Pittsburgh RANT: Sour Resident Relationships in Oakland

“Some students are good and some are not” – a long-term elderly resident of Oakland, Meyran Ave. Study (GSPIA)

As a former resident of Oakland (for four proud years), I can very well understand the tensions that many are not aware exist in the small area that comprises South Oakland, home of the University of Pittsburgh. I was a college student and had been at a few gatherings of less than 10 people where barely any noise was made, but that local residents reported out of their hatred for student renters in the town (so sympathetic to the student’s plight). But, I also lived next door to a sweet old man, with whom my boyfriend (at the time) and I always had a great relationship with and who was terribly sad to see us go (most likely fearing the next terrible group of college students to move into our apartment). AND, I was constantly furious at the parties of hundreds in houses set to hold 20 max as well as the resultant street garbage, noise during finals week, and other student-bred annoyances (so I am also sympathetic to the older residents of Oakland). As a concerned citizen of Pittsburgh, I think it is important to seriously concentrate on living conditions in Oakland - and along with living conditions - with the general happiness of the populace, both young and old.

Many residents agree that not all off-campus student renters are bad, but many feel like the students do not respect Oakland or the properties in the area. One said,

“I think most students like to be off-campus because then they can have their playground. They can study during the day and then they can raise hell at night and to hell with everyone else who lives there.”

Residents feel that the mainly student population contributes to such problems as trash on the streets (and the rodents introduced into the neighborhood as a result of this), a heightened noise level late at night, damaged property, and hard to find parking.

It is a vicious cycle. Student renters are living in bad conditions, and may not do much to make this situation better. Landlords, believing that students will only destroy their properties, do not make the proper repairs when needed; hence the vicious cycle. The students now expect a low quality of housing and the landlords are willing to provide it. Now, porches and streets are lined with pizza boxes, beer cans, furniture, and other trash. Full Story »

My family and I have recently outgrown our 2 bedroom duplex. While it’s really a great house and we have the best landlord in the world, we just need some more room (and a better backyard for our little one). So, we are (once again) performing the rental search. We need another year or two to save to buy and we all know it will be a buyer’s market for a long time, so we decided to just rent for another year.

Well, I forgot how painful the renting process is. Not only is it hard to find a 3 BR house right now, but we supposedly need to worry about scammers from across the world tricking us. Within only one week of looking at a small number of properties online, I have received two scam offers and thought I should share my experiences with everyone in the area so no one else is scammed. Luckily, I was smart enough to do some heavy research the first time, which saved me a large sum of money, but I am afraid that others have been scammed, which is why I’m writing this. Keep reading for the whole story and what you can do to avoid being scammed. Full Story »

A Pittsburgh Parade to Remember…or Forget!

Pittsburgh is well-known for its exciting St. Patrick’s Day Parade [official site] held each year (rain, sun, snow, or shine), which is noticed as one of the largest in the country.  Due to many reasons (my honeymoon, broken leg, etc), I have only celebrated St. Patrick’s Day one time in Pittsburgh - and it certainly was one to remember (despite the fact that I forget most of the day LOL!).

But, a TYPICAL St. Patty’s Day in Pittsburgh may follow a similar schedule to this:

• Wake up - 5:00 AM
• Jello Shots - 5:30 AM
• Party - 6:00 AM
• Keg Stand - 6:30 AM
• 6 Green Beers Later - 8:30 AM
• Head Downtown - 8:45 AM
• Bar - 9 AM
• Wait…was there a parade?

Okay, so this may be an exaggeration (although I’m sure some of my readers could share some crazy stories and schedules that are worse than this one). But, you get the point - this is an adult parade and the Irish like to drink - and so do the Pittsburghers!

I am really excited for this year’s parade and will definitely be capturing some footage to re-post on this site. Be careful what you’re doing downtown when my video camera comes around! The parade starts at 10 AM this year (as always) and you can continue reading this post for more info on the parade this year (and past years too!)

Here are some fun facts about the Pittsburgh St. Patrick’s Day Celebration: Full Story »

So, I just learned upon visiting some of my favorite Pittsburgh blogs that Pittsburgh Blogfest 13 (although it’s only the 3rd year…so I’m still working on figuring that one out) will be held this Friday evening. The details below come from Cynthia Closkey, blogger of MyBrilliantMistakes.com.

I’m excited to go and network with fellow Pittsburgh bloggers and would love to see others (non-bloggers welcome too) who have the interest. Thanks to the organizers for a great idea to get together some smart Pittsburgh minds!

Here’s the info:

“BlogFest is an informal and friendly quarterly gathering of local bloggers, vloggers, podcasters, and anyone who enjoys life on the Internet. It’s more happy hour than meeting: No talks will be given, no credentials required. There may be nametags, but that’s only because I’m terrible at remembering names.

WHAT: Pittsburgh Blogfest 13
WHEN: Friday, February 22, 2008, 5:30 PM to 9:30 PM and beyond
WHERE: Finnegan’s Wake (near PNC Park, 20 General Robinson St., North Shore, 412-325-2601), in the Pub Room
WHO: All local bloggers, vloggers, podcasters (and their friends!) and Pittsburgh Bloggers

Food and beverages will be available for purchase from Finnegan’s Wake, as always. Arrive when you like, leave when you must.

UPDATE/CLARIFICATION: Please note that our events in the Pub Room are smoke-free. The main bar area at Finnegan’s Wake, just on the other side of the door, allows smoking of course.

Please note that we’re gathering on a Friday evening this time around. We’ve received requests to vary the nights of these events, so that people who can’t go out on a work night can join in the fun, so we’re eager to see any new faces. And we’re equally eager to see old faces. Wear whatever face you have handy, and you will be welcome.

As always, if you plan to attend, please send an e-mail to “blogfest@ closkey.com”

Not the amusement park but…your fly?!

I just had to write about a little piece o’ Pittsburghese slang I heard today that I found hilarious!

So, turns out Pittsburghers say “Kennywood’s Open” to let you know your fly is open! I thought I’d write to help those of you who are being told Kennywood’s Open. It doesn’t mean the amusement park…so, look down! And, being that I grew up on the other end of the state, I found this super funny and was hoping someone could shed some light on WHAT this saying means and/or where it came from. Share if you know!

Funk It Up with Pittsburgh Band JAZZAM

And, once more, I have to write about my favorite Pittsburgh band, JAZZAM. After the loss of their lead singer a few months back, the future of JAZZAM was uncertain. I spent many a night listening to their “It’s About Time” album and praying to the music gods that the band could work it all out.

Needless to say, as you could tell from a prior post, New Year’s Eve brought this amazing funk jam band back to Pittsburgh. And, you could say that this past weekend has re-established their rank as one of the most popular regional bands in Pittsburgh. Music fans from around the city showed up to Thunderbird’s Cafe this Saturday to see JAZZAM, with Morgantown, WV opener, Symmetrical Kickboxing. In fact, the band was so missed that the Thunderbird sold out + 10 people!!

I’m just glad the band is back and touring again. Keep an eye out for them in the near future in Pittsburgh and other (relatively) local dates. AND, for you festival-goers - keep an eye out for this summer because JAZZAM will be out and about!

1. Molly Brannigan’s - February 8, 2008
2. Docksider’s (Erie, PA) - February 9, 2008
3. The Shadow Lounge (with Ryat) - February 29, 2008
4. The Empty Glass (Charleston, WV) - March 7, 2008
5. The V Club (Huntingdon, WV) - March 8, 2008
6. Agora Theater with Ekoostik Hookah (Cleveland, OH) - March 28, 2008
7. Thunderbird Cafe - March 2, 2008

And stay tuned for more! This is my favorite band in the whole wide world and I want to share them with as many people as possible!

National Buffoon’s European Vacation

I understand the interest in bringing green initiatives and international business to Pittsburgh. In fact, I think Mayor Luke Ravenstahl has many great ideas along these lines and I can’t help but believe that our city has been consistently improving in reputation, environmentalism, business relations, and many other ways. But, do I think that in order to accomplish these two goals that two of our officials actually need to concentrate on what’s going on here first and then maybe later vacation in Europe. Further, the main locale to visit is Amsterdam… Sounds like a fun TRIP!
Instead of flying to Europe on an economic expansion trip, couldn’t our dear leaders have saved us a few economic dollars and held a few conference calls? Half of the trip is said to be funded by the Pittsburgh Regional Alliance, an affiliate of the Allegheny Conference on Community Development, while the other half is funded by conferences and councils in France, although I’m not 100% sure what they have to gain from it. At least they don’t hate us…

Oh, and of course, Ravenstahl’s wife needed a vacation too…well, at least the mayor’s office is REPORTING that the money is coming from her own pocket.

Needless to say, if this trip does help to accomplish those two initiatives (increasing globalization and environmentalism in Pittsburgh), then I may just have to turn this RANT into a RAVE. But, if it turns out to be just a damn vacation to go get high, then I will just RANT away!!!

Hi friends and strangers alike,

I wanted to apologize for abandoning this site for so long. Needless to say, there was a good reason.

My 20 year old, younger brother was recently diagnosed with testicular cancer, which has obviously put my family into a bit of a whirlwind over the past few weeks. I’d like to take a second to talk about how amazing my brother is - that he handled everything that happened to him so far is truly amazing…and he handled it with class - and humor!

In fact, I think some of you may get a kick out of the fact that when he first found out, he told me he was going to ‘kick cancer in its nuts’ and then right before surgery he mentioned he might get a ‘prosthetic that plays music or blinks or something.’ Does this kid rock or what?

In tribute to my brother, I’d like to post a few quotes (translated into Pittsburghese, of course, with courtesy from the Pittsburghese translator!)

Da Pittsburghese translation is:

“Yinz gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which yinz rilly stop to looky fear in da face. yinz must do da ting which yinz think yinz cannot do. ” ~Eleanor Roosevelt:

“Love da moment. flahrs grow aht of dark moments. derefore, each moment is vital. It affects da whole. Life is a succession of such moments and to live each, is to succeed.” ~Corita Kent

“Da world is fool of suffering, it is also fool of overcoming it.” ~Helen Keller

“Whenever a resolute young fellow tramps up to da great bully, da world, and takes him boldly by da beard, he is often surprised to find it comes off in his han, n’at it was only tied on to scare away da timid adventurers.” ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Enjoy all - and I’ll be back soon. Also coming: videos, interviews, event coverage, and MORE! Stay tuned because this site is about to blow up!

So, in what seems to have become a theme on this Web site, I must ONCE again rant about Pittsburgh’s bad drivers. The first (and a half) snowstorm came this past week in the Burgh and I managed to encounter (once again) the worst of the worst of Pittsburgh drivers.

Bad weather Pittsburgh drivers, I beg you:

1.  When you come to the end of a side street in bad weather, please do not pull out INTO the street so that other cars have to swerve around you. It’s best to avoid swerving in bad weather - simple, but obviously misunderstood around here.
2. Along those lines, when you are trying to turn left in an intersection and there are cars going straight coming DOWN A HILL (think Potomac Ave and Banksville here people), please do not try to creep left in front of those cars driving down the hill. They are sliding already and SHOULD NOT HAVE TO slam on their brakes to avoid your dumb self or swerve additionally.  Speaking of, lady in the BMW SUV doing this the other day at the aforementioned intersection should read this and learn a lesson (if our beeping didn’t teach you one already).
3. You don’t have to drive under 5 miles an hour on the heavily traveled roads that aren’t slippery. This only worsens traffic.
4. Lastly, if you hear someone beeping at you from behind, get the heck out of the way. (This is the most important for accident avoidance).

Pittsburghers - if you follow this advice, the incidence of bad weather accidents in this city will decrease. And, so will my blood pressure.

Pitt SMASHES West Virginia; Wannstedt Stays

In response to Jared’s (guy who doesn’t really live here) recent posting on this site regarding whether Dave Wannstedt should remain head coach for the University of Pittsburgh football program, I’m going to have to say that despite his absence from the city, his judgment was not at all impaired. Jared said, and I quote:

“With the exception of West Virginia, no one has really blown out the Panthers since he joined the school. I think Pittsburgh is fully underrated and the aforementioned WVU will get a big surprise when it visits Pitt later this year.”

After DEFEATING West Virginia in the always legendary Backyard Brawl, Pitt head coach Dave Wannstedt was rewarded a three year extension for his coaching contract. Turns out Pitt answered our question as to whether he should stay or go. He will remain head coach for the Pitt Panthers for an undisclosed salary amount, which (of course) has got some twittering. But I say… who cares? Don’t tell me you’re not all REALLY impressed by the WVU kill!?!? Full Story »