NEW STUDY!!

IBM Report: Transit Key to Future of Pittsburgh from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
"A good transportation network is vital to Pittsburgh's economic health, and several low-cost improvements are within the city's reach, according to a report prepared by IBM's Smarter Cities Challenge. "Pittsburgh's successful renaissance into a technology-based, green community should not be stalled by a lack of transportation," said the report, which was made public by the office of Mayor Luke Ravenstahl last week. "Active transportation options, such as biking or walking, high-quality transportation infrastructure, availability of parking and efficient public transit will empower citizens and visitors to contribute to the vibrancy of the economy," it said."
The full report can be found HERE.

REPORT!!

Pittsburgh Today Report Finds Population Shift as Young People Move to City from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
""Lawrenceville has changed drastically over the last 10 years," Ms. Byrne said. "Not all of the development has been as welcomed, but everybody seemed to be excited about the dry cleaner. That's the kind of business they want to see." The annual Pittsburgh Today report released last month, "Pittsburgh Today & Tomorrow 2013," highlighted Lawrenceville as a growing area experiencing a substantial shift in population as younger people move into the area. The study (available at pittsburghtoday.org) ranks Pittsburgh against 15 cities of similar size across the country."
The Pittsburgh Today report can be found HERE.

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

STUDY!!

Water Contaminants Increased Near Marcellus Activities but 2011 Rules May Have Helped from WESA's program, Allegheny Front
"A study found that shale gas development increased contaminants in Pennsylvania’s waterways from 2000 to 2011. Did the state's new policies clean up the rivers? "

Professor Tries to Clear Up Murkiness on Fracking Fluids from the Beaver Times
"An area professor and his research team aim to clear up the murkiness that surrounds the chemical components of fracking fluid with their newest research project. Fred Fochtman, director of forensic science and law in the Bayer School of Natural and Environmental Sciences at Duquesne University, and Paul Carlson, adjunct faculty member at Duquesne University and scientist reviewer, and their research team are compiling data on the various chemical components used in fracking in an attempt to consolidate the various sources of information available on the subject. The project, which will be in the form of a book, is expected to be released this summer."

The Young People Myth (Jeffery Fraser) from the Pittsburgh Quarterly
'Just as Pittsburgh was undergoing a facelift that turned abandoned mills and factories and under-used riverfront into upscale shops, restaurants, apartments and bike trails, it was quietly experiencing a demographic shift that belied the hand wringing over whether it had become a place that young people would rather flee than want to be. Far fewer young people were leaving."

Gas is Good for Allegheny County, Vision Team eports from the Pittsburgh Business Times
"Natural gas stole the show for the Energy & Environment Vision Team, which is a group of industry and county stakeholders assembled by County Executive Rich Fitzerald to make recommendations to Allegheny County. The Marcellus Shale leads the list of recommendations put out by the team, and its findings conclude that: “since natural gas is a low-cost, cleaner burning fuel that is being extracted locally, we should encourage the use of natural gas within the county at current and future industrial sites and in vehicles.”"

REPORT!!

Your Culture is Valued Here: Lessons from the DHS Immigrants and Internationals Advisory Council from the Allegheny County Department of Human Services via Vibrant Pittsburgh
"Over the past several years, the Pittsburgh area’s resurgent economy has enhanced its attractiveness as a place in which to live and work. As a result, Allegheny County, which had not experienced the growth in diversity of other major American cities in recent decades, is beginning to attract increasing numbers of immigrants and internationals who are making the region their home. While this growth is still modest when compared to that of other major metropolitan areas, it is significant enough to be reversing the downward trend of past years."

Investing in the Region from the WESA program, Essential Pittsburgh 
"We’ll discover how the lawsuit against Standard and Poor’s could impact our daily lives,  learn about transit-oriented development in the region and find out what drives Pennsylvanians to celebrate."

REPORT!!

Shale Gas: From Poland to Pennsylvania from the Calkins Media and the Pulitzer Center
"POLAND HAS SIGNIFICANT DEPOSITS OF SHALE GAS. Like Pennsylvania, it has embraced the promises and risks of extraction in an attempt to spur economic growth and achieve energy independence.  In the last few years, no other energy topic has managed to garner so much global attention and generate so much controversy."

Pa. Lawmaker Wants to Spend Impact Fee Money on Fracking Health Study from State Impact Pennsylvania
"Suburban Philadelphia Republican State Sen. Stewart Greenleaf is working on a bill that would allocate $2 million from the state’s impact fee fund to study the public health impacts of Marcellus Shale drilling."

Bridgeville-based II-VI Foundation pumps millions into local scholarships, camps, research from the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
"A little-known foundation, funded by the man who earned his fortune by starting a Sharpsburg optics and material-science company, is boosting students who wish to pursue science and research careers that are becoming significant in the 21st century. The II-VI Foundation in Bridgeville, started in 2007 by Carl Johnson and his wife, Margot, is spending millions of dollars on scholarships, camps and research projects in the region to promote scientific pursuits."

Physics students at the University of Pittsburgh conducting research partially funded by the II-IV Foundation.

PA DEP to Study Radiation Related to Marcellus Shale from State Impact PA
"The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection plans to study levels of naturally occurring radioactivity in materials associated with oil and gas drilling. The announcement comes  almost two years after a series of reports in the New York Times revealed radioactive waste water from gas drilling was discharged into Pennsylvania’s rivers and streams. The industry has since stopped the practice, but the DEP says it plans to analyze radioactivity in frack flowback water, drill cuttings, drill mud, and the levels in equipment such as pipes, well casings storage tanks, treatment systems and trucks."

ENVIRONMENTAL STUDY!!

Study Warns of Increased Amount of Waste from Pennsylvania Drilling from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
"The volume of drilling wastes from Pennsylvania's Marcellus shale is growing and threatening to overwhelm existing waste-handling infrastructure in Ohio and other states, according to a study released Tuesday."

RESEARCH!!

Industry Influence in Universities’ Shale Gas Research Eyed (Debra Erdley) from the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
"Energy industry groups criticize research that environmental foundations pay for, saying they‘re dedicated to halting industry expansion. But Cary Nelson, past president of the American Association of University Professors, said a lack of disclosure in industry-sponsored shale gas research is more troubling, and the organization will include ways to avoid conflict in its revised guidelines this fall."

Website Mines Marcellus Data from the Citizens' Voice [of Wilkes Barre, PA] via the Pittsburgh Tribune Review
"Marcellus shale exploration produces gas, money, controversy and happy statisticians. The thicket of data tracking Pennsylvania‘s drilling surge is compiled and stored by different federal and state agencies in various places online and on paper. A Susquehanna County-based website aims to merge it and present it in a meaningful way."

REPORT!!

N.Y. Report: Gas Drilling Safe Under Proposed Rules from the Associated Press via the Observer-Reporter [of Washington & Greene counties]
"An unreleased state report leaked to media outlets says the Department of Environmental Conservation’s regulatory plan for gas drillers describes potential health impacts from fracking along with specific safety measures and it makes a separate health impact study unnecessary."

RADIO PROGRAM!!

Advances in Medicine and Robotics from WESA's program, Essential Pittsburgh
"We’ll learn about a new development in robotics with the potential to offer autonomy to quadriplegics and more!"

Extreme Shale Drilling Lab Needs Funding from the Pittsburgh Business Times
"NETL’s Extreme Drilling Laboratory is “on hold and in need of funding,” according to Brian Strazisar, a scientist at NETL. It’s looking for oil and gas companies that want to partner with NETL to simulate drilling under very high pressure, using various techniques and drilling fluids. Its centerpiece is the Ultra-deep Drilling Simulator in Morgantown."

Report: Overhaul Public Safety, Transportation, Legal Compliance on Pittsburgh's South Side from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
"The report by California-based Responsible Hospitality Institute is being presented to City Council today. The findings and recommendations were based on an evaluation of city laws and practices, an examination of strategies that other cities use for managing their nighttime economies and the input of nearly 200 Pittsburghers, including government officials, business representatives and residents."