Here is a blast from the past rant from January, 2004. Fixing the Parking Mess
The parking issue resurfaces as the mayor's phony 2005 budget makes substantial changes. Plus, the thinkers at the Allegeheny Institute have a new policy brief on the topic. See the comment.
Thursday, October 07, 2004
Glitch here, glitch there, everywhere a glitch, glitch...
October 7, 2004
Trib coverage 'Nobody ever intended for this to happen,' he said.
From Sept. 29, 2004
City Council and Act 47: "the city's oversight board itself is nearly broke after lawmakers forgot to fund it in the 2004-05 state budget. Board Chairman William Lieberman called the oversight a 'glitch' and said the state's budget department would issue the board its $585,000 in yearly funding by the end of this week.
The board is currently down to about $5,000 to pay its legal expenses, executive director and consultants, Lieberman said."
GOP debate party on Friday on North Side
GOPers are gathering for a DEBATE PARTY on the North Side at Finnigans Wake at 7:30 pm on Friday, October 8, 2004.
Finnigans Wake is at 20 General Robinson Street, near the corner of Federal and General Robinson Streets, one block from PNC Park.
At the last debate, the Dems gathered at Hi Tops. Don't know if that is happening again.
Finnigans Wake is at 20 General Robinson Street, near the corner of Federal and General Robinson Streets, one block from PNC Park.
At the last debate, the Dems gathered at Hi Tops. Don't know if that is happening again.
Freeze for E-Rate Hits Schools
10-6-04 - Education Week: "The FCC told USAC to change its procedures by Oct. 1 in response to E-rate audits and congressional charges of waste, fraud, and abuse.
Citizen charges of waste, fraud and abuse has been put to the City and Comcast in terms of its City Cable Francise Agreement. In that agreement, the senior centers and recreation centers were to be wired with cable modems. We are still waiting. Nothing has been done.
With the federal program, it is great to see accountability and audits. More oversight of public funds is welcomed. Being a tech junkie of sorts, I strongly support the concepts of the e-rate program and the public financed investements. However, the money can't be wasted.
On the long-term, it is silly to say that classroom instruction has suffered due to this audit. Local and state funding of schools should carry the bulk of the efforts while Federal dollars provides programs, such as the e-rate.
The Pittsburgh Two-Step (washingtonpost.com)
This is where we live. Mable, we love ya.
To read the article, but you'll need to register with the site. Hope to see you around so you can travel the steps as well.
South Side keeps churning - PittsburghLIVE.com
The Pittsburgh Two-Step (washingtonpost.com) Follow the Staircases to South Side Slopes
But as I pass back over the railroad tracks, I find sustenance at Mabel Meyers's tiny grocery on Bradish Street.
Clad in a University of Pittsburgh sweatshirt and black sneakers, 84-year-old Meyers welcomes strangers as well as locals (evidently dogs are regulars too; a pair gets a big hello as they drag their young owner through the door). After 1,400 steps, I'd pay almost anything for a soda. But Meyers won't hear of it. "Let me treat you!" she says.
We compromise. I offer her 50 cents and she gives me a soda, a plastic chair next to the candy counter and her autobiography.
After World War II, when she and her husband bought the 1889-era shop, business was good. Their grocery was next to the lower station of the Knoxville Incline, one of the cable car lines that carried passengers and even horse-drawn wagons uphill till 11 at night. (Two, the Monongahela and Duquesne, survive). Incline passengers would wave to her children as the car rose uphill.
"My son Herbie always says, 'We lived history,' " she says. The incline shut in 1960; Meyers started closing shop earlier and earlier, but still spends her days selling soft pretzels and snacks.
"Even if I don't make money, I talk to people," she says with satisfaction. "I've got a very good life here. Where else could you live that's so convenient?"
To read the article, but you'll need to register with the site. Hope to see you around so you can travel the steps as well.
Trib's Mike S
South Side keeps churning - PittsburghLIVE.com
Need a tux for Thursday night
Heather Whitestone, welcome to Pittsburgh
Former Miss America visits for gala to benefit DePaul school for the deaf. We'll be there, Oct. 7, 2004.
From Sept. 20, 2004
Tips on getting a tux for a black-tie gig are welcomed. The tux is for me. The retirement isn't mine. I'm already retired.
A friend says one should go to Florida and shop in second-hand stores to uncover bargains and goodies like this. Furs too, if that's your cup of tea. The yankees (sorry Sox) go to Florida to retire and die. Then lots of their things end up in re-sale shops. That advice won't help for this week's function.
One upside, other than a date with my sweetheart who gets invited to such occasions, is that our photo could show up in the PG's seen column. Snicker. Or, I could take our photo and post it here and replace that copyleft illustration of digital guy.
Wednesday, October 06, 2004
Grandstanding at the table and in the halls of Grant Street
Grandstanding rant.
I went to City Council and spoke for three minutes in the public comment period of today's meeting. My comments are posted in an opinion web page.
Enjoy. React as you see fit.
I went to City Council and spoke for three minutes in the public comment period of today's meeting. My comments are posted in an opinion web page.
Enjoy. React as you see fit.
Resign Already
Public statement Delivered to City Council
Resign Already by Mark Rauterkus
October 6, 2004
Opening:
My name is Mark Rauterkus. My family and I reside at 108 South 12th Street, Pittsburgh's South Side. My home on the internet is at Rauterkus.com.
Grandstanding has reached a new level in Pittsburgh's City Hall. Perhaps it is natural to see grandstanding skyrocket as the public treasury ticks to deeper depths.
Grandstanding at the table:
Grandstanding in the chamber:Grandstanding in the halls: I wonder if Citiparks obtained that pair of benefactor gifts, the ring-toss floaties, off of one of the boats that floated down river in the flood? The point:We are floating everywhere and anywhere. Things in this city are are going every which way, yet nothing is happening, other than placeholders with 35% realestate tax increases. Things are disjointed. People are disengaged. There are many disconnects. SolutionThe next thing that needs to happen is simple, yet this suggested solution takes courage. My advice is for the nine member of council to pick ten important people. Tom Flaherty, our city's controller should join in this exercise too. Then each democrat drafts an open letter to each person on their list. We'd have ten elected city democrats each sending ten letters. Ten by ten makes 100 influential statements. Each of those letters needs to make a case as to why the mayor is failing in his duty as the executive for this city. The Mayor needs to resign. Use the open letters to explain why. Tell all. Open your reasons and justifications for all to see. Admit in public how bad Pittsburgh's situation has become and why. Each in council can act with independence but the voters need to see resignation requests.Councilmembers know that Mayor Murphy can't move his agenda forward. The Mayor can't even come to meetings. His is not the executive leadership for Pittsburgh now. Mayor Murphy's departure begins to heal Pittsburgh's woes. Who among City Council is going to address resignation issues? When? Serious talk among fellow democrats takes courage as resignation demands might wash over others as well. Ain't going to happen!Doubts of a mayor resignation misses the present point. City council's gut-check and leadership is in asking for the resignation and making a measured and open illustratation. The request is key. This is the next Pittsburgh log-jam to unlock. The disheartening fact is that all the elected Democrats in Pittsburgh are not trying to nudge the Mayor into the private sector. Is council content with a phony budget for the third consecutive year? The sideshow of August 2003, orchestrated by the administration with 700+ pink slips, is about to be repeated. Help is going to come to those who try to help themselves. We can't begin to heal Pittsburgh with Tom Murphy in the mayor's office. The people elsewhere don't want to throw their good money and sincere efforts into a bad situation. We have to clean house. We have to light the stumbles of Tom Murphy. Erie, Johnstown, Harrisburg, and Allentown don't hear the obvious call. This call isn't "help." Others want to hear, "Heave Ho!" Others want to see the ripples from the splash. Give Pittsburgh a week, a day or two for each of your successive resignation revelations. Make this occur before the November budget address and December's bounced checks. After members of council each stand on one's own courage and conviction for the greater benefit of Pittsburgh on this pressing issue, duty can pass back others. We'll then see the support that the citizens are capable of providing. It might be that Mayor Murphy's parking spot on the corner of Grant Street becomes plugged: garbage truck, fire engine, police car, park-mower, graffiti removal truck, bikes, strollers on the weekends, kayaks and perhaps even public art advertising in the form of a dinosaur or pillory. Think againI'd hate to stay-the-course and persist with the it-ain't-going-to-happen attitude. "Think again." We have hope for a resignation because in two months, the city runs out of money. Just cause exists for resignations as Tom Murphy delivered his third consecutive budget that is goofy, phony, and absurd, at best. |
Tuesday, October 05, 2004
Is it not enough to just watch the debates, wear a button, post a sign?
Two points on national politics. As a candidate for Mayor, I'd love to have vice-presidential running mates. Hence, the name of the blog, even. The Mayor doesn't get a VP, sadly, -- until now.
A good VP would be a great watchdog and attack instigator. Meanwhile, the top of the ticket candidate could just ponder, preach and organize around the solutions and elements of democracy.
Next, it seems as if it isn't enough t just be a smart voter. There is too much to do. The burden is heavy. But, we need less to do the lifting for the personalities and more for the process, IMHO.
Fight the Spin -- Spread the Truth! --- so goes the call. (edited message)
A good VP would be a great watchdog and attack instigator. Meanwhile, the top of the ticket candidate could just ponder, preach and organize around the solutions and elements of democracy.
Next, it seems as if it isn't enough t just be a smart voter. There is too much to do. The burden is heavy. But, we need less to do the lifting for the personalities and more for the process, IMHO.
Fight the Spin -- Spread the Truth! --- so goes the call. (edited message)
The debate tonight presents a tremendous opportunity for the campaign to attract undecided voters, but people's perceptions are shaped as much by their conversations around the water cooler as by the debates themselves.
After last week's debate, the Kerry campaign spin machine managed to mask their candidate's flip-flops on the war in Iraq, imposition of a "global test" for protecting America, and repeated denigration of our troops and allies.
If we plan to win the election, we must fight back against their spin and make sure our friends and neighbors get the truth.
We need your help tonight!
www.GeorgeWBush.com/DebateFacts
Immediately after the debate, visit online polls, chat rooms, and discussion boards and make your voice heard. The major news networks will all have internet polls after the debate. Make sure you vote in polls.
P.S. If we plan to win the election, we must fight back against their spin and make sure our friends and neighbors get the truth after tonight's debate.
Un-Democratic Charm fits Dems and a mostly Dem organization
PG: Stevens' strong-arm tactics anger some NAACP members: "as chapter president he has the prerogative 'to do what he damn well pleased.'"
Another example that show that we need to practice democracy more frequently.
You don't have to look far in this town to find many abuses of the spirit of free elections. This is what I mean by "feudal Pittsburgh." A queen decides what pools to open and what pools to close. This prince, Tom Stevens, gets to sustain his role as he is annointed.
Perhaps the best challenge from the floor comes with a new friend, NOTA. Ask for "None Of The Above" be put onto the ballots at every election.
City Takes Firefighter Referendum To Appeals Court
ThePittsburghChannel.com - News: "city of Pittsburgh heads into state appeals court Tuesday afternoon, hoping to knock a fire safety referendum off the ballot for next month's election."
Tom Murphy is burning more money and more bridges to democracy today. Let's hire a few more lawyers. Put them on retainers. Count on their votes next year too.
Commuter taxation with some representation
PG Forum: "
Allow a modest, well defined commuter tax of limited rate in return for political representation and a requirement that the city commit itself to financial transparency:"
I have much more to say about the plan within this editorial. There should be more "representation" matters put within our city's structure. However, the options within this article are way off the mark. I've got better ones to consider.
Finally, I'm all in favor or a commitment to financial transparency. Being open matters greatly.
Magic wand
Trib: "Still doesn't get it: Pittsburgh, for all practical purposes, is insolvent. Yet, Mayor Tom Murphy's proposed 2005 budget includes spending increases of nearly $20 million. An analysis by the Allegheny Institute for Public Policy shows the 2005 budget will grow by 5 percent. The city continues to have 'a very serious spending problem,' the institute notes. And it adds that Hizzhoner and City Council apparently are 'hoping for a magic wand to painlessly solve the city's financial problems.' Earth to city leaders -- there isn't one. "
But magic wands exist
For starters, Mayor Murphy and his Administration has always leveraged the magic wand. He has been good at pulling the rabbit out of the hat. His one-time tricks are that of ledgend. Murphy sold the water authority. Murphy cash-advanced the RAD tax. He has done all sorts of tricks that work once and make us poorer forever.
The next trick Mayor Murphy is going to deploy comes to the vanishing of the ancient tax structure. Our tax structure changed in a radical way in the year 2000.
Sadly, Mayor Murphy gets to do his tricks and present the phony budget and he gets away with it. The media provides cover for Mayor Murphy.
Another wild-card up Murphy's sleeve is a 'free pass.' Mayor Murphy will be asking voters for a free pass in his re-election, in 2005. The mayor will plead his case and the media will eat it up. The TV stations will sell the Administration's Power Point presentations, promoting his neighborhood meetings. And, as the content in the presentations are false and half-truths -- none will be there to ask hard questions.
In the last go-around, Murphy took credit for big investments into the parks, yet glossed over the fact that he closed the swim pools and rec centers. Last summer was a year for "free passes" at the swimming pools, due to SOS efforts. The real question is about the expiration date.
Trib editors, the magic wand and its next trick isn't the sticking point we all crave to fix. We need a hook to yank Murphy off the stage. Then, we need to insert new ideas and new players. The city's financial problems can be fixed when we have serious alternatives put into the limelight.
Oct 15, 2004
Keep the 15th of October open for The Deek Champions of politics extravaganza at the Regent
Square Theatre. You can pick up your "Grope the Vote 04" button there.
Not since working with the PCTV 21 show, The Art of News, have I seen such solid attempts a humor with a purpose. Wonderful, fun, and funny. My kids called them, "the funny guys." For a taste, see the AON opening, trailer., QuickTime movie, 1.1 megs.
Monday, October 04, 2004
False Ads: There Oughtta Be A Law! Or -- Maybe Not
False Ads: There Oughtta Be A Law! Or -- Maybe Not. - FactCheck.org: "candidates have a legal right to lie to voters just about as much as they want."
The good fighter will be terrible in his onset, and prompt in his decision.
Energy may be likened to the bending of a crossbow; the decision, to the releasing of a trigger.A few friends asked me if I was running for Mayor, City of Pittsburgh. I expect to do so, but, I'm not really running yet. I don't have an open PAC (Political Action Committee) nor am I raising money as a candidate. However, if you'd like to talk about what is yet to unfold in Pittsburgh's landscape in 2005, let me know. We'll meet or chat on the phone.
From The Art of War
Outsource jobs to Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh Business Times: "If we use our local expertise in health care, law, accounting, engineering, advertising and other professional services to collectively search outside the region for businesses, we can create genuine growth opportunities. In reality, our region has real cost advantages that -- combined with our technical sophistication -- make Pittsburgh very attractive.
I'd agree that Pittsburgh rocks in terms of health care and engineering. The others present a stretch. They sure don't count as genunie growth opportunities.
In advertising, we might be a good consultant for branding blunders. In law, we might present genunine growth in how to bring suit and prohibit valid voter petitions from making it onto the ballot. The other professional services make cutting-edge statements, more often than not, into old-school ways and a legacy build with bricks of discrimination.
Pittsburgh has a corner on the market on many fields, but sadly these fields are the wrongheaded ones that others who know better don't care to emulate.
Our legal profession's reputation for expertise in intellectual property is nice, but the world is turning to open source software. The GPL (General Public License) and CC (Creative Commons) have their roots in Boston at Harvard/MIT and the Bay Area at Standford. That is where the action is going. CMU is in the game too, but this game isn't a downtown corporate strength.
How can we be a source for international business when you can't get there from here? Pittsburgh is know more for its lack of international residents.
Yet, the average hourly fee paid by a business for an associate lawyer in the Pittsburgh region is $169. Compare that to $231 on the West Coast, $232 in New York, $302 in Washington or even $194 nationwide and you begin to see the picture.
The logic presented in this article, from $169 to $194 nationally, is frail. For starters, much of law is local. What knucklehead in Kansas City is going to outsource a zoning issue to a firm in Pittsburgh to save a few bucks? Beyond the local scope of the law is the local networks that play so loudly in law's practice. And, cheap legal advice is a headscratcher. Don't cut corners on the patent application, representation to the FDA or finance deals.
... the professional services community continues to use a somewhat inefficient economic model in which individual firms market themselves separately -- and often end up as competitors for national business. Perhaps a better solution would be a collaborative approach in which professional services companies would market the region's advantages while making national calls. It's a novel approach, but it just might bring in more new business.
Sigh. Competition provides the real roots for efficient economic models. The article has it all wrong. Let's drive for more competitors and competition, not less.
Summary: We need a free market mindset to flourish again. We need to push each other and have brushes with greatness. We don't need a cooperative, easy, lame, boosterism approach where everyone goes to the same beat in lockstep. We had one airline, and we needed more competition. We have one political party, and we crave more options.
The examples are endless. We had dozens and dozens of glass companies. We had many mines. We had many operators on the rivers. We had lots of steel, iron and finishing outlets. We can move goods on many rail lines. Give us an authority and a monoploy and watch us die on the vine and lag some more.
College costs and loans
This weekend the new grad students at the Univ. of Pittsburgh who are seeking their Au.D. (professional doctorate) got their "white coats." Many friends and family came to town to celebrate. All were impressed on many different levels.
Pittsburgh Foundation scholarship opportuities are under utilized. Available funds have not been accessed as fully by Pittsburgh Public Schools' students as the foundation would like. Applications have gone directly to the schools' Guidance Office for several years without much success. I can probably count on one hand the number of applications we've received from a City school over the years, wrote Deborah Turner, Scholarship Coordinator, The Pittsburgh Foundation.
Bowyer points out the trend with finances today
College Tuition InsightsSince George W. Bush took office, student loan rates have plummeted from 8.19 percent to 3.37 percent, an amazing 59 percent drop."
Pittsburgh Foundation scholarship opportuities are under utilized. Available funds have not been accessed as fully by Pittsburgh Public Schools' students as the foundation would like. Applications have gone directly to the schools' Guidance Office for several years without much success. I can probably count on one hand the number of applications we've received from a City school over the years, wrote Deborah Turner, Scholarship Coordinator, The Pittsburgh Foundation.
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