NEWS CONFERENCE!!

Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl is Expected to Challenge the Tax-exempt Status of Health Care Giant UPMC at a News Conference on Wednesday from the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
"Officials in Ravenstahl's administration declined to discuss details, but spokeswoman Marissa Doyle said an announcement is set for 11:30 a.m."

Mayor Luke Ravenstahl

EVENT!!

NAACP Regional Convention Announced for April in Pittsburgh from the New Pittsburgh Courier
"NAACP Pittsburgh Unit President Connie Parker told the New Pittsburgh Courier today that the National Convention for Region II will be held in Pittsburgh at the Westin Convention Center Hotel April 25-27. “We’re going to have quite a few things going on across the city, and it’s coming right before our annual Human Rights Dinner May 2, so It’s really going to give us a nice boost,” she said."

 Connie Parker, head of the Pittsbugh branch of the NAACP

Women of Courage' Awardees Arrive Today in Pittsburgh from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
"Four woman who have been picked to receive the 2013 Secretary of State's International Women of Courage Award will arrive in Pittsburgh today. Chatham University is partnering with GlobalPittsburgh and the U.S. Department of State to host a public forum featuring the women."

EVENT!!

Announcing the PA Progressive Summit 2013 from Keystone Progress, Democracy for America, and the Pennsylvania Association for Justice and other organizations
[From the announcement:] This year's Summit offers 33 workshops and panel discussions about the important issues facing Pennsylvania and the nation. Each session will give you practical suggestions about what you can do to successfully move your issue forward."

Pittsburghers Turn Out for National Day of Service from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
"Hundreds of volunteers turned out at about 20 local events to help for the annual Martin Luther King National Day of Service."

ADVOCACY TRAINING PROGRAM!!

Training Session for Transit Advocacy Group from Pittsburghers for Public Transit
Tomorrow's event will "test out our new training curriculum for Pittsburghers for PublicTransit volunteers on Saturday, January 19 from 1-3pm, in the Liberty Conference room on the ground floor of the Human Services Building at One Smithfield Street, downtown. We want this training model to be useful both for beginners and experienced organizers, so we ask for your participation and feedback on this pilot model. The next week, on January 22nd, we will launch our direct organizing and legislative campaigns at a press conference, inviting the general public to participate in the first volunteer training open to the general public, on Sunday, January 27th, also at One Smithfield St in the Liberty Conference room."
For more information about these events or other activities by Pittsburghers for Public Transit, see their website here.

Pittsburgh City Council Honors Thomas Merton Center from the Pittsburgh Post Gazette
"The Thomas Merton Center, founded in 1972, has "never wavered" in its advocacy for peace, city Councilman Bill Peduto said. And this morning, after Mr. Peduto read a proclamation honoring the Garfield group for its 40-year commitment and naming today "Thomas Merton Center Day" in
Pittsburgh, there was no wavering. Instead, there was more advocacy."

PA Mayors: Enact Federal Deficit Plan that Builds Stronger Cities from the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center
"Congress should enact a deficit reduction plan that includes significant new revenue so that Pennsylvania cities, their residents and local economies can thrive again, mayors from across the commonwealth said in a conference call today. "

PERSPECTIVE!!

Doctor, to Speak at Commonwealth Awards, Wants to Make Cities Walkable Again from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
"For the past 12 years, Dr. Jackson has met a lot of urban planners and is speaking the language of the most progressive among them, the so-called New Urbanism, which is really the old urbanism -- a return to walkable realms that are designed and built for the human body, not the human body in a car."

VIDEO!!

Pittsburgh Teens, One Young World Delegates Paint Bright Future from Imagine Pittsburgh
"Last month the One Young World summit made its first landing in the United States, gathering thinkers and activists age 30 and under in Pittsburgh’s David L. Lawrence Convention Center. ... On Oct. 20, the more than 1,000 attendees fanned out across the Pittsburgh region to seminars hosted in local communities, discussing – among dozens of other topics — how to build social businesses, using hip-hop music to engage kids in positive change and furthering equity in women’s sports."

EVENT!!

Meeting Set Tonight on New Larimer Homes from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette 
"City Councilman Ricky Burgess is holding a public meeting to discuss the design of 53 new proposed homes in Larimer at 6 p.m. today at the Mount Ararat Baptist Church, 271 Paulson Ave."

Brownfields Conference Now Dec. 10-12 in Pittsburgh from the Pittsburgh Business Times
"The Brownfields conference postponed when Hurricane Sandy ran through Pennsylvania in October will now be held Dec. 10-12 in Monroeville."

EVENT!!

Panel Discusses Environmental Impact of Oil Drilling at Pitt from the Pitt News [of the University of Pittsburgh]
"Broder and two other environmental leaders in the area — Detwiler, a Sierra Club representative, and Pitt graduate student Samantha Malone — took turns discussing the environmental impact of oil drilling in front of an audience of about 60 students Wednesday night as a part of the Collegiate Readership Program."

EVENT!!

Trading Gas for Gasoline from the Observer-Reporter [of Washington & Greene counties]
"Leaders in the oil and gas industry, along with state and local government officials and other stakeholders, gathered at Waynesburg University Friday for a presentation on the future of transportation fuels. Entitled “Fill it up, what’s in your tank?,” the multiphased event, sponsored by Tri-County Oil and Gas Expo, enlightened participants in the slowly growing trend of using compressed natural gas as an alternative fuel source."

EVENT!!

Allegheny County Schedules Hearing on UPMC Properties; Health Care Giant's Tax-exempt Status of Holdings is Focus from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette 
"Allegheny County Council will take a look at the tax-exempt status of UPMC real estate at a public hearing Dec. 5. "People have been asking a lot of questions about this [topic]," Councilman John DeFazio said at a council meeting last week. "It's a good idea to have this meeting and air it out properly in front of everybody." His comment was met with loud applause from the two dozen people who attended Wednesday's council meeting to show their support for a public hearing."

EVENT!!

How Allegheny County Residents can Register for UPMC Hearing from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
"Allegheny County residents and taxpayers who want to speak at county council's public hearing about UPMC's tax-exempt property must register at least one day before the Dec. 5 event. Presentations must be limited to three minutes."

PROFILE!!

Giant Eagle CEO says Adaptability is Key to Success from the Pittsburgh Business Times
"At a sold-out event hosted by Chatham University on Friday morning, Laura Karet, CEO of Giant Eagle, shared her thoughts on leadership and discussed the significant growth Giant Eagle has experienced over its 81-year history."

EVENT!!

CMU Team Advances to Genetically Engineered Machines Championship at MIT (with video) from Imagine Pittsburgh
"They came – a swarm of 275 brilliant, young, scientific minds – to Pittsburgh to compete in the Americas East Regional Jamboree for the International Genetically Engineering Machines (iGEM) competition. From institutions such as Harvard, Yale, Georgia Tech and Penn State, the competing teams of undergrads spent a weekend on Duquesne University’s campus in October. There they showcased to expert judges their efforts to engineer – at the molecular level – new synthetic organisms with the potential to impact medicine, energy and the environment for the better."

EVENT!!

Pittsburgh Basks in Glow of One Young World Summit from the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
"Pittsburgh’s role as host of the third annual One Young World summit helped showcase the city to the world’s future innovators, organizers say. The international conference, which drew 1,300 young adults mostly in their 20s from more than 180 countries, ..."

EVENT!!

Student Help Community on PMADD from the Pitt News [of the University of Pittsburgh]
"Gargani and his brothers were just a few of the more than 3,000 Pitt students who gathered at the William Pitt Union at 10 a.m. Saturday to take part in Pitt Make a Difference Day, an annual event that began in 2007 as a way to connect Pitt students to the larger Pittsburgh community. The students boarded buses that lined Bigelow Boulevard to travel to one of the 63 volunteering sites throughout Pittsburgh and surrounding areas."