A Walk in the Woods

Cook Forest State Park, home to magnificent old-growth forest, is a prime destination for anyone interested in scenic beauty, natural history and a variety of recreational opportunities. Located 75 miles north of Pittsburgh in Clarion County, the state park is named for John Cook, the first American to settle in the area, in 1826. By …

A Walk in the Woods Read More »

A Belted Kingfisher

“From the porch at dusk I watched a kingfisher wild in flight he could only have made for joy…” —Wendell Barry (from his poem “Before Dark”) One summer day not long ago, I sat on the front porch of our farmhouse. It’s a log house, built about 1860 and added onto over the years—a happy …

A Belted Kingfisher Read More »

The Silver Tsunami

Editor’s note: The Allegheny Conference on Community Development claims that as many as 760,000 people in the 10-county southwestern Pennsylvania region will be heading toward retirement in the next 20 years. This unprecedented retirement wave promises to bring significant challenges to the region’s labor force as well as such sectors as housing, healthcare, education, recreation …

The Silver Tsunami Read More »

Summer Reading List

The forces of the universe have a dark sense of humor. Just weeks before the publication of The Schenley Experiment, Jake Oresick’s revealing history of Pittsburgh’s first public high school, PMC Property Group began to advertise Schenley Apartments, which occupy the former school. “A truly unique historic property modernized to exceed your expectations,” the website …

Summer Reading List Read More »

Capital Preservation Paul, Part VII

Well, the best-laid plans…I’d intended to interview the contestants in our little investment contest to get their take on the markets and on how well or badly they, personally, had navigated the various challenges those markets had offered. I was especially interested in what, if anything, the contestants had learned. But I was mainly thwarted. …

Capital Preservation Paul, Part VII Read More »

Steelers Draft: Matt Milligan Gives the Scoop

The theatrics of the NFL draft reached new heights this year. Between a touching tribute to the late Dan Rooney and a pandemonium-inducing tirade by former Cowboys Wide receiver Drew Pearson, there were plenty of made-for-TV moments. A total of 6 trades were processed during the 1st round, 3 of which involved the eventual drafting …

Steelers Draft: Matt Milligan Gives the Scoop Read More »

Spring Hat Luncheon Welcomes 600 to Schenley Park

The Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy raised $530,000 during its annual Spring Hat Luncheon on May 6, welcoming more than 600 guests to Schenley Park. A rainy week made it impossible to keep the ground dry under the tented area on the overlook, which resulted in the appearance of more than one pair of rain boots. “This …

Spring Hat Luncheon Welcomes 600 to Schenley Park Read More »

Gods & Goddesses Theme Ignites Pittsburgh Public Theater Gala

The Pittsburgh Public Theater wowed patrons of its Gods and Goddesses-themed gala on May 5 with a shimmering evening that began with producing artistic director Ted Pappas awaiting the arrival of his 400 guests while surrounded by strapping gladiators. “I like to make a nice, subtle entrance,” he said. Celebrating its 42nd year, the 2017/2018 …

Gods & Goddesses Theme Ignites Pittsburgh Public Theater Gala Read More »

Healthcare On Demand: There’s an App for That

We’ve all been there. You think you might have the flu, and you need to see a doctor, stat. You call your PCP but she’s booked solid for the next three weeks. So you hop in your car and fight the traffic to the urgent care clinic, only to find out there’s an hour-and-a-half wait. …

Healthcare On Demand: There’s an App for That Read More »

Capital Preservation Paul, Part VI

Bull Markets and Bear Markets are such momentous events that they tend to fixate investor attention to the exclusion of more important matters. Most people, for example, would define a “market cycle” with reference to Bulls and Bears. Typically, investors might view a market cycle as extending from the peak of a Bull to the …

Capital Preservation Paul, Part VI Read More »

Phipps Celebrates Super. Natural. Exhibit with Opening Night Party

Behind the scenes technicalities of Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens’ latest exhibit, Super. Natural. involved 500 pieces of hand-blown glass that had been meticulously packed into 122 boxes for a cross-country trip from Seattle to Pittsburgh on a 52-foot-long tractor trailer. Once here, it took a core of volunteers and staff three weeks to install …

Phipps Celebrates Super. Natural. Exhibit with Opening Night Party Read More »

Capital Preservation Paul, Part V

So far in our increasingly exciting investment contest, it’s been a positive experience all around. For the first three years the capital markets rose relentlessly: a modestly positive first year followed by two terrific Bull Market years. But things are about to change. Now, in Year 4 of our contest, the good times seem like …

Capital Preservation Paul, Part V Read More »

Haute Wired Gala Toasts Fashion Exhibit

“Iris van Herpen: Transforming Fashion,” the first exhibit of its kind to grace one of the main galleries of the Carnegie Museum of Art, drew 210 guests for the Haute Wired Gala on April 28. The event toasted the final days of an exhibit co-organized by the High Museum of Art in Atlanta and the …

Haute Wired Gala Toasts Fashion Exhibit Read More »

A Fine Suit of Clothes

You’re never going to see him cross his arms. Why risk wrinkling his suit? You’ll also never see him walking around with scuffs on his shoes, covered in dirt from the last steps he took. No chance he’s going to ruin his soles. Has about a gazillion of them. He likes the suedes. Likes his …

A Fine Suit of Clothes Read More »

St. Barnabas Charities Honors Former New York City Mayor

A message infused with leadership, compassion, patriotism and courage punctuated the 45-minutes that former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani shared with more than 400 guests of St. Barnabas Charities during the 2017 Founder’s Day Celebration. “I’m excited to see him in person,” said Lindsey Senft. “He’s this larger than life person I’ve always seen …

St. Barnabas Charities Honors Former New York City Mayor Read More »

Marital Secrets

If there is one thing I have learned after being married for 17 years, it is that every marriage has secrets. Anybody who tells you different has never been married. Most secrets can be classified into three categories: Benign: “I don’t see what the big idea is, a lot of middle-aged men collect ‘Hello Kitty’ …

Marital Secrets Read More »

Capital Preservation Paul, Part IV

Last week we observed how our investment competitors fared as they navigated a boring, so-so market environment. But this week things get more interesting. As we will recall, Years 2 and 3 of our contest were Bull Market years. The equity markets were so strong that even highly diversified portfolios rose 15% in Year 2 …

Capital Preservation Paul, Part IV Read More »

A Night of Reflection

More than 200 guests gathered last month at the Renaissance Pittsburgh Hotel for the 15th Annual Saint Alexis Catholic School Gala, benefiting the privately funded Catholic elementary school in Wexford. This year’s theme, “A Night of Reflection,” resonated with guests as they reminisced about the school’s 55-year history and looked to the future.

Value Investing: Putting Time on Your Side

“All things excellent are as difficult as they are rare.” Throughout my 17 years watching markets and investing on behalf of high-net-worth individuals, families and organizations in the Pittsburgh area, I’ve never found this quote from legendary investor Benjamin Graham to be more appropriate. Investing is more than the cat and mouse game portrayed by …

Value Investing: Putting Time on Your Side Read More »

Investigating a Suicide. Me?

As the sergeant drank cheap whiskey one night at the NCO Club on Incirlik Air Base in southern Turkey, his wife overdosed on pills. Because suicide is a homicide, the Office of Special Investigations on base, meaning my two colleagues and me, got the case. The base security police had roped off their trailer, and …

Investigating a Suicide. Me? Read More »

Poetry

I too dislike it the mystified truisms the dusty puzzle-prunes the theatrical exaggerations: “the brutal crescendo of woodworms”– yet I think of O’Hara’s delight in the endless pleasures of quotidian life and Duhamel throwing a dozen balls in the air and juggling them all Frank said only a few poems are as good as the …

Poetry Read More »

Quantum Strikes Again with “Collaborators”

Just as Colette could say, “There are no ordinary cats,” one could say that there are no ordinary productions from Quantum Theatre. “Collaborators,” the 2011 play by John Hodge (who also wrote the adaptation of the film, “Trainspotting”) is violently alive in a way so few new plays are these days, merging comedy and pathos …

Quantum Strikes Again with “Collaborators” Read More »

Top
Responsive Menu
Add more content here...
Responsive Menu
Add more content here...
Responsive Menu
Add more content here...
Responsive Menu
Add more content here...
Responsive Menu
Add more content here...
Responsive Menu
Add more content here...
Responsive Menu
Add more content here...
Responsive Menu
Add more content here...
Responsive Menu
Add more content here...
Responsive Menu
Add more content here...
Responsive Menu
Add more content here...
Responsive Menu
Add more content here...
Responsive Menu
Add more content here...
Responsive Menu
Add more content here...
Responsive Menu
Add more content here...
Responsive Menu
Add more content here...
Responsive Menu
Add more content here...
Responsive Menu
Add more content here...
Responsive Menu
Add more content here...
Responsive Menu
Add more content here...
Responsive Menu
Add more content here...
Responsive Menu
Add more content here...
Responsive Menu
Add more content here...
Responsive Menu
Add more content here...
Responsive Menu
Add more content here...
Responsive Menu
Add more content here...
Responsive Menu
Add more content here...
Responsive Menu
Add more content here...
Responsive Menu
Add more content here...
Responsive Menu
Add more content here...
Responsive Menu
Add more content here...