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Transportation

eVote

Sunnyhill

This is my main blog, but there are others, listed above and along the blog roll to the left side.

A weakness of Blogspot and Blogger (same company) is the lack of a feature that tags each article with different topic areas. When you have a lot going on, it doesn't all fit into one blog.

I think that the eVote effort could explode with election day. We knew this wasn't going to be resolved. The fix was in and it wasn't what we wanted to see. Marilyn Davis, Ph.D., a net friend and from Northern California was there at ground zero. She saw the people from the US Senator's office. See could see what was what.

I won't tell you what you are missing if you don't go there too -- just do it.

Mom's rally and Saturday's walk in the park

I've done a good job at staying OUT of the national race. For myself, I've been putting a focus on local issues and staying neutral otherwise. However, my oldest boy is gung-ho for Kerry. Perhaps I'll satisfy his political fix by taking him to this event this week end.

MOMS FOR KERRY RALLY THIS SATURDAY

Mothers across the country will gather in a demonstration of unity and support for John Kerry and our children. Special guest: Geraldine Ferraro. It is slated for Saturday, Oct. 30, 2004, at 3:00 pm at Frick Park, Braddock & Forbes.

By the way, Erik's mom, my wife, is in DC working and will be home late Saturday. Perhaps my wife has more in common with Geraldine. I might connect better with the moms and kids.

I do like the park setting too. I bet not many of the moms or dads there will be aware that the Citiparks budget for 2006 is slated to be $0.

Come to think of it, if we have great weather, perhaps we could go early and set up some badminton. We could "ruffle feathers" and collect email contacts.

Liquidation Signals Lord & Taylor's Final Days

ThePittsburghChannel.com - News: "PITTSBURGH -- Four years ago, hopes were high when Lord & Taylor announced it was moving into the old Mellon Bank building on Smithfield Street.

Today, the shelves are being cleared and a liquidation sale has begun at the latest major department store to leave Downtown and take taxpayer dollars with it.

Indeed, the times have changed in terms of hopes and perceptions being put forward by the media. The mayor was on a high in 2000 and 2001, in some circles. The new stores, the big roof at the convention center, and all the other corporate welfare deals. The city was flush with building jobs too, earning support from the construction trade unions too. Jobs were being filled by out of state workers.

But to the ones who were watching with more attention to detail and better senses of forcasting, things were not so good. Some knew that these projects were going to flounder and fail.

The African-American Workers Union picked for the first weeks of construction at PNC Park. PNC Park would open just weeks before the 2001 primary.

Heinz Field was to be home to the Pitt Panthers, but the lease to use the pro stadium was not signed until after Pitt's home stadium was demolished. Some knew it wasn't smart to take college football off of the campus every day of the year. Pitt would turn into a J.V. program to the Steelers. Heinz Field's first season was the same fall season of Mayor Murphy's re-election.

The Convention Center would open too, but someone forgot to build the darn hotel. So, we've got an expensive white elephant that can't ever be put to use at capacity as we can't accomidate the convention goers. Then came the pass-throughs.

Shop to you drop has new meaning in downtown these days. Four years ago, the media got drunk on the Mayor's costly bricks and mortar efforts. But for those of us who cared to stay involved, we knew big-time trouble was at our doorstep.

City's credit rating dips below a rock, at bottom of river

PG: S&P rates city's credit as 'watch' While supporting the nonbinding plan, Councilman Sala Udin still voiced worry about it, saying defaulting on the pension payment could have 'very serious consequences.

Duhh!

The curse of one party rule is next

Boston had its woes vanquished with the 2004 World Series. Poof.
Thanks to Dave's dad. See his blog post from Oct. 27.
Pittsburgh has its woes too, from nearly the same era. Our problem is one-party rule. The trend is starting. Pittsburgh, too, can vanquish its prime hang-up.
Who else among us are here to make history, and not be a slave of it.
Artwork above occurs on a t-shirt, for sale with the link that follows.

As the Sun, Earth and Moon align

City Council Overrides Mayor's Tax Discount Veto

ThePittsburghChannel.com - News - City Council Overrides Mayor's Tax Discount Veto October 27, 2004 -- Pittsburgh City Council voted to override Mayor Tom Murphy's veto of a plan to offer an additional one percent discount to those who pay property taxes during the first week of January...
Council President Gene Ricciardi's early tax payment plan is designed to increase the city's income in the first part of the year, which would reduce the amount of money the city would need to borrow to pay bills.

Craig Kwiecinski, the mayor's spokesman, isn't saying if Murphy will implement Ricciardi's plan.

Ricciardi and Councilman William Peduto said they're willing to withdraw the discount plan if Murphy offers better strategies for funding the city budget next year.

Flip-flopping at City Council had another highlight. First, the early bird plan gets passed. (Votes were 8-1.) Second, the mayor gives the plan a veto. Third, the veto is overcome (6-3). But, the mayor says he won't actually do the plan. Or, I should point out, the mayor says he won't follow the law.

City council sets the laws. City council is the legislative branch. Meanwhile, the mayor is the administrator and he chooses to NOT follow the law.

Furthermore, City Council President won't insist that the Mayor follow the plan. The early-bird plan won the hour, came into being, but it won't happen. It's official. But, it's to be ignored.

The plan's prime sponsor, City Council President, Gene Ricciardi, won't hold the mayor's feet to the fire on this. Rather, Gene said he won't be an obstructionalist and press for its enactment.

There is some question if this new bit of legislation is something that would be trumphed by the oversight bodies, such as the Act 47 Coordinators. However, much can be said that a discount period is not really another form of lowering taxes.

So, the Mayor gets off the hook as none are going to hold his feet to the fire. And, should there be a real plan from the administration, those that passed the law would issue a flip-flop.

Impacts on home owners

City home owners are still facing a real threat of a 34% increase in property taxes. Even if the budget gets a final hour switch (another flip flop) the expected tax increase on property is set for 5%. Other taxes are going up too, of course.
If you have your mortgage with a holding company, by law, so I understand, the company needs to take advantage of any discounts. Taxes are often a portion of the payments home-owners to be make as part of their home payment, interest, and such. If the bank holds the note to the house, and if the bank pays the taxes as well, the banks are forced to take advantage of the savings for the extra discounts.

Blame game

From time to time, I think it is fine to fix blame on certain problems and people. As an outsider, I should play the blame game more often and with greater intensity.

See the comments to find out who is being blamed for the national debt.

Elizabeth, come on home now, please

A 16 year old Carrick High School Student she is missing. This is Veronica Norman's (active parent at the South PERC) niece. A police report was filed last evening. Elizabeth is known to frequent the Allentown, Mt. Oliver, South Side Slopes, Arlington, and Carrick area's of Pittsburgh.

If you see her please contact the police immediately or Veronica Norman at 412-488-1423.

The full name of the kid isn't on the blog, and her last name it isn't the same as above. Let me know when this is resolved and I'll take down the posting.

Look Up

Today's blog has mentions to look ahead, as in the political future, but also to look within (see the prostate cancer detection post) and to look up.

Clouds might obscure tonight's lunar eclipse. The moon will be covered entirely by the Earth's shadow. It starts at 8:05 p.m. Eastern Daylight Saving Time, Wednesday, through 2:03 a.m. Thursday morning. The total portion of the eclipse will be from 10:23 to 11:45 p.m.
Some predict that the moon will look like a glowing pumpkin during the event, just days before Halloween.

Glenn's news release

The eclipse of the moon will be enjoyed by most of the people in the Western Hemisphere. Wonder what its ratings will be? Wonder if TV executives are ever asked to flash a ticker on the bottom of the TV sets -- go look outside as you'll see an eclipse of the moon -- right now. Do it. Get off your lazy bottom and walk outside and look up.

Now I just need to stop blogging at those times.

Big St. Louis fans....

St. Louis and Pittsburgh have a few things in common. Both are with rivers, are gateway cities, and top Medical Centers with universities. My wife is at UPMC and a friend is in St. Louis. He is suffering the wrath of the Bo-Sox 3 game lead in the World Series, but also has shared some insights into his health and makes some strong, first-person suggestions on having more aggressive wellness.

See the comments of this post for Hints on Diagnosing Prostate Cancer, by Michael Valente. He is glad it might help someone else. He also writes to say he looks forward to seeing the end of my misery with my beloved Cardinals!

What's preventable and what's inevitable -- humm. Life, science and shifting borders.

A step toward a commuter tax, a step toward victory

PG coverage: A step toward a commuter tax City Council voted yesterday to lay the groundwork for a commuter wage tax.

The victory, in this headline, is NOT with the pending arrival of the commuter tax. I feel that the commuter tax is wrong. It isn't prudent. There are many other ways to solve these problems and the commuter tax is not anything near an ideal solution.

The victory goes to the fact that every Pittsburgher, except those in Bethel Park and Penn Hills, (see below), now has some skin in this fight.

In the past, it has always been the conventional thinking that those in the city are on their own. Those in the suburban areas are on their own. An iron-curtin has kept the city and the suburban folks away from each other.

The people in the burbs have had a "hands-off attitude" about the political life in the city. This is about to end now that the city's hands are reaching into their wallets.

A few people on city council want to tax the suburban workers. They want a bail out, and the tab for the bail out, in their opinion, should be the responsibility of those who live beyond the reaches of the city's borders.

Wake up suburban Pittsburgh. What happens in the city, its folly and all, is now your business.

If you live in Penn Hills or B.P., have no fear. You're not going to pay the city anything. The taxes in those suburban locations are already at the limit.

If you live elsewhere, your taxes are about to shift. The income tax is going to go up in your neck of the woods so that the money doesn't flow into the city. You might expect a slight dip in the property tax to offset the new funds from the other source.

Meanwhile, the city is going to be a grand looser in one instance, and a grand victor in another. In time, say two or three years, the suburban municipal governments are going to do the tax shifting and the city is going to be left without any viable revenue stream from the commuter tax. It will be worthless.

On the upside, the city is going to win big as the suburban folks have grounds to entertain, study, donate, politic and energize the political landscape in the city.

For example, four years ago I was on the agenda as an invited speaker to a candidate's night in a suburban location. I understood clearly that none of the people in the audience would get to vote for me. However, I wanted to go and speak to that audience. Even three minutes would be worth the trip and the evening I told the organizers. At first, they said fine. Then they called and took me off of the agenda a day before the meeting. "We don't talk about city politics here," I was told.
Guess what. I'm back. And, now you will.

If you are associated with any suburban political group, of any party, I'm willing, able and eager to get invites to come to speak to your groups. The city needs you to care and be aware. And, the city is about to start taking your money.

City snubs retail suitors

Great lead.

Trib's Erik Heyl: Nature abhors a vacuum, but city officials are embracing one ...

Meanwhile, my goals are to embrace the "free markets." I'm a "free market" candidate.

To be really honest, we don't need to embrace the free markets, as that will take years if not a generation to occur. However, we need to turn to the free market approach and apply it everywhere. Its embrace of Pittsburgh will come soon enough, after we've changed the mindset and made bold moves in those directions.

This embrace is much like being married. One can't be a little married. It would be great to at least flirt with the Free Market Ways from time to time. Meanwhile, Murphy is married to doing nothing.

Murphy says developers put off by ban on slots Downtown

Murphy oversteps again and injects burdens on property ownership to soil deals for downtown "Samuel Jemal, president of J.J. Operating Corp., said, 'We had a different philosophical approach on the future use of the building and did not wish to dispute it with the city.'"

The anchor of Tom Murphy and his administration is getting heavier.

Mayor Vetoes Early-Bird Discount To Taxpayers

WPXI.com - News - Mayor Vetoes Early-Bird Discount To Taxpayers Mayor Tom Murphy has vetoed a plan to offer an early-bird discount to taxpayers next year.

Hurry up and wait. Do nothing. Let's chase our tails. We are only running out of money next month. Here we go again, doing too little, too late.

If the early bird gets the worm, then that explains the Tom Murphy veto. The mayor is in vulture mode. The city is still crashing into a deeper decay.

Trib quote for Ricciardi:"'If we implement my plan, we will be on the road to picking ourselves up by the bootstraps.' "

Hardly. This early bird is but a worm of a plan. This isn't even a caterpillar.

The early-bird tax discount for an extra 1% discount is worthy. However, it is more like a cup of warm tea on a cold winter day while at the hospice. To sooth is sweet. But to say this plan and overrive of the veto puts us on the road to recovery is foolishness.

Simply put, the plan keep us on the road of malingering. The city is floundering and bumbling. We all know that the Mayor's agenda can't be advanced. Now is another test to see if the agenda of City Council President can be advanced. And if it does squeek by, this isn't a cause for celebration. It is a worm of a plan.

Coming Post-Election Chaos

FindLaw's Writ - Dean The Coming Post-Election Chaos:A Storm Warning of Things to Come If the Vote Is as Close as Expected By JOHN W. DEAN

This next presidential election, on November 2, may be followed by post-election chaos unlike any we've ever known....

Not Howard Dean.

Amy Carol Webb, our dear friend and singer from Florida, also predicts that the election won't end on November 3.

The Storm Warning concept is fitting. In 2000 I called for international observers to our elections. Roll eyes. Shrug. This was posted before we came to understand "hanging chads."

Another friend said it could be Thanksgiving or Christmas Eve before we know the real outcome of the election. Provisional ballots are bad. Furthermore, voter fraud might be such that the court system could set back for months trying to bring trials against those who vote while dead or vote more than once.

The RUNNEL -- chunnel -- Pgh big dig -- and cranks

I've been speaking for months and months about the sillyness of the under river tunnels for a light-rail extension to the stadiums on the North Side. The idea needs to be taken off the tracks and stopped. Some editorial folks at the Trib, especially Bill S., agrees. Link.

... railed on about how pitifully few people the 1.2 mile boondoggle would carry. How badly its construction would tear up both banks of the river. How the idea would never even be considered if it weren't for that "free" 80 percent federal contribution.

And how, except for a few cranks and free-market ideologues at the Trib, everyone was so gung-ho to build it - including Specter and his allegedly conservative comrade, Rick Santorum.

Great news, except the part about the "few cranks." I could resemble that remark. And, what good does it do?

The cranks, the "naysayers," -- we citizens -- are the ones who know best.

Why would he do this?

To me, the Trib and this friend of the "free market" is p*ssing in his own breakfast cereal.

Comments about the treatment are welcomed here. Comments about the meat of the transportation elements should flow into the transportation blog.

Talented Women

Mark Rauterkus, (Union Maiden) Anne Feeney, and Amy Carol Webb at our South Side home.

On the radio for an hour.

Amy Carol Webb and the gentleman from Oklahoma, Chris Moore, while in KDKA radio studios.

KDKA Radio, 5 to 6 pm on Sunday

Amy Carol Webb and I are slated for the Chris Moore radio show for 5 pm this Sunday. Please tune in. I won't do any singing.