Wilkinsburg in Midst of $8.6M Renovations from the New Pittsburgh Courier
"With its numerous one-way streets, it is easy for those driving through Wilkinsburg to find themselves in the Hamnett Place neighborhood looking to turn around. Those who did, like Mayor John Thompson, would be struck by the massive and empty Crescent Apartments and adjacent Wilson House—once beautiful buildings seemingly forgotten. They are forgotten no longer. Three years ago, the city with the help of Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation, the Allegheny County Department of Economic Development, the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency, PNC Bank and the Federal Home Loan Bank began an $8.6 million restoration of the properties."

EDITORIAL!!

Commuter Crisis: Corbett Can Save Transit (and Roads and Bridges) from the Editorial Board of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
"When the Port Authority cut 23 percent of its routes and reduced service on 80 others last year, riders were stranded, jammed onto overcrowded vehicles or forced to find other means of getting around. That was easy compared to what awaits transit customers, employers and motorists if the agency must go through with service cuts next year that will be even more severe."

DEP Sec. Krancer Talks About EPA Regs for Oil and Gas from the Energy Inc. blog at the Pittsburgh Business Times
"Today is the deadline for comments to the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed oil and gas emission rules, which, to date, have solicited 4,084 replies from citizens, environmental and industry groups and governments. Among them was Pennsylvania’s Secretary of the Department of Environmental Protection Michael Krancer, who talked with me Wednesday about his disagreements with the federal agency."

Mayor Wants to Borrow $80 Million for Capital Projects from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
"Citing a pressing need for building maintenance, vehicle purchases and neighborhood improvements, Mr. Ravenstahl has asked council to float a bond issue to generate $80 million for capital spending in 2012 and 2013. Council budget director Bill Urbanic questioned whether the city workforce, especially the small engineering staff, can handle a large spate of projects."

Peters and Union Municipal Officials Contend with Gas Pipeline Proposals from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
"A number of municipalities in Washington County have spent the past few months crafting regulations for Marcellus Shale gas well drilling pads, compressor stations, processing plants and even employee work trailers. But pipelines? Not so much. Two of those municipalities in the northern portion of the county, Peters and Union, now find themselves scrambling to brace for proposed pipeline projects on their doorsteps."

Carnegie Science Center Launches Program for STEM Education from the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
"Carnegie Science Center and Chevron today announced the launch of the Chevron Center for STEM Education and Career Development, a program dedicated to improving education in science, technology, engineering, and math."

Wheels Turning Slowly on Civic Arena Redevelopment (AUDIO) (Noah Brode) from Essential Public Radio [of Pittsburgh]
"The city-county Sports and Exhibition Authority envisions a mixed-use site in the Lower Hill District, with office and retail space at the Downtown border of the property, giving way to housing as it extends further into the Hill. A street grid similar to that of the pre-Arena Hill would be installed, with green space throughout."
An excellent rundown on what the post-arena site will look like based on current plans!

Pittsburgh Ranks in Top 'Green' Cities: Report Says it Still has a Long Way to Go from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
"Despite chronic flooding and sewage discharges into the rivers, Pittsburgh has received a pat on the back from a national group that tracks cities' use of "green infrastructure" to mitigate water-related problems. Pittsburgh was one of 14 cities and metropolitan areas touted Wednesday in Rooftops to Rivers II, a new report by the nonprofit National Resources Defense Council on efforts to reduce sewage and stormwater runoff."

Marcellus Shale Coalition Elects New Board from the Energy Inc. blog at the Pittsburgh Business Times
"The Marcellus Shale Coalition, the industry’s main trade group in Pennsylvania, has elected a new executive board. Most notably, Ray Walker, a senior vice president at Range Resources’ senior vp, who served as chair for the two-year-old organization, is no longer on the executive committee."

Hill District Education Council Empowers Parents from the New Pittsburgh Courier
"For most of the women at this year’s annual education conference, sponsored by the Hill District Education Council, raising their African-American male children can be a full time job filled with uncertainty. During a breakout session on this topic, the handful of mothers in the room shared stories of their struggle, revealing both the caring nature of their sons and their personal disillusionment with the education system."

CCAC Gets Grant to Train Rig Workers from the New Pittsburgh Courier
"After Training Coordinator Francis “Kip” Deleonibus announced Community College of Allegheny County’s first training program for Marcellus Shale roustabouts, he received 130 responses. With his second class slated to start in the spring, he expects a similar response. But this time he has a grant from the U.S. Department of Labor to pay for the program."

Robotics Event a Draw at Cal from the Observer-Reporter [of Washington and Greene counties]
"According to Mike Amrhein, the robotics competitions, now in their fifth year at Cal U., give students a chance to apply STEM - science, technology, engineering and math in a fun way, and provide teachers with a focal point for their robotics education programs."

The Fracturing of Pennsylvania (Eliza Griswold) from the New York Times Sunday Magazine
"There are more than 4,000 Marcellus wells in Pennsylvania, with projections ranging from 2,500 new wells a year to a total of more than 100,000 over the next few decades; 458 of those wells are in Washington County and 60 are in Amwell Township, to which fracking has given an injection of new income and business; it has also spurred one of the first E.P.A. investigations into fracking’s effects on rivers, streams, drinking water and human health."

PA Unemployment Rate Dips to 8.1 Percent from the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
"Pennsylvania's unemployment rate dipped to 8.1 percent in October, down slightly from September and well below the national average of 9.0 percent."

State House Passes its Version of Marcellus Shale Rules, Fees from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
"Democrats deride it as a tax, saying that the amount of the fee is too low." "After four days of debate, the state House of Representatives has approved a Marcellus Shale impact fee and regulatory measure on a vote of 107-76. The vote came after Democrats, who have repeatedly called for an assessment on gas drillers, criticized the bill for hours."

State vs. Fed Well Regulation Debate Reaches U.S. House from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
"Members of a U.S. House subcommittee and witnesses agreed Wednesday about the need to protect public water supplies in states where natural gas wells are proliferating, but they were divided over who should do it."

Gas-drilling Gel Spills into Northwestern Pa. Creek from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
"A company has halted Marcellus drilling in one northwestern Pennsylvania town after a kind of clay used to expedite the process spilled into a local reservoir."

Regional Group: House Drilling Bill a 'Power Grab' from the Observer-Reporter [of Washington and Greene counties]
"The 18-member Marcellus Municipal Co-op has voiced its opposition to pending state legislation that could remove the right of municipalities to have a say in natural gas drilling operations within their borders."

DEP Investigation Finds Inconsistencies in Marcellus Violations from the Energy Inc. blog at the Pittsburgh Business Times
"A DEP team convened to scour inconsistencies in oil and gas inspections between Pennsylvania’s three regions came out with its findings today. The verdict: inconsistencies exist."

Smart Growth Conference and “Women Greening Pittsburgh” Event Coming Soon from the Imagine Pittsburgh of the Allegheny Conference
"There’s still time to take advantage of a discounted early registration for Southwestern Pennsylvania’s 11th Annual Smart Growth Conference."

EDITORIAL!!

Keep Act 47: The City Makes Progress Because of State Oversight from the Editorial Board of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
"Pittsburgh's fiscal health has been subject to state oversight for eight years and three mayors. This is not the time, however, for the city to stop seeing the doctor. Mayor Luke Ravenstahl, citing progress on several fronts, said Monday in his annual budget address that he will begin asking state officials to release the city from the dual gaze of the Act 47 fiscal recovery team and the Intergovernmental Cooperation Authority."

Making the Grade: Pittsburgh Schools Improving, Advocacy Group Says (Chris Young) at the Slag Heap blog at the Pittsburgh City Paper
"Citing higher test scores for black students, a local education watchdog group announced today that the stubborn racial-achievement gap at the Pittsburgh Public Schools is narrowing."

Local Officials Oppose Marcellus Shale Legislation from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
"Local opposition is signing up against state legislative proposals, backed by the Corbett administration, that would prohibit counties and municipalities from enacting and enforcing their own ordinances and zoning rules aimed at controlling Marcellus Shale natural gas drilling."

Meet the DEP: Air Manager Says No Pollution from Marcellus from the Energy Inc. blog at the Pittsburgh Business Times
"The majority of complaints that Haney’s department receives these days — though it has settled from last year’s flurry to just under a handful each month — have to do with residents who smell gas and suspect it’s coming from a nearby Marcellus company installation."

The Inequality Debate: Conservatives, Liberals Debate What Rise of Rich Means from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
"... after dozens of interviews around the country and reams of books and research papers, it seems that the struggles of the middle class revolve around two key questions: Over the past 30 years, why have the rich become so much richer than everyone else, and what has that done to the lives and futures of middle-income Americans?"

EDITORIAL!!

No Deal, UPMC: The Empire Attacks; the People Strike Back from the Editorial Board of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
"Let the record show that Allegheny County officials -- not the Legislature, not the governor, not any regulatory agency -- were the first to act against the UPMC executives who want to deny 3 million Highmark customers affordable access to their health care."

Shields Bill Would Hold Government Accountable for Gas Drillers from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
"A year after pushing through a ban on natural gas drilling, Pittsburgh City Councilman Doug Shields plans to introduce legislation today that would hold drilling companies -- and federal state and local agencies that license them -- responsible for any contamination."

CMU and Chinese School to Build Engineering Institute from the Steel City Innovation blog at the Pittsburgh Business Times
"On Monday, the university announced a partnership with China’s Sun Yat-sen University to create an Institute of Engineering in Guangzhou in southern China. Initially, the institute will offer masters and doctoral degrees in electrical and computer engineering, the school said."

EDITORIAL!!

One for the Books: Libraries and Democrats Won Big in this Election from the Editorial Board of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
"The most encouraging result in Tuesday's election was the overwhelming support that voters gave to the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh."

Veterans in Battle for Jobs for the Pittsburgh Tribune Review
"Bureau of Labor Statistics show an unemployment rate of 9 percent in October is surpassed by a rate of 12.1 percent for veterans who have served since September 2001, up from 10.6 percent a year ago. Statewide, nearly 100,000 veterans are out of work, including 9,849 in Allegheny County. The jobless rate among veterans in Fayette County tops the region at 15.3 percent."

Allegheny County Council Urged to Restore CCAC Funds from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
"Speaking to members of council's budget and finance committee, President Alex Johnson described cost-cutting steps the college already has taken in response to previous reductions in state and county funding. The loss of another $7 million from the college's $104 million budget could mean layoffs, closing of facilities and higher borrowing costs, he said."

Garden Theater Block Ready to Start from the Pittsburgh Business Times
"The team taking on the redevelopment of the Garden Theater block on the North Side are ready to kick start it next year with three well-known bar and restaurants from the South Side, Strip District and Lawrenceville."

EDITORIAL!!

Faulty Tower: The County Must Defend the Public Against UPMC from the Editorial Board of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
"The region's dominant hospital network refuses to negotiate a new service agreement with dominant insurer Highmark, a hostile move that next year will cost millions of Western Pennsylvanians affordable access to their doctors. Why should the people of Allegheny County become enablers of UPMC's predatory behavior?"

Shale State Governors to Draft RFP for Natural Gas Cars from the Energy Inc. blog for the Pittsburgh Business Times
"Pennsylvania and three other shale-rich states are pairing up to tell car makers that there’s demand for natural gas powered vehicles. So start making them."

Occupational Hazards: Occupy Pittsburgh Has Been Making it Easy for Everyone ... Except the Occupiers Themselves (Chris Potter) from the Pittsburgh City Paper
"Since the Occupation began on Oct. 15, the number of tents on the 1.5-acre site has grown from a few dozen to roughly 100. Guitar-playing Occupiers furnish music; their comrades can often be seen sweeping the parklet's concrete walkways."

Environmental Groups Decry Gas Industry's Political Contributions from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
"An environmental/liberal coalition said Thursday that massive contributions by the shale gas-drilling industry to state and national politicians show an urgent need to limit campaign donations in the state and to enact greater transparency in reporting so citizens can know what's going on."

New Life Planned for East Liberty Site from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
"The Pittsburgh Urban Redevelopment Authority board is expected to vote Thursday on a recommendation to sell the building and the adjacent Wallace Building to Highland Wallace Joint Venture for nearly $1.9 million. Highland Wallace Joint Venture, a partnership involving developer Walnut Capital and Massaro Properties, is proposing to convert the two buildings into 130 apartments, mostly one-bedrooms, at a cost of $28 million."

EDITORIAL!!

Who Knows Best: On Drilling, Republicans Sell Out on Local Control from the Editorial Board of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
"Republicans often say they are advocates of local control, repeating bromides such as "the people know better than the politicians or bureaucrats." But not when it comes to Marcellus Shale drilling in Pennsylvania. On this subject, the politicians and bureaucrats are poised to tell the people that they know best -- and never mind the local concerns of residents of municipalities across the state who will have to live with the results. Harrisburg knows best."

Bid to Ban Drilling in Peters is Defeated; Voters in State College Succeed from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
"Despite the work of a very determined group of citizens, a referendum banning Marcellus Shale gas drilling was overwhelmingly defeated Tuesday in Peters, Washington County. ... A similar measure in the city of Warren, Warren County, also was defeated, though one in the borough of State College, in Centre County, was approved by voters there."

Is Fracking Behind Oklahoma’s Earthquakes? from Reuters
"The report — “Examination of Possibly Induced Seismicity from Hydraulic Fracturing in the Eola Field, Garvin County, Oklahoma” —  goes through the existing evidence linking fracking and earthquakes step-by-step. Holland says there is a possibility that the two are linked but that data uncertainties keep him from saying so with absolute conviction."

The 11 Majors With The Highest Unemployment Rates from the Huffington Post
"According to Census data obtained by the Wall Street Journal, clinical psychology is the most unemployable major with a 19.5% unemployment rate. It's hard out there for aspiring Sigmund Freuds. Check out the below slideshow of the most unemployable majors."

Extra Funds for Pittsburgh Library get Resounding Approval from the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review 
"City voters on Tuesday overwhelmingly approved a 0.25-mill property tax increase to help fund the cash-strapped Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh and its 19 branches."
VERY good news!

Sustainability Thrives On Campuses in the Pittsburgh Region from the Imagine Pittsburgh Online blog
"Colleges and universities are increasingly looking for ways to increase their sustainability in all aspects — from curriculum to food service to building operations. Sharing best practices and talking through challenges was the focus at the recent national conference in Pittsburgh of the Association for Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education, known as AASHE."

Here Comes the Sun (Paul Krugman) from the New York Times
"...if you still think of solar power as some kind of hippie fantasy, blame our fossilized political system, in which fossil fuel producers have both powerful political allies and a powerful propaganda machine that denigrates alternatives. Speaking of propaganda: Before I get to solar, let’s talk briefly about hydraulic fracturing, a k a fracking."

City School Board Talks of Cutting up to 300 Teachers from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
"In an attempt to overcome a $38.2 million budget shortfall, the Pittsburgh Public School board will consider a proposal to eliminate about 300 teaching positions for the next school year and consider closing an additional school."

Highmark Deal Would Make it Health Care Pioneer from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
"Drowned out by all the heated charges and countercharges is the fact that Highmark is breaking new ground -- none of the other 38 Blue Cross Blue Shield independent licensed companies across the U.S. has ever purchased a health system before, and experts are hard-pressed to remember a major U.S. insurer buying an entire health system anywhere."

Maximum Occupancy: Occupy Movement Looking to get Most Bang for Protest Actions from the Pittsburgh City Paper
"More than two weeks into their movement, members of Occupy Pittsburgh are generally pleased with what they've accomplished. They've established a camp site, garnered media attention for many of their demonstrations and, unlike other Occupy movements around the country, they've managed to avoid confrontation with police. "I'm absolutely happy," says occupier Steve Cooper. "We're still surviving out here." But protesters hope to do more than survive..."

Statewide Marcellus Control Bill Criticized as Intrusive from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
"One size doesn't fit all when it comes to Marcellus Shale drilling in Pennsylvania, local government officials said a day after a state House panel moved to create statewide regulations that would supersede gas drilling ordinances already in place.

EDITORIAL!!

Shale Gas Revolution (David Brooks) from the New York Times
"The shale gas revolution challenges the coal industry, renders new nuclear plants uneconomic and changes the economics for the renewable energy companies, which are now much further from viability. So forces have gathered against shale gas, with predictable results."

Achievement Gap Key to ‘State of Black Pgh’ from the New Pittsburgh Courier
"African-American and Hispanic students trailed their White peers by an average of more than 20 test score points on the National Assessment of Education Progress math and reading assessments at fourth and eight grades,” Bush said. “That’s according to analyses by the National Center for Education Statistics in 2009 and 2011, which concluded that the gap equates to a difference of about two grade levels."

House Panel OKs Drilling Rules from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
"Local rules for gas drilling would be null and void under the Marcellus Shale legislation swiftly approved by a House panel on Wednesday, highlighting a key obstacle in crafting a drilling oversight measure. The bill's party-line vote immediately drew criticism for the meeting's hasty announcement hours after a draft of the measure was posted on the General Assembly's website."

Occupy Pittsburgh comes to Oakland from the Pitt News [of the University of Pittsburgh]
"More than 100 protesters, who currently have a camp set up in Mellon Green, met in Schenley Plaza and began their march around Oakland at 6:30 p.m. The protest, which lasted for more than two hours, was meant to support the efforts of the protestors in Occupy Oakland, whose camp was raided by police last Tuesday."

EPA Releases Deadlines for Fracking Study: 2012, then 2014 from the Energy Inc blog at the Pittsburgh Business Times
"Earlier this year, the EPA announced five sites where it’ll be conducting its research, including Washington County and Bradford and Susquehanna counties in Pennsylvania, to study how fracking is being conducted in the Marcellus Shale."

Gas Drilling on the Rise in PA from the Energy Inc blog at the Pittsburgh Business Times
"Turns out, things have been picking up in Southwestern Pennsylvania over the past year. This week, there are 27 rigs in this area. Last time this year there were 18."

Urban Youth Action Closes Despite Plea from the New Pittsburgh Courier
"When Rev. Cornell Jones learned Urban Youth Action, the organization his father Bernard started 45 years ago to give African-American youths the skills and knowledge to succeed in the job market, was to close Oct.31, he tried to contact the board about keeping it alive. He received no reply—for six weeks."

Pennsylvania Bills Would Crack Down Strongly on Illegal Immigrants from the Patriot-News [of Harrisburg]
"It’s not every day that lawmakers in Harrisburg gird themselves for votes against illegal immigrants. ... Pollsters also say the matter grabs even less of the general public’s attention, but it seems likely to dominate the social justice agenda for the rest of this two-year legislative term. Metcalfe’s “National Security Starts At Home” package includes bills requiring:"

State House Panel Passes its Version of Shale Impact Fee from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
"The House GOP measure pushed through this morning closely matches the impact fee plan outlined by Gov. Tom Corbett and the environmental regulations suggested by his Marcellus Shale Advisory Commission. It also includes a provision to use royalty dollars from gas wells on state-owned land to fund environmental initiatives. But the section drawing some of the loudest concerns from Democratic members of the House Finance Committee was a provision stating that statewide rules would supersede all local laws for oil and gas operations."

Highmark, WPAHS Sign Pact to Bail Out Hospitals from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
"Highmark Inc. on Tuesday announced it had reached an affiliation agreement with the West Penn Allegheny Health System that immediately infuses the ailing health system with an additional $100 million. The insurer also floated the possibility of further acquisitions, saying that WPAHS may not be the only hospital system that ultimately ends up in its provider portfolio."
The Tribune-Review has its coverage of this story HERE.

Ohio Quakes Tied to Gas Extraction? from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
"Geologists are checking for possible links between a brine-water injection well and seven minor earthquakes since March in the Youngstown area of northeast Ohio. The quakes are the only ones recorded with epicenters in Youngstown and the Mahoning River valley."