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Vote YES on The Parks Ballot Referendum
by Nancy Levine 03 Nov '19

03 Nov '19

Dear Neighbors I’d like urge you to vote YES on the Parks Referendum for the “Creation of the City of Pittsburgh Parks Trust Fund”, on Election Day, November 5th. If you are interested in my reasons, read on. I will start with a quote from the CEO of the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy, Jayne Miller. “Great cities have great parks. Parks transform cities. They are free, and the most democratic spaces in a city. They fuel the economy, improve our health, clean and cool the air, clean and manage stormwater, renew the spirit, and create community.” No one will argue that parks are not good for us. No one will argue that many Pittsburgh parks are in extreme disrepair and that we have a huge budget short fall in funding for maintenance, repair and programming of our City parks. The argument is then about how to fund the repair and maintenance of these wonderful places. Here are my arguments in favor of this referendum. The argument for equity. I’m putting this one first because I think it is the most important one! Of the city’s 165 parks, five, including Schenley, Highland and Frick are known as regional parks and do receive funding from the countywide Regional Asset District (RAD). These regional parks also happen to be in our wealthiest neighborhoods. The other 160 parks are left to fight over whatever the city can throw their way. For example, thanks to RAD dollars, the city has 69 full-time employees working in the five regional parks. The remaining 160 neighborhood and community parks have 33 maintenance workers. Parks in underserved neighborhoods are the most underfunded and will get priority with this initiative. “Pittsburgh proposes prioritizing parks in vulnerable communities as research on parks’ benefits grows”. The first 6 years of funding in the proposal will go to the 20 most underserved parks. Check out the details in this Public Source Article. https://projects.publicsource.org/pittsburgh-parks/ The argument that the PPC has a vague proposal and has not done its homework. This is just plain false! “The process leading up to this initiative has been very thorough. For more than a year, PPC has been gathering very detailed information about the needs of the 165 parks and parklets in the City, and conducting listening sessions in every part of the City to understand what Pittsburghers believe is needed. Public input has also been submitted online. Perhaps more important, they have also developed in impressive set of metrics to help prioritize how and where the funds raised will be spent; a primary goal is to insure that the funds raised will be equitably distributed and will benefit all of Pittsburgh’s residents. All of this information is available to the public on their website” Brenda Lynn Smith, CEO of Nine Mile Run Watershed Association. https://ninemilerun.org/why-we-support-the-ballot-initiative-to-fund-pittsb… The argument that we need to fund the parks, but this is not the way to do it. To this I say, let’s not let the perfect be the enemy of the good. I’m sure this is not a perfect proposal, but it is the only proposal that I have seen in the almost 30 years i’ve lived in Pittsburgh, while I have watched our parks fall into disrepair. Where are all the people who are arguing there is a better way? Why haven’t they proposed a better way?! Yes-it would be great if UPMC paid taxes to fund the parks-and other pipe dreams. This is what we have, and we have it now. The argument that The City won’t have control over the money. This is not true. The legislation for the referendum states funds from the .5-mill increase “must be approved and set by the Council of the City of Pittsburgh each fiscal year.” This will be a public private partnership. Other cities such as New York and Philadelphia fund their parks this way and are very successful. Pittsburgh passed a similar referendum in 2011 for our Libraries. This referendum was extremely successful and saved our library system from collapse. The advantages of public private partnerships are many. They can draw from the best of both worlds-the government and a foundation that has a stellar track record for almost 25 years. There are hundreds of projects The Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy has raised the money for such as Mellon Square Downtown, The Highland Park Entry Garden, The Frick Environmental Center, The Schenley Visitor Center and so many more. I have no problem with the PPC working with the City to upgrade and maintain the parks. This is what they do, it is all they do and they know how to do it. The argument that the money could be better spent elsewhere, such as affordable housing and clean water. This is the faulty comparison argument. Why should city residents have to choose one or the other? We need to have affordable housing, clean water and parks. If we vote against the referendum, we will get none of them. If we vote for the referendum, we will get one of them, and then we get to work on the others. Let’s not cut off our noses to spite our face. If we want to have a first class park system that improves our quality of life we need a dependable way to pay for it now and in the future. I urge you to support this referendum. It asks us to contribute just a little bit more each year to insure that all Pittsburghers can have the parks we deserve. If not now, when? Nancy 🚴🏼‍♀️ 🚴🏼‍♀️

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Three Rivers Film Festival (Nov. 8-23)
by Neepa Majumdar 03 Nov '19

03 Nov '19

Dear Neighbors, The festival opens on Friday and runs until the 23rd. There is a Polish sidebar of five films and an Asian sidebar of five films. Details are here: https://www.threeriversfilmfestival.com Please email me if you have questions: neepamajumdar(a)gmail.com

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missing cat - please help find him
by susuboombatz＠aol.com 02 Nov '19

02 Nov '19

Hello Our dear family friend's cat, Foster, is missing. He is a 'young' cat; sandy orange tabby, distinct feature is that his tail is a bit shorter than normal. He is indoor/outdoor; very friendly. His paws/legs may appear dusty or have dirt on them - he digs in their yard alot. Foster is not chipped. Last seen Thursday, Oct 31; in the morning at home .....around Hampton and Portland Streets. No pictures available. the owner is 83yrs old; asked us to post this message. We appreciate any help in finding Foster. Please contact me, Sue, by e-mail or our home number of 412-362-5415 or my husband's (Michael) cell by text or call at 412-628-0902 Thank you so much! Sue

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Dee/Joe
by Shayla Grosick 02 Nov '19

02 Nov '19

I am looking to get in contact with Dee/Joe. They have reached out to me to me via email several times and it seems they are not getting my reply emails! Just want to let them know I am getting their emails and to see if there is another platform to reach them! Thanks Shayla

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Steeler Tickets
by Un Kim 02 Nov '19

02 Nov '19

Hi,We have two tickets for the Steeler game against the Colts tomorrow. They are in Section 120, Row T. The seat are in the North end zone. $140 each or bo.Un Kim

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Thermique thermos and pitcher for sale!
by susieslg9＠gmail.com 02 Nov '19

02 Nov '19

Wonderful thermos in great condition! Keep all your drinks hot or cold. Perfect for entertaining and daily use or even tailgating. Only asking $7. Please contact me if you are interested. Thanks--Sent from my LG K10, an AT&T 4G LTE smartphone

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card table and chairs have been sold
by Susie Gross 02 Nov '19

02 Nov '19

Thanks all for the interest....!! Susie

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Mystery Lovers Bookshop Presents: Best-Selling Author James Rosenberg
by Lydia Blank 02 Nov '19

02 Nov '19

Hi neighbors. On Friday, November 8th at 7pm, Mystery Lovers Bookshop will be presenting best-selling author, James Rosenberg to discuss his newest novel, The Jersey: A Story of Loss and Redemption. This is a free event and light refreshments will be served. To RSVP or for more details check out the following links:james-rosenberg-jersey-launch-signing-0 | | | | | | | | | | | James Rosenberg: 'The Jersey' Launch & Signing | Mystery Lovers Bookshop | | | James Rosenberg Author | | | | | | | | | | | James Rosenberg Author James Rosenberg Author. 162 likes · 28 talking about this. Author of Legal Reserves, James Rosenberg is a 3rd ge... | | |

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Office furniture for sale - Must go ASAP
by Nirmal Mundhada 02 Nov '19

02 Nov '19

Hi everyone, Everything must go, ASAP. Only serious inquiries. Please see the attached photos and let me know what furniture you're interested in. Everything must go by Tuesday. Thx, Nirmal. Nirmal Mundhada Principal Analyst Trusst Brands 412.519.6050 www.trusstbrands.com <https://www.trusstbrands.com/> Confidentiality Notice: This e-mail message, including any attachments, is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and privileged information. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply e-mail and destroy all copies of the original message.

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ISO MULTI GALLON GLASS JARS
by Bruno Mena 02 Nov '19

02 Nov '19

Howdy y’all! I hope everyone is having a nice day. We are in search of some gallon jugs to brew some kombucha and ginger cider in. If anyone is looking to get rid of or sell some please let us know! Thank you Respectfully, Bruno R Mena Sent from my iPhone

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