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During my seven short months at City Paper, I’ve quoted Mark Cuban calling a local pharmacist a troll, chronicled the rise of a new labor movement in Pittsburgh, spoken with Latino entrepreneurs creating vibrant new communities in Coraopolis and Monroeville, and poked fun at Guy Fieri’s new chicken joint — which actually wasn’t too bad.
As an editor, I’ve been lucky to work with our talented staff and freelancers on a breadth of illuminating and sometimes daring work. Sometimes that can be more rewarding.
But City Paper tradition has us shamelessly promote our own favorite pieces each year, so here are my top five (in no particular order):
West View pharmacist says he inspired Mark Cuban’s low-cost drug venture // July 6, 2022
Most CP stories touch on either the serious or the silly. In this profile of a local pharmacy, I found myself dealing with a bit of both as I explored the murky underworld of medical drug prices. (Yes, it’s the one where Cuban gets enraged.)
Coraopolis is becoming a community hub for Pittsburgh’s growing Latino // Aug. 10, 2022
The first of a three-part series, this collaborative project with Presente Magazine explores the challenges and triumphs of a growing number of Latinos who call Coraopolis their home.
From steelworkers to baristas: the new face of Pittsburgh’s evolving labor movement // Aug. 31, 2022
“Pittsburgh is a union town” is a refrain you’re as likely to hear now as in the heyday of big steel. Behind that is a resurgent labor movement branching into new industries like retail, tech, higher education, and healthcare.
A “Pittsburgh institution” prepares to shutter after 48 years // Nov. 16, 2022
It was sad to report on a veteran cobbler’s plans to close up shop at the end of this year. But it was a joy to watch Gabe at work and hear him reminisce on his boyhood in Italy and his long career in Pittsburgh.
A fine Scottish pub serving mostly American food // Aug. 3, 2022
It probably should raise alarm bells when a news editor opts to try his hand a food writing, but that’s the kind of latitude CP (and our beloved former editor Lisa Cunningham) has always afforded. In any case, as a Brit living in Pittsburgh, I had fun assessing the recreation of a Scottish pub in Hazelwood.
This article appears in Dec 21, 2022 – Jan 3, 2023.
