From the Editor Archives - Pittsburgh Quarterly

Not everyone in this football-crazy city has to have a football story, but I do. And after 41 years here, maybe the time is right to finally tell it. After all, at this time of year, is anyone in Pittsburgh not thinking about football? My story begins just downriver from Pittsburgh, in a little town …

My Football Story Read More »

Opinion

The State of Pittsburgh

by Douglas Heuck

In the Summer of 2023 issue, I wrote a column entitled “Wake Up! It’s Time to Save Downtown Pittsburgh.” At the time, people were justifiably hesitant to come Downtown. Now, three years later, as anyone who attended the NFL Draft will attest, Downtown’s transformation is sensational. The Draft brought excitement and vitality to our city …

The State of Pittsburgh Read More »

Opinion

No News is Bad News

by Douglas Heuck

Within a day of the Jan. 7 news that the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette will close on May 3, I began receiving emails suggesting I create a group to save the paper or start a replacement. Why? Because I worked at The Pittsburgh Press and Post-Gazette for 20 years as an investigative reporter and business editor, and …

No News is Bad News Read More »

Opinion Pittsburgh Tomorrow

Pittsburgh Tomorrow

by Douglas Heuck

With Pittsburgh Tomorrow turning two years old, a citizen might ask: What is it and what is it doing? I publish this magazine, and I also started Pittsburgh Tomorrow, working with a great team to improve this region’s future. Pittsburgh Tomorrow is a nonpartisan 501(c)(3) non-profit funded by Pittsburgh citizens — wealthy people and working …

Pittsburgh Tomorrow Read More »

Opinion Pittsburgh Tomorrow

A Turning Point

by Douglas Heuck

It’s rare to be able to witness first-hand the alchemy of change that launches a city onto a new trajectory. Yet in Pittsburgh that change — a series of man-made lightning strikes — is underway. Since May 20, not even three months from this writing, events have turned in favor of those working to create a …

A Turning Point Read More »

Opinion

An Opportunity for Each of Us

by Douglas Heuck

It’s been 23 years since the saga of the discarded toilet. I lived in Squirrel Hill then, and each day as I drove Downtown to work at the Post-Gazette, I followed the same path as thousands of other motorists, coming through Oakland, exiting the Boulevard of the Allies down and to the right via a …

An Opportunity for Each of Us Read More »

Opinion

Blocking Pittsburgh Growth: A Tyranny of the Minority

by Douglas Heuck

I didn’t grow up in a union household, but I’m steeped in union lore and stories. They’re part of America’s fabric and spirit. In the movies, there’s Norma Rae where Sally Field plays a courageous union textile worker. Matewan portrays the dramatic 1920 coal miners’ battle in West Virginia. And one of the best movies …

Blocking Pittsburgh Growth: A Tyranny of the Minority Read More »

Opinion

Pittsburgh Tomorrow: The Voyage of a Year

by Douglas Heuck

At 3 a.m. Sunday, October 20, I bolted out of bed with a thought. Weeks earlier, I’d tried unsuccessfully to attend a Kamala Harris rally to spread the word about the Pittsburgh Tomorrow project. On this Sunday, Elon Musk was coming for a rally — and if I could get in, I wanted to be …

Pittsburgh Tomorrow: The Voyage of a Year Read More »

Culture Opinion

Lessons from Last Place

by Douglas Heuck

Sailing is a big part of the culture in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, where I’ve spent 63 straight summers. And some might say that from an early age, I earned the dubious distinction of being a kind of “Jonah” of sailboat races. I’ve never seen myself as that ill-fated shipmate of yore, but the case could …

Lessons from Last Place Read More »

Opinion

Pittsburgh Tomorrow: The Power of Belief

by Douglas Heuck

One weeknight in early April, i returned home after a tiring day packed with meetings. I don’t usually drink during the week, but as I sat down with the day’s mail, I eyed a bottle of Malbec on the kitchen counter. I sighed and thought “Nope, too much work tonight.” I grabbed the mail, noticing …

Pittsburgh Tomorrow: The Power of Belief Read More »

People

My Oldest Brother

by Douglas Heuck

Just before 6 a.m. on New Year’s Eve, I got in the car to drive down to Cincinnati, my hometown. I’ve done it 100 times at least since I moved to Pittsburgh 39 years ago. And I’ve done it for all manner of occasions. This time, it was to see my oldest brother. His heart …

My Oldest Brother Read More »

Opinion Pittsburgh Immigration

Pittsburgh Tomorrow

by Douglas Heuck

When I came to Pittsburgh in 1985, it was a great city — the late David McCullough called it “the essential American city.” But it was a great city in shock. The massive industrial economy had collapsed and 150,000 to 200,000 mainly young people were leaving for greener pastures. I expected to stay for my …

Pittsburgh Tomorrow Read More »

Opinion

How Much Do Voters Care About the Future of Allegheny County?

by Douglas Heuck

(This story appeared in the Fall issue under the headline: The Broken Politics of Allegheny County.) I was on vacation in Michigan this summer, walking down a path to collect my daughter’s dog, when two old friends said hello from a cottage porch. One, from Cincinnati, gets the magazine and asked what the subject of …

How Much Do Voters Care About the Future of Allegheny County? Read More »

Opinion

The Broken Politics of Allegheny County

by Douglas Heuck

A couple of weeks ago, I was on vacation in Michigan, walking down a path to collect my dog, when two old friends said hello from a cottage porch. One, from Cincinnati, gets the magazine and asked what the subject of my next column would be. I told him I was writing about the November …

The Broken Politics of Allegheny County Read More »

Wake Up!

by Douglas Heuck

On a warm April evening, my son and I went Downtown to meet a friend who is alarmed by what Downtown is becoming. Before dinner, we walked around one block, essentially Sixth Avenue to Wood Street to Liberty Avenue to Smithfield Street and back down Sixth Avenue. On Liberty, a group of young people in …

Wake Up! Read More »

People

Get Ready for Pittsburgh Tomorrow

by Douglas Heuck

In the spring issue three years ago, I wrote a long essay about the need for a big plan to reverse Greater Pittsburgh’s downward economic and demographic trends. A Pittsburgh friend called it my Magnum Opus, the product of 35 years of journalistic efforts here, much of it aimed at moving this region ahead. In …

Get Ready for Pittsburgh Tomorrow Read More »

A Sailing Odyssey, Part II: Peril on the Seas

by Douglas Heuck

It is said that no two trips to the North Channel are ever the same. With a maiden voyage behind me, though, I felt confident about my second trip, which I would undertake with three college classmates, all 60 years old. I put the boat in the water early, eager to push the engine a …

A Sailing Odyssey, Part II: Peril on the Seas Read More »

People

A Sailing Odyssey, Part I

by Douglas Heuck

When I was a boy during summers in northern Michigan, there was one adventure that dwarfed all others: sailing to the North Channel. It was a distant, mythic place of pristine beauty and wrecked boats where intrepid sailors matched their skills with the forces of nature — where islands had rattlesnakes, fish were huge, and …

A Sailing Odyssey, Part I Read More »

People

A Sailing Odyssey, The Conclusion

by Douglas Heuck

Killarney was our eastern apogee, where we spent the rainy day in the Killarney Mountain Lodge, had drinks by the fire and I taught the guys to play bridge. From there we started the long trek back, exploring the North Channel’s most beautiful places by day and playing bridge in the cozy cabin each night. …

A Sailing Odyssey, The Conclusion Read More »

People Sports

A Final Chat with Franco

by Douglas Heuck

My wife and I were at a party Friday night at the History Center, and after a cocktail, chit chat and getting our picture taken with Santa, we were going to check out the John Kane painting exhibit before the seated dinner. As we were making our escape from the crowd, however, I saw Franco …

A Final Chat with Franco Read More »

Culture Opinion

A Pittsburgh Wedding

by Douglas Heuck

It all started in March of 2020, when my daughter’s boyfriend flew to Pittsburgh for lunch to ask for her hand. Liking him a great deal, I said yes, not knowing that, thanks to the vagaries of COVID, we would have 30 months to think and rethink the wedding, and experience all the drama accompanying …

A Pittsburgh Wedding Read More »

Regional News

Let’s Take “the Pits” out of Pittsburgh

by Douglas Heuck

In my spring column, I wrote about the borough of Wilkinsburg, encouraging Pittsburgh City Council to vote in favor of annexing the failed municipality. When I wrote it though, it had been years since I’d veered off of Wilkinsburg’s main drag — Penn Avenue — and actually explored the borough. Last month, I drove all …

Let’s Take “the Pits” out of Pittsburgh Read More »