Tomorrow, Tuesday, May 19, 2015 is primary election day in Pittsburgh. Most of the registered voters in Pittsburgh are democrats (I have been trying to find the exact percentage of Pittsburgh voters who are registered as democrats, but I have yet to find that statistic). As a result, most of the elections in the City of Pittsburgh are determined in the Primary election. If you want to be able to vote for these candidates in the the primary election, you will need to be registered as a democrat. Voters who are registered as Republican, Independent or any other party can still vote in the Primary election, but there are very few candidates in the City of Pittsburgh who don’t run as democrats.
Please remind your friends, family and neighbors to vote. Voter turnout for the 2014 Primary Election in Allegheny County was 20.46% for the Democrats and 10.65% for the Republicans.
Twitter Accounts for Candidates on the Ballot
Here is a list of all of the candidates who are on the ballot and have twitter accounts. If you know of a candidate who is missing, please leave a comment below and we will update the list.
A Twitter list of all of the candidates is available here.
Looking for a list of all of the candidates? Check out our google doc of candidates, websites, Facebook pages etc. here – feel free to add more information to this spreadsheet.
Sorry for the last minute posting on this – but I think it is interesting and worth sharing some information about the Allegheny County Volunteer Firefighters – especially because I haven’t been able to find much information about this organization on the web. Even if you missed the parade and fireworks on Saturday – here are a few facts to check out.
I have always lived in the city of Pittsburgh – where the firefighters are full time employees, it wasn’t until I was in college that I realized that much of this country (and Allegheny County) are served by volunteer fire departments. I think the Ithaca, NY fire department would offer free housing to students who served as volunteer firefighters.
I learned about this convention from my dad, whose uncle was the captain of Hose Company No. 5 in the Bottoms (aka McKees Rocks). Check out this photo of Hose Company 5’s firehouse – https://flic.kr/p/diZvrL. My dad remembers going to the Firefighters conventions with his uncle and seeing all of the trucks on display.
The details: Allegheny County Volunteer Firefighters – 100th Annual Convention
Was held in Oakmont from June 8-14, 2014
Parade – Saturday, June 14, 2014 5pm – units will start lining up around 2pm (starting at 4:30 p.m., Allegheny River Boulevard from Hulton Road to Pennsylvania Avenue will be open to local traffic only)
Fireworks – Saturday, June 14, 2104
More details on the parade and where to park for the parade are available here.
Battle of the Barrel
One of the traditions of the convention is for departments to compete in water battle to move a keg along a wire with their fire hoses.
Photo Credit: West Homestead V.F.D. 2012 Battle of the Barrel
More photos from the 2014 Battle of the Barrel competition are available on the Rosedale Volunteer Fire Department’s blog here.
Knit the Bridge has been mapping out all of its participants.
Knit the Bridge has been hard at work prepping to yarn bomb the Andy Warhol Bridge starting August 10th until September 8th. According to their website, “Knit the Bridge is a vision for a grassroots, community-led arts project that would bring the many diverse communities of Pittsburgh and Southwestern Pennsylvania together to create a large-scale, aesthetically stunning, fiberarts installation on a bridge in downtown Pittsburgh.”
As of right now, Pittsburgh neighborhoods are at 80% participation and Allegheny County’s municipalities are at 82%. KTB wants 100% participation in both of these categories and needs your help to do so! Do you or an organization you know of from any of the following neighborhoods or municipalities want to help? Here are three ways you can:
Donate
KTB wants to raise $35,000 by July 12 at midnight through their Indiegogo campaign. There are also some perks that come along with set donation amounts. If you donate $60, not only will you be helping out, but you get an awesome t-shirt!
KTB still needs railing covers made from black acrylic yarn. They can be knitted (stockinette stitch) or crocheted (double crocheted) and need to be either 9” x 105” or 15” x 80”. Completed railing covers can then be dropped off at any of the drop-off points listed here by July 31st.
Install
If you are 18 years or older and want to help install the panels and railings when the project goes up starting August 10th, sign up here or email at knitthebridge@gmail.com. You must commit to at least one 3-hour shift and attend a training session. Training days are required and are scheduled for the following dates:
Thursday July 25 7-8pm
Saturday July 27, 11-noon
Sunday July 28, 1-2pm
Wednesday July 31st, 1-2pm
Missing Pittsburgh Neighborhoods
Fairywood
Windgap
East Carnegie
Westwood
Ridgemont
Duquesne Heights
Esplen
South Shore
Bon Air
Arlington
Arlington Heights
Hays
New Homestead
Glen Hazel
Spring Garden
Black railings that will be used on the Andy Warhol Bridge.
Missing Allegheny County Municipalities
East Deer Township
Borough of Springdale
Springdale Township
Frazer Township
Kennedy Township
Borough of White Oak
Borough of Versailles
South Versailles Township
Borough of Wall
Borough of Trafford
Stowe Township
Borough of Leetsdale
Borough of Rosslyn Farms
Neville Township
Borough of Glenfield
Borough of Haysville
Borough of Liberty
Borough of Lincoln
Borough of Pitcairn
Borough of West Homestead
City of Duquesne
Borough of Dravosburg
Borough of West Elizabeth
This is the inaugural post of what will hopefully become a weekly event. Basically I watch movies based or filmed in and around the Pittsburgh area, give a quick spiel about the movie, and display all of the Pittsburgh locations shown in the movie. That way, if you so please, you can visit said locations and say, “Hey, Batman was on this sidewalk!” If that’s the kind of thing you’re into. Also for those movies filmed in Pittsburgh, but not set in Pittsburgh in the movie’s plot, I will reveal the giveaways of how the movie messed up in hiding the fact that it’s Pittsburgh (kind of a snobby, “nice try, but you won’t fool us!” kind of thing). For film suggestions that you’d like to see, please comment or submit them via e-mail at Ian@IheartPGH.com
This week’s installment is the 2009 comedy Adventureland, starring the likes of Jesse Eisenberg, Kristen Stewart, Ryan Reynolds, Bill Hader, and Kristen Wiig, among others. It was filmed on location at Kennywood park and some other local areas that we’ll get to later. Set in 1987, it’s about a recent college graduate who ends up living at home for the summer in Pittsburgh and working a job at the local theme park “Adventureland” (Kennywood). It’s a little dated, but seeing as it’s early into Summer, I thought it would be an appropriate start with all of the Kennywood picnic outings and memorable (for better or worse) summer jobs in full swing. Plus, it seems like plenty of people still make the connection between Kennywood and the film.
Though I wouldn’t recommend it for everyone (it garnered an R rating “for language, drug use, and sexual references”), I thought it was a charming, funny, coming-of-age/finding-your-place film. It’s well-casted and there are Pittsburgh references and familiar sites all throughout the film.
However, within moments of the start when Eisenberg’s character learns that he has to live at home during the summer, one of his snobby, yuppie friends comments “Summer in Pittsburgh, that’s [expletive] harsh.” To which Eisenberg responds, “They don’t like people like us where I’m from, we’re romantics.” Speak for yourself, pal! Another unbelievable part occurs when Eisenberg’s character scoffs at the idea of taking journalism courses at Pitt with the possibility of interning on “Mister Roger’s Neighborhood,” calling it a “children’s show with marionettes.” Now what Pittsburgher in their right mind would ever have anything negative to say about Fred Rogers?
Grudges aside, there are some other nice local references. For instance, one character tries to get Lisa P. (the “popular” 80’s chick working the Music Express) to go to a Judas Priest concert at the Civic Arena. Although I’ve found no evidence that Judas Priest actually ever played the Civic Arena, the small detail was a nice touch. The rest of the soundtrack is pretty awesome as well, especially if you like Lou Reed. Eisenberg makes K-Stew cassette mix tapes with Lou Reed songs and talks about how he’s his personal hero, while Ryan Reynolds claims to have jammed with Lou Reed to the awe of all his coworkers (even though he consistently mispronounces “Satellite of Love” at one point). Seriously, Lou Reed is all over this movie (I ain’t mad). Note: there are some nice shots of local sites in the video as well.
Woah heads up, Jack Lambert jersey sighting:
Move K-Stew, there’s a vintage Yinzer behind you!
Anyways, there are some other really awesome Kennywood locations featured throughout the movie. Here are just a few that I picked out:
Check out Eisenberg and Reynolds hanging out by the shooting gallery, which I’m unsure is even still in existence.
Ah, Eisenberg and Reynolds are at it again (best friends forever)! This time at the Music Express.
And what’s this? Are those some Parachutes I spy lighting up the background? This was during the 4th of July scene of the movie (another popular real-life Kennywood affair) and there’s a great shot of fireworks lighting up the sky over “the Racer.”
You may recognize many of the sites in just the opening credits as well, like the 16th Street Bridge (which gets a lot of action throughout the film), hills lined with houses in Homestead, and the Stardust Lounge in Moon Township (it’s a real bar).
16th St. Bridge
Homestead and the Phantom’s Revenge
Homestead (background) and the Thunderbolt
The Stardust Lounge in Moon Township, a popular hang-out in Adventureland
So there are some of the spots featured in Adventureland. Trust me, there are plenty more, and if you haven’t seen the movie, check it out (if you’re over the age of 17 and are not offended by “language, drug use, and sexual references” of course). Then you can go to Kennywood and (gasp) stand in the same spot as K-Stew or Ryan Reynolds, or just enjoy the familiar sites of summertime in Pittsburgh.
One more thing:
Ok, something’s definitely up here. Everyone knows it’s utterly impossible to have any control over the bumper cars at Kennywood (maybe all bumper cars for that matter), and to successfully enjoy them without waking up to a stiff neck since no one bothers to wear the nasty, dirty, sweatband-like material seat belts of the bumper cars and absolutley NOBODY avoids head-on collisions. But that’s why we love you Kennywood.
Remember for a movie filmed in the Pittsburgh area that you’d like to see over-analyzed for local references here, comment below or drop me a line at Ian@IheartPGH.com
