Some noteworthy correspondence to our email inbox from two astute readers and an equally astute observer:
One appreciated the “reason” that our recent Policy Brief (Vol. 24, No. 42) and its supporting op-ed added to the discussion about a downtown Pittsburgh redevelopment plan:
“What I find ironic is when Downtown was at its peak, and all the department stores and movie theaters were open, no one actually lived there.
“Probably due to industrialization and topology, it was decided that all the luxurious apartment buildings (which you normally find in major Northeastern cities) would be built in the East End, and all the brownstones and townhouses (which you would also find in cities like Boston and New York) would be built on the North Side around the [Allegheny] Commons.
“Where Downtown seems to excel now is as a regional leisure and hospitality destination (cultural district, sports and concert venues, bars, restaurants and hotels) which would explain the recent above-trend employment growth in that sector.
“We need hotels for tourists; apartments for residents, not so much.”
Regarding Allegheny County’s recently approved massive property tax hike, another reader brought the city into the fray:
“How does the City Council think it’s going to attract more residents into downtown Pittsburgh — or retain the current residents living Downtown — with a 36 percent [county property] tax increase?”
Excellent point.
Regarding American Airlines’ (AA) restoration of direct Pittsburgh-to-Los Angeles flights (AA scuttled those flights in 2017), one wry chronicler of the passing scene noted (with ample whimsy implied):
“It’s quite the Christmas miracle that [Pittsburgh International (PIT)] landed a significant flight without paying for it.”
That’s a reference to the millions of dollars in subsidies that the Allegheny County Airport Authority long has dubiously shelled out to numerous airlines for numerous routes.
We don’t know about a “Christmas miracle.” Rather we’d like to think that the Allegheny Institute’s constant, and scholarly, opposition to such a misguided practice finally struck a nerve with Airport Authority types.
As an aside, wrote one reader/commentator at the bottom of the Post-Gazette’s story on the AA flights (set to resume April 4): “Take that Colin McNickel (sic) !!!”
Take what, at least the appearance of a return to a modicum of subsidy sanity?
Gladly.
Colin McNickle is communications and marketing director at the Allegheny Institute for Public Policy (cmcnickle@alleghenyinstitute.org).
