Articles Archive - Page 94 of 158 - Pittsburgh Quarterly

Back in 1986 I launched a wealth management firm I conceitedly called “Greycourt”—it’s an anagram for my name. The firm met with modest success and in 1988 I incorporated it. I was probably the most hopeless, bumbling entrepreneur in the history of private enterprise, but somehow I’ve been with Greycourt for 31 years. For the …

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Events

Diamond Horseshoe Ball Kicks Off Pittsburgh Opera’s season

by PQ Staff

Pittsburgh Opera officially started off its 2017-18 season with the Diamond Horseshoe Ball at the Omni William Penn on Friday, September 22. [ngg src=”galleries” ids=”209″ display=”basic_thumbnail” thumbnail_crop=”0″] The gala was chaired by Dr. Vonda Wright, a renowned orthopedic surgeon with UPMC, and her husband Peter Taglianetti, a Stanley Cup winner with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Over …

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PQ Poem

Blue Bra

by Liane Ellison Norman

She was out in Cairo’s Tahrir Square saying no to the theft of her future, her blue bra cupping young breasts, exposed when soldiers bludgeoned her for defending hard-won revolution, ripped off her concealing abaya, stomped her slender chest. The bright blue bra shining out went viral, proclaimed that under the heavy layers men hide …

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Opinion

Don’t mess with Mel Messmer

by Bruce Zewe

My buddy Bill Downes and I were in good spirits. It was 1960, and after enjoying a light movie at the theater, we were strolling along California Avenue, the main street of Avalon, a small suburb north of Pittsburgh. It was a steamy, red-sky summer evening. We were chattering away, when we suddenly heard a …

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American Spirit

All Quiet on the Ohio—Just the Way He Likes It

by Kate Benz, photography by John Altdorfer

There’s a lot of sitting and waiting, on a day like this. The water in the Ohio is calm, running chocolate-brown like something out of Willy Wonka’s Factory. Clear, blue sky. A handful of cottony clouds skirting by. Nothing like the winter, when the damned ice ensures you can barely move. When you worry about …

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Events

Harvest Celebration Commemorates From Slavery to Freedom Garden

by PQ Staff

The Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy’s Harvest Celebration on Friday, September 15th commemorated the first season of plantings in the From Slavery to Freedom Garden at the Frick Environmental Center. The new, beautifully curated planting space is an extension of the From Slavery to Freedom Exhibit at the Heinz History Center. The garden highlights plants that sustained …

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Events

Rock ’N Soul Gala Remembers The Stanley Theatre

by PQ Staff

The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust’s 2017 Rock ‘n Soul Gala raised $458,000 and 450 seats were sold. Lead sponsor of this year’s Gala was KeyBank and Presenting Sponsor, UPMC and UPMC Health Plan. Gala guests enjoyed dinner on the Benedum stage with live entertainment by Vintage Trouble, followed by a dessert buffet reception and dancing to …

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Events

The Children’s Institute of Pittsburgh Welcomes New President & CEO

by PQ Staff

On the evening of Thursday, September 14, the Board of Directors of The Children’s Institute of Pittsburgh hosted a community reception at The Pittsburgh Golf Club to introduce new President & CEO Wendy Pardee to community leaders and stakeholders. View the event photo gallery below. [ngg src=”galleries” ids=”206″ display=”basic_thumbnail” thumbnail_crop=”0″] Wendy comes to Pittsburgh from …

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Creative Capital

Democracy, Populism, and the Tyranny of the Experts, Part XI

by Greg Curtis

As far as reigning in annoying experts is concerned, Congress and the judiciary are a bust, albeit with a few tiny bright spots on the distant horizon, twinkling away like dying lighthouses on a storm-tossed sea. But what about the Presidency? As noted earlier in this series, Donald Trump was the candidate of people who …

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Nature

Hornets’ Nest

by David Macpherson

Anyone looking at the back of my house would see it—the lamp just outside my back door stuffed with hornet accretions, the nest shaped like a rugby ball but twice the size. “What the hell is that?” “Hornet’s nest.” “Jesus.” Yes, what would Jesus do? Some days, I stand a few yards away, safe, and …

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Events

UPMC Hillman Cancer Center Gala 2017 Raises $4.1 Million for Cancer Research

by PQ Staff

The UPMC Hillman Cancer Center Gala 2017, “A Future Without Cancer,” recognized nearly 900 of the region’s leaders and longtime supporters in attendance who are responsible for raising more than $4.1 million to support the efforts of scientists and clinicians at the region’s only National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center. This major event begins an …

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Events

Fly Away Bash Benefits Food Bank Backpack Program

by PQ Staff

The Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank headquarters was transformed into a must-visit destination on Friday, September 8 as guests enjoyed dinner, drinks, dancing and an unforgettable giveaway—all while benefiting an important cause. [ngg src=”galleries” ids=”202″ display=”basic_thumbnail” thumbnail_crop=”0″] The annual bash benefited Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank’s Backpack Program, which addresses food insecurity in Pittsburgh by …

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Events

Family House Supports Mission with 34th Annual Polo Match

by PQ Staff

To support the Family House mission of providing affordable, home-like accommodations to patients and families who travel to Pittsburgh for medical care, the organization hosted their 34th Annual Polo Match on Saturday, September 9. [ngg src=”galleries” ids=”203″ display=”basic_thumbnail” thumbnail_crop=”0″] In addition to the professional polo match, the day’s highlights included tailgating, a silent auction, children’s …

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Creative Capital

When Experts Judge the Experts

by Greg Curtis

In my last post we examined the (pathetic) attempts of Congress to control the tyranny of the experts. Fortunately, Congress isn’t the only weapon in the battle against expert oppression, even at the Federal level. Let’s take a look at the judiciary. But before we do, let’s pause to savor the delicious irony of what …

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Education

3 Not-So-Simple Questions, Part IV

by PQ Staff

Editor’s note: This is the fourth and final part of a feature that began in the pages of the Fall issue of Pittsburgh Quarterly. We invited the heads of the region’s top independent schools to address three important questions, in 200 words or less for each. The final question is below, along with the answers. …

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Events

Reed Smith Celebrates 140 Years

by PQ Staff

Attorneys and staff at global law firm Reed Smith’s Pittsburgh office marked the firm’s 140th anniversary with a cocktail reception September 7th. About 375 leaders and executives from area corporate, nonprofit, government, education and civic organizations attended, including The Heinz Endowments, Hillman Family Foundations, PNC, Allegheny Health Network, Carnegie Mellon University, Duquesne University, U.S. Steel, ATI, Highmark and Richard …

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Sports

Steelers Ready to Go: Breaking Down the 53

by Matthew John Milligan

The Steelers trimmed their roster to 53 by the Saturday deadline, and the acquisitions of cornerback Joe Haden and tight end Vance McDonald signal that this team is built to win now. Ben Roethlisberger has already mulled retirement once, James Harrison can only hold off retirement for so long, and Le’Veon Bell is, for all …

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Creative Capital

Democracy, Populism, and the Tyranny of the Experts, Part IX

by Greg Curtis

“The complexity of modern life has steadily whittled away the functions the ordinary citizen can intelligently and comprehendingly perform for himself…When he sits down to breakfast and looks at his morning paper, he reads about a whole range of vital and intricate issues and acknowledges…that he has not acquired the competence to judge most of …

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Nature

Garden Warfare

by Elizabeth Wiethorn

Having a vegetable garden sounds like a gentle, relaxing and easy hobby. Dig a few holes in the dirt, put a few plants in, water, and before you know it—bushels and bushels of pest-free, perfectly ripened vegetables in the summer. Anyone who gardens knows how much a load of hooey that is. Gardening, if done …

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Education

3 Not-So-Simple Questions, Part III

by PQ Staff

Editor’s note: This is part three of a feature that began in the pages of the Fall issue of Pittsburgh Quarterly. We invited the heads of the region’s top independent schools to address three important questions, in 200 words or less for each. The second of the questions is below, along with the answers. For …

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Money

Will Someone Please Tell Me What This Bitcoin/Blockchain Thing Is All About?

by Thomas L. Wentling Jr.

Everyone has heard of Bitcoin by now (by convention, it’s capitalized when used as a protocol and lower case when used as a unit of exchange, like a dollar), but very few understand the importance of the “blockchain” technology that underpins it. This article expresses no opinion one way or the other on bitcoin and …

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Creative Capital

Democracy, Populism, and the Tyranny of the Experts, Part VIII

by Greg Curtis

Freedom is better, even when it’s worse. We might think about experts the way we think about stop signs (bear with me on this…) To understand the expert-stop sign analogy let’s begin with Arthur C. Brooks, who has written (in “Foreign Affairs” and elsewhere) about what he calls “the dignity deficit,” which he believes cost Mrs. Clinton …

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