Not all my illustration work appears on the cover. In fact, some of my best work is making quick illustrations for online or print articles. Here are my five favorites from the past year and a couple of honorable mentions.

How to have a hot Tinder profile // Feb. 9, 2022

This issue was full of various illustrations I made, including the cover. so it’s hard to choose just one from the issue. But I think this story yielded one of my favorite illustrations. I love the characters' interactions with the phones.

Will Starbucks fire its way out of unionization? // Aug. 17, 2022

I’ve always wondered what would happen if you combined the Starbucks logo and the girl from The Ring.

What would I tell a Black woman about moving to Pittsburgh? // Nov. 16. 2022

I love illustrating opinion pieces because you get to work with the writer’s voice to direct an illustration. I’ve enjoyed illustrating many of the pieces from Tereneh Idia’s Views column over the past year, but I would say my favorite illustration would be for her final piece.

Two belly-warming meal recipes for cold weather days // Jan. 26, 2022

This is actually one of my own articles where I shared and illustrated two of my favorite recipes to make in the wintertime. This was certainly fun to share and looked great in print!

Pickles and Giggles brings comedy to Picklesburgh // July 13, 2022

The great thing about working for an alt-weekly like City Paper is that you can get away with most ideas no matter how bizarre they are. This piece is no exception.

And a couple of honorable mentions:

Cali Sober heads east as Pittsburghers ditch booze for pot // April 20, 2022

I’ve always struggled with color and shape and I think this illustration turned out so great in both those areas.

Volunteers successfully rescue abandoned South Side guinea pig // Oct. 17, 2022

This story will warm hearts and I hope this illustration does, too.

As 2022 draws to a close, Pittsburgh City Paper's editorial staff members select their favorite stories from the year. Relive A&E editor Amanda Waltz's 2022 highlights below:

After Dobbs, some Pittsburghers opt for sterilization as permanent birth control // Nov. 9, 2022

After the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to strike down Roe, people across the country started making big birth control decisions, and Pittsburgh was no exception. I was honestly surprised at the number of people willing to speak with me about getting salpingectomies and vasectomies and saw it as an important step to destigmatizing and opening conversations about the various realities of this issue.

Saint Ravioli brings heavenly pasta to Bloomfield // Aug. 17, 2022

Justin Avi took a pandemic hobby and turned it into a business, becoming a one-man ravioli machine turning out thousands of little dumplings. More interviews should end with someone insisting you take home a box of homemade ravioli.

Pittsburgh theater company accused of canceling show over alleged "sexual misconduct" // June 30, 2022

For years, rumors swirled about PICT Classical Theatre's artistic and executive director, but it wasn't until the theater company suddenly canceled its anticipated production of Boys in the Band that people came forward. After City Paper ran this story, PICT announced that the person in question was fired.

Bottlerocket Social Hall wants to spark a comedy scene in Allentown // June 29, 2022

Allentown has slowly become a destination for vegan food, coffee, music, and more. Then Bottlerocket swooped in with a plan to attract some of the country's most innovative comedy acts to the neighborhood. From the time this article ran, the venue has presented multiple, often sold-out shows, as well as film screenings, DIY theater shows, dance parties, and so much more.

Mattress Factory group exhibit finds artists caught in middle of conflict // April 27, 2022

Curator Tavia La Follette provided valuable insight into how the Russian invasion of Ukraine disrupted the long-planned Pop-Aganda: Revolution & Iconography group exhibition. The show stood as a tangible example of how war impacts lives, paying ode to missing pieces and informing audiences of measures taken to protect the identity of Russia-based artists. I was also floored by the works of Syanda Yaptik and Sonya Kelliher-Combs, which demonstrated, with heartbreaking severity, the impact colonization, and organized religion have had on Indigenous populations in Russia and Alaska. 

I started at Pittsburgh City Paper in January 2022 — Mayor Ed Gainey's inauguration was my first assignment — and as my first year here ends, I made a list of some of my most unique stories, stories that City Paper told first or distinctively.

North Side family alleges transphobic harassment from neighbor // May 27, 2022

We were the first outlet to cover this North Side family's legal battle with their neighbor. It was a privilege to sit and talk with them at various stages of the difficult process. You can read my series on what happened in our LGBTQ section.

Downtown Pittsburgh celebrates Chinatown's official recognition as historic landmark // April 13, 2022

When I began researching Pittsburgh's historic Chinatown in preparation for this story on their official designation, I was immediately struck by the fact that most media coverage of Chinatown included more or less the same set of facts and quoted the same one or two sources. I was so pleased to get to talk to Shirley Yee, the daughter of the late Yuen Yee, the informal mayor of Pittsburgh's Chinatown, about her family's history and add something new to the surviving historical record.

CP Jail Watch: Do vendor contracts incentivize poor food service? // Oct. 27, 2022

As complaints of inedible and unsanitary food at the Allegheny County Jail continue to surface, I spent a long time researching this story about the structure of food service contracts at Allegheny County Jail. This story includes just a fraction of that research but offers a compelling possible explanation for the alleged poor quality of food at the county jail over the last few years. The contracts in question have now expired. At this month's meeting of the Jail Oversight Board, jail administration reported the execution of a contract with a new commissary vendor, Oasis Commissary Service, which, they say, will not be the same as their new, as-yet-unannounced food vendor.

Giant Eagle consumer info could be used to target pregnant shoppers. // Aug. 9, 2022

Although the underlying investigation into the sale of pregnancy data isn't ours, we were the only Pittsburgh media to consider the implications of the discovery that Giant Eagle is the likely source of digital data on pregnant or potentially pregnant shoppers for sale on the open market.

Volunteers race against the seasons to catch dumped guinea pig // Aug. 22, 2022

This cute story came from a post on the r/pittsburgh subreddit, and I was inspired by the dedication of the volunteer guinea pig rescuers.

Honorable mention

My memorial essay on the sex appeal of one of television's most compelling Jewish mothers (and former Tarentum resident), Estelle Harris. Thank you to our art director Lucy Chen for the lovely illustration.  

Notice anything missing from our site?

Pittsburgh City Paper is happy to announce that we’ve removed ads from within the content of our stories, with the goal of providing a better experience for readers, creating more valuable opportunities for advertisers, and avoiding any conflicts of interest between the two departments.

While ads can still be purchased to appear next to stories or as banners across the top of City Paper’s website, ads will no longer appear within any stories written by our editorial department.

CP Ad Director Rachel Winner says the revenue from Google ads, which used to run repeatedly throughout stories, is not worth it if they take away from the company’s strong editorial product.

“Advertisers can still reach our wide audience by placing ads elsewhere on our site,” according to Winner, “and we’re hoping that audience will be more appreciative knowing that our company has a clear editorial and advertising separation.”

Clients interested in advertising their services can also look forward to new opportunities to be unveiled in the near future, including the ability to place more targeted banner ads within sections, and a new "buy local" feature coming soon.

Editor in Chief Lisa Cunningham says she’s grateful for Winner continuing to work with their editorial team on making City Paper's products the best they can be for their audience.

“In addition to making our site easier to read, without the distraction from ads within our stories, it also eliminates a frustration we’ve had with some ads appearing in our stories that are the antithesis to our editorial mission,” says Cunningham.

She gives the example of a recent offensive right-wing Google ad that was automatically published within a story, even though City Paper had set up a filter to eliminate such political ads from appearing.

The change has been made effective immediately, and includes all current and previously published stories.

Here are the facts: From the nominees in the first round to the top 10 finalists in the voting round to the top three winners you’ll find in this issue, everyone in this year’s Best of Pittsburgh was decided by Pittsburgh City Paper readers.

What sets City Paper’s poll apart from others? Besides the obnoxiously large number of categories (yeah, we know — we keep trying to edit them down, but every year, we hear from readers who tell us we’ve missed some important ones), the Best of Pittsburgh is 100% determined by reader input. We use SecondStreet, an online voting platform, which automatically tabulates the results. No, City Paper staff members aren’t allowed to vote. And no, despite rumors which have existed since the poll first launched 30 years ago, no one can win a category by buying an ad. (But yes, winners are notified before this issue hits the stands and our sales team does sell them ads, which help support our local journalism throughout the rest of the year.)

What we do, though, is fact-check your noms. And we don’t just check them for spelling errors or to make sure you actually nominated Pittsburgh folks. We spend months checking each entry and eliminate any nomination we find to have posted anything racist, sexist, homophobic, Islamaphobic, transphobic, or harmful to others. We also listen to your feedback and adjust the categories before the poll starts every year based on your recommendations. Did we miss a category you’d like to see next year? Spot one you’d rather we delete? Reach out and let us know. This is your poll, after all, and we aim to have each year’s poll better than the last.

Why the space theme? Well, besides making this issue look cool as hell, there are space-themed events happening all over the city this year. For one, Pittsburgh is home to the Allegheny Observatory in Riverview Park and a planetarium at the Carnegie Science Center, where yinzers can dream of life in another galaxy. The Science Center also just launched a new exhibit, Sun, Earth Universe, focusing on the solar system, the universe, and “the big questions NASA is trying to answer about each.” In November, the Center will also debut its Mars: The Next Giant Leap exhibit, which explores the possibilities of traveling to and living on the Red Planet. But mostly, we were inspired by the Moonshot Museum, Pennsylvania’s first-ever space museum, opening soon in the North Side. We can’t wait to see if it ends up on next year’s winners' list.

For the past decade, there’s been nothing short of a crisis in our state capital.

More and more of Pennsylvania’s sprawling and costly bureaucracy operated without scrutiny from investigative reporters, the watchdogs tracking how our hard-earned tax dollars are spent and demanding answers from lawmakers about waste, fraud, and abuse. 

Together, we can restore accountability. 

I’m proud to introduce you to Spotlight PA, a statewide and member-funded newsroom based in Harrisburg with the mission of holding the powerful in Pennsylvania to account through independent, nonpartisan investigative and public-service journalism. 

Spotlight PA is an unprecedented collaboration born of the grit and determination that makes our state great, and it now provides high-quality state government and statewide reporting at no cost to more than 90 community newsrooms across Pennsylvania. And we continue to grow. 

Today, we’re excited to announce an expansion to provide greater access to our independent journalism throughout Pittsburgh via a new partnership with Pittsburgh City Paper.

Spotlight PA is built on the belief that the public will support unique, high-quality investigative journalism you can’t get anywhere else. In doing so, we can build a new path forward for local news in Pennsylvania that’s sustainable and puts the community first. 

If you value independent, nonpartisan journalism and want to support access to it throughout Pittsburgh, you can make a gift of any amount to Spotlight PA now at spotlightpa.org/donate 

Spotlight PA’s growing team of nearly a dozen reporters includes Pennsylvania veterans and other accomplished journalists recruited from across the state and the U.S. 

Spotlight PA is now the single largest statewide newsroom in Pennsylvania dedicated to producing accountability journalism about the state government and urgent statewide issues. 

Our journalists are assigned to cover specific state departments, commissions, and agencies, as well as topics of statewide importance, from criminal justice to voting, economic development to politics. Many of these areas have gone without serious scrutiny for years. Spotlight PA reporters have the time, resources, and mandate to be fearless in their pursuit of the truth. 

Far from just providing the news, we connect and engage with you through innovative digital storytelling, creative partnerships, community events, and more.

Financial support for Spotlight PA comes from a unique coalition of state and national funders that recognize the importance that decisions made in Harrisburg have on their communities, from Erie to Scranton, Pittsburgh to Philadelphia. 

They also know and agree that our work must be independent and free from influence. Spotlight PA retains full editorial control, and our funders have no say whatsoever in which stories we pursue or how we pursue them. We do not accept anonymous donations, and all of our supporters are listed publicly at spotlightpa.org/support 

Spotlight PA was formed to serve you, the public, and we want you to be a part of our efforts. Many of the best investigations start with a call or email from a concerned reader. If you have tips or suggestions for an investigation, please visit spotlightpa.org/tips to see the various secure ways you can communicate with our team. 

After having lived in Pennsylvania for more than a decade, I’m proud to be leading such an ambitious effort to provide the people of this state with more of the high-quality investigative and public-service journalism we all need. Together, we can hold the powerful to account. 

Learn more about Spotlight PA and how to support our investigative journalism at spotlightpa.org/donate

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Christopher Baxter is the executive director and editor-in-chief of Spotlight PA

Pittsburgh City Paper is pleased to announce that Lucy Chen has been promoted to Art Director. Since being hired as an Editorial Designer at City Paper in 2021, Chen has helmed the paper's editorial design, including illustrating covers, designing the weekly editorial print pages, creating promotional images, and more.

"Lucy has been a gift to our entire company," says CP Editor in Chief Lisa Cunningham, who had a 10-year tenure as art director before being promoted to an editor's role. "I'm lucky to be able to work with someone so incredibly talented and imaginative, and I can't wait to see what she does next."

Recent City Paper projects Chen has led include designing the annual City Guide magazine, creating the logo for the company's new daily newsletter City Pigeon, and leading the space-themed design for the annual Best of Pittsburgh readers' poll. Later this year, City Paper also plans to unveil a print redesign, which Chen will be spearheading.

Chen is a 2021 graduate of the Sam Fox School for Design & Visual Arts, and a teacher at the Yanlai Dance Academy. To celebrate her promotion, City Paper asked Chen to share some of her favorite work so far, which follows in her own words:

It’s been one year since I started working at City Paper. Here are my five favorite illustrated covers of the past year.

1. Fall Guide
This cover took me the longest. When possible, I always like to design an illustration around a golden ratio. I find that it makes the composition much more interesting.

2. People of the Year
Hand lettering is one of my passions! I was so excited to draw so many letters for this cover. Nothing excites me more than a looptail "g."

3. Election Guide
Making this cover was a bit outside my comfort zone since it was all made using vectors instead of hand illustrations. I think my favorite sticker to make was the “I Voted in My PJS!”

4. Pride Issue
I used historical paintings as references for the figures for this issue. Can you guess which painting is the main girl holding the flag? (Answer at bottom of the page.)

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Lucy Chen (@lucyjchen)

5. Spring Guide
I ran out into the middle of the street to get a reference photo for this guide. It’s based on the Kauffman’s building Downtown and maybe shows my excitement for the Target that just went in.

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Follow Lucy Chen on Instagram at instagram.com/lucyjchen

* Answer: Liberty Leading the People by Eugène Delacroix

Wondering what Pigeon Week is? Well, we recently launched a new newsletter, City Pigeon, sent out every weekday morning — and a city pigeon mascot to go with it. What better way to promote our new newsletter than to shine a spotlight on its namesake?

That’s why, all this week, we’ll be bringing you the best Pittsburgh pigeon content we can find, including contests, games, and even TikToks starring the CP Pigeon:

@pghcitypaper our new hire has potential, if only they would stop eating out of the garbage #pittsburgh #dayinmylife #pigeon #fyp ♬ The Office (Main Theme) - TV Sounds Unlimited

We'll also be hiding a pigeon in this week's print issue for you to find, plus unveiling new surprises all week long on our Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.

As part of #PigeonWeek, we want YOUR help naming our new feathered coworker! If we choose your pigeon name, you'll win a prize pack that includes not only a bunch of Pittsburgh City Paper swag (including pigeon buttons, of course) but also a four-pack of FREE tickets to the National Aviary to get some hands-on experience with our avian friends.

A few guidelines:

1. All entrants must submit an email address along with a pigeon name, so we can contact the winner and sign you up for our email newsletter (if you aren't already on the list) so you can familiarize yourself with the City Pigeon you're lending a name to!
2. While City Paper prides itself on being Pittsburgh’s most fun publication, please keep the name suggestions appropriate for CP readers of all ages.
3. And most importantly: get creative with it!
   
   

The winner will be notified on Fri., July 15. We will also announce the winning name then. So what are you waiting for? Enter your pigeon name to win here!

Pittsburgh nonprofits help bring an incredible wealth of services to the city. They feed minds and bodies, provide housing and necessities, and help give both humans and animals opportunities for better paths forward. Pittsburgh City Paper takes pride in reporting on these much-needed community assets throughout the year and is happy to announce that one local nonprofit will be chosen as the charity of choice for this year’s Best of Pittsburgh party.

“We are excited that our editorial team added the Best Nonprofit category this year. We feel very strongly about partnering with the community and helping our nonprofits raise awareness in the city,” says Rachel Winner-Eberhardt, City Paper's advertising director. “This is giving the winner the opportunity to not only do that, but raise funds for their organization as well.”

The reader's final choice for Best Nonprofit in this year’s poll will not only be invited to the Best of Pittsburgh party, but it will be named City Paper’s nonprofit charity of choice for the event, and a portion of ticket sales will go directly to the winner.

Over 100 nonprofits have been nominated so far in the first round of this year’s Best of Pittsburgh readers poll, and there’s still time to submit your favorites. Readers can nominate once per day in the first round, which continues through June 30, and the top 10 finalists with the highest number of nominations will move on to the final voting round on Aug. 1-31.

City Paper's Best of Pittsburgh readers' poll is the alt-media company's most popular issue of the year, and the entire staff collaborates to make it the best in the region. Best of Pittsburgh is run through SecondStreet, an online poll service, to ensure that the tallies are accurate, and the editorial staff fact checks every nominee to ensure that reader submissions are error-free and placed in the correct category. Once final nominations move on to the voting round, the staff also researches every finalist and eliminates any nominee with racist, sexist, homophobic, or problematic online posts. City Paper aims to be inclusive and representative of the entire community in its reporting, and that transfers over to wanting the same for this poll.

Nearly 150,000 nominations have been submitted so far. In addition to Best Nonprofit, there were over 60 new categories added this year including Best Pet Groomer, Best Fried Chicken, Best Hangout for Teens, Best Corner Store, Best Camp for Kids, and Best Classical Ensemble.

Submit your favorites now at pghcitypaper.com/bestofpgh2022

In fall 2021, Pittsburgh City Paper A&E Editor Amanda Waltz entered Wonderland, a Alice in Wonderland-themed tea party. It was just one of many events heavily promoted on social media by Hidden Media Network, promising “all the best virtual and live experiences in over 30 cities around the world.” She left with more questions than answers.

In the following days, the more Waltz reported on the international event planning company, the more she discovered allegations of “bait and switch” tactics, unsafe COVID protocols, and more.

On May 24, the Press Club of Western Pennsylvania awarded Waltz with the first place Golden Quill award for “Excellence in Written Journalism, Arts/Entertainment – Division 3” for her report on the company, Hidden Media Network Promises Fun, Immersive Experiences, but Some Say Everything’s Not as It Seems.

The 58th annual Golden Quill Award ceremony, held at the Rivers Casino, honors “professional and student excellence in print, broadcast, photography, videography and digital journalism in Western Pennsylvania and nearby counties in Ohio and West Virginia,” according to the announcement.

Also receiving first-place wins were City Paper literary writer, Rege Behe, for “Excellence in Written Journalism, Criticism – Division 3” for his literature in Pittsburgh; former staff writer Kimberly Rooney for “Excellence in Written Journalism, Business/Technology/Consumer –Division 3” for their report, State Lawmakers Join Pittsburgh Restaurant Owners in Revolt Against Food Delivery Apps; and, former art director Abbie Adams for “Excellence in Journalistic Craft Achievement, Cover Design – Print, Divisions 1-4” for her Black Women Leaving Pittsburgh cover design.
City Paper also was named a finalist in multiple categories. The full list is below:

Excellence in Written Journalism, Arts/Entertainment – Division 3
Winner: “Hidden Media Network Promises Fun, Immersive Experiences, but Some Say Everything’s Not as It Seems,” Amanda Waltz

Excellence in Written Journalism, Criticism – Division 3
Winner: “Literature in Pittsburgh,” Rege Behe

Excellence in Written Journalism, Business/Technology/Consumer –Division 3
Winner: “State Lawmakers Join Pittsburgh Restaurant Owners in Revolt Against Food Delivery Apps,” Kimberly Rooney

Excellence in Journalistic Craft Achievement, Cover Design – Print, Divisions 1-4
Winner: “Black Women Leaving Pittsburgh,” Abbie Adams

Excellence in Written Journalism, News Feature – Division 3
Finalist: “How Newsrooms, Police Departments, and Social Media Fail Missing People of Color,” Kimberly Rooney

Excellence in Journalistic Craft Achievement, Personality Profile Photo – Divisions 1-6
Finalist: “Chrome Cable,” Jared Wickerham

Excellence in Written Journalism, Lifestyle – Division 3
Finalist: “Why Are So Many Black Women Talking About Leaving Pittsburgh?” Dani Janae

Excellence in Written Journalism, Public Affairs/Politics/Government –Division 3
Finalist: “Why Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zappala Continues to Avoid Scrutiny,” Ryan Deto

Excellence in Written Journalism, Columns/Blogs – Division 3
Finalist: “Voices,” Tereneh Idia