Articles

Earn one point for abating and developing a brownfield site, two for recycling 75% of construction waste, and another point for providing two preferred parking places for hybrid cars. Welcome to the environmentally friendly game of green building.

These and many other potential credits are based on a formalized system developed by the U.S. Green Building Council which awards those doing either new construction or renovation with Leadership in Energy and Environment Design (LEED) certification—in simplest terms, anointing it a “green building.” …

According to the 2000 census, Allegheny County residents spend an average of eight years and three months living in one house before moving to another. Not reflected in that number is a Pittsburgh phenomenon that can’t be ignored: the unusually large number of people who spend their childhood in a house, only to return to it years later to raise their own families there. For these people…

Jean Anne Hattler is taking the world by storm—and bringing all of her friends along!

CSA self-professed nocturnal person, Jean Anne Hattler sometimes is up late reading the travel section of the New York Times and scanning the internet for travel bargains. She recalls one she came across in 1994: “For $900 out of New York, you could ski for seven days in Cortina, Italy, with lodging at a great hotel that I had checked out, and breakfast and dinner daily. …

When the Pittsburgh International Airport opened in 1992, Anthony Dantry jokingly told his son, Jay, that he should open a hot dog stand there instead of continuing selling books because he would sell more of them. But Jay Dantry stuck to the book business and has, in fact, been “deliriously happy” ever since the day he started selling books on September 1, 1955. …

Rob Stephany, director of development for East Liberty Development, Inc. (ELDI), a local non-profit community development corporation, brings up an aerial photograph on his laptop. “The big picture for East Liberty is that there is an urban quality and fabric of a downtown. …

As the gift-giving season approaches, you can always count on books. No need to worry about size or color. Just find something of interest to that special someone on your list and you’ve got the perfect present. This year, as you make your list and check it twice, consider adding some local flavor to your selections. A number of area writers and illustrators have recently had their works published, and one of these books might be just the gift you’re looking for. Here are a few. …