THIS SATURDAY, MAY 10, Peabody High School will be hosting Promise for the Future: Reducing Teen Violence and Enhancing Life Opportunity.

This community event will offer over 40 local service providers with valuable information, as well as information workshops. The event will also highlight the positive initiative already going on with our youth, such as catering from the Peabody culinary arts program, as well as the Union Project’s Youth Talent Showcase later on in the evening.

The event begins at 8 a.m. with breakfast, music and a good crowd. Make sure to be there on time to get all of the goodies and information! This is a valuable event for Peabody students, parents and supports! Even if you don’t have children, you should still support our local schools!

TOMORROW, Saturday, April 19 from 9 am to 12 pm will be the East Liberty Litter Sweep! Join East Liberty residents and volunteers to clean up our community.

The Litter Sweep will begin in the Home Depot parking lot and equipment and refreshments will be provided. After the clean up, volunteers will enjoy a party including food, local vendors, live local music and entertainment!

This project is coordinated by Allegheny CleanWays, in conjunction with the Great PA Cleanup and other partners in a effort to prevent and eliminate litter and illegal dumping. Do your part to make this community as beautiful and healthy as possible!!

TOMORROW, Saturday, April 12 from 11 am to 6 pm, the Center for Minority Health and the Healthy Black Families Program will hold their annual Minority Health Fair at the Kingsley Center, located at the corner of East Liberty Blvd and Frankstown Ave.

Service providers will offer free health screenings, immunizations, blood pressure tests and, for the first time at this fair, teeth cleanings! Don’t pass up this opportunity to utilize important, free health care facilities!

TONIGHT! Monday, April 7 from 6:30 to 8 pm will be second community meeting in a series at the Union Project about East Liberty residential and upcoming development, homeownership resources and neighborhood discussion.

Tonight, get the resources and ask the questions to learn best practices for buying and maintaining a home, as well as avoiding or dealing with foreclosure issues.

Next Monday, April 14, discuss Section 8, project based and low income housing options in the neighborhood.

If you have any questions, contact Hilary Brown at 412.363.4550 ext. 26.

Join State Senator Jim Ferlo, ACORN (Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now) and PNC Bank for a Homeownership and Foreclosure Prevention Fair this SATURDAY, March 29 from 11 am to 4:30 pm downtown in the Regional Enterprise Tower (426 6th Avenue , 31rst Floor Community Room).

Use this opportunity to get FREE personal help from nonprofit housing counselors, refinancing opportunities, programs and first-time home-buyer assistance. Also, meet with lenders to find the best financial options for you, possibly switching from an adjustable rate to a fixed rate. These lenders include HSBC Bank, EMC and Countrywide among others.

To register or for more information call 412.441.6551 or visit Senator Ferlo’s website.

Margaritas + uncoordinated dance partner = Good Time!
This Saturday, March 29th from 7 to 9 pm at the Union Project, enjoy a night of festive drinks and dance lessons! They will be hosting Margaritas in March, and for $6, you will get a complementary margarita and dance lesson. Enjoy!

The Penn Avenue Revitalization Plan community meeting held Tuesday, March 11 drew residents and stakeholders from Friendship, Bloomfield, Garfield, Lawrenceville, East Liberty and beyond to discuss street improvements ideas. After a short presentation of the studies, planning process and finances put in place up to this point, community members broke into groups speficied by the section of Penn Avenue to their interest (or for the overall plan.)

The two mile stretch of Penn Ave being proposed for redevelopment spans from 34th Street in Lawrenceville to Negley Ave on the border of Friendship and East Liberty. Because it is so long and runs through multiple neighborhoods, it has been broken into sections for Doughboy Square (34th St), Arsenal District, the new Children’s Hospital corridor, and the Arts District (up to Negley.)

Community members discussed the use of funds for new traffic and pedestrian signals, new crosswalks and sidewalks, new street lighting, street paving, new sidewalks, new utility lines, new signage and pavement markers, transit/cyclist accommodations, street trees and furniture, and other street facade improvements.

For more information about the project or to voice your opinion, visit the online discussion group. Or you can contact Patrick Hassett with the City of Pittsburgh at 412.255.2883, Aggie Brose with the Penn Ave Corridor Phasing Plan Committee at 412441.6950 or the Project Manager, Brain Krul at 412.201.4900.

There will be a public meeting held for the ongoing Penn Avenue Corridor Phasing Plan Study Tuesday, March 11 at 6:00 p.m. at the Saint Lawrence O’Toole Activity Building on North Atlantic Avenue in Garfield.

The City of Pittsburgh, in cooperation with the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, the Federal Highway Administration, and the Penn Avenue Corridor Phasing Plan Committee will present the scope of the Penn Avenue revitalization project and gather feedback from community members on how they use the corridor and what issues they have had with Penn Avenue.

The project extends along Penn Avenue from 34th Street to Negley Avenue, approximately 2 miles in length, and includes the neighborhoods of Lawrenceville, Bloomfield, Garfield, Friendship, and East Liberty.

Attend this meeting and be a part of the revitalization and planning Penn Avenue!

The Borders Books building in the Eastside retail development in East Liberty, has been awarded the LEED Core and Shell Gold Certification by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). This project is one of the first LEED Gold certified projects in Pittsburgh and also among the first LEED Core and Shell LEED certified projects in the country!

TOMORROW, March 4, 2008 at 2:00 pm, Rick Fedrizzi, the President, CEO and Founding Chairman of the USGBC, the organization responsible for the LEED program, will present the LEED Core and Shell Gold Certification plaque to The Mosites Company at Borders Books, the anchor tenant in the building.

The Design Alliance Architects, with the support of evolveEA, the LEED management consultant, developed a number of green features in the project including:

● Rainwater from the building roof is piped to an underground cistern that eliminates the need for municipal water for irrigation purposes of the entire Eastside development.

● Energy modeling simulation of the building demonstrates 17% energy savings over a typical retail building. The savings are a result of the high-performance curtain wall system, enhanced insulation, and high-efficiency heating & cooling systems.

● The design and construction team exhibited careful and environmentally sensitive decision making in managing construction waste and selecting appropriate materials for the building. Nearly all of the construction waste was recycled; products manufactured locally and regionally, and those made from recycled material, constitute over 30% of the building’s materials.

● The bi-level development was constructed using highly reflective surfaces for the hardscape (sidewalks, drives, ramps) and roofs, reducing the heat island effect and mitigating significant change to the local climate.

● The Eastside Development is a model of urban infill development that provides a walkable, bikeable environment and cross-linkages through the site for local residents and visitors alike. The development has strategically located bike racks around the site to encourage alternative transportation, and a shower room available to employees in the development.

● The Mosites Company encourages current and future tenants to pursue LEED for Commercial Interiors certification, and has provided them with guidelines on what strategies should be pursued to complement the features of the building and the development.

These commendable building decisions make for healthy, sustainable infrastructure in East Liberty and congratulations to the Mosites Company, The Design Alliance Architects and all other partners on this LEED certification award!

If you would like to read more about this award, here is thePress Release and the articles in the Post Gazette and Business Times.

Would you like to get down to the nitty gritty of race, community and discrimination?

The Nitty Gritty Race Conversations will be TONIGHT Monday, February 25th at 6pm at the Union Project. Union Project and Open Door invites community members to participate in the Monday Evening Conversations, “Exploring the Dynamics of Race & Community.”

The series is an annual event that invites community members to explore and face issues of race, equality, faith, humanity, and community. This will not be your average discussion. Be prepared to participate by asking questions, offer your own insights, or just listen to learn about the perception and every day reality of these pressing issues.

For more information contact Hilary at 412-363-4550×26 or Hilary@unionproject.org or visit www.unionproject.org for a full listing.