Hi,
Tomorrow is the anniversary of Stalin’s last of three Trial of Twenty-One (1938), it’s Texas independence from Mexico (1836), the movie Sound of Music’s premier (1965), Mt Rainier National Park was established (1899), the Federal highway numbering system was introduced (1925) and the Battle of Bismark (1943). Birth anniversaries include actor Desi Arnaz (1917), Dr Seuss Theodor Geisel (1904), soldier & politician Sam Houston (1793), baseballer Mel Ott (1909), Soviet politician Mikhail Gorbachev (1931).
Well, Governor Corbett finally made the number one spot in a recent poll. Of the 15 governors up for reelection, he is the least likely to win his seat back. Maybe it was him gutting our educational system two years ago to balance the budget. Maybe it was his back handed way of trying to force a uniform code for his buddies in the fracking industry (I would be in favor of a uniform code, it’s just don’t do it unilaterally without input from the cities and counties effected). Maybe it was trying underhandedly give the operation of the cash cow lottery over to a third party out of England. Maybe it was his setting up the Commonwealth Financing Authority to award state contracts that has NO transparency. When the Trib was researching an article on this, ninety percent of the documents they were supplied were redacted. I wonder why he’s so unpopular. 🙂
Clairton Police Officer James Kuzak is going to be featured with two other officers in a documentary Heroes Behind the Badge series. If you recall, Officer Kuzak was shot when responding to a home invasion and left paralyzed from the waist down. The series follows officers that have given so much in the line of duty to keep us safe, others like him that have lost so much and the families of fallen officers that gave the ultimate sacrifice. The documentary will be aired at 7 pm on April 5 at the Hyundai West Club Lounge at Heinz Field. Tickets and more info at Ticket Fly or by calling 877-435-9849. Tickets are $10 and $15 in advance and all proceeds go to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund.
Identity thieves and financial fraudsters are getting cleverer and cleverer. Users of social media frequently give the high school they attended, their mother’s maiden name, their pet’s name, (a frequent password used), and date of birth (not to be confused with their birthday which is less a security risk). Thieves with just this information can actually open credit cards and fraudulent bank accounts, shame on the banks for not being more strict on this, but the bottom line you can be saddled with the ramifications. Smart phone use to access you bank account in the open can be hacked, as well as your passwords if you keep them in the “Notes” section of your phone. Something you can easily do to help protect your phone is to add a password to use it. It only takes seconds to enter it and is just another layer of security you can add to your life.
Thinking about getting a new refrigerator, air conditioner or other high energy consuming product, check out Duquesne Light’s rebate program, or the Federal Energy Star for rebates first to see if what you are considering is covered or maybe another product may become more appealing.
The eagles that nested in Hays last year had one chick, this year Mrs Eagle just laid three eggs. The Trib in conjunction with Wild Earth has a live web cam you can access anytime to observe the nest. Just now, I’m watching mom keeping her eggs warm. It is sooo cool. Not only is it very cool to watch these magnificent creatures, it’s also very cool to realize that with as polluted as our planet is, we are making significant strides to clean up our mess that the eagles are able to eat the fish from our rivers. The eagles’ nest out in Harmar are in a very inconvenient location to see the nest (they actually stole the nest from some hawks last year) :). To make matters worse, the parking lot people used last year to view the nest and eagle activities is being used by PennDot as a staging area for the Hulton Bridge replacement project, so there’s no close parking.
The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission is offering free admission to many of their historic sites on March 9 (Charter Day) on March in celebration of their 333rd birthday. Check out their site to see what peaks your interest.
Girl Scouts of America put a stop to the creativity of some young savvy girl scouts. The girls camped out outside several medical marijuana shops and was selling bunches of cookies. Can you say munchies? 🙂
It looks like some start ups are taking on the lawyers. There’s an app that’s been out since September called Shake, once you down load it, it will walk you through the process of creating a contract based on information you fill in. With a smart phone or tablet, you can create the document and have it signed with just the swipe of a finger. The best part is this app eliminates most of the legal jargon that so confuses everyone. What’s next, a divorce app? 🙂
Pascale Lemire set up the website Dog Shaming back in 2012 and has over 58 million page visits and 65,000 submissions from pet owners since inception. It’s pretty cute and changes all the time. Another cute site is Shame Your Pet.
The Croatian Church in Milvale has 22 murals by famed Maxo Vanka. St Nicholas parish was founded in 1894 and built the first church in 1900, but that was destroyed by fire in 1922. They built a new church and in the 1930’s the pastor got Maxo to create the murals adorning the church, covering 11,000 square feet. It costs about $17k to restore each mural, so St Nicholas is hosting a fund raiser next Friday, March 7 starting at 6 pm. General admission is $50 and for donations $100 and above you get the VIP treatment starting at 5:30. If you just want a tour sometime, there’s docent led tours on Saturdays at 11 am, noon and 1 pm. More info at their website or by calling 412-407-2570.
Coming to Carnegie in July is Apis Meadery on East Main Street. In case you don’t know, mead is brewed from fermenting honey and water, fruits, spices and grain. David Cerminara is a brewer at Penn Brewery and is looking to fill a niche. There’s a lot of great crafted beer breweries around, but no Meaderies. It should be a nice addition to the mix of locally crafted beverage choices.
Throughout the month of March, The Carnegie Museums of Art, Architecture and Natural History has free admission from 4 until 8 pm on Thursdays. A great way to see the 2013 Carnegie International before it closes March 16.
Well, bundle up and keep warm for hopefully out last big storm of the season, tomorrow it’s supposed to hit Pittsburgh starting in the afternoon,
ed
