March 10, 2021 - Pittsburgh City Paper

INSIDE: A PITTSBURGH NATIVE HAS CLAIMED INNOCENCE IN PRISON FOR 23 YEARS. WHY HASN’T HIS STORY GOTTEN MORE ATTENTION?

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MARCH 10-17, 2021

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Hugh Lane Wellness Foundation imagines positive future for local LGBTQ youth with new virtual program

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PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER MARCH 10-17, 2021

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THE BIG STORY

UNANSWERED CALLS A Pittsburgh native has claimed innocence in his homicide conviction for 23 years, but has struggled to get many to notice his case

BY RYAN DETO // RYANDETO@PGHCITYPAPER.COM

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ILLIAM DANIELS HAS BEEN incarcerated in state prison for more than two decades. He is currently held at SCI Forest, a Pennsylvania state penitentiary in Forest County, about two hours northeast of Pittsburgh.

During the 23 years he has served of his life sentence, the Pittsburgh native says he has spent more than $3,500 on first-class mail, sending his story to anyone who will listen, anyone who can help amplify his plea of innocence. This includes celebrities like Whoopie Goldberg and Tyler Perry, as well as previous staffers of former President Barack Obama.

“Anybody that I can see on CNN, law professors, whoever,” says Daniels, by phone from SCI Forest.

“Anybody that I can see who might be able to help.”

PHOTO COURTESY OF CRYSTAL DANIELS

William Daniels

Daniels was convicted of first-degree homicide in 1998, for the 1994 shooting and killing of Ronald Hawkins, a jitney driver on the North Side.

Daniels has proclaimed his innocence since the beginning and has built up a case over the years, trying to overturn his conviction. He has found eyewitnesses to sign affidavits that counter eyewitness testimony used in his trial. Daniels has taught himself many aspects of criminal defense law, and filed several appeals.

“It took me, like, five years to truly learn it,” says Daniels of some intricacies of Pennsylvania criminal law. “When you are an innocent person in jail, it is hard to take it.”

His partner Crystal Daniels has helped him along the way, and some family members have assisted in tracking down sources that might help his defense. He has also hired lawyers to file appeals and petitions, as well as reached out to just about every group who works to help exonerate prisoners that one might think of.

This effort doesn’t guarantee that Daniels will be ruled innocent or be granted his freedom, and courts have already rejected many of his appeals, finding his affidavits not credible. But according to criminal justice advocates, the obstacles that Daniels faces are common. Conservative estimates put the number of improper convictions in the tens of thousands each year in America.

There could be hundreds, if not thousands, of cases similar to Daniels vying for attention at the same time.

For Daniels, part of his struggle has been getting the necessary attention that might catapult his case into the limelight, and the resources that usually follow. He, along with Crystal, have contacted advocacy groups, lawyers, and local and national journalists, but to no serious avail. Daniels says some journalists or advocates have started to look into his case, but it has never led to anything. Whether that’s because he’s being ignored, or his case just isn’t strong enough to pursue, may be hard to determine. Either way, Daniels isn’t giving up hope. Facing a life sentence with no possibility of parole, he is determined to fight for his justice.

“I am not bred to accept defeat,” says Daniels. “I can’t see my kids. I can’t accept defeat for my family. ... It is heartbreaking. I lost my dad since I am

Daniels with his stepfather Pete

here. My kids are growing up. You got to really dig deep to lean on the Lord.”

Pittsburgh City Paper was made aware of Daniels’ story thanks to 1Hood Media, an advocacy organization focused on amplifying Black voices and serving Pittsburgh’s Black community. Daniels says he saw 1Hood on TV and decided to reach out to the group last year.

Daniels grew up in Pittsburgh and graduated from Perry High School in 1989. He enlisted in the U.S. Navy shortly after that, and he saw action in Operation Desert Storm in the Middle East. Daniels has four children, who are now adults and live in different parts of Pennsylvania and the country.

After returning to Pittsburgh following his military service, Daniels admits that he started to deal drugs as a way to make money. He admits that this and his other crimes were wrong, and noted he has already served the time for his other convictions, which include carrying a firearm without a license and engaging in criminal conspiracy. Daniels was not convicted of any drug-related charges. His record before his homicide conviction included a 1994 guilty plea to a simple assault misdemeanor, which resulted in a probation sentence.

“It was the wrong thing to do,” says Daniels. “I tried to shortcut the system. I knew I was destroying the community, but we got to eat. But it was the wrong way.”

When he was charged for Hawkins’ killing, Daniels went on the lam to Michigan and other states across the U.S. He says he had little faith in the criminal justice system, and that feeling was strengthened since his trial kept starting and stopping over the years. Daniels says this gave him the impression the prosecution didn’t have sufficient evidence to convict him, but that they were fishing for more.

“I was trying to figure out what was going on,” says Daniels of his fleeing the state after being charged. “Every time they wanted to go on trial, they wouldn’t go.”

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PHOTO COURTESY OF CRYSTAL DANIELS

William Daniels with his sons Jayden and Malik

“I AM NOT BRED TO ACCEPT DEFEAT, I CAN’T SEE MY KIDS. I CAN’T ACCEPT DEFEAT FOR MY FAMILY.” While out of state, Daniels met Crystal in Seattle in 1997. Crystal, who still lives in Seattle, says they have been together ever since. The two aren’t married (the same last names are just a coincidence), but Crystal says she has stood by Daniels because she believes in his innocence.

Crystal says she has helped Daniels contact television shows, journalists, lawyers, criminal justice experts, celebrities — anyone who Daniels and Crystal think might take up his cause. For the vast majority of instances, Crystal hasn’t received any response.

“Oh my gosh, it’s been so difficult,” she says. “I don’t know how many emails I have sent out and gotten zero response.”

Daniels agrees it has been an intense struggle to get any outside attention to his case. He says he has, at times, made a bit of headway with journalists, but eventually communication goes silent.

Crystal says the two of them have reached out to several groups focused on

helping to exonerate prisoners, like the PA Innocence Project, and at times his case has been accepted, but also hasn’t led to anything substantial.

It is understandably difficult to get people invested in Daniels’ case. The shooting occurred more than 27 years ago, and Daniels has appealed his conviction and related rulings every step of the way, and while courts have at times agreed with him, ultimately, his cases were rejected.

In 1998, after law enforcement arrested him in Georgia and brought him back to Pennsylvania for his trial, a jury found Daniels guilty of first-degree homicide, four years after the shooting death of Hawkins. According to a 2017 opinion from the Allegheny County Common Pleas Court, Daniels and two of his companions drew guns on Sept. 20, 1994, and ran towards a dark gray Buick driven by Hawkins, then fired their guns into the Buick, killing Hawkins.

The commonwealth’s case against

Daniels included two eyewitnesses who said they saw Daniels commit the shooting. Daniels believes these eyewitnesses were coerced, and he has filed petitions to have other eyewitness testimony be allowed to be submitted as evidence to his case through the state’s Post Conviction Relief Act. Daniels has filed five petitions through the PCRA. The PCRA allows prisoners and those convicted of crimes to file direct appeals, asking the court to reconsider their conviction.

All five petitions have been rejected, though some made it up to the state Supreme Court through appeals. The 2017 opinion from the Allegheny County Common Pleas Court found two of Daniel’s eyewitnesses — who claimed that Hawkins was shot in a drive-by, not by perpetrators on foot — not to be credible, citing inconsistencies in their testimony and that testimony was given too far from the date of the shooting.

Daniels says there is other evidence

that backs up his case, like an alleged 911 call from the night of the shooting that corroborates the eyewitness testimony he provided. As part of his research, he also found out years later that he went to high school with one of the members of the jury and wonders why that wasn’t disclosed during his trial. Even through all the rejected appeals, Daniels continues to proclaim his innocence.

“I was a guy that wanted to do great things, but I chose the wrong decisions,” says Daniels. “But I didn’t kill Mr. Hawkins.”

The country is also in a different place than it was even just a few years ago. Recent events, protests, and civil rights actions indicate how the country is undergoing an awakening. The Black Lives Matter movement has shifted the way Americans think and talk about criminal justice. It’s become a more common form of activism to help exonerate people for crimes the country now sees as overly punitive, or to help determine wrongful convictions.

Elizabeth DeLosa is the managing attorney for the Pittsburgh office of the PA Innocence Project, a nonprofit that works to exonerate innocent prisoners and those convicted of crimes they didn’t commit.

She says that Daniels’ story is not uncommon, and that there are many people convicted of crimes vying for their innocence, even just in the Pittsburgh area.

“Unfortunately it is more common than we would like to admit,” says DeLosa. “It is happening to Mr. Daniels, but it is also happening to many, many people in Allegheny County. … The fact that he has been incarcerated for two decades for a crime he alleges he didn’t commit is sad. But tragically, it is kind of normal.”

DeLosa says experts estimate that between 3% and 10% of people convicted of crimes in America each year are innocent. She says even by making those estimates more conservative — such as 1% — would mean that about 10,000 innocent people are convicted annually in the U.S. On top of that, Pennsylvania law requires that people convicted of 1st and 2nd degree homicide serve life sentence with no possibility of parole. They are sentenced to die in prison. Only through commutation — a change of a sentence to one that is less severe — can those serving life sentences be given a chance to speak to a parole board.

She notes that Pennsylvania has CONTINUES ON PG. 8

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UNANSWERED CALLS, CONTINUED FROM PG. 6

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“THE FACT THAT HE HAS BEEN INCARCERATED FOR TWO DECADES FOR A CRIME HE ALLEGES HE DIDN’T COMMIT IS SAD. BUT TRAGICALLY, IT IS KIND OF NORMAL.” very strict post-conviction laws, and even the people that PA Innocence Project has helped exonerate still average about 18 years in prison.

DeLosa notes convictions based on eyewitness testimony, like in Daniels’ case, are relatively common in wrongful convictions cases, and notes that the trial system can be daunting for defendants. She says portions of the homicide case file don’t get turned over to the defense during discovery. So if there were other witnesses who spoke to police that counter the prosecution’s eyewitness testimony, the defense may never be made aware of that.

Daniels did eventually find additional eyewitnesses willing to testify,

but it was years later and Pennsylvania courts have timeliness standards that can obstruct getting those eyewitness testimony included. Basically, it’s extremely hard to convince courts of innocence after conviction.

PA Innocence Project understands this, and has an incredibly rigorous process in taking on cases. DeLosa says the project gets about 500 cases a year just in the commonwealth. Those then move through a questionnaire process, followed by the project’s lawyers reviewing a case to look for red flags, like when the only thing that connects someone to a crime is an eyewitness.

If a case has enough red flags, the project will do a deep dive into items Follow news editor Ryan Deto on Twitter @RyanDeto

such as documents and witnesses. After that, the case will be presented to a panel created by the Innocence Project constructed of a criminal defense attorney, at least one prosecutor, and others. Only if the panel approves, will the Innocence Project move forward with a case.

Since its creation in 2009, the PA Innocence Project has successfully exonerated 20 people, or about two people a year.

Crystal says they have reached out to the PA Innocence Project, but have not heard back regarding Daniels’ case.

Despite dozens and dozens of attempts to get attention for Daniels’ case, the only story written about his innocence claims came from a 2020 article in a prison abolition advocacy magazine called “The Movement.”

After 23 years behind bars, Daniels understands just how demoralizing being incarcerated can be, especially when believing in one’s own innocence.

He says many fellow imprisoned individuals will stop fighting eventually.

“Half of the people in here are on medication and they just give up,” says Daniels. “But if you can get your mind on fighting the injustices that is something. It’s something.”

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CP PHOTO: JARED WICKERHAM

Hugh Lane Wellness Foundation’s program director Coley Alston (left) and executive director Sarah Rosso (right) outside of the offices in the North Side

.NEWS.

FILLED WITH CARE

BY DANI JANAE // DANIJANAE@PGHCITYPAPER.COM

P

ITTSBURGH WAS RECENTLY put

on another list of cities that are great to live in, but the question remains: for who? The directors of North Side’s Hugh Lane Wellness Foundation’s new LGBTQ group say the city has a long way to go before it is a safe space for its community, especially its youth.

While Pittsburgh does receive high marks overall from groups like Human Rights Campaign for its inclusionary LGBTQ laws, compared to other large metro areas like Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., there is a lack of youth drop-in spaces in Pittsburgh, and gay-straight alliances are not as robust as they are in other cities. Hugh Lane’s Youth AFFIRM program is a virtual group built to fill in some of those gaps, providing mental and sexual health support to local

LGBTQ youth ages 14-21.

The Hugh Lane Wellness Foundation launched in Pittsburgh with the purpose of providing health equity for LGBTQ folks and people who are HIV positive. The staff provides education and training to service systems that were lacking in their knowledge of issues that affect LGBTQ individuals.

“We found gaps in direct programming and services to address some of the social support needs of our clients, as well as connectedness needs programming to improve mental health outcomes and physical health outcomes,” says Hugh Lane executive director Sarah Rosso. “So we really tried to find ways to fill those gaps with new and innovative programs like AFFIRM.” Though AFFIRM has multiple options

HUGH LANE WELLNESS FOUNDATION hughlane.org

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for people of any age, Hugh Lane really wanted to focus on strengthening their youth programming.

“Because so many organizations kind of shuttered and just decided to discontinue youth services, it was very important for us to keep young people connected,” says Hugh Lane program director Coley Alston.

There are different programs within AFFIRM. The program AFFIRM for Providers focuses on health and service providers, while Caregiver AFFIRM equips foster parents and caregivers of LGBTQ youth with the tools they need to properly care for children and teens. AFFIRM for adults is launching on March 22 to kick off LGBTQ Health Disparities Week.

“We’re especially conscious of groups that tend to be isolated: thinking about young people, thinking about seniors, thinking about young adults who may not have family connections, and also people who are at other areas of margin-

alization,” says Alston. “Especially people who have survived intimate partner violence and sexual violence, understanding that there’s going to be a lot of different pockets of isolation. We want to make sure we keep people connected despite there being a pandemic.”

Recently, the Western Pennsylvania LGBTQ community has been in mourning over the loss of trans woman Chyna Carrillo, and 16-year old trans man Jeffrey “JJ” Bright and his older nonbinary sister, Jasmine Cannady, who were all killed within one week of each other in February. The recent increase in the killings of trans persons has many calling into question what is being done to protect trans people on a local, national, and global scale. The Equality Act recently passed the U.S. House, and would update an already existing federal law in regards to nondiscrimination protections for people based on their gender identity and sexual orientation if signed into law.

But while federal i ntervention is

PHOTO: SCREENSHOT FROM HUGHLANE.ORG

Program director Coley Alston explains more about Youth AFFIRM in video on Hugh Lane’s website.

important, there is still a lot that can be done on a grassroots level to protect LGBTQ people, especially because these protections aren’t an end all to bigotry and transphobia. Each of the AFFIRM programs seek to fill gaps in care for LGBTQ people living in Western Pennsylvania.

Although the start of the pandemic changed the landscape of programming that Hugh Lane provides, the group was able to adapt to changing tides.

They launched Hugh’s Kitchen, which provides items like weekly groceries, hygiene products, and safe sex kits to community members. They average about 55 weekly deliveries and were able to provide 3,599 food resources to community members last year. For the holidays, they did special-themed dinners and cookie kits with dietary restrictions in mind.

To learn more about Hugh Lane’s Youth AFFIRM group, interested participants are invited to join a virtual meet and greet on Wed., March 31 at 4 p.m.

Visit hughlane.org for more info.

Youth AFFIRM is unique in that it is rooted in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), a form of psychological treatment used to help diminish the negative effects of many mental-health disorders, including alcohol and drug use problems. One of the central tenets of this therapy is that psychological problems are based, in part, on unhelpful ways of thinking. AFFIRM operates with that in mind when working with the youth they serve. “[CBT] has proven to decrease unhelpful thoughts. So they’re really being able

to interrupt negative thoughts, switching your own self-talk in a way that’s positive, in a way that’s helpful to yourself,” says Alston.

According to Alston, another benefit of AFFIRM programming centered around CBT is that it increases future ideation, meaning that youth can see a future for themselves and see beyond their present selves and struggles.

“You can’t just tell people, ‘Oh yeah, it gets better,’ you actually have to sit down with someone and say, ‘What are some things that I can think about, that I can practice, that I can look forward to because right now from where I’m sitting, I can’t see a way out of this,’” says Alston, adding that having positive, helpful social connections is another benefit of the program.

Many LGBTQ youth in Western Pennsylvania are currently dealing with stress, on top of struggling with the pandemic. With school going online, low-income students have the stress of having to acquire a computer and a stable internet connection in order to attend school and complete assignments. Some students might not have supportive adults or parental figures in their lives. With this in mind, AFFIRM has to be careful about confidentiality to make sure they aren’t putting a young person in danger.

“The care packages that youth receive come in this rainbow bag, and they’re stuffed to the gills. But the thing is, I always have to check with young people first,” says Alston. “One, can this bag show up outside of your house? Is that OK that a rainbow bag shows up there? Otherwise, I use paper bags or other boxes, but also, can it have your name on it?”

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Follow staff writer Dani Janae on Twitter @figwidow PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER MARCH 10-17, 2021

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Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh commemorative cards by Takara Canty, Cue Perry, DS Kinsel, and Janel Young

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BY AMANDA WALTZ // AWALTZ@PGHCITYPAPER.COM

A

LIBRARY CARD IS more than

a piece of plastic — it’s a key granting access to a world of free books, music, and other media, as well as workshops, classes, and events.

And now the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh is releasing a series of vibrant, limited-edition cards designed by local artists to remind patrons of that, and to mark a major milestone for Pittsburgh’s public library system.

Carnegie Library revealed the designs for a series of special library cards meant to celebrate the library system’s 125th anniversary. The cards, designed by Takara Canty, Cue Perry, DS Kinsel, and Janel Young, were inspired by the question, “What does ‘Free to the People’ mean to you?”

Both new and existing members can sign up for the cards while supplies last. To request a card, patrons can simply stop by an open branch — please be sure to wear a mask and practice social distancing — or call to coordinate a curb-side pick-up.

Like with the normal card application

process, patrons must also provide acceptable forms of ID. If a patron has an existing library card, their new card will have a different barcode number, and patrons will be asked to turn in their old, deactivated card when they pick up a new one. Changing the barcode does not alter existing account information, checkouts, or balances.

CARNEGIE LIBRARY OF PITTSBURGH carnegielibrary.org

Kinsel, who co-runs the community art hub BOOM Concepts, says he wanted to find an “intentional intersection” for his card design and his Nothing But Love street art series, which features repetitive patterns of hearts.

“I have been exploring love songs and pulling lyrics from different songs to express different ways in which love can be expressed,” says Kinsel in a press

release. “I really connected to the idea of ‘Free to the People’ and how Carnegie Library’s history offering free art, music, and literature was a true expression of love. I believe the library allows for exploration of knowledge, culture, and love by being ‘Free To The People.’”

After researching different love song lyrics, he says he landed on the lyric “Everybody come together (Love is free)” from the song “Love Is Free” by Sheryl Crow.

“Free knowledge, free culture, and free love is a reason for folks to come together and the library is the perfect place for that action to happen,” says Kinsel.

Young, a Pittsburgh native who works as a painter and muralist, says “Free To The People” made her think of her experience reading, especially when she was younger.

“Growing up with my mom being a reading specialist, I always felt like reading books and stories were a form of liberation, an escape. So I wanted to show the transition to ‘freeing the people’ through literature,” says Young.

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And this new discovery increases nitric oxide availability Primal Max Red has only been available for a few months resulting in even quicker, stronger and longer-lasting — but everyone who takes it reports a big difference. “I have erections. the energy to have sex three times in one day, WOW! That One double-blind, placebo-controlled study (the “gold- has not happened in years. Oh, by the way I am 62,” says standard” of research) involved a group of 70-year-old-men. Jonathan K. from Birmingham, AL. They didn’t exercise. They didn’t eat healthy. And HOW IT WORKS researchers reported their “nitric oxide availability was Loss of erection power starts with your blood vessels. almost totally compromised,” resulting in blood now less Specimcally, the inside layer called the endothelium where than HALF of a man in peak sexual health. nitric oxide is made.

But only mve minutes after the mrst dose their blood now The problem is various factors THICKEN your blood increased 275%, back to levels of a perfectly healthy 31-yearvessels as you age. This blocks availability causing the old man! “It’s amazing,” remarks nitric oxide expert Dr. Al nitric oxide “glitch.” The result is difmculty in getting and Sears. “That’s like giving 70-year-old men the sexual power sustaining a healthy erection. of 30-year-olds.”

How bad is the problem? your penis.

WHY SO MUCH EXCITEMENT?

Despite the billions men spend annually on older nitric oxide therapies, there’s one well-known problem with them.

They don’t always work.

A very distinguished and awarded doctor practicing at a prestigious Massachusetts hospital who has studied Nitric Oxide for over 43 years states a “demciency of bioactive nitric oxide… leads to impaired endothelium-dependent vasorelaxation.”

In plain English, these older products may increase levels of nitric oxide. But that’s only half the battle. If it’s not bioactively available then your body can’t absorb it to produce an erection.

Experts simply call it the nitric oxide “glitch.” And until now, there’s never been a solution.

NEXT GENERATION NITRIC OXIDE FORMULA FLYING OFF SHELVES Upon further research, America’s No. 1 men’s health expert Dr. Al Sears discovered certain nutrients mx this “glitch” resulting in 275% better blood now.

He’s combined those nutrients with proven nitric oxide boosters in a new formula called Primal Max Red. In clinical

A new discovery that increases nitric oxide availability was recently proven in a clinical trial to boost blood flow 275% resulting in even quicker, stronger and longer-lasting erections.

Then he used ingredients in Primal Max Red and, “The results were off the charts. I mrst woke around 3 a.m. on Tuesday with a throbbing boner. My nitric oxide levels measured at the top end of the range.”

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“If you want passionate ‘rip your clothes off’ sex you had in your younger days, you need nitric oxide to get your Researcher shows the typical 40-year-old man absorbs erection going. And testosterone for energy and drive,” says 50% less nitric oxide. At 50, that drops to 25%. And once Dr. Sears. “You get both with Primal Max Red and Primal you pass 60 just a measly 15% gets through.

Max Black.”

To make matters worse, nitric oxide levels start declining HOW TO GET PRIMAL MAX in your 30’s. And by 70, nitric oxide production is down an To secure free bottles of Primal Max Black and get the hot, alarming 75%. new Primal Max Red formula, buyers should contact the Primal Max Red is the mrst formula to tackle both problems.

Sears Health Hotline at 1-800-304-1450 within the next 48 Combining powerful nitric oxide boosters and a proven hours. “It’s not available in drug stores yet,” says Dr. Sears. delivery mechanism that defeats the nitric oxide “glitch” “The Hotline allows us to ship directly to the customer.” resulting in 275% better blood now and stronger erections.

Dr. Sears feels so strongly about Primal Max, all orders There’s not enough space here to fully explain how it works, so Dr. Sears will send anyone who orders Primal Max Red a are backed by a 100% money-back guarantee. “Just send me back the bottle and any unused product within 90 days free special report that explains everything. from purchase date, and I’ll send you all your money back,” MORE CLINICAL RESULTS he says.

Nutrients in Primal Max Red have logged impressive The Hotline will be open for the next 48 hours. After results. that, the phone number will be shut down to allow them to In a Journal of Applied Physiology study, one resulted in restock. Call 1-800-304-1450 to secure your limited supply of a 30 times MORE nitric oxide. And these increased levels Primal Max Red and free bottles of Primal Max Black. You lasted up to 12 hours. don’t need a prescription, and those who call in the mrst 24 “I measured my nitric oxide levels, you can buy a test kit hours qualify for a signimcant discount. Use Promo Code from Amazon,” reports 48-year-old Jeff O. “Monday night I NP0321PMAX194 when you call in. Lines are frequently busy, but all calls will be answered. showed depleted.”

THESE STATEMENTS HAVE NOT BEEN EVALUATED BY THE FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION. THIS PRODUCT IS NOT INTENDED TO DIAGNOSE, TREAT, CURE OR PREVENT ANY DISEASE. RESULTS MAY VARY 328324_10_x_10.25.indd 1

3/2/21 PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER MARCH 10-17, 2021

2:48 PM

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CP PHOTO: JARED WICKERHAM

Killer Tofu at Soju

.FOOD.

TOFU’S TIME TO SHINE

BY HANNAH LYNN // HLYNN@PGHCITYPAPER.COM

T

OFU HAS A STRANGE place in

American culture. Historically, it has long been mocked by people who are confused by the white block of soy. Many see it merely as that spongy thing vegetarians and vegans eat. In the past several years, it’s become commonplace for conservatives to use “soy boy” as an insult. But tofu doesn’t deserve any of this. In many South and East Asian cuisines, tofu is the star of the dish, not an afterthought, and many Asian Americans are familiar with the plant-based protein source. For Americans less familiar with tofu, their fear lingers simply because they are not used to it.

Simon Chough, owner and chef of Korean restaurant Soju in Garfield, created his Killer Tofu dish to cater to customers who don’t eat meat. The dish involves perfectly crispy tofu — frozen before breading to draw out more moisture and provide extra crunch — and a gooey, tangy, and sweet sauce. It stays crispy after the journey home in its takeout box, and even the next day while eating

it out of the fridge. Anyone could love this dish, from more seasoned tofu lovers like me to big time meat lovers like my partner.

But the dish, Chough says, is one of the only items on the menu that doesn’t have roots in Korean cooking. He says the inspiration came from his time living in Hawaii, where a sauce similar to the one used in the Killer Tofu is common. It involves a mix of garlic, ginger, soju, soy sauce, crushed pineapple, and gochugaru (a Korean chili). But the crispy coating on the tofu is not commonplace in Korean cooking; instead it is often used in soups and stews. Chough says he created the dish with a Western palate in mind, knowing that Americans are still unsteady around the bouncy and soft texture of tofu.

“I find that the flavors of Asian food in general are more accepted by a Western audience than texture,” says Chough. “There are some prized textures in Asian food such as chewy and gummy, or soft and silky, things that we

just don’t experience in the American lexicon of food.”

Chough says he’s put other tofu dishes on Soju’s menu before, like sundubu, a softer kind of tofu, but that it didn’t sell well. The Killer Tofu, whose name originates from the ’90s cartoon Doug, has “the texture of a chicken nugget.”

SOJU 4923 Penn Ave., Garfield. instagram.com/sojupgh

While it might not be a traditionally Korean dish, it’s certainly a delicious one, and fits well with alterations Chough has made to Soju’s menu since the pandemic hit. With an increase in takeout sales, Chough has rethought some of the menu to make dishes more friendly for travel, as well as adding more comfort food, like a spicy chicken sandwich and kimchi

Follow staff writer Hannah Lynn on Twitter @hanfranny

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PGHCITYPAPER.COM

nachos, alongside the restaurant’s classics like bulgogi and bibimbap.

“It definitely has made me think about things that will carry,” says Chough. “It’s changed my cooking style because I’m always concerned with, ‘How’s this gonna be 20 minutes after I cook it sitting in a box?’”

Soju currently has limited indoor dining and does most of its business through takeout, sales of which, Chough says, are up to about 80% of what they were pre-pandemic (though alcohol sales are down significantly). Sales of the Killer Tofu, he says, have also gone up, possibly due to how well it travels.

But if you’ve tried and love the crispy, saucey dish, it might be time to expand your palette to new ways of eating tofu. Chough’s favorite is mapo tofu from Squirrel Hill restaurants Sichuan Gourmet or Chengdu Gourmet, a dish served with tofu, ground meat, and a spicy sauce. And if you’re lucky, Chough says he might expand the tofu offerings on his own menu.

•

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CP PHOTO: RYAN DETO

A 4-pack of East End Brewing’s G&T Hard Seltzer

.DRINKS.

GRIN AND TONIC

BY RYAN DETO // RYANDETO@PGHCITYPAPER.COM

H

ARD SELTZERS ARE everywhere.

Versions of the popular alcoholic beverage are now sold by brewing giants like Budweiser and Miller/Coors.

Pittsburgh craft brewers are getting in on the action too, but many are making twists to the typical hard seltzer formula.

And East End Brewing’s new hard seltzer is really taking the formula for a loop, and in a really encouraging way. The new G&T Hard Seltzer is a beverage brewed with botanicals similar to those used in making gin, and then finished off with some fresh lime. It’s East End’s take on a canned gin and tonic, except there is no gin and no tonic.

The first sip is a doozy, and wholly unexpected. In a way that might turn off many drinkers. It is not reminiscent of other hard seltzers, it doesn’t really taste like a beer, and it’s not as potent as a gin and tonic (even though it clocks in at 7.5% ABV).

But power through. After four to five sips, the bitterness becomes delightful, which is balanced out well by the lime.

Once you grow accustomed to the fact that it’s not a gin and tonic, and it’s not like other seltzers, it’s actually what you might be looking for. I personally find hard seltzers to be too sweet, and too bubbly. To me, they are like drinking champagne, but without the joy and beauty of the celebratory beverage. Hard seltzers are easy to drink at first, but I grow tired and annoyed of them after a

while. I crave bitterness or some body.

East End’s G&T Hard Seltzer is the opposite experience of a typical hard seltzer. It’s hard to drink at first, but then surprisingly balanced and satisfying in the long run. It’s not as filling as a beer, even though it is more alcoholic. And I drank two in the same night and didn’t feel any grogginess the next morning.

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EAST END BREWING 147 Julius St., Larimer. eastendbrewing.com

The combo of bitter upfront with the botanicals — like juniper berries, bitter orange peels, and coriander — followed by a refreshing middle body, then sour lime to finish became more addicting with each sip. But seltzer fans beware, this isn’t a chuggable, fruity beverage like White Claw. It’s a truly unique hard seltzer experience. It’s still fairly easy to drink, but it is more in line with any well-balanced, and flavor-packed brew.

The pale yellow is also nice to see in a seltzer. A good reminder that, yes, this will get you drunk.

Four-packs can be picked up at the East End Brewery in Larimer, and orders can be placed ahead of time on East End’s website. (Limited delivery is also available.)

The brewery’s front patio is now open, and tables are spaced safe for social distancing, if you want to try a G&T Hard Seltzer onsite.

•

PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER MARCH 10-17, 2021

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PHOTO: JEFFREY AUGUSTINE SONGCO

“Mr. Society of 23” pageant portraits by Jeffrey Augustine Songco, part of Society of 23’s Trophy Game Room

.ART . .

THE FABULOUS SOCIETY OF 23

BY AMANDA WALTZ // AWALTZ@PGHCITYPAPER.COM

W

HEN TALKING WITH Jeffrey Augustine Songco, a multidisciplinary Filipino American artist showing at the Mattress Factory, he gives me a few homework assignments, mostly related to beauty pageants.

“Look up Miss Universe 2015,” he says, which leads me to a YouTube video of that year’s winner Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach answering a question about the United States reopening a military base in her country, the Philippines. (Songco calls her response “fabulous, but problematic.”)

He later tells me to watch Filipino pageant reaction videos, introducing me to footage of fans, both men and women, huddled around a TV before absolutely losing it when their contestant wins.

He does this to illustrate one aspect of modern Filipino culture, an obsession with beauty pageants that has led to the Southeast Asian country winning Miss Universe multiple times just over the past decade. This is incorporated into his installation Society of 23’s Trophy Game Room, a work in which Songco plays different members of a fictional fraternity in order to explore his identity as a queer Filipino in America.

The pageant culture plays out in several portraits depicting Songco as various characters in what he calls his

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“brotherhood,” donning sashes and crowns won during a fake fraternity pageant, “Mr. 23.” In these photos, as well as others, Songco says he dressed in Abercrombie & Fitch, J. Crew, and formal clothing from his own fraternity days at Carnegie Mellon University.

“That’s all me,” says Songco, who graduated from CMU in 2005 and now lives in Grand Rapids, Mich. “I’m drawing from my own personal life of trying to fit in.”

Society of 23’s Trophy Game Room will open Fri., March 12 as a solo exhibition at the Mattress Factory, revealing new work Songco produced during a residency through the North Side museum. Songco says being chosen for the residency gave him a chance to experiment with and expand Society of 23, a project he has worked on over the years, producing fake trophies and other objects for the brotherhood, all of which will appear in the new work.

“Originally, what I was going to do was create this installation and then perform within the space, but because of the pandemic, I chose not to travel to Pittsburgh for this residency, which is completely bittersweet,” says Songco who saw it as his homecoming back to the city.

Instead, he ended up building a set in his basement, where his partner helped him shoot the images and footage needed for the piece. This included taking static shots of himself as the various brotherhood members, and then using Photoshop to pull all the “bros’’ together into different scenarios. The project even has its own Instagram account (@societyof23) featuring “candid “photos of the bros hanging out, shopping, and posing together.

“I’m trying to understand how to construct a culture through the Society of 23, understand what they wear, what they do, their behavior, their celebrations,” says Songco.

The process includes individualizing each bro right down to the clothes they wear, their hairstyles, and even their signature. “What’s the correlation between this person’s messy handwriting and this person’s hair?” says Songco.

“Maybe their hair is as messy as their handwriting, right?”

He believes this process comes from trying to navigate his own upbringing as the child of Filipino immigrants who encouraged him to Americanize as quickly as possible. Growing up in New Jersey, Songco says he retained very little of his Filipino culture, including learning his

parents’ native language, Tagalog.

He remembers having a television in his bedroom, which he says served as a kind of tool for helping to assimilate him into American culture. As a result, he became a fan of reality television shows, including the long-running MTV series The Real World, for which he auditioned.

“I wanted to be on it, but I was also closeted, and I didn’t come out until after college,” says Songco. “I still had an issue just telling a story, and I think that’s a talent of people on reality television, is that they’re able to articulate something and it just makes sense and it’s easy to edit.”

This interest resulted in creating an hour-long episode of a reality show about the brotherhood called The Fabulous Society of 23. The episode includes the visual tropes of reality television, including the confessionals where contestants speak directly to the camera, except the footage is silent, the audio replaced with subtitles of lines from the U.S. Constitution.

He explains that reality television and his days as a child actor fed his desire to be a performer, but it also made him more aware of his otherness. He recalls going to open casting calls, hoping that the audition description would say “all

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PHOTO: JEFFREY AUGUSTINE SONGCO

“composite” by Jeffrey Augustine Songco, part of Society of 23’s Trophy Game Room

ethnicities welcome.”

“I knew that the word ‘I’ in American culture was not me, and in the stories I was going to perform in and be a part of and share in some production, I was not the protagonist,” says Songco. “It’s always a white guy and white actors, and you’re, like, the friend.”

He sees the Society of 23 as a chance to reimagine narratives where the emphasis would usually be on the “straight, white male as the protagonist.”

SOCIETY OF 23’S TROPHY GAME ROOM Opens Fri., March 12. Continues through mid-November 2021. Mattress Factory.

500 Sampsonia Way, North Side. $10-20.

Free for members. mattress.org

His motivation to deconstruct reality extends beyond television into the country’s current struggles. He says a major part of the installation serves as a “reaction and exploration into what has happened in the last few years, particularly with the Trump administration and how that affected American culture.”

This comes across most prominently in “Great,” a large photograph on vinyl showing the bros wearing red hats and hoisting a trophy.

Through “Great,” Songco says he wanted to examine the meaning of the red

hat, particularly after Jan. 6, 2021, when a crowd of avowed Trump supporters, many wearing signature red MAGA hats, stormed the U.S. Capitol in an attempt to stop the certification of Democratic candidate Joe Biden’s election win.

“I wanted to explore this symbol of the red hat because I think we’re at war with symbols, and we need to make sure we keep symbols fluid but also not allow them to go to dark side,” says Songco, adding, “I don’t want people to be scared of a red hat.”

He says that by providing an opportunity for people to interact with the image, they can go from perhaps being triggered by the initial sight of multiple red hats to looking closer and reinterpreting it. As someone who lives in a swing state like Michigan, which went to Trump in 2016, only to flip for Biden in 2020, Songco says he understands the power of an object that has become so entangled with Trumpism. However, he believes that being allowed to process the emotional response to it could serve as a step towards healing.

“I think I’m playing a lot with people’s expectations of what they are familiar with right now based on what we’ve been fed the last four years,” says Songco.

“And I’m hoping to at least provide some kind of safe space where we can let our guard down and take in all the layers in this installation and arrive at a different meaning.”

Socially-distancing herself but still broadcasting LIVE Every Monday thru Thursday at 10 a.m.

Listen in at lynncullen.pghcitypaper.com

•

Follow senior writer Amanda Waltz on Twitter @AWaltzCP PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER MARCH 10-17, 2021

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CP PHOTO: KAYCEE ORWIG

Feralcat

.MUSIC.

JOYFUL MUSIC

BY KIMBERLY ROONEY 냖㵸蔻 // KIMROONEY@PGHCITYPAPER.COM

A

T FIRST, Pittsburgh-based artist and composer Feralcat didn’t specifically set out to create a playlist celebrating contemporary Black and Brown music artists in the Steel City. But his Spotify playlist — Black (and Brown) Pittsburgh as an ‘outsider’ — does exactly that.

The playlist began as a way to promote his newest single “Anselm the Wise,” which was released in January.

He created the playlist on Feb. 1, but instead of just including his own songs, he decided to add tracks by friends and acquaintances to support and amplify

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PGHCITYPAPER.COM

their talents. While their songs appeared on other playlists, Feralcat hadn’t seen a Black Pittsburgh-specific playlist, so he decided to create one.

“Through my lens, this is what I have seen … either friends of mine, or just artists that I admire locally that are Black or of color,” Feralcat says. “The idea just became, I wanted to make a playlist with friends of mine that also included my own music.”

Feralcat is a saxophonist and composer who came to Pittsburgh from New Jersey in 2011 to study engineering at Carnegie Mellon University. He arrived

in the city as East Liberty’s gentrification was heightening, which compounded his sense of being an outsider since many of the Black Pittsburghers he knows have memories of growing up or spending time in that neighborhood under different circumstances.

“I don’t feel representative of Pittsburgh Blackness,” Feralcat says. “I feel very connected to the city, but at the same time, I feel like the city doesn’t feel connected to me.”

To clarify his relationship to the city, he added “as an outsider” as a disclaimer to the title of the playlist. While he’s

lived in Pittsburgh for nearly 11 years and has adapted to living in the city, he doesn’t want to claim a Pittsburgh identity since, to him, being from Pittsburgh means growing up in the city.

The artists he’s met through performing and producing music in Pittsburgh are a mix of transplants and natives. The more than 50 artists on the playlist also vary in genres — from R&B to rap to rock to electronic — as well as in popularity, as measured by monthly listeners on Spotify. They range from artists like hardcore punk band Killer of Sheep and hip-hop artist Hubbs, both

BLACK AND BROWN PITTSBURGH AS AN ‘OUTSIDER’ tinyurl.com/BlackAndBrownPgh

of whom have about 100 monthly listeners, to artists like soul singer Sierra Sellers with 2,094 monthly listeners, hip-hop and pop artist Brittney Chantele with 15,910, and record label Spillage Village with 1,136,420.

For some of the artists, Feralcat chose from Spotify’s generated list of their top songs. For others, he selected certain songs that felt right for the playlist, admitting, “I’m not much of a curator … I really just did a hodgepodge of artists I can think of.” Compiled together, the songs create a smorgasbord sampler of Pittsburgh’s Black and Brown musicians who swing between genres and aesthetics.

He also made an admittedly “inflammatory” Facebook post about a dearth of Black jazz musicians actively making records, which led to several suggestions for artists to include in his playlist, which he then added. While he hasn’t updated the playlist since then, he says he’s open

to further feedback, with the caveat that he’ll listen and decide for himself whether to include the suggestions.

His playlist description qualifies that “I vibe with all of these tracks,” and he adds, “there’s something that puts [Black artists] out from their white counterparts. It’s very real and visceral to me, like I hear a difference. And it’s not always like, one is good or one is bad. It’s just like … I can hear a certain ‘it’ factor that I want that makes me prefer listening to Black artists sometimes.”

The playlist, as of March 4, has 66 songs and lasts just under four hours.

Many of the artists on the playlist have collaborated with each other, giving the playlist a sense of community within itself. It only has a small following for now, and Feralcat is anxious about keeping up with people’s suggestions if more people start to follow. Still, when asked what he hopes people get out of the playlist, he has a single word: “Joy.”

•

Follow staff writer Kimberly Rooney 냖㵸蔻 on Twitter @kimlypso PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER MARCH 10-17, 2021

19

SEVEN DAYS IN PITTSBURGH

PHOTO: PHIL JOHNSON II

^ Spring Flower Show: Canopy of Color at Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens

THU., MARCH 11 BIRDS • VIRTUAL Learn how science and art complement each other with science writer and naturalist Rosemary Mosco during Cartoons for Conservation: An Evening with Bird and Moon Comics, part of the National Aviary’s Virtual Speaker Series. Mosco is the creator of the Bird and Moon Comics and Charts and Wild City Comics series, which use art to educate about ecology and environmental issues. She will share her professional journey of blending cartoons with science, as well as some of the funny creatures she’s met along the way.

7 p.m. $15. $13 for members. aviary.org

FRI., MARCH 12 HOLIDAY • VIRTUAL Beer, brown bread, balsamic vinegar made from Irish stout. That’s right, it’s

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PGHCITYPAPER.COM

time to celebrate all things Irish during the Shamrock Shindig with Good Taste Pittsburgh. The virtual event comes with tons of goodies — like the aforementioned treats and a customized beer glass from Pittsburgh City Paper (we’re sponsors!) — as well as Irish pastries and candies, not to mention a ticket to the Pittsburgh Irish Festival in September. The shindig also features lessons on how to bake Irish classics and pour proper pints, as well as music from the Whiskey Limericks and bagpiper Ryan Myett. Pick up kits at designated times before the event. 6:30 p.m. $45. goodtastepittsburgh.com

SAT., MARCH 13 MUSIC • VIRTUAL Join the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra for Manfred Honeck Returns, a special night where musical director Honeck conducts the musicians for the first time in over a year. The orchestra will

perform Mozart’s “Serenade No. 6,” and “Tchaikovsky’s Souvenir de Florence,” as well as other classics.

Access to the virtual concert will be available through PSO’s Front Row program, which provides performances from the orchestra while in-person shows remain suspended. 7:30 p.m.

Available for one week. $15. pittsburghsymphony.org

SUN., MARCH 14 ART • IRL BoxHeart Gallery presents A Map & A Key, a show featuring the highly textured paintings and collage work of local artist Tony Cavalline. In his artist statement, Cavalline says he uses organic elements incorporated with “old and found materials such as maps, handwritten notes, and other ephemera.” BoxHeart describes A Map & A Key as recalling a “sensitive boy’s pure and desperate creation of mythology,” posting on its

website that it “speaks to a quiet and insistent longing for magic amid the devastating loss that comes with growing up.” Continues through Fri., April 2. 4523 Liberty Ave., Bloomfield.

Free. boxheartgallery.com

MON., MARCH 15 FLOWERS • IRL In celebration of the coming spring, Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens is hosting a spectacular new show featuring seasonal blooms. Spring Flower Show: Canopy of Color has tens of thousands of spring flowers including hyacinths, petunias, and more, either placed on beds or suspended in the air. Phipps is boasting rain curtains that “cast April showers in the Sunken Garden” and a motorized windmill in the South Conservatory. Timed tickets must be purchased in advance. One Schenley Park, Oakland. $11.95-19.95. phipps.conservatory.org

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^ Manfred Honeck Returns with Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra

TUE., MARCH 16 WED., TALK • VIRTUAL MARCH 17 Fun fact: The oldest site of human habitation in North America is located just an hour from Pittsburgh! The Meadowcroft Rock Shelter & Historic Village is in Washington County, and thanks to the Remarkable Relics: Meadowcroft Rock Shelter, a new virtual event sponsored by several libraries in Allegheny and Washington counties, you don’t even have to leave your home to explore the ancient artifacts of the 19,000 year old shelter. 5-6 p.m. Free. facebook.com/whitehallpubliclibrary

FASHION • VIRTUAL Did you know that the 19th century “plume bloom,” an era when wild birds were hunted to make fancy hats out of their feathers, caused such damage to bird populations that some species nearly went extinct? Did you know that the movement against hunting sparked the creation of the National Audubon Society? Learn about all this and more during In Conversation: Murderous Millinery, a virtual event from the Frick Pittsburgh. 7 p.m. $10. thefrickpittsburgh.org

MUSIC • VIRTUAL The Pittsburgh punk band Bastard Bearded Irishmen is synonymous in the city for its annual St. Patrick’s Day shenanigans, and the band isn’t letting COVID-19 stop them from celebrating again this year. Instead of an in-person concert, the band is hosting a Viral Variety Hour to have some fun and raise money for the Staff Covid Relief Fund of Rex Theater, a South Side music venue which closed in 2020 due to the effects of the pandemic. General admission ticket holders get access to the pre-recorded, hour-long event, featuring a mix of new and old performances from the Bastard Bearded gents (who will be watching the show live virtually along with their fans), plus some “fun surprise elements.” For an even more personal experience, VIP participants get a prepared “take and bake” meal from South Side’s Piper’s Pub (either Shepherd’s pie or Corned beef and cabbage), a band merch package, and more. 8 p.m. $15-85. bastardbeardedirishmen.com •

PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER MARCH 10-17, 2021

21

THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING LOCAL JOURNALISM

NO AND IN SIGHT

BY BRENDAN EMMETT QUIGLEY // BRENDANEMMETTQUIGLEY.COM

Thank you to the following readers who have signed up for Pittsburgh City Paper’s new membership campaign Aaron Aupperlee Aaron Jentzen Abbey Farkas Abby Cook Abby Kuftic Abigail Gardner Abigail Hunter Abigail Noyce Adam Hart Adam Knoerzer Adam Schweigert Adam Shuck Addi Twigg Adeline Lord Al Hoff Alaina Cauchie Alan Cox Alan Sisco Alan Steinberg Albert Presto Alec Magnani Alex Blackman Alex Friedman Alex LaFroscia Alex McCann Alex Walsh Alexandra Hiniker Alexandria Rizzo Alexis Johnson Alison Marchioni Allen Ellis Allison Rowland Amanda Komar Amanda McAllen Amy Bayer Amy Bilkey Amy Hartman Amy Klodowski Amy Loveridge Amy Montgomery Amy Scanlon Amy Walker AmyJo Sanders Andrea Boykowycz Andrea Laurion Andrea Loew Andrea Lynn Andrew Bloomgarden Andrew Brown Andrew Conte Andrew Davis Andrew Hayhurst Andrew Mulkerin Andrew Seymour Andy Collins Andy Faulhaber Andy Mowrey Andy Terrick Angelos Tzelepis Anita Napoli Anna Reilly Anna Samuels Anni Riwen Sweetser Anthony Roscoe April Gilmore April McCann Ariel Zych Arielle Eyers Arla White Arlan Hess Arvind Suresh Ashleigh Bartges Ashley Kenawell Ashley Olinger Barbara Johnson Barbara Valaw Barbara Weaver Becca Tasker Ben Panko Ben Wilson Benjamin Weaver Bennett Aikin Beth Boroumand Beth Newman Beth Nolle Beth Wickerham Bethany Davis Bethany Hallam Bethany Hockenberry Betsy Yates Bill Lazur Bob Heister Brandon Haines Brandy Hadden Breanna Jay Brentin Mock Brett Scruton Brett Yasko Brian Kaleida Brian Kell Brian Kelly Brian Lysell Brian Stoots Brittany Fagan Brittney Chantele Brooke Strosnider Bryan Routledge Caitlin O’Connor Caitlin Virtue Campbell Robertson Cara & Bill Blumenschein Carlin Christy Carol Fraley Carol Pickerine Carolyn Biglow Carolyn Hall Carolyn Regan Carrie Blazina Carrie Roy Cassandra Masters Cassia Priebe Cassidy Turner Catherine Simpson Catherine Straka Cathy Elliott Chad Efaw Chad Vogler Charles Anthony Charles McMichael Chloe Bark Chris Belasco Chris Flyer Chris Gillotti

Chris Ivey Chris Mueller Chris Potter Chris Sichi Chris Watts Chris Whissen Christen Cieslak Christian Resch Christine Dvonch Christopher Briem Christopher Peplin Christopher Perez Christy McGuire Chuck Kowalski Chuck Pascal Cindy Hudson Clare & Dennis Pawloski Cody Schalk Colby King Cole Gleason Coleman Lamb Cortney Bouse Courtney Ehrlichman Cory Mailliard Costa Samaras Cristy Gross Curt Conrad Dan Gardner Dan Kaufmann Dana Bell Dana Estep Dana Farabaugh Daniel Burke Daniel Jacobowitz Daniel Jones Daniel M Crawford Daniel Scullin Daniel Tasse Danielle Walker Danielle Wenner Danika Lagorio Dara Pruszenski David & Catherine Bomstein David Andersen David Boevers David Eckhardt David Eichelberger David Findley David Hartman David Lampe David Newman David Oakley David Pratt Deanna Bucci Debbie Breckenridge Denise Agliori Denise Seiffer Deno De Ciantis Diane Walter Divyansh Kaushik Dominic Campbell Don Pellegrino Donna Harrison Doreen Krut Dorothy Falk Dwight Chambers Eamon Geary Earl Laamanen Ed Ehrlich Ed Giles Ed Wrenn Edward Venator Eileen French Eliana Beigel Elaine Miller Elisabeth McCoy Elise Lavallee Elise Lu Elizabeth Archibald Elizabeth Butler Elizabeth Collura Elizabeth Engelhardt Elizabeth Silver Ellen Cicconi Ellen Doherty Ellen Philips Emilie Yonan Emily Cleath Emily Forney Emily Kiernan Emily Skopov Emily Wolfe Emma Diehl Emma Neely Emma Rehm Erica Warnitsky Erin Kelly Erin Larkin Eva Schlinger Evan DiBiase Evelyn Meinert Finnian Carstens G Ronald Ripper G. Gerben Gabriel Ackman Geo Maroon Geoffrey Hutchison Georgann Jenkins George Kanakis Georgia Crowther Geral Schatten Gillian Kratzer Gina Vensel Gordon Core Greg Carey Greg Kellerman Greg Kochanski Greg Seaman Gregory Nesbitt Gregory Scott Gretchen Swecker Griffin Conley Hal B Klein Hank McAnallen Hannah Diehl Harley Nester Harold Smoliar Heather Slack Heidi Bartholomew Helen Gerhardt Henry Doherty Hobart Webster

Howard Seltman Ian Oman Ian Riggins J. Dale Shoemaker J.J. Abbott Jacob Bacharach Jade Artherhults James Conley James Heinrich James Kiley James Morgan James Saal James Santelli Jamie Piotrowski Janet Lunde Jared Pollock Jasiri X Jason Meer Jay Aronson Jay Walker Jean McClung Jeanne Cobetto Jeff Betten Jeffrey Benzing Jeffrey Brooks Jeffrey Bigham Jeffrey Zahren Jennie Sweet-Cushman Jennifer Reigler Jennifer Shumar Jennifer Strang Jenny Ladd Jeremy Kimmel Jess Williams Jessica Benham Jessica Bevan Jessica Manack Jessica Priselac Jessica Prom Jessica Prucnal Jill Bodnar Jill Harmon JoAnn Zindren Joanne Gilligan Jocelyn Codner Jodi Hirsh Joe D’Alessandro Joe Pasqualetti Joe Wagner Joey Gannon John Bechtold John Berry John Meyer John Oliver John Riggs John Ryan John Wise John Yackovich Jonathan Salmans Jordan Bender Joseph Corrigan Joseph Morrison Joseph Rubenstein Josephine Ulrich Joshua Axelrod Joshua Kiley Joshua Pinter Joshua Pirl Joshua Smith Jude Vachon Judith Hartung Judith Koch Judith Lenz Juli Wright Julia Lee Julia Posteraro Julia Scanlon Julian Routh Julie & Nick Futules Justin Dandoy Justin Krane Justin Matase Justin McVay Justin Nodes Justin Pekular Justin Romano Justin Rossini Kai Gutschow Kara Holsopple Karen Brown Karen Hodes Karen Shepherd Karen Van Dusen Kate Jones Kate Roberts Kate Rosenzweig Katharine Kelleman Katherine Kennedy Katherine Oltmanns Kathleen Heuer Kathryn Feeney Kathy Dax Kathy Woll Katie Damico Katie Hudson Katie Markowski Katie Urich Katy Greulich Kay Brink Kayla Cline Keegan Gibson Keith Bare Keith Recker Kelly Burgess Kelly Hiser Kendra Ross Kenneth Mostern Kevin Gallagher Kevin Jameson Kevin Marpoe Kevin Vickey Khris & Tom McGarity Kim Lyons Kimberly Ressler Kimberly Taylor Krista Wright Kristin Komazec Kristina Marusic Kristopher Olson Kyle Cunningham Kyle Gracey Lady MacBonald Lara Putnam

Larry Lynn Laura Adams Laura Drogowski Laura Everhart Laura Heberton-Shlomchik Laura Hershel Laura Myers Lauren Banka Lauren Lief Lazar Palnick Leah Hoechstetter Lena DeLucia Leo Hsu Lesley Carlin Lesley Rains Leslie Cooley Levon Ritter Liam Lowe Linda Schott Lindsay Forman Lindsay Hagerty Lindsay Wright Lisa Saks Lisa Steinfeld Liz Dewar Liz Hrenda Liz Reid Lois Apple Loretta Deto Lori Delale-O’Connor Lorie Milich Lucas Miller Luke Rifugiato Lynn Cullen Lynne Cherepko Lynne Frank Lynne Hughes Mackenzie Moylan Madelyn Glymour Madison Stubblefield Magda Gangwar Mahita Gajanan Mandy Kivowitz-Delfaver Margaret Buckley Margaret Krauss Margaret Prescott Marjorie Waters Maria Sensi Sellner Marianne Donley Marilyn McCarty Marina Fang Mark Goodman Mark Solomon Mark Westbrook Mark Winer Marlee Brown Mary Briles Mary Guzzetta Mary Russell Maryellen Lammel Matt Adams Matt Dunlap Matt Malarich Matt Moret Matthew Buchholz Matthew Cartier Matthew Demers Matthew Griffin Matthew Hynes Matthew Kroen Matthew Lamberti Maureen Byko Max Garber Max Moclock Megan Brady Megan Fair Megan Winters Melinda Wedde Melissa Kohr Melissa Melewsky Micaela Corn Michael Colaresi Michael Damico Michael Donovan Michael DiGuglielmo Michael Lamb Michael McKinney Michael Shuker Michael Wasson Mike Beattie Mike Kutilek Mike Weis Mimi Forester MJ Holmes Moira Egler Molly Kasperek Molly Toth Morgan Jenkins Nancy Dubensky Nancy Latimer Nate Good Nathan Thompson-Amato Nathaniel Feuerstein Neil Bhaerman Neil Owen Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh Nicholas Gliozzi Nichole Remmert Nicole Connor Nick Goodfellow Nick Honkaal Nick Malawskey Nikki Walton Noah Theriault Norma Bronder Office of Public Art Olie Bennett Guarino Olivia Enders Olivia Tucker Olivia Zane Ollie Gratzinger Paolo Pedercini Patricia DeMarco Patricia Oliver Patrick Conneely Patrick Kelley Patty Delaney Paul Hertneky Paul McGowan Paula Majersky Peter McKay Peter Mudge

Peter Reichl Rachael Hopkins Rachel Belloma Bonnet Rachel Busch Rachel Dalton Rachel Tiche Rachelle Haynik Rainy Sinclair Randall Baumann Randy Gowat Randy Sargent Raymond Kozlowski Raymond Leech Raymond Martin Rebecca Boyer Rebecca Ciez Rebecca Seibel Regina Connolly Regina Yankie Rich Lord Richard Kress Richelle Meer Rick D’Loss Rob Rossi Robert & Erin Blussick Robert Baird Robert Davis Robert Jauquet Robert Lang Robert McKnight Robert Nishikawa Robert Raczka Robert Sage Robin Bolea Ron Vodenichar Rosemary Mendel Ross Reilly Rossilynne Culgan Ruth Craig Ryan Rydzewski Ryan Warsing Samantha Ritzer Samantha Wire Sam Barrett Samuel Boswell Sara Innamorato Sara Simon Sara Zullo Sarah Birmingham Sarah Cassella Sarah Hamm Sarah Paul Sarah Pearman Sarah Peterson Sarah Sewall Sarah Sprague Sarah Vernau Sarah Wiggin Scott Bricker Sean Bailey Sean Collier Sean ODonnell Selene Wartell Shanna Carrick Shannon Kelly Sharee Stout Shawn Cooke Shawn Melvin Sherri Suppa Shirlie Mae Choe Siena Kane Slava Starikov Smitha Prasadh Stacey Campbell Stacey Federoff Stephanie Sedor Stephanie Wein Stephen Riccardi Stephen Wagner Steve Felix Steve Holz Steven Haines Stuart Strickland Sue Kerr Susan Caplan Susan Hawkins Susan Jackson Susan Rogers Susan Smith Susan Speicher Suzanne Kafantaris Sylvain Goyette Taia Pandolfi Tammy Schuey Tara Spence Tara Zeigler Tasha Eakin Ted Schroeder Tereneh Idia Terry Bicehouse Terry Peters Timons Esaias Tina Shackleford Tobin Seastedt Todd Derr Tom Samuel Toni Haraldsen Tracy Travaglio Travis Hefner Trenton Tabor Trevor Baumel Trey Mason Tyler Bickford Tyler McAndrew Uwe Stender Valerie Moore Vicki Cunningham Victoria Donahoe Virginia Alvino Young Will Bernstein Will Halim Will Simmons William Doran William Fulmer William J Schoy IV William Lovas William Maruca William O’Driscoll Yonatan Bisk Zack Tanner

NO NEWS IS BAD NEWS

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ACROSS 1. Job for a nearly retired Ranger, maybe 6. Ninny 10. Pulls back 14. Land ruled by Pontius Pilate 15. Creole veggie 16. Minari star ___ S. Kim 17. Very tiny candy?

19. Large Asian desert 20. Stinky 21. Easy-toswallow pill 23. Hurt boxer’s cry?

26. Ex follower 27. Like many a charitable race 28. Butcher’s tool 30. Turkish cream 31. Third number in the Fibonacci sequence 34. “Boy howdy!”

35. Scrunch up a necklace?

37. Crime scene investigators: Abbr.

38. Hot Buttered Soul soul man 39. Imperfections airbrushed from yearbook photos 40. Noise that ensures a vault is secure?

42. “___ Don’t Lose That Number” 43. Hilton

Hotels subsidiary 44. Programmer’s creation 45. Sprang (up), as tears 46. Brings home, as some cash crops 48. Launch, as a softball question 49. It might be named after a political happening 50. Handouts at some 27-Acrosses 52. Place to debate 54. Saint-Exupéry Airport city 55. Do some polling on candidates least likely to win?

60. Masterwork 61. A pop 62. Show advertiser 63. Left on the map 64. Some breads 65. Like dive bars

DOWN 1. Record players 2. “What’s that?”

3. [Points to self, raises hand] “Me!” 4. Foam toy company 5. ___ drug 6. Station to Station singer 7. Approved 8. It’s mined, all mined 9. Young women

who pick things up around home?

10. USA symbol 11. NFL linesman’s job?

12. Cake with rum and currants 13. Make delicate cuts 18. It borders Hades 22. Med mission 23. Surrounded by 24. You might get one with embarrassment or from a sunburn 25. Skip meals and have a bad attitude about it?

27. Sent in, as one’s taxes 29. Zap in defense 30. Actress KiKi of

Coming 2 America 32. Flirt 33. Upstate New York people 35. Modem units 36. Hard rain 38. Baller 41. “Leave me alone!”

42. Snubs 45. Toil at it 47. Young’s accounting partner 48. Scottish bodies of water 50. Taking one’s time 51. PR goal 52. Look directly at 53. Fitbit measurement 56. Light beam 57. Here’s looking at you, kid 58. Did a tour?

59. Towel off LAST WEEK’S ANSWERS

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SOFTWARE ARCHITECT

SENIOR ANALYST, BUSINESS SYSTEMS

ORACLE LEAD BUSINESS SYSTEMS ANALYST

IN The Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania: No. GD-21-001636, In re petition of Kristina Suzanne Arndt parent and legal guardian of Elaine Grace Arndt-DeRossitt and Arya Suzabell Arndt-DeRossitt for change of name to Elaine Grace Arndt and Arya Suzabell Arndt.

To all persons interested: Notice is hereby given that an order of said Court authorized the filing of said petition and fixed the 15th day of April, 2021, 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.

Matthews International Corporation seeks a Software Architect in Pittsburgh, PA, to be responsible for analyzing, designing, and developing software applications using various SharePoint/ Office 365 architecture.

Apply at: https://www.matw.com/

WESCO Distribution, Inc. is seeking a Senior Analyst, Business Systems (“Analyst”) to work in Pittsburgh, PA. The Analyst will be responsible for developing architecture/ design requirements & specifications from business needs, support creation of to-be flows, configuration sheets, specification documents, fit gap analysis documentation, & define/ review detailed functional/ process, infrastructure, security design. Apply at: www.wesco.com

WESCO Distribution, Inc. is seeking an Oracle Lead Business Systems Analyst (“Analyst”) to work in Pittsburgh, PA. The Analyst will be responsible for analyzing current business processes and redesign them to achieve substantial improvements in its performance, productivity, and quality. Apply at: www.wesco.com

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ADVERTISEMENT FOR BIDS Sealed proposals shall be deposited at the Administration Building, Bellefield Entrance Lobby, 341 South Bellefield Avenue, Pittsburgh, Pa., 15213, on March 16,

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2021, until 2:00 P.M., local prevailing time for:

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We are an equal rights and opportunity school district.

HELP HEal all WITH NO JUDGEMENT

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• ALL INSURANCES ACCEPTED • WALK INS WELCOME • tRANSPORATION PROGRAM • NO INSURANCE? WE CAN HELP North Shore - 127 Anderson Street - Suite 101 Timber Court Building, PIttsburgh, PA 15212 Phone: (412) 322-4151 washington, pa - 95 Leonard Avenue Suite 203, Washington PA 15301 Phone: (724) 249-2517 beaver county - 2360 hospital drive Suite 1, aliquippa, pa 15001 Phone: (724)707-1155 Erie - 3104 State Street, Erie, PA 16508 PHONE: (814) 619-4009

PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER MARCH 10-17, 2021

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