Category Archives: *IheartPGH.com Updates

YinzVote.com: Pittsburgh specific election information

YinzVote.com is a little website I’ve put together to share nonpartisan, Pittsburgh-specific information about voting.

Why Pittsburgh specific election information?

  1. Information for Pittsburghers. There are so many websites about the election. So much information. Most of it is good. Some of them are great. Some of the sites are not so great. Information is being shared at the national level, at the state level and at the county level. The Pennsylvania Department of State is doing an amazing job sharing election information online. (Please make sure to follow @PAstatedept on Instagram.) The information Pittsburghers need is at the county level. For example, the state and national websites do not always have specific information about where Pittsburghers can drop off mail-in ballots before the election.
  2. Searching for Pittsburgh information. If there is one thing I know from almost two decades of blogging about Pittsburgh, it is about Pittsburgh search info. Almost every single election-related website says “Allegheny County,” but most people sit down and search where they live. If Yinz Vote can help one voter searching for info get to their polling place, then the site was worth it.
  3. Black & Gold >  red or blue.

Black & Gold > red or blue.

Yinz Vote stickers

About a month ago, I was sitting on the patio at Cafe Raymond in the Strip District, feeling a little distraught about the state of things in the world. It was the perfect Pittsburgh Sunday morning. Sunny, unseasonably warm, and Penn Ave. was crawling with Steelers fans decked in their best black and gold. (Ok, there were a few Cowboys fans on the street, too. )

Seeing the sea of Steelers fans gave me some hope. Earlier in the week, I was listening to a podcast about how it would take an act of war to bring the country together. I thought there has to be another way to bring people together.

And I am grateful to have been born in Steeler Country. Even if you aren’t a fan of the game of football, you can enjoy the community of Steelers fans. When I tell someone I am from Pittsburgh, and they ask me if I am a Steelers fan. My answer is, of course, that I was born into it, and I say I am a fan of the fans. 

So, I’ve been thinking about the upcoming election. If you live in Pittsburgh, you can’t not think about the election.  Then I was listening to a podcast about pre-suasion, which talked about the importance of unity.

I phoned a friend and asked, “How do we make this election fun.” Thankfully, as Pittsburghers we have sports teams to bring us together. Even if you don’t love the sports, it is hard not to be a fan of the fans. 

So, Yinz Vote was born. This election has been something. Pennsylvania, living up to its name as the keystone state, is the key to this election.

Please follow & share Yinz Vote with your friends

 

Pittsburgh Yard Sale

June 1: Mexican War Streets Yard Sale & Local x Global Northside

A quick reminder that this Saturday, June 1, 2019, is the annual Mexican War Streets Yard Sale. I’m told this is one of the best neighborhood yard sales in Pittsburgh.

This Saturday is also a very special Northside event. Very Local Pittsburgh is hosting Local x Global: Northside.

Tickets are $12 and include a special Northside sandwich from Blue Sparrow Food Truck and a beer from Allegheny City Brewing.

Big Yard Sale Weekend in Pittsburgh

Check out this guide to Pittsburgh Neighborhood Yard Sales.

  • Saturday, June 1 – Mexican War Streets Yard Sale
  • Saturday, June 1 – Brookline Yard Sale
  • Sunday, June 2 – Highland Park Yard Sale

Ice Skate into Spring! Very Local’s 1st party is a benefit for 412 Food Rescue.

tl;dr: All Pittsburgh lovers are invited to come to an ice skating party on Sunday, March 3, 2019. 

Hello IheartPGH readers,

As you may have noticed over the past few months, there have not been many updates here on the ye olde IheartPGH blog. If you follow @IheartPGH on Twitter, you have likely seen some retweets from @VeryLocalPGH.

I am excited to introduce you to a new Pittsburgh website that I have been working on for the past few months. Say hello to Very Local Pittsburgh.  The Very Local team, along with the help of a crew of writers and video journalists, is dedicated to telling the most Pittsburgh stories.

You are cordially invited to the very first Very Local Pittsburgh event this Sunday, March 3, 2019. Please come skate into spring with us at the $8 Skate Date. 

Ice Skate Pittsburgh

The Very Local team wanted to put together a very Pittsburgh event for our debut. So we are taking over the MassMutual Pittsburgh Rink at PPG, and we have invited some of our favorite Pittsburgh friends to join us. DJMB who you may know from the In Bed By Ten Dance parties will be providing music, and Zeke Coffee will be serving hot chocolate with marshmallows. Tickets are just $8 for adults and $5 for kids, and all of the ticket sales will be donated to 412 Food Rescue.

Sunday, March 3: Very Local’s $8 Skate Date

Date: Sunday, March 3, 2019

Time: Noon – 3pm

Your ticket includes:

  • ample rink time
  • complimentary skate rental
  • hot chocolate by Zeke’s Coffee
  • music by DJ MB
  • a warm fuzzy feeling for donating to a great cause.

Grab your $8 Skate Date tickets here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/very-local-pghs-8-skate-date-tickets-55988853167

Tickets are limited and must be purchased before the event!

Facebook Details: https://www.facebook.com/events/630994734008548/

Meet Very Local Pittsburgh

 

View this post on Instagram

 

To begin, begin. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ We are a team of Pittsburgh-based storytellers. We aim to guide our fellow natives and locals to the people and places amongst our neighborhoods. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Whether you’re new in town (welcome!) or you’ve been here your whole life, we are excited to be your user’s guide to the steel city. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ We aim to be collaborative and work with our fellow creatives. We strive to listen, take your feedback and create a resource that showcases the grit and kinship felt within the 412. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ To our yinzers. Our boomerangers. To all. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Hello. We are Very Local.

A post shared by Very Local PGH (@verylocalpgh) on

I am working with the Very Local Pittsburgh team and a great crew of freelancers to publish stories about Pittsburgh people and places. Check out the Very Local about us page for more info.

Here are a few of the recent stories that highlight a few Pittsburgh things you might have missed:

 

Astronomy on Tap: Happy Hour That Brings Science Down to Earth

Hello, I heart PGH readers! You may have noticed that there haven’t been many posts here on the blog in recent months. I am excited to tell you that I am actually publishing even more stories about Pittsburgh over on a new website. I hope you will take a moment to check out Pittsburgh.VeryLocal.com and follow along on the social channels (Facebook, Twitter & Instagram). You are all invited to come to the very first Very Local party on March 3rd – the $8 Skate Date is ice skating at the MassMutual Pittsburgh Ice Rink at PPG Place. Your ticket includes skating and hot chocolate. All of the tickets sales will be donated to 412 Food Rescue.

The IheartPGH website will stay online, and I will occasionally share stories from Very Local, and I am excited that I get to spend more time writing and sharing some of the best things that Pittsburgh has to offer. If you have a story that you think more Pittsburghers should know about (or you would be interested in doing some freelance writing or documentary films for Very Local), please send me an email: lindsay.patross@verylocal.com.

Astronomy on Tap Pittsburgh – Free science talks for the non-scientists

The next Astronomy on Tap event in Pittsburgh is on Wednesday, February 20, 2019, at Franktuary. See the whole story over at Very Local Pittsburgh here.

 

IheartPGH in the New York Times

9 Years Ago in the NYTimes “Turning to T-Shirts to Spiff Up Downtrodden Cities”

Pittsburgh t-shirt

This photo is from Podcamp Pittsburgh in 2006.

One of the many things on my to do list for the blog is to revisit the idea of our very own t-shirt shop. I have long had a little shop with Spreadshirt, but I am not comfortable trying to promote t-shirts that were not actually here in Pittsburgh. I have been pondering the future of the blog, it is about to turn 12 this fall and if it is time to retire or recruit new bloggers or what should happen next (I am open to any and all ideas so them my way)!

While I was in the shower this morning I was thinking about the t-shirt shop, I know that one of the first decisions to make would be what designs to sell. I was debating if the “Pittsburghers are tasty” design would still be popular. I got out of the shower, started my day and forgot all about the t-shirt design debate.

Then I looked at the “on this day archives” and 9 years ago today, July 13, is the day that IheartPGH was featured with our friends from St. Louis, STLStyle, in a New York Times piece on t-shirts and rust belt cities.

IheartPGH in the New York Times

Never in my wildest dreams did I think that t-shirts and sharing Pittsburgh pride would land me a mention in the New York Times.

First, a brief history of relationship between t-shirts and this blog…

  • I graduated from college and moved back to Pittsburgh after having sworn I would never move back home.
  • I had a mostly boring office job (I know know that working for the largest auctioneer of dairy processing equipment, is not really boring – ask me about stainless steel food processing equipment and my visits to Dodge Nebraska, and to bring it full circle to the t-shirts my sister still wears the t-shirt I bought in Dodge, NE).
  • I went to the Warhol Museum on a rainy Sunday afternoon and decided I would teach myself how to screen print.
  • The first t-shirt I printed was an “IheartPGH” T-shirt. I still have the screens, not sure if they are useable, but I’ve kept them in case I ever need to get back into the screenprinting business.
  • I picked up a flyer for Union Printing, what you now know as Commonwealth Press and likely sent an e-mail to Dan Rugh. This was back in the day of MySpace. I think it was even before texting. I was terribly shy and I sent Dan an email. We met for a coffee at the Beehive and talked about sustainable screen printing methods.
  • In 2005 I worked on Bill Peduto’s first campaign, we had no money for t-shirts, so we used donated t-shirts, turned them inside out and printed Peduto for Pittsburgh on them at open studio night at Artist Image Resources.
  • Commonwealth Press, which was located in Dan & Shannon’s house started printing all of the IheartPGH t-shirts.
  • In 2005, again out of boredom, I started a blog. Mostly because my new friend Dave (one of the founders of Libsyn.com and now BossJock App) had volunteered everyday on Bill Peduto’s campaign and told me I needed to have an RSS feed.
  • In the Summer of 2006, I was having lunch at the Union Project Cafe with my friend Pat. I asked him if he thought I could find work as a blogger. His reply “Don’t quit your day job.” In 2006, I was a regular at the Union Project Cafe which was run by the amazing Kate Romane. Kate went on to run e2, which was even more amazing and is now the proprietor of Black Radish Catering.
  • 2006, a reader of the blog left a comment about how this company Spreadshirt was hiring for a Wizard of Web 2.0. I quit my day job and started my social media career as a Wizard of Web 2.0.

What is even more amazing to me is how much has changed over the past 9 years. Pittsburgh has gone from being an occasional mention in a story about rust belt cities to being #1 on more lists about cities than I can even keep track of.

If you are new to Pittsburgh, or even nostalgic about Pittsburgh, take a moment to read the 2009 New York Times article – Turning to T-Shirts to Spiff Up Downtrodden CitiesIt is an interesting comparison to how much has changed in the way we talk about cities (also some interesting changes in the businesses that existed and still exist today). No one would use the word “downtrodden” to describe Pittsburgh today.

STLStyle is still printing out St. Louis gear, if you find your self in St. Louis stop by and say hi to Jeff and Randy, I can assure you there are some Pittsburgh stickers on the wall at their shop. Commonwealth Press is still printing t-shirts and has recently moved to a much bigger location in the Allentown Neighborhood. The Mayor of Pittsburgh is now featured in the New York Times on a regular basis.

What is most striking to me, is the change in the language we use to describe Pittsburgh. No one would use the word “downtrodden” to describe Pittsburgh in 2017. Are there any cities that are currently described as “downtrodden”? The recent presidential election highlighted the distinct shift between the urban and non-urban areas of the country. I am curious how the way we talk about a place, impacts that place. This blog was started as a way to create a different narrative of Pittsburgh in 2006, to share the stories of the people and places that were here and thriving, even if those outside saw it otherwise.

While I never thought I would move back to Pittsburgh, I also never thought of Pittsburgh as a place I couldn’t come back to. I almost always ask people who didn’t grow up in Pittsburgh if they would ever move back home. The answer is almost always no. I think that Pittsburgh has benefited from people coming and going, leaving for a bit before they boomerang back with some new ideas about other places do things. Was Pittsburgh every really downtrodden or is that just how non-Pittsburghers saw it from the outside?

I would love to hear your thoughts on how Pittsburgh has changed over the past 9 years. I would also like to know what your favorite Pittsburgh t-shirt is and if you would buy a “Pittsburghers Are Tasty” t-shirt.