Category Archives: News about PGH

“Pittsburgh called one of the smartest places to live”

Millionaire’s lifestyle on a middle-class budget?

This is just one of the reasons that Pittsburgh is called one of smartest places to live by Kiplinger’s Magazine.

We already know that Pittsburgh is a smart place to live but it is nice to be recognized. It is nice to see that other people are picking up on reasons to love Pittsburgh. Here is what the authors of the study remarked:

TOP TEN
#9 Pittsburgh, Pa.
June 2006

What we loved: The city’s ethnic European cuisines. The pierogies served at The Church Brew Works — formerly a Catholic church that’s now a brewery — were marvelous.

The best vantage point for surveying Pittsburgh is atop Mount Washington. Hollows and streams in the surrounding hills carve out distinctive neighborhoods that are linked by more than 700 bridges. Steeples of 19th-century churches dot tree-lined streets. Glittering skyscrapers cluster at the Golden Triangle, where the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers meet to form the Ohio.
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Pittsburgh REPRESENTS at the Webby Awards

webbyWell, well, well …

From over 5500 entries, two Pittsburgh-based websites have made it to the Webby Awards, the Internet version of the Oscars (Grammies, Golden Globes whatever.) Click here to read about the awards.

* Designed by Pittsburgh-based firm Wall-to-Wall productions, Carnegie Mellon University’s Admissions web site was nominated under the School/University Category. See:
http://my.cmu.edu/site/admission

* And under the Law category, JURIST, published by a team a faculty and students at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law was nominated, beating out a lot of other well-funded law sites. See:
http://jurist.law.pitt.edu

The winners will be judged on:
* Structure and Navigation
* Visual Design
* Functionality
* Interactivity
* Overall Experience

Congratulations to both nominees! The winners will be announced on May 9th – we wish you the best of luck!

Something Positive about PennDOT

For all you commuters, traffaholics and general cynics, the press release below just graced my inbox:

PENNDOT OFFERS PUBLIC INFORMATIONAL NEWSLETTER
Monthly publication will help keep motorists informed

Pittsburgh, PA (April 3, 2006) – The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) Engineering District 11 is pleased to announce the creation of a monthly newsletter designed to inform residents and motorists about PennDOT activities in Allegheny, Beaver, and Lawrence counties.

The newsletter, entitled PennDOT D-11 News, features articles written by PennDOT employees to help the public understand more about what PennDOT does and the people who work in District 11. The newsletter is available by email or through the District 11 website at www.dot.state.pa.us/district11.

PennDOT is offering the newsletter to anyone interested in receiving it. Please send your email address to jstruzzi at state.pa.us if you would like to be added to the distribution list for the newsletter. The newsletter is part of PennDOT District 11’s continuing efforts to better serve its customers, the traveling public, by offering more information and interaction opportunities.

Top Skylines of the World

So it has been making the rounds in the blogosphere and inboxes that, according to some Internet guy, Pittsburgh has the #16th slot in the top 20 skylines of the world. (Top twenty in the WORLD baby! Not bad for a medium-sized city.) The site also claims that Pittsburgh’s metro population is almost double that of Dallas, Texas, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and Dubai, U.A.E. Um …. Sweet! So much for the population hemorrhage? (Or is he counting Morgantown, WV?)

Here is the blurb from http://www.diserio.com/top15-skylines.html:

15. Pittsburgh, USA
Although Pittsburgh only has two buildings over 200m tall, its skyline is very impressive nonetheless. Pittsburgh has nicknames like the “city of bridges” or the “golden triangle” which outlines its true characteristics. It is surround by three rivers and the CBD is shaped in a triangle and surrounded by golden colour bridges. The city is also surrounded by hills and valleys giving access to great views of the city. The city has not had a major skyscraper raised since 1988, but good planning and a scenic surrounding region still makes it a great skyline.
Metro/Urban Population: 2.4 million

(Thanks to a reader for the link.)

New to Pittsburgh? The new owner’s guide

pghI recently came across Western Pennsylvania: The new owner’s guide, a series of articles published in the Post-Gazette:

“Whether moving to Western Pennsylvania for the first time, or returning after adventures elsewhere, our staff has put together a collection of useful and just plain interesting things to know and keep in mind.

“From historic highlights to timely information on Pennsylvania driver’s license requirements, they’ve hunted up the info that can save you a few headaches … and enrich your days of personal discovery ahead.”

Recent articles in the series include:

* Tips and info for new residents

* Newcomers find Pittsburgh prettier and friendlier than they expected

* A glorious heritage written in stone, steel, brick and timber

* Peter Leo: Rill Pittsburghers worship the Stillers

* Joe Grata: You can get there from here

* Putting down roots: Planning for planting in your Pittsburgh-area home

* Local broadcast media

* Getting your new home online

Good luck getting settled in!