15211.org

The National Trust Main Street Center recently selected five business districts in West Virginia, Oregon, Florida, Delaware and Georgia to participate in a pilot program with Google and Igloo Studios to enable these communities to model their own business districts. Using a combination of Google SketchUp and Google Earth, staff of community organizations and/or Boards [...]

Recent closures of Foodland grocery stores in Beechview and Castle Shannon have raised concerns among people living near Foodlands in other neighborhoods and Mt. Washington is no exception. What is the long-term viability of the Foodland in our neighborhood as it is? Is it fulfilling the needs of the majority of citizens in the 15211? [...]

A friend recently recounted her family member’s observations of what’s happening in her hometown of Bradford County, Pa as Marcellus Shale drilling begins there in earnest …”They are destroying the entire landscape–roads demolished. Strange  people everywhere. People are scared to death.” In light of this and of recent natural gas explosions in Western Pennsylvania (Well blasts prompt call for stricter [...]

An article in today’s PG traces the food stops along Brookline Blvd and it got me to wondering if we could do a comparable walk in our business district. Everyone has different tastes and preferences, but in my opinion, we come up a bit short. It’s not the quantity of places necessarily (there are several [...]

I can’t tell you how many conversations I’ve had with Mt. Washington residents about wanting to buy things in our neighborhood to support local businesses. You wander around Shiloh Street, Southern Avenue, Virginia, Bailey and Boggs  and you don’t find what you need. So you buy a hanging plant or a coffee mug and you [...]

There is a public hearing this evening at the Onala Club (1625 W. Carson Street) from 6-9pm if you’d like to make your opinions about the proposed strip club known. If you haven’t been following news coverage about the club, here’s the brief (read the full Post-Gazette article about it here): 2008; Marquise Investments asks for city’s approval to [...]

Several people e-mailed wanting to know how to go about “buying local” so I rounded up some resources. If anyone else has any suggestions, feel free to post in the comments. To shop online for one-of-a-kind gifts hand made by Pittsburgh artisans: Go to etsy.com. Click ‘Buy’ on the top horizontal menu. Click ‘Shop Local’ [...]

We came across this article about a neighborhood in Milwaukee creating their own currency to get people to spend in the community. It’s perfectly legal as long as the local currency doesn’t resemble federal money. And people are encouraged to do it by getting a discount for exchanging federal money for the local currency. (The [...]

Here’s a comment that we feel is worth highlighting with a post. It’s from a local business owner, so if you’re in the market for a scooter, give him a shout. Hello to All, My name is Ryan and I am resident of 15211. I recently began working with Scott at Mt. Washington Scooters. I [...]

Below is information we received from Coldwell Banker regarding the Vista Grande condominiums at 501 Grandview.   I’m writing to give you advance notice that the News Homes/Condominiums Division of Coldwell Banker Real Estate will host a groundbreaking ceremony and press conference on Tuesday, July 15th at 10am to kickoff construction of Pittsburgh’s newest luxury condominium building, Vista [...]