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From the catbird seat
In mid-November, when daylight dwindles, the sky turns flannel gray and a cold drizzle waterboards Pittsburgh, I flap my old, arthritic wings and fly south to Florida—God’s waiting room. Upon arrival, I encounter nice people who inquire where I am from and, upon learning the answer, chirp brightly, “You must be a Steelers fan!” Good …
Cure Alzheimer’s Fund & Our State Leaders
Long involved in charitable giving, East End residents Jacqui and Jeff Morby wanted to do more. They wanted to affect the lives of others for the better. So five years ago, they created the Cure Alzheimer’s Fund. It’s estimated that Alzheimer’s care currently costs about $120 billion a year, or some 15 percent of the …
The Man Behind the Players
Kevin Colbert grew up the youngest of five boys living in a house on Pittsburgh’s North Side. The house had one bedroom and one shower. The five boys lived in the attic, and they were orphaned by the time Colbert was 15. Recipes for success, however, can be tricky things to gauge. Despite the odds, …
Connolly, Maazel, Gordon, Marnatti, Zona, Staley, Hare
J. Wray Connolly, 75 Connolly played a pivotal role in the transition that brought Chancellor Mark Nordenberg to the helm of the University of Pittsburgh. Connolly spent his career at the H.J. Heinz Co., where, among other things, he was credited for the pioneering transition of putting Heinz Ketchup in a plastic bottle. It was …
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Kurtz, Irwin, Cangiano, Duncan, Casey, Hudson, Bonte
Dr. Sanford Kurtz is executive vice president, chief medical officer and president of the Physician Organization at West Penn Allegheny Health System. He comes to Pittsburgh from the Lahey Clinic in Burlington, Mass., where he was chief operating officer and executive vice president. At WPAHS, Dr. Kurtz will be responsible for designing, building and leading …
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A Reporter’s Carol
When Clark Kent awoke, he felt the cold in his bones. He fumbled for his glasses and put them on his now-bulbous nose. The clock said 8 a.m. “Humbug,” he muttered. Another depressing day at The Daily Planet. Kent had long since ceased complaining about the new management and staffing cuts, long since stopped bothering …
Personal Investment
As a Pittsburgh police commander, Gwen Elliott knew the struggles of girls in the city’s toughest neighborhoods. When she retired in 2002, she founded Gwen’s Girls, a nonprofit that would look out for them. But from the beginning, Elliott knew it needed to grow. That’s where Pittsburgh Social Venture Partners came in. Operating on the idea …
The Pittsburgh Penguins & WQED
As America’s first public television station, WQED has a storied history. Unfortunately, it’s not living up to that legacy. We are disappointed that the leadership of this high-profile nonprofit saw fit to sell Pittsburgh Magazine to an out-of-town magazine chain. In recent years, WQED treated the magazine primarily as a revenue generator to support the …
Why Pittsburgh?
When it was announced that the G-20 summit would be held in Pittsburgh, some in the national press corps chuckled; others raised their brows. It’s the first time the summit has not been held in a capital city. Why? On one hand, with the world’s economy in turmoil, it would seem to make perfect sense …
Zelevansky, Frantz, Boyd, Tuan, Johnson, Fleurov, Harris, Jesse
Lynn Zelevansky is director of the Carnegie Museum of Art. She was most recently curator and department head of contemporary art at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Prior to her work in Los Angeles, she spent seven years in the department of painting and sculpture at New York’s Museum of Modern Art. A …
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Mays, Kelly, Scalo, Bennington, Connelly, Byron
Billy Mays, 50 Billy Mays was the consummate pitchman, famous to television watchers across the continent for his booming voice, black beard and persuasive infomercials. He believed in his products, such as OxyClean and Mighty Putty, and it showed. The McKees Rocks native got started on the career path that would make him famous …
A Dance to Remember
A series of events this fall observe the Holocaust by Reid Frazier // Fall 2009 On September 12, 2001, Steven Mills, the artistic director of Ballet Austin, staggered into work with a cup of coffee in hand, and, like most of America, began talking about the national calamity he’d watched on television the previous day. Mills …
Taking Stock
Over the last nine months, investors have read their morning papers, stared at CNBC, and ripped open their brokerage statements with similar results. The financial calculus known simply and profoundly as their net worth has done something of a disappearing act. The S&P 500’s early March lows of 666 represented a 57 percent drop from …
Stocks & Pedestal, Summer 2009
Winding its way through the Laurel Highlands is one of the most beautiful trout streams in western Pennsylvania. If you’ve ever waded into the stream, you know its charms—the rocks, the flowing water and the trees that line the banks. You could be anywhere, but you happen to be in Somerset County. Laurel Hill Creek, …
Gone Fishing
At various times in a fisherman’s life, it becomes desirable to try a new spot. Perhaps an old place gets too crowded. Maybe the fish move on. Or maybe one simply wants a change of scenery. Of course, truly knowing a fishing spot means getting there early, before the fish start feeding—before the first light. …
Clemente, Davidson, Stewart, Liozu, Childs, Shiner, Nelson
James Clements is the 23rd president of West Virginia University. He comes to Morgantown from Towson, Md., where he was provost and vice president at Towson University. He was at Towson for 20 years, starting as a visiting assistant professor, earning tenure and becoming provost last year.He earned a bachelor’s degree in computer science from …
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Gumberg, Cappy, Thomas, Lascheid, Cantini, Handler
Stanley Gumberg, 81 Gumberg joined his father’s real estate brokerage and turned it into one of the region’s most successful real estate development companies, building the Waterworks and Cranberry malls and North Hills Village. Until his death, he remained chairman of the J.J. Gumberg Co., which controls some 15 million square feet of retail property. …
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Touring the Finger Lakes of New York
New York’s Finger Lakes region looks at first glance like a slice of Americana: small towns, white clapboard and main streets. Almost 200 years ago, however, upstate New York was a hotbed of social experimentation and religious reform. [ngg src=”galleries” ids=”42″ display=”basic_thumbnail” thumbnail_crop=”0″] Residents grappled with the sudden transformation of their farming communities by the …
Pittsburgh’s College Corridor
What conjures an image of fun and vitality more than the phrase “college town”? And especially clear in an economy like the present one, what industry offers more stability in roiling financial seas than a solid stable of universities? Western Pennsylvania is home to dozens. At their hub is a group of seven, making a …
Semple, Burns, Ellis, Simon, Phillips
Dock Ellis, 63 One of baseball’s most colorful, controversial and bizarre figures, Ellis was a Pittsburgh Pirates star, who once pitched a no-hitter on LSD. In an era of social upheaval, Ellis was branded a militant by the media because of his vocal advocacy for racial equality. His 1970 no-hitter came about after he had …
Stocks & Pedestal, Spring 2009
The Pittsburgh Steelers: Here we go. In a season when both the landscape and the economy have been frozen and dreary, life in Pittsburgh has been full of excitement and expectation, thanks to the Steelers. So up on the pedestal they go for lighting a bonfire of Pittsburgh spirit and taking our minds off of …
The Losses Hit Home
Justifiably, greater Pittsburgh has felt fortunate to escape the brunt of this recession so far. We’ve read the stories in the national media and seen the statistics. We had no housing bubble here, so there’s no bubble to burst. Our financial institutions are comparatively strong. The healthcare, government and education sectors have softened the blows …