Odyssey Diaspora

A like-minded contact working on his own Diaspora project in Pittsburgh e-mailed to me a recent David Brooks column published in the New York Times. Brooks argues that a new stage of life has emerged, the odyssey, which roughly covers the nomadic pursuits of today's twentysomethings:

Two of the country’s best social scientists have been trying to understand this new life phase. William Galston of the Brookings Institution has recently completed a research project for the Hewlett Foundation. Robert Wuthnow of Princeton has just published a tremendously valuable book, “After the Baby Boomers” that looks at young adulthood through the prism of religious practice.

Through their work, you can see the spirit of fluidity that now characterizes this stage. Young people grow up in tightly structured childhoods, Wuthnow observes, but then graduate into a world characterized by uncertainty, diversity, searching and tinkering. Old success recipes don’t apply, new norms have not been established and everything seems to give way to a less permanent version of itself.

All the brain drain hype and the resulting policies that aim to keep young adults from leaving a region are out of touch with the social phenomenon of the odyssey. I've yet to discover a local human capital initiative that accounts for the need to explore. Pittsburgh is no exception.

I never read Homer's Odyssey, but I did spend an entire semester at university in the world of James Joyce's Ulysses. Joyce obsessed Dublin from afar, never to return. However, his Odysseus (Leopold Bloom) did make his way home. Likewise, Pittsburgh's heroes could come back. Brooks convinces me that focusing my own efforts on the Boomerang Class is the best path.

Steelers Road Nation: American Stars 'N Bars

Jim Wexell is deep in what some may call Seattle Seahawks territory:

Before the game kicks off, I’ll have spent two full days investigating the football fans of Seattle, and it’s been difficult. Not everyone -- or even close to it -- has any interest at all in football. I went to the Space Needle and the first two fans I asked – with video camera in hand – were Steelers fans. I didn’t need them, but their stories were interesting nonetheless. I did find some Seahawks fans, but they’re really not too passionate. I scanned the famed Pike Place Market and could only find only one person – one, in a mass of humanity -- who was wearing Seahawks garb. It’s all on tape. So is the fan, Casey, who at first denied any lingering anger over Super Bowl XL, but it all poured out of him after a few probing questions. His main complaint is the call of incomplete when a Seattle receiver hit a pylon and the other is that two Pittsburgh residents were part of the officiating crew. I think he’s wrong on both counts, but I’m not too interested in looking it up. It always seems to be something with these so-called fans.

Once Mr. Wexell gets away from the local tourist traps, he will have an easier time finding Seahawks fans to interview. Canvassing Pike Place is like searching Times Square for rabid Giants fans. Then again, Seattle isn't Pittsburgh when it comes to football. That's the thread running through Mr. Wexell's trip. There are no football fans quite like Steelers fans.

Indiaburgh

PANEL DISCUSSION ADDRESSES GENDER, HISTORY AND

POPULAR CULTURE IN INDIAN FILM

PITTSBURGH, PA (October 4, 2007) – How is Indian culture defined in entertainment? How do Indian wrestling traditions correspond with popular cinema and masculinity? These questions and many more will be addressed on Wednesday, October 24th, when the Mattress Factory hosts Gender, History and Popular Culture in Indian Film, the second of three BELOW THE SURFACE panel discussions produced in association with the museum’s current exhibition, INDIA: NEW INSTALLATIONS.

Assistant Professor of English at the University of Pittsburgh and specialist in Indian film, Dr. Neepa Majumdar will moderate the discussion. Additional presenters include Dr. Joe Alter (Professor of Anthropology, University of Pittsburgh) and Prajna Paramita Parasher (Associate Professor, Chatham University). Lively discussion and questions from the audience will follow the presentations.

The INDIA: BELOW THE SURFACE series provides an opportunity to better understand Indian culture through dynamic presentations and discussions with renowned experts in their respective fields.

“In essence, it's an opportunity for attendees to view clips of Indian films, listen to a panel that is passionate about the subject and respond with questions and comments,” says Anna Fitzpatrick, Director of Education for the Mattress Factory. “More importantly, it's about the Mattress Factory wanting to spend an evening with the public - relaxing with refreshments, looking at new installations, being exposed to something completely new, and walking away from the experience reflecting on it.”

A guided tour of the INDIA exhibitions will take place at 6:00 PM and the presentations will begin at 7:00 PM. The MF Café will be open for dinner and refreshments. Event admission is $10.00 ($5.00 for Students and Mattress Factory members).

Steelers Road Nation: Journey Through the Past

Today, Jim Wexell explores Troy Polamalu's Oregon roots:

Most of the fathers I’ve encountered on this trip get teary-eyed when they talk about that first game in which their sons were introduced as starters for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Salu Polamalu is more proud of something else. His son was first his nephew, Troy Aumua, of Santa Ana, California. Troy visited his Uncle Salu and Aunt Shelly in Tenmile, Oregon, when he was seven years old. He begged them not to let him go back and they didn’t. Later, Troy asked Salu if he could go by Polamalu at school. Those are the reasons Troy has made his father most proud. And after spending the day with the Polamalu family and friends, I understand why Troy didn’t want to leave.

Birth did not deliver me into the hands of Pittsburgh and the Steelers. I chose the city and its football team as the sources of my heritage. Many people tell me that they don't understand why an Erie native living in Colorado would expend so much energy blogging about Pittsburgh and its expatriates. Mr. Wexell's story about Troy's childhood might provide you with some insight into my motivation to adopt Pittsburgh as my hometown.

Blog Diaspora

The wacky world of Web 2.0 is the opening of one Pandora's box after another. I can't count the number of times I've kicked myself for publishing a post that I didn't fully proofread. Sure, I can fix my mistakes, but once you put your words out there you can't take them back. For the most part, the blog post author does not control her own content.

The same goes for journalists, whose work we can read online. You can change misinformation and set the record straight, but your first gaffe often lives on in infamy on message boards and blogs. There is no glossing over what was written. That's a boon to some, but most people are either threatened by this dynamic or they fail to understand it.

Mike Madison cleverly provides us with an example of the latter. I think Mike knows full well the uneven ground where this clumsy lawyer is trying to tread. My point is that you can't keep a good discussion down, particularly one that has such a clear public benefit:

Neighborhood chatter being what it is, there's an interesting little drama unfolding nearby: A neighbor is re-landscaping a back yard, apparently with the permission of the Municipality, in a way that blocks one of the paved paths that Mt. Lebanites have used for decades as short-cuts between blocks of homes, as devices to sustain Lebo's walkable character, and as routes to our walkable schools.

I don't know the legal ins-and-outs of this situation. But Lebo has been down this path before, so to speak, and we've even talked about it on this blog -- not once, but twice!

Whatever the "right" resolution in any particular case -- and under some circumstances, I can imagine that blocking the path is the right thing to do -- I'd argue that most of these paved paths are *community* resources, not mere conveniences. They are there for a purpose, and they have been used for a long time for a reason. Both the neighborhood and the Municipality would be right to say so, and any particular homeowner who wants to throw up a gate or a fence or otherwise interfere with access should bear a very high burden of proving that use of the path causes some specific injury that can't be redressed in a different way.

Read all the comments if you like. They are still there. I'm not interested in archiving them here, but you can if you want to do so;)

But why should I care? First, I consider Mike to be part of my blogging community, which I highly value. He didn't ask me to do anything. I merely read his post at Pittsblog and I felt compelled to act. Second, I want to defend the kind of communal discourse that blogging generates. To help you understand what I mean, I quote a part of Alexander Solzhenitsyn's Nobel Lecture:

More important, much more important: countries and whole continents belatedly repeat each other's mistakes, sometimes after centuries when, it would seem, everything should be so clear! No: what some nations have gone through, thought through, and rejected, suddenly seems to be the latest word in other nations. Here too the only substitute for what we ourselves have not experienced is art and literature. They have the marvelous capacity of transmitting from one nation to another despite differences in language, customs, and social structure--practical experience, the harsh national experience of many decades never tasted by the other nation. Sometimes this may save a whole nation from what is a dangerous or mistaken or plainly disastrous path, thus lessening the twists and turns of human history.

I'm serious when I write that to art and literature we can add blogging. For the lie cannot survive in the light of transparency. What I hope my post demonstrates is that no one can sweep the truth under the rug in the blogosphere.

J'Burgh Connectivity

Yesterday, I abused Rabbi Seth Goren's ear for almost two hours. Rabbi Goren is the director of J'Burgh and he's attempting to better network Pittsburgh's Jewish twentysomething demographic. You could find out about the activities by subscribing to his e-newsletter. For example, a night kayak trip is planned for October 9th:

We're slated to have night kayaking on the evening of October 9th at 5:30 p.m. Here are the details:

· Format of Trip:
We will meet under the Clemente Bridge (North Shore) at Kayak Pittsburgh with a round of introductions and brief discussion. Before we can paddle we will discuss and practice: water safety, paddling techniques, entering and exiting a kayak. As we strap on our life jackets and grab the paddles, we'll prepare ourselves for the adventure that lies ahead. We will spend a little time getting comfortable paddling from the starting point. Then we will paddle up the Allegheny River as time permits. Then we will enjoy a leisurely paddle back down the river to Kayak Pittsburgh. Along the way expect beautiful views and lively conversation. The trip will last 1-2 hours.

· Equipment/Rental Info:
All life jackets, paddles, kayaks, and guide(s) will be provided. You must wear a life jacket the whole time you are in a boat with Venture Outdoors.

· Bathroom Facilities:
Bathroom facilities will be available at Kayak Pittsburgh, under the bridge.

· Clothing List:
All trips require you to bring and wear the appropriate clothing listed below. All participants should bring some type of filled water bottle. A small, reusable plastic drink container (Gatorade, juice, etc) with a sturdy lid works great!

KAYAKING:
What you wear on the river could get wet.
* Sweatshirt and/or rain jacket/windbreaker in case of inclement weather
* Swimsuit, Shorts, or Pants
* T-shirt
* Water Shoes/Sandals/Old Sneakers (required) - Shoes must be worn the whole time to protect from such hazards as fish hooks. They should be able to stay on your feet even while swimming (no flip-flop type shoes).
* Optional: Dry clothes to change into for the ride home; Towel

We discussed the upside of his efforts. I think J'Burgh has the potential to better acquaint non-natives with Greater Pittsburgh. The region has much more to offer graduate students than just Oakland and Squirrel Hill. Students who develop a deeper relationship with the city are more likely to stay or return after moving away to start a career. At the very least, they can tell members of their community at home or where they eventually live about the wonders of Pittsburgh.

Steelers Road Nation: Hollyburgh

Pittsburgh is strongly linked to Hollywood, a point Jim Wexell reinforces in today's blog post:

I left Phoenix on Monday morning for a 1 p.m. interview with Thomas Tull and Paul Sams in Hollywood. Tull produced “300” and “We Are Marshall”, among many other films; Sams has 11 No. 1 games in a row. They’re Hollywood wunderkinds, except I’m sure they despise the term. They’ve been brought together by Warner Brothers to work on a movie about Warlock’s rise to the top. That is the name of Sams’ games venture. The two weren’t as enthusiastic about the project until they realized each is a hard-core Steelers fan. Probably for that reason, neither of them is what I expected of Hollywood bigwigs. They had plenty of time for me and are down-to-earth people who live and die with each passing Sunday afternoon. Sams on Monday was enthusiastic and willing to help in any way. Tull is the same, but wasn’t over the Steelers’ loss to the Cardinals. He seemed pained by mine and Sams’ enthusiasm and lack of concern over the loss but said this is normal operating procedure for him and that he wouldn’t come out of the funk until the next game kicks off.

The Steelers connection can open a number of doors, though Mr. Wexell's road experience reminds me of the time I worked on the set of the movie Ethan Frome. Wherever I went, just dropping that I was working on a film seemed to write me a blank check for whatever I needed and people (in taciturn Vermont) were more than willing to talk with me. At times, developing social capital is remarkably easy.

Blogging Buffalo

Fix Buffalo Today has reached a conclusion of sorts, sending me back to the marketplace for a Buffalo-themed blog aligned with the efforts of the Burgh Diaspora. I started my search with the expected query, "Buffalo diaspora". One return detailed a bar experience in Baltimore that included the unexpected vision of hockey fans cheering on the Buffalo Sabres:

This was Fletcher's, at the corner of Bond and Aliceanna, a gathering place for Buffalo ex-patriots who, on this and every occasion the Buffalo Sabres and Bills play, assemble to drink Genesee and Labatt beer, gnaw on (what else) Buffalo wings and cheer for their heroes. When I was there, I estimated 80 to 100 people, all wearing Sabres blue and gold, such as Kim Perkins (left), a nurse, and Molly Clauss (right), a teacher. The place is owned by ex-Buffalo native Bryan Burkert (left), who, along with pal Rocco DiPietro (right), have supervised this calling together of the western New York state clan. Unfortunately for the Fletcher's crowd, the Sabres are down 2-0 to Ottawa in their NHL playoff series.

Interestingly, for the people who go to Fletcher's, the experience they share seems to go beyond the typical "ex-pats congregate in local sports bar" circumstance, say like Midwest snowbirds in Phoenix or Florida hanging out in a Chicago Bears saloon. This crowd is between 21 and 45, and most said they'd rather be back in Buffalo but many were forced to leave because of hard economic times back home. As a result, the educated young adult population of the Buffalo region is spread across the country.

A Sun colleague accurately described it as the "Buffalo diaspora."

"This is about more than sports," said the 39-year-old DiPietro, who owns Il Scalino's deli in Little Italy. "You want the Sabres to win for your parents and your grandparents back in Buffalo where there's not a lot (economically) going on. We'd all rather be home enjoying this but we're glad to be able to come together here. When you look at it, though, it's almost like we're in exile."

While I like to prattle on about the uniqueness of the Burgh Diaspora, the story about the Buffalo Diaspora makes me feel guilty of hubris. The postindustrial diaspora experience informs a region larger than just Pittsburgh.

Articulate Pittsburgh

Art-iculate, Pittsburgh's creative network for artists, is celebrating a successful first six months of existence:

Since its inception, Art-iculate; Pittsburgh Creative Network online has generated visitors from around the world. Each month, new unique visitors navigate to the site to see the latest in Southwestern Pennsylvania art. We are happy to announce that for the month of September the number of visitors reached 8,303, with 1,529 of those visitors being newcomers to the site. We anticipate that by this time next month, we will be well over 10,000 views!

We are now in the process of upgrading the Articulate website to better provide you with the vital visual art information that you desire; by broadening idea exchange we will strengthen the communication pallet of the art community in Southwestern Pennsylvania.

As demonstrated by the above demographics, we know that we have the opportunity to report on the accomplishments from our region and to build national (and international!) awareness of our art culture. We have already been called "The Most Livable City" and we are striving to make Pittsburgh a major Cultural destination as well. People are watching and interested, so let's give them something to talk about and ample reason to visit our galleries, museums, and studios!

Not only is the Articulate website helping to expand awareness of our region's art to the world, but it also benefits you by providing access to vital information that leads to networking, exciting openings and opportunities, all that can immediately benefit the regions' artists. Articulate serves as the premier online resource and centralized hub for artists, galleries, arts organizations, and the art-viewing public for the Southwestern Pennsylvania area. In addition we publish the Pittsburgh Gallery Guide, the guide to local galleries and museums in the Southwestern PA region. With your help, Articulate will be able to provide you with all the resources you need. Whether you are an art gallery, an artist, an art organization or an art patron, we are devoted to bringing Southwestern Pennsylvania Art to you.

The website's demographic data reveal a few surprises. The State of Washington comes in first, ahead of California and Pennsylvania, for the number of visitors during the month of September. There seems to be significant interest in Pittsburgh artists in Sweden. I don't have any theories to explain this geography, but it does suggest some connectivity opportunities.

However, I'm going to continue to push East Coast Connected's co-location model. The first step is to settle on the scope of the region we will network. I suggest a contiguous area, roughly a triangle that includes Greater Cleveland, Pittsburgh, and Buffalo. The partial states would be all of Western Pennsylvania, Maryland and New York, as well as Eastern Ohio and Northwestern West Virginia. This would be akin to ECC's economic development region of Atlantic Canada.

Toronto is unique in that the city is all things to Atlantic Canada. The relationship proposition is obvious and without equal. The connectivity map of what I would call the "Postindustrial Heartland" is much more complicated. For most artists in this region, New York City is the place. Given the proximity, Washington, DC is the location for young professionals to launch a career. The link to the Hollywood entertainment industry deserves mention thanks to the efforts of Carl Kurlander. Finally, the hub of entrepreneurial activity would appear to be Silicon Valley. Boston is another option, but what awareness I have suggests that the Bay Area as more important to Pittsburgh, as well as the other cities in the Postindustrial Heartland.

Whiskey Diaspora

Pittsburgh, despite Pennsylvania's absurd booze laws, is one of the better stops on an American beer road trip. Alcohol is big business and its regional expression is once again as diverse as the cultural mosaic that comprises these United States. The lager traditions of Germany and Eastern Europe dominate Pittsburgh's beer landscape, which makes the Belgian ale Mecca at Sharp Edge all the more curious.

Not to be outdone, the folks at Pittsburgh Wine Festival are throwing a whiskey party at Heinz Field on November 2nd. As most of you likely know, Pittsburgh's whiskey roots run deep:

The heritage and history of distilled spirits in America is fascinating, with many pivotal events and landmarks in this region, from The Whiskey Rebellion in 1794 to Pittsburgh's mark on The American Whiskey Trail. "Our region is so rich with whiskey heritage" says Max Miller, Managing Partner of Raise Your Spirits, a Sensory Experience Firm that provides customized interactions with luxury spirits and products. "Any exploration of the evolution of the whiskey industry, its migration from Europe, and its importance in American culture, invariably includes western Pennsylvania. We look forward to the Pittsburgh Whiskey Festival being an exciting and anticipated tradition for years to come."

The functioning whiskey region resides in Kentucky and Tennessee. Pittsburgh's significance is historical, but that could change as the city rediscovers its past and embraces its identity.

Philanthropy Diaspora

I'm a big fan of Pittsburgh Quarterly, a relative newcomer to the Burgh magazine scene. For the sake of transparency, I've met editor Doug Heuck a few times and I consider to him to be part of the project to network the Burgh Diaspora. So, I have a vested interest in seeing his magazine do well. However, I can also honestly say that I've admired Pittsburgh Quarterly long before we exchanged business cards. Mr. Heuck looks forward with great visions for the Pittsburgh region. Every story, and even every advertisement, moves Southwestern Pennsylvania in this direction. The magazine mines the best of the past in order to imagine a better future. With all the energy each issue brings to my household, I have a hard time keeping my optimism in check.

The latest offering is no exception. The subject of the regular column, The Observer, fits in with my Monday deluge of blog posts. Pittsburgh's tradition of philanthropy is not a relic to be taken for granted. Instead, it is a global brand that could define the city's next era of success:

There lies the opportunity for Pittsburgh. What city is better poised to become the headquarters of that international industry than Pittsburgh? It was here that the modern philanthropy began with Carnegie and his famous thought that "He who dies rich, dies disgraced." It is here that philanthropy has grown and flourished more than anywhere else - some 100 years later, we remain No. 2 in philanthropic assets per capita, behind Seattle with its Gates-Buffett philanthropic merger.

Like philanthropy, the Burgh Diaspora is an under-appreciated asset. There are many others beyond those two. Read Pittsburgh Quarterly and rediscover what they are.

Edit: A recent Thomas Barnett blog post reminds me that one of the feature stories in this issue of Pittsburgh Quarterly covers Pittsburgh's business with China. What is the philanthropy angle?

While foreign charities are officially banned from soliciting charitable donations in mainland China, some large U.S. nonprofits are sniffing out ways to catch the new philanthropists’ money. The University of California, for example, has established a fund-raising arm in Hong Kong, which operates under different laws from the mainland. However, foreign charities need to tread carefully around China’s different approaches to philanthropy. The government is wary of giving too much financial and political independence to nonprofits, even if it has gingerly embraced them as a way to fight the nation’s widespread poverty—about 10% of Chinese people live on less than $1 a day. Mr. Wilhelm says there are about 340,000 nonprofit groups in China, although he says estimates run as high as two million.

Philanthropy is a growth industry and Pittsburgh should be a global player.

American Geography of Young Professionals

The latest twentysomethings installment from the Wall Street Journal starts off with a Pitt graduate who wanted to stay in the region, but ended up in Atlanta:

In the weeks before he graduated from the University of Pittsburgh in 2005 Chris Valasek eagerly hunted for a local computer science job nearby. The avid Steelers fan had always wanted work near his hometown.

But in job interviews he was told over and over again that he needed more work experience. He wound up taking an offer from a technology company in Atlanta.

Nearly two years later, Mr. Valasek has grown attached to the city's lively neighborhoods and soul food, as well as his job in the city as a researcher at IBM Internet Security Systems. He plans on staying for a few more years -- though he admits he won't be rooting for the Falcons this season.

Before you get too despondent, consider the second subject of the article:

Allison Blakely, a 24-year-old graduate of Northwestern University and a Colorado native, moved to Atlanta in October 2005 from Chicago. She picked the city over a job offer in New York and is now making $45,000 a year as a weekend producer at CNN. Ms. Blakely says she wasn't ready for the hustle of Manhattan and her salary probably wouldn't have covered the exorbitant rents.

Do you see a common thread between the two migrants? First, Ms. Blakely didn't return to Colorado after graduation. She didn't stay in Chicago, either. Neither twentysomething stayed in the area where they went to university. Neither twentysomething worked near his or her hometown. Second, both twentysomethings were looking for more than a better salary in Atlanta. Other factors, such as quality of living, weighed on the choice of location.

The third case study further complicates why young professionals choose one place over another:

Samantha Williams, a 23-year-old Georgetown University graduate, who studied history, says she sees Atlanta as a launching pad for the bigger cities. She came here in September 2006 and quickly secured a job as a program specialist at Communities in Schools of Atlanta Inc., a nonprofit working to reduce school drop-out rates.

I don't think we gain much by looking at Pittsburgh and Atlanta through the lens of "have or have not." How does Pittsburgh fit into the geography of young professionals? Pittsburgh is a wonderful place to pursue your college degree, which makes it a "launching pad" of sorts. It is also a relatively inexpensive place to live, which Ms. Blakely notes is a strong draw. I've long been an advocate of playing to Pittsburgh's strengths, which contrary to some critics of the region, does provide a competitive advantage.

Migration, Income and Pittsburgh

Colleen Paulson connects low wages in Pittsburgh with the out-migration of young adults in this Sunday's Post-Gazette:

As a region, we have wondered why our young people continue to leave the area, and we have explored many ways to encourage them to stay. However, maybe the problem is that we expect our highly skilled workforce to take a pay cut in order to remain in Pittsburgh -- in effect, to pay a "Pittsburgh tax."

I'll take the high road this time and forego the assumption that Ms. Paulson is suggesting that the solution to the out-migration "problem" is a higher wage. The explicit message is that the pay in the Pittsburgh region is not competitive, but people are willing to work for less in order to live there. The conclusion is that young people, more so than older adults, use an economic rationale to make a location decision.

Richard Florida provides the counter-narrative to Ms. Paulson's migration model. Take Tucson's brain drain as an example. Dr. Florida is mindful of the attraction of better income, but that's not the whole story:

"What we're looking for is communities to build on the creativity of everyone," Florida said. "It's about making your place an exciting place to live. It's a people climate - a sweet spot in the middle that is affordable."

There is an important social variable to consider when you predict the migration of the 20-something demographic that both Pittsburgh and Tucson would like to capture. If you know a young adult trying to make it in New York City, you understand what Dr. Florida is describing. Young adults pay a similar "tax" to live in cool and creative places. This is why the world is spiky.

Ms. Paulson should consider why college graduates leave Pittsburgh in order to take an unpaid internship in Washington, DC.

Steelers Road Nation: Unknown Legend

The loss to the Arizona Cardinals is already in Jim Wexell's rearview mirror:

As someone pulling for the Steelers, I wasn't too upset by the loss. I figure that if they'd have won, they'd have been upset by avenging Seattle next Sunday; but since they lost they'll be focused and will beat Seattle. By my math, the Steelers are on track for a 4-1 start either way. That's why I was happy for Russ Grimm. I visited his post-game tailgate party outside the stadium. I congratulated Sean Morey, Kevin Spencer, Ken Whisenhunt and Grimm in that order. Whisenhunt was happy to see me, but reverted to head coach when I asked him if it was an emotional week. He has to be the man in charge of keeping an even keel and he did that. Grimm allowed me to turn on my recorder for an interview for the book. He told a friend he'd circled the game, but for the record told me that he really hadn't. His happy green eyes said otherwise.

For the Burgh Diaspora, there is only one team, the Pittsburgh Steelers. However, the Arizona Cardinals are emblematic of the migratory pattern of Western Pennsylvania. Russ Grimm, already a boomeranger, needed to leave the region once again in order to take the next step in his career. While he coaches for the wrong team, he's still a member of our Diaspora family.

Steelers Nation: Charlotte

Steelers Nation is hungover today thanks to its team crashing to earth in Phoenix. This football season doesn't feel all that "special" this morning, but there is always next Sunday. While I lack the motivation after a loss, I still have Burgh Diaspora business to chronicle. I'm returning to Charlotte, where everyone is from somewhere else:

We don't have a lot of any one thing, but we've got a little bit of everything. You want a great comic-book store? We've got that. You want Ethiopian food? We've got that. You want a sports bar where Pittsburgh Steelers fans gather on Sunday? We've got that.

Some people look at Charlotte, with all this chrome and glass uptown, all these sprawling suburbs, all this relentless growth, and they decide that we are a city without a soul.

We do have a soul. Our problem -- and our great strength -- is that our soul looks different every time you look at it.

I appreciate the author's understanding of a problem and a strength as two sides of the same coin. Pittsburgh's soul is the same no matter from where and when you look at it. I think the problems with this stable identity are apparent. Pittsburgh is risk averse and the region is struggling to create jobs. The flip side of stability is stagnation.

In order to thrive, does Pittsburgh need to be more like Charlotte? The Burgh Diaspora project is an exploration of the benefits of Pittsburgh staying as is. The strong sense of identity that expatriates possess allows them to thrive in highly dynamic environments such as Charlotte. Boomtowns lack such assets. Charlotte Nation doesn't exist.

Steelers Nation: Ft. Lauderdale

This season, something special may be brewing. Steelers Nation receives attention every year, but awareness seems prematurely heightened. A new head coach and a 3-0 start don't hurt, but if the Steelers go into the bye week undefeated then I would expect the coverage to go to another level. I hope you don't mind, but that will mean more of this type of blog post.

For example, a journalist (Heather McCalla) working for the South Florida Sun-Sentinel was working the local Steelers bar beat:

I have to admit, there is a contagious energy at the place, which has come full circle. After more than a decade as a stomping ground for Pittsburgh transplants, East Side Pub was sold and transformed into a gay nightclub that floundered. Last November, it was resurrected as home to the Steeler Nation.

"We're glad to be back! This is home for us," says Sue Johnson, who frequented the original East Side Pub with friends. "And we got our table back! We always have this table ... I call every Sunday at 11 and tell them how many chairs to have for us."

Steeler fans here are not shy about how they feel. Many flaunt the team's symbol tattooed on various spots on their body. Samantha Franconeri, a teacher from Wilton Manors, shows her team spirit with sandals she made from a Steeler blanket. Fort Lauderdale resident Karen Wichman says her family portrait shows everyone in Steeler outfits.

"The minute I found out about the bar, I walked in and knew I was home," Wichman says. "In Pittsburgh, you grow up on football. It's in your blood; no matter where you move to you can't get away from it."

If the Steelers keep winning, I'll find more and more stories just like Ms. McCalla's. I'll be able to add greater detail to my map of the Burgh Diaspora. For me, the stories never get old. If you are not a fan of the Steelers, this obsession must be annoying. You should try watching a game at a Steelers bar. I think you would understand why I think that the Burgh Diaspora is such a powerful force.

Ode to Steelers Nation

Boomerang migrant Holly Brubach wrote a guest op-ed piece about Steelers Nation for the New York Times. Over the next week, that newspaper will gain a good idea of the size of the Burgh Diaspora. If you are reading this blog post, I'd bet that Ms. Brubach's story will end up in your inbox a number of times from a variety of contacts. So, I needn't make you aware of a diaspora tale that you might have missed. What I would like to highlight is, in my estimation, a significant observation:

It occurs to me now that the experience of hunkering down with fellow Steeler fans in Manhattan or Rochester or Toronto or San Francisco is a lot like celebrating Thanksgiving and the Fourth of July with other American expatriates during the years when I lived abroad. They were, for the most part, people I never would have met back home. We shared few, if any, interests; we worked in fields that were unrelated. The bonds we formed were based on solidarity — not a flag-waving patriotism but an awareness of our similarities, inherent and deep, which in the moment outweighed our differences. Those were among the best holidays I ever spent, still vivid in memory.

It’s not that you can’t go home again, but that once you get there, chances are you’ll wish you were somewhere else when football season rolls around. Maybe it takes someone whose sense of home has been intensified by distance to understand the logic in leaving Pittsburgh to watch a Steeler game. I’ve already booked my flights.

If you've read any postcolonial literature from authors such as Salman Rushdie or Jhumpa Lahiri, you should recognize the theme. The diaspora experience engenders a dual or divided sense of place. Pittsburgh no longer feels quite like home. Instead, your neighborhood and family are located at the various Steelers bars scattered around the world. Steelers Nation is Pittsburgh's alter ego.

Ironically, Ms. Brubach has to leave Pittsburgh to go home. Yet, once at the neighborhood bar, she will share a longing for the Burgh with the other fans there watching the game. To be a member of the Burgh Diaspora is to live in a kind of limbo. More importantly, Pittsburghers are coming together in a way that would never happen back in the place where they were born. And that's why I think that the Burgh Diaspora will be the group to build New Pittsburgh, ushering in another golden era.

Erie's Talent Crunch

Outside Erie cites an article in the Erie Times-News about a local labor shortage. I'm struggling to understand why regions are framing this problem as both a lack of local talent and non-competitive wages. I did discover another piece to this labor mobility puzzle:

When GE Transportation advertised for manufacturing jobs early this year, about 5,000 applications were filed for 100 jobs.

The story was different when the company went looking for engineers, GE Transportation Chief Executive John Dineen said earlier this year.

"I needed 100 engineers, and I could only find 10 in Erie," he said. "We have to find them elsewhere."

First, there is evidence of an over-supply of manufacturing labor. But where are the engineers? The problem is that local talent isn't in step with local demand. As a result, Erie-based business must import expertise. Waiting for the retraining of locals is inefficient.

Another issue is the cost of labor. The story lurking below the surface is the ceiling on wages for businesses that compete in a global marketplace. They cannot afford to offer more money in order to attract the talent they need. One solution is business assuming the task of training, hiring under-qualified workers who fit better into the wage structure. This approach highlights the indirect subsidy that labor and the community typically shoulder, education.

I would guess that the cheapest solution for Erie is to subsidize the importing of needed talent.

ROI Pittsburgh

Bill Toland's latest Diaspora Report is up in today's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. I hope the newspaper will offer a fixed url for Mr. Toland's column. The interviewee is Matthew Kleinrock, a boomerang migrant who attended Pitt before transferring to the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, VA. After graduating, Mr. Kleinrock stayed in the DC area given the ample job opportunities in that region. He would later return to Pittsburgh searching for something he found lacking in Washington, DC:

If you've never been here, and you hear "Pittsburgh," you might think that it's not the best place. It was a challenge to get me to come visit Pitt when I was looking at colleges. But once I came here, I found the city to be full of good, accessible people.

Here, you can be part of a community and make a difference. In D.C., there really wasn't a sense of community because everyone is so transient. Here, you have the power to make things happen. People actually live here -- they don't just reside here -- and overwhelmingly, Pittsburghers are the best people I've met.

I want to emphasize that the Pittsburgh-DC connection is a two-way street and that Mr. Kleinrock's migration back to the Burgh is not uncommon. However, is his reason for returning representative of the talent flow? He suggests that the quality of life is the main attraction, but that this asset is relatively unknown.

Pittsburgh does a great job of attracting student who graduated from a high school outside of Pennsylvania. Attending university in the city is likely the out-of-state student's first significant exposure to Pittsburgh. We should surrender to their inevitable out-migration, but then help them get the word out about the advantages of Burgh living. Mr. Kleinrock is a good example of chain migration working for Pittsburgh.

Steelers Road Nation: Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere

Jim Wexell is in Phoenix for the game against the Arizona Cardinals. Mr. Wexell has a full slate today after sailing across America's flat, big empty:

West Texas is hard scrabble, boy, but the roads are well kept and the speed limit is 80, so we were able to knock off the toughest part of the journey in one day.

That didn't help me get any quality work done, though, so today's the day I get back to my interviews. I'm heading out to Arizona State to talk to Marvel Smith's college position coach and will also talk with a scout about the guy who's anchoring the Steelers' line. Then it's off to talk to a Phoenix resident who's had Steelers season tickets since 1970, and then a hard-core Cowboys fan, a hard-core Raiders fan, a bar owner who has the audacity to drape his place in a "You're in Steelers Country" banner, and then I'll place a few out-of-town calls, including one to the "gatekeeper" in Chapel Hill. As Dale Lolley wrote, Willie Parker has to be considered among the elite NFL running backs these days, so he should be honored in Chapel Hill. I'll find out if that's been changed since I've been there.

The Phoenix area is one of the strongholds for the Burgh Diaspora. The new stadium and some emerging stars have enticed many more residents to take an interest in the Cardinals, but I expect an impressive showing of Steelers Nation at the game.

Boomerang Buffalo

What is Buffalo doing to entice expatriates to move back? Turns out, the city is doing quite a bit. But the successes are much more about the quality of boomerang migrants, than the quantity:

“It was my will that led me to bring the operation to Buffalo,” said Tim Godzich, a founder of Definity Health. The company was renamed United Healthcare after he and others sold it about three years ago for $305 million. “If I wasn’t from Buffalo . . . I probably would have brought the service center to North Dakota,” he said.

Together such former expatriates add up to a clutch of Western New Yorkers who overcame obstacles to return. They persuaded colleagues and bosses that Western New York is as smart a move as Boston. Though the corporate tax rate is a high 7.5 percent, office space averages $20 a square foot, which is a deal compared to respective rates of $26 and $63 for Philadelphia and Boston.

Concerning Pittsburgh, job creation is a big problem. I'd like to dig a grave and bury all the brain drain drama. Once I do that, the clamor to bring back the people who left the region should make less din. The same goes for the constant shrill about the people who leave. If they weren't going to increase employment opportunities, buy them a plane ticket to wherever they can find the best job.

I'll use Iowa as an example in order to clarify my point. Iowa Governor Chet Culver has convened the Generation Iowa Commission and they determined that student loan debt was pushing recent graduates out of the region. Once again, the looming shortage of skilled workers is cited as the main reason for action. Once again, I wonder why local businesses won't offer more money to fill open positions. When these jobs start opening up, more graduates will start staying in Iowa. Student loans aren't forcing graduates to leave.

Distance Decay and Steelers Nation

Buffalo is a shrinking city and the Bills, the local football team, are looking to Toronto for an increase in the fan base. The Steelers don't have a problem with their market because on-the-field success, not proximity, is what brings new fans into the fold:

As a 6-year-old franchise seeking its first winning season, Houston faces obstacles in building popularity in Mexico despite its proximity. Longtime success, more than geography, has dictated which franchises have the most fans there.

Of the two top teams in Mexico, one would be expected based on location, but the other wouldn't. The Cowboys and the Pittsburgh Steelers enjoy the largest followings, said Geraldina Gonzalez-Soberanes, NFL Mexico's senior manager for sponsorships and public relations. The passion for the clubs is often passed from one generation to the next.

On one hand, this anecdote about which NFL teams command the Mexican market share makes plain that Steelers Nation is bigger than the Burgh Diaspora. However, the other lesson is that proximity is not always the most important variable for predicting which team a fan follows. The Steelers are a global brand, while the City of Pittsburgh is more or less a local brand. One entity transcends geography, while the other is its prisoner.

Reconciling that disparity would be a good project for regional stakeholders.

Pirohi Diaspora

At university, I minored in Russian/East European studies. Despite my enhanced cultural awareness of that region of the world, a story about "pirohi" sent me on a Google search in order to pin down the exact meaning of the word that described what I understand to be "pierogies." If you don't already know, the term indicates Ukrainian heritage ("h" sound) as opposed to Russian influence ("g" sound). That bit of trivia out of the way, I introduce a most pressing issue:

"The food's my favorite part, and the fellowship's a close second," said Dave Gdovin, the president of the St. Michael's Church Council. "It waffles back and forth, depending on if I'm full or not."

While this columnist fell in love with the kobasy -- a synonym of kielbasa, a zesty Polish sausage -- the freshly made pirohi were undoubtedly the day's main attraction. Over 900 dozen pirohi were packed for the one-day festival, and Gdovin said he anticipated a sellout.

In the early evening, as hundreds of those pirohi were being devoured, Binghamton Mayor Matthew T. Ryan made a proclamation, officially declaring Msgr. Stephan Dutko the town's new Pirohi King.

While such a decree might seem frivolous, the pirohi business is a big deal in town. A promotion being run by prime pirohi producer Mrs. T's will soon declare the "Pirohi Capital of the World," and Binghamton will compete with cities like Buffalo, Pittsburgh and New York City, said Gdovin.

If you have ever attended a tailgate party at a Pittsburgh Steelers away game, you've seen kielbasa and pierogies. You wash all that down with Iron City, or some other representative lager. While Pittsburgh is known for putting fries in sandwiches and on salads, the local flavor is decidedly Eastern European. Not to ignore the other ethnic influences on the Burgh identity, but I doubt Pittsburgh would compete with other cities as the capital of the world for any kind of food other than "pirohi."

For me, no trip back to the Burgh is complete without a visit to Pierogies Plus in McKees Rocks. As for kielbasa, I love Parma's "kolbassi," which I assume is a type of kielbasa. But Parma is all about Italian food, so I might be wrong. I've read that "kolbassi is a Western PA thing" (according to beer aficionado Lew Bryson), but I'd appreciate if a reader of this blog would educate me as to the possible distinctions.

Steelers Nation: Indianapolis

A somewhat different interpretation of chronicling Steelers Nation, Michael Casker is crossing the country taking photographs of the Black and Gold faithful. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette is publishing the updates of his journey with writer Sean Barrett. The September 19th entry hails from Central Indiana:

Each week, Steelers fans gather at the Nickel Plate Bar and Grill, just outside Indianapolis in Fishers, Ind. Among these are Amy Burchfield, a 35-year-old native of Toronto, Ohio, and Jason Zanjeski, 33, originally from Weirton, W.Va. They now live in nearby Noblesville, Ind. The two met at Amy's cousin's wedding several years back and plan to marry Nov. 10 in Weirton. Each has a personalized Steeler jersey with his and her future last name on the back. Jason wears No. 11 and Amy No. 10 to acknowledge their upcoming wedding date.

"I let her wear the 10. It reminds me too much of the Kordell days," Jason says with a smile. Their dog Bobo wears a baby onesy Hines Ward jersey. Part of their wedding celebration includes tickets to the Browns game at Heinz Field in November.

Among the friends they've made at the Nickel Plate are Kurt Emmert, his wife and two children. In fact, Kurt, 35, of Anderson, Ind., may be one of the most passionate Steelers fans anywhere. Every day for the past 14 months he's worn some sort of Steelers apparel, and he also runs a Web site, www.indysteelers.com, established to help fans in the area stay connected.

What interested me about this particular report from the field is how the Pittsburgh Steelers help connect non-natives to the city. Mr. Emmert's experience is somewhat like my own. He's not a fan because he's from Pittsburgh. The great teams of the 1970s stretched the following well beyond the region, swelling the ranks of the Burgh Diaspora with people who did not claim Pittsburgh as their hometown.

Startup Diaspora

HELP (Helping Entrepreneurs Learn from Peers) Pittsburgh's Gary Rosensteel is attempting to make the opaque startup process a bit more transparent through a new website titled Help Startups. I would describe Help Startups as a catalogue of information about becoming an entrepreneur. Mr. Rosensteel, perhaps with some assistance from others in the know, has created a one-stop shop for business creation in Pittsburgh and nearby West Virginia. (Edit: Mr. Rosensteel informs me that West Virginia is not in the fold as of right now)

Help Startups has a Colleague Forum, which should be the most vital component of the website. I registered (username: globalburgh) and I hope to see a lot of activity there soon. Pittsburgh needs a stronger entrepreneurial community and culture. Providing links to all the necessary startup information won't accomplish that. If Mr. Rosensteel can cultivate some virtual social capital, he will have done Pittsburgh a great service.

Iron Chef Diaspora?

ART OLYMPIC THEATRE KICKS OFF OCTOBER 6th

Three teams of artists face off in sculpture challenge at New Hazlett Theater

PITTSBURGH, PA (September 25, 2007) – Look out Steelers, Pittsburgh's newest art event, Art Olympic Theatre, threatens to lure away some of your die hard fans with the action and excitement of competitive art making, arena style! On October 6th at 7:30pm, the New Hazlett Theater will host three teams of artists who will compete to build winning sculptures out of secret materials (read: junk to be unveiled at the event). The only supplies that the teams may bring with them to the challenge are the contents of one suitcase. Adding to the suspense of the evening is the arrival of Team West Virginia, led by WVU sculpture professor and artist Douglas Loewen. Tickets are $10.00 and will be available at the door.

Conceived by Tom Sarver of The Tom Museum, winner of the Mayor’s Award for Public Art, Art Olympic Theatre brings the drama and spontaneity of reality TV and sports straight to the public in the form of an arts event. Tom was particularly inspired by the Food Network cooking show Iron Chef while developing the idea. The October 6th event launches a series of Art Olympic Theatre events sponsored in part by a Seed Award from the Sprout Fund. Future events are planned for March and July of 2008.

Tom Sarver, Mike Cuccaro, Liz Hammond and Buddy Nutt will host the event, and conduct official Art Olympic Theatre opening and closing ceremonies. Music will be provided by DJ Mary Mack and Mr. & Mrs. Funky of Unfinished Symphonies. Judges for the event will include Heather Pesanti, Assistant Curator at The Carnegie Museum of Art; Mickey McManus, CEO of MAYA Design; Artist Thommy Conroy; and Karen Hartman from the Brew House Association. A pre-event fundraiser for The Tom Museum with special guest Mayor Luke Ravenstahl will take place from 6 – 7 PM in the lobby of the New Hazlett Theater. Admission to the fundraiser is $65.00. More information about Art Olympic Theatre can be found at www.tommuseum.com.

MEET THE TEAMS:

TEAM 1 (Pittsburgh)

Team Leader: Christopher Kardambikis

Team Members: Nicholas Hohman, John Brodski, Jairan Sadeghi

Chris Kardambikis is the co-director of Encyclopedia Destructica, a self-published and hand made book operation that presents sketchbook and journal work from artists and writers. Over a two year period he has overseen the creation of 13 books and helped to produce over 2000 individual copies. He was awarded Full Fellowship to the Vermont Studio Center and was a recipient of the Sprout Seed Award. Kardambikis has studied at the Lamar Dodd School of Art in Cortona, Italy, the CMU Inquiry and Vision Program in Sparta, Greece and holds a BFA from Carnegie Mellon University. Chris is best known in Pittsburgh for the development of Encyclopedia Destructica, a popular local zine that features the illustrations of local artists. Chris is a graduate of Carnegie Mellon University.

TEAM 2, "Self-es-Team" (Pittsburgh)

Team Leader: Morgan Cahn

Team Members: Caldwell Linkerbelle, Ange Gagnon, Teresa Martuccio

Multimedia artist Morgan Cahn skyrocketed into the Pittsburgh art scene in the past two years with shows at Brew House Space 101, the Mattress Factory (Gestures) and Future Tennant. Morgan completed the Brew House Distillery Program in the spring of 2007. Her colorful works include painting, drawing, sewing, sculpture, performance and video.

TEAM 3 (Morgantown, West Virginia)

Team Leader: Douglas Loewen

Team Members: Emily Walley, David Hale, Evan Thomas

Nationally exhibited artist Doug Loewen is best known for his kinetic installations and sculpture. He is currently teaching sculpture at West Virginia University.

# # #

EDITOR’S NOTES: The Tom Museum is an independent project of Tom Sarver in partnership with The Mattress Factory.

Sponsors for the event include Whole Foods, Pittsburgh City Paper, Penn Brewery, Big Burrito, Breadworks, The Gypsy Café, MyGoodies Bakery, The New Hazlett Theater and The Mattress Factory. The Tom Museum is supported by The Heinz Endowments and the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts. Art Olympic Theatre is sponsored in part by a Seed Award from The Sprout Fund.

The Sprout Fund is nonprofit organization supporting innovative ideas and grassroots community projects that are catalyzing change in Pittsburgh. Each of The Sprout Fund's programs, Seed Award and Public Art, is designed to advance a community initiative from idea through dialogue to implementation, creating a critical mass of activity for positive regional change. Sprout believes a vital component to building healthy and vibrant communities is civic engagement; serving those who demonstrate the drive and the capacity to think creatively about their communities.

The New Hazlett Theater is a non-profit organization, founded in 2004 with a mission to cultivate the arts and provide a venue for world class and neighborhood cultural events.

Creative Co-Location Pittsburgh

John Morris of Digging Pitt Gallery is putting on The Blogger Show:

In November, Digging Pitt will assemble work from artists whose common interest is in clarifying artistic discourse through their blogs. The Blogger Show will utilize several spaces in Pittsburgh and New York for the exhibits. All of the exhibits will take place between November 10, 2007 and January 12, 2008. Free and open to the public.

Mr. Morris appreciates the expanded concept of community that I preach about here at the Burgh Diaspora blog. He is an active facilitator of artist networks and I think he provides a good example of the importance of connectivity between Pittsburgh and New York City.

Steelers Road Nation: Roll on, Southern Pacific

On his way to watch the Steelers game at Casey Hampton's family home in Galveston, Texas, Jim Wexell found a little bit of Pittsburgh in Baton Rouge:

On Saturday morning I met with Uniontown native Jack Marucci. He’s the trainer at LSU and was on a tight schedule because the team hosted South Carolina that afternoon. Baton Rouge was hopping early but the insightful interview made the fight through traffic worthwhile. Marucci is a Steelers fan and he talked about how so many of the NFL scouts that pass through LSU have Western Pa. roots. He talked about Alan Faneca and Ryan Clark and also showed me the greatest collection of sports memorabilia I’ve seen. Jack has a Steelers helmet signed by the original Steel Curtain, among many of his other artifacts. He also makes bats for every Major League team, except the Pirates. Well, that used to be true until he recently sent a shipment to Freddy Sanchez. I’ll explain more in the book and talk about the “professional whiffle ball field” he has in his backyard. Jack also noted that LSU’s offensive coordinator and equipment manager are Steelers fans, mainly because of the way the team plays the game so remember that as you watch LSU’s offense. That makes the Tigers a team to root for in the national title hunt this season.

Those of you who subscribe to Steelers Digest, look for Mr. Wexell's story on his gameday experience in Galveston.

Youngstown Diaspora

One of my daily search queries is "Pittsburgh Diaspora." Today's results yield a blog post about Dr. Sherry Linkon's interview with Hunter Morrison, Youngstown's shrinking cities champion. Dr. Linkon comments on Morrison's ideas about Youngstown and a pan-regional economy:

Hunter predicts that the Cleveland/Youngstown/Pittsburgh corridor will become one large economic region, and because Youngstown is geographically central, we will play an important role as these cities learn to work together to promote development and do economic planning as a region. While I agree that the region is becoming a sort of megalopolis, and that does bring new money into the Mahoning Valley, I have doubts about whether it’s entirely a good thing. Do we want to be a bedroom community for people working in Cleveland, Pittsburgh, and Akron? How will that affect local workers and the local economy? If we become the meeting place for leaders from the big cities, will our needs and issues be heard? Hunter is enthusiastic that regionalism can help this area, and while I hope that’s true, I also have some doubts. Regional growth may be inevitable, but I think we need to be strategic about our role and our interests.

Seems to me the question isn't whether or not the developing megalopolis is a good thing for Youngstown. The question is what should be done about it. Dr. Linkon's perspective reminds me of the debate about globalization. Is globalization good or bad? Whatever your opinion on the matter, your region must still deal with economic integration.

One person's problem is another person's opportunity. I think that's the driving force behind the embrace of a shrinking city.

Steelers Road Nation: Born on the Bayou

Jim Wexell checks in from Steelers CB Ike Taylor's home. Searching the post for an interesting tease, I appreciate what Taylor's Uncle Herm had to say about Mr. Wexell's journey:

Then Herm got on a roll. He began talking about the media and how my trip around the Nation is special on more than one level. “You’ve been to the Ninth Ward. You’ve seen where Ike Taylor grew up. You’ve seen what those winds did to his high school. It don’t even have a football team anymore. You know how he bounces back. You know how Willie Parker bounces back. You’ve walked in their shoes. You know the people you’re writing about. You won’t be guessing when you get home, Mr. Jim. You won’t be writing about shadows. You know them. No, Mr. Jim, you’ve been called to do this work. It’s important work, and may God bless you.”

I expect Mr. Wexell's book will improve the sense of community for the Burgh Diaspora. Matters beyond the Pale of Pittsburgh become the concern of everyone in Steelers Nation.

Labor Market Geography

By way of an update to my "Captive Labor Pittsburgh" post, Utah's talent shortage is worse (and more complicated) than I previously realized:

Utah’s economy may be hot, but the job market is as tight as ever. Recruiters are doing all they can to woo top talent, but below-average wages, the lowest unemployment rate in the nation (2.6 percent) and unqualified workers are making it difficult to find the right fit.

What I'm struggling to understand is the "below-average" pay. I would figure that one way to attract talent is to offer more money than your competitor. Instead, the solution is to cultivate more talent in-state while promoting the high quality of life and low cost of living to outsiders. Will geographically mobile businesses leave Utah if salaries must rise in order to secure the necessary employees?

I realize that importing labor is expensive. Talent-in-demand can command more money and insist on the company picking up the tab for relocation. And as my previous post indicates, moving to a new place may be daunting. That said, young professionals across the country are making long distance journeys to find employment. The barriers to intellectual capital must be comparable in almost every region except...

With all of that in mind, why isn't Pittsburgh more competitive in luring talent-starved businesses?

"I'm Not From Here" Diaspora

The Wall Street Journal is running a series of articles on the American geography of young professionals. The most recent story is about the rise of Minneapolis/St. Paul as a hot destination for college graduates seeking jobs AND a high quality of living. However, not all residents welcome the recent influx of outsiders:

Newcomers also must confront the social hurdles of being a "transplant" -- a term widely used in Minnesota to describe outsiders. Adrienne LaPointe, a 29-year-old originally from Michigan, says she was warned that many Minnesotans spend their entire lives in the state, gleaning their social circles from as early as middle and high school.

"There are two separate social societies here: people who grew up in Minnesota and everybody else," she says. Undeterred, Ms. LaPointe joined more than 500 people who are part of a social-networking group started in the 1990s for non-natives called I'm Not From Here.

This social network has expanded to include organizations in Richmond (VA), Milwaukee (WI), Wichita (KS), New York City (NY), and St. Cloud (MN). If there is a city that epitomizes the need for such a group, it is Pittsburgh. And yes, I'm suggesting that some non-native Pittsburgher now living there should start one. If the new CEO of the Pittsburgh Technology Council (Audrey Russo) is looking for a few useful projects, creating an "I'm Not From Here" chapter in the city would be a great initiative that would help to re-orient the Council towards the outside.

Of course, I'd rather see Pittsburgh-centric social network develop. But I think the focus of such an organization should be to help young professionals relocate. I know this is blasphemy, but the Minneapolis experience details the need for such a geographic mobility service and I can't think of a better way to get the word out about the opportunities in Pittsburgh.

Steelers Road Nation: Georgia Satellites

Jim Wexell's latest entry includes comments about his interview with a good friend of WR Hines Ward, and a conversation with former Steelers LB Greg Lloyd. However, the Burgh Diaspora angle concerns a Steelers bar in Alabama:

As I’m typing this morning, we’re idling the RV at a rest stop just south of Montgomery, Alabama. We’re shooting for lunch at a Steelers bar in Mobile called Hero’s and hopefully I can talk to some fans. In Alabama, the football fans know passion, and I’m interested in finding one who understands that passion in both college and pro football today before we head to New Orleans.

I believe Mr. Wexell is referring to "Heroes" Sports Bar & Grill.

Captive Labor Pittsburgh

As we get closer to election time, politicians beat the brain drain drum more frequently. Ironically, at least from the Pittsburgh perspective, the resulting crisis is a tight labor market in states such as New Hampshire:

Michael Power of the state Workforce Opportunity Council, said the state does not have an unemployment problem, but rather a labor shortage. Employers are looking for educated and skilled workers. On its website, www.nhworks.org, the state provides a job match program, a list of training centers and educational facilities.

If Pittsburgh is experiencing brain drain, where is the local coverage detailing a similar problem with unfilled positions? On the contrary, the story is about people leaving the region because they can't find good employment. Pittsburgh is struggling to create enough jobs in order to meet the demand to live there.

The New Hampshire case makes plain the trouble with retaining talent that graduates locally. What the policymakers in that state should do is target places such as Pittsburgh (like what Utah is doing) where there is a glut of labor. Actually, I don't know if there are any other Pittsburghs out there in terms of an over-supply of workers that results in depressed wages.

Pittsburgh Green Drinks Does The Boomerang

Pittsburgh Green Drinks Event Announcement

TOMORROW: Friday, September 21st at Bossa Nova from 5:00pm to 9:00pm

Join us in the REMIX of Green Drinks Summer Edition at our new home in Downtown Pittsburgh with complimentary tapas sampling from 5:00 to 8:00!

Mary W. Wilson is a classic example of a boomerang Pittsburgher. She gladly left the declining milltown atmosphere in the 70's to pursue two degrees in biology with her eye on field work in much greener pastures. During return visits to family while studying or working in northern New York, southern Illinois, "deep south" Alabama and later in Florida, Wilson decided the hills and streams of western PA are the best place to hang your hat, so she's settled in the North Hills, vowing to never move again. Wilson works on environmental efforts as vocation ( Executive Director of Allegheny CleanWays) and avocation (Pine Creek Watershed Coalition, Pine Creek Land Conservation Trust and North Area Environmental Council) and is pleased to see a growing appreciation of the environment in the region.

Allegheny CleanWays is an independent 501(c)(3) affiliate of PA CleanWays, Inc. Allegheny CleanWays has worked for seven years to engage and empower people to eliminate illegal dumping and litter in the county. It works with several partnering organizations to operate the "Tireless Project" in which volunteers help remove debris from Pittsburgh's river banks, as well as conducting illegal dump cleanups and supporting litter cleanups throughout the county. With approximately 300 illegal dumps logged in the county, there is a lot of work to be done, and a continuous need for enthusiastic volunteers. This photo of a "Tireless Project" cleanup along the Allegheny River in Lawrenceville last Saturday demonstrates the power of amazing potential of volunteer power. To learn more, come to Green Drinks! If you can't make it, but still want to learn more, contact Mary W. Wilson at 412.381.1301.

Be sure to bring your friends and colleagues to have a couple of drinks with green folks like you - environmentalists, journalists, academics, elected officials, green builders, green business folks, health care professionals, doctors, chemists, developers, artists, students and just about anyone else who is interested a better Pittsburgh environment. Green Drinks is a social activity, so come enjoy an end-of-the-week drink with some really caring and talented people at Pittsburgh's green drink event.

Featuring GREEN spirits such as Rain Vodka, Bluecoat Gin, Bonterra Chardonnay Bonterra Cabernet, Peaks Organic Pale Ale Beer and/or Peaks Organic Nut Brown Beer AND the Treehugger-tini made with Rain Vodka.

Domestic Diasporas Diaspora

The diablog between GlobalErie and Burgh Diaspora continues. Mr. Panepento's posts generate a fair amount of comments, which are worth a read. The various perspectives look quite familiar to me.

Edit - One comment (13th from David VanAmberg) I think is particularly provocative and aligned with my approach to the Burgh Diaspora project:

Peter,

Allow me to make a point that has been apparent to me for 40 years. If company owners without roots in Erie have no interest in moving here, while people with roots here are looking for employment opportunities to move back, or choose to return upon retirement, why do we not want to strongly focus on communicating with the diaspora of Erie expatriates around the globe who have already succeeded (and there are many thousands) to:

1. Move or expand their business back to Erie,
2. Start a business in Erie, and/or
3. Invest in businesses in Erie?

They have the critical experience and global contacts in their fields of interest. Would we not have a much greater return on investment in business attraction by focusing on communicating with these people?

I truly appreciate reading the sincere and positive comments of the folks who participate in your discussion. Now how do we get the folks who have already succeeded in their careers and businesses, or who are ready to start their businesses to read this blog and participate in this discussion? It would be enlightening to hear their thoughts.

Think Big.
David