Good News Pittsburgh!

Pittsburgh: Best City in the World

2009-08-24T14:47:00.006-05:00

I'm late to the party on this one, so you may have heard about this already. Local internet marketing firm eyeflow is making an effort to have the City of Pittsburgh website rank #1 in Google's search results pages for the term "best city in the world". They have a video that shows how you can help achieve this.

Link to: Best City in the World
Link to: Post-Gazette article
Link to: KQV Radio article

Obama chooses Pittsburgh to host G-20 Summit

2009-05-28T21:07:00.002-05:00

As I'm sure you've heard already- unless you've been living under a rock for the last 8 hours- President Obama has chosen our fair city to host a major, prestigious economic summit. The G-20 Summit, which features leaders from 20 countries who represent 85 percent of the global economy, who will gather to discuss ways of recovering from the global economic and financial crisis.

Obviously, this is a great honor and a rare opportunity for us to show off our city and its progress over the years. Let's make sure we take full advantage of it.

This is, of course, all over the news in many different national and international sources, but I think the Associated Press article did a nice job summing it up- everything from Obama's reason for choosing Pittsburgh to the history of Pittsburgh in a nutshell.

But let's let out a big fat BOO! to the USA Today article, which completely missed the point of why Obama chose Pittsburgh. USA Today said the reason was because Pittsburgh has economic problems, which is not true. We were chosen because we recovered from severe economic problems and Obama wants to hold up Pittsburgh as an example of what can happen with a recovery.

(Note: Before any negative person points out that we still have problems, let me cut you off at the pass and say "Yes, we understand Pittsburgh is not perfect. We understand we are not completely where we want to be yet." But we are in much better shape than the rest of the country- read any of my previous posts- and we are headed in the right direction.)

Pittsburgh area adds two Fortune 500 companies in 2009!

2009-04-19T18:37:00.003-05:00

Congratulations Pittsburgh!

The new 2009 Fortune 500 list was released to today and two Western Pennsylvania headquartered companies joined the Fortune 500 while another joined the Fortune 1000. The Pittsburgh area now boasts 8 Fortune 500 headquarters and 13 Fortune 1000 headquarters up from 6 and 12 respectively in 2008.

The newcomers are Mylan Pharmaceuticals at 462 (736 last year), Consol Energy at 497 (577 last year), and Atlas America at 864 (not ranked last year). Mainstays US Steel (up 41 spots to to 105), PPG (up 56 spots to 161), PNC (down 14 spots to 278), Heinz (up 26 spots to 267), Wesco (up two spots to 406) and Allegheny Technologies (down seven spots to 448) all retained their Fortune 500 status as well.

Here is the complete list of Fortune 1000 headquarters in Pennsylvania.

Here is a list of the Pittsburgh area ones:

1. US Steel, Pittsburgh, 105
2. PPG Industries, Pittsburgh, 161
3. Heinz, Pittsburgh, 267
4. PNC, Pittsburgh, 278
5. Wesco, Pittsburgh, 406
6. Allegheny Technologies, Pittsburgh, 448
7. Mylan, Canonsburg, 462
8. Consol Energy, Canonsburg, 497
9. Dick's Sporting Goods, Pittsburgh, 562
10. Allegheny Energy, Greensburg, 630
11. American Eagle, Pittsburgh, 690
12. Kennametal, Latrobe, 732
13. Atlas America, Moon Township, 864

No wonder we're weathering the economy better than most regions. In addition to these 13 "official" Fortune 1000, we have several more that basically are at the same level. We have BNY Mellon and Alcoa, both of which are "on paper" HQ'd in NYC, but really are still HQ'd here. Plus we have Giant Eagle and Highmark, both of which would be a Fortune 500s if they were public and EDMC which would be a Fortune 1000 if it was public.

Exciting stuff. Pass this on!

Pittsburgh Zoo named Top 5 in the U.S. for kids

2009-04-11T11:08:00.002-05:00

Pittsburgh Zoo and PPG Aquarium was just named by Parents Magazine the #4 zoo in the country for kids. Here is a link to the P-G article and the actual write-up by Parents Magazine.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09101/962131-53.stm

http://www.parents.com/family-life/travel/vacation-planning/kid-friendly-zoos/?page=4

USA Today: Pittsburgh in Top 10 Best Skylines in the world

2009-04-11T00:06:00.002-05:00

The USA Today Travel section recently named Mt. Washington one of the top 10 places in the WORLD to see a skyline.

http://www.usatoday.com/travel/destinations/10great/2009-02-26-best-skylines_N.htm?loc=interstitialskip

Pittsburgh weathers recession well

2009-04-11T00:04:00.002-05:00

As has been pointed out many times, Pittsburgh is in very good shape compared to the rest of the country.

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/s_612126.html

Pittsburgh home prices buck national downturn again

2009-04-10T22:44:00.003-05:00

Old news at this point. You can see several other posts on this blog talking about the same subject. But I always like to reinforce the points.

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/business/s_613270.html

CNN: Can Pittsburgh save Detroit?

2009-04-10T22:36:00.003-05:00

Perhaps you saw this piece of positive press about Pittsburgh from Anderson Cooper on CNN.com. Essentially, it says what I have been saying for a long time- Detroit is in the same situation now that Pittsburgh was in 20-30 years ago. And Pittsburgh recovered. This article basically suggests that Detroit should model is recovery on Pittsburgh's. I agree.

Most interesting are the comments both pro and con. While we would all agree that Pittsburgh is not perfect, the point is that we are on the right track and lots of positive tings are happening.

Here is the link:

http://ac360.blogs.cnn.com/2009/03/18/can-pittsburgh-save-detroit/

Good News Pittsburgh on Twitter!

2009-04-10T22:31:00.002-05:00

Johnny Positive and Good News Pittsburgh can now be followed on Twitter at:

http://twitter.com/newspittsburgh

Pittsburgh Commercial Real Estate Market #1 in the U.S.

2009-01-24T22:33:00.002-05:00

Makes sense. With a strong economy (relative to the rest of the country), it make sense that office and retail properties would be doing better in Pittsburgh than elsewhere.

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/breaking/s_608350.html

Pittsburgh Home Prices up in 2008, Foreclosures down

2009-01-24T22:25:00.003-05:00

Defying the national housing crisis, average and media home prices in Pittsburgh increased in 2008. Not only that, foreclosures went down as well. Absolutely amazing. That's a pretty good claim to fame.

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/business/s_608405.html

2008 biggest year yet for Pittsburgh Film Office

2009-01-24T22:21:00.002-05:00

Anytime movies are filmed in Pittsburgh, that's pretty cool. Not sure I'm sold on the huge economic impact they have, but I think the PR value for the city is great.

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/s_608437.html

NY Times: Pittsburgh Thrives After Casting Steel Aside

2009-01-12T22:30:00.002-05:00

Great NYT article about the resilient Pittsburgh economy and about how it can be a model for what Detroit is going through right now. Great that Pittsburgh is finally starting to get national recognition for performing better than the rest of the country in this downturn.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/08/business/economy/08collapse.html?pagewanted=1&_r=2

Pittsburgh's Fifth & Forbes Renaissance Nearing Completion

2009-01-04T11:48:00.002-05:00

This talks about all of the construction projects near completion Downtown and their expected benefits and impact.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09004/939503-53.stm

Pittsburgh home prices hold despite nationwide slump

2008-12-31T22:15:00.001-05:00

Self explanatory. We already knew this. Here is the link:
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/s_603429.html

Downtown Pittsburgh Real Estate: A Hotbed of Activity

2008-12-31T21:58:00.002-05:00

Offices are full. Hotels are full. Condos are selling out. New construction everywhere you look in Downtown Pittsburgh. Sounds like a comeback to me! Or is that a renaissance? Anyway, read this P-G article for all the details.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08363/937860-28.stm

Are Bad Economic Times Good for Pittsburgh?

2008-12-31T21:54:00.004-05:00

Interesting premise in this P-G article. Could the stability of the local job and real estate markets bring some talent back to town?

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08361/937758-294.stm

Pittsburgh is a Real Estate Safe Haven

2008-12-09T23:05:00.003-05:00

Pittsburgh was named by Kiplinger's as one of the Top 10 Real Estate Safe Havens in America. Here is a link to the article and to the Pittsburgh profile.

Main article:
http://www.kiplinger.com/tools/slideshows/RealEstateCities/1.htm

Pittsburgh profile:
http://www.kiplinger.com/tools/slideshows/RealEstateCities/6.htm

No Recession in Pittsburgh...

2008-12-09T22:58:00.004-05:00

...as evidenced by these two articles. Again, the Pittsburgh economy and jobs outlook is better than the rest of the country.

First, a Trib article about the Pittsburgh region ADDING 5,000 jobs in October while the rest of the country faces hard times.

Then, a PG article talking about how Pittsburgh area manufacturers are holding up well in this economy compared to the rest of the country.

(Note: The same day this article was published, Sony announced they were closing their Westmoreland County plant. So, while most of the news is still good- no region can come out of this economy completely unscathed).

More Good News for the Pittsburgh economy...

2008-11-26T22:05:00.002-05:00

Trib Articles:

Amid economic downturn, bright spots for jobs in Pittsburgh
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/business/s_600194.html

Pittsburgh Tech companies create 343 jobs
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/breaking/s_599358.html

Au Revoir Pittsburgh, Bonjour Paris!

2008-11-26T22:03:00.001-05:00

Delta to begin nonstop flights from Pittsburgh to Paris in June. Great from both a business and leisure perspective.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08311/925813-147.stm

Pittsburgh #1 in PA for Raising Kids...

2008-11-26T21:57:00.003-05:00

...according to Business Week magazine. Here is the Trib's coverage of it:

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/mostread/s_597969.html

Pittsburgh Jobs picture beats National Average again

2008-10-28T00:28:00.003-05:00

Absolutely amazing, isn't it? Even Johnny Positive isn't THIS optimistic in this economy.

The Pittsburgh region gained another 7,000 jobs last month year over year. The region's unemployment rate is at 5.4% compared to the national average of 6.1%. You can read more details in the Trib article below, but this is an interesting tidbit from it: "The increase in residential employment could be an indication people from other regions are coming to the Pittsburgh area in search of work"

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/s_595471.html

As a side note- in typical, negative Post-Gazette fashion, here was their headline: "Dip in jobless rate here may be shortlived". I'm not going to help them by giving the link here.

Pittsburgh's Mellon Square receives national recognition

2008-10-25T09:59:00.001-05:00

The American Planning Association has named Mellon Square in Downtown Pittsburgh one of 10 Great Public Spaces for 2008 as part of the association's Great Places in America program, launched last year. Get more details in this Post-Gazette article.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08282/918372-100.stm

What bad economy? Pittsburgh businesses still thriving

2008-10-25T09:28:00.006-05:00

We've heard many times about how the Pittsburgh housing market has been immune to the crisis that grips the rest of the nation. But what I think has been very under reported- especially by the Post-Gazette- is that the region's economy as a whole and the jobs outlook is much more positive than most people think and is doing much better than most regions in the country right now. While the rest of the nation comes to the realization of job losses and high unemployment, here are some of the business stories reported in Pittsburgh over the last few weeks. And again- mad props to the Trib for being the leader in reporting on this.

Pittsburgh region ranks in Top 20 in freight movement, Pittsburgh Trib, October 25, 2008

Rostraver firm to add 1,500 jobs, Pittsburgh Trib, October, 24, 2008

Pittsburgh rises as convention location, Pittsburgh Trib, October 20, 2008

Office vacancy rate drop optimistic, Pittsburgh Trib, October 19, 2008

Pittsburgh Airport mall leads nation in per-passenger spending, Pittsburgh Trib, October 18, 2008

Starkist Tuna moving HQ back to Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh Trib, October 7, 2008

Pittsburgh gets another great review- this time in the San Jose Mercury News

2008-09-26T21:49:00.002-05:00

In a travel review titled "Livable Pittsburgh steps from haze" the San Jose Mercury News talks about Pittsburgh's transformation as well as the wealth of outdoor opportunities.

Pittsburgh workforce getting younger

2008-09-23T21:58:00.003-05:00

If you've been following the real demographic trends locally and not buying into inaccurate, negative media hype, then this should come as no surprise.

The Trib reports that the median age of working Pittsburghers dropped from 40.5 in 2005 to 39.3 in 2007, according to figures released today by the Census Bureau. Here is a link to the article.

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/mostread/s_589592.html

Pittsburgh: #4 U.S. city in Tech Job Growth

2008-09-10T19:36:00.003-05:00

The Post-Gazette reported today that Pittsburgh is #4 in the country in tech job growth. This is according to the leading tech job website Dice.com.

Hartford, Conn. led the way with 30 percent growth, followed by Cincinnati, 28 percent, Miami, 23 percent, Pittsburgh at 22 percent and Charlotte, N.C. at 21 percent.

Pennsylvania Comes in #1 in Building Biotech

2008-08-03T11:39:00.002-05:00

If you follow the local economy and business sector then this won't come as a shock to you, but Pennsylvania has been named the top state in the country in 2008 for building its biotech industry, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

This honor comes from Business Facilities Magazine's 2008 Rankings Report. Of course, this isn't ALL because of Pittsburgh. It is a statewide ranking and Philly is also a biotech powerhouse. The combination of two strong biotech markets in the state helped us beat out California, Massachusetts and Texas as well as every other state.

Pittsburgh one of few cities where hotel industry has been growing

2008-08-03T11:26:00.004-05:00

In another story about Pittsburgh defying nationwide downtrends, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that the local hotel industry is growing rapidly while the industry in other markets is receding.

The Post-Gazette reports that in addition to an explosion in new hotel properties being built locally, demand for hotel rooms in Pittsburgh is rising as well. The PG quoted Smith Travel Research as saying that of the 100 largest cities in the country, only 11 saw their hotel occupancy rates rise. Pittsburgh was one of those. Pittsburgh had the ninth highest increase in occupancy rates at 1.3 percent.

This coincides with previous reports documenting the increase in tourism to Pittsburgh and the good reviews it gets from national travel writers (read my two recent posts about good travel reviews from The New York Times and USA Today).

Need a job? Come to Pittsburgh

2008-08-03T11:15:00.003-05:00

OK, time to throw out the old perceptions and look at reality. While the economy in the rest of the nation takes a tumble, Pittsburgh's economy continues to stay stable. It's been reported many times that the Pittsburgh housing market bucks all of the downward trends nationally, but the numbers show the Pittsburgh job market is healthier than most as well.

The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports that in June the Pittsburgh region added 5,600 jobs, the fifth consecutive month of job gains in the region. That compares with over 463,000 jobs lost nationally since the beginning of the year. Although the job creation is still small, it is better than 16 of the top 40 regions.

Pittsburgh: Who knew? USA Today Loves the 'Burgh

2008-07-22T21:08:00.004-05:00

On the heels of a positive review in the New York Times travel section a couple weeks ago, Pittsburgh has scored again with another great review in the USA Today travel section. Here is the link: http://www.usatoday.com/travel/destinations/2008-07-17-pittsburgh_N.htm

Enjoy!

Stores Galore in Pittsburgh! Rapid Expansion

2008-07-04T08:59:00.005-05:00

Is it me or did the entire retail world just wake up in the past month and say "Oh yeah, Pittsburgh exists"? You would think that a region with a metro population of 2.3 million would have been a retail expansion target sooner.

But anyway, the news continues to roll in almost daily about new stores and restaurants opening in Pittsburgh. Here is a sampling.

- National Retailers Continue Expanding in Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh Trib, July 4, 2008

- 75-store Outlet Mall to open in Washington County in August, Pittsburgh Trib, July 4, 2008

- Dunkin Donuts, Moe's Southwest open in Market Square; Sante coming, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, June 30, 2008

- More Upscale Retailers Opening first Pittsburgh locations at Ross Park Mall: Burberry, Louis Vuitton, Michael Kors, Tiffany, Nordstrom, BCBG and True Religion Jeans, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, June 24, 2008

- The Wine Loft to open at Southside Works, Pittsburgh Business Times, June 2, 2008

NY Times Travel Writer Gives Pittsburgh a Great Review!

2008-07-04T08:44:00.004-05:00

You probably thought I abandoned this blog. What? It's only been 11 months since my last post! Anyway, hopefully I will find time to do this more often.

The New York Times travel section has a great review of Pittsburgh for this Sunday's edition, calling it "hip", "cool", "surprisingly pretty", and a "gleaming cultural oasis" among other things.

Enjoy the fireworks tonight!

http://travel.nytimes.com/2008/07/06/travel/06hours.html?em&ex=1215316800&en=5c2fb77dc8273df1&ei=5087%0A

Baltimore Travel Writer Gives 'Burgh Great Review

2007-08-12T21:57:00.002-05:00

http://www.baltimoresun.com/travel/bal-tr.pittsburgh12aug12,0,5801764.story

Young People Can't Find a Job in Pittsburgh? Wrong!

2007-07-19T14:22:00.000-05:00

Great news for new college graduates in the region. According to CollegeGrad.com, three local companies are among the top 100 nationally in 2007 for entry-level hiring. The complete list is here.

So who are these local companies where you young folks should apply? PNC, 84 Lumber and Education Management Corporation (EDMC). 84 Lumber is projected to hire 1,700 new graduates; PNC- 1350; and EDMC- 625. Obviously, all of these positions being filled are not local. But according to last Friday's Pittsburgh Business Times, 60% of PNC's new grad hires will be local and about 400 of EDMC's will be.

In addition, there are many other companies on the list who have a local presence and will be hiring new grads in the Pittsburgh area.

While we're on the subject, I have to address an issue for young people setting out to interview soon. My wife is a manager in her company and she has recently been interviewing/sifting through resumes (95% of whom are new grads) deciding who she is going to hire. You wouldn't believe the horror stories she has about clueless new grads and their interviewing skills. Let me give you a few tips:

1. Wear a suit! Whether you're male or female doesn't matter. EVERYONE should wear a suit. And khakis do not count and are not acceptable.

2. Answer the question! I don't care how idiotic a question you are asked in an interview, DON'T refuse to answer it (as one of my wife's recent, young interviewees did).

3. Remove personal interests from your resume. Honestly, no one cares that your hobbies include being the biggest Harry Potter fan in the world. In fact, it will creep most people out.

4. Your resume must be PERFECT! Punctuation and grammar MUST be 100% perfect. Running it through a spell-check doesn't count. Look it over in detail and have other people look at it too.

5. Don't say what your REAL goals are! If you're applying for a job that is not related to your field and that you don't plan on making a career, KEEP THAT TO YOURSELF. Am I telling you to lie? Yes, if you want to get hired. No one wants to hire someone who is going to quit in four months after they find a job in their field. Let me clarify- I am not telling you to lie about your accomplishments and credentials, just your intentions.

Good luck, young bucks! I hope you find a good job and stay in the region.

Three Pittsburgh Suburbs Rank in Top 10 Nationally for Affordability

2007-07-19T13:42:00.000-05:00

Money Magazine recently ranked the Best Places to Live in 2007. There were actually several different rankings they did, including the list of the Top 25 Places Where Homes are Most Affordable. This list was compiled by taking into account average income in a town and average housing price (i.e. where salaries actually enable people to afford to buy a home in the local market).

Anyway, West Mifflin, Penn Hills and Brentwood all ranked in the top 10 nationally for affordability. Here is a link to the Trib's coverage of this.

It's some thing that all Pittsburghers know already, but it's good to see us getting some national pub for it.

Pittsburgh Region Adds 9,200 Jobs in May

2007-06-26T09:27:00.000-05:00

It's been almost a month since my last post. That's not because there hasn't been any good news. I was just on vacation, etc. Onward to the news...

The region's economy improved again, adding over 9,200 jobs last month. And Allegheny County's unemployment rate of 3.9% was well below the national avergae of 4.5% as well as the state average of 4.2%

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/business/s_514396.html

Naysayers point out that this job growth rate is still barely a trickle in a region with 1.15 million jobs. But I ask you- isn't it better than LOSING jobs? Be patient, people. It IS getting better.

Hate the Game, Not the City: More Good Rankings for Pittsburgh

2007-05-28T21:10:00.000-05:00

In recent years many organizations have created rankings about whatever subject they specialize in, in most cases expressly for the purpose of creating publicity and/or brand awareness for their company or their products. Some of the rankings are done scientifically, but most are just done by arbitrary voting or by cherry-picking statistics.

Tourist and business development organizations around the country use these rankings as promotional tools for their cities. And each city's naysayers (in Pittsburgh it is the anti-yinzers and yinzers alike) try to downplay anything positive and glorify the negative.

Anyway, any time Pittsburgh gets a nice ranking, you'll always see it talked about here. But I must have missed a few. The Trib had a great article Sunday that compiled several good rankings Pittsburgh has received recently.

You can read the article to find out all of the specifics, but here are a few of the phrases used to describe Pittsburgh (by completely independent sources): "bargain destination", "geek-friendly", "city of the future", "cleanest cities", "best arts destination", "hot for business relocation and expansion".

Must Read Column Alert!

2007-05-21T08:13:00.001-05:00

Wow! A Pittsburgh columnist writes something positive? This is such a rare occurrence that I almost didn't comprehend it. Ruth Ann Dailey wrote a great column in the Post-Gazette today called "Loving the Pittsburgh we have". A great read.

This column is in the very spirit of this blog. It very easily could have been titled "Wake up Yinzers and people who think they're not Yinzers but by virtue of being negative really are Yinzers, and realize what we have here!" Enjoy.

Pittsburgh Ranked in Top 10 Best Places to Relocate a Family

2007-05-18T12:34:00.000-05:00

Another day, another good ranking for Pittsburgh. And at least this one won't be disputed by locals because it is common knowledge.

Pittsburgh ranked sixth among 50 "large" metro areas (population over 1.25 million) in a ranking of the "2007 Best Cities for Relocating Families", published by Worldwide ERC and Primacy Relocation.

The five "big" cities that finished ahead of Pittsburgh on the list were all actually smaller than Pittsburgh: 1. Fort Worth-Arlington, TX; 2. Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro, TN; 3. Kansas City, MO-KS; 4. Indianapolis-Carmel, IN; 5. Austin-Round Rock, TX.

In my opinion, a "big" city is one that has at least 2 million in the metro area. None of these is that big (KC is close). So in my opinion, Pittsburgh really ranked #1 among big cities!

Interesting to see where cities supposedly "similar" to Pittsburgh ranked: #14 Detroit, #22 Cleveland.

The Bottom Five: 50. Miami; 49. NYC/NJ; 48. Chicago; 47. Fort Lauderdale; 46. Philadelphia.

We're, Like...Really Good at Medical Stuff

2007-05-17T16:28:00.000-05:00

As most people who live in the region already know, the local medical/healthcare industry has gradually, over the last 35 years, replaced manufacturing as the backbone of the Pittsburgh economy. UPMC and other Pittsburgh medical institutions are consistently ranked very highly in national publications. I think we take these assets for granted and don't praise them enough.

I've got to tell you, there are some very impressive things going on in Oakland lately that deserve some recognition. Check out these recent headlines:

Good job, guys!

We Have Less A-hole Drivers than Most Cities

2007-05-15T09:06:00.000-05:00

Well, the annual AutoVantage road rage survey is out. And Pittsburgh is ranked as having the second most courteous drivers in America, behind only Portland, Oregon. Miami had the most road ragers for the second year in a row.

As a serial angry driver myself, I don't have a grasp on the concept of not road raging. But I guess the rest of my Pittsburgh brethren do. The next time you see one of these rare road ragers in the 'Burgh, it's probably me. Sorry. Anyway, congratulations for being good drivers, Pittsburgh!

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/05/15/road.rage.ap/index.html

Pittsburgh Adds 10K Jobs in March; Local unemployment at lowest level in 37 Years!

2007-05-01T09:45:00.000-05:00

The Pittsburgh region added 9,900 jobs in March, pushing the local unemployment rate down to 3.6%, a figure that is better than both the state (3.7%) and national (4.4%) averages and is the region's best showing since 1970. The year-over-year increase was 6,700 jobs.

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/business/s_505397.html
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07121/782320-28.stm

Critics might say that 9,900 or 6,700 jobs is nothing in a region with 1.15 million jobs, or that the job growth is in the low-paying service sector or the temporary construction sector. But wouldn't you agree that it is better than LOSING jobs?

Pittsburgh Rated #1 Most Livable City in America...Again, Too Bad You Yinzers Don't Realize That

2007-04-26T08:29:00.000-05:00

The new "Places Rated Almanac" has once again ranked Pittsburgh as "The Most Livable City in America". This is the seventh edition of the "Places Rated Almanac" (formerly published by Rand McNally) and Pittsburgh is the only city to finish in the Top 20 every time.

This is my favorite ranking because it is a well-established, completely independent and unbiased list that basically flies in the face of everything you negative Yinzer and Anti-Yinzer morons believe. There really is no way for you to dispute it, other than to say any ranking is arbitrary, which it is. The funny thing with you idiots is--and this destroys your credibility-- that any time a NEGATIVE ranking comes out for Pittsburgh, you claim it is the gospel truth. But when rankings like this come out, you dismiss them. Make up your mind. You can't have it both ways.

Here is the most interesting part to me. Not only does Pittsburgh rank #1 over every city in America. None of the cities that we are SUPPOSEDLY similar to--Cleveland, Cincinnati, Detroit, Buffalo, Baltimore-- even sniff the Top 10 in this ranking. Nor Chicago, New York, or any of these Sun Belt cities. Do you know why? Because they don't provide a quality of life that is even remotely close to Pittsburgh's.

As someone who has traveled and lived around the country extensively--32 out of the 50 states as of this posting-- I have always said that Pittsburgh is a combination of three cities: Seattle, Philadelphia, and Cincinnati. Coincidentally, Seattle finished #3 in the ranking and Philadelphia #5. The similarities to Seattle are the hills/natural beauty, arts scene and weather. The similarities to Philadelphia are the corporate presence, the toughness/gritty/blue collar background, the history, the ethnicity and the passion for sports. And the similarities to Cincinnati are the racial demographic, the Midwestern feel (even though Pittsburgh is in the East) and the rivers.

Anyway, it's time for Yinzers and Anti-Yinzers to decide if rankings are valid. Any rankings. That means if you dismiss this ranking, you have to also dismiss the negative rankings too. Make up your mind.

Magazine Names Pittsburgh "City of the Future"

2007-04-24T12:38:00.000-05:00

Foreign Direct Investment Magazine, an off-shoot of the Financial Times in London, released its latest "Cities of the Future" ranking for North America. In the 2 million-plus "major city" category, Pittsburgh finished third behind Chicago and Toronto, but ahead of Atlanta, Baltimore, Montreal, Mexico City, Boston and Miami.

Any kind of ranking is arbitrary and subjective, but it's nice that Pittsburgh's improvement is being recognized internationally and is expected to continue into the future.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07114/780399-28.stm

Ka-Ching! Big Profits for Pittsburgh's Corporate Giants

2007-04-19T09:47:00.000-05:00

In the past week, PNC, Mellon, Wesco and PPG have all posted substantial profits- to the tune of almost $1 billion combined. Say what you want about the rich getting richer and about heartless corporate monoliths. But the fact is when local companies are doing well, it does nothing but benefit all of us in the form of more and better jobs, and a more stable local economy, not to mention increased support for local non-profits and foundations.

Pittsburgh Housing Market Continues to Buck National Trend of Declining Sales

2007-04-18T09:31:00.000-05:00

Home sales in Western Pennsylvania increased in the first quarter of 2007 over the first quarter of 2006, bucking a national trend of declining sales in formerly hot housing markets.

This is just more evidence of the trend pointed out in three separate reports by Fortune Magazine, CNN and Money Magazine, that the Pittsburgh housing market continues to be one of the safest real estate investments in the U.S. Many out of town buyers are investing in Pittsburgh real estate.

It just makes good financial sense to invest in Pittsburgh real estate. When you can buy four homes in Pittsburgh for the price of one in California, and there is virtually no risk of a price decline, what's the downside?

Pittsburgh and Cleveland Join Forces to Create "Bioscience Belt"

2007-04-17T14:39:00.000-05:00

This is great to hear. Regional collaboration, whether it's in the form of counties in southwestern Pennsylvania working together or if it's working with the next closest major metro area, is a positive win-win for everyone involved.

Population Loss to Subside- Then What Will You Find to Bitch About?

2007-04-17T11:56:00.000-05:00

I apologize that this news is a couple days old, but I didn't start this blog until today, and I had to get in some comments on this because it's my biggest pet peeve.

I will actually give the two major local dailies a little credit for reporting on this (but not much because anyone with a little bit of motivation and investigative skills could have been reporting on this for years like I have...but I digress).

Anyway, both the P-G and the Trib have articles about predictions by Pitt economic and demographic researcher Christopher Briem (he has a great blog) that the ongoing population loss in the region has almost run its course and that we are poised for slight population growth in the relatively near future.

You mean it's no going to go on forever?!? Well, you would never know that from the incessant coverage the issue gets. And as the title of this post asks, "What negative item will the local media and the Yinzers find to obsess about now?"

I have written for several years in various local publications that the common perceptions about the region's population loss are incorrect. And that's because of misguided focus and lazy reporting by local media.

The thing that local media focus on the most is the loss of young people. But that has almost nothing whatsoever to do with our population loss. As Mr. Briem pointed out as far back as 2002 in a Post-Gazette article, Pittsburgh retains young adults at a batter rate than Cleveland, Philadelphia, Detroit and even Miami, to name a few. A year later in 2003, a Pittsburgh Trib article pointed out that the city retains its young professionals at a higher rate than Columbus, Seattle, Raleigh, Atlanta and Washington, D.C. So why don't the Pittsburgh media report on the REAL reasons for the population loss? Answer: Because they want to feed on Pittsburghers' low self image of the city by accentuating the negative.

So what are the real reasons for the population loss? Two things: more deaths than births, and not enough international in-migration. More deaths than births is a result of a higher than average senior population, which has actually been declining rapidly due to the fact that they are dying off. Essentially, here is what is happening right now: old white people are dying, the black population is steady, the local Asian community is seeing growth (about 4,000 people in the last six years) and the local Hispanic community is seeing growth (about 1,000 people added in the last six years). But despite the gains in international in-migration, there is not enough to offset the "natural" population decline. The states of California and New York actually have extremely high out-migration rates but they have population gains because of a high number of immigrants coming in from other countries.

Anyway, as is the point of this whole blog, I'm trying to uncover the positive nuggets of information that local media (both print and broadcast) leave unsaid, and correct misguided assumptions and misperceptions among Yinzers, media and politicians.

Pittsburgh's Fortune 500 Companies are Movin' on Up!

2007-04-17T08:31:00.000-05:00

Welcome to the first post of Good News Pittsburgh!

The new 2007 Fortune 500 list was released on Sunday (read the end of the post to see why I waited two days to write about it). And it is generally good news for Pittsburgh area companies.

As noted in the Pittsburgh Trib article above, Pittsburgh's corporate status improved from having six Fortune 500 companies headquartered here to having seven, albeit temporarily. The increase from six to seven came from Allegheny Technologies which rose from #536 to #455. However, the list also includes Mellon, which recently announced a merger with Bank of New York that will move the company's official headquarters to NYC. That means that next year, after the deal goes through, we will be back down to six again.

But the good news--which is never reported by the mainstream Pittsburgh media-- is that we will be back up to eight in approximately two years courtesy of the meteoric rise of American Eagle Outfitters (now up to #683) and Dick's Sporting Goods (now up to #633). In total, we have 12 Fortune 1000 companies headquartered in Western Pennsylvania, not to mention Alcoa and Mellon, which only on paper are headquartered in New York.

Add to that the North American headquarters for Bayer, GlaxoSmithKline and FedEx Ground and we're doing just fine, thank you. And, oh, did I mention that we have two more companies headquartered here, Giant Eagle and Highmark, that would both be ranked in the Fortune 500 (around #350) if they were public instead of private? I'm not even going to go into the other local companies that don't even make it into these conversations: 84 Lumber, GNC, Mylan Labs, DQE, etc.

The point is- we're doing OK. Really. It's not all gloom and doom. But you wouldn't know that from the facts that are conveniently omitted by the major newspapers in the area. And that brings me to the reason why I waited until Tuesday to comment on this, even though the list actually came out Sunday. I did it to illustrate my point about how incompetent theses local media entities are. Two days after the fact, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and the Pittsburgh Business Times still have absolutely NO MENTION of the new Fortune 500 rankings in print or online. And the Trib FINALLY has something this morning.

Predictably, the P-G and the Business Times will both copy off of the Trib now that they've seen the article and are aware of it. Way to be on top of it, guys! And that's how it works in the Pittsburgh media: lazy reporting. Just wait for the press release to come out and then print it word for word. God forbid someone actually do some research for an article or write something original. Or commit the biggest faux pas possible--gasp!--do a story on something positive in the region!

Believe it or not, there ARE positive things going on here, and people DO want to hear about them. That's why I created this blog. This is what you'll get- positive stories that go unreported or under-reported in the pathetic local media.

Until next time! Hey, that was pretty good for a first post, huh?