COVID-19 Archives - Page 3 of 3 - Pittsburgh Quarterly

Pittsburgh and surrounding neighborhoods received a respite from air pollution in the weeks after nonessential businesses were closed and residents were urged to stay at home and off the streets to help slow the spread of COVID-19. Fine particulate pollution and smog-making gases fell to levels rarely seen in Allegheny County from March 15 to …

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Regional News

Virus Fallout

by Bill O'Toole

Even as it’s leading the fight against the coronavirus in Pittsburgh, Allegheny County is facing a devastating decline in revenue because of the virus. The county depends on a wide array of tax revenues that are certain to decline, at least during the next several months, due to business closures, stay-at-home orders and the slowing …

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Money

Coronavirus Investing

by PQ Staff

Editor’s note: We’ve asked a group of the region’s leading wealth managers to respond to this question: “The coronavirus has led to the first bear market in more than a decade with widespread uncertainty remaining. How are you positioning client portfolios in this fraught environment?” In today’s online feature, a group of advisors give a …

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Regional News

Development Boom On Hold

by Julia Fraser

Pittsburgh’s landscape was about to undergo a major facelift this year. The Strip District, Station Square, the lower Hill District were all to break ground on major commercial and multi-use real estate projects. Until COVID-19 arrived. The sudden sweep of the pandemic across the region halted most new construction. Delays in building are compounded by …

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Regional News

Municipal Nightmare

by Jeffery Fraser & Bill O’Toole

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought municipalities across southwestern Pennsylvania face to face with the prospect of steep financial losses as stay-at-home orders, business closures and soaring unemployment choke off streams of revenues vital to paying their bills and providing the day-to-day services their residents rely on, such as police, garbage pickup and road repair. The …

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The Pulse

Who Is Most Affected When Places of Worship Close?

by Julia Fraser

The closing of churches, synagogues and other places of worship during the COVID-19 pandemic affects the practices of nearly 2 in 3 Allegheny County residents. But the hardship is not evenly shared. Hardest hit are residents who regularly attend religious services, such as those who attend every day or at least once a week. In …

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Regional News

Now That the Money’s Gone

by Jeffery Fraser

As regional banks brace for another wave of small business loan applications, questions surrounding the emergency federal program are front and center after the first $349 billion quickly ran out. Congress and the White House were reportedly near a deal late Monday that would add more than $300 billion to the Paycheck Protection Program, which …

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Regional News

The City of Pittsburgh Faces Crisis but Its ‘Rainy-Day Fund’ Leaves It Better Prepared Than Most

by Bill O'Toole

In a letter to the White House Monday seeking federal support, Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto projected a 21 percent loss in revenues this year. The expected $127 million loss will plunge the city into a financial crisis, but that blow may be softened by a little known rainy-day fund. “Over a five-year period from 2020–2024 …

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Regional News

The Old Order’s Final Portrait

by Julia Fraser

While economic damage from the coronavirus is obvious in Pittsburgh’s deserted streets, the March jobs numbers will be the last ones from the pre-virus era. The most recent job growth numbers show that the seven-county Pittsburgh Metropolitan Statistical Area gained about 1,200 jobs between March 2019 and March 2020, a 0.1 percent increase over the …

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Regional News

Will Pittsburgh’s Dining Scene Survive the Pandemic?

by Julia Fraser

Pittsburgh, where sandwiches held together with French fries and coleslaw once defined its cuisine, had become a mecca for chefs and bold, award-winning restaurants. The city topped Zagat’s list of top food cities. The BBC last year anointed it the seventh-best destination for foodies in the world. And the New York Times proclaimed: “If there …

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Culture

Signs of the Times

by John Beale

The coronavirus has posed problems for every corner of society, and as we saw over Easter weekend, churches have been no exception. Yet, whether blessing people in drive-through lines, using social media or the radio, during this Holy Week pastors have used every means at their disposal to keep close to their flocks. And as …

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Regional News

Shale Gas Was in Trouble, Then Came the Coronavirus

by Jeffery Fraser

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 …

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History

When the Spanish Flu Swept In, Pittsburgh Failed the Test

by Bill O'Toole

Within days of Allegheny County’s first confirmed case of coronavirus in March, city and county officials moved to shutter nonessential businesses, with their efforts buttressed by stay at home orders from Harrisburg shortly thereafter. This was not the case in 1918, when the Spanish flu ravaged the region, state, nation and world. And Pittsburghers paid …

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Architecture & Neighborhoods

The Deserted Streets of Pittsburgh

by John Beale

In Downtown Pittsburgh, a beat cop checks the doors of businesses along Penn Avenue. The streets are empty except for the occasional person waiting at a bus stop. Market Square has an eerie feeling; eateries remain open for takeout, but few people pass through. On quiet Grant Street, an Allegheny County Sheriff’s Department vehicle passes …

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Creative Capital

Viral Investing, Part II: What Should I Do Now?

by Greg Curtis

“Profit from folly rather than participating in it. Be fearful when others are greedy. Be greedy when others are fearful. I prefer buying things. Otherwise, it’s a little like saving sex for your old age.” —Warren Buffett “The true contrarian only buys when it makes him feel physically sick to press the buy key.” …

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Regional News

As COVID-19 Cases Mount, Pa. Hospitals Get Some Relief

by Julia Fraser

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 …

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Creative Capital

Viral Investing

by Greg Curtis

“You make most of your money in a bear market, you just don’t realize it at the time.” —Shelby Cullom Davis Given the recent market volatility driven primarily by the outbreak of COVID-19, I thought I would share my current views. But first, a word about terminology. COVID-19 (coined, for reasons best known to them, …

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Regional News

Coronavirus May Strengthen Pittsburgh’s Ties to Wuhan

by Jeffery Fraser

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 …

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Regional News

Hospitals, State Moving to Expand COVID-19 Testing

by Bill O'Toole

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, …

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Regional News

Local Hospitals Brace for the Coronavirus

by Julia Fraser

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 …

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Regional News

Region Prepares for Coronavirus

by Julia Fraser & Bill O’Toole

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 …

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