Free Republic

Consensus at meeting: Remove Stephen Foster statue Among the more two dozen people who spoke Wednesday evening before the city’s Art Commission Wednesday, most wanted the Stephen Foster statue along the Oakland stretch of Forbes Avenue to be taken down or moved somewhere less visible. But few speakers were as hostile as Billy Hileman. “You should melt the metal part down and recoup a little bit of [money],” said the educator and veteran activist during the hour-long hearing. “And then maybe make gravel out of the pedestal.” That drew laughter from a crowd of more than 60, but Mr. Hileman...

PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Art Commission voted Wednesday to recommend the Stephen Foster statue in Oakland be removed. The recommendation is that the statue is removed from the public and placed in a place in private and "properly contextualized." The Pittsburgh Art Commission will recommend removal of the statue within six months. Foster, a Pittsburgh native who died in 1864, is famous for classic songs including “Oh! Susanna” and “Camptown Races.” Many of his songs were used in minstrel shows in which actors performed in blackface. The statue depicts Foster sitting above shoeless, banjo-playing “Uncle Ned,” a slave character from...

An airline passenger is accused of assaulting and intimidating flight attendants after he allegedly become furious when he was asked to put away his electronic cigarette. The incident happened Monday on a Southwest Airlines flight from Los Angeles to Salt Lake City, according to a complaint filed this week in U.S. District Court in Utah. During the boarding process, Pogos Paul Sefilian brought out an electronic cigarette and began to smoke it on board, court papers say. Electronic cigarettes look like the real thing, but they're actually battery-operated devices that turn nicotine into a vapor that is inhaled by the...