Friday, May 06, 2022

Fwd: ✈️ Next time you fly, make sure to visit Nellie Bly

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BY FRANCESCA DABECCO • FRIDAY, MAY 6 2022
🌧️ 66° / 🌒 53°
(Francesca Dabecco)

✈️ Next time you fly, be sure to say "hi" to Nellie Bly.

She's the Pittsburgh-native trailblazing journalist, feminist, traveler, and philanthropist most well known for her 1889 trip around the world in 72 days — it was her attempt to break the faux record in Jules Verne's novel, "Around the World in Eighty Days" and prove that a women can be adventurers too.

Yesterday would have been Nellie's 158th birthday, and the community gathered to celebrate with a dedication to her statue at the Pittsburgh International Airport, right next to Franco Harris.

She may be famed for her travels, but she got her start as a journalist right here in the 'Burgh.

In 1885, she picked up a Pittsburgh newspaper and was horrified by a column she read titled "What Girls Are Good For." Needless to say, it was misogynistic, and Nellie had lots of thoughts. She wrote a response under a pseudonym, and it caught the attention of the editor. He put out an ad in the newspaper to find her so he could offer her a job. That was the beginning of her stint as a writer for the Pittsburgh Dispatch where she worked for $5 a week.

Nellie made a profound impact on journalism and opened up a world of possibilities for women. She had the courage to tell stories that mattered and wrote about truths that shocked the public: dangerous conditions for women working in factories, abuses in mental health facilities, child labor, and divorce.

As President of the Women's Press Club of Pittsburgh, I was honored to join CEO of the Allegheny County Airport Authority Christina Cassotis, CEO of the Heinz History Center Andy Masich, and Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald to share remarks on Nellie's impact on women and journalism at the event.

A lot of people might not know that Pittsburgh has the second oldest women's press club in the nation. That's all thanks to the team of women in 1891 who stood up, together to tell stories at a time when they weren't even welcome to have a byline. Those women, undeniably, were inspired by and followed in the footsteps of Nellie.

While Nellie Bly left Pittsburgh for New York before the Women's Press Club of Pittsburgh was organized, the club celebrated its 130th anniversary last year by inducting Nellie as an honorary member and recognizing her as a crusader for women journalists everywhere… and especially in Pittsburgh.

📣 If you're a media professional looking for a network, consider joining the club. We're always looking for new members. And you don't have to be a woman either — we welcome all gender identities!

📰 BURGH BUZZ

📝 "Situating the Voice and Experience of Black Women in the Greater Pittsburgh Region," is a latest report from the Black Women's Policy Agenda. It reiterates the findings of the 2019 Gender Equity Commission study that ranked Pittsburgh as one of the worst places in the country for Black women. The new report surveyed 287 women on topics like labor, pay disparity, and treatment by health care professionals. It also discusses severe maternal morbidity, finding that Black women are more than twice as likely to experience death during childbirth than white women. (Dani Janae, Pittsburgh City Paper)

🏫 The Pittsburgh Board of Public Education is looking for community feedback on Pittsburgh Public Schools' next superintendent. Share your input through this survey or attend a community forum next Wednesday, May 11 from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. at Westinghouse Academy, Perry High School, and Pittsburgh Langley K-8. There's another forum at the same time on Thursday at Carrick High School and Sci-Tech Academy, as well as a virtual session from 6 to 7 p.m. (Sarah Schneider, 90.5 WESA)

📉 A consent order could lower Allegheny County property tax bills for homeowners who appeal and take advantage of the county's concession. The court reached an agreement on Wednesday with nine plaintiffs, including the Wilkinsburg homeowners who are leading the lawsuit challenging Allegheny County's property tax math after a reassessment added around $5,000 to their school, borough, and county tax bills. Tax assessments for properties that have not been sold have largely been frozen for the past decade. That has caused an inequity in property taxes because when a lot is sold, school districts or municipalities can appeal to have a new assessment that will boost the tax bill. The recent court agreement could pave the way for more Allegheny County homeowners to trim their tax bills. (Rich Lord, PublicSource)

🗑️ A year after then-Mayor Bill Peduto announced his long-awaited hopes for OnePGH's first $115 million in projects, the plan seems to have stalled out. Mayor Ed Gainey took office in January, and has since started negotiating directly with the city's largest nonprofits and scrapping a lot of the existing ideas, including initiatives aimed at social services, STEM education, and public health. OnePGH was first proposed as a concept 16 years ago – well before Peduto became mayor – and envisioned a partnership in which huge nonprofits like UPMC, Highmark, the University of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon University and others would fund large projects of their choosing with little to no money entering the city's purse. The project has always been unusual, and Gainey seems to be going another way. (Charlie Wolfson, PublicSource)

🏒 Backup-turned-starting goalie Louis Domingue made a critical mistake Tuesday before his Pens playoff debut, and it didn't happen on the ice. The backup-backup goaltender never expected to be called into action when starter Casey DeSmith sustained a lower body injury in the second of a three-overtime matchup, so a couple hours earlier, he'd indulged in a spicy pork and broccoli bowl from a little shop close to Madison Square Garden. (PG reporter Mike DeFabo tracked down the dish and ordered it himself.) The Pens won 4-3, thanks in large part to Domingue's performance, but he told reporters he regretted the meal. "I needed something in my belly," he said. The Pens are back home at PPG Paints Arena on Saturday for Game 3. (Mike DeFabo, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

🗓️ THINGS TO DO

THROUGH SUNDAY: 📽️ Catch a flick at the JFilm Festival at the AMC Waterfront Theater and online (Homestead / virtual)

FRIDAY: 🛍️ Shop from local vendors and makers at the PGH Flea Night Market (Garfield) 🍻 Celebrate the anticipated release of East End Brewing's Morningside beer with local craft vendors, food, and music in the Bulldog side yard (Morningside) 🎶  Enjoy a performance from Brighton Bass Duo and food trucks at The Frick Pittsburgh's  exhibitions opening party (Point Breeze) 🎸 Listen to live music from local Byran Nash in Allegheny City Brewing's Beer Garten with grub from Mr. Bulgogi food truck (North Side)

SATURDAY: ⚱️Shop for handmade wares and watch ceramic demos at the Union Project's annual Mother of All Pottery Sales (Highland Park) 👟 Get outside for the Highmark Walk for a Healthy Community at Heinz Field (North Shore) 🚲 Chug along at East End Brewing's Pedal Pale Ale Keg Ride (Larimer) 🏘️ Go an immersive, self-guided tour of North Side's landmarks and culture with Doors Open Pittsburgh (North Side) 🔥 Get a glimpse of glass extraordinaire Elliot Walker, from Netflix's "Blown Away," at the Pittsburgh Glass Center's Open House (Friendship/Garfield) 🚙 Vroom over to Commonplace Coffee in the Mexican War Streets for the Coffee & Cars event (North Side)

SUNDAY: 🛍️ Shop from more than 100 sellers at The Neighborhood Flea at its new location at The Stacks at 3 Crossings (Strip District) 🍳 Celebrate Mother's Day at Kierra Darshell Presents Drag Your Mother to Brunch at the Greer Cabaret Theater (Downtown) 🎶  Take a spin with your friends to browse vinyl at the Pittsburgh Record Fest at Spirit (Lawreceville) 📖 Kickoff City of Asylum's Jazz Poetry Month at Alphabet City (North Side)

A special thanks to the kind folks at the Heinz History Center for gifting me this awesome book. You can find it in their shop, along with other Nellie Bly merch.

Also, thank you to my friend and the immediate past president of the Women's Press Club, Stacey Federoff, for snapping this photo and being my date to the celebration.

✈️ Just a heads up: I'll be on vacation next week, so Lead Producer Megan Harris is filling in for me while I'm away. She'll keep you up to date on the 411 in the 412!

💐 Have a great weekend, and Happy Mother's Day to all you Steel City Mamas out there.

See yinz when I get back!

Francesca Dabecco
@francesca_dabecco

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Ta.
 
 
Mark Rauterkus       Mark@Rauterkus.com 
Webmaster, International Swim Coaches Association, SwimISCA.org
Executive Director of SKWIM USA, a 501(c)(3), SKWIM.us
The Pittsburgh Project - swim coach and head lifeguard
Coach at The Ellis School for Swimming, T&F and Triathlon
Pittsburgh Combined Water Polo Team & Renegades (Masters) 

CLOH.org & Rauterkus.com & 4Rs.org

412 298 3432 = cell

Thursday, May 05, 2022

Re: How NOT to be a hockey player



On Thu, May 5, 2022 at 10:11 AM Virginia Montanez from Breathing Space <breathingspace@substack.com> wrote:
I lost my wife to the apocalypse, but that's not what I'm mad about  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

How NOT to be a hockey player

I lost my wife to the apocalypse, but that's not what I'm mad about

Welcome to a special Thursday edition of Breathing Space!

Why Thursday? Because on Tuesday, Pittsburgh was smote by either Mother Nature or the back of God's angry hand. A huge tree downed near my house meant my wifi was out for nearly the entire day yesterday. Luckily, I only lost power briefly, but my mother and sister, who live just a few miles away, were less fortunate.

Around the 12th hour of their outages, my sister texted that she and her family were heading out in search of an open restaurant for breakfast, and invited my mother and father to come along. This was my mother's reply:

You see it too, right? I'm not crazy, right? Of course you see it. I responded in the correct fashion.

Like, what is my mother? What is she? Why can't she comb her hair without electricity? It was daytime. There was plenty of light hitting all the various mirrors in the house. Why was there "NO WAY" to comb all four inches of her hair? Does she keep her comb in a safe that's hard-wired to the electricity in the house? Is she using a hedge trimmer to comb her hair? Is she a robot? Did her battery die and she's just standing there frozen like a rusted-out C3PO, using voice-to-text? Her response was to tell me I'm "so funny, Gin," and then she ignored the question. So I still don't know why my mother cannot comb her hair without electricity.

Anyway, the power is back at her house, so she successfully combed her hair all beep-borp-[comb]-borp-[comb]-beep-ding, and my wifi is back up, so here's the newsletter!

1. Will you marry my cheap ass?

One thing you should not do is use an MLB park's jumbotron to propose to your love unless your love SPECIFICALLY and IN BLOOD-WRITING tells you that their dream is to be proposed to in that way. That said, should you eschew my good advice and decide to do so as if I've ever steered you wrong, it will cost you.

For instance, if you were to want to do it at a Dodgers home game, a LifeHacker article says it will cost you a whopping $2,500 to rent the jumbotron for your proposal. You could fill up your gas tank AND buy a gallon of milk for that much money!

It's a bit cheaper at Washington Nationals Park at $1,500. It's $450 in Philly and $350 at the storied Fenway. And at PNC Park? At our home park? At the jewel by the confluence (drink!)? Place your guesses now. Okay. Ready?

Thirty. Nine. Dollars.

These people sat in a meeting and were like, "$40 is too much. We need to bring it down one dollar to trap people into thinking it's really only $30, the same way people will buy something that $19.99, but not something that's one penny more. Suckers."

And honestly, if you rent the Jumbotron to propose at a Pirates game, you might end up proposing to your love in front of 42 fans, two wooers, five to six pierogies, and an obese bird. You might as well just take your love to the Mon Wharf parking lot and propose in front of a nuisance of geese. (I assume a group of geese is called a nuisance? Seems right. Nuisance of Geese is also my new band name. Our first single, "Make eye contact and I'll f—k you up" is out now. It's pretty explicit.)

Now, that said, did you know you can rent a single Pirate pierogi for $100 and the Parrot for $200? I'm just surprised it's not $99.99 and $199.99. (Call now! These prices won't last!) My sister and I were once shocked to learn you can throw out a first pitch if you buy 250 tickets for your group, and you can actually sing the national anthem at PNC Park so long as you buy, I believe it was 500 tickets for a game (that number might be down to 10 by now). She and I said we were going to do it and get out there and give it our best shot even though we can't sing two notes without making random babies and dogs cry.

We would make the local news for sure. On the bright side, we'd probably only be singing in front of 17 fans, the Bucco Brigade, and 22,000 bobbleheads.

(h/t GAScubaBum on Twitter)

2. The Pittsburgh Pahr (went aht)

As a result of the power outage, many fans were unable to watch the Penguins' amazing triple-overtime victory in the first round of the Stanley Cup Finals. WTAE interviewed one such disappointed fan and please, please, please behold the power of the perfect, textbook yinzer accent:

I'm bummed aht. Pahr. Haw-kee.

And the sentiment that we don't care about no damn power or the spoiled food in our fridges; we just care about the hockey. Glorious. Beautiful. Quintessential. It could be the actual apocalypse and old yinzers would be on KDKA going, "I had to fight off one of the horsemen and I lost my wife to the rapture, but I'm really just mad I missed the fourth quarter of the Steelers game. What was the score?"

Hopefully Dr. Oz didn't lose power though because otherwise his 900 carrots and a broccoli might spoil.

Bah-dum-TISS!

3. Even less good coming back up

Speaking of broccoli, can we give it up please for clutch Penguin goalie Louis Domingue who, thinking he would not be playing by the time OT rolled around, WENT AND ATE A FULL MEAL BETWEEN THE FIRST AND SECOND OVERTIMES only to be called into the game in the third and decisive overtime. Not only did he eat a full meal, but he didn't get, like, a ceasar salad or a protein bowl. The man went and ate SPICY PORK AND BROCCOLI.

If you were to make a list of things that would not be fun to wet-burp up as you're facing an onslaught of thousand-mile-an-hour vulcanized rubber missiles, spicy pork and broccoli are right up there with chili cheese fries and fettuccine alfredo.

There's just no way it's staying down. This story was an eye-opener for me because I just assumed that professional athletes were under strict diet guidance during games and now I'll be wondering if the Steelers aren't actually sitting in Primantis at halftime washing down Cap' and Cheeses with Iron City. All those times we've seen players vomiting on the sidelines is starting to make so much more sense.

4. Speaking of needing to use the bathroom

My pal on Twitter @addiful pointed out that you could buy toilet paper to-go from Eat'n Park and I honestly didn't believe her and had to go see it for myself and hello:

Somewhere Dr. Oz is sitting in his at-home bowling alley grumbling to his wife, "Five dollars for a cottage formaggio! Thanks, Joe Biden! Debate me, you coward!"

It's only a matter of time until the Eat'n Park on Banksville gets an order for 15 rolls of toilet paper and a frantic-looking Penguin pulls up to the take-out window all, "THE GAS STATION SUSHI WAS A BAD IDEA AND I STILL HAVE A PERIOD TO PLAY."

5. May the Pepsi be with you

You may have heard of the Legend of the Phantom Menace Pepsi Machine, and yes, it does exist. A machine so old, the child actor depicted on it is now 67 years old, give or take.

I'm exaggerating. Don't email me, you nerd.

But yes, this old vending machine was originally used to promote the first Star Wars prequel in 1999, which, oddly, by my math was also only ten years ago. Don't email me, you nerd.

The vending machine is located outside the Pittsburgh Bureau of Fire Station 27 headquarters near the intersection of Virginia Avenue and Shiloh Street. It has remained operational all these years, thanks to the efforts of that station's firefighters, who have kept it stocked and functional after Pepsi stopped maintaining it.

Here it is on Google Maps and should be flagged as a landmark honestly:

Anyway, Pepsi went and did a really cool thing!

On Tuesday and in advance of May the Fourth (aka "Star Wars Day"), Pepsi showed up in Pittsburgh to repair the vending machine, provide it with a year's supply of Pepsi products and donate $10,000 to Fire Station 27.

The machine that had been selling Faygo is now stocked with Pepsi, and the cash mechanism has been repaired. This is the kind of Good Content I am here for.

No snark. Just joy.

Oh wait. One snark. I hope we get to see Dr. Oz make a campaign stop here so we can watch him say, "Will it make change for a hundred-dollar bill? I need to bring my wife two a Pepsi-colas. Freedom guns babies eagle flag above the fruited plain!"

(I'll never stop.)

6. And I'm ending it here! I'm near the email length limit and I have plans to show up at my "mother's" house unannounced to see if I can catch her plugging herself into an outlet. I will solve this comb mystery, damn it. I'll keep you posted.

Have a great week! Enjoy the warmth! And if you're wanting to math-check me or are angry at my constant digs at New Jersey's Doctor Oz, here's the number to call:

Let me know if you're the father. You owe me so much money.

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Deb is okay in removing sign maintenance license but replaces it with 3 more

Proposals for new licenses make over reaching council happy:

Dog walker license

Blogger license

Rental boat operators license 

Sidewalk chalk artist license


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--
Ta.
 
 
Mark Rauterkus       Mark@Rauterkus.com 
Webmaster, International Swim Coaches Association, SwimISCA.org
Executive Director of SKWIM USA, a 501(c)(3), SKWIM.us
The Pittsburgh Project - swim coach and head lifeguard
Coach at The Ellis School for Swimming, T&F and Triathlon
Pittsburgh Combined Water Polo Team & Renegades (Masters) 

CLOH.org & Rauterkus.com & 4Rs.org

412 298 3432 = cell