JOHNSTOWN — Dozens of carrot-crunching, lettuce-munching vegetarians have descended for the 13th year on an unlikely town for their annual seminar.

Johnstown, a former steel town known for its carnivorous habits, has played host to the Vegetarian Summerfest since 1994. The group uses the University of Pittsburgh's Johnstown campus.

Jennie Kerwood, president of the North American Vegetarian Society, said the town is a convenient meeting place for the vegetarians, who come mostly from the Northeast and Midwest.

The five-day festival includes seminars, classes and other social activities.

"The main purpose is to provide vegetarian education," Kerwood told the Johnstown Tribune-Democrat. "We do that year-round, but there is nothing like immersing for five days in this type of setting to bring home the value of a vegetarian lifestyle."

PITTSBURGH — Residents of a neighborhood famed for its view of the city's skyline are at odds over how to deal with trees threatening the view."Ninety-nine percent of people who have company in Pittsburgh bring them up here, and if you walk across Grandview, you have to admit how bad it looks," said Jill Nolan Harris. "I think it's a poor representation of our city."Michelle Cunko said the city should leave the trees alone. The hillside should not be pillaged, she said.For decades, the city has cut the tree tops along Grandview Avenue to preserve the view, but the city's ongoing financial problems and safety and environmental concerns have put the trimming on hold for several years.Lynne Squilla, of the Mount Washington Community Development Corp.'s Open Spaces Task Force, said cutting the tree tops weakens the trees and could lead to landslides.The Open Spaces Task Force has suggested removing weedy sumacs and Norway maples and replacing them with native, low-growing plants that would hold the mountainside in place and keep a low profile.

PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh's school board awarded its superintendent a $15,000 raise on Wednesday and ordered him to implement a program to evaluate principals, taking action, possibly including dismissal, against those deemed ineffective.The board adopted a resolution Wednesday saying Superintendent Mark Roosevelt must implement a program for recruiting, training and evaluating principals."It is reasonable for the board to expect some principals will be encouraged to apply their skills elsewhere," the resolution stated.Roosevelt's 8.3 percent raise increases his annual salary to $195,000.