Eric Heyl is a columnist for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. His work appears throughout the week.
Eric Heyl can be reached via e-mail or at 412-320-7857
Primary colors end with checkered flag
By Eric HeylPittsburgh’s de facto mayor’s race contained enough serpentine curves to render even the hardiest NASCAR driver queasy. The checkered flag finally came down Tuesday on the most memorable mayoral campaign in recent history. It probably would have qualified as such …
Tea Party or pizza party: Feds watching
By Eric HeylC ONFIDENTIAL REPORT — FOR YOUR EYES ONLY To: U.S. Attorney General Eric (redacted) From: J. Ridley (redacted), director, U.S. Department of Justice, Clandestine Division of Communication Examination For critical national security reasons, this division recently obtained a subpoena for …
Mayor Luke like a train wreck
By Eric HeylCall him Captain Distraction. The campaign to choose Pittsburgh’s next mayor has been almost entirely obscured by the travails of its current one. The de facto election to succeed Luke Ravenstahl will occur in Tuesday’s Democratic primary. Will anyone notice? …
Squirrel Hill’s pizza maestro put on quite the show
By Eric HeylHe was the pizza maestro of Murray Avenue. Mornings, afternoons and evenings, Giuseppe “Joe” Aiello could be seen through the window of his Squirrel Hill …
Mother’s Day could use man’s touch
By Eric HeylIt’s time to put some macho in Mother’s Day. Let’s liberate this holiday hijacked by Hallmark. Mother’s Day is unnecessarily awash in effete expressions of affection that no Quentin Tarantino fan would utter even if ordered to do so at …
Mayor Ravenstahl’s facade drops in social media remarks
By Eric HeylPittsburgh’s mayor once again is muted. Mayor Luke Ravenstahl’s personal Facebook page hasn’t been updated since remarks posted last week that were as richly entertaining as they were poorly punctuated. The lame-duck mayor appears to have quacked wise after it …
Wow, judge! Show mercy on Melvin
By Eric HeylTalk about cruel and unusual punishment. Everyone expected Allegheny County Common Pleas Court Judge Lester Nauhaus to throw the book at former Pennsylvania State Supreme Court Justice Joan Orie Melvin on Tuesday. But few anticipated the tome would carry the …
Here a shot, there a shot: Propaganda flows freely in Pennsylvania debate over liquor stores
By Eric HeylThe forecast was frightful. The propaganda piled up high. Pennsylvania privatizing its archaic state-run liquor store system would result in the systemic breakdown of law and order, a dramatic upturn in the blood sport of dog fighting and the opening …
Naked truth about college
By Eric HeylNEWS ITEM: An unidentified Carnegie Mellon University student is sparking controversy and criticism after photos surfaced of her dispensing condoms at a school parade wearing …
CMU students unwind after a long day of thinking at the PHI — for now
By Eric HeylEven brainiacs need a bar they can call their own. At Carnegie Mellon University, the Panther Hollow Inn has served that purpose. It’s a place where CMU’s academically ambitious students long have gone to relax, sip a cold brew and …
$307M to run state legislature is a steal for taxpayers
By Eric HeylThey’re worth every penny. It astounds me to again hear people complaining about state lawmakers, particularly when it’s been more than three months since a current or former General Assembly member was jailed for crimes committed in office. That’s an …
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