UBER can't find good help locally. (Pittsburgh, Lincoln: 2014, construction, live)

[bluecarebear]

Originally Posted by SteelCityRising

I live in Polish Hill, which is in the very heart of this city. Numerous dwellings and businesses in the neighborhood have "Black Lives Matter" and/or "End White Silence" signs proudly displayed. Our LGBTQ population is relatively high proportionate to our neighborhood's diminutive population. I've ascertained that Bernie Sanders, a true progressive, has very strong support here through having political discussions with many of my neighbors. We have vegans, anarchist punks, and people who love to compost.

I wouldn't even call my neighborhood the "most" progressive neighborhood in Pittsburgh, either. Maybe the outer edge neighborhoods like Lincoln Place, Summer Hill, and Westwood leave a lot to be desired, but pretty much the entire urban core of the city is VERY progressive. Have you counted the number of hybrids, EV's, and even Teslas lately? Have you seen the rapid uptick in the cycling community?

I could say the same for any city in the US. Even Youngstown has a gay pride festival. Lifestyle choice doesn't make Pittsburgh progressive. People in the suburbs cycle and recycle. There are Democrats in the suburbs. Are you saying that only Bernie voters who live in the city are progressive? (He lost NY, one of the two most progressive states in the US.) And what about Hillary voters? You are basically categorizing them as conservatives who like meat. Again, lifestyle choices aren't going to make a city great.

"Progressive" is thoughtful, considerate, and visionary urban planning with a good infrastructure. Pittsburgh has based it's future on drawing in the yuppie hipster crowd with bars and restaurants and it's failing. Crime is up, cost of living is up, the schools are violent and getting worse (oh, and the Pittsburgh Promise runs out of funds in about 5-6 years), and the city of Pittsburgh isn't doing one thing to change this path we are on. Pittsburgh should have focused on long term residents and families instead of trying to be trendy for 20 year olds.

BTW, even straight republican farmers compost.

[ferraris]

Uber offers "unlimited vacation". That's a big red flag to me.

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by erieguy

I've heard you continuously talk of everyone driving giant SUV's. Now you're saying hybrid and electric vehicles are prevalent?

With the price of fuel, electric and hybrid vehicle sales are down and will continue to go that way.

Yep. Then when gas prices spike again in a few years we'll have Amy Marcinkiewicz interviewing people who drive those vehicles crying and hee-hawing about how their budgets are blown. This country never learns from its mistakes.

[sealie]

Originally Posted by ferraris

Uber offers "unlimited vacation". That's a big red flag to me.

Exactly. Give me my well-defined time to recharge, I wasn't born yesterday.

[Paul2421]

Originally Posted by SteelCityRising

I live in Polish Hill, which is in the very heart of this city. Numerous dwellings and businesses in the neighborhood have "Black Lives Matter" and/or "End White Silence" signs proudly displayed. Our LGBTQ population is relatively high proportionate to our neighborhood's diminutive population. I've ascertained that Bernie Sanders, a true progressive, has very strong support here through having political discussions with many of my neighbors. We have vegans, anarchist punks, and people who love to compost.

I wouldn't even call my neighborhood the "most" progressive neighborhood in Pittsburgh, either. Maybe the outer edge neighborhoods like Lincoln Place, Summer Hill, and Westwood leave a lot to be desired, but pretty much the entire urban core of the city is VERY progressive. Have you counted the number of hybrids, EV's, and even Teslas lately? Have you seen the rapid uptick in the cycling community?

eh, there are a lot better ways to help the environment than buying an $100,000 status symbol tesla.

[Merge]

Originally Posted by bluecarebear

I could say the same for any city in the US. Even Youngstown has a gay pride festival. Lifestyle choice doesn't make Pittsburgh progressive. People in the suburbs cycle and recycle. There are Democrats in the suburbs. Are you saying that only Bernie voters who live in the city are progressive? (He lost NY, one of the two most progressive states in the US.) And what about Hillary voters? You are basically categorizing them as conservatives who like meat. Again, lifestyle choices aren't going to make a city great.

"Progressive" is thoughtful, considerate, and visionary urban planning with a good infrastructure. Pittsburgh has based it's future on drawing in the yuppie hipster crowd with bars and restaurants and it's failing. Crime is up, cost of living is up, the schools are violent and getting worse (oh, and the Pittsburgh Promise runs out of funds in about 5-6 years), and the city of Pittsburgh isn't doing one thing to change this path we are on. Pittsburgh should have focused on long term residents and families instead of trying to be trendy for 20 year olds.

BTW, even straight republican farmers compost.

How do you find the energy to be so willfully ignorant about issues in the city? I understand you are far removed at this point, but it would be hard not to be aware of the progressive agenda of the Mayor and Pittsburgh's city council, especially given the fact that you frequent this board.


Are their dedicated bike lanes in the suburbs? Does their exist a "Complete Streets" Plan where you live? Is marijuana use decriminalized where you live? Have your town leaders actively worked to end housing discrimination against people on public assistance? Has your community instituted a rental property registry program? Are the leaders of your police force making active efforts to pursue a social justice approach? Has your municipality attempted to mandate employers to provide paid sick days to employees? What is your township doing to ensure early childhood education for your community's youth? What about local ethics and campaign finance reforms?


These are all items the Mayor and Pittsburgh City Council have actively addressed.


Making up your own definitions for words commonly understood in our society is neither helpful nor convincing. You may not agree with progressivism (which is fine), but your posts continually demonstrate that you don't understand the concept. You are laboring under some pretty weighty delusions.

[Moby Hick]

Originally Posted by Merge

Is marijuana use decriminalized where you live?

It will be for me soon. I have glaucoma anxiety.

[MountainDewGuy]

Originally Posted by SteelCityRising

I live in Polish Hill, which is in the very heart of this city. Numerous dwellings and businesses in the neighborhood have "Black Lives Matter" and/or "End White Silence" signs proudly displayed. Our LGBTQ population is relatively high proportionate to our neighborhood's diminutive population. I've ascertained that Bernie Sanders, a true progressive, has very strong support here through having political discussions with many of my neighbors. We have vegans, anarchist punks, and people who love to compost.

I wouldn't even call my neighborhood the "most" progressive neighborhood in Pittsburgh, either. Maybe the outer edge neighborhoods like Lincoln Place, Summer Hill, and Westwood leave a lot to be desired, but pretty much the entire urban core of the city is VERY progressive. Have you counted the number of hybrids, EV's, and even Teslas lately? Have you seen the rapid uptick in the cycling community?

I disagree with this. Plenty of progressive people in those east end neighborhoods who trend more progressive, but there are plenty of other neighborhoods in the city, especially south and west, that are more traditionally Pittsburgh Dem, which is to say socially moderate or socially conservative. They will vote for Hillary, because that's who they've been told is the PA dem candidate.

[bluecarebear]

Originally Posted by Merge

Are their dedicated bike lanes in the suburbs? Does their exist a "Complete Streets" Plan where you live? Is marijuana use decriminalized where you live? Have your town leaders actively worked to end housing discrimination against people on public assistance? Has your community instituted a rental property registry program? Are the leaders of your police force making active efforts to pursue a social justice approach? Has your municipality attempted to mandate employers to provide paid sick days to employees? What is your township doing to ensure early childhood education for your community's youth? What about local ethics and campaign finance reforms?

What you have mentioned are ethical policies and laws that communities on local, state, and federal levels already have in place. Marijuana legalization won't improve downtown living in Pittsburgh. Look at Colorado and other states. It has only made crime worse and the cost increase. The black market is going strong in states with legalized pot.


Bike lanes should be set aside for public transit such as BRT or rail. There are so few months out of the year that can be used for bike riding. Besides bike lanes, you haven't brought up any other construction or new programs that would benefit the future of the city. Crosswalks and complete streets would be great but the attitude of Pittsburgh drivers needs to change. For instance, I was yelled at on Monday for using the crosswalk by a driver who wanted to take a right turn and I had the right of way. This isn't an uncommon occurrence.


I am out of the city most weekends and get to visit the outlying counties. Yes, those towns are redoing or have redone their main streets and there is a lot of revitalization occurring outside of Pittsburgh. The BEST change that Pittsburgh can make is to stop being so insular and think more like Ohio cities and embrace the region.

[Moby Hick]

Originally Posted by bluecarebear

Bike lanes should be set aside for public transit such as BRT or rail. There are so few months out of the year that can be used for bike riding. Besides bike lanes, you haven't brought up any other construction or new programs that would benefit the future of the city. Crosswalks and complete streets would be great but the attitude of Pittsburgh drivers needs to change. For instance, I was yelled at on Monday for using the crosswalk and I had the right of way. This isn't an uncommon

Have you even been to Oakland lately? The bike lanes have made things much better for pedestrians crossing the street. Narrowing the road is the best way to change the attitude of drivers.

(The weather comment is nuts. I see people using the bike lanes all year.)