Unfit for Work: The Startling Rise of Disability in America (Chana Joffe-Walt) from NPR's This American Life
"...people on disability don't show up in any of the places we usually look to see how the economy is doing. But the story of these programs -- who goes on them, and why, and what happens after that -- is, to a large extent, the story of the U.S. economy. It's the story not only of an aging workforce, but also of a hidden, increasingly expensive safety net."
Here's the This American Life program.  Here's a separate segment from All Things Considered.

EDITORIAL!!

Onward and Upward: The 911th Airlift Wing Wins a Reprieve from Closure from the Editorial Board of the Pittsburgh Post Gazette
"After local supporters demonstrated the efficiency of the 911th Airlift Wing, the Air Force had no choice but to keep the base open."

Budget Cuts Could Spell Trouble for Montgomery Lock from the Beaver Times 
"The triggering of automatic budget cuts in Washington known as sequestration could have dangerous consequences for the Montgomery Locks in Beaver County, which could topple without much-needed maintenance, according to a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers official. Colonel Bernard Lindstrom, the commander of the Army Corps of Engineers Pittsburgh District, told a meeting of the Port of Pittsburgh Commission last week that it is likely the corps will have to defer maintenance to the region’s 23 locks and dams, which are among the oldest in the nation."

AmeriCorps Participants Help Local Nonprofit from the Observer-Reporter [of Washington & Greene counties]
"Public Allies Pittsburgh took a group of about 12 participants to the office of the nonprofit Dress For Success on North Main Street, where they sorted and boxed clothes for the organization that matches low-income and underprivileged women with suits tailored to help them gain access into the business world. The young men and women participating are enrolled in a 10-month AmeriCorps program."

Sequestration Will Cost Allegheny County About $100,000 in Federal Clean Air Funds from the Pittsburgh Post Gazette
"The federal government's inability to agree on a budget will cost the county Health Department's air pollution program about $100,000."

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."

Manufacturers, Educators Brace for Budget Cuts from the Pittsburgh Business Times
"...she is wary about the future based on the uncertainty surrounding the looming across-the-board federal spending cuts. “If people lose their jobs they can’t afford to go shopping and the stores are in trouble,” and if the stores don’t have customers who are building or remodeling, that means air curtain and air door orders could drop, she cautioned. “It is a crazy thing to allow to go through,” she said of the possible cuts. “(It’s) just irresponsible.”"

ShaleNET: Government-Funded Program Helps Job-Seekers Find Work in energy industry from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
"ShaleNET's new round of funding is being used to add training for more stable career paths."

Dan DeAugustine of Greensburg reviews material on the board in the Intro to Oil & Gas Operations class at the Bushy Run Center near Export.

ShaleNET’s Job Placement Successes Make Front Page in Post-Gazette Story from Imagine Pittsburgh Now
"ShaleNET will soon be expanding its reach, both in terms of geography and skills training. Started in 2010 as an entry-level jobs training program supported by a $5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Labor, last fall ShaleNET was awarded an additional $14.9 million follow on grant. With the maturing of the industry and with the additional money, participants will be able to continue their education and training by earning certificates and two-year degrees that will help them find jobs in the midstream and downstream part of the industry – that is, beyond the drill rigs and in the processing of oil and natural gas."

Federal Charges Filed in Youngstown Brine Dumping Incident from the Beaver Times
"Federal charges were filed against the man accused of dumping more than a quarter million gallons of fracking wastewater and drilling mud into the Mahoning River Watershed, officials announced Thursday."

UPMC Settles Dozens of Unfair Labor Practices Complaints Filed by SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
"In a news release, SEIU said the Pittsburgh health system will be required to rescind its policies regarding preventing employees from talking about the union-organizing effort as long as it is not done in patient care areas. UPMC managers and supervisors also will undergo training about complying with labor laws."

W.Va. Coal Dust Standards Not Enforced from the Associated Press via the Observer-Reporter [of Washington & Greene counties]
"State standards are aimed at reducing buildups of explosive coal dust in underground mines, but regulators haven’t been enforcing those standards."

PERSPECTIVE!!

No Help Wanted: In Filing to Labor Board, UPMC Claims it Has No Employees (Charlie Deitch) from the Pittsburgh City Paper
"They're proud to say it's their people who make them who they are — right up until it's time to treat those people fairly ... Remember the UPMC advertisements that used to claim the health-care giant was "not a business" but "a collection of people, and surprises and ideas you weren't expecting"? Apparently, it's not even that much. In a Jan. 3 filing to the National Labor Relations Board, the nonprofit health-care giant — routinely identified as the region's largest employer — claims it actually has no employees at all. "

OPINION!!

Pell Grants Are Gateway to Jobs and the New Economy (Linda Wallace) from the New Pittsburgh Courier
"Pell grants were put in place to ensure the gateway to higher education was open to low-income Americans. Times and attitudes have changed. In 1980, the maximum Pell grant covered 77 percent of the cost at a public university; today, officials estimate it covers 36 percent of a student's obligations. ... As a result of the changes, new students lacking a GED or high school diploma no longer are eligible for federal student aid. In addition, the maximum number of full-time semesters college students can receive Pell grant awards has dropped from 18 to 12. ... Approximately 46 percent of all African-American undergraduate students receive federal Pell grant awards. The future is at stake for these students, their communities and the workforces they support."

Trying to Get a Foot in the Shale Industry from the WESA program, Allegheny Front
"Peightal’s tale – and teeth-- didn’t dissuade any of the 12 men huddled around him from their goal: to try to get a job in the oil and gas industry. The men were training in a community college class from the program ShaleNET, a federally-funded job training program designed to get people jobs in the oil and gas industry."

EPA Requires That Communities Reduce Soot By 2020 from the WESA program, Allegheny Front
"... critics in the coal industry say the rule will make it tough for coal plants to stay in business or expand operations. That’s because they must buy expensive controls to limit particulate emissions or risk losing operational permits. So some business groups are calling for a more lenient rule."

EDITORIAL!!

Risky Cargo: The Coast Guard Has a Key Decision on Wastewater from the Editorial Board of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
"The public should be relieved that the Coast Guard will decide whether large quantities of fracking water can be shipped on rivers."

UPMC Charged with Union Violations: NLRB Files Complaint Against Health System from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
"An ongoing dispute between the UPMC health system and a union working to organize service and maintenance workers at three Pittsburgh hospitals escalated Wednesday, when the National Labor Relations Board charged UPMC with violating federal laws regarding employees' rights to organize a union."

NLRB Issues Complaint Against UPMC from the Pittsburgh Business Times 
"The National Labor Relations Board has issued an unfair labor practices complaint against the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, where the Service Employees International Union has been trying to organize support staff for about a year. Issuance of the complaint means the NLRB has determined that enough evidence exists to conduct a hearing, overseen by an administrative law judge, to determine if a violation has in fact occurred."

Marcellus Wastewater Might Travel by Barge: Report from the Pittsburgh Business Times
"Wastewater from the natural gas industry could be moved via barge on the region's waterways, according to a report over the weekend by PublicSource. PublicSource said that the U.S. Coast Guard is looking into whether it can be allowed after requests from Marcellus Shale companies to use barges to ship out the millions of gallons of fracking wastewater that is used."