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As the Labor Day weekend brings to a close the traditional summer vacation season, many of us will be outdoors, enjoying the beautiful rivers throughout our region. Yet, as Allegheny Conference board member Nick DeIuliis noted last Sunday in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, appearances can be deceiving. We learned again over the weekend that our archaic wastewater infrastructure is, as Nick put it, “vastly insufficient” in its ability to handle the volume of water that empties, unabated, into the rivers during times of peak flow.
The Allegheny Conference has been involved in improving the cleanliness of our region’s rivers since our very beginning in 1944. We’ve made great progress over the years, but the job remains undone. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has granted additional time to develop a comprehensive plan. It is time to move forward to complete the plan and get to work to clean our rivers once and for all. We stand ready to work with our public and private sector partners to see this through.
White House Showcasing Innovation in Pittsburgh
Regional Investors Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh are partnering with the White House to host the first White House Frontiers Conference in Pittsburgh on October 13th. The conference is expected to bring together a number of the world’s leading innovators and focus on subjects as varied as healthcare and building smart, inclusive communities. President Obama is expected to travel to Pittsburgh to speak at the event. The conference should provide an opportunity to continue to spread the word about what’s right about our region.
Let’s Unlock the Potential of Our Communities
We were pleased to welcome to Pittsburgh last week the Pennsylvania House Finance Committee. They were here to hold a hearing on the merits of lifting the cap on NAP Tax Credits. As you know, the tax credit program has been critical to the success of the Strengthening Communities Partnership (SCP) that the Allegheny Conference launched in 2013. Greater Pittsburgh Chamber of Commerce President Matt Smith wrote about it in the recent Chamber e-newsletter.
Through the tax credit, we have been able to focus more than $12 million in private sector resources on seven communities throughout our region -- Connellsville, Homewood, McKees Rocks, Mt. Oliver/Knoxville, Sharpsburg, Washington and Wilkinsburg. These communities are making real progress. Others could as well, if the tax credit program was not capped at $18 million a year.
Matt and his team at the Chamber have been working hard in Harrisburg to encourage lawmakers to raise the cap. The good news is that there is bipartisan support to do something about this. Thanks to the leadership of Senator Wayne Fontana (D-Allegheny), Representative Mark Mustio (R-Allegheny) and Representative Dom Costa (D-Allegheny), legislation has been introduced in the Pennsylvania Senate and House of Representatives that will raise the NAP tax credit from $18 million to $25 million per year.
If you have the opportunity, please thank these lawmakers for their leadership, and urge their colleagues to join them in expanding one state program we know is making a difference in communities across Pennsylvania.
Air Service Lifting
Congratulations are in order for the Allegheny County Airport Authority and the recent addition of nonstop service to Los Angeles on Southwest as well as to Austin and San Juan on Allegiant Air. We continue to work closely with the authority to interest carriers in expanding service to our region. I was especially heartened to learn that Southwest is considering six more destinations. Over the past 18 months, the number of non-stop destinations has increased from 37 to 63.
European Beachhead in Belgium
If you’re evaluating an entry into the European market, you may wish to consider the Walloon Region in Belgium. Regional Investor, Jones Day is hosting a breakfast on September 21st at The Duquesne Club from 8:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. There is no cost to attend. RSVP here.
Among the speakers and hosts:
- Alphi Cartuyvels, Deputy General Manager for Europe/North America, Wallonia Foreign Trade and Investment Agency (AWEX)
- Leon F. DeJulius, Jr., Partner-in-Charge of Jones Day's Pittsburgh Office
- Thomas Bougard, Senior Project Manager, North America, AWEX
- Anne Billiet Lackner, Honorary Belgian Consul in Pittsburgh
- Howard Liebman and Alexandre Verheyden from the Brussels office of Jones Day
Tickets On Sale Now for Sept. 26 ATHENA Awards Luncheon: Celebrate Women Who Lead Through Mentorship
We’re proud to be a part of the ATHENA Awards of Greater Pittsburgh. This program was co-founded 26 years ago by retired Greater Pittsburgh Chamber President Barbara McNees. It is unique among business awards: it elevates the profile of women who, through mentorship, are helping to develop the women leaders of today and tomorrow. The luncheon is one of the networking events of the season, with nearly 900 women and men attending. Buy your tickets – or a whole table for your team – and learn more at Athena-Pittsburgh.com, Twitter.com/AthenaPgh or Facebook.com/AthenaPittsburgh.
Quarterly Meeting Around the Corner
The next quarterly meeting of the Allegheny Conference Regional Investors Council is just around the corner: Noon on September 14th at the Fairmont Pittsburgh. Our focus will be on advocacy on issues of importance to our region at the local, state and federal levels. Please make sure your organization is represented. RSVP here.
As always, thanks for your support of the Allegheny Conference and your commitment to our region. Have a great Labor Day weekend. I hope to see you in September.
Sincerely,
Dennis Yablonsky
CEO, Allegheny Conference on Community Development
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