China's wide-open adoption door closes

China's wide-open adoption door closes China soon will bar foreigners who are single, obese, blind, deaf, over 50 or twice-divorced from adopting

Another B.M.I. article mention.

One's ability to parent may or may not hinge upon one's weight. But the measurement of being a non-smoker isn't going to fly in China where smoking is so pervasive. That's why not smoking.

The quote about no kid ever being harmed by second-hand fat is a cute. But the expression, "Pull Your Own Weight" is a bit harder when one's weight is too much. The other expression, "Do unto others as you'd do unto yourself" is put on its head when one's own treatment of oneself is too "over-the-top."

China can't afford to send so many of its girl babies overseas. We knew that this door closing was sure to occur.

The relationships in China are complicated. The values are hard to understand. I'd not want to second-guess their cultures. Thankfully, many have come to join in in the states in the past.

Wagner dynasty may line up behind ...

The Wagners might support Peduto. And, they might support me too. And, they are known to celebrate Christmas too.

Wagner dynasty may line up behind Bill Peduto - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review A run for governor is believed to be the only reason the one-time City Council president isn't launching his own mayoral candidacy.

And it would be an easier path to the governor's office for Wagner if the Pittsburgh mayor was his political ally rather than an Onorato confidant.

Point Breeze students' city design takes first - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

Jarr Jarr Binks would be proud.

Point Breeze students' city design takes first - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review Others, like the team from Mary Queen of Angels School in New Kensington built their cities in an equally improbable place -- under water.

Year's ago it was suggested that the new hockey arena should be built on the bottom of one of the rivers. Then getting its own t-stop would be easy.

From planning-urban

Extreme makeover: City edition - Youngstown & Pttsburgh

Extreme makeover: City edition - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio -- When the steel industry collapsed, a vacuum took over.

Trib now covers a story we (bloggers) visted weeks ago at AntiRust.

Gonzales Questions Habeas Corpus

Speechless.

Robert Parry | Gonzales Questions Habeas Corpus Responding to questions from Sen. Arlen Specter at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Jan. 18, Gonzales argued that the Constitution doesn't explicitly bestow habeas corpus rights; it merely says when the so-called Great Writ can be suspended.

'There is no expressed grant of habeas in the Constitution; there's a prohibition against taking it away,' Gonzales said.

Gonzales's remark left Specter, the committee's ranking Republican, stammering.

'Wait a minute,' Specter interjected. 'The Constitution says you can't take it away except in case of rebellion or invasion. Doesn't that mean you have the right of habeas corpus unless there's a rebellion or invasion?'

Gonzales continued, 'The Constitution doesn't say every individual in the United States or citizen is hereby granted or assured the right of habeas corpus. It doesn't say that. It simply says the right shall not be suspended' except in cases of rebellion or invasion.

'You may be treading on your interdiction of violating common sense,' Specter said.

The N.F.L.’s Blue-Collar Workers - New York Times

The N.F.L.’s Blue-Collar Workers - New York Times But despite all the trappings of a modern business empire, football — or more specifically its labor system — harks back to the 19th century. Like miners and dock workers of that time, the N.F.L.’s work force has little protection against job loss. Workers frequently toil outdoors in freezing temperatures. And they often literally put their lives at risk, as we were reminded last week when a neuropathologist claimed that the suicide of a former N.F.L. player, Andre Waters, was linked to brain damage he sustained while playing football.

“It brings to mind the high-risk jobs of the earlier industrial period,” said Raymond Sauer, an economics professor at Clemson University and founder of the Sports Economist blog.

To be sure, football players, with their generous paychecks, do not seem as exploited as those rail-thin miners dusted with coal. But compared with athletes who ply their trades in two other big-money sports — basketball and baseball — they’re strictly blue collar.

Pitt guys are mentioned. And, these are not Pitt stars from the gridiron. Rather, Pitt doctors.

Idealist.org - Imagine. Connect. Act.

Welcome to Idealist.org - Imagine. Connect. Act.: "Imagine Pittsburgh at the Strip's Leaf and Bean"

This is a call that is very much like the past. But, it is valid, even if it is a repeat. A person has already stepped forward to host a meeting. It is now on the Rauterkus public events Google Calendar, something that can be subscribed to.

CENSORED!!! by Russ Diamond

On May 15, 1776, the Continental Congress passed a resolution directing each of the thirteen colonies to develop a constitution in order to plan for self-governance in anticipation of breaking ties with England. On July 16, less than two weeks after the official Declaration of Independence from the king, Pennsylvania's first constitutional convention opened with the unanimous election of Benjamin Franklin as its president.

On September 28, the convention unanimously approved the new Pennsylvania Constitution. The document was a two-chapter affair, including a Declaration of Rights and a Frame of Government. The plan for governing the Commonwealth included provisions establishing a legislative branch consisting of elected representatives in a single chamber, an executive branch embodied in a President and a twelve-member Council, and a judicial branch overseen by a Supreme Court.

Well aware of the temptations for the abuse of power, and themselves victims of abuse under the king's rule, the framers included an important provision within the Constitution to keep ultimate control of government in the hands of the people. Chapter II, Section 47 provided for a Council of Censors to be elected from the citizenry every seven years to review the actions of those who govern.

The Council would be charged with determining if the Constitution had indeed been followed over the previous seven years, if those who governed had abused their power and if any taxes levied had been fair. Finally, the Council was authorized to determine if the Constitution, or any part of it, was so unworkable that it required a rewrite under the guise of another convention.

Throughout the American Revolution, Pennsylvanians lived and governed themselves under the Constitution, but there were some elected officials who clearly had desires to alter the established plan for government. In 1777 and again in 1778, the General Assembly passed resolutions calling for another constitutional convention.

The motives of those who wanted a new convention were apparently: dividing the General Assembly into two chambers, further empowering the executive branch, and curiously, abolishing the Council of Censors years before it was scheduled to meet. The citizenry, realizing that the power to call a convention belonged exclusively to the Council of Censors, overwhelmingly rejected the notion and the Assembly rescinded its resolutions in 1779.

In November, 1783 the duly elected Council of Censors met for the first time to carry out its duties, but it was obvious that the primary intent of some members was to follow the earlier whims of the General Assembly. The divided Council ignored or delayed most of its duties, focusing instead on altering the Constitution. In late January, 1784 the Council produced its preferred constitutional changes and recessed until June. A dissenting opinion was issued by the minority, objecting to the call for a convention, primarily on the grounds that two-thirds of the Council had not approved it, as required by the Constitution.

By June, it was clear the inhabitants of Pennsylvania overwhelmingly sided with the dissenters. Nearly 18,000 citizens signed remonstrances against a convention while less than 300 petitioned the Council in favor. Additionally, two members of the Council were replaced during the recess and another pair who did not attend the first session were in attendance at the second, allowing a new majority to steer the Council on its proper mission of judging the constitutionality of government action during the previous seven years.

The Council's findings were scathing. It found many instances of the General Assembly and the Executive Council overstepping their bounds. By far, the biggest fault it found with the legislative branch was the hasty passage of legislation. Chapter II, Section 15 of the Constitution mandated that all legislation produced in any given session first be published, with voting delayed until the next session "except on occasions of sudden necessity," ensuring that all acts "may be more maturely considered."

Modern government observers would find many familiar themes among the body of legislation passed in violation of Section 15, including massive pay raises for elected officials, authorization of per-diem payments, increases in ferry fees, government giveaways to widows, children and the poor, appropriations for questionable public projects, dubious uses of private property (including one estate appropriated as a stable - including free oats and hay - for the horses of Representatives and another as a residence for the Chief Justice), and other acts passed to favor the friends of officials.

The Council cited a "striking example of the mischiefs" in a bill which consisted of a mere 26 lines of text during its first two readings, but upon third reading was found to have been altered to include "sundry new paragraphs" establishing the collectorship of the port of Philadelphia. The bill was approved by the General Assembly within two days, yet another violation of Section 15.

The Council concluded its proceedings in late September and authorized a written address to the citizens of the Commonwealth summarizing their findings, including their reasoning for not calling another constitutional convention. They noted that those among the minority who did support a convention did so for reasons which were "highly pernicious, and utterly inconsistent with liberty."

Under the Constitution, the next Council of Censors was due to convene and sit in judgment of government after the general election of 1790. The General Assembly, perhaps in anticipation of another negative report, short-circuited the process by again calling for a constitutional convention in 1789 by a 41-17 vote in March and a 39-17 vote in September.

The dissenting opinion on the first vote noted that such power was not invested in the legislature, but instead belonged solely to the Council of Censors, and warned that "if we begin to tear up foundations, we are persuaded a much more dangerous system will be established in its stead." The second vote's dissentient declared that "this house is not competent to the subject" of calling a convention and that "this measure at once infringes the solemn compact entered into by the people of this state with each other."

Despite those warnings, the General Assembly's convention was hastily convened in November of the same year, eventually producing the Constitution of 1790, which divided the legislature into two separate chambers, established the office of Governor, and - conveniently - abolished the Council of Censors.

In form, the convention turned the Constitution on its head. While the Declaration of Rights existed as Chapter I in 1776, the plan for government took up the first eight Articles of the 1790 version, relegating the rights of the people to Article IX. This was eventually corrected in 1874, but remains as haunting evidence of the true motives of those who occupied the seats of power at the time.

In 1789, the General Assembly usurped the power of the people - via the Council of Censors - to define the structure of government. Today, elected officials continue to mistakenly insist that they and their bi-partisan committees are the best arbiters of how government should be constructed.

At any given time, a good and virtuous system of government cannot be created by those who occupy elected offices at that particular moment. Rather, those officials should prostrate themselves before the citizenry and allow for objective and independent judgment of any prospective form of self-governance.

Russ Diamond. From my photo collection called people & vips.

California here we come. Next week's mission.

Next week we're going to California. I'm going to interview as coach at Oakland Raiders. If my agent can't come to terms with them, then I expect I'll come home and be ready to run for one or all of these positions:

County Executive

County Council Member at Large

County Council Member - district 13

Mayor

Controller

City Council - district 3

For now, I gotta keep the laundry moving.

Thinking about the summit for racism

Here is a blast from the past, April 2001. It was a bit of back and forth with me and Rich Lord, reporter, now with the P-G and then with the City Paper.

Details to Rich LordUploaded on April 12, 2001

Stepping to the Serving Area

City Paper Reporter, Rich Lord sent an email claiming that he is working on an article. Yeah! He noticed that Jim Carmine, my loyal GOP opponent, and I are both actively discussing issues of interest to African-American voters.

Read the rest at the site.

I'm going to change my site in major ways in the weeks to come. Some of this digital dust might get dusted.

Onorato lacking GOP opponent - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

Onorato lacking GOP opponent - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review GOP leaders have spoken to as potential challengers include state Reps. Mike Turzai of Bradford Woods and John Maher of Upper St. Clair, county Councilman Dave Fawcett of Oakmont, former U.S. Rep. Melissa Hart of Bradford Woods and U.S. Attorney Mary Beth Buchanan of Fox Chapel, Glancy said.

Come out swinging. Humm. Come out spending is what they want.

Celebration: Bloggers make big boom!

Loudness. Potential. Witness. Visible.

The dance on the net hit a new groove among MSM.

The pre-game thug and later shrug and specifics neither worry nor please me. But the bigger story is the observation of the big gun. Boom. The net rattled and people heard. The MSM didn't yawn. Blogging became bigger by gosh.

A Silent Cacophony: The 'larger' Army

A Silent Cacophony: The 'larger' Army Here's another interesting dilemma facing the military in terms of reaching its recruitment goals, and this one doesn't have anything to do with the war in Iraq. It's the problem of a literally growing America's ability to muster enough volunteers who 1. Want to join; 2. Meet the minimal physical and mental standards; and 3. Are lean enough.

To All Who Will Listen by Coach Chuck Klausing

Jerry S., a regional business owner who has multi-media tools for coaches, sent along this story from coaching legend Chuck Klausing.

I failed with the greatest football player I ever coached. He played for me in high school and I predicted he would be a great pro player someday. He led us to three undefeated seasons. People told me he reminded them of Jim Brown the great Cleveland back.

No player was more coachable… he believed in me and would always listen. Maybe, because of two incidents that occurred during his high school years when he played for me.

The first was when he was a sophomore linebacker. He collided head to head with a teammate and dislocated his jaw. The joint was up around his ear. No doctor was around so I used my first aid training and relocated it. The pain was terrible, but afterwards, he remarked, “Thanks Coach, I will always listen to you”.

The second incident occurred during training. We would go to pre-season camp and had no place to shower so we bathed in a small river. He wandered out too far and went under. I swam out and brought him to shore. He remarked, “Thanks Coach, you saved my life, I will always listen to you”.

With his success, he played in the Big 33 game and was awarded the Most Valuable Player. In college he was named the most outstanding sophomore in the Big 10.

At 21 years of age, he died of a drug overdose.

I went to his funeral and I prayed at his coffin. His parents told me it was my fault he died. I was stunned, “How could it be my fault” I wondered. They said he would have listened to me. He never smoked tobacco or drank liquor because I told him not to – these were my rules; no tobacco, no alcohol. I never mentioned drugs. Drugs? In the 1940’s and 50’s? I knew nothing about drugs then, but they are certainly with us today.

I am very concerned about the use of drugs, alcohol and tobacco by kids. I have 12 grandkids and 3 great grandchildren. I hope to get this message to them.

If you’re a coach, don’t take the players in your charge lightly. A coach is a teacher, a role model, an authority figure and a protector. It’s a powerful role. Please learn from where I failed and respect that power.

More on Chuck Klausing

Chucks Podcast

Supporting video from one of life's sunsets.

Honz Man Spouts about Blogs

Honz is in a rant about blogs on Friday at his show -- noon to 5 pm.

He wants to hear from us. Giggle.

One of Fred's points, the mainstream media has rules. Blogs don't. For the record, I'm a grad of Ohio University, school of journalism. I understand the rules.

My last conversation with Honz ended when he said, "You have some good points. Many agree with you." Click. But trust doesn't mean anything. So if we are going to pick-up the conversation on rules and ethics, Honz has to come clean with me on this little point of 'trust.' I blogged about this and we had a good chuckle because the very next thing out of our radio, after turning up the volume, was "KDKA, news you can trust."

A blog expert is slated to be on the air shortly, I guess. Fred, I'd be glad to have serious conversations with you, any time.

The Pittsburgh Comet and its sick name-calling

The Pittsburgh Comet It's hard to blog about 'Prescription Pennsylvania.' Not even Rauterkus has tried yet, and that guy's a machine.

Machine! I'm not a machine politician. I'm sorta sick of Rendell.

Rendell was so-machine-like when the Gov let this cat out of the bad the day after starting his second term while NOT talking about these efforts for even a dying breath in the campiagn season of 2005.

But, to be honest, I did blog, slightly, about this. And, some views on healthcare are on the wiki. Platform.For-Pgh.org. Senate Bill 1085 was nice.

I'm more about wellness. But I'd love to have more detailed views into what's what.

Thanks for the pointer.

Jon Delano news flash: JD admits: "Truth is, you have to think!"

Delano's serious back-peddling came on the air with KDKA Radio today. He contrasted what he said yesterday on the very same show.

My message to "Dime a Dozen Delano:" Pittsburgh should be so lucky to have political bloggers at dime a dozen rates.

Then he asked this question on the air: The fundamental political question, does it really matter? YES!

There is more out there. Out there is out there.

In the end, Pittsburgh is going to be a better place when we are more caring, loving, open and honest -- and online. We need political bloggers to care and cover issues. Next, we need politicians to get into the game of living in the open. We need debate and dissent. We need opposition. We need a ying and a yang among all yinzers, even elected ones.

Yesterday, Jon Delano said political bloggers are a dime a dozen. To bad this value wasn't the case a decade ago. If bloggers were a dime a dozen then, news crafters would not have been able to sweep this (see example illustration) under the rug.



I'm dancing in the street because this is the week when political bloggers made a hit. We have an impact.

Yesterday I sent an email to Marty Griffin when he was talking with the old County Executive and the long-time Political Eore, James C. Roddey. I'd be happy to share my thoughts on why people will and will not run for public office in Allegheny County -- including Republicans. Dan Onorato is NOT un-touchable. Marty sent a short message about booking me on the show, and I look forward to that early next week.

Today's email to Marty was to ask MacYapper about his triumph with Betty Ford. Not the clinic, the person. Yes, J.D., you still have to think. Some things are just funny. Other things are for real. And the internet is so nice because the things that one thinks is real can be turned into what it is worth in short order. The cycles are quick. The reach is long. The depth of knowledge is way bigger than any one group of cronies.

Truth is, you have to think. And, you have to think with others. And when yo think out in the open -- like on the internet -- then soaring becomes possible. Even probable.

Now if the Pgh MSM (main stream media) would just drink from the well more often -- we'll be much more free and prosperous.

Another fitting bit of digital dust from 2001:

Humm.... I don't think that these are open souce contracts.

No longer just developing software used to let somebody ELSE make the better weapons, CMU has beat out Lockheed-Martin for a contract to actually make six prototype search-and-destroy robots.

MacWorld S.F. feedback. This is sad to have a closed phone.

Revolution Newsletter Walking around the show floor, I was struck with how commercial the show has become. It seemed that outside of Apple, there was little to see that was innovative. There were lots of people selling 'stuff' like cases for ipods. But what was missing for me was the smaller creative software companies showing the exciting new features of their products. And is it surprising? Apple has made it harder to be a part of their experience. Once they invited us in, giving us free space and promotion. Now there is discussion that the iPhone will not be open and thus all the creative people who want to express themselves by creating programs for this device may not be able to do so.

Justine, you might want to have some extended pillow talk with your husband about this.

Death of a utility. The day the photos died. I miss my blogger bot!

We will live to fight another day. We will survive. But, rest in peace, dear blogger bot. I loved using the button and zipping a photo to my blog. Now I've got to do some other tricks -- or else I might need to break down and build a new widget.

March 16, the early show, with passport

Some promo is to happen with The Early Show and March 16 in Pittsburgh. Get a free trip to some place around the world.

Look to apply on the web. Gotta take the kids to school and pack for New Zealand. So, if you win, perhaps you can visit us there.

??

Pointers welcome.

County eyes storage site for new park; riverfront plan targets Atlas Self Storage land | YourPennHills.com

County eyes storage site for new park; riverfront plan targets Atlas Self Storage land | YourPennHills.com: "County eyes storage site for new park; riverfront plan targets Atlas Self Storage land

Vera Miller
Staff Writer
Wednesday, January 17, 2007

Allegheny County officials who want to create a riverfront park have their sights set on a Penn Hills property being developed as a storage facility."

City authority OKs free parking schedule - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

This is so Jim Ferlo-ish.

City authority OKs free parking schedule - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review Free parking is so romantic.

Sweethearts who travel to Downtown on Feb. 14 will be able to park for free on the first of seven parking holidays this year at the Pittsburgh Parking Authority's 5,000 garage spaces and 800 parking meters.

Free parking on Valentine's Day will be from 4 p.m. to midnight.

The other free days are Nov. 23 and the five Saturdays between Thanksgiving and Christmas: Nov. 24 and Dec. 1, 8, 15, and 22. They will last all day.

Perhaps this is a the sentimental "bobble" to smoothen the jilted relationship with the public. You know. Some couples have a 'spat' and then the Mrs. gets a new family jewel. I think this happened with some NBA player who was caught red handed, right?

So, for Pittsburgh, the citizens get to feel the day-in-day-out sting of high taxes on parking -- but -- get to park for free on a few Saturdays. Sparkle season smiles.

This kiss and make up deed and news release costs $100,000.

Why not give $100,000 to the pipe dream called the Pittsburgh Promise? That's the hope that city kids will get college scholarships and only $10,000 went into the kitty.

This is weirdness as well when David Onorato starts to speak for the private parking operators. The Parking Authority is a steward of our public assets. They feel that they are entitled to give away $100,000 as they wish to who they wish. But, he has to have his head examined to say that the private parking business folks MIGHT offer a similar give-a-way.

Is this public servant going to show up in other private marketplaces and demand that others give away free trinkets too?

If he is trying to figure out the best way to serve the public then he needs to think again. The give-a-way is a positive thing for his self interest.

Here are a few free parking spots:

From merge city

From china - bike ...

Pittsburgh Penguins, National Hockey League - CBS SportsLine.com

Why do anything in public when it is so easy to be private with the spending of the public's money. As these guys jump into bed together, it shouldn't be done in the family hours of programming time. I'm happy Rendell waited until after 9 pm before he popped into the scene. But, I wouldn't mind if this courting wasn't so 'hush-hush.'

Pittsburgh Penguins, National Hockey League - CBS SportsLine.com Asked why neither side was talking - unlike the previous meeting, when Lemieux and Rendell both appeared optimistic during interviews -- Ardo said, 'We don't intend to negotiate through the media.'

Ardo said no face-to-face meetings are currently scheduled, but, he said, 'Negotiations are continuing' with an agreement hoped for 'as soon as possible.'

A surprise guest at the talks was Don Barden, the Detroit gambling casino owner who was picked by a state panel last month to build a new slots machine parlor in Pittsburgh. Barden has agreed to contribute $7.5 million a year toward the arena costs.

'I want to do everything I can to see that the Penguins stay in Pittsburgh,' Barden said.

Before the meeting, Onorato told reporters, 'We're coming down to try to finalize the deal' - the most optimistic comment any of the principals have made to date. But Onorato also cautioned it would take time to work out details such as the Penguins' lease and financing.

Back-room deals have killed this town. This one is sure to be just another milestone, if not headstone.

Purchasing merger timetable proposed

Tossing money out the window is a Grant Street sport.

Purchasing merger timetable proposed 'We've seen enough studies,' said Mr. Peduto, who is set to announce his mayoral candidacy Monday. 'We know exactly what the savings will be. ... We can't afford not to do this. It's time we stop throwing money out the window.'

The other game played there is leap-frog.

Hurry and form another task force.

Connect the dots. The one wants to buy printing with a joint purchasing department. This means that those borchures about the bulk gargage pick-up days can be with more color and gloss. One doesn't have his face on all the junk mail in the city yet -- but -- should he win he would and he'd have suburban taxpayers pay for it.

Then again there is the dog license merger thingie that was big-news in the last election. Why hasn't Peduto fixed that yet? Is he saving it for after he announces? Or, is it a low priority because Michael Lamb is only running for controller? Or, do they want Mr. Lamb to keep using his old lines for the pending cycle. Everyone loves puppies.

From china - bike

Blogging Causes Ravenstahl Incident To Hit High Water - News

Explosive. But not like thugs, right?

Blogging Causes Ravenstahl Incident To Hit High Water - News McIntire's decision to go public unleashed the explosive power of the Internet in a way never before seen in Pittsburgh's politics.

Funny quote: These blogs are not affiliated with WTAE-TV. Some of them may contain rough language. Too bad the fourth estate, the jouralist-watchdogs, don't bark with "rough language." Rough-ruff! =:0

Gotta love the headline of hitting high water. Worth a video clip. You write the caption to the video clip in the comments.

Click for short video of high water.

Political Bloggers: "Dime a dozen" says Jon Delano

Dime a dozen. Jon Delano just earned new nick-name from me. Dime a Dozen Delano.

What I post on this blog is MORE accountable than what goes out on the air at KDKA-TV because there is a "comment button" here. One can't talk back to the TV with any satisfaction.

The press is free as long as you have one. I do, too.

Marty Griffin and Jon Delano were talking about one of their own, the MacYapper. Delano said that the bloggers can say anything they want and the Main Stream Media (MSM) would never stoop so low. Giggle. It was the MSM guy, the recent KDKA-radio show host, that is taking about thug-like behaviors.

Oh well. Let me edit this audio file in the days to come.

Bar Legislation goes to City Planning Meeting - Jan 23 at 2 or so

It's called an Exhibition: Council Bill 2006-0935 – Sections 911.02 and 911.04 (Bar legislation) is the last item on the agenda for the PLANNING COMMISSION (as part of the Dept. of City Planning) at 200 Ross Street to start at 2 pm on January 23, 2007. This is the last item on the agenda, so you might not need to be there until 2:30.

MacYapper -- should be a 2 way race at the end of MAY, not day.

John posted, in part:

MacYapper ... ruminations of countless pols, hacks, ne'erdowells, scalliwags, and scumbags, it looks like it's a two person race at the end of the day. Or at least, at the end of the sentence.

The race for mayor comes in two waves. One is at the end of 'may' -- or middle in the month of May, 2007. That's the primary.

The other wave comes in November 2007.

Plenty of races are looming on the ballot this year. Any scalligwags who want to shout out here can do so. Or, send me a pointer to your site / news.

School board and municipal elections happen this year. I hope that the bench is packed and the opposition is present, for both the spring and fall elections.

4,832 Votes in Allegheny County didn't count in November 2007 election

After some digging, here is a report about the recent election.

When Allegheny County Executive says that the election went on without a hitch -- he lied.

Tim Martin, Libertarian, candidate for US Senate against Rick Santorum and Bob Casey and Carl Romanelli, got 45 votes. None were reported from Allegheny County to Harrisburg. Zero.

Carl J. Romanelli got 107 votes.

Scattered votes = 595.

For Governor, Swann lost to Rendell. Russ Diamond scored 46 votes and NONE were reported to the state. Zero.

Marakay Rogers / Christina Valente got 50 votes that were reported.

In the 14th District for US Congress, votes were given to Michael Keaton, Mike Turzi, Bob Logue and Jim Quinn -- but none were reported. The reported amount of scattered votes is 577.

In the race that I wanted to enter, PA Senate, 42nd, against an un-democratic democrate without any other opposition, Michael Diven got 29 votes, Mark Harris got 16 votes, I got 14, and 588 votes went scattered to others.

All in all, in this year's write in votes I was suprised at how poorly the Disney characters did in the totals. But, I was very impressed with the creativity of the citizen voters. But the bottom line, we're not being told. Many vote didn't count.

A summary of the scattered votes, by my count: 4,832.

Other counties report the results of every voter, vote and candidate. Allegheny County doesn't.

These insights are not going to change the course of the world. No candidate stands a chance to be beaten by scattered write in votes. But, nobody should have confidence that everything is on the up and up.

The 'fat letter' - got ink in a Trib article

The 'fat letter' - Tribune-Review "'It's a pretty flaky measurement,' said Mark Rauterkus, whose two sons, ages 9 and 11, go to Phillips Elementary on the South Side. 'I wouldn't hang my hat on it.'

Rauterkus said he has coached youth swimming for several years, and thinks a more accurate way to measure kids' fitness is looking at body fat percentage, or by physically measuring how many pull-ups a kid can do.

The doctor quoted in the article, Dr. David, is our family doctor. He says good things too.

Nice article.

Years ago I published a book, Pull Your Own Weight. The author's philosophy was to have the kids to pull-ups, or chin-ups. And, it connected with a new weight equipment device, the Total Gym. Chuck Norris has sold the Total Gym on TV info-comercials for years since then.

The Pull Your Own Weight concepts were put into practice with a group of at-risk kids at a public school in Rock Island, Illinois. They made great improvements. All the classrooms to the school had pull-up bars installed in the doorways. Kids had some special attention each week with their pull ups. Generally, the kids were assisted by an adult to complete the pull ups.

Some of the kids at the school that year got very strong. I saw the results, and this was years ago. I think, if memory serves me right, there were more than a dozen kids who could all do more than 12 pull ups. The school record climbed to 23 or some such number, way higher than anything I could ever dream of doing.

Check out the article. It is posted in full in the comments of this blog post.

As a note: It is a typical clash of cultures to have my former opponent and heavyweight senator, Wayne Fontana, quoted in the news concerning the Penguins saga and a give-a-way of more public money to the team through the cover of the venue -- while at the same time have a newspaper quote from me in an article about kids -- and FAT measurements. (See the post below.)

Rendell to meet today with Penguins on arena

Rendell to meet today with Penguins on arena No one is predicting, however, that a final accord will be announced as part of this evening's gathering.

'I think they're getting closer to a deal,' said state Sen. Wayne Fontana, a board member of the city-Allegheny County Sports & Exhibition Authority, which has been involved in the talks. 'I'm confident that progress is being made.'

If the Pens get a greater share of the Mellon Arena revenues, then don't say that no new dollars are part of the deal.

Pay SMG $5-million, up front! What's up with that?

Do they just print the money and give it to SMG?

City wants Downtown blueprint for disaster. Other, better ideas offered below.

The city wants, err, ... this citizen wants no such blueprint. Naysayers say it will cost nearly $600,000 when the net result is a best-practice strategy of "run like hell."

From Paddle-kayak

City wants Downtown blueprint for disaster - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review Pittsburgh officials must specifically tailor their evacuation plans for Downtown to avoid the confusion that has accompanied past emergencies, the city's top emergency coordinators said Wednesday.

I would do much better than this for much less.

How about if we take the basement of the city county building an use it for storage of:

Twenty thousands of water bottles, empty.

Suitable inventory of water buffalos to fill bottles when and if needed.

5,000 bikes with helmets and handlebar baskets

From Paddle-kayak

3,000 canoes with paddles and lifejackets.

From Paddle-kayak

A dozen bells on wheels. Every toy box needs noise makers.

Hear the bell being suggested.

My plan costs $0 for the blueprint, but it is priceless. Furthermore, the plan that has a blueprint cost of nearly $600,000 has no scope of work that is understood. Their plan might still call for all the above.

Bonus package: I hear that the Eastern Mountain Sports store in Ross Park Mall is holding a going out of business sale. Perhaps the order of necessary equipment can be purchased at that sale.

Early Returns reports on example of haste making waste

Haste makes waste.

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette - Local News - Early Returns Turns out the Pittsburgh Building and Construction Trades Council quietly endorsed the mayor in mid-December, according to its Business Manager Richard Stanizzo. Why didn't they announce it back then? 'We left that up to [Mr. Ravenstahl], to use when he wanted to do it,' he said.

Often I rant against those who do too little too late. Often nothing gets done. Generally, doing nothing is a bad option.

However, doing something that is worse than nothing is easy to do too. Here comes a low-blow from a union that needs to be understood by everyone.

The Pittsburgh Building and Construction Trades Council picked a candidate for its endorsement before a race even began.

This isn't a new practice among unions in Pittsburgh. However, it is a brazen example of a union that made the choice to not even think at all. And this union has no respect for democracy.

John Mac's Question at MacYapper gets an answer from me

MacYapper WHO'S GONNA BREAK IT FIRST?

The answer is you, John. You broke it first.

The MSM (main stream media) is less and less important. Don't hold your breath waiting for the MSM. In the end, the MSM is there to sell soap. And, at the outset of any type of coverage, the other question of, 'is this news break going to help us sell soap' gets asked. Hence, you've got the answer as to why the MSM is so silent on most instances of important watch-dog matters that have a bit of a 'bite' to them.

I've said for more than a week that the court case is a lose-lose and should have been settled. Why wait? Wait to fire the city solicitor, George Specter, then settle?

In other matters, more than $300,000 in contracts went before city council for initial approval so outside attorney fees could be secured. That's money that goes to contractors who are attorneys. There's no 'security' in that spending, if you worry about the taxpayer and citizens of the city. The question came, why even have a city legal department if they can't do the heavy lifting, legal work of the city?

I don't want my mayor, regardless of who it is, to be in a legal battle with a police commander. That isn't healthy.

Peduto won't get much wind in his sales, despite where the pope sqats. Remember, Bill Peduto taught the city about "pay to play contracts." Peduto seems to be fine with the racking up of more than $300,000 in outside legal fees. And, Peduto seems to be fine with the spending of nearly $600,000 on a contract about an evacuation plan for downtown. Those contracts are either corporate welfare or a play-to-play deals. The later, to Michael Baker Corp, goes to the firm that put the worthless, yet very expensive hole in the center of the West End Circle.

Big spenders can't benefit on the fall out of thugs who are also are known the world over as big spenders. The thuggery in contrast is not a big deal vs. the big deal spending.

Both bad habits on display (thuggery and spending) stink. But what is really welcomedis an option that isn't with such illustrations of thuggery nor spending.

Getting cold enough for some real winter fun

Introducing Table Hockey on Real Ice Introducing Table Hockey on Real Ice

How handy are you?

Issues of the hour in City Council: Prop Pgh and a $.6 M contract to M. Baker Corp for what!

My prepared 3-minute statement slated for city council chambers on transportation and PAT (Port Authority Transit) got put to the side today because of pending conversations devoted to the bills on the agenda. Preliminary talk and votes among the nine members was to come. I felt the need to express views on a pimple-faced Propell Pittsburgh legislation effort to creat a new commission in the city. Plus, a give-away to a corporation to the tune of nearly $600,000 was on tap. The expected contract approval came without a clear scope of work and centered on a silly downtown evacution plan process.

Oh my gosh. These typical yet goofy elements get chucked to city council's realm and there is only a short window of time when the public can put in its two-cents. I called on council to think again about both matters. What the heck is the administration thinking? My comments help set the tone of the meeting that followed. Both agenda points were de-railed -- or perhaps delayed.

So, I played a role by speaking and offering up the typical nay-sayer protest. But, this time, today, they listened and back-up was provided.

The Propell ordinance got push aside and will become a topic of a pending public hearing. Great. Calling for public hearings is a great way to shine more light on half-baked proposals. Getting more people engaged is always welcomed on Grant Street.

Pittsburgh needs a new commission like it needs another hole in its head. This Propell Pgh effort isn't about boats. Rather, it is for those 'propeller heads' that seem to vote with their feet and depart Pittsburgh. The sacred 'young people' are to be given their own commission from Mayor Luke Ravenstahl. Humm. It didn't smell right to me. I'm trying to work to smaller and more limited government and the Mayor wants to make it bigger. No thanks. Booster groups are fine, but the booster groups should reside outside the realm of an ordinance and change to the city's code (laws).

A pre-agenda item was the approval of a new member to the Pittsburgh Clean or Green Commission. Whatever. The folks on city council didn't know what that city-sanctioned group did. Neither did the appointee, who is a a current member of the mayor's administration. Duhh.

The approval of the contract to Michael Baker Crop. got voted upon and advanced with a 3 yes, 1 no and 3 abstain margin. But, there are nine members of council. Weirdness prevailed instead of the regular white-washing.

(More to come shortly.)

Urban Farming - series of free lectures and events with CMU

Starting on Thursday, January 18, 2007, series of talks at Carnegie Mellon University focus on topics related to urban farming (permaculture, local economies, youth development, and technologies), endocrine disruption, and environmental justice.

The lectures are gratis (no charge). These talks make great food for thought and seeds for discussion and local action.

Reconnecting Our Farms, Food, and Community

A Partnership with the Urban Farming Initiative of Pittsburgh Urban Farming talks are all from 5:30 - 7 pm in Rangos 1 & 2, University Center at CMU.

Thursday January 18, 2007 -- Pittsburgh: Urban Food Forest of the Future?
David Jacke, Author and Ecological Designer, Dynamics Ecological Design, Greenfield, MA http://www.edibleforestgardens.com/

Healthy forests are self-maintaining, self-fertilizing, and self-renewing. Edible forest gardens mimic such natural forests, but can grow food and other products, provide meaningful jobs, and improve people¹s health and the quality of urban life. Since cities are ecosystems like any other, food forests can also teach us how to redesign urban communities for greater abundance, health, and integration. The lessons are simple and practical, yet profound, the possible results astonishing.

Tuesday February 13, 2007 - Creating Livelihoods from Greenhouses and Forest Gardens
Jerome Osentowski, Director of the Central, Rocky Mountain Permaculture Institute, Basalt, CO - http://crmpi.org/

I will show from my own experience how we have created a viable commercial culinary and medicinal herb and salad green business within the understory of a forest garden and in greenhouses. The other business we have created and will be talked about is the edible landscape nursery which includes our heritage fruit tree collection.

These will all be presented within the framework of permaculture ethics and principles.

Tuesday March 20, 2007 - Urban Farming with Youth
Patricia Gray, Executive Director, The Food Project of Boston, Lincoln, MA - http://thefoodproject.org/

The Food Project has been farming with young people for more than 15 years. For ten of those fifteen years, we have farmed in Dorchester and Roxbury, two low-income neighborhoods in Boston, MA. We now farm on two and a half acres, including a rooftop site. The food we grow on our urban farms is distributed through three streams: farmers’ markets, donations to hunger relief organizations, and our kitchen and culinary businesses. This workshop will focus on The Food Project’s work in the City of Boston—finding and procuring usable land, distributing local, fresh food to those who have little access to it, working in a community, running successful farmers’ markets and involving youth in all aspects of this work.

Tuesday April 24, 2007 - High Tunnel Technology: A Tool for Economic Development, Job Creation, and Increased Quality of Life through Urban Agriculture
Dr. William James Lamont, Jr. Professor of Vegetable Crops, Department of Horticulture, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA - http://plasticulture.cas.psu.edu/
http://www.sare.org/highlights/2004/tunnels.htm

High tunnels are one of the components of season extension technology. They are not conventional greenhouses, but like plastic-covered greenhouses, they are generally quonset-shaped, constructed of metal bows that are attached to metal posts which have been driven into the ground about two feet deep. They are covered with one layer of 6-mil greenhouse-grade polyethylene, and are ventilated by manually rolling up the sides each morning and rolling them down in early evening. There is no permanent heating system although it is advisable to have a standby portable propane unit to protect against unexpected below-freezing temperatures. There are no electrical connections. The only external connection is a water supply for trickle irrigation. They are used to extend the growing season and a high tunnel without any supplemental heat in Pennsylvania can produce crops from March until early December. Since 1998, and the founding of the High Tunnel Research and Education Facility at Penn State, a wide variety of vegetables, small fruits and cut flowers have been successfully grown
in high tunnels. Crops are either grown in permanent raised wood framed beds or in ground using plastic mulch to warm the soil and help control the weeds. In the urban environment, due to the high levels of heavy metals in the soils the use of raised beds with new soil is practiced.

High tunnels offer the opportunity to take vacant land in urban environments and create jobs while ensuring a continuous supply of nutritious vegetables and small fruits and cut flowers that can be marketed to the local communities or to restaurants, farmer markets and other retail outlets. These activities will increase the quality of life in those communities and offer entrepreneurial opportunities and
careers in all phases of urban agriculture.

Endocrine Disruption:
Extending Rachel Carson's Legacy
Distinguished Lecture Series in Environmental Science, Technology, and
Policy
These talks take place from 4:30 - 6PM in the Adamson Wing, Baker Hall
136A.

Monday February 5, 2007 - A Revolution in Environmental Health Sciences:

New Opportunities to Prevent Genetic Diseases, John Peterson Myers, CEO and Founder, Environmental Health Sciences

Monday February 12, 2007 - From Silent Spring to Silent Night: Hermaphroditic Frogs, Breast Cancer, and Pesticides

Tyrone Hayes, Associate Professor, Integrative Biology, University of California at Berkeley

Monday March 5, 2007 - Environmental Challenges to Human Fertility: Three Case Studies

Shanna Helen Swan, Professor, Dept. of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Dept. of Environmental Medicine, and Dept. of Community and Preventive Medicine School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Rochester

Thursday April 12, 2007 - Lessons from the Swamp: Contaminants, Alligators, & Your Reproductive Health

Lou Guillette, Distinguished Professor of Zoology, Associate Dean for Research, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, University of Florida

Environmental Justice
The LaPaglia Ethics Lecture
4:30 - 6PM Adamson Wing, Baker Hall 136A

Friday March 30, 2007 - Nanotechnology, Environmental Ethics and Environmental Justice

Ronald Sandler, Assistant Professor of Philosophy and Senior Researcher in the Nanotechnology and Society Research Group, Northeastern University

Getting to the talks:
Free parking is available on campus after hours (very simply, in the lot at Forbes & Morewood, and with gates and card-machines in the parking garage a bit closer to the University Center -- but the open lot is not far, either, just drive in off Forbes on the west side of the intersection and go left through the open gates). Many city buses stop at that intersection, as well; check out

To find the U.C., look at the tall sculpture accurately named "Walking To the Sky" from Forbes avenue, and the U.C. will be on your left. Inside the building, look up and you'll likely see signs above the corridors; the Rangos rooms are on the second floor. Google map. Click on "hybrid" in the upper right-hand corner of the map to see the campus up close and personal (yes, you can even see people. The current image appears to predate Walking To the Sky, though.).

Baker Hall, where the non-farming talks will be held, is on Frew Street near the Hunt Library.

Health Care: www.dividedwefail.org

The SEIU (union), AARP, and Business Roundtable are launching a partnership to reform health care. SEIU's President Stern will stand with Bill Novelli, CEO of AARP, and John Castellani, President of the Business Roundtable, at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. to announce the formation of the Divided We Fail partnership today. The groups represent more than 50 million and are joining forces to influence the political debate on health care reform and long-term financial security for working people.

Webcast of the event slated for 2 pm today.

Los Angeles Times has coverage of the partnership in today's edition. Full-page ads announcing the launch are in major national newspapers this week.

More about the campaign, www.dividedwefail.org.

Extended Obit on Grandpa in Boston Globe: Robert Palmer, 73; played key role in reforming state prisons

More on Grandpa (my father-in-law). Great article. Click Boston.com link and see the photo of the man in his prime.

Robert Palmer, 73; played key role in reforming state prisons ROBERT PALMER

By Bryan Marquard, Globe Staff | January 17, 2007

Fix the problem, not the blame, Robert M. Palmer used to say. He spoke those words so often that Mr. Palmer and his proverb of choice became fodder for an editorial cartoon.

Guided by that management maxim and a sense of compassion, he was a force behind efforts in the 1970s to implement prison reform in Massachusetts. Friends and family say he also helped Polaroid Corp. become a pioneer in the emerging concepts of corporate commitment and responsibility, serving as spokesman when the company cut off shipments to South Africa during apartheid.

"He really cared about making the world a better place," said Frank Hall, who was Massachusetts commissioner of correction in the 1970s when Mr. Palmer chaired the Governor's Advisory Committee on Corrections. "We all like to say that, and to have other people say that about us, but he really was that way."

Mr. Palmer, who retired to Maine about a decade ago, died of heart failure Jan. 4 in his Ogunquit home. He was 73.

"He had an enormous understanding of human frailty," said Chet Atkins, a former US representative from the state's Fifth District. "He could hold people to very high standards, but could appreciate their frailty and help them get back on track and help them pick themselves up and restore their dignity."

Born in Boston, Mr. Palmer graduated from Brookline High School and Columbia University and served in the Army before marrying in 1957.

He went to work for Polaroid Corp. and rose to director of corporate relations, becoming the public voice of the company.

Edwin Land, the company's founder, "encouraged Bob to involve Polaroid in the community," said Mr. Palmer's former wife, Barbara of Pittsburgh . "Dr. Land insisted that Polaroid reach out and do good things in the community, and I mean important things, not just playgrounds."

Part of that outreach included Mr. Palmer's work with the state's prison system. As chairman of the Governor's Advisory Committee on Corrections, he became an instrument of change in the early 1970s when the riots at the Attica Correctional Facility in New York prompted systems across the country to contemplate reform.

"I think Bob really understood what was going on in the system," Hall said. "He helped bring about some of the reforms in corrections in Massachusetts, and he was immensely helpful to me."

Mr. Palmer's advocacy, he said, helped lead to the prerelease programs for inmates that significantly reduced recidivism.

"He was very much of an advocate for having a balanced parole board," said Paul Chernoff, a Superior Court judge who was chairman of the state Parole Board in the early 1970s. Mr. Palmer, he said, pushed for a parole board that included members "from many walks of life, not just law enforcement," and which included lawyers and treatment professionals.

"He was also an advocate of due process hearings," Chernoff said, adding that Mr. Palmer helped bring about changes now taken for granted.

"In a way, he was ahead of his time in a lot of things that he attempted to do," Barbara Palmer said.

She said Mr. Palmer, who formerly lived in Boston and Concord, brought a quality of mercy to his work.

"He didn't think we needed to blame people, he thought we needed to fix what went wrong," she said. "That pretty much sums him up. He didn't have any time for witch hunting. He wanted people to settle down, look at what was going wrong, and remedy it."

"He didn't care who you were or where you were from," said his son, Robert, who works in Connecticut. "He was a big believer that everybody makes mistakes, but you try to fix it. In my daily life, in the management work I do, I quote him every day."

"He had such a positive way of looking at people," said his daughter, Catherine, a physician in Pittsburgh. "He could really see what was the best in people and their potential and what they had to offer. And then he would step back. He didn't want to take credit for it; he just wanted to help them have the opportunity to do what they wanted to do."

Whether he was working with inmates or speaking with his children and grandchildren, Mr. Palmer did not condescend because of age or social background, his daughter said.

"He was very funny and had a quick wit. As kids, we always enjoyed him because he treated us as thinking people," his daughter said, adding that her father developed a warm bond with his three grandsons by taking the same approach.

"I think he left an extraordinarily lasting impression," Atkins said. "He was a man of enormous compassion and with very, very strong values."

In addition to his son, daughter, former wife, and three grandsons, Mr. Palmer leaves two brothers, Charles of Wayland and E. Samuel of Arlington, and a sister, Judith Muggia of Winchester.

The service will be private.

One tiny correction. His daughter, my wife, Catherine V. Palmer, of Pittsburgh, works with physicians as Director of Audiology at UPMC's Eye and Ear and Pitt. She has a Ph.D, not a M.D.

Answer to questions on Early Returns

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette - Local News - Early Returns And does Patrick Dowd, running for council against incumbent Len Bodack, draw money and volunteers away from his old ally Mr. Peduto, or do their bids complement each other?

Depends. Plus, you really need to dig a bit deeper to find out all that is there. The school board race for Dowd's present seat might be a good one too.

On face value, Peduto and Dowd can be great for each other. However, teamwork isn't a strength of either nor with anyone in the D's party. They might swap post-cards. But, I don't see them working hand in hand as they could and should.

Red Light Cameras and a public hearing, next week

BS-010: "You think all those little cameras are for traffic control, don't you?"

Schools + Swimming and Weight

Talk about B.M.I. and schools.

Kim L, a reporter for the Trib, is working on a story about the new state mandate requiring parental notification of their child’s body mass index, or BMI number. What do parents think? Good information, not enough information, too much information? Are parents even aware that the figures were being reported?

CollegeSwimming.com :: View topic - Swimming and Weight It is an interesting way to look at the top swimmers, but the BMI is rarely ever used anymore, and when it is used, it's used for the general (non athletic) population.

BMI is not a measurement that I would want to hang my hat upon. It isn't that valid. I would rather go to percent body fat or a functional fitness test, such as number of pull-ups. Pull ups can be done with weight assistance as well, say from a stand with 30-pounds of assistance.

A once a year measurement isn't as good either. If done well, it should be more seasonal and more frequently. Kids grow at such different rates and different speeds that a hight and weight chart with a lot of data points would be more helpful to the kids understanding of themselves -- and that of the parents too.

Once a year benchmarks might be fine for a vision and hearing screening -- but not for real understanding of growth and development.

Putting kids on a scale for weight records is okay with me if it is part of the learning that should happen -- and not a 'contest.' A meaningless task of stepping on a scale to satisfy a state mandate is just nuts. Teacher and principals without the dedication and seriousness for the duty should just do nothing rather than provide a bad lesson for the students.

The numbers of one person should not be ranked against that of another. Rather, the points on the chart of the same kid over time is where the real value resides.

This should all be part of a decent course of study for phyical education. I feel that physical education should be part of the school day. We've ignored PE on many instances. Beefing up PE programs (pun intended) is fine with me.

However, we've really got to use athletics and additional after-school activities, beyond school, for our kids and their health.

Advice to Mayor Luke Ravenstahl -- and my comments to Pgh City Council

I spoke for three minutes, again, today in City Council Chambers.

Headline: Luke should fire Mr. Specter, the city's solicitor. Luke's been getting bad advice. Next, Luke should settle the case with the police commander now. I don't want my mayor to be in a court battle with a police commander. Finally, Luke needs to nominate and appoint a person as the boss of public safety. Luke in a rush to appoint a political cronie but the post is still empty. Did care and concern for the public's health die?

Another speaker was before City Council to ponder and plead for the re-deployment of Commander B, formerly of the east end and recently at Zone 3. She's been put to another area of the city.

I don't want to micro-manage decisions on the police force and with the administration. That isn't a job of those on city council. However, those decisions do reflect upon the administration. Having a revolving door of police commanders in the zone sends a message.

Cry-baby talk of 'mine, mine, mine' isn't going to prove to region that the zone is getting back on its feet. Spare the tears Bruce Krause.

In other points:

The South Side is going to be home to a running club for kids. They meet at 3 pm on Mondays and Wednesdays at Ormsby Rec Center.

The South Side Market House is going to come back to life with indoor hockey again. The season starts this week for the little kids. The fall season of indoor soccer was nixed, sadly. Good that the tykes and kids are getting some organized programming and gym time.

From Market House

A public hearing in city council chambers is slated for Wed afternoon. See the Google calendar called Pittsburgh City Hall. This talk about the PAT service cuts is a big issue that needs attention.

Today is a sad day on other transportation news as they are advancing the under river tunnel for light rail. I've spoken out against that project for many years. When asked about 'transportation' a year ago as I campaigned with Jeff Koch for the city council seat -- Mr. Koch said he wanted to re-pave Arlington Avenue. I said I wanted to not build the tunnel under the river, saving more than enough to re-pave Arlington Ave.

Going underground. Digging to China might make for a better Return On Investment.

Signature requirements to get onto the November 2007 ballot

Blast from the past. Mechanical voting machines.

To run as a third party candidate for an Allegheny County office that is 'county wide' (such as County Executive and At-Large member of Allegheny County Council) one needs 2,345 signatures.

To run as a third party candidate for City of Pittsburgh offices that are 'city wide' (such as Mayor and Controller) one needs 804 signatures.

To run for City Council, district 3, (my district) in the election slated for November, one needs 100 signatures.

To run for Allegheny County Council in district 13, (my district), one needs 270 signatures.

Allegheny Institute: Issue Summaries

The think tank, Allegheny Institute, pulled together a meta page of issue summaries. Nice work.

Allegheny Institute: Issue Summaries Issue # Title

Enjoy. Now I've got to blend them in with the Platform.For-Pgh.org/wiki.

Steelers coach sure to trump the mayor

Cute comment, except the part about the coach making more money. I'm a coach. I don't make more money than the may. But, as a coach, I have much better rewards and job satisfaction.

Steelers coach sure to trump the mayor - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (T)here are more candidates for the Pittsburgh Steelers' head coaching vacancy than there are for the Pittsburgh mayoral opening.

Tom Murphy used to say that being mayor was the best job in the world. He was wrong, yet again. Ex-coach, Bill Cowher now joins the ranks of the few who have the best duties that life can deliver. That's the calling to be a parent.

When coaching and parent mix within the same realm, then being a candidate for mayor but just a pain in the ass and yet another deed and investment of effort for the sake of the next generation of Pittsburghers.

We had a great time at Pine Richland's swim meet this Saturday and Sunday. Erik and Grant are evolving into swimming athletes. Erik won today's 100 breast and was second in yesterday's 400 I.M. Grant scored in the 100 fly. I've got some video to share shortly.

Whizenhunt out as Steelers' Coach Running Mate and in at the helm of the NFL Cardinals.

Grandpa's (my father-in-law) Obit from Maine

York County Coast Star Obituaries: Robert Palmer

OGUNQUIT -- Robert M. Palmer, 73, died Jan. 4, 2007, after a brief illness.

Mr. Palmer was born in Boston, Mass., and grew up in the suburb of Brookline. He graduated from Columbia University and served in the U.S. Army. Most of his career was with the Polaroid Corporation in Cambridge, Mass., where he became Director of Corporate Relations. For six years he served the Commonwealth as Chairman of the Governor's Advisory Committee on Corrections, first appointed by the late Governor Francis Sargent. He left Polaroid in 1981 and after several positions in the field of corporate relations, left Boston and settled in Ogunquit, where he became an active participant in the community. He joined the York County Coast Star where he wrote a weekly column, "Just Neighbors".

He leaves a brother, Charles of Wayland, Mass.; a sister, Judith Muggia of Winchester, Mass.; and a brother, E. Samuel of Arlington, Mass. In addition, he leaves his former wife, Barbara and their son, Robert of Conn.; and daughter, Catherine of Pittsburgh, Pa.; and three grandchildren, Cameron, Erik, and Grant.

Services will be private.

Contributions may be made in his name to Beacon Hospice, 42 Brickyard Road, York, ME, 03909.

The obit will run on Sunday in the Boston Globe. A story might also come from Boston too.

---

Update from Boston.com from Sunday, Jan 14, 2007:

Boston.com / News Robert M. Palmer

Age 73, Jan. 4. Died at home in Ogunquit, ME. Born in Boston, MA. Graduated from Columbia University & served in the U.S. Army. He was employed at Polaroid Corp. He leaves a brother Charles of Wayland, MA, a sister Judith Muggia of Winchester, MA, and a brother E. Samuel of Arlington, MA. In addition, he leaves his former wife Barbara and their son Robert of Connecticut and daughter Catherine of Pittsburgh, PA and three grandchildren. Services will be private. Contributions may be made in his name to Beacon Hospice, 42 Brickyard Road, York, ME 03909.
Published in the Boston Globe on 1/14/2007.

Another candidate joins crowded city Council District 9 race

Another candidate joins crowded city Council District 9 race A third challenger to City Councilwoman Twanda Carlisle emerged yesterday, as K. Chase Patterson, 23, of North Point Breeze announced plans to join what is shaping up to be a crowded field.

How do these journalist count? The lead says a THIRD challenger. Humm.

In no particular order:

K. Chase Patterson

Rachel Cooper

Ricky Burgess

Ora Lee Carroll

Judith Ginyard

Why the blind spot in the math?

In my race on March 14, 2006, there were NINE on the ballot. But, we were not working to take down an incumbent council member.

Tribune-Review editorial on ballot access

The Nader case: Pay up, Ralph - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review It is even clearer that Pennsylvania's political duopoly rigs ballot access against third-party and independent candidates.

See my video statement below.

City broadens path to police command

City broadens path to police command New Cmdr. Ross, 50, of Lincoln Place, will run Zone 3, which covers the South Side and South & West areas of the city. The 27-year veteran of the bureau rises from the rank of sergeant, which has long been a launching point to commander.

Cmdr. RaShall Brackney, famous for making Duke's Tire do a re-model of the building so as to not change the tires on the street as had been the practice for 30+ years, is headed back to her former stomping ground in the East End.

Could Plan C Keep Pens In Pittsburgh? - Sports

Let's be clear about Plan Z vs. Plan C:

Could Plan C Keep Pens In Pittsburgh? - Sports Pittsburgh is going to have to go further than Plan B to keep the Penguins in town.

Pittsburgh is going to have to go further than Plan C to keep the Penguins in Allegheny County.

As the web article and video snip from WPXI reports, the goal is to keep the Pens in "town." Plan Z's (my 'think again' plan) hope is to move the discussions further and inject a sense of long-term health of the team, fans, city, and region by thwarting a move out-of-state and insisting a move occurs from the lower Hill District to elsewhere within Allegheny County.

Bill Peduto's Plan C does offer the team more profits. At least Bill Peduto put a light on this topic. Dan Onorato said that "Delvelopment rights has always been up for negotiations."

Onorato wants to discount what Peduto put on the table and ignore Plan C as a step forward because of three reasons. First, Onorato would be happy to rip off the taxpayers and provide a give-a-way to the Penguins that wasn't disclosed. The more complicated the dealings, the less attention from the media and taxpayers. That's all good for Onorato who is a live-in-the-moment politician and care's little about the long-term ramifications. Peduto's Plan C shines a light on this type of dealmaking that Onorato had up his sleave. Tricks should be out on the table.

I also advocated this 'trick' concerning development rights. It could be injected into the dealings with the Penguins.

More talk about 'development rights' needs to occur in the mainstream media and the past stadium deals on the North Side (of Three Rivers Stadium), existing civic arena site, North Shore (between PNC & Heinz with Pirates and Steelers) and elsewhere in Allegheny County (Hazelwood, old airport site, Neville Island, and even around the new Convention Center).

The number of properties that have been ganged together, the amounts of investments and the public foolery that occurs is outlandish and hardly reported.

The Steelers and Pirates have broken their side of the deals to develop the land around the stadiums on the North Shore. They fumbled their duties. They have let time pass and little has been done. The outdoor concert venue is but one example that did get attention, more than two years ago, when Gov. Rendell promised $4-million in a state grant to get that project done. It isn't done. It's design is bad. Progress has choked. The public interest has been given the shaft in a complicated dealing.

To prove my point, do you know how much land the county owns around the new Greater Pittsburgh Airport? Remember the boom that was to happen in the airport corridor?

New highways have been built. Vacant land sprawls.

Remember the Pittsburgh Motor Speedway fiction? It was to be an indoor Indy oval.

Onorato also wants to discount Peduto's Plan C mentions because of political buddies. Luke Ravenstahl and Dan Onorato are connected at the hip now. This jazz of Plan C gives a wedge and spotlight where they don't want buzz.

Finally, Onorato wants to be the quarterback in this deal and be able to huddle in private. When huddles happen, the main guys turn their backs to the rest of the world.

Don Barden, winner of the lone Pittsburgh slots parlor license, pledged $350-million to Pittsburgh for development of the Hill District. That money goes along in addition to the $7-million per year for 30-years to help finance a new arena in Plan B.

My Plan Z called upon the use of some of Don Barden's pledged money, perhaps $20-million, to be used to acquire the property that is presently owned by Mario and the Penguins. They had purchased a bit of land near the present arena. The one building is getting aesbestos removed now.

Who is paying for that remediation, by the way? I think that it might be the Stadium and Exibition Authority, back-room deal. I'd like to see some journalist / watch dog investigate the letting of that contract.

Buildings will be demolished, of course. Buildings around the arena and the civic arena, to the tune of $7-million. This tear down that Plan A, Plan B, Plan C advocates is NOT a part of my Plan Z. We should keep the Civic Arena. We could even keep the buildings slated for demolition up on the hill if possible.

Years ago my position was to turn five floors of the old hospital into an International Youth Hostel. They let the building rot. Pittsburgh's Hostel in Allentown closed due to weenie board members lack of creativity. It still sits empty I think.

Perhaps a garden, Hostel with its safe warm beds and the lunch program that is already in place at the near by church could do wonders for many people and go a long way to helping to clean up Market Square.

As much as possible, we've got to insist that the Barden investment earmarked for the Hill District go up into the neighborhood. Let's not churn the lower Hill District. Rather, see it flow like an artery all the way into Oakland and Oak Hill. Much of the hill needs a lot of attention.

Consider $350-million. That's enough to build a street car line on Center Ave from the edge of town to Oakland. Sure, you can't run it all the way to the basement of USX, crossing the highway, and avoiding the Hill District until it pops back out again at the Merry-go-round in Schenley Plaza as some would want. But screw them.

Consider a street car line with back and forth service running along the spine of The Hill District with street treatments modest stops, mini shops, vendors, lighted, coffee counter, ajacent bikeway, ramps, occasional footbridge over traffic.

This is the time to allow the entire Hill District to bloosom.

Finally, two additional points before this wrap up to go to a two day swim meet at Pine Richland. Blog postings are needed to dive into the realm of giving away prime property to the Penguins for their profits -- rather than for the overall economy of the city. You don't cut off your nose despite your face.

I think that the Pens should have development rights and a property value upside when they create the investment energy. The windfall isn't theirs to capitalize upon if it is in The Hill District. But, if they made an Olympic Village by the Airport -- then they should get the mega profits and potential that they'd create.

Ororato and Peduto want to give away one of the jewels of the city with their profit windfalls to the Penguins. No. They get it and the public doesn't. We, collective public, lose, there -- forever.

Give them what isn't a jewel now -- and allow them the opportunity to create another. The Pens team is an asset. It can spawn more value for the region if they build elsewhere -- in a bigger, more grand, more diverse setting for our region.

To some, I admit, the civic arena is like a pimple on the landscape of Pittsburgh. But, to others, it is like a birth mark or dimple that makes us unique. The existing arena is there and it can be used as a point of strength.

People, investors, small business and home-owners will want to be near the existing civic arena once the Pens depart from their lease and the uses can be made civic again. The fitness and culture of the Hill Distrct and central city depend upon a wholistic re-use of the public spaces in and around the Civic Arena.

Democracy is important. Flashback from September 2004

Watch the Video of my (Mark Rauterkus) public address on 9-28-2004.

---

The following news story is recent.

Supreme Court hits Ralph Nader with $89,821 bill for his 2004 Pennsylvania ballot bid upholding first-of-kind ruling

News by Michael Richardson

The U.S. Supreme Court, by refusing to review a decision of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, has upheld a hefty $89,821 penalty levied against Ralph Nader for his failure to obtain ballot access in 2004 during his presidential campaign.

Nader has been ordered to pay the costs of the nineteen lawyers hired by the Democratic Party to challenge his nomination petitions in the Keystone State. This ruling will have a pronounced chilling effect on future candidates in Pennsylvania concerned about large legal bills if they lose. The original bill was $81,102, but has swelled because of interest accrued during the appeal.

Many Democrats blame Ralph Nader for the outcome of the 2000 presidential election where he supposedly siphoned off Democrat voters from the candidacy of Al Gore. Because of that animus, the Democrat Party waged a powerful war of attrition on Nader's 2004 candidacy bringing litigation against Nader in twenty lawsuits in seventeen states. Nader won fifteen of the lawsuits but lost after a hard-fought legal battle in Pennsylvania.

Around the nation, the Democrat Party hired eighty-nine lawyers from forty-eight law firms for the battle to keep Nader off the ballot. Coordinating the legal army was a command group called The Ballot Project whose stated goal was to "neutralize" Nader's campaign by forcing him "to spend money and resources defending these things."

Pennsylvania's restrictive ballot access law required Nader to submit 25,697 nomination petition signatures. Nader doubled that number up and turned in 51,273 signatures. The Democrats sued to challenge Nader's petitions and eleven Pennsylvania judges were assigned to hear the case in courtrooms around the state. Judge James Colins led the judicial team and eventually decided that Nader only had 18,818 valid signatures.

Dissenting from the Pennsylvania Supreme Court majority, which upheld Judge Colins, was Justice Saylor who found that 8,976 of the disqualified signatures should have been permitted, enough to have placed Nader on the ballot.

Emboldened by the state high court support for unbounded discretion, Judge Colins has since assessed the 2006 Green Party candidate for U.S. Senate, Carl Romanelli, with another punitive penalty of $89,668 for failure to make the ballot in a challenge brought again by the Democrats. This new doctrine of imposing stiff financial penalties to losing candidates is expected to sharply reduce candidacies of independent and minor party candidates who can little afford to take the risk of bankruptcy to run for office.

Romanelli had the additional burden, due to a quirk of the election cycle, of needing a whooping 67,000 signatures to place his name on the ballot under Pennsylvania's restrictive election code.

The ruling against Nader is the first of its kind in Pennsylvania and since followed by a similar ruling against Romanelli signals a new method of attack against political opponents that will have a chilling effect on candidate's First Amendment rights. Whether the two major parties start using the tactic against each other, or save the punitive penalties for independent and minor party candidates remains to be
seen. Nader's attorneys argued in their brief to the Supreme Court that the Pennsylvania ruling would spread to other states and greatly diminish voter
choice in future elections.

Michael Richardson is a freelance writer based in Boston. Richardson writes about politics, election law, human nutrition, ethics, and music. In 2004 Richardson was Ralph Nader's national ballot access coordinator. "The way to be happy is to make others happy."

Mr. Zober of the Ravenstahl administration earned his experiences in law doing this type of work -- and he's proud of it.

It makes no sense to burn $1 on a campaign in Pennsylvania given their crooked ways. Some are willing and ambitious and want to spend $1-million to get, perhaps, 30,000 votes.

Bogger Upgrade: I'm so nervous. Is it painless? Is there any risk?

Move your account to use the new Blogger

This is scary. The data on my blogs can't go away. What's the risk?

Director of Policy and Research at Elect.Rauterkus.com to depart South Side and Pennsylvania

Wilburn Hayden, Ph.D. -- moving to Toronto.

He is both a "Yellow Dog Democrat" and my friend who has held the role of "Director of Policy and Research" in my two recent campaigns. This semester he took a sabatical from Univ. of California of Pennsylvania, where he is in charge of the social work program. Cal U: About the Director California University of Pennsylvania MSW Program Director
Now he is in transition to the University of York where he'll be in charge of a much bigger program.

Furthermore, I'm to blame for showing him the job posting. I sent him the announcement / lead via email. Weeks later Wilburn had touched up his professional vita, was interviewing, giving job talks and negotiating a contract.

Now he is in Canada for meetings for a few days. He'll move there with his family at the end of the school year.

Are you ready for the new swim movie, "PRIDE" -- to run in March? These guys are swimmers. One is from Philly! I had a good meeting with those at the South Side Works Cinema about some special events. More news later.

PA Gaming Control Board posts week summary of $ and slots

Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board has begun a weekly posting on its web site of gaming revenues from licensed operators. The reports provide a breakdown on wagering, payouts to patrons and the amount of machines operating.

Gaming Control Board Executive Director Anne Neeb said these reports are another step by the agency to provide information about Pennsylvania’s newest industry.

Isn't this PA's new monopoly, rather than "industry."

Monopoly Shop

Family & Business Health Security Act of 2007 = GOOD

Watch for this: Family & Business Health Security Act of 2007. I like it.

Meanwhile, Gov. Rendell's plan at health care reform is something different. His plan might be unveiled next week. All indications are that it will fall short. Rendell's plan fails to address key components.

Hospital in China.

Gov. Rendell says one thing yet does another.

The Busman's Holiday: Mayor Ravenstahl Q&A & New McNeilly Case Documents

The Busman's Holiday: Mayor Ravenstahl Q&A & New McNeilly Case Documents Podcast: Mayor Answers Reporters Questions

My memo with both praise and constructive remarks to Bob Mayo about yesterday's coverage is posted at his blog in the comments section. And here:

---

Well done Bob. I don't need to listen to the podcast, as I was there in person. But I'm very glad to see you are doing this type of collection of digital dust -- and putting a light on matters.

We need watchdog journalists.

Too bad, at that event, there were not questions about the Pittsburgh Promise. I was wondering, how much money the Pgh Federation of Teachers gives to candidates each election cycle (all endorsed democrats, and 99% in office already) vs. how much it gave to the college scholarship fund. Was the ration 5 to 1 in favor of money to status quo politicians vs youth in the city.

How many of the 4,000 members of the PFT have kids in the Pgh Public Schools?

Would LUKE, a product of Catholic School, like it when only public school kids get college scholarships?

What about North Catholic, Luke's old school, moving outside the city? Can't he do something about getting them to stay here. He did talk about getting families to move back into the city. -- because of this Pgh Promise.

The Pgh Promise is sure to be a broken promise. Do the math. The student has a brother looking to spend $60,000 for an undergrad degree. Plus, there are two others in the family.

This venture, Pgh Promise, does NOT even have a bank account yet. Why not? Did they think it through?

Finally, the Pgh Promise is nothing but a bribe to get students to move to Pgh. It won't work. It didn't work for Lazarus either. And they got millions.

The journalist were at the event to get in some digs about this case, and missed a golden opportunity to cover the real news. More wool is going to be pulled over the eyes of the city -- and watchdogs are needed. Cover all sides of the Pgh Promise, please.

A MEMO FROM CITY COUNCILWOMAN DARLENE HARRIS

Ms. Adventures on the MonFROM DARLENE'S DESK (via Ms. Monongahela's blog)

January 9, 2007

Dear Constituents,

It has come to my attention that some of you are not pleased with my 'after hours' smoking in a building where smoking is prohibited.

I just got a wave of excitement about the 2008 campaign for US President.

Incorporation papers were filed in Texas for a Ron Paul 2008 presidential exploratory committee.

Ron Paul's roots are from Pittsburgh.

He's a "little L" libertarian and the best person we, the people, have in Washington, DC.

Teachers union gives $10,000 to new city scholarship fund

Teachers union gives $10,000 to new city scholarship fundTeachers union gives $10,000 to new city scholarship fund

Do the math. This is sure to be a broken promise.