Tim Murphy (R) and Mark Bolles (D)

I'm digging for more insights on the platforms for Pittsburgh area candidates for US Congress. We are a city that is half of what we used to be. Our state and federal reps throughout the region can either deal with the city in some way(s) or ignore the situations. What is your take on what needs and should be done with the city -- if anything?

Next -- I'm digging for info on what you think about public transportation? In specific ways, what about the plan to put two tunnels under the Allegheny River to extend the light rail (T) in the city to the lower north side to serve the stadiums?

A bulk of that money comes from the feds. But, the local match isn't there and isn't a priority -- so says Dan O (County Exec).

Thanks for your insights.

Trunips on my mind

Please share what you can about turnips. A new turnip theme is under-development and your input and ideas are welcomed. More news to come.

We love getting links to Rauterkus.blogspot.com, please.

Happy First Birthday to 3 Rivers Fitness

Three Rivers Fitness turns one year old on October 4, 2004. Great facility and great reuse of an older building.

Parkwest center to host Bayer spinoff = corporate welfare

Parkwest center to host Bayer spinoff - PittsburghLIVE.com: "Dennis Yablonsky, secretary of Pennsylvania's Department of Community and Economic Development, and Dan Onorato, Allegheny County chief executive, are expected to announce a package of public financing to solidify Lanxess' employment base in the region.

Big win for the region, if you love corporate welfare

Community and Economic Development Secretary Dennis Yablonsky and PRA
Board Member and Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato announced last week two separate projects that will enable Bayer Corp. to retain 1,750 employees statewide and LANXESS Corp. to create up to 435 jobs within three years. LANXESS is a new company formed when Bayer Group combined and spun off its chemical businesses and large segments of its polymer activities. LANXESS leadership also plans to relocate a portion of its staff in Akron, Ohio, to Pittsburgh.

Germany-based Bayer has operations in four commonwealth counties, including Allegheny, Washington, and Westmoreland. (The fourth is Lebanon County.) It plans to invest $100 million in its Pennsylvania facilities and keep its U.S. corporate headquarters in Allegheny County. Recognizing the importance Bayer plays in the region, DCED offered the company a $1.7 million financial package that includes a $1 million Opportunity Grant and $700,000 in job training assistance. Allegheny County has offered up to $200,000 in the form of a Community Development Block Grant.

The commonwealth also offered a $1.86 million financial package to LANXESS that includes an $872,000 Opportunity Grant, $554,000 in job training assistance, and $435, 000 in job creation tax credits. LANXESS, meanwhile, has pledged to invest approximately $10 million in Pennsylvania over the next three years.

Lanxess was courted by officials from both Ohio and South Carolina, therefore, the Pittsburgh Regional Alliance is pleased to have served the region in assisting with the LANXESS location as well as the Bayer decision. These developments show a new momentum gathering in southwestern Pennsylvania. We wish the leadership in both companies the best of success in their endeavors.

How can a start-up move jobs from Akron?

Gradual closings planned for future PPS actions

Trib: Gradual closings planned at PPS "The next round of city school closings will involve a gradual phasing out of schools or closing a smaller number of them to avoid the problems that occurred..."

This headline is huge. It is the one major point I made last year and in past years as well. You can't yank the citizens, families, students and staffs around. When that happens, people leave.

When South Vo Tech was scheduled for closing, I ranted at great lengths to close the facility over time. I wanted the school to shirnk by 50% per year for the next three years. Allow the kids that are in the school to graduate and not need to move to another school.

In a way, some of the rants from the past do come into the realm of being. There is little reason why this didn't happen last year.

Senate Debate: Saturday On WTAE Channel 4

WTAE TV hosts Senate Debate, Saturday at 11:30 pm

Debate participants are:
* Arlen Specter (Republican)
* Joe Hoeffel (Democrat)
* James Clymer (Constitution)
* Betsy Summers (Libertarian)

Finally, a full stage of participants that matches the ballot. Way to go PA Assn of Broadcasters.

Slate card to support firefighter's referendum

PG Dem Party leaders unanimously agreed to list the referendum on the slate cards issued at polling places, urging voters to approve it. Firefighters plan to work city polling sites Nov. 2 to distribute the cards.

Wonder what the GOP slate cards will contain. And, would the firefighters pass out GOP slate cards too?

Grays to DC

The Homestead Grays were in DC too? What's the next fantasy to shatter? Are we to learn that football's Steelers were once combined with Phili's Eagles and called the Steegles?

The Grays are tweeners, part this and part that. Everything in life isn't black and white. With the Grays back on the scene, we'll have another avenue to inject talk about racism, disparities and class wars.

DC's throw-back team name is fine. It could modernize, to flip-floppers, but baseball needs its stoggy legacy as it has little else.

As for mascots, a crew in Columbus and another in Pittsburgh is building a larger than life, Mr. Whaffle bobble head. The Columbus effort will travel on a truck on election day, is to be built with foam and sports big flip-flops below the head, in the style of Mr. Potato Head. Might make a nice DC-based mascot to race our pasta creatures at the ballpark.

Going against the flow now nets tickets

PG letters to the editor
Citations for going against the flow, oh no.

I remember my first parking ticket, in Texas, for parking against the flow. That was while in grad school in 1982. I was clueless that I had parked in an illegal manner. Get out!

I go against the flow in so many other instances in life, that I generally try to park my car properly.

As mayor, I'd be all in favor of of highlighting our Pittsburgh quirks and insure they are not punished.

Harvest & Holiday Boutique & Bake Sale

October 13-16, 2004 from Wednesday to Friday, 10:00 a.m.-9:00 p.m. and Saturday 10:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m. at Unitarian Universalist Church of the South Hills, 1240 Washington Road (Rt. 19), Mt. Lebanon.

Relaxed holiday shopping for unique gifts and home decorations. Plus home-cooked soups, breads, and desserts.

Get a head start on your holiday shopping at Sunnyhill's Harvest & Holiday Shop. Now in our 22nd year, we're pleased to offer a wonderful collection of handcrafted gift items, earrings, bracelets and necklaces; knit baby clothes, caps and scarves; ornaments and table decorations for Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas and Kwanzaa; hand-thrown pots, bowls and plates; wreathes and swags; and much, much more. And, as always, we'll have our tub of Primal Element soaps in various scents and designs.

Treat your family to home-cooked soups (many varieties), breads, desserts and more!

Bring a copy of the coupon and receive $1.00 off a Primal Elements soap of your choice. More at
Sunnyhill.

Smearing example

Some dude with the handle, "kumufa", email address NUKED by intent, wrote in part:

Do we want to get together and watch his sorry ass make some stupid suggestions about the health care crisis?

My reply:

Perhaps it would be good to show a little more respect. If anyone who was working in my campaign spoke that way in a public email about a US Congressman and "LOYAL OPPONENT" -- I'd censor if not fire him or her.

We've got a duty. It isn't about smearing. Poke holes in the programs and the outcomes, please. Knock em out of the park if you can, on merit and with measured distinctions.

Look to the comment area for his entire email. He is working for a Doctor candidate, Mark Boles, a Dem. I like seeing health care talk and candidates with medical experiences in various races. And, the target, Tim Murphy, is also with his own expert background, perceptions and came from the psych profession.

PSO and Wilkinsburg Music

Efforts with the Pittsburgh Symphony and Wilkinsburg's music program are great. Bravo!

My grandfather, Dr. Joseph A. Rauterkus, started Pittsburgh's Symphony Orchestra as a work project venture in the Great Depression. Grandpa also started the school of music at DU and spent many years with Central Catholic, the VA doing music therapy, and even directed the musicians union at 4th of July concerts at North Park, when I was a young lad.

Furthermore, my mom and dad both grew up in Wilkinsburg. Dad marched in the Tiger band (baritone) and mom was a co-leader of the majorettes.

Today's musical leaders should contact UPMC's Eye and Ear Institute and talk to my wife and get hearing protection for the instructors and participants. Especially with all the drumming activities now in place. All the Pgh Public School educators got exposed to some quality health care advice via the launch of this new program in 2002-03. Now that program is taking root and will spread to other school districts.

The price is right, due to some grant funds. And, those precious hair cells don't grow back after being damaged.

Pondering Code of Conduct for 2005 Mayor's Race

Your feedback, either in comments below or directly to Mark04@Rauterkus.com are welcomed.

In the next couple of days, I'm going to make an effort to advance a "code of conduct" that centers on Pittsburgh's 2005 Mayor's Race. This will include a call to others to contribute ideas and offer solutions.

In 2001, Mayor Murphy made one debate in the general election. It was held on Sunday night before the Tuesday election. That can't happen again. And, it can't be forgotten.

In 2002, Mayor Murphy made a TV commercial that used the Mayor's office as a backdrop to endorse Ed Rendell. That calculated error should have been pulled from the airways and NOT run -- but the neither the media outlets nor the endorser nor the candidate saw fit to do the right thing.

In 2004, the game is about 527 organizations.

Serious legal questions abound again relating to Ed
Rendell and 527 Organizations with the Pennsylvania Kerry/Edwards Campaign.

Republican State Committee Chairman Alan Novak this week called the coordination between Governor Rendell, the State Democratic Party and ultra-liberal 527 groups an egregious violation of Federal Election Commission Campaign Finance laws.

Governor Ed Rendell is running the grassroots operation and get-out-the-vote effort of the Democrat Party of Pennsylvania through 527 soft-money groups such as Americans Coming Together," stated Novak. "He has some serious questions to answer."

In a letter dated September 20, 2004, Governor Rendell solicits funds for America Coming Together's (ACT) grassroots operation in Pennsylvania and promises ACT will spend nearly $10 million in Pennsylvania to elect Democrats at all levels of government.

Under Federal Election Commission (FEC) guidelines, it is illegal for coordination to take place between a candidate, or agent of that candidate, and any so-called 527 organization.

Governor Rendell, as an agent of the Kerry/Edwards campaign, sent out a recent email paid for by Kerry/Edwards 2004 seeking support for their grassroots effort in Pennsylvania.

Despite the clear prohibition against coordination between 527 operations and campaigns, it is apparent Governor Rendell and the State Democrats have been coordinating and communicating with 527 organizations operating in Pennsylvania for months. As far back as April, Governor Rendell, in a conference call set up by the John Kerry campaign, said that several Washington, D.C.-based soft-money organizations formed by Democrats will spur widespread Democratic voter registration and turnout in Pennsylvania.

In a recent Fox News interview, when asked about his party‚s grassroots organization, Democrat State Committee Chair T.J. Rooney made clear the coordination between the state party, Kerry/Edwards 2004 and ACT.

"Since the onset of the presidential campaign in Pennsylvania, there has been obvious coordination between 527s and the Pennsylvania Kerry/Edwards grassroots campaign. In case anyone had a doubt, these recent revelations are proof-positive that ACT is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Kerry/Edwards Campaign and the Democrat Party of Pennsylvania. Governor Rendell knows the needs and plans of the Kerry/Edwards campaign in Pennsylvania, now he is blatantly helping 527‚s coordinate and fund it," said Chairman Novak.

121 Communications - Vote121 Toolbar

121 Communications - Vote121 Toolbar: "Vote121 is an innovative new browser toolbar that brings all the latest campaign news and opinion straight to your browser."

When I'm mayor, we'd have a Pittsburgh toolbar for web browsers. My main surf station is on an iMac.

Jeff Habay makes great case for NOTA

Shaler native, PA State Represenative, Republican, Jeff Habay is in trouble with nagging ethics issues and the state's top attorney is pushing for larger charges. I'm not sure Habay he is guilty or not, but let's look at the bigger picture, democracy.
http://www.post-gazette.com/breaking/20040617habayp3.asp

Video of Jeff: http://65.254.51.42/~player/media/politics-others/habay-go-gop.MPG

NOTA is short for None Of The Above.

Habay is up for re-election in November, His term, like that of all state reps, goes for two years. On the ballot, Habay is without an opponent. Habay runs on the GOP ticket but has enough friends on the Dem side to write in Habay in the primary election so as to gain ballot access for both of the old parties.

I don't know who is going to beat Jeff Habay. However, someone should start to build a buzz about a write-in campaign for NOTA.

The NOTA option is used in elections elsewhere. When NOTA beats the candidates on the ballot, another election is called with different candidates. I'd like to see NOTA become a regular tool within our election process.

Town Meeting: Louisville on uniting city-county government

PG pushes its agenda
There is much to stay about these issues and the spin from the PG in its series.
I've been to Louisville. I've even taken bus-loads of people there. Young people. When a deputy mayor visited Pittsburgh a year or so ago, I talked to him following the PUMP presentation and asked, "Would the city of Louisville tolerate the closing of its swim pools?" He could not even imagine the thought nor begin to fathom the fall-out from such miss-deeds.

The merger efforts began with measures on the ballot. That's democracy. Meanwhile, we have a mayor who fights to remove the opinions from the voters. Mayor Murphy does NOT want to enable ballot questions. Our present mayor takes petitions with thousands of signatures to court to get them removed from the ballot.

Our mayor and those of his administration can't begin to even scratch the realm of the possible in terms of an earnest conversation about cooperation, unity, mergers, and civility.

We need to strengthen our democracy and our will to self-govern. Then we can begin to talk about changing the system. We have authorities that rule without accountability. We have "his honor" -- like a king who is without term limits. He buys votes with public money to stay in office.

All talks of grand principles of reform need to begin after the voters remove the lame leadership that governs Pittsburgh.

As mayor, I'd insure we put a handful of voter referendums onto the ballot at every election.

The process in Louisville took a lead-up of four referendums. That is where the seed of the real progress resides.

Meanwhile, the PG sees a false hope in more high-stakes "branding" -- such as the branding the merger to "UNITY." The switch in semantics was emblematic of a sophisticated and well-funded political campaign that sold the idea of a city-county consolidation to skeptical voters.

Give us a break.

Perhaps the $1.5 million campaign treasury just purchased the vote. Or, perhaps on the fourth attempty they got it right. The whole slew of TV commercials would not have amounted to squat had they been pushing the wrong solution. They got it right with the nod to political reality. The suburban municipalities stayed intact.

Perhaps the other votes "failed" (wrong word) because they were not good enough. Perhaps this one passed because backers were rich enough. Or perhaps, the real factor was that this measure was good enough.

More wrongheaded conclusions are being pushed upon Pittsburgh in too many articles such as this.

Furthermore, in Pittsburgh we've got this legacy that not only supresses what the people want by those who are smart enough to think for everyone. But, when the votes are taken on questions, at the polls, the results don't stick. It didn't matter that the people voted to NOT BUILD new stadiums. A short time later the new castles money were built with taxpayer money -- in spite of the referendum's result that said NO.

Skeptical electorate talk pins Pittsburgh, like the tail on the donkey. The people are not foolish for being skeptical. The people of Pittsburgh are wise to the ways of the "wire-pullers."

Pittsburgh's "done-deal mentality" has run its course. This marathon has been cancelled. Mayor Murphy and cronies have fallen for the last time and can't get up. Lawrence, Mellon and others can roll over in their graves.

Pittsburgh's revival begins with its voters and a new mindset. Think again! Pittsburgh will heal itself, thank you, as soon as all the king's horses and all the king's men figure out that they can't put it together again. Their time is up. The oversight boards have taken the mess they've made off their hands. The next Pittsburgh wave is about the people, the kids, our families, our limited and cooperative government.

We can merge the city and county governments as they did in Louisville. But, we've got to run the old, grey, and worn out of the barn and into the private sector.

Maverick enters mayoral race

AP Wire | 09/30/2004

Murphy has been forced to repeatedly deny bankruptcy rumors as the Nov. 2 election approaches. A scathing report issued by a city-commissioned law firm in September portrayed a dysfunctional City Hall with a history of keeping damaging information from public view. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Justice Department are investigating the city's financial practices.

It could be, but the news above is NOT about Pittsburgh. Rather its from the seventh largest city in the US.

The new entry, playing a spoiler's role perhaps is a sporting, surfer type. She insisted that a write-in candidate could win. She must submit 200 signatures and pay $500 by Oct. 19 for her name to be appear on a list of write-in candidates posted at city polling places. 'The public knows how to write,' she said. 'I am convinced that the citizens are smart enough to figure out how to write 'Frye' on a little line and fill out a little oval.'

Such a shame that western PA's infrastructure is so frail that sensible write-in options are not within our grasps. I'm seeking to change our backwards election policies to enable the true citizens voice to sound with greater force. Furthermore, the two who stand to most to loose with the new arrival in the race, Murphy and Roberts, invited the newest participant to participate in a series of televised debates.

A San Diego environmental lawyer and lifelong surfer called Frye a 'matriarch' in surfing circles. She was activist for clean water and got involved after her husband, a surfer, was sickened by dirty water.

My wake-up call came with the distruction of Pitt Stadium and the building of the dwarf football fields at the UPMC's Sports Center on the South Side -- still without the long-ago promised community access.

Budget Tomfoolery

Allegheny Institutue - vol4no37.pdf a PDF file about how the city isn't cutting, isn't moving parks to contracts, isn't liquidating.

Eric's jeopardy rant

His opinion mentioned: PittsburghLIVE.com"...quixotic Mayor Tom Murphy"

Humm..... as a mayor's race participant I was called quixotic in 2000/2001.

So, does that now mean that the name "front-runner" will come my way next?