Info on Citiparks Pool Tags

CITIPARKS

2015 Pool Tag Information

Free Pool Passes

Citiparks is now offering FREE swimming in all City of Pittsburgh pools for resident children, fifteen years and younger.  Parents need only to register their children at any of Citiparks’ 10 Recreation Centers across the city then bring their membership cards to the pool each day.

How do I prove I am a city resident?

Proof includes a driver’s license or state photo I.D., school I.D., utility bills, report cards, pay stubs, lease agreements or other official correspondence. Your city address must be on the identification to be valid.

How do I prove I receive welfare?

Bring a copy of your case printout. You can get this from your caseworker at the Department of Public Assistance. The printout must include a current date, your name, the name of everyone in the family you want to get tags for, and your address.

USING YOUR POOL TAG:

Your pool tag can be used at our indoor aquatic facility, the Oliver Bath House, or at any of our 18 outdoor facilities.  The tag is good all summer long, and can be used at our indoor pool throughout the fall, winter and spring.  The tag you purchased today will expire June 1, 2016.

To avoid losing your tag, sew the tag on to your swimsuit.  You may wear the tag attached to an ankle or wristband or looped onto your swimsuit’s shoulder strap or belt loop.  For your own protection, never wear your tag on a neck chain or pinned to your suit.  Wear your tag the entire time you are at the pool.  It must be visible to the pool staff.  Citiparks will not refund or replace lost or stolen tags, so it is safest to sew on your tag.

You must have a tag to enter any of our aquatic facilities, even if you are not swimming.  The tag is your admission to the pool area.  Your admission fee helps pay for the staffing and operation of the facility.  Don’t forget, children under the age of 6 must be accompanied by an adult 16 years or older in the water.

Tags may be revoked for violations of pool rules.

The City of Pittsburgh offers a variety of aquatic programs for people of all ages.  To find out what programs are available at your pool, contact the Head Lifeguard, look online at www.citiparks.net, or call the Aquatic Division Office at:  412-323-7928.

POOL DATES AND HOURS:

The City of Pittsburgh will open 18 outdoor aquatic facilities on Tuesday, June 9, 2015, at 1:00 PM.  The outdoor swimming season will end on Labor Day, Monday, September 7, 2015.  Citiparks pools will remain open through Labor Day as staffing levels permit.

Hours of Operation:

Monday – Friday:

1:00 PM – 7:45 PM

Saturday, Sunday and Holidays:

1:00 PM – 5:45 PM

POOL TAG LOCATIONS:

You can purchase pool tags at the following locations:

June 2 – June 8:

Oliver Bath House

Weekdays: 9:00 AM – 8:45 PM

Weekends: 1:00 PM – 8:45 PM

Cash, Check or Money Order

June 9 – September 7:

At the following Aquatic Facilities:

Banksville     Phillips

Bloomfield    Ream

Highland    Riverview

Homewood    Schenley

Jack Stack    Sheraden

Magee        Sue Murray       

McBride    West Penn   

Moore         Westwood

Ormsby   

       

Weekdays: 1:00 PM – 7:45 PM

Weekends and Holidays: 1:00 PM – 5:45 PM

Cash, Check or Money Order

Ammon - will not be selling pool tags but you can pay daily admission or purchase your tags at any of the above locations.

DAILY ADMISSION:

You can pay a daily admission fee at any of our locations.  Prices are as follows:

$5.00 for Adults (16 & older)

$3.00 for Children (3 – 15)

Children under 3 are FREE

Citiparks Recreation Centers and Pools Citiparks is now offering FREE swimming in all City of Pittsburgh pools for resident children, fifteen years and younger.  Parents need only to register their children at any of Citiparks’ 10 Recreation Centers across the city then bring their membership cards to the pool each day. All pools open on June 9, 2015.
Citiparks Recreation Centers
East/Central
Ammon – Hill District	2217 Bedford Avenue	412-255-2501
Magee – Greenfield	745 Greenfield Avenue	412-422-6546
Paulson – Lincoln Lemington	1201 Paulson Street	412-665-3627
West Penn – Polish Hill	450 30th Street	412-622-7353
North
Jefferson – Mexican War Streets	605 Redknap Street	412-323-7268
South/West
Arlington – Arlington Heights	2201 Salisbury Street	412-488-8397
Brookline	1400 Oakridge Street	412-571-3222
Ormsby – South Side Flats	79 S. 22nd Street	412-488-8306
Phillips – Carrick	201 Parkfield Street	412-885-7445
Warrington - Beltzhoover	329 E. Warrington Avenue	412-488-8369
Citiparks Pools – Open June 9, 2015
Weekday Hours: 1:00 p.m. - 7:45 p.m. Weekend/Holiday Hours: 1:00 p.m. - 5:45 p.m. Weather permitting
East/Central
Ammon – Hill District	2217 Bedford Avenue	412-255-2627
Bloomfield	408 Ella Street	412-622-6956
Magee – Greenfield	745 Greenfield Avenue	412-422-4265
Highland Park	151 Lake Drive	412-665-3637
Homewood	540 North Lang Avenue	412-244-4186
Schenley Park	1 Overlook Drive	412-422-4266
West Penn – Polish Hill	450 30th Street	412-622-6908
North
Sue Murray - Allegheny Commons	301 Cedar Avenue	412-323-7914
Jack Stack - Brighton Heights	600 Brighton Woods Road	412-766-4577
Riverview Park	400 Riverview Avenue	412-323-7223
South/West
Banksville	1461 Crane Avenue	412-571-3231
Moore - Brookline	1801 Pioneer Ave	412-571-3223
McBride – Lincoln Place	1785 McBride Street	412-476-1311
Ream - Mount Washington	321 Merrimac Street	412-488-8312
Ormsby – South Side Flats	79 South 22nd Street	412-488-8377
Phillips – Carrick	201 Parkfield Street	412-885-7498
Sheraden	1071 Adon Street	412-777-5011
Westwood	100 Guyland Street	412-937-3061

Other fees:

Daily fee Adults (16+) $5.00 & Adult Pass (city resident, 16+) $30.00

*For more information on Citiparks Aquatics visit www.Citiparks.net,

follow @Citiparks on Twitter or call 412-323-7928.

Family and Individual Pool Tag Application

*Kids Swim FREE with a Recreation Center Membership Pass!

Head of Household:

Last Name

First Name

Address:

City/Zip Code:

Phone:

Neighborhood:

Pool You Use Most:

Type of Purchase

Print the Name of the Person Who Will Wear This Tag

Type of Tag Adult (age 16+) Youth (age 3-15) Circle One

Price Per Tag Circle One Regular      DPA

Total

Adult

Youth

$60.00

$30.00

Military Family

Adult

Youth

ID#:

Adult

Youth

Adult

Youth

$

Adult

Youth

$10.00

$4.00

Adult

Youth

$10.00

$4.00

$

Adult

$30.00

$15.00

Adult

$30.00

$15.00

Youth

$15.00

$7.00

Youth

$15.00

$7.00

$

Active

Veteran

Free

ID #:

Adult

$20.00

Adult

Youth

$45.00

Adult

Youth

$45.00

$

Total

$

Check or money order made payable to: Treasurer, City Of Pittsburgh for the total. For the public assistance discount, provide a case printout as proof that you & your family live in the City Of Pittsburgh and receive welfare.  For City of Pittsburgh residents who are disabled veterans and families of active duty military and activated reservist/guard members, pool tags are available at no cost.  Proper ID is required.

Please Do Not Write Below This Line

Clerk		Location		Date
Adult Tag #’s		Youth Tag #’s

Your Citiparks Pool Tags May Be Used At All Citiparks Pools Including The Oliver Bath House During The Off Season.  Citiparks pools will remain open through Labor Day as staffing levels permit.  Pool tags may be revoked for violations of pool rules.  THERE ARE NO REFUNDS.  Replacements for lost or stolen tags must be purchased.  Your tag must be visible at all times.

“I hereby grant full permission to the City of Pittsburgh and any sponsor of this event to use my name, likeness and voice, as well as any photographs, videotapes, motion pictures,

recordings or any other of this event in which I may appear for any legitimate purpose including television broadcasting of this event, the reuse of any media of this

broadcast and in advertising and promotion for such broadcast and reuse.”

Consideration for Water Polo Coop for boys and girls students at your school

Dear Principal and Athletic Director:
Please consider giving permission (via a letter) for the students at your school in join with our newly-formed, varsity water polo team. We wish to extend our water polo opportunity to students at your school who might be interested.
We are seeking a simple, open letter from the school principal to the PIAA that says:

---

To All It May Concern:
Students at your school are permitted to join a sports cooperative (coop) for the sport of Water Polo at Pittsburgh Obama.
Sincerely yours,

---

You can send that letter to me via email and postal mail:

• Mark Rauterkus, Pittsburgh Combined Water Polo
  • 108 South 12th Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15203-1226
  • 412-298-3432 = cell
  • PittsburghCombined@CLOH.org

---

I coach varsity swimming at Pittsburgh Obama Academy and run a popular, summer-time, Swim & Water Polo Camp that reaches a 200+ kids in the city. Recently, I coached the women's water polo team at CMU. For six summers, we've have employed about 35 swimmers as instructors and lifeguards—mainly pulled from our past swim and water polo participants. This year, we are reaching for 60. With the Bloomfield-Garfield Corp and the Eastside Neighborhood Employment Center, we're working with the expanded City of Pittsburgh's Learn & Earn Youth Job Initiative. Some of those positions help those of modest income from ages 14-21 get jobs with sports and recreation with our programs. We're pulling together a fitness, wellness, aquatics movement for the city with Digital Badges with the aid of The Sprout Fund and this new varsity water polo team endeavor, is an important cornerstone for making a sustainable impact.
In past years, we've had more informal participation and called the team, Pittsburgh Combined. This year, with your okay, we'd love to include students from your school in a more robust program with more jobs and tighter relationships among the educational institutions so that the city kids can compete.
For PIAA co-ops, schools need to be neighbors in geography.
The second PIAA co-op requirement is that only ONE of the schools within the co-op can have more than 350 students in grades 9, 10 and 11 for boys and 350 for girls. That rule prevents two or more of the BIGGEST schools from making a co-op. There are no limits in the number of smaller schools that can join the water polo co-op.
My vision, because Central Catholic / Oakland Catholic, Bishop Canevin and Seton LaSalle, plus a few other schools in and around Pittsburgh are geographical neighbors to PPS, and because only Central/Oakland classifies as a large schools under the PIAA standard, and because we've got jobs for kids in the summers—such as at Langley and at Brashear for our summer camps, and because new aquatic programs are brewing, I hope to get your school into our Obama Academy hosted water polo coop.
We have insurance from a 501 (c)(3) organization, American Water Polo. We have a local nonprofit support too, the Bloomfield-Garfield Corporation. I'm Mark@Bloomfield-Garfield.org. We have some players at Obama, and my son will be a senior (Obama Academy, class of 2016), and was recently invited to the tryout-camps for the USA Youth Team in California. So, we have some players and this team will form, but we'd love to offer your kids the opportunities to join in the first year.
The PA and Ohio water polo communities are eager to get more squads in the mix in the seasons to come. So, we will be welcomed with open arms.
We have a swim pool at Obama Academy. Throughout PPS, other pools are available too. This summer we are holding 28 days of swimming at Brashear High School, where Seaton LaSalle varsity team practices in the winter. Plus, the same happens at Pittsburgh Classical Academy, where Bishop Canevin practices. In the fall, we'll be able to use Obama Academy for most practices. But there are some flexible locations and times that can accommodate athletes so that when the winter sports season comes in November, our kids have already had coaching, conditioning and pool time fitness. Wrestlers and basketball players can benefit with fall water polo too for leg strength, ball skills with safe yet strenuous practices. Playing fall water polo gives an advantage to the kids that want to swim successful in the winter as we can get those athletes pool time.
Summer Water Polo practices, open to anyone in the community, are happening now, with the help of Citiparks and the Thelma Lovette YMCA on Centre Ave in the Hill District:
Monday & Wednesdays, 6-7:30 pm, Northside, Citiparks Sue Murray swim pool.
Tuesday & Thursdays, 6-7:30 pm, Mt. Washington, Citiparks Ream swim pool.
Fridays, 5-8 pm, indoors, Hill District, Thelma Lovette YMCA.
Morning practices twice a week are slated for Homewood, Polish Hill and Sheraden. The calendar is at CLOH.org.

The organizing practices are for any and all who want to play. The kids can join us and NOT be a part of the fall varsity team if they like, but, you know that the high school sports season, while short, is a lot of fun. We have equipment, balls, and goals.
I'd love to have a conversation with you about this soon. Then, I hope we can forward this news to the students. I hope you'll consider the possibility of getting us the letter and allowing the students at your school into our coop for water polo for the fall 2015 season. If you want to have a meeting with me and the swim coaches, I'd be happy to meet. You are also invited to visit so we can chat at any of our practice times this summer.
Of course, all the team members don't need to come from the ranks of your student body. But, getting a few would go a long way in building relationships and helping to grow the local sports scene.

Water polo participation has great benefits for college students too. Most colleges have club water polo teams. Many students who might not be fast enough to swim in colleges often find a spot on water polo squads, keeping them fit, introducing them to new friends, and offering new leadership roles.
Water polo skills are transferable to other sports. Beyond swimming, water polo can help athletes of ball and net sports such as soccer, LAX and hockey. Catching and tossing balls helps those who might play baseball, softball and basketball. Leg strength is important in water polo helping with fitness levels for track, volleyball and wrestling. The pool is a great place for those who might need an off-season cross-training option because of injury too. Athletes from other sports might find water polo as a great in-between sport with some job benefits as well.
Thanks for the consideration. I look forward to talking with you about these possibilities.

--
Ta.

Mark Rauterkus       Mark@Bloomfield-Garfield.org
PPS Summer Dreamers' Swim and Water Polo Camp Head Coach

Varsity Boys Swim Coach, Pittsburgh Obama Academy

Recent Head Water Polo Coach, Carnegie Mellon University Women's Club Team
Pittsburgh Combined Water Polo Team

http://CLOH.org
PittsburghCombined@CLOH.org
412 298 3432 = cell

Fwd: [New post] In Summer, Pittsburgh Becomes a Citywide Campus for Learning

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Remake Learning <donotreply@wordpress.com>

Sarah Jackson posted: "Pittsburgh schools closed their doors last Monday, but the city got a running start on summer opportunities the weekend before. At the Cities of Learning (COL) launch party, on the sunny lawn at the Carnegie Library, local kids and teens learned about the" New post on Remake Learning In Summer, Pittsburgh Becomes a Citywide Campus for Learning by Sarah Jackson Pittsburgh schools closed their doors last Monday, but the city got a running start on summer opportunities the weekend before. At the Cities of Learning (COL) launch party, on the sunny lawn at the Carnegie Library, local kids and teens learned about their dizzying array of options for discovery and exploration. Sound familiar? It isn't Pittsburgh's first conversion into a living campus, but it is the largest. After a trial run last summer, and armed with a new grant from the MacArthur Foundation, the Sprout Fund tweaked and expanded COL to ready the initiative for 2015. Whether a budding filmmaker or an amateur bike mechanic, a Pittsburgh child or teen will find a slew of (mostly free) activities in the Cities of Learning roster that will help build on his or her passions. The more than 40 participating organizations help youth develop expertise in their interest areas, figure out links to academic and professional pathways, and document their accomplishments with digital badges. Pittsburgh, which joins Chicago, Dallas, and Washington, D.C., in the national initiative, was an ideal candidate for COL. "There are many things happening in summertime but they can seem kind of fragmented, disconnected," said Sprout Fund Executive Director Cathy Lewis Long. "It definitely takes a network approach to begin to gather and collect and lift up the incredible opportunities." The organizers capitalized on Pittsburgh's existing network of formal and informal institutions and educators to present a cohesive "campus." This year, the community is further integrated, with Pittsburgh Public Schools serving as a major COL partner. The schools' Summer Dreamers Academy is participating, awarding badges to students. "We're interested in creating a more connected environment between their formal school life and things they're doing outside of school," said Dustin Stiver, Sprout program officer. "So the Summer Dreamers opportunity was a great chance to sort of test the notion of badges in a school environment but also during the summer." Over the past year, Sprout convened a diverse group of educators to determine the core competencies important to the community, and to create badges and curricula to reflect them. "One of the things we learned from last year is it's important to provide educators with the proper support to implement this kind of initiative," Stiver said. "It was a starting point for educators to think about their badge design very critically." Badges are meant to acknowledge that learning happens throughout the summer—at libraries and museums, in parks—but might go unrecognized, Long said. Whether they have learned to laser-etch a light switch cover, tend to a lawn, or plan and budget a trip, kids now have a standardized means of demonstrating their accomplishments—to future employers, for example. The activities and partner organizations are all searchable on the new Pittsburgh COL website. "To borrow an analogy from [Sprout program associate] Tim Cook, it's like taking all the brochures and pamphlets off the coffee shop shelf and putting them all online where parents and students and others can find the things they're interested in," Stiver said. Head over to the site now, where participants can sign up, build a profile, and start navigating the City of Learning right away. Sarah Jackson | June 15, 2015 at 2:42 pm | Tags: badges, cities of learning, Out of School / Informal Learning, Pittsburgh, summer learning | Categories: Blog Post | URL: http://wp.me/p46hoI-6E0 Trouble clicking? Copy and paste this URL into your browser: http://remakelearning.org/blog/2015/06/15/in-summer-pittsburgh-becomes-a-citywide-campus-for-learning/

Missed you

Staff and Community Swim & Water Polo:

5-8 pm on Fridays at the indoor Thelma Lovette YMCA.

6-7:30 pm on Mondays and Wednesdays at Northside's Citiparks' Sue Murray Swim Pool, outdoors.*

6-7:30 pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays at Mt. Washington's Citiaprks' Ream Swim Pool, outdoors.*

* Citiparks pools are outdoors so practices are weather permitting. Feel free to get a yearly pool pass for the Citiparks fee of $30 per individual for adults. Kids get a better deal.

Tune! Or more like an anthem.

https://youtu.be/5Ug_vpIk1jc

Fwd: Pools and racism with Pittsburgh mention. Headline: Who gets to go to the pool?

Subject: Pools and racism with Pittsburgh mention

Good read. Thought of you. 

http://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/06/10/opinion/who-gets-to-go-to-the-pool.html?referrer=

Recruitment for Learn & Earn workers

If you love to swim, love to run, love to exercise. And, if you love to work with kids and play sports yourself.

Or, if you love TECHNOLOGY,

Then your job placement can be with Swim & Water Polo Camp with Pittsburgh Public Schools' Summer Dreamers.

You can send me an email or call any time: Mark@Bloomfield-Garfield.org

My cell: 412-298-3432. More at CLOH.org.

Seeking young men and women who want to swim every day this summer. We also run and exercise. We compete in the Liberty Mile on Friday evening, July 31. If you can't swim well, yet, we will work on that and improve this summer. We might be able to get you a lifeguard job by the end of summer (if you are old enough). Or, get you set up so you can be a guard in NEXT summer.

We are also going to play water polo. Both boys and girls too. We meet various times with sessions in mornings, afternoons and evenings. (some flexibility) We gather at PPS Langley, PPS Brashear, Citiparks Sheridan pool, Citiparks Sue Murray on Northside, Citiparks West Penn (Polish Hill), Citiparks Ream (Mt. Washington).

For technology, our efforts with DIGITAL BADGES is going to rock the city. We are getting 7-inch Android tablets to use with our camper kids and community. Our staff makes wiki pages, trades lesson plans with email, and does multi media coverng exercises, swim videos, yoga and more.

Our Tech Literacy fun is going to be HIGH -- and we'll be learning that on the job too.

The best and brightest, those that want to be successful engineers, doctors and writers – and those that want to go far in life – do so with a sports background. Learn about your environment by stretching your limits with athletics. Physiology, biomechanics, psychology and education lessons are woven into everything we do. Understand physics by mastering a dive and underwater streamline. Learn teamwork and cooperation by scoring a goal on a counter attack in water polo.

Get to deal with, on a moment to moment basis, with the two most precious assets of Pittsburgh – without a doubt. We are working with our children. And, we are working on ourselves. Our city kids need your leadership, your spirit, your attitude that dives in and provides safety yet confidence.

Our team is working to change the city for the better. Help us. These recreational and coaching opportunities are going to make drastic improvements long-term, thanks to the work we do in the weeks to come. We are the pathfinders. The pressure is on us. We teach how to play well with others – and prove it all summer.

If you are responsible, with vigor and zest, and know how to raise your voice at the right times to cheer on a mate, sign up. You can build your career with education, health sciences, sports, recreation, life-long fitness and technology with us. Or, become a leading professional in those other fields later, after getting personal strength with us in 2015. Swim & Water Polo has been a proving ground for working the next summer in the White House as an intern in Michelle Obama's office. Trust me: Our kids go places, and I will help you beyond this summer's camp.

Hope you want to play hard. Make contributions. Be treated fairly. And inspire the youngsters.

Prime Time, Noon to 4 pm, M-F with Summer Dreamers Swim & Water Polo!
PPS sites for Swim & Water Polo is at Brashear HS & Langley K-8 (plus Faison/Homewood in east). First day of classes is Monday, June 29. Last day is Wednesday, August 5. We supervise about 200 students, grades 2 to 7. We coach the kids from noon to 4 pm, Monday to Friday.

+ + +
Open invites, no cost, casual, swim lesson and rookie water polo play:

Fridays, 5 pm to 8 pm, Thelma Lovette YMCA, 2114 Centre Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15219 (412) 315-0990

(indoors, rain or shine)

Mondays & Wednesdays, 6 to 7:30 pm, Lower Northside's Citiparks Sue Murray Pool, 301 Cedar Avenue, Pgh. 15212. (412) 323-7914

(weather permitting)

Morning practices at West Penn (Mondays and Wednesdays), Sheridan (Tuesdays & Thursdays), Homewood (Tuesdays & Fridays).

(weather permitting)

Check out our 30+ DIGITAL BADGES at CLOH.org.

Thanks for the consideration:

Mark Rauterkus Mark@Rauterkus.com

PPS Summer Dreamers' Swim and Water Polo Camp Head Coach

Varsity Boys Swim Coach, Pittsburgh Obama Academy

Recent Head Water Polo Coach, Carnegie Mellon University Women's Club Team

Pittsburgh Combined Water Polo Team

http://CLOH.org

http://CLOH.wikia.com

http://www.Bloomfield-Garfield.org

412 298 3432 = cell

Article on Open Source and schools

School: Ubuntu & open source reduces PC troubleshooting

 https://linuxnewsdotcom.wordpress.com/2015/06/01/school-ubuntu-open-source-reduces-pc-troubleshooting/

Working on the Masters Level for the Digital Badges for Goals

With the Digital Badges for Goals, there are six levels, #1 to #5 and then the Masters level. Goal setting is an important skill and those that take on these challenges get to learn about themselves. 

Kay Atman, Ph.D., retired professor at the University of Pittsburgh's School of Education has helped construct these badges. She has plenty of experiences working with kids, to say the least.



If the link above is broken, sorry. The video was just uploaded and the file is being processed by the YouTube server.

Fwd: Final Reminder-Job Fair Thursday-90 employers--Employer Listing

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: <RFlanag@aol.com>

 

   Eastside Neighborhood Employment Center

5321 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15224 • (412) 362-8580

__________________________________________________

 

Job Fair-over 90 employers

 

Eastminister Presbyterian Church

250 N. Highland Avenue

(Across the street from East Liberty Home Depot)

Thursday, June 4th

2 PM to 6 PM

 

Sponsored by: City of Pittsburgh, Neighborhood Allies,  BNY Mellon, Eastside Neighborhood Employment Center and Bloomfield-Garfield Corporation.

List of Employers and Resources:

·         1-800-GOT-JUNK

·         AARP Foundation SCSEP

·         ACTION Housing, Inc.

·         ALDI

·         Allegheny Conference

·         Allegheny Co. Dept. of Human Resources

·         Allegheny Health Network

·         Allegheny Intermediate Unit

·         Allegheny Valley Bank

·         Allegiance Staffing

·         Alorica Co.

·         American Carpet South

·         Americare Staffing

·         Bidwell Training Center

·         Black Knight Security

·         Burgatory

·         C.L.A.S.S.

·         C.C.A.C. – Allegheny

·         Cement Mason's Local 526

·         CISP Program

·         Citizens Bank

·         City of Pittsburgh Commission on Human Resources

·         City of Pittsburgh D365

·         Clean Water Action

·         Commonwealth of PA Civil Services

·         Community Options, Inc.

·         Communteinfo.org

·         Coro Leadership – Public Allies

·         Dept. of Veteran Affairs/Vocational Services

·         Dollar Bank

·         Duquesne University

·         Enroll America

·         FedEx SmartPost

·         FifthThird Bank

·         First Commonwealth Bank

·         Forms & Surfaces

·         Full Service Network

·         Garfield Jubilee Association

·         Goodwill of Southwestern PA

·         Greater Pgh Food Bank

·         Green Mountain Energy

·         HCR Manorcare

·         Home Depot

·         Home Health Services (Thorne Group)

·         Housing Authority of Pgh

·         InVision Human Services

·         Iron City Workplace Services

·         Iron Workers Apprenticeship – Local #3

·         Kaplan Career Institute

·         LGC Associates

·         Life's Work of Western PA

·         Lots and Lots of Tots Childcare

·         ManPower

·         Mistick Construction

·         Neighborworks of Western PA

·         Omni William Penn Hotel

·         PA Army National Guard

·         PA Career Link

·         PA State Police

·         PA Office of Vocational Services

·         PA Women Work

·         PHEAA

·         Pgh Career Institute

·         Pgh Job Corps

·         Pgh Public Schools Human Resources

·         PNC

·         Port Authority of Allegheny County

·         Presbyterian Senior Care

·         Prudential Financials

·         RAS Logistics

·         Safe Link/Elite Marketing

·         Schenley Gardens

·         Sears

·         Securitas Security Services

·         Small Seeds Development

·         Star Transportation Group

·         Starbucks

·         Superior Home Care

·         Target

·         The Builders Guild of W. PA

·         The Village at Penwood

·         Tri-State Petroleum Corp.

·         Triangle Tech

·         Uber

·         US Air Force

·         University of Pgh.

·         UPMC Talent Acquisition

·         UPMC St. Margarets Family Center

·         Urban League of Greater Pgh

·         US Army

·         US Liner Co

·         Walmart

·         Wendy's

·         Western & Southern Life

·         W. PA Operating Engineer

 

 

ALL WELCOME!

Tech Google+ Hangout on Digital Badges

Soon.

Fwd: Check out this attachment!

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: John Hemington <jehemington@verizon.net>

I don't have any idea how many of you who receive my e-mail missives actually bother to read them, but in this instance I urge you to read the attachment; or, at least, watch the videos below.  It is a post in support of Bernie Sanders' campaign, but that is not why I think you should read it.  In fact I'm not even convinced that I could support Bernie; which, at the moment, leaves me with no one to support in the next presidential farce.  However, the posting is still worth reading and more importantly it contains links to two videos (found at the end of the post) and an additional link which follows from the second video link (also at the end).

Early this month I sent you an e-mail urging you to check out the Move to Amend organization in its efforts to overturn the Citizens United vs. FEC Supreme Court decision by developing sufficient support to pass a Constitutional amendment to that effect.  After some more investigation I began to question the methodology of the Move to Amend folks (but not their zeal and sincerity) as they were generally uninterested in any effort to communicate or cooperate with conservatives who might also share their goal.  My disagreement with them was tactical and not strategic – but I believe that the tactic of ignoring conservative support will prove to be fatal to this important effort.  I came to the conclusion that Public Citizen, which has the same goal, is better positioned to have impact on this issue; but I don't in any way dismiss the efforts of Move to Amend.

This evening, as a result of one of the videos in the attached posting, I have become aware of another organization the tactics of which I believe are much more likely to result in substantive change in the current political morass.  It is known as Represent.Us (www.Represent.Us)  I find it particularly interesting because its strategy is long-term, grass-roots based and focuses on building up from local action to state and finally to the national level.  As most of us understand, the level of corruption of the current political process at the national level is almost total and is not likely to be altered by a direct assault as the forces of corporate neoliberalism infused and backed by big money interests has gained effective control of all of the levers of political power in this nation.  As the group's Director, Josh Silver, says in the video link (see below and in the post) the ideas and policies enforced by BIG money interests does not represent the interests of the great majority of Americans, including a majority of conservatives.  And Represent.Us wants to galvanize American citizens (we are not just consumers as the neoliberal mantra would have us be) to establish anti-corruption laws first in the cities, then in the states and finally at the federal level.  As he states in the video this can all be accomplished without a constitutional amendment and has already succeeded in Tallahassee, Florida with active campaigns in numerous other cities around the nation.

I strongly urge you, if you do nothing else, to watch the videos and, if it intrigues you, check out Represent.Us to see what you think.  The video of Elizabeth Warren is really interesting.  It's obvious that someone, prior to the commencement of the video really set her off – a rare show of outrage with the status quo that wonderfully refreshing in the languid world of power politics in America.

Elizabeth Warren fired up!!!                            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VEGghXD0gLo

Corruption is Legal in America video:             https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tu32CCA_Ig

Represent.Us video:                                         https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXsf3ICgy50

Good night and Good luck!

John