Articles Archive - Page 123 of 155 - Pittsburgh Quarterly

For years, hospitals focused on getting patients home as quickly as possible—and applauded themselves for short length of stays. But five years ago, a landmark New England Journal of Medicine study showed that as many as one in five Medicare patients bounced back to the hospital within 30 days of discharge, revealing that a good …

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Travel

Autumn Weekend

by Barbara Eichenlaub

There are all sorts of iconic American highways that appear in song and lore—Route 66, the Pacific Coast Highway and the Blue Ridge Parkway, to name a few. But, according to National Geographic, “one of America’s most scenic drives” is right here in Pennsylvania: U.S. Route 6. Its long, local history began with an 1807 …

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Money

A few (awkward) questions for your financial advisor

by PQ Staff

Suppose you were Mr. Moneybags, with, oh, say, a billion dollars to worry about. How would you go about finding a good financial advisor? The first thing you’d do would be to talk to a lot of other families like you. If they’ve worked for years with a financial advisor and are happy, that’s a …

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Education

Grading the Scorecard

by Matt Stroud

Although Sarah Twing showed diverse talents in high school in Penn Laird, Va., she knew her passions would need to be tempered by financial considerations as she looked toward college. Originally from Uzbekistan, her adoptive parents agreed to pay half of her college tuition. The other half would rest on her shoulders. Those who were …

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Business

Red Flags Rising

by Seamus McGraw

It’s been more than a year since Maria van der Hoeven, executive director of the International Energy Agency, stepped to the lectern on a sweltering summer day in Houston and issued a stern warning to a gathering of energy executives. She acknowledged the potential advantages of the unconventional shale gas boom—from increasing the nation’s energy …

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Science

The STEM Dilemma

by Evan Pattak

When Elizabeth Roeske was growing up in the small New Jersey town of Salem, she seemed a natural for a career in science. Several members of her family are scientists, and she was planning to study chemistry and environmental science in college. But she found little peer support—”No one from my high school was planning …

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Opinion

Credit card fraud

by Lara Bruhn

“Lara, I’m at the checkout at Restaurant Depot and my credit card has been declined,” says our delivery driver on the other end of the phone. Ugh. I know what this means. It’s not that the bakery is short on funds. It’s that one of our credit cards has been compromised. Again. Of the four …

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Sports

The aftermath of an 8-8 season

by PQ Staff

Last year wasn’t the type of season that we are used to having. In any organization, there are always going to be high moments and low moments. I have been very fortunate to be part of two Super Bowl victories and one Super Bowl loss. It’s a great feeling, the high that you get when …

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Obituaries

Muse, Hunker, Herberman, Schoyer, Sector, Dill, Michaels, Heasley, Caste, Eck, Churchill

by PQ Staff

Charles Muse Jr., 77 A coal industry executive, Muse was among those who answered the call in the late 1960s to invest in bringing professional hockey to Pittsburgh and create the Pittsburgh Penguins. Muse was a longtime supporter and officer of the Sewickley Valley YMCA and Sewickley Valley Hospital. Jeffrey Hunker, 58 The Clinton administration’s …

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Nature

Bennett Branch Forest

by PQ Staff

About two and a half hours northeast of Pittsburgh, almost to Benezette, Pa., there is a deeply forested property called Bennett Branch Forest. The 1,500-acre tract is owned by the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy and nearly surrounded by Moshannon State Forest. A visitor can hike Bennett Branch Forest on old logging roads and seldom see another …

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Health

Mind Over Matter

by Ben Schmitt

“Let me eat chocolate.” That was quadriplegic Jan Scheuermann’s simple request when she committed to a trailblazing UPMC and Pitt School of Medicine study that would let her control a robotic arm with her mind. “The doctors asked me: ‘What is your goal?’ ” Scheuermann recalled with a laugh. “I could tell they wanted to …

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Opinion

Gettysburg: The 150th Anniversary

by Douglas Heuck

On a beautiful April Sunday, I got up early and drove to Gettysburg. July marks the battle’s 150th anniversary, and I had signed up for a two-hour horseback battlefield tour. I’m not a history buff, but I am an American, and Gettysburg has always held a unique gravity. We had a relative who disappeared during …

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Nature

Elk Creek in Erie County

by Thomas Saunders

Unusual and beautiful places lie just off the beaten path in Erie County—sites that even those who frequently travel to Pennsylvania’s northwesternmost county may not know. Most visitors to Erie County are familiar with Presque Isle, the curved spit of land that juts into Lake Erie and harbors a wide range of unusual flora and …

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Obituaries

Dardanell, Seigle, Perloff, Pietragallo, Dixon, Lancaster, Bartley, Hunter, Rosen

by PQ Staff

Edward Dardanell, 89: A decorated Army combat officer in World War II and Korea, Dardanell became a national leader in the suburban newspaper business, publishing 16 local papers, which later became Gateway Publishing. As a two-term state representative, he championed environmental legislation. Dardanell led efforts to raise $5 million and create Forbes Regional Hospital, to …

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Retirement

The Retirement Question, Part III

by PQ Staff

This is the final installment in a three-part series about retirement in our region. Mark D. Bondi President & CEO Sherwood Oaks Retirement Community What kind of future do you want? Experts tell us that there are several components to feeling well, including the emotional, spiritual, cognitive, social, physical and vocational aspects of life. As …

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Architecture & Neighborhoods

A Sustainable Aesthetic

by Charles Rosenblum

What is sustainable, or green architecture, anyway, and what is it supposed to look like? The fact remains that the operation of buildings uses 40 percent of the earth’s energy resources, so construction aimed at reducing that consumption is both admirable and necessary. But do you know it when you see it? A high-tech skyscraper …

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Profiles

The Lost Cyclist

by PQ Staff

On June 15, Pittsburgh will celebrate the completion of the Great Allegheny Passage, the 330-mile trail that stretches over the rugged Alleghenies to Cumberland, Md., where it links with the historic Chesapeake & Ohio Canal towpath and continues to Washington, D.C. Those who pedal the scenic, car-free route are following, at least in spirit, the …

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Homes

Lofty Aspirations

by Marylynn Uricchio

When you have access to just about everything in the world of style and interior design, falling in love can be difficult. The sheer volume of merchandise, coupled with the insatiable hunger for the newest trends that drives the home furnishings market, could easily overwhelm an ordinary person. But Stacy Weiss is hardly ordinary. As …

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Birds

Yellow-billed cuckoo

by David Liebmann

Pittsburgh is a city of neighborhoods, and the patchwork-quilt variety of them gives everyone a place to call home and a sense of identity to go with it. We say Shadyside, Bloomfield or the South Side, Fox Chapel, the Strip or Swissvale, and certain images, people and lifestyles come to mind. Each place is a …

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Travel

Rainy Nights in Paris

by Tim Menees

Just after midnight in Paris: The Left Bank boulevard glitters from a downpour. Street lamps, a white “HOTEL” sign at the end of the street by the Seine, a distant sing-song police siren. It’s mostly deserted. Two young women scoot by, then four guys. A few people slump on a bus. “A demain,” says a …

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Money

The Yield Dilemma

by PQ Staff

Editor’s Note: Each year in our summer issue, we ask a group of the region’s leading wealth managers to help our readers navigate financial waters by responding to a question. This year, the question is: Many investors are hungry for yield as the Federal Reserve has kept interest rates very low; what strategies can investors …

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Arts

The Arts Engine

by Christine O'Toole

On a cold spring night in April, arts traffic streamed along Penn Avenue in several frenetic directions. Downtown, patrons for the PSO’s performance of Bach’s beloved Brandenburg Concertos poured out of restaurants toward Heinz Hall, dodging ticket-holders for the sold-out “Book of Mormon” at the Benedum Center. Four miles miles east, the cheap end of …

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