Articles Archive - Page 72 of 157 - Pittsburgh Quarterly

Batting Her Eyelashes

As never happens, I was invited to a black-tie charity event. Already possessing a fetching black ball gown, I thought I was sufficiently prepared. A close friend, however, said I just MUST get eyelash extensions for that “little extra pizzazz.” Maybe I would finally make the P-G “Seen” column! Always on the lookout for such …

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Health

Saving the Aging Brain

by Keith Gillogly

Think of all the products and promises for sale claiming to improve brain health. Mental-fitness games offer a gymnasium for the brain while one-a-day pills pledge a mental fountain of youth. Regardless of these claims, there may be no big secret to keeping the brain healthy and maintaining cognitive function. Rather, practicing all the components …

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PQ Poem

On Broken Hollow Bridge

by Karen J. Weyant

Answering Darlene Howard’s snotty dare, I hoisted myself up to the handrail, as thick as a balance beam, but slick with summer rain and wet rust. Knees bent, arms out to my sides, I straightened, chin up, staring ahead. Kicking off my sandals, I took my first tentative steps, peeling corrosion sticking to my skin, …

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Creative Capital

U.S & China: Setting the Record Straight

by Greg Curtis

In April of 2017, as Donald Trump and Xi Jinping were preparing to meet, a group of academics, policy wonks and former diplomats took out a full-page ad in the New York Times. The wonks warned the U.S. against falling into the “Thucydides Trap.” The ad explained the Thucydides Trap as arising when a dominant power …

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Obituaries

Massaro, Weiss, Fralic, Coleman, Hughes, Grunbaum, Hickey, Rich

by PQ Staff

Carol Massaro, 79: A mother of four, she raised nearly $1 million for Alzheimer’s research after the disease took her late husband, contractor Joseph A. Massaro Jr. She was a woman of tremendous energy and generosity, serving as an indefatigable volunteer for organizations across the city. Jack Weiss, 85: His father died when he was …

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Profiles

Compassion, Mindfulness and Resilience

by Douglas Heuck

A native of California, Dr. Barry Kerzin is a Buddhist monk and the physician to the Dalai Lama. He sat down with Pittsburgh Quarterly to discuss his recent visit to Pittsburgh. Q. You’re here to work with many of UPMC’s 16,000 nurses for training in compassion, mindfulness and resilience. How do you do this? A. …

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Regional News

Region Adds Jobs, But Pace Slows

by Julia Fraser

Employers in southwestern Pennsylvania continued to add jobs last month, but there are signs that job creation, which has been on the rise in recent years, could be slowing. The seven-county Pittsburgh Metropolitan Statistical Area added 6,400 jobs from February 2018 and February 2019—a .6 percent year-over-year increase, according to new data from the U.S. …

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Events

Pittsburgh Opera Hosts “Bohemian Nights” Fashion Show

by PQ Staff

Pittsburgh Opera’s “Bohemian Nights” fashion show dazzled guests gathered at Pittsburgh Opera Headquarters in the Strip District on Monday, March 18. [ngg src=”galleries” ids=”303″ display=”basic_thumbnail” thumbnail_crop=”0″] The evening featured couture fashions from Larrimor’s, hair and makeup by Studio Booth, and Pittsburgh Opera’s Resident Artists in opera couture. Before the show, guests enjoyed cocktails and passed …

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The Pulse

Degrees of Influence

by Jeffery Fraser

Question: Who in Allegheny County is more likely to own the home they live in—residents with a college degree, those with some college or other post-secondary schooling, or those who never took their formal education beyond high school? It’s not the person with a college degree. Some 72 percent of residents with no more than …

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Arts

Exuberance at the Warhol

by Vicky A Clark

Devon Shimoyama’s just-ended exhibition at the Andy Warhol Museum proves the enduring power of Warhol’s work 30 years after his death and shows that the museum has no interest in becoming a shrine to a self-referential and reverential hagiography. “Cry, Baby” brings a young talent to our attention, while simultaneously offering new insights into the …

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Creative Capital

Fed Cred: The Quailing Central Bank and What it Means

by Greg Curtis

It’s been a long time since I berated my friends at the Fed, and my typing fingers are getting itchy. So I’m interrupting my Cold War II series for a little pleasant Fed-bashing. Part of the reason for my (uncharacteristic) forbearance is that I thought Jay Powell was mostly doing the right things. He’d been …

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Food & Wine

Pittsburgh Quarterly Presents “The List” 2019

by Tatiana

Pittsburgh Quarterly’s Restaurant review Board is pleased to present our list of favorite restaurants. The list was generated based on our preferences for memorable dishes, fresh ingredients, professional service, appropriate atmosphere and, most important, consistently delicious food. Through regular meetings, spirited conversations and intense reviews which detail our anonymous dining experiences, we voted to generate …

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Nature

Against the Grain: The Tale of a Fallen Maple

by David Macpherson

Just after dawn on the beginning of a humid day, the copse below my hilltop home appeared out of order—something just not right. I crunched about 100 yards down my gravel driveway to investigate. The large maple, one of the bigger trees on my property, had toppled over, pulling up its roots when it fell. …

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Ready for a Burst of Spring (and Planets at Play)?

by Judi Vitale

No matter what it looks like outside, we’ll be feeling spring bursting out all over. Not only is it just about time for the season to officially start, when the sun enters Aries March 20th…there will be a full moon that will bring an explosion of energy and activity that will give the fastest of …

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Education

City Public Schools Wither as Economy Booms

by Paul Scripko

Austin is learning that much-desired economic success can have unintended consequences. The city’s declining school-age population and public school enrollment is citywide topic of conversation among Austin Independent School District (AISD) officials and Austin residents, including parents of school age children, taxpayers without children in school and local economic development professionals thrown in the mix. …

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Regional News

Pittsburgh Unemployment Hits Dramatic New Low

by Julia Fraser

Southwestern Pennsylvania opened the year with the lowest unemployment the region has seen in nearly 50 years. Pittsburghers began 2019 working in full force, as the unemployment rate fell to its lowest point since February 1970 and dropped beneath the national jobless rate. Unemployment in the seven-county Pittsburgh Metropolitan Statistical Area fell one percent in …

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Events

Mardi Gras Gala Raises More Than $511,000

by PQ Staff

On Fat Tuesday, March 5, more than 700 Mardi Gras revelers came to the Westin Convention Center to support the Epilepsy Association of Western and Central PA and honor Deb Rice-Johnson, President of Highmark, Inc., as the King of the Mardi Gras. [ngg src=”galleries” ids=”301″ display=”basic_thumbnail” thumbnail_crop=”0″] More than 6,500 balloons covered the ceiling of …

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Regional News

Local Economy Stays Healthy

by Jeffery Fraser

Pittsburgh’s spirited bid fell short of landing Amazon’s second headquarters and the 25,000 jobs it promised last year, but the southwestern Pennsylvania economy continued encouraging trends in job growth, wages and unemployment on its own. Without the jolt of such a major employment stimulus, the region’s hopes are pinned on creating jobs with the companies …

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Events

Annual B*tches Ball Spreads Spaying and Neutering Awareness

by PQ Staff

Humane Animal Rescue’s 9th Annual B*tches Ball hosted nearly 300 attendees and brought down the house at Nova Place on March 2nd. [ngg src=”galleries” ids=”300″ display=”basic_thumbnail” thumbnail_crop=”0″] The event raised $15,000 for the animal advocacy organization to spread awareness about the importance of spaying and neutering pets. Features included a self-service candy bar, catering from …

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Creative Capital

Why China Is Ready to Fall Apart

by Greg Curtis

In the 1980s, almost four decades into Cold War I, President Reagan dramatically ratcheted up the pressure on the Soviet Union by expanding and modernizing the U.S. military and launching his famous “Star Wars” (Strategic Defense) Initiative. The policy apparatus in the West went berserk. Reagan was, they claimed, wildly escalating the Cold War. The …

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Books

Short Takes: “Engineering Pittsburgh,” “American Dinosaur Abroad”

by John Allison

Without civil engineers, our world would fall apart. They are hidden brains behind what we civilians take for granted—all the marvelous methods for getting us from here to there, safe and sound. To observe its 100th anniversary, the Pittsburgh section of the American Society of Engineers has produced an indispensable survey of what has been …

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Books

An Eye-Opener About Living Black in Pittsburgh

by John Allison

Damon Young recently bought a rather nice house a block away from me. Yet I don’t expect to be invited over, although I am about to lavish praise on his brave, incisive and witty memoir about growing up and living while black in Pittsburgh. Even a blurb-ready assessment—Damon Young is not only the city’s most …

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