Articles Archive - Page 70 of 154 - Pittsburgh Quarterly

No matter what it looks like outside, we’ll be feeling spring bursting out all over. Not only is it just about time for the season to officially start, when the sun enters Aries March 20th…there will be a full moon that will bring an explosion of energy and activity that will give the fastest of …

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Education

City Public Schools Wither as Economy Booms

by Paul Scripko

Austin is learning that much-desired economic success can have unintended consequences. The city’s declining school-age population and public school enrollment is citywide topic of conversation among Austin Independent School District (AISD) officials and Austin residents, including parents of school age children, taxpayers without children in school and local economic development professionals thrown in the mix. …

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Regional News

Pittsburgh Unemployment Hits Dramatic New Low

by Julia Fraser

Southwestern Pennsylvania opened the year with the lowest unemployment the region has seen in nearly 50 years. Pittsburghers began 2019 working in full force, as the unemployment rate fell to its lowest point since February 1970 and dropped beneath the national jobless rate. Unemployment in the seven-county Pittsburgh Metropolitan Statistical Area fell one percent in …

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Events

Mardi Gras Gala Raises More Than $511,000

by PQ Staff

On Fat Tuesday, March 5, more than 700 Mardi Gras revelers came to the Westin Convention Center to support the Epilepsy Association of Western and Central PA and honor Deb Rice-Johnson, President of Highmark, Inc., as the King of the Mardi Gras. More than 6,500 balloons covered the ceiling of the cocktail reception as guests …

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Regional News

Local Economy Stays Healthy

by Jeffery Fraser

Pittsburgh’s spirited bid fell short of landing Amazon’s second headquarters and the 25,000 jobs it promised last year, but the southwestern Pennsylvania economy continued encouraging trends in job growth, wages and unemployment on its own. Without the jolt of such a major employment stimulus, the region’s hopes are pinned on creating jobs with the companies …

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Events

Annual B*tches Ball Spreads Spaying and Neutering Awareness

by PQ Staff

Humane Animal Rescue’s 9th Annual B*tches Ball hosted nearly 300 attendees and brought down the house at Nova Place on March 2nd. The event raised $15,000 for the animal advocacy organization to spread awareness about the importance of spaying and neutering pets. Features included a self-service candy bar, catering from Chipotle, specialty “Spay Breeze” and …

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Creative Capital

Why China Is Ready to Fall Apart

by Greg Curtis

In the 1980s, almost four decades into Cold War I, President Reagan dramatically ratcheted up the pressure on the Soviet Union by expanding and modernizing the U.S. military and launching his famous “Star Wars” (Strategic Defense) Initiative. The policy apparatus in the West went berserk. Reagan was, they claimed, wildly escalating the Cold War. The …

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Books

Short Takes: “Engineering Pittsburgh,” “American Dinosaur Abroad”

by John Allison

Without civil engineers, our world would fall apart. They are hidden brains behind what we civilians take for granted—all the marvelous methods for getting us from here to there, safe and sound. To observe its 100th anniversary, the Pittsburgh section of the American Society of Engineers has produced an indispensable survey of what has been …

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Books

An Eye-Opener About Living Black in Pittsburgh

by John Allison

Damon Young recently bought a rather nice house a block away from me. Yet I don’t expect to be invited over, although I am about to lavish praise on his brave, incisive and witty memoir about growing up and living while black in Pittsburgh. Even a blurb-ready assessment—Damon Young is not only the city’s most …

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This Week’s Astrology: Mar. 7–13, 2019

by Judi Vitale

Mercury retrograde usually brings its fair share of frustration, and that will be a given this week. In case you missed it, the planet of communication commenced its vacation on March 5th, and will stay in a state that produces difficulties with travel, language, mechanical devices and electronics from now to the end of the …

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American Spirit

The 96th Birthday

by Kate Benz

Grandma is being really nice about the birthday cake you insisted on baking from scratch for her 96th birthday. Because it’s a little … dense for something that was supposed to very light and airy and angel food cakey. “This is why normal people just buy the Betty Crocker and be done with it,” howls …

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Events

The Pittsburgh Heart Ball Celebrates Its 30th Anniversary

by PQ Staff

The Pittsburgh Heart Ball celebrated its 30th Anniversary and its commitment to be a relentless force for a world of longer, healthier lives, on Saturday, March 2nd at the Wyndham Grand. The event highlighted and celebrated the work of the American Heart Association, its donors and volunteers, and most importantly, its survivors. Two honorees were …

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Events

ACMSF Awards Gala Salutes Physician Heroism

by PQ Staff

More than 300 guests gathered for the Allegheny County Medical Society Foundation (ACMSF) Celebration of Excellence Awards Gala at the Westin Convention Center Hotel, downtown Pittsburgh, on March 2. An intimate champagne VIP reception kicked off the evening which recognized top gala sponsors and honored 2019 ACMS president, Adele L. Towers, MD, MPH, FACP, and …

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Profiles

Chin Music

by Evan Pattak

In late August 2018, Pittsburgh Mayor Bill peduto looked at his calendar and was pleased to notice a rarity—a nine-day break without a scheduled public appearance. He celebrated his unusually long vacation in an unusual way. “I didn’t shave during those nine days,” he recalls.“ I made a conscious decision that I wouldn’t go anywhere …

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Creative Capital

The Trouble with China

by Greg Curtis

Virtually every American policymaker believed that the collapse of the USSR marked “the end of history.” Ever since the dawn of human civilization, hostile societies had vied for supremacy, resulting in war after war. But, it was thought, the break-up of the main sponsor of Communism demonstrated that there were simply no political ideas that …

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Contest Ideas

2019 Pittsburgh Tomorrow Contest: Have an Idea to Improve Pittsburgh?

by PQ Staff

The submission period for the Pittsburgh Tomorrow contest is now closed. We will notify the finalists once chosen. Thank you to all who participated! How would you like to have a private audience with the Mayor, County Executive and a group of potential funders to explain your idea to make Pittsburgh a better place? That’s …

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Regional Annual Report

What’s the Big Idea?

by PQ Staff

As the kickoff to a region-wide competition, we asked a group of regional leaders to submit an idea, in 50 words or less, that, if enacted, would make Pittsburgh a better place to live. It could be something that wouldn’t cost a dime or it could be a multimillion-dollar public works campaign. Below are their …

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This Week’s Astrology: Feb. 28–Mar. 6, 2019

by Judi Vitale

This week begins in relative quiet, but the horizon will be filled with changes and challenges that will make life much more boisterous. Although the most powerful influence will come from planet Uranus as it moves into Taurus for keeps, we also will have to confront the difficulties in communications, travel, and technology that comes …

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Creative Capital

Outlasting the Russians

by Greg Curtis

Within a period of four months in 1945, both Germany (in May) and Japan (in September) surrendered. At that time the Allies controlled most of the world, including Western Europe, while the Soviets controlled Eastern Europe. The USSR had been our “ally” during the war only in the narrowest sense of the word. Stalin had …

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Spotlight

Finding the Green for Green Spaces

by Julia Fraser

Gathering Place in Tulsa, Okla. was named the best new attraction in America last year by USA Today. It’s a sprawling $465 million park with lakes, gardens, wetlands and an extravagant playground. Essentially, it’s a public park, built and maintained with private dollars, and in that regard, it’s an exception as urban public parks go. …

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Events

Pittsburghers Walk the Red Carpet at “Lights! Glamour! Action!”

by PQ Staff

Party goers dressed to the nines walked the red carpet under The Pennsylvanian’s iconic rotunda on Saturday, February 23 for “Lights! Glamour! Action!” benefitting the Pittsburgh Film Office. Inside, 750 guests enjoyed a fabulous night of dinner, drinks and dancing. While the 2019 Oscars went without a host, Pittsburgh’s biggest night in film was hosted …

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Opinion

Fairy Tale or Future: The Choice Is Ours

by Douglas Heuck

The Amazon HQ2 spectacle was a grand 21st Century fairy tale. It had everything: the world’s richest company promising happily-ever-after status to the city that would win its second headquarters, $5 billion in investment and 50,000 jobs. For 17 months, people murmured throughout the land. Some whispered that Amazon’s move was a brilliant marketing stratagem; …

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