NEW IN TOWN? Mt. Lebanon’s new residents’ package used to consist of about an inch-and-a-half high pile of papers, forms, stickers, a CD, just lots and lots of pieces. Then they invented the Internet, and most of that stuff found a home online. Most things a newcomer needs to know—questions about trash pickup, on-street parking, pets—can be found on Mt. Lebanon’s website, or by making a visit to the Mt. Lebanon Customer Service Center, open 7:30 to 5 on weekdays, in the lobby of the municipal building, 710 Washington Road.

Find informational videos on Mt. Lebanon’s video channel, MTLTV, also accessible from the website.

We still have a welcome brochure, but it’s been very much slimmed down. A folded brochure with municipal office phone numbers, a one-page welcome letter directing new people to information online, and the one thing we can’t migrate to the ’net just yet: recycling stickers for your trash cans. Individuals may pick up a free brochure at the customer service center in the municipal building. Real estate agents may purchase them in bulk. Call 412-343-3407.

GOOD EATS Bob’s Diner will open this spring at 1870 Painters Run Road. The diner will serve breakfast, lunch and dinner (no dinner on Sunday). Hours will be Monday through Friday, 6 a.m. to 8 p.m., Saturday 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sundays 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Bob’s will feature Traditional Turkey Dinners on Tuesdays, Stuffed Pork Chops on Thursdays and Roast Beef every Monday. Take out and cell phone orders are available. Details here.

CHILD’S PLAY Registration is open now for the fall session of Let’s Play Music, a program for children ages 4 to 6. The new Mt. Lebanon location, run out of teacher Lillian Hoyt’s Arden Lane home, has a class size of six to eight members. Students have class for 45 minutes, then take home study guides, CDs, songbooks, flashcards and activity pages.
lillianhoyt@gmail.com or 203-434-9225.

COLUMBIA GAS CLEANS UP We take utilities for granted until service is interrupted, making us appreciate gas, electricity and water. Still, putting up with Columbia Gas this past year has required a lot of patience for some residents, even though they know that the construction in their neighborhoods will ultimately provide for better service.
As Columbia Gas concludes the big project in Sunset Hills moves to other parts of town, the company plans to show appreciation for residents’ patience by bringing “Project Cleanup” to Mt. Lebanon.

On Saturday, August 16, Columbia Gas will team with WISH radio to spruce up Mt. Lebanon Park and Recreation Center. Columbia employees have volunteered to work on things such as painting the locker room and lobby area of the Ice Center, staining a park shelter, planting flowers and pulling weeds. WISH will promote the effort on air but also will be on site at the park with its ice cream truck in the parking lot and grills set up in shelter 1, providing hot dogs for the volunteers and anyone else in the area.

This is the second year for Project Cleanup, which Columbia hopes to move to a different area of the region every year. Spokesperson Brynnley Schwartz says that in addition to saying thanks to communities they are working in, Columbia Gas employees hope their work inspires others to pitch in and volunteer in their hometowns.

Additional volunteers are welcome. If you can help on August 16, call Mt. Lebanon’s public information office at 412-343-3407 or email smorgans@mtlebanon.org.

Suburban Dry Cleaners celebrates its 35th anniversary this year. Now with five locations, the first two stores opened in Bridgeville and on Beverly Road in Mt. Lebanon.

Owner Frank Capo was a longtime employee of Supreme Cleaners in Bridgeville—beginning as a delivery driver—before buying the business and renaming it. He still takes an active part in the business, although the day-to-day operation now falls to his daughter, Ruth, and son, Tony.

“We have the same route he started 35 years ago, only 10 times bigger,” Ruth says.

Frank is Suburban’s “Spot Wizard,” so called because of “his amazing ability to zap stains,” says Ruth. “He deserves a pat on the back for what he’s done for the last 35 years.”

ZONING CHANGE After taking some additional time to do research, commissioners voted 4-0 in April to change the zoning of a parcel of land at 2904 Castlegate Drive from R-2, single-family residential, to R-4, multi-family residential that would allow for single family homes, duplexes and townhomes. With site plan review, it could include daycare, hospice or apartments. Commissioner John Bendel abstained from voting, as he had been on the board for Residential Resources Inc., the nonprofit that currently owns the land.

The property owner and Green Development Inc. requested the change to the zoning, but the developer had not presented any proposals to the municipality as of press time. The 2013 Comprehensive Plan named the eight-acre location as a key development site, says Municipal Planner Keith McGill. The parcel was most recently home to the Bradley Center, but also had been used by DePaul and Toner Institute.

Some residents from Brookline, which borders the property, opposed the plan due to traffic and other concerns.