UP|Pennsylvania

UP|Pennsylvania http://www.urbanplanet.org/forums/forums.html Sun, 11 May 2008 19:17:20 -0500 30 UP|Pennsylvania http://www.urbanplanet.org/forums/forums.html Point Park U. has big plans for Downtown I too am concerned about the tax-exempt status of properties... but I think overall this should be a good thing for downtown... especially when it comes to vibrancy and the physical improvement of a lot of our worst blocks downtown. And 3 parking lots will be eliminated! Thu, 08 May 2008 14:13:19 -0500 Evergrey Point Park U. has big plans for Downtown http://post-gazette.com/pg/08128/879642-53.stm

This sounds like a project that would be really good for downtown. They're going to build a new theater to replace the current one in Oakland, among other things. The article I linked gives the details.

This should really help to beautify that section of downtown, and the expected increase in students living on campus will add a lot of liveliness to the streets. Oakland is busy at all times of day because of students. This won't be as many, but it can only be good for businesses and the general image of the neighborhood.

My only concern with this project is that more property is being added to the already large list of non-profit-owned land in the city.]]> Wed, 07 May 2008 09:40:06 -0500 TheGerbil <![CDATA[Tiffany & Co. coming to Ross Park Mall!]]>

QUOTE (DreBeck @ Apr 29 2008, 02:43 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Honestly I am torn on this one. I am not sure whether to be happy or sad. On one hand, I like the store and have purchased several gifts from store around the country as well as their catalog. On the other hand, I feel it cheapens the brand. The Ross Park mall isn't exactly the high end retail location I think of when I think of Tiffany's.

Dre
http://www.PittsburghVibe.com

where would you suggest Tiffany's locate? East End? SouthSide? Downtown?]]> Tue, 06 May 2008 14:51:43 -0500 Evergrey <![CDATA[Tiffany & Co. coming to Ross Park Mall!]]>

QUOTE (DreBeck @ Apr 29 2008, 04:43 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Tiffany's is kind of doing what Macy's did a few years ago. Yes it cheapens the brand when they are everywhere, but it also increases sales. Tiffany isn't expanding as much as Macys did though. Macy's are in multiple malls in a metro area. It seems like Tiffany's is only moving into the one or two most upscale malls in each metro area it expands to.

Watch for other high end brands to follow... This is a huge step for Ross Park Mall in establishing itself as the upscale mall for Pittsburgh.
]]> Wed, 30 Apr 2008 07:55:20 -0500 facilities man <![CDATA[Tiffany & Co. coming to Ross Park Mall!]]>
Dre
http://www.PittsburghVibe..com]]> Tue, 29 Apr 2008 15:43:20 -0500 DreBeck Springtime in Shadyside
Dre
www.PittsburghVibe.com]]> Tue, 22 Apr 2008 15:17:57 -0500 DreBeck Future of Metro Pittsburgh
Dre
www.pittsburghvibe.com

]]> Mon, 21 Apr 2008 20:01:51 -0500 DreBeck Pittsburgh: Southside Flats

QUOTE (PITTown @ Nov 24 2007, 11:06 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

It reminds me very much of the Haight in San Francisco.

My girlfriend, with me at the time, said it reminded her of the Mission District from about a decade ago.
]]> Thu, 17 Apr 2008 14:19:59 -0500 Cyburbia City and County announce plan to merge

QUOTE (Evergrey @ Apr 16 2008, 09:07 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

it's all about creating synergies, facilities man... no matter the scale

I know.

My point was more towards the possibility of consolidation. Wheeling has a majority 3/5 of the population in the city limits. The vote would go the way the city residents want. In Pittsburgh only 1/4 of county residents live in the city limits. The vote will go the way County residents want no matter what the city does.]]> Wed, 16 Apr 2008 13:57:47 -0500 facilities man City and County announce plan to merge Wed, 16 Apr 2008 08:07:31 -0500 Evergrey City and County announce plan to merge

QUOTE (Evergrey @ Apr 14 2008, 02:00 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Wheeling laments that Pittsburgh is passing them by!

http://www.news-register.net/page/content..../id/508210.html

Kind of comparing apples and oranges here. Wheeling is a town of approximately 30,000 in a county of approximately 50,000.

Pittsburgh is about 320,000 in a county of 1.2 million.]]> Tue, 15 Apr 2008 15:16:49 -0500 facilities man City and County announce plan to merge Tue, 15 Apr 2008 08:28:58 -0500 TheGerbil City and County announce plan to merge
http://www.news-register.net/page/content..../id/508210.html

]]> Mon, 14 Apr 2008 13:00:02 -0500 Evergrey Springtime in Shadyside Lovely, thanks for posting them. There are some great houses in Shadyside. And the flowering trees are gorgeous. Mon, 14 Apr 2008 11:16:35 -0500 TheGerbil Springtime in Shadyside

By ainulindale, shot with KODAK Z812 IS ZOOM DIGITAL CAMERA at 2008-04-12

By ainulindale, shot with C960Z,D460Z at 2008-04-12

By ainulindale, shot with C960Z,D460Z at 2008-04-12]]> Sat, 12 Apr 2008 23:58:11 -0500 ainulindale Springtime in Shadyside

By ainulindale, shot with KODAK Z812 IS ZOOM DIGITAL CAMERA at 2008-04-12

By ainulindale, shot with KODAK Z812 IS ZOOM DIGITAL CAMERA at 2008-04-12]]> Sat, 12 Apr 2008 23:40:28 -0500 ainulindale Springtime in Shadyside

By ainulindale, shot with KODAK Z812 IS ZOOM DIGITAL CAMERA at 2008-04-12

By ainulindale at 2008-04-12

By ainulindale, shot with KODAK Z812 IS ZOOM DIGITAL CAMERA at 2008-04-12

By ainulindale, shot with KODAK Z812 IS ZOOM DIGITAL CAMERA at 2008-04-12]]> Sat, 12 Apr 2008 23:32:39 -0500 ainulindale City and County announce plan to merge
Look at the couple school districts in Beaver County talking about merging. Same thing on a smaller scale. Each school board does not want to give up their little slice of power. The heck with the kids, education, or saving money. It's all about control and their little bit of power in life.

It's sad how people supposed to be serving the public good go on power trips and think they are more important than they are. It's this kind of thinking that will never allow a City / County merger.]]> Tue, 08 Apr 2008 08:41:28 -0500 facilities man City and County announce plan to merge

I think the main benefit would be the elemination of duplicated services. And it would hopefully be step toward merging all municipalities in the county. But you guys make a good point that in the meantime, the other towns would perhaps have more control over the city than city residents would like.

Hopefully that is something they would think about as they hammer out the details. Maybe there is a way to avoid that pitfall.]]> Tue, 08 Apr 2008 08:24:11 -0500 TheGerbil City and County announce plan to merge
But the other 129 municipalities in the county get to keep their local governments and get a say in the way the city is run? Am I missing some great benefit that I'd get out of this?]]> Mon, 07 Apr 2008 21:05:18 -0500 GeneW City and County announce plan to merge Mon, 07 Apr 2008 19:37:49 -0500 Evergrey City and County announce plan to merge One can hope for the sake of Pittsburgh... Sat, 05 Apr 2008 15:44:04 -0500 broran28 City and County announce plan to merge http://post-gazette.com/pg/08095/870495-85.stm

This could be monumental if it actually goes through. But there are a lot of obstacles to overcome. The good news is that the mayor and county executive both agree on it. Without that, there would be no discussion at all.

Another issue is that this would be a city-county merger, it would not include the county's other 120+ municipalities. On the bright side, it should be easier to pass for that very reason. That is, IF the state approves the plan, which has to happen before we could even vote on it.]]> Fri, 04 Apr 2008 08:45:55 -0500 TheGerbil 25 photos of Pittsburgh

QUOTE (JRNYP2C @ Feb 25 2008, 09:06 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Thank you 25 times over!
I never get tired of seeing pictures of my hometown - even from far away!

Keep up the great work!

Yeah agreed with what he said. Those pictures are great!]]> Thu, 27 Mar 2008 11:52:17 -0500 stateman99 Market Square progress
But anyway, as for Market Square I'll be very interested to see what happens with the buses. Admittedly the square will be more pleasant without squeeling, puffing buses coming through all the time.]]> Tue, 25 Mar 2008 08:28:09 -0500 TheGerbil Market Square progress Mon, 24 Mar 2008 20:53:55 -0500 Evergrey Market Square progress
Nothing is final right now though.]]> Mon, 24 Mar 2008 16:46:58 -0500 tooluther Market Square progress Mon, 24 Mar 2008 09:30:50 -0500 TheGerbil Market Square progress Sat, 22 Mar 2008 14:33:58 -0500 Evergrey Market Square progress http://post-gazette.com/pg/08080/866560-53.stm

Sounds like things are really shaping up. I'm very excited about these changes, especially the closing of a problem bar and the addition of the wine and cheese bar.

My only concern is the bus route changes. While I think closing Market Square to traffic is a great idea in theory, I'm not sure it would work in practice. This isn't all traffic, just buses, but I wonder how it will work out. What will the ripple effects be when buses are rerouted? Will less people come to Market Square because their bus doesn't stop there? I guess we'll find out.]]> Thu, 20 Mar 2008 08:25:51 -0500 TheGerbil Venture Capital on the rise here
one sector that is booming right now is engineering

speaking of VC

http://pittsburgh.bizjournals.com/pittsbur...ml?surround=lfn

"Pittsburgh's Vivisimo gets $4M from Maine venture capital firm"

Vivisimo designed the search engine www.clusty.com , which is used by the federal government's websites]]> Mon, 17 Mar 2008 11:18:30 -0500 Evergrey Venture Capital on the rise here

And I'm glad to hear we added a decent number of jobs last year.]]> Mon, 17 Mar 2008 08:15:24 -0500 TheGerbil Venture Capital on the rise here
btw, Pittsburgh MSA added 7,600 jobs in 2007 for a growth rate of 0.68%... a huge improvement over the past few years of post-9/11 stagnation.]]> Sun, 16 Mar 2008 17:17:11 -0500 Evergrey Graffiti Fri, 14 Mar 2008 16:14:56 -0500 broran28 Pittsburgh is 9th Whats wrong with same sex couples? You only mentioned opposite sex couples. A little offensive... Fri, 14 Mar 2008 16:12:55 -0500 broran28 Venture Capital on the rise here http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08071/864043-28.stm

Pittsburgh was ranked second in venture capital growth by PricewaterhouseCoopers. The study doesn 't look at total dollars, but rather the number of companies receiving funding (comparing 2007 to 1997). In the Pittsburgh tri-state area we had 44 companies get funding in 2007 (compared to 12 in 1997).

This is good news, obviously. It might just reflect poor performance back in 1997, I suppose, but even so we've improved a lot. Only one other region had a larger increase, and that was New Mexico.
]]> Tue, 11 Mar 2008 11:30:06 -0500 TheGerbil Pittsburgh is 9th because it's great for couples. "Best Cities For Singles" ought to be exposed for what it really is: "Best Cities For People Who Are Afraid Of Commitment."

Maybe Pittsburghers approach relationships with the opposite sex in a more mature fashion, which is considered a drawback by single people who are only interested in "sowing their wild oats."]]> Fri, 29 Feb 2008 15:48:17 -0600 DBR96A 25 photos of Pittsburgh I never get tired of seeing pictures of my hometown - even from far away!

Keep up the great work!

]]> Mon, 25 Feb 2008 20:06:13 -0600 JRNYP2C 25 photos of Pittsburgh ]]> Mon, 25 Feb 2008 09:03:44 -0600 TheGerbil 25 photos of Pittsburgh

]]> Sun, 24 Feb 2008 22:00:52 -0600 Evergrey Pictures of Lawrenceville
I hate the powerline in this pic, it just kills me:

By ainulindale, shot with C960Z,D460Z at 2008-02-08

By ainulindale, shot with C960Z,D460Z at 2008-02-08

These last two are random shots of Oakland:

By ainulindale, shot with C960Z,D460Z at 2008-02-08

By ainulindale, shot with C960Z,D460Z at 2008-02-08]]> Wed, 20 Feb 2008 23:18:31 -0600 ainulindale Fight over casino garage Wed, 13 Feb 2008 13:17:20 -0600 Evergrey Beechview Development
http://pittsburgh.bizjournals.com/pittsbur...ml?surround=lfn]]> Wed, 13 Feb 2008 13:16:43 -0600 Evergrey Fight over casino garage http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08044/856970-85.stm

Looks like the Riverlife Task Force is suing Majestic Star over the hulking garage they want to build. I am really glad about this, because our riverfront does not need to be uglified by something like that, especially after all the work that's gone into improving it.]]> Wed, 13 Feb 2008 12:58:05 -0600 TheGerbil Beechview Development
however, just down the line... Dormont, Mt. Lebanon and Castle Shannon are all planning high-density districts near their T stops]]> Sun, 10 Feb 2008 11:30:36 -0600 Evergrey Pittsburgh is 9th Interesting that the bigger, more cosmopolitan cities have the lowest divorce rates. Sun, 10 Feb 2008 10:29:22 -0600 buster Pittsburgh is 9th Fri, 08 Feb 2008 10:56:31 -0600 globalburgh Pittsburgh is 9th ]]> Thu, 07 Feb 2008 15:38:40 -0600 ainulindale Pittsburgh is 9th Thu, 07 Feb 2008 09:45:31 -0600 TheGerbil Pittsburgh is 9th
http://promo.realestate.yahoo.com/best_cit...or_couples.html]]> Wed, 06 Feb 2008 21:15:07 -0600 ainulindale