Your Daily Guide

Bag Your Leaves: It’s Collection Time

It’s time to rake your leaves (my least favorite chore growing up) and tie up fallen branches because the city is picking up fall debris tomorrow. Here’s what you need to know. [City of Pittsburgh]

• All debris must be placed in a brown paper bag and not weigh more than 35 pounds. The city will accept leaves, branches, brush, grass, and pumpkins — all of which must be bagged and curbside before 6 a.m. tomorrow. The city will turn these natural materials into compost that’ll enrich the parks, rather than having it sit in a landfill. Nice!
• Branches must be tied up with natural twine or rope (no plastic) and must be less than 5 feet long and 4 inches in diameter. The city also will not accept any metal, glass, brick, or other non-natural materials.
• If you miss tomorrow’s pickup, you can drop off your waste at three different locations in Hazelwood, Homewood, and the West End. [City of Pittsburgh]
• Your pumpkins can also be turned into goat feed. Drop off your pumpkin at Healcrest Urban Farm in Garfield by Nov. 29 to feed local goats. Note, however, that pumpkins must be whole and uncut, free of mold, bigger than the palm of your hand, and meet other restrictions. [Allegheny GoatScape]

Fall always reminds me of “Ashes of American Flag” by Wilco (I prefer the solo version): 🎵 “And all the fallen leaves / Filling up shopping bags” (don’t do that! Put them in paper bags!) 🎶

Voters Approve Mars-Adams Merger

In the crossover event of the year, more than 70% of voters in both Mars Borough and Adams Township approved a merger of the two municipalities, creating an unstoppable new entity: Mars Township. One impetus for the merger was a plan to renovate the Mars Area Public Library. Marshians (yep, that’s the demonym) wanted to keep the library within Mars, but Adamities were wary of using taxpayer money to pay for a multimillion-dollar project outside their borders. Joining together helps solve the problem, plus gives residents more access to resources. [🔒 Post-Gazette / KDKA]

• Famously, Pennsylvania is a patchwork quilt of a huge number of municipalities — more than 2,505 of them to be precise — all of which have their own local governing board. For comparison, Tennessee (which is about the physical size of PA) has roughly 345 of them, because TN law allows for unincorporated communities that’re governed by the larger city or county government. [PA.gov / Spotlight PA / State Symbol USA / Rampage Law]
• We talk about more election results — plus the implications for Mars Township residents (Marshian Townshipites?) — on today’s pod. [City Cast Pittsburgh]

Struggling Mall Could (?) Be Resurrected

Virginia-based developer Comstock Holdings Cos. announced plans to buy and reinvent the Galleria at Pittsburgh Mills in Tarentum. While the sale hasn’t been approved yet, tenants at the mall are cautiously hopeful. Comstock Holdings mostly owns developments in the D.C. area, and this year announced plans to build data centers in Oklahoma and the Mid-Atlantic region. [🔒 Business Times / TribLive]

Film Fest Features Locally-Shot Movies

November is a great time for Pittsburgh-filmed movies. The ongoing Three Rivers Film Fest is showcasing three features — two docs and one fiction film — that were all shot in and around Pittsburgh. One of them, “The Gymnast,” is premiering tonight at the Lindsay — and you might be able to see me in it. I was an extra, which mostly involved sitting in an unfinished basement in a North Side rowhome. Movie magic, baby! [WESA]