Diana Nelson Jones’ Walkabout: Pittsburgh Is Tops Again As A Great Home For Big Crop Of Trees

A map of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with its nei...

A map of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with its neighborhoods labeled. For use primarily in the list of Pittsburgh neighborhoods. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

With the flurry of national press Pittsburgh has been getting, we’d better step up the pace of hotel construction, get our spare bedrooms advertised on AirB&B and send a buzz through the network of couch surfers. We’re sure to get more company in the coming years.

Our little gem of a city has been at or near the top of lists of places to invest in and raise a family and that have the most public art, best housing prices, best cost of living, best view, most breathtaking entry point and best (and maybe most) neighborhoods.

But of all the lists I’ve seen, Pittsburgh’s status in a recent report by National Geographic makes me the proudest.

Of the cities featured in an article headlined “Nine Cities That Love Their Trees,” Pittsburgh was cited as having the greatest canopy among New York, Philadelphia, Austin, Detroit, Washington, Baltimore, Portland and Tampa.

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/opinion/diana-nelson-jones/2014/04/29/City-is-tops-again-as-a-great-home-for-big-crop-of-trees/stories/201404290060#ixzz30KFQnaue

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Snake-Handling Kentucky Pastor Dies From Snake Bite

Map of the Middlesborough Micropolitan Statist...

Map of the Middlesborough Micropolitan Statistical Area (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

MIDDLESBORO, KY (AP) — Jamie Coots, a snake-handling Kentucky pastor who appeared on the National Geographic television reality show “Snake Salvation,” died Saturday after being bitten by a snake.

Coots was handling a rattlesnake during a Saturday night service at his Full Gospel Tabernacle in Jesus Name Church in Middlesboro when he was bit, another preacher, Cody Winn, told WBIR-TV http://on.wbir.com/1cLrs8A 

“Jamie went across the floor. He had one of the rattlers in his hand, he came over and he was standing beside me. It was plain view, it just turned its head and bit him in the back of the hand … within a second,” Winn said.

Read more: http://timesleader.com/news/news/1199267/Snake-handling-Ky.-pastor-dies-from-snake-bite

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10 Reasons Why Pittsburgh Owned 2013

From a giant rubber duck to cutting-edge restaurants to a yarn-bombed bridge, our city had the world buzzing this year.

By anyone’s standards, 2012 was a landmark year for Pittsburgh, capped off by “The Dark Knight Rises” hitting theaters and unveiling the ’Burgh as the fabled Gotham, not to mention National Geographic imploring the world’s travelers to train new eyes on our formerly smoky city.

Little did we know, that was just the beginning. As we get ready to tuck this year away, let’s take a look back at how Pittsburgh owned 2013.

Brace yourself, Portland.

See the list here:  http://www.pittsburghmagazine.com/Best-of-the-Burgh-Blogs/Pitt-Girl/December-2013/10-Reasons-Why-Pittsburgh-Owned-2013/