Pittsburgh Public Schools improve multilingual communications
Visitors to the Pittsburgh Public School District’s website have probably noticed something different during the past month. Since mid-January, the school district has been posting weather related closing and delay announcements in several different languages on a banner on their homepage.
Listen Up! March 4
Every Wednesday, we make a Spotify playlist containing tracks from artists covered in the current music section. Let Listen Up! be your sonic guide to this week’s issue!
Art exhibit hosts “Disarming Violence” discussion on gun control tonight
Gun-control advocacy groups are among the participants
Concert announcements: Father John Misty, Twiztid, Modest Mouse, more
Who’s ready for some concert announcements? You’re ready for some concert announcements! On June 6, the Carnegie of Homestead Music Hall will host folkie-noir Father John Misty. Tickets go on sale Friday, and will run $25-30. And a couple big indie rock announcements from Stage AE: Modest Mouse will make a stop there on April…
PennDOT wants your input on North Side bike lanes
PennDOT plans to run a bike lane on part of East Ohio Street.
PNC bank backs further away from funding Mountaintop Removal Mining projects
PNC Bank has revised its policies as it relates to funding Mountaintop Removal Mining Projects
Crowdfunding for documentary on Andy Warhol’s family life begins today
Warhol’s great-niece is film’s co-producer
Lynn Cullen Live 3/3/15
Video Archive You can listen to the audio archive here. Citizens for Fairness and attack ads. Biden’s shoulder massage: creepy or not? NY Times article on moral relativism. Sally Wiggins celebrates 35 years at WTAE. Termites are essential and organized. Audio Only Archive Listen to the Audio Archives on with our new Apple and Android…
Forum on clean energy in Pennsylvania tomorrow at Duquesne University
Duquesne University will host the “Forum on Energy Efficiency, Clean Energy in Pennsylvania” tomorrow at 4 p.m.
MP3 Monday: Cruces
This week’s MP3 Monday is a heavy one from local rockers Cruces. “Ends” is off the band’s self-titled cassette EP, which it released on Saturday. Take a listen below, and check out our review of the EP from last week.
Lynn Cullen Live 3/2/15
Video Archive You can listen to the audio archive here. Closed captioning for the blind. People are so desperate not to be alone with their thoughts they would rather shock themselves. Netanyahu will go ahead with speech tomorrow. David Barry on parenthood. Audio Only Archive Listen to the Audio Archives on with our new Apple…
Peduto administration still won’t say who will review excessive force claims against police
The Peduto administration still won’t say which outside experts will review excessive force claims made against police.
Vigil this weekend to remember disabled people killed by caretakers
Members of the public and local disability community will hold a vigil this Sunday in Market Square to honor disabled people who were killed at the hands of their caretakers.
WTAE to Air ‘Taste of the ‘Burgh’ Show
WTAE’s long-form news show, Chronicle, promises to showcase the growing Pittsburgh food scene.
Lynn Cullen Live 2/27/15
Video Archive You can listen to the audio archive here. O’Reilly refuses to admit to lying. Tom Schweich, Missouri candidate for governor, takes his own life. Obituary for a 109 year old Wall Street investor, Irving Kahn. ISIS and what it may say about human nature. Audio Only Archive Listen to the Audio Archives on…
CP Weekend podcast for Feb. 27-March 1: Maple syrup, seed swap, and local EP releases
The CP Weekend podcast for Feb. 27-March 1 is now available here on the CP website. In store for you this weekend: two maple syrup-making events, a seed swap, a live music performance at a Downtown art gallery and much more.
Lynn Cullen Live 2/26/15
Video Archive You can listen to the audio archive here. Billy Nardozzi makes the front page of the Wall Street Journal. Starbucks UK to produce edible cups. Lynn’s response to an email about male privilege. Mt. Lebo residents push back about the deer cull. Full page ad from J Street condemns Netanyahu’s actions. Audio Only…
CP Weekend Podcast – Feb. 27 – Mar. 1, 2015
This week on the CP Weekend Podcast: Get your sap ready for the table, swap some seeds, and celebrate new releases by several local artists.
Marshall Crenshaw sidesteps the traditional album making process, with the help of Kickstarter
MARSHALL CRENSHAW With The Damaged Pies. 8 p.m. Thu., Feb. 26. Club Café 56 S. 12th St. South Side $20 412-431-4950 or clubcafelive.com Marshall Crenshaw’s last full-length record was 2009’s Jaggedland. And, as far as he’s concerned, it could well be the last full-length record he ever makes. By 2009, the prolific singer-songwriter had slowed…
Smoke Barbecue Taqueria re-opens in its new Lawrenceville location
Smoke Barbecue Taqueria 4115 Butler St. Lawrenceville 412-224-2070 When Smoke Barbecue Taqueria co-owners Nelda Carranco and Jeff Petruso re-opened the restaurant in their new Lawrenceville location, they did so without fanfare. No sign out front. No big announcement on Facebook. No functional doorknob. As soon as they got clearance from the health department, explains Petruso,…
Beyond: Microtonal Music Festival showcases the widening landscape of the genre
BEYOND: MICROTONAL MUSIC FESTIVAL Fri., Feb. 27-Sun., March 1 The Andy Warhol Museum 117 Sandusky St. North Side and the Pitt Music Building 4337 Fifth Ave. Oakland $10-30 412-624-7529 or music.pitt.edu/events The world of microtonal music scored a major coup at the 57th annual Grammy Awards when the Best Classical Compendium was awarded to Plectra…
Local rapper Hubbs gets a hand from “super producer” Git Beats
Since 2010, Jamar Hubbs, a Penn Hills native and University of Pittsburgh graduate, has been on a hip-hop journey. Taking the stage name Hubbs, he began perfecting his craft by featuring on the mixtapes of other local rappers. In 2011, he got his first real shot on DJ Drastik’s Sole II Soul Mixtape Back To…
Critic’s Picks, Feb. 26-March 4
[INDIE ROCK] + FRI., FEB. 27 Loud, distressed and heartbroken: The Twilight Sad is a downer. The Glasgow trio has played by these rules its entire career, but the band has shifted the sonic palette around over the years. From its noisy early days to the shot of synthesizers that kicked in on 2012’s No…
New Releases
As Ladders Yarns (Self-released) www.asladdersmusic.com Local singer-songwriter Mike Berginc’s project As Ladders offers a heartfelt little gem of an EP. While the songs were written over a number of years, the lo-fi production gives the record a feeling of immediacy and intimacy. Musically, Berginc recalls the mid-’90s roots rock of bands like the Jayhawks and…
Changing Times: Activists say proposed health legislation is a step forward for trans rights, whether it passes or not
For 35-year-old Emma McFadden, the decision to empty her retirement account was simple. She could continue occupying a body she didn’t experience as her own and live with the feelings that led to multiple suicide attempts and genital mutilation. Or she could pay $20,000 out of pocket for a surgery that might finally make those…
Cuban troupe Malpaso makes its Pittsburgh debut
MALPASO 8 p.m. Fri., Feb. 27, and 8 p.m. Sat., Feb. 28. Kelly-Strayhorn Theater 5941 Penn Ave. East Liberty $10-25 412-363-3000 or kelly-strayhorn.org The members of Havana’s Malpaso Dance Company were still decades from being born when, 54 years ago, the U.S. enacted a trade embargo with Cuba. But the effects of that embargo have…
Reaching a Consensus: Indecision holding up Sheraden school sale
Every year, Pittsburgh Public Schools spends close to $1 million to maintain 19 vacant school buildings throughout the city. But for residents of the West End, the sale of these closed school buildings is about more than reducing the school district’s operating costs. “Being born and raised in [West End], I know the beauty of…
Attack Theatre co-founders Michele de la Reza and Peter Kope return to the stage
ATTACK THEATRE performs BETWEEN 7 p.m. Thu., Feb. 26; 2:30 and 7 p.m. Sat., Feb. 28; and 7 p.m. Sun., March 1. $20-40 ($70 Feb. 26 ticket includes party). George R. White Studio at Pittsburgh Opera 2425 Liberty Ave. Strip District 888-718-4253 or attacktheatre.com For most people, turning 20 is a minor milestone. But for…
On the Record with Frank Nelson of the Pittsburgh Polar Bear Club
When City Paper wanted to find a brave soul to pose for our outdoor cover shoot last week, our mind immediately went to the brave — some might say crazy — folks in the Pittsburgh Polar Bear Club. That led us to the group’s president, Frank Nelson, and after he thawed out from our subzero…
For the Tree to Drop at PICT Classic
FOR THE TREE TO DROP continues through Sat., Feb. 28 Trust Arts Education Center 805 Liberty Ave. Downtown $48 412-561-6000 or www.picttheatre.org PICT Classic’s premiere of Lissa Brennan’s For the Tree to Drop, directed by Alan Stanford, is a pensive show inspired by Antigone — about the only woman in a community willing to bury…
Acting State Police Commissioner Marcus Brown has earned his job and his uniform
Whether it’s the first day of school or the first day at a new job, what you wear can help people form a first opinion of you. So on his first day as the head of the Pennsylvania State Police, Marcus Brown’s choice of wardrobe seemed an easy choice — he donned the storied gray…
The Wiz at Carnegie Mellon Drama
THE WIZ continues through Sat., Feb. 28 Philip Chosky Theater Carnegie Mellon campus Oakland $10-37 412-268-2407 or drama.cmu.edu Did you ever wonder whether L. Frank Baum knew what he was starting when he wrote The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, in 1900? Besides the 13 additional Oz books he penned, the story has spawned nearly 150…
Savage Love
I have been reading your column for years, Dan, and now I’m writing you for the first time to ask for a favor. I met this dude online in December, and I felt like we had a good connection. He “dumped” me, though, because he was busy and was going through career shit and lived…
The Phantom of the Opera at PNC Broadway Across America
THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA continues through Sun., March 1 Benedum Center 719 Liberty Ave. Downtown $40-154.25 412-456-6666 or trustarts.org And so The Phantom of the Opera has had a facelift. The show is only 26 years old — still running on Broadway, basically unaltered since 1988 — but producer Cameron Macintosh decided to restage and reconceive…
Short List: February 27 – March 2
SPOTLIGHT: Fri., Feb. 27 — Stage At 5:30 p.m. this Friday, six local playwrights will each board a different city bus and take a 90-minute ride. Then, at the New Hazlett Theater, they’ll draft from among a pool of 25 actors the cast of the one-act play each will write (inspired by the bus ride)…
The Brentwood Anthology is a strong collection out of a local poetry workshop
The great American poet — and Pittsburgh native — Jack Gilbert disliked academic poems, because he felt they were not “serious enough.” What he strived for, and felt all poets should strive for, is “poetry that matters.” Gilbert began his career at the famous Poetry as Magic workshop in San Francisco, during the 1950s. Workshops…
Stuff We Like
The Birth of the Pill. Jonathan Eig’s critically acclaimed new book about the birth-control pill tracks its genesis from feminist Margaret Sanger’s Greenwich Village days in the early 20th century through the contributions of heiress Katherine McCormick, visionary scientist Gregory Pincus and Catholic doctor John Rock. Togetherness. While Jay and Mark Duplass’ domestic dramedy offers…
What We Do in the Shadows
What We Do in the Shadows Directed by: Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi Starts: Fri., Feb. 27. Hollywood Being a vampire isn’t all velvet smoking jackets and tearing the necks out of virgins. As revealed in Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi’s new mockumentary, What We Do in the Shadows, life for a group of vampires…
Action
I direct the movie of myself, angle the camera to evoke restlessness. In his passenger seat, our heroine reclines awkwardly. A puddle of stockings and skirt slides off the dashboard. From outside her body, she can observe the decay of her desire. * At the door to my apartment I find, on the mat (emblazoned…
The DUFF
Just as there is little hope of avoiding high school and all its attendant social traumas, so too must we expect Hollywood to roll out new comic versions of surviving the years between 14 and 18. The latest is The DUFF, adapted from Kody Keplinger’s young-adult novel, and directed by Ari Sandel. Bianca (Arrested Development’s…
The making of our cover with Pittsburgh Polar Bear Club President Frank Nelson
Photo and Video by Ashley Murray
Hot Tub Time Machine 2
Steve Pink’s sequel is like sliding into the lukewarm, cloudy waters of a poorly maintained hot tub, barely bubbling with flat jokes. The deeply unfunny Rob Corddry and the one-note Craig Robinson reprise their roles, with help from Clark Duke and Adam Scott. (In a film rife with gay-panic, the “humiliating” man-skirt Scott wears is…
Wild Sage
Wild Sage 3932 William Flynn Highway Allison Park 412-486-1800 Hours: Mon.-Thu. 11:30 a.m.-9 p.m..; Fri. 11:30 a.m.-10 p.m.; Sat. 4:30-10 p.m. Prices: Appetizers, small plates, salads, flatbreads $9-15, entrees $20-32 Liquor: Full bar We were looking forward to dining at Wild Sage, a new restaurant on Route 8 in Allison Park, for a number of…
Maps to the Stars
David Cronenberg’s new film takes a jaundiced look at some of our most treasured monsters: Hollywood stars. It’s a satirical psychodrama, a Greek family tragedy grafted onto a screwed-up show-biz tale (this can’t possibly end well). It’s scripted by Bruce Wagner, whose métier is poison-penning the venal nastiness of Hollywood in numerous novels and screenplays.…
A new brewery comes strong out of the gate
Spoonwood Brewery 5981 Baptist Road Bethel Park 412-833-0333 or spoonwood.com February brought the requisite cold, snow and complaining we’ve all come to know and tolerate. Happily for local beer-drinkers, it also brought Spoonwood Brewery, in Bethel Park. The place is named for the folk designation of the mountain laurel, and the image I conjured was…
Lynn Cullen Live 2/25/15
Video Archive You can listen to the audio archive here. Supreme Court to take on a case deciding the future of Obamacare. Bill O’ Reilly sinks himself in some hot water. White privilege and the science behind it Audio Only Archive Listen to the Audio Archives on with our new Apple and Android Apps or…
