Baden Academy Charter School - Welcome: "With tentative plans to open next year for grades K-3, Baden Academy Charter School will eventually offer a comprehensive, arts-infused elementary and middle school program (K-8) based on a classical education model."
City Council possessed by presidency politicking The last two years have seen the city's nine lawmakers swing wildly between those poles.That isn't wild.
Olympics: Kohn ... Bobsledder on a mission: "And just like that, the soft-spoken Kohn was given the chance he has longed for since he was recruited to the team in 1990 after starring in high school football and track in Chantilly, Va.
'I put the beer down and got back in the gym,' the 37-year-old Kohn said with a smile. 'Every night for the last 20 years I've been dreaming about this. I guess there's a little flame inside of me that said, 'Hang in there, you never know.' That's what's always driven me.
Company
pledges $400,000 for Washington's river trek: "Lockheed Martin vice
president and general manager Marshall Byrd also pledged a five-year commitment
of volunteer support from the company's 13,000 employees in the Delaware Valley
area for park maintenance and operations. The company, which also has major
operations in Denver and in Sunnyvale, Calif., specializes in human space flight
systems, communications satellites and missile defense systems."
$240K Needed For New South Side Dogs Park - News Story - WPXI Pittsburgh: $240K Needed For New South Side Dogs ParkI am glad that the dogs have been removed from the traditional parks. But, there are more things that can be done for the dogs than what is being offered here.
PITTSBURGH -- South Side dogs could have a new place to play by next spring.
Ken Wolfe, chief of staff for Councilman Bruce Kraus, said the idea for a new dog park is preliminary, but Kraus is optimistic the $80,000 line item will survive the city's budget process.
The dog park would cost about $240,000 but the $80,000 allocation would pay for the fence, which is the biggest hurdle, Wolfe said.
According to Wolfe, a third of the cost would be absorbed by the city's Public Works and another third would have to be raised.
The International Baccalaureate program is globally recognized for its ability to prepare students for a college education. High school students enrolled in IB classes can earn college credit two ways. They can take individual IB subject tests, for which they can earn credit at some colleges if they score high enough. Students also can opt to earn an IB diploma after completing a series of IB courses and writing an extended essay. Many colleges grant students credit for the IB diploma. This chart spotlights all the IB schools in the America's Best High Schools rankings sorted by the percentage of 12th graders that took at least one IB test at some point during high school.http://www.usnews.com/articles/education/high-schools/2009/12/09/americas-best-high-schools-top-international-baccalaureate-schools.html?loomia_ow=t0:s0:a41:g26:r25:c0.007056:b20193411:z0&s_cid=loomia:methodology-americas-best-high-schools
Judge tosses Pittsburgh law aimed at limiting South Side bars - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: "An Allegheny County judge Wednesday struck down a Pittsburgh ordinance aimed at stopping new bars from opening on the South Side."Another huge defeat from the realm of poor solutions championed by Bruce Kraus. I never liked this law. I spoke against it in the past. It is short-sighted. It is illegal. It is an over-reach that fails in many regards.
Coaching: A Unique Bond The relationship is so complex, both in and out of the pool.
Talk to any swimmer, and invariably a very memorable coach is brought up - current or past - and the impact that coach has had on the swimmer’s life.
Erie McDowell to join WPIAL in '10: "Erie McDowell to join WPIAL in '10"We really need the Pittsburgh Public Schools to begin to blend into the WPIAL and make the city league a great tip-off tournament and holiday classic setting. We have to get the iron curtin that encricles the city to fall. We need more interactions among city and suburban kids, families and school events.
Message to Obama: You Can't Have Muhammad Ali
On November 19th, President Barack Obama wrote a stirring tribute in USA Today to the most famous draft resister in US history, Muhammad Ali. On Tuesday, Obama spoke at West Point, calling for an increase of 30,000 troops into Afghanistan, with a speech that recalled the worst shadings of George W. Bush's "war on terror."
On November 19th, Obama wrote about why Ali's photo hangs over his desk, praising "The Greatest" for "his unique ability to summon extraordinary strength and courage in the face of adversity, to navigate the storm and never lose his way." On Tuesday, Obama showed neither courage nor strength but the worst kind of imperial arrogance. He asserted America's right to go into a deeply impoverished country that - from Alexander the Great to the USSR to today - has made clear to the world's empires that it wants to be left the hell alone.
On Tuesday, Obama summoned the spectre of 9/11 and said, "It is easy to forget that when this war began, we were united--bound together by the fresh memory of a horrific attack, and by the determination to defend our homeland and the values we hold dear." He didn't mention how many innocent Afghans had already died in eight years of "horrific attacks" on their homeland or how many would die in the months ahead, defending their own homeland.
On November 19th, Obama praised Ali as "a force for reconciliation and peace around the world." On Tuesday the Nobel Peace Prize winner, reconciled himself with war.
Would that Muhammad Ali still had his voice. Would that Parkinson's disease and dementia had not robbed us of his razor-sharp tongue.
Today, Ali has been described as "America's only living saint." But like Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, both postage stamps before people, Ali has had his political teeth extracted.
But in a time when billions go to war and prisons while 50% of children will be on food stamps for the coming year, we can't afford Ali, the harmless icon. Maybe Muhammad Ali has been robbed of speech, but I think we can safely guess what the Champ would say in the face of Obama's war. We can safely guess, because he said it perfectly four decades ago:
"Why should they ask me to put on a uniform and go 10,000 miles from home and drop bombs and bullets on brown people in Vietnam while so-called Negro people in Louisville are treated like dogs and denied simple human rights? No, I'm not going 10,000 miles from home to help murder and burn another poor nation simply to continue the domination of white slave masters of the darker people the world over. This is the day when such evils must come to an end. I have been warned that to take such a stand would cost me millions of dollars. But I have said it once and I will say it again. The real enemy of my people is here..... If I thought the war was going to bring freedom and equality to 22 million of my people, they wouldn't have to draft me, I'd join tomorrow. I have nothing to lose by standing up for my beliefs. So I'll go to jail, so what? We've been in jail for 400 years."
Replace Vietnam with Afghanistan and it's a message Barack Obama and our troops need to hear. But we shouldn't wait for some celebrity or athlete to make that statement for us. Muhammad Ali may have helped shape the 1960s, but those years of resistance also shaped him. We need to rebuild the movement against war. We need to revive the real Muhammad Ali to inspire draft resistors of the future. We need to reclaim Ali from warmongers who would use his image to sell a war that will create more orphans than peace. This is the struggle of our lives and we have the Nobel-minted President of the United States on the other side of the barricades. Barack Obama can have the fawning media, the oadring generals, the RNC, and the liberal apologists on his side. But he can't have the Champ. Remove that poster from your wall Mr. President. Your Ali privileges have been revoked.
[Dave Zirin is the author of "A People's History of Sports in the United States" (The New Press) Receive his column every week by emailing dave@edgeofsports.com. Contact him at edgeofsports@gmail.com.]
Pittsburgh solicitor nominee claims no conflict - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review'I don't think you could swing a cat in this town and not hit a lawyer who hasn't sued the city,' Dowd said. 'What's important here is that we have a solicitor here who can uphold the law and advise the city.'It is one thing to have that cat hit a lawyer who has ever sued the city in the past. It is another thing to have that cat hit a lawyer who is presently bringing a suit against the city -- and seeking to be the city's attorney -- at the same time. The suit is in the present tense, not the past.
City Council postpones Fair Share Tax vote The Pitt News: "City Council postpones Fair Share Tax vote"My solution follows as a comment to that news article, reposted:
Pittsburgh's help line gets 116,000 messages - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: "Pittsburgh's help line gets 116,000 messagesI'm glad I suggested it.
Panel to analyze secondary schools in the East End: "Mr. Lopez's e-mail said the group will discuss grade configurations, feeder patterns and the possibility of single-sex 'academies,' extended hours and year-round schooling. He said another topic will be a timetable for the 'transformation and integration of the East End schools.'Where is my invite?
Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl, it's time to do the right thing. For your son. Be a hero in the young boy's life. Cement your legacy and his future now.
For Cooper's sake, step down from the city's top post immediately and focus your attentions on family matters.
It's almost always sad when a family is destroyed—no matter what ideas special interest groups might twist to fit their agenda—a child is vastly better off with a two biological parent home. This is your chance to assure that your son has not only a normal life, but an exemplary one.
Staying Mayor one day longer is self-indulgent, and wrong.
Clearly, your wife Erin is a strong, intelligent, compassionate women who—more than anyone else—assured your victory for a four-year term on November 3. Had she portrayed “the woman scorned,” Dok Harris might be salivating about his corner office on the 5th floor of the City Council building downtown. Instead, she was the dutiful best friend who assisted you in claiming your dream. It never was hers. This is assured.
Let's call a spade a spade. You are the luckiest politician this city has seen since Sophie Masloff. Had it not been for the tragic, untimely death of Bob O'Connor, you'd still be a member of city council, representing the North Side. Spouses of city councilors are anonymous (it would take significant searching to see who is married and who is single, let alone correctly name spouses), so Erin could have happily continued in her role as a neighborhood hair dresser, and now mother.
Let's step back even further. Had it not been for your well-heeled parent(s), you'd be working some non-nondescript downtown job for a third of your taxpayer salary and a thousandth of the perks. If it hadn't been for your parents, you wouldn't enjoy the pampering, there'd be no tailgate parties with military-grade SUVs and certainly no swanky trips to New York City. Their combined vested interest guided you to be the man you are today.
You won your brand-new four-year term because the symbol for Incumbent was next to your name on the ballot (and the love of your wife). In city-wide races, if you have Incumbent and Democrat next to your name, that's the equivalent of being named Pope. You only leave office on your own terms; the rubber-stamp Democratic machine never wavers. It has no conscious and the machine doesn't think. You can.
This is your opportunity to be a true leader, an exemplary father, and perhaps even a standout husband.
Your value as Boy Mayor is negligible. The city all but runs itself until a mayor frequently adds or increases taxes. People grumble, call the Mayor “brainless,” and watch businesses and neighbors alike leave. It's a thankless job, except for the perks. As a jet-setting bachelor, you'd be free to attend even more galas, balls and sports events, most on the city's dime. It isn't real.
What about Cooper?
Money and faux prestige might be lavished upon him, but there will absolutely, certainly be times in which the Mayor will be away on business and the young lad will just be pining for Dad.
Don't chose the job of Mayor over your son.
Step down today.
Instantly, top corporations in town would be bidding on your services. Continue with marriage counseling and become an advocate for Family. You will become a folk hero in a town that adores folk heroes.
You've been a placeholder Mayor. There's no evidence that you will be anything but a passable office holder. Chances are you won't be a game-breakingly horrific leader like Tom Murphy, but if your proposed college-student levy is any indication as to your effectiveness as a Mayor, the statue of Richard Caliguiri won't be razed anytime soon for your granite likeness.
Instead, become an excellent father.
This separation reeks of self-importance and selfishness. You won't be County Executive and you'll never be Governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Let's get those crazy notions off the table right now.
It's been reported that you nearly quit politics over this family crisis.
You should have.
You've been compromised. Your duty is with your family. Your sacrifice is to give up this job of status for your son. Get out of the spotlight and take care of your family. Don't sever your Christian marriage and abandon your wife. Take care of your son.
The good thing is, you are very young. You can come back into politics when you are prepared to make a difference. That is obviously not now.
If you stay one more minute, you are doing a grave disservice to this city, a city that deserves better. You deserve better. Your wife and son deserve better.
Lead. Do you have it in you? Do you have the faith, the courage, the strength?
Pittsburgh loves a winner. Be a winner. Go out a winner now.
Gates Foundation awards $40 million to city schools: "'For us, it's the perfect partnership at the perfect time,' ...
As to the perfect time, well, there is no time like the present. Sadly, I've seen a lot of thing delayed because the timing is on the back burner. The overhaul of sports is pending -- delayed -- put off into the future because the Title IX audit is not done yet. But the audit was simply a ploy to delay. And the board allowed for an even longer time for it to be completed -- still not done.
Larger issues loom larger too. No sense in making investments into any 'drop out factory' now because we'll get to high school reform in the future. Rightsizing is just for the elementary school levels now -- except for Schenley and prior to that South Vo Tech. Let some others seemingly die of the vine, (Peabody, Oliver).
The kids don't wait well. We can't keep them as they are. They grow up fast. Delays of a year or three are tough if not impossible. Every day the schools are expected to serve them -- and it is impossible to do so when there are periods of sarvation.
On one hand, the changes are too fast. On the other hand, the changes are too slow. Here is the thing with Pittsburgh. To often, changes for the good, for the benefit of the kds, are on hold. They can't be considered now. They are something to think about in a couple of months. The meeting about those changes are on the back burner. Too much is on the back burner. Too much effort is spent to insure in-action on easy to fix elements until a sweeping reform can be hatched with consultant studies and outsiders to the rescue.
Fix it, internally, now, with the help of those on deck now. That's how I feel about the timing of a perfect partnership.
We should decide and then do it -- And get out of the way already.
Practice does not make perfect. Only perfect practice makes perfect.
> 4. We are currently reviewing the Athletic Program however, the Gates money is not earmarked for anything related to Athletics at this time.
Plan for city schools could shuffle students again The school board does not plan an immediate vote on the proposal, which DeJong based on enrollment projections and the maintenance needs of about 80 district buildings.News flash. Few sign up in advance of meeting to speak of outrage about school closing -- so it seems from Joe Smydo. Meanwhile, there isn't a plan from the PPS about closing schools -- yet. The plan that was delivered a couple of weeks ago is from the consultants. The consultants don't close schools. The consultants talk about buildings, bricks, mortar.
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| From Mark Rauterkus & Running Mates ponder current events |
My A.T. Still University Experience : Students Paying The Copyright Tax: "Copyright, put simply, is a personal monopoly on an original writing, song, piece of art, or a group of any of those, for 70 years after the death of the creator. If a corporation is the creator, the copyright monopoly lasts for 95 years.” — Public Knowledge
Did you know, long suffering U.S. taxpayer, that you pay twice for federally funded research?
The first time is when you pay taxes. The federal government uses that money to fund various agencies such as the National Institutes for Health, the National Science Foundation, and others. These agencies then have a vast array of grant programs which then go to all sorts of recipients, including universities and specific academic researchers. If you want a sense of how much of your cash is flowing through this federal subsidy for higher education, you can check out Grants.gov, which was helpfully set up to make it easier for universities and others to apply for your money.
Jazzing it up, summer school style: "Jazzing it up, summer school styleNice recap in the article.
Pittsburgh Public Schools hopes to attract more middle-schoolers to its program
Sunday, November 08, 2009
By Joe Smydo, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette"
Libertarians win Houston council seats - Washington Greene PA News - www.observer-reporter.com: "Libertarians win Houston council seatsWins on Tuesday. Way to go!
http://www.poynter.org/q/?id=A173027I don't buy into the swim pool illustration, but that is beside the point.
Posted by Steve Myers
Sometime in the next month or so, between five and 15 online publishers will start testing Journalism Online's system for paid content. Around year's end, they'll start charging users to access some content on their sites. But the vast majority of users will not notice anything, said Steven Brill.
Most people talk about paid content as "pay walls." Brill, co-founder of Journalism Online, likens it to a gradually deepening pool.
"Imagine a fancy swimming pool at a resort," Brill explained by phone Thursday, "where you can walk into the water 20 or 30 steps before you're really in the water, instead of having to dive into the deep end where you're worried about how cold it is."
That's the basis of Journalism Online's pay model (http://journalismonline.com/model.php) : If publishers are worried that charging for content will cause a huge drop in page views (and thus advertising revenue), they can dip their toes in by choosing settings that affect a minimal amount of content or just the most frequent users. Publishers can decide if they want to swim to the deep end as they see how users respond.
Even the most intense users, those who visit a site several times a day for instance, will not suddenly learn that their favorite site has blocked off content. "There's going to be nothing for customers that's going to be sudden about this," Brill said.
Read the Entire Post (http://www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=101&aid=173027)
solutionsRus has left a new comment on the post "Neighborhood tensions":
Although I don't always agree with (or for that matter understand) some of Mark's comments, on the point of the value of coaching, I believe that he is right on. All children (not just at risk) benefit from having a positive adult influence in their lives. Even with all the support in the world raising two kids was a challenge and I was thankful for the positive impact that several coaches made on my children. High school sports do get waaayyy too much attention by the media with a little to much focus on winning for my tastes, but the value of learning team play, sportsmanship, leadership skills etc. can not be stressed enough. Yes, academic subjects are the #1 need, but cannot be taught in a vacuum.
Mark's comments on the state of PPS sports programs are right on as well. For every wonderful coach that my children have had, there is one that is just taking a paycheck (one coach used to read the paper during practice and another would grade papers during matches).
We should all stop speaking in absolutes. There are good and not so good coaches, teachers, principals, administrators and parents. Making changes to a system that ensures more good and less not so good will only strengthen that system. But the changes have to be effective, vetted and implemented correctly or it is just "change" and not improvement.
Saving the Jackets The Columbus Dispatch Saving the JacketsDon't fall for this Columbus.
Unless relief can be provided from a problematic lease and other financial burdens, Columbus eventually could lose its NHL team, consultant's report says
24Medica - College training tough on Freshmen swimmers: "High school swimmers heading off to compete in college may be ill prepared for grueling collegiate training regimens, study findings hint."
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