As the parent of a high-school junior, it's hard not to be concerned with the rising cost of a good college education. Now, as if higher learning doesn't already cost enough, Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl is proposing a 1 percent tax on college tuition, hoping to raise about $16 million a year, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, to close a shortfall in the city's pension fund and help aid the struggling Carnegie Library system. This proposed college education "privilege tax" would be paid on tuition only by students who attend post-secondary schools in the city, including colleges, universities, art, business and culinary schools.

All ten schools represented by the Pittsburgh Council on Higher Education have joined together to oppose the major's plan, Read more...

Over 100,000 people are expected to fill the streets of downtown Pittsburgh on Friday, November 20 for Pittsburgh's 49th annual Light Up Night celebration, which celebrates the city's dramatic skyline with an evening of holiday activities.Thousands more are expected to gather at Station Square for concerts, shopping, and festivities, and atop Mount Washington to enjoy the beautiful vistas of office buildings aglow with lights. Get the scoop on the evening events (including this year's new bridge party!), tree lightings, holiday window unveilings, concerts and the spectacular fireworks finale with our guide to Pittsburgh Light Up Night 2009.

Little ghosts and goblins will be out in quite a few communities tonight, while most celebrate on Saturday. Check our list for trick or treat times in your local community.

Don't care for the haunted attractions full of chainsaw wielding monsters, things that jump out and scare you, and strobe lights and other special effects? Why not try one of these historic haunted walks or tours, which feature "true" tales of spooky ghostly happenings along with historic homes and sites festively adorned in Halloween style.

In Jeannette, Westmoreland County, experience a chilling look at the eighteenth century on the American frontier at Bushy Run Battlefield on Saturday, October 24th, as historical reenactors frighten you with scenes and stories from Pontiac's War on a special Haunted History Hayride & Candlelight Walk.

Also this weekend, October 23-24, 2009, the Allegheny West Civic Council will sponsor its annual Read more...

Not all children (and not even all adults) enjoy the bloody, gory, scary side of Halloween. So, for all of you, here is a list of not-so-scary events and places that focus on the fun, happy side of Halloween - guaranteed to make you smile instead of scream!

Family Friendly Halloween Fun in Pittsburgh

In 1803, Georg Rapp, the leader of a German Lutheran separatist group, came to America and purchased 5,000 acres of land near Pittsburgh where he had his followers could begin a new life free of religous restrictions. The next year, three shiploads of his followers arrived in America and erected nine log cabins to begin the famed communal Harmony Society. After that first hard winter, the hardworking Harmonists got right back to work, clearing 150 acres and building 50 houses, a grist mill, a large barn and some shops. After only 10 years the Harmonists moved on to start a bigger community in Illinois (they later returned to Pittsburgh to establish a new community called Economy), and sold the entire town of Harmony plus about 9,000 acres to Mennonite Abraham Ziegler for $100,000. He and other Mennonite families led the area's resettlement.

If you like history and log cabins then an afternoon drive to the historic town of Harmony might be right up your alley. There are numerous log cabins to visit, along with the Harmony museum, and both a Harmonist and Mennonite cemetery. The annual Zelienople-Harmony Country Fall Festival is set for this weekend, October 10-11, with arts, crafts, horse drawn buggy rides, homemade country foods, historic encampments, antiques and collectibles, and an authentic German dinner. The fall color out that way is just starting to develop, so you might also want to take a drive along nearby PA SR 108 between New Castle and Slippery Rock. The Log Cabin Inn makes a great stop for lunch before heading out!

Peak fall colors are coming a little early this year in the Allegheny National Forest in northwestern Pennsylvania, with hillsides full of bright oranges, yellows, reds and various shades of green expected to greet visitors over the long Columbus Day weekend. Located just two hours north of Pittsburgh, the Allegheny National Forest is a mecca for recreation enthusiasts with miles of hiking and biking trails, meandering trout streams, rivers for canoeing and kayaking, and scenic drives and overlooks for those who like to sit back, relax and soak in the view. The Allegheny Reservoir is especially beautiful in the fall, as are the beautiful forests that line the winding Longhouse National Scenic Byway.

More Fabulous Fall Foliage:

Photo Gallery: Fall in Western PA

Western PA Fall Foliage Drives & Tours

10 Tips for Great Fall Photos

10 Best Places to See Fall Color in North American Forests

From wine tasting festivals to pumpkin picking patches, and covered bridges to corn mazes, your fall won't be complete without frolicking at one of these area fall festivities. We've got Pittsburgh covered, as well as the Laurel Highlands, Allegheny National Forest, and Erie regions - so get out your calendar and start enjoying fall today!

Pumpkins are king in Pennsylvania this time of year, and area farms and farm markets are ready for the demand. Hayrides to the pumpkin patch where you can pick your own pumpkins are available at a large number of farms around the greater Pittsburgh area. Most pumpkin patches in Western Pennsylvania turn the event into a pumpkin festival on the weekends, with corn mazes, fall food, games, petting zoos and, of course, plenty of pumpkins and other fall decorations for sale.

Despite the fact that the Pittsburgh G-20 Resistance Project has been encouraging civil disobedience -- an "everywhere protest" -- at over 100 locations around the city this morning, little appears to have occurred. Police said there haven't been any reports of large gatherings or vandalism. A few protest groups did gather, at Forbes Avenue and Atwood Street in Oakland, as well as in East Liberty, but there appears to have been no major violence or damage.

This follows a fairly contentious Thursday, where protesters filled the streets of Lawrenceville and Bloomfield and attempted to march toward the convention center where the G-20 is being held. The group had not obtained a permit for the march, and were turned back by police in riot gear. The protests resulted in at least 66 arrests and about 19 businesses with broken windows or other damage according to The New York Times.

While I personally feel the Pittsburgh G-20 Summit is a positive step toward achieving world economic growth, I completely understand that people have their own agendas and messages to get across. At least activist groups such as Greenpeace who rappelled from the West End bridge on Wednesday with a banner denouncing climate change chose to protest with a specific message, and in such a manner that noone and nothing got hurt (although they did break a few laws). But what message does a protest such as the "everywhere protest," which encourage mobs and vandalism, convey to our world leaders? People have come from all over the country to participate in these protests. What do they hope to gain?