Michael Diven and Wayne Fontana spent lots of money and paid plenty to printers and postmaster

Both Diven and Fontana ads were over the top. 

Election day was on May 17. It was a special election. Fontana won. Diven and then me.

Toastmasters invite and details

Next Step meets downtown, 1/3/5th Monday at noon, 612 Smithfield St (library conference room).

Dawn Patrol meets 1/3/5th Fridays 7:15am, above the Y on 5Av. 

Northside meets 2nd/4th Thursdays 6:30, library on Federal St. 

Plus there are dozens more clubs in and around Pgh.

Lifeguard shortage and more

Citiparks needs 50 additional lifeguards and the summer season is here.

Guards needed at The Pittsburgh Project and elsewhere too. 

This lifeguard shortage stinks. I want to step up and help to shift the tide. 

#1. I can help as a catalyst so we can have LIFEGUARDS (and junior lifeguards / friends) march in the Pittsburgh LABOR DAY PARADE. This should be a joint effort. It can be an event we promote all summer and be a capstone celebration for the end of a SAFE SUMMER and a reminder for the kids to get certified in the winter for working in future summers. 

Our presence in the parade should be early in the lineup so that our people can depart downtown in time to get back to their work sites at the region's various swim pools. Monday of Labor Day weekend is a workday for most who work at outdoor pools. 

How do we get onto the agenda for the parade marshalls? 

Can Citiparks be the "sponsor?" 

#2. I am doing other PR efforts on my end too. Email blast. Website. Social networking. They are also behind the curve for hiring at The Pittsburgh Project. But there, with the guest house, we can supply room and board for those interested in working here. We may need to import some workers for TPP, local pools and Citiparks. With our opportunities to play in a college water polo match and coach kids water polo in the summer, we can make efforts to recruit potential employees to college swim and water polo teams. 

#3. A digital badge to bestow to kids (and adults) who pass the Pre Lifeguard Swim Test is also available and being made ready for much wider deployments. Mindshare. Planting the seed of the idea to do the Nobel work as a guard in due time. 

#4. More can happen in 2019 as I get a focus upon a bigger role at The Pittsburgh Project. How about a Nipper Camp and Lifeguard Games? 

#5. I am going to Seattle to speak on Tuesday with Kevin at the Washington Recreation and Parks Association conference. Title of talk: For Water Safety, the name of the game is SKWIM. 

#6. Let's also make a local water safety booster group, among friends. A few have been BCCed. Perhaps I can host a monthly conference call that turns into a podcast resource. 

Thanks for all you do. 

Act 47 recommends -- Throwback to June 30, 2004 and the Trib

Pittsburgh has a new acting director of Citiparks in early 2018, and I'm excited to meet with him about some fun summer plans.

This is a snip from the Tribune, June 30, 2004 when a divided council passes the Act 47 plan. The headline in this part read: Key recommendations of the Act 47 recovery plan:

Playing well with others, in the city, took a beating in those times and never fully recovered.

Impossible is nothing

Do not remember where we were here. Might have been Beijing, but I doubt it as i am wearing some type of name tag. 

Penn Hills Baseball - Team photos

Click image for larger view. 

Robins

First year of organized baseball. One game I made all three outs in the same inning. Our team was up at bat. I played second base and was jazzed that we were winning by so much. Then we took the field and my team mate, Kevin, (middle of the photo) revealed that obscure stat to me on my at-bat performance that past inning.

Orange team. 

I think we went with colors as the team name. I stayed, by choice, in farm league. Our teams always had a lot of double plays.

Back row: Timmey, Frankie, McBunney, Mr. Will.
Middle row: Maxwell, Me (Mark Rauterkus), Danny Anderson, Janokaweki, Higgins.
Front row: Dave Cioca, Duffu, Garry, P. Beraradino, M. Beraraino (brothers I guess). Spelling unsure. Source is scribble on back of photo.

Mavericks. 

Back row: Mr. Finn on back left, then me, Mark Rauterkus, ? George Boyle, Dan Anderson, Terry Flaherty.
Middle row:
Front row:

Angles:

Back row: Coach ?, me, Mark Rauterkus, ?, Timmy Meyers, Coach, Coach.
Middle row: Tommy, Jan B, Randy R, Binywild, Sammy.
Front row: Straw, Kevin, Joey, Mark Kucher, ?, ?

Newspaper coverage: National Fatherhood with Evelyn Hines, Erik Vecere and Mark Rauterkus

Photo in December of January as the Christmas tree was still up.

Erik was 8 and Grant was 5.

Tribune Review article.

Ode to Trash

Poem by Chuck Nogel of the South Side and a co-owner in the ceramic shop on East Carson Street.

From the Pittsburgh Airport to Oakland, keep an eye out for this guy's visit. Hear he might be in town to interview and negotiate for a new job.

Let me know if anyone, perhaps an Uber driver, sees this guy around town. Pitt is on the prowl for a men's basketball coach.

TBT: Nobody is going to die, but I wanted to share this today

Come Live Over Here

Pyramid PGH from Duquesne University Media on Vimeo.

Original link. http://www.duquesnemultimedia.com/second-year-duquesne-university-media-grad-student-creates-video-on-pyramid-pgh/

Hold the phone. The Ethics Hearing Board did not start in 2016

What?


The Post-Gazette is reporting something that can't be true.


She credits her creation of the city's Ethics Hearing Board as one of her proudest accomplishments. The nine-member board formed officially in 2016 to regulate compliance with the city's code of ethics, including the filing of campaign finance forms and gift disclosures.


The city's Ethics Hearing Board was a toothless body for a number of years before her arrival.

Correction or clarification required from jrouth@post-gazette.com.


Same news from the Trib.

Aquatics and Pittsburgh Public Schools

PPS Community Schools v2.0 from Mark Rauterkus

Tip: You might want to view this on the SlideShare site so it can easily go to full screen.

Ask for the PDF or Keynote if you want parts or all of it.

Fred Rodgers event

Divorce of a sports coop among U-Prep, Sci-Tech and Obama gets chatter at PPS public comment

Parent of two PPS students, and one attends Sci-Tech presently

A student's voice

Blogger and Coach reactions:

First, I have called for the renewal of the PPS Athletic Reform Task Force. I'll even volunteer to chair such a group as well. We had one back in the day, established by then superintendent Mark Roosevelt. I was put on that task force. We got some good work accomplished and had plenty of additional tasks ahead.

When Lind Lane took over the reigns of the district, the task force died. She was not fond of sports, in my humble opinion.

It is time to renew the task force, hold serious discussions among a wide-reaching audience and plan, plan, plan.

I also spoke at the meeting, and I didn't video tape my own talk. I'm looking for the audio and can't find it, just yet.

If there is a divorce of the coop among U-Prep, Sci-Tech and Obama, the outcomes may not be as described in the public comment so far. Sci-Tech could choose to field some of its own sports teams. It would be great if Sci-Tech had varsity swimming teams for boys and girls. It would be fine if Sci-Tech had varsity soccer team too, but that is more of a stretch. Perhaps Sci-Tech and U-Prep can form their own co-op.

Sports co-ops can be made on a sport-by-sport basis. It does not need to be the same marriage with every sport.

Likewise, in soccer, Obama might choose to still be in a co-op with Sci-Tech and U-Prep, but get out of the co-op for basketball. Then U-Prep can have its own team for basketball. Same too for Sci-Tech basketball.

There are plenty of moving pieces, and a few principals can't be trusted in crafting the best outcomes -- and everyone else just sitting in the back seat in reaction mode. Let's be proactive.

Splitting the co-op makes sense in some settings, but might be worse in others. 

South Side Pops hits The Mon River for an evening of water skiing

Some athletic highlights from Scott and Randy.

Scott

Part 1, only 14 seconds

Part 2

Randy

Part 3

Part 4 

Extra photos

Go to the wiki to see some extra photos.

Manchester neighborhood, Come Live Over Here

The City of Pittsburgh, via the City Planning Department and after receiving feedback from the Manchester Citizens Corporation and residents in Manchester, hired OHM Advisors as the consultant group to lead efforts to draft a Manchester/Chateau neighborhood plan. A Steering Committee, comprised of members from the Manchester/Chateau community, representatives from the City of Pittsburgh, and representatives from Manchester community organization, will assist by providing guidance on the direction of the plan.

The first meeting of the Steering Committee was held in the last week of August. It was an opportunity for members to meet the consultant team and provide them with initial thoughts on the goals the plan should aim for and the issues in the community that need to be addressed. Based on these discussions, it became clear that stakeholders want to reconnect Manchester to Chateau, spur economic development, reduce blight, and ensure the provision of affordable housing.

Public meetings to update and receive feedback from the community on the development of the plan will be held in October and November of this year. The goal is to have a neighborhood plan drafted by the first quarter of 2018. Regular updates will also be posted on the website: www.manchesterchateauplan.com

Greenfield..... ACTION.... Play

Pssst.

Check out this memo from Greg at City of Play. 

What are you doing tomorrow, Wednesday, night? First meeting. 

Wanted: Running Mates and places to run to!

Time to hit the road to share insights about this ballot question for city voters in the 2017 general election.

Who wants to help spread the word?

Where and when are the meetings being held? 

Who can we talk to about getting an invite to speak to the audiences -- for only a couple of minutes.

2nd day of classes for fall semester -- and it is like a 'snow day' for Tulane, in NOLA

Dear Parents:

As you know, classes have been cancelled at Tulane University for Tuesday, Aug. 29. This closure is not due to any change in the forecast of Tropical Storm Harvey or the storm’s expected impact on Tulane. Rather the closure was necessitated by the mayor of New Orleans who, out of an abundance of caution, recommended New Orleans residents stay home on Aug. 29 because faulty equipment has reduced the city’s capacity to drain rainwater from streets. This could result in street flooding in certain neighborhoods located miles from campus. While our New Orleans campuses are closed, our food services will still be in operation, as will the Reily Recreation Center, Howard-Tilton Memorial Library and other limited student services. The only effects we are expecting from Tropical Storm Harvey will be some heavy rainfall. Please be assured that your students are safe and likely looking forward to an unexpected day off.

Please visit tulane.edu/emergency for the latest information.

Dusty Porter
Vice President for Student Affairs

James MacLaren
Dean, Newcomb-Tulane College