Bicycling experience is necessary. This is an easy ride on city streets.

Location: Oakland
Difficulty: Easy
Time: 12:30 PM – 4:00 PM
Cost: $20.00 non-member / $15.00 member
Organization: Venture Outdoors

This is part of the Pedal Paddle Peduto Hike and Learn Series.  Click here to sign up

Polluters across the state are fighting against the passage of these clean water regulations, and we need your help to fight back.  Please contact your state senator before the vote at 12pm on Thursday to voice your support for these regulations.

Learn more – check out PennFuture’s “Take Action to Protect Clean Water”

To learn more, read the report.

The Creative Neighborhood Revitalization Taskforce, a group of students at The Ohio State University, are among the many speaking out for sustainable development and investment in older communities.  It is imperative that the Pittsburgh region begins to focus on reversing our cycle of sprawl and decline, and emerges as a leader in Pennsylvania and the nation in the practice of revitalizing our older communities through smart growth practices.  Watch a video created by The Creative Neighborhood Revitalization Taskforce below.

1. The soldier walks 21 steps across the Tomb. This alludes to the 21-gun salute, which is the highest honor given to any military or foreign dignitary in America. His weapon is always on the shoulder opposite the Tomb (i.e., on the side of the gallery watching the ritual).
2. On the 21st step, the soldier turns and faces the Tomb for 21 seconds.
3. The soldier then turns to face the other way across the Tomb and changes his weapon to the outside shoulder.
4. After 21 seconds, the first step is repeated.

This is repeated until the soldier is relieved of duty at the Changing of the Guard.

The mat is usually replaced twice per year: before Memorial Day and before Veterans Day.  This is required due to the wear on the rubber mat by the special shoes worn by Tomb Guards. The guards have metal plates built into the soles and inner parts of their shoes to allow for a more rugged sole and to give the signature click of the heel during maneuvers. The guards are issued sunglasses, which are formed to their faces, due to the bright reflection from the marble surrounding the Tomb and the Memorial Amphitheater.

On the ground not covered by the mat, a wear pattern in the tile can be seen that corresponds to the precise steps taken during the changing of the guard. On the mat itself, footprints worn in by hours and hours of standing guard are also visible.

Changing of the Guard

During the day in summer months from April 1 to September 30, the guard is changed every half hour. During the winter months, from October 1 to March 31, the guard is changed every hour. After the cemetery closes to the public (7pm to 8am April through September, and 5pm to 8am October through March), the guard is changed every two hours until the cemetery reopens. The ceremony can be witnessed by the public whenever Arlington National Cemetery is open.

The guard change is very symbolic, but also conducted in accordance with Army regulations.  The relief commander or assistant relief commander, along with the oncoming guard, are both required for a guard change to take place. The guard being relieved will say to the oncoming guard, “Post and orders remain as directed.” The oncoming guard’s response is always, “Orders acknowledged.”

Dedication

The Tomb of the Unknowns has been guarded continuously, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, since July 2, 1937. Inclement weather does not cause the watch to cease.

The Tomb Guards, a special platoon within the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard) work on a team rotation of 24 hours on, 24 hours off, for five days, taking the following four days off. A guard takes an average of 6 hours to prepare his uniform (which is solid wool regardless of the time of year) for the next day’s work. In addition to preparing the uniform, guards also complete physical training, Tomb Guard training, cut their hair before the next work day, and shave twice per day. Tomb Guards are required to memorize 16 pages of information about Arlington National Cemetery and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, including the locations of nearly 300 graves and who is buried in each one.

A special Army decoration, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier Guard Identification Badge is authorized for wear after passing a detailed test of 100 questions (from a pool of more than 300), a uniform test with two gigs (errors) or fewer (measured to the 1/64″), and a test on the guard changing sequence. After serving honorably for a period of nine months, and having passed the sequence of tests, a Tomb Guard is permanently awarded the Badge. Since 1959, many men have completed training and been awarded this Badge, as well as three women. A small number of Tomb Guard Identification Badges have also been retroactively awarded to soldiers who served as Guards before 1959. Those numbers make the Badge the second rarest award currently issued in the United States Army; only the Army Astronaut Badge is rarer.

The Tomb Guard Identification Badge is the only badge awarded by the United States Army that can be revoked after a soldier has left the military. The Regimental Commander of the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment has the authority to revoke a Badge from any Guard (past or present) for any act that would bring discredit upon the Tomb of the Unknowns.

The badge was designed in 1956 and first issued to members of the Honor Guard at the Tomb of the Unknowns on February 7, 1958. The badge was first issued only as a temporary wear item, meaning the soldiers could only wear the badge during their tenure as members of the Honor Guard. Upon leaving the duty, the badge was returned and reissued to incoming soldiers. In 1963, a regulation was enacted which allowed the badge to be worn as a permanent part of the military uniform, even after the soldier’s completion of duty at the Tomb of the Unknowns.

One article, “Here Comes the Neighborhood,” focuses on the current trend towards a desire for urban, walkable living, versus a suburban lifestyle, and how improved public transportation can play an integral role in encouraging this shift.  Multi-modal transportation models can draw people back into the city, and can transform the economic conditions of the area.  Transit lines create huge economic opportunities along their routes and raise property values.  The article states that as people begin to look away from suburbs and instead to the cities as the neighborhoods of the future, transportation investments will become more important than ever, and will also help to heal our economy.  The author writes that  “…investment in rail, bike, and walking infrastructure, laying the groundwork for developing the kind of housing that is now in demand, is essential if we want to restore the economy to health.”  Check out the article to learn more.

Read the Letter Here

A $1 million allocation to the Carnegie Library was included as a line item appropriation in the City’s 2010 budget.  Mayor Ravenstahl says that this funding was contingent on the passage of the Student Tuition Tax, however it was never removed from the final budget, which has already been approved by both the Mayor and City Council.  City Council continues to pledge it’s support to the library system, and today introduced legislation intended to provide the rest of the $1.24 million that was promised to the Carnegie Library.

Learn more:
Pittsburgh Council Considers More Library Money
Mayor Balks at Giving More Money to Libraries
City Dangles $640,000 Before Library System

Should the arena be saved, and who should make the decision about it’s future?  Panel experts include Kimberly Ellis, Ph.D., Executive Director of the Historic Hill Institute; Christine Madrid French, Director of the Modernism + Recent Past Initiative with the National Trust for Historic Preservation; Larry Glasco, an expert in the history of Black Pittsburgh and Associate Professor of History at the University of Pittsburgh and Rob Pfaffmann, AIA, AICP, architect  and planner.

What’s Next for the Igloo
Monday, May 17
New Hazlett Theater
6:30pm

For more information, or to RSVP, visit the cityLIVE website.

A Streetcar Name Forbes-Fifth

Imagine getting onboard a trolley at Market Square and being connected to:

Point Park University – Art Institute – Downtown – City and County Government – Duquesne University – Mercy Hospital – Palumbo Center – Uptown – Magee Hospital – Oakland – Carnegie Museum – Carnegie-Mellon University – Squirrel Hill – Chatham University – Frick Park – Penn Avenue – Homewood – Point Breeze – East Liberty – Shadyside – Shadyside Hospital – Hillman Cancer Center – University of Pittsburgh – Montefiore Hospital – Presbyterian Hospital – Petersen Event Center – Carlow University – Hill District – Consol Energy Center – Robert Morris University – and back downtown to Market Square.

Many believe that the Civic Arena could be preserved as an iconic piece of the City of Pittsburgh skyline.  A recent CNN story documents how the City of Austin preserved the historic Palmer Auditorium.  Instead of demolishing the building, the City instead chose to “remodel” and transform it into a state of the art new structure,reusing as many pieces as possible.  In the end, 45 million pounds of debris were recycled and reused in the new building.

Watch the CNN Video

In 2005 Pittsburgh Architect David Julian Roth proposed a green alternative to the demolition of the Civic Arena.  See Roth’s plan here.  Another local architect, Rob Pfaffmann, has proposed a plan entitled “A Civic Renewal.” These proposals are just two examples of the possibilities for the Arena outside of demolition.

To learn more, or to get involved, join the Facebook group Reuse the Igloo.