Trib sports writer Dejan Kovacevic leaves paper to start website
The veteran journalist’s site will be multimedia, subscription-based.
Lynn Cullen Live 07/22/14
Video Archive Phone guest: Susan; we use smartphones & newspapers to insulate ourselves during AM commutes; word of the day: irredentism; Weird Al’s “Word Crimes;” US xenophobia extends to children too; PSO tribute to Jerry Garcia brought happy crowd; symphony etiquette. Audio Only Archive
No, in fact, refugee children do NOT pose a health threat, says health expert
Yesterday’s Post-Gazette brought us the disheartening news that some residents of Emsworth are upset that refugee children fleeing hardship in Central America may be cared for by a Catholic charity there. It’s a painful read, with Emsworth residents worrying aloud that the children may bring diseases with them, or be working as mules for drug…
WYEP to launch new Friday-night show with DJ Selecta
James “Selecta” Scoglietti The Friday night early-evening radio slot is an important one: This is the music you listen to when you’re getting ready for a night on the town, or maybe driving to the restaurant before a date. That slot about to get a boost in Pittsburgh with the addition of Grand Groove Radio,…
Lynn Cullen Live 07/21/14
Video Archive Time goes faster as you age; don’t bother looking at the news, it’s too depressing; smartphones, teenagers & the rise of Snapchat; calling is creepy?; difficult to sit in a quiet room and do nothing; Obit: James Garner, actor. Audio Only Archive
Organic farmer seeks to halt natural-gas facility
Beaver County farmer contends compressor station would harm his business
Tom Verlaine, Dean Wareham and others to perform Warhol program in October
“Exposed: Songs for Unseen Warhol Films” sets newly digitized films to live music
Frick’s new welcome center opens this weekend
Renovation also includes new museum store
Lynn Cullen Live 07/18/14
Video Archive Guest: Chris Potter; South Side stab victim reaches out to attacker; jury will never find a Pgh cop guilty; Malaysian plane shot down over Ukraine; Putin playing Monopoly; Jeff Bezos’ underwriter’s “memo to fellow zillionaires;” middle class is disappearing; we live in a plutocracy; there will never be peace in the Middle East;…
Peduto says investigation on Pride incident is ‘ongoing,’ timeline still unclear
In a statement released this afternoon, mayor Bill Peduto acknowledged the city is still investigating an incident last month in which a Pittsburgh police officer punched and arrested a Pride attendee. As City Paper reported yesterday, the mayor seemed to promise some assessment of the incident within a month of a July 16 press conference.…
Emergency Rally for Gaza Tomorrow
Rally protests Israeli airstrikes, U.S. backing
Lynn Cullen Live 07/17/14
Video Archive Guest: Tom Sokolowski; outrageous hospital bills; poem on Statue of Liberty should be removed, not true anymore; the Central American child refugee situation; Kansas Republican governor doing such a bad job, other Repubs endorsing new Democratic candidate; Rupert Murdoch tried to buy Time-Warner; are you using your smartphone / social media too much?…
10 more Lyft, Uber drivers cited by PUC
Photo by Kevin Shepherd More local rideshare drivers have been cited by the Public Utilities Commission. Our Dan Sleva has the info: The PUC Bureau of Investigation and Enforcement filed 10 citations against Lyft and Uber drivers on Monday. Three citations for the summary offense of unauthorized operation by carriers and brokers were filed in…
No announcements planned after Peduto promises swift investigation of Pride altercation
The day after a video surfaced that showed 19-year Ariel Lawther being dragged by the neck from a crowd of protestors at Pride by a Pittsburgh police officer before being struck several times, mayor Bill Peduto promised a swift investigation. “We will work diligently to make sure that justice is not delayed and that we…
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
The second installment in the rebooted Planet of the Apes franchise is a bleak science-fiction tale. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes begins 10 years after 2011’s Rise of the Planet of the Apes. While the human race has been nearly wiped out, the apes who escaped into Muir Woods are living in relative…
Short List: July 17 – 23
FREE EVENT: Sun., July 20 — Outdoors Dancing in the streets — and walking, biking and doing yoga there — gets feasible Downtown next Sunday morning. That’s when Pittsburgh joins some 100 U.S. cities in the Open Streets movement, which temporarily closes pavement to automotive traffic, making public space people-friendlier. San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park…
Venus in Fur
Roman Polanski adapts David Ives’ award-winning stage play, a two-hander that mines and explores Leopold von Sacher-Masoch’s eponymous novel — you know, from the guy who lent his name to the term “sadomasochism.” Unfolding in real time, a director (Mathieu Amalric) is packing up after unsuccessful auditions for his stage adaptation of Venus in Fur,…
Kohinoor
Kohinoor 4155 William Penn Highway, Monroeville. 412-376-2181 Hours: Tue.-Sun. 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Prices: $3-13 Liquor: BYOB We try to shop local whenever we can, but sometimes a need arises that can only be served in the vast commercial mosaic of big-box retail that is Monroeville. Though the fact is often overlooked, the great thing is…
Violette
Martin Provost’s lush bio-doc recounts the tumultuous life of French author Violette Leduc, who published The Bastard in 1964, and is heralded as a critical and early feminist writer. But before that, Violette was a tough-skinned woman, born out of wedlock, who toggled between emotional bouts of self-destruction and a fierce desire to survive. (The…
Walking the Camino: Six Ways to Santiago
Lydia B. Smith’s documentary lets you travel along as six individuals tackle the Camino de Santiago, the 500-mile hike across Spain. The ancient route was once traversed by Catholic pilgrims, and still today, many of the hikers regard the journey as a spiritual quest. But for others, it is a bucket-list-type expedition (the scenery is…
Marissa Nadler keeps one foot in the art world while making a new record with Randall Dunn
MARISSA NADLER with COTOPAXI 7 p.m., Sat., July 19. Cattivo, 146 44th St., Lawrenceville. $12. All ages. 412-687-2157 or cattivo.biz The world that Marissa Nadler creates in her most recent release, July, isn’t, as the title may suggest, one of sunny, heart-of-summertime fun. Instead, it’s a little closer to what life is often actually like…
The Donkeys make timeless rock in southern California
THE DONKEYS with CAN’T DANCE, MUTINY ON THE MAYFLOWER 6:30 p.m. Thu., July 17. Smiling Moose, 1306 E. Carson St., South Side. $10. All ages. 412-431-4668 or smiling- moose.com As pop-music descriptors go, “dreamy” and its fancy cousin “dream-like” are blanket terms meant to impart a certain gravitas to sounds that are distant, blurred at…
Mead lovers will be making a beeline for Carnegie’s Apis Meadery
When someone asks if you’d like a cup of mead, it’s easy to cringe at visions of Renaissance Faires. But “What you get at a Renaissance Faire isn’t something you want to drink. It’s sticky, sweet and boozy,” says Dave Cerminara, who just opened Apis Meadery in Carnegie. Mead is one of the world’s oldest…
New Mind Cure 7-inch connects music to the neighborhood
BEAGLES BROTHERS 7-INCH RELEASE with THE BLOODY SEAMEN and MOTHER HAWK. 9 p.m. Fri., July 18. Thunderbird Café, 4023 Butler St. Lawrenceville. $5. 412-682-0177 or thunderbird cafe.net Mind Cure Records owner Mike Seamans doesn’t necessarily like to flaunt it, but he comes from Pittsburgh royalty: Seamans’ mother, Elizabeth, is Mrs. McFeely. That’s why, for one…
Is Pittsburgh ready for another pizza feud?
Stand aside, Mineo’s and Aiello’s: Two Bloomfield-based upstarts have established a new pizza feud. On July 25, the Strip District’s Bar Marco will host a “pizza dojo” contest between Pizza Boat — a food truck with its own wood-fired oven — and a work-in-progress bakery, Bread and Salt. Pizza Boat co-owner Jeff Ryan says the…
Critics’ Picks: July 16 – 22
[FOLK ROCK] + FRI., JULY 18 It’s still July, but the guys of Nameless in August couldn’t wait any longer to release their first full-length, Wheelhouse. The Pittsburgh-based four-piece provides plenty of banjo-picking goodness on the debut release, plus some sweet, tender vocals that set the band apart from plenty of others locally. Fans of…
Venezuelan author living in exile in Pittsburgh publishes translated novel
It was a case of life imitating art in the worst possible way. In Venezuelan novelist Israel Centeno’s thriller El Complot (“The Conspiracy”), a whole country descents into confusion, paranoia and violence — allegorized by an omnipresent fog over Caracas — after an assassination attempt on a militaristic president. A newspaper reporter discovers it was…
New Releases
The Nied’s Hotel Band One Night Stand (Self-released) The local rock supergroup’s first full-length in a couple of years. As per usual, the sounds are all great: Well-produced ’70s/’80s-style funky rock with copious saxophones and plenty of instrumental precision. A lot of these tunes are about love affairs and having a good time; the band…
Here & Now: Queer Geographies in Contemporary Photography traces the diversity of the LGBT experience
HERE & NOW continues through Sat., July 19. 1015 E. Carson St., South Side. 412-431-1810 or silvereye.org LGBT folks’ place in society has changed rapidly, and you can assess some of that progress at Here & Now: Queer Geographies in Contemporary Photography, an exhibit at Silver Eye Center. The show of work by five photographers…
Parking Problems: Will more permits ease the South Side residents’ parking woes?
Parking in the South Side at night or on the weekends can be hit or miss. Paid parking meters and lots fill up fast and spots on residential streets are sparse. But it’s even worse for the residents who live in the densely populated neighborhood. A newly proposed residential permit-parking district seeks to remedy parking…
PICT Classic’s Woman and Scarecrow
WOMAN AND SCARECROW continues through Aug. 2. Stephen Foster Memorial Theatre 4301 Forbes Ave. Oakland. $10-54. 412-561-6000 x207 or picttheatre.org There’s no question that Irish playwright Marina Carr can string together some amazing dialogue. Her 2006 play Woman and Scarecrow, its Pittsburgh premiere brought to us by PICT Classic Theatre, is a two-hour buffet of…
Route Questions: Baldwin residents pushing the conversation on transit route restoration
When Port Authority eliminated Betty Bickar’s bus in 2011, her daily round-trip commute ballooned from 40 minutes to over three hours. “The old bus used to stop in front of my house,” explains the 67-year-old, who often leaves her Baldwin home at 4 a.m. to start a 6 a.m. shift at the South Side Giant…
The Fantasticks at Opera Theater
THE FANTASTICKS continues 7:30 p.m. Thu., July 17; 7:30 p.m. Fri., July 25; and 2 p.m. Sat., July 26. Opera Theater SummerFest in the Art Deco Theater in the Twentieth Century Club 4201 Bigelow Blvd., Oakland. $25-75. 412-326-9687 or otsummerfest.org After more than half a century, The Fantasticks is still a cozy, warm blanket to…
The Old, Old Ball Game
With the WVU Chargers — dressed in bright yellow outfits reminiscent of baggage handlers or the ’79 Pirates — up at the wicket, the ball sails way into the trees. In the manner of a school-yard game, an orange-clad fielder races after the ball, rustling through the brush to find it. This is cricket, and…
The Lion in Winter at The Summer Company
THE LION IN WINTER continues through Sat., July 19. The Summer Company in the Peter Mills Theater, Rockwell Hall, Duquesne University, Uptown. $10-15. 412-243-6464 Clash of the seasons! Clash of the titans! Clash of the colors? The Summer Company tackles The Lion in Winter with mixed results, ambitiously over-producing a modern classic. For fans of…
Life in the Fast Lane
A confession: I haven’t used either of the city’s ride-sharing services. But I’m already impressed by their ability to get everyone else on board. Take Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto’s July 10 press conference celebrating Senate Bill 1457, which would establish new rules permitting ride-sharing within city limits. On hand were what Peduto, a vocal ride-sharing…
Texture returns with Life, Love, & Jazz
TEXTURE CONTEMPORARY BALLET PERFORMS LIFE, LOVE, & JAZZ July 17-20 New Hazlett Theater 6 Allegheny Square East, North Side. $20. 412-320-4610 or newhazletttheater.org Pittsburgh’s “other” professional ballet company, Texture Contemporary Ballet, opens its fourth home season July 17-20 at the New Hazlett Theater with four performances of Life, Love, & Jazz. The program features three…
Savage Love
Two questions. 1. Recently, I went to a bar with my brother and encountered a friend from high school. My brother told me that toward the end of the night, my friend followed him into the bathroom and made a drunken pass (which apparently involved a clumsy grab at his penis). My inclination is to…
The Sandbox is a pop-up bookstore — and much more — in the Carnegie’s old coatroom
THE SANDBOX: AT PLAY WITH THE PHOTOBOOK continues through July 28. Carnegie Museum of Art, 4400 Forbes Ave., Oakland. 412-622-3131 or cmoa.org Museums have long endeavored to be interesting. Now they’re feeling pressure to be exciting as well. This means more events, interactivity, audience submissions and non-traditional guest curators, among other evolving strategies for involving…
Something is Digging
Everything was fine until one stray hour cracked the afternoon open and the day began to eat its own tail. I met the one-suit duo with a river view. They’d worked up a skit for me: good cop, bad apple; i.e., find another tree. I had no stone, no flame, no black magic marker to…
Life Itself
Life Itself Directed by: Steve James Starts: Fri., July 18. Regent Square If mainstream film criticism of the last half-century could be defined by a single voice, it would likely be Roger Ebert’s. Beginning in 1967, he wrote film reviews for the Chicago Sun-Times; in the 1980s and ’90s, he co-hosted (with Gene Siskel) popular…
Stuff We Like
“War Zones: Chapter 1: Window Frames,” story by Helen Gerhardt on the Buses Are Bridges blog. Pittsburgh blogger weaves together her time in Iraq with clearing out the apartment of Ka’Sandra Wade, a friend here who died in a high-profile shooting. busesarebridges.wordpress.com The Red Star Kombucha logo. The motto is an inside joke for kombucha…
Lynn Cullen Live 07/16/14
Video Archive Guest: Jacob Bacharach, author of The Bend of the World. Audio Only Archive
