Lebo Businesses Best In Pittsburgh

The September 2007 Pittsburgh Magazine lists a number of Mt. Lebanon based businesses that have been voted as the best in the city. They are as follows:

•  Best Baristas - Aldo Coffee
•  Best Out-Of-This-World Art Gallery - Planet Art Gallery
•  Best Wine Bar - Enoteca at Il Pizzaiolo
•  Best Fruit Tarts - French Tart Bakery

Congratulations to everyone!

Madison and Jefferson at Washington Park

I was just searching the web for some kind of site plan for Washington Park, when I came across the official Mt. Lebanon website's promo page for the project. It contains this tidbit (emphasis mine):

Units will be located in two unique buildings, the Madison at Washington Park and the Jefferson at Washington Park.

No mention of Polk anywhere, though.

Now, I can see how they would want to name a building after Mike, in recognition of his efforts in educating the Lebo public about Tax Increment Financing, but I'm a relative newcomer here, so I would figure that the second building would be called "Matthews Hall," or something.

[Still haven't found any kind of plans for the site, besides the one corner rendering that everyone has seen.]

New Hotel for Lebo?

How did we miss this? From the August 2 Post-Gazette:

Authority, hotel ready to sign deal

A developer with more than a dozen national chain hotels in the area is planning to build an all-suite hotel on Washington Road on land currently owned by the Mt. Lebanon Parking Authority.

Kratsa Properties, based in Harmar, plans a 98-room, seven-story hotel on what is called "Parcel A" on Washington Road. The land is now a metered parking lot.

The best news? "The developer is not asking for any tax assistance for the $10 million to $12 million project, Mr. Kratsa said. The project will put the parcel back on the tax rolls."



Link

Direct Downtown T Service to Resume Sept. 2

Joe posted that several Lebo bus routes are being turned into light-rail "feeders" in September, but I was unaware until tonight that the Palm Garden Bridge rehab is ending and 42 rail service to downtown will resume September 2. The most interesting feature is the announcement of the new 42C route:

Following the September 3 Labor Day holiday, the 42C Castle Shannon - Beechview route will operate every 10 minutes during weekday peak periods between Overbrook Junction, the transfer point between the Overbrook and Beechview Lines just south of Castle Shannon Station, and Downtown Pittsburgh. All 42C service will be provided by two-car trains, increasing capacity for all customers.

Of note is that this new route is apparently also replacing the Mt. Lebanon short-trips, and there will be no 42S to South Hills village during peak hours. I couldn't find 42C timetables on the Port Authority website, so I'm not sure of the definition of "peak periods." Still, this sounds like a net-positive service change for Lebo riders, except for those who caught the "short trips" at Lebo station. (Now if they'd just eliminate some of those redundant stops on Broadway in Beechview...)

Searching for Small Businesses in Lebo

On the blog's right column, down below our list of Lebo businesses, I've added a new heading: "Mt. Lebanon Sole Proprietors." The title isn't perfectly accurate, since some storefronts in Lebo are run as solos. What I'm hoping to capture are websites for Lebo-based businesses that are too small for a storefront. Professional photographers are good examples, and I've included added two that I'm aware of. Post yours in the comments, or email me at michael.j.madison[at]gmail.com.

School Districts Respond To Increase In Autism

The statistics are startling. The Centers for Disease Control estimates that autism occurs once in every 150 births and the Autism Society of American lists autism as the fastest-growing developmental disability with a 10 percent to 17 percent annual growth.

Locally, Bethel Park and Mt. Lebanon have long had autistic support classrooms. South Park School District is opening its first, with the help of the intermediate unit, at the its Elementary Center, and West Jefferson Hills School District is investigating opening one.

Link: www.post-gazette.com/pg/07235/811329-55.stm

New Bus Routes Will Feed LRT

The Port Authority has restructured several South Hills bus routes to provide weekday "feeder" service to the Light Rail Transit system for the first time, saying it will make both modes more efficient.

Starting Sept. 4, three new bus routes will debut for the rush hours, all connecting to the Mt. Lebanon T Station: 44D Jefferson, 44E Inglewood and 44F Terrace.

Link: www.post-gazette.com/pg/07235/811488-147.stm

Welcome New Blog-Lebo Co-Blogger Jefferson Provost

Joe and I are delighted to announce the addition of a third permablogger to Blog-Lebo: Jefferson Provost. He's a Mt. Lebanon grad who just finished a Ph.D. in Computer Science at the University of Texas. He lives with his wife in Dormont and works as a postdoctoral researcher at Pitt's amazing Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition, in the Neuroscience Department. He's been a frequent and thoughtful commenter for some time both here and at Pittsblog, and he maintains his own personal blog at The Q Function.

Welcome!

"Humble Pie"

My neighbor Lara Cosentino is featured in The Almanac's "People Who Cook" column (itself written by Lebo's Lori Humphrreys):

The recipe for Humble Pie cannot be found in a book. It is Mt. Lebanon resident Lara Cosentino's answer to her children Thomas, Peter and Josie's question, "What good works are you going to do for Lent?"
Thus from the mouths of babes the idea for Humble Pie, a class in the how to of making pie pastry, became reality. Lara, who learned the art and science of pie making from her mother, Mary Kovacic, is renowned in her neighborhood for both pies and a luncheon for friends before school closes.

Her kitchen became a classroom for two pie-making classes in April. The charge, a minimum $20 contribution to Just Harvest, an Allegheny County organization which seeks to eliminate hunger and poverty.

Link

Steely McBeam and Lebo

The Steelers' new mascot has a neighborhood connection.

Lebo's own Brian Barrett snagged the domain www.steelymcbeam.com.

TIF Counsel

Pop City Media runs this profile of local TIF (Tax Increment Financing) expert and Lebo resident Sara Davis Buss. Fans and foes of the TIF for the Washington Park development in Mt. Lebanon will be intrigued by Pop City's thumbnail description of a TIF.

Why Hit-And-Run Drivers Don't Get Far in Lebo

From Joyce Gannon, Post-Gazette Staff Writer

I knew I put enough quarters in the parking meter in Uptown, Mt. Lebanon, to cover my time at a doctor's office there on Friday, Aug. 3.

So I couldn't figure out why two guys on the sidewalk were so anxious to get my attention when my daughter and I returned to my car that hot, steamy morning. "A guy in a huge sports utility vehicle hit your car and took off," one of them said. "We got the license plate and already called the police."

Link: www.post-gazette.com/pg/07233/810940-294.stm

Hidden Mt. Lebanon, Chapter Five

[For the first post in this series -- on the centrality of children and dogs in Mt. Lebanon -- click here.]

[For the second post in this series -- on the Fourth of July celebration in Mt. Lebanon -- click here.]

[For the third post in this series -- on the status economy -- click here.]

[For the fourth post in this series -- on high school football -- click here.]

In Hidden Mt. Lebanon, sometimes I celebrate, sometimes I cringe. Today I cringe. There are times when portions of the Mt. Lebanon community come across as being above it all, oblivious to the interests or priorities of people who live or work elsewhere and even, at times, to the interests or priorities of their neighbors. The term "the Lebo Bubble" has gotten so common in my experience that someone could start a Wikipedia entry to collect all of its nuances, but the basic the idea is that kids raised in Mt. Lebanon need to have some sustained exposure to the world beyond our zip codes, so that they know how life is lived outside the Bubble.

The specific prompt for this post is a comment posted this morning (it's Wednesday, 8/15) on another thread. I'll reproduce it here as originally written; it is a terrific example, I think, of the Bubble mentality at work:

"Mt. Lebanon Cheerleaders Above the Rest?

Taken from the Mt. Lebanon Cheerleaders Team Page website:

TO FRESHMEN CHEERLEADERS AND PARENTS:
WE WILL BE DISMISSING THE FRESHMEN CHEERLEADERS AT 6:50 ON WEDNESDAY EVENING TO ATTEND THE 2011 NIGHT AT THE HIGH SCHOOL. THE CRUCIAL PART OF THE PRESENTATION IS THE DISCUSSION BY BOBBY PETROCELLI WHICH BEGINS AT 7 P.M. SO WE WILL BE SURE THAT THEY LEAVE IN A GROUP IN TIME TO ARRIVE AT THE AUDITORIUM BY 7 P.M. THANK YOU!!
-----------

Freshman Orientation begins at 6:30 tonight with an introduction of staff and discussion of High School rules and regulations. It is disgraceful that the Mt. Lebanon cheerleading staff has decided that the High School administration is wasting their time by discussing rules and regulations with students from 6:30 - 7:00 pm at the Freshman Orientation. Apparently, that is not "crucial" to cheerleaders. It is also incredibly disrespectful that they will be arriving, in mass, a half hour late and totally disrupting the ongoing program. Its no wonder people think athletes are held to a different standard in Mt. Lebanon."

Link

I've been around the high school over the last few days, so I know how hard kids are working to get ready for various activities. They show up before the crack of dawn, melt in the summer heat, and stay late into the evening. But priorities are priorities, it seems to me (academics first, anyone?), and simple respect for everyone in the high school community should count for a lot. There are a lot of teachers and administrators toiling hard right now *inside* the building, making things ready for all of those kids who are sweating with Sousaphones and shoulder pads. Can't practice end at a time when all of the kids show up together, and all of the teachers, coaches, and administrators get the time they need? The kids will say that Orientation is boring and repetitive, I know, and maybe the cheerleading staff are trying to keep them happy. I don't know the real reasoning. But sometimes, as my own coaches used to tell me, you just have to suck it up. Sit through the presentation because it's the right thing to do. It's what life is like outside the Bubble.

Molly Brannigans Sheriff's Sale

Pulled from a comment on a different thread:

Molly's went up for Sheriff sale this week.......

347 Sept 07 aka 399 Aug 07. Pittsburgh Irish Pubs, LLC
GD-05-23271—$597,968.36
Joseph A. Fidler, Esq.
Grenen & Birsic, P.C.
412-281-7650
All the following described real estate situated in the Municipality of Mt. Lebanon, Cty of Allegheny, PA. Having erected thereon a dwelling being known and numbered as 660 Washington Rd, Pittsburgh, PA 15228. DBV 12205, pg 89, B/L #141-F-38-1.

(That's from the Sheriff's Sales classified advertising section of the Post-Gazette, and the Pittsburgh Legal Journal. Here's a link to the full notice.)

Online DIY Real Estate Brokerage

A very small number of real estate agents and brokerages dominate the market for home sales in Mt. Lebanon. I've been reading recently about Redfin, an online brokerage for the DIY crowd that seems to offer more service than a pure DIY setup yet still cuts commissions pretty dramatically -- "If you buy a property through Redfin's electronic service, Redfin Direct, Redfin refunds two-thirds of the commission that it receives from the seller back to you." The company is three years old. It started on the West Coast but has expanded to the Washington, D.C. / Baltimore area, and it's moving into Chicago next.

Check it out at Redfin. The company says that it plans to be in all "major markets" by the end of 2008. Is the Pittsburgh market "major" enough to make a push to bring Redfin here?

South Hills Diversity

Today's Post-Gazette special section on Diversity in the Pittsburgh region Foolishly, the content is not available in searchable form, and equally foolishly, it is presented in a Flash container that prevents cutting-and-pasting, i.e., that makes quoting in blogs a little more difficult.) includes a profile of Lebo neighbor Scott Township, which somewhat unexpectedly has become a beachhead for South Asian immigration. "The 1,543 foreign-born residents in this hilly suburb now comprise 8.9 percent of the population, a higher percentage than any other town or municipality in the metropolitan area, and the 891 Asian Indians here are by far the dominant group, accounting for 5.2 percent of the town, according to the U.S. Census Bureau." The article starts on page 6. Another neat point:

Scott's unexpected status as immigrant beachhead does provide hope that metropolitan Pittsburgh can shed its label as one of the least international big cities in America. Its drop from melting pot status began after 1940, when the foreign-born population peaked at more than 12 percent and then continuously fell, hit a low of 2.4 percent in 1990 before inching up to 2.6 percent by 2000, the first increase in at least 50 years. It rose some more, to 3 percent, by 2004, but that increase was still the lowest among the nation's top 25 metro areas, trailing such places as Denver, Minneapolis, Cleveland, and Cincinnati.

The reason Pittsburgh's immigration rate is so alarming to followers of the local economy is what it portends: slow growth. As Pittsburgh's work force grows older and in need of replacement and as the region continues to lose population [but see Briem, above], economic development experts predict that an area unattractive to immigrants will have a hard time filling positions if the economy grows at even a marginal rate the next 10 to 20 years.

Author Gregg Zachary, who studied Pittsburgh's immigration challenges and last year reported on diversity in American cities, concluded Pittsburgh's pro-immigrant groups "are languishing, if not defeated." Civic leaders "have done little to tackle the widespread sense among foreigners that Pittsburgh is not an attractive destination."

Bower Hill Road Walgreens Is Moving Forward

Officials at Walgreen's site show little concern over parking distance

Another issue has been brought up concerning the proposed Walgreens drugstore at Bower Hill Road and North Wren Drive, but Scott officials appear not to be overly concerned about it.

Link: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07214/806100-55.stm

Happy Birthday to Blog-Lebo!

Today (August 10) marks two years to the day since Blog-Lebo was launched. Happy birthday to us, and thanks to everyone -- my co-blogger Joe, and all of you who comment (anonymously, pseudonymously, and under your own names) -- for caring about civil, *public* dialogue on the future of Mt. Lebanon.

Link to Blog-Lebo, and boost our Google PageRank!

Dancin' In The Streets

It's quite possible that 90 percent of the attendees at Friday night's ULTRAparty on Washington Road in Mt. Lebanon weren't even born when Journey released "Don't Stop Believing." But that didn't keep them from pumping fists in the air in beat with Velveeta as the group performed the rock anthem to a wound-up crowd of young adults.

Link: www.postgazette.com/pg/07221/807935-55.stm

Representative Smith Making House Calls

Matthew H. Smith mopped the sweat from his forehead and approached the front door on Milbeth Drive, literature in hand. Would anyone answer the bell? Would he be able to solve a problem? Answer a question? Or even field a complaint?

"I think it's great," Mr. Brzezinski said of Mr. Smith's effort. "I've been here 11 years and I think this is the first time I've had somebody who isn't running come to the door."

Link: www.post-gazette.com/pg/07221/807937-55.stm

What Do Lebo Businesses Owe the Community?

Reading through the comments on the ULTRA Party, it's clear that the organizers earned some well-deserved congratulations. It's also clear that one local business - Molly Brannigans on Washington Road - has metaphorical egg on its face.

The latter point raises the following discussion topic: What do local businesses, and especially local retailers, owe the community? Molly Brannigans isn't the only business on Washington Road that sells food; was it the only business that was open during the ULTRA Party? If not, why is everyone down on Molly Brannigans for taking advantage of the evening's crowd -- and not down on other businesses that also sold them food and drink, or other things?

I want to be clear that I agree with the critics of Molly B.s, and I'm not trying to invite criticism of other businesses. One anonymous comment suggested that Molly B.s voluntarily set aside a portion of its ULTRA evening proceeds for the Autism Center, since the point of the evening was to raise money for charity. That strikes me as a good idea. Why not extend it to other Washington Road businesses that were open (or, for future events, will be open) at the same time?

Lebo Deer Population May Trigger Controlled Hunt

Controlled hunts might be needed for the next several years to bring deer roaming Mt. Lebanon to a manageable number, a U.S. Department of Agriculture official said. Sixty-nine deer were killed during hunts at public and private sites in the municipality over seven nights in February and March. The venison was donated to food banks.

But Mt. Lebanon's deer count remains five times higher than it should be, said Craig Swope, a wildlife biologist and local supervisor with the Department of Agriculture.

Link: www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/cityregion/s_520598.html

ULTRA Party Last Night

I couldn't go to the First Friday celebration or the Mt. Lebanon ULTRA Party last night. I've heard one report already that the whole thing was groovy, baby, as Austin Powers might say. What did you think?

Cable Choice Could Be Years Away

Most of the Mt. Lebanon community should get FiOS TV service within three years, according to the municipality's agreement with Verizon, which it posted on its Web site after introducing an ordinance to approve it. It could be six years before homes farthest from the wire centers get service, and fiber-optic lines won't be run to areas where there are fewer than 30 occupied homes per mile, the agreement states.

Link: www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/today/s_520142.html