Shale gas produced by Appalachian region wells slipped 1.8 percent during the last three months. But what seems like a slight decline warns of a coming storm for an industry that has seen production rise consistently—and sometimes dramatically—every year since the gas-rich Marcellus play drew companies to southwestern Pennsylvania in droves more than a decade …
Shale Gas Was in Trouble, Then Came the Coronavirus Read More »
State lawmakers approved a $50 million relief package yesterday for Pennsylvania’s hospitals in what could be just the first infusion of cash into the statewide health care network as it battles the growing COVID-19 crisis. Legislators approved the money one day after a statewide hospital trade group urged them to set up a fund to …
As COVID-19 Cases Mount, Pa. Hospitals Get Some Relief Read More »
The Pittsburgh region added 3,900 jobs from January 2019 to January 2020—a .33 percent increase that’s a faint bright spot in the rearview mirror of an economy in turmoil from the worldwide spread of the coronavirus. “The year ended much as it began, with modest employment growth,” said Christopher Briem, regional economist at the University …
Region Gained Jobs in January but Pandemic Fallout Looms Read More »
Jim Wolf set about retooling Pittsburgh’s flagging Sisters Cities program two years ago at the request of city Mayor Bill Peduto. He guided its reorganization. He watched it secure non-profit status, raise enough money to hire an executive director and begin to restore relationships with several international cities that had gone fallow. To signal its …
Coronavirus May Strengthen Pittsburgh’s Ties to Wuhan Read More »
UPMC officials yesterday announced the Pittsburgh-based health system is developing a test of its own to detect the coronavirus, known as COVID-19, which could help expand the capacity to quickly determine who has been infected—something that has been a shortcoming of the U.S. response to the worldwide outbreak of the novel strain of virus. Meanwhile, …
Hospitals, State Moving to Expand COVID-19 Testing Read More »
The coronavirus has yet to reach southwestern Pennsylvania, buying local hospitals time to put in place strategies for responding to the novel virus that has spread to 113 countries worldwide. UPMC and Allegheny Health Network, the region’s two major health systems, are preparing their hospitals and facilities, educating their providers and addressing the public in …
County officials across southwestern Pennsylvania are on alert for signs of the coronavirus in their communities as they review emergency response plans following a warning from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control that the United States will likely experience a “community spread” of the virus that has so far has infected 81,000 people worldwide and …
Pittsburgh’s arts and culture sector outperforms many of its peer cities when it comes to arts participation, organizations per capita and economic impact, but equity issues persist, according to a new from the Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council. Attendance of arts and culture events dwarfs that generated by the region’s professional sports teams combined—Steelers included. “It’s …
In Pittsburgh’s early 20th century industrial economy, danger lurked in rail yards, on the exposed I-beams of tall buildings under construction and in steel mills where gases and fire coexisted. “Ten minutes before, we stood there laughing, and not one of us had an idea there was anything wrong with that furnace,” lawyer and journalist …
Editor’s note: This story was first published in the Spring 2020 issue of Pittsburgh Quarterly. Southwestern Pennsylvania continues to be one of the safest metropolitan regions in the nation, and the latest data suggest it’s only getting safer. The overall crime rate in the seven-county Pittsburgh Metropolitan Statistical Area stood at 1,687.7 per 100,000 residents …
Crime Is Dropping, but So Are Relations With Police Read More »
On the morning of Monday, Oct. 28, a massive sinkhole, roughly 20 feet in diameter, suddenly opened on 10th Street in Downtown Pittsburgh, swallowing the back half of a Port Authority bus. There were no serious injuries, and the cartoonish photos shared from the scene were generally met with delight on social media across the …
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Temptation lurks in gooey fudge icing layered in a slice of moist chocolate cake and the hot salty crunch of a french fry. The sight and smell can incite the body to ramp up blood pressure, heart rate, skin conductance and salivary response—characteristics of arousal and excitement. It’s a response that Lisa Germeroth hopes to …
Pittsburgh’s economy has a difficult row to hoe as we look ahead to 2020. Economic potential through the new year will be supported by stable consumer conditions and business sentiment, but the resources necessary to keep up with demand are running thin. It may be time for Pittsburgh to deliver on the promise of affordability …
The housing bubble had burst and the nation was reeling from recession. The City of Cleveland and Cuyahoga County were feeling the pain more than most places in 2009. Foreclosures were mounting by the thousands, and Fannie Mae and other lenders were desperate for a way to off-load the abandoned properties filling their books. They …
Allegheny County residents are tough graders when assessing the performance of the public schools that educate 115,000 county children in grades kindergarten through 12, a far-ranging survey of their views on education suggests. Fewer than half give schools a better-than-fair rating for their class size, funding, student preparedness, parental involvement and diversity of the student …
Unemployment in the Pittsburgh region climbed to 4.5 percent in December, an increase of two-tenths of a percent from the month before and a three-tenths of a percent increase over the rate reported 12 months earlier. The national unemployment rate in December was 3.5 percent. Pennsylvania’s rate was 4.5 percent. Unemployment rates rose in each …
After two months of decline, jobs in the seven-county Pittsburgh Metropolitan Statistical Area increased by .08 percent from December 2018 through December 2019, according U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data. The increase was the second-lowest growth among Pittsburgh Today benchmark regions. Gains were largely fueled by the professional and business services sector, and the information …
Unemployment rates in the Pittsburgh region continued their slight but steady climb in November, according to preliminary figures from the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry. Overall unemployment for the region stands at 4.3 percent, an increase of two-tenths of a percent since October and one-tenth of a percent increase since November 2018. Unemployment rates …
Job growth in Western Pennsylvania continued to slide in November. It was the second consecutive month of decline following several years of steady, if weak, growth. According to the latest data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor statistics, from November 2018 until November 2019, overall job growth decreased by .38 percent in the seven-county Pittsburgh …
Wages in the seven-county Pittsburgh Metropolitan Statistical area continued to grow in the second quarter of 2019, but at a slower rate than the average among Pittsburgh Today benchmark regions, according to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data. The region’s average weekly wage rose from $1,134 to $1,159 from the second quarter of 2018 to …
The gap between white and minority workers grew by a whopping 62 percent from 2007 to 2017 in the Pittsburgh metropolitan area, according to a new report from the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland. The report’s authors said the findings, based on data from the Brookings Institution’s Metro Monitor Report for 2019, point to weaknesses …
Widening Wage Gap Separates White and Minority Workers Read More »
