Wedding Goodies, a Creative Commons Attribution (2.0) image from Steve Snodgrass’ photostream

What event includes a performance by Slim Forsythe and his New Payday Loners, games, an attempt to create Pittsburgh’s largest cookie table, 50 lawn chairs, and a mass vow renewal ceremony? That would be “We Do. (Take Two) An Upper Lawrenceville Love Story” taking place this Saturday in, you guessed it, Upper Lawrenceville. The idea is to shine a light on this less well known part of Lawrenceville (51st Street and above). Lovebirds from across the city can renew their commitment to each other and everyone is welcome to come out and take a second look at this vibrant, quirky neighborhood.

old folks, a Creative Commons Attribution (2.0) image from garann’s photostream

State Sen. Jim Ferlo will officiate at the ceremony, and because this is Pittsburgh, there will of course be a giant cookie table (attendees are invited to bring a dozen of their own). Wedding-day attire — vintage or vogue — is encouraged. There will be loads of family-friendly activities, a Mass Bouquet Toss, displays by local artists and more. In additional to food and drink donated by Upper Lawrenceville’s many restaurants, there will also be live music. The 10th Ward’s very own Slim Forsythe will be performing Honky Tonk, Country, Country Gospel and Cowboy songs with the New Payday Loners.

The event is a Pop Up! Pittsburgh project. Pop Up! Pittsburgh is produced by Leadership Development Initiative XIX, a program of the nonprofit Leadership Pittsburgh Inc. (LPINC). Pop-ups have become popular as a short term project, such as a restaurant or store. They appear for a night, a week or a month and then they’re gone. Pop Up! Pittsburgh is an annual, one-day event that showcases a lesser known neighborhood, bringing new people in to sample the area. While the event may be short-lived, the impact is meant to be long-lasting as people discover — or rediscover — everything the neighborhood has to offer. Past events have been hosted in Fineview, the Hilltop and Uptown.

We Do. (Take Two) An Upper Lawrenceville Love Story
When: Saturday, May 19, 2012
2 p.m. – Event Begins
2:30 p.m. – Vow Renewal
3-5 p.m. – Slim Forsythe and his New Payday Loners perform
Where: Lawrenceville Goodwill Parking Lot, 52nd Street (map)
Register: If you’re planning to renew your vows/celebrate your love, please register here.
Facebook Event Page: Here

And, here’s a taste of Slim Forsythe:

“T” in Allegheny Station, a Creative Commons Attribution (2.0) image from joseph a’s photostream

Transit Oriented Development (TOD) is development which features mixed-use residential and commercial areas. It values diversity in both the population and land use. It ensures walkability and centers the community around high quality and diverse transportation options. It’s the difference between a Main Street model and a strip mall on a highway. It brings back a pedestrian human scale and gets away from a reliance on cars (and fossil fuels). It’s what makes a city livable — a place where people will chose to live — because they can easily access their residence, workplace, shops and cultural attractions. It also aims to limit urban sprawl. In the following video, Peter Calthorpe of Calthorpe Associates (an urban design firm), explains the concept:

How to achieve the sustainability and smart growth offered by TOD is a subject which has been tackled by the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission (SPC). They’ve created an interactive website to evaluate a site for TOD potential: “FIT: Future Investment in TOD.” The site gives users the key elements necessary for successfully fostering a TOD (such as connectivity, density, economic drivers, users, etc.) and allows them to rate their project. Additionally, SPC has created a step-by-step workbook which helps in the process of collecting qualitative data for a proposed site.

The FIT website can be accessed here and the workbook is available here.

Bustling Penn Avenue, a Creative Commons Attribution (2.0) image from Jeffrey Inscho’s photostream

Hennessy Green Construction, a Creative Commons Attribution (2.0) image from Polygon Homes’ photostream

Smart growth and sustainable development are phrases we’ve been hearing often over the past few years. Developers, governments, community organizations, and foundations tout their achievements in these fields and point to their commitments to the concepts. But what do smart growth and sustainable development look like in practice and how do these concepts affect your community?

In November, my Council office submitted a grant proposal to Smart Growth America, the nation’s leading advocacy organization for smart growth planning and sustainable development. We were soon informed that Pittsburgh was among 15 municipalities around the country chosen to receive the grant. Funded by the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s Building Blocks for Sustainable Communities program, the grant paid for time and travel for staff members of Smart Growth America, the EPA, and consultants from Clarion Associates to travel to Pittsburgh to help us conduct a Sustainable Code Audit and begin to make changes to our zoning and building codes to remove barriers to innovation.

We brought together a group of stakeholders from the community including labor leaders, real estate developers, sustainability experts, university representatives, nonprofit leaders, and others to help us develop a list of priorities to explore during this process. Our work focused on three broad issue areas: Green infrastructure and water quality, housing diversity, and energy conservation. With this grassroots community input and guidance we hope to make some common-sense changes to our City codes that will make it easier for all of us to control our stormwater and reduce flooding, use energy more efficiently, incentive development we want and disincentive development we don’t, and improve our housing options for people at all income levels.

green roof, a Creative Commons Attribution (2.0) image from Beach650′s photostream

While the meaning of the terms smart growth and sustainable development may not always be readily apparent, the effects can have a huge impact on the quality of life in your neighborhood and the City as a whole. Other cities that have undergone an intensive zoning code audit have dramatically improved life for their residents by limiting unsightly sprawl, providing homeowners tools to track their home energy use, and promoting the highest standards of building technology. With some simple changes to our zoning and building codes we could lay the groundwork for a cleaner, greener, safer City for years to come.

Washington Park Construction, a Creative Commons Attribution (2.0) image from akeg’s photostream

Panther Hollow, a Creative Commons Attribution (2.0)image from michaelrighi’s photostream

Do you know a young person in the City of Pittsburgh who needs a summer job? The Pittsburgh Summer Youth Employment Program (PSYEP) is taking applications now for this summer. The jobs are open to City of Pittsburgh residents who are U.S. citizens and who are ages 14 to 21 (as of July 1, 2012). The jobs begin on July 2 and and end on August 10. The pay is $7.25/hour and participants may work up to 30 hours per week. The available jobs vary from outdoor work restoring and improving City parks, public property and vacant lots to office internships at various businesses and organizations.

Applications must be submitted in person from now until May 15. Youth who are under the age of 18 must have applications signed by a parent or legal guardian. You can download/print a copy of the application here. The applications are being accepted at the following locations:

YouthLINK (South)
Address: Goodwill Building, 2400 East Carson Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15203
Phone: 412-632-1742
Hours: Mon – Fri, 10 am – 6 pm, Sat. May 5 and May 12, 10:00 am – 1:00 pm

YouthLINK (East)
Address:Eastside Neighborhood Employment Center, 5321 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15224
Phone: 412-362-8580
Hours: Mon – Fri, 10 am – 6 pm, Sat. May 5 and May 12, 10:00 am – 1:00 pm

If you know someone interested in a summer job through PSYEP, you can pass along this flyer to them. Additional details and requirements are available at the application link. You can email PSYEP at PSYEP2012@gmail.com.

All eligible completed applications will be entered in a random drawing to determine summer employment status. Selected applicants will be notified by phone or e-mail.

Apply now!

DSC_0291, a Creative Commons Attribution (2.0)image from autiscy’s photostream

Hall of Remembrance, a Creative Commons Attribution (2.0) image from lil’bear’s photostream

On Monday, March 26th, I accompanied a group of students from the Pittsburgh Science and Technology Academy on a trip to Washington, D.C. to visit the Holocaust Memorial Museum. The trip was sponsored by the Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) – Pittsburgh District and private donors and it was supported by Pittsburgh Public Schools, the Holocaust Center, and the City of Pittsburgh. The experience was designed not only to supplement in-school curriculum about World War II and the Holocaust, but also to impart a need for tolerance and acceptance of others and to be able to connect it to events happening around the world today.

It was a truly moving experience to see the horrors of the Holocaust through the eyes of students — watching their reactions to the taped interviews with survivors, seeing their disbelief at the photographs of the camps, and most of all seeing them make connections to the struggles that people their own age went through at that time to stand up for freedom, human rights, and justice against impossible odds.

Thank you to the ZOA – Pittsburgh and the students from the Science and Technology Academy for allowing me to be a part of this important day.

boxcar, a Creative Commons Attribution (2.0) image from zenobia_joy’s photostream

Installing solar panels, a Creative Commons Attribution (2.0) image from OregonDOT’s photostream

I had the opportunity to travel to Philadelphia (this was before the Pens started playing the Flyers, so it was ok) at the beginning of April to speak to the Good Jobs, Green Jobs Conference about Pittsburgh’s stormwater challenges and the work City Council has done to help meet them. My friends, Tom Hoffman of Clean Water Action and Barney Oursler of the Clean Rivers Campaign, asked me to join them for a panel discussion entitled “Sewer Infrastructure — The Biggest Public Investment in History.”

We spoke about the need for a green solution to our combined sewer overflow problem and our many stormwater challenges, rather than the incredibly expensive, disruptive “grey” solutions currently being proposed by the PWSA and ALCOSAN. We also discussed what has been done at the local level by Pittsburgh City Council to require that when public dollars are spent for private development that the developers use the best available environmental technologies to capture stormwater on the site and reduce harmful diesel emissions from their construction equipment.

Cleaning up our rivers, ensuring that we’re using the best available technologies when building new housing or office space, and working with labor unions and nonprofits to train or retrain our workers is creating economic results for our City. With cutting-edge green technology and a healthy and safe environment, we can attract the kind of high-paying jobs we need in this region.

storm sewer, a Creative Commons Attribution (2.0) image from midquel’s photostream

01 (164), a Creative Commons Attribution (2.0) image from Victor1558′s photostream

It may be hard to believe, but the average woman in the workforce today still makes only 75 to 77 cents for every dollar a man with the exact same experience and the exact same job title makes. While there have been some efforts to improve this patently unfair fact — such as the 2009 Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act passed by Congress and signed by President Obama — clearly we still have work to do and I want the City of Pittsburgh to lead by example. For this reason I passed a Will of Council resolution recognizing April 17th 2012 as Equal Pay Day in the City of Pittsburgh and passed a resolution instructing the City Controller to conduct an audit of City pay, hiring, and promotion practices.

Mechanic Shae Davies, 2000, a Creative Commons Attribution (2.0) image from Seattle
Municipal Archives’ photostream

In 2009, former Councilmember Doug Shields commissioned an independent audit of the City’s pay practices, hiring practices, promotion structure, and management practices for all City employees. The report, conducted by Evergreen Solutions, LLC, showed some troubling facts. Over 30% of African American employees felt that they had been discriminated against, over 30% of female employees felt that they had been discriminated against, and over 50% of the workforce felt that the City was not a positive work environment. It has been exactly three years since that report was released and I want to see how we’ve done as a City in correcting these problems and if we truly are leading by example the way that we should be. 

Black business woman, a Creative Commons Attribution (2.0) image from Jerry Bunkers’ photostream

Bridge and tunnel, To and fro; We get you there, Wherever you go, a Creative Commons Attribution (2.0) image from HerrVebah’s photostream

On Tuesday, April 10th, I convened a Council discussion bringing together Councilmembers, Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald, State Representative Dan Frankel, Port Authority CEO Steve Bland, ATU President Patrick McMahon, ACCESS Director Karen Hoesch, 10,000 Friends of Southwestern PA Director Grant Ervin, and PCRG Regional Policy Manager Chris Sandvig to discuss the very real crisis facing transportation in our region and throughout the Commonwealth. We spoke with one unified voice about the need to save the Port Authority from the outrageous cuts to service they will be forced to make without intervention by the General Assembly and Governor Corbett.

On Wednesday, April 25th, Council passed a Will of Council resolution asking the General Assembly and the Governor to implement the recommendations of the Transportation Funding Advisory Committee — created by Governor Corbett — to put in place a sustainable solution to our transit funding problems.

Robust, diverse forms of transportation are the lifeblood of any city and we must stand together to save the system we have and use it as a foundation to build a stronger, more accessible system of world class transportation for the 21st Century. Please call your PA General Assembly members and Governor Corbett’s office and tell them to save our transit system!

Mom and Bob. Waiting for the bus at Crafton Station., a Creative Commons Attribution (2.0) image from rxb’s photostream

The love of gardening is a seed that once sown never dies. -Gertrude Jekyll, a Creative Commons Attribution (2.0) image from katerha’s photostream

Wouldn’t government be better if it worked more like the internet — if it were more open, efficient and collaborative? That’s the goal of Code for America (CfA). They see governments being burdened with outdated and inefficient software and work with city managers to identify projects that can benefit from web-based solutions. They aim to reboot government, if you will. On their website, they also point out the tremendous business opportunity that exists as IT spending by government will far outpace spending in the video game and app markets. Their solution is the CfA Accelerator — “an early stage seed startup accelerator focused on the civic space.” They define civic startups as follows:

1) they provide services on top of open government data;

2) they bring modern web technologies directly to governments;

3) they change the way citizens ask, get, or need services from government.

The CfA Accelerator program provides $25,000 in grant money, access to industry and civic leaders and government decision-makers, and training on how to grow and market a business. They’ll even provide office space in San Francisco for those who want it. One example of a civic startup they give is SeeClickFix. It’s a web/smartphone app that allows citizens to publicly document something they want fixed in their community. These reports are received by both the media and the government.

The CfA Accelerator program lasts for four months. It starts in August. The deadline for applications is June 1, 2012. If you think you’re company is a good fit, you can apply here.

October 4: Optical Boundaries: An Evening of 16mm Film, a Creative Commons Attribution (2.0) image from uniondocs’ photostream

The Silk Screen 2012 Asian American Film Festival will kick off with an opening night Gala on May 11 at the Rivers Club and will end on May 20th. The festival showcases Asian films and filmmakers from Asian cultures. This is the 7th annual festival. Films will be screened from countries that include China, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Japan, Japan, Kazahkstan, Mali, the Middle East, Philippines, South Korea, Turkey, Vietnam and others. There will be 48 showings of 25 movies. Venues include The Regent Square Theater, Harris Theater and Pittsburgh Filmmakers’ Melwood Screening Room. You can see a full list of the films to be screened here and purchase festival passes and Gala tickets here. Opening and closing night film tickets are $20, all other films are $9. Festival passes (4-films and 8-films are also available).

From the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:

The Silk Screen Film Festival will be bookended by movies about and starring women, with “The Lady” opening the seventh annual celebration and “Trishna” closing it.

As a bonus, on Mother’s Day, moms with children of any age will receive a free ticket to a film at theaters hosting the event.

The Lady is directed by Luc Bensson. It’s an an inspirational biopic of Myanmar’s (Burma) pro-democracy activist and Nobel Peace Prize winner, Aung San Suu Kyi. Suu Kyi is a Burmese opposition politician who was under house arrest for nearly 15 years — becoming one of the world’s most prominent political prisoners. She was released in 2010, and just this month, she was elected to the the lower house of the Burmese parliament. The film not only follows her political struggles, but also tells the love story with her husband, writer Michael Aris. You can see a trailer for The Lady here:

Silk Screen Opening Night Gala
When: Friday May 11, 2012, 8pm – Midnight
Where: Rivers Club, Oxford Center, 301 Grant Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15219 (map)
Price: Tickets are $100 April 21-May 1; $125 after May 1. Purchase tickets online or by calling 724-969-2565.