Hi,
There’s a new restaurant in the Del Monte building down by the river, River Town (they don’t seem to have a web site) and Kerry from KS Kennedy Floral and myself had dinner down there. Kind of a sports bar (down between the stadiums, what would you expect), but not overly so. The menu was very creative with a Pittsburgh slant (ie Yinzer Salad). The food was good and prices reasonable. They are a Pittsburgh chain with three other locations.
Got busted by the City Animal Control today. I take da boiz down to the park each day for exercise. We walk down on leashes and then I let them off the leases to actually run, much better exercise than just walking them around the block. There is a dog park in another section of the park, but Razor doesn’t get along with other dogs, so I can’t take them there. I know you’re not allowed to have dogs off the leash in the City, but they are always under my control. They’re so good, when they’re running around, I can call to them and with hand motions direct them where to run. Well Animal Control pulls up and tells me there’s a leash less section of the park and I told them Razor doesn’t get along well with other dogs. Razor has his rabies tag, I never got one for RJ, maybe because he was a puppy? I don’t know why the vet didn’t give me one, but he don’t have one. Animal Control informed me it was a $300 fine for having them off leash ($600) and $300 fine for RJ not having his rabies tag. They let me know they were being nice guys by just giving me a warning. I understand there are pit bulls running around biting people and such. But da boiz are always in my sight, I clean up after them and I keep them away from other dogs and people. There’s a time when I think public employees should practice discretion (and be aloud to).
That’s like the trash collection here in the City. Being a business, I am supposed to pay an outside contractor to pick up the trash here. I also live here. I never go over two cans per week (I see residents in the City with two cans over flowing and bags and bags piled next to the cans). I recycle everything (and I personally take it to a recycling center), half the year I only put out one can a week. When the trash collectors miss my trash and I call the City, if I mention the name of my Inn, they immediately inform me that I need to pay an outside contractor to pick up my trash. The City really needs to learn how to be business and resident friendly. There are many excellent employees and I don’t want to call them the exception, but there also are an awful lot of very unhappy City employees. I could tell all kinds of nightmare stories ($42,000 the City cost me over and above what was needed), but will pass on that. If they want businesses to come to the City and thrive, there needs to be a pro business attitude. I love the City, the residents, the attractions and culture. We could do so much better if the local government wasn’t so unhelpful.
Speaking of the City, my neighborhood’s making some big strides this spring. The old derelict gas station on the corner of Galveston and Western is the new home for the Pittsburgh Home and Garden show. They redid the old gas station building this past winter and are now working on the grounds. The old family court building next to the pizza shop is going to be retail on the first floor and a Pitt professor is going to live on the second floor with a roof top garden. AND, the old boarding house catty cornered from me seems to have new owners. A couple from Boston are in the process of buying it. They plan on putting an Italian restaurant (they just sold their Italian restaurant in Boston) on the first floor, possibly with a gift shop. Then they plan on some apartments above. I hear the seller accepted their offer and I saw people walking around the property, like contractors preparing bids for work. I’m pretty excited to see all this activity.
I am going to be in another New York publication. Time Out New York is doing a feature on Pittsburgh and I had a phone interview with them today for their May 13 edition. I also am hosting a travel writer in two weeks for the Louisville Gazette and Robb Report . I love exposure, get your minds out of the gutter, I didn’t say I’m an exhibitionist. 🙂 I still get close to fifty hits a month on my web site from the NY Times article from July, 2007.
Pittsburgh has Pitt’s graduation this weekend as well as the Pittsburgh Marathon (which isn’t routed past my Inn this year ):) and the Penns are playing a home game at the Igloo, the City’s going to be jumping. I’m sold out. So that’s about it for today, I’ve had two rooms check-in for the weekend and have five more to go. I know Tim and his son are coming in late (Tim’s a regular, his daughter’s going to Pitt and they’re coming to pack her up for the summer). I don’t know when the other guests will be arriving. So it’s just little projects that I don’t get too dirty from.
Have a great weekend,
ed
