Happenings in Pittsburgh!! (Manchester, Penn: estate, housing, rent)

[guylocke]

Shuttered churches will be snapped up, real estate pros say - Pittsburgh Business Times:

Nine closed Pittsburgh-area Catholic churches may soon hit the market in a region with no shortage of creative ideas for reusing surplus religious properties.

And local real estate professionals and developers say the Roman Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh, which owns the properties located in six western Pennsylvania parishes, likely won't have trouble finding buyers.

From Angel's Arms Condominiums in the South Side to The Church Brew Works in Lawrenceville, obsolete church properties in the Pittsburgh region have been converted into a wide variety of new uses in recent years.

Leonard Cefalo purchased Carnegie's Christ United Presbyterian Church in 2004 for $652,500, with plans to convert it into a nightclub and restaurant.

[jinxd_13]

Originally Posted by Elder18

Police find severed body in bags

But then that's not quite as cheerful as the other stuff you post on this thread, I suppose.

I know it shouldn't but that really cracked me up!!

[guylocke]

A neat write-up on Flexcar and Zipcar in Pittsburgh.

The Tartan Online : Can’t buy a car? Rent one

This school year, Carnegie Mellon students and faculty members have two new transportation options. Two national hourly rental car companies, Flexcar and Zipcar, recently opened shop in Pittsburgh, offering all-inclusive hourly car rental services to local residents.

To use Flexcar’s vehicles, customers must be at least 21 years of age. Zipcar has a special contract with Carnegie Mellon that allows the company to offer use of their vehicles to students as young as 18.

To use Flexcar or Zipcar, students must create a membership on the companies’ respective pages, (Flexcar.com) and (Zipcar.com). Both companies require a $35 initiation fee. Currently, Zipcar is running a promotion for students in which the initiation fee is turned into rental credit for the customer.

“We partnered with the university in order to have the cars on campus,” said Zipcar spokesperson Adam Brophy. “The university provides the parking spaces. They help with promotion and we discount the service.”

Even without a contract with Carnegie Mellon, Flexcar shows much potential to solve students’ transportation problems.

[guylocke]

This is truly news to me as of today. I had no idea that my very favorite pizza chain (chain, mind you!!!) was born in Pittsburgh, is headquartered in Pittsburgh, and is doing quite well! Go Vocelli Pizza (formerly Pizza Outlet)!

Pop City - Talk of the Bay: Pittsburgh chain tosses pizza in Tampa

Pittsburgh-based chain Vocelli Pizza, once called Pizza Outlet, has doubled in size to 141 stores since 2003, after the company changed its name and introduced an Italian theme.

Offering carryout or delivery, Vocelli also staffs a chainwide toll-free number for store location info and centralized order-taking. Last year, 40,000 orders were dispatched from a call center in Pittsburgh to franchised pizza shops from Ohio to Florida.

[guylocke]

Pop City - CMNH to open 2,000 sf addition to recently rehabbed Hillman Hall of Minerals and Gems

As part of a yearlong expansion and renovation of its Hillman Hall of Minerals and Gems, the Carnegie Museum of Natural History (CMNH) will open the new Wertz Gallery on Sept. 28th. The 2,000 square-foot gallery will feature a permanent collection of gems and jewelry and the new exhibition, Luxe Life: Masterpieces of American Jewelry.
Moderator cut: do not repost copyrighted articles

[guylocke]

Whew, this is a relief!!

Panel rejects huge garage at casino site

The massive parking garage to be built behind the North Shore casino is coming under fire from the gaming task force appointed by Mayor Luke Ravenstahl and Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato.

[guylocke]

Pop City - China opens first Pennsylvania Confucius Institute at Pitt

The Chinese Ministry of Education is opening the first Confucius Institute in the state of Pennsylvania in Pittsburgh this month, marking China’s commitment to furthering cultural and diplomatic ties with the region and businesses.

The center (CI-PITT) will be located and administered through the University of Pittsburgh's Asian Studies Center.

Confucius Institutes are a network of international initiatives developed by the office of Chinese Language Council International (Hanban), dedicated to enhancing the understanding of the Chinese language and culture throughout the world. The Pitt center was chosen over several other locations considered in the U.S. says Michele Ferrier Heryford, managing director of CI-PITT.

“The Chinese Minister of Education chooses to place Institutes into economic regions they want to develop further,” says Ferrier Heryford. “It’s a great opportunity for us.”

Beginning this fall, CI-PITT will offer programs to promote the language by providing Chinese teachers to high schools in the region. CI-PITT also plans to develop a corporate language and cultural training program for local companies that are developing business partnerships in China.

[beemajabee]

boylocke,
do you *live* in this forum? Considering that your other posts indicate intricate knowledge of where to go and what to do I must assume you have a life. But seeing your industrious regularity on here is amusing to me. Moderator cut: off topic

[guylocke]

boylocke,
do you *live* in this forum? Considering that your other posts indicate intricate knowledge of where to go and what to do I must assume you have a life. But seeing your industrious regularity on here is amusing to me. (I wonder if a moderator will delete THIS comment, too! Since I wasn't allowed to say I liked the you-know-what levi's commercial...)

LOL. I've lived in downtown Pittsburgh for six years now and was raised not far up Rt 28 and spent a lot of time in the city and suburbs during my teens.
Currently my life consists of pretty much nothing but internships for several hours a day and then writing thesis/patient interventions/patient presentations/projects. So I am on here a lot of the day while I write and do homework.
And then in the evenings I wind down by playing some online games with my friends while yet again having these forums up and running. My significant other is in NYC for another year.
So yeah, at this point in my life, I spend a lot of time on my PC. Sad but true. :P

[beemajabee]

boylocke,
I always have one addiction or other, and currently it's redoing my house (watching lots of HGTV and DIY) and gathering info on Pittsburgh. I'm a big fan of using the internet for networking and getting a feel for a place before actually committing to some place you've never lived. It's still not the same as actually getting stuck in on of the Pgh tunnels during rush hour, I'm sure, but it's a general idea, and these little snippets obviously help!

PS: Sorry about the separation from your significant other. I've been separated from the one I love for lengthy times by countries and in some instances even continents. May it pass quickly...