An Early Christmas Present

That’s the only way to characterize Amazon’s announcement of a software development center for Pittsburgh.  This is when it gets good, as they say: Uber, Apple, Google and now Amazon.  Reports from the leasing agent say it’s an office of about a dozen people.  Well no need to guess – all one has to do is go to Amazon’s Web site [c’mon, you know you have it bookmarked for your daily visits] and scroll down to the bottom of the landing page [which you have never visited before since it’s not the part where you buy stuff] and look for “Careers”.  Search on “Pittsburgh” and about a dozen job postings will come up.

An exciting part of this news is that the company is taking a lot more space than is needed for 12 people.  My prediction is that within 18 months it will be 120 people.  Stay tuned.  And there are still plenty of coastal high tech names that should be taking advantage of Pittsburgh’s software talent pool and lower business costs.  I’m still waiting to hear that Amazon’s neighbor across Lake Washington, Microsoft, has finally figured out it makes more business sense to hire all those CMU engineers into a development center in Pittsburgh – independent of CMU’s on-campus facility – rather than move them to Seattle.

A Sad Day, for Nice People

OK allow me to say it: it’s a very sad day with the announcement of Arnold Palmer’s death.  The last few times he was seen on TV he was clearly showing his age which made this blogger think “Whoa, we will all pass away but this is gonna be a “big one” for western Pennsylvanians when Arnold goes”.  And so it’s happened.  Always a bad morning jolt to hear that 6AM National Public Radio report with news like this.

Later, on that same “Morning Edition” broadcast, an ESPN golf analyst heaped praise on Mr Palmer for what he did to raise the status and awareness of golf in America.  What caught my ear was the report’s focus on what a “nice guy” Palmer was, in all aspects of his life including his businesses and his sport.  A couple of Palmer’s contemporaries provided short excerpts giving testimony to how Palmer would engage with people – his Army or those that became his Army as a result – many of whom were dismissed by other golfing professionals.  Of course he did.  He was from western Pennsylvania.

Recall that Mr Rogers, Fred Rogers, was from Latrobe also.  I was really sad when I awoke to news of Mr Rogers death as well.  And I cried the morning I awoke to the news of John Heinz’s death.  Heinz was one of the nicest guys in politics and in my mind, destined to be President.  In light of this 2016 campaign, heck, the last four Presidential campaigns, I don’t think nice will ever again make a national political comeback.

Nice is Pittsburgh, western PA and the Tri State region.  Growing up our family would regularly car trip to the beaches and historic sites along the East Coast and people would say “Oh of course you’re from Pittsburgh; you’re so nice.”  It’s been a bit of an economic handicap for years when the region’s leaders could never be seen to brag about all the advantages for living and working here.  But it also has made the area a desirable place for many who seek the authentic in their lives and community relationships.  It should always remain so.

And so sad to know Mr Palmer is no longer among us.  We all need a hug.

Hail to Pitt!

No.  Not for their victory in last week’s rematch of the rivalry with Penn State.  [Full disclosure: I am a proud Pitt alum.]

Kudos to Pitt and Penn State for bringing back the game that put Pittsburgh back on the college football map AND brought in revenue to everything from the RAD to the businesses and workers in the city’s hospitality industry.  With the largest sports crowd in Pittsburgh history, about a dozen people shy of 70,000, this event certainly is a milestone for Pittsburgh’s sports reputation.  I’ll be the first to admit, these attendance numbers are small potatoes compared to most every Fall Saturday in college towns from Tempe to Westwood, Athens to Oxford, and Columbus to Austin – and if you don’t recognize those towns and what schools play there well, better stick to pro sports.

But this is a great reappearance of a tradition that will pay benefits to both Pitt and Penn State in terms of alumni involvement [and contributions], an economic boost for the City, and an added entertainment feather in Pittsburgh’s leisure industry cap.  Big events are “things to do” that excite residents and visitors.  As I’ve so often said, Pittsburgh needs more party.  Kudos to these universities’ athletic departments for having the vision to resurrect a fun tradition.

A Wake-Up Call for Downtown

Recently it was widely reported that groups of young people gathering downtown at night went on a “rampage” that involved a subsequent police chase on foot.  There were bystanders injured during this disturbance, including an elderly woman who was sadly at the wrong place at the wrong time.  Simply enjoying what has become an increasingly vibrant downtown area should not be cause for even the threat of harm, much less physical abuse.  Immediate action by City government, and I am not referring to only the police, is needed.

Back in June I was downtown for Stanley Cup viewing in a Market Square restaurant.  Prior to the match I decided to wander a bit to see what new businesses were in old familiar places.  Walking along Wood Street I noted to myself, and did so later to friends, that there was a particularly rowdy group of young men in front of the McDonald’s outlet.  Being older, and less cocksure of my abilities these days. the scene made me very uncomfortable as I squeezed by.  I can understand how any number of visitors or residents, seeing that type of behavior at the relatively early pre-8PM time, would think twice about strolling downtown again.

The bottom line here is that Pittsburgh’s downtown “ecosystem” is physically compact and metaphysically still in a rebirth phase.  Everything is scrutinized under a media reported magnifying glass.  It cannot sustain incidents that result in physical harm as well as negative reports of such and still expect to develop day-and-night vibrancy.  City officials must work with law enforcement but also with the appropriate social service agencies to address the causes as well as the very presence of this behavior.  Crime is a complicated issue that results from a complex sets of circumstances.  However, that can never excuse inaction on the part of those responsible for the public welfare.

In Case You Haven’t Seen This One

In the May issue of “Conde Nast Traveler” magazine that featured their Hot List of the 60 “hottest” hotels in the world, Pittsburgh’s Ace Hotel was listed among that group, chosen by their editors.  It’s a nice piece of city publicity to have one of the “dots” on their “hot list” map be Pittsburgh.

But for those who appreciate a good written review, it was the June/July Summer issue of the same magazine that had more words on Pittsburgh as a “cool” travel destination this summer.   Some quoted excerpts, with attribution to “Conde Nast Traveler” include:

“Cool means a food scene that’s both current and cozily retro, globally informed yet grounded in place.  Where thirty and seventy somethings drink at the same perfectly aged bars.”  [Blogger’s note: If that social interaction DOESN’T happen in other places then as a society we’re in deeper trouble than many believe this election season.]

“Cool means a fanatical sports town that’s also defined by high culture …where Roberto Clemente and Andy Warhol are held in equal esteem.”

And the money shot here:

“If Pittsburgh isn’t a contender for the coolest city in America right now, someone’s got “cool” all wrong.”

Oh ya.  Just don’t get all ahead of yourself Pittsburgh.  Note that “cool”, like its cousin “hip”, can never be self-declared.  It can only be bestowed and must never be referred to by the cool one; to do so takes it all away and is the antithesis of the term.  Once you declare yourself cool or hip, you are no longer.  Walk the walk and never, ever talk the talk.  I have confidence Pittsburgh understands that.

A Good Development in the Start-Up Scene

This week a piece in the Pittsburgh “Business Times” announced that Jason Yablinsky, VP of Finance for local jobs recruitment platform company Jazz [formerly named The Resumator] is leaving that firm to become CEO of a brand new startup, SubCentral.io.  Good for Mr. Yablinsky but more importantly this speaks to the growing strength of Pittsburgh’s startup scene.

SubCentral.io has received an initial investment of half a million already and already has five employees.  Jazz itself is well on its way to greater success by all accounts and is thus spinning off talent to other ventures.  Most importantly, the fact that staff feels comfortable enough to jump from one startup to another newer [re: riskier] one means that Pittsburgh is building an ecosystem of companies that rely on similar skill sets.  When people make decisions about job locations, one consideration is always “If I have to leave a position, will there be other job opportunities for me within the same area?”  Regions around Seattle , Boston and the Silicon Valley all provide a large enough pool of jobs that people looking to build their careers are confident in accepting jobs in those areas.  Pittsburgh needs more of that and seems well on its way.

A small story with big, positive implications.  Congrats to all.

Our Employment Problem, Part 2

OK let’s start out with this: it has nothing to do with the weather.  Or even the perception of the weather. One person’s chaff is another’s wheat, you might say.  So to all those regional crepe-hangers who claim Pittsburgh’s growth is held back by its weather, I say “you need to get out more”.  Do you think higher growth locales like Chicago, Minneapolis or Boston have better weather?  Really?  OK. Now let’s get serious.

I still believe Pittsburgh and the Tri-State region’s job creation woes can be helped with more, better, increased, and improved education of its citizens.  For this piece allow me to present empirical evidence based on anecdotal reports, with a nod to a couple statistics.

In Part 1 of this commentary I referenced the “Tribune Review” article that featured a Fayette County resident working as a part-time supermarket cashier.  The gentleman is 20 years old and has already moved back to Fayette County after trying his job luck in Orlando, FL where he found he couldn’t make ends meet even in that high growth market.  But now he’s thinking of moving back to Orlando.  Let’s not “pile on” when analyzing this young man’s path however, at age 20, with no defined job skills and what would seem to be no post high school degree, his prospects in Fayette County or Orlando or just about any other economically integrated area on planet Earth are severely limited.  Changing locations will solve little if anything long term.

Also as mentioned in Part 1, the Uber Advanced Technology Center’s Director, John Bares, is seeking dozens more staff members and is recruiting candidates from California’s Bay Area.  I imagine there will be some resistance by residents of weather-perfect northern California over a move to a less benign Great Lakes climate.  But notwithstanding the list of positive traits that Pittsburgh can offer aside from climate, why, with over two dozen major colleges and universities in the region producing thousands of graduates annually, does Mr. Bares need to turn to California for staff?  The only answer is a disparity of skill levels but more specifically it is clear Pittsburgh’s institutions are not educating enough residents with skills needed in this economy.

My final anecdote comes from Austin, TX, a city that Pittsburgh is getting a lot of comparison with these days.  In the past year, Austin has seen thousands of high tech jobs created from companies as diverse as Apple (which has over 1,000 employees and has announced another 2,300 more to be hired in the next 18 months), Home Depot [financial security software development], General Motors (software jobs, not manufacturing), Athena Health [medical software] and Conde Nast (again, software programming for the publisher’s digital media).  And the reason cited by all these new entrants into Austin’s job market: the availability of talent.  Austin has a fifth the number of higher education institutions that Pittsburgh does.  But the University of Texas is a powerhouse school with large programs in engineering, computer science and artificial intelligence.  And to say UT constantly churns out graduates in those fields is putting it mildly.

So here’s the statistical comparison set, and pardon that it’s a bit dated from the 2010 US Census, specific to educational attainment for Pittsburgh’s and Austin’s Metropolitan Statistical Areas (a large city and its surrounds that are connected by employment numbers).  In 2010 Pittsburgh’s MSA had 28.8% of its population with a bachelor’s degree or higher.  Austin’s MSA had 46.6% of its population with bachelor degrees or higher.  Does education translate into economic success? I believe so.  Using per capita income as one countermeasure, US Census statistics for samples taken in 2013 have Austin’s MSA pegged at 21st in the country with per capita income at $24,500.  Pittsburgh is 90th with per capita income at $20,900.  In absolute dollar terms, not huge, but as measured on the overall ranking, and when you account for the nearly $4,000 per person difference across similarly sized metro areas of 2 million plus people, the comparison of income levels is striking.

It’s education.  Period.  As I finished this piece I had trouble developing a summary paragraph.  But later in the day I read the following in the May/June 2016 issue of “Foreign Affairs” magazine.  With credit to Jacob S. Hacker and Paul Pierson in their excellent article “Making America Great Again: The Case for the Mixed Economy”, allow me to quote verbatim.  “the most important thing that big states [defined in their piece as “countries” not US “States”] started doing was educating their citizens.  More growth commenced when people rapidly increased their ability to do more with less.  They were able to do more, in part, because they knew more, and they knew more, in part, because they were taught more.”  QED.