at the white house
I’m an impatient person, and expect instant outcomes. You’d think I would have learned by now.
help wanted!
Help wanted! 6 days from now I’ll be at the White House, in a meeting with the administration and other Pittsburgh business and civic leaders.
cityLIVE! 39: equity in urban education
November 17 2011 | New Hazlett Theater | 6.30p.m.
Can algebra be an organizing principal for a civil rights movement?
cityLIVE! 38: Looking forward to Immigration (with Rich and Raja)
Pittsburgh is less diverse than 98 out of 100 of the largest metropolitan areas in the United States, according to the 2010 census
a letter to my city leaders (about food)
Dear City Leaders:
I hope you read the Pittsburgh Post Gazette’s editorial on food trucks this morning. They are right on.
I’m a bad tourist
We did what we were supposed to do and visited Tian’an men and the Forbidden City. It was 98 degrees in the sun. I won’t tell you about Tian’an men and the Forbidden City. You can look them up in wikipedia. Suffice to say that is was vey very hot, and there were many many tourists, along with plenty of water and ice cream vendors.
beijing growth
Beijing has grown in quite an organized manner. It was when I travelled the fourth ring road, about 10 miles out from the center of the city center, that I began to understand the scale of this city.
breakfast in beijing
Truth be told, I hate chinese breakfasts. Morning has me yearning for a cappuccino. China hasn’t caught on to coffee yet, and most local cafes only open late, at 10 or 11 am. That leaves only one option while I’m in Beijing. Starbucks.
beijing market day
Market day. I make a point of visiting a local market in every city I visit. Vibrant and down to earth, they provide a small snapshot into local life. My favorite in Beijing so far is the Panjiayuan weekend market, known for its arts, crafts and memorabilia.
beijing arrival
We arrived in Beijing twenty-four hours after we left Pittsburgh and twelve hours ahead of Pittsburgh time.
Tsinghua University, just north of Beijing’s core, is our home for the week. The campus is green, the supermarket is full of Chinese food and the spicy chicken and dumplings are delicious.
wallflower no more
While the rest of the country partied on soaring housing prices, Pittsburgh sat out the dance. Since 2000, Pittsburgh’s home prices have risen slowly but steadily, up 42% in the last 10 years, according to the Wall Street Journal.
sit on this art
These benches were spotted in Melbourne Australia. Different and gorgeous. Art to sit on.
bike-sharing in pittsburgh
There’s a bike-sharing demo in Market Square tomorrow (June 9) between 10 and 2. Don’t miss it! While you are there, check out the Farmer’s Market as well.
citylive! 37: moving people, not cars
June 13 2011 | New Hazlett Theater | 6.30p.m.
Have you ever thought you’d like to ride your bike to work, but it seems too dangerous? Do you wonder what life would be like if your children could walk to school, and you wouldn’t have to drive them? Do you admire cities like New York, with its miles of city bike lanes, or Paris, with its 20,000 bikes to rent? Do you hate the fact that you need to drive your bike to a good trail? Would you like to live in a city that is built for people, not cars?
hang your bike
Here’s a proposal for an efficient transportation solution – enormous bike ferris wheels, tucked into forgotten spaces between downtown buildings.
citylive! 35: medical pioneers
Pittsburgh researchers have long attracted the national and international spotlight. We know the stories of Dr. Jonas Salk who created a polio vaccine and Dr. Thomas Starzl who performed the world’s first successful liver transplant in 1967. Our April 26 cityLIVE! is telling the stories of other medical innovators.
secret no more
When I tell people I live in Pittsburgh there is generally a startled silence. Over the last twenty years, as Pittsburgh has shucked off its image of smoke and steel, the pause has grown shorter, but it is still a recognizable pause.
