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."

EDITORIAL!!

Hidden Tolls: Indictments Describe a Turnpike of Corrupt Practices from the Editorial Board of the Pittsburgh Post Gazette
"A state grand jury and Attorney General Kathleen Kane have lifted the lid on a Pennsylvania Turnpike tarnished by corruption and bid rigging."

PERSPECTIVE!!

Health Care to Stay Crucial to Pittsburgh Economy from the Pittsburgh Business Times
"Medicine will continue to drive the western Pennsylvania economy, despite intense pressure to curb health care spending, PNC Economist Mekael Teshome said Friday. Pittsburgh’s population has been increasing, albeit slowly, and the city will continue to be a hub for sophisticated medical care, attracting patients from outside the region, Teshome said. Studies have shown that Pittsburgh’s health care utilization rates are higher than other areas with comparable demographics, which Medicare is trying to curb through innovative pilot programs and cost-cutting. In addition, hospitals and other health care providers are facing cuts in Medicare reimbursement."

Mekael Teshome

PERSPECTIVE!!

Walkabout: Blighted Properties are a Pox on Our City (Diana Nelson Jones) from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
"In two decades, Pittsburgh has become a city that deserves accolades, one that can boast of another "renaissance." We're cleaner, greener and more progressive. We're getting younger, and investment is growing. But of the many feathers in our cap, the "most livable" boast would be easy to ridicule if you have to look at 502 Chester Ave. every day. In Perry South, it's one among thousands of city properties that are not only unlivable but destructive.

PERSPECTIVE!!

Political Spin: No Ravenstahl Puts a New Twist on the Mayoral Primary and the City's Future (Lauren Daley and Chris Potter) from the Pittsburgh City Paper
"Ravenstahl dropped a bid for re-election that had launched just 11 days prior. He insisted the decision wasn't based on a federal investigation into the police bureau, or because he didn't think he could win. In fact, Ravenstahl told reporters, "I'm more confident" than ever that victory was in grasp. But while Ravenstahl put to rest speculation about his election prospects, he opened the door to more questions."

EDITORIAL!!

Want Choice? from the Editorial Board of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette 
"The fight is over whether people and businesses will be able to keep choice on medical care and health insurance, or be doomed to a high-priced UPMC monopoly that eventually controls both. It's just that simple."

EDITORIAL!!

Go for It: Pittsburgh Should Explore a Summer Olympics Bid from the Editorial Board of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
"Dream big, Pittsburgh. As in Olympic gold. The invitation from the U.S. Olympic Committee for this city to be among 35 in the country to bid for the 2024 Summer Games is a privilege. More than that, it's an opportunity and Pittsburgh should go for it."

OPINION!!

The Semantics of Subsidy (Tim Schooley) from the Pittsburgh Business Times
"Yesterday at the groundbreaking for the second phase of Bakery Square, a host of public officials tussled over the semantics of a $4 million grant Gov. Tom Corbett made for the $100 million project. On hand to celebrate the groundbreaking, Corbett said that the funding was not an RACP grant, the long-standing name which stands for Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program, but an Economic Growth Initiative Award. ... Ravenstahl nonetheless thanked Corbett for the funding, the first grants (or awards) of their kind of the governor’s choosing after following through on granting the then-RACP awards of his predecessor, former governor Ed Rendell."

Governor Tom Corbett

EDITORIAL!!

Smart Plan: East Liberty Can Take Another Step Forward from the Editorial Board of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
"After a ban on vehicular traffic through its core all-but killed the East Liberty business district and its surrounding residential streets, the neighborhood sat for too long as an indictment of 1960s urban planning theory. The first big move in a better direction came in 2000, when a new Home Depot opened its doors. Other retailers soon followed -- Target, Whole Foods, Trader Joe's and more. Now commerce is alive and well again in East Liberty. In an ironic twist, implementing a plan that exemplifies the latest theory in urban planning could be very good for East Liberty now. The goal of "smart growth" is to build housing and retail that is walkable, bicycle-friendly and close to public transit."

EDITORIAL!!

New Star at CMU: The Incoming President Shares its Global Ambitions from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
"... as the university is right to say, these days it is a global leader in research and ideas. In addition to Pittsburgh, it has campuses in Qatar and Silicon Valley, California, and it offers degree programs to students in Asia, Australia, Europe, Africa and Latin America. Approximately 35 percent of Carnegie Mellon's students come from 115 nations outside the United States, marking the student body as one of the 10 most international among four-year U.S. institutions. While it ranks among America's best schools, it also competes as one of the best on the planet."

EDITORIAL!!

Transit Expert: Port Authority Needs a Professional, Not a Politician from the Editorial Board of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
"The chief executive officer should have experience in the field of transit and the ability to run a complex organization, including personnel management skills, financial acumen and connections in the industry sufficient to ensure that Port Authority leadership is attuned to trends and improvements being made at other transit systems. In other words, a transit expert."

EDITORIAL!!

All Aboard: Pennsylvania Train Service Must be Maintained from the Editorial Board of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
"Pittsburgh has only two remaining Amtrak routes and one of them -- linking Pittsburgh to Harrisburg, Philadelphia and New York -- may be lost come October because state officials are balking at paying a $5.7 million annual subsidy for the Pittsburgh-Harrisburg segment."

EDITORIAL!!

Narrow the Skills Gap: Community Colleges are Critical in Training the Work Force We Need (regional community college presidents) from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette 
"In a report submitted last year by the Governor's Manufacturing Advisory Council it was noted that the number of new workers entering manufacturing, coupled with the manufacturing sector's growth, has left a staggering gap of available skilled workers. Simply put, every decent-paying job today takes more skill and more education, but too many Americans aren't ready."
Laura Fisher at the Allegheny Conference comments on this editorial HERE. 

EDITORIAL!!

Fiscal Lesson: The State University System Has More to Learn from the Editorial Board of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
"The State System of Higher Education learned a lesson from the risky construction financing moves that unraveled at California University of Pennsylvania shortly before the ouster of the school's president. However, the system hasn't yet mastered Fiscal Management 101. The state system, made up of 14 universities including California, announced last week that campuses will have to put their own share of funding into system-controlled accounts before they begin work on projects financed with system-backed bonds. This measure is akin to requiring a home buyer to put some cash into a purchase before acquiring a mortgage, and it just makes sense."

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. "

EDITORIAL!!

Sub-Par Options: Charter Schools as a Class Don't Measure Up from the Editorial Board of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
"Until the U.S. Department of Education stepped in last year, charter schools in the state were evaluated under a less rigorous method, as if they were school districts and not individual schools. ... The (new) state report released last week showed that only 43, or 30 percent, of the charter schools in buildings made AYP, while none of the cyber charters did. That compares poorly to the performance of traditional public schools, in which 1,460, or 50 percent, attained AYP."

EDITORIAL!!

Welcome Oversight: DEP Deserves a Review on Marcellus Regulation from the Editorial Board of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
"Auditor General Eugene DePasquale is right to examine how well the Department of Environmental Protection oversees water quality."

EDITORIAL!!

Tax their Payrolls: Large Nonprofits Must Support City Services from the Editorial Board of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
"Pittsburgh has spent more than a decade trying to figure out a way to tap its largest nonprofit organizations for a reasonable share of the cost of services in the city they call home. The efforts always end in frustration. Now, though, state Sen. Jim Ferlo, a former Pittsburgh city councilman, has come up with a plan that could resolve the issue for good, and it contains a sweetener that might increase its chances for passage in the Legislature."

EDITORIAL!!

Action on Roads: Finally, the Governor is Ready to Make a Decision from the Editorial Board of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
"As a way to fund road, bridge and transit repairs, Gov. Corbett appears ready to ask the Legislature to lift the cap on the state's oil tax."

EDITORIAL!!

Greater Promise: The City's Tuition Program Also Brings Youths Home from the Editorial Board of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
"While the Promise's primary task is making sure the city's young people can afford college and are prepared for it, the organization's larger mission is reversing population decline in Pittsburgh and its public schools and developing a well-prepared work force. With a career workshop held for scholarship recipients last week, the Promise advanced that broader goal.