With six major rivers, thousands of creeks and streams and an average of more than three feet of annual rainfall, Southwestern Pennsylvania has one of the most abundant and reliable supplies of fresh water in a world getting thirstier by the day. It’s an advantage that cannot be overstated. More
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Wealth Management
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A Nice Place to Visit
Visitors to southwestern Pennsylvania pumped $8.1 billion into the local economy in lodging, recreation, retail, food and beverage, transportation and other spending during 2011, the latest full year of economic impact data reported by the Pennsylvania Tourism Office. That’s a 9.6 percent increase in tourism revenue over 2010 and a record for the region. More
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Traffic 21
During the 2011 filming of “The Dark Knight Rises,” Pittsburghers got a glimpse of the Batmobile, Batman’s robotic car that drives itself and responds to verbal commands. It relied on Hollywood special effects and professional drivers to create the illusion of speeding through Gotham City. But the notion of an autonomous car navigating the streets... More
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Economic Transformation
On a broad base, Pittsburgh now has one of the nation’s strongest regional economies Favorable reviews of the southwestern Pennsylvania economy continue to roll in, offering further support for what now is considered an undeniable conclusion: The highly diversified economic structure that took root in the wake of industrial decline decades ago is paying huge... More
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An Educated Population
High school graduation rates have generally improved across southwestern Pennsylvania, although in a few school districts a third or more of the students failed to graduate on time. More important is whether they and others like them end up earning a diploma or equivalent degree sometime in their lives. And on that point, the region... More
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Creative Spark
Several metropolitan regions have rich cultural, civic and research institutions. But the idea in southwestern Pennsylvania is to get them to do what they typically haven’t done on their own – collaborate in a strategic way to create imaginative learning opportunities that are relevant to the technology-savvy children of the 21st Century. More
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Compliance, Finally
Southwestern Pennsylvania has quietly reached an environmental milestone. After exceeding the Clean Air Act pollution limit for nearly four decades, levels of unhealthy microscopic particles in the sky above the region have fallen to within federal air quality standards for the first time. More
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Of Two Minds
Aross the Greater Pittsburgh region, far more residents are convinced of the economic potential of Marcellus Shale natural gas than support drilling for it. And one likely reason more haven’t thrown their support behind the burgeoning industry is that more than half of them are worried that environmental damage and greater public health risks are... More
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Overabundance
When it comes to governments, southwestern Pennsylvania has plenty. In fact, few regions in the nation are more fragmented. So it’s not surprising that consolidation has been a popular topic of late. And, to some extent, the notion appears to be taking hold. More