Articles Archive - Page 68 of 154 - Pittsburgh Quarterly

Coming out of the restaurant we nearly collided with him—a compact, bearded man in a wheelchair, oxygen delivered to his nose from the tank tucked beside him. His scraggly gray-black beard rested against his chest; the liveliest part of his face was the bright blue of his eyes. When I apologized for almost bumping into …

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Events

Luncheon Raises $550,000 for Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy

by PQ Staff

The 2019 PNC Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy Spring Hat Luncheon was held on Saturday, May 4 in Allegheny Commons Park. The event raised more than $550,000 for the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy and welcomed a sold out crowd of 650 guests. It was the first time the annual event was held in Allegheny Commons and guests enjoyed …

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Nature

Hiking in Laurel Hill State Park

by Thomas Saunders

Second only to Alaska, Pennsylvania hosts more than 86,000 miles of streams and rivers. Our state also provides hundreds of hiking trails covering elevations from near sea level to the highest point in the state, Mount Davis. While ridgeline treks often offer sweeping vistas, Pennsylvania’s best hikes also include forested trails along our beautiful streams. …

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Creative Capital

AONE and Me

by Greg Curtis

“Could it be our boy’s done something rash?” —Bertholt Brecht, “Die Moritat von Mackie Messer,” or “Mack the Knife,” translated and sanitized by Marc Blitzstein, with thanks to Bobby Darin If you want to cause a lot of trouble for yourself, you could do worse than to sit down and write a screenplay. I know precisely nothing …

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Birds

Cigars With Wings

by Daryln Brewer Hoffstot

“But one day the swifts are back. Face to the sun like a child You shout, ‘The swifts are back!’ ” —from “Swifts,” by Anne Stevenson At first I thought they were bats, and I was thrilled because bats are nearly nonexistent on our farm now. But something wasn’t quite right. How high they flew. …

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Events

Take Center Stage Gala Celebrates the August Wilson Cultural Center

by PQ Staff

The August Wilson African American Cultural Center TAKE CENTER STAGE Gala took place on Friday, April 26 in the 900 block of Liberty Avenue. Guests enjoyed a two-course dinner by big Catering and dessert buffet by Bella Christie and Lil’ Z’s Sweet Boutique. The black tie event included a seated performance in the theatre featuring …

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Spotlight

Could Uber/Lyft Replace Paratransit Vans?

by Jeffery Fraser

Paratransit vans can be spotted in almost any neighborhood picking up patients whose means, health, or proximity to public transit makes getting to their doctor appointment or medical treatment a hardship. The government-funded vans have done the job for years. But, in a growing number of U.S. counties, the expansion of ride-hailing services has provoked …

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Regional News

Historically Low Unemployment With a Twist

by Julia Fraser

Unemployment in southwestern Pennsylvania hovered at a historically low level in March, despite revisions that wiped away February’s record low. The unemployment rate in the seven-county Pittsburgh Metropolitan Statistical Area was 3.9 percent for March 2019, down .5 percent from March 2018, according to data from the Pennsylvania Department of Labor’s Center for Workforce Information …

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PQ Poem

Underheard

by Samuel Hazo

1 He had the window seat. After take-off he said, “My line is socks; what’s yours?” I said I was a writer. He smiled his least impressive smile. “What do you write?” “I hope they are poems.” ‘Where are you headed now? I told him I’d been invited to recite my poems at a university. …

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Creative Capital

A New Taiwan Policy

by Greg Curtis

The final leg in our Cold War II stool is the containment of China diplomatically. To make the point that China no longer has a free pass, the first step in the West’s diplomatic offensive needs to be focused on Taiwan. Assuming that the West’s military containment of China has succeeded in confining the country inside …

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Birds

Look for the Canada Warbler

by David Liebmann

Imagine you’ve somehow found yourself in Ecuador. You desperately want to get to Pittsburgh. You weigh a third of an ounce. You can fly. You’re a Canada Warbler. Starting north on a spring night to avoid daytime predators and take advantage of cooler temperatures, you set out across the isthmus of Panama, over Costa Rica, …

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Profiles

Farnam Jahanian, President of Carnegie Mellon University

by Jeff Sewald

I am an immigrant. I left my family’s home in Iran, as so many immigrants have, to pursue an education. My family hails from Tehran, and all of my siblings—five in total, all older—went to college in either Europe or the U.S. But I decided to begin my journey at age 16, and traveled from …

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The Pulse

A Greener View

by Jeffery Fraser

People in the heart of southwestern Pennsylvania have adopted a rosier view of the region’s environment in recent years. In the minds of half of Allegheny County residents, the overall environment found in the region is improving. Seven years earlier, only 39 percent felt the same way, according to surveys done by Pittsburgh Today and …

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Creative Capital

The Perils Facing China

by Greg Curtis

As global trade retreats and is replaced by regional trading blocs, power will flow to those countries that are most self-reliant. By self-reliant, I mean countries that are best able to a) maintain vigorous economic growth without relying excessively on exports; b) feed their populations without importing vast amounts of food; and c) be more or …

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American Spirit

Kim Keeps the Coffee Coming

by Kate Benz

None of the regulars are here yet. Like the Daves: Candy Man Dave and Home Depot Dave and Eyeglass Dave. None of the Riches, either. Except for one of them. He’s sitting at a window booth and is about to get a fresh cup of coffee and a plate filled with two eggs sunny side …

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Opinion

On a Pedestal: Clarion River, Innovation in Education

by PQ Staff

Western Pennsylvania is blessed with an abundance of water at a time when many places in the world find it increasingly scarce. But having ample water isn’t enough if it is tainted with pollutants. And the region long has been guilty of negligence when it comes to keeping its waterways clean and healthy. The Clarion …

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Homes

A Period Piece

by Marylynn Uricchio

Perched on a hill in Oakland is a classic 1920s apartment building with spectacular views and a roster of illustrious residents. Many of them have undertaken renovations to bring their co-ops into this century, and the results are as varied as the inhabitants. But one particular resident split the difference by hundreds of years—she updated …

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Creative Capital

China is Destined to Fall Behind

by Greg Curtis

Whatever happens with my proposal that the West launch Cold War II, the next three decades will be far less friendly to the Chinese economy than the past three decades have been. There are three reasons for this. First, there is what we might call “the law of large economies.” It’s relatively easy for a …

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Events

Annual Event Celebrates Science and Technology Doctoral Students

by PQ Staff

On April 3, 2019, the Pittsburgh Chapter of ARCS Foundation held its annual Scholar Celebration at the Reed Smith Centre. The chapter raises funds for three-year awards to doctoral students in the sciences and technology at both Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh. More than one hundred people gathered for hors d’oeuvres and …

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Health

A Different Kind of Pharmacy

by Barbara Eichenlaub

Susan Merenstein tells people that she has “pharmacy” in her blood. Her late father ran Drug Lane, a Washington, D.C. drugstore, and she spent lots of time there, working the cigar and candy counter at age 10 and, ultimately, being a technician. She attended the University of Pittsburgh and became a registered pharmacist, working at …

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Events

Black & White Gala Raises $165,000 for Family House

by PQ Staff

Family House hosted its annual Black & White Gala on Saturday, April 6 at J. Verno Studios. 250 of Pittsburgh’s top community and industry leaders attended in their best black and white attire. The event featured dinner, drinks and dancing in support of Family House’s mission to provide a “home away from home” to 24,000+ …

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American Spirit

‘Crack-A-Lacking’ for a Living

by Kate Benz

There’s a banana pumpkin scented candle flickering on the front desk. It’s a nice scent. Very deceiving. As if something yummy and caloric just popped out of Betty Crocker’s personal oven. Then, there’s the sign on the window welcoming walk-ins and talking about things like headaches and low back pain and shoulder and arm pain …

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