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Events

Sustainable Pittsburgh Receives Good Government Award

On October 19, 2006, the League of Women Voters of Greater Pittsburgh honored Sustainable Pittsburgh at its 10th annual Good Government Awards dinner.

The League of Women Voters of Greater Pittsburgh established the Good Government Awards in 1997 to pay tribute to those individuals, businesses, agencies or other groups who have taken their civic responsibilities seriously and have conducted public activities that serve to strengthen our democracy and promote good government practices. Considerations for the award include the impact, effectiveness, and timeliness of the awardees’ actions, and the effect on individuals, groups, local governments, and the common good.

Other awardees included French and Indian War 250, Inc., the PA Center for Women, Politics and Public Policy at Chatham College, Robert Pease, and Khari Mosley.

In recognizing Sustainable Pittsburgh, Kevin Gavin, News Director of WDUQ 90.5 FM, stated the following:

"I think WDUQ and I have been fortunate to work for the last six years or so on a series of forums that turned into hour long broadcasts called ‘Champions of Sustainability'. These forums and broadcasts have saluted leaders in sustainable growth and also to provide awareness of their issues and ideas. But to me personally, it’s Court, it’s Joan, it’s Kim and their colleagues. They’re the true champions of sustainability for the Pittsburgh region, and I congratulate them on an award that’s very well deserved."

Resources

Save the Date! Champions of Sustainability and Opportunity Connections Present: "Transportation Funding for Our Region's Prosperity"

Thursday, November 16
8 - 9:30 am (7:30 a.m. registration & continental breakfast)
Omni William Penn Hotel (Grand Ballroom, 17th Floor)
Downtown Pittsburgh
Featuring: Larry King, Deputy Secretary for Planning, PA Department of Transportation and a local reaction panel
No fee to attend.
Register: info@sustainablepittsburgh.org or call 412-258-6642

This forum is being held the day after the Governor's Transportation Funding and Reform Commission will release their final report addressing the Commonwealth's transportation funding crisis. On hand to review Commission key findings and recommendations will be PENNDOT Deputy Secretary for Planning, Larry King.

Mr. King will be followed by a local panel that will provide insights and reactions to the high stakes challenge of solving the funding crisis as well as prospects for implementation of recommendations by the General Assembly and Governor. Panelists include:

- Stephen Bland, CEO, Port Authority
- J. Bracken Burns, Chairman, Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission; Co-Chair Washington County Board of Commissioners
- Jim Roddey, Member, Governor's Transportation Funding and Reform Commission
- Barbara Simpson, Pittsburgh Interfaith Impact Network


Media partner is WDUQ 90.5 FM

Presented by: Allegheny Conference on Community Development, Leadership Pittsburgh Inc., Sustainable Pittsburgh

Sponsored by:

WQED Citizens' Summit on Transportation

Thursday, October 26
8 pm - 9 pm
Tune in to WQED-TV
Info: 412-361-1111 guyasuta@jacksonclark.net or http://www.thisishappening.com/EventPage.php?eventid=44761&show=profile

The 2006 Guyasuta Fellowship Program is focusing on Transportation Funding, Priorities and Planning. The Fellows are inviting citizens from across the region to get informed on this essential issue and engaged in the dialog on solutions for transportation in Pennsylvania. WQED Multimedia is partnering with the 2006 Guyasuta Fellowship to present a broadcast Citizens' Summit. This special live broadcast presents a citizens' perspective on the issue and allows the viewing public to express their own opinions through the interactive WQED Multimedia website. Tune in and plug in to this important regional issue.

Pittsburgh Interfaith Impact Network Public Action

Thursday, October 26
7 pm - 8:30 pm
Petra International Ministries, 235 Eastgate Drive (Former East Hills Shopping Center)--near the intersection of Robinson Blvd. and Frankstown Ave. Bus routes 86A, 77B, LP.
No charge. Information and advance registration (requested but not required): Barbara Simpson bsimpson@tmail.com, 412-322-6419 or Wallace Watson wallwat1@verizon.net, 412-371-8138

Adequate and dedicated state funding for public transportation will be one of the major issues addressed by the Pittsburgh Interfaith Impact Network (PIIN) at its Public Action meeting. Other issues include: Single Payer Healthcare, Jobs through Workforce Development, Safe and Affordable Housing, and Civil Rights of Immigrants. PIIN expects an attendance of 1,500 or more. Key public officials will be invited to commit to specific actions furthering transit funding and other goals. All are welcome.

Public Lecture: Wangari Maathai, 2004 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Founder of the Green Belt Movement

Thursday, October 26
6 pm, no fee to attend
J. W. Connolly Ballroom, Alumni Hall
University of Pittsburgh
More

Nobel Peace Prize winner Wangari Muta Maathai, an alumna of the University of Pittsburgh, will speak about her 30-year effort to reforest her native Kenya by planting 30 million trees and the seeds of change for the future of women. Her lifetime of triumphant accomplishments on the international stage has made Maathai one of the most effective and powerful women leaders in the world. To recognize her outstanding achievements, Chancellor Mark A. Nordenberg will confer on her an honorary doctoral degree. A reception and book signing will follow.

National Urban League Conference: You, Your Money, Your Future

Friday, October 27
4:30 - 9 pm
McConomy Auditorium - Carnegie Mellon Univeristy
Free and open to the public
Info: 1-888-685-4338 www.nul.org

This one-day event at Carnegie Mellon University will focus on improving home ownership and will feature representatives from local financial institutions, insurers and government agencies guiding participants through the process of securing mortgage loans, keeping loans in good standing and other essentials of owning a home. A town hall meeting featuring John Hope Bryant, CEO of Operation Hope, and Urban League of Pittsburgh President Esther L. Bush, among others, will follow to discuss economic empowerment and its importance for the African-American community and society in general.

Land Trust Seeks Community Input

Thursday, November 2
6:30 pm
Regional Environmental Education Center
1571 Mayview Rd in Upper St Clair
Info and directions: http://www.alleghenylandtrust.org or 412-604-0422

Upper St Clair and South Fayette Townships: the Allegheny Land Trust (ALT) will be hosting a community meeting and brainstorming session to gather local input and feedback on the restoration of the Wingfield Pines Conservation Area in Upper St. Clair and South Fayette Townships. The meeting will include short presentations by ALT and their collaborators, landscape architecture graduate students from the University of Michigan. The public is invited to participate and refreshments will be provided. A follow-up site visit of the property is scheduled for Saturday, November, 4, for those interested in learning more about the property. People are encouraged to attend one or both events.

The Pittsburgh Green Forum for Vacant Land Revitalization

Thursday Nov. 2 and Friday Nov. 3
Pittsburgh Project
2801 Charles Street, Pittsburgh
> Register or volunteer: 412.682.7275 or ecopeland@pittsburghparks.org

Free and open to the public Join Mayor Luke Ravenstahl and the Urban Ecology Collaborative to learn strategies and share ideas on how to make Pittsburgh a greener city. During the two days of the Forum trained facilitators and note takers will capture all the community input to ensure a dynamic participatory community-wide process. The CORO Fellows of Pittsburgh will serve as most of the small group facilitators but a few more are needed. Mainly we will need note takers (26) and people willing to serve as guides (12) to the large numbers of community residents who will attend the Forum. People will be invited from all of the 88 Pittsburgh Neighborhoods and folks can sign up to attend on the City Redd Up Campaign Website.

National Preservation Conference: Pittsburgh 2006

October 31 – November 5
Pittsburgh
On site registration only
More

The National Trust for Historic Preservation, with the Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation and Pittsburgh and Pennsylvania partners, present the National Preservation Conference in Pittsburgh.

Community Development Financing in Rural Pennsylvania

Tuesday, November 14
8 am - 2 pm
Holiday Inn - Beaver Falls
Registration Deadline: November 7
Cost: $25
Info: (215) 574-6037. Register (online only): http://www.phil.frb.org/cca/conferences.html

Highlights of the program include lenders' analysis of a community development project; opportunities for bank-nonprofit partnerships using Pennsylvania's Neighborhood Assistance Program; CRA regulations and amendments pertaining to underserved and distressed rural areas; and a networking lunch and discussion with speakers.

Save the Date! 3rd Annual Regional Equitable Development Summit "County Comprehensive Planning for Equitable Development in Southwestern Pennsylvania"

Friday, December 15, 2006
8:00 - 11:30 am (7:30 a.m. registration)
Twentieth Century Club
4201 Bigelow Blvd., Oakland
No fee to attend
Register by calling 412-248-6642 or info@sustainablepittsburgh.org

The 3rd annual Regional Equitable Development Summit, will feature john a. powell, Director of Ohio State University's Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity, speaking on equitable development in the Southwestern PA region and best emerging practices around the nation.

A formal public input session of Allegheny Places (Allegheny County's comprehensive land use plan that is now being developed), the Summit will explore equity in regional development by addressing the challenges and opportunities inherent in the quest to ensure individuals and families in all communities can participate and benefit from economic growth and activity.

With a purview of strategies that are proving effective among all ten counties in the region, the Summit collaborates with Allegheny County to examine how strategic public, private, and civic investments and county land use planning can substantially reduce disparities in services and in social and economic conditions. Come learn how policies regarding investments for jobs, businesses, transportation access, housing and environmental concerns can be crafted to be truly inclusive of low income and communities of color.

The Summit will feature panels consisting of economic development and country planning directors from around the region, along with representatives from the Allegheny Places resource panels on Economic Development, Transportation, and Equity & Diversity.

At the Summit, the public is invited to provide input on draft elements of the Allegheny County Comprehensive Plan, and consider opportunities to advance the policy and practice of equitable development in our region.

The Summit is presented by Sustainable Pittsburgh and the University of Pittsburgh's Johnson Institute for Responsible Leadership.

(To inquire about becoming a Summit sponsor, please call (412) 258-6642.)

Allegheny, Monongahela, Ohio, Youghiogheny rivers would be lined with trails, parks and amenities

County Councilmen David Fawcett, R-Oakmont, and James Burn Jr., D-Millvale, today will unveil their vision of a linear park, spanning 80-some miles, that would cover one shore or another of the Allegheny, Monongahela, Ohio and Youghiogheny rivers and their bridges, connecting the county riverfront from border to border with trails, parks and amenities...It is a good thing when enlightened public officials make connections between parks, open space, green space and economic development for the region. Let's give the process its due," he said..."So many of our rivers are inaccessible and unusable because of industry and the terrain," said retail developer Todd Reidbord of Walnut Capital. "We see Pittsburgh's rivers as Pittsburgh's oceanfront property. So anything you can do to make that riverfront property more attractive and more usable is great for investment."

Amani Café owner plans to unite cultures with one cup

For Jones, business is not all about money. “There are not many women-owned businesses, and even less African-American businesses,” she said. “Small businesses make the world go round. It is about empowering individuals to do more for themselves.” She follows her own advice by selling fair trade coffee, meaning the distributor buys the coffee full price. This process gives the workers who pick the coffee “an opportunity to live and feed their families.” It works as part of her motto—”uniting cultures with one cup.” Her goal is for Amani to be inviting for people of all ages, races and cultures. She hopes adding a warm interior design will help accomplish that vision.

African Americans are still falling behind: Economic empowerment is the most important civil rights movement of the 21st century

In its 2006 State of Black of America equality index, the National Urban League found that the economic status of African Americans is 56 percent of that of whites when comparing income, unemployment, homeownership, business ownership, median net worth and poverty rates...That is why the National Urban League has launched a multi-city Economic Empowerment Tour that kicks off in Pittsburgh on Friday. In addition to heightening awareness of the economic disparities across our country, we will provide practical tools to enable participants to seize control of their financial futures. Why Pittsburgh? According to the University of Pittsburgh's 2004 Black-White Benchmarks study, the city stands as one of the most disadvantaged for African Americans of 70 cities nationwide in terms of home ownership, median household income and poverty rates. The city ranked 50th among the 70 U.S. cities for black homeownership: In 2000, only 34.5 percent of the city's African Americans owned their own home; compared to 59.9 percent of whites. Household median income for African Americans stood at $20,075 a year in 2000, compared to $32,692 for white households, ranking Pittsburgh 66th. And Pittsburgh had the 7th highest rate of poverty in 2000: 34.1 percent of blacks were poor, compared to 14.3 percent of whites...Economic empowerment is not exclusively needed in the African-American community. Americans from all walks of life, color, religion and economic background are hurting from the ever-widening gap between haves and have-nots. According to a 2006 report by the Center for Economic and Policy Research, the United States ranked behind only Mexico among 28 relatively developed countries in the size of its gap between rich and poor.

New Computer Efficiency Requirements Announced

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced new, more stringent Energy Star standards for computers and related equipment. The standards will save over $1.8 billion in energy costs over the next 5 years and prevent greenhouse gas emissions equal to the annual emissions of 2.7 million cars.

Dirty vote: The House should reject a bad emissions bill

The choice was to adopt the tougher standard or fall back on a weaker federal standard. Ten states, including neighboring New York and New Jersey, have adopted the California standard knowing that it will do more to clean the air. It also makes more sense to target vehicles rather than put another burden on static sources, like businesses.

New PF Podcast: Clean Cars: Hijacked?

In this podcast, PennFuture's Christine Knapp talks with folks who came out earlier this year during one of the public hearings on the program. Pennsylvanians everywhere shared personal stories about why cleaner cars and trucks truly matter to them.

Housing and Transportation Cost Trade-Offs and Burdens in Working Households in 28 Metro Areas

Housing and Transportation Costs Trade-Offs and Burdens in Working Households in 28 Metro Areas, a study from the Center for Neighborhood Technology and Virginia Tech, examines neighborhood housing and transportation choices available to working households in 28 U.S. metropolitan areas. The purpose is to determine how constraints within the neighborhood and the region -- e.g., lack of access to transportation choices, distance from job centers, shortages of affordable housing -- affect household costs and how high-cost burdens impact the household, their neighborhoods and the region.

City conservation panel eyes savings

Pittsburgh is a peculiar newcomer to a group of Northeast cities that have signed on with the International Council of Environmental Initiatives and nonprofit Clean Air Cool Planet...Green Government Task Force member William T. Cagney, business manager of the International Union of Operating Engineers, is training 800 maintenance workers throughout the city to comply with the U.S. Department of Energy's Energy Star program, which requires buildings to reduce power consumption by 10 percent to qualify. "We have a major impact," said Cagney, whose workers run about 30 large buildings Downtown and in Oakland. He's encouraging the group to push companies such as PNC Bank to build environmentally friendly buildings.

Study says Pittsburgh to be one hot town

By the end of this century, summers in Pittsburgh could resemble those in Georgia or Alabama if we continue the unabated burning of fossil fuels -- coal, oil and natural gas, according to a new two-year study of climate change projections in the northeastern United States. The Northeast Climate Impacts Assessment report says Pittsburgh, which annually averages nine days above 90 degrees and one day above 100 degrees now, could, by 2100, see 66 days above 90 degrees and 24 days above 100 degrees.

Power companies focus on 'sustainable' future electricity supply

In 2000, Entergy Corp. set an internal goal to stabilize the company's greenhouse gas emissions at 1990 levels for the next five years. By 2005, the New Orleans-based electric utility pledged to reduce its emissions by another 20 percent...Serio, along with executives of seven other major energy companies used the Waldorf Astoria hotel venue to release a report, titled "Powering a Sustainable Future" a broad set of recommendations for companies and governments from around the world to ensure a more environmentally, socially and economically viable power sector.

WRI Offers Green Energy Advice for Offices and Stores

A new World Resources Institute publication cuts through the clutter with essential information - in just 26 pages – for financial institutions; real estate, retail, law, and publishing firms; universities; non-profit organizations; and many others to understand the basics of how they can go green...Switching to Green provides a five-step outline for acquiring renewable energy (see above). It also includes links to essential resources and brief examples of how companies have diversified their energy supply and supported the growth of clean energy technologies by incorporating renewable energy into their operations.

For information on becoming a Member of Sustainable Pittsburgh, please visit our website.

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Sustainable Pittsburgh affects decision-making in the Pittsburgh Region in integrate economic prosperity, social equity and environmental quality bringing sustainable solutions to communities and businesses.

Please review SP's regional assessments and vision/policies for the future: SWPA Regional Indicators Report, Citizens' Vision for Smart Growth, and Regional Policy Guidance Document by clicking on the links to our website.

The Transportation for Livable Communities project is a partnership of Sustainable Pittsburgh and the national Surface Transportation Policy Project to advance a sustainable transportation system for Southwestern Pennsylvania.

Sustainable Pittsburgh benefits from support in 2006 from:

Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation
Dollar Bank
The Heinz Endowments
Mellon Financial Corporation
The Pittsburgh Foundation
Richard King Mellon Foundation


Special thanks to the SP Members

Sustainable Pittsburgh
425 Sixth Avenue, Suite 1335
Pittsburgh, PA 15219
(412) 258-6642
fax (412) 258-6645
E-mail SP