August 16, 2023 - Pittsburgh City Paper

BY JAMIE WIGGAN

CP PHOTO: MARS JOHNSON

BY JAMIE WIGGAN

10 LGBTQ

Does the identity of Pittsburgh’s first gay police chief matter to city’s LGBTQ community?

BY JORDANA ROSENFELD

WHAT YOU MISSED FROM ONLINE

5

artist

In the psychedelic space between mythological demons and femininity, erotica and pop art, you’ll find Eriko Hattori’s work. Hattori (they/them) is an artist based in Pittsburgh whose artistic practice captures whimsical dream-like scenes that are, at the same time, deeply telling of our modern society.

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VOL. 32 ISSUE 32

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COVER PHOTO: MARS JOHNSON

Memoir recounts how a scam artist turned a Pitt grad into a “company pimp”

A rising sport leaves tennis fans in a pickle

CP PHOTO: MARS JOHNSON

BARGING IN

BY JAMIE WIGGAN // JAMIE@PGHCITYPAPER.COM

LATE LAST SPRING, during my first afternoon at Pittsburgh City Paper, a soft gong rang out from the corner of the office. “Nine-banger,” declared a co-worker, as several others amassed around the windows to inspect a passing barge convoy. Expressions of wonder (exaggerated, but not wholly feigned) carried a sort of stilted dialogue for several moments until everyone shuffled back to their seats to resume their work. The enthusiasm was infectious. I felt right at home.

Documenting barges is, I learned, a CP staff ritual maintained since the company’s relocation in early 2020 to our river-facing office along Fort Pitt Boulevard. Over the years, a jargon has evolved to elucidate our findings: [insert number]-banger refers to the total vessels attached to each towboat; “long boi” means any sizable configuration (usually ninebanger or upward); other unique terms are sometimes conjured as the need arises.

But despite our close attention, we continued to stumble over the same questions: Where are they coming from? Where are they going? Why do some have names like Darrell L or Cori Weil or Ernest Martin? Why do some brandish pirate flags? And what is all that weird shit on that flat rusty one with the porta-potty?

Journalists at alt-weeklies get paid to find answers to these sorts of questions, but more importantly, I sensed that the barges concealed more than just coal within those lumbering steel hulls. I knew I had to write the Barge Story

I began probing Pittsburgh’s

river transportation complex last month and found myself cruising in a rugged towboat and dining in the illustrious Duquesne Club before I could put pen to paper. Barging, it turns out, is a close, insular world, yet one where commodity prices in China can signal doom or stability for deckhands in Washington County. It’s a world of locks and dams, skilled workers and entitled executives, Dunkin’ Donuts and filet mignon. And underpinning it all are scores of earnest, hard-working people whose contributions to our region go largely unnoticed.

My first call is to Mary Ann Bucci, executive director of the Port of Pittsburgh Commission, a state authority charged with overseeing the infrastructure needs of Pittsburgh’s major waterways. The district covers around 200 miles of navigable rivers stretching outward from Pittsburgh to Clarion County, Greene County, and Beaver County.

Beyond the district, Bucci tells me, Pittsburgh is connected to much of the country and, ultimately, the world’s oceans through the Mississippi, which collides with the Ohio at the southern tip of Illinois.

“You have over 11,000 miles of navigable river,” Bucci says. “There’s a lot of attributes to the Mississippi River and we can deliver freight to any of those regions.”

River transportation is the cleanest, safest, and most economical way to transport bulk items, its proponents say, but getting these along Pittsburgh’s rivers is only possible due to a costly and aging infrastructure system.

SLIM THA DJ

FRIDAY, AUGUST 18

Back in 1803, when Merriweather Lewis set out from Pittsburgh to meet William Clark downstream in St. Louis, his crew made it just three miles along the Ohio before shallow conditions forced them ashore.

“Much fatigued” from fighting the hostile water, they spent the night on the banks of McKees Rocks, according to Lewis’ journal account.

Today, more than 16 million tons of freight move through the Port of Pittsburgh each year, making it one of the country’s largest inland ports by volume. Some shipments are short-haul, picking up coal in Greene County, say, and unloading it near Braddock to fuel U.S. Steel’s Edgar Thomson works. Others carry resources to New Orleans, and from there they move up the east coast, or even to Europe. Some travel the other way, bringing refined petroleum products upriver from Houston.

THURSDAY, AUGUST 17

11:30 AM – 1:30 PM

Preventing these loaded barges from running aground like Lewis’ famed keelboat is a series of 17 locks

and dams maintained around the region by the Army Engineer Corps. Many were built in the early 20th century and are in need of major updates, so securing federal funds to support their maintenance is a key mandate of the Port of Pittsburgh Commission.

Not far into our conversation, Bucci informs me that a D.C.-based waterways infrastructure lobbying group is about to host a rare publicity tour in Pittsburgh, and she suggests I come along to grasp the sense of scale.

“Sign me up,” I say.

Greeting us at the Station Square terminal Aug. 9 is a familiar sight: a large white towboat with a sign denoting “Darrell. L” pinned to a guard rail around the top deck. Darrell is a known entity among the CP crowd and, being among the larger and stronger vessels, is a frequent handler of long bois. She belongs to the Campbell Transportation Company, Inc. — the region’s largest

towboat operator that now has a footprint across the country’s major waterways. I learn from one of the staff that she’s named after the wife of a board member; most, it turns out, are similarly named for family and associates.

Darrell carries us six miles upriver to the Emsworth Locks and Dam, which we pass through for demonstrative purposes before executing a U-turn and heading back upriver to Station Square.

While aboard, we’re permitted to wander her decks and mingle with crewmembers, who seem to be enjoying the comparatively handsoff nature of our freight-less voyage. I and a small pool of reporters join Senior Deckhand Birdie Queen and Port Captain David Boyd in a kitchen area beneath the cabin. It’s a long, tight space lined with brown thermofoil cabinets. It’s clean and orderly with nothing except a box of Dunkin’ Donuts and a few appliances visible atop the L-shaped counter.

BARGINING IN, CONTINUES ON PG. 8

CP PHOTO: MARS JOHNSON

(From left to right) David Boyd, Richard Kreider, Corey Spradling, and Birdie Queen meet in the kitchen of a towboat.

15-BARGE TOW

216 RAIL CARS

moves the equivalent volume of or

1,050 TRUCKS

(right) The gate to the Emsworth lock system opens while aboard a towboat during a tour of the Pittsburgh waterways.

Source: National Waterways Foundation

An affable man of few words, Queen says he, like many in his hometown of Point Pleasant, West Virginia, got into the barging industry through family ties. Some of Campbell’s crew are third generation mariners.

It’s a solitary life on the river, and while the work is hard, the pace is slow. A return trip to the Gulf of Mexico can take an entire month, during which crewmembers never step foot ashore. Consequently, Queen tells us, those aboard develop a strong kinship.

Boyd, whose maritime career began after a stint in the army, says it takes a certain kind of person to take to the lifestyle. Plenty of new recruits don’t make it past their first year.

“They say if you wear out your first

Rivers

City of Pittsburgh County lines

pair of boots, you’re good to go,” he chuckles.

While he says it’s sometimes hard to be separated from his family, Queen enjoys the work for its quiet dignity and the endless rotation of scenery.

“I love it,” he says. “I’m a happy person.”

The following evening, a dinner at the Duquesne Club with company executives and beltway lobbyists contrasts comically with our conversation in the humble towboat galley.

It’s my first visit to Ye Olde Steele City Club , in the words of former Pittsburgh Post-Gazette cartoonist Tim Menees who devoted much ink to parodying its wealthy members. The setting is admittedly impressive in the fashion of Pittsburgh’s many

Gilded Age mementos, but in the same way, it’s predictably trite and stuffy. I can tell the wine is expensive because it has that musty, leathery taste that presumably requires a refined pallet to properly appreciate. The food — I opted for filet mignon over veal — is pleasant but unremarkable.

Moderated chiefly by Campbell CEO Peter Stephaich, a club member and Mellon family associate, the conversation touches on the future of coal, the flawed congressional appropriations process, the challenges of overseeing infrastructure projects that outlast multiple presidential administrations, and Pittsburgh’s unheeded dependence on the river transportation industry.

It’s endearing but also a touch

bemusing to witness impassioned waterway experts in conversation. Discussion of the Olmsted Dam and Lock renovation — begun in 1988 and completed 34 years later at a $3 billion price tag — prompts scowls around the room. Speakers show their chops with incisive talk on the cost of soybean tonnage, the Chinese export economy, and the whims of U.S. lawmakers seated on strategic committees. Reporters from trade publications show through their questions that they can keep up with the jargon. I’m content to stay quiet except for the occasional graceless inquiry, such as “ So who’s to blame?”

It’s all civil, but there’s a sense of repressed frustration hovering above the table. “Everybody rushes in when a highway collapses, but imagine that

Locks or dams

CP PHOTO: MARS JOHNSON Richard Kreider, VP of logistics for Campbell Transportation Co. looks out towards the Emsworth lock systems.

IT’S A SOLITARY LIFE ON THE RIVER, AND WHILE THE WORK IS HARD, THE PACE IS SLOW. A RETURN TRIP TO THE GULF OF MEXICO CAN TAKE AN ENTIRE MONTH, DURING WHICH CREWMEMBERS NEVER STEP FOOT ASHORE.

happening for river infrastructure,” someone proffers.

Consolidated National Resources goes back and forth with Stephaich on the viability of coal and the scope for diversifying. Currently, coal ship ments account for more than twothirds of all freight handled within the Port of Pittsburgh, but across the country, grains, metals, cement, and other commodities make up a larger share. Stephaich, having a sizable fleet with stations as far south as Houston, is less dependent on coal than ACNR — an Ohio-based coal company with a towboat division. Michael Somales, the company’s rep among our party, says he’s working on the assumption demand for the smokey fossil fuel will keep them going only as far as 2040. After then, who knows?

the industry and its affiliates are working hard to encourage diversi fication away from coal toward pal letized freight, containerized freight, and, of course, grain.

the inland water system and we’re certainly looking to find ways to do that in our region too,” she said. “Pennsylvania has a pretty big agri cultural community. ”

In the Duquesne Club dining room, though, the feeling seems to

be that none of these will ever fully replace those black lumps of carbon that now support the region’s towboat

The next day, doubts about the future for Pittsburgh’s towboaters were absent from the confident speeches of officials, including Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. Austin Davis, U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, and a White House representative who all gathered at the Montgomery Lock and Dam near Monaca for a

The project in question — an $858 million overhaul and upgrade of the lock and dam system — could take decades to complete. Similar projects are needed at the aging Dashields and Emsworth systems, which opened respectively in 1929 and 1938, but more funds are needed to carry those forward. Completion of the entire Upper Ohio Navigation project is likely to lag well behind the demise of coal, given Somale’s timeWhatever might take its place, the tone set by the optimistic statesmen was one of a bright future for Pittsburgh’s long-neglected

“We can’t allow this system to fail,” Casey declared. “Too many lives, too many jobs, too many opportunities depend upon the investment that we’re making.” •

CP PHOTO: MARS JOHNSON

Smoke is released from the exhaust of a towboat as it approaches the Emsworth Dam on Aug. 9, 2023.

“EVERYBODY RUSHES IN WHEN A HIGHWAY COLLAPSES, BUT IMAGINE THAT HAPPENING FOR RIVER INFRASTRUCTURE.”

Follow News Editor Jamie Wiggan on Twitter @JamieWiggan

PROUD TO SERVE

Does the identity of Pittsburgh’s first gay police chief matter to city’s LGBTQ community?

BY JORDANA ROSENFELD // INFO@PGHCITYPAPER.COM

PITTSBURGH’S NEW Police

Chief Larry Scirotto can pinpoint the moment he knew he had to come out of the closet at work.

Around 2008, while working as a sergeant in the Pittsburgh bureau, a young man interested in a policing career approached him at an event in Shadyside and asked, “Are you allowed to be gay and be a cop?”

“As if there was a law against being gay and being a cop,” Scirotto recalls. “It touched such a place in my heart. I felt so bad in the moment, because I wasn’t out then, and I couldn’t represent our profession [or] this department … to tell that kid ‘Yes, you can be gay and you can be a police officer.’ Then I knew that I would always carry that torch forward,” he says. ”I would always be a leader in this space, because it

mattered.”

According to Scirotto, the bureau has been very accepting of his sexuality, and he’s never faced discrimination or homophobia while working for them. Still, in a more general sense, being Pittsburgh’s first openly gay police chief is to him “a big deal,” given that the profession “hasn’t, in the past, been so receptive of differences in sexuality.”

Although, “to be the first openly gay police chief for this city is monumental in a lot of ways,” Scirotto says, “I didn’t want to be characterized as the gay chief, right? Or the biracial chief. I wanted the selection to be based on my merits from the interview, and it’s beneficial that I am gay. It’s beneficial that I am biracial.”

(Scirotto’s mother is white and his father is Black.)

Hear more about this reporting — and from Pittsburgh Police Chief Larry Scirotto himself — on the City Cast Pittsburgh podcast.

Scirotto’s appointment has prompted mixed feelings among members of Pittsburgh’s queer community regarding what, if anything, having an openly gay police chief means to them or to the city. These differing perspectives reflect divergent ideas about the role and objectives of the police as an institution.

Sue Kerr, a local LGBTQ advocate and founder of the Pittsburgh Lesbian Correspondent blog, says she feels having an openly gay police chief is a sign that Pittsburgh has become more accepting of queer people.

“When I started blogging in 2005, there was no ‘out’ anyone,” she says. “There’d been an out councilmember in Wilkinsburg in the [1990s]. It’s amazing to me how far we’ve come in 18 years.”

Ideally, Kerr sees the police as a potential point of connection between queer Pittsburghers and supportive local resources.

“We need people in the ranks to understand what our needs are as

a community, and also, how we can plug in and have an impact on the police,” she says.

For example, she’d like to see Pittsburgh Police become more knowledgeable about the services that exist to serve LGBTQ Pittsburghers and more adept at identifying people who could benefit from them.

Kerr points to a recent incident in the North Side neighborhood of Observatory Hill, in which a neighbor was was found guilty in court of harassing a gay couple living next door with a transgender daughter. The Collar-O’Donnell family had several interactions with police before they eventually filed suit for harassment, and Kerr feels that, although the officers were respectful and professional, ideally, they would have helped the family connect to resources like the North Side-based Hugh Lane Wellness Foundation, which eventually provided the family legal aid.

... I COULDN’T REPRESENT OUR PROFESSION [OR] THIS DEPARTMENT … TO TELL THAT KID

‘YES, YOU CAN BE GAY AND YOU CAN BE A POLICE OFFICER.’ THEN I KNEW THAT I WOULD ALWAYS CARRY THAT TORCH FORWARD

CP PHOTO: JARED WICKERHAM Sue Kerr

Kerr also says the family had to appeal to the district attorney to issue a summons against the neighbor, Darian Balcom, a process the police could have initiated themselves if they had correctly identified Balcom’s behavior as anti-LGBTQ harassment.

In addition to Scirotto’s appointment, Kerr is encouraged by the Department of Public Safety’s recent decision to appoint LGBTQ liaisons to all its branches to improve community relations. A spokesperson for the department confirms the initiative is underway and a public announcement is forthcoming.

Other queer Pittsburghers viewScirotto's identitites as irrevelant and express a sense that the police don’t have solutions for the problems facing many LGBTQ Pittsburghers.

“I would like to see what change is gonna come with [Scirotto’s appointment]. It’s nice to have representation. But if representation isn’t doing anything, what does it matter?” says August Copeland, a community

services worker at Proud Haven, an organization that provies safe shelter for LGBTQ youth experiencing homelessness.

“Between being Black and being queer, neither trusts the police,” says Copeland. “I feel like you could be [gay and Black] and still be problematic or complacent.”

wages, and accessible treatment for substance use disorder. Martina would like “this new police chief to acknowledge that the cops are not holding the answers.”

For his part, Scirotto says his identity influences how he leads in that he brings a greater “empathy and understanding” to his role,

the organization, the way you engage with the community.”

Dade Lemanski, a researcher of queer and trans lives in Pittsburgh who has previously written for Pittsburgh City Paper, says the young man who unintentionally prompted Scirotto to come out isn’t alone in feeling there might be an inherent conflict between being gay and being a police officer. Lemanski says part of the contradiction has to do with the criminalization of queer life and the role of the police in enforcing social control.

Jamie Martina, chair of the Proud Haven board, says Scirotto’s appointment is less relevant because the police don’t provide resources that alleviate the major issues facing queer people, which she identifies as a lack of affordable housing, liveable

“because I know how difficult it was to exist and [have] part of my identity be unknown.” He says his lived experience “will impact decision making,” including “the way which we promote, the way in which we recruit, the way in which you run

Lemanski says that between laws against sodomy and gay marriage, a strong public association between public queerness and sex work, and the historical role of police in enforcing normative gender expression, “Homosexuality was very explicitly criminalized up until the late ‘90s and early 2000s in most places in the U.S. One might argue it is still criminalized.”

“Pittsburgh is sort of an

SCIROTTO SAYS HIS IDENTITY INFLUENCES HOW HE LEADS IN THAT HE BRINGS A GREATER “EMPATHY AND UNDERSTANDING” TO HIS ROLE, “BECAUSE I KNOW HOW DIFFICULT IT WAS TO EXIST AND [HAVE] PART OF MY IDENTITY BE UNKNOWN.”

(LEFT) CP PHOTO: PAT CAVANAGH Protesters and a line of police outside an event featuring anti-trans, right-wing pundit Michael Knowles, outside the University Pittsburgh’s O’Hara Student Center, April 18, 2023. The crowd made it known that the speakers and the "debate" were unwelcome, shouting "shut it down" and "trans lives matter" in unison.

(BELOW) PHOTO COURTESY OF HARRISON APPLE / PITTSBURGH QUEER HISTORY PROJECT Robert "Lucky" Johns in the mid-1980s in Shaler, Pa.

interesting case, because there are not so many recordings of direct, anti-queer violence by the police, and a lot of that has to do with the relationship between the police, the Pittsburgh mafia, and queer nightlife workers,” Lemanski adds. Key figures of Pittsburgh’s historic gay nightlife scene, namely Robert “Lucky” Johns, knew enough to bribe the police, Lemanski says.

Lemanski sees queer life as fundamentally at odds with the social order the police seek to enforce. “What police are really seeking is control, and what they’re threatened by is money and property that is outside of their control and from which they can’t benefit,” they say.

While Scirotto speaks fondly about participating in Pittsburgh’s Pride Month activities while in uniform, Lemanski notes that the Stonewall Riots — t he 1969 events that Pride Month serves to commemorate — were an uprising against police violence towards queer people.

“It is so resolutely tiresome to me when queer people think that somehow, in the last 50-odd years since the Stonewall riots, that the state has somehow rearranged itself to accommodate us,” Lemanski says.

“If you are queer, and you think that you are being accommodated by the state, it is because you are betraying people more vulnerable than you and you don’t even know it.”

Scirotto acknowledges these historical abuses but sees them as opportunities to do better rather than evidence of fundamental antagonism between the police and queer communities.

It’s important to “move forward with the intention and commitment to change the narrative,” Scirotto says. “I think if we’re intentional in that direction, then we have the ability to change perception, and, more importantly, we have the ability to change reality … No one will be able to walk away from this to say I didn’t try or we didn’t try.” •

CP PHOTO: KAYCEE ORWIG

People march over the Andy Warhol Bridge for the 2021 Pittsburgh Pride Revolution March

BAD, BAD BELLE

He was going to be a newspaper editor and PR pro. Instead, he ended up in jail.

BY REGE BEHE // INFO@PGHCITYPAPER.COM

THE NOTE FROM BELLE BY RONALD O. KAISER

ronkaiser.net/note-from-belle

It was July 4th, 1958. Earl Belle and his escort Sarah “Naomi” Wallman made their way through the brand new Greater Pittsburgh Airport. He obviously had money, and she had what money could buy. Followed by a cadre of porters pushing carts stacked high with twenty-seven designer suitcases, Belle, dubbed The Whiz Kid, and Naomi, his Ozark Princess, escaped with millions of dollars. This firsthand account, written by the man who worked for Belle, provides an inside look at how it all happened — and how he took the fall.

RON KAISER was promised many things by Earl Belle. He was going to be the editor of the Saltsburg News in Indiana County. He was going to direct PR campaigns for Belle’s seemingly inexhaustible business interests.

Instead, Kaiser ended up in jail.

In his self-published book, The Note from Belle , Kaiser, now 92, recounts his long-ago interactions with Belle, who became a media darling because of his lavish lifestyle in Pittsburgh and New York City, and, ultimately, a pariah who fled the country.

Kaiser wasn’t the only one enamored by Belle’s investment schemes. Belle hosted lavish parties in New York City attended by politicians, socialites, and even novelist Ayn Rand. He seemed to have an answer any time he was questioned about his plans, whether it was revitalizing Saltsburg by forming a development company (as well as buying the Saltsburg News and installing Kaiser as its editor), purchasing a gold mine and luring investors, or leveraging his influence at banks for loans never to be repaid.

“I had no suspicion he would do anything wrong,” says Kaiser, who

met Belle in 1956 through his wife while they were both students at the University of Pittsburgh.

Belle enlisted Kaiser to do publicity, but instead, he installed the young Pitt graduate as an executive trainee at a bank in Saltsburg where he had invested money — money that Belle had borrowed from his wife and a Squirrel Hill family with real estate connections, the Talenfelds. It wasn’t what Kaiser wanted to do — “truthfully, I am the world’s worst businessman,” he says — but Belle promised it was only temporary.

“You have to remember, he had people like Ayn Rand and military generals and bank presidents in his camp,” Kaiser tells Pittsburgh City Paper. “I had no reason to believe he wasn’t being straight with me. I did have those incidents where he was using other PR people from time to time, which was very distressing to me. But he had me convinced I would eventually go to his headquarters and head up all the PR for his companies. I saw that as a big opportunity.”

Belle was seemingly flush with money. There’s an image in the book of Kaiser and his wife, along with Belle and his first wife dining at a nightclub in Cuba during a business

junket. There were trips to New York during which Kaiser was asked to run errands, including one assignment where he was to select “up and coming actresses and fashion models” to serve as hostesses for a party to be attended by Pittsburgh bankers, politicians, business leaders, and media that Belle had flown to New York on a chartered plane.

Later, Kaiser realized he’d become “the company pimp.”

But it wasn’t until Kaiser was asked to take over a bank in Edgewater, NJ and “remodel and recapitalize it” that he veered into illegal activity. Kaiser’s role, more or less, was to approve loans submitted by Belle.

Kaiser, worried about what he was being asked to do, made a crucial mistake.

“The only reason I went to jail — the only reason — was because I called the FBI in Pittsburgh and I went down without an attorney and voluntarily gave him a statement,” Kaiser says. “I think that’s what New Jersey used against me, my own statement.”

Kaiser was sentenced to one year in jail. The other men involved in Belle’s schemes got probation. And Belle fled to Brazil, which at the time didn’t have an extradition treaty with the United States, with his paramour, Sarah “Naomi” Wallman, Belle’s socalled Ozark Princess, and millions of dollars.

David Brinkley of NBC News flew to Brazil to interview Belle, who insisted he’d done nothing wrong. Belle eventually returned to the U.S. after being indicted for fraud in

Brazil. Tried for embezzlement, Belle served 22 months of a 30-month sentence.

Kaiser languished in jail before being released after 90 days. He’d go on to a career in advertising and public relations, working on more than 150 political campaigns in the region, including one for former Pittsburgh City Council President Ben Woods, who was convicted of 17 counts of racketeering, extortion, income tax evasion, and conspiracy in 1989. When the FBI interviewed Kaiser about Woods, agents said they didn’t want to make him a victim again.

But that admission — that Kaiser was victimized by Belle — was almost 30 years too late.

“I used to sweat it out every time I handled a campaign that my background was going to pop out,” Kaiser says. “Living as a convicted felon, it was a very hard life. There’s a lot of things you can’t do. And it wasn’t that I tried to keep it a secret, but I also didn’t want to broadcast it.”

More than 60 years later, Kaiser still holds himself responsible for getting caught up in Belle’s schemes.

“I was a convicted felon for most of my working life,” says Kaiser. “Writing [the book] brought back some bad memories… I fought my way through all this crap over the years. I didn’t have a tremendous emotional reaction. But when I thought about what I did, my biggest emotional reaction was how goddamned stupid I was. And I really chastise myself for being so dumb.” •

“YOU HAVE TO REMEMBER, HE HAD PEOPLE LIKE AYN RAND AND MILITARY GENERALS AND BANK PRESIDENTS IN HIS CAMP.”

CP PHOTOS: MARS JOHNSON

(left) Doug Sterling watches his friends play pickleball at the new pickleball and tennis courts at Washington's Landing on Aug. 12, 2023.

(middle) Doug Sterling prepares to serve during a recreational pickleball game.

(below) Ethan Dysert practices pickleball.

KING OF THE COURT

BY MATT PETRAS // INFO@PGHCITYPAPER.COM

ABOUT A DOZEN YEARS AGO, Doug Sterling’s local YMCA ditched racquetball — his favorite activity — for the then-trendier CrossFit. To make up for it, pickleball was offered as a replacement, and after giving it a try, Sterling and his friends fell in love.

“It’s not as energetic as racquetball was, it’s not quite as much of a workout, although we did like the fact that it required quick reaction at the net,” Sterling says.

Now retired, Sterling, 69, plays pickleball almost daily, and has observed some substantial changes as the sport has exploded in popularity. Now he sees a younger crowd of pickleballers as well as some angry tennis players fearing a new fad is encroaching upon their turf.

Pickleball’s growth has created a supply and demand problem regarding the number of available spaces to play and the people interested in playing. And data suggests that this nationwide trend is especially potent in the Pittsburgh area.

Pickleball falls somewhere between ping-pong and tennis. It’s played on a space similar to a tennis court but about half the size, with players hitting wiffle balls with paddles larger than those used in ping-pong. As outdoor recreation in

general has increased since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, so too has pickleball, the fastest growing sport.

Pickleheads — an online database and guide to recreational pickleball — has identified more than 13,000 pickleball courts across more than 5,000 American cities. The website, according to co-founder Brandon Mackie, has received a 260% increase in traffic between this March and July, but for information specifically about Pittsburgh pickleball, it’s seen a 620% increase.

And despite the perception of pickleball as a sport for seniors, the average age of someone who plays at least once a month is about 35, and more than two-thirds of these avid players are adults younger than 45, according to recent data from the Association of Pickleball Professionals.

About three years ago, Pittsburgher Larry Gioia started Side’aht, an initiative to make pickleball accessible to children and people with disabilities. The group, funded by merchandise sold in and outside of Pittsburgh, has hosted pop-up events in conjunction with a series of local organizations to facilitate pickleball play in addition to connecting residents to helpful resources.

He called the first event, held in

the East End, “Pickleball for All.”

“The way I opened this up was, that if you have a heart beating in your chest, you are welcome to come play pickleball and learn,” Gioia says.

renovations to Washington’s Landing Park expanded its offering to 10 pickleball courts, but only two tennis courts. This adds to the 14 active pickleball courts spread through -

has advantages that could make it more appealing to parks and recreation departments looking to make the most of limited funds.

“You can put four pickleball courts on one tennis court by way of size. Two people playing tennis versus 16 people playing people,” Gioia says. “There’s a question on economics on that; there’s a question around utilization of space.”

the game. It’s a game for everybody,” Tienes says, “Just as we would accept everybody, we would hope to be accepted as well.”

Interest in Pickleball has certainly outpaced spaces available for it, according to Gioia. New courts, he says, will likely be created by a combination of local government, commercial businesses and even private individuals — Gioia himself has been considering installing a pickleball court in his backyard.

The influence of pickleball has already had an effect on local parks and recreational spaces. On Aug. 11, CitiParks announced that completed

out Schenley Park, Moore Park, Frick Park, Fineview Park, Allegheny Commons, and Bud Hammer Park.

He’s experienced firsthand in Pittsburgh what’s become an issue across the country — what The Guardian in 2022 referred to as “the war between pickleball and tennis.” He and others told City Paper they’ve seen some nasty exchanges between players of the two sports. Gioia believes there’s room for both sports to thrive but notes pickleball

Chris Zurawski, who runs the Schenley Park Tennis Association, hopes the two sports can peacefully coexist.

“Our position is very simple: build all pickleball courts as needed but don’t replace tennis courts with pickleball courts,” Zurawski says.

Jeffrey Tienes, a 37-year-old sociology professor and avid pickleball player, also hopes people will have access to whichever sport they prefer.

“The exclusionary aspect is antithetical to what many pickleballers that I know, the way that they view

Tienes initially viewed pickleball as a bit of a joke but picked it up on friends’ recommendation toward the start of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, when people became cautious of going to indoor gyms, which used to be a near-daily routine for him. Now, he gets his exercise from pickleball sessions often three hours or longer — because he’ll play in rotations with others, this amounts to about two to two and a half hours of active play, he says.

“It’s a bad week if I only play five times,” Tienes says.

Tienes says time spent along the sidelines is also entertaining, as folks young and old are sucked into the oncourt action.

“If someone hits a good shot, everybody erupts,” he says. “Even the people who had it against them.” •

“THE WAY I OPENED THIS UP WAS, THAT IF YOU HAVE A HEART BEATING IN YOUR CHEST, YOU ARE WELCOME TO COME PLAY PICKLEBALL AND LEARN.”

CP PHOTOS: MARS JOHNSON (left) Mohan Kantamaneni warms up with Mallory Blonksi before a game of pickleball at Washington's Landing on Aug. 12, 2023.

THU., AUG. 17

FESTIVAL • BLOOMFIELD

Little Italy Days 5-9 p.m. Continues through Sun., Aug. 20. Liberty Ave. from Ella Street to Gross Street, Bloomfield. Free. littleitalydays.com

FILM • SEWICKLEY

Exhibition on Screen: I, Claude Monet. 7 p.m. Lindsay Theater and Cultural Center. 418 Walnut St., Sewickley. $11. thelindsaytheater.org

PODCAST • STRIP DISTRICT

Sinisterhood: Full Moon Energy Tour 8 p.m. City Winery Pittsburgh. 1627 Smallman St., Strip District. $30-65. pittsburgh.citywinery.com

FRI., AUG. 18

SPORTS • WAMPUM

MotoAmerica Superbikes. 9 a.m. Continues through Sun., Aug. 20. Pittsburgh International Race Complex. 201 Penndale Road, Wampum.

Tickets start at $15, free for kids under 12. motoamerica.com/pittsburgh

SEVEN DAYS IN PITTSBURGH BY

MUSIC • NORTH SIDE

Guns N’ Roses with Pretenderz. 6 p.m. PNC Park. 115 Federal St., North Side. Tickets start at $25. mlb.com

FILM • HAZELWOOD

Movie Night on the Lawn presents Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back 6:30 p.m. Hazelwood Green Plaza. Lytle Street and Eliza Streeet, Hazelwood. Free. Registration required. hazelwoodlocal.com/calendar

THEATER • STRIP DISTRICT

Uncumber Theatrics presents Wee Beasties. 7 p.m. Continues through Sun., Aug. 27. Bitz Opera Factory. 2425 Liberty Ave., Strip District. $27. uncumbertheatrics.com/ weebeasties

PARTY • DOWNTOWN

Dress up, get down, and help beautify Pittsburgh’s riverfronts during a special event at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center. Riverlife and Peoples present Party at the Pier: Hidden Gems, an annual fete meant to highlight one the city’s

CP STAFF

most vibrant assets. View the waters of the nearby Allegheny River from the Center’s rooftop as you enjoy cocktails, live music, and fashion inspired by PPG’s Color of the Year, Vining Ivy. Proceeds from the event will benefit Riverlife’s mission of redeveloping Pittsburgh’s Downtown riverfronts.

7:30-10:30 p.m. VIP reception at 6:30 p.m. 1000 Ft. Duquesne Blvd., Downtown. $95-250. givebutter.com/hiddengems

SAT., AUG. 19

SPORTS • STANTON HEIGHTS

The Sword Experience 7:30 a.m.-3 p.m. The Neighborhood Academy. 709 North Aiken Ave., Stanton Heights Park. $55-455. swordxp.com

NATURE • RECTOR

Unplug for the day with a trip to the Powdermill Nature Reserve. Learn about avian pollinators during Hummingbird Day, during which educators will lead guests through a timed trail route and provide tips on how to take pictures of the small

creatures in flight. Participants can also learn about plants and proper bird feeder maintenance. Presented in participation with the Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh. 9 a.m. 1795 PA-381, Rector. Pay what you wish. Registration required. All ages. carnegiemnh.org

SPORTS • AVELLA

Vintage Base Ball Day. 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Meadowcroft Rockshelter and Historic Village. 401 Meadowcroft Road, Avella. Included with regular admission. heinzhistorycenter.org

YARD SALE • LAWRENCEVILLE

Lawrenceville Crawl Yard Sale 10 a.m.4 p.m. Continues through Sun., Aug. 20. Multiple locations, Lawrenceville. Free. lawrencevillepghyardcrawl.blogspot.com

ART • OAKLAND

Unsettling Matter, Gaining Ground. 10 a.m.8 p.m. Continues through Jan. 7, 2024. Carnegie Museum of Art. 4400 Forbes Ave., Oakland. Included with museum admission. carnegieart.org

PHOTO: COURTESY OF HEINZ HISTORY CENTER Vintage Base Ball Day at Meadowcroft Rock Shelter

GAMES • NORTH SIDE

Pictionary In The Park. 12-6 p.m. Allegheny Commons Park. 637 W. Ohio St., North Side. Free. Search “Pictionary In The Park” on Facebook

MUSIC • DOWNTOWN

Rock, Reggae & Relief 2023 1 p.m. 200 block of Forbes Avenue, Downtown. $85-350. rockreggaerelief.com

ART • DOWNTOWN

Be among the first to see Akudzwe Elsie Chiwa: Divinity/Femininity during an opening reception at 937 Liberty Ave. Chiwa, a Zimbabwean artist based in Wilkinsburg, makes their United States debut in a solo show described as exploring “themes of migrant identity, femininity, and Afro-Feminisms.” See sculptural works that draw from and reimagine the history and culture of the Shona, an ethnic group native to Southern Africa. 69 p.m. Continues through Nov. 19. 937 Liberty. 937 Liberty Ave., Downtown. Free. trustarts.org

FILM • ELIZABETH

Can’t Stop the Serenity Pittsburgh Charity

Screening. 6-9:30 p.m. Grand Theatre. 207 S. Second Ave., Elizabeth. $10. cstspgh.webs.com

MUSIC • DORMONT

Pittsburgh Area Theatre Organ Society presents Nathan Avakian 7:30 p.m. Keystone Oaks High School. 1000 Kelton Ave., Dormont. $15-20. pittsburghtheatreorgan.com

SUN., AUG. 20

MUSIC • MILLVALE

Miss Christine with Phat Man Dee, Esai, and Casey Catone 7 p.m. Doors at 6 p.m. The Funhouse at Mr. Smalls. 400 Lincoln Ave., Millvale. $12. mrsmalls.com

MON., AUG. 21

OUTDOORS • DOWNTOWN

Move-It Mondays. 5:30-6:30 p.m. Market Square, Downtown. Free. downtownpittsburgh.com

TUE., AUG. 22

MUSIC • NEW KENSINGTON

Osyron, Seven Kingdoms, and Empress. 6 p.m. Preserving Underground. 1101 Fifth Ave., New Kensington. $18. preservingconcerts.com

FILM • ALLENTOWN

Bad Movie Bingo: UHF 7 p.m. Bottlerocket Social Hall. 1226 Arlington Ave., Allentown. Free. bottlerocketpgh.com

THEATER • DOWNTOWN

Natasha, Pierre, & the Great Comet of 1812. 7:30 p.m. Continues through Sun., Aug. 27. Benedum Center. 719 Liberty Ave., Downtown. $29-81. pittsburghclo.org

WED., AUG. 23

TALK • OAKLAND

Nature of Place Symposium: Faith and the Environment 3-5 p.m. Continues through Thu., Aug. 24. Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens. One Schenley Drive, Oakland. $10-55. Virtual option available. phipps.conservatory.org

FESTIVAL • ALLENTOWN

City in the Streets: Arlington 5:30-7:30 p.m. Arlington Ave. and Conway St., Allentown. Free. Registration encouraged. engage. pittsburghpa.gov/city-streets

MUSIC • LAWRENCEVILLE

Head to The Goldmark to see local DJs “unleash their beats, rhythms, and grooves like never before.” Touted as the “ultimate hip-hop producer showcase,” Pittsburgh Beat Night will feature performances by Soy Sos, jGGZ PATEL, NOCASINO, Sesh Ross, and Remy Vega. Whether you’re a longtime hip-hop enthusiast or new to the scene, the show promises an “unforgettable experience that transcends boundaries and celebrates the creativity of beats.” 9 p.m. 4517 Butler St., Lawrenceville. Free. 21 and over. thegoldmark.com

PHOTO: ROSE COLORED CREATIVE

Party at the Pier: Hidden Gems at David L. Lawrence Convention Center

NAME CHANGE

IN The Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania: No. GD-23-007528

In re petition of Charles Dillon Marshall-Griego for change of name to Charles Dillon Griego.

To all persons interested:

Notice is hereby given that an order of said Court authorized the filing of said petition and fixed the 31st day of August, 2023, at 9:30 a.m., as the time and the Motions Room, City-County Building, Pittsburgh, PA, as the place for a hearing, when and where all persons may show cause, if any they have, why said name should not be changed as prayed for.

NAME CHANGE

IN The Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania: No. GD-23-008174

In re petition of Aram Paul Kolesar for change of name to Aram Zelman.

To all persons interested:

Notice is hereby given that an order of said Court authorized the filing of said petition and fixed the 13th day of September, 2023, at 9:30 a.m., as the time and the Motions Room, City-County Building, Pittsburgh, PA, as the place for a hearing, when and where all persons may show cause, if any they have, why said name should not be changed as prayed for

NAME CHANGE

IN The Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania: No. GD-23-006734, In re petition of Edward John Gremba, parent and legal guardian of Edward William Gremba, a minor, for change of names to Edward John Gremba III and Edward John Gremba IV. To all persons interested: Notice is hereby given that an order of said Court authorized the filing of said petition and fixed the 31st day of August 2023, at 9:30 a.m., as the time and the Motions Room, City-County Building, Pittsburgh, PA, as the place for a hearing, when and where all persons may show cause, if any they have, why said name should not be changed as prayed for.

NAME CHANGE

IN The Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania: No. GD-23-7521

In re petition of Nikole Lee Moorhead Peterson for change of name to Nikole Lee Virgili. To all persons interested: Notice is hereby given that an order of said Court authorized the filing of said petition and fixed the 22nd day of August, 2023, at 9:45 a.m., as the time and the Motions Room, City-County Building, Pittsburgh, PA, as the place for a hearing, when and where all persons may show cause, if any they have, why said name should not be changed as prayed for.

NAME CHANGE

IN The Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania: No. GD-23-7519

In re petition of Joshua Guerrino Peterson for change of name to Joshua Guerrino Virgili. To all persons interested: Notice is hereby given that an order of said Court authorized the filing of said petition and fixed the 22nd day of August, 2023, at 9:45 a.m., as the time and the Motions Room, City-County Building, Pittsburgh, PA, as the place for a hearing, when and where all persons may show cause, if any they have, why said name should not be changed as prayed for.

NAME CHANGE

IN The Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania: No. GD-23-9041, In re petition of Jeffrey Carlson and Amy Rymarowicz, parents and legal guardians of Blake Lee Woolheater, for change of name to Blake Lee Carlson. To all persons interested: Notice is hereby given that an order of said Court authorized the filing of said petition and fixed the 11th day of September 2023, at 9:45 a.m., as the time and the Motions Room, City-County Building, Pittsburgh, PA, as the place for a hearing, when and where all persons may show cause, if any they have, why said name should not be changed as prayed for.

THE STROKES

BY BRENDAN EMMETT QUIGLEY // BRENDANEMMETTQUIGLEY.COM

ACROSS

1.  Mini split meas.

4.  Restaurant that serves shareable plates

11.  Aware of the latest social justice problems

15.  Vivek and Donald’s competitor 16.  Do 17.  Logan’s brother on Succession 18.  Gary’s st. 19.  Add Altoids?

21.  Just made it, with “by” 23.  Boxer who said “you lose nothing when fighting for a cause”

24.  To the point 25.  Actress Mia spotted on the street? 29.  Indie rocker Dupuis 30.  “Wish Tree” conceptual artist 34.  Was familiar with

50.  Unnamed man

Ecological community 54.  Person no longer into being a hawk? 59.  Knighted conductor George 61.  Words that come with a certain ring?

62.  Actor LaBeouf 63.  Idiots age?

67.  Shocked internet initialism

68.  Enjoy a staycation

69.  “Unh-unh, it’s bad”

70.  Grazing ground

71.  Untaken

72.  Welsh port city where Dylan Thomas was born

73.  They get their stories straight: Abbr.

DOWN

1.  Succinct

2.  Big name in trucks

3.  Doesn’t make the case enough

4.  Arm band?

5.  German cry

6.  “Wheel” category

7.  Fish burrito topping

8.  Cover with fake locks

9.  Flying pref.

10.  Have, as a tenant

11.  Stranger folks

12.  Has on hand

13.  Children’s author DiCamillo

14.  Middle parts

of a sonnet

20.  Lamb-like

22.  No-win situation

26.  Ex-Laker Lamar

27.  iPhone setting

28.  Sharps box insertion

31.  More or less

32.  Holiday when people sing “Douce Nuit”

33.  Follow the rules

34.  Poser Heidi 35.  Sushi wrap

Broadcast

Table

German bread 49.  Frankenfoods: Abbr. 51.  Tinnitus docs

Sits on the throne 53.  “Friends In Low Places” singer

Stringed instrument

Astronomer Hubble 57.  Pointed (toward)

Sitar songs 59.  It’s sold in cakes 60.  Flow like sludge 63.  Rapper ___ Milli 64.  Have a stroke?, or what has

LAST WEEK’S ANSWERS

THE BOARD OF PUBLIC EDUCATION of the SCHOOL DISTRICT OF PITTSBURGH ADVERTISEMENT FOR BIDS PGH. CAPA

Sealed proposals shall be deposited at the Administration Building, Bellefield Entrance Lobby, 341 South Bellefield Avenue, Pittsburgh, Pa., 15213, on August 29, 2023, until 2:00 P.M., local prevailing time for:

• Emergency Generator Replacement

• General and Electrical Primes

Project Manual and Drawings will be available for purchase on August 07, 2023, at Modern Reproductions (412-488-7700), 127 McKean Street, Pittsburgh, Pa., 15219 between 9:00 A.M. and 4:00 P.M. The cost of the Project Manual Documents is non-refundable. Project details and dates are described in each project manual

We are an equal rights and opportunity school district.

Calling all disco queens, hippies, and glam rockers: prepare to transport yourself back to the 70s and celebrate the best in Pittsburgh!

THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS

TICKETS AT PGHCITYPAPER.COM

LET'S BOOGIE DOWN LET'S BOOGIE DOWN LET'S BOOGIE DOWN LET'S BOOGIE DOWN LET'S BOOGIE DOWN LET'S BOOGIE DOWN LET'S BOOGIE DOWN LET'S BOOGIE DOWN LET'S BOOGIE DOWN LET'S BOOGIE DOWN LET'S BOOGIE DOWN LET'S BOOGIE DOWN LET'S BOOGIE DOWN LET'S BOOGIE DOWN LET'S BOOGIE DOWN LET'S BOOGIE DOWN LET'S BOOGIE DOWN LET'S BOOGIE DOWN LET'S BOOGIE DOWN LET'S BOOGIE DOWN LET'S BOOGIE DOWN LET'S BOOGIE DOWN LET'S BOOGIE DOWN LET'S BOOGIE DOWN LET'S BOOGIE DOWN LET'S BOOGIE DOWN LET'S BOOGIE DOWN LET'S BOOGIE DOWN LET'S BOOGIE DOWN LET'S BOOGIE DOWN LET'S BOOGIE DOWN LET'S BOOGIE DOWN LET'S BOOGIE DOWN LET'S BOOGIE DOWN LET'S BOOGIE DOWN LET'S BOOGIE DOWN LET'S BOOGIE DOWN LET'S BOOGIE DOWN LET'S BOOGIE DOWN LET'S BOOGIE DOWN LET'S BOOGIE DOWN LET'S BOOGIE DOWN LET'S BOOGIE DOWN LET'S BOOGIE DOWN LET'S BOOGIE DOWN LET'S BOOGIE DOWN LET'S BOOGIE DOWN