Working with Citiparks on Summer Dreamers, or not

	9/17/09
to Duane

To Director of Citiparks:

Hi Director,

I saw that Mike R. was in the court room. Eeeks. Hope you all are not
snowed under too too bad.

I'd love to strike up a conversation with you about the Pgh Public
Schools RFP for summer 2010 enrichment.

The deadline for those RFPs / proposals is Oct 2. And, there is still
a good deal of red tape for me to navigate.

I'd like to see if it is possible to get some cooperation in the grant
/ proposal requests.

For instance, for the 5 weeks of the camp, July 12 to Aug 13, 2010,
we'd love to have a group of up to 25 kids use the Schenley Ice Rink
building as a possible classroom -- mainly in case of rain, from the
hours of 12:30 to 3:30. They would also run at the track and use the
park.

By all means, there are funds to pay for this but they have to be in
the budget. Federal stimulus funds are being spent.

I'd also like to see if we could deploy in our plans:

-- Bike Oval at Highland Park / Washington Road
-- Swim pool visits with a Lifeguard camp
-- Sports movies in an outdoor setting -- perhaps at a school / i.e.,
Movies in the parks
-- Market House for some special events
-- Sand volleyball courts at Highland Park Pool

Ashley, Duane	9/18/09
to me

Mark...I already have staff pulling together a proposal of sorts based
on our past involvement with the School District.  However, a two
pronged approached might not be a bad idea........However, I sincerely
think that they already know who they will fund...and it won't be us.

Mark Rauterkus	9/18/09
to Duane

Hi,

I do not know what proposals and providers the PPS will fund and who
they will not fund????  But, it seems to me that PPS is just new to
this range of activities and are grabbing for a lot at first blush --
up to 2,500 kids or so. Wow. That's huge. If that is the case, then
they'll need everyone's help.

If possible, I'd love to meet with Citiparks staffers who are working
on the PPS summer 2010 enrichment opportunities / RFP. Who is pulling
this together for you?

Furthermore, I know that the main new employees of the PPS had a
meeting with the folks at Phillips Elem as to what they've done in
cooperation with Citiparks in the past years. There is a great success
story with Citiparks and PPS at Phillips with Mr. Netchi the principal
there and your staffers. Well done. That is a large part of the model.

But, my questions still remain about me organizing a camp experience
and trying to deploy some Citiparks spaces for the activities.

Speaker #28, to PPS Board, out of 30

Mark Rauterkus, Libertarian Party, speaking about high school reform. 

Bet On It: Had Carlisle Been Mayor, She Would Have Still Won Election

When new Pittsburgh Mayor Bob O’Connor was sworn into office in January, 2006, city council was a flutter with controversy as to who would be the next council President. Former President Eugene Ricciardi had won election to a District Justice post, thus leaving that position open.

Had experience meant anything, councilman Bill Peduto would have been a “no-brainer” to succeed Ricciardi and lead council; however, qualifications have almost never meant anything on Grant Street. More than anything—perhaps on planet Earth — Pittsburgh politics is about who you know, who you’re related to, and above all else, you’re a union-shilling, economics-be-damned Democrat.
Peduto would not be President of Pittsburgh City Council because he dared oppose O’Connor for Pittsburgh’s top job (we’ll exclude Steelers Coach), despite the King maker’s “next-in-line” designation. O’Connor’s long-term right-hand man Doug Shields had orders from above that prohibited Peduto from being council chief. Shields reportedly wanted the job for himself back then, but at the time was unable to muster the votes, especially with a ticked Peduto holding a salvo or three. [Shields now serves as Council President.]

Councilman Jim Motznik was the self-appointed front-runner for the Presidency. Motznik assumed he had the post locked up, but years before the former Public Works muck-raker quite spryly bolted from a television reporter’s camera over some rather routine questions of the day, and promised to resign from Council to assist Hillary Clinton’s Presidential campaign (the clock still ticks on that vow). With assertions like those, Motznik’s growing political irrelevance made his ascension impossible (to Motznik’s credit, he did narrowly win re-election after those gaffes).

A quick scan of the remaining Council members from the time proved nearly all others to be “too new” or privy to political alienation for one reason or another.
At the same time there were quiet whispers that Twanda Carlisle wanted the largely ceremonial engagement. She would have been an aesthetically-pleasing choice: youthful for a Pittsburgh politician (despite the fact it’s difficult to find anything about her age: we’ll guess she’s 46), attractive in that “looking beyond you into the abyss” sort of way, and African American.

For at least one second, Carlisle was being considered for President of Pittsburgh City Council.

Instead, an even younger upstart — who was born up-to-his-neck in Pittsburgh political lineage — was ultimately considered a “safe choice,” albeit hand-picked from the flock by O’Connor. North Side resident Luke Ravenstahl was selected for Pittsburgh City Council President only because no one else had the necessary votes.

Then tragically, O’Connor was effectively out of the Mayor’s post before the first pitch of the MLB All-Star Game at PNC Park on July 11, 2006.

The waiting game was on. As days became weeks, it was clear that something was not right with the hospitalized Bob O’Connor. He passed away on September 1, 2006.

Ravenstahl was jettisoned to national prominence almost immediately and he quickly proved to be the epitome of the none-too-worldly-wise 26-year-old who was far more interested in trips to the Late Show with David Letterman (where Luke admitted on television that city police looked the other way when it came to ticketing Ben Roethlisberger after the infamous motorcycle accident) and crashing parties with the elite of the elite (he drove a Homeland Security SUV to visit Tiger Woods at the suburban Oakmont for the U.S. Open). Ravenstahl was also photographed with Sienna Miller, the 25-year-old actress with a face of a Pop Culture Godess and mind of mushy squid when she risked ire of Cleveland Browns-fan proportions by calling the city a bad name.

The city’s fortunes could have been far more interesting had Twanda Carlisle been handed the role that—at the time—was a harmless license to appear on one of the public access channels and crow about being perhaps the city’s highest-ranking African American female city official EVER. Her predecessor, Valerie McDonald Roberts never made it to council President, largely because O’Connor held the post when she was in office. Roberts, who previously served on the Pittsburgh School Board, eventually moved to a lower-profile Allegheny County post. That was too bad because she would have been an ideal standard bearer had she received the chance.

Imagine Carlisle had the opportunity to serve as council President when O’Connor was prominently shown hanging Wi-Fi equipment downtown, in a ceremonious photo op that ultimately would become his final public appearance.
Instead of a frightened Luke Ravenstahl being sworn in as Mayor that late summer evening, it was “that close” to being the glassy eyed Carlisle (did she ever have any other expression?), hand on Bible, accepting the reigns of running the Commonwealth’s only interesting major market city.

Pretend for a mili-second that Twanda Carlisle was the Mayor.

Somewhere along Carlisle’s employ, she decided that the city’s bloated coffers were in fact a secret slush fund for anyone of her acquaintance.

Reports leaked with Carlisle purchasing books of questionable political merit, then escalated to an expensive fur coat and vacations abroad. Worst of all, Carlisle’s mother’s boyfriend received $29,000 to brazenly plagiarize a University of Pittsburgh study and shoehorn it around his own rinky-dink, narrow-minded, quasi-idiotic ideas. Assuredly, no one would read the examination of healthcare, religion and politics in Twanda’s 9th Council District, but the story of fraudulent intrigue had already spread. Local media eagerly awaited the tome’s release. It didn’t disappoint. The “study” turned out to be a hodge-podge of mystification that made the CBS News’ “Memo-Gate” that dethroned news hierarchy Dan Rather look Einsteinian in comparison.

That and other crackpot expenditures quickly drew the attention of the federal government, namely United States Attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania Mary Beth Buchanan.

What would have occurred had Carlisle been Mayor when the stories of misappropriation of funds been made public?

It depends on when the story broke.

If Carlisle had been Mayor, certainly up for election, it would have been interesting to see if Bill Peduto would have waged a challenge. The city’s only real “Reform Democrat” with fiscal-conservative leanings, Peduto remains Pittsburgh’s best choice to remain relevant; nevertheless, he’s not subservient to the Special Interest Groups (a.k.a. public sector unions) that control the city with the most selfish of Socialist contentions. Keep in mind, even an elementary understanding of real-world economics has almost never been a strong suit of Pittsburgh City Council in 70 years.

A thinking man’s candidate—even a Rust Belt Democrat—has no chance against a free-spending, Devil-Wears-Prada-on-public-dime empty power suit.
Fact is, those who dominate the voting block in the city probably wouldn’t sweat had there been pending federal action against the “supposed” Mayor Carlisle administration with Republican Mark DeSantis in the race.

All Carlisle’s handlers would need to do is parrot DeSantis’ Republican registration over and over again and punctuate the proof that Buchanan is also a member of the Grand Old Party.

Carlisle could have bested DeSantis by an even larger margin than Ravenstahl because of her gender, ethnicity, willingness to sign big checks to the unions and simplistic party affiliation.

The “Sheep” would continue to pull the party line, the donkeys would assuredly bray. Carlisle will need to pay back more than $40,000 in embezzled taxpayer cash.

That being noted, there’s little double that the city’s naïve voting electorate would still endorse a convicted felon to Mayor of Pittsburgh over a Republican, regardless of his or her qualifications. Lynn Swann, one of the most beloved Pittsburgh Steelers of all time wasn’t given a fair shot by Pittsburgh voters in his race for Governor because of his voter registration.

In 2007, it’s plainly that dire on Grant Street. With DeSantis dispatched and Peduto quiet on the sidelines, all of the great potential leaders on the current landscape have been vanquished.

At least Carlisle won’t be governing with an ankle bracelet anytime soon.

Worst move ever for PPS and City of Pittsburgh was revealed in this letter

Closing Schenley High School. Oh My God.

Voting For My Buddies...Early Voting Observations 2007

The poll worker showed me the electronic touch panel this morning at approximately 7:05 a.m., as I wanted to make sure I made my twice annual votes mattered before trudging off to work.

Some of the choices were easy. Mark DeSantis for Mayor. Check. Mark Rauterkus for Pittsburgh Controller. Check. There may have been one judge I needed to retain, but the others were given the proverbial heave-ho on my ballot.

There were also a number of races that were uncontested: Allegheny County Chief Executive and District Attorney among them. I almost always write myself in for something and this year it was the County Council special election in my area. Of course, the winner will be a nameless, faceless Democrat who will continue to do nothing but be invisible.

I voted my friend Lou in for Allegheny County Treasurer, as I’m certain he’d be a better bean counter than the guy we currently have. I also wrote my friend Bob in as Allegheny County District Attorney.

Now I sit, listening for nuggets of information. Mayor Luke may or may not have broken the law by glad-handing inside a polling place. Former Republican Mayoral candidate Joe Weinroth says that DeSantis won his polling place, two-to-one.

The night’s still young, but two things remain certain: I will not win County Council and Ron Paul has just as much chance to be our next President.

Pittsburgh’s Peerless Prodigal Son Of Politics Has Resurfaced

What an absolute treat to unfold Saturday’s Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and see the most unique “politician” ever in Pittsburgh, “sniffing” snacks of $2 bills he used to pay his entry fee into New Hampshire’s Democratic presidential primary.

Richard E. “Mad Dog” Caligiuri is the “Philosophical Outlaw,” the one-time, perennial Congressional candidate who oftentimes took on former Congressman Bill Coyne (the antithesis of thoughtful deliberation and verve). The quintessential Pittsburgh Libertarian, Caligiuri made his biggest splash in the mid 90’s when he posed nude, strategically positioned as “The Thinker,” on the back cover of one of Pittsburgh’s weekly liberal odes to all things unconventional.

“Mad Dog” had arrived. As the editor of an advertiser-supported every-other-weekly ode to all things Block Watch, Community News and feature-happy odes to all things small town, U.S.A., I was excited to meet him. We became fast friends, but alas, a family-member’s health was encompassing more and more of his time, so I knew that Caligiuri’s time in the “alternative candidate’s” spotlight was waning.

Of course, the throngs of public sympathizers and fans of unthinking, unblinking Coyne-dom voted Sleepy Socialist Willie into office one last time. Shortly thereafter, Fidel Castro’s poster boy for all things crazier-than-a-loon retired and gerrymandering allowed for the one-time middle-of-the-road-thinking Mike Doyle assumed the city of Pittsburgh. Thusly, Doyle accepted the lunatic-fringe of lefty liberalism, but before that had to face Caligiuri one last time.

Doyle and I had a good working relationship, as I did with virtually everyone in public office. One Bill Peduto guided former Congressman Dan Cohen’s political ship into an everyman’s quagmire of Congressional hopefulness. No one quite realized the inexplicable power of the Sleepy Socialist and Cohen’s political future was sunk. The shock of that outcome still resonates to this day.

Caligiuri ran against Coyne and I broke the story. Doyle informed the rest of Pittsburgh’s media that I had the scoop, that indeed he had an opponent that fall. Doyle won then, and has raced to the left faster than his idol, John Murtha fell from grace in the opinions of 95% of career service men and women. Caligiuri disappeared off the political map just about the time in which he should have shined.

In his prime, Caligiuri would have been the Internet’s political darling, a daring thinker who’s “out of the box” ideas have been copied but never duplicated.

Our friend Mark Rauterkus has picked up Caligiuri’s reigns perhaps better than anyone might have dreamt. However, Caligiuri always kept his eyes only on Congress. He became folklore to us political junkies, perhaps not as oddly as the late sandwich-board guy who despised Coyne and once ran for Mayor, but in a city with so few real “colorful” politicians who didn’t make a career out of cashing city council paychecks, Caligiuri was a hero.

Until now.

According to the Concord Monitor, Caligiuri drove to New England to enter the crowded Democratic field. He still maintains a true Libertarian philosophy, but that only makes him closer to being a John F. Kennedy Democrat than a Hillary Clinton Democrat.

New Hampshire voters were also reported to be waiting for TV funnyman Stephen Colbert to show up. Colbert had announced his candidacy for the South Carolina primary a few weeks ago, but those staunch intolerants decided to leave him off the ballot. It’s still uncertain whether Dennis Kucinich is on that ballot, but one joke shouldn’t necessarily disqualify another.

From time to time, I’ve thought of Caligiuri, but lost his phone number eons ago. Print says he continues to maintain his family’s fast food and ice cream restaurant in Wilkinsburg. Back in the day, he routinely shuttled from that hamlet to a kraal in Westmoreland County, where he presumably drank wine and waited for the next Congressional go-round.

Had I had a vote in New Hampshire, I would consider crossing party lines to plunk the Mad Dog.

It’s great to see an old friend once again.

Ravenstahl Could Lock Up Potential "Interesting" Race With Strong Post-Flood Showing

Let’s be honest. Interim Mayor Luke Ravenstahl doesn’t have much to worry about when it comes to the November election. Mark DeSantis, the Republican who should have a decent showing if he had any kind of money, is really the Republican’s best chance in years (by the way, it doesn’t matter if the Socialist gets on any TV debates, I have more of a chance than winning than he does, and I’m not on the ballot).

DeSantis’ only hope for a respectable showing now rests on how the Interim Mayor responds to the flooding and weather situation (which may or may not include a tornado in downtown Pittsburgh).

So far, Ravenstahl has looked good and done what he needs to do. There was a significant population in the community that was put off by his sometimes childish antics. Everyone knows the story about him golfing in a celebrity tournament when a controversial action was taking place downtown. There was the attempt to get in Tiger Woods’ face during the U.S. Open that was taking place in suburban Pittsburgh, presumably for a picture to put on his office wall, or perhaps a billboard.

Ravenstahl says he declared a state of an emergency for the city. County Executive Dan Onorato did the same for the county. There’s damage to the Carnegie Science Center and a building the Uptown community. Specifically a minority-run barbershop partially collapsed.

Now if Luke can put on a good “leadership” face and make people believe he’s more than a political puppet, albeit a very young and conceivably an immature one at that, this could be a landslide victory of "mandate" proportions.

This election will have more to say about our next 12-20 years in this city than any since I’ve lived here (I still am convenienced that if Luke wins, it's his until he decides to give it up). You can line up all the Costas, Wagners and Murphys you want; if Luke looks good after the flood, he's in until the Pirates are competitive again.

Thankfully, our last "made" Mayor Tom Murphy is gone and disappeared into the vapors. Who even knows if he lives here anymore, there’s never any word on the street about the former “leader?”

Here comes the rain again. It most assuredly could wash away any hopes of an interesting mayoral race.

GOP Bill Aimed At Ending Teacher Strikes

I haven't been happy with our Republican friends in Harrisburg, as they haven't done what was "right" for the most part. This on the other hand is a "no brainer." Special Interest Groups should not be allowed to derail our children's educations.

By Tracie Mauriello, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

HARRISBURG -- A group of House Republicans is striking out against teacher strikes.
Led by Rep. Todd Rock, R-Franklin, the lawmakers this morning introduced legislation that would ban teacher strikes, mandate a negotiation schedule when talks stall and require public disclosure of negotiating positions throughout the process.
"The legislative solution we are introducing today has nothing to do with punishing or taking away any legal rights from teachers in Pennsylvania's 501 school districts," Mr. Rock said. It "has everything to do with ... restoring to every Pennsylvania child the legal right to a strike-free, uninterrupted public education."

Do I expect that the Democrat-led state legislature will do what is right? Absolutely not. There isn't a hefty tax-increase included (unless you talk about funding these Special Interest Groups).

One Veteran Reporter Talks Candidate Coverage

There is a misconception that the media, of all shades and colors--print, broadcast, whatever--is responsible to cover all candidates, regardless of the local race.

I was the editor of a community-based newspaper for four years and I gave coverage to those candidates in my readership area to a degree far beyond anything else in Pittsburgh.

Over the years I've also been in other newsrooms, from radio to newspaper (my experience in these matters really started in Portage, Pennsylvania, in 1982). The fact of the matter is, the "big guys" from newspapers, TV to radio in town don't cover "niche" candidates because they don't sell newspapers, don't generate "must listen" radio.

For the most part, "niche" candidates are in it for the vanity. This is not the case for our dear friend Mark Rauterkus, who operates this very blog. The fact of that matter is, Mark is more dedicated to many ideas that just don't ring all that vital with editors of our newspapers, television or radio stations. And when it comes to radio interviews, he cannot speak in the soundbites and use the buzz words that make for a good broadcast (sorry, Mark).

Remember when Richard Caliguiri used to run for Congress every two years? He bankrolled a back page, full-page advertisement in the City Paper (or maybe it was the other entertainment weekly I can't remember that has since shuddered)? Caliguiri, who claimed to be a distant relative to the former Mayor of Pittsburgh (but their names with spelled with inverted "i's" and "u's") was the last great Independent candidate in the city.

He created a firestorm with that picture, naked and in the "Thinker's" pose. Who knows whatever happened to Mr. Caliguiri? I ran stories on him, and when he announced his candidacy two years after that first race, Congressman Mike Doyle told the electronic media that I broke the story. (I was also in my 20's and was eager to make a name for myself. Those opportunities just don't exist in 2007, especially when most people do it via blogs like this one.)

Caliguiri spent his own money for the picture and the advertisement. Before and after that race, he would only be referred to as the kooky guy who always runs, using the former Mayor's name. I have an audio tape from election day 1988 when my friend Padre George Saletrik and I were analyzing returns at our California University of Pennsylvania college radio station. Rev. Saletrik, then 20 or 21, knew of Caliguiri only because he was the "kooky guy who always runs."

The real thing is money. The media is in no way, shape or form, responsible to cover these candidates. To think otherwise is absolute, fundamental delirium. In fact, Mark and I have talked about this over and over again. He knew that I was "the guy" who covered the "fringe" candidates back in the day, but I also know why no one ever does it anymore.

Money. Period. End of Discussion...okay, maybe a little more.

Ross Perot was the standard bearer for off-beat, non-traditional candidates because he was a billionaire throwing a tantrum with his own billions.

If an Independent or Republican--especially in the city--is to ever be taken seriously, they will have to establish themselves as major fundraisers (or wealthy enough to make a name for themselves...and apparently that "grass-roots" candidate does not exist). Otherwise, they are considered vanity seekers or kooks. Guys like Mark have good ideas...but they won't fly without serious support from the taxpaying public: fundraising.

In the city, Republicans have almost exclusively run candidates who never spent a moment seriously raising money. Bob Hillen and Joe Weinroth have asked for money in the recent past, but few others have ever broached the subject.

Republicans who run for office in the city also almost always disappear into the ether after losing one race. Even the talented ones. It's just that disheartening when you work against a Democratic party that rules with an iron fist.

I am one of those guys who have been asked to run several times. I have even considered it, but alas, I would be in the race to win, and there's no chance that I could win over the fact that I'm a Republican living in the city. And I don't have my own money to flaunt, and have no interest in making countless telephone calls to potential donors. That's the only way to be taken seriously. Background folks should run the websites, post the video blogs, etc.

On a national level, Libertarians had their moment in the sun about a decade ago (Western Pennsylvania over the past 17 years or so have only had idealists running as Libs). Since then, they have completely fallen off the political landscape. Long thought of as only champions of legalized marijuana, the local Libertarian party is filled with highly-intelligent people who should be behind the scenes of someone else's campaign.

Again, I have covered the kooks, vanity seekers, and dreamers (thank God for guys like our friend Mark...his passion is unmatched), and would do it again if I was in charge of the editorial content of some sort of newspaper.

But I'm not and, perhaps unfortunately, there's no reason for anyone else to cover the "unconventional," unless, like Richard Caliguiri, they put their money where there ass is.

What of "Republican" Mark Brentley???

I’ve been frantically looking to see results for Mark Brentley, the sometimes-quirky School Board Director from District 8 who ran unopposed in Tuesday’s election.
He didn’t get much ink, as would normally be the case in these kinds of elections. That being said, a frustrated Brentley switched his party registration from ubiquitous Democrat to Republican a year or so ago.
In the Post-Gazette’s Voter’s Guide, Brentley is officially listed as an (I) for Independent, but as is the case for School Board Director, he can run as a Republican AND Democrat simultaneously.
Does this mean that the bow-tie-wearing African-American Brentley, who (I found some results) received more than 1,000 Democrat votes and more than 100 Republican votes in a predominately-D district, has left the Republican Party as well?
The co-creator of the “Take Your Dad To School” festivities (along with one-time Republican Mayoral candidate Jim Carmine) in the Pittsburgh Public Schools, Brentley sometimes champions fairly Republican measures, but he is also known to throw the race-card around in truly non-conservative fashion. That being said, I’ve considered Mark to be great addition to the Republican movement in the city.
I’m disappointed if he’s changed his registration again, perhaps in a pre-cursor to a quiet return to Pittsburgh’s Democratic party that has often shunned him.
Sure, the Republican Party within the city of Pittsburgh has stumbled in the past year, to the point in which we didn’t even officially field a candidate for Mayor—I did write in Mark DeSantis only after giving much consideration to touch-padding my own name—but having Brentley win as a Republican would have meant a lot to the Republican Party and to him. If he’s resorted to scrambling back to the Democrats, he goes back into a crowded field.
If he stays Republican, he immediately becomes a leader.

City aide's cosmetics sales pitch rebuffed

City aide's cosmetics sales pitch rebuffed: P-G article.

This doesn't look good. When you put lipsick on a pig, you still have a pig.

Bloggers in Pittsburgh, and getting history correctly recorded

Coverage from City Paper, https://www.pghcitypaper.com/pittsburgh/local-politics-goes-to-the-blogs/Content?oid=1334837

When is Motznik Going To Resign?

It wasn’t that long ago, perhaps immediately following the last presidential election, but Pittsburgh City Council member Jim Motznik was a panel guest on the Ann Devlin-version of NightTalk, and promised to resign from public office to work on Senator Hillary Clinton’s campaign, should she run for President.

Now I like Mr. Motznik personally. I’m still perplexed as to why he sprinted away from a Channel 4 cameraman a few years ago after being posed a rather pedestrian political question. He’s always been polite and friendly in the neighborhood, flush with folksy tête-à-tête, a sewer-boot wearing Paul Harvey if you will, albeit with only a third of a vulgarity. He’s a Renaissance man for the new age.

I remember the statement about giving up his day job for the betterment of our country as vividly as yesterday and thought it peculiar even then. Why would he have make such a declaration, even though it was the Ann Devlin version of NightTalk, which promised to deliver upwards of a dozen viewers at any given time, including me for at least one minute on any given evening.

I was always amazed that the show perpetually seemed to be in rerun. We’re not talking about the “good” NightTalk with John McIntyre, an above-it-all elitist with a fairly sublime sense of humor and quick wit, but the tumbleweed installment. Ms. Devlin appeared to have the cushiest post in all of local television, and yet the show would go for weeks upon weeks without new editions. It was kind of like “Lost” with decades between new installments…but I digress.

Anyhoo, as we all know, Mrs. Clinton appeared in a web-based video to “chat” about her run for presidency, a campaign everyone knew started the minute she and the former president smashed their last collector’s plate on the way out the door of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

In the video, the Senator from New York via Arkansas and Illinois looked as comfortable as an Iranian hostage in 1979, emboldened by the muscular Jimmy Carter administration. Like some of those 63 diplomats and three U.S. citizens who were shown on tape, Mrs. Clinton exuded confident, assured that the “take no prisoners” Carter domination would soon kick down the door for freedom. Her titular “Smartest Woman in the World” gimmick would assuredly surpass even those steel-enforced days of Carter supremacy, where money flowed through the streets much like the omnipresent oil and coal mining jobs.

With that type of euphoria right around the corner (despite Carter and the first President Clinton’s salad days, minority home ownership is only now at its highest levels ever), it’s imperative that we only draft our best and brightest to assure another eight years of intern-groping and Linda Bloodworth-Thomason menopause humor.

We need Barbara Streisand to be relevant again…wait, she was never relevant outside of Broadway and Tinseltown (and yes, I am referring to the David Dukes/Kristy Swanson vehicle from 1997)…but I continue to digress.

We as a country need to assure an upswing in collective virtues and values first started by the highly-successful Governor Tony Soprano/Rendell, where taxes are nearly non-existent and competence—from the Lieutenant Governor position on down to the guy who sweeps up after the High Holy Priest’s daily cheesesteak—is once again on par with those heady Carter administration days where peanuts were as precious as the Peso.

When will Mr. Motznik hand in his two-week notice and help prepare the world for Marilyn vos Savant’s more impressively intellectual sister?

Only time will tell, but it should be any day now.

Postcard and Handout

South Side Reporter was in bed with Bruce

Exact date uncertain. Bruce would NOT win that election. He would win later.

Press release from Elect.Rauterkus.com

Front page Pitt News Coverage: Advocate for inclusion of college students in city elections

We won! Election date was changed away from spring break.

Gifted Center shut down threat: Letter to PPS Board and Superintendent from Catherine Palmer, Ph.D. & mom

This letter was written by Catherine V. Palmer, Ph.D.

Catherine and Mark Rauterkus, candidate for public office, have been married since 1990.



108 South 12th Street Pittsburgh, PA 15203

412-481-2540



December 14, 2005


Superintendent Mark Roosevelt School Board, Pittsburgh Public Schools


Dear Madams and Sirs:


I write to you as a parent of two elementary school children in the Pittsburgh Public Schools and a fellow educator. I am an associate professor at the University of Pittsburgh in the Department of Communication Science and Disorders. I have an undergraduate degree in elementary education, my PhD is in Audiology, I conduct research, and see patients who have communication problems due to hearing loss. I believe I am sensitive to educational needs, budget constraints, and making decision based on data due to these various roles.


My sons came home from the Gifted Center last Thursday (their favorite day of the school week) and told me that the superintendent was going to close the Gifted Center. In fact, they both produced a handout from the Gifted Center that summarized the news thus far (frequently asked questions: buses cost money, the board is voting 12/21, gifted education is mandated by law, how to be at the hearing, etc.). And then they both asked me how I could let this happen. So, out of my responsibility to my two boys, I decided to compose a letter so at least I won't have to say that I didn't even ask the important questions. I have taken several days to think about this because I have admired the process thus far in the Pittsburgh Public Schools to try to make data driven decisions rather than emotional ones. Just because I love my boys going to the Gifted Center and they love going, isn't actually a reason to keep it open. Yet, what is the reason for closing it? I will try to suggest a data driven way to approach this.


Thus far, the major decisions related to the "right-sizing” of schools in Pittsburgh have been data driven even if the formulas weren't readily available. And these data were based on educational performance. These are hard to argue with.

What is the formula for considering closing the Gifted Center?

It can't be performance based because these children clearly are performing. So, is it solely financially based?

The only information that we have received states that this “... is not an educational decision, but a needed financial decision. By closing the building and sending all students back to their home schools the district will save $394,449 the first year and possibly $986,000 thereafter.” But these aren't adequate data. First, it is disheartening, although honest, to be told decisions related to your school children are not educational.

All the right-sizing” thus far has emphasized that these were educationally based decisions, but now when it comes to some of our most gifted students, decisions are no longer educational? That seems peculiar.

I would respectfully request that no action is taken until data can be collected as it has been for all of the other decisions. These data would include the actual costs of integrating gifted programs into each and every home school for the same grades that currently receive services. In doing this, the administration also needs to be honest in how they will do this and maintain the standard that the Gifted Center has set.


I can save you some time here, because you can't possibly maintain this standard. Anyone who has studied Gifted Education and seen it implemented in the Pittsburgh Public Schools knows that it is a culture that is created. It is not something that can be recreated in a room set aside at a home school. You cannot replicate the interactions between the students from different parts of the city, the freedom to explore subjects with amazing resources (both things and teachers), the independent learning that is created in this environment, and the forthcoming leadership skills that are born and nourished. This is not likely to be recreated in a room that most likely will be shared with other programs at home schools. And perhaps even more importantly, whatever is created in the home schools will be wildly different between schools and you will see some schools witř terrific gifted resources and others with very little. This is not equitable or just for the gifted children of Pittsburgh who come from different neighborhoods. Most likely the best we will be able to hope for is some accelerated work in these home school "gifted programs" and no one should be fooled into thinking that this is adequate gifted education. Regardless, the responsible way of looking at this would be to calculate the true costs of implementing adequate and equal gifted programs in each and every school (materials, rooms, teachers, etc.) including all grades that currently use the gifted center and then comparing it to what is spent now on the Gifted Center and the transportation to the program.

As we interact with our friends and relatives who live in the suburbs with children the same ages as our own, there are two things they always mention and envy about the city schools – the fact that we have language magnets that start language immersion in Kindergarten and the fact that we have the Gifted Center - a place where gifted education truly takes place in an ideal atmosphere. Why would we close the Gifted. Center, why wouldn't we make it a model for others to follow? Why wouldn't we use it as a source to approach foundations who might want to encourage the best and the brightest in our city schools? These two programs that are the envy of suburban friends are also part of what keeps people who choose to send their children to the city schools doing just that. Without these outstanding resources, the reasons to be in the city schools may not outnumber some of the costs and we may find ourselves yet again needing to “right size”. As superintendent and the school board, you must look at all of your constituents and part of that constituency consists of individuals who make a conscious choice to have their children in the city schools and have other options available. We want a diverse group of children in the Pittsburgh Public Schools and we want people who have consciously chosen to be here.

I respectfully request that you postpone any decision related to the Gifted Center until you have collected and shared the data that would reasonably compare the current cost of the gifted center and the cost to duplicate this program in each and every home school. This would be a responsible way to make a decision related to gifted education in the Pittsburgh Public Schools.




Sincerely,




Catherine V. Palmer

Handwritten notes by Mark:

Local principals won't stand up for the Gifted Center.

Could suggest to end transportation to the Gifted Center and let families handle that cost.

Without the buses, it could be a longer school day at The Gifted Center.

At the least, PPS should phase out, not just terminate, the Gifted Center.

On TV show, Talkback

P-G Letter to Editor - candidate Rauterkus