Carpenter Bees

We raised our babies in this old farmhouse, wrapped them in swaddling clothes like little cocoons, and protected them as best as we could. We renovated parts of the house, added a bathroom and knocked through a kitchen wall to create more space for a growing family. We fed our children, taught them what we …

Front Page Read More »

Serious Daddy Issues: Barebones Delivers a Compelling “Crocodile Fever”

One of the most difficult questions a drama critic confronts is how much of the plot should be explicated during a review?  I think it’s a disservice to reveal too much of a play’s action, as it denies an organic apprehension of the experience.  Imagine seeing the film “Jaws” for the first time with all …

Front Page Read More »

Bring the World to Pittsburgh

In pockets across Pittsburgh, a new and different city is emerging, one in which internationals and creatives are finding a foothold in neighborhoods that long have struggled for new vitality. A prime example of this is in Garfield, where Henry Simonds of Headwater Media envisioned a new kind of social enterprise for his hometown. The …

Front Page Read More »

College Town Pittsburgh Part 4

Editor’s note: We thank the top leaders of this region’s universities for penning a response to the following question: Given continuing enrollment declines and our civic need to attract and keep young people, is it desirable to significantly build on fledgling programs to get students off campus and engage them in this region’s amenities, thus building …

Front Page Read More »

Casa San Jose

Monica Ruiz, a half-Guatemalan American citizen fluent in Spanish, was born and raised in Cleveland. But when Pittsburghers tell her to “go back where you came from” — an insult she hears weekly — they’re not talking about her returning to Cleveland. Ruiz has a theory about why so many Pittsburghers are antagonistic towards her …

Front Page Read More »

Keeping More Students in Pittsburgh

The Pittsburgh region’s population challenges are not news, nor are the many efforts that so many government, civic and marketing organizations have put forth to solve these challenges. We’ve lost market position, political clout, tax base and more, as a direct result of not solving these issues. This is complex work, requiring collaborations, investments, consensus, …

Front Page Read More »

College Town Pittsburgh Part 3

Editor’s note: We thank the top leaders of this region’s universities for penning a response to the following question: Given continuing enrollment declines and our civic need to attract and keep young people, is it desirable to significantly build on fledgling programs to get students off campus and engage them in this region’s amenities, thus building …

Front Page Read More »

The Wonders of Iceland

When you check into the luxurious Silica Hotel at Iceland’s famous Blue Lagoon, the receptionist mentions the possibility that the nearby volcano might erupt. The resort is built on lava fields that date back to the 1200s, but there are miles of fresh lava that stretch endlessly on either side of the highway in this …

Front Page Read More »

The Fall 2024 issue:

Lessons from Last Place

Sailing is a big part of the culture in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, where I’ve spent 63 straight summers. And some might say that from an early age, I earned the dubious distinction of being a kind of “Jonah” of sailboat races. I’ve never seen myself as that ill-fated shipmate of yore, but the case could …

Fall 2024 Read More »

The Wonders of Iceland

When you check into the luxurious Silica Hotel at Iceland’s famous Blue Lagoon, the receptionist mentions the possibility that the nearby volcano might erupt. The resort is built on lava fields that date back to the 1200s, but there are miles of fresh lava that stretch endlessly on either side of the highway in this …

Fall 2024 Read More »

College Town Pittsburgh

Editor’s note: We thank the top leaders of this region’s universities for penning a response to the following question: Given continuing enrollment declines and our civic need to attract and keep young people, is it desirable to significantly build on fledgling programs to get students off campus and engage them in this region’s amenities, thus …

Fall 2024 Read More »

Tryon-Weber Woods

There’s a great place to go for an autumn road trip where you can take a deep-forest hike and feel the awe of old forest trees. About 90 miles north of Pittsburgh in western Crawford County, the 100-acre Tryon-Weber Woods area originally was protected by the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy in 1976 and enlarged in 2017. …

Fall 2024 Read More »

Sailing at the Point

It’s a brisk early-June Saturday morning on the North Shore just downriver from the Point. A light breeze is moving in from the west on the Allegheny River. Almost a dozen high school girls and boys from several Pittsburgh and suburban schools gather at an under-used concrete riverfront amphitheater, jabbering away while looping their arms …

Fall 2024 Read More »

Conway, Buford, Oshry, Morby, Moriarity, O’Reilly, Nutting, Ochester, Eberle, Courtney

Tom Conway, 71 International president of United Steelworkers since 2019, Conway was committed to making things in America and remained unwilling to accept that globalization was better. He tried to make changes in manufacturing that would lead to a cleaner environment and worker health and safety. A legendary negotiator who believed in the union ideal of “stronger …

Fall 2024 Read More »

Speaking of Drinks…

Tiki two As I mentioned, I came of legal drinking age at a time when you could only get tiki drinks at Chinese restaurants. The pioneering Don The Beachcomber was no more, and as far as I knew all the Trader Vic’s had closed, except for a few locations abroad. Previously in this series: The …

Fall 2024 Read More »

Spring Blooming Plants Blooming in Fall

It’s the holiday season and my rural Pennsylvania town is bursting with the signs of Christmas: wreaths hung on doors, trees strung with colorful lights, a creche erected in the town square — and spring-flowering plants in bloom.  My forsythia is blooming a bright yellow. White lilac flowers are just dying back. Pink magnolia buds …

Fall 2024 Read More »

Charitable Giving: Why Does it Matter?

Editor’s note: In this season of giving, we asked some of the region’s nonprofit leaders to answer a simple question: Why is charitable giving so important in our society?  Part II Laura Kelly. Brothers BrotherCharitable giving builds a foundation for a better future by promoting understanding, kindness, and collective efforts towards positive change. When members …

Fall 2024 Read More »

The Tiki Phenomenon

I had the great misfortune to reach legal drinking age just as the tiki drink phenomenon was turning into a parody of itself. Formerly terrific drinks such as the Zombie, the Scorpion and the Rum Runner were now available only in Chinese restaurants and they all tasted exactly alike, being made by then out of …

Fall 2024 Read More »

Recent Issues

Explore The Archives ››