Happenings in Pittsburgh!! (Philadelphia, York, Liberty: appliances, storage, bars)

[guylocke]

Here is a KDKA video on the newest changes to the new arena. I'm not exceptionally thrilled with the design, I think it could be better, however, it's come a long way and I feel like it is sill quite nice.

kdka.com - Video Library

(If you look, there is another video on the right hand side that you can click about the major Point Park expansion, something to truly behold)

[BrianTH]

Very cool. And with PNC incorporating a park into its design for Three PNC Plaza, that whole area is going to be getting much more aesthetically pleasing.

[guylocke]

Pittsburgh continues to go green!

Pittsburgh grows greener, from garbage collection to Duquesne University

Duquesne University was selected by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as the 2007-2008 Individual Conference Champion for purchasing more green power than any other school in the Atlantic 10 Conference.

Duquesne beat its rivals by buying nearly 13 million kilowatt-hours of green power annually, which represents 28 percent of the school’s annual purchased electricity use.

[guylocke]

Here is some info on Settlers Ridge, the 600,000 square-foot expansion at Robinson to break ground.

Construction starts on $120M 600,000 sf mixed-use Settlers Ridge

Set to open during the summer of 2009, the site will also include a Courtyard by Marriott hotel, 16-screen Cinemark Theatre and L.A. Fitness. Announcements regarding additional restaurants and specialty stores will be made in the next few months.

[guylocke]

The Wall Street Journal just dubbed Pittsburgh "Roboburgh" and this RealAudio video outlines the impact of our largely growing robotic sector.

Online NewsHour: Report | Robots Industry Emerging in Pa. | April 23, 2008 | PBS

As Pittsburgh continues to rebuild itself after the loss of thousands of manufacturing jobs in the 1980s, a technology industry is emerging. Tom Bearden reports on how engineers in the city are developing robots for everything from elderly care to military operations.

[guylocke]

Pittsburgh scooped up the ownership of a popular family restaurant from Columbus, Ohio. Pittsburgh's firm G&R Acquisition Inc. is now the owner of the Max & Erma's franchise.

However, operations will still be kept in Columbus as that was part of the agreement.

Pittsburgh firm to acquire Max & Erma's for $10.2 million - Pittsburgh Business Times:

Lindeman also said Max & Erma's will look to bring in more outside experience at all levels of the company and will tackle a menu overhaul. "We want to get back to our original DNA - gourmet burgers, sandwiches, salads and a few entrees," he said.

[fleetiebelle]

Point Park's plans for downtown expansion look really great-- Point Park envisions an 'Academic Village'

[BrianTH]

So I was just at the Eastside development in East Liberty for the first time, a two-deck shopping center with lots of parking. It is pretty slick!

[guylocke]

Chatham University received the largest donation in it's 139 year history, the Eden Hall Farm Estate in Gibsonia. The-338 acre estate was donated to Chatham and is roughly 10 times larger than the Shadyside campus. The site is to become an entire second campus which will be the largest university campus in Allegheny County.

The gift will allow Chatham to establish a new Eden Hall Farm Campus in Richland Township and expand its academic and environmental programs for 2,000 students and the North Hills community.

Chatham University receives 338-acre Eden Hall Farm estate, plans new campus

This is, as always, good news. Our local Universities continue to shine with enrollment and prestige trending upward across every sector and campus.

[guylocke]

Pittsburgh ranked FIRST in "Best Cities for Relocating Families" according to Worldwide ERC, a relocation services industry trade group. This is hot off the heels of also being ranked "America's Most Livable City" by Places Rated Almanac last year.

the 2008 study placed a special emphasis on both the housing market and economy, both of which impact relocation plans and an employer's ability to transfer employees.

Other criteria new to this year's ranking include recent job growth for 2007, percentage of nearby top-ranked colleges, average in-state tuition for four-year public colleges, percentage of population growth since 2000, amount of pediatricians per 100,000 population, and separate sales and income tax categories.

The study also includes a green living index.

Pittsburgh ranks first for relocating families