The Chicago Council on Global Affairs and the Global Midwest Initiative have launched an new blog to talk about the future of our region.
These folks should be familiar to you if you heard Richard Longworth speak at the Great Lakes Urban Exchange conference earlier this year or have read his book Caught in the Middle: America’s Heartland in the Age of Globalism.
Welcome to the conversation!
-KG
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Rust Wire was able to spend a few minutes recently chatting with Brian O’Neill, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette columnist and, author of the new book “The Paris of Appalachia: Pittsburgh in the Twenty-first Century.”
I liked that the book details all of what O’Neill loves about Pittsburgh, but has a very realistic assessment of the city’s problems.
For a more detailed review, read what the Pittsburgh City Paper had to say here.
Rust Wire: “What’s right and what’s wrong about Pittsburgh?”

Brian O’Neill: “I would say that’s what right about it is – as I …

I enjoyed reading this op-ed in the Youngstown Vindicator, written by a newcomer to the community.
She points out that negative attitudes by Youngstowners toward their city have been surprising to her.
“[F]orgive me if this suggestion to the natives is way off base, but when somebody tells you they just moved to Youngstown it probably isn’t helping the town’s image to blurt out, ‘Why?’”
How much do negative attitudes impact your city?
Do they prevent positive change from taking place or are people just being realistic and pragmatic after years of problems?
-KG
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Braddock Mayor John Fetterman has been named to The Atlantic’s list of “Brave Thinkers.”
Fetterman and his efforts to revitalize Braddock, attract artists and businesses, and advocate for forgotten places like Braddock, have gained national media attention.
Sadly, the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center announced last week it will close UPMC Braddock, the community’s hospital. It’s another blow to a community that has suffered greatly, just as there were some positive things happening.
Thanks to Rust Wire reader Alex Parker for bringing the Atlantic cover story to our attention.
-KG
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As the Rust Belt takes in hockey and football season, news of local troubles and successes beyond the rink and field keep percolating in the national media. What were the hot topics about our already-frosty region this week?
While MSNBC suggests that the Rust Belt has something against environmental protection, their sub-headline is more appropriate for understanding our attitudes: “It’s All About Jobs.”
Another month, another Forbes list pointing out the problems with Rust Belt cities. Ease up, guys!
Crain’s Detroit highlights some solid regionalism: Pittsburgh‘s mayor lends some advice to ailing cousin …

What can Las Vegas learn from the Rust Belt? Quite a bit, according to this article in the Las Vegas Sun.
Not to toot our own horn, but this story references Rust Wire, and our own Angie Schmitt!
I thought this story was well-written, and made an interesting comparison: though many wouldn’t think of it this way, Las Vegas and Detroit are both one-industry towns – Vegas’ industry of course, being tourism.
The author definitely did his homework- and talked to a number of knowledgeable folks in Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Detroit, Boston and elsewhere.
I …

Our friends at the Great Lakes Urban Exchange (aka GLUE) are bringing their “I Will Stay If…” party idea to Pittsburgh.
“Every party results in photographs of participants holding signs that tell what it is about their city that would make them stick with it. The photos will be data for GLUE to play a part in reviving and setting urban policy,” the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette explained in today’s paper.
This idea may sound familiar – we wrote about the party in Detroit a few months ago (see photo above).
For more information about …

According to this column on thesweetscience.com, a boxing web site, one of Youngstown’s most well known natives, boxer Kelly “The Ghost” Pavlik, has had a disappointing downturn in his once-promising career.
I know nothing about boxing, but according to this piece, it doesn’t look good.

“How does someone go from being one of boxing’s most celebrated fighters to a forgotten man in less than a year?” the web site asks. “Ask Kelly Pavlik. He should have more than a few pointers for how to run a career into the ground.” Ouch!
For some …

As goes the Rust Belt, so goes the nation?
According to The Washington Post’s The Fix, that may be the case in the 201o midterm elections.
The Post cites four key governor’s races: Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan, and Pennsylvania that make our region “the central proving ground for both parties heading into the 2010 midterm elections” as well as Senate contests in Ohio and Illinois.
Five of these six states currently have Democratic governors, according to the paper.
Why are we so important? Four of the six are among the top 20 states unemployment-wise, all …

Time for a regular Rust Wire feature: highlighting some of our other favorite blogs from around the region.
I nominate Tube City Almanac, a great blog about news and history in western Pennsylvania’s “tube city” of McKeesport.
It was receommended to me by several smart and knowledgeable folks who were familiar with McKeesport.
My favorites on the blog include its history of the community, especially the section on the region’s steel heritage, complete with employee memories of U.S. Steel’s National Works and other facilities.
Check it out!
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