Return of the Bar Bill

Bill to limit South Side bars advances The city planning commission took the first step yesterday toward returning 'civility' to Mary Ellen Lee's South Side neighborhood.

The board voted unanimously to recommend that City Council approve an ordinance prohibiting new liquor licenses within 150 feet of any two other liquor licenses along East Carson Street.

City Planning did NOTHING to help return 'civility' to the Streets of the South Side. Nothing.

What do they mean by civility?

I want civilitity as much or more as the next person. But, this "bar bill" is not going to be a guarantee for a return to civility. You can't connect those dots.

The "bar bill" is a campaign ploy by Jeff Koch. The bar bill is a way to allow Jeff Koch to get re-elected. The bar bill's help for the South Side, in the end, remains to be seen and may never be seen.

The bar bill is a perfect bill for Kock as it pleases everyone yet does nothing. It attacks those that are not here yet. Those with bars love the bar bill as it limits competition. Those who want action love the bar bill as it kicks up a cloud of dust. It is something. It is better than nothing. But, it is one step better than the worst possible decision -- nothing.

Everyone loves a tax when the tax is paid by those who don't live or vote here. Taxing out of town visitors is the best tax for any politician. This is a tax on those that are not here yet. If you don't have a bar on the South Side -- this bar bill hits you between the eyes. That's it.

Bars don't come to the side streets on the wee-hours of the night and piss on the sidewalks. Bar patrons do.

Ordinances on the books in council chamber minutes and planning commissions, don't enforce bad-boy behaviors. Police enforce. We need peace keepers. We need officers of the peace.

We've got a long way to go. And when we take detours keep everyone happy but sidestep the real problems, we'll never get to where we want to go.

I have my doubts about the 'bar bill.' I'll give it good consideration and investigation. Time will tell. More opinions later.

Pittsburgh people are voting with their feet. They are departing -- still. Told Ya!

Jobs are elsewhere. Taxes are lower there too. Pittsburgh is shrinking -- still.

I've known that the downward slide has not changed its course. The downward spiral continues. People are leaving -- still.

The folks that are moving downtown won't save this city.

The boosters won't save this city. Nor the region.

For starters, all the seniors around here are NOT having babies. They are growing older and departing. And, I don't want you to think that they're going to Phoenix. I dare say that more people are leaving Allegheny County to reside in Heaven than anywhere else. And that is a long spell beyond Moon.

People vote with their feet. This is a core concept that we all need to understand. When things don't square, and things are not fair, not just, not with balance -- it doesn't smell right. People notice. Practices and policies have a slanted tint. The earth we walk on often seems to have been undermined. Things crumble quickly for unknown reasons or justifications. Corruption is just below the surface.

This is unsettling. This is what drives people away.

Corruption. Goofy relationships. Back-room dealings. Done deal mentality that defies logic. Labels that are worn like anchors around the necks of neighbors. Glass ceilings.

I would not go so far as to call this a 'racist city.' But, there are pockets of that. But, there are system wide styles where ugly treatments of some are the norm.

I would not say that the fix is to 'be nice to one another.' That would go a long way, but we've got friends and family and plenty of wonderful people that would give you the shirt of of their backs. Being 'good' isn't too much of a problem. But, being great and expecting greatness is a HUGE problem. Pittsburgh settles for survival and stops. Pittsburgh's leaders have been quick to weed and seed repeatedly, but never (or seldom) choose to thrive.

From signs

The drinks that quench sky-high ambitions can't be poured in the corner tavern. When there is a thirst to thrive, when a drive to excel arrives, when folks mature past high school -- the time to look in the mirror arrives. The mirror says -- 'move.' The message is 'get out of town.' The future pulls the young people out of Allegheny County with the hope of a richer maturity and opportunities that better match one's own confidence and passions.

From signs

The brian drain is real. Thank God we've got CMU and Pitt and other institutions.

From signs

Another time to depart Pittsburgh comes when you have kids. When a parent looks at his or her child and sees talent, character and hope -- the voices of a parental conscience speak and urge an exodus from the city. By the way, moving downtown isn't the solution that these folks appreciate either.

From signs

There are times when it makes sense to pack up and move. And those are very hard decisions. Very hard.

There are some cultural points (not culture district) when Pittsburgh just seems to jettison its folks out of here. These departures are not quick. But, they are deliberate and deep. Checking out can take seasons.

From signs

The sky isn't falling. But, it is still raining. And too many of us are in shelter where the roof is leaking. The reign of the overlords still depresses the landscape of Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh's decline is still unfolding.

I know we need a different mindset. I know that new civic attitudes that stress honesty and inclusion are part of these solutions.

If we redd up Pittsburgh throughout 2007, 2008 and 2009 I'm sure we'll be 50,000 fewer. St. Pete, here we come. And I don't mean to call ahead of our arrival to Florida. I mean St. Peter, the guy at the pearly gates.

The (more than) Semi-Annual (often) Autoharp House Concert Series

When does the O'Hara Township hold its meetings? I'd love to go there and inject a sense of freedom into their meetings and offer a clue as to the right to assemble.

Check this out.

The (more than) Semi-Annual (often) Autoharp House Concert Series Things are moving along with our Federal civil rights complaint against O'Hara Township. The case is now on appeal to the Federal Third Circuit Court of Appeals. More information and documentation is available here. And of course we're continuing to accumulate legal bills to support the suit. So we're asking for help from everyone who hosts house concerts, performs at house concerts, or attends house concerts. There are at least two ways you can help.

Presented to Allegheny County Council with Erik

Tonight, Erik, my son, and I went to Alleghney County Council's meeting and gave a public comment at the end of the meeting.

I talked a bit about red tape. Dan Onorato is going to China, and I'll blog about it from Pittsburgh. We've been to China three times in the past couple of years.

But I've been running into 'red tape' here in Allegheny County with the Dept. of Elections and especially in Harrisburg. I've been trying to obtain a form as an email attachment, DSBE 210-C PB (rev. 2/07). I'm sure it is on someone's desk top in Harrisburg, perhaps as a WORD file. But the only copy I can get here in Pittsburgh is on paper.

I really need an electronic version of the form.

To create it has been a pain.

In talking about the form, I passed around a copy of our nomination papers that show the various offices we're running candidates.

Erik talked about Single Payer Health Care. He did a much better job at speaking than I did, so everyone says.

I think you can watch the meeting online. We were at the VERY end of the meeting.


Another mention, but I didn't get to it, was about swimming elsewhere in the meeting. The swimmers of B.P, N.A. Oakland Catholic, and even a diver got notice for winning WPIALs.

IceRinkEvents - interested in Neville Ice RFP

IceRinkEvents

Petition thing resolved -- I THINK

I'M EXCITED.

I think I got the petition thing resolved. It is now being tested by others. If you can, send me an email and I'll send you a petition to print on your legal sized paper.

I know that there were some out there helping on this. Thanks! I think we got it now.

It goes down to a 720k PDF file. Must be printed front and back.

STEEL CITY DERBY DEMONS PRESENT THE SPRING FLING-HER!!

Saturday, April 21st, doors 5:30 / game 6:30
BladeRunners in Harmarville

TICKETS ARE GOING FAST!! OUR FIRST TWO BOUTS SOLD OUT!! GET YOUR TICKETS NOW!! SEASON TICKET PACKAGES NOW AVAILABLE
Tickets and more information are available online: www.steelcityderbydemons.com

Tickets also at: Brave New World, 406 S. Craig Street in Oakland, 412-682-5007. Hot Rod Piercing, 95 S. 16th Street, South Side, 412-431-6077.

2007 SEASON SCHEDULE:

Saturday, April 21st, Wrecking Dolls vs. Bitch Doctors

Saturday, May 19th, Slumber Party Slashers vs. Wrecking Dolls

Saturday, June 16th, Hot Metal Hellions vs. Bitch Doctors

Saturday, July 7th, Slumber Party Slashers vs. Bitch Doctors

Saturday, August 18th, Hot Metal Hellions vs. Wrecking Dolls

Saturday, September 8th, Championship bout

Clarke Thomas: The elections aren't over yet

Clarke Thomas: The elections aren't over yet Clarke Thomas: The elections aren't over yet
Even without a race for mayor, hot issues remain in the local May primaries

UNREAL. The elections are NOT over yet. Pinch me. Is he really talking about 2007 or does he mean 2009? I got to meet this guy. Why is he a "senior editor" at the P-G and has a verizon.net email address? Perhaps he hacked the P-G site?

My Comments to City Council - Wed, 4-4-2007

Notes from my statement to city council today:

1. Thumbs up to Michael Phelps and the rest of the USA Swimmers for such a great performance at the World Championships. Phelps won seven gold medals and set a few new world records.

I'm entering the election on November 6, 2007, in multiple events. I too hope to set new records.

A goal of mine is to make history, not be a slave of it.
I wore a red Beijing Olympic polo shirt. We hope to attend the 2008 Olympic Games and see witness some of the competitions ourselves.

2. At 7 pm on Tuesday, April 17, 2007, I've called a community meeting to be held at the Phillips Elementary School to talk about the RFP and the now-closed city-owned ice rink on the South Side. The RFP has finally come, thank goodness. The facility has been a dark hole in the neighborhood, if not the county, for nearly a decade. All are welcome to attend and share insights.

3. The Pittsburgh Promise is a big lie. Others have been to council chambers recently. When they tell lies, it hurts everyone. People are skeptical of politicians for good reasons. The money is not there and it is not going to materialize. If people on council want to worry about the future of our schools, there are many other better things that should be done.

• Worry about school buildings. Work with the URA and be certain to take over the closed school buildings. The URA has been dragging its feet on taking the responsibility of the closed school at the back of Mt. Washington, South Hill High School, for YEARS. There are plenty of closed school buildings that are in the city that are a major drain to the school district now.


• Worry about city-wide transportation. Focus on PAT. Make sure our kids can get to school and back. Get our teachers and staff to school as well. Busing is a major cost and the flow of traffic on our roads is bad.


• Worry about after school. Get the city to join the WPIAL. But that means folks in suburban districts will need to and want to come to the city after dark. Oh my. We need our kids to compete in a global marketplace but can't ever play sports against the others in Allegheny County. An iron-curtain circles our kids and we need to play together. Raise the bar there.


• Work on access to our facilities. Back in Save Our Summer efforts of 2004 we pointed out that there were dozens of great indoor swim pools, gyms, computer labs that are closed to our kids and our communities throughout the summers, weekends and evenings.

4. Nearly an hour of online debate coverage from the Dem candidates in the city council district 9 race is now posted at my blog. Blog readers know this, but the word needs to spread to others in the community.

5. I've been in a battle to get election forms from Harrisburg and Allegheny County in a digital format. They still have not been provided. Dozens of hours have been sunk into this project trying to battle the 'red tape.' More time is still necessary to get the forms into the hands of eligible voters with the correct information. These efforts could have been resolved in about 15 seconds if the person in Harrisburg would only send out the Word file as an email attachment. The struggle to get onto the ballot is monumental.

6. Citizens who want to run in the November general election have only a week or so to change their party registration. They can't be either "D" or "R" past mid-April. So I provided a form to a few in the audience and I also gave a form, in a public way, to Bill Peduto. We'll see if he changes his registration shortly.

I'm still waiting for a reply from Councilman Peduto about my open letter to him about the revival of campaign finance reform legislation.

MySpace to Hold First-in-Nation Presidential Primary

MySpace to Hold First-in-Nation Presidential Primary MySpace to Hold First-in-Nation Presidential Primary
America's Most-Trafficked Site to Host Virtual Primary January 1 & 2, 2008 Online Straw Polls Will Launch in May in Anticipation of the MySpace Primary

Hey kids, go get your MySpace pages if you want to vote.

I'm at http://www.myspace.com/rauterkus. I could use some friends.

Candidates Confirmed for First GOP Presidential Debate

Candidates Confirmed for First GOP Presidential Debate Candidates Confirmed for First GOP Presidential Debate

SIMI VALLEY, Calif., April 3 /PRNewswire/ -- The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation (http://www.reaganlibrary.com), in conjunction with MSNBC (http://www.msnbc.com) and THE POLITICO (http://www.politico.com), announced today that
nine GOP Presidential candidates will participate in the May 3, 2007 debate held at the Reagan Presidential Library.

The following candidates have accepted Mrs. Ronald Reagan's invitation to participate in this debate: Sam Brownback, Jim Gilmore, Rudy Giuliani, Mike Huckabee, Duncan Hunter, John McCain, Ron Paul, Mitt Romney, and Tommy Thompson.

The May 3, 2007, debate will air exclusively on MSNBC cable, with full coverage on http://www.MSNBC.com. THE POLITICO will stream the debate live on http://www.politico.com, providing an exclusive and unprecedented opportunity for viewers to question the candidates via the internet.

This debate will be the first of two GOP Presidential Candidate Debates that will take place at the Reagan Presidential Library during this campaign cycle. The second debate will be held on January 30, 2008, the
final GOP Presidential debate before the 2008 'Super-Tuesday' primary in California and several other key states.

I'll need to tune into this from New Zealand.

So, we have debates lined up for the 2008 election. But, who is going to talk about debates for the 2007 general election?

Pop City - The Moving Guide to Downtown

Pop City - The Moving Guide to Downtown

Sell you house in the city. Cash out quickly.

If you can't cash out on your city property in another neighborhood, (i.e., not downtown), go to Home Depot and buy plywood, screws and paint. Button down the old homestead. Paint the windows the same color as the walls so you don't get a bunch of weenie bills.

Might as well pour salt on the earth. Scorch it with bleach or something so that the grass and weeds don't grow. You don't want to cut the grass. You don't want to give places for the rats to breed.

Show up now and then in City Council Chambers to fight against the vacant building ordinaces.

Do swing buy the old home's lot the week after ever election days to remove all the campaign yard signs that are sure to show up next to the for sale sign.

Open up six or more free wi-fi accounts for your computer use.

Get a building permit so you can make your front door a loading zone so you'll always have a place to park, besides the free garage subsidy.

As you move, don't toss any furniture, even if the older dinning room set isn't a 'kwel' as you'd like in your new flat. You'll need the chairs to save parking spots for the next few years.

Sala Udin can stuff his license where the sun doesn't shine

Sala Udin is a cry baby.

Sala Udin took a gamble and lost. Get over it Sala.

Sala Udin should take his middle-man license that is worthless -- and use it as toilet paper. Or, frame it and sell it on eBay. Or, make a paper airplane out of it and toss it off the West End Bridge. Or, Sala could take the license and give a share of it to all the CORO Fellows as a puzzle piece. Then in 10 years they can have a reunion and being to put together all the components and trade notes as to how they learned and applied their lessons of milking the system.

Casino Plans Presented To City's Planning Commission - News Story - WPXI Pittsburgh

So, did any video cameras show up? Was any news agency blocked from pointing their cameras at the people doing the work of the public?

Casino Plans Presented To City's Planning Commission - News Story - WPXI Pittsburgh Casino Plans Presented To City's Planning Commission

Bob Mayor, what happened? Anyone?

Ron Paul gets asked a bunch of tough questions from Bill Maher

Questions on CIA, Civil War, Global Warming. We go to war to subsidize more oil and buy more oil. FAA.

Help: Calling Computer Graphic Gurus - I need to use GIMP to Open a PDF file

Error message:

From signs

I need to open a PDF file. Make some changes by inserting simple text elements. Then resave the document as a PDF.

The GIMP should be able to open a PDF as a graphic. I can't get it to open. What does this error message mean? How do I fix it?

Anyone -- please call or email.

Or, anyone who wants to hand-hold with me, let me know. I've got to do this on a semi-regular basis.

Thanks! Now more on my own:

Don't Back Down: Reading PDF Files with GIMP: "So I browsed about some more, and found this page, which talks about the very issue, and recommends placing a single executable file (gswin32c.exe) into The GIMP's bin folder, usually somewhere like:

C:\Program Files\Gimp 2.0\bin

So I did. Voil�. It came right up the next time I tried to open the PDF (I did exit the GIMP first and restart, not sure if that is necessary). Since only a single file was installed, I figured I would play with it and see if it only needed that file for some reason, or if the entire Ghostscript needed to be installed. When I uninstalled the program entirely, leaving only the executable in the bin folder, it got further than without anything installed - but it didn't load the file. Presumably this means that the exectuable can 'find it's way' back to the libraries that are needed to render the file, which in turn means the whole thing needs to be installed (fonts don't appear to be necessary)."

I did get this to work for me. Works fine, but is very, very slow due to the large size of the file. I'm really pissed at Harrisburg and Allegheny County for the red tape I'm trying to cut. Some 20 hours of effort has been lost in this ordeal, and it isn't done yet -- because some government worker in Harrisburg won't take 20-seconds to send out a WORD file as an attachment. Furthermore, those who work on the 6th floor of the election department downtown in the Allegheny County office building won't insist that it get sent. So, they are little help as well.

Thanks to Mike, Dave, Tom and others who have helped this running mate just show up to the starting line.

City Council Candidates, district 9, Dem's candidate forum in 3 parts

A few weeks ago I went to a city council candidate debate held at the Homewood branch of the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh. The wonderful event was hosted by a black media organization.

More than 10 people entered the race. This event gave a clear understanding of the candidates who wanted to be the city council member for district 9.

Three frames are posted below. First is the opening statements of those who took the stage. The opening statements were uploaded to both Rauterkus.blip.tv and YouTube.com/rauterkus. Part 1 covers questions 1, 2 and 3. Part 2 covers questions 4 and beyond.

YouTube is rejecting the files because of length. So, all have been put at Rauterkus.blip.tv.







Another candidate, David Adams, was at the event. However he is NOT a Democrat. He is expected to join the race for the general election. More on that effort shortly.

Comments welcome.

Inside baseball comments from Mark Rauterkus:

The incumbent, Twanda Carlisle, did not show up. The event organizers had expected her to attend. I scolded her at the next city council meeting for skipping the event. Debate participation is an important component of a functional system of democracy, in my humble opinion.

Randall Taylor, a member of the Pgh Public School Board, is in the race but he came at the very end. He might have given one answer and closing statements. His late arrival was what it was.

Rachael Cooper, 22, a graduate from Howard University, would go on to win the D party endorsement. But, she didn't get her financial disclosure forms filed by the deadline and the judge would toss her off the ballot. She has a strong voice and was impressive to watch.

Rev. Ricky Burgess has plenty of community experiences. He made a few home runs within his statements including one about "land." That snip of video would be part of a highlights film, if I ever had the time to prepare that. Burgess is the front runner going into the primary election because he was the victor of the second D-party endorsement vote.

Ora Lee Carroll is super strong on family. She also put out a rather strong call to the others for cooperation. She was looking for loyalty and seemed a bit bent out of shape that there were so many on the stage. She knows that it will take a bit of teamwork to unseat the existing councilperson.

Eric -- or is it Erik -- may have pulled out of the race and is offering help to another candidate.

Everyone on the stage did a good job. Stepping up is a hard task. I'm not going to fuss about what was said to a great degree. First, lets just celebrate the will of the participants to mount a campaign against a sitting member of city council.

Sudan: The Passion of the Present: Darfur attracts attention throughout Pittsburgh this month

Sudan: The Passion of the Present: Darfur attracts attention throughout Pittsburgh this month The coalition's rally will kick off on April 28 at 2 p.m. at Freedom Corner, Hill District. It will be a gathering of organizations from the mid-Atlantic region. Actress Mia Farrow is scheduled to address the Pittsburgh marchers.

The next day, the coalition will host a citywide letter-writing campaign and divestment workshops.

Mr. Rosenberg is pleased to see so many join the effort, but he remains cautiously optimistic.

'I'm excited to see the advocacy, but in all the time [that] it's taken, there has been a terrible toll on Sudan. We need a solution.'

For more information on the Pittsburgh Darfur Emergency Coalition's Weekend of Action, visit www.pittsburghdarfur.org.

Put the brakes on the Pittsburgh Promise -- voices from educational advocates

Please see below for my thoughts on City Council’s activities around the Pittsburgh Promise. I urge you to get involved to stop this program from proceeding until it has been defined beyond a press release. Please contact your city councilperson to express your thoughts, even if they’re not in consonance with my position.


Thanks, Salvador Wilcox, CEO, Education Innovations, Inc.
6435 Frankstown Ave., 2nd Floor
Pittsburgh, PA 15206
412.661.8751 ext. 150
www.educationinnovations.org


Please table Pittsburgh Promise resolutions and hold public hearings

Bill and Lenny,

(I don’t have the emails to the other City Council Persons, so could you forward this to them, please.)

I’m writing you to request that bill relating to the Pittsburgh Promise be tabled until such a time that:

1. public hearings are had to discuss the merits of the program; and

2. the program is actually designed and goes beyond a press release released by a mayor running for office and a superintendent who has yet to prove any of his programs actually work

I have many concerns.

1. A solution follows from the problem it tries to solve. In this case, since the solution is money for college, the problem would be defined as a lack of resources to pay for college. However, that is not the problem in Pittsburgh. At least not the primary problem. The problem is that we don’t have enough kids who graduate or get accepted into college. The Pittsburgh Promise does not solve that problem. And the programs that supposedly solve them are yet to be proven. By giving to this hollow promise, we do not focus on the achievement problem.

2. When the Superintendent of the Pittsburgh Public Schools complains of financial stress, it is not a time to be adding another bloated program to the already bloated bureaucracy. The City and the School District should be looking for revenues to bring the school district back to financial health. Aside from adding more staff to the District, no other details have really been thought out. Neither big business nor the foundation community in Pittsburgh is running to support this. We should ask why before we appeal to good nature of tax payers to give to a program which has yet to detail how the money would be spent.

3. The school district is in as bad shape, in part, to a historical and continued overstaffing in the administration level. It took decades to address the decline in population. It took decades to close buildings. It has not sufficiently addressed uncontrolled changes in work orders. It is paying for two Deputy Superintendents of Instruction, one of which does no work for the District.

4. It seems unfair that the District, who already receives nearly ½ Billion dollars per year in tax revenues should dip into tax-payers good will again. Especially since it has yet to actually prove that it can educate the majority of our minority population. There are many other organizations that actually do provide results. Council could start with a charter school fund to introduce more competition for the District. Charter schools and charter applicants have been orphaned by foundation’s support of only the superintendent. A charter school fund would bring about innovation in the district. Philadelphia has embraced public schools and Pittsburgh should also. In Philadelphia, charter schools boost the District’s average achievement!

5. The District has not released any details on how children will qualify for the scholarship, nor how much children will get. The school district has not analyzed what the overhead for this program will be. If the financial health of the district is any indication, I’m not convinced that the District can handle such a large program. If the intent is true, perhaps a local foundation like the Pittsburgh Foundation would be better able to handle the program.

6. Charter high school students are in spirit and in law, Pittsburgh Public School students. They should not be left out of the program. So far, no indication has been made about their participation. If the District is allowed to have a tear-off coupon but excludes charter school students, then tax-payers should also be given the option to designate their funds to a particular charter school, or a general charter school graduation fund.

The idea in principle is a good one, though the problem to access to higher education seems to me lack of academic skills and not a lack of resources to pay for college. Were that we had so many students accepted to college with no means to pay for it.

Since the details have not been developed and since no time line has been given for those details, surely we should be apprehensive about passing City Council resolutions blindly.

Salvador Wilcox

PAT Audit Promised: Controller awakes from his slumber

Marty Griffin, KDKA Radio, was wondering why there will be a new audit of PAT. He was scratching his head thinking, perhaps, it was because Jack Wagner had done audits and there might be a race in 3 years for the Governor's office.

I give him the real reasons in an email.

---

Hi Marty,

Mark Patrick Flaherty, Allegheny County Controller, became aware, last week, that he'll face an opponent on the ballot in the general election. That is why he woke up and came to life with PAT.

The opponent is a Libertarian, doctor from Hampton. He is a 'running mate' of mine.

Furthermore, we're starting to gather the thousands of necessary signatures.

Plus, I told you a few weeks ago about Rich Swartz, the Dem on the ballot who is running against Dan Onorato. Well, Dan's lawyers could NOT toss him off the ballot. That went down on Friday afternoon.

So, Dan Onorato has an opponent in the primary, Swartz, and the winner will face me in the general election.

I'm now running for FIVE offices, not six, as I stated on the show with you a few weeks ago. Another guy from Chartiers City is standing in my place (that's the placeholder element) for the slot for Allegheny County Council Member At-Large.

If you'd like an update, give me a call. There is a lot to talk about. For example, I want to sue the Allegheny County Election Department as they will NOT provide an electronic version of the nomination papers. Red tape that they could fix in about 15 seconds with a simple email of a state form.

Did you ever listen to the CD I left with you???? It has a great campaign theme song. We should play that on the air.

I could use the ARMY to lend signatures to get access to the ballot.

PRESSURE comes now and then with elections. Dan Onorato is on the record saying he thinks elections are a DISTRACTION.

Kennywood has a new feature and is looking for videos -- RUSH for the April 30 deadline

Welcome to Kennywood - Funzone Kenny TV is an information and entertainment closed circuit TV system that makes its debut this summer at various locations around Kennywood including a big screen at the Kennyville Stage. At the Kennyville Stage, various types of video entertainment will be shown to park Guests such as concerts and funny videos. And that's where you come in.

We're hoping you will submit your FUNNIEST HOME VIDEOS or, in the case of local bands looking for exposure, A VIDEO OF YOUR BAND PERFORMING so that we can show them all summer long to our Guests. Who knows - this may be your first step towards becoming a big Hollywood producer?

Here's a sampling of the types videos we're looking for:

* High School Marching Bands performing
* Funny Pet Tricks
* American Idol wanna-be's
* Funny Home Videos
* Upstart local bands (rock, country, etc) performing original material or someone else's with permission
* Your Kennywood Memories (stills or video)

Submission is simple! Here's what you do:

Rendell: Hijacking the Reform Train

Great insights, as always, from PA Clean Sweep:

Governor Ed Rendell should step aside from his bid to become the state’s reformer-in-chief. While some of his ideas may have merit, the Governor has no more right than the average citizen to prescribe the structure of state government in Pennsylvania and his viewpoint is distorted by his position.

Perhaps his goal of a better open records policy is desirable, but his suggestion of creating an Office of Public Records Advocate might be just another plump patronage position to be filled by political pals. Maybe the people can come up with a better plan for making government more transparent.

Perhaps merit selection for state appellate judges is an idea worth considering, but what if the people would rather make all judicial races non-partisan affairs and ban contributions to those races by lawyers?

How could Rendell’s proposed Appellate Court Nominating Commission, dominated by a majority of legislative and executive appointees and confirmed by the Senate, improve the independence of the judiciary? Independence from the other two branches should be encouraged, but independence from the sovereign people at the voting booth should not.

Perhaps the Governor’s suggested campaign finance limits appear to level the electoral playing field. On the other hand, maybe the people of this Commonwealth realize that the voter revolt of 2006 would not have been possible under those limitations and that no financial ceiling could ever negate the current incumbency protection program.

Perhaps Rendell’s legislative term limits sound like a good idea, but reality in Pennsylvania suggests that if the General Assembly was truly part-time and was stripped of the unconstitutional perks it now enjoys, term limits would be utterly unnecessary.

Perhaps Pennsylvanians want a smaller legislature, but maybe they’d like a larger one, or to keep its size the same, with some of the above mentioned features and fewer expenses. Maybe they want to look at the other 49 states to see what others are doing before deciding which path is best for the Commonwealth.

Perhaps the time has come for citizen redistricting, but Rendell’s 11-member commission would include four legislators and three appointees of the governor, two of whom would be legislators. The remaining four would be appointed by - you guessed it - the four legislative caucus leaders. Pennsylvanians just might have a slightly different notion of how a citizens’ redistricting commission should look.

On constitutional issues in Pennsylvania, the governor’s opinion has no more real or deserved weight than the average citizen’s. Perhaps the Governor has some good ideas. Perhaps he doesn’t. Either way, today’s climate dictates that constitutional change should not be viewed only through the myopic lens of the chief executive.

The merit of Rendell’s ideas have should be discussed openly among citizens, not quietly between the three branches of government. Other citizens should be able to discuss their ideas as well. The proper forum for such a discussion is a constitutional convention. Surely, the Governor would be free to provide his vision for consideration at such a gathering.

“Citizens will not rest until there is an end to perks, an end to control by private interests and an end to political rules that shut them out of the process,” the Governor said in a press release. But his plan eliminates no perks, suppresses the freedom of speech in political races and utterly shuts the people out of the process of structural change.

Nearly two years after the reform train left the station as Ed Rendell signed the pay raise, the Governor is using his bully pulpit to try to hijack it. Perhaps he doesn’t realize that many other citizens were on board well ahead of him. Their voices on constitutional matters deserve an equally fair hearing.

In announcing his preferred reforms, Rendell expressed trepidation at the prospect of a constitutional convention, but if he truly believes in the right of self-governance as enumerated by Article I of the Constitution, a carefully crafted citizens’ convention provides no cause for hand wringing, anguish or hesitation of spirit.

A plan for such a convention of the people is available at www.PACleanSweep.com.

Citizens’ Constitutional Convention Act of 2007

Read the Governor's Proposed "Reforms"

Make a loan. Change a life.

Best American athlete. Hint: it isn't Big Ben.

The best American athlete - Sports - NBCSports.com One of the marks of a truly great champion is that he (or, as the case may be, she) is willing to compete fearlessly against other elite athletes, even when it's not seen as his or her signature event. That's what champions do. They test themselves.

At the Athens Olympics, Phelps swam the 200 free even though he had to know beforehand it probably meant the end of his attempt to better Mark Spitz's haul of seven swimming gold medals, set at the 1972 Munich Olympics.

Phelps is especially deadly in the butterfly and the medleys, where a swimmer is asked to swim -- all in one race -- the butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke and freestyle.

Phelps finished third in the Athens 200 free, in what swim aficionados now call 'the race of the century,' behind Ian Thorpe of Australia and Pieter van den Hoogenband of the Netherlands.

Kudos to Phelps. He tried. He won 'only' six gold medals in Athens, eight overall.

One of the marks of a truly great champion is that he (or, as the case may be, she) is willing to compete fearlessly against other elite athletes, even when it's not seen as his or her signature event. That's what champions do. They test themselves.

At the Athens Olympics, Phelps swam the 200 free even though he had to know beforehand it probably meant the end of his attempt to better Mark Spitz's haul of seven swimming gold medals, set at the 1972 Munich Olympics.

Phelps is especially deadly in the butterfly and the medleys, where a swimmer is asked to swim -- all in one race -- the butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke and freestyle.

Phelps finished third in the Athens 200 free, in what swim aficionados now call "the race of the century," behind Ian Thorpe of Australia and Pieter van den Hoogenband of the Netherlands.

Kudos to Phelps. He tried. He won "only" six gold medals in Athens, eight overall.

In that same manner, this January at a meet in Long Beach, Calif., Phelps undertook an extraordinary challenge.

In the space of 41 minutes, he swam the 100-yard fly, 100 back and 100 breast against Crocker, Peirsol and Hansen, among the best in the world in their events.

The race against Hansen in the breaststroke marked Phelps' 15th, and final, event in 50 hours. Hansen won, in 52.81. Phelps came in second, in 54.67 -- more than a second lower than his previously best time.

In the butterfly, Crocker -- with whom Phelps has had a great rivalry -- went out fast and won in 45.23. Phelps came in second.

Phelps beat Peirsol, winner of the 100- and 200-meter backstroke events in Athens.

In all, at that meet in Long Beach, Phelps won four races and finished second in three others.

Three second-place finishes? That's America's greatest?

Very funny insights to the World Championships 400 IM

CollegeSwimming.com :: View topic - World Championships Almost as impressive as Phelps WR was Marin, who was dead last at the 100 by about a body length, and then worked back and almost beat Lochte for Silver. The splits are intersting

Phelps
55.05
1:03
1:11
57

Marin
59.05
1:02
1:11
57

If only Marin could swim butterfly, things would be real interesting. He was so far behind in the first 100, I thought he had lost his suit on the dive or something.

Pride: Music: Original Soundtrack

Amazon.com: Pride: Music: Original Soundtrack
1. Dare To Dream - John Legend
2. Back Stabbers - The O'Jays
3. Express Yourself - Charles Wright & The Watts 103rd St. Rhythm Band
4. I'll Take You There - The Staple Singers
5. It's Your Thing - The Isley Brothers
6. Let's Clean Up The Ghetto - The Philadelphia International All-Stars
7. Slow Motion - Johnny Williams
8. I Love Music - The O'Jays
9. Love Train - The O'Jays
10. Strawberry Letter No. 23 - The Brothers Johnson
11. The Payback - James Brown
12. Bridge Over Troubled Water - Aretha Franklin
13. Sizonqoba Simunye - Aaron Zigman

French Connection - Tennesse Signs Agreement With National Federation

CollegeSwimming.com::French Connection - Tennesse Signs Agreement With National Federation CollegeSwimming.com contacted several coaches to gain comment on what is already a contentious issue. No program would go on record with their comments, though each articulated disgust with the move. At least two programs, however, have already begun pursuing similar agreements with other countries. One coach, who asked to remain anonymous explained that the agreement isn’t an entirely new, “We’ve been working on it [securing an agreement] for two years but have only found interest from Bolivia….and let’s be honest there aren’t many world beaters coming out of Bolivia.”

Our trip later this month to New Zealand is now with more urgent purpose.

Recruit Chooses College over Pros

CollegeSwimming.com::Recruit Chooses College over Pros “Andy’s got a limited time frame to strike while the iron’s hot,” the agent said. “Five years from now, you won’t see Huggies offering this kind of money.”

April Fools Joke. Cute.

From playground - usa

Onorato To Challenge Property Tax Ruling

kdka.com - Onorato To Challenge Property Tax Ruling Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato says he'll go to court to overturn a ruling that will allow county property owners to appeal their assessments based on sale price.

Chief Executive, Dan Onorato, has a history of making threats and then blinking at the last minute. Then he tells the lawyers to pull back as it becomes clear, right before the judge enters the room, that he'll loose. Onorato's efforts spend the money. He pays all the lawyers, and doesn't get the outcome he desires. Well, he does get one desired outcome: A pay day for his cronie lawyers.

But, that isn't what I'm looking to do.

Dan's bluffing. Dan's without a solution.

When the judges are called into the mix, nobody wins. Dan is not going to win. The taxpayers are not going to win.

We need more creativity and less legal attacks. We need better solutions and less posturing.

The bleak picture for property owners is being painted by the hands of Mr. Onorato himself. He is not able to lead the county out of this downward spiral.

The ones that make the mess are generally the ones that are least capable of fixing the mess.

Dan made the mess. Dan can't clean it up.

Which brings us to the next postings, below. Humpty was an egg. Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall. Humpty was a big man and all. But the bigger they are the harder they fall.

All the king's horses and all the king's men could NOT put Humpty together again.

Tribune Review Editors again at odd with the truth

Are these guys clueless, stupid, or what? Who can be so wrong with such ease?

Awkward times for Santorum - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review With no opposition for Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato and Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl in the upcoming Democrat primary, the most compelling local primary race is for -- of all things -- city controller.

Dan Onorato has a challenger in the May 2007 Dem party primary. His name is Rich Swarts. Dan Onorato, if he wins, will have a challenger in the November 2007 election as well.

It would be different if I didn't call Dave Brown, reporter for the Trib who covers politics. I called him twice this week and left him voice messages. He didn't call back.

I think these guys can be saved. They could be born again. And, these guys are not only guys, for what its worth. One of the worst is a women editor who has killed a number of stories in the past.

I would LOVE to meet with the editors and reporters of the Tribune Review. Call me: 412 298 3432.

We often miss the circus in our house. Good reasons in this blog posting

Our life is a circus. So, we don't get out to them often. My mother has taken the kids to the circus in the past. I don't want to spoil that memory for them by taking them there again.

Renovating Parenthood: The Financial Circus: "We surprised the kids today with a visit downtown to see the Shrine Circus. My wife found a 'great deal' on tickets, so it wasn't too expensive. Sure, great deal. Once we walked in there I was robbed of every dime I had.

It's a good thing the Shriners are a charitable organization. Because there is NO reason a visit for four to the circus should have cost us over $120.

It started with the $9 for parking. Well, The folks that run Mellon Arena obviously need to maintain the parking lots somehow, at least until they are all torn up in six months when the new arena for the Penguins starts construction. Once inside, they really had us cornered."

The rest of the post gets better. Read it over there.

Two other points from my end can be blended upon his story. First, the parking situation is NOT going to get any better. When the construction happens, the entire hill area is going to become a big muddy mess. Parking has got to shrink in significant ways as they are going to build the new arena on part of the existing parking lot.

So, getting to the games in the next couple of years, as well as to the circus, is going to be more difficult.

Furthermore, I've said all along that there is NO NEED to build a new arena for the folks that go to the circus. None. Keep the existing arena with the existing parking lot as is. Then build a new arena in another part of the county. Then we can have a circus the same time there are NHL Playoffs. And, we can have a circus the same time there are high school graduations.

New Pittsburgh: High-tech growth starts at home, group says

From texture - misc.

CMU is going to host a high tech conference in November 2007 that is meant to be a way to get the word out about technology education as a great opportunity for girl students. Today, guys still have a large percentage of seats in high tech academic programs.

Blast from the past news article from May 1, 2003 and the P-G:

New Pittsburgh: High-tech growth starts at home, group says Pittsburgh's efforts to attract more young high technology professionals are well known and documented.

Jeannette Blosel/Post-Gazette

Photo of Mark Rauterkus and Diane Durand at Alphachimp Studios in Oakland.

But some local high tech enthusiasts believe that if the region really wants to build its reservoir of high tech talent, the best place to start is with children who already live here.

One of the ways to use the now closed indoor ice rink owned by the city is to turn part of it into the year-round home for the Youth Technology Summit. The entire building and park would not need to be devoted to technology. However, it would be great to have a youth-driven space where open-source tools are always "on."

From family - travels

Hard to blog about Phelps in the final event as it didn't occur

Michael was on the road to eight gold medals. The last race was to be a relay. But, the USA team had a false start in the heats of the semi-finals. As a result, Phelps didn't get into the water. Number eight will have to come at another meet -- perhaps the Olympics.

What Phelps and the USA swimmers have done in the last couple of weeks has been amazing. The men and the women had great meets.

The stage is set for Beijing.

WCSN.com: News Nothing tops his 50-meter title in Australia, even if it means he had to beat his friend and U.S teammate Jones, a heavy favorite in the race, to attain it. 'Cullen's an amazing swimmer,' he said. 'We enjoy each other's competition.'

Look for that pleasant rivalry to continue on the road to Beijing in 2008.

Swimmer in the sprint go on record saying, "We enjoy each other's competition." That's what I'm used to. That's the way it should be.

Humm. Wonder if it will work that way in politics in Pittsburgh in the weeks and campaigns to come?

Signature gathering has begun in earnest. And, it pays to advertise.

From people & vips

Anyone can sign our nomination papers to get us onto the ballot for the November 2007 general election.

Well, any eligible voter that resides within Allegheny County.

Officials estimate $7B in revenues, 70,000 jobs to city - Sunday April 1, 2007 1:46AM

SI.com - More Sports - Officials estimate $7B in revenues, 70,000 jobs to city - Sunday April 1, 2007 1:46AM: "Landing the 2016 Olympics would bring in more than $7 billion in revenue and create nearly 70,000 jobs, Los Angeles officials said."

400 IM Record and 7th Gold Medal.

Phelps update from World Championships: Lucky Number Seven: Michael Phelps Crushes World Record in 400 IM

MELBOURNE, Australia, April 1. SUPERMAN Michael Phelps did it again, this time claiming his seventh gold medal of the meet by crushing his world record with a time of 4:06.22 in the 400 IM at the FINA World Championships. The previous record of 4:08.26 stood since Phelps set it in Athens in 2004. Ryan Lochte made it a 1-2 for America with a silver-winning time of 4:09.74, while Luca Marin of Italy claimed bronze in 4:09.88.

The Pittsburgh Comet: District 9

The Pittsburgh Comet: District 9 UPDATE: Burgess 39, Kirkland 32, Carlisle 21, Taylor 3

The dems did a re-do on the endorsement for city council, district 9. They had an endorsement before. But the winner, 22-year-old Ms. Cooper, got tossed from the ballot by the judge because of a failed deadline for the financial disclosure forms. Ouch.

Many were happy to see that Twanda Carlisle got third in the first election. Some of us are hungry for change. Thankfully, she got third again in the re-do.

3 way, 2 way, 1 way -- highway

One can fight, fold or flee. Everyday citizens see this (see the letter to the editor below) and wonder why in the world would anyone want to enter this pile of poop. Most of the time, after it is seen once or twice, people understand. It just isn't worth it. Political life can really stink around here. So, "at the end of the day," as the cliche says, most folks resolve to say little, do little and seek the next available opportunity elsewhere. Then when the time is right and something better is evident, they leave. They flee. They vote with their feet. They hit the highway and move away.

Thanks for sharing the insights in the letter to the editor.

Speaking of tactics

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07090/773997-110.stm

I wish to respond to Dennis Roddy's statement in his March 22 article "City Candidates Removed From Primary Ballot," in which he insinuates that I, as attorney for the Patrick Dowd campaign for City Council, might have been "engaged in a tactical maneuver to winnow the field and give their candidate better odds against
the incumbent."

Apparently the incumbent's political maneuvering seems to have escaped Mr. Roddy's attention. It should be clearly noted that Leonard Bodack Jr., through Anthony Lisowski, initiated ballot challenges against both Patrick Dowd and Tom Fallon on the basis of errors in their statements of financial interests. (How much better can the odds be than to remove all challengers?)

When Mr. Bodack learned that his effort to knock Mr. Dowd off the ballot was unsuccessful, he then withdrew his challenge against Mr. Fallon. Did he suddenly change his opinion about the value of information omitted from Mr. Fallon's statements of financial interests? Or did he decide that, with Mr. Dowd now remaining in the race, a three-person contest would be more advantageous to his campaign?

These tactics, sadly, are an unfortunate misuse of the judicial system for political purposes. Mr. Bodack should be ashamed of himself and the voters in City Council District 7 should remember this on May 15.

ISOBEL STORCH, Highland Park

Pittsburgh has a brain drain, in part, because of the acts described in the letter.

The the second play in the playbook from the un-democratic democrats is shown above. The first play in their un-democratic playbook is to knock off the top challenger. Second play: don't knock off a minor challenger when there is a major challenger on the ballot. Two challengers are easier to beat than one.

Bodack's play didn't work. It backfired.

Bodack is very good at counting when you only need to use one hand.

U.S. women top Aussies for water polo gold - Saturday March 31, 2007 11:01AM

SI.com - More Sports - U.S. women top Aussies for water polo gold - Saturday March 31, 2007 11:01AM Coach Guy Baker jumped fully clothed into the pool to congratulate his team Saturday after the United States edged Australia 6-5 to win the women's water polo gold medal at the world championships.

Rick Swartz for Allegheny County Executive - Home

His web site is now working. Check it out.

Rick Swartz for Allegheny County Executive - Home A real Democrat isn’t afraid to fail.

I'm not afraid. And, I've not won past elections. But, in my heart and in my head, I can say with confidence that I've yet to FAIL in any of my campaigns so far, despite the fact that I've not yet gotten close to scoring one move vote than the 2nd place.

I've not failed.

When you are true to your mission, and true to the struggle -- honest and open -- then that's a success.

Candidates can win elections and fail in doing so.

I'm a swim coach. I ask swimmers to better themselves. We look for improvments. We strive for 'best times.'

My best time and your best time may not be one in the same.

Swimmers also like to break records. I've broken a few records. I've helped to make history. That, it seems to me, is hard to do when it is called a failure.

I was part of the 2001 primary between two candidates. We were in the opposition party. That was the first time in generations that two were seeking the nomination. I left that party a few years later. The next time, in 2005, they went to one candidate, Joe Weinroth. Now in 2007, they went to none.

In 2001, we ran against Tom Murphy. We predicted certain things that came true. We didn't win in 2001 -- but we won on some important points. The Murphy Administration was pushing the city over the brink and a lot of Dems in town didn't know it, didn't want to understand it, and didn't think it was real. We won credit for that then.

And, that credit helped to insure that Tom Murphy would NOT be able to run again for office the next time. Tom Murphy debated the opponents in the 2001 campaign once -- on the Sunday night before the Tuesday election. That was his last debate.

Tom Murphy won the battle but lost the war. That's not a failure.

There have been a lot of victories and wins. We've had success in runnnig. We've had some bumps in the road too.

Hope that the Swartz camapign gets some attention. What do you think about his site and messages?

Onorato: Smoking fine for South Side parlor 'excessive' - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

Onorato: Smoking fine for South Side parlor 'excessive' - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review Onorato: Smoking fine for South Side bingo parlor 'excessive'

Do you think he should have thought this bill through. Think again, before you sign the bill, Mr. Onorato. Onorato bucked hard to get the bill re-written. Now that it is a bill, he calls it excessive.

Double speak.

Deadline looms large! Change your party. Get into the mix yourself as a candidate in the general election.

The video above, a political video on YouTube is something I just made based on a song and the message for early April. It is just over a minute in length.

Insights to a campaign for US President via Congressmen's Ron Paul's campaign

I've been asking locals to switch out of the Republican and Democratic parties to support effort as a Libertarian. Here is another call going the other way, but for 2008.

First and foremost, the goals that we hope to accomplish are:

1. Bringing the message that liberty can be reestablished in American only by respecting the rule of law, the U. S. Constitution.

2. Saving America from bankruptcy, world war and a continued fascist regime by getting Ron Paul elected President.

What you can do:

1. Republicans need to get involved in the party. Become voting delegates at your precinct, county and state conventions. Support Ron Paul at all these events. Ask them to invite Ron Paul to speak at their state conventions! (1-800-RON-PAUL)

2. Republicans need to call the county chairs, executive committee and state chairmen of your individual state. Ask that they support and endorse Ron Paul. Tell them that it is imperative at this time in history that we have someone who in incorruptible and a true conservative because this country is going bankrupt – financially and morally.

3. Those of you, who are not Republicans, hold your nose and take the plunge as Ron Paul is running in the Republican primary and believe it or not, most grassroots Republicans believe in limited government and want someone to believe in Ron Paul is that Republican.

4. Write letters to the editors of newspapers about supporting Ron Paul for President.

5. Continue to hammer talk show blogs and email commentary promoting Ron Paul for President. (you have done a great job at this). Ask them to invite Ron Paul onto their station. Tell them to call 1-800-RON-PAUL. Promote him and the issues of liberty and the U.S. Constitution.

6. Ron Paul has to win Republican primaries before he can get to the next step – the general election, so we need you to work in Republican circles to get that done.

Thanks so much. You don't know how much we love you as supporters. If it weren't for you holding back the tide of big government by supporting Ron Paul in all of his endeavors, we would have little hope for freedom.

So, because of you, there is Hope for America!

The Daily News - Onorato addresses Twin Rivers assembly

Where did I put my decoder ring?

The Daily News - Onorato addresses Twin Rivers assembly 'Part of the reason this got accomplished (new arena for Penguins) is I would not budge on not using tax dollars,' he said.

Onorato goes 0 for 3 with court cases this week. Swartz prevails and is a ballot opponent to Onorato for the D primary

Lawyers on behalf of Dan Onorato put a legal attack up against a citizen soldier today. Right before the session was to occur before the judge, the team of attorneys blinked and pulled the objection. The despicable legal attack, groundless, without any merit and an insult to the citizens of democracy, was going down in flames.

Rick Swartz is on the ballot for the May 2007 primary against Dan Onorato.

From people & vips

And, for good reason. Swartz has a right to be on the ballot.

Swartz fights to have his voice heard

2 Political Junkies: Swartz fights to have his voice heard Candidate Swartz is determined to remain on the ballot, and his campaign will help Chief Executive Dan Onorato hear the messages he's not currently getting from his inner circle. To that end, Swartz asks supporters to code their contributions: donations ending in $.95 for people who are upset about the transit situation; donations ending in $.96 for people who are upset about the voting machine fiasco; $.97 for road and development decisions; $.98 if you feel the assessment issue has not been fixed; and $0.99 for people who generally support the democratic process and want the county executive to listen better on ALL issues.

Bring your video cameras to the planning hearing on Tuesday

Now is the time to bring video cameras to the planning meeting. They don't want video cameras. I do. I want open governement. I want cameras to point at public officials and public acts -- not on citizens.

Casino panel created Mr. Ravenstahl said the formation of the task force coincides with a public hearing scheduled Tuesday before the city planning commission on PITG Gaming's master plan for the casino development.

Lane 9 News World Record for the United States

Lane 9 News Archive: Flash! World Championships: Victory in 800 Freestyle Relay and Another World Record for the United States: "Winning his fifth gold medal and setting the 21st world record of his career, Phelps led off in 1:45.36 and was followed by Lochte's effort of 1:45.86. Keller then hopped in and delivered his best swim of the meet, a mark of 1:46.31. Vanderkaay handled the anchor leg in 1:45.71 and the U.S. had another global standard. Keller's leg was key, as he's struggled this week and it was uncertain how fast he'd go. For Lochte, it was his second world record of the night, joining his standard in the 200 backstroke.

'You could say I had a good night,' Lochte said. 'These other three guys and the crowd made it happen.' "

Casino panel created with 39 people

Thank goodness the Pgh Gaming Task Force is gone. I'd love to see some proof of that death, however.

Casino panel created The Pittsburgh Gaming Task Force is gone, but another one will be taking its place to help ensure that the proposed Majestic Star casino in Chateau will be a quality development and a good neighbor.

One step forward is quickly followed by one step back, given the bigger government leadership of Dan and Luke.

Furthermore, Dan and Luke are co-chairs.

Let's call the new Gaming Task Force what it is, a Political Action Committee. Are these guys going to chair the Gambling Adiction Meetings too?

I'd love to see the mayor and county executive do something else. It is called "govern."

Oakland Road Construction

Penn Dot has detour information for the Boulevard of the Allies construction project in a PDF newsletter that just sucks. The newsletter looks good, but at first glance, people who drive these roads can't figure out what's what.

The newsletter provides the specific timelines month by month of the road closures. This project begins next Monday, April 2nd.

Students, patients and workers in Oakland and South Side are sure to feel the impact of these closures immediately. Allow the appropriate travel time or pack a swim suit to cross the Mon.

OpenOffice.org saves bundles for city governments

German City of Freiburg moving to OpenOffice.org and ODF

According to this German article the German City of Freiburg will deploy OpenOffice.org on 2,000 desktops and expects to save 0.5M Euro over the next two years compared to a migration to Microsoft Office 2007. The City of Freiburg also adopts ODF in order to become vendor and product independent.

The Perils of Unearned Wealth

TCS Daily - The Perils of Unearned Wealth: Scarcity is a tutor and when it is no longer there to restrain our appetites, only character remains. If character was never developed... well, just watch today's news and you'll see.

Interesting article by Jerry Bowyer.

[412] Community gathering about city-owned, closed ice rink on South Side -- PLUS -- running mate news with an final invite for YOU to RUN too.

My email blast went out on a Thursday night. If I don't have your email address, I'd love to get it.

[412] Community gathering about city-owned, closed ice rink on South Side -- PLUS -- running mate news with an final invite for YOU to RUN too. [412] Community gathering about city-owned, closed ice rink on South Side -- PLUS -- running mate news with an final invite for YOU to RUN too.

I've got some "running mate news" and an invite to you to consider running for public office.

First, a non-political invite: I'm holding an open community meeting to discuss the city-owned, presently closed, indoor ice rink facility once called Neville Arena. We are going to gather at 7 pm on Tuesday, April 17, 2007 in the cafeteria at Phillips Elementary School on Sarah Street. A RFP (request for proposals) has been issued by the city.

http://rauterkus.blogspot.com/2007/03/community-meeting-called-huddle-to.html

Now for exciting election news:

Weeks ago I announced my intention to run, or I should say, STAND, for six offices for the November 6, 2007 general election. Now the count has been reduced to five. Everyone in Pittsburgh knows that Bill Peduto dropped out of the race and left the field vacant, other than for the incumbent. This isn't the case for me. I'm dropping out of a race, but others are coming in to take my place. I'm moving to increase competition, voter choice and accountability.

A fellow Libertarian is going to work with me and get onto the ballot for the slot for the member at large seat on the Allegheny County Council.

Furthermore, others have stepped up. We are just about to begin our quest to get signatures for our nomination papers. The ELEVEN following candidate roles are now filled.

1. Allegheny County's Chief Executive, -- Mark Rauterkus

(I'm the only candidate other than Dan Onorato and Rich Swartz, both Democrats. And, Mr. Swartz faces the judge tomorrow morning, Friday 3-30. Lawyers working on behalf of Onorato are trying to knock him off the ballot. Despicable.)

2. Allegheny County District Attorney -- (not me)

3. Allegheny County Sheriff -- (not me)

4. Allegheny County Treasurer -- (not me)

5. Allegheny County Controller -- (not me)

6. Allegheny County Council Member, at-large -- (not me any longer)

7. Allegheny County Council Member, district 13 -- still me, Mark Rauterkus

8. Mayor, City of Pittsburgh -- Mark Rauterkus

9. Controller, City of Pittsburgh -- Mark Rauterkus

10. City Council, district 3 -- Mark Rauterkus

11. City Council, district 7 -- (not me)

A few of the above slots are still in a 'place holder status.' For example, I'm still listed five times. But, by the end of the summer, I hope to better target and focus my race to one spot and have five other citizens standing with me -- all of us running for the various,
respective offices.

Many other municipal seats are still without opposition and are wide open for challengers. More are considering the options and possibilities. How about you? For instance, to run for boro office in Sharpsburg, only only needs 10 VALID signatures to get onto the
ballot.

However, to be a candidate for the general election on November 6, 2007 -- you need to be certain to opt OUT of the "D" and "R" parties within the next week. Do it now. You can't run for public office as a Libertarian or as an Independent if you are a member of either old
parties within 30 days of the PRIMARY election.

Early April -- right now -- presents the last opportunity for YOU to change your registration so you are eligible for the ballot in the fall.

I can help you. I will get you the voter registration forms if you need one. I will tell you want offices are open in your area. I will ponder and talk with you about what we are doing and how we can work together so that the present flock of politicians are not give a 'free ride' come the fall election.

Thanks for your consideration.

Ta.

Mark Rauterkus
http://Rauterkus.blogspot.com
http://Elect.Rauterkus.com http://Platform.For-Pgh.org
412 298 3432 = cell

PS: Michael Phelps, USA swimmer, is making waves at world championships in Australia. He has four gold records and is going for eight. So, this could prove to be the perfect season to enter multiple events and head south of the equator. FYI: On April 28, my family and
I are traveling to Christchurch, New Zealand, for teaching, study and writting. Go Phelps!

Michael is up to four golds

Go Michael Go!

Republicans -- dead in the water and Dimiti covered both sides of the issue

Dimiti spent 90 minutes of air tim on KDKA Radio talking to two Republican Party leaders, Bob Hillen and Bob Glancey. They reached a deal so the boss of the RCAC.net would not need to get smacked down by the judge. The court date was looming large.

I'm glad that a new love fest is starting in the Republican realm. For a few years now, the chairman of the Republican Party in the County didn't speak to the chir from the city.

In 2007, the local republicans are putting a few candidates on the ballot. There are some judge candidates. There are two )used to be three) running for Allegheny County Council At-Large. The guy with the office now has had enough. There is a guy for sheriff. Perhaps a few are running for office in the municipal races, but none in the city, except David Adams, who is going to mount a write-in campaign shortly for City Council District 9.

The killer of that entire spell of interivews and remarks was Dimiti who said at the end. "Well, there you have it. We covered both sides."

Producer at KDKA Radio, "Mark, we can't take your call because we have equal time concerns."

Dan Onorato was on the air talking about a few different issues with the Honz Man today, after 2 pm. I called.

My pre-air conversation with the producer when like this: I'd like to point out to Fred that Dan is interested in letting the voters decide about the sheriff but his lawyers are working on his behalf to knock off his lone Dem party challenger in court tomorrow.

Dan will be zero for three tomorrow.....

Then I'm on hold for two minutes.

Then comes the voice of a producer, "Mark, we can't have you on the air as we are worried about equal time concerns." click

Say what?

Onorato blasts judiciary. Onorato is ZERO for TWO and the third is on deck for Friday.

Dan Onorato is blasting the judiciary. He struck out twice in the last two days. Well, his third at bat comes tomorrow, before the judge. His lawyers are bringing the challenge to the bench to knock Rich Swartz off the ballot.

Onorato blasts judiciary - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

This reminds me of Ben Howland, UCLA coach, saying that the deck was stacked against his team after the NCAA picked the brackets for the March Madness. Oh well, it worked out for the Bruins.

Dan's real problem with property tax assessment isn't because of anything that they are doing in Beaver County, Westmorland County nor Butler County. Dan's problems are in Allegheny County.

Dan doesn't have the magic to turn the clock back to 2002. And he tried. And, he thought that his turn-the-clock-back solution was viable.

Dan is also crying the blues because the voters will choose who is going to be the sheriff, not him.

Dan Onorato is not good for democracy.

Dan Onorato is not good for a modern Allegheny County. Dan, you can't turn back the clock. Time has its ways. Once you're bald, even your hair won't grow back.

Dan says "home rule" is about voters controlling their own destiny. Duhh. Voters are going to control the destiny -- by electing a sheriff every four years.

Talk about frustration.

Dan won't win in the challenge and Dan won't win in the removal of the challenge either. His lawyers, when they see that the challenge is not going to stick are going to back away.

Community Meeting called. Huddle to discuss the city-owned, vacant, closed indoor ice rink in South Side Park

Come one, come all.

I'm calling and hosting a meeting at 7 pm on Tuesday, April 17, 2007, to discuss the stituations with the now vacant indoor ice rink located in South Side Park.

The Neville Ice Rink was closed in 2001. A private operator let it die and the city did little in oversight of its operation.

Now the city has issues a RFP, request for proposals. See it on the city's web site. It is a long PFD.

Feel free to pass the word about this meeting. If you'd like to speak at the meeting to insert an agenda item, call or email me in advance. 412 298 3432. Mark@Rauterkus.com. Everyone will be able to speak. But, if you have more to say or present -- let me know, please.

I expect I'll release an agenda the day before the meeting.

I love viable, open alternatives. Progress in the real world. Get OpenOffice.org.

The OpenOffice.org Community announce the release of OpenOffice.org 2.2, the latest version of the leading open-source office suite. With upgrades to its word processor, spreadsheet, presentations, and database software, the free software package provides a real alternative to Microsoft's recently-released Office 2007 product - and an easier upgrade path for existing Microsoft Office users. OpenOffice.org 2.2 also protects users from newly discovered vulnerabilities, where users' PCs could be open to attack if they opened documents from, or accessed web sites set up by, malicious individuals.

In version 2.2, users will immediately notice the improvement in the quality of text display in all parts of OpenOffice.org. The reason for this is that the previously optional support for kerning, a technique to improve the appearance of text written in proportional fonts, has now been enabled by default. OpenOffice.org's unique pdf export function has also been enhanced with the addition of the optional creation of
bookmarks feature, and support for user-definable export of form fields.

While OpenOffice.org 2.1 functions well on Microsoft's Windows Vista, version 2.2 makes use of some of the new cosmetic changes available in Vista, the new file dialogues being an example. Apple Mac users will notice a smaller download and a smaller installed size. The Apple Mac Intel version has many stability improvements, and bug fixes ranging from .ppt export to improved UNO connections. Version 2.2 now requires Mac OS X 10.4.x running X11.

Turning to some of the enhancements made to the individual components of OpenOffice.org, the Calc spreadsheet has received additional enhancements to its support for Microsoft file formats, including improved support for Pivot Tables and some specialised trigonometric functions. Base, the database component, has improved SQL editing functionality as well as a new "Queries within Queries" feature. Compatibility options for some database drivers, such as Oracle ODBC, have been improved. Impress, the presentations component, offers improvements in the handling of hidden slides which has been made more intuitive.

It is important to remember that OpenOffice.org is not just a software package, but is also a development and user community. One demonstration of this is the ability of third party developers to create extensions in a simple manner. Third party extensions can now be more closely integrated and features have been added to dramatically simplify the installation and updating of these. In addition, features have been added to assist those participating in the translation and localisation of
OpenOffice.org.

In addition to being immediately available for download from the traditional download servers, OpenOffice.org is also available from a Peer-to-Peer (P2P) network. Alternatively, OpenOffice.org Community Distributors supply the software on CD-ROM in many countries and native language translations will be available from their relevant communities.

About OpenOffice.org

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®. OpenOffice.org's leading edge software technology (UNO) is also available for developers, systems integrators, etc to use in OpenOffice.org extensions or in their own applications.

OpenOffice.org supports the Open Document Format for Office Applications (OpenDocument) OASIS Standard (ISO/IEC 26300) as well as legacy industry file formats and is available on major computing platforms in over 70 languages. OpenOffice.org software is provided under the GNU Lesser General Public Licence (LGPL) and may be used free of charge for any purpose, private or commercial.

The OpenOffice.org Community acknowledges generous sponsorship from a number of companies, including Sun Microsystems, the founding sponsor and primary contributor.

OpenOffice.org 2.2 may be downloaded free of charge from
http://download.openoffice.org/

Pgh Public Schools Parent Involvement Policy sees light of day

The Parent and Family Involvement Policy recently passed by the Board is now available on the web in the policy section, http://www.pps.k12.pa.us/Policies.asp
It is also posted from a link from the Parents Page, under Parent Involvement, on the left navigation.

The district is planning and providing Professional Development to principals, staff and parents. Information and opportunities for parental engagement both district-wide and school based will be provided.

Please feel free to begin discussions on the Policy through your PSCC, PTO/PTA meetings.

There have been plenty of changes in the way the district interacts with the parents. Not all for the good, in my humble opinion. For the past couple of years, there have been walls created. Let's take a peek and see if this policy works to build more division or make for better interactions.

Running Mate Meeting

That's me, (on the left) with the newest member of the Libertarian Party. A new dawn is about to break!

The Housing Bubble Blog - Both Lender And Borrower Underestimated The Risks

Someone with a blog in Arizona points out some twisted logic. Downtown housing is happening. So, our mayor wants to give away free rides by lowering taxes to the elite. Meanwhile, the rest of the city gets to pays more.

Condo sales are happening without the tax break. Don't provide a tax break for some, and not for others, when the tax break is not necessary. Don't rob Peter to pay Paul. Don't rob neibhorhoods to pay for downtown. Don't rob some and give to others.

Even if this tax abatement plan is bigger than downtown, don't do it. Do it for everyone or do it for none.

Don't reward neighborhoods that are in decline. That is the type of reward that only provides benefits to the speculators.

The Housing Bubble Blog “Both Lender And Borrower Underestimated The Risks” The Pittsburgh Post Gazette. “David W. Bishoff is so pleased with condominium sales at the Carlyle, the soon-to-be-converted Union National Bank building at Fourth Avenue and Wood Street, Downtown, that he’s ready to try it again — right next door.”

“While it might seem like too much to some, Mr. Bishoff has no doubt the market can support it. ‘The question isn’t whether this city can absorb 200 or 400 or 600 or even a thousand. This Downtown should easily absorb and keep filled several thousand units,’ he said.”

“Mayor Luke Ravenstahl used the ribbon cutting to pitch his proposed tax abatement program for residential housing that is now before City Council.”

“One Carlyle buyer, Brian Ritz, likened his investment to ‘owning a piece of the Golden Triangle.’”

People are less interested in owning a piece of the Golden Triangle and more interested in owning the people who govern. Who owns the mayor? Who owns the County Executive?

Open thread. Jason Phillips meets Bruce Kraus in court to seek past promised wages

Jason Phillips was hired at one time to work on the Bruce Kraus campaign for city council. Some sum of money was, reportedly, not payed to Jason from Bruce. So, he quit. And, then he jumped into the race himself. And, to get his money, he sued.

Today the guys met before the judge.

A decision is expected in the next three days.

I don't know what's what, really. But perhaps we'll find out various versions on the street or in this blog in the comments below.

Cough, cough -- $16K -- Lithuanian Hall stung for smoking. "Oh 64," ...

Walking in the neighborhood today, I noticed both the WTAE TV van and the KDKA TV van. Meanwhile, our city's and county's democracy gets choked to death.

Health Department fines South Side bingo hall Lithuanian National Society on Jane Street in the South Side was fined $16,250 for failing to adopt and implement a workplace smoking policy and allowing 65 people to smoke at its bingo on March 21.

McNeilly suit's expense might top $185K for Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

This is not how I want to see our city's taxpayer money spent.

McNeilly suit's expense might top $185K for Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review Pittsburgh's decision to settle police Cmdr. Catherine McNeilly's civil rights lawsuit out of court could sting taxpayers for $185,000 -- or more.

City lawyers are recommending payment of $85,000 to McNeilly -- who makes a yearly salary of $79,877 -- to compensate for emotional and professional damage she suffered by being demoted to lieutenant on Dec. 7, after she made confidential police personnel records public. Her lawyers fees are expected to top $100,000.

Judge: County sheriff must be elected - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

Who wants to run for Sheriff as a Libertarian?

Judge: County sheriff must be elected - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review Allegheny County's longstanding tradition of electing a sheriff will carry on, at least for another five years, a county judge ruled today.

Common Pleas Judge Eugene B. Strassburger III sided with the Sheriff's Association of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in its lawsuit to keep the county and Chief Executive Dan Onorato from holding a public referendum in May asking voters to decide whether the county sheriff should remain an elected position or be appointed by the chief executive.

We need a candidate for this office.

Our misguided mayor is not a fluke. We've got a real problem, Dimiti.

Dimitri V of the Pgh Tribune Review, a four-day host of a KDKA Radio show, asked callers to vote for either "Mayor Luke - or - Mayor Fluke."

I called in. After a few words I was clicked off the air.

Our misguided mayor is for real. We have real problems in the mayor's office. Those are not to be taken lightly.

This is Mark Rauterkus. You don't beat the mayor by offering insults and name calling. You beat him by offering real alternatives.

... click ...

Dimiti said he didn't realize he was making an insult.

This way my email to Dimiti, Dimitri@KDKARadio.com, at 8:55 am today, sent before he went on the air:

---

Hi Dimitri,

As vice chair of the Allegheny County Party -- and one who is working hard to get candidate recruitment and voter education for ballot access for myself and other candidates, I'd love to get on the show.

Dan Onorato is without any opposition from other parties. He is trying to toss off the other D who put in papers to run against Dan in the primary. Other than me, L.

Luke Ravenstahl is without any opposition within and beyond his party. Other than me, L.

County Controller -- no opposition, other than a L. (I recruited.)

County Treasurer -- no opposition, other than a L. (I recruited)

The list goes on.

The municipal elections are another big can of worms too. Plus, Sharpsburg, Upper St. Clair -- and everywhere gets to elect school board members and boro folks. We need to get the movement to the 3rd party, and Libertarian, option.

It takes 10 signatures to get onto the ballot as a Libertarian in Sharpsburg as a boro council member.

I'd be able to help callers, either on the air or after the show -- do research for their areas.

And, I've got to get onto the ballot with thousands of signatures of voters in Allegheny County. A guy had his signature tossed off the nomination petition by the judge because he didn't use his middle initial when he signed his name.

Many ABSURD rules are killing democracy by thousands of paper cuts.

I can't get the election department to get me a PDF of the nomination papers. I'm going to take them to court next week if this isn't resolved.

---

Dimitri is a Libertarian. He is free to do what he wants. But, as a Libertarian, I would wish he'd have a much different approach.

I have respect for the man, Luke Ravenstahl, and office, Mayor of Pittsburgh. But, I have no confidence in his "direction." His policies are lacking. They'll lead the city to further ruin. Luke is the mayor and there are real problems on Grant Street.

The fluke comes in the thinking that a negative campaign that is riddled with name calling is going to help at all. Bill Peduto stated as much. Dimiti seemed saddened that Peduto pulled out of the race.

Once real libertarian alternatives are presented, then hope will arrive.

Dimiti offered three hours of air time to Luke Ravenstahl OR his SPOKESPERSON for the show on Thursday. Three HOURS. And, the offer was extended 'on the air.' Furthermore, Dimiti is okay to only speak to a spokesperson, not the mayor.

Nobody from the administration, including Luke, is going to go on the show with Dimitri. No way.

If I was on the show for three hours, and if the Tribune Review had a different policy about covering the whole story so as to be sure to include the perspectives of local Libertarians and local opposition candidates, then we'd have a winning approach.

If I was on the show for three hours this week, and if the Trib printed, covered and interacted about our news, letters, positions and solutions -- then thw mayor would have reason to be on the air and be accountable to the voters.