Tag: late-stage capitalism

Am I M-I-A, or am I in Miami?

I’m sure these two news items are not related.

Also, I just fell off of a turnip truck:

And they tell me it’s swell in Miami
Spell Miami and then
Ask me why, am I
Whoa, M-I-A-am I
Feelin’ bad oh man, I can’t believe it
The fun I’vе had and I’m gonna have to leave it

I’ll go back up to Tarrytown and tеll the bagel ranch
I’ve found a good location for another branch
It’s right inside a hotel
In Miami
Spell Miami and then
Ask me why, am I
M-I-A-am I
In heaven, or am I in Miami?

“Pen Avenue” for June 2025

Here’s this month’s “Pen Avenue,” my cartoon for Print, Pittsburgh’s East End newspaper.

There are about 70 Rite Aid stores in the Pittsburgh area, all of which are scheduled to close (or have already closed). At one point, the company had more than 5,000 stores, but after two bankruptcies, it’s been steadily shrinking, and the end is now apparently near for all of the remaining 1,200 stores.

(For months, the stores near my home have already looked like they were out of business, with empty shelves and no stock on basic items such as Band-Aids, cotton balls and other drug store staples.)

Supposedly, there has been a lot of discussion around the country among community development officers about what to do with to do with all of the vacant Rite Aid locations that will soon be blighting small-town and neighborhood business districts.

Cartoon by Jay Togyer says, “With dozens of Rite Aid Stores around Pittsburgh getting ready to close, what should replace them?” Pittsburgh themed suggestions include “Sip ‘n’ Paint Parking Chairs,” “Pre-Owned Smiley Cookie Outlet,” “Museum of Steelers Quarterback Controversies,” and then an unidentified woman interrupts to say, “How about a drug store not owned by venture capital jagoffs …” who herself is then interrupted by the cartoonist.

Print is not available online; you can only read it in (what else?) print. It’s available at Giant Eagle and other stores in Pittsburgh’s East End, or subscribe on the website.