PoliticsPA reports John Pierce, needs a new gig

PoliticsPA Sources confirm major blow to Scranton campaign

PoliticsPA has learned the the nationally-recognized political consulting firm of Alfano-Leonardo has decided to part ways with Bill Scranton. Sources confirm the departure occurred over major differences having to do with the direction of the campaign. Campaign Manager and Pittsburgh attorney John Pierce will no longer be working for the campaign.

Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, seeking new input

Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board today launched a month-long public-comment period on draft regulations governing internal controls.

“Act 71 gives the Board the ‘power and duty’ to adopt the regulations necessary to bring expanded gaming to Pennsylvania and ensure its integrity,” said Chairman Tad Decker. “With each set of regulations we develop, we move a step closer to the day when expanded gaming can begin in the Commonwealth."

And now…. T.H.E. .M.U.S.E. .A.N.D. .W.H.I.R.L.E.D. .R.E.T.O.R.T.

This Month’s Featured Article: Hi-Ho Silver Away in a Manger by Chris Chandler is a great read. It is a bit longer, so you'll have to get it by clicking the 'comments' button and reading from that page.

Chandler is a great story teller. I had the opportunity to meet him via Anne Feeney at an event I staged on 9-11 a couple of years ago. Very insightful and funny too. You might want to get a CD of his or if you live in the east, check out one of his gigs in the weeks to come. It is all at his web site.

Plug: Have you got your copy of American Storyteller? http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/cchandler3

What would make a better holiday gift? It is a 2 vol. CD set – but wait, there’s more! Each CD is also a CD ROM enhanced with 3 short films extra art work, lyrics and cracker jack surprises! It is a double CD so it is a little bit more expensive but what would make a better Christmas gift than “American Storyteller? “ Just Click here! http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/cchandler3

His 8 minute movie: www.chrisvids.org/

Close your mouth. Move your feet. Wellness quote from The Biggest Loser victor

The victor from the TV show, The Biggest Loser, was on NBC's Today Show and gave a great interview. He was asked about the one bit of advice.

At first blush, that question is a 'gottcha.' With wellness there isn't just one thing that is the key. Wellness is about a whole range of actions, attitudes and reasonings. The wellness planks, if not the wellness platform, has many different elements covering a wide range of issues.

However, the new TV star had two answers. First, "Close your mouth. Move your feet." Sage advice. It goes along with the saying, "It is not what you say that counts, but what you do."

The next bit was that there is no limit to what you can do if you choose to do it yourself. There are no boundaries. This is the "sky's the limit" attitude -- but -- the goals need to be internalized. Wellness hinges upon being self reliant.

Beautiful.

The conversation also covered the fact that the guy has been sober and drink-free for nine months now. That's a perfect closing point -- get and stay sober. To tie that concept to politics, think about the politicians who have been getting drunk on all sorts of ills. They gave themselves illegal pay raises. They got drunk on the windfalls from gambling incomes -- for more state spending and more slush funds to their re-election campaigns. And, they get drunk on corporate welfare handouts.

They got drunk on stadiums, Lord & Taylor, and building a convention center. Now is the hangover. The Convention Center costs us nearly $4-million per year in operational losts. So, this hangover isn't going to last for a long-time to come.

My approach = Self Reliance: Theirs = Councilmembers look to state to help with rising costs

I agree Act 47 stinks. I don't agree about what needs to be done to fix the overall problems. To fix Pittsburgh, once and for all, we need to have a new attitude of self-reliance. And, voters, it includes you. Fellow reformers, self-reliance and teamwork requires you too!

Councilmembers look to state to help with rising costs: "Councilmembers look to state to help with rising costs

A year into its fiscal recovery effort, the city of Pittsburgh has made some substantial cuts, but it is still in a tightening fiscal vice of high debt and rising pension and health insurance costs, City Council members said yesterday.

Council spent its first meeting on a proposed 2006 budget throwing itself on the mercy of the commonwealth and criticizing the state-appointed recovery team created under Act 47 for not dealing with major issues.

'The Act 47 plan stinks,' said Councilman Luke Ravenstahl. 'We're no better off than we were before.'

He said council and Mayor-elect Bob O'Connor should lobby Harrisburg for help."

The presentation from the budget office was solid. I've got it on tape. I would like to get it on the web or this blog.

Scores speak out on Roosevelt's plan to close 20 city schools

P-G coverage on the Rodgers plan for middle school for CAPA to Mt. Washington.

Scores speak out on Roosevelt's plan to close 20 city schoolsSpeakers also urged school officials not to move the middle school program for the creative and performing arts from the Rogers building in Garfield to the former Baxter Building in Homewood, now occupied by the district's alternative education programs. Some favored moving the program instead to Prospect Middle School on Mount Washington, which is on the closing list.

My wife, Ph.D., gets ink in P-G: Protecting young musicians' hearing is goal of partnership between UPMC, city schools

Wellness works wonders. Way to go musicians and scientists and clinicians and parents and teachers and open-minded, quality based performers in life!

Protecting young musicians' hearing is goal of partnership between UPMC, city schools Protecting young musicians' hearing is goal of partnership between UPMC, city schools
The quieter sound of music

In high school, kids who play football wear helmets, mouthguards and pads as protection against injury.

Langley High School senior Cherish Marshall, 17, wears her special earplugs during band class last week.

To learn more about the UPMC Musicians' Hearing Center earplugs program, call 412-647-2030. The center offers education and earplugs as outreach to other schools, as well, at the lowest cost affordable.

To learn about the Etymotic non-custom earplugs, which sell for $12 a pair, visit www.etymotic.com/ephp/er20-ts.aspx. The company's home page is at www.etymotic.com.

Kids in chemistry class wear goggles.

Kids in band class . . . well, they often don't wear any protection for their ears. But they should.

Tinker: Major suggestions from citizen, Henry C. Schmitt, about Rogers

Good Afternoon Mr. Roosevelt and Members of the Board -
Two weeks ago I came before you to let you know that I support the Right-Sizing Plan for the Pittsburgh Public Schools. I still do. Although as Mr. Roosevelt said in the media "it needs some tweaking." With that in mind, I'd like to bring the following issue to your attention.

The current plan has the Rogers CAPA program moving to the Baxter building, and the Letsche Education Center moving to the Washington building. Initially seems like a good idea, but on closer examination there are some problems. This would necessitate the moving of two student populations, over 500 students, and the capital improvement of two buildings.

This move seems to give the Rogers CAPA program room to expand, but I believe it does not. The numbers I found for the 2002-3 school year, the final year the CAPA High program was in Baxter, showed an enrollment of 330 students, about 45% of the building's capacity. However, an article in the June 12, 2003 Tribune Review quotes a CAPA student, Jessica Burch, as saying "...she will miss taking singing lessons in a janitor's closet" and "Our Spanish room is also the dance studio...we have to move the desks out...every day." This does not indicate a building with excess capacity; it indicates a building bursting at the seams.

Some of the parents and faculty of Rogers would like to propose the following alternative: Instead of moving both the Rogers CAPA program and the Alternative Education program, leave the Alternative Education program where it is, and move the Rogers CAPA program to the Prospect building in Mt. Washington.

We have gathered the data to show how this new proposal would be better for the CAPA program and the district as a whole. I have prepared a chart based on the 10 criteria you used for the original proposal that compares the two moves. In all cases, the move to Prospect is equal to or better than the move to Baxter.

I will provide you all with copies of the chart, but let me mention the highlights: only the 300 students at Rogers would need to be moved, only one building would need capital improvements. The central location of Prospect near downtown would reduce transportation costs and increase ties to organizations in the Cultural District. The location of Baxter in the far east end would have the opposite effect.
I think that if you look at the data, you will see that this proposal deserves careful consideration. Thank you for your time.

Henry C. Schmitt

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Students that go to Rogers might one day work for Disney.

Next, to figure out how to put the plan, a table, on this blog. Humm... Okay, I've got 10 points in the comments section of this blog posting. Each shows the baseline reason, what the present plan has for its strength, then in bold, the new idea's reasoning / strength. Keep reading.

Plus, I've inserted two bonus points after the first 10 to cover some extras I just pulled out of the sky.

---

November 29, 2005
Mr. Roosevelt & Members of the Board:

As you are aware, both my husband and I are very active in our children’s education and are willing to work to make it the best it can be. We are also strong supporters of public education. We also, like you, believe on making our decisions based on data. Although we first thought moving Rogers to Baxter was a good idea, after reviewing the data, it now seems clear that such a move would be detrimental to the CAPA middle school program, and have a negative impact on the district as a whole. Much of the data we looked at was readily available on the PPS web site, but information about the Baxter building was hard to come by. We received information about Baxter from the Parent-Teacher organizations at Rogers. Working within your proposed plan, the Parent-Teacher group raised an alternative location – the Prospect building.

To better understand the merits of both plans, we looked to the criteria for right-sizing as listed on the PPS website, gathered what data we could, and compared each plan to the criteria. The following table clearly shows why we now believe moving to Baxter is not in the best interest of the CAPA program or district, as well as why Prospect should be considered as a viable alternative.

We look forward to working with you to bring about positive change to the Pittsburgh Public Schools

Katherine Schmitt
Henry Schmitt
Parents of students at Minadeo and Rogers CAPA

Philly article: Packing heat - and political punch via blog and more

Here is a character with a few great quotes.

Philadelphia Inquirer | 11/29/2005 | Packing heat - and political punchWhile in Manhattan, Bruce helped launch Open Source Media at www.osm.org, a consortium of 70 diverse blogs on topics from politics and true crime to designer shoes and holistic pet care. She's on OSM's advisory board and blogs at http://tammybruce.com.

Bruce calls the blogging collective 'the first fundamental assault on the mainstream media's control of information distribution.'

She says because blog journalism - 'the technological handmaiden of the new American revolution' - is constantly self-correcting and invites anyone to chime in, it will deal a deathblow to old media, including newspapers.

'The power no longer resides with the elites. The power belongs to whoever wants to take it,' says Tammy Bruce with utmost confidence, sounding for all the world like a Sixties lefty at the barricades and signifying that in the fractured and shifting terrain of American political culture, labels have lost all meaning.

Tinker talk with the plan before Pgh Public Schools

I presented my points to a public hearing held at the Pgh Public Schools today. The plan was mentioned on this blog last week.

Mark Rauterkus statement about PPS Plan: "Statement about Schools -- from Mark Rauterkus --"

I released my comments on the plan at Rev. Johnny Monroe's church. I've got lots of good feedback from these ideas, in public, and online.

BTW, his church, Grace Memorial, does not have Tinker Bell on its steeple.

Good to see pending board member Thomas Sumpter at the board table to listen to all the testimony. He gets sworn into office in January and will need to make a vote the next month.

One decent tinker idea: Move the CAPA Middle School to the closing Roosevelt Middle School. That makes the location more central to the city and closer to the cultural district and the CAPA High.

I talked as I was departing with a guy, Bob S., who was just arriving. He had two identical concerns of mine. First, he wants to see all the calls to the help desk made public and visible. That's what I've been calling the 'Robust job ticketing system.'

Furthermore, he was upset at the email from A+ Schools about how everyone was to walk lockstep with the plan. I mentioned that the A+ Schools Director spoke before I did, by two slots. I was sorry I didn't wear my boots as it was getting rather deep in there.

Speaking to PPS public hearing about single gender schools

Election Results from 2005 to 2001

In 2005:
href="http://www.county.allegheny.pa.us/elect/200511gen/results.asp">Election Results Bob O'Connor (Dem) 40,226 67.1%
Joseph Weinroth (Rep) 16,321 27.2%
Titus North (Gre) 2,392 4.0%
David Tessitor (Abo) 625 1.0%
Jay M Ressler (Soc) 397 0.7%
Totals 59,961
In 2001:
Tom Murphy (Dem) 39,257 -- 74.3%
James Carmine (Rep) 12,175 -- 23.0%
Chaston Roston (I) 964 -- 1.8%
Francis Forrestal (S) 443 -- 0.8%

To Bob's credit, he got more votes than Murphy got in 2001. I knew it would be close. Murphy did have a higher percentage.

When I ran for PA Senate, I got more than 7-percent of the vote. That vote percentage is greater than the total percentage of all non Ds and non Rs. But the swelling ranks from 2001 to 2005 of non-Ds and non-Rs was from 2.6 percent to 5.7 percent.

As another point to ponder, G.W. Bush, (R) in his second term, had 37,000 votes in the city.

Riverside Cubs -- a story on Silent Touchdowns

California School for the Deaf, with Coach Keith Adams, from 0 and 10, in his first season to playoff team last year and Ten-and-oh, 52-to-nill, in the final game, this season.

The football team is deaf. The cheerleaders are deaf too! But they know how to communicate, beat the drum and tackle!

An interview with a dad, "Are you proud of him?"

"Every day," says the father.

Great story that ran at 1 am on ABC's Nightline.

Just as a reminder, our book, "Time Out! I Didn't Hear You" -- is available as a free download in PDF. http://Rauterkus.com/PDF/SPORTS/TIMEOUT.PDF

Mayor Murphy: 'Best Job In America' -- hardly. I've got a job that is much, much better.

I've got two jobs that are better than his. And, I ran for his job, no less. I ran for mayor. I wanted to end Mayor Mruphy's tenure at two terms. We needed a new mayor more than I needed to be the mayor. But, it is safe to say I pondered the job and the duties of the job and the office.

I'm a swim coach. That job is way better than being mayor. And, the clincher job -- being a stay at home dad. That job is a million times better than being mayor. The best job in America is true if you over look the two jobs I have.

But, I do think being mayor is better than being a volunteer blogger.

KDKA: "Mayor Murphy: 'Best Job In America'

(KDKA) PITTSBURGH Tom Murphy welcomed us into an office that�s seen a lot of history. Now years of memories are being sorted and boxed for the archives.

"It's a remarkable story of how it evolved from just trying to save the Pirates to building a ballpark to building everything that we did," Murphy said.

Ballot Access News & Pitt Law Libertarians -- content swells in our favor

Ballot Access News Libertarians Won 19 Partisan Elections on Nov. 8
November 23rd, 2005

The Libertarian Party won 19 partisan elections in Pennsylvania on November 8, 2005, not one, as reported earlier. They include 7 township auditors, one constable, on township supervisor, one planning commissioner, and 9 precinct elections officials.

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Pitt Law LibertariansPITT LAW LIBERTARIANS have a blog with plenty of entries.

Who knows Father James McCaskill?

Spero News | Priest Idol - week 2 round up Father James McCaskill, a fresh-faced 32 year old cleric from the leafy suburbs of Pittsburgh, USA, is the subject of Priest Idol. ...

Does he vote on the South Side? Where did he go to seminary?

Speaking of TV, why do they show Rudolph The Red Nose Raindeer on network TV at 8 pm. The kids who would want to watch the show should be tucked away dreaming of sugar plums.

Bob O'Connor -- exclusive 1-on-1 intervew on Fox TV, 10 pm -- opposite MNF

Are you ready for some football????

Meanwhile at 10 pm tonight, the local Fox TV news holds an exclusive interview with the next mayor, Bob O'Connor.

That's a tough time slot, opposite the Steelers. Some people have all the luck.

Founder of popular Craiglist Web site assisting with news venture

Founder of popular Craiglist Web site assisting with news venture: "engineer who created the popular Craigslist Web site, Craig Newmark, said the new media venture he has been working on could launch within three months.

Mr. Newmark, whose site gets more than a million classified ads and 1 million postings each month, told The Associated Press in May that he wants to develop a pool of 'talented amateurs' who could investigate scandals, cover politics and promote the most important and credible stories. The journalists' articles would be published on Internet sites ranging from Craigslist to individual Web logs, or blogs."

Put a fork in em! A History of... What? Success? How so?

Great recap from fellow blogger.

AntiRust: The Allegheny Conference and Pittsburgh's Birthday: A History of... What? Success? How so?... Society would be better served, first, with a $14 million movie about the failed promise of absurd urban redevelopment schemes. Add up the money squandered in Pittsburgh alone. God, it's depressing.

Next, I think it's time for someone to stand up and say, 'Look, let's forget about the city's damn image. The area built an image as an industrial place by making steel, not producing movies about making steel. And it will build an image as a vital place by becoming a vital place, not by making movies about Indians and French guys in the 1760s.' Seems obvious, maybe, but it looks like it still needs said.

I say it is great that the Allegheny Conference is going to fiddle while Rome burns. It is great that the Allegheny Conference is going to try to turn the clock back for a birthday party. Great. That is what we really need -- and I'm serious.

I want The Allegheny Conference to run a birthday party. That's what they should do, celebrations, parties -- and NOTHING ELSE. Get them out of the way.

ABA Hoops returned to winning ways in Pittsburgh

When I was in 6th grade, I think, I went to a Condors game. This was a bit like that.

The home team, the Black & Gold colored, Pittsburgh Explosion, took a huge first quarter lead. And, the roof at Pitt's Peterson Event Center wasn't leaking, as best I could tell. The team plays four games at Pitt's venue and the rest at the Civic Arena, also known as the Mellon Arena. The Kernals are from Kentucky and have a former Kansas player. Two ex-NBA players are with the Explosion.


The dance team is called the 'bomb squad.'

Huddle with the coach.

The digital camera wasn't so good at "action photos."

Defense.