Articles Archive - Page 74 of 161 - Pittsburgh Quarterly

I am a returnee by nature. Over the years I have returned to neighborhoods where I once lived, to rooms in dormitories that were mine, to Mirror Lake in the Adirondacks where I caught my first trout and to a grade school playground where I competed in kickball (soccer), softball and football. Although I enjoyed …

When Clocks Have No Hands Read More »

Nature

Crown Jewels of the Commonwealth

by Julia Fraser

A stand of old-growth hemlocks with trunks nearly four feet in diameter towers over a trail cut along a creek shrouded in mountain laurel that ripples through Laurel Hill State Park, part of one of the largest state park systems in the nation. It rose from a Depression-era work program that employed young men desperate …

Crown Jewels of the Commonwealth Read More »

Region

Survival of the Fittest

by Jeffery Fraser

Fran and Steve are hiding in the Monroeville Mall, spying on its creepy patrons—gray-skinned zombies who’d once been suburbanites, judging from their apparel. One of the walking dead, a woman, staggers from an appliance store mindlessly dragging a new toaster by the cord. “What are they doing? Why do they come here?” Fran says. “Some …

Survival of the Fittest Read More »

Regional News

Jobs Grow Slowly

by Jeffery Fraser

Jobs edged up in southwestern Pennsylvania in April compared to the previous year, but the rate of growth was slower than in most of its peer regions, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The seven-county Pittsburgh Metropolitan Statistical Area saw nonfarm jobs increase 0.62 percent from April 2018 to April 2019, which is …

Jobs Grow Slowly Read More »

Arts

Lear in the Furnace: A Review of Quantum Theatre’s “King Lear”

by Stuart Sheppard

Attending a Quantum Theatre production can be like traveling to one of those crazy destination weddings where they make you climb up some precipitous volcano to reach the venue, while you ponder the wedding planner’s sanity. You know the view will be fantastic, but is the journey worth it? In the case of William Shakespeare’s …

Lear in the Furnace: A Review of Quantum Theatre’s “King Lear” Read More »

Events

“Multiplicity” Highlights 28 Contemporary Artists

by PQ Staff

In a stimulating evening of creative discovery, James Gallery opened an expansive exhibition, “Multiplicity,” on Friday, May 10. [ngg src=”galleries” ids=”310″ display=”basic_thumbnail” thumbnail_crop=”0″] The exhibition highlights 28 contemporary artists, each with unique processes and visual vocabulary. Many references are expressed, from ﬂuid, gestural and geometric abstraction to landscape and ﬁgurative. At the opening reception, artists …

“Multiplicity” Highlights 28 Contemporary Artists Read More »

Events

Columnist George Will Speaks at St. Barnabas Founder’s Day

by PQ Staff

St. Barnabas Charities hosted their annual Founder’s Day Celebration Gala on Thursday, April 25, 2019 at the Pittsburgh Marriott North in Cranberry Township, Pa. [ngg src=”galleries” ids=”309″ display=”basic_thumbnail” thumbnail_crop=”0″] The event brought together corporate sponsors, prominent business people and community leaders to celebrate the founding of St. Barnabas. The evening included a cocktail reception, silent …

Columnist George Will Speaks at St. Barnabas Founder’s Day Read More »

Creative Capital

A Tale of Two Lofts

by Greg Curtis

The Exotic Eastern European Film Director (EEEFD) and I climbed out of our cab and rang the bell at the studio of the Internationally Famous Artist (IFA). The IFA gave us a tour of his studio, which was eye-opening. Even in those days, Soho was a heart-stoppingly expensive neighborhood, but the IFA owned a huge, …

A Tale of Two Lofts Read More »

American Spirit

Kristine Knows Her Frick

by Kate Benz

It is 17 degrees outside. It is very gray and very windy and everything is frozen. Which would inspire most people to look out the window and say, “Um, no thanks,” but not the trio from Madison, Wisconsin. “It’s like spring!” they say, all smiles and giggles and oblivious to the cold. It’s their last …

Kristine Knows Her Frick Read More »

Profiles

To Bail or Not to Bail

by Jennifer Papale Rignani

The president of the Pennsylvania Bail Bond Association is not straight out of central casting. His wife and young daughters write children’s books, and he’s sipped a lot of tea at imaginary princess parties. Matter of fact, he looks more like an underwear model than a tough guy who meets criminals in the dead of …

To Bail or Not to Bail Read More »

History

What Will Millennials Tell Their Grandchildren?

by Anne Faigen

Coming out of the restaurant we nearly collided with him—a compact, bearded man in a wheelchair, oxygen delivered to his nose from the tank tucked beside him. His scraggly gray-black beard rested against his chest; the liveliest part of his face was the bright blue of his eyes. When I apologized for almost bumping into …

What Will Millennials Tell Their Grandchildren? Read More »

Events

Luncheon Raises $550,000 for Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy

by PQ Staff

The 2019 PNC Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy Spring Hat Luncheon was held on Saturday, May 4 in Allegheny Commons Park. [ngg src=”galleries” ids=”308″ display=”basic_thumbnail” thumbnail_crop=”0″] The event raised more than $550,000 for the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy and welcomed a sold out crowd of 650 guests. It was the first time the annual event was held in …

Luncheon Raises $550,000 for Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy Read More »

Nature

Hiking in Laurel Hill State Park

by Thomas Saunders

Second only to Alaska, Pennsylvania hosts more than 86,000 miles of streams and rivers. Our state also provides hundreds of hiking trails covering elevations from near sea level to the highest point in the state, Mount Davis. While ridgeline treks often offer sweeping vistas, Pennsylvania’s best hikes also include forested trails along our beautiful streams. …

Hiking in Laurel Hill State Park Read More »

Creative Capital

AONE and Me

by Greg Curtis

“Could it be our boy’s done something rash?” —Bertholt Brecht, “Die Moritat von Mackie Messer,” or “Mack the Knife,” translated and sanitized by Marc Blitzstein, with thanks to Bobby Darin If you want to cause a lot of trouble for yourself, you could do worse than to sit down and write a screenplay. I know precisely nothing …

AONE and Me Read More »

Birds

Cigars With Wings

by Daryln Brewer Hoffstot

“But one day the swifts are back. Face to the sun like a child You shout, ‘The swifts are back!’ ” —from “Swifts,” by Anne Stevenson At first I thought they were bats, and I was thrilled because bats are nearly nonexistent on our farm now. But something wasn’t quite right. How high they flew. …

Cigars With Wings Read More »

Events

Take Center Stage Gala Celebrates the August Wilson Cultural Center

by PQ Staff

The August Wilson African American Cultural Center TAKE CENTER STAGE Gala took place on Friday, April 26 in the 900 block of Liberty Avenue. Guests enjoyed a two-course dinner by big Catering and dessert buffet by Bella Christie and Lil’ Z’s Sweet Boutique. [ngg src=”galleries” ids=”307″ display=”basic_thumbnail” thumbnail_crop=”0″] The black tie event included a seated …

Take Center Stage Gala Celebrates the August Wilson Cultural Center Read More »

Spotlight

Could Uber/Lyft Replace Paratransit Vans?

by Jeffery Fraser

Paratransit vans can be spotted in almost any neighborhood picking up patients whose means, health, or proximity to public transit makes getting to their doctor appointment or medical treatment a hardship. The government-funded vans have done the job for years. But, in a growing number of U.S. counties, the expansion of ride-hailing services has provoked …

Could Uber/Lyft Replace Paratransit Vans? Read More »

Regional News

Historically Low Unemployment With a Twist

by Julia Fraser

Unemployment in southwestern Pennsylvania hovered at a historically low level in March, despite revisions that wiped away February’s record low. The unemployment rate in the seven-county Pittsburgh Metropolitan Statistical Area was 3.9 percent for March 2019, down .5 percent from March 2018, according to data from the Pennsylvania Department of Labor’s Center for Workforce Information …

Historically Low Unemployment With a Twist Read More »

PQ Poem

Underheard

by Samuel Hazo

1 He had the window seat. After take-off he said, “My line is socks; what’s yours?” I said I was a writer. He smiled his least impressive smile. “What do you write?” “I hope they are poems.” ‘Where are you headed now? I told him I’d been invited to recite my poems at a university. …

Underheard Read More »

Creative Capital

A New Taiwan Policy

by Greg Curtis

The final leg in our Cold War II stool is the containment of China diplomatically. To make the point that China no longer has a free pass, the first step in the West’s diplomatic offensive needs to be focused on Taiwan. Assuming that the West’s military containment of China has succeeded in confining the country inside …

A New Taiwan Policy Read More »

Birds

Look for the Canada Warbler

by David Liebmann

Imagine you’ve somehow found yourself in Ecuador. You desperately want to get to Pittsburgh. You weigh a third of an ounce. You can fly. You’re a Canada Warbler. Starting north on a spring night to avoid daytime predators and take advantage of cooler temperatures, you set out across the isthmus of Panama, over Costa Rica, …

Look for the Canada Warbler Read More »

Profiles

Farnam Jahanian, President of Carnegie Mellon University

by Jeff Sewald

I am an immigrant. I left my family’s home in Iran, as so many immigrants have, to pursue an education. My family hails from Tehran, and all of my siblings—five in total, all older—went to college in either Europe or the U.S. But I decided to begin my journey at age 16, and traveled from …

Farnam Jahanian, President of Carnegie Mellon University Read More »