Equitable's new North Shore HQ opens -- and it is a major letdown

Equitable's new North Shore HQ opens When oversized scissors snipped the blue ribbon at the new Equitable Resources Inc. headquarters next to PNC Park yesterday, it marked a moment for which Pittsburgh Mayor Tom Murphy had been waiting eight long years.

This is an average building. This is a splendid space and a poor choice for a corporate headquarters.

The building blocks the views of the river.

The building is nothing special and fails to reach the necessary potential that the site should exhibit.

I think, and others who are in agreement, say that this is a classic example of a blown opportunity. Pittsburgh should have done much, much better.

City pools open, for now anyway - Lifeguard shortage is a world wide problem

Swimming:

City pools open, for now anyway: "Though City of Pittsburgh pools are scheduled to open today, some face the possibility of closure in July due to a scarcity of lifeguards.

The city has 103 lifeguards ready to go, reflecting the bare minimum needed to operate 13 pools, said aquatics supervisor Shelley Terlecki. There are not enough lifeguards in reserve to handle the inevitable vacations, call-offs, and resignations, she said.

A lack of lifeguards is a problem. Sandcastle needs them. REAMS will need them. Beaches around the world need lifeguards too.

Lifeguards are made in years of play at the pools. Swim teams are often great sources for lifeguards. There is an aquatics mentality that is made over time. The pool rats are the ones that aspire to be lifeguards.

One can't just wake up one day and turn into a lifeguard. You have to be able to swim well. Nonswimmers are out. Average swimmers are out too.

When Pittsburgh's officials worked to pull the plug on its swim team that used to operate at the Oliver Bath House -- I raised a warning flag. We don't have enough kids that can swim well enough to become lifeguards. And, we don't have enough kids who want to be lifeguards either.

Without the kids at the pools -- you'll never be able to fill the need.

Beauty and ruggedness of the Point - liquid, cool, floating on the weekend

Three Rivers Artist Festival artist Stacy Levy is in tune with the beauty and ruggedness of the Point

Today is a great day, with the heat, to take a swim. Too bad we can't do that at Point State Park.

China dealings in the news: The bad karma of US actions are wearing on me.

There have been a number of issues with China in the news recently. On almost all instances, I'm favorable to the position of China and not that of D.C.'s.

I like free trade. I think it is wrong to force China to prop up its own export limits or export tax on textile products. This news broke more than a month ago. The US signed a free trade deal and now it wants to ignore it.

I agree with Alan Greenspan. I see no harm in the US Dollar being a benchmark for the China currency. The dollar float is matched perfectly with the China exchange rate. This foils the messing that could happen with DC wonks. They don't like it. Tuff! I'd rather have China hitching to the US Dollar than the Euro.

Today's news had to do with the USA's position that China isn't helping enough with the power ploy on North Korea in terms of weapons.

Hoops

New Irony Trend

Look at the trend (some past and some future) and notice the various twists on the "progress" of various projects. Feel free to insert some of your own observations as well.

Construct a new Convention Center -- but make a new pruchase of a damn for the water treatment and fountain that runs down the middle of the interior road, at a price greater than the entire Citiparks' aquatics budget for running outdoor swim pools.

Build a natural grass football field, then run out and get new turf.

Give HEINZ naming rights for the football field, then sell Heinz to DelMonte and then have that firm sell the asset again.

Invest in a new airport for US Air -- and then have massive layoffs.

Build a new indoor basketball arena, because the Fieldhouse isn't good enough. Then pay $5-million to get a new, new roof.

Make a roller-coaster with a new loop -- and then close it a year later. Subtract the loop and give it a new name.

Re-pave a stretch of highway with new formula that prevents potholes -- and then re-do it with new, new pavement months later.

Close a number of fire stations, but then put in to build a few new ones.

Construct a new aquarium to join with the Pittsburgh Zoo, yet see the Amazon River Dolphin (poor Chuckles) and stingrays perish.

Have a great city skyline to display, but choose to put a light-rail extension in a tunnel under a river.

Choose to close schools to save money and be certain to shut down the ones that educate the most and retain highschoolers from dropping out.

Build a new jail for the next century then see it fill past its capacity within its first decade.

Program progress could include the outcome that firing police officers revealed a drop in crime rates.

Get a hillside designation in the city's zoning code, then suffer with great losses with landslides on many of those hillsides that cost more than $10-million to repair.

What's new with you? Generally there is good news, and bad news.

Drunk Driving, Tom Flaherty, judge candidate, courtroom experience, humm...

I don't think that this be scripted any better for our present controller.

Jury duty for a guy who is a candidate for judge.

Free press.

It's a drunken driving case, no less.

Eminent Domain hits the news again with a new court ruling that spells trouble for property owners and aids redevelopment.

Ouch.

Bloomberg.com: U.S. Government Power to Take Property Backed by Top Court

(Bloomberg) -- Local governments have broad power to take over private property to make way for shopping malls, office parks and sports stadiums, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled.

The court said government agencies can constitutionally take property in the name of economic development -- and even transfer it to another private party -- as long as the landowners receive compensation. The 5-4 ruling today came in a case involving land near a Pfizer Inc. plant in New London, Connecticut.

Scott B, a friend of Pittsburgh, now working in DC, was quoted on the radio news today. He works with a nonprofit that fights against eminent domain.

I hate eminent domain. The excuse of economic development does not lessen this hate. Rather, this new court judgement makes policy makers more critical in the process. Overboard, power-hungry, do-good authoritarians are given more room to roam. Hence, eminent domain is sure to be more and more of an issue for many if not every election in the future.

I am one who says let the markets operate without heavy-handed governmental impacts. Buy the property. Do the development if you feel justified. But don't buy it with force.

Once property is able to be taken, then investors will slow their investments into property. Investments will go into other, more secure assets. Hence, the downward spiral of real property is sure to accelerate.

Torn on this public broadcasting matter with the US Congress

I've been silent about the matters before the US Congress, the federal budget and the funding of Public Broadcasting / NPR. A buzz of noise on the topic has come from other sources. So, I've been relaxed in my efforts to discover and in turn inform.

The House vote may come today on funding cuts for PBS, NPR and other public media. The cuts are "defang and defund public broadcasting."

Oh my.

Sadly, I think QED is already toothless, by choice. WQED put WQEX into limbo and squandered its responsibility. QED burnt the trust I have in that instution years ago and has done little or nothing to change its tune.

The potential is there to do so much more. But, they fumble. The managers are more interested in do-whop and what is not here anymore. Certain duties are involved in public tv and they are not being upheld. So, I say that pulling the plug is not such a bad thing. I also contend that the public tv elements are in the marketplace and that squashes other indies from doing the same actions.

Kenneth Tomlinson, chairman of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, is engaged in a deliberate campaign to bully programmers to produce shows that echo the White House line. His cronies in Congress are slashing funding for the news, children's and cultural programming Americans trust.
I used to trust that programming. They've blown their trust in my view.

Reps. Maurice Hinchey (D-N.Y.) and Diane Watson (D-Calif.) have introduced an amendment that would block Tomlinson from meddling in noncommercial programming. And Reps. David Obey (D-Wis.), Nita Lowey (D-N.Y.) and James Leach (R-Iowa) have offered an amendment that would restore $100 million in funding stripped out by the Appropriations Committee.

More at Freepress.net/publicbroadcasting.

Three second head start is too generous now in racing my oldest in the water

My older boy, 10, was able to beat me in a swim race in the breastoke, but not freestyle, given a 3 second head-start and a 25-yard distance. This is a major milestone of sorts.

Straight up, I think I can still out swim him. But, this advantage might sunset soon.

Korea brings homegrown open source to schools

The American schools and American kids are not zooming ahead on these important fronts as others are. We have a chance to lead the world -- and we are still taking baby steps.

Korea brings homegrown open source to schools | CNET News.com: "The South Korean government is rolling out a homegrown open-source platform to 10,000 schools in the country.

The project, called the New Education Information System, is built on a Korean-developed version of Linux that already services 190 schools in the heart of capital city Seoul.

It would be easy for a mayor or even a state senator to make a dispatch and claim that Linux is a preferred platform. The open-source movement is strong in some sectors in this city -- like at CMU for one example.

A Korean, Chinese, and Japanese shell in an Asian version of Linux that could read any programis a great dream for many and various reasons.

Murphy's task force gets more muscle - But I'll dispute that article's conclusion.

The PG had an article about yesterday's challenge to statewide gambling.

For starters, let's not forget that the state reps and state senators made this law and put it into place. The original, initial shame on them can't be ignored. Those folks are too often about power and not about doing the right thing.

The article says that the hand-picked task force, the do-good volunteers, the ad-hoc Murphy boosters -- call em what you want except "legit" -- is going to gain in their power. The bad law was knocked down. Sure. But, the power within the bad law wasn't then granted to a different bad organization without structrual powers.

Murphy's task force gets more muscleUp to this point, the task force had not been considering zoning because 'it wasn't on the table,' Porter said. But he added putting such decisions in the hands of local authorities 'clearly is in the interest of the local community.'

Furthermore, as is the case with most of the efforts on Grant Street, the posse who were working on the matter were given tight guidelines and had to stay within their sandbox. They were not looking at zoning because they were not told to look at zoning. And, nobody noticed that there was a case headed to the state supreme court.

The trend is to wear blinders. We have too many sub-groups going willy-nilly and being quick to ignore the important and fumble on the heavy lifting that is called for.

Has anyone seen the minutes of the task force? Has anyone gone to one of their meetings? Has anyone seen their schedule for future meetings? Who is even on the task force? How did the members get approved to be on the task force? What is the task force budget?

What's the real deal for the task force?

What does Bob O'Connor say about the task force as well?

Okay, so let's say the locals get to set some local rules and have them apply to the gambling establishments -- which are not yet established. Why in the world would the paper-organization of the task force gain in muscle? That's the logic in the article that misses the mark.

Zoning gains in muscle.

But, we know from other encounters that zoning is without anything but skin. No bones, no muscle, no fat -- just skin deep perceptions.

When push comes to shove on an issue, the zoning pit stop is skin deep and combat spills over to Pittsburgh's City Council Chambers. If you want to build a high-rise or a pizza-beer joint in Mt. Washington -- go straight to zoning to burn some incense and drop off your plans. Then go straight to the council members and try to sew up your five votes.

I don't have a lot of respect for the zoning process in Pittsburgh. An overhaul is needed, to say the least.

And, I have NO respect for a hand-picked task force created under the watch of Mayor Tom Murphy.

Thank goodness the law was changed the the judges. The outcome makes city council more important in the placement of the casino -- or is it still just called a parlor with slot machines.

REAMS POOL -- no water yet. Letter to open came from the Mayor's office.

People went to REAMS swim pool on Monday, June 20, trying to take a swim. Some had purchased a seasonal swim pass for $60 (for a family of 4). The pool was closed and bone dry.

I heard that Mayor Murphy has issued a letter saying that the pool, REAMS, in Mt. Washington, would be able to open with private money.

Last year the pool opened with private money as well. However, it didn't open until August.

If I'm mayor, Salvation Army and Kroc Center is on the edge of the river and not in Brighton Heights

This pending, proposed, long-term development is something that we've been pondering for some time. I hope that they get it right. It sounds like they won't.

The McDonald's fast food giant was started by Ray Kroc. His wife began a massive foundation and has teamed up with some serious money to build modern, large community centers that are with sports, drama, and fitness. The model is already in operation in the San Diego area.

The closest we have around here that matches the concept is the Jewish Community Center. One is in the city in Sq. Hill and the other in the South Hills.

The Salvation Army has a number of facilities around the region as well. They have a dinky community center with a swim pool even downtown. Plus, a center is in the North Side, and it had a computer lab at one time. And farther away, they have a camp that takes kids for a week at a time in the summer months.

Today KQV did a radio interview with on at Salvation Army.

The local S.A. is going to put in for a grant to try to get one of the centers. I think a dozor or so are going to be built around the nation. These are $40-million grants, so I hear. There is little to report upon at this time, other than the locals are going to go after a Kroc grant proposal, as expected.

Some in the Salvation Army administration are changing. I began to work on a relationship a couple of eyars ago, but that individual is no longer in the same role. They, like others in clergy or missionary work, seem to move around a good deal with their devotion and call to service.

The news reports say a 30 acre site for the proposal is in Brighton Heights, a section in the north and west part of the city. This land is now owned by the URA.

A more inspiring site on the river's edge might give a better chance at winning the grant.

Furthermore, a more inspiring site on the river's edge might be pivitol to getting more people to live and reside in the golden triangle vicinity.

Volume 1, Issue 1 of Nana's Newsletter arrived in today's mail

My mom, called Nana by our boys and their cousins, is publishing a weekly newsletter for the clan with lots of cousin correspondence. The motivation came from reading an article that writting skills are often neglicted in the summer. Plus those communication skills are vital in academic success. So, we have a weekly writting assignment. It is really the duty of the kids to deliver something to her each weekend.

The first edition was eight pages and had some drawings, email updates from our trip, a maze and a bit of poetry.

I doubt it will be ever put "on-line."

Job: D.U. AD

Who would you hire for this job?

Director of Athletics. Duquesne University invites nominations and applications for the position of Director of Athletics. Reporting to directly to the President, the Director of Athletics is responsible for all aspects of the University’s intercollegiate athletics, intramural, and related fitness & recreation programs. Duquesne is a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), sponsors 20 Division I varsity programs, and competes in the prestigious Atlantic 10 Conference in all sports with the exception of football, which competes in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference and wrestling, which is independent. Today, Duquesne University serves nearly 10,000 undergraduate and graduate students, offering more than 150 programs on the Bachelor’s, Master’s, and Doctoral levels in its ten schools. Duquesne seeks an experienced and dynamic leader with the ability to support student athletes, while maintaining the highest level of excellence and enriching the student experience at the University. Major areas of responsibility include: oversight of all intercollegiate athletic and intramural programs; management of fiscal resources; athletics alumni and community relations; and supervision of coaching and office staff. Athletics media relations and fundraising are coordinated with the Office of Public Affairs and University Advancement. A commitment to the strategic vision and Mission of the University is expected. The individual we seek will have earned a minimum of a Master’s degree and have significant experience in leading and achieving success with an intercollegiate Division I athletic program. Solid knowledge of NCAA rules and regulations and a commitment to ensuring compliance is expected. Experience and understanding of basketball is particularly important. The ability to work with people of diverse backgrounds and solid record of fundraising experience is preferred. For confidential consideration, please forward: a letter of interest, curriculum vitae or resume; and the names, addresses, and phone numbers of three professional references. Screening of applications will begin immediately and will continue until the position is filled. Application materials may be sent to: Duquesne University, Office of Human Resource Management, Attention: AD Search, 600 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15282. To learn more about Duquesne University, visit us Online @ www.duq.edu. Founded and sponsored by the Holy Spirit Fathers in 1878, Duquesne University is Catholic in mission and ecumenical in spirit. Motivated by its Catholic identity, Duquesne values equality of opportunity both as an educational institution and as an employer.

What about Tom Murphy?
What about Myron Cope?

Cope with that -- motorcycle pushed off the nearest bridge and other cycle tidbits.

Myron had some good advice for Tommy M and Ben R -- Steeler quarterbacks. He suggested that the two, if they still have a brain in their heads that God gave them, that these motorcycle riders should take their bikes to a bidge and push them off.

If nothing else, get rid of the cycles for the sake of the 50 other teammates.

I'm not keen about sending wheeled lumps of trash into the rivers -- or off of bridges due to "green concerns" -- but I agree with Myron Cope's advice.

Today we were driving to swim practice and Rt. 51 between the Liberty and Ft. Pitt tunnels and traffic went to one lane. In the other lane, police already on the scene, was a car with a bent fender and a motorcycle on its side in a couple bits. A guy was flat on his back on the pavement.

We offered a prayer in our car driving past. Sadly, somewhere, calls went out to some family to meet at the hospital.

Creepy as Myron Cope offered the advice on the 11 pm news. Fedko also reported that it is 40 days until the start of the Steelers season.

In other bike news -- today I took the training wheels off of my youngest son's bike. He's 7 and not good -- yet -- on his bike. In the city, our opportunities to bike ride are self-made.

Tomorrow I'll try to get to the bike shop for new tires and a tune-up of my Trek 520, 1982 model, $420 retail. It is a budget racer. With my triathlon ambitions, I had better put some time on the road and trails.

Seasons change

The official beginning of summer in the Northern Hemisphere occurred in the morning of June 21, 2005, at 2:46 a.m. Eastern Daylight Saving Time [EDST].

Happy Summer Solstice Day!

EFF's guide to help bloggers understand the law

The Electionic Frontier Foundation created an guide to help bloggers understand the law and their rights.

This roadmap to the legal issues bloggers confront. Know rights, and blog freely with the knowledge of legitimate, protected speech.

Legal issues affect publishers, especially with legal claims or threats based on the information published on blogs. Issues could arise when you publish material created by others on a blog.

Defamation (libel) law discussions of the constitutional and statutory privileges may protect too. Federal law gives some protections against legal claims arising from hosting information written by third parties.

Privacy rights of people you blog about are part of a FAQ.

Reporter's Privilege is useful to bloggers who report news gathered from confidential sources.

Get tips for bloggers for getting access to public records and government meetings, as well as press passes to help with newsgathering. Legal issues swirl when blogging about political campaigns.

Standing before City Council. Kicking off Open Government Amendment

I spoke today at the public comment period at the start of the Pittsburgh City Council meeting. Here are my words:

My name is Mark Rauterkus. My family and I reside at 108 South 12th Street on teh South Side. I have a home on the internet at Rauterkus.com. Presently I'm a board member with the Allegheny County Libertarian Party. Recently I was a candidate for PA Senate in the special election. Since election day our family had the opportunity to travel abroad for work and education. In time I'll share plenty of insights on the election and our trip. Today, it is my pleasure to stand with fellow citizens to promote the Open Government Amendment.

Before I get into my remarks, I'd like to make one other sidebar mention. I'd like to welcome Dan Deasy to City Council. I hope you have a successful career and are fully appreciated by the people of the city for all your hard work in the years to come. Best of luck in your tenure.

I'll work to get the signatures and put the Open Government Amendemtn on the ballot. I also pledge to work to establish and sustain the discussions about these various issues within this effort.

Let's look at the internet access elements. If we streamed the meeting content and made them available to others, say at the workplace or at home with children, we'd be much further along. Others could tune in. Not only people from within the city would be more aware, but people from other cities and even other countries would have access and offer solutions, ideas and pointers to other best practices.

I've often talked about how all the king's horses and all the king's men won't be able to put Pittsburgh together again. This Humpty Dumpty lesson can have a different outcome as soon as all the people get into the action. We need everyone's help.

The depth and scope of the internet's impact is only outmatched by its economy. It will not cost a lot to get the content on the net in effective ways.

I think this measure will do a lot to crack the "done deal mentality" around here.

Now, let's do the hard work of getting this question put onto the ballot and before the voters in November, 2005.