WHY WASHINGTON DC IS NOT AS LIVABLE AS PITTSBURGH

By Tom Purcell

The folks at WalletHub finally got it right.

After using 50 key indicators of attractiveness to compare the 62 largest U.S. cities, you see, WalletHub’s analysts just reported that Pittsburgh, my home town, is the third best city to live in – whereas Washington, D.C., is 31st.

Their findings fly in the face of a handful of other recent livability reports that placed Washington well ahead of “flyover” cities such as Pittsburgh.

In February, for instance, U.S. News & World Report, which bills itself as the “global authority in rankings and consumer advice,” unveiled its “2017 100 Best Places to Live in the USA.” It ranked Washington near the top at No. 4, whereas Pittsburgh was at No. 58.

What a load of bunk.

It’s bunk because Washington isn’t a real city. It’s a giant, smog-filled metro parking lot of a region, propped up by an infusion of my hard-earned tax dollars and lobbying budgets, which fund D.C.’s chief industry: blather and B.S.

You want a real city? Come to Pittsburgh, where real people work in real jobs. Through our brawn and sweat, Pittsburghers mined the coal that fueled this nation and forged the steel that built the country and was central to winning World War II.

Pittsburgh, like dozens of other “flyover” cities,” is superior to Washington across multiple measures.

Take the cost of living. As tax dollars and lobbyist money have flooded Washington, housing costs have soared. If you aren’t making boatloads off government contracts or lobbying dollars, you can’t afford to live there.

But in Pittsburgh, where most people still earn money by working hard to produce something of tangible value, the cost of living is very manageable. You can pick up a nice three-bedroom ranch for under 200 grand – a house that would run you three times that cost in D.C.

Sure, Pittsburgh’s property taxes are among the highest in the nation, relative to our housing values anyhow, but this is a good thing. Our high property taxes and sales tax keep vast amounts of cash within the local region, where it is squandered through patronage and inefficiency. I favor any process that wastes tax dollars at the local level, rather than federal level.

Transportation is a lot more convenient in Pittsburgh. Sure, our roads are bad. In fact, some of our potholes are so large that, after thunderstorms, we’re forced to man them with lifeguards. But have you ever tried getting around in Washington? You can’t pick up a pint of milk at the convenience store without making a Mario Andretti foray onto a six-lane speedway.

We’re told that Washington has lots of wonderful cultural institutions, and that is true. Washington offers the Kennedy Center, the Smithsonian and many other wonderful places. It’s amazing what you can do with billions in donations from philanthropic organizations, as well as “donations” from hardworking taxpayers.

In Pittsburgh, we created our cultural institutions the old-fashioned way. Our philanthropists built fortunes on the back of the working man, then used the money to fund wonderful hospitals, universities, the famous Carnegie library system, and lavish arts centers and clubs, so the elite would have places to go during happy hours.

In any event, as WalletHub’s analysts compared affordability, economic conditions, education and health, safety, and quality of life among U.S. cities, it became clear that mid-sized Pittsburgh has charms that trump those available in D.C.

It’s about time somebody finally got one of these annual best-places-to-live surveys right.

Evansville Law Library Gets A New Librarian

Marilyn Odendahl for www.theindianalawyer.com

Even as legal research materials continue to migrate to online platforms, the Evansville legal community has rallied to save its county law library.

The future of the William H. Miller Law Library, which dates back to the early 1900s, was in doubt after its longtime librarian Helen Reed died unexpectedly in the spring. Data kept by Reed showed lawyers were no longer using the library as they once had but when closure became an option, they advocated to keep the venue open.

Last week, the Vanderburgh Law Library Foundation board assured the facility will continue by hiring Kathleen Weston as the new librarian. Her first day will be Sept. 5.

“I’m very excited to see where this goes,” said foundation board president Yvette LaPlante.

In researching all that Reed had been doing, the board realized the late librarian was providing tremendous assistance to the pro se litigants who were coming to the law library. Weston is expected to continue that role so along with being the librarian, she will also carry the title of pro se coordinator. She will help unrepresented parties find the materials they need and direct them to local attorneys as well as legal aid services who can offer advice and representation.

Pro se coordinators were among the proposals put forth in 2016 by the Indiana State Bar Association’s Future of the Provision of Legal Services Committee. Describing the rise in unrepresented litigants a crisis, the committee recommended coordinators either be attorneys or certified legal interns and be available in the courthouses to help the pro se parties navigate the system.

Weston is not an attorney or a paralegal but she has experience working in student law clinics. From 1998 to 2005, she was the law clinics administrator at William Mitchell College of Law (which has since become Mitchell Hamline School of Law) and from 2005 to 2012, she was the law clinics office administrator at the University of Minnesota.

A native of Evansville, Weston is currently a library assistant at the Willard Library in Evansville and will complete her master of library science degree in 2018.

To determine the future of the law library, the foundation surveyed those who used the library and members of the legal community. Also, it held a public meeting to solicit more feedback.

The foundation board learned the community considered the law library a valuable resource. “I was really surprised at the number of attorneys who said, ‘I don’t use (the library) but we can’t close it,’” LaPlante said. The lawyers view the facility as helping not only the general public but also the legal community.

Through the outreach effort, the foundation board may also have identified some partners for future initiatives. The Volunteer Lawyer Program of Southwestern Indiana expressed an interest in holding a monthly clinic at the law library for pro se litigants and the pre-law and political science programs at the University of Southern Indiana want to explore ways they can work with the library.

Funding for the law library will continue to come from the Vanderburgh Circuit Court and the library foundation.

The law library, located in the City-County Courts Building in Evansville, is a non-circulating library with a collection of about 22,000 volumes and another 6,000 volumes on microfiche. Some online resources are also available.

Governor Eric J. Holcomb, Commissioner for Workforce Development (DWD) Steve Braun, Commissioner for Higher Education (CHE) Teresa Lubbers, and Secretary of Career Connections and Talent Blair Milo today kicked off Indiana’s Next Level Jobs initiative and announced two new grant programs designed to put Hoosiers to work in high-demand, high-wage jobs as quickly as possible. The Workforce Ready Grant, created earlier this year by the Indiana General Assembly, will skill-up adults to fill jobs in high-demand industries. The Employer Training Grant, developed by the Indiana Department of Workforce Development, will help offset the costs employers assume when they train new employees in high-demand industries.

Together, these programs provide more than $20 million over the next two years for Hoosiers and employers for training and certifications that help Indiana meet current workforce demand. Applications for both grant programs are available at NextLevelJobs.org.

“Indiana’s unemployment rate has reached historic lows, and we currently have about 95,000 job openings around the state. Now more than ever, our state needs to ramp up efforts to prepare Hoosiers for the jobs available today—and for the one million more we expect over the next decade,” Gov. Holcomb said. “Next Level Jobs will drive our efforts to meet that demand and will put hardworking Hoosiers in high-need, high-wage careers.”

The Workforce Ready Grant was a key component of the governor’s Next Level legislative agenda and earned bipartisan support from lawmakers. The grant covers full tuition costs for adult learners to earn career certificates in high-growth sectors of Indiana’s economy: advanced manufacturing, building and construction, health and life sciences, IT and business services, and transportation and logistics. Hoosiers can earn these certificates through Ivy Tech Community College or Vincennes University campuses around the state. The first two years of the grants will be paid for through $4 million provided by the General Assembly plus more than $10 million CHE financial aid funds.

“The Workforce Ready Grant removes a key barrier for adult students to get the skills they need for a better-paying job in some of our state’s most in-demand industries,” Commissioner Lubbers said. “This grant launches the Next Level Jobs initiative with a powerful opportunity to improve Hoosiers’ lives and boost Indiana’s economy.”

The Employer Training Grant program will provide up to $2,500 per new employee to qualifying companies that train and retain new hires.  DWD will launch a pilot of the grant for 2018 and 2019, paid for with $10 million in Career and Technical Education Innovation and Advancement Funds. The Employer Training Grant also targets key high-demand industries: advanced manufacturing, agriculture, building and construction, health and life sciences, IT and business services, and transportation and logistics.

“Helping Indiana companies offset the costs of training for new employees they retain in high-demand fields will help meet immediate workforce needs in our state,” Commissioner Braun said. “Together with the Workforce Ready Grant, the Employer Training Grant will get Indiana’s Next Level Jobs Initiative off to a strong start.”

Indiana’s first Secretary of Career Connections and Talent Blair Milo helped kick-off Next Level Jobs today and will support the initiative by ensuring that Hoosiers are connected with these new grants and other programs available through the state. Additionally, Secretary Milo will ensure that employers are connected to the many postsecondary institutions, organizations and state programs that can help meet workforce demands.

“Connecting business leaders and employees will continue to be a key focus as workforce demands grow, as baby boomers retire and our economy expands and diversifies,” Secretary Milo said. “Next Level Jobs presents a streamlined way for Hoosiers and employers to access state resources and programs that help address our workforce needs.”

Short, simple applications for both the Workforce Ready and Employer grants are available online now at www.NextLevelJobs.org. After submitting an application, Hoosiers and employer applicants will receive individualized contact from DWD or an eligible training provider within 48 hours.