“You must keep working.” So Yusufe Kafuku (Hidetoshi Nishijima) is told, and tells himself, in Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s brilliant new, award-winning film Drive My Car. It’s one of the most common and destructive things we can convince ourselves of in the wake of grief, the notion that if we just keep going about our day, the feeling will simply fade into the banality. With his latest work — opening on Thu., Jan., 20 at the Harris Theater — Hamaguchi aims to crumble the walls between grief and work...

Lawmakers have yet to give final approval to new congressional and legislative district maps

Uncertainty around the once-a-decade redrawing of Pennsylvania’s political topography continued this week, amid a last-minute effort from Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf to offer his own compromise plan and continued court proceedings. As of Jan. 19, lawmakers had yet to give final approval to new congressional and legislative district maps...

Pittsburgh is often the brunt of many a joke about bad drivers and Pittsburgh lefts, but the reality is our streets, our roads, are just built different. Walking around the city as a pedestrian or being driven around as a passenger, you see a lot of totally wild structural choices...

Allegheny County COVID-19 information as of Jan. 19 Number of new positive cases in Allegheny County: 1,609 Number of today's new coronavirus deaths in Allegheny County: 35...

Opponents argue the legislation will hurt public schools and lead to higher taxes

A proposal to increase the tax credit caps for businesses that donate money to scholarship funds for private schools advanced out of a Senate committee Wednesday, with the author claiming it will “save lives.” Opponents, however, argue the legislation will hurt public schools and lead to higher taxes...

Lynn is talking about a series of 8 films on Turner Classic Movies played on Martin Luther King Jr. day. The films were sparked by the conflicts of the 1968 Democratic Convention and looked at civil rights issues of that period...

Jails across Pennsylvania, unlike prisons, are meant to hold people charged with crimes before they stand trial for their charges. People in jail are not convicted, and are merely awaiting their day in court...

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Self-help teachers and New Age gurus are fond of using metaphors about opening doors. They provide a lot of advice that encourages us to knock on doors, scout around for doors that are open just a crack, find keys to unlock doors, and even kick down doors...

A longtime Southerner, ceramic artist and sculptor Mac Star McCusker was set on moving north. That opportunity came calling in the form of the Union Project, a multi-use community space based in a former church on Negley Avenue...

The campaign to fill Mayor Ed Gainey’s state House seat in District 24 for the remainder of this year’s legislative term is well underway. La’Tasha Mayes, a nationally recognized leader in the field of reproductive justice and founder, president, and CEO of New Voices for Reproductive Justice, is the latest candidate to enter the race...

Plus, an interview with a funk/jazz/rock outfit from Pittsburgh

Welcome to the first 2022 installation of Soulshowmike’s Album Picks. I normally focus on full releases in this column, then wrap the year with a December compilation of the year’s best...

Seven days of must-see arts and cultural happenings

Thu., Jan. 20 COMEDY • IRL Comedian Hasan Minhaj brings his one-man show The King's Jester to the Benedum Center. Minhaj is best known for his work on The Daily Show, and for Patriot Act, an award-winning weekly show he used to educate his audience on the pressing issues of the world, including the election process, taxes, the eviction crisis, and the murder of George Floyd...

PPWP's Sydney Etheredge warns Pittsburghers not to become complacent

For the first time in almost 40 years, Planned Parenthood of Western Pennsylvania has a new CEO. A University of Pittsburgh graduate, Sydney Etheredge returns to the city to lead PPWP after spending 10 years working for the Planned Parenthood Federation of America on the national level...

Are you a filmmaker looking for somewhere to show your work? A major Pittsburgh film organization just put out a call for submissions for two upcoming local festivals...

Baby Loves Tacos 4508 Liberty Ave., Bloomfield. babylovestacospgh.com Baby Loves Tacos announced via Instagram that they are working on opening Give and Go Sandos, a new restaurant to be located next door. The concept will feature sandwiches, soup, salad, sides, baked goods, bottled drinks, boxed lunches, and party trays, with an option to “pay it forward.” More details should be revealed on the Give and Go Sandos Instagram account...

Good Morning, it is Lynn's birthday today, and it's Sus-day. Lynn and Susan are talking about a girl who took a selfie on top of her car that was sinking into an icy river...

After Pittsburgh City Paper published seven declarations written by individuals incarcerated at the Allegheny County Jail, including accusations that they experienced potential violations of out-of-cell time requirements, arbitrary use of solitary confinement to punish minor offenses, and intimidation from corrections officers armed with less-lethal weapons, Allegheny County held a press conference on Jan. 14 to deny the allegations. The declarations from the seven incarcerated individuals were provided to City Paper from the Abolitionist Law Center, an advocacy group and law firm, and were shared with the county with ALC’s permission to get a response on the alleged violations...

A black box is a system that can be viewed in terms of its inputs and outputs without any knowledge of its internal workings. The term is most commonly used to refer to things such as the workings of an engine, an algorithm, the human brain, or an institution or government...

"I turned it off... This guy actually said that the person who would do this would have to be a psychopath...

Now Hiring: 10 new job listings from throughout the region

We searched the web to find some of Pittsburgh's best job openings this week. If your company is hiring, send info on your job opening for consideration to jobs@pghcitypaper.com...