Category Archives: Neighborhoods

Tee-Jay aka Slim aka the Ghetto Will Smith

So if you go to our myspace profile you will hear the most badassest song about Picks-berrrrrrgh ever. Seriously. When do you ever hear St. Clair Village, Mt. Oliver, Knoxville, Arlington and Carrick mentioned in the same breath with such respect and UNITY?

It’s brought to us by Tee-Jay, a Pittsburgh native. This man has skills.

You can purchase his upcoming album My Testimony on April 25th from his myspace page. It will also be available from Stedeford’s Records, located at 417 East Ohio Street on the North Side since 1964.

Please buy local:

“When you spend $100 at the chain Borders Books & Music, your purchase creates only $13 worth of local economic activity. That same $100 spent at a locally owned book or record store generates $45, or more than three times as much local economic activity.� Conclusion of a new study, Economic Impact Analysis: A Case Study conducted by Civic Economics, published by Livable City in Austin, Texas. (brought to us by Sustainable Pittsburgh.)

On that note, check out these upcoming local performances:

teejay

Beleza Community Coffee House

This story was in the Post-Gazette this weekend. The brand-spanking new coffee house is located at 1501 Buena Vista St. on the North Side and, according to Pittsburgh Dish, the business hours are:
6 a.m.-5 p.m. M-F;
8 a.m.-8 p.m. on Saturdays;
and 8a.m.-4 p.m. on Sundays.

Looks like the North Side is blowing up! (In the best way.) We wish the Beleza Seven the best … and we hope this inspires others to start businesses in their own neighborhoods. Everyone will love you.

Saturday Diary: Beleza Community Coffeehouse — changing the world, one cup at a time

Saturday, April 01, 2006
By Diana Nelson Jones, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

belezaMy neighbors file into the Beleza Community Coffeehouse every morning, each of us still marveling that we have such a place. It’s small, just slightly funky enough and run by seven people who must be lauded by someone, so it’s going to be me.

And I swear I do and always will pay for my coffee there.

Beleza — which means “beautiful” in Portuguese — opened a little over a month ago, in a storefront building at the corner of Jacksonia and Buena Vista in the Mexican War Streets. People were standing outside at 7 a.m., an hour early.

“We didn’t advertise,” said Joanna Deming, one of the owners, grinning in amazement. “We wanted to ease into it, so we just e-mailed some friends. I expected to know everyone when we opened, but I didn’t know about 70 percent of them.

“They all knew each other, and everyone rotated around, talking. I thought, ‘This is so cool.’ Then it just started being full all day.”

What Beleza means to our neighborhood is estimable, but the Beleza Seven’s potential is a gift to the entire city of Pittsburgh, profoundly inestimable. The more I learn about them, their values and devotion, I think of what the anthropologist Margaret Mead once said: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world.”
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a special day for Pittsburgh’s best neighbor

As you know we here at I heart PGH are not big on celebrities – but this post is about one special friend of Pittsburgh, who probably did not consider himself a celebrity.

March 20th marks the birthday of Mr. Rogers – yes that is the Mr. Rogers of Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood.

Yes another important claim to fame – Pittsburgh was home to Mr. Rogers and Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood was filmed right here in Pittsburgh. Not only is this one of the best and most loved children’s television shows ever, but Fred Rogers was an outstanding person and gave much to Pittsburgh and children around the world.

You can read some more about the history of Mr. Roger here

But I would also reccomend googling “Fred Rodgers” – There are just many wonderful things that were writen about Mr. Rogers after his death that describe what type of person he was. And if you had the great fortune of meeting him in person, as I can attest to, he was just true to character.

I added Mr. Roger’s birthday to my calendar a few years ago and when it popped up as today’s reminder – I did a quick google search to double check the date. I came across some lovely writings about Mr. Rogers. I think that both of these articles demostrate what type of person Mr. Rogers was…

(I found these articles this morning and I have thought about them all day – I was just about to turn out the lights but I decided that I had to get out my computer and recognize Mr. Roger’s birthday).

Jerry’s Railroad Photo Archive – Pgh style

You want old photos of trolleys?

Oh man, do we got old photos of trolleys.

Check’em aht:

1
1520 (St. Louis 1944) [71 NEGLEY HIGHLAND PK]
at 6th. & Liberty in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (April, 1966)

2
1444 (St. Louis 1942) [77/54 NO. SIDE CARRICK VIA BLOOMFIELD]
at 32nd. & Liberty in Pittsburgh,Pennsylvania. (August, 1964)

3
1555 (St. Louis 1945) [76 HAMILTON]
at Coal and Ramsey in Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania. (August, 1964)

4
1621 (St. Louis 1945) [39 BROOKLINE]
on the Smithfield St. Bridge in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (August, 1964)

5
1662 (St. Louis 1945) [42/38 MT LEBANON BEECHVIEW]
at P&LE station in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (February, 1967)

Belly Dancing Rules the School

bellyAnd the Burgh. I recently bumped into an old friend who is now a small business owner, belly dance instructor and vegan chef extraordinnaire. Her web site, Healing Arts by Amethyst is a neat introduction to belly dancing, vegan living and sacred dance.

And guess what? her Bellydance and Veil Work for Beginners class starts this Monday, so we can let it all hang out! From the web site:

6-Week Course, beginning this Monday, March 13, 2006
Mondays, 6:45-8:00 p.m.
Stanwix Towers
625 Stanwix Street, Floor 2
Cost: $60 for entire 6-week course

Come learn a choreography using a veil as a prop! Students have the option of performing in a student dance recital “Elements”, on April 28, 2006. If you don’t want to perform, no worries, you can still come to class and learn the choreography for fun and exercise! If you have a veil or other large piece of fabric, please bring it to class. Limited extras are available for use in class, so if you don’t have one, don’t let that stop you from coming to class! Please note, you must first contact Amethyst if you would like to attend classes downtown, as the building is a secured building. You may call any day, including the day of class.

Amethyst also offers massage therapy and other courses and workshops. Check it out!

Last but not least, our resident bellydancer is also a dedicated vegan, and her site includes powerful video on the subject, as well as helpful nutrional information and answers to the perennial question, “What do vegans eat?” Apparently, vegan Coffee-Chocolate Strawberry Swirl Cheesecake is an option. Click below for the recipe and see the site for more.

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