Hi,
Tomorrow’s a biggie day. It’s the anniversary of area codes being introduced (1951), the Badlands National Park was established (1978), Edmund Fitzgerald sank (1975), Martin Luther’s birth anniversary (1483), the Marine Corps birth anniversary (1775), Microsoft released Windows (1983), Stanley found Livingstone (1871) and Sesame Street premiered (1969).
OK, you Pittsburghers, have you ever filed for a building permit at 200 Ross Street? The city is in the process of probably selling it to PMC Property Group, Inc. A Philadelphia based developer that takes old buildings and retrofit them into housing. I’m quite familiar with it, in particularly since starting The Parador Inn of Pittsburgh. Lots of neat old architecturals are still intact. I didn’t know that building is the formal headquarters for Jones and Laughlin Steel Corporation. My Dad worked for them, they built several of the mansions over here in my neighborhood. They say it will probably take about two years to relocate the city employees and turn the building over. It’s a very cool looking building
The Heinz History Center will be hosting Heritage Holidays this coming Saturday from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. They will be celebrating our ethnic diversity by show casing live music & dance; food demonstrations and hands-on activities from 35 of Western PA’s ethnic and heritage groups. These include Irish, African-American, Carpatho-Rusyn, German, Lithuanian, Bulgarian, Indonesian, Native American and Scottish ethnicities. More info at the Heinz web site.
OK, I really missed the call on the Carnegie Library’s call for the residents guaranteeing them yearly income through increased taxes. It seems the residents overwhelmingly approved the ballot item. I don’t begrudge the library the money, I hate that they want to be called a PUBLIC library and their meetings are SECRET. It’s like UPMC being classified as a non profit. Please.
As much as I hated doing it, this year prepping the gardens for winter was much smoother this year than last. Last year was when da boiz broke my left hand. Dee had to do a lot of the work and it was wet and pretty cold. I’ve had excellent weather to cut everything back and dig up the elephant ears. In fact, the ground was fairly dry and I was able to clean a good bit of the dirt of their tubers. (Makes the tubs lighter and easier to carry down to the basement and back up. As well as doesn’t give them much food, so they tend to sleep better over the winter). In the past, as I cut things back, I’d drive out to Finleyville an visit Betty and dump the vegetation in one of her valleys. Can’t do that anymore. So my good friend Jeff that owns Peppi’s let me use one of his dumpsters. I wasn’t sure what I could all fit in there, so I didn’t load it as well as I could have. Now that I know I can get the Arrondo donex, elephant ears, wisteria and grasses in there comfortably, I’ll re-arrange how I put the veg in the dumpster and be able to get everything in there next time.
The Trib’s subsidiary, Valley News Dispatch opened their doors for Produce for People by the Allegheny Valley Council of Churches. The Produce for the People is part of the Pittsburgh Food Bank and gets fresh fruits and vegetables to lower income people of the Allegheny Valley. They didn’t have an indoor location for the winter and were going to have to stop this great service for our less fortunate. Tom Yerace did a story on Produce for the People and his boss, Jeff Domenick became aware of the potential problem for this great service and asked his boss at the Trib for permission to let them use their mail room once a month. Good job guys. Be careful of the Valley News Dispatch link as well as the Allegheny Council of Churches hyperlinks. For some reason Norton has them flagged.
ELoop LLC in Murrysville has partnered with Guardian Storage Solutions to make electronic waste disposal easier. Consumers and small businesses (less than 50 employees) can drop off used equipment like computers, keyboards, televisions and portable electronics for safe disposal at any of Guardian’s ten storage locations. And there’s no charge! I like no charge. 🙂 This service comes ahead of the new Pennsylvania law requiring electronic recycling starting January 1. I wonder if they take batteries as well? I end up with a bunch from the TV and fireplace remotes.
Speaking of Murrysville, what’s up with that location. That’s where the owner of Club Zen where that shooting occurred last week is from. That’s where the guy that wants to open the strip club in the West End just east of the former circle on E Carson Street. That is also where the guy is from that owns Butta Butta Boom, or what ever it’s called, on Route 51. If you don’t recall, that’s the strip club that took over a location that had a very cool jazz club years ago. There was a fire several years ago and he’s just left it an eyesore since. Now he wants approval to re-open it. I wonder how he’d feel if there was a burned out strip club next to his Murrysville home for four years? Is something in the drinking water out in Murrysville? My brother, his wife and children are considering moving to Murrysville, maybe I should have a talk with him. 🙂
I hosted the Western Pennsylvania Bed and Breakfast Association meeting yesterday. I’ve been a member for a couple of years. What a great group of people. It is the epitome of small business people getting together for the common good. And I’m not just saying that because they elected me to be their new Vice President. 🙂 I gave a speech on the importance of a businesses web site and tips to make it more effective. I am a TERRIBLE public speaker. I don’t think it’s shyness on my part. I’m very comfortable with myself in general, these people in particular and what I presented. I doubt anyone that knows me would accuse me of being shy. 🙂 But for some reason, when I get up to speak in front of people, I get all weirded out. So I ended up basically reading my script. I must of been OK, because I saw a lot of note taking, there was a lot of questions and some have even asked me to e-mail the script to them.
Well, that’s about it for tonight, have a great one and well talk again soon,
ed
