sick-leave law.
Recycle your holiday tree after the festivities are over
Drop off your Christmas tree after the holidays and know that your tree will turn into mulch for city and county parks.
Listen Up! Dec. 23
Every Wednesday, we make a Spotify playlist containing tracks from artists covered or mentioned in the current music section. Listen while you read! And then use the City Paper pages to finish wrapping your presents.
A conversation with Devyn “Nerdboy” Swain
Alex Gordon talks with local hip-hop artist Devyn “Nerdboy” Swain
The Hill District’s historic Ebenezer Missionary Baptist Church celebrates Christmas with song and dance
Ebenezer Missionary Baptist Church’s Christmas celebration included the Gospel mime dances and recounting life’s miracles.
MP3 Monday: HITofMCM feat. JellyRoll
This week’s track comes from Pittsburgh producer HITofMCM with some help from Southern rapper JellyRoll; stream or download their updated club version of Devo’s “Whip It” below. To download, right-click here and select “save as”
Lynn Cullen 12/21/15
Video Archive You can listen to the audio archive here. Pharma bros, hacking, nuns and saints. Audio Only Archive Listen to the Audio Archives on with our new Apple and Android Apps or the computer audio player.
Teens cuffed/cited outside Wood Street T question why they were singled out
Two teenage boys, who are refugees from Somalia, question why they were arrested and whether their immigrant status had anything to do with it.
What happened this week in Pittsburgh news
In Pittsburgh this week, the Citizens Police Review Board questions police behavior, city officials discuss new bike lanes, and the Harlem Globetrotters stop by.
Campaign 2016’s Silly Season: A Weekly Tweet Round-Up Dec. 18
This week, John Kasich gets real about how he’d deal with the Russians, Rand Paul gets some love from his dad, and Ben Carson makes a sad dog wear a campaign ‘kerchief.
More video surfaces from events outside Pittsburgh’s Wood Street T Station, officer shoves teen girl with baton
Pittsburgh Police officer is seen in video pushing teenage girl.
Lynn Cullen 12/18/15
Video Archive You can listen to the audio archive here. Affluenza kid flees probation. Winning vs. losing. Childhood then vs. now. Audio Only Archive Listen to the Audio Archives on with our new Apple and Android Apps or the computer audio player.
Update: Pittsburgh Police Chief promises investigation of Wood Street T activities
New information about the arrests made prior to the Pittsburgh Police/City Paper altercation released.
Lynn Cullen 12/17/15
Video Archive You can listen to the audio archive here. More on CTE. Pharma Bro arrested. Firing at Wheaton College. Video from the City Paper on the event in the T downtown yesterday. Audio Only Archive Listen to the Audio Archives on with our new Apple and Android Apps or the computer audio player.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
About a week ago, Star Wars creator George Lucas was asked what he thought of the newest installment in the film franchise, Star Wars: The Force Awakens. “I think the fans are going to love it,” Lucas said. “It’s very much the kind of movie they’ve been looking for.” As most fans already know, Lucas…
Nox’s Tavern and Grille
Nox’s Tavern and Grille 720 Blaw Ave., Blawnox. 412-794-8233 Hours: Mon.-Fri. 11 a.m.-2 a.m.; Sat.-Sun. noon-2 a.m. Prices: $3-12 Liquor: Full bar The name alone of the borough of Blawnox has an interesting history. Two hundred years ago, it was called Hoboken. But the Blaw Steel Company’s acquisition of the Knox Welded and Pressed Steel…
Peanut Butter Jelly Time offers just what it sounds like
PEANUT BUTTER JELLY TIME 4709 Liberty Ave., Bloomfield. 412-622-0225 or pbjpgh.com For sister-and-brother team Lauren and Chris Firman — along with probably most people — peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwiches carry a lot of nostalgia. “We grew up on peanut-butter-and-jelly everything,” says Lauren. “As kids we loved to screw around by adding things like cookie crumbles or making…
Macbeth at Pittsburgh Classic Players
MACBETH continues through Sat., Dec 19. Pittsburgh Classic Players at The Maker Theater, 5950 Ellsworth Ave., Shadyside. $15. 412-404-2695 or themakertheater.com Pittsburgh Classic Players’ Macbeth, at The Maker Theater, is a production stripped to its basics on a minimalist set. That makes the thrust stage a podium for some of Sheakespeare’s most immortal lines. And that’s…
Performance artist Hetain Patel checks out the scene At Home.
AT HOME: HETAIN PATEL continues through Dec. 31. Wood Street Galleries, 601 Wood St., Downtown. 412-471-5605 or woodstreetgalleries.org The scene at the beginning of “The Jump,” one of the works of video included in Hetain Patel’s exhibition At Home, at Wood Street Galleries, is one we recognize. Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man is crouched, his location unidentifiable…
For some, the erasure of a landmark East Liberty mural reflects the travails of gentrification
Since 2003, “Lend Me Your Ears,” a mural designed by Jordan Monahan and executed with assistance from Alison Zapata, has welcomed visitors to East Liberty. The two-story-tall work, depicting young men on bicycles, a young girl blowing bubbles, birds’ wings and flowers, was dynamic and colorful, a vibrant representation of the neighborhood. Last week, the…
A new survey of Pittsburgh’s bridges, and another of its “lost steel plants”
Pittsburgh is known for, and by, its bridges. But nearly 200 years after Allegheny County’s first bridge was built, one pleasure of Pittsburgh’s Bridges (Arcadia Publishing, $21.99) is that it highlights not just our iconic river spans, but also the ravine bridges, footbridges and railroad overpasses that so mark everyday life. In 128 pages of…
In the Heart of the Sea
In the Heart of the Sea Directed by Ron Howard Starring Chris Hemsworth, Cillian Murphy, Brendan Gleeson, Ben Whishaw In 3-D in select theaters Directed by Ron Howard, Hollywood’s redoubtable storyteller across so many genres, In the Heart of the Sea is the sort of 3-D CGI epic you want to avoid: hackneyed, unsubtle, visually…
Yinz’r Scrooged at Bricolage
MIDNIGHT RADIO: YINZ’R SCROOGED continues through Sat., Dec. 19. Bricolage Productions, 937 Liberty Ave., Downtown. $25-35. 412-471-0999 or bricolagepgh.com ’Tis the season when local theater companies drag out the red felt, holly leaves and holiday theatrical warhorses, toss them onstage and celebrate the season … while, not coincidently, making a little year-end book-balancing cash. Bricolage,…
He Never Died
There’s little doubt that Jack, the man at the center of writer-director Jason Krawczyk’s horror thriller He Never Died, is an odd sort. He’s antisocial to the point of rudeness; he sleeps a lot in his gloomy, sparsely decorated apartment; and when he does go out, he follows a dull routine: eating at the same…
Inspecting Carol at Little Lake
INSPECTING CAROL continues through Sat., Dec. 19. Little Lake Theatre, 500 Lakeside Drive, Canonsburg. $12-20. 724-745-6300 or littlelake.org Christmas: a time for family and the usual sappy entertainment. Sounds simple, right? The founders of the small nonprofit theater at the center of Inspecting Carol think so. They plan to capitalize on the all-pervading joy of…
On the heels of Wiz Khalifa and Mac Miller, Pittsburgh hip hop faces a cloudy future
We’ve all been there — walking through the produce section or sitting in a movie theater, when the quiet piano melody and stylings of not-quite-Sam Smith sneak up on you. They lead into a song that seems solely engineered for a maudlin and misty-eyed Vin Diesel to belt in honor of his late best friend,…
With its new record, pop-punk band Punchline experiments with a new sound
PUNCHLINE RECORD-RELEASE SHOW with NEVADA COLOR, MACE BALLARD 8 p.m. Fri., Dec. 18. Altar Bar, 1620 Penn Ave., Strip District. $15-20. 412-206-9719 or thealtarbar.com Ask Punchline’s Steve Soboslai and Chris Fafalios if they considered a new band name for their surprisingly clean, pop-driven new record Thrilled, and the answer comes quickly: “Absolutely not.” “Punchline is us,” says…
Critics’ Picks, Dec. 17-23
[FOLK] + FRI., DEC. 18 Named the 2014 Pittsburgh Artist of the Year by WYEP, the local Americana group The Early Mays performs tonight at St. Andrew’s Lutheran Church, with support from Rachel Eddy and Kipyn Martin. The women who comprise the trio — Judith Avers, Emily Pinkerton and Ellen Gozion — are all accomplished…
New Releases
The Turbosonics Tres Gatos Suave (Self-released) www.theturbosonics.com The first two tunes on the second full-length album from this local surf-rock trio almost bored me to the point of turning it off. They were too subtle, too similar to the basic surf-rock tunes we’ve all heard before. It’s a genre that breeds similarity, but even subtle…
Pittsburgh’s Toy Story: Good Samaritans turn holiday toy drives into a seasonal industry
Toys for Pittsburgh Tikes Jaden’s Catering, 4727 William Penn Highway, Monroeville. Deadline Fri., Dec. 18 (globalgloriousproductions.com); Spirit of Christmas Annual Sausage Spectacular Noon-6 p.m. Sat. Dec. 19, Bob’s Garage Restaurant and Lounge, 1372 Freeport Road, O’Hara Township (spirit-of-christmas.org) On Black Friday, an older man in a black-and-red-checked sweater is beside himself, flipping through a four-page…
Burnt almond torte is still the big draw at Prantl’s Bakery
It’s the morning after the third night of Hanukkah, 16 days before Christmas, 17 days before Kwanzaa, and Prantl’s Bakery in Market Square is all dressed up for the holiday rush. “This is the calm before the storm,” says Tom Medvitz, Prantl’s CEO. A woman comes in to pick up her order. Her face lights…
Savage Love
I’m a straight 26-year-old man who wants advice on helping my fiancée realize a particular fantasy. We have been dating for three years and are in a happy monogamous relationship. I was always vanilla, but she enjoys rougher sex and light bondage. We’ve incorporated some of this into our sex lives, and we are both…
Wysocki: Chatham women’s hockey is ready to take the next step
With apologies to no-good street punks and biker gangs everywhere, no one is tougher than a hockey player. Hockey is a game played on a solid sheet of ice with 24 razor-thin blades flying around at insane speeds. Throw in big wooden sticks and a frozen vulcanized-rubber puck, and you have a game that is…
Stuff We Like
Randita’s African Peanut Stew. Lightly spiced with a sweet potato base and topped with peanuts, this tasty stew is both hearty and meat-free. The organic vegan cafe serves it up from its food truck and at its Saxonburg and Aspinwall locations. www.randitas.com Market Square’s Santa Claus. The real Santa works out of Market Square’s Holiday…
Short List: December 16 – 22
SPOTLIGHT: Sat., Dec. 19 — Comedy If you know Kevin McDonald only as a founding member of The Kids in the Hall sketch-comedy troupe, or even from his roles on TV shows including That ’70s Show, his debut Pittsburgh appearance will throw a couple curves. One, he’ll do standup, which he first attempted only a…
Lynn Cullen 12/16/15
Video Archive You can listen to the audio archive here. Concussion preview. Pigeons being trained to detect cancer. The vanishing driver’s license. The debate over Lynch Hall. Audio Only Archive Listen to the Audio Archives on with our new Apple and Android Apps or the computer audio player.
The faces and voices behind Pittsburgh’s toy drives
Video by Ashley Murray; Some photos courtesy of Carl Stillitano
Four Mile Run residents wary of transit connector between Oakland and Almono site
The city’s Urban Redevelopment Authority may be getting a bit ahead of itself. In July, the URA applied for a state grant that would help fund a transit connector from Oakland to potential labs and tech centers at the Almono development site in Hazelwood and beyond. The project, which potentially could use driverless vehicles to…
A Downtown bar is a home away from home for an Italian winery
Strolling the aisles at Market St. Grocery a few months ago, I salivated over fancy olive oils and cheeses, while throwing amorous glances toward the prepared foods. Then I saw the Wine Bar and bee-lined for a stool. After what I can only describe as a wholly delightful back-and-forth with self-described “wine woman” Jill Weprich,…
CP Weekend Podcast – Dec. 18-20, 2015
This week: Go on a scavenger hunt, hear Etta Cox croon, and look through Teenie Harris’ lens.
