A Pennsylvania Spoiler Joins Race for Governor - New York Times A Pennsylvania Spoiler Joins Race for Governor
By IAN URBINA Published: April 13, 2006
ALTOONA, Pa., April 11 — In what was already proving a surprisingly tight contest, the race for governor of Pennsylvania has grown more complicated with the entry of an independent candidate who helped spearhead a grass-roots insurgency last year against the state legislature.
AMS SPONSORED CLINIC for “B”/“BB” SWIMMERS ages 10-14 are going to be held with Coach Dick Bower.
Allegheny Mountain Swimming will sponsor a series of clinics the week of May 8th in an effort to help promote the progression of our developmental swimmers. There is no fee for the clinic as AMS will fund the clinic. The clinics will be hosted by Coach Dick Bower.
Coach Bower has been coaching for the past 50 years throughout the United States. He has coached at all levels, 8 and under, age group, senior, High school, college and several Olympic medalists! He has coached numerous National Champions and is currently involved with numerous top ranked swimmers in the United States. Coach Bower started his coaching career in this area and is now consulting, providing coaches workshops and holding numerous clinics throughout the world.
This clinic will try to provide the B/BB swimmers with information and motivation to move on to the next level!
There are 4 clinics scheduled at this time.
Monday, May 8, 6:30-8:30 PM Bethel Park High School
Tuesday, May 9, 6:30-8:30 PM Moon High School
Wednesday, May 10, 6:00-8:00 PM North Allegheny High School
Thursday, May, 11, 6:00-8:00 PM Fox Chapel High School
Registration: B/BB swimmers age 10-14
Swimmers must e-mail Bill Kennedy to register. Include Name, Age, Swim Club, and most important - Date and Location you would like to attend!
No swimmer is permitted to register if they have an “A” time. All swimmers must be registered USS!
Registered swimmers will get an e-mail confirmation of registration with a registration number. Please bring this confirmation to the clinic. We are limited to 42 swimmers per clinic on a first come first serve basis. You may specify a second choice location in the event that the clinic you want to attend is full.
Coaches are encouraged to attend! Coach Bower will meet with you 30 minutes before the session to provide you with information on the program. He would like you to then help out with the clinic if you would like to under his direction. He will stay after the clinic for any coach that has questions or would liker further information. This type of clinic works best if coaches attend and follow-up with their swimmers. Coaches please e-mail me if you plan on attending.
Any Questions: Bill Kennedy - bk1swim -at- adelphia.net
AP Wire | 04/12/2006 | News in brief from western Pennsylvania
AP - PITTSBURGH - Pittsburgh-area leaders are supporting a campaign to bring more conferences, meetings and even family reunions to southwestern Pennsylvania in 2008.
The Reunion 2008 initiative promotes the campaign under the theme, 'Bring It Home to Pittsburgh.'
The campaign is part of the city's plans for its 250th anniversary celebrations in 2008.
'This is an opportunity to get creative and plan events that bring people back to Pittsburgh,' said James Rohr, chairman of the Pittsburgh 250 Commission and chief executive of PNC Financial Services Group.
The campaign offers a 'unique opportunity to reintroduce our region to the world,' said Andrew Masich, chief executive of the Sen. John Heinz Regional History Center.
A 'Bring it Home' campaign a few years ago generated the booking of 122 meetings in the city, according to the Greater Pittsburgh Convention & Visitors Bureau.
The bureau has created Reunion 2008 kits that contain reunion planning information.
Pittsburgh getting All-Star makeover - PittsburghLIVE.com: "The city's facelift also could include wrapping abandoned buildings with the All-Star Game logo, Mayor Bob O'Connor said. Communities throughout a 10-county region will be encouraged to use the All-Star logo on shops and sidewalks.
'We don't just want Downtown,' O'Connor said.
Obesity was less of a problem in 1944. And, look, the All-Star logo didn't JUST show downtown.
MedlinePlus: Number of Kids on Type 2 Diabetes Drugs DoublesSo, this is what happens if you cut the Recreation Centers by more than half. We used to have 32 outdoor swim pools. Most of them, in the city, are vacant lots. Dormont's Pool is not going to open this year, without a miracle.
FRIDAY, April 7 (HealthDay News) -- In a four-year span, the number of U.S. children and teens taking prescription drugs to treat or prevent type 2 diabetes has increased two-fold, according to a new study.
'From 2002 to 2005, we found a doubling of type 2 diabetes medications,' said Emily Cox, the senior director of research at Express Scripts, a benefits management company that conducted the study.
The Dormont Pool will be closed this summer because extensive renovations are needed to make it safe. Dormont is represented by State Senator Wayne Fontana and Representative Tom Petrone. They are asking Governor Rendell for help in funding the estimated 3-million dollar cost of repairing the pool, a cost they say the community can not afford.
Stilp to Protest Brightbill's Tens of Thousands of Dollars in Per Diems in
26.2-Mile Walk From the Senator's Home to His Capitol Office
Lieutenant Governor Candidate Says Brightbill Should Return Thousands in Wrongfully Pocketed Taxpayer Funds
On Wednesday, April 12 from 5 a.m. to 3 p.m., Democratic Lieutenant Governor candidate and anti-pay-raise activist Gene Stilp will take a break from the statewide campaign trail to embark on yet another trail. This time, Stilp will walk from Senator David "Chip" Brightbill's home in Mt. Gretna, Lebanon County to Brightbill's Capitol office. The distance: exactly 26.2 miles.
Stilp is staging the walk to demand that Brightbill return tens of thousands of dollars to Pennsylvania taxpayers taken in the form of per diem expenses, even though the Senate Majority Leader lives well within commuting distance of the Capitol.
"While the Pennsylvania House of representatives has a rule that no legislator can receive a per diem if the member lives within 50 miles of the Capitol, the Senate, where Senator Brightbill is the Majority Leader, allows the taking of a per diem no matter how close you live or if you actually use the money on expenses," Stilp explained. The Senate per diem rate is currently $143 per day. "Obviously, the rate was lower in the past, but as Majority Leader, Senator Brightbill makes the rules," Stilp said.
In recent years, Brightbill has collected as much as $8,000 to more than $10,000 per year in extra income from the per diems. "He does not stay in hotels in Harrisburg, he merely pockets the money," Stilp said.
Stilp is also asking Brightbill for a full accounting of his per diems while in office. "No one knows what the real amount is. It may well total more than $100,000 in extra income. Only an audit of Brightbill's per diems will tell," Stilp noted. Senator Brightbill is also holding up passage of Governor Rendell's Minimum Wage Bill in the Senate.
While Stilp is not a resident of Brightbill's district, and the Senator will likely point this out, the anti-pay-raise activist notes that taxpayers across the commonwealth pay for the per diems, not just Brightbill's constituents.
"These tens of thousands of dollars Brightbill owes the taxpayers are in addition to the tens of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions he just returned to gambling interests. Simply put, 'Chip's dip' into the taxpayers' pocketbook for per diems has got to stop," Stilp concluded.
Mr. Stilp is currently running against Catherine Baker Knoll in the Democratic primary for Lieutenant Governor. The election is May 16.
Citywide Wi-Fi to get public airing council will hold an April 24 public hearing on the possibility of citywide Wi-Fi.
Did you hear about how the one blogger's avatar went to the Duquesne Club and fell in love with the tourist in a tuxedo? CMU/Pitt Nursebot Project Social interaction: A huge number of elderly people are forced to live alone, deprived of social contacts. The project seeks to explore whether robots can take over certain social functions.Humm.... A nurse bot that tells you to take your meds, and injects a bit of blogging content into your veins as well.
Page Six is the gossip page for an out-of-town newspaper. Recent reports of journalists and clebs pimping for PR and profit, (imagine that), adds fuel to the pay-ol-a fire.Scandal, intrigue, escapades and brushes with the high-rollers (from boardroom to bedroom to nursing homes) could be cooked up -- as in fabricated -- into a 'soap opera' that plays among various sites. And, so as to not slander anyone, the characters could be movie stars and divas of an online origin for this drama.
Seneca Valley sells stadium naming rights The Seneca Valley school board last night sold the naming rights of its football stadium to NexTier Bank in what may be the first transaction of its kind in Western Pennsylvania.So, the Dormont Swim Pool naming rights should be the next on the auction block.
Raider Stadium will now be known as NexTier Stadium under a 10-year agreement whereby NexTier will pay the Butler County school district $50,000 over 10 years plus the expense of new signs.
Signage, including a NexTier Stadium name above the stadium entrance, the NexTier logo bar across visitors' side bleachers and NexTier logo flags on light posts, could be in place before the district's June 2 graduation at the stadium.
It is believed that this is the first partnership in Western Pennsylvania in which a high school stadium takes the name of a corporate sponsor, according to Greg Caprara, athletic director for the school district.
Rocky Mountain News: Columnists This is a pretty adept PR job by Major League Baseball, which has managed to make the question, 'If the press didn't know, how were we supposed to know?' Too bad Enron didn't think of that.Nice article on the role of Journalist and Sports Coverage.
In fact, two reporters from the San Francisco Chronicle forced baseball to act, but critics point out these were not sportswriters but news-side guys.
As Mark Jurkowitz of The Phoenix in Boston wrote last week, sports have become a big seller for newspapers and other media, which are looking for sales drivers in a big way.
Go Langley Mustangs!HighSchoolSports.Net - Listings Tuesday 04/18 Home vs. Steel Valley High School at Sheraden Field 3:30 PM
Wednesday, 04/19, Home, vs. Brashear High School, Langley Field 3 pm
Fridaym 04/21, Home vs. Allderdice High School at Langley Field at 3 PM
Monday, 04/24, Home vs. Peabody High School at Langley Field at 3 PM
Wednesday, 04/26, Away at Oliver High School at 3 pm.
Saturday, 04/29, Away vs. Beaver Falls High School at 7 PM
Monday, 05/01, Away at Perry High School at 3 PM
Wednesday, 05/03, Home vs. Sto-Rox High School at Sheraden Field at 3
Monday, 05/08, Away at Westinghouse High School at 3 PM
Thursday, 05/11, Away at Schenley High School at 3 pm.
Friday, 05/12, Away vs. Bishop Canevin HS at 8 PM
Thursday, 05/18, Home Quarter-Finals at Langley Field TBA
Tuesday, 05/23, Away, Semi-Finals, TBA
Sunday, 05/28, Away, Baseball City League Finals, To Be Announced
My name is Mark Rauterkus.Democracy is important and at the time of elections, we need to put forth new ideas and new candidates. I feel that the one party system in the city -- and the national 2-party system -- both need drastic overhauls.
My family and I reside at 108 South 12th Street on the South Side.
I have a home on the internet at Rauterkus.com.
I am vice chairman of the Allegheny County Libertarian Party.
Recently I was a candidate for City Council and I'm presently circulating petitions for the November election.
My voter registration is now as "independent.'
Camp AK-O-Mak The University of New Hampshire is ending its men's swim team program. Let's help our alumni who swam at UNH - by helping them spread our disappointment with this decision. Swimming is a great sport - and means a lot to so many of us. So, too, does equality in sport. Swimming seems to be on the short end of the stick in the UNH case. The school needs to save money - so they're ending a program that is considered 'easy' to cut.Thanks "running mates" for the clicks and the short note to the AD and University President.
Here is a link to write UNH's president, if you'd like to help save men's swimming:
http://www.unh.edu/president/presemail.htm or email the UNH Athletic Director Mr. Marty Scarano at marty.scarano@unh.edu It's time to speak up for swimmers everywhere!
Revised plan would delay West End school closing Revised plan would delay West End school closingThis is great news and another example where people were able to "Think Again." I love it.... for many reasons.
Open Clip Art Library - openclipart.org - Drawing Together.Drawing Together.
This project aims to create an archive of user contributed clip art that can be freely used.
Hartford suitor ready to woo Penguins - PittsburghLIVE.com First it was Kansas City, and now it's Hartford, Conn., that wants the team if it can't get a new arena in Pittsburgh.Hartford is wailing.
Mayor opens dialogue - PittsburghLIVE.com Stephen Opara, 17, a senior at Taylor Allderdice High School in Squirrel Hill, told O'Connor that students need more recreation centers and summer job opportunities.A commission that meets four to six times a year should really be called a 'pep rally.' Others might call it a photo opportunity too.
Right on. Think again.
I think probably we should listen to students more often than we do -- and I include myself in the group that should probably do that more often," said Pittsburgh Public Schools Superintendent Mark Roosevelt, who chatted with O'Connor and students.
kdka.com - O'Connor Puts Hold On Plans To Expand Police Force Right now, the city has 814 officers and 45 cadets will start field training next week.Glass is half full -- not half empty.
Lawsuits add to Pittsburgh's financial woes - PittsburghLIVE.com Lawsuits have amplified the costs of guiding Pittsburgh out of its financial mess, according to preliminary budget figures from the city's state oversight board.The coutless lawsuits that the city, and even the county have engaged, in the past decades is horrid.
Much of the higher-than-anticipated costs comes from legal fights the board started or was forced into with former Mayor Tom Murphy, the city-county Sports & Exhibition Authority and the city's firefighters union.
Piatt Place plan grows - PittsburghLIVE.com Millcraft Industries Inc., of Cecil Township, Washington County, also wants to talk to officials of Saks Inc. to determine its interest in moving its Saks Fifth Avenue store Downtown to its expanded development site.If you move -- you move. That isn't a guarantee of growth. Rather that is called "CHURNING." We don't need to churn. We need to grown.
'We also will be contacting Saks to determine if it wants to use part of the site to expand its store,' said Lucas Piatt, vice president of real estate for Millcraft, which in January completed purchase of the Lazarus-Macy's building from Federated Department Stores Inc.
Pittsburgh Laurels & Lances - PittsburghLIVE.com Lance: To Dan Onorato. Allegheny County voters twice have rejected a home rule charter amendment that would have allowed sitting County Council members to run for other offices. The idea, a good one, was to prevent the council from becoming a springboard and soapbox for those with higher political ambitions. Yet Mr. Onorato, the chief executive, is proposing a third referendum on the very topic. How many times do the people have to speak?Hear, hear. I've got plenty to say about special elections and those who want to run for office other than the one they are in presently.
Lance: To Mr. Onorato. The aforementioned amendment might not pass legal muster. Why? It places before voters not a single issue but a second issue -- if voters also want quick special elections to fill vacancies to avoid the practice of the council appointing people to fill vacancies. Convoluted, 'Christmas-treed' amendments are a constitutional no-no at the state level; there's no reason to think that same rule is not applicable at the local level.
kdka.com - Diven Speaks Out On Forged Signatures Diven has withdrawn from the Republican Primary.
Diven could still mount a write-in or independent campaign.
Mayor: Point Park's plan enhances efforts to redevelop Fifth-Forbes Pittsburgh Mayor Bob O'Connor says the purchase of five properties by Point Park University in the heart of the Fifth and Forbes shopping district Downtown only enhances his efforts to redevelop the beleaguered corridor.
MARK SCOLFORO, Associated Press
HARRISBURG, Pa. - A federal judge on Wednesday denied a request from minor political parties to reduce the number of signatures required to place their candidates on the statewide ballot.
U.S. District Judge John E. Jones III said a formula that requires minor party candidates to collect 67,070 signatures this year is constitutional and reflects a legitimate state interest.
Jones said he was sympathetic to the plight of the parties and candidates who sought to overturn the law. He urged the General Assembly to reconsider the law, but he declined to issue a preliminary injunction that would invalidate it.
Jones wrote that he is not "a super-legislature, but rather a court of law, and thus we decline to supplant our wisdom in place of that of the Commonwealth's elected officials."
Jones said he shares the state government's concern that, without some standard to make minor parties demonstrate a minimum level of support, the ballot could become cluttered and confusing.
"Undoubtedly, and in particular during these contentious times in Pennsylvania politics, some will brand this concern as undemocratic in that it places little faith in the ability of voters to sort out a potentially long general election ballot," Jones said.
Robert Small, founder of the Pennsylvania Ballot Access Coalition, said his organization will next seek changes to state law that will loosen access.
"We'll have to go back to Plan A, which is trying to get it through the state Legislature," Small said.
Republican and Democratic candidates for governor and U.S. Senate this year needed 2,000 signatures to make it onto the May 16 primary ballot.
But the signature requirement for others is 2 percent of the ballots cast for the largest vote-getter in the last statewide election race, which was Treasurer Bob Casey's record of nearly 3.4 million votes in 2004.
Sam Stretton, attorney for the plaintiffs, said he was disappointed in the ruling and said the parties have already shown public support by qualifying as minor parties under the state Election Code.
"I think it's a serious First Amendment violation and an equal protection violation, so we're going to let the 3rd Circuit (Court of Appeals) take a look at this," he said.
A spokesman for the state Attorney General's Office said the third-party access rules fit within the limits of the state constitution.
The lawsuit is being pursued by the Green and Constitution parties, the Green Party candidate for governor, the Constitution Party candidate for governor and the Libertarian Party candidate for U.S. Senate. The defendant is Secretary of State Pedro Cortes.
STOP COUNCILMAN JOHN DEFAZIO
CALL (412) 350-6516
jdefazio@steelworkers-usw.org
JDefazio@county.allegheny.pa.us
STOP CHIEF EXECUTIVE DAN ONORATO
CALL (412) 350-6500
executive@county.allegheny.pa.us
DEMAND PAPER BALLOT VOTING!
Allegheny County's CHIEF EX. DAN ONORATO, AGAIN, wants to buy an UNSAFEGUARDED voting system without paper ballots.
The BOE will meet on Friday, 6PM, 119 of the County Court House to decide to purchase the iVotronic machine. Onorato is counting on John Defazio to vote with him.
Tell John Defazio to SAY NO TO PAPERLESS DRES...
SAY YES, ONLY TO OPTICAL SCAN VOTING.
Optical Scan is the only Paper Ballot system that we can purchase or use in PA today. Paper ballots form checks and balances for electronic voting. Op scan is the most cost-effective, secure, reliable and auditable voting.
Optical scan is the only voting system with a meaningful audit or recount. Avoiding recounts is not a valid reason for not choosing optical scan. Candidates are entitled to recounts and voters are entitled to see a permanent record of their vote to provide backup reliability in case of electronic glitches and to prevent fraud.
*Onorato/DeFazio plan to purchase iVotronic voting machines that dont have paper ballots and may never have them. Their plan is to wait for stalled legislation to pass (SB977), then will ES&S have to develop a new printer to submit for certification which may or may not be certified. Their present printer will not pass certification. Once again, Onorato has presented a farce of a plan for paper ballots in Allegheny County - Political cover for a fraud prone voting system. Don't let them get away with this.
Optical Scan costs less, is most secure, and is the most used system in the country, as well as the best ADA compliant system, why wouldn't the county buy it?
EITHER THEY DONT WANT RECOUNTS, OR THEY DONT WANT SAFEGUARDED ELECTIONS.
Recounts and audits are the standard for integrity in elections. they simply must happen.
Richard King, Ph.D.
(412) 400-3773
kinggaines@comcast.net
www.PA-VerifiedVoting.org
www.verifiedvoting.org
Jerry Bowyer - Home Page Susan and I would like to let you know what has been going on with me and my absence from the airwaves over the last couple of weeks.Get well soon. I didn't notice a date on the blog entry.
The City-Wide Public Safety meeting will be held on Monday, April 24, 2006 at 1900 or 7:00 pm hours. The meeting will be held at Our Lady of Angels located at 37th and Butler in Lawrenceville. Zone 2 and Zone 3 are the hosts for this meeting. I would encourage everyone to attend, so that you can hear information vital to the entire city, and Zone 3. Typically, representatives from Police, Fire EMS, 911, BBI and other high ranking officials are present.
The Big O - PittsburghLIVE.com Tosca is one of the signature roles of Neves' repertoire. The title character is a diva's diva. Puccini's 1887 composition is an opera about an opera singer plagued by a malevolent magistrate with a hidden agenda.We understand that this lead is a nice person. Unlike one in New York who (so the story goes), on the last performance, jumped off the castle wall not into a padded landing but onto a trampoline set there by the stage crew in revenge.
Talking about 'Plan B' - PittsburghLIVE.com: "Penguins officials are planning to talk this week with Pittsburgh and Allegheny County leaders about an alternate plan to build an arena, a spokesman said."
SI.com - Olympics - Norwegian ski coach rewarded with maple syrup - Wednesday April 5, 2006 12:54PM OSLO, Norway (AP) -- Bjoernar Haakensmoen's act of sportsmanship was rewarded Wednesday -- with more than 5 tons of Canadian maple syrup.
At the Turin Olympics, the Norwegian cross-country ski coach handed Sara Renner a spare ski pole after the Canadian broke one during the Nordic ski sprint relay final. Renner went on to win a silver medal while the Norwegians finished fourth.
'It was natural for me to do it, and I think anyone should have done it,' Haakensmoen told The Associated Press. 'I didn't think about it. It was just a reflex. ... but the response has been unbelievable.'"
Allegheny scraps deal for new voting machines: "With just six weeks to go before the May primary, Allegheny County is scrapping a multi-million-dollar deal for electronic voting machines built by Sequoia Voting System and instead is purchasing 4,700 touch-screen machines from Nebraska-based Election Systems and Software Inc.However, that does not mean there isn't another bullet on its way.
County Chief Executive Dan Onorato made the announcement today, saying Pennsylvania Secretary of State Pedro A. Cortes told him last week that Sequoia's system likely would not be certified because of critical software problems."
We want a hungry, local, 'tiger team' to tell us that these machines work -- flawlessly.As a backup in May, precincts with long lines will allow voters to use optical scan ballots. Those ballots, which resemble standardized tests, would be placed in secure boxes and taken to a central location for counting.There will NOT be many precincts with long lines because too few people vote. I don't see a big groundswell of people rushing to the polls for the spring primary, sadly. But, at certain times in the day, there is a bit of a wait.
Great, we need an aggressive educational effort. And, we need an aggressive TIGER TEAM approach as well. The TESTING campaign that I'm calling for is part education, part research and development. It can happen as the educational effort happens and the two can have, at times, meetings of the minds. But, both need to occur to raise the various issues and find flaws that are sure to exist.
...The county will begin an "aggressive" educational campaign for voters and poll workers ....
Mr. Onorato said the board would hold a public meeting Friday at 6 p.m.Good. Put that meeting onto cable TV and onto the internet. Start the educational process now, with that introduction. Capture the meeting on video and put stream it off of the county's web site.
General News The state Libertarian Party has joined a coalition of minor parties representing a broad range of ideologies. Ranging from socialists to libertarians and from the ultra-conservative Constitution Party to the liberal and environmentalists of the Green Party, the coalition has one thing in common: a goal to bring a level playing field to all political parties in the state.
The Pennsylvania Ballot Access Coalition has drafted legislation to make it easier for minor parties to have candidate listed on general election ballots, and has asked every state Senator and Representative (all are either Republicans or Democrats) to introduce the legislation; so far, none have done so.
Release 4-3-2006
Dear Friends & Voters:
It seems that my detractors have been hard at work. Several weeks ago, those in the judicial establishment who are vehemently opposed to me took the opportunity to file a bar complaint against me. Did it relate to taking money or having sex with clients? No. Did it allege some other misbehavior in the practice of law?
No.
What grievous act do I stand accused of committing then?
My use of my nickname, “Madame Justice” on my website in which I render opinions on the law or give free legal advice to those who contact me.
And for this, I am to either withdraw from the race or face censure or disbarment?
This country is facing enormous problems. This state also has its share. There are others accused of committing crimes and those who have committed them but who have not even been charged. And they are worried about what a woman with a brain tumor and a paralyzed face says on a political website?
It sounds ludicrous.
It is ostensibly to protect the poor unsuspecting public, who as we all know is too stupid to think.
There is no “Madame Justice” office in our state; there are only justices and a chief justice. This complaint has nothing to do with protecting the public, which is NOT too stupid to think, as I well know.
Nor is this about prospective clients thinking that I have some special connections with the justices that will help their case. I don’t and never indicated that I had and anyone who thought otherwise has been disabused of that idea. The argument does not hold water, in any case.
We could save all lives by driving at 5 mph. Do we do that? No.
Nor should we prohibit political speech because there might be one misguided soul who might somehow think that I am a real justice or that I might have special connections that will help their case.
This complaint is politically motivated and is a sign that my enemies are so desperate that they will do anything to stop me.
I will not withdraw from the race. Nor will I accede to their attempts to censure or disbar me. If such sanctions are imposed, I will seek redress in the federal courts. And someone somewhere will reveal to me who it was that filed the bar complaint. They too will be part of any lawsuit.
That is why I need your help more than ever to donate to the PAC!
Aside from responding to frivolous bar complaints, I was in Fayetteville a few weeks ago and briefly spoke to the Progressives down there. I will be returning there to speak in more detail about the death penalty. While there, I had the opportunity to meet Luis Olivera who is running for district court there. He has been a prosecutor. He has been in the military. He has been involved in the community. And he is very bright and hard-working. I think he will make a fine addition to the bench and I hope the voters in his district will give him consideration and hopefully their vote.
(... snip ... See the rest of the email letter in the comments, but nothing much of an attack happens there.)
The Evening Bulletin - Home - 04/04/2006 - Observations Made At The Pennsylvania Leadership Conference
Lynn Swann kicked off this weekend's Pennsylvania Leadership Conference with a message that was not received well by the staunchly conservative grassroots activists that attended. It appears that Swann is now becoming complicit with the legislative leaders in the rewriting of history about the construction and passage of the pay raise of 2005, specifically the shifting of blame to the governor. As recently as November of 2004, Swann's campaign manager, Ray Zaborney, was a paid political consultant of the political action committee PA Future Fund, which is a PAC run by Bob Asher! Why would our gubernatorial candidate want to dirty his hands with the current corruption in Pennsylvania since he is running as a reformer and a so-called 'outsider?'
...
Lynn Swann gave a mixed performance. When he was off the script or regaling the crowd with football analogies, he was brilliant. But when going through his prepared speech dealing with policy, he seemed like someone who only recently learned a foreign language. The Q and A portion was especially turbulent for him. Questions about the pay raise and the abhorrent spending of House and Senate GOP leaders were given very weak answers, so much so that Swann was heckled a bit. Note to Swann: TRIANGULATE, lest it be rendered true that you are deeply in the pocket of one Bob Jubelirer, a bete noir to conservatives. Swann also dropped a golden opportunity by bunting a softball on Right to Work. Swann said he'd sign a Right to Work Bill, but implied he'd take the Tom Ridge approach and not expend any political capital on it. In other words, if Swann is governor and Right to Work is your top issue, sorry about your luck.
KYW - Newsradio 1060 In a preliminary budget vote, the Pennsylvania House on Tuesday refused to continue an extra $25-million appropriation for Philadelphia schools that began after the state takeover of city schools.Over and over and over again, we've heard that the Pittsburgh Public School District is about to be snatched up "by the state." Well, it seems as if the state has little interest in taking over school districts when it won't even pay for the district it had to assume control over in the past.
Erik, my oldest, had in his NCAA chart (an in-house activity) FLORIDA as national champions.
Monday April 3, 12:36 pm ET
Stilp is Only PA Citizen to File Lawsuit Against Legislative Pay Grab
PHILADELPHIA, April 3 /PRNewswire/ -- Democratic lieutenant governor candidate and anti-pay raise activist Gene Stilp will personally argue the pay raise case before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in Philadelphia on Tuesday, April 4.
The hearing will take place in the Pennsylvania Supreme Court hearing room located in Room 468 of Philadelphia City Hall at 9 a.m.
Stockholm Challenge Event 2006 - Program: "The Stockholm Challenge Event, May 8-11, for the world's best ICT projects
The Stockholm Challenge brings together inspiring people working with ICT from around world in the six categories of the Award. This time around 100 finalists will participate in the Final Event of the Stockholm Challenge 2006.
The finalists will gather for closed workshops on the 9th to share their experience with academic and industrial members of SPIDER, the Swedish Program for ICT in Developing Regions."
Your fly is about to open.Imagine your favorite, high-speed coaster. What do you like best? Most people go for the fast descent into a wild dip followed immediately by ‘air time’ as you crest the next hill.Interesting multi-media from the old-school folks at Kennywood, Welcome to Kennywood - What's New MORE CABLE GIRLS: The SwingShot is featured on Local Cable Show. Park opens May 6. Season Passes are available for Sandcastle and Idlewild for only $49.95 until May 15th. Don’t miss a whole summer of fun for the price of about two visits!
Imagine a ride with that thrilling sensation of weightlessness immediately followed by another... then another... and another... over and over again, in very rapid cycles? Yeah, baby!
Everyone knows a coaster descent is only as good as gravity makes it, so this is where our imaginary ride gets even better. Imagine being actually powered down, i.e. driven, into the dip! Imagine that you are then powered back up to the next heart-pounding crest with dragster-like acceleration!
Now that’s what we’re talking about! A real thrill ride! One that isn’t a coaster, but thrills like one! And it is comes into existence as Kennywood’s new ride: SwingShot.
WYEP is looking for several energetic individuals to volunteer at the reception desk in the new Community Broadcasting Center. The receptionist will be the point of contact for the Community Center and be responsible for all incoming calls into WYEP. They may also be asked to assist in some other office tasks such as assisting with outgoing mailings, sort and deliver incoming mail, greet guest and take memberships. This position requires that the individual must have wonderful communication and people skills. Volunteering Shifts are 9am-1 pm and 1pm-5 pm Monday through Friday. For more information on open shifts, or to volunteer, please contact Kathi Radock at 412-381-9131 x 212
Coyote Music from Ocracoke Island NC COYOTE is the songwriting duo of Marcy Brenner and Lou Castro who make the beautiful island of Ocracoke, NC their home.
Jam session with five fiddlers.Allegheny Parents and Police in the Mon Valley -- state concens about wellness and abuse of kidsSee the Allegheny blog for the full press release. Mike is doing a lot of whistle blowing.
PRESS RELEASE
Mike Ference
Ticket booth in Chicago at Navy Pier.Deaf firefighter overcoming obstacles (phillyBurbs.com) | Courier Times “Not everybody is open and accepting of having a deaf person in the fire department,” McDevitt said.
Candidates wanted for US Congress races too. Do we have anyone who can run in the 1st (Robert Brady), 9th (Bill Shuster), 14th (Mike Doyle) or 15th (Charles Dent) districts? It looks like those races will only have one name on the ballot in November. It is an absolute shame if there is no choice for the voter for federal office.
It looks like there will also be six races for Senator in the General Assembly that will only have one name on the ballot. We need candidates in the 4th, 14th, 22nd, 38th, 40th and 46th districts. There are a lot of state rep slots left to fill, and far too many with only one name.
Anyone wishing to run for office, please let us know so arrangements can be made to collect signatures!
Yes, this is a LIMO.... Babies need not apply.
TechMan: 'Moblogging' trend makes mobile Web posting possible ... pronounced 'mo-blogging,' rather than 'mob-blogging,' as it's a combination of the terms 'mobile' and 'blogging.'
Churches turn to 'Godcasting' Churches turn to 'Godcasting'
Thefts from vehicles are still are a problem in the South Side around 14-18th streets. Don't leave anything of value in view in your car.
Wallets and purses are being taken out of shopping carts at the Giant Eagle in Wharton Square on the South Side. If you are going to place your purse in the cart, wrap the child restraints through the handle and lock. Make it very difficult to quickly remove the purse without drawing attention to the act. Additionally, make it more difficult to unzip the purse and remove the wallet.
Selling swords might be one way to diminish theft at a shop. Those who might swipe a purse would 'think again.' In the photo, Grant is checking out some wares in China. He wanted to bring home a functional blade, an old-style light sabre. But airport security might have caused some problems for us.
On The Economy: Rendell's score on jobs, not ice, to determine election fate a matter of far more importance in the Pittsburgh area -- jobs.Jobs tied to gambling with slot machines are fleeting, at best. Jobs tied to gambling and table games are much better and more abundant. There are more jobs to be expected from a casino -- where ever it might be located -- with table games instead of slots. And, those jobs would pay more. Better paying and more of them -- seems like a winning combination. Furthermore, when Pennsylvania's slot bill was hatched, it sprang up from a bill that was to put slots only at the horse race tracks. Then came the parlors for the cities and for the resorts. In the end, PA is going to have plenty of locations with slots. The marketplace is going to have a big glut of options and the demand is going to be much less. When the supply is increased in such a drastic way -- there are expectations that the value of each location is going to be less. People in Pittsburgh can still and will still play the slots in Las Vegas, Atlantic City, West Virginia, Niagra Falls, Indian Casinos and perhaps in Erie and Seven Springs too, plus The Meadows in Washington County, Gettysburg, and the Downs near Harrisburg. The options are extensive for slots.
I think it would be wise to make a break-out statement and say Pittsburgh will do without its slots license and turn it into a license for table games. Then we'll have something on the front of the wave -- rather than getting crushed in the tail end. Being a laggard in terms of a marketplace offering is always Pittsburgh's way -- so far. They overbuilt the Convention Center in Pittsburgh and now the Convention Center is never going to be used to its capacity. It is a waste as all the other convention cities have out paced Pittsburgh. Looser again. If we asked for a TABLE GAME LICENSE, an exception that all the other slots places are sure to embrace, as the Pittsburgh venue will be less of a competitor to theirs, then we'll have something. Consider the game of 'BINGO' and its popularity. That game is much unlike that of playing a slot machine. With BINGO, it becomes a social game, a community game. Furthermore, BINGO is more of a mental game when contrasted to the slot machines. There are women who play bingo with 24 cards and no chips. That's amazing. That's mental stimulation that is worth its price in gold. I understand that BINGO isn't a "table game" -- but with Pittsburgh being what it is -- perhaps there are plenty of other interesting games that we'll be able to play, learn, develop and form into an attraction for others. In Florida they play the betting game of Jai alai, i.e, "HI-LIGH." ?? Right? In Asia, they play a betting game with FIGHTING FISH.Indian Reservations have gambling too.
In Thailand, they play the betting game of Thai Boxing. Well, I'm not going to go that far and suggest that any of these are 'table games' that would work in Pittsburgh. But, each has a bit of character and sense of being unique. 'When in ROME, do as the Romans do.' When in Pittsburgh -- let's NOT do what everyone else is doing. We are someplace special.Ticket window to the Thai Boxing Stadium -- a real event and place to gamble.
Finally, the other thing that would be interesting to see in Pittsburgh is a "re-match" among these gambling folks who are bidding for the rights to the casino. Double or nothing is a slogan that could fit in as a groundswell cry to put the brakes on the existing plans and make for another plan that has a better hope of being an economic boom to THIS REGION. A year delay or a delay of even six months -- could be good so as to string out the opportunities for more to get on the ground floor of the bribes and payouts. Why should Rev. Sims and Franco and that gang be so exclusive? This re-do will allow more to be in the fray -- more ads to run in the Post-Gazette, more community meetings, more time for tour bus operators to plan their trips.Action in a Thai Boxing match.
Stage face of an opera character. Fast Eddie is at it again. This time, I've got a better answer for him to consider. You do the vo-do math. Source: Pennsylvania Office of the GovernorOkay, if a cultural center in Midland can knock out 320 jobs, I'll just yawn. Heck, Veronica's Veil Players who already own their own building with a high stage and seating in a classic auditorium, with balcony, with character -- sans a working heater and a bit of debt on the gas bill -- should be a mother load of jobs. Why not give that organiation $2 million and generate even more jobs. Why 320 jobs -- why not 420 jobs. Beat em by 100.
PA Governor Rendell Says State Investment in Beaver County Performing Arts Center Will Create 320 jobs
Friday March 31, 5:00 pm ET
MIDLAND, Pa., March 31 /PRNewswire/ -- Pennsylvania Governor Edward G. Rendell today said residents of the former steel town of Midland will enjoy greater cultural and educational opportunities with the commonwealth's investment of $4 million in the new Lincoln Park Performing Arts Center, a project that will create 320 jobs.
Take $2-million and divide it by 420 people and you'd get $50,000. One guy gets the buy the heater and install it. The other guy gets to play catch-up with the gas bill. Then you've got 418 people who can all get $20,000 per year for two years and a $10,000 signing bonus.The South Side has a great theater hall already built. It is owned and operated by Veronica Veil Players. Such a deal.
I don't think this show will be playing in Midland, Pa., any time soon.
Merge the Overlords already. Murray stepping down city's ICA panel: "Murray stepping down city's ICA panelDr. Murray has taken a good bit of heat in recent weeks for his statements about the gambling and casino location -- so close to the campus. He jumped on the bandwagon against the IOC -- in part, they said, because a D.U. board member has an interest in the Station Square proposal.
Saturday, April 01, 2006
By Rich Lord, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
The head of a state panel that oversees the City of Pittsburgh's budget announced yesterday that he intends to resign as soon as a replacement is named."
Prisuta: Option a positive - PittsburghLIVE.com Rendell, O'Connor and Onorato insist their plan requires no public money, but there's $7 million a year over 30 years included from the Gaming Economic Development and Tourism Fund, $210 million, in other words, that could serve the public elsewhere.
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