PIIN = Pittsburgh Interfaith Impact Network

PIIN is an interesting organization. I was greatly involved at PIIN's first public action as we put a demand forward from the Youth & Recreation task force.

Trib: .... Wheatley was not booed. That treatment was reserved for Mayor Tom Murphy after Nancy Fitzgerald, a PIIN executive committee member, told the crowd Murphy had not agreed to meet with the group and did not send a representative to the event. ....

Trib: Coalition wins pledges from officials

PG coverage Notice the smirk on Tim V's face as he watches the PAT Exec. Director.

In many ways I've got mixed feelings about the group and the meeting on Oct 17, 2004.

I feel very good about the efforts we put forth in PIIN's frst public action. The demand we made was a failure -- due of course -- as you might guess, to Mayor Murphy's fumbles. We wanted to put a bunch of computers into some of the rec centers in the city. But, the city didn't want that to occur. Mayor Murphy would move to close the rec centers some months later. We knew it was coming.

A big salute to Jack M and the others from Sunnyhill and the UU Churches in the area who helped with yesterday's PIIN meeting. The UUs are now, seemingly, not only the driving force to PIIN, (we've always been that), but a bigger bulk. I still think a Pgh UU Network, PUUN, would and could be a far more effective force for change in the region. Oh well.

Raising a racket over city spending

PittsburghLIVE.comHorgan might have been concerned that if word got out, this tennis fiasco might prompt even city residents who don't play the sport to raise a racket.

The tennis courts and bubble were paid for with an American Express card. And, there is a decent return on the investment. And, the bubble went up nearly 5 months late and snow and slush was on the bubble as there was snow and slush on the ground at the time. So, the new bubble needed to be washed, before its opening. And, this last summer, they didn't even take it down. To much work. In the summer it is way to hot to play in there. So, air-conditioning is hoped for in the future.

This all makes some sense -- but no sense for Citiparks. We should have a park district and we could spin Citiparks out of the City of Pittsburgh. Then managment and oversight of park things can occur with democracy and real leadership that does not have to worry about the ghosts of the city creeping into every move.

Tennis, without a tennis pro, happens here too. I don't just want the courts. I want coaching of the kids. I want an overall program. That is where the real benefits resdide. Parks are not just a bricks, mortar and bubble experience. I think that they should be much more.

Another article at a later date: More topspin on tennis facility - PittsburghLIVE.com

Spotlight on Jack Wagner

Observer-Reporter: "If elected auditor general, Democrat Jack Wagner says an analysis of the state's economic stimulus programs will be among his first projects.

Jack is a State Senator who should be able to champion a analysis of the state's economic stimulus programs. He didn't. He should have. He is waiting until he gets his next job. He is all "indie" but what does he have to say now about these spending plans.

Let me sum it up:Jack has said little or nothing.

Gov Ed Rendell is spending a lot of money. Jack's been doing too little and too late. Leaders do their best from the positions they hold. Leaders can aspire to other positions, but that is no excuse for a lack of action now.

I have asked for Jack Wagner's help on matters about Pittsburgh, as he is my state senator. But he is always too busy running for an office other than the one he is holding now. He ran for 'Lt. Gov.' He runs now for Auditor General. But he can't come to grips with being a State Senator so as to help the citizens now. Run. But run and chew gum at the same time. Do both.

I want it all. I want Jack to run for another office. And, I want Jack to do the heavy lifting for the office he is in now too.

Being a watchdog as in the role of being auditor general is hard work. Jack is going to have good perspectives as he's been around the state. But, his watching and barking and actions are in a slumber. His yard sign placement skills are sharp, no doubt. But so what.

Tell me, what does Jack Wagner say about Pittsburgh's conditions? What does he say about a merger of Citiparks and County Parks & Rec into a new Park District? Would Jack support the liquidation of the Park Authority -- or -- was he here when it was created?

Say mate, and "Momma Spell" -- get well soon

It's not fun once your wheels go. Note and fan mail in comments.

Tony Norman tells all his true colors

PG writer, Nader may be right, but the time is wrong ... would I be a Democratic stooge?

Not only does Tony paint himself as a stooge but also a liar. Ouch.

Another lesson: two wrongs still don't make a right.

Politics is complicated. Democracy is messy. However, voting is simple, and same too should be the process of getting onto the ballot.

email blast for 412-Public-Remarks

The 412-Public-Remarks 2004 Archive by date

My email contact list is at 8,270. I don't want to "pester" but do want to stay in touch. And, mostly, my announces are invites. The link above shows illustrates the other types of blasts I've sent in the past.

[412] Concert and Pan-Political Gathering -- Thurs, Oct 21, 7 pm in Mt. Lebo at our church

Hi Friends,

The greatest singer, songwriter, performer I have ever heard -- no joke --
is slated to play at our Voter Education event at 7 pm on Thursday, Oct. 21,
2004 at the UU Church of the South Hills, http://Sunnyhill.org.

You're invited. Please attend.

Our casual, friendly venue makes a splendid setting. You'll enjoy and
remember this night for years to come. Amy Carol Webb is a dear friend from
Florida. She's recorded seven or more CDs in recent years. I've begged her
to come to Pittsburgh and this is the night.

Her song about the hanging chads from the Florida vote for the last
presidential election is a hoot and a half. "Be careful punching ballots if
you can't find the hold..."

More at http://Rauterkus.blogspot.com

Voter registration has ended. Now it is time to gather and celebrate in a
diverse setting. Amy will make us all laugh as she can spread joy like few
others.

I can't say enough about her and the concert she'll provide. Get a baby
sitter. Do whatever it takes to be there. Save this time and be there for
yourself. She is a star.

Thursday, October 21, 2004 -- 7 pm sharp.
UU Church of the South Hills, 1240 Washington Road, Mt. Lebanon
http://Sunnyhill.Org

The price is right as well. Because it's a 'pan-political voter education
effort' there is NO GATE CHARGE. It's free to those who can behave as you
should at an inspiring concert.

My favorite of her original songs: "Think Again." You gotta hear it. It
makes so much sense, especially for the City of Pittsburgh.

As always, thanks for the consideration. And, of course, thanks for voting
and all that you do for our shared community.




Ta.

Mark Rauterkus xCoach at Rauterkus.com
http://Rauterkus.com http://Rauterkus.blogspot.com
412-298-3432 = cell

Free Linux Basics Tutorial October 16, 2004

[wplug-announce] Geeks, pizza, PCs, CMU setting

Hurry up and wait

PG Council rejects plans for commuter taxMembers choose to wait for support from Legislature

In some parts of city life and goverment we need to rush to do nothing. We should tell the world that this city isn't going to do any more bone-headed deals that give millions of dollars away to downtown department stores. The city has been hyper-active in terms of putting poison into the well of the marketplace. Heavy handed interventions in the market need to end -- quickly.

Case in point: We rushed to give the land control of the North Shore to the Steelers and Pirates. But, their time expired. And, we rushed to be Johnny on the Spot and give away another $4-million from the state to build an auditorium for the Rooneys.

But on the other hand, there are many places where we need to be hyper-active and work to help heal this city. We need to gather people about swim pools and rec centers. We need to explore options with public safety and citizens in honest, frank, open discussions.

We need to make sure we have a budget that makes sense, rather than being phony and filled with massive taxes that have no intentions of being enacted. This administration rushes to fake and push deceptions.

An honest discussion about the commuter tax should happen now. I'm glad that some are not okay in waiting around. The city's funds are going to go below zero in a few short weeks. Waiting isn't prudent.

Everyone should go and get version 1.1.3

Open Office has 4th Birthday, Oct 13, 2004

OpenOffice.org is the most important open-source project in the world. These words, spoken by founder of GNOME and Novell Ximian CTO, Miguel de Icaza, on the occasion of the first anniversary of OpenOffice.org, are more true now than ever before. Today, four years after Sun Microsystems released the source code of its popular StarOffice to the open-source community, OpenOffice.org is widely seen as the future of open-source development and the key to its future.

As an international and multilingual project, OpenOffice.org gives everyone the freedom to participate in, learn about, and contribute to the project. And as a product, OpenOffice.org runs natively on Windows, Linux or Solaris, as well as every other major platform, and is available in over 44 supported languages. Usable by all, it is the invaluable tool in the modern office.

Tens of millions use the application daily; millions visit the project website monthly; thousands contribute to the project. There have been at least 31 million downloads since the project began. That volume does not count the millions registered by Red Hat, SuSE, or Mandrake Linux, which include OpenOffice.org in their distributions.

In the last year, city governments, such as that of Munich, Germany, to name but one of many, and federal administration offices, such as the French Ministère de l'Economie, des Finances et de l'Industrie (MINEFI), chose OpenOffice.org for its technology, flexibility, and future, not
because it is free (gratis). Is the ministry happy with their decision? Representatives gave a keynote at the recent OOoCon, where they advocated OpenOffice.org and looked to a future with open-source software.

And what is that future? An application that bridges not just the closed- and open-source world but that also bridges the digital divide from Amsterdam to Zanzibar. An application that uses an internationally standardized file format and an open production process to give users perpetual right over their property.

The file format, an XML based implementation, is the open standard recently approved by the Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards (OASIS). By using the format, vendor lock in is impossible. People will choose OpenOffice.org or its commercial
derivations, such as StarOffice, on the basis of value, not because they have no choice.

That value is extensive, and it is set to grow. This spring, OpenOffice.org 2.0 will leap over every other office suite. For those users clamoring for an Access equivalent, it will have it. It will be more interoperable. And for those developers wanting more modularity and more responsiveness, 2.0 has that, too.

This coming year will be remarkable, and our door is open.

OpenOffice.org is both a open-source project and product. It is free. As one of the leading open-source projects, OpenOffice.org combines the worldwide efforts of developers and endusers to produce a complete office productivity suite that runs on all major platforms and in over 30 supported languages while being compatible with Microsoft Office. OpenOffice.org is sponsored by Sun Microsystems, Inc., and hosted by CollabNet.

Dismal Democrats

PG Letter to editor Wake up, Cleveland and, for that matter, Pittsburgh too. This political philosophy has seen its day. If you don't take this opportunity to change, by supporting a Republican administration, then you are destined to more poverty while the rest of the country prospers.

The gentleman from Moon, Benjamin Bonham, is on the mark that we can't have one-party domination.

To maintain fire safety in the city, vote YES on this referendum

Letters to the editor, 10/13/04

Letter in the comments....

Editorial: City tale / Romance novels, photo frames and other frivolities

PG Editorial A man with a broom swept up the mess and presented Mr. Ricciardi with the bill. 'Don't give it to me,' the councilman said. 'Send it to the taxpayer.

Hilton El Conquistador

Tucson AZ One of the top resorts in Tucson, Arizona, the Hilton Tucson El Conquistador Golf & Tennis Resort is set at the base of the Santa Catalina Mountain range in Northwest Tucson, AZ.

I'm staying home this weekend.

Boycott Sinclair Broadcast Group

Boycott Sinclair Broadcast GroupThe Sinclair Broadcast Group (Nasdaq: SBGI) will interrupt its normal schedule days before the election to air an anti-Kerry propaganda film. Truly the only way to make ourselves heard is by hitting SBG where it hurts -- in the pocketbook. The means to accomplish this is through staged letter writing to both SBG and their advertisers.

No brainer -- of course -- and count on it with me

Mark A. Nordenberg, chancellor of the University of Pittsburgh, and Jared L. Cohon, president of Carnegie Mellon University, rant about effective partnerships.

Perspectives: Partnering for Pittsburgh: "One key to this continuing success story is our shared institutional commitment to forging effective partnerships. Neither of our universities, as strong as they are, could have attracted support for these national centers alone. But as each of these examples so clearly demonstrates, when we join forces, we can compete with anyone.

This kind of cooperation is essentially unique in the world of higher education. Unfortunately, it also is all too rare in southwestern Pennsylvania. However, if this region is going to advance, we must increasingly view our neighbors as potential collaborators and not as competitors. If we can overcome a long tradition of fragmentation and begin to work more effectively with each other, there is no reason that we cannot move this great region forward together.

All the king's men and all the king's horses can't put Pittsburgh back together again. This revival is going to take open teamwork and effective partnerships. We've got to play well with each other. We don't now -- because -- the mayor is in the way. Nor can we play well among all of our friends and neighbors when all of the leadership is of the same party.

One day, soon I hope, the leaders at Pitt and CMU are going to wake up to the fact that they have a serious role in the stewardship of our democracy. The governmental outreach at these institutions have been old-school. So, to take the conversation out of the elementary grades and move it to middle-school or high-school discussions, we need academic leaders to advance themselves and the overall discussions.

We've got some of the greatest minds around the world. But they are specialized and clueless, by in large, in terms of civics 101 in Pittsburgh in 2004. Pitt's School of Public Health is a cancer to local democracy.

The faculty senate at Pitt would not approve of the plan to put a merry-go-round between the two libraries, removing parking, and spending millions. The folly that happens here does so behind some serious smoke agents, such as the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy. There is little or no partnership for execllence in these neighborhood ways. Many strive to cloak the truth and short-change accountability.

On a department by department basis, those at the universities need to wake up, for the sake of the city.

But, on the upside, that potential is there and waiting and willing. Once we make Grant Street in tune with the rest of the city institutions, we'll be able to soar. That's, to use George W. Bush's words, "hard work." We'll have to come in on Saturdays. Hard, difficult, talking with professors, it's confusing, hearing big words, headaches and a challenge.

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Shut down: Idle minds and idling buses

The Allegheny County Health Department announced enactment of a new air quality regulations to reduce emissions from school bus idling. Buses can't unnecessarily idle longer than five minutes, with some exemptions.

Idling is okay when the temperature is less than 40 degrees, above 75 degrees, and to operate a lift or other equipment designed to ensure the safe loading or unloading.

Report suspected school bus idling violations at 412-687-2243.

On Thursday, Oct. 14 at 9:30 am (301 39th St., Building # 7, Pittsburgh 15201) ACHD will present new, proposed anti-idling regulations for diesel powered motor vehicles and diesel powered locomotives at its Regulation Subcommittee meeting. Your attendance and input at this or future subcommittee meetings could have significant impact on how anti-idling regulations in Allegheny County look. To learn more or become involved in anti-idling efforts, contact GASP.

Planners sack North Side parking plan

PG coverage "During yesterday's meeting, City Councilman Jim Motznik detailed his proposal to allow advertising on fences at city-owned ballfields to help raise money for the cash-strapped city. The Riverlife Task Force spoke in opposition, saying parks would become venues for advertising."

Once again, I'm feeling like a dead-skunk in the middle of the road. Motznik's plan for ads at baseball fields is lame. I call it a turnip. However, to have the Riverlife Task Force show up to be against the plan is even worse.

The Riverlife Task Force, started by Tom Murphy, is a booster group for Tom Murphy. The group has gone way out of bounds on matters that it should not concern itself with. Meanwhile, the Riverlife Task Force has fumbled on matters where it should be most focused upon.

The Riverlife Task Force is bad news and unjust. That group needs to be put in its place.

In recent months the Riverlife Task Force came to speak strongly about the Route 28 plans. That's highways, hillsides and not riverlife.

Former Alcoa boss, Paul O'N., was a co-head of the Riverlife Task Force. When he was with the group, the group was in the back pocket of certain interests as well.

The other big deal leader from Riverlife, John Craig, former boss of the PG. I don't expect the PG readers to ever seen a story about the Park's Position Paper, released in May, 2004. Craig and I email one another after the paper's release and I urged him to read the position paper and assign it or editorialize about it himself. And, advertising in the parks is part of the plan. We had better not hold our breath.

Proud Dads

A fellow stay-at-home dad, Hogan Hilling, visited Pittsburgh a while ago. He spoke at a national convention held at the Hilton. Hogan is from San Diego and wrote a great little giftbook as well.

part 1 - 31 megs

part 2 - 29 megs

I've never relased these audio files as there has been a pinch for web server disk space. I'm with a little elbow room now, so enjoy. However, this isn't going to last. I'm looking for some audio data warehouse that would accept these audio files for long-term storage. Pointers and ideas welcome. in past years I might have used Mark Cuban's Audio Net, but that sorta dates me.