Laurels & lances: Lent, rent, money spent
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Laurel: To the start of the season. Lent is upon us. Ash Wednesday was this week, and now Fridays in the coming weeks — and the practice for many Christians of abstaining from eating meat — are a chance for churches, fire companies and other nonprofits to fundraise with fish fry dinners. Fried or baked, cod or shrimp, macaroni or haluski — whatever your preference, there are volunteers out there ready and willing to dish up tasty food that balances sacrifice with indulgence. Go find your favorite.
Lance: To rising costs. Prices are rising on everything from eggs to cars. At the same time, housing costs are sky high. Vandergrift responded by proposing a 300% increase in the fee for licensing rental units in the borough, taking it from $50 to $200.
Actually, it would be more than that because the fee has been in place for more than a decade — but never collected.
On Monday, council voted unanimously to table the proposal. That is a good start. However, tabling isn’t ending the idea. It kicks it back to the general government committee for further discussion.
With 1,200 units in the municipality, the fee could translate to $240,000 for Vandergrift. But those fees would be passed along to renters at a time when rents are already on the rise.
If Vandergrift needs an influx of cash, wouldn’t collecting on the fee already on the books to the tune of $60,000 be a better start?
Laurel: To screen time. Pittsburgh is spending a lot of time in the spotlight lately. There are two medical dramas set in the Steel City.
“The Pitt,” starring Noah Wyle on Max, offers an hour-per-episode look inside a Downtown emergency room, with key yinzer moments like Primanti’s sandwiches in the breakroom and police chasing a stolen ambulance to Monroeville. “Watson” features Morris Chestnut as Sherlock Holmes’ sidekick, rebooted as a medical detective in a clinic attached to a thinly veiled avatar for UPMC. The action is broken up with beautiful views of Pittsburgh landmarks.
Neither is filmed primarily in Pittsburgh. The city is borrowed for the exteriors that sell the location.
Jeremy Renner’s “Mayor of Kingstown” is filmed in Pittsburgh. The Pennsylvania Film Office gave it $30 million in tax credits, reportedly creating 2,600 jobs and $100 million in economic stimulus for the area economy.
The give and take of state tax credits allows productions to compete with California (“The Pitt” is filmed in Burbank) as well as other countries like Canada (“Watson” is filmed in Vancouver).