This week's ink in the South Pgh Reporter

I had to cover swim practice -- as the varsity team was at an away swim meet and the back-up coach was sick. Oh well... The coverage worked otherwise.

: The final candidate at the Candidates Night at Arlington was Mark Rauterkus who showed up a few minutes late for the session. The reason he was not there on time was due to a commitment he had with a youth organization he is involved with.
A South Side resident, Mr. Rauterkus has been a tireless worker when it comes to organizing youth activities. He is a strong proponent in making sure that young people play an active role in the neighborhood, noting that is the only way the city can stop its downward trend in the neighborhoods. He feels that if the city budget focuses more on the needs of the young people, rather than catering to corporations that do nothing for the neighborhoods, the city will begin to flourish again.
�People vote at the polls, but they also vote with their feet [moving out of the city] which they have been doing for a long time,� said Mr. Rauterkus, noting the city�s population has dwindled by the hundreds of thousands in the past 30 years.
Mr. Rauterkus said he wants the city to stop giving tax breaks to the wealthy and start focusing more on the neighborhoods because if this trend continues, there will not longer be a base of middle-class residents which is the backbone of the city.
�Our endeavor is about performance, the kids, wellness, accountability, communication, openness, open-source technology, freedoms, personal responsibility, taxing land, prudent spending, real democracy and respect of the marketplace,� Mr. Rauterkus said.