Pittsburgh used to be one of the dirtiest cities in the world. With its coal-burning steel plants and petroleum refineries, the air in Pittsburgh was so dirty the street lights often ran during the day! Now, Pittsburgh is changing its reputation. A city once dominated by fossil fuels is now among the leaders in green technologies. Companies formerly dependent on mining and burning coal for energy are now switching to wind and solar power. They still have a way to go, but the results, both environmentally and economically, are starting to show.

Because of its history and its ties to energy (both clean and dirty), Pittsburgh was the site of this year's Power Shift conference. Ten thousand youth leaders all focused on taking action against global climate change, fracking, Keystone XL and more gathered to hear speeches from Bill McKibben of 350.org, Gasland director/writer Josh Fox, and Michael Brune of the Sierra Club, among others. They also attended seminars, received leadership training and networked with like-minded activists.

The Great March for Climate Action's own youth leader, Marcher Director Zach Heffernen and a team of hard-working volunteers, recruited 60 new marchers while participating in the conference!

This changes the roster and profile of marchers significantly. Thirty-two states and Washington, D.C. are now represented along with three foreign countries. California was the state with the second most marchers, now they're in fifth. The bulk of the marchers are now in their twenties.

So our marcher community is now, perhaps, much like Pittsburgh: growing, changing and developing for the better.

-Dave Murphy, Communications Director

The Great March for Climate Action

After producing five acclaimed plays, one of them a world premiere, during the company's first 13 months, Davenport's QC Theatre Workshop is set to stage its first musical with the debuting Last Call: The Songs of Stephen Sondheim.

Running Friday, November 1, through Sunday, November 17 at the QC Theatre Workshop (1730 Wilkes Avenue, Davenport), Last Call is an original revue of songs featuring lyrics and/or music by the legendary Sondheim, the winner of eight Tony Awards, eight Grammy Awards, an Academy Award, and the Pulitzer Prize for 1985's Sunday in the Park with George. Lauded for such classic works as Sweeney Todd, Into the Woods, A Little Night Music, Company, and numerous others, Sondheim has been described by the New York Times as "the greatest and perhaps best-known artist in the American musical theatre," and according to Last Call's producer and music director Tyson Danner, consequently seemed like the perfect artist to celebrate in the Workshop's first musical endeavor.

"While our first season consisted entirely of plays," says Danner, who also serves as his company's Artistic Director, "we at the Workshop have been looking forward to presenting a musical that would highlight the vast talents of Quad Cities singers. And when we had the idea of producing a revue, it only made sense to feature the songs of one of the kings of the modern musical."

Created by Danner and director Mike Schulz, Last Call features performances of more than two dozen numbers from Sondheim's musical canon - songs ranging from Dick Tracy's Oscar-winning "Sooner or Later" to Company's well-known "Ladies Who Lunch" to the rarely heard "Take Me to the World" from the 1966 TV-movie Evening Primrose.

Yet the show also weaves its songs together in the form of a mostly dialogue-free narrative (conceived by Danner and Schulz) set in a hotel bar, with a group of spouses, lovers, friends, and strangers crossing paths, reminiscing, and falling in and out of love over the course of Last Call's 90-minute running length.

Says Danner, "It's a testament to Sondheim's brilliant songwriting that each of these numbers can be interpreted in so many ways. Out of hundreds of possibilities, we chose the songs that played to our actors' greatest strengths, and they've had a blast approaching the material in different contexts."

Featured among Last Call's cast are: Erin Churchill (Circa '21's Irving Berlin's White Christmas, the District Theatre's Avenue Q); Don Denton (Circa '21's Miracle on 34th Street and The Full Monty); Angela Elliott (the District Theatre's Company and Sweeney Todd); James Fairchild (Circa '21's Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story, the District Theatre's Rent); Kim Furness (Circa '21's Southern Crossroads, the Curtainbox Theatre Company's Time Stands Still); Patrick Gimm (Playcrafters' The Trouble with Cats, the Prenzie Players' The Rover); Mark Ruebling (Quad City Music Guild's Curtains, Countryside Community Theatre's Gypsy); Allison Swanson (St. Ambrose University's alumni presentation of You Can't Take It with You, the Curtainbox's Wit); and, in her area-theatre debut, Sara Tubbs (ComedySportz's "Sketchville" ensemble).

Only Elliott, who played Barbara in the springtime comedy boom, has performed in a previous Workshop production, and Danner is thrilled to have her joined by eight area talents appearing in their first show for the company.

"This season," Danner says, "we began holding open auditions for every production, and we were overjoyed to have such a strong turnout for Last Call. It has been a delight to work with both longtime colleagues and performers we haven't had the chance to collaborate with before.

"Each time an actor appears for the first time in a Workshop production, they bring new ideas that make the theatre more dynamic and exciting. We're sure our patrons are going to enjoy this incredible cast."

As with the Workshop's five previous productions, Last Call will be presented under the company's popular "Pay What It's Worth" policy, which allows patrons to determine their own ticket prices following each performance.

, call (563)650- 2396 or e-mail qctheatreworkshop@gmail.com, or visit QCTheatreWorkshop.org

Last Call: The Songs of Stephen Sondheim performances

Friday, November 1, 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, November 2, 7:30 p.m.

Sunday, November 3, 3 p.m.

Friday, November 8, 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, November 9, 7:30 p.m.

Sunday, November 10, 3 p.m.

Friday, November 15, 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, November 16, 7:30 p.m.

Sunday, November 17, 3 p.m.

QC Theatre Workshop

1730 Wilkes Avenue, Davenport, Iowa, 52804

(563)650-2396

info@QCTheatreWorkshop.org

QCTheatreWorkshop.org

Facebook.com/QCTheatreWorkshop

IRAs and annuities are growing in popularity as retirement investment options, according to recent surveys, but three financial experts warn they can have serious disadvantages.

"Last year, four out of 10 U.S. households had IRA accounts - that's up from 17 percent two decades ago," says CPA Jim Kohles, chairman of RINA accountancy corporation, (www.rina.com), citing an ICI Research survey. "But they can be bad for beneficiaries if you have a very large account."

Investment in annuities, touted as offering a potential guaranteed income stream, alsocontinue to grow with sales up 10 percent in the second quarter of this year.

"Annuities have several dark sides, both during your lifetime and for your beneficiaries," says wealth management advisor Haitham "Hutch" Ashoo, CEO of Pillar Wealth Management, (www.pillarwm.com). "My business partner, Chris Snyder, and I wouldn't recommend investing in them."

Putting large amounts of money in either annuities or IRAs can have serious tax consequences for your heirs, say Kohles, Ashoo and attorney John Hartog of Hartog & Baer Trust and Estate Law, (www.hartogbaer.com).

"If you want to ensure your beneficiaries get what you've saved, you need to take some precautions," Hartog says.

The three offer these suggestions:

• Take stock of your assets - you could be worth more than you think: If your estate is worth more than $5.25 million (for couples, $10.5 million), your beneficiaries face a 40 percent estate tax and federal and state income taxes, says Kohles, the CPA. "It can substantially deplete the IRA," he says.

To avoid that, take stock of your assets now - you may have more than you realize when you take into account such variables as inflation and rising property values. Be aware of how close to that $5/$10 million benchmark you are now, and how close you'll be a few years from now.

"Consider vacation and rental properties, vehicles, potential inheritances," Kohles says.

Also, take advantage of the lower tax rates you enjoy today, particularly if they're going to skyrocket after your death. "A lot of people want to pay zero taxes now and that's not necessarily a good idea," he says. For instance, if you're at that upper level, consider converting your traditional IRA to a ROTH IRA and paying the taxes on the money now so your beneficiaries won't have to later.

• No matter what your estate's value, avoid investing in annuities. Wealth management adviser Ashoo warns annuities, offered by insurance companies, can cost investors an inordinate amount of money during their lifetime and afterward.

"Insurance companies try to sell customers on the potential for guaranteed income, a death benefit paid to beneficiaries, or a 'can't lose' minimum return, but none of thosecompensates for what you have to give up," he says.

That includes being locked in to the annuity for five to seven years with hefty penalties for pulling out early; returns that fall far short of market investments on indexed annuities; high management fees for variable annuities; declining returns on fixed-rated annuities in their latter years; and giving up your principle in return for guaranteed income.

"If you own annuities and have a substantial estate, there are smart ways to unwind them to minimize damage," Ashoo says.

• Consider spending down your tax-deferred IRA early. If you're in the group with $5 million/$10 million assets, it pays to go against everything you've been taught and spend the IRA before other assets, says attorney Hartog.

"It's a good vehicle for charitable gifts if you're so inclined. And if you're 70½ or older, this year you can direct up to $100,000 of your IRA-required minimum distribution to charity and it won't show up as taxable income," Hartog says. (That provision is set to expire next year.)

You might also postpone taking Social Security benefits until you're 70½ and withdraw from your IRA instead. "That willmaximize your Social Security benefit - you'll get 8 percent more."

Finally, anyone who has accumulated some wealth will do best coordinating their financial planning with a team of specialists, the three say.

As a CPA, Kohles is focused on minimizing taxes; wealth management adviser Ashoo's concern is the client's goals and lifestyle; and lawyer Hartog minimizes estate taxes.

"We get the best results managing tax consequences and maintaining our clients' lifestyles by working together," Hartog says.

About Jim Kohles, Haitham "Hutch" Ashoo & John Hartog: Jim Kohles is chairman of the board of RINA accountancy corporation of Walnut Creek, Calif. He is a certified public accountant specializing in business consulting, succession and retirement planning, and insurance.Haitham "Hutch" Ashoo is the CEO of Pillar Wealth Management, LLC, in Walnut Creek, Calif., specializing in client-centered wealth management. John Hartog is a partner at Hartog & Baer Trust and Estate Law in Orinda, Calif.He is a certified specialist in estate planning, trust and probate law, and taxation law. All three advise ultra affluent families.