Who is the most important voter?

Russ Diamond Podcast: Pennsylvania's Most Important Voter

Description: Audio podcast encouraging voters to support PACleanSweep candidates from Russ Diamond, Independent for Governor.

Vote for one:

A. Clean Sweeper on a bike.

B. Lead Clean sweeper touching up the bus stop and the ten million signs.

C. Inventor of the water tank, brush bike for removal of grafitti.

D. Brush building on the sidewalk.

E. Man picking crack.

F. Hand brush salesman on bike.

G. None of the above.

---

Leave your vote in the comments section of this blog.

An accidental Pittsburgher - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

An accidental Pittsburgher - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review Kevin McClatchy had to squint.

Golly.

PNC Park is "breathtaking" -- or is it really built to take something else away from the people -- beyond one's breath. By the way, I'd say it is better to go to a swim pool and swim laps for a real 'breathtaking' experience. Inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale, ...

More swimming pools could be reopened

More swimming pools could be reopened Pittsburgh Mayor Bob O'Connor said yesterday that he hopes to open 17 or 18 city swimming pools this summer.

That's up from 14 last year, but down from 31 in 2003.

What does the Aquatic Task Force say about these pools? (giggle, giggle)

Getting the pool ready to open. Unravel the "red tape."

This outdoor pool also resides, in part, under a building. So, the pool is part outdoor and part indoor. The building above is a "rec center" of sorts. It holds badminton courts. The city's stadium is next door -- just 50 yards away (behind and to the right of the photographer's position).

Writers Wanted for 'mind washing blog' -- not really

Here is a job opportunity for the Running Mates to sell some soap and sound off on all those pent up feel good stories.

Progress Pittsburgh Forums :: View topic - Writers Wanted: Writer’s Wanted

Writers for Pop City, a new e-magazine and Web site with features on economic development, technology and business, arts and culture, and remarkable people and places. The goal is to document the continuing transformation of Pittsburgh through lively articles that portray the authentic and thriving Pittsburgh. Contact editor at tcerto@adelphia.net and log onto www.popcitymedia.com.

Day of decision interview from Bill S of the Trib

Thanks for a great interview Bill.

Day of decision - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

You look back two years ago, out of 193 House incumbents seeking re-election, only 15 had opponents in both the primary and general election. This year it is a hundred and something....

A: I don't have any sense of that because I think that the people are not looking at it as a party problem but as a government problem. You would think that the Republicans would have more to lose, because they have been in control of the Legislature for 14 years. It's not an irrational argument for people to say, "Well, gee, 14 years you've controlled the House and our Senate - and where's our property tax relief?" But the Democrats haven't exactly been a force for change and improvement, either.... There really isn't a difference between the parties. It's not a partisan problem, it's a government problem. We need to reinvent our government in a way that actually responds to the needs of citizens - that addresses the real problems that we have, whether they are economic or social or anything else, and that people have confidence that it's working for their benefit. We don't have that now. The Issues.PA poll that came out yesterday shows that confidence in government is at an all-time low. That reputation is well deserved. The people in office have not done a good job. Period. End of story.

Read the entire article for more insights.

Prep for Bike To Work Week

Bike to work!

Scene from the West End on a recycle a bicycle event hosted by Citiparks in the past.

May 15–19 is Bike to Work Week!

Help get the word out about these fun events intended to network, grow, and promote the Pittsburgh bicycling community!

Monday, May 15 – Biker Breakfasts from 7:30 – 9:30 a.m.
* Whole Foods, East Liberty
* City-County building, downtown
* Carnegie Library in Oakland

Tuesday, May 16 – City Council proclamation will acknowledge Bike to Work Week

Wednesday, May 17 – Bike Breakfast at Carnegie Mellon (8am outside of the University Center)

Wednesday, May 17 – Commuter Clinic

* Bike Pittsburgh Executive Director Scott Bricker will offer tips on getting to and from work on two wheels, 7 p.m. at REI on the South Side

Friday, May 19 – End of the week party at the Brillobox (Corner of Penn and Main in Bloomfield). Come out and meet fellow Pittsburgh bike commuters and Bike Pittsburgh – the folks working to make the city better for bicycling. Members get 1 free drink!

Learn more about Bike Pittsburgh at www.bike-pgh.org. We’re working hard to make biking to work, shopping, and exercising by bike safe and fun for everyone in Pittsburgh!

Bike to Work Week is part of Great Outdoors Week which includes Venture Outdoors Festival (May 20th on the North Shore between the stadiums) and Pedal Pittsburgh (May 21 at Station Square Amphitheater.

Encourage others to bike to work.

Offer to meet a coworker somewhere along the way —- such as the Eliza Furnace Trail or Highland Ave. -— so you can ride to work together.

Make the most of MapHub and ByCycle or get involved with a BikePool to find routes and fellow riders.

Host your own biker breakfast! Bring coffee and bagels to share with your coworkers who ride in. You’ll be very popular.

Talk to your employer about installing bike racks, lockers, and even showers to encourage more people to opt to ride instead of drive to work.

Looking for more information? Please feel free to contact info -at- bike-pgh.org.

Bicycle vs. car facts:

According to a survey conducted by the Federal Highway Administration, 40 percent of all trips are within two miles of the home, and 50 percent of the working population commutes five miles or less to work. Yet more than 82 percent of trips five miles or less are made by personal motor vehicle.

Cycling at least 20 miles a week cuts in half your risk of heart disease compared to non-cyclists who take no exercise, according to the British Heart Foundation. The British Medical Association also recommends that you cycle daily.
Grant and Erik sit in the back seat of a bike in a bike shop -- before we purchase it. Photo from May, 2005, when we were in Chengdu, Southwestern China. We rode that bike all around that city for four weeks. We'd go back to various bike shops, on a near daily basis to get various fixes and adjustments. It was like a fine-tuned sports car.

A month later, as we were about to depart China, Erik and Grant got to wheeling and dealing with a crowd of bike "experts" and "prospective buyers." The bike was "for sale" and the boys were trying to make a bargain with some locals. None spoke English.

The model American male devotes more than 1,600 hours a year to his car. He sits in it while it goes and while it stands idling. He parks it and searches for it. He earns the money to put down on it and to meet the monthly installments. He works to pay for gasoline, tolls, insurance, taxes, and tickets. He spends four of his sixteen waking hours on the road or gathering his resources for it. And this figure does not take into account the time consumed by other activities dictated by transport: time spent in hospitals, traffic courts, and garages; time spent watching automobile commercials or attending consumer education meetings to improve the quality of the next buy. - Ivan Illich, Energy and Equity

The bicycle also uses little space. Eighteen bikes can be parked in the place of one car, thirty of them can move along in the space devoured by a single automobile. It takes three lanes of a given size to move 40,000 people across a bridge in one hour by using automated trains, four to move them on buses, twelve to move them in their cars, and only two lanes for them to pedal across on bicycles. Of all these vehicles, only the bicycle really allows people to go from door to door without walking. The cyclist can reach new destinations of his choice without his tool creating new locations from which he is barred. -Ivan Illich, Energy and Equity

Erik and I at Ohio Pyle -- on a rest stop -- for That Dam Ride, a 2-day 140 mile trip. Photo from September 2005.

Beijing to boost patrol force for '08 Games to 50,000 - Friday May 12, 2006 7:52AM

Multiple fences beteen the spectators and field.

SI.com - Olympics - Beijing to boost patrol force for '08 Games to 50,000 - Friday May 12, 2006 7:52AM Beijing will build a 50,000-strong civil patrol force by 2008 to bolster security ahead of the Olympic Games, a Chinese newspaper said on Friday.

The force would comprise 70 percent permanent residents, 20 percent retired soldiers and 10 percent from Beijing's non-permanent resident population, the Beijing News reported.

Already 21,000-strong, the force would grow to 30,000 by the end of the year, the newspaper quoted police official Miao Lin as saying.

The government had already spent 200 million yuan building the force, the official added.

Patrol members were responsible for checking criminal activity, accident damage control, venue security, assisting in emergency situations and managing dangers within their jurisdiction, said Liu Yucheng, a Beijing Public Security Bureau official.

In addition to a fixed monthly salary of up to 700 yuan ($87), members would receive accident and injury insurance, and bonuses for assisting in emergency situations and making arrests that led to criminal charges, Liu added.

Police stop people and an instant crowd gathers right around the action. When we were stopped by the police, while on our bike, we were encircled within moments. The circle of onlookers was five deep and 20 or more around.

Walk For A Healthy Community for DePaul School for Hearing and Speech

We are almost a week away from the Fourth Annual Walk For A Healthy
Community presented by Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield on Saturday, May 20, 2006 at the Chevrolet Amphitheater in Station Square. We have a few very special announcements to make to all of those who've registered to support DePaul School For Hearing and Speech.

* Registration begins at 7:45 a.m. and it's recommended that you arrive for the Walk before 8:30 a.m.

More details in the comments section.

Brainstorming could remake Fifth-Forbes

Brainstorming could remake Fifth-Forbes Mayor Bob O'Connor's effort to chart a new course for the run-down Fifth and Forbes corridor Downtown takes another turn next week. But you'll need an invitation to take part.

By invitation only. Right. That is a fine way to get a consensus plan that you want. Just invite who you like.

This is no 'starting point.' The starting point is that the all the king's horses and all the king's men won't be able to fix Pittsburgh again. That start has come -- gone -- and proven itself to be true time and time again.

While Mr. Murphy came under fire for not being inclusive enough in his planning for the Fifth and Forbes corridor, Mr. Dettore does not believe that will be a problem this time around.

"I think every base has been covered," he said.

Every base -- now that POP has a blog -- they can say they have 'bloggers too.' There were few others who even knew what to do with the 'blogging concepts' back when there was a plan of public participation in 2000 and 2001. That was a joke too. Every base has been covered..... Give me a break.

They want to rush ahead and build upon the failures of the past.

The theme song, "Lay the Shovel Down" seems to fit again. As does the message, "think again."

Mr. Gallaher "was miffed...." Get in line pal. We've all been miffed. We've all been through it before.

Swimming season is here!

Indictments Announced In Huge Drug Bust

Good work. But, let's not call a big drug bust -- "fantastic for our city."

kdka.com - Indictments Announced In Huge Drug Bust "This is fantastic for our city," said Mayor Bob O�Connor.

Where are the visitors to the All-Star Game going to go to get their drugs? Not to a two-bit auto repair place nor a hauling company with trucks an at.

Help wanted: Drug pushers with nice cars and no record of zoning abuses. Come quickly while the city is still without a personelle director nor a 'weed and seed' director.

GOP's Hillman backs Democrat - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

GOP's Hillman backs Democrat - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review Hillman said her endorsement of Wagner is part of the 'Run, Baby, Run' campaign, an effort to get more women elected to the state Legislature. Hillman also noted that there is no Republican candidate on the primary ballot.

Dormont pool group gets pat on the back

Pittsburgh Laurels & Lances - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: "Laurel: To Friends of Dormont Pool Inc. A door-to-door campaign has raised enough money to open Dormont Pool this summer after all. The borough council this week reversed a decision to close the pool that's in need of major repairs. It also approved a deal that will see the grass-roots group pay for those interim fixes. The effort redefines for the better what the word 'community' really means."

PLUM Students Walk Out In Protest At Plum HS

WPXI.com - News - Students Walk Out In Protest At Plum HS ... About 60 students walked out of school in protest of the proposed 2006-2007 school budget.

In the new budget, students would have to pay a $50 participation fee to play sports or other activities.

Also, anywhere from six to 20 teachers positions could be eliminated.

School board officials said it is to help the district cut its budget, which is currently almost $2.2 million in the red.

The protesters said it's not fair to make the students have to compensate for the district's financial problems.

Student Sarah Urbanowicz said, 'We don't deserve to have our teachers cut who help us so much. This morning they told us we could write letters and stuff that would work but they didn't listen to us in the board meeting. Why would they listen to letters? We can't take this so we walked out.'

I Want My M-TV..... and make it free ... and where's Waldo?

Posted by Amy Gahran

Where Is That Stephen Colbert Video Now?

Stephen Colbert's now famous/infamous performance at the April 29 White House Correspondents Association dinner launched an online firestorm. C-SPAN shot and broadcasted the video, which was immediately recorded and widely reposted online by enthusiastic Colbert fans, Bush detractors, media critics, and others.

C-SPAN, which holds the copyright to that video, recently asked the popular video-sharing sites YouTube (http://youtube.com) and iFilm (http://ifilm.com) to remove the Colbert performance from their offerings. Both services complied. (Although, as of this writing, iFilm is offering an ABCnews.com closeup video of President Bush watching (http://www.ifilm.com/ifilmdetail/2724944) Colbert's "audition tape" spoof -- and appearing none too pleased.)

C-SPAN recently announced (http://www.c-span.org/special/colbert.asp) that it has entered into a non-exclusive arrangement with Google Video (http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-869183917758574879) "in order to increase the Colbert event's free availability. We worked with Google because they agreed to post both dinner segments in their entirety with links to c-span.org."

Of course, the Colbert video is distributed far and wide, and is by now impossible to recall -- from the fan blog Thank You Stephen Colbert (http://thankyoustephencolbert.org/) and video-sharing site DevilDucky (http://www.devilducky.com/media/45146/) to respected media organizations like Salon.com (http://www.salon.com/ent/video_dog/politics/2006/04/30/colbert_press/inde
x.html) (where I first saw it).

I can understand C-SPAN wanting to protect its copyright. However, when news footage "goes viral," there's no containing or corralling it. So the question becomes, what can news organizations do -- if anything -- to leverage such viral runaways? Please share your thoughts on this in a comment below. I'd love to hear some ideas on this.

Are you ready for some.... 'soccer.'

"Soccer" in U.S. and "football" everywhere else, the sport with most fans in the world, will have its World Cup competition in Germany in June. Are you ready?
Soccer ball in front of a sports stadium in Chengdu, China.

Congress critters to hit against "my space" and other social sites with pending law

The problem with this proposed bill is it tries to draw a line that in the real world won't be so clear. It will be impossible to draw. Enforcement will be lax and a joke.

Perhaps a solution or suggestion could be vendor ethical practices that call for parental consent to enter such networks. This would rest on the backs of the vendors.

A couple of states attorney generals (or auditor generals) could force this issue to them -- in advance of a congressional law of blacklisting.

I think blacklisting, as the law is being hatched, is a bad idea.

Free D.C. event for student journalists

On Friday, June 2, "The Nation" and CampusProgress.org will co-host a FREE Student Journalism Conference at the Center for American Progress in Washington D.C.

Student writers will have the opportunity to come together for a day of conversations, workshops, panels, and trainings featuring numerous "Nation" editors and writers, including Katrina Vanden Heuvel, David Corn, John Nichols, Liza Featherstone, William Greider, Eric Alterman, Laura Flanders and Victor Navasky, among many others.

Registration is free including meals. A limited number of travel stipends are still available. Both undergraduates and graduate students are welcome.

The application deadline is May 15.

For more information, http://www.alternet.org/nationinfo or, to apply, http://www.alternet.org/nationapply

For progressive journalism, Kristina Rizga, Editor, WireTapMag.org

Online Journalism Awards: Entries Start May 15 to June 15. The entry form is not yet online, but will be available shortly.

Honus & Me -- a great audio from SLB -- and the 10-year old meets a neighbor

Pittsburg....

This is a great listen about a play now at City Theater -- on the South Side. Everyone should give it a listen. And, I love the SLB with Larry.

Brigadier Briefings report:

Last night, we enjoyed the debut of City Theatre's "Honus and Me", a magical and fast-moving play with great Pittsburgh connections -- past and present -- that the whole family will enjoy. For an audio preview and ticket information, visit http://slbradio.com/slb/citytheatre.html.

Click that link (above) already.

Greedy - that word fits.

Cass wrote from eastern Pa to point out a new poll.

Did you see this poll that shows when asked, Pennsylvanians most often called the state legislature "greedy?" It's a big deal, especially since those polled weren't given multiple choice answers - they came up with the word on their own. Other words used to describe them include “crook,” “poor,” and “corrupt.”

IssuesPA/Pew Poll Shows Pennsylvanians

Dissatisfied with State Direction

Pennsylvanians Have Mostly Bad Things to Say About the State Legislature

May 10, 2006 (Harrisburg, PA) – A new IssuesPA/Pew poll shows that close to half (49 percent) of all Pennsylvanians are dissatisfied with the direction of the state, compared to just 43 percent who are satisfied with the state’s direction. These are the most negative ratings recorded in an IssuesPA/Pew poll since August 2004. These results also show the widespread nature of the dissatisfaction – reaching more than 50 percent in four of the six regions in the state; only one month ago, dissatisfaction was over 50% in only one region.

The poll also shows that rising gas prices are one factor behind Pennsylvanians’ growing dissatisfaction. Mentions of high gas/fuel prices as the most important problem facing the state have doubled in the past month (13 percent now versus six percent in March).

Views of the Legislature

When asked for a one-word description that best describes the legislature, the largest number of Pennsylvanians (69 respondents) said, “greedy.” Though the top ten list of responses includes some positive or neutral words like “good,” “okay,” and “fair,” most have a negative connotation such as “crook,” “poor,” and “corrupt.”

Only a quarter (26 percent) of Pennsylvania residents feel they can trust the legislature to do what is right just about always or most of the time. Nearly seven in ten (67 percent) feel they can be trusted only some of the time or never.

Pennsylvanians’ negative perception of the legislature might carry over into this year’s elections, as two-thirds (66 percent) of voters say that an incumbent state legislator’s vote on the pay raise should be a very important issue in this year’s legislative elections

“The well-reported furor over the Legislative pay raise appears to be having a lasting effect,” said Larry Hugick of PSRAI. “Pennsylvanians express low confidence in the state legislature as whole but have more positive opinions of their own state representatives.

Education

Education has emerged as a key issue in the 2006 elections. Most voters (85 percent) say that making sure high school graduates have the skills they need for college or a career will be very important in determining their vote in the gubernatorial and legislative races this year. Eighty-one percent say that making sure children have a similar opportunity for a quality education regardless of where they live will be very important. Voters were asked to rate the importance of 30 different issues this spring. Only one other issue – providing health care for uninsured children – was rated “very important” by 80 percent or more of the respondents.

Across Pennsylvania, most residents (56 percent) agree that financing education should be the responsibility of the state government. However, a similar majority (53 percent) want local school officials to be in charge of ensuring that public schools provide a quality education.

Gubernatorial Race Still Wide Open

The poll asked Pennsylvania voters about their chances of voting for Ed Rendell and Lynn Swann in the November gubernatorial election. Based on their responses to two questions, three in 10 (30%) voters are likely to support Rendell, another three in 10 (29%) are likely support Swann, and four in 10 (40%) are classified as swing voters, not strongly committed to either candidate. The new poll shows more voters on the fence than the March 2006 poll; the number of swing voters has increased by six percentage points.

Other Findings

Three in four (75 percent) voters statewide say the candidates’ positions on how to best control state spending will be very important to their vote.

More than two-thirds (71 percent) of voters say the candidates’ positions on how to best provide a tax system that is fair, adequate and pro-growth will be very important to their voting decision.

About half (52 percent) think the issue of helping cities and towns solve their financial problems should be very important.

Most Pennsylvanians (63 percent) do not think local communities without their own police department should be charged a service fee for state police protection.

Residents have many reasons for disliking local property taxes. Even numbers of Pennsylvanians (21 percent) say their main complaint about property taxes is that they make home ownership unaffordable and don’t specifically take household income into account.

In terms of reducing the property tax rates, the two least acceptable alternatives are expanding the state sales tax base (27 percent) and increasing the local wage tax (25 percent).

More than a third of Pennsylvanians (38 percent) think that conditions affecting their region’s economic performance have gotten worse in the past four years.

“There are a number of issues that matter to Pennsylvanians, and many of them may be important factors in the 2006 elections,” said Steven Wray, Project Director of IssuesPA and Deputy Director of the Pennsylvania Economy League’s office in Philadelphia. “The candidates’ positions on taxes, jobs and education may be key in deciding what could be a very close race.”

More pointers and details in the comments.

Rip-off: As seen on City Council! - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

Rip-off: As seen on City Council! - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: "Got yourself a councilmatic yet?

What? You don't yet own this amazing appliance that conveniently slices, dices and easily purees facts and opinions for insertion into hastily complied research?

That's understandable, I suppose. They can be expensive. Pittsburgh City Councilwoman Twanda Carlisle spent $28,795 on hers."

Locals Lead with Logic from Lessons Learned

Firms' familiarity breeds attempts - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review 'If you look at what's happening Downtown, local people are making it happen,' O'Connor said. 'Any investor is welcome, but local people seem to be the ones coming up with the best ideas.'

Of course the locals are going to be the ones best suited to fix our problems.

Pittsburgh has had a great fall. The locals along with the king's men and king's horses have to be engaged with the rebuilding.

The ones that come up with the best ideas come from anywhere and everywhere -- really. In an open-source model -- that can be locals, but it can be anyone under the sun. Every comment is taken.

So, we have a core of prime developers -- but we still need to have that public process.

I'd love to see that contract being let from the URA to Urban Design Associates as to what is going to be expected from the strategic plan.

City seeks advertising dollars -- sooooo, Les Ludwig Won!

Les Ludwig was a candidate for Mayor in the Dem primary in May, 2005 -- just one year ago. He talked constantly about this very topic -- art-advertising income.

Do more with Les.

His idea took root more than a year ago on the County Council. Now it is getting serious attention on City Council's agenda.

Les Ludwig MUST be put onto this 'task force.' Les really extended the conversation on this front and he has to be included. And, if I was Luke Ravenstahl, I'll give Les a big, public pat on the back and make him the first official appointment to this committee. And, give him special emeritus status too.

City seeks advertising dollars, sponsorships The City-County Building will not bear a corporate logo, and Schenley Park won't be renamed for a bank, but the City of Pittsburgh is preparing to solicit advertising dollars.

City Council today unanimously approved Council President Luke Ravenstahl's legislation creating a committee to look into selling ads on city buildings, ballfields, street furniture, cable programs and Web pages, as well as other means of reeling in corporate dollars.

City fires Weed and Seed coordinator

John T, a guy I know from being out and about in the community, like he is, got terminated today. The reasoning is unknown in the paper -- and with me.

Weed and Seed hit a bump in the road a bit in recent times. The prior director was terminated in the first hours of the new administration. I think that went down as the police boss was also let go, or around that time. But, then, John T. kept onto his job and might have picked up additional duties.

City fires Weed and Seed coordinator: "Pittsburgh Mayor Bob O'Connor's administration has terminated the coordinator of the city's Weed and Seed program. A mayoral spokesman said the program would continue to operate while the administration seeks a new coordinator.

The terminated coordinator, John T. Tokarski Jr., 49, of Hazelwood, started with the city in 1994. "

Weed and Seed is nice. But, my approach calls for Weed, Seed and Flourish. When do we ever get aroud to a HARVEST if we are always doing the weed and seed things?

There are too few programs in the city that are built to FLOURISH. We want our kids to soar. I want the buddies of my children to be able to soar too. We need to have a framework in the schools, parks, and neighborhoods where excellence is expected. That means we need more than 'lifeguards.' We need 'coaches.' We need programs that push and pull our kids.

I want my children to be in gangs. But I'm not talking about 'street gangs.' I want them to engage in gangs that are positive experiences.

A band, orchestra, swim team, and other efforts are 'gang-like' -- but -- postitive. That is the missing leg on the chair in the past approaches with our city.

Let us 'Create Literate Olympians Here.' That's the point of CLOH.Org, one of my hobby sites. That is a theme I'm wiling to sing and dance about for hours.

Do weed. Do seed. Fine. But let's also be sure that the entire forumla for success is established --- FLOURISH.

John, you did good work. You did a lot of time in duties where you had to make chicken soup and you only got chicken droppings to scratch about with.

John, you did a good job of survival and influence when Tom Murphy was in office too. I hated Tom Murphy's acts and the crew that was around him -- but -- for you.

John, let me know what your up to next.

Council clears way for PNC tower work to begin. I would have raised questions and voted NO

When I ran for city council -- just months ago -- I mentioned this tax break for PNC many times. I always talked about it. Meanwhile, the others on the campaign trail generally did not -- except for two others.

Jeff Kock, the eventual winner of the race, never mentioned tax breaks. He didn't have much to say about how the city council people always vote to give away our public money to big projects that fail to help the city and fail to make good financial sense.

Jeff Kock must have been told how to vote on this tax break by others -- such as the mayor.

I'd love to lobby new Mayor, Bob O'Connor, and get him to VETO the TIF to PNC. It is something that was hatched by Tom Murphy and Ed Rendell. The state (Pennsylvania) already gave PNC $30-million for this same building. That was a 'grant' and that is also illegal, but that is another story.

O'Connor won't veto this building.

Build the darn building -- but do it on its own merits with its own money -- not taxpayer funding.

The PNC Plaza is getting more than $1-million per floor. The citizens and taxpayers are getting robbed.

Council clears way for PNC tower work to begin City Council gave final approval to an $18 million subsidy for a new PNC Financial Services Group tower planned for Fifth Avenue.

I would NOT have voted to provide this Tax Break to the rich corporation. I would have voted to protect the taxpayer money -- not give it away. I would have voted to keep the funding in the schools, not help the profits of a downtown based business.

Furthermore, I would have been on council giving serious questions to those on the URA, the mayor's office, PNC, and others about this deal. I would have attacked the reasoning from every angle. I would have made a case as to how the $18-million could have been spent in other ways.

I worry -- why do we give money to build a hotel downtown when places like The Hilton -- are not performing as they need to perform. And, why undercut that long-time business with a subsidy to bring in another competitor. Next up -- see more requests for money to be spent on hotels downtown to prop up the others.

When things are not fair -- people walk away. The Hilton, Doubletree, Mariott, Wm. Penn and others from downtown to South Side to North Side -- can all smell the foul stentch of bad deals.

City Council Member Bill Peduto voted no on the deal. He was the only one. Good for Peduto. But, Peduto endorsed Bruce Kraus in the city council race I was in recently. Kraus would have voted WITH the TAXBREAK and NOT with Peduto. Kraus is all about doing big corporate welfare deals too. Kraus is a Chamber guy. Kraus would not have stood with Peduto in opposition on things that really mattered.

Britain targets improvements to reach medal target in 2012

The Brits are turning on the heat in various sports and with various athletic programs in the years to come. Come on -- get 4th!

SI.com - Olympics - Britain targets improvements to reach medal target in 2012 - Tuesday May 9, 2006 1:17PM... Cycling, rowing, sailing, equestrian and modern pentathlon regularly deliver medals for Britain and will have to 'consolidate on their success.'

Archery, boxing, canoeing, judo and badminton have a 'sporadic track record' and will need to increase their medal totals, he said.

The BOA is also targeting other sports where Britain is weak, including weightlifting, wrestling and water polo.

Meanwhile, London organizers said they will embark on a 'road show' across Britain to promote the games. The tour will begin in London on July 6 -- a year to the day after the city was awarded the Olympics -- and run until July 27, exactly six years before the opening ceremony.

Also Tuesday, a public hearing began into the forced relocation of businesses from the Olympic park in east London. Olympic organizers have about 86 percent of the land needed for the complex, but dozens of businesses are fighting eviction.

The London Development Agency has issued a 'compulsory purchase order' covering 306 hectares (756 acres) in the Olympic precinct."

In other news, eminent domain acts are an important next step in getting access to the land for the Olympic venues in East London.

Perhaps we could write new eminent domain laws in PA -- or elsewhere in the USA -- that pledge no eminent domain, UNLESS it is for the Olympics. Maybe not.

Bubble sport for the Brits.

Olympic racquet -- not always about a racket.

Blog Quiz:
Guess the sports of the Modern Pentathalon? (See comments for answer.)

Developers pass -- but this isn't any 'bid' -- it is cronism, plain and avoidable

Of course developers are going to walk away. They are voting with their feet. People leave when things are not 'fair.' People depart when there isn't a 'square deal.' People don't want to be part of a hand-picked dance.

This is business. And, this is business with public officials and public assets. We should have called for a comprehensive public participation process.. We should be doing bids, sealed bids. We should have accountability with a set of specifications. We should make up our mind as to what fits, what is ideal, what we are willing to provide. Then we should accomidate all suitors.

Developer may pass up bid - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review Developer may pass up bid for Fifth-Forbes job

By Andrew Conte, TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Tuesday, May 9, 2006

Yet another national retail developer appears to be losing interest in Pittsburgh's main retail corridor after spending months studying ways to bring the area back to life, Mayor Bob O'Connor said Monday.

Madison-Marquette, based in Washington, D.C., would become the fourth suitor to pass on remaking the area since 1999. A company spokesman declined to comment.

'I don't think Madison-Marquette is interested any more in the project,' O'Connor said.

Must read for all musicians and lovers of music -- Extra! Online, May 5, 2006

Extra! Online, May 5, 2006 Strike up the band ... safely
UPMC helps protect the hearing of Pittsburgh’s young musicians

See the article, now, before the URL changes.

Extra, a UPMC newsletter: Features Catherine

Students don goggles to guard their eyes while in the chemistry lab. On the football field, no one participates without wearing a helmet and pads.
It only makes sense then, says UPMC’s Catherine Palmer, PhD, for school districts to take steps to protect student musicians from a danger they face each time they tune up for a rehearsal.

Biker Event - open the tunnel

Bike lanes are needed too -- along with the tunnels.

Tunnel for pedestrians in Xian, China. The people can walk in a safe way under the ten lane road -- without stopping the flow of traffic. Most of the tunnels have ramps build in along the steps that allow for the pushing of bikes to join the walkers.

BST Event The Somerset County Rails-to-Trails Association (SCRTA) invites you to join the Light at the End of the Tunnel Celebration on Saturday, May 27th from noon to 3 pm at the Western Maryland Railway Station, Meyersdale, PA.

Trail rides, refreshments, entertainment, displays, and activities are planned for visitors of all ages. A grand opening ceremony will take place at 2 pm.

This is great progress. Soon the Pittsburgh to DC trail is going to be a real deal.

This September there is a 'World Clinic' for ASCA (swim coaches). It would have been great, given the price of gas, to be able to bike with 10-20 other swim coaches in the region on a three day trip to DC for the event.

I do like to push the functional benefits of biking -- not just the recreational ones. I think we need more bikes for everyday work and everyday travel. That means bikes get to take the place of cars. Bikes need bike lanes on busy city streets for commuters and travel to school.

Ticket to freedom with content contributions

My photos, such as this (click for larger view), are being organized and in the hopper pending a full release into the public domain, or a similar license as being discussed now. We need to be able to chunk blocks of knowledge freely. We need to extend conversations and global understandings. We need to have the rights and liberties to have the elements come together. And then the experts are going to be the ones with the best insights and glue.

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The Wikipedia universe and free content efforts are getting a facelift, again, with a new, needed, trusted '''free and open content license.''' It looks very good.

The free culture movement is growing. Hackers have created a completely free operating system called GNU/Linux that can be used and shared by anyone for any purpose. A community of volunteers has built the largest encyclopedia in history, Wikipedia, which is used by more people every day than CNN.com or AOL.com. Thousands of individuals have chosen to upload photos to Flickr.com under free licenses. But - just a minute. What exactly is a "free license"?

In the free software world, the two primary definitions - the Free Software Definition and the Open Source Definition - are both fairly clear about what uses must be allowed. Free software can be freely copied, modified, modified and copied, sold, taken apart and put back together. However, no similar standard exists in the sphere of free content and free expressions.

We believe that the highest standard of freedom should be sought for as many works as possible. And we seek to define this standard of freedom clearly. We call this definition the "Free Content and Expression Definition", and we call works which are covered by this definition "free content" or "free expressions".

Neither these names nor the text of the definition itself are final yet. In the spirit of free and open collaboration, we invite your feedback and changes. The definition is published in a wiki. You can find it at:

http://freedomdefined.org/ or http://freecontentdefinition.org/

Please use the URL http://freedomdefined.org/static/ (including the trailing slash) when submitting this link to high-traffic websites.

There is a stable and an unstable version of the definition. The stable version is protected, while the unstable one may be edited by anyone. Be bold and make changes to the unstable version, or make suggestions on the discussion page. Over time, we hope to reach a consensus. Four moderators will be assisting this process:

Erik Möller - co-initiator of the definition. Free software developer, author and long time Wikimedian, where he initiated two projects: Wikinews and the Wikimedia Commons.

Benjamin Mako Hill - co-initiator of the definition. Debian hacker and author of the Debian GNU/Linux 3.1 Bible, board member of Software in the Public Interest, Software Freedom International, and the Ubuntu Foundation.

Mia Garlick. General Counsel at Creative Commons, and an expert on IP law. Creative Commons is, of course, the project which offers many easy-to-use licenses to authors and artists, some of which are free content licenses and some of which are not.

Angela Beesley. One of the two elected trustees of the Wikimedia Foundation. Co-founder and Vice President of Wikia, Inc.

None of the moderators is acting here in an official capacity related to their affiliations. Please treat their comments as personal opinion unless otherwise noted. The Creative Commons project has welcomed the effort to clearly classify existing groups of licenses, and will work to supplement this definition with one which covers a larger class of licenses and works.

In addition to changes to the definition itself, we invite you to submit logos that can be attached to works or licenses which are free under this definition:

http://freedomdefined.org/Logo_contest

One note on the choice of name. Not all people will be happy to label their works "content", as it is also a term that is heavily used in commerce. This is why the initiators of the definition compromised on the name "Free Content and Expression Definition" for the definition itself. We are suggesting "Free Expression" as an alternative term that may lend itself particularly to usage in the context of artistic works. However, we remain open on discussing the issue of naming, and invite your feedback in this regard.

We encourage you to join the open editing phase, to take part in the logo contest, or to provide feedback. We aim to release a 1.0 version of this definition fairly soon.

Please forward this announcement to other relevant message boards and mailing lists.

Thanks for your time,

Erik Möller and Benjamin Mako Hill

Years ago, I fell in love with the DSL, Design Science License. It was a copyleft type of license that has since had its plugged pulled. See the digital dust at DSL.CLOH.Org. Then came the Creative Commons licenses. I've been tending to just put my stuff into the ''public domain.'' Perhaps this effort will bring new energy and clarity -- as well as hope.

Pin headed approaches to leadership from politician elsewhere on real democracy

This was sent in as a Letter to the editor with the Baltimore Sun:

Does Mayor O’Malley really favor democracy? Are ballot access barriers a good thing?

Around 1 pm on Saturday May 6 2006, I was volunteering at the Libertarian Booth at the Towson Town Festival. The Libertarian Party is the 3rd largest party in the U.S. and has been operating for over 30 years. Like all states, Maryland’s electoral system is controlled by the Democrats and Republicans, so that to have candidates on the ballot, the Libertarian Party must turn in 10,000 valid signatures every 2 years to stay on the ballot. This repeated effort of course saps strength from other projects we might undertake, but of course that is what many career politicians want.

In any event, Mayor Martin O'Malley was walking past the Libertarian booth, and I asked him to sign the petition, making it clear that signing does not mean he endorses the party nor is he obligated to vote for any libertarian. He said he is ‘with another party’ and could not do that. [Two of his entourage took the same position, but two others signed.] As he briskly walked away, I asked if he was afraid of competitive ideas or and felt democracy had its limits. He shouted back that if Erhlich signed he would sign – to which I inquired if he only does what Erhlich does.

Does the mayor’s face to face response reflect the type of person we should have in Annapolis? In city hall? In a homeowner’s association?

When the public's ability to have alternate candidates available to them is limited by games like ballot access, should politicians be forced to simplify the system and give up their personal fiefdoms?

Steven Sass

p.s. I have since been told that Governor Robert L. Ehrlich DID in fact sign our petition when we last encountered him – about 4 years ago, AND at that time we actually had a candidate, Spear Lancaster, ON THE BALLOT, running against Mr. Ehrlich

The Code Breakers - FOSS - and story from an online post

The post that follows in the 'comments' section, click to read, is about a new documentary from BBC about Free and Open Source Software, FOSS. I hope to see it.

Blog Burst and coverage in newspapers

P-G coverage of a blogging trend.

Tech Briefly: 5/6/06 The Web sites of dozens of newspapers are starting to feature outside blog postings on travel, health and other topics in a further blurring of the line separating traditional and new media.

The travel section of the San Francisco Chronicle's site, for instance, had a box in the middle Wednesday with such posts as 'The Intricate Architecture of Barcelona' from the RealTravel blog.

The posts supplement the Web journals, or blogs, maintained by the newspapers' staffs and come from Pluck Corp.'s new BlogBurst service, which collects postings from about 1,000 blogs and distributes them to newspapers, mostly for online use.

Ride of Silence - might get started in Pittsburgh

Back wheel of my 3 wheeled bike.

::Ride of Silence:: Join cyclists worldwide in a silent slow-paced ride (max. 12 mph/20 kph) in honor of those who have been injured or killed while cycling on public roadways.

Why does this site exist?

To HONOR those who have been injured or killed

To RAISE AWARENESS that we are here

To ask that we all SHARE THE ROAD

THE RIDE OF SILENCE WILL NOT BE QUIET
On May 17 at 7:00 PM, the Ride of Silence will begin in North America and roll across the globe. Cyclists will take to the roads in a silent procession to honor cyclists who have been killed or injured while cycling on public roadways. Although cyclists have a legal right to share the road with motorists, the motoring public often isn't aware of these rights, and sometimes not aware of the cyclists themselves.

In 2003, Chris Phelan organized the first Ride Of Silence in Dallas after endurance cyclist Larry Schwartz was hit by the mirror of a passing bus and was killed.

The Ride Of Silence is a free ride that asks its cyclists to ride no faster than 12 mph and remain silent during the ride. There is no brochure, no sponsors, no registration fees and no t-shirt. The ride, which is being held during Bike Safety month, aims to raise the awareness of motorists, police and city officials that cyclists have a legal right to the public roadways. The ride is also a chance to show respect for those who have been killed or injured.

I think it would be great to have a local silent ride. I hope a lead organizer goes for it. The weather is going to be perfect for a bike ride on the 17th.

Can a few "local connections" be made in terms of fallen ones -- injured or hurt -- on our roads on bikes?

Shame on Preston, the Paygrabber. Vote for Gainey

24th district challengers hope for clean sweep of incumbent - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review Preston, 58, of East Liberty, voted for the pay raise July 7 and accepted the money early as unvouchered expenses. The General Assembly voted to repeal the pay raise in November, but Preston acknowledged he has not returned the money he collected.

With role models like this, it is no wonder we get others who spend public money in private ways.

Fort Pitt Museum strategic planning

The Fort Pitt Museum (a state museum) is engaged in a strategic planning exercise in which it is gathering information about the museum and its environment, how it is perceived, and how it can do a better job serving the community. The Museum wishes to convene a one-hour "focus group" composed mainly of 5 to 10 downtown residents and others who might be considered among its "neighbors."

This meeting will be held from 7:30 to 8:30 pm on Thursday, May 11.

Individuals who are interested in volunteering should send an email to donnneal -at- yahoo -dot- com as soon as possible but no later than Wednesday, May 10.

Feeding fish.

5th and Forbes and a modern folk tale from fellow blogger

Nice modern folk tale.

The Three Rivers Post & Standard - 5th and Forbes Redux Imagine that you as an individual didn’t want to invest in these schemes, but you had to. You see, you all live in the same apartment building. Everyone in the apartment building got together and decided through a democratic vote that each resident should invest a percentage of their income into more of these programs. No matter how hard you tried to explain to people that doing so was a bad idea, they didn’t seem to listen.

The lessons is.... people don't want to subsidize PNC nor other downtown developments.
Downtown living won't get this grand in Pittsburgh, but it should.

PNC subsidy OK'd

PNC subsidy OK'd: "Proposed subsidies for a new PNC Financial Services Group tower on Fifth Avenue won Pittsburgh City Council's initial OK yesterday.

The vote was 7-1 to join with Allegheny County and the Pittsburgh Public Schools in using future tax dollars to finance $18 million in aid. Councilman William Peduto voted no.

In addition, $30 million in state aid is going to the $169.5 million office, hotel and condominium development.

Mr. Peduto argued that PNC, which made $1.3 billion in profits last year, did not need the help. Other council members countered that the project would add $1.1 million a year in new city, school and county property taxes, even after $1.7 million a year is diverted to pay off the subsidy.

Council's final vote is set for Tuesday. Construction would be done in late 2008."

Froth Slosh B'Gosh calls for a picnic for Chuck for Senate

Sunday!

Froth Slosh B'Gosh Let's have a picnic! Chuck will be there, we'll have live music, food, good friends. Bring everyone you know to meet the next Senator from Pennsylvania. Bring the kids and let's have some fun!

Mike Stout will play and sing for us. We'll have food - hoagies and soft drinks are covered - everyone else please something picnicky - chips, juice, cookies, whatever. I don't know if there are grilling facilities there.

We'll have a 50/50 raffle! 50 cents of every dollar goes to Chuck's campaign. The lucky winner walks home with half the loot!

The yard signs are here! Come to the picnic to get some to take home!

RIVERVIEW PARK - VALLEY REFUGE SHELTER - SUNDAY, MAY 7th 2 - 6 PM

I might try to attend.

Newest member of our family: Sarah. Stay tuned for "Revenge of the Cat Blogging!

Kitten....

Grant, my second son, got a kitten! He picked it up with my wife from the new and beautiful Animal Shelter. She is named Sarah and is doing very well. Very social. Bunking down with Grant, 8.

So far so good.

Our other cat, Cigi, almost 19 (human years), is still doing her hissing. But by the second day they have turned more to walk-by hisses.

Dad and boys.

Last Summer, Erik and I did the 140 mile round trip, two day event called, "That Dam Ride." This summer, I've got to get back in shape. The ride is in September. Running mates, care to join us?

Last summer's memory.

Frankel and Frankel

STAND UP and STAND OUT! (Or, how to make your elected representatives actually LISTEN to you)

Monday, May 8, 2006, at 7 pm at Squirrel Hill Library

Representative Dan Frankel, PA House of Representatives - Allegheny County, and Larry Frankel, Legislative Director, ACLU of Pennsylvania.

* Find out how to make your letter/email/phone call Stand Out and Really Matter to your elected officials

* Learn more about current legislative issues: the PA Marriage Protection Amendment, the PA CARE Act Compassionate Assistance for Rape Emergencies), NSA Spying, Immigration, and what your representatives Need To Hear

* Find out what you can do to Make a Difference, even if you live in an area where your elected official already supports your position

* Discover effective tips for writing Letters To The Editor that will increase the chances of getting them published

This event is free and open to the public.

For more information, please visit www.aclupa.org.

Property Tax Relief -- another joker in the cards

Property tax relief bill stalls - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review However, Rep. Daryl Metcalfe, R-Cranberry, termed the legislation 'an illusion of property tax reform.' And Rep. Michael Diven, R-Brookline, called the bill 'three-card monte.'

Diven is using those academic terms again. What the heck is 'Three Card Monte?'

List: of 1,000 Top U.S. Schools - Newsweek America's Best High Schools - MSNBC.com

The Complete List: 1,000 Top U.S. Schools - Newsweek America's Best High Schools - MSNBC.com 968 Fox Chapel Pittsburgh Pa. 1.175 10.0 23.1

So, Pennyslvania gets 1 in the top 396. Two in the top 400.

The Foxes, USC, and Mt. Lebo all squeek into the top 1,000 on the last page.

What do you make of this?

USOC makes domestic travel plans for bid coordination for 2016

SI.com - Olympics - USOC makes travel plans to potential Olympic cities - Wednesday May 3, 2006 2:19PM U.S. Olympic Committee representatives will visit Houston, Philadelphia, Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco over the next two weeks to begin scouting out cities for a possible bid to host the 2016 Olympics.

Chicago skyline -- from a Navy Pier perspective. (Click image for larger view. My photos are all put into the public domain.)

Windy City -- one of my former hometowns.

My wife is on TV tonight - PCNC's Night Talk

Ann Devlin and Catherine Palmer, Ph.D., to talk about hearing health -- TONIGHT!
From a past show.

Get to high ground!

Tsunami warnings issued for Fiji and New Zealand after earthquake measuring a magnitude of about 8.0 shakes southern Pacific Ocean.

Good HEALTH to another blogger.

Don't eat too much fiber.

Chloe Rules! - Zap! Thud! � Nuclear Stress Test Results: Good News, More or Less Anyway, if you'll excuse me, I have to go grocery shopping at Office Max for some cardboard for dinner….

Dr. R got a new gig in the school system

Dr. R, the Phillips Principal, talks to a parent and student (Catherine and Erik) outside of school one day in a past year.

It is being reported in the P-G that our favorite school principal, the one who is the principal where my sons attend public school, Dr. Barbara Rudiak, is getting a new job within the PPS system. Seems she is 'moving up' with her new position.

Barbara Rudiak -- from principal, Phillips Elementary, to executive director of school management, elementary schools.

This is a good-news and bad-news thing for us as we've been so spoiled with her devotion to the students and operational skills at Phillips.

By the way, Phillips Elementary School is on the South Side. We walk to school each day. Half of the school is a "Spanish magnet" and the other half is a "Neighborhood" school. There are two classes of each grade, K to 5.

I call this year our last as a "gravy year" in that both boys are attending the same school. Next year our oldest goes to 6th grade and will be in a different building (Frick Middle School).

By the way, welcome Rodney Necciai -- from principal, Knoxville Elementary, to principal, Phillips Elementary.

---

My kids are on track to attend Schenley High School. That school is getting a new pricipal too. Plus, Tonight OnQ: it's the end of an era at Schenley High School in Oakland. Roger Babusci - the school's popular english teacher and director of school musicals -- is retiring. We'll look back on his impressive tenure ... and talk with the students he inspired.

Lincoln Blog by Lowman Henry, CEO of Lincoln Institute of Public Opinion

Lincoln Blog by Lowman Henry, CEO of Lincoln Institute of Public Opinion If you were walking down the street and someone came up behind you, stuck a gun in your back and demanded all you money - but then turned around and gave you a couple of your own dollars back while keeping the rest for himself - you would still consider yourself to have been mugged. The fact the criminal gave you some of your own money back doesn't change the fact that you were robbed.

And so it is with the 'tax reform' bill currently on the fast track through the Pennsylvania legislature on its way to a political commercial near you. Pennsylvania's system of real property taxation has been viewed as draconian and inequitable for decades. Now, with voters hopping mad over last year's legislative pay jacking, 'tax reform' is suddenly about to happen.

I'm not too fond of the robbing saga, but whatever works.

Magic tricks.

I'm more in tune to level headed reason. These folks in Harrisburg are do-nothing types. They don't have the determination nor the moxie nor creativity to do much. But, they do want to make themselves look good as voters are headed to the polls. They save what they can muster so as to pull a rabbit out of a hat in the final push of an election cycle.

Drowning continues to be a significant health concern within this country.

Please share this information, especially parents of young children. It came from the Lifesaving Resources' E=Blast. Pool fun

NATIONAL SAFE KIDS WEEK KICKS OFF MAY 2, 2006

When it comes to safety, most parents do not know that drowning is one of the top two causes of accidental death among children. National Safe Kids Week activities and communications will educate parents and children about the steps they can take to help prevent pool and spa injuries and deaths and highlight new proposed legislation in this area.

There will be a special focus about preventing entrapment, which is a little known risk that has killed at least 33 children and injured almost 100 children between 1985 and 2004.

National Safe Kids Week, May 6-13, will highlight the importance of pool and spa safety through the theme “Safe Pools for Safe Kids.” A national press conference involving Safe Kids Worldwide, Founding Sponsor Johnson & Johnson, James A. Baker, III, Secretary of State under former President George Bush, daughter-in-law Nancy Baker and U.S. Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) will kick off the week on May 2 in Washington.

In addition, local Safe Kids coalitions around the country will host interactive events to teach parents and children about safe behavior around pools and spas such as actively supervising children around water and installing safety devices in and around pools and spas.

Safe Kids has also created checklists (in PDF) about how to practice safe behaviors around the water and teach your kids to do the same.

Get legal - Get OpenOffice.Org

As part of my past (and future) campaigns, I have given out hundreds of CDs with music, message and OPEN SOURCE software. Of course these political CDs include an installer for OpenOffice.org 2.0.

One week after "World Intellectual Property Day", the OpenOffice.org Marketing Project announces a new campaign: "Get legal - Get OpenOffice.org". A new website - http://why.openoffice.org - explains how to escape from Microsoft Office licence costs and compliance worries - for good. Webmasters and bloggers worldwide are encouraged to display the campaign banner to help promote the campaign.

2006 has seen proprietary software companies and their agencies increase their efforts to stamp out illegal copies of their software. Last week, the Business Software Alliance used "World Intellectual Property Day" to announce a record reward for anyone informing against illegal software in UK organisations. Microsoft acquired a company specialising in detecting software installed on PCs. Microsoft also announced its intention to extend its use of the internet to put piracy detection software into copies of MS-Office on people's PCs.

For many users, this is a worrying development. Microsoft licences are often complex, and it is easy to become non-compliant, especially as the number of PCs in an organisation increases. Illegal copying has proliferated in many developing countries, where foreign currency is scarce and proprietary licence fees are simply unaffordable.

OpenOffice.org 2 offers a simple way out of the licence trap. OpenOffice.org 2 is a free alternative to Microsoft Office products such as Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, and Microsoft Powerpoint. OpenOffice.org 2 is released under an open-source licence: anyone may use the software for any purpose (including commercial). Users are encouraged to pass on copies to friends, family, students, employees, citizens - anyone.

OpenOffice.org 2 uses files created by Microsoft Office equivalents. Users need little or no retraining. Studies have shown that the costs of migrating to OpenOffice.org 2 are minimal - a tenth of the cost of migrating to the new Microsoft Office 2007.

No wonder a poll has shown 86% of users would prefer to try OpenOffice.org 2 rather than buy Microsoft Office 2007.

Get freedom from licence worries - Get Legal - Get OpenOffice.org.

About the OpenOffice.org Community

The OpenOffice.org Community is an international team of volunteer and sponsored contributors who develop, support, and promote the leading open-source office productivity suite, OpenOffice.org 2. OpenOffice.org 2 is released under the GNU Lesser General Public Licence (LGPL).

The OpenOffice.org Community acknowledges generous sponsorship from a number of companies, including Sun Microsystems (founding sponsor and primary contributor), Novell, Red Hat, Intel, and Google.

Links

The campaign website http://why.openoffice.org contains links to the studies referenced in this press release. The OpenOffice.org Community can be found at http://www.openoffice.org. OpenOffice.org 2 may be downloaded free of charge from http://download.openoffice.org. Further information about the suite may be found at
http://www.openoffice.org/product

Press Contacts

John McCreesh (UTC +01h00)
OpenOffice.org Marketing Project Co-Lead
jpmcc@openoffice.org
+44 (0)7 810 278 540

Cristian Driga (UTC +0200)
OpenOffice.org Marketing Project Co-Lead
cdriga@openoffice.org
+40 7887 000 60

Louis Suarez-Potts (UTC -04h00)
OpenOffice.org Community Manager
louis@openoffice.org
+1 (416) 625 3843

Worldwide Marketing Contacts:
http://marketing.openoffice.org/contacts.html

Attribution

Microsoft, Microsoft Office, Word, Excel, and Powerpoint are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries.

Famed swim coach George Haines dies at 82 - Tuesday May 2, 2006 2:48PM

SI.com - Olympics - Famed swim coach George Haines dies at 82 - Tuesday May 2, 2006 2:48PMGeorge Haines, who coached three U.S. Olympic swim teams and guided such 1960s and '70s stars as Mark Spitz, Don Schollander and Donna de Varona, died at 82.

George was quite a coach. He was very productive, to say the least. (Free read, FYI.)

In Western PA, we don't have anything like Santa Clara.

Pittsburgh used to have a team that dominated like Santa Clara did.

Swimmers ready to take to the water at one of the oldest indoor swim pools in North America. There were swimmers in the same spot back in time. This pool was the home to Olympians who competed in the Olympic Games of 1928 and 1932.

The swimmers from Homestead won a number of national relay titles, back in the day. That was a wave or two before Haines.

Council OK's free Downtown Wi-Fi - and I have a problem with 'cutting edge' hype

Council OK's free Downtown Wi-Fi Council President Luke Ravenstahl said the deal makes Pittsburgh 'a cutting-edge city.'

Luke, don't say such foolishness. Cutting-edge in terms of being hoodwinked.

I'm glad to see some changes. But, we're not cutting-edge. We're not even close. The deal from the PDP is going to insure Pittsburgh remains behind the times. The deal expands the digital divide and offers little of value.

Cutting edge is wi-fi on mass transit -- as they do in Japan on high-speed trains that travel 13-floors below sea level.

Cutting edge is wi-fi for free that covers the other 22 hours of a day. Not just for 120 minutes.

Cutting edge is a wi-fi digital media campus that goes to under served areas, not for the elite.

Cutting edge is wi-fi, computers and hives of information for every resident in the city who is in school. The students are cutting-edge, not office workers who won't want to log on anyway.

Wi-fi but not so high.

Cutting edge isn't a network that isn't 'secure.' I'd never log onto that network to check my email as the security is absent.

Cutting edge was 2003 when the airport had wi-fi in the food court, or 2004 when the wings of the airport went wi-fi. We've got 200 plus wi-fi hot spots for surfers to hit downtown already.

Cutting edge for Pittsburgh is what Spokane had a year or two ago. Where's the edge or the cut?

Cutting edge would be wi-fi rivers, wi-fi T-line to Overbrook and South Hills Village, and wi-fi East Busway, West Busway and swim pools.

Cutting edge would be wi-fi at higher speeds, such as what Earthlink offered. This speed is not that fast, because is 500 people push a key at the same time, we'll see a slight delay.

Cutting edge would come to the city without the foundations needing to kick in $.5 million.

Cutting edge would go higher than 2 stories. We've got downtown buildings that are higher than that. But in neighborhoods, all the buildings would be covered with the wi-fi network -- as homes are generally 2 stories high.

Cutting edge would not see prices go from $40 per month per pole to $20 per month per pole -- it would be $0 per pole per month. I don't think that the city owns most of the poles anyway. And the PDP (Pgh Downtown Partnership) could do cutting-edge by working with building owners and putting the antennae on the buildings directly.

Cutting edge is a wi-fi deal that covers the entire region if not the county. We can't even cover the entire city. This wi-fi deal is more like a pimple of coverage for wi-fi areas that exist already.

Cutting edge is what we had in the city's cable franchise agreement, years and years ago. But, we let that deal slide without oversight. We let the fruit die on the vine. Where are the broadband computers and uses at the rec centers now? FUMBLE.

Cutting edge needs to come from people who know how to spell email. I'm not sure Mayor O'Connor can send and receive email. The drivers of cutting-edge technology need to be more than "at the table" someone at the table needs to pick up the bill. Waitstaff, fetch another round of bottled waters, be happy to be at the table for scraps, and then, pay the tab as well.

In China, everyone in the city gets free internet. Just as we all can dial 411 or 911 -- that's the level of dial up that is nearly NATION WIDE in China. That's not cutting edge. Here, you still have to pay up to $20 a month to get dial up.

Cutting edge is Internet 2.

Cutting edge would be video on demand to see the proceedings from today's city council meeting, even if you didn't catch it on your cable.

Nor is cutting edge a slots parlor, nor an all-star game for a game with steroid abusers, nor a skateboard park, nor a tunnel that is closed for 2 hours a day just to change directions of its traffic for the 600 cars that drive through it.

Let's think, we'll get wi-fi for downtown for 2 hours each day -- and that amount of time equals the time that the Wabash Tunnel is closed each day.

Council OKs Downtown Wi-Fi plan - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: "'This is the starting point,' said Councilwoman Tonya Payne, who praised the plan.

Really, this isn't a starting point. Rather, it is the ONLY POINT. There isn't any 'phase 2' nor 'phase 3.' This is it. They came. They picked our cherries. They couldn't put Humpty together again.

In a few months, I'll be able to ask, "Where is free wi-fi in Knoxville?" And I'll be able to say, "I told you so."

Now I'm able to ask, "What about the computer labs in the Rec Centers?" We have computer rooms in Orbsby and Warrington. But there are no computer labs there. And, we offered to build them three years ago at no charge to the city. Now I'm able to say, "I told you."

I'm sick of always being right and having my city perform so poorly.

May Day -- from 2004

Tourist on a May Day visit.

In the Forbidden City.

Details

Power, but under the foot of the lion is a cub at play.

PA House, Senate of Gov might pull another quickie on property tax reform

The House, Senate and Gov. Rendell are about to pull another fast one on us on Monday.

Background: It's reported that there is an agreement about the proposed law to reduce property taxes. The conference committee that has been working on the legislation will issue its report Monday morning at 10:30. Under current rules, this means Gov. Rendell could sign it into law Monday night.

Speculation – no one knows for sure – is that the House will pass the conference committee report Monday afternoon; the Senate Monday evening; and the governor sign it Monday night.

This is the same process used to pass the gambling law in 2004 and the pay raise in 2005 – no public hearings on the final bill and no opportunity for citizens to read it, understand it, hear different opinions about it, and express their own opinions to their lawmakers.

But until Monday morning, we won't know what the final conference committee report says. The original bill was 89 pages long. We don't know how long the conference committee report will be. It may have nothing new in it. Or it may have special provisions that we haven't seen before. We don't know, and we can't know until Monday morning when we can see it for ourselves.

This is a major piece of legislation that will have a profound impact on Pennsylvania. It is not something that should be rushed through the process, and there is no reason why citizens, the news media, and public interest groups from across the political spectrum should be prevented from commenting on it before
the vote.

So what's the rush? Lawmakers want to spend the next two weeks before the primary election telling voters that they cut property taxes. This is politics, not policy.

What To Do? Now's when we see whether lawmakers have learned anything from the citizens' anger over the pay raise. Whether you like the property tax bill or not, you deserve the chance to participate in its passage or defeat.

Democracy Rising PA believes in a process that looks like this:

1. The conference committee should issue the report.

2. The House and Senate should send it to the appropriate standing committees for at least one public hearing.

3. Then, after at least 14 calendar days, the bill should come up for a vote.

(edited slightly)

May 1 -- a day of celebration, or a week if you are in China

Worldwide, May 1, is a day to celebrate.

In China, the people now celebrate a seven day holiday. The factory workers get seven days off. Schools are closed. The break comes with encouragements to travel within China. Those in the city go to the country. Those in the country go to the city. Flags and banners are hung. Tourist places buzz.
A week of family time often means park time, water time and togetherness.

In the US, we don't celebrate May 1st, not so much. Protests are planned this year.

The Great American Boycott, “A Day Without Immigrants,” or “A Day Without Latinos,” is being pushed by some. It is a day where immigrant workers, and their allies, will remove their labor, purchasing power, and presence from the economic workings of the United States.

"Without Latinos baseball would be about as interesting as being trapped in an elevator with George Will."

Source: Dave Zirin, http://www.edgeofsports.com. He writes a great article and the bulk of facts and comments flowed from him. I subscribe to his email blasts, and you're encouraged to do so as well.

Six of the top ten hitters in the National League are from Latin America including MVP Albert Pujols. The AL has 5 out of 10 including batting leader and 2003 MVP Miguel Tejada. Latinos dominate baseball. Eight of the last 10 AL MVPs have been won by immigrants, seven by Latinos.

In the 2006 World Baseball Classic, Team USA got crushed. Currently 36% of Major League players were born in Latin America. Almost one third of all minor leaguers are from the Dominican Republic alone.

Pittsburgh Pirates : News : Pittsburgh Pirates News PITTSBURGH -- With the July 11 Midsummer Classic just 77 days away, the Pittsburgh Pirates, Major League Baseball and local officials are gearing up for what will be an exciting week of baseball in the Steel City.

Major League owners searching for talent on the cheap, setting up baseball academies south of the border where players can be signed in their early teens for pennies, and then discarded if they don’t make the cut. As one player said to me, “The options in the DR are jail, the army, the factory, or baseball.”

Many prospects make it to the United States for minor league ball and then stay, illegally, to chase the dream of never working to death in a factory. The outer boroughs of New York City are filled with semi-pro teams of men on the other side of
thirty still thirsting for that contract, hoping it comes before the INS comes knocking on their door.

Pittsburgh is gearing up for the All-Star Game in July. Humm.... We've also got some "No Sweatshop Bucco Protests" set to unfold too. No Major League player has come out publicly (yet) and said they are joining the national boycott on May 1.

Today I hope to go to a high school baseball game. Heck, we can't even have Rookie Ball any longer in our local park -- yet alone a Major League Academy to train young hopefulls. The Pirates and others of MLB would rather invest in talent south of the border and ignore those at home. So much for pulling for the home team. And, that's also where they'll get their baseballs and uniforms produced as well. Often in sweatshops.

And to tailgate for football games is soon going to be a thing of the past in Pittsburgh as they try to curtail the extra parking spaces to only those who have 'season passes.'

There isn't any baseball in the Olympics after 2008, when the Olympic Flame is put out in China. There is more talk about the "NEW China" in our newspapers.

We've got a lot of work to do. Better to NOT have a week long vacation. With the spike in gas prices, it makes one wonder.

Concert: Dave Nachmanoff and musical tidbits

AL STEWART & Dave Nachmanoff play Club Cafe on Sunday, May 6, 2006

$20 Advance / $22 Day of Show
Doors 6PM Show 7PM

"Past, Present and Future", his first USA release, was the first record Stewart made incorporating historical data, elements of film, literature and current affairs into his lyrics. It became a cult album which has now sold close to a million copies worldwide. His next album, "Modern times", cracked the US top 40 album chart which led to Al and his band touring the United States.

"Year Of The Cat", released in 1976, became Al's first platinum (one million units) album in the United States. It featured two top 20 singles, "Year Of The Cat" and "On The Border". Bouyed by this success, he moved to Los Angeles and released "Time Passages" in 1978 which also sold platinum and featured the singles "Time Passages" and "Song On The Radio". This period was followed by worldwide tours with his band "Shot In The Dark".

Our friend, Dave Nachmanoff, joins Al Stewart on tour in many venues. He played here with Al at Hartword at a wine festival a few years ago.

Dave played two shows for us in the past too. One was at Club Cafe on 9-11. Jim Roddey and Dan Onorato were both invited and came to speak that night as well. And, our new minister, Lynn, from Sunnyhill.org, made her first Pittsburgh event then too.

Dave also gave a concert and helped to open the new Musicians Hearing Center at UPMC, something that my wife started at Eye and Ear Institutue.

The musican's hearing center is doing well these days as well. The service provides no charge hearing protection for the musicans and teachers in Pgh Public Schools. Catherine, my wife, went to Langley High School to have a photo taken with musicians there for a UPMC publication. On Friday, Catherine worked with the kids at an Elementary School, Dillworth. They have an 'arts focus' and do morning assembly that includes drumming, loud drumming. Now the kids there have hearing protection -- just like they have at the PSO, Pgh Symphony Orchestra.

If you can, come to the show on Sunday at Club Cafe. You'll have a wonderful time.