🌊 Roca is Improving the World With Better NewsBecome the most interesting person at happy hour and read the free RocaNews daily newsletter: just facts, no opinions. And it's fun to read. 1-click sign up here | | | | 🌳 Pittsburgh could get six new parks — is one in your neighborhood?Plus, the new website uplifting local Black voices and a plan that could finally bring life back to the Carrie Furnaces. By Francesca Dabecco It’s Thursday, Pittsburgh. Have you heard about the new Pittsburgh Pedestrian Wayfinding Project? The initiative hopes to make it easier for pedestrians to travel city streets with 50 informational kiosks and 110 directional signs throughout four neighborhoods. The whole project will help connect people to Pittsburgh’s main business districts and find local landmarks — which, if we’re being honest, is the primary way Pittsburghers navigate their routes. You know how much yinzers love to give directions based on random spots on the map — even ones that have been gone for ages. Just for fun: What’s your best impression of Pittsburghers giving directions? Hit reply to this email with your response, and let’s have a laugh. Here’s my version: Yinz better keep your eyes on the screen while you’re scrolling through the rest of today’s newsletter. Once you get past the headlines, don’t forget to enter The Incline’s Holiday Gift-away, and if you scroll a little bit further dahn, you’ll find a bunch of things to do in case you want to get aht of the haus this weekend. | What Pittsburgh is talking about | | | | | 4 things to know today 🍎 Pittsburgh City Council is hoping to create a food justice fund with $1.8 million in federal relief money that would support community food insecurities exacerbated by the pandemic. The fund would “be able to invest in the kinds of businesses or nonprofits that are part of our food system,” according to Councilwoman Deb Gross. “That means anything from growing food, making food, distributing food, selling food…” (TribLIVE) 📣 The local group of artists and activists behind 1Hood Media just launched BlackPittsburgh.com, a website dedicated to amplifying Black voices in our city. “BlackPittsburgh.com is an extension of the work we began at 1Hood Media over 10 years ago to authentically tell our own stories,” said Founder and CEO of 1HoodMedia Jasiri X. The site plans to offer a variety of news, events, and resources for the city’s Black community. (TribLIVE) 🏭 A new plan could finally bring life back to the Carrie Furnaces. The borough of Rankin has waited over four decades for economic recovery at the former mill, and this year, the nonprofit Regional Industrial Development Corp. proposed a plan to revive 104 acres of the site. They also plan to construct buildings for a range of uses like technology, biotech, film production, workforce training, and more. (NEXTPittsburgh) 🚙 Pittsburgh City Council passed amendments to the city’s Residential Parking Permit (RPP) program for the first time in decades. You can learn more about residential parking, visitor parking, and what these changes mean for you at the link. ➡️ (90.5 WESA) | 4 things to make you smile🌳 Pittsburgh might be gaining six new city parks. If the proposal by the Department of Public Works and Department of Park and Recreation system is approved, the initiative would transform 300+ acres of greenways into outdoor community space throughout Allentown, Beechview, Brookline, Glen Hazel, Greenfield, Hazelwood, the Hill District, Mount Washington, Overbrook, Polish Hill, and South Side Slopes. (TribLIVE) 🌭 If you’ve never had a Korean-style corn dog, you’ve got to seek out BoonSeek. The popular food truck has rallied a ton of fans with it’s soft-yet-crispy dough coated with a dusting of sugar and doused with hot mustard and ketchup. You can usually find the truck roaming around Oakland with a long line of college students waiting for a bite. (Pittsburgh City Paper) 🎄Deck the (Capitol) halls! North Catholic High School teacher Kellie Makar helped to decorate the White House for Christmas for the second year in a row. First Lady Jill Biden decided on a “Gifts from the Heart” theme this year, taking inspiration from small acts of kindness during the pandemic. Makar put her skills to work in the library, which featured decorations focused on the Gift of Learning. (NEXTPittsburgh) 📺 Who doesn’t love a holiday special with Rick Sebak? You can access exclusive episodes of classic Pittsburgh holiday cheer with the WQED Passport for just $5/month. Need a gift for that special yinzer in your life? This present would support community storytelling and offer entertainment all year long. (@WQED on Instagram) | 🎁 Yinz could win… | | | Got a nature lover in your life? This bandana is part of the AAAnimals League: Allegheny Animals with Attitude All-Stars project is honoring the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy’s 25th Anniversary by celebrating native wildlife. Local artist Mary Tremonte features different species in the design: the “Home” team is made up of regional animals while the “Visitors'' includes species that have been introduced to the region. Whether you’d like to cheer on the home or visitors team, you’re in luck, because TripleAAAnimals has teamed up with Love, Pittsburgh to give away this bandana in The Incline’s Holiday Gift-away! Check out the rest of the AAAnimals League line at Love, Pittsburgh, including t-shirts and totes repping the Mexican War Street Squirrels, Wild Turkeys of Mount Washington, Bloomfield Bats, Homewood Deers, and more. 🎁 There’s more where that came from. Enter to win this bandana and more yinzer gifts featured in The Incline’s holiday gift guide. The giveaway ends Tuesday, Dec. 21 at noon EST. Winners will be notified via the email they submitted their entry with — good luck! | | | | Today🎉Celebrate the holiday at the Carnegie Museum of Art’s Out of the Office Party (Oakland) 🎸Learn about the life and career of Pittsburgh’s most prolific music promoter Rich Engler at The Oaklander Hotel (Oakland) | Tomorrow🌲 Take part in season fun at Shiver on the River in Allegheny RiverTrail Park (Aspinwall) 😂 Have a night of laughs at How the Grinch got Roasted with Arcade Comedy Theater (Downtown) ❄️ Have a jolly good time at American Serbian Club of Pittsburgh’s Winter Wonderland Drag Bingo and Toy Drive (South Side) | Saturday🎄 Swing by the square for photos with Santa, face painting, personalized stockings, arts and crafts, holiday treats, and more (Bakery Square) 🔥 RESCHEDULED: Gather around the fire with some drinks and food at Grist House’s Fire Fest (Millvale) 🍷 Drink wine and listen to live music from guitarist Tim Baurle at Refucilo Winery (North Side) | Sunday🐦 Have a holiday brunch in the garden at the National Aviary (North Side) 🛍️ Shop from local makers at the Made & Found holiday market at Spirit (Lawreceville) | | | | |
