Protesters lit an effigy of Michael Knowles ahead of a debate on Pitt’s campus where the right-wing pundit discussed “transgenderism” with gay libertarian commentator Brad Polumbo on Tue., April 18.
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BY JAMIE WIGGAN AND ELIZABETH PERRY // JAMIE@PGHCITYPAPER.COM
IT’S A BIG YEAR for father and son politicos Mel and John Weinstein the elder is coming up on his 50th year in power, and the younger is running for the top spot in county politics. John was 9 years old when his father first ran for Kennedy Township commissioner in 1973. The thrill of campaigning seized the youngest Weinstein child, who shadowed his dad around the trail, stuffing envelopes and greeting voters.
“From that point on, [John] was right at my side,” Mel recalls. “He was like my tail.”
Mel finished that race on top and knocked out an incumbent to secure a seat on the township’s five member board, where he served for several decades before switching roles to treasurer and tax collector.
After arriving in office, the former steel executive says he was quickly disillusioned by his colleagues’ lack of business know-how. He instituted management reforms, and as each election cycle rolled around, he challenged his former running mates with hand picks he felt were better suited to the task of local government.
Weinstein rose up quickly, earning the board president’s gavel within two years, but he continued feuding with rivals for about a decade until his faction won out.
“I knew I was making some enemies,” he says of the period. “From that time on it was Mel Weinstein and company.”
Fifty years later, John, his former shadow, is the current Allegheny County treasurer and the frontrunner in a heated contest to succeed outgoing Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald. Mel remains the top powerbroker in the West Hills suburb of about 9,000 where both
live in neighboring homes on a quiet cul-de-sac.
At 84, Mel, tall and wiry, still embodies much of the youthful “athlete” he describes in his 1956 high school yearbook. He speaks slowly and hoarsely, but with an understated force that doesn’t alter when he’s agitated or angry.
John, meanwhile, is shorter and less angular. He talks with energy and alacrity, and his polished phrasing suggests years of public relations training.
John says he wouldn’t be where he is without the example of his father — his “best friend,” as well as a crucial mentor and sounding board.
“I spend a lot of time talking with him, and talking about ideas and initiatives and things like that,” John says. “And I’ve learned so much from him over the past 50 years that he’s been in office.”
For father and son alike, the ascent through local politics has garnered loyal supporters as well as some fierce enemies. John set out his bid for
Allegheny County executive during a packed launch party early January where a swarm of strategists, labor leaders, and wealthy donors parted with a suggested $1,000 cover fee to gain admittance. By then, he already commanded a formidable campaign chest from years of fundraising, and in the following months, he consolidated his frontrunner status as endorsements trickled in from powerful unions and party committees.
But since picking up the county’s Democratic Party endorsement in March, his campaign has taken a battering from local media.
Among the more pointed accusations, reporting in early March claimed John was removed from the board of environmental organization ALCOSAN amid an FBI investigation, and subsequently sought to strike a “secret deal” with an allied politician to regain his position there.
During the same week, he was also identified in a corruption lawsuit for
“Why would Mel Weinstein want to serve 50 years in a community he loves so much? ... It’s in those words, ‘a community he loves so much.’”
supporting the campaign of a judge who now employs his stepson and another close associate. Subsequent reports have since surfaced criticizing his campaign spending and other aspects of his 24 years in public office.
John was quick to denounce these accounts in a statement, where he labeled them together as “rumors, outright falsehoods, and innuendos slung by competitors.” During an interview for this story, he suggested the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, which broke the reports on ALCOSAN and the alleged deal-making, was retaliating for his union support while the paper is embroiled in a six-month labor strike.
The Post-Gazette has qualified its reporting with the acknowledgement that, “Mr. Weinstein has not been charged with any wrongdoing or publicly identified as the subject of any investigation.”
Mel, no stranger to critical media
coverage, says he primed his son for some kind of backlash but was unprepared for the protracted scrutiny.
“When he started, I said ‘John, you need to run a positive campaign … now beware because you’re going to have people out there who look for dirt,’” he says. “I never thought that they would reach as low as they have — and they have reached low.”
Mel is spry and alert for his 84 years. He awakens each morning at 5:30 a.m. and says a prayer before setting to township business. Every day brings upward of 80 emails and 20 voicemails, he says.
Fueling this work ethic is, in Mel’s words, an abiding love for the community he’s called home for nearly six decades.
“Why would Mel Weinstein want to serve 50 years in a community he loves so much?” he asks of himself. “It’s in those words, ‘a community he loves so much.’”
As elected tax collector and appointed treasurer, Mel wields less formal power than Manager Greg Clarke, but his influence looms over all township affairs — not least in the naming of the Mel Weinstein Municipal Center, the township’s formal place of business.
He opens each monthly board meeting with a prayerful invocation, and during the business portions that follow, commissioners gush with praise about Mel’s leadership and achievements. Dissension is rarely seen among the five members.
With a political structure built around one man without an obvious successor, Mel says the fate of the community beyond his watch “keeps me up at night.”
“My greatest fear is leaving,” he says. “And someday I’m going to have to.”
Not everyone appreciates his level of influence, though.
Starting in the late 1990s, a group of residents formed the Kennedy Township Committee for Community Awareness. What started as an organization to stop a housing development from being built in Kennedy later shifted to a focus on bringing transparency to local government.
During the height of their movement, two former members, Colleen McMillan and Margie Parent, raised voter fraud allegations over discrepancies in the 1997 election. The Allegheny County Board of Elections investigated the claims and presented evidence of voter fraud to the district attorney that allegedly implicated Mel and John, but charges were never brought.
Margie’s son, Kevin Parent, once a member of the committee, says at the time he was frustrated by the lack of dissension, and the lock-step consensus among the board.
“Nothing changes. You’ll get new faces on the board, [but] have you ever heard an argument?” Kevin Parent asks.
Mel counters that the loyalty shown by commissioners reflects his astute leadership.
“Everybody I brought in agreed with me,” he says.
When, two decades ago, she was active in local Kennedy politics, McMillan would get regular emails complaining about Mel’s dominance, she says.
“They wanted you to fight their battles. When I said ‘why don’t you just go to the meetings yourself,’ they’d say, ‘I might need Mel for something,’” McMillan says. “Because you’re fearful, you’re giving him the power. Because you’re not willing to stand up, you’re giving him more power.”
Mel says the critics come with the territory.
“You’re always going to have the
naysayers,” he says. “They killed Jesus, come on.”
John disputes any suggestion that his father is feared among the community, saying instead his power stems from generosity and public service.
Characteristic of this neighborly devotion, Mel says he attended 59 funerals last year. The year before, he went to 78.
“Because I touch so many people’s lives,” he says. “And John is the same way.”
Campaign records show funeral flowers and related items are a regular expense of the Kennedy Township Democratic Committee campaign fund that Mel chairs. This, according to ethics experts, isn’t illegal, but locals say it reflects a familiar mode of old school politics.
votes in return.
Mel has also been known to give out food baskets at holidays to residents and township employees. During a recent municipal meeting where he addressed critical coverage from a local newspaper, he brandished a wad of letters and cards he’d received from satisfied residents over the years.
“These are all thank yous,” he said. “Thank yous for what we’ve done, thank yous for how we’ve helped someone.”
“I think he’s influential because of how he treats people and the results that he produces.”
Former McKees Rocks mayor David Hershman, who maintained power from 1944 to 1968, set a defining tone in local politics that, some say, spilled over into surrounding communities. Hershman ran a tight political machine and was known for helping out residents when he could with store credit and other assistance, but he expected loyalty and
Not everyone in town, though, is quite so enamored.
During the 1999 primary election, Mel was accused of being inside the voting site while the polls were open. Poll Worker Bonnie Parent, daughter-in-law of Margie Parent, reportedly asked him to leave.
According to a contemporary report from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Mel said she called him a vulgar name.
“You’re always going to have the naysayers,” he says. “They killed Jesus, come on.”CP PHOTOS: JARED WICKERHAM Mel Weinstein brandishes letters of support after addressing critical news coverage during a township meeting. LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON, CONTINUES ON PG. 8
Around the same time, Margie Parent says she insulted John’s educational background at a public meeting.
Bonnie and Margie Parent both received summons after the incidents, which would have carried a $350 fine each, but the charges were later dropped.
Kevin Parent said his family suffered, both from the incidents involving the summons and the lack of action after the ballot investigation. He no longer participates in Kennedy politics.
Against the critics, Mel and his peers say the township’s low tax rates, public parks, and well maintained roads speak only of his devoted public service.
“We’re talking about a gentleman who has been here serving Kennedy township for 50 years,” Commissioner Fred Kauffman said during a recent public meeting. “And when you look up and down, it’s gonna be pretty tough for you to tell which that person is, but I want to tell you, if you don’t know, it’s Mr. Weinstein.”
John began his career at a trucking firm in Beaver County where his father knew the owner. He was laid off after several years during a contraction and
took a job in the county treasurer’s office in 1991.
Seven years later, he made his own run for treasurer. He won office and has secured reelection five times. He credits his father for the leg up.
“The base that I had was from Kennedy Township and from the western suburbs,” John says. “It was my dad that afforded that opportunity.”
In a crowded field of county executive candidates, John is touting his decades of political experience and a pragmatic moderate message under which he hopes to unite the county.
He says the recent scrutiny has only made him more determined to take the reins of county government — a goal now brought into focus by a vision of the future he hopes to leave for his children.
“My father has been my entire inspiration for my career,” John says. “Now, shifting gears, going from the treasurer’s office to the executive’s office, that has come to me from my kids. I have twins, I have a little boy and a little girl. They’re my whole life, and they have motivated me to run for this job.” •
“Because I touch so many people’s lives ... And John is the same way.”CP PHOTO: JARED WICKERHAM
THERE IS A WAR being waged inside Riverview Park, and the aggressor is more adorable than you can imagine.
Graceful, yet skittish, with big eyes and voracious appetites, the deer that live in Pittsburgh’s parks and green spaces are eating their way toward ecological disaster. And with recent winters being milder, and no natural predators in their urban oases, the deer populations are only growing faster and more unfettered.
While this problem is not necessarily new, it does, at the very least, appear to be approaching a tipping point, after which it will become nearly impossible to keep them from living, eating, and
breeding in our parks and neighborhoods, and wiping out our urban forests as we know them.
“High populations of deer can have severe and long-lasting impacts on our urban forest’s ecosystem,” Alana Wenk, director of advancement at the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy, tells Pittsburgh City Paper
The deer in the city’s parks, including Riverview, are causing a couple of big problems, according to Wenk.
“Deer typically cause physical damage through two primary mechanisms: direct browsing, which is the eating of leaves and new growth, and buck rubbing, which is tree damage from bucks rubbing
their antlers on small trees during the mating season,” Wenk says. “This damage reduces the ability of forests to regenerate.”
According to retired University of Pittsburgh professor Dr. Walter Carson, who has studied deer and their negative effects on forest ecologies for decades, the issue is widespread.
“This is a problem nationwide,” he tells City Paper . “But deer have been overabundant in Pittsburgh, most likely, for a long time. The Pennsylvania Game Commission used to have a thing they called the ‘Game News,’ and in 1960, they had an issue entirely devoted to the deer problem.”
“High populations of deer can have severe and long-lasting impacts on our urban forest’s ecosystem”
— Alana Wenk, director of advancement at the Pittsburgh Parks ConservancyCP PHOTO: JARED WICKERHAM
Having browsed and eaten many of their favorite species to the point where they are no longer available, the deer in Riverview Park are looking elsewhere to feed their appetites. Unfortunately for local residents, that often means that the deer end up in yards, feasting on flowers and gardens.
Alison Keating, a member of Friends of Riverview Park, a volunteer commit tee that works with the city and the Parks Conservancy to advocate for the park, agrees.
Keating, who lives in Manchester, says she joined the group after observing the deer in greater numbers, and recognizing that they cause a danger for motorists.
“Someone in our group asked animal control how many dead deer they’ve been picking up,” Keating tells the number is getting bigger and bigger. The number has been around 500 a year for the last couple of years. The majority of those are hit by cars.”
Keating says that 500 is a “good esti mate” for how many deer need to be removed from the park to start to control the population.
She said Friends of Riverview Park is working to do research and enlist public citizens, as well as community leaders to try to come up with solutions to control the deer population.
In a February 2022 episode of its podcast, “For the Love of Parks,” the Parks Conservancy explored the deer problem in Riverview Park at length, offering up an interesting look at how the population has gotten so out of control.
“It’s tempting to think that deer are only in urban centers because we’ve destroyed their natural habitat, says podcast host Camila Rivera-Tinsley, a
former director at Frick Environmental Center and current CEO of the Women and Girls Foundation of Southwestern PA. The assumption is that “as we build more condos and office parks in what used to be the far suburbs, deer are forced into the city and into the parks. But that’s not true. What’s more accurate is that wildlife is like water. It finds the cracks and seeps in. If you let it, it will take over. We haven’t destroyed the deer’s habitat. We’ve perfected it. They have no natural predators, and a lot to eat.”
Warming temperatures only cause more problems for the forest ecosystems when it comes to deer.
“Climate change is going to exacerbate the problem,” Carson says. “When we get a really hard winter, especially two years in a row, a lot of deer die, but that’s not happening anymore. Or at least it’s not common.”
Carson says it might be too late to fix the crisis he and his colleagues have worked for decades to prevent, citing a recent conversation with U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service research ecologist Alex Royo.
“Alex recently told me he’s in his mid-50s he said, ‘Walt, I don’t even like to talk about the deer problem anymore. I’ve been giving talks about the deer problem for 25 years and we’ve gained no traction.’”
Keating echoed that sentiment.
“It’s really hard to do something about a situation you’re completely ignoring,” she says.
Requests for comment from the City of Pittsburgh and the office of Mayor Ed Gainey were not answered.
City Councilman Bobby Wilson, who represents District 1, said he’s heard from constituents about the deer in Riverview Park, but he’s still unsure what, if anything, is a reasonable solution to controlling the population.
"... wildlife is like water. It finds the cracks and seeps in. If you let it, it will take over. We haven’t destroyed the deer’s habitat. We’ve perfected it. They have no natural predators, and a lot to eat.” — Camila Rivera-Tinsley, host of podcast "For the Love of Parks"
As the deer population gets larger, there are a number of ways to try to mitigate its damaging consequences.
For instance, the Parks Conservancy is using fencing and tree tubes to keep the deer from browsing growth and tree saplings. The group has also installed deer fences in some parks to keep deer out of areas where the group is attempting to perform forest and habitat restoration.
However, these efforts only focus on protecting small parts of the parks, and don’t address the broader problem of overpopulation.
Most experts agree it doesn’t make sense to introduce a new predator into city parks. (Wolves, bears, or bobcats running alongside mountain bikers and joggers? Not happening.) Sterilization is another idea, but it is expensive. A 2011 report by the New York Department of Environmental Conservation said the average cost of sterilization is about $1,200 per deer. A 2019 report from Ann Arbor, Mich. had similar findings, reporting costs as high as $1,500 per deer.
One solution, while wildly unpopular in residential areas, is to cull the deer, or allow sharpshooters and archers to hunt
deer in Pittsburgh parks.
It’s an idea that comes with controversy and a lot of strings attached.
“This is a problem that is virtually intractable for multiple reasons,” Carson tells CP. “The first is, you’re going to have to kill a lot of deer. And there are going to be some people who lose their minds. Imagine you like the deer, and you feed the deer and someone says they are bringing in hired guns, using, basically sniper weapons? That’s not going over well.
“And deer reproduce. Rapidly. So you’re going to have to do that year after year after year after year. This is expensive to do. Now, you might be able to bring in bow hunters, because you can’t be unloading guns in neighborhoods. So you bring in bow hunters. Now, imagine the first time a bow hunter doesn’t [hit the deer] in the heart. And the deer runs into the neighbor’s yard and bleeds out right there. And brings the bow hunter out of the woods to get his deer. Imagine that scenario for people who may not understand hunting.”
Carson says that grizzly scenario is just one example of how things could go
wrong. Ultimately, he fears the damage may have already been done.
“Because deer have overbrowsed both urban and rural forests for 30, 40, 50, 60 years … anything the deer likes to eat is gone,” Carson says. “Now they mosey into our neighborhoods, because we plant our gardens.”
Carson says that, from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan down to Georgia, out-of-control deer populations have overeaten native species to the point of destruction, making way for more exotic shrub species that the deer refuse to eat, and throwing our forest ecosystems out of whack.
“You can bring deer numbers down, but if you do, where are those native species supposed to come back from?”
According to Carson, in 2001, the Pennsylvania Game Commission, recognizing there was a deer problem, built and maintained fences in the Allegheny National Forest.
“Over the last six or seven years, we went in and studied what happens when you remove deer for 20 years,” Dr. Carson says. “No plants came back. Because species that the deer like to eat are gone.”
When asked for his take on the future, Carson is not optimistic.
“A collapse of our urban forests,” he says. “In my view, it’s a fait accompli. The deer have been overabundant for 50 plus years, and the invasive species are taking over.”
Now, a collapse doesn’t mean the forest is going to be replaced with a giant smoking crater. Rather, it’s just going to become unfamiliar to us over time.
Carson describes a hypothetical scenario where deer browse on tree saplings, which will cause a slowing of new tree growth. In turn, the forest floor becomes covered not with new trees, but with nonnative shrubbery that the deer won’t eat. Eventually, mature trees will die and fall over, giving more sunlight to the shrub, which will continue to take over the floor, essentially choking out any native growth.
The end result is no longer a tree covered forest, but a giant field of invasive, exotic shrubbery.
“Something will be there,” he said. “The green space isn’t just going to disappear. But it’s very likely that it will be completely unrecognizable from what we’ve known. It will no longer be the forest as we know it.” •
THE LAST THING you want is to accidentally chop off a finger. Whether you are a skilled craftsman or just starting out, learning to use tools safely is paramount. Maker spaces are great resources for anyone with a project, whether it’s for home improvement, an artistic venture, or simply learning to craft and use power tools safely. These spaces share appliances and educational classes, many with memberships that foster a community of people who love to make things. Here’s our list of the best maker spaces in Pittsburgh.
214 N Trenton Ave, Point Breeze. protohaven.org
Protohaven offers a host of tools and classes from woodworking to blacksmithing. They are the largest maker space in Pittsburgh for design and fabrication, with all the tools you can possibly imagine. Members get access to the space from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. with shop techs available to assist in using the equipment. Have a project but don’t have the time or skill to do it alone? Protohaven shop techs can teach you to use the tools, or will share your project in their Discord community and see if anyone is available to work as a contractor.
1936 Fifth Ave, Uptown. hackpgh.org
Hack has many of the tools that most people may need, from fabrication tools to spare electronic parts, but it’s also a great place to make friends, if that’s your thing. Hack builds community through bi-monthly member meetups and game nights where folks can hang out and play board or card games. Additionally, members get 24/7 access to the space and equipment, discounts on Hack classes, and field trips with other members to events like maker fairs. Their classes range from electronic hardware to soft fabric arts to welding.
– Woodshop (power and hand tools)
– 3D printers
– Laser cutters
– Metalworking (blacksmithing forge, welder, grinder, drill press, sheet metal tools, sandblaster, etc.)
– Jewelry (cleaner, polisher, pickle, tumbler, torch, etc.)
– Plastic working tools
– CNC Mill
– Electronics (hardware, soldering)
– Fabric Arts (sewing machines, embroidery, etc.)
– Graphics (printers, vinyl cutter, heat press)
– And more
– Woodshop (power and hand tools)
– 3D printers
– Laser cutters
– Metalworking (welder, manual drill mill, and metal lathe)
– CNC Mill
– Electronic (hardware, soldering iron, desoldering iron, etc.)
– Fabric Arts (sewing machines)
– Graphics (vinyl cutter, plotter, laminator)
460 Melwood #208, North Oakland. prototypepgh.org
Makers aren’t always in it for the hobby. Some have career aspirations, and if that’s you, Prototype PGH might be your spot. Not only is it a great, smaller space with a variety of hand tools, printers, and cutters, Prototype PGH also has an incubator program where selected participants have free access to the space, workshops, and other support systems helping people to start new businesses. Members of Prototype PGH have 24/7 access to the space and equipment. Additionally, the space often hosts workshops and events including training on the tools, programming help, and even writing workshops.
– Hand tools
– Laser Cutter
– Electronic (soldering irons, Arduino boards)
– Fabric Arts (sewing machine, screen printing, hat press and t-shirt heat press)
– Graphics (printer, vinyl cutter, button maker)
Carnegie Science Center. One Allegheny Ave. North Side. carnegiesciencecenter.org/ stem-center/fablab/
Start ‘em young, they say, and in Pittsburgh, you can. Fab Lab has both introductory classes for kids and FreeFlow Fridays, where the Fab Lab is open to ages 8 and up for those trained on their tools. Free-Flow Fridays are free but advance registration is necessary and materials are an additional cost.
– 3D printers and 3D pens
– Laser cutters
– Electronics (computers, software, VR, robotics, etc.)
– CNC mill
– Fabric Arts (sewing and embroidery machines)
– Graphics (vinyl cutter)
6 Allegheny Sq. East, North Side. museumlab.org
The Children’s Museum has a few different types of maker areas, all STEAMfocused and included with museum admission. They also offer workshops, afterschool programs, and camps for kids of all ages.
– Woodshop (hand tools)
– 3D printers
– Laser cutter
– Electronic (circuitry, soldering, small appliances)
– Fabric Arts (sewing machine, loom weaving)
– Graphics (vinyl cutter)
(for middle school ages, comprised of MakeLab and TechLab):
– Woodshop (table saw)
– Laser cutter
– Metalworking Studio (metal stamp, enameling, soldering, pewter casting)
– Fabric Arts (rug tufting machine, embroidery machine)
– Art and craft supplies
4824 Penn Ave, Garfield. assemblepgh.org
While Assemble has something for all ages from grades k-12 to adults 21+ their most extensive programming lies in their afterschool and summer day camps.
From
Learning Parties, Assemble seeks to make an inclusive space for kids. Day camps at Assemble are free for Garfield residents, and all afterschool programming is free.
Inside the Galleria Mt. Lebanon. 1500 Washington Rd Suite 2401, Mt. Lebanon. creationlabs.us
This dedicated 3D printing lab will assist you with every aspect of a 3D printing project, from learning the software to buying printing filament of every color in the rainbow. If you have a 3D file ready to print, stop by this shop inside the Galleria at Mt. Lebanon or send it ahead online.
– 3D printers
– Laser cutter
1747 Chislett Street, Morningside. cutandsewstudio.com
Cut and Sew Studio and Firecracker Fabrics share a space where you can find fabrics, sewing materials, patterns, and tools that will inspire your next project. Their sewing machines are available during open studio hours, and they have classes for both adults and kids who wish to learn sewing techniques. Classes provide a range of new skills from quilting to serging basics and even how to follow patterns.
– Fabric Arts (sewing machines)
– Hand tools
– 3D printers
– Laser cutter
– Electronics (computers and basic electrical kits)
– Art and craft supplies
YOU’VE DEFINITELY seen it before while cruising down Penn Avenue towards Wilkinsburg: the dusty brown Buick Rendezvous parked in the rightmost lane of traffic in front of the Evergreen Cafe. Now, you might have simply rolled your eyes and shifted over into the other lane without thinking twice — but there are plenty of people who appear to have developed a unique form of psychosis from seeing the car sitting there over the years.
Case in point: when a Pittsburgh Reddit post about the controversial spot made its way to Instagram, it yielded more than 300 comments.
On one side, the angry and despairing: “Fuck this car.” “This car ruined my afternoon.” “This car has been the bane of my existence for 10 years.” On the other side,
those declaring themselves true yinzers: “Did you just move here? They’ve been parking in front of that bar forever.” “That car has earned the right to princess park.
A quick disclaimer: while I’m no yinzer (I grew up in North Carolina), I have family connections to Pittsburgh that just so happen to intersect with the
I heard about the Evergreen at family gatherings long before I ever visited the bar myself — something I only managed this year after moving around the corner from it.
Over Mexican food (in 2019, local food truck Taquito’s took over the Evergreen’s kitchen) and a beer at the bar, I asked Phil about the Evergreen’s family history. The bar has been in Point Breeze since 1933, when it was relocated from Wilkinsburg after Prohibition was lifted, since Wilkinsburg remained a dry municipality.
If you’re from here you just know to ride in the left lane here. Respect!”
I headed over to the Evergreen with the hopes of setting the record straight.
Point Breeze bar. Phil Bacharach, the Evergreen’s owner, is my uncle’s brother. (Phil’s brother, Paul, is married to my dad’s sister. If you’re reading this, hi Aunt Val!)
“My dad bought it off a guy named Joe Stein in the ‘50s,” he explains. “My dad had a partner, but his partner liked the drink a little more than he should. My dad said ‘One of us has to run this, and I can’t do it.’ But the guy said, ‘I think it’s better if you take it.’ So my dad bought him out.”
Phil is one of five brothers, who all
“They’d call the police station, the police would come and would go ‘whose car is this?’ ‘It’s mine.’ ‘Well, why’d you park there?’ I said, ‘Because I can park there until 2:30.’”CP PHOTO: HANNAH KINNEY-KOBRE Phil Bacharach's car parked outside the Evergreen Cafe
came and cleaned up before we went to high school, one of us, for $20 a week. You know, that was good money in the ‘70s,” he says. “But I’ve been working here ever since. I was gonna go to culinary school, but I went on a vacation instead and ended up here.”
When asked about how long he’s parked in front of the bar, he tells me it’s been “ever since I had a car when I was 16. I’m 65, so it’s been a while.” Over the years, people have made their displeasure with the parking situation evident: they’ve called the bar to complain, come inside the bar to complain, hassled people leaving the bar about it, and even called the police over the spot.
“It was hilarious,” Phil says, reenacting a typical exchange. “They’d call the police station, the police would come and would
go ‘whose car is this?’ ‘It’s mine.’ ‘Well, why’d you park there?’ I said, ‘Because I can park there until 2:30.’” He’d point them to the sign in front of the bar saying as much. “They quit coming because the commander I guess realized, ‘Why am I sending guys here?’”
And he is right — the sign posted in front of the Evergreen only prohibits parking there between 2:30 p.m. and 6
p.m., and only Monday through Friday. As Phil points out, it’s not like the legal parking in this town is particularly logical anyways. “It’s just the way it is,” he muses. “I don’t like a lot of things in this city, too.”
While my family ties have probably tipped you off to my bias (as a local journalist? Perish the thought!), I will say that the Evergreen is a kind of perfect dive even if you bear no relation to it at all. It’s
and the kind of incoherent decor that’s the result of slow accumulation — something newer bars try their best to emulate as a way of evoking an authenticity they hope will make up for expensive drink menus only available via QR code.
There’s a large inflatable Corona Light hanging out on one of the radiators next to an old cigarette machine still stocked with packs of smokes. Family photos hang on the back wall, including one of Phil’s father, Fritz — the original owner of the bar — in uniform during World War II. A cut-out of John Wayne hangs out against the wall of one of the booths, paying homage to Phil’s mother Lena, who had a wall in her house dedicated to the star of many excellent John Ford Westerns.
But Phil’s car, stubbornly parked out front for almost half a century, remains
But Phil’s car, stubbornly parked out front for almost half a century, remains the best known monument to the family-owned bar’s history — despite the price he’s paid for it in auto repairs.CP PHOTO: HANNAH KINNEY-KOBRE Phil Bacharach bartending
the best known monument to the familyowned bar’s history — despite the price he’s paid for it in auto repairs.
Phil estimates that his cars have been hit upwards of 10 times over the years — mostly by either drunk drivers or people who simply aren’t paying attention. “Sometimes there’s somebody behind my car on her phone, looking at shit on there, for minutes,” he says. “They’ve even started honking and without realizing that the car’s parked.”
He assures me that no one’s ever been hurt, and seems to take the hits in stride. “One girl hit one of my cars a long time ago, young kid, probably in her 20s.” He went outside and saw that her car was smoking. “I told her to get out of the car, but she goes ‘I gotta find my phone!’ I said, ‘No, get out of the car. I’ll get your phone, the car is on fire.’” He helped her out and brought her inside the bar, unharmed. “Her mother called me the next day and thanked me for being nice to her,” he says.
At this point in the story, he gets a
conspiratorial twinkle in his eye. “But I’m thinking, I hated that car. It was like a year, a year-and-a-half old. Honda Odyssey minivan, worst car I ever bought in my life. People love ‘em, but it was the worst … This girl totaled it with a Honda Civic and knocked it from here almost to the corner.”
He pauses for a second, and then laughs and tells me: “I should have sent her flowers for totalling the car. I got enough money from it to buy another van.”
The cone with the flag stationed behind Phil’s latest van is a more recent addition, intended to help prevent scenes like the one he describes. “Nobody’s hit it since then,” he says. “The city sent me a thing saying they were gonna fine me for setting that out there. My brother Paul told me I should put a Ukrainian flag out there, then nobody will complain.”
Thinking out loud, he adds: “I just got a new Pirates flag … maybe I should just put that out there. People will be running into it then!” •
BY JAMIE WIGGAN AND JORDANA ROSENFELD // JAMIE@PGHCITYPAPER.COM AND JORDANA@PGHCITYPAPER.COM
lishment favorite to succeed Fitzgerald.
PENNSYLVANIA-BASED organizations focused on ending mass incarceration last week released what they’re calling the first-ever report documenting the experiences of people serving life without parole in Pennsylvania’s two women’s prisons.
The report, called “From Victim to Victor: an Inquiry into Death by Incarceration, Gender, and Resistance in Pennsylvania,” was compiled by the Abolitionist Law Center, Let’s Get Free
Women and Trans Prisoner Defense Committee, and the Human Rights Coalition, and aggregates the experiences of 73 women and trans-masculine people sentenced to die in prison.
The overwhelming majority of those surveyed had survived physical and/or sexual abuse prior to their incarceration and were committed to their own rehabilitation, despite the prison system denying them opportunities to improve their lives.
STRIKING WORKERS at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette last week claimed city police showed aggression on the picket lines as their walk-out reached the 6-month mark last week.
“About 25 @PghPolice came down to break the @PittsburghPG strike picket line tonight outside the company’s distribution center at 1600 W Carson St. One officer batoned a woman to the ground as the truck drove thru,” the Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh wrote in an April 24 Twitter statement.
The Post-Gazette meanwhile gave a statement to WPXI claiming strikers were
attempting to block distribution drivers from leaving the company’s South Side facility.
The police issued a statement saying the department is reviewing its video footage before taking any additional steps.
Workers at the Post-Gazette have been on strike since last fall, when the company reduced its health benefits package for multiple labor units. Negotiations have so far yielded little. In January, the National Labor Relations Board ruled against the company in unfair labor claims filed before the strike.
THEPITTSBURGH REGION scored a best-ever “C” grade on the American Lung Association’s 2023 State of the Air report, bouncing back from an “F” issued this time last year.
The improved grade reflects a big reduction in ozone smog measured in Pittsburgh and 11 surrounding counties, according to a press release from the ALA. At the same time, the report notes Pittsburgh is still among the worst cities in the country for short and year-round particle pollution.
“As we can see from this year’s report data, there is much work to be done in the Pittsburgh metro area to improve our air quality,” said Kevin Stewart, director of Environmental Health for the Lung Association. “Even one poor air quality day is one too many for our residents at highest risk, such as children, older adults, pregnant women and those living with chronic disease. That’s why we are calling on lawmakers at the local, state and federal levels to take action to ensure that everyone has clean air to breathe.”
DANCE • DOWNTOWN
Vuyani Dance Theatre’s Cion: Requiem of Ravel’s Bolero 7 p.m. Continues through Fri., April 28. Pittsburgh Playhouse. 350 Forbes Ave., Downtown. $35-73. playhouse.pointpark.edu
FILM • OAKMONT
Free Movie Friday: Moana 6:30-8 p.m. Oaks Theater. 310 Allegheny River Blvd., Oakmont. Free. All ages. theoakstheater.com
MUSIC • SOUTH SIDE
Parker Millsap with Alexa Rose 8 p.m. Doors at 7 p.m. Club Cafe. 56-58 South 12th St., South Side. $18. 21 and over. ticketweb.com
THEATER • DOWNTOWN
A tale of family, love, and road trips plays out in the world premiere of a new production at the O’Reilly Theater. The Pittsburgh Public Theater presents Young Americans, a work by Chinese-American playwright Lauren Yee. Directed by Desdemona Chiang, the play captures the immigrant experience in America as two generations embark on
cross-country travel at different times in their lives. See why Lee has become a growing force in theater, and in television as a writer behind multiple streaming series. 8 p.m. Continues through May 14. 621 Penn Ave., Downtown. $32-80. trustarts.org
MARKET • POINT BREEZE
Handmade Arcade Spring Market 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Construction Junction. 214 N. Lexington St., Point Breeze. Free. handmadearcade.org/ springmarket23
MARKET • LAWRENCEVILLE
Pop-Up Market and Tattoo Flash Sale
Fundraising Event. 10 a.m. Sanctuary. 3533 Butler St., Lawrenceville. Free. Walk-in only for tattoos. 18 and over. instagram.com/sanctuary.pgh
OUTDOORS • POINT BREEZE
Show trees the respect they deserve during an Arbor Day Celebration with Friends of Mellon Park. More than 20 community groups will gather at Mellon Park, designated as the first public arboretum in Pittsburgh, for a family-friendly, outdoor event with free
activities, live performances by Lee Robinson, the Sunburst School of Music, and the Obama Academy 6-12 drumline and dance team, 11 a.m.-2 p.m. 1047 Shady Ave., Point Breeze. Free. friendsofmellonpark.org
Jazz in the Park. 1 p.m. Chartiers Park. Chartiers Ave. and Middleton Road, Chartiers. Free. instagram.com/citiparks
Get ready to stay up late for the 2023 installment of Art All Night, one of the most anticipated events in the city. Now in its 26th year, Art All Night will unfold over 22 hours at 31st Street Studios, where visitors can view and bid on works across multiple mediums and skill levels. Enjoy live painting and music, check out the video lounge, and bring the little ones for creative, kid-friendly activities. 4 p.m. Continues through Sun., April 30. 77 31st St., Strip District. Free. artallnight.org
DANCE • NORTH SIDE
Confluence Ballet presents Through the Ages 7:30 p.m. New Hazlett Theater. Six Allegheny Square East, North Side. $32-42, free for kids under 5. newhazletttheater.org
FRI., APRIL 28
FILM • DOWNTOWN
Unseen Cinema presents Silent AvantGarde: Recent Digital Restorations of Classic Experimental Films, 1920-1973
7:30 p.m. Harris Theater. 809 Liberty Ave., Downtown. $15. trustarts.org
MARKET • NORTH FAYETTE
Get your garden-loving mom the perfect Mother’s Day Gift at Pittsburgh Botanic Garden’s Spring Artisan Market. Over 25 vendors will be selling their wares, including liqueurs by Quantum Spirits, colorful risograph prints by fiona avocado, and gender-neutral Park Frocks from Flux Bene’s new Spring 2023 collection. Entry to the market is included with a garden admission ticket, so take the opportunity to see the blooming Eastern redbuds on the path to Lotus Pond while you’re in the area. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. 799 Pinkerton Run Road., North Fayette. $15. pittsburghbotanicgarden.org
MUSIC • OAKLAND
Musical Autism Awareness Concert.
1-3 p.m. Schenley Plaza. 4100 Forbes Ave., Oakland. Free. All ages. pittsburghparks.org
ART • HOMEWOOD
Jameelah Platt: There’s Magic in My Shoes
9 a.m.-5 p.m. Continues through Fri., May 12. Homewood CEC. 622 N Homewood Ave., Homewood. Free. cec.pitt.edu
WORKSHOP • SQUIRREL HILL
Woman And Nonbinary Beginner
Mountain Bike Clinic 6-8 p.m. Frick Park. 1981 Beechwood Blvd., Squirrel Hill. $10 for bike rental. 15 and up. ventureoutdoors.org
THEATER • DOWNTOWN
Dear Evan Hansen. 7:30 p.m. Continues through Sun., May 7. Benedum Center. 719 Liberty Ave., Downtown. $42-120. trustarts.org
MUSIC • GARFIELD
Meat Wave, Kal Marks, and Emptier.
8 p.m. Doors at 7 p.m., Mr. Roboto Project. 5106 Penn Ave., Garfield. $10 advance tickets, $20 at the door. therobotoproject.com
MUSIC/LIT • NORTH SIDE
City of Asylum kicks off its month-long Jazz Poetry event at Alphabet City with a night of music and literature. Saxophonist James Brandon Lewis and his quartet will combine the rhythms of jazz music with
live readings from three renowned poets: Terrance Hayes , George Abraham , and Cynthia Dewi Oka. Come back for more performances from poets such as Ariana Benson and City of Asylum’s Youth Poet Laureate Rho Bloom-Wang. 7-8:30 p.m. Continues through Wed., May 31. 40 W. North Ave., North Side. Free. Livestream option available. cityofasylum.org/jazz-poetry-month
WED.,
3
Tre Stewart. 8 p.m. Doors at 6:30 p.m. Pittsburgh Improv. 166 East Bridge St., Homestead. $15-65. 21 and over. improv.com/pittsburgh
MUSIC • LAWRENCEVILLE
Crocodiles and Valleyview 8 p.m. Doors at 7 p.m. Spirit. 242 51st St., Lawrenceville. $12 advance tickets, $15 at the door. 21 and over. spiritpgh.com
Tenova, Coraopolis, PA. Exec. projects, spare parts, eng. studies & field services, revamps & upgrades related to furnaces for steelmaking.
Analyses, calcs, dev. drawings & review, write equip. specs for purchase, supervise installation, perform commissioning & startup & manage projects from proposal phase- completion.
Proposals & sales activities, customer contact, concept dev., proposal writing, cost est. & order closing. Create & execute process simulations for electric arc furnaces & vacuum degassers. Dev. OPEX calcs for Feasibility Studies. Req.: Bach. chemical/metallurgical engin. & 6 months exp. with steel making equip. Knowledge of operations melt shop equip & steelmaking fund. Ability to dev. process simulation calcs using Excel Macros. Basic knowledge of cost est. for industrial type equip. & operations of a direct reduced iron (DRI) plant. Understand process flow diagrams & calcs for mass & energy related to the prod. of DRI. Up to 20% travel to customer sites. Lisa Smith, Tenova, Inc., 100 Corporate Center Drive, Coraopolis, PA 15108.
The University of Pittsburgh’s Alcohol & Smoking Research Lab is looking for people to participate in a research project. You must:
• Currently smoke cigarettes
• Be 18-49 years old, in good health, and speak fluent English
• Be right handed, willing to not smoke before two sessions, and to fill out questionnaires
Earn up to $260 for participating in this study.
For more information, call (412) 407-5029
PUBLIC NOTICE
A petition for Involuntary Transfer of Ownership of a Vehicle has been filed by Keith A. Pelkey, Case No. GD-23-2280 for an Airstream Safari 1954, Vin# 0-6076. A hearing is scheduled on June 5, 2023 at 11:30 a.m. before the Civil Division Motions Judge of Allegheny County.
NAME CHANGE
IN The Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania: No. GD-23-003797
In re petition of Jennifer Marie McGreevy for change of name to Jenna M. McGreevy.
To all persons interested: Notice is hereby given that an order of said Court authorized the filing of said petition and fixed the 17th day of May, 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.
SAVE YOUR HOME!
Are you behind paying your MORTGAGE? Denied a Loan Modification? Is the bank threatening foreclosure?
ESTATE NOTICE ESTATE OF HAWKINS, LILLIE B., DECEASED OF PITTSBURGH, PA
Lillie B. Hawkins, deceased of Pittsburgh, PA No. 022302417 of 2023.
Kimberly Spears-McNatt, Ext., 7108
Drucilla Street, Pickerington, OH 43147.
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ESTATE NOTICE ESTATE OF SILVESTRE, NANNETTE D., DECEASED OF WEST MIFFLIN, PA
Nannette D. Silvestre, deceased of West Mifflin, PA No. 01320 of 2023.
Leonard Silvestre, Ext., Or to Thomas D. Berret, Attorney. 1326 Freeport Road, Suite 100, Pittsburgh, PA 15238.
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ESTATE NOTICE ESTATE OF SCHIEFER, EDWARD W., DECEASED OF MOON TOWNSHIP, PA
Edward W. Schiefer, deceased of Moon Township, PA No. 02107 of 2023.
Heather Murray, Adm., 11 Suffolk Drive, Coraopolis, PA 15108. Or to Thomas D. Berret, Attorney. 1326 Freeport Road, Suite 100, Pittsburgh, PA 15238.
Many of the answers in this crossword are too long and won’t fit in the spaces provided. Each of these answers will either begin or end in the gray square immediately before or after it. When the puzzle is done, all the gray squares will have been used exactly once, and the letters in them (reading left to right, line by line) will spell out a quote by Demitri Martin.
1. Wynnona ___ (Melanie Scrofano series)
4. More run down
8. Jazz home
12. Room with defibs
13. Dalai Lama’s birthplace
14. Said aloud
15. Good times
16. “¿___ estás?”
17. Man’s name at the end of a famous palindrome
18. Do a TSA job
20. Benchmate of Ketanji and Amy
22. Pricing word
23. Battlefield doc
24. “Heads up!”
27. Right now
29. Baking giveaway
31. Trains around town
34. Like fables involving talking animals
35. “Preacher’s Daughter” singer ___ Cain
36. Ruling issued by a mufti
37. Credit union claim 38. It’s a snap
40. Busy body?
44. London mayor Sadiq 45. Without question
Without question
Country that will be the world’s mostpopulous mid-year 51. Hombre’s home
52. 49-Across language
53. Cajun stew
54. Comprehend
55. They do taxing work: Abbr.
56. Expirationdate preceder
57. TV actress Ward
1. Civil engineer Gustave with an eponymous Tower
2. “Precision Crafted Performance” sloganeer
3. Like some hard-to-read characters
4. Reeves’ assassin
5. Woodwind instrument
6. It’s good for what ails you
7. Spirit that comes in Vanil, Peachik, and Ohranj flavors, for short
8. Situated atop
9. Little kid
10. Similar (to)
11. “A Quick One, While ___ Away”
(The Who song)
19. No longer sailing
21. Change actors
23. Rising point
24. Little jump
25. Kuwait leader
26. Colorful desktop computer that comes with Dolby Atmos
28. Action film star Lundgren
30. Raising hell
31. Messy sandwich
32. Alienseeking grp.
33. Archaic pronoun
34. Warmth
Snack with a communal dipping bowl
LAST WEEK’S ANSWERS
