Vacant property kills communities. Vacant and deteriorating property increases crime, depresses property values, diminishes the tax base, lowers community self-esteem, repels potential tenants, investors and tourists and breeds rampant apathy. There is absolutely no reason a community should...
I can sometimes get bogged down in the policies of vacancy. I get pretty excited about design standards, code enforcement and vacant property registries. I love reading about new methods people use internationally to combat empty property. While...
There are two sides to economic revitalization and they must work in tandem to create change in a community. The first is the economic side. This is about training people to fill the roles we so desperately lack...
I know it is a touchy subject, but something must be said. We can’t keep tik-toking around the subject. Pretending it isn’t affecting you, won’t make it go away. I am truly sorry for anyone suffering from the...
The college, the hospital, the manufacturer, the school system, the foundation, the bank, the insurance agency, the United Way, service clubs, small businesses, big businesses, local government, nonprofits and on and on. Every single one of these institutions...
It’s time to take back your Main Street. Time to fight to restore it. Time to fight for its safe return. I know Main Street hasn’t been stolen, it hasn’t been whisked away in the middle of the...
I love looking at historic photos and seeing how our places have changed over time. Something that always stands out, is how nice everyone dressed in the past. No matter what job they had, or what activity they...
The best way I know how to describe the way the quality place affects me is an oft-repeated phrase that’s most likely grown annoying to those that know me: “I am no more neighborly by birth than someone...
My German roots compel me towards beers and large platters of meat. Come fall, I get pretty excited about the Oktoberfest events around Pittsburgh. Nothing like a good polka to get my blood flowing. Well this year, Covid...
It wasn’t until I finally left that I realized I had been in a toxic relationship. I knew something was wrong, but I couldn’t sort out exactly what it was. It was only with some distance and in...
