When I find myself playing tour guide to friends who are visiting Pittsburgh, there are a few places I like to take them to to impress them with a view of the city. The North Shore or Grandview Avenue both provide nice views of the city even on the worst of days, and when the sun is shining, there’s nothing finer than strolling along the
Read the Full Article →Monthly Poem April Surely the snow is finally retreated, old man winter is now defeated. For behold the sunrise above the rivers, and the rabbits emerge with one last shiver. There now is rain to replace the dancing snow to kiss the flowers so that they will grow. Gone away are the colors dreary, the browns and grays that makes men weary. In their place
Read the Full Article →All over the world, casinos have evolved from smokey and windowless spaces to full-fledged entertainment centers. Indeed, in our previous guide to casinos and gaming centers near Pittsburgh, we highlighted how many casinos are now offering other amenities besides your usual games. This is great news for people who enjoy gaming at physical locations and immersing themselves in the other casino amenities. That said, we
Read the Full Article →It’s no surprise who Washington County is named after. It’s named for Revolutionary War General and our first president, George Washington. Formed in 1781, the county is one of the earliest of numerous places named for the father of our country. Its county seat is also called Washington, but locals also know that the place is often referred to as “little Washington.” Below are some
Read the Full Article →As Easter approaches, many of us start thinking about our Easter dinners. When I was a kid, my grandmother always prepped our Easter ham by covering the outside of it with pineapple rings secured to it with toothpicks and putting a Maraschino cherry in the center of each ring and then studding it with whole cloves. She would then bake it in the oven with
Read the Full Article →Land has always been valuable and the source of much conflict amongst people, and the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers made this area, and what would later become Pittsburgh, choice real estate and the site of much violence. Initially in the 1740s, when English trader, William Trent, first came to the area and set up a trading post at the headwaters of the
Read the Full Article →DEFINITION: : a chess opening in which a player risks one or more pawns or a minor piece to gain an advantage in position. (a) : a remark intended to start a conversation or make a telling point; (b) : a calculated move : STRATEGISM “Queen’s Gambit is a move in chess where you sacrifice something early on to get something even greater later on.”
Read the Full Article →Lawrence County lies to the north and west of Allegheny County, skirting the Ohio state line. The county owes its name to naval ships and officers. The county derives its name from the USS Lawrence, the flagship of Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry, who sailed on this ship during the Battle of Lake Erie during the War of 1812. The ship was disabled in that battle
Read the Full Article →“This is my dream job,” said Wendy Pardee, speaking about her role as president and CEO of The Children’s Institute of Pittsburgh. Pardee, who has been at helm of The Children’s Institute for the past three years, is a Pennsylvanian through and through. “I grew up in Punxsutawney. I have all the groundhog gear—hat, shirt, cookie cutters, you name it,” said Pardee. She stayed in
Read the Full Article →If the counties in Pennsylvania were puzzle pieces, Greene County would be the corner piece that fits into the Southwest right angle of Pennsylvania, bordering West Virginia on the south and Ohio to the east. Greene County was founded in 1796 and named for Revolutionary War General Nathanael Greene. Nearly 90% rural, it’s one of the most sparsely populated counties in the state with approximately
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