Pittsburgh: City of Champions

[Mark Rand]

17 minutes ago, Scott Ruggels said:

How close are you guys to getting this thing into PDF or Print? 

I'm wondering that, too.

[steriaca]

We are still in the too many chiefs stage of communal writing.

[dmjalund]

36 minutes ago, steriaca said:

We are still in the too many chiefs stage of communal writing.

shame. * brings out shotgun*

[steriaca]

There comes a time for everyone to give their ideas, and then there comes a time for everyone to zip there lips so the writer can write uninterrupted. Only the official writer can know when that time comes 

[Steve]

I’m happy to be just an idea guy. Use some, all or none of the suggestions I’ve made.

 

I’ll keep throwing out more because I love world building. It’s why I GM.

[Mark Rand]

Graham Rahal, Chip Ganassi push for IndyCar to enter Pittsburgh street race mix

 

 

 

Adam Bittner

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

abittner@post-gazette.com

Aug 3, 2022

7:42 AM

 

 

Graham Rahal isn’t ready to surrender the possibility of a Pittsburgh street race to NASCAR.

 

 

The IndyCar standout driver wants his open-wheel series to beat the stock cars to the local asphalt by staging an event of its own here after tourism officials told the Post-Gazette last week that they would “love” to welcome NASCAR, which announced plans for a 2023 street race in Chicago two weeks ago.

 

 

He’s even taking after the locals in describing where he’d like the cars to run.

 

 

“I’ve felt strongly that a race down near Heinz Field — or whatever they’re calling it now, I’ll always call it Heinz Field — would be a tremendous place to host an IndyCar race,” he told the Post-Gazette in an interview Monday. “And NASCAR, I know, people think is bigger, better. Whatever. I don’t know that it works in Pittsburgh due to the noise of the cars. And just the operations of it I think are more of a challenge than IndyCar, who’s well suited and well prepared to come in and put on an event because that’s what we do.”

 

 

Rahal has been in America’s top open wheel series since 2008, racking up six wins, three poles and 28 podium finishes in his career. So he has the experience to know what it takes to stage successful events around the country. And he sees good bones in a place that’s become something of an adoptive home town for him.

 

 

Though his family hails from Ohio, his father is former Indianapolis 500 and IndyCar champion Bobby Rahal, who owns a slew of car dealerships in the area. It’s through those ventures that he’s gotten to know the city very well — especially on the corporate side.

 

 

He noted that major Pittsburgh companies are already deeply involved in the sport. PNC Bank sponsors 2020 series champion Scott Dixon. And PPG’s colors adorn the No. 2 Chevrolet of two-time series champ Josef Newgarden. Rahal himself is sponsored by Bortek Industries, based in Mechanicsburg.

 

 

The collective power of just those brands alone, he feels, could generate the necessary support to stage an event here.

 

 

Oh, and did we mention one of the most powerful men in the sport calls Fox Chapel home, too?

 

 

It’s for that reason that Rahal tagged team owner Chip Ganassi in a Twitter post touting Pittsburgh as a destination for IndyCar following the Post-Gazette’s story last week.

 

 

Reached by the Post-Gazette later Monday, Ganassi expressed support for such an event, as well. It’s an effort he’s actually been behind for a long time, telling the newspaper that he’s had discussions with officials that date as far back as the Richard S. Caliguiri administration.

 

 

More recently, the Indianapolis 500 and series champ as an owner said he discussed a North Shore race with Steelers owner Art Rooney II around the time that Acrisure Stadium was built. He thinks the area is particularly well suited for an event because there aren’t many residences in the area — just some bars, offices and restaurants that would likely profit handsomely from a race in the area.

 

 

The biggest stumbling block, he said, is timing.

 

 

“It’s hard to get a weekend that is available on the motorsports calendar between Memorial Day and Labor Day,” he said. “That would probably be the only time you could do it in Pittsburgh. You bump up against the Steelers and the Pirates, what have you, on our side. And then on the racing side, they have sort of the good weekends are all taken. Whether it’s July 4 or Memorial Day, obviously. And all the weekends are taken, just about, so it’s a challenge to find a date.”

 

 

A challenge, but probably not impossible. June was a particularly slow month for IndyCar this year. The series did not run a race between June 12 and July 3. And August, too, has open dates on the weekends of the 14th and the 28th.

 

 

With some coordination with the Pirates and Major League Baseball, it’s likely the North Shore could be available at a time when IndyCar is off.

 

 

The necessary backing for a race wouldn’t come cheap, though. Ganassi estimates it would take an annual number north of what Acrisure is paying for the Steelers’ stadium naming rights, which is reported to be in the neighborhood of $10 million per year.

 

 

So even if big Pittsburgh companies are involved, the commitment made to make an event happen every year would be significant.

 

 

“Having said that, I think it’s a great idea,” Ganassi said. “Certainly worth exploring. I’d be all for it.”

 

 

And both men believe the racing product would be solid, despite Pittsburgh’s narrow throughways in some places.

 

 

The North Shore, especially, has some wide avenues including North Shore Drive and West General Robinson Street, which Rahal believes could be a good setting for a pit road. Even the Three Sisters bridges could probably fit three IndyCars abreast if the course were to cross into Downtown. (Though they’re probably too short to be major passing zones.)

 

 

Ganassi thinks the biggest issue might be paving, given Pittsburgh’s notorious history of potholes. Were an IndyCar to hit even a small one at speed, things could get ugly quickly, so there would need to be a commitment from the city and other stakeholders to make the surfaces as smooth as possible.

 

 

Get that buy-in, though, and Rahal thinks IndyCar has the know-how to stage an enjoyable show anywhere given its experience with street courses in places including St. Petersburg, Fla., and Long Beach, Calif., two of the sport’s most successful homes beyond the famed Indianapolis oval.

 

 

“We make chicken salad out of anything, honestly,” he said. “I have raced for years and years and years at facilities and circuits that just not ideal by any stretch. And yet we make it work. You’ve got a Hyatt down there, some other hotels, a Residence Inn and some other things that are right in that [North Shore] area. You’ve got restaurants that are right in that area. Bars. Those are what you need to make a successful race. And you have that foundation already. So naturally, in my opinion, it’s a really good fit.

 

 

“Of course, if you introduce a bridge or two into this like they do in Nashville, now you’re talking about some really killer visuals. But still. In many ways, there’s no doubt that you can make it work.”

 

Adam Bittner: abittner@post-gazette.com and Twitter @fugimaster24.

First Published August 3, 2022, 5:30am

 

[SCUBA Hero]

On 7/31/2022 at 1:35 PM, Scott Ruggels said:

How close are you guys to getting this thing into PDF or Print? 

 

Not close, unfortunately.

 

While various Herophiles are involved with background/setting and ideas, we don't have a writer or editor to start putting words down on paper.  I intend to start writing the first chapter myself, using material already provided by others and skipping over certain parts (such as the example hero from each age), but that hasn't happened yet.  And I don't have anyone else volunteering to write other parts of the book.  If anyone here is interested, please PM me...

[Mark Rand]

Much of what I'm currently posting is Pittsburgh news taken from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

[Mark Rand]

The Pittsburgh Bureau of Police uses the Ford Fusion Hybrid Police Responder and the Explorer-based Ford Police Interceptor Utility.  They’re also used by the Allegheny County Police and the Allegheny County Sheriff’s Department.  The Pittsburgh Bureau of Fire uses the Ford Police Interceptor Utility as a chief’s car.

 

Edit: The chiefs' car is the Chevy Tahoe.

[Mark Rand]

Owner of old Kaufmann’s store eyes up to 600 more apartments, $125 million investment in Downtown Pittsburgh

 

Mark Belko

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

mbelko@post-gazette.com

Aug 25, 2022

7:53 AM

 

After spending more than $40 million to finish the rehab of the former Kaufmann’s department store Downtown, a Philadelphia developer is plotting an encore — with plans for more acquisitions and hundreds of new apartments.

 

In all, Lubert-Adler Partners LP is looking to invest up to $125 million more in the Golden Triangle, CEO and co-founder Dean Adler said in an interview.

 

“You can’t be an island. To us, the more Downtown activity we can create, the better,” he said.

 

Thrilled with the demand for apartments at the Kaufmann’s building, where 99.3% of the units are leased, Lubert Adler is looking to add as many as 600 more Downtown.

 

 

It has already put part of that plan into motion by acquiring the Pittsburgher at 428 Forbes Ave. across from Kaufmann’s in April for $3 million.

The developer intends to convert the 25-story office building into about 125 apartments, with probably 75% of them one-bedroom units and the rest two-bedroom.

 

Lubert Adler is seeking city approvals for the $30 million project, Mr. Adler said.

 

It is thinking about offering at least some of the units as fully furnished, for visitors who are looking to spend an extended period in town, whether it’s 20 days or six months.

 

But the developer’s ambitions stretch far beyond the Pittsburgher.

 

Lubert Adler is looking to acquire “one or two major buildings” Downtown, with plans to convert them to residential, Mr. Adler said.

“It’s probably the only thing that works for these buildings,” he said.

 

 

He would not identify the structures his company has its eye on, but noted that he hopes to have deals in place within the next 60 to 90 days.

Lubert Adler intends to use the acquisitions to develop another 500 to 600 apartments in the Golden Triangle. That could lead to another $100 million to $125 million in investment, Mr. Adler said.

 

With Downtown in the midst of another residential boom — with about 822 units in the pipeline — he isn’t worried about oversaturating the market.

 

To the contrary, building more apartments will help to increase population and create more “critical mass” for retailers and restaurants, Mr. Adler insisted.

 

“To me, the more the merrier. We have to create as much community as we can,” he said.

 

Lubert Adler acquired the historic Kaufmann’s department store, a go-to shopping destination for generations of Pittsburghers, in 2020 from

another Philadelphia-based firm, Core Realty, which struggled to complete the redevelopment after buying the building in 2015.

 

Under its ownership, Lubert Adler finished the 311 apartments and two levels of parking and added a host of amenities, including a rooftop ice skating rink for winter use.

 

It also completed a deal with Minneapolis-based retailer Target to open a 22,000-square-foot urban format store on the first floor and landed Burlington and Five Below to fill most of the other two floors of commercial space.

 

At one point, Lubert Adler was considering a $50 million investment in the former Frank & Seder department store across from Kaufmann’s on Smithfield Street between Forbes and Fifth avenues as part of a collaboration with the building owner, Cleveland-based Stark Enterprises.

But nothing ever came of the overture, and Lubert Adler no longer is pursuing it.

 

Stark bought the vacant former Frank & Seder building for $10.4 million in 2017. Since then, it has vacillated between selling it and retaining it, at one point seeking $22 million for the seven-story structure.

 

It now appears interested in keeping and redeveloping it. Its last proposal involved retail at street level and conversion of the upper floors into 150 apartments.

 

Mr. Adler noted that there’s a need to create “walkability and excitement” on both sides of Smithfield if development is to thrive there and elsewhere Downtown.

 

“You can’t have one side vibrant and the other side dead,” he said. “They’re very talented developers. They know retail. My hope is that they can get it moving because it would be a benefit to everyone.”

 

A Stark spokeswoman could not be reached for comment.

 

Jeremy Waldrup, president and CEO of the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership, was pleased to learn about Lubert Adler’s plans to add apartments and invest up to $125 million more in the city’s core.

 

“That’s significant dollars,” he said. “That’s exciting to hear.”

 

Mr. Adler said the Target store, which opened last month, has been a big hit so far.

 

“All I know is that each night their shelves are [empty] and they need more and more delivery. I think it’s being beautifully accepted, which should be a great encouragement to other retailers,” he said.

 

The Burlington store, which is moving from the former Gimbels department store several blocks away, should open in about six months, Mr. Adler said, with Five Below to follow about three months after that.

 

He also said that Lubert Ader is thinking about adding a co-working component to the Kaufmann’s redevelopment, known as Kaufmann’s Grand on Fifth.

 

With the pandemic, more and more people are looking for more community-focused developments, ones that combine living and work spaces as well as outdoor amenities, he explained.

 

“That’s needed more than ever,” he said, adding that conversion projects must incorporate such components. “You can’t go by what was done in the past.”

 

[Mark Rand]

From the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

 

The letters CSO on riverside flags warn of a period of Combined Sewage Overflow, when lots of rainwater overwhelms the region’s antiquated municipal sewer system, allowing untreated sewage to overflow into Pittsburgh’s rivers.

[Mark Rand]

Smithfield Street Bridge faces two years of traffic restrictions during upgrade

 

Ed Blazina

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

eblazina@post-gazette.com

Sep 11, 2022

6:00 AM

 

Going between Pittsburgh’s South Side and Downtown will be more complicated for the next two years while the Smithfield Street Bridge undergoes an $8.49 million rehabilitation project. 

 

The historic bridge, which crosses the Monongahela River between Smithfield Street and Station Square, will remain open through most of the project but traffic will be limited to one lane in each direction. The project begins with a full closure starting at 8 p.m. Sunday for line painting and restrictions will be in place when it reopens at 6 a.m. Monday.

 

In addition to the traffic restrictions, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation said one sidewalk will be closed to pedestrians during the project. Initially, the western, downriver sidewalk will be open while the upriver side is closed.

 

Work during the project will include steel repairs, spot painting, replacing the existing sidewalk in two of the four spans, replacing the epoxy deck surface, concrete deck repairs and concrete and masonry substructure repairs. Crews also will upgrade the lane control system and install pedestrian signals at the Fort Pitt Boulevard intersection on the Downtown side of the bridge.

 

 

There also will be minor preservation work to the bridge carrying Smithfield Street over Station Square Drive.

 

During the project, there will be two full weekend closures of the bridge that haven’t been scheduled yet. Motorists also will encounter occasional restrictions on East Carson Street, Fort Pitt Boulevard and the Parkway East.

 

PennDOT recommends motorists use the Philip Murray Bridge between South 10th Street and Second Avenue as an alternative.

 

The project is expected to be finished in summer 2024.

 

The bridge, originally designed by Gustave Lindenthal and built in 1883, is listed as a National Historic Landmark. According to historicbridges.org, the bridge has two 360-foot lenticular truss spans, the longest such spans remaining in the United States. It also was one of the first bridges to use steel in its trusses instead of wrought and cast iron.

 

Ed Blazina: eblazina@post-gazette.com, 412-263-1470 or on Twitter @EdBlazina.

First Published September 11, 2022, 6:00am

[Mark Rand]

Riverlife begins process to create ‘unforgettable experience’ between Downtown Pittsburgh’s Sister Bridges

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Got a news tip? 412-263-1601

localnews@post-gazette.com

Oct 6, 2022

8:08 PM

Forty years ago, Allegheny Landing opened as one of the country’s first urban sculpture parks, nestled on the north bank of the Allegheny River between the Clemente and Warhol bridges on Pittsburgh’s North Side.

 

Over the years, the rolling grass hillsides and walking paths have connected the rear of office buildings on Isabella Street with the riverfront and the trail that meanders along it. Despite changing some of the landscape several times to make it more inviting and the addition of PNC Park a few yards away, the area never became popular with the public and seemed more like part of the corporate development.

 

On Thursday, Riverlife held a ceremonial groundbreaking for the latest effort to bring attention and drive visitors to the park. The agency that has overseen riverfront development in the Downtown Pittsburgh area for the past two decades is replacing the docks near the Clemente Bridge as the first step in a coordinated effort to revitalize the five blocks between the three sister bridges on both sides of the Allegheny.

 

“The hope is we are going to be transforming this whole area,“ Matt Galluzzo, Riverlife’s president and CEO, said after a riverfront news conference. “There’s a palpable intent to make that happen.”

 

In addition to the dock work at Allegheny Landing, Mr. Galluzzo was referring to Allegheny County’s plans for computerized decorative lighting on the Clemente, Warhol and Carson Bridges; redesign of Allegheny Riverfront Park on the Downtown side of the river; the Cultural District’s efforts on Eighth Street; and the Andy Warhol Museum’s pop-up street galleries. Riverlife also is developing additional changes for Allegheny Landing itself that will be designed with community input to make the area more inviting to North Shore visitors, similar to the riverfront area between the stadiums.

The Clemente, Warhol and Carson bridges have long been dubbed the “three sisters” because of their nearly identical construction crossing the Allegheny at Sixth, Seventh and Ninth streets. Built in the 1920s, they are listed in the National Register of Historic Places and were the first self-anchored suspension spans in the country.

 

Early last year, Mr. Galluzzo said, the agency moved its headquarters into the First National Bank building at Allegheny Landing so it could directly oversee the work at the park. The agency is working on a master plan for the entire site.

 

The process begins with the $700,000 project to build new boat docks to replace those that were severely damaged by ice jams in 2018. Crews from Marion Hill Associates Inc. of New Brighton were working from a barge and in the water Thursday placing new, specially treated wooden dock supports delivered from Houston, Texas, and another contractor will install the deck to provide spaces for about 15 boats.

 

Early next year, the concrete bollards and chains at the edge of the river will be replaced with decorative fencing to improve safety and enhance the artistic nature of the park. Riverlife designers will work with residents of the area to decide the look of the fencing.

 

“This is a sculpture park, so we want to make sure there’s an art element here, too,” Mr. Galluzzo said.

 

This project — and those in the future — are being financed through a coalition of public, private and foundation support that Mr. Galluzzo called a “shining example,” including the first use in this area of the Waterfront Development Tax Credit. Corporations can receive up to 75% in state tax credits for contributions to brick-and-mortar projects and this project received $278,000 through those donations. 

 

Until this year, the amount of credits available statewide was $1.5 million. Through lobbying by Riverlife and others, the Legislature increased the cap to $5 million statewide this year.

 

One result of the pandemic has been a renewed emphasis and importance that workers and companies place on recreation and public spaces like parks and trails. Mr. Galluzzo said the coalition partners have taken notice and are stepping up, beginning with the major effort to make the area around the three sisters “a seamless and unforgettable experience that you cannot find anywhere else.”

 

“These are now essential spaces,” he said. “These are important for drawing people back to the Downtown corridor. We haven’t seen this level of interest [from coalition partners] before.” 

 

First Published October 6, 2022, 8:05pm

 

[Mark Rand]

Bridges around the Carrie Furnace site in real life.

 

 

 

 

The Pinkerton’s Landing Bridge (officially known as the Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad Bridge at Munhall) is a truss bridge that carries CSX Transportation’s Pittsburgh Subdivision across the Monongahela River between Munhall, Pennsylvania and Rankin, Pennsylvania.  The structure’s nickname references the 1892 Homestead strike.  It is also known as the Pemickey Bridge, for the Pittsburgh, McKeesport and Youghiogheny Railroad (P. McK. & Y., pronounced “Pemickey”) which used to run over the bridge.

 

The Carrie Furnace Hot Metal Bridge (also known as the Union Railroad Rankin Hot Metal Bridge #35) is a railroad truss bridge across the Monongahela River between Whitaker, Pennsylvania and Rankin, Pennsylvania.  The bridge is out of service and it hasn’t seen a train in almost 40 years.

 

The George Rankin Jr. Memorial Bridge is a cantilever bridge that carries the Green Belt across the Monongahela River between Whitaker and Rankin in Pennsylvania.  It carries four lanes of automobile traffic, plus pedestrian walkways, both paved with concrete.  The bridge carries over 22,500 people per day.  The bridge and many of its approach ramps were originally built with tram tracks, all of which have since been removed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Mark Rand]

Pittsburgh has had a spate of shootings this year, mostly on the North Side.

[steriaca]

2 hours ago, Mark Rand said:

Pittsburgh has had a spate of shootings this year, mostly on the North Side.

I assume that this would be even worse in a Champions Universe Pittsburgh, especially when energy pistols are available along with the standard slugthrowers.

[Mark Rand]

30 minutes ago, steriaca said:

I assume that this would be even worse in a Champions Universe Pittsburgh, especially when energy pistols are available along with the standard slugthrowers.

Probably.

 

There was also a shooting recently in West Mifflin, Pa.  On September 24, 2022, three people were injured during a shooting inside Kennywood Park during Phantom Fall Fest.

[Scott Ruggels]

Due to a quirk of U.S. Law energy Pistols are not classed as firearms. They might be classed as unusual weapons, but things like coil guns or gauss guns are not firearms or even illegal.  What this may mean is that felons in possession of such weapons will not be in violation of parole, and  any charges would be based on actions taken by the possessor upon a target, but would avoid state and local firearm enhancements. It may be that gangs would start to adopt such weapons to avoid charges and be back out on the street faster. Regular citizens may stick with projectile weapons, because they can. However the balance of weaponry would be influenced a lot by the price compared to each other.

[steriaca]

23 hours ago, Scott Ruggels said:

Due to a quirk of U.S. Law energy Pistols are not classed as firearms. They might be classed as unusual weapons, but things like coil guns or gauss guns are not firearms or even illegal.  What this may mean is that felons in possession of such weapons will not be in violation of parole, and  any charges would be based on actions taken by the possessor upon a target, but would avoid state and local firearm enhancements. It may be that gangs would start to adopt such weapons to avoid charges and be back out on the street faster. Regular citizens may stick with projectile weapons, because they can. However the balance of weaponry would be influenced a lot by the price compared to each other.

Nice thinking. Of course, the price of legal energy pistols would be outrageous. They might be low cost alternatives, but they have their own problems (like exploding).

[vardhnam]

I think one of its major heroes should be a powered armor sort or have Steel in their name somehow.

[Spark]

5 hours ago, vardhnam said:

I think one of its major heroes should be a powered armor sort or have Steel in their name somehow.

 

Not a bad idea. However, in a game we have THREE types of heroes:

1. Player characters
2. Support heros (that give color to the town, that can fill in gaps in skills/powersets, etc)
3. Template characters that the players can each run (if they don't want to write their own characters).

Each of these has a different purpose. That being said, having an already existing hero group would be a great place to start. If we carefully explain that you can use them or play them or replace them...well, this should all work. And THAT being said, my suggestions for purely and unashameadly Pittsburgh characters is...

 

1. A power suiter, something unlinke the newer Ironman in that he/she would be much less configurable (no power pools). This character is often complicated to use so needs to be made simple. It should have big rivets, maybe even the US Steel logo (if we can use it...it is also the same logo the Steelers use so...) and should be more brick like with 6 or so charges of a variety of different missle/cannon like weapons (a mulitpower?)
2. A martial artist/fighter that is more along the lines of Captain America. She could have a shield (that would look like the Pittsburgh city logo so wouldn't be throwable), and a hammer...get this....THE HEAD IS MADE OUT OF A PIECE OF STEEL I-BEAM! That should be able to be thrown...but then would have to be retreived. Not sure how to do that in Champions terms....maybe stretching as a linked power but using lockout to ensure they have to pick it up first. She would also have a utility belt that would have throwable attacks and flash bangs and other things (a big multipower with lots of limitations)
3. A water elemental. Understand that the river is only really seen as an impediment to travel, an annoyance when the parking garages flood, and...well, mostly ignored by most residents. HOWEVER, they are there and in everyone's mind. So, we need a hero that can manipulate that water.
4. The Cougar (or Panther or Mountain Lion or Catamount or whatever name you like for that 40 lb wild cat). They are indiginous to the area. This would be a cat-like super with fast reflexes and amazing fighting/acrobatics skills
5. A few mutant siblings/twins/orphans...or... Pittsburgh, in recent years, has become a Mecca of sorts for tech (computers and robotics...kids taking parent's life work?) and medical research (genetics, surgery...experimentation?). These can be almost anything Should they have a theme to their powers (light, temperature, etc)? Maybe you have Thunder and Lightning or Fire and Ice or Dusk and Twilight. This is where you would get your hero that can move the entire group long distances for a battle. They could pilot the plane (in case no player has the skills) or just teleport the entier room somewhere or...whell, you get the idea.

[Mark Rand]

Cougar sounds like Lionheart from the Champions Begins Character Book. 

 

Also, the University of Pittsburgh has the Panther as its mascot while Chatham University has the Cougar as its.

[Spark]

1 hour ago, Mark Rand said:

Cougar sounds like Lionheart from the Champions Begins Character Book. 

 

Also, the University of Pittsburgh has the Panther as its mascot while Chatham University has the Cougar as its.

 

Very true. And that brings us to another thought, can we use CMU and Pitt or are there copywrite issues? If so, we need to come up with names to replace CMU and Pitt and Chatham and Carlow and...sigh

[Mark Rand]

31 minutes ago, Spark said:

 

Very true. And that brings us to another thought, can we use CMU and Pitt or are there copywrite issues? If so, we need to come up with names to replace CMU and Pitt and Chatham and Carlow and...sigh

Don't know.

[Mark Rand]

An invention of Sarah Wasilewski — who goes by the nickname Woshe — the Pittsburgh Mermaid has appeared at events throughout the summer, lounging in a kiddie pool, flapping her blue and green costume tail.
 

 

Woshe says “mermaiding” is a real thing, citing a woman who swims with LED lights on her costume.  However, she feels that what she does is more casual and mostly appears at events hosted by friends, while most professional mermaids are adept swimmer and divers, which she, admittedly, is not. 

 

 

As if to prove her point, she recalls an unfortunate swim in a local river last summer, where she contracted a bacterial infection.  “I call myself the Pittsburgh Mermaid but then I go and swim in the river and get sick,” says Woshe.

Another local mermaid is Taylor Allderdice High School student Nancy Aaronson.  Nancy, dubbed “Ariel” by the popular girls, is a student in the CTE Health Careers Technology, one of the school nurse’s student aides, either a medic or a lifeguard during home athletic events, and the EQT Pittsburgh Three Rivers Regatta’s official mermaid.  Unlike Woshe, she swims in the rivers without any problems.  But then, it is rumored that she is part mermaid.