Cover Story
The Big Pittsburgh Winter Guide
Thu., Dec. 4 THEATER • DOWNTOWNPlaybox presents 1984. 7:30 p.m. Continues through Sun., Dec. 7. Three Stories. 937 Liberty Ave., Downtown. playboxproductions.com COMEDY • ALLENTOWNDan Donohue. 8 p.m. Doors at 5 p.m. Bottlerocket Social Hall. 1226 Arlington Ave., Allentown. $24.05. bottlerocketpgh.com MUSIC • LAWRENCEVILLEThe Heavy Heavy with Laney Jones and the Spirits. 8 p.m. Doors…
People of the Year
Pittsburgh’s People of Year 2025 — Business: Christina Cassotis
While framed as a much-needed rightsizing, the transformation of Pittsburgh International Airport also feels like a coming-of-age project for the airport and the region. The new facility is spacious, studded with public art, and Pittsburgh proud down to its smallest details — something Allegheny County Airport Authority CEO Christina Cassotis says is by design. “I…
Pittsburgh’s People of Year 2025 — Labor: ARHC Union Workers
Since unionizing in June, workers at the Allegheny Reproductive Health Center (ARHC) have been holding the line. The newly-formed Allegheny Reproductive Justice Union (ARJU), affiliated with the Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU), began bargaining for its first contract in August. Employees at the region’s only independent abortion clinic are negotiating for higher pay,…
Pittsburgh’s People of Year 2025 — Food & Drink: Alaina Webber and Matt Katase
How does any business owner make an environment feel welcoming, particularly to a wide swath of community members? There’s an answer so simple that it’s surprisingly easy to miss: you invite them. Alaina Webber and Matt Katase, who have owned and operated Brew Gentlemen for more than 10 years, opened Braddock Public House inside the…
Pittsburgh’s People of Year 2025 — Politics: Alex Rose
Whatever may be happening at the national level, progressives in Pittsburgh are undeterred. The local Democratic Party has shored up and built on its base. Prominent left-leaning candidates now hold office everywhere from the county to Congress. Following November’s blue wave election, high off-year turnout propelled even more local progressives into office. Among their number…
Pittsburgh’s People of the Year 2025 — Activism: Randall Taylor
Pittsburgh, you may have noticed, continues making “most livable” and “most affordable” lists in 2025 for our comparatively cheap housing and high quality of life. In spite of this, average rent ($1,515) and the price of a house ($229,000) have risen fast, while job and wage growth remain “sluggish.” These contradictions aren’t lost on Randall…
Pittsburgh’s People of Year 2025 — Health: Dr. Debra Bogen
This year, public health faced unprecedented obstacles, among them federal funding cuts, threats to food aid programs including SNAP and WIC, and official mistrust in vaccine science leading to restricted access. With state and local agencies left to fill the leadership vacuum, the Pennsylvania Department of Health (DOH), helmed by Pittsburgher Dr. Debra Bogen, charted…
Pittsburgh’s People of Year 2025 — Literature: Emma Honcharski
Emma Honcharski is a classic multihyphenate: an artist, writer, event producer, and self-described “food person” whose time working in the service industry informs all of the above. But perhaps her most significant descriptor is collaborator. “For me, it’s the only way things can happen,” Honcharski tells Pittsburgh City Paper. “I love facilitating other people’s [art…
Pittsburgh’s People of Year 2025 — Visual Art: Harrison Apple
Queer history has undergone more than its fair share of erasure, including in Pittsburgh. Local bars, clubs, and other spaces that, over the decades, served as safe havens for the city’s LGBTQ populations have been torn down or repurposed. Important queer figures who, out of necessity, existed in relative obscurity have become lost to time.…
Pittsburgh’s People of the Year 2025 — Performing Arts: Janis Burley
When Janis Burley took over as leader of the August Wilson African American Cultural Center (AWAACC) in 2017, she knew what kind of organization she wanted to develop. “My vision for the center, then and now, is to be a world-class performing arts center recognized for the power of our programming and a leader in…
Pittsburgh’s People of Year 2025 — Music: Danielle Mashuda and Maddy Lafferty
In 2024, Pittsburgh nearly lost Club Cafe, a longtime music venue that helped define the South Side’s busy entertainment district and offered a smaller, more intimate alternative to the city’s large arenas and concert halls. Just as local fans and musicians prepared to mourn the beloved space, however, two women stepped in to save it.…
Guides
The Big Pittsburgh Holiday Events Guide
Thu., Dec. 4 Fly into festive fun when the National Aviary presents Jingle Bell Flock, a new immersive show that combines seasonal music with animal encounters. 11 a.m.-2 p.m. 700 Arch St., North Side. $5, $4 for members. All ages. aviary.org Roar into the holidays when the Pittsburgh Zoo and Aquarium presents Wild Illuminations, a…
Columns
Transit Talk: A time for reflection on Pittsburgh’s rail and roadways
Some new thoughts on old ideas, and echoing a plea for a nicer train station.
Affordable-ish Housing in Pittsburgh: Houses as Pittsburgh athletes edition
If you look at a lot of houses — or lots of very similar things of any kind — eventually, your brain will start seeing patterns where there are none. In a sure sign that I’ve been doing this column for too long, I tend to see faces — windows as eyes, weathered metal awnings…
Affordable-ish Housing in Pittsburgh: Yin and yang of Yinzerdom edition
Pittsburghers care a lot. And we don’t care what you think — the yin and yang of Yinzerdom.
Print from the Past: For Mr. Smalls, early struggles fueled today’s success
A 2005 article shows that the more things change, the more things stay the same for Pittsburgh’s independent music venues.
Yinzer Yums of Yesteryear: Mom’s apple pies, miniaturized
Listen, Mom from 1993-ish, I’m not rich either, but I’m making the damn mini pies.
Now Hiring in Pittsburgh: J&R Day Camp; Public Source; Love, Katie Distilling; and more
Looking for a new job? We searched through local employment guides to curate a list of the best job openings around Pittsburgh this week, including a recreation leader and an economic development reporter, plus an employment workshop and more.
Affordable-ish Housing in Pittsburgh: Bad Take Hall of Fame edition
I’ve said plenty of strange things in this column, mostly in jest, but there’s one error I make pretty regularly.
Slideshows
Penn Brewery hosts annual Krampus Fest
Penn Brewery celebrated Krampusnacht on Thursday, Dec. 5, with their annual Krampus Fest. Hundreds gathered outside of the Northside brewery for a night of festivities, including a costume parade, Krampus holiday market, and a performance from Sleigher the Krampus Band. The festival also included the tapping of Penn Brewery’s seasonal Krampusnacht Black IPA.
Riverhounds celebrate USL Championship title with fans
Fans of the Pittsburgh Riverhounds braved freezing temperatures this afternoon to celebrate the team’s first-ever USL championship title. Hounds’ fans, known affectionately as the “Steel Army” chanted as Head Coach Rob Vincent took the stage to give his remarks. Vincent took time to thank everyone in the crowd stating, “We as players and staff definitely…
Food + Drink
Where to find free or low-cost holiday meals in Pittsburgh this December
Several Pittsburgh organizations are offering free holiday meals, grocery distributions, and food support for individuals who could use a little extra help this holiday season.
Leona’s sandwiched into Garfield’s growing food scene
The scoop shop will serve Leona’s signature lactose-free ice cream plus “cozy” treats for winter visitors.
Arts & Entertainment
Here’s what we want Santa to bring Pittsburgh for Christmas
Dear Santa, We, the Pittsburgh City Paper staff, have made a list, please check it twice. We love this town, but it could be improved by a few things that are naughty, and a few that are nice: Riverboat Casinos The city needs revenue. We have rivers. Let’s unlock a new way to pull in…
Ned Rolsma is seven feet of Pittsburgh pride
Hollywood has treated Ned Rolsma relatively well. The Aliquippa native went from a semi-pro basketball player and NBA prospect, to a recurring role on the long-running CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother, to an Emmy-award-nominated broadcaster in Los Angeles. But when it comes to the holidays, Rolsma says L.A. doesn’t hold a candle to…
Via Ms. Rachel, Reading Rainbow, and more, Mister Rogers is still guiding young learners
A larger-than-life statue of Fred Rogers, perhaps as large as his magnetic personality, stands watch over the confluence of our three rivers from its North Shore location. Pittsburgh is, and always will be, Mister Rogers’ neighborhood. Most Pittsburghers, along with children across the nation, were raised on Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, and his influence is evident…
News
Without public support, Allegheny GoatScape faces a cold winter
The nonprofit is looking to offset the cost of feed and staffing as its herd ages.
UPDATED: Why are Pittsburgh’s snow plows MIA?
The City Controller says officials must invest in city vehicles or snow clearance will remain a problem.
Print from the Past: A tragic Sewickley car crash echoes nearly 40 years later
In this deeply felt and extensively reported 5,000-word story, Hamill, a Sewickley native, revisits a harrowing 1971 drunk driving accident in his hometown in which the car caught fire and killed four teenage boys.
