Update: Some Pennsylvania counties are cleared for green phase on May 29, Allegheny to remain yellow
Update: 4:45 p.m. Fri., May 22, 2020: On Fri., May 29, eight additional Pennsylvania counties will transition to the “yellow phase,” and 17 to “green,” as announced by Gov. Tom Wolf, Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine, and Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency (PEMA) Director Randy Padfield in a press conference today. The counties transitioning to green — the first to…
Kindergarten in the time of corona
My son is 6 years old, in kindergarten, and is currently sentenced to a lifetime of hard labor the likes of which are typically reserved for North Korean dissidents. Or so he would have you believe if he were to describe the 10 to 20 minutes of online learning he is asked to do Monday…
LuRose introduces herself with a ‘Sweet’ and warming single
Right away, LuRose’s vocals draw listeners into her debut release, “Sweet.” The single opens with the lyrics, “In the summer breeze, with you next to me / I cannot take it,” overtop an easygoing, acoustic R&B beat. “Sugar on your lips, lemonade-dipped kiss / Soft, as I graze it” she continues, before easing into the…
State Rep. Valerie Gaydos wants district attorneys to ignore governor’s business closure enforcement
In a letter sent to the Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association, a group of 25 Republican state lawmakers, including local state Rep. Valerie Gaydos (R-Aleppo), called on the 67 district attorneys in Pennsylvania to ensure that any enforcement against violators of Gov. Tom Wolf’s coronavirus closure orders is stopped. “We write you today regarding Gov. Tom…
Bill Peduto cancels interview with KDKA Radio over Marty Griffin misgendering Pa. Health Secretary
Today, during a phone call with about 70 reporters, KDKA Radio talk show host Marty Griffin repeatedly misgendered Pennsylvania Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine, referring to her as “sir” on multiple occasions. Griffin apologized and corrected himself once to say “ma’am,” but eventually Levine, who is trans, asked Griffin to stop misgendering her. After multiple times…
Photos: #FreeBlackMamas Protest at Allegheny County Jail
Over 20 cars gathered on Tuesday for an in-car protest, advocating on behalf of inmates at Allegheny County Jail. Organized by the Dignity Act of PA collective, the protest called for releasing inmates, specifically Black mothers, and for the end of cash bail. The protest began in the parking lot of the former Shop ‘n…
Make + Matter is permanently closing
The collaborative, designer-owned storefront Make + Matter announced that it will permanently close its Lawrenceville space at the end of May. In a newsletter and Facebook post sent out today, Make + Matter owners Kelly Simpson-Scupelli, Rebekah Joy, and Rona Chang say the decision to close was “due to the impact of Covid-19 on our…
At Home With: Harpreet Pabla
Everybody is dealing with COVID-19 quarantines and restrictions in different ways. While there’s no single right way to cope — social distancing and staying TF home aside — connecting with friends, family, and neighbors is a good place to start. You can contact your loved ones on your own, but you might also be curious…
EQT Children’s Theater Festival invites families to a weekend of free online activities, films, and more
There are only so many episodes of PAW Patrol your homebound kid can watch before boredom sets in. Thankfully, the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust has another option this weekend with the latest online edition of the annual EQT Children’s Theater Festival. The digital festival will run from May 14-17, with a lineup of fun shows, interactive…
BOOM Concepts is curating Bloomfield’s sidewall for the 2020-21 exhibition season
At the corner of 608 S. Millvale and Lima Way lives sidewall, a public art space on the side of a private residence “dedicated to showing works by artists both local and abroad.” Since 2014, a rotating cast of creative collaborations has been given access to the mural exhibition in hopes of increasing the opportunity for…
Lynn Cullen Live – 5/12/20
Video Archive As the show airs today a lot is going on. Dr. Fauci is testifying in front of the Senate, and the Supreme Court is hearing arguments on Trump’s ability to keep his financial information, and taxes secret. A much more lighthearted story Lynn and Susan are talking about is a study of whether…
#CPQuestionOfTheWeek: What’s the weirdest habit you’ve developed during quarantine?
With most of the department working from home these days, our editorial Slack channel has been filled with our staff sharing all sorts of odd quirks we’ve picked up during quarantine. Amanda Waltz has developed an obsession for looking at luggage online, even though she’s not going anywhere. Hannah Lynn has found herself browsing apartment…
Sen. Bernie Sanders endorses state Rep. Summer Lee
Since entering office in 2019, state Rep. Summer Lee (D-Swissvale) has been one of the loudest and most unapologetic progressive voices in Harrisburg. Her strong opposition to natural gas drilling, aka fracking, may have even led to a primary challenger against her in the form of Chris Roland (D-Braddock Hills), who is pro-fracking and backed…
Allegheny County pledges support for arts and culture scene with #All412gether Week proclamation
Today marks the beginning of Arts & Culture #All412gether Week, a campaign officially started by a proclamation from Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald. Arts & Culture #All412gether Week continues through May 17 and, according to a press release, recognizes the “vibrant arts and culture community and their commitment” to the region’s “civic life, health and…
Gov. Wolf threatens consequences for counties that don’t abide coronavirus restrictions
Despite some outcries from the public and the president, Governor Tom Wolf (D-York) is not backing down from restrictions still in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19. In a statement, he threatened consequences for counties that don’t abide by restrictions set by the state. “I cannot allow residents in a red county to get…
New Music Friday (On a Monday)
Our favorite local and national tunes released (on Spotify) in May so far.
What’s left to say about Andy Warhol? NYT contributor Blake Gopnik found plenty
Blake Gopnik spent almost eight years researching the life of Andy Warhol, combing through archives at Carnegie Mellon University and the Andy Warhol Museum. He interviewed friends and associates of the artist, family members when possible, boyfriends, and those who only knew Warhol in passing. The result is Warhol (Ecco) a grand, magisterial look at…
Lynn Cullen Live – 5/11/20
Video Archive A tweet thread detailing the chaos at a local Olive Garden yesterday made Lynn chuckle, and she’s sharing it first thing today. It turns out that Mother’s Day has caused events like that to happen all over. The cops were called to handle crowds at a local Red Lobster. Then there was a…
At Home With: Tim Pearce
Everybody is dealing with COVID-19 quarantines and restrictions in different ways. While there’s no single right way to cope — social distancing and staying TF home aside — connecting with friends, family, and neighbors is a good place to start. You can contact your loved ones on your own, but you might also be curious…
60-Second Documentary: Comfort food passed down through generations
The following video is part of a series of 60-Second Documentaries, produced by Point Park University students in collaboration with the student-run Point Park News Service. Meet the filmmaker: Name: Virginia Garner Year: Freshman Major: Journalism Currently Resides: Severna Park, Maryland Career Aspiration: Investigative Reporter
What does the ‘yellow phase’ of Pennsylvania’s reopen plan actually mean?
On May 15, Allegheny County and 12 other counties in Southwestern Pennsylvania will move to the yellow phase of Gov. Tom Wolf’s reopen plan during the coronavirus pandemic. Currently, all of Southwestern Pennsylvania is under the red phase, which includes a stay-at-home order and scores of strict business closures. Most retail is closed, non-essential businesses…
Keep clean, stay dirty with these adult-only bath products
Hip Modern Soap Co. products are like any handmade bars or bath bombs available at craft markets or Etsy stores. Only some of them come with a naughty, or even dark sense of humor, with penis-shaped soap-on-a-rope and an electric toaster bath bomb for those who want relaxation with an edge. Given the current COVID-19…
The most anticipated May book releases
Stray by Stephanie Danler, May 19 via Knopf Publishing Group In 2016, Stephanie Danler’s first novel, Sweetbitter, was published and subsequently made into a show on Starz in 2018. Danler should have been happy, but the struggles of her parents – a mother who is disabled by years of alcoholism and a father in and out…
At Home With: James Hill
Everybody is dealing with COVID-19 quarantines and restrictions in different ways. While there’s no single right way to cope — social distancing and staying TF home aside — connecting with friends, family, and neighbors is a good place to start. You can contact your loved ones on your own, but you might also be curious…
Eerily, quarantine and climate change are at the center of documentary Spaceship Earth
Every day I am frustrated and angry about how much we know about climate change and how little is being done to combat it despite having the tools at our disposal. But I can’t imagine how I would feel if I had known about this since the ’70s, if I tried to do what I…
Art world mourns death of former Andy Warhol Museum director, Thomas W. Sokolowski
Pittsburgh artists and others took to social media to grieve the death of Thomas W. Sokolowski, the visionary former director of the Andy Warhol Museum. As reported by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Sokolowski died yesterday at the Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick, N.J. He was 70. The news of his death has spawned…
With Colony Cafe and its cats moving out, Cafe liminal turns the Strip location into a haven for health food
At the end of May, Colony Cafe, Pittsburgh’s first cat cafe, will close. By June 10, the health-inspired eatery Cafe liminal will take over the space. This will be the second space for liminal, who launched initially in Smallman Galley (where they plan to remain once the restaurant incubator has reopened) as Steel City Subs.…
60-Second Documentary: Taking happy hours online during the pandemic
The following video is part of a series of 60-Second Documentaries, produced by Point Park University students in collaboration with the student-run Point Park News Service. Meet the filmmaker: Name: Jake Dabkowski Year: Freshman Major: Broadcast Production and Media Management
Op-ed: A Teaching Lesson for Congressman Doyle from Professor Dickinson
In the afternoon of May 5th, Congressman Mike Doyle stated in the City Paper, “It’s disappointing that Jerry Dickinson is distorting the letter we sent to the NAACP and leaders in the African-American community.” As a tenured constitutional law professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, I take great pride in teaching law students…
Spare Change takes its charity busking online
Adjustments have had to be made for musicians, bands, and businesses amidst the spread of COVID-19, and local organization Spare Change is no exception. Instead of passing around collection buckets at live music events to raise money for charity, Spare Change has moved its fundraising efforts online. Each week, at least one of the musicians…
Lynn Cullen Live – 5/7/20
Video Archive Lynn is sharing sad news today, former Warhol Museum director Thomas Sokolowski has died at the age of 70. She is remembering her time working with Tom, and all that he did for the area. Audio Only Archive Stream or download the last 5 shows on the MP3 downloads page.
For Sale With Baggage: Table for One
Stuff can be complicated, especially when trying to get rid of it. The process can remind us that our things can have worth that’s hard to put a dollar amount on; they can call to mind other people from our lives; they can bring up memories of what they were (or weren’t) used for. For…
Lynn Cullen Live – 5/6/20
Video Archive Lynn is talking about Trump’s visit to the Honeywell factory making masks, and his interview with David Muir. Later in the show she will be joined by Pittsburgh City Paper staff writer Jordan Snowden. Audio Only Archive Stream or download the last 5 shows on the MP3 downloads page.
Art All Night continues through pandemic with first-ever online arts festival
The 23rd annual Art All Night will happen more or less the same way it’s happened for the past 22 years. At 4 p.m. on Sat., May 16, the arts festival will open and provide the public with free access to tons of original artwork for 22 consecutive hours until it concludes at 2 p.m.…
Celebrating Pittsburgh nurses during National Nurses Week, May 6-12
When Mary Masa was diagnosed last year with breast cancer, her 86-year-old mother told her not to worry, and Mary said she hasn’t. “I told her I wouldn’t because I knew if there were any problems, Joseph would take care of me, and he has.” Joseph Rapp is Mary’s brother, an oncology nurse at a…
Free Will Astrology (5/6 – 5/13)
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): “The future belongs to those who see possibilities before they become obvious,” says businessperson and entrepreneur John Sculley. You Tauruses aren’t renowned for such foresight. It’s more likely to belong to Aries and Sagittarius people. Your tribe is more likely to specialize in doing the good work that turns others’ bright…
Lawrenceville and Bloomfield markets lead the way, open with pandemic protocols
On Sat., May 9, the Bloomfield Saturday Market will open for the season, but things will look drastically different. Rather than the typical lot packed with mingling, chatting shoppers and farmers, consumers (in limited numbers) will be directed on a one-way path through vendors spaced six-feet apart, following strict social distancing guidelines. Tables will be…
How Pittsburgh’s Muslim community is celebrating Ramadan during coronavirus
After a week operating with almost a dozen of his workers staying home due to coronavirus protections, Abdullah Salem started to debate whether he should temporarily close his restaurant and grocery. His father opened Salem’s in the back of another grocery store in 1981, the year Abdullah was born, and this would be the first…
Psychotherapist practices the goofiness and creativity that she preaches
A couple of weeks into the stay-at-home order, Sarah Rashmee Souri hit a wall. She was still working as a psychotherapist, though all her sessions were moved online, but Souri wasn’t finding any personal moments of joy. “I realized I was not doing something during this pandemic that I was encouraging all my therapy clients…
Man behind Pittsburgh Good Deeds is ‘just a regular dude, repairing roofs for free in the middle of a pandemic’
During this pandemic, people have come together through fundraisers and mutual aid in big ways. Usually, financial donations are done through GoFundMe or another official fundraising platform. But Jon Potter, often known by his handle pghparagliding, raised over $20,000 on Reddit and has given almost all of it away, also on Reddit, to strangers who…
