Life in a SurvivaBall

Walking downtown yesterday morning, my first thought was: "it's amazing how easy it is to completely shut down a city." Congratulations to the security planners for such a thorough job. Now, please never do it again. It's unnatural walking around downtown Pittsburgh at noontime while the streets are speckled with walkers and way more bikes than cars. Police outnumber ordinary citizens. But at least we know how Pittsburgh will look in the Apocalypse after we run out of oil. Maybe that's the best protest demonstration pulled off?

So far, most of the protesters heeded the call to stay away from the center of the action, displaying their banners and masks far from the center of the action - permitted or not. 500 people in Lawrenceville insisted on protesting without a permit and ended up being dispersed by tear gas. There are just a few pockets of peaceful protest occurring downtown.

My favorite protest so far?
The SurvivaBall guys. Their "gated community for one" is intended to mock selfish methods of dealing with Climate Change and oil shortages, calling out Exxon and Halliburton. They walk around in their big expensive bubbles making fools of themselves. What better way to protest than by making people laugh?

A close second?
The Steelers heads of state battling against poverty.

One day down, and some say the worst is behind us in terms of protests. The self-proclaimed anarchists got out of hand yesterday. 66 folks were arrested. Many windows were broken. But insurance claims will cover the damages at PNC bank and Boston Market. At Pamela's diner, supposedly protesters returned with money to cover the damages. Before you get too critical of the protesters, remember the damage results from the Super Bowl. The damage wrecked on the city to draw attention to the fact that we won a football game. As opposed to damage which draws attention to issues like Climate Change and the situation in Darfur.

And maybe if we as Pittsburgh'ers spend 2 days thinking about these issues and learning the names of our world's leaders instead of the Steelers, then maybe we'll learn something from the G20. If the G20 was anywhere else, how much would we care whether the US, UK and France were taking a stand against Iran? Or whether the developed countries are considering stopping subsidies for fossil fuels in developed countries or Tibet's or Ethiopia's status?

It's quiet out there downtown. Maybe it's a good day to stop and talk to some of those protesters and learn about their causes. And if all else fails, save up your money and buy a SurvivaBall for the next Apocalypse.

Cool Off

The G20 is 2 days.

It will be crazy, and it will suck if you need to go downtown for those 2 days, but it is only 2 days.

Our kids will not become total college rejects because they miss school for 2 days. If you're boss is making you take mandatory 2 days of vacation during the summit, you probably already knew it was time to look for a new job.

Heck. When we won the Super Bowl, there were 2 effective days off - the Monday after the game and parade day. Do I have to mention that 350,000 folks slammed downtown to celebrate the Steeler's winning for a weekday parade? And we're only expecting around 50,000 protesters.

To those that say they regret the G20 being hosted in Pittsburgh, that's only natural. Grooms always have a moment of regret the week before they take the plunge. Olympic host cities have times when they regret the hundreds of millions of dollars spent on new stadiums that will never be full again. But ultimately, it is a privilege. The spotlight focuses on our fair city for a bit, and then it's over.

After all is said and done, we can compare windows smashed and couches burned to the post Super Bowl celebrations.

2 Steps to Sanitizing the South Side

Perhaps as fallout from the upcoming G20, there is some renewed interest in sanitizing the South Side.

2 Cleanliness Culprits in the South Side

1. Public Urination. From what I hear of friends that live on the South Side, this is a pervasive problem. Many solutions have been tried in the past - a mostly vacant port-a-potty sitting over at 18th Street being the most salient reminder. Ideas have been thrown out of giving bar-owners subsidies for opening their bathrooms to the public. Councilor Bruce Kraus wants to take the direct approach. Fine the guys $500. If that's enforced, it might actually work. Of course, we'll also have Kraus to blame if there's a sharp rise in Urinary Tract Infections amongst college-aged men in Pittsburgh. Final vote is on Tuesday.

2. Dangerous Building Conditions. City building inspectors ordered the artist colony known as the Brew House (the former Duquesne Brewery at 21st Street and Mary Street) to vacate the unfit premises by September 19. As it turns out open wiring and lots of flammable materials (also known as art) make for a dangerous combination. Personally, I'd recommend they start with the state of college apartment rentals. The folks at the Brew House are choosing to be there. The college students are clearly morons who will end up pissing on their open wiring when they're kicked off the streets, causing a much more volatile situation. As for the Brew House residents and their building, I wouldn't be surprised if they end up in Garfield, and the lovely building gets turned into condos.

For the South Side, these changes are inevitable. They are the "living room" and ATM of the city. When houses cost over $300,000, you have to expect anger and indignation when someone pisses on your lawn or smelly artists move in next door. Happily, Pittsburgh still has the pleasure of containing many other pre-gentrified neighborhoods like Lawrenceville and Polish Hill. And when those are cleaned up, we'll still have plenty of more neighborhoods to follow.

Priorities in the Face of G20

My street is on the paving list for this summer, but unless some hotshot is blindly following their GPS on the way to the South Side for a Primanti Brother's sandwich photo-op, no one of any political importance is going to drive down it this September. Does that mean my street is going to get pushed to the bottom of the paving heap? Should it?

"Mr. Ravenstahl said the city will plant trees throughout Downtown, and Public Works Director Guy Costa said sections of streets including 10th Street, Oliver Avenue, William Penn Place, Sixth Avenue, Forbes Avenue and Market Street will be repaved. Railroad underpasses on Penn and Liberty avenues will also be cleaned."

If these items were on a priority list already, I'm all for them. But let's try not to "reddup" Downtown at the expense of everybody who actually lives in the city. I understand that people want to get gussied-up and show off our fair city to the G20 officials that are stopping by. But Pittsburgh was picked for the G20 for its positives and its negatives, for its tumultuous history. Nobody expects to see an immaculate Disney World. Get an army of volunteers to clean up litter and paint over graffiti if you want, but leave the Department of Public Works to do their job. It's far more positive to stick to a sensible, fair plan of paving streets, fixing potholes, and painting sign posts, than to allow line-jumping for a one-weekend event. And it serves the residents of the city the most.

Hello World

I'd be remiss in not shouting from the rooftops that:

Pittsburgh is hosting the G-20 Summit!

The city appears to have been picked because Obama likes the Steelers of our great economic recovery since the Steel collapse. One of the highlights is that the meeting is taking place in the largest green convention center in the country. Let's have some true green initiatives in place by the time the summiteers reach here. How about a green triangle? Or strict LEED-certified building codes? Or LED streetlights rolling out throughout the city? The world will be looking at Pittsburgh. Let's get serious.