County posting new property values on Web site -- Another VICTORY

County posting new property values on Web site Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato said the new market values for reassessed properties would be posted on the county's Web site after 5 p.m. today.

Dan listened. When this story broke, I wrote and even called Dan on this very issue. Then I caught him on a talk show last week. It was one week ago. Then he said that the numbers were being worked on, but hinted at it being much longer into the future until they'd be released.

Thanks Dan.

Let's read em and weap.

We need an open government approach.

Until now we were talking about a set of numbers that were unknown.

I'm going to give credit where it is due. And, I'm going to say I had a hand in pushing for the release of these numbers so soon.

Next, let's get down to brass tacks. Let's begin to renew a topic that I had raised before -- assessment buffering. I feel that a one-third assessment buffering plan would be a much better solution.

To implement assessement buffering, I'm going to to need to be elected to the PA Senate.

Simple reading of county charter reveals the details.

Wayne Fontana is in violation of this part of the
county charter (in PDF).

A County Council Member, (such as Wayne Fontana, the vice-chair no less,) shall not be a candidate for nomination or election to any elected political office other than that of County Council without having first resigned from County Council.

We are working hard on County Row Office Reform. What about the reform that is taking place now due to the rule-breaking of the charter. We need reform. But we need to not break the existing structures that are in place.

Sometimes we don't need reform.Rather we need to replace these people. We need respect. And when things don't go as they should, we need to react.

Smoke Free City

I would love to see cigarette smoking go out of style.

I recently discovered a local group, Smoke Free City, that seeks to make this happen. I especially like that they provide information about where you can go to get a meal or a drink without being choked by cigarette smoke.

Their legislative agenda is primarily focused on overturning the state's (PA's) pre-emption laws that prevent local governments from regulating smoking in their own way. I get goose-bumps every time some social reformer wants to change society by legislative fiat, but at the moment their agenda is pretty reasonable.

News Release: Candidates and County Council do NOT mix, as per the county charter.

From: Mark Rauterkus, Mark@Rauterkus.com, 412 298 3432
Candidate for PA Senate (42nd district),

Elect.Rauterkus.com
108 South 12th Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15203

Date: March 3, 2005

Mark Rauterkus, a Libertarian candidate for Pennsylvania Senate, has called for the immediate resignation of an opponent, Wayne Fontana, Democrat, a member on the Allegheny County Council. Days ago, Rauterkus willingly congratulated Fontana for his weekend victory in the Democratic party nomination. Fontana joins Rauterkus and Michael Diven, R, on the ballot in the special election slated for May 17, 2005. However, the message has changed to outrage in recent days as an expected resignation from County Council has not transpired from Fontana despite the explicit mentions within the County Charter.

"Wayne Fontana needs to resign his seat on county council immediately, said Rauterkus."

Allegheny County's Charter states clearly that members of the County Council must resign as soon as they become a candidate for another office.

Rauterkus is networking with phone calls, emails and his blog mentions that request the resignation quickly for a number of reasons for the good of Allegheny County residents.

-- Tell the power-hungry official, Wayne Fontana, that his time on council is finished. Tell him and others in his party that the resignation is expected now.

-- Remind the media of this governmental issue and help to insist that want-a-be State Senators should have a keen respect for the law.

-- Tell others who reside in that county council district that good citizen candidates are needed for the special election to fill Fontana's seat.

The special election process can begin as soon as Fontana resigns. The longer Fontana squats on the power and holds onto the seat, then a rightful replacement might be delayed. Rather than getting a newly elected member of County Council in May, 2005, a hand-picked replacement might sit until January, 2006.

This provision of the charter is disliked by many on County Council. Council members tried to change it twice in the past. At the ballot box, a majority Allegheny County voters made known their desire to uphold this rule, and for good reason.

Everyone knows that Fontana has been campaigning for this Senate seat for months. He can't do his important job on County Council, such as handling the assessment mess, while he is occupied with other tasks. Furthermore, the process of being out in the community among the issues with the other candidates gets discounted too while Fontana sits on council.

Rauterkus said, "Fontana is in no-man's land -- between a future campaign and place in history. I expected him to push the ethical limits and resign Monday, March 1. I was shocked that he resumed his role on council at Tuesday's meeting, March 2. Every minute of additional delay goes without an excuse and serves to break the trust with the people throughout the county." Rauterkus said, "People don't appreciate politicians who act on self-interests and make power-grabs without accountability."

Hope in this time, or not. FAQ & A from email.

Someone wrote to me and stated: "At this point in time, I do not see third parties as a realistic option. Sorry."

At this time I don't find much hope in the Dem party when it comes to advancement of the necessary leadership for Pittsburgh and the region.

One party rule is hopeless.

If you agree that the Dems have killed this city -- and are making a heavy weight for the region -- then we should easily agree that other options are not only viable -- but mandatory.

I want to be making history -- not be a slave of it.

In the PA Senate race, we have a Dem who won't resign from county council, in spite of the county charter that requires it. And the other old party candidate was a D, now an R, due to money to cover his past debt and springboard him to tv ads.

I think I'm a viable alternative, and the only real alternative to the status quo. Both of my opponents have been making the problems we face more difficult.

With some help, the viability of the campaign increases. With help, the opportunities to make a bigger difference are more robust.

Rauterkus for PA Senate

New images are available. Image directory with photos

Call in show on PCTV to engage the superintendent of schools

Dr. Andy King is on a call in show, from 6:00 – 7:00 P.M. tonight, THURSDAY, MARCH 3, 2005, at PCTV STUDIO – Channel 21.

CALL: (412) 231-2288 between 6:00 and 7:00 p.m. for questions to the Superintendent as well as comments and suggestions on subjects pertaining to the Pittsburgh Public Schools. Host and Producer: Mark A. Brentley, Sr., (412) 734-1594.

Rauterkus Requests Required Resignation of Fontana for good of Allegheny County

Allegheny County's Charter calls for the resignation of county council members who are candidates for other public offices.

Wayne Fontana, D., a member of Allegheny County Council is a candidate for State Senate. Rauterkus said, "I expected Fontana to push the ethical limits and resign his council seat on Monday morning at the latest." Sunday, the prior day, Fontana got the D party endorsement, and since this is a special election that insures he'll be on the ballot. He filed his papers to officially become a candidate the prior week.

Mike Wojcik, the county controller, (voice phone: 412 350-1125), Dan Onorato, the county executive and higest ranking member of the democratic party, and Rich Fitzgerald, D, council president, should pull Fontana out of his seat and tell Fontana his time on council has concluded.

This is the third bailout. Transit bailout not a long-term solution.

Transit bailout not a long-term solution - PittsburghLIVE.com: "Transit bailout not a long-term solution

HARRISBURG -- Gov. Ed Rendell's bailout for the cash-strapped Port Authority of Allegheny County and Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority in Philadelphia gives the mass transit agencies two years to solve their financial problems.

A Beaver County official on the SPA who needs to approve the bailout has said "NO." He was on KQV today. His point was that the bailout only gives those in Harrisburg some cover and allows them to get off the hook. They have a duty and responsibility that is being ignored.
I am not in favor of another bailout. I hate to see the same band-aid fix being called a solution.

My approach is to go to the roots of the problems. It's broken. Lots of things are broken. The process is broken too.

I'm running to fix matters. We can't reform our ways without replacing the same old people.

Hot Dog: Move carts to Thackeray -- and Oakland's all wet for next two days with swimmers

Talk about a raw deal. The city and Pitt are always pounding and punishing the business folks.

The Pitt News - Mayor's OK can move carts to Thackeray The fate of Pitt's food vendors now lies in the hands of Mayor Tom Murphy.

The history isn't good in terms of giving Pitt the benefit of the doubt. Pitt is a great place, inspite of itself. If Pitt ever got its act together and noise like this didn't occur, Pitt would be in another category of greatness. UPMC too. It's one of the nation's great hospitals -- so act the part, please.
Pitt has been trying to screw with the vendors for ages. The city helps. So too does the Parks weenie group.
The construction around the Cathedral is going to include a MERRY-GO-ROUND. Then the weenies in Oakland can get a ride-all-day pass to prove once and for all that they'll never get ahead if they keep acting as they do.

Trouble is, we're all in this ride together.

Mel, a visitor to the wiki, Platform.For-Pgh.org shared an email with me yesterday. He is from CMU, knows Maglev, and wrote that it was hard to find the pony in the midst of all the horsesh*t. After the Oakland roadway gets the little bend made straight, we'll not need to search far to see the ponies.

In other Oakland news, I dare predict that you won't find too many WPIAL Swimmers and Divers at the vendor's carts today -- as they'll be making waves at Trees Pool. Go fast. The next two days is their "big dance." City swimmers hit Pitt on Saturday. Good luck to all.

I've worried and have spoken about a "chilling effect" in the campaigns.

An article in the TRIB points out that a campaign volunteer was pulled before the grand jury. Murphy aide, arbitrator testify - PittsburghLIVE.com A third witness -- a volunteer in Murphy's campaign whose identity could not be determined -- also appeared before the grand jury for about 15 minutes at the end of the day.

This is another another example of how to not treat people. Drag Tom Cox, Deptuty Mayor, from here to the moon. A citizen, a voter, -- humm -- what's up with that?
The campaign finance reform measures that are still on our agenda as part of the task force efforts raise worries about chilling citizen engagement. Alarms go off in my head when I read that the city's solicitor can sue anyone in these matters. Things are still in discussion mode. To the victors go the spoils. But I don't want to see the victors getting the rights and duties to punish those who didn't win.
The best way to not be corrupted once one is in office is to not be corrupt in the way one wins the seats and runs the election.

Being free can't occur when one is beholden to big donors.

Pittsburgh just doesn't have olympic-size aspirations. My life in the fast lane here is a puzzle.

The first part of this blog entry was crafted Feb 25, 2005:

Eric H of the Trib Why isn't the IOC stopping in Pittsburgh?

Why aren't Mayor Tom Murphy, Joe DeNardo and Jenna Morasca shmoozing some IOC members at this very moment over an Artery Clogger headwich at Fatheads?

Such heady thoughts seemed possible back in September 2000. That's when the athletic complex housing administrative offices and practices fields for the Steelers and University of Pittsburgh Panthers opened on the South Side.

Murphy was among those who dared to dream that day.

He was among the people who expressed the sentiment that the city had just built magnificent new practice accommodations for a couple of football teams. How much harder could it be to construct several billion dollars of Olympic buildings.

This article is welcomed -- but such a joke.

I've been to and worked at Olympic Training Centers. I was there when the public got its first peek at the dwarf football fields on the UMPC compound.

The unbridled optimism of the past of Tom Murphy and some other out-of-touch wonks had its critics. I was among them. But sadly, all sides of the story were not reported upon.

We have a marathon runner as mayor and Pittsburgh can't even host its marathon any more. The wheels have fallen off of the mayor's agenda. His spin is in the scrap heap. But sadly, he is still in the office.

Eric is wrong about not a single architectural sketch being produced for the new athletic venues, however. But, his point is still valid. As is mine about the lack of real coverage. Drawings have been made. It is hard to talk about the building of a new pool when we were to close 32 outdoro pools.

I wish Pittsburgh had stood pat, complacent and apparently content. Pittsburgh has slid back into the late 1800s. We've been in a deep decline, hardly standing pat.


Of course Pittsburgh never made a serious attempt to land the games. Those who were talking then were clueless and those who were saying no way were not given an interview. Those people who made the unrealistic, overly optimistic utterances should not be forgotten. And those that said, "I told you so," should be held in high esteem. I'm okay with the acts to rekindle memories of what was to be explored by Pittsburgh. We can't re-write history.

A city can't host the Olympics when it can't even host the Keystone State Games. As for the Bassmaster Classic, that's another good example of how some around here fall for their spin; hook, line and sinker. Dont' forget MLB's All-Star Game too! Big deal.

---

On March 1, 2005, this story's theme gets some fresh attention.

Visitors Bureau aims to draw additional sporting events - PittsburghLIVE.com Events such as softball and volleyball tournaments are big business today, he said, and can fill hotel rooms during slow periods in the meeting and convention season.

Volleyball is a big business.

There is much to do in this area. Presently, the city and the region does little to nothing.

Street cars are wished for by O'Connor

PennLive.com: NewsFlash - PA Western Pa Briefs : "The streetcars would promote development in the city and encourage people to live downtown, O'Connor said Monday..

Pittsburgh used to be full of street cars. In the old days, one could take a street cars from Pittsburgh to Washington PA. Kennywood Park came into being because it was a destination for a company, a private company, that owned the street car line.

In the old days, we used to have inclines too. Now there are two. In the past, the South Side had a dozen or so.

We have light rail, and that is much like a modern street car line. It goes to Overbrook and the South Hills. The street car goes up and over Arlington Road and makes for a bypass of the Liberty Tunnel.

The key to the success of the city and the region is not to live in a fantasy world.

We could run select street cars on select routes in a successful way. But, we can't be going in the wrongheaded directions with light rail expansion at the same time.

A glass enclosed T-stop at Gateway Center, as is the current plan for an existing stop's re-do, is not a net gain. Let's build a new subway stop where there isn't already a subway stop.

The last new subway stop was built at PNC's Firstside. That wasn't a net gain to the system.

Excerpt: Never Eat Alone

Book quote: Fast Company | Excerpt: Never Eat Alone: "Poverty, I realized, wasn't only a lack of financial resources; it was isolation from the kind of people that could help you make more of yourself."

Thanks for the pointer, from Pittsblog.blogspot.com.

Along these same lines of "networking" -- I'm happy to report that last night we had a successful online chat at the campaign's new chat room. Tonight we do it again at 11 pm. All are invited. At 9 pm we meet in person, no food is being provided, at 1302 East Carson Street.

TechyVent for March 14, 2005 with Alpha Chimp Studios

This is on my agenda. You should try to attend as well.

TechyVent - Pittsburgh: "Graphic Facilitation for Enhancing Knowledge Capture and Communication
WHEN: March 14, 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM at the Pittsburgh Technology Council Building, 2000 Technology Drive with PRESENTER(S): Peter Durand and Alicia Diane Durand, Alphachimp Studio, Inc.

Reading event in Oakland at S & S

Fraud conviction earns five years in prison - PittsburghLIVE.com Soldiers & Sailors plans reading event

Soldiers & Sailors National Military Museum & Memorial will have a Read Across America Education Program from 9:30 to 11:45 a.m. Wednesday at the museum, 4141 Fifth Ave., in Oakland.
Pittsburgh Mayor Tom Murphy will read 'Eleanor Roosevelt' by Lucille Davis, a biography of the former first lady. Other guest readers will read books by Dr. Seuss, and the event will include a celebration of what would have been the 101st birthday of Theodor Geisel, more commonly known as Dr. Seuss.
For more information, call Casey Patterson at (412) 621-4253, ext. 206.

Thanks for working to host a reading event in our community. I'd be most willing to be a participant in the reading activities.

I've been a former publisher of 100 books on sports and fitness -- and Barbara Bush, while in the White House, once wrote a forward to a comic book that I was involved in publishing.

I have a number of great stoies to share. One set is a family classic about a dragon named YUP. It is perfect for the month of March and St. Pat's Day.

Literacy is of prime importance to me. I feel that too many of our neighborhood groups are spending far to much energy on bricks and mortar projects -- acting like developers of buildings. Rather, I'd love to see them all devoted to the development of people and the human element. Too few neighborhood volunteers are meeting and teaching others to read or be more tech literate.

International news reporting meeting set

A symposium about the myths and truths of international news reporting will begin at 3 p.m. Thursday in Room 5110 of Two Mellon Center at 501 Grant St., Downtown.

Speakers will include Ted Anthony, former editor of China News; Lisa Rose Weaver, former CNN Beijing correspondent; Rick Pietro, communications lecturer at the University of Pittsburgh; and Schuyler Foerster, president of the World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh. Registration is required. The program is sponsored by the University of Pittsburgh's Center for Asian Studies.

Registration is required. To register, call (412) 624-7370 or e-mail Michele Heryford at ferrier@ucis.pitt.edu.

Have you seen our photos of China?

Party switch creates a fight for 42nd state Senate seat

Party switch creates a fight for 42nd state Senate seat: "'I think the unity of the party is the road map to victory,'' Fontana said ...

Another element of the story is the fact that Fontana's resignation from County Council has not be reported upon. O'Toole is now not ignorant of that fact -- as found in the County Charter.
When does Fontana resign? Let me know, please.

Mayorial event in East Liberty on March 31

Join us for a lively discussion of the issues with the major candidates
running in the May Primary. It will take place at the Kelly Strayhorn Theater in East Liberty on Thursday, March 31 from 6:30-8 pm. The candidates will specifically be answering questions about the concerns of young professionals in the Pittsburgh community. Sponosored by PUMP, ULYP, PYP, and the PSVN.

Hold everything.

What does PUMP mean when the announcement is about "MAJOR" candidates? Don't you mean ALL the candidates?

By March 31, the ballot is set. You should have EVERY candidate on the ballot be at the debate.

A great reply just arrived. All the candidates will be invited, so I've been told by Jay.

Meet Joe Weinroth -- and bonus audio available

Jon Delano wrote in his email to PSFs:
By the way, the Republicans may have a candidate for mayor. He is real estate attorney Joe Weinroth, vice chair of the city's Republican Party and an elected state commiteeman from Squirrel Hill. Weinroth was a delegate at the Republican Convention this summer, and he is an articulate and passionate spokesman for his viewpoint. He tells me he's not 100 percent sure he will run, but his petitions are being circulated.

Joe was a speaker at an event I organized in 2001 with Josh Pollock. Josh and I had been candidates for Mayor. The event was at the Carnegie Library of Oakland Lecture Hall, but not sponsored by them. We had two days of podium talks and one day had a real live debate with an expert moderator / editor from The New Colonist.com.

Joe Weinroth, then a candidate for city council, gave a 10-minute podium talk. I have that talk in an audio file, a MP3. It is rather large. However, I'd be happy to send it out to people interested in hearing it. Send me an email and I'll send it to you via email as an attachment.

Mark@Rauterkus.com

In the weeks to come, I might put the file on my web site, if there is a demand.

Joe's comments were fine. Nothing great, nothing harmful.

We need people to plan and host real candidate forums in the weeks to come. Are you associated with an effort to do this important work for voter education? Church groups, sports groups, civic groups, library patrons, and non-political groups need to get into the fray from time to time and host pan-partisan events. Generally the political groups only want to promote their own candidates. So, it takes a village to get beyond and out of the rut for a wide range of discussions.