Articles Archive - Page 63 of 158 - Pittsburgh Quarterly

The flat-headed, mucus-covered salamander recently named Pennsylvania’s state amphibian goes by many names: snot otter, lasagna lizard, devil dog, mud-devil, grampus, Allegheny alligator. Most commonly, however, they’re known as the Eastern hellbender. The big, slimy amphibians are found under large, flat rocks in Pennsylvania’s fast-moving rivers and streams, such as the Youghiogheny River. They rarely …

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Nature

Where Nature and History Collide

by Julia Fraser

Here are a few state parks in Pennsylvania that offer nature at its most dramatic and some history of what life was like long before barcodes, internet and smart phones. McConnells Mill The park wraps around a restored 19th century gristmill that ground buckwheat, oats and corn with the force of the wild stretch of …

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Sports

The Steelers, the Browns and the Uglies

by Matthew John Milligan

Yeah, that happened. Week 11 had its fair share of quality football, but all eyes were on the helmet swinging fiasco in Cleveland. The Browns took down the Steelers 21 – 7 on Thursday night. Ultimately, it’s hard to see how anyone came away as winners. Steelers Corner By now, it’s been discussed and dissected …

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Creative Capital

Invest Like the Super Fund

by Greg Curtis

“Hi, I’m Joe and I just turned eight. I love playing with my Grandpa. Grandpa always has time to play with me. He says that’s because he is retired and gets his ‘super’ or pension payments from the Government.” —New Zealand Super Fund Explained (from a short animation on the Super Fund website explaining the …

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Events

Leslie Odom Jr. Performs at The Pittsburgh Promise Gala

by PQ Staff

On Saturday, November 2, 2019, Tony and Grammy Award-winning performer Leslie Odom Jr. performed at The Pittsburgh Promise’s gala, F.N.B. Corporation Presents: A Night of Promise. Odom and his band delighted the crowd with a mix of cover songs, “Hamilton” hits and original material. [ngg src=”galleries” ids=”150″ display=”basic_thumbnail” thumbnail_crop=”0″] A Night of Promise took place …

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Books

Short Takes: “The Secret History of KGB Spy Cameras,” “Threads Around the World”

by John Allison

Deep in a secret location cloaked by trees and rolling hills—well, to be precise, inside a home in the leafy suburb of Upper St. Clair—exists a notable collection of Soviet spy equipment. It belongs to Michael M. Hasco, a former Heinz executive whose interest in photography blossomed into full-fledged expertise in the history of espionage …

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Books

An Uncommon Life in an Ordinary Place

by John Allison

It would be a shame if this strange and glorious book set in Greene County becomes pigeonholed as “a voice from the heartland” or “a rare glimpse inside the Other America.” Sarah Elaine Smith, a Greene County native now living in Pittsburgh, has surely drawn on observed experience for her first novel. But the Carnegie …

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Regional News

Stuck in Traffic

by Bill O'Toole

Motorists in the Pittsburgh Metropolitan Statistical Area spent nearly two days of their lives sitting in traffic in 2017, according to new data from the Texas Transportation Institute. Overall, annual delays per traveler on local roads rose from 39 hours in 2014 to 46 hours in 2017, an increase of 18 percent. Still, delays in …

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Arts

PICT Conjures a Ghostly Godot with “The Woman in Black”

by Stuart Sheppard

“The Woman in Black” is one of those rare creations, like “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” that has found success in multivarious forms as a novel, play, and film. Based on Susan Hill’s 1983 book, PICT Classic Theatre’s production uses Stephen Mallatratt’s 1987 adaptation (an unusually safe bet for this company that even wrote …

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Opinion

My Flawed Church: A Treasure in an Earthen Vessel

by Rosemary McLaughlin

Pittsburgh Catholics have had a really tough year. Changing the parish configurations of churches around the city at the same time we Catholics were dealing with the painful grand jury report was one crisis too many. Our home parishes were shuffled, our beloved priests reassigned, Sunday Mass schedules upended. Meetings and activities took place to …

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Events

Photographer George Lange Debuts Personal Collection

by PQ Staff

World-renowned, Pittsburgh-native photographer George Lange debuts new prints and stories from his private collection on Thursday, November 14 at Weisshouse (324 S. Highland Ave.). [ngg src=”galleries” ids=”345″ display=”basic_thumbnail” thumbnail_crop=”0″] Photographing for publications and clients world-wide left Lange with little time to examine his work, and few prints were made. Having recently returned to Pittsburgh, Lange …

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Sports

The Unlikely Factors That Led to the Steelers Surge

by Matthew John Milligan

Six teams got the week off on a Sunday full of whacky results. NFL parity was in full effect in week 10, as three different teams got nipped by one-win bottom dwellers. Baltimore embarrassed the hapless Bengals in Cincinnati to stay atop the AFC North. Over their bye week, the Bengals announced they would be …

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Creative Capital

Hong Kong Will Mean China’s Demise

by Greg Curtis

“China’s disintegration is now under way.” —Arthur Waldron, Lauder Professor of International Relations, University of Pennsylvania Following the Tiananmen Square fiasco, Beijing “knew” a few things it hadn’t known before. Beijing knew that offering its citizens modest economic and personal freedoms was dangerous to the health of the Communist Party. When you offered such freedoms, …

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American Spirit

A Passion for Pasta

by Kate Benz

The handmade, white fettuccini pasta comes in 14 flavors like basil, hot red pepper, black pepper, chive, spinach, sun dried tomato, garlic basil, parsley and squid ink, which everyone always thinks is weird. Because it’s black. Black as ink fettuccini needles. “It’s a learning curve,” says Yvonne Hennigan. “But squid ink is very common in …

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Health

A Deeper Look at Health

by Kelly Casey

When Kelle Cunningham had her first appointment with David Lobur, M.D., it was unlike anything she had ever experienced. They talked for 90 minutes. “He wanted to know all about my health history: How I was born? What I did. He just wanted to know everything about me, which I never had happen before,” says …

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The Pulse

Wolf Wants Pot Legalized, Most Local Residents Agree

by Jeffery Fraser

When Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf recently announced his support for legalizing recreational use of marijuana among adults, he echoed the sentiments of the majority of people living in the most populous county in southwestern Pennsylvania. Medical marijuana dispensaries began opening across southwestern Pennsylvania last year after Pennsylvania joined nearly two thirds of U.S. states by …

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Sports

The Home Team Wins—Everywhere

by Matthew John Milligan

An undefeated was defeated, a winless got a win, and the Steelers kept the dream alive in week nine. Aside from the Chargers’ stymying of Aaron Rodgers and the Packers, there weren’t many surprises on a day in which every home team emerged victorious. Despite a slow start to the game, the Steelers squeaked out …

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Creative Capital

The Waning Mao-Xi Dynasty

by Greg Curtis

“Without democracy, China will rise no farther.” —Jiwei Ci, University of Hong Kong The history of China is long and violent and, more than anything else, it is an endless story of history repeating itself. Dynasty follows dynasty, beginning in 1250 BC with the Shang Dynasty and ending with the Mao-Xi Dynasty, which is still …

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Arts

Still Squonky After All These Years

by Matthew John Milligan

Leave your preconceived notion of an opera in the car. Whatever Squonk Opera is, it certainly isn’t what you’re thinking. A description that succinctly encapsulates this Pittsburgh native is futile. Not quite a rock band, anything but an opera. So, what then? Squonk’s strength lies in its innate pliability. Each show is built atop a …

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History

Finding Solitude in Westinghouse Park

by David Bear

Its pastoral charms are pleasant but unremarkable: 10 acres of well-tended lawn sprinkled with mature trees, a children’s play area and a utilitarian cement block park building. Other than the name, there is no reason to suspect that Westinghouse Park in the city’s Point Breeze North neighborhood was once the beating heart of a web …

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Sports

All Smiles in Steel City

by Matthew John Milligan

We’ve eclipsed the halfway mark, but nothing is quite set in stone. Only two teams maintain a three win advantage within their division (Saints and Patriots), while another four divisions have one win or less of separation. One underlying story that’s beginning to take shape is the race for the #1 overall pick in the …

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Regional News

A Slight Dip, but Workforce Numbers Hold Steady

by Bill O'Toole

Despite a slight increase in the unemployment rates, overall workforce trends in the Pittsburgh Metropolitan Statistical Area continued to mostly hold steady through September, according to preliminary figures from the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry. Overall unemployment for the seven county region stands at 4.0 percent, an increase of one tenth of a percentage …

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