Save-a-lot was seeming to become a great addition to the Hill District community along Centre Avenue, but now we've got a horse of a different color on the block, and I like it.  Kuhn's, a homegrown local grocery store, is part of a "Centre City Square" plan developed by a bunch of groups like Crawford Square and the Hill House.  This is just plain great.

We're talking about something that will give the Hill some character.  Not just another Family Dollar or Save-a-lot like every other underserved community.  Those mega franchise places do not spur entrenpreneurship.  We need to bring in locally owned and run businesses to increase the appeal and economic power of the hill district.  Let's see how far this goes...

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08223/903263-53.stm

The Pittsburgh housing authority has approved a sale of land to Pitt for new athletic facilities.  The property is right next to the Oak Hill apartments.  The land left over will be sold to Beacon developers to more than double the number of housing units of Oak Hill.  This is great stuff for 2 reasons.  The obvious reason would be so many new houses in an otherwise undeveloped section of the Hill.  More houses mean more residents.  More residents mean demand for more restaurants, stores, etc.  More development also bridges the shady gaps of the Hill district and makes it a more aesthetically pleasing place to live.  All of that leading to higher property values.

The second good thing to come from this is having pitt's footprint spread beyond Oakland.  The further into the Hill District that Pitt goes, the more student foot traffic the Hill will see.  Eventually, they'll see Centre avenue as a great route to downtown.  Pitt creeping into the Hill district really fills in the blanks around the area and all just becomes a well blended section of the City.  So when you're driving down Centre Avenue, you don't have that obvious unsettling feeling of, "oh, we must be in the Hill District now."  It'll be seamless, just like going from shadyside to squirrel Hill.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08207/899398-53.stm?cmpid=news.xml

Surprise, Surprise, Don Barden doesn't have the money to finish the casino as planned, so he's sold off 75% ownership to some dude in Chicago.  That means that the Majestic Star will most likely be called something else.  There's all kind of hooting and hollering going on, some saying that it's a bait and switch, others saying that the casino license should go up to another vote, and I'm not in either of those mindsets.  Neil Bluhm and the investors from Chicago have promised to deliver what was originally promised, and by June 2009, so let's go for it.  I'm not a fan of beaurocratic red tape and legal delays and blah blah blah.  Let's just find someone that can get the job done right instead of letting costs increase and have steel structure blotter on the river front.

read more at the post gazette: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08197/897080-53.stm

Next time you're with a friend on top of Mount Washington looking down at the fountain at point state park, ask them how many rivers there are.  If they're completely clueless of pittsburgh's history, I could see someone saying just 2, assuming that either the mon or the allegheny river just flow into the other.  If they said 3, they're still wrong.  It's straight out of a DaVinci code or Nationaly Treasure plotline, but the fountain is actually supplied by an underground water souce.  I've always known this, but a recent article in the paper reminded me of that fact.  So the real answer would be 4 rivers would be in plain sight.

for more on the under ground "river" - http://www.clpgh.org/exhibit/neighborhoods/point/point_n77.html

What the heck is up with Don Barden?  This guy is probably the worst business man I've ever read stories about.  He didn't want to play ball with the penguins when he first got the license, then he didn't want to play ball with the steelers and pirates, then he didnt want to play ball with the science center, then he didn't want to play ball with the city on the parking garage design, then he wants to take his $3 million ball and go away from the hill district, and now he's saying that everyone is picking on him.  For someone who will ultimately be wanted to attract customers, he's not being very customer focused.

Even though it's true that the financial failures of his other casinos and larger companies should have no affect on the Pittsburgh venture, I think a few flags should be raised on what's to come.  Barden seems like a guy who sees the growing potential of pittsburgh as something to take advantage of, not something to be a part of an encourage.  He doesn't care about what's in his way, just get it out of his way.  He's not making any friends, and that's not going to get him any slack or favor in the long run.

If you ask me, when you start saying that there's a conspiracy and everyone is out to get you, you're about to crack.  You've lost your marbles and you need to snap back to reality before reality snaps you.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08115/876258-100.stm?cmpid=news.xml

Throughout my years of living in the Hill District, I've noticed a few cultural trends on pedestrian behavior.  One is just to stand around on the corners of Centre Avenue with nothing to do but watch people drive by or make obvious glances at women as they walk by.  This happens 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  They just stand there.  Not at a bus stop, not smoking, not harrassing people or cars, just standing around.  It's weird, but pleasant in some weird way too.   The second behavior is walking on the street.  The sidewalk can be the cleanest thing and wide open, but they'll walk right on the street.  It's very frustrating as a driver.  sometimes, I liken it to the country, as you wait for cattle to cross the street.  I'm not comparing residents to farm animals, more like showing that both the city and the country have their obstacles.

BUT TO THE POINT!  Thanks to some engineering students at Pitt, the Hill District has designated walking paths!  This is a pretty cool thing, in my opinion at least.  Hopefully people will make use of the paths, I know that Erik does already.  check out the post-gazette story and the official site.

When Steely McBeam was first announced as the new Pittsburgh Steelers mascot, he was meant with some resistance.  Perhaps his latest DUI is just a sign of dedication to how he fits in our city's social atmosphere.  He likes to drink just like us!  I've always said, "Pittsburgh is a drinking town with a football problem."  I have no idea why I call this place home somtimes when I don't really like either one of those things.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08100/871780-100.stm?cmpid=news.xml