Letters to the editor: 7/01/05

Two interesting letters to the editor on education follow. They are from today's PG and hold different views.

Letters to the editor: 7/01/05

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Moving for school

As someone with a young family who is actually moving back to Pittsburgh, I have to speak up about the Board of Public Education's new hesitation to approve the design and construction of the addition to Colfax Elementary School, as reported in the June 23 Post-Gazette. An addition is necessary to accommodate the growing population at Colfax.

This is occurring long after the board approved the change to a K-8 school and new grades have already been added. How the board thinks making and breaking decisions from one year to the next will lead to any improvement and stability in the schools is beyond me.

Our decision whether to live in the city instead of the suburbs rests on a good public school system. I visited Colfax. The active, engaged learning I observed, the diverse population and the fact that it is a K-8 school are the reasons that we want to move back into the city. Why else when I can get a nicer house for less money and pay far less taxes in the suburbs?

Believe me, I understand that there are financial problems. Our children are coming from the Baltimore school system, which has had even greater financial difficulties. I witnessed the Baltimore board change plans after decisions were made. And I saw the devastating effects these constant changes had on schools that had been steadily improving and had been generating renewed support for the public schools. Uncertainty and instability doesn't help students, schools or communities. I hope the Pittsburgh board will do better.
SARAH BERMAN, Baltimore, Md.

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Quality, not size

With all respect to Principal David May-Stein and the parents who so badly want $15 million to support Colfax Elementary School's expansion to K-8: Even if K-8 is better for the middle-school years (we can find studies that prove both good and bad), your kids aren't the ones who need it the most.

Your children have the options to go to some very high-performing middle schools: Frick International Studies Academy, Sterrett Classical Academy or Rogers School for the Creative and Performing Arts. None of these schools is far from Squirrel Hill and none of them are in dangerous neighborhoods. They all have high test scores and their graduates have gone on to do great things.

The kids who may benefit the most from a small middle school environment such as would be provided in a K-8 setting are the ones whose parents probably can't write letters to the editor, attend school board meetings en masse or even supervise their kids' walks to school or homework.

If the Pittsburgh Board of Public Education chooses to add K-8 programs, it should allocate the district's dwindling finances to the kids and neighborhoods that need improved programming the most. And Squirrel Hill is not in that category.

I'm a parent, too. I've sent four kids through East Hills Elementary School. Three have gone through Frick (one is just about to go) and two are in CAPA High School now. I could complain about lots of small issues, but I prefer to praise these schools for their overall programs. The fact that we have any of these choices is remarkable.

Nearby high-performing school districts such as Mt. Lebanon and North Allegheny all have large middle schools. I think the issue is not so much K-8 vs. middle school only but how these schools are funded and operated. Small classes, good facilities, well-trained teachers...
ROBERTA MINTZ, Shadyside

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The dynamics in the city school are not like those in many other places around here. Some people go to city schools and are stuck here. They are not leaving. They can't leave. Leaving isn't an option. They cope and deal as best they can with what they got. Kids grow. Go with the flow of life -- but getting a new home in the suburban areas is asking way to much. It's not going to happen.

Other people are here by choice. They can move. Many do. Some choose to stay. To stay makes a constant decision. Once the situations are so bad at home, then the grass looks much greener elsewhere, then the family packs its life and finds a home and schools elsewhere.

Mostly, those who are the poorest are the ones who are in the first situations. They are stuck, in part, because they can't afford to move into a more expensive home, lifestyle, district.

Pick-up lines for the Pgh Oversight Panel. Women wanted. Hold the phone. My wants are more geared to accountability and democracy.

Today's PG reports that the all white male oversight board, often called the ICA, might be geting a new female member after James C. Roddey leaves his seat on that board. The new member being pointed to is Barbara McNees, President of the Pgh Chamber of Commerce.

The board was called, "Five Guys Named Mo," by Sala Udin. Sala's objections were strong, but in the end they didn't play to total satisfaction with voters, as he's been voted out of council. But, Sala made the point as strong as he could.

The point I'd like to raise again is still valid and not the same as his, of course.

I don't think women want to be "Queen for the Day" -- nor even Queen for the week, month, season, year or seven-year period of operation of the oversight board.

Lamb, Peduto and O'Connor each made mentions in the spring about how poorly Pittsburgh does in a number of gender factors. Women's pay in Pittsburgh is not nearly equal to that of the men, in similar capacities, for instance. We have had nine on city council, and only one (for now) is a women. Our old-fashioned ways are well documented elsewhere.

Nobody needed to die to make McNees a Queen of Oversight. But, nobody needed to vote on that appointment either.

The solution is to still appoint to the boards, but give voters an opportunity to cast "retention votes" on each individual. A retention vote would be a great way to inject oversight from the people into the oversight board.

We can't get away from democracy.

We need to give the oversight board its due and its mandate.

Most of all, there have been bad and good QUEENS and rulers. The top dog in China, on many instances, was a women. Some have been dandy and some have been beasts.

At this junction, we need to put accountability and democracy as well as engagement into the drivers seat. Diversity will work because of the pressure when it comes to the appointments.

Illustrated Example of this sage:

At first blush, a new appointment, such as Barbara McNees would need a majority to stay on the board. So, let's say she is picked to serve and gets the nod and joins in July 2005. She'll show up for the meetings and get to work as soon as possible.

But, there are no meetings scheduled. That raises another big question as to its viability, perhaps a defacto revolution of nonaction is brewing.

Given regular meetings as an assumption, McNees would be a full fledged member and act with all the powers.

At the next election, November 2005, a ballot question asks voters "yes" or "no." Should Barbara McNees continue to serve on the oversight board, (ICA)? If she fails to get 50% of the YES vote, then she resigns her duty on the board. Her term just ended. Then another appointment is made. At the next election, that new person gets to be put on the ballot to either pass or fail the retention vote.

With a retention vote, no campaign spending would be needed. No Political Action Committee efforts either.

People who don't know McNees from Eve might not vote on the question, skipping it and to leave others with strong opinions the option of the decision. People who feel strongly about a women would vote "yes."

Meanwhile, we already have others on the ICA Board. And, we have lots of others on other Authority Boards. The 50-percent YES vote would be needed for the NEWLY appointed members of boards in their first vote. Then as a board member is on the board they'd face other 'retention votes' and the percentage of YES votes would INCREASE.

First months = 50%
Second year = 70%
Fourth year = 80%
Fifth year = 85%
Sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth year = 90%
Tenth year = term limit.

The necessary approval rating would need to increase greatly according to the length of service on the specific board.

So, McNees would face a Nov 2005 retention vote and need 50% as "YES" to continue. Then in two years, in Nov 2007, she'd need to have a 70% "YES" vote to be retained. Then the fourth year, Nov 2009, she'd need 80% to stay. In Nov 2010, she'd need 85%, Nov 2011, she'd need 90% and again 90% for Nov 2012, 2013, 2014. She'd be off the board with a term limit by 2015.

Other people, depending upon when they are appointed, would be on a spring ballot rotation. So, if people got onto the board in Nov, Dec, Jan, Feb, March, April -- they'd generally be slated for the April or May ballots for their retention votes. Other months would be up for retentions in November elections.

There would be a lot of retention votes, a new twist to the voter landscape.

Crain's Cleveland Business - What others are saying about Pittsburgh

Here is a story about a story, but in another market about Pittsburgh.

Crain's Cleveland Business In the fourth segment of a six-part series about the globalization of the steel industry, Associated Press reporter Joe Mandak takes a look at the rebuilding of America’s steel towns.

The story focuses on Cleveland, Pittsburgh and Worcester, Mass., detailing how each is bridging the divide between the industries that grew the cities and the industries that will carry them forward.

I've got to go find the original series. Pointers wlecomed.

ICAN WHOIS Data Reminder, last update, 1969

I have and have had a number of internet domains. This just came to me. It is worth a giggle.

Per the ICANN Whois Data Reminder policy regarding your domain name service with 4Domains.com this notice is being sent as record of your current domain whois details effective today Jun-30-2005.

Domain..............: rauterkus.com

Creation Date.......: Jul-09-2000
Registration Date...: Jul-12-2002
Last Updated Date...: Dec-31-1969

Check out the last updated date! I've been around a long time -- but that was even before Al Gore INVENTED the internet.

Before I deployed Rauterkus.com, I had: SportSurf.Net, SportsReader.com, Bundle.com, Sandlot.com, FreeTeam.org, and Sunnyhill.org. Sunnyhill now operates fully by the web committee at our church.

I still use CLOH.Org too, but there hasn't been an update there in months. However, some of my older materials are some of the best and most in demand.

Yesterday, Alice, Director of Dallas Vision Volleyball emailed to ask about the e-books in PDF format. In a past life I had published a number of excellent, cutting-edge volleyball text books with top-flight authors. She thougt the URL had changed and was searching for the drill book. We noticed that Apache need to be restarted on the server. Fixed. Coaches and players of volleyball at all levels can pick up the no-charge books in that collection at: http://Rauterkus.com/PDF/SPORTS/. The titles that begin with VB are for Volleyball.

Speaking of older documents, have any of you gone to CMU to see the display with The Bill of Rights? Reactions welcomed.

Self-reliance -- You're the cure -- Strokes an 'at.

Self-reliance is a huge cornerstone of what I think needs to be promoted to "cure various troubles." But, teamwork is not to be discounted. Then, enter a wellness theme, and we've got something to blog about with irony.

It is interesting to see how the 'you're the cure' campaign needed people to write to DC politicians for fixes?

But, they did.

Did the most gripping letters and the largest volumes originate from those who have suffered from strokes, or are battling heart disease (say with high cost perscription drugs)? Or, did the physical education teachers and "fit people" come through with their pen and paper letter-writting exercises after doing their daily push-ups?

Now the people are to thank those in Congress (House and Senate) for putting their names on a letter to fund heart disease and stroke. Note, the funding is NOT for the prevention of heart disease, but just more disease -- as written in this blurb.

As a You’re the Cure advocate, you will be excited to learn about the support in Washington, D.C. for funding for heart disease and stroke. Throughout the spring, many of you have been instrumental in efforts to gather signatures on a congressional letter in support of this critical funding increase.

Now for the exciting news…102 Representatives and a record number 46 Senators have signed onto the Congressional Heart and Stroke Coalition’s letter. To see if your lawmaker signed on in support of increased research and prevention funding, please select from the pages below:

FY O6 House Signatories

FY 2006 Senate Signatories

However, there is still a long way to go as Congress continues to work on the appropriations process. What can you do to help? If your lawmaker signed on to the letter, you can send a thank you note for their support. Click here to send your message now if your lawmaker was supportive. Send Your Thanks to Congress

Heart Disease and Stroke. You’re the Cure

Where would all the heart disease and stroke workers and industry go if we were all fit?

Such is life, nothing but a merry-go-round.

South Side's Authentic Food Fest Update: Abruzzi's and Halo's

Abruzzi's moved to the Holiday Inn Express on the South Side, just a short walk from the current place.

Abruzzi's used to be HELENS. Helen had a food joint that was family style. She'd cook and you'd eat what she cooked. No menus were needed.

Abruzzi's is authentic Italian Cuisine and on 10th Street, one the same block as the Oliver Bath House. It is now serving lunch M-F from 11:30 am.

Another new opening, but brand new, is HALO Cafe. They've done a splendid job on a church rehab. It is right on East Carson Street and just opening now. Valet parking available.

I'm not a food critic, so I'll pass on giving my insights. Imagine that. But you all can post below. Additionally, if you want to set a date, I'd be glad to go there with you and yours as a guest. My bar tab will be $0, so I'm cheap. :)

Come Live Over Here -- and enjoy the South Side. And we won't even miss the Street Spectacular this summer.

City Paper: Opens Case for Open Government

Pittsburgh City Paper - News News Briefs

No Open and Shut Case for Open Government by CHARLIE DEITCH

"We’ve been putting this in front of [city] council for two-and-a-half years now," says long-time activist David Tessitor, about his efforts to place an "Open Government Initiative" on the November ballot. "But they never paid attention to it and we’ve never heard back."

Tessitor, working under the name PANDA (Pittsburgh Area New Direction Alternative), hopes he'll be able to gather the requisite signatures to put the proposal to a vote. The Open Government Initiative would change the city’s home-rule charter to set up a citizens' advisory panel. The panel would place a representative at every city council meeting to participate in discussions in a non-voting capacity. The move would also require that public information and recordings of public meetings be placed on the city’s Web site.

These two changes alone, Tessitor says, would allow citizens to have a clearer picture of what exactly their public officials are doing.

"We have one instance after another where our government officials have tried to sneak things past the public," says Tessitor, who points to the city's plan in 2002 to sell the publicly owned library buildings to the Carnegie Library board for $100 each, an option that was buried in building leases. "They have created an illusion of openness by putting some information forward to the public, but it’s not nearly enough."

Both Tessitor and Celeste Taylor, whose group ACORN (Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now) is also supporting the initiative, say they are aware of cries that it will slow down the process of government. That should only happen in cases where it needs to slow down, says Tessitor. Good legislation will fly through the system faster, he says, while bad legislation will be held up to allow for proper scrutiny and, if it's truly a bad deal, to be killed.

Neither council President Gene Ricciardi nor President Pro Tem Jim Motznik were available for comment by press time.

"When I'm asked why we need this, I can give a lot of reasons, but the most obvious is because this city is broke and that surely didn’t happen overnight," Tessitor explains. "And worse than being broke, this city is broken."

More volunteers than the current 30 have to step up to get the required signatures, Taylor says, which number in the hundreds after less than a week of neighborhood canvassing. The group has until Aug. 9 to get about 9,000 signatures of registered voters.

"We’re trying to make this fun and empowering and not just a bunch of people bitching and complaining," says Taylor. "This is a good city, but council is too closed off from the citizens."

Contact Celeste Taylor, 412-628-7867 or celeste@openpgh.org; or see www.openpittsburgh.org.

Chris L of GrassRootsPA, moving to office in Camp Hill (Harrisburg)

Chris Lilik, DU grad, hub site coordinator of Grassrootspa.com, guest on the final M-F Jerry Bowyer radio show, mentioned that hs is moving out of Pittsburgh to central Pennsylvania.

Lilik's site is much like a blog but without original content, and with plenty of links and article snips about all sorts of state-wide political coverage. Self-described: The Epicenter of Conservative Grassroots Activity in Pennsylvania.

The population decline continues. Pittsburgh dropped another 1% per year, as has been the progress, for a total of 3,000. Pittsburgh's population decline has been massive, and its still on a roll.

Lilik's departure, as stated on the air from Jerry Bowyer, makes next year's census look drop to be predicted as 3,001.

One of the organizers of PghBloggers.org, an aggregate site, has wondered about keeping or nuking the feed from GrassRootsPA. Now, with the move out of the local area, the hook can take hold.

What's yours is ours.

Four letters to the editor ran in the Trib that were critical of the Supreme Court's
Kelo v. New London ruling. One was from fellow Libertarian, Mark Crowley.

Supreme abuse II, Letter to editor

"Promoting economic development is a traditional and long accepted function of government."

With those reckless words, five Supreme Court justices implemented a far-reaching expansion of government power serving well-connected special interests at the expense of property owners. "Public use" might as well be called "public used," as property rights are traded for corporate welfare and tax revenue.

To be clear about this, substitute the word "medical" for "economic" in the above quote. Consider what "public use" now means. Your body could be a tissue farm ripe for harvesting by pharmaceutical interests and research labs.

What now prohibits tax-hungry bureaucrats from considering a forced organ transplant from a low-wage worker to an injured high-wage ballplayer, actor or industrialist just for higher wage, entertainment or sales tax revenues?

Government is closer to taking an arm and a leg than ever before.

Mark Crowley, Plum

Jason Almire, The First Interview

The first interview has run. Next comes the first bad review. It is offered as constructive remarks so he and others get a better launch. Running for political office opens a parade of hurdles to trip upon. Here is a look at some of them below.

Jason just quit his job at UPMC (gov relations) and is entering the race for US Congress and may run against M. Hart, R, if Jason could win the Dem's primary.

The Qs are bold. Jason A's answer start with "A" are are italic. My reply is regular text. The next link only show the interview from the Politics PA site. By the way, hat tip to Politics PA for getting out good local and state news. If you are a political junkie or otherwise, you need to sign-up for the email blast from the operators of that site.

Jason Almire, The First Interview: "An Interview with Jason Altmire

Q: How does the future look for UPMC? What are the biggest challenges facing it as you depart?

A: UPMC is the largest driver of economic development and employment in the region. I expect that they will continue to diversify and lead the way on cutting-edge biotechnology initiatives. I enjoyed my time at UPMC but have given up my job to explore this race because I feel strongly that Congress is out of touch with the concerns of everyday Americans and leading the country down entirely the wrong path. It is obviously a huge personal and financial risk for me and my family, but I simply cannot stay on the sidelines when I believe I have something to offer the national debate.
MR's reply: Jason didn't come close to putting together an answer to either of the questions. For that, he might be well suited. But, we don't need to know about the HUGE risk when asked about UPMC. Going to UPMC is a huge personal and financial risk for any individual and his or her family. Perhaps the biggest challenge is to sound like one is NOT out of touch, to stay on the wrong path, to be a driver of employment. Mumbo jumbo.

UPMC is much more than an economic development. UPMC is a hospital and research institution. UPMC is about education, fighting illness for patients and solving health care situations -- and as a sideline, it is about employment.

Tell us about your time at FSU, playing football.

I treasure my memories from my time at FSU. As the years go by I realize more and more what a special opportunity I had to be a part of the football tradition there. I've had six knee surgeries and my playing career certainly didn't turn out as I had hoped, but I got to play for a true legend in Bobby Bowden, which by itself makes it all worthwhile. I learned the value of hard work and perseverance, and even what its like to be totally overmatched. As a wide receiver of relatively marginal ability I worked everyday for an entire season against Deion Sanders, which makes a mere congressional race seem like child's play!

MR's reply: Jason has it backwards. It is football that is child's play. A congressional race should not seem like child's play.

Q: We understand that until now, based on your current job situation you could not speak directly about your personal position on political issues, or your possible candidacy for congress. That said, if someone like, say... you, were to run for Congress how much would he or she need to raise to defeat Congresswoman Melissa Hart?

A: The opposing candidate will need adequate financial resources to get the message out, but I don't think that necessarily means matching Hart dollar for dollar. I'm sure she is going to have all the money she needs given her vulnerability and the growing high-profile of this race. Clearly the minimum needed to mount a credible challenge is $1 million, but it will probably take closer to $2 million when all is said and done. If, as I expect, the race stays close after the primary and late into the cycle, the national money will pour in from both sides and you may be looking a one of the most expensive races in the country.

MR's reply: Jason, don't refer to yourself as "the opposing candidate." It is weird to use the third person to talk about yourself too. Say, 'I will need....' Or say, 'Our campaign team hopes to..."

The cause and effect of Hart having all the money she needs because of the vulnerability doesn't wash for me. If she is vulnerable, she'll not have all the money she needs. And if she is vulnerable, the money won't flow to her as easily and some will sit on the sidelines.

I think it is bad form to predict national money will pour into the race. That is a huge assumption.

Frankly, I have to wonder why it would take $2-million to get my message out to the voters of a congressional district. Is that message that hard to deliver? And, I wonder why anyone would want to burn $2-million for a chance at a job that pays $100K per year.

In the PA State Senate race, a big district sorta close to the size of the US Congressional district -- both the D and R candidates out spent me 250-to-one. In total, I was out-spent about 500-to-one. But the R candidate only out-voted me 5-to-1 and the D candidate who won out-voted me 7-to-1.

In would have good feelings for supporting a challenger candidate who understood that the campiagn would hope to be out-spent by a margin of 50-to-1 or even 100-to-1. However, you'd still have a plan to win.

When I talked with Michael Lamb, months before the campaign really started, he told me that he had a plan to raise the $1-million that was necessary to race in the campaign. He was confident that he'd do it. He was well on the way to doing so. All signals were good. I just rolled my eyes. Michael Lamb's campaign did a great job at raising money. But, there was not $1-M that flowed into the kitty. To telegraph the amounts, and have them so out-of-touch with everyday citizens is self-destruction.

Q: Georgia Berner says she would be the best candidate to take on Congresswoman Melissa Hart. Thoughts?

A: Georgia and I are very different people with very different backgrounds and experiences. The primary will provide a real choice for democratic voters and we'll let the people decide who's better for the district and has the best chance to challenge Melissa Hart. Since the story of my interest in the race became public a couple weeks ago, I've been gratified by the overwhelming positive response and many offers of assistance. I'm confident that it will become clear very early who the democratic frontrunner is by the public endorsements and active support from elected officials from within the district.

MR's reply: The reply is fine. However, I'd go a bit more to a point-counter-point type of answer at this moment and begin to raise some issues. Georgia is for X-Y-and Z while I'm even better a Y-and Z, I also stand for A-B-C and that devotion is clearly hard to match, even by the incumbant. So, your race is not going to discount the opposition D, but you can frame the challenger and yourself on issues and contrast that against what Hart has done. Give a couple props to the loyal party opponent and then dive into the race against HART, the real target.

Q: How come Democrats can't come up with decent candidates to take on Tim Murphy, Don Sherwood, and before possibly you, Melissa Hart?

A: Sherwood's challenge would have to come from a primary because his new district is more heavily Republican. Murphy's district is majority democrat in registration and I'm surprised that a big name challenger has yet to materialize. With two strong Democrats on top of the ticket, 2006 is going to be a different year than we've seen in the past in Pennsylvania.

MR's reply: Who are the two strong Dems on the top of the ticket in 2006? Are you talking about Rendell and Catherine Baker Knoll? I'm left wondering. Is this the challenger to Santorum? The point of the mention is to say that your answer wasn't that clear to non-political people. Why even comment on Tim Murphy's challengers? Say that you are aware of various happenings in the greater political landscape but only comment on things that are near and dear to yourself.

Q: You live across the street from Melissa Hart's brother. Do you lock your doors at night?

A: Obviously this is an awkward situation, which I regret. They have been great neighbors and we hope to remain friends through what promises to be an eventful year and a half. We could have moved away before this race and in fact strongly considered it to relieve the tension. But we like the community and our neighbors, including them. We'll just do the best we can. I view our street as a sort of de-militarized zone -- I've told the Harts that I won't involve the neighborhood and we'll just keep our street completely out of the race. We're going to try to keep it as normal as possible under the circumstances for the sake of our friendship and especially our young children, who play together everyday. For me, this situation is the most difficult part of the campaign.

MR's reply. The awkward situation and point to regret is the question. The best way to keep it normal isn't to talk about it with the media. Nor do I want to hear about a "de-militarized zone" in a political campaign.

How about, "I have a great neighborhood and treasure my community." Nuff said.

10K -- say what -- To me, a 10K is a race. To them 10K is a pay raise.

Front page news: Harrisburg lawmakers are hatching a plan for giving themselves a $10k pay hike.

Meanwhile, I'm thinking about hot I'll be able to run a 10K at the end of the Friends of the Riverfront Triathlon. That's what a 10K means to me.

It will be interesting to see what happens. If my former 'race' opponents, Fontana and Diven, vote for that pay raise, they'll be a little richer for the duration of their terms, but it would be another nail to shut down their elected careers.

Bloggers lobby to fight government regulation

Bloggers lobby to fight government regulation - Are bloggers going mainstream?

Jeepers.

Red State got a mention. My mini-blog there has not gotten too much use. But, they do a fine, fine job.

UPA Properties for sale for $500 minimum. Let's change the ADJACENT policy and extend it farther to better liquidate URA holdings.

The City of Pittsburgh and the URA own a countless number of properties scattered all around the city. These are countless as a real inventory of the property locations and the assets are NOT available. A count and details have been promised, again, to be completed in the next couple of months.

Some of these properties are vacant lots. The lots are in neighborhoods. Often, these were homes that were left to rot and have since been torn down. The city can take the property's deed when taxes are not paid.

As the city owns the properties, the city needs to from time to time, go there and mow the grass and do minor upkeep.

If there is a city owned lot or a paper street (that's a slightly different matter but still has many of the same outcomes), the city will often tranfer the title of the property to the URA. Then the URA has a property manager who can work to sell off that property.

A policy of the city is to sell for $500 or more, vacant lots to adjacent property owners. So, if someone lives right next to an empty, city-owned or URA-owned property and there is not overall plan for that property by the URA, then it can be sold to ADJACENT "qualified" buyers.

A qualified buyer is one who has paid all the taxes, water bills, sewege bills and such. That's a great check. We don't need the city to sell its excess property to property cheats.

But here is the new suggestion!

Let's sell off the excess property owned by the URA to qualified buyers who might not be ADJACENT, but who are NEAR BY reidents.

Perhaps the corner lot is URA-owned. Perhaps the next-door neighbor does NOT want to purchase the corner lot. But, say the people who live in the middle of the block do want to purchase the corner lot. Let's have the URA sell off the property to those who live near by.

I'd say the technical definition of "near by" could be extended by month to stretch from five units to an additional five units each season.

So, in the fall of 2005, all lots are for sale as is the present policy. This gives those who do live ADJACENT to the property time to make that sale that they've been putting off and never needed to make.

Then in the first quarter of 2006, anyone who owns property within five address numbers of a URA-owned lot can make a purchase.

Then in the second quarter of 2006, anyone who owns property within ten addresses of the URA-owned lot can make a purchase.

In third quarter of 2006, the near-by description stretches to 15 address numbers.

Then in the fourth quarter, the near-by description stretches to 20 address numbers.

Perhaps in the future the near-by would grow even farther -- to zip codes or to council districts or perhaps by 200 meters.

I'd also make a restriction that each property owner would be entitled to only one $500 sale per quarter.

Furthermore, an owner of a vacant lot would not be able to be considered a nearby resident. This way a person who gets a vacant lot, or who already owns a vacant lot can't go around a neighborhood and buy up more vacant lots. That person would need to reside on a property to qualify to buy at the new ADJACENT lot price rate.

The URA can sell off some of its properties in other ways as well. But, the URA's track record at getting properties back on the tax rolls is less than a success. The URA is good at getting properties and holding onto them. That is the trend needs to be reversed so the properties are more fluid and begin to generate more income for the city from annual property taxes.

Act 72 Laid to Rest - Press Release from Libertarian Party of PA

Libertarian Party of Pennsylvania
3863 Union Deposit Road #223
Harrisburg, PA 17109
1-800-774-4487
www.lppa.org

For Immediate Release

For more information contact:
Doug Leard at 215-646-1502 or David Jahn (Chair) at 610-461-7755

Act 72 emerged from Pennsylvania's General Assembly as a very complicated and confusing piece of legislation. The complexity of Act 72 ensured that just about everyone could find something they did not like.

Many school boards quickly realized that Act 72 threatened their power to tax-and-spend since it gave voters the opportunity to vote against school budgets that raised taxes above the rate of inflation. So, the overwhelming majority of school boards across the state opted out because it would have made them more accountable to taxpayers and voters.

What happens next? The Libertarian party agrees something must be done in the short-term to help property owners who are threatened with the loss of their homes simply because they cannot afford the rising cost of school property taxes. But, we also see rising property taxes for what they really are, a "symptom" of an inefficient and expensive government-run education system.

It is obvious we can no longer afford to keep doing what we have always done before -- raise taxes and throw more money at our public schools. But beyond the money issue, what really needs to be fixed is the "education" side of our public schools. Many parents are dissatisfied with the public schools their children are forced to attend, and a growing number of teachers are frustrated with the constant meddling in education by government bureaucrats and politicians.

Instead of focusing on ways to shift taxes to fund our public schools, Governor Rendell and the General Assembly must begin the process of getting government out of the education business. Pennsylvania needs to encourage a free-market educational system that provides students and parents more choices, where educators have the freedom to use new and innovative teaching methods and where parents would be primarily responsible for the cost of their own child's education.

Education is far too important to be trusted in the uncaring and self-serving hands of government bureaucrats, special interest groups and politicians. We need to put education back where it belongs -- in the hands of parents and teachers!

The Libertarian Party, the third largest and fastest growing political party in Pennsylvania and the nation, continues to provide a beacon of hope for voters disillusioned by the fog of Big Government.

Do Growing Greener Right and Do It Now, Coalition Demands

This came to me from another source, hence the ITALIC type. Authorship / ownership tip: As a style convention on this blog, generally, a good way to tell that I (Mark Rauterkus) didn't write the text is from the ITALIC messages.

Growing Greener implementation legislation is in the balance in Harrisburg at this moment. As you are likely aware, the budget process is supposed to be finished by June 30 (tomorrow), so this is the crazed rush time of year where everything gets thrown into the mix. The good news is that Growing Greener is in that mix. But, we need to make sure that what comes out the other end is what we all voted for in May.

PLEASE contact your legislators NOW and urge them to implement Growing Greener, but to do it RIGHT. See talking points below from a press release issued yesterday by the Pennsylvania Alliance for Conservation and Restoration (PARC). Sierra Club is a founding member of PARC, and urges our members to support PARC's positions in their communications with their Representatives and Senators.

Legislative Delay Violates Voters’ Trust, Risks Farmland and Environmental Cleanup

Harrisburg –With time running out for action this summer, the Pennsylvania Alliance for Restoration and Conservation (PARC), a coalition of sporting, environmental and civic organizations working together to protect Pennsylvania’s environment, who were the main organizers behind the resounding vote for environmental cleanup on the May ballot, called on Governor Rendell and the General Assembly to implement the voters' mandate for new spending on the environment. Instead of the House-passed version of Growing Greener, HB 3, which takes away $85 million a year in existing environmental funds to provide $115 million, the Coalition's 30 organizational members asked the legislature to adopt a general obligation bond, to be paid out of future revenues and not out of existing environmental programs, and to take that action prior to adjourning for its three-month summer recess.

"The voters overwhelmingly embraced the existing Growing Greener program with their 61 percent approval of the $625 million bond question in May," said Jan Jarrett, PARC co-chair and vice president of Citizens for Pennsylvania's Future (PennFuture). "They didn't vote to take money from one set of environmental priorities to fund another, nor did they turn out to hand over state dollars to local government. They voted to preserve open space, clean-up abandoned mine lands, and restore our rivers and streams. Instead of playing shell-games with the taxpayers' money, the legislators and the governor need to stand up and do what the voters asked them to do."

"The proposals put forth so far by the governor and legislators violate the voters' intentions because they divert funding from other environmental programs or fail to make the significant investments needed in conservation and restoration programs," said Andrew McElwaine, president and CEO of the Pennsylvania Environmental Council (PEC) and PARC co-chair. "This new money must be used for environmental programs to protect farmland and open spaces and to clean up our water and maintain places for hunting and fishing. Anything less is a betrayal of the voters' wishes."

The PARC coalition sent Governor Rendell and the leaders of the General Assembly a set of guidelines for spending the voter-approved $625 million bond, which includes:

The new program must address critical needs to conserve dwindling open space and farmland, to restore land and water damaged by coal mining, to protect and restore watersheds, and to repair infrastructure maintained by the Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission and the Pennsylvania Game Commission;

Funding for these purposes must not come at the expense of existing environmental programs such as recycling;

The existing trash dumping fee should remain dedicated to its current purposes; and

Funding to address Pennsylvania's environmental problems and to conserve our natural resources must be in place for the long term to ensure a high quality of life in our communities.

Patriot Act - statement of opposition got the endorsement from County and State Libertarians

The Pittsburgh and Pennsylvania chapters of the ACLU sent out an endorsement call and both the Libertarian Party of Allghengy County and the Libertarian Party of PA are included on a letter that has just been sent to the Judiciary Committee Chair of the US Senate, our own Arlen Specter, Republican.

The exercise accomplished the following:

* Added weight to the very real concerns surrounding the Patriot Act.

* Presented the LPPA and LPPGH names out there where our "LP" brand should certainly stand apart from some of the left-leaning groups.

* Established some contacts within the ACLUs of PA and Pittsburgh that we can use in the future.

* Reminded them that we are "the third largest political party in Pennsylvania" and that when necessary we can be organizationally responsive to an appropriate request
even if requested in an awkward way. (Although, I hope they learn to be a little more proactive and maybe feel just a little guilty.)

* Gave local Libertarians an opportunity to respond to a "fire drill" where we had to react quickly to an opportunity to promote liberty and to promote ourselves. We passed, but I hope we can do this even smoother next time.

Hats off to Mark C, a local Libertarian leader, who was on best behavior with the
ACLU and keep on this side of being tolerant of those who make it difficult for us to do them a favor.

A few feel that the letter is pretty lame, but maybe it has to be and too long.

Mr. Bill Robinson -- he's considering a run for City Controller

Lump Camp bumped into Bill Robinson, present member of county council, headed into Giant Eagle.

I asked him if he is considering a run for City Controller -- and he is! That's good news.

He has, he assured me, taken into consideration the eventual resignation of his council seat. He said he'd not want to have me on his back while he was still on county council yet running for another public office.

Good answers Bill. Good on both accounts. I hope he gets into the city controller's race. And, I hope he pulls out of the county council before or at the proper times.

Wayne Fontana didn't. Wayne's lack of action in getting off of council at the right time set a bad policy that shouldn't be repeated.

China heat could kill Olympic horses in Hong Kong -- Downers.

SI.com - Olympics - Official: China heat could kill horses Horses could die in the heat if Olympic equestrian events are held in Hong Kong during the 2008 Beijing Games, the former secretary-general of the Hong Kong Equestrian Federation was quoted as saying Tuesday.

How do the elephans survive in the heat of Thailand?

Is it because elephants don't "compete?"

Are horses more prone to going prone in the heat? Or, is it the humidity?

Can't the horse races occur at dawn, so as to be in prime time in the WEST COAST? It would be cooler at dawn.

What do you call a cow without any legs? .... Ground beef.

But that kiddie joke isn't funny any more as there is a word, "downers" now is an official world in the vet and cattle circles. A downer is an animal that can't get up. Those downers are all tested now -- for mad cow disease.

A cow in the American West recently tested positive for mad cow disease.

I'm sure that the control freaks in China would much rather have the lifestock all go to Hong Kong. No sense in spreading the illnesses of the world to Beijing and putting a BILLION PEOPLE to bed hungry with some infection that could spread.

China is now running into some big problems with its birds. A flock of ducks or geese were hit with a "bird flu" (not flew) in the past weeks. This was in the interior of the country and the animals were migrating. In a blink of time, thousands if not millions of fowl could be infected. That is scary on many dimensions.

If Hong Kong won't have the equestrian events, I could see those events being offered to Taiwan.

Horse racing is a big deal in Hong Kong, by the way. They were building a big race track very near to the center of the city last year. Gambling is a big deal too, at the track. They are called, Jockey Clubs.

Another interesting concept in China, polo. Not water polo but polo with horses. A former dynasty in China got into polo for a bit. It is a game for kings. Polo didn't fly in modern times nor with the communist. But, there were some rather large public art pieces in squares and such that featured polo.

I don't think POLO is an OLYMPIC sport. Perhaps it could be pulled into the offering for Hong Kong as an exhibition sport.

Perhaps China couls sweeten the deal and be able to put horses in Hong Kong if a deal was cut to also allowed the jockey clubs of Hong Kong to permit gambling and book making on the Olympic events. In house bets on DIVING would be a real draw.

Red Alarms: Theater District Revival Plan smacks of elitism, cronies and stupidity

A gathering of 75 out-of-town building, planner, designer, developer wonks is being held downtown at the Renaissance Hotel to gather, ponder, pitch and fester about some parcels of "key" spaces that are controlled by and within the Cultural District.

That's fine, except.....

Only outsiders were allowed to attend and participate.

Pittsburgh individuals and firms were EXCLUDED by DESIGN.

How stupid can they be?

But, remember, fools like this run the PDP, Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership. The PDP held a candidate night for participants in the Pittsburgh Mayor's race -- and told people that they were NOT invited. There were people who were not allow to attend as spectators. A black woman walked to te event from her home in The Hill -- and the PDP morons shut the door in her face.

We've got too many with 1940 style country club attitudes in our downtown institutions.

I won't raise my concerns with the AARP again, now as another example.

The headline in the Trib, "Rivival continues in theater district" -- is plain old B.S. Same old sh*t.

The information I'm blabbing about in this post comes from a few trusted sources. I'll be happy to eat my words and make a public retraction as soon as I see the list of those who attended the sessions. Then we'll call the Pittsburgh-based people and firms and figure out why they were 'blacklisted.'

It is uneasy for me to write this. It is a shame to have to read it. And, I'm sure that some who read this are going to be livid at me, the messenger, and ignore the real message.

I think the creative people that have been invited are the one's who call home something other than Pittsburgh. The ones from here are homers and they might have the luck of setting up the rules, playing gatekeeper, and doing catering duties.

Another head-scratching point: A pedestrian bridge is mentioned in the article. It is to go over Ft. Duquesne Boulevard. They're attempting to span the wrong gulf.

The cultural district is a fine jewel, no doubt. But, I have a big problem with elitist running around acting like they've got rocks in their heads.

All the king's horses and all the king's men won't be able to put Pittsburgh together again.

I guess that the photo in the story shows the first residential structure to be built in Downtown Pittsburgh in the past three decades -- if you ignore all the abodes from the homeless, loft conversions, the new Allegheny County jail that's overflowing, (plus the new-new temp housing jail annex), and units within downtown's spitting distance (The Hill and North Side, and anything Uptown???).

We should have more downtown housing. I'm in favor of that. But, I don't want to have subsidized housing for the rich.

We should have open community forums to dream big and plan for sensational, stars-bound landings. But, I don't want any leader nor leadership entity to display the slightest closed-door mentality yet alone outright hostility. What gives when people who live here, and who are experts here, are spat upon?

To right the impressions -- publish the minutes of the meetings, online, in haste. I'd like to see the documentation from those brainstorming sessions. And, I'd like to know what other buildings are going to be needed -- perhaps by eminent domain -- to make this a public-good "darling."

Please, make me eat these words. I want to be wrong.

Lump camp swings into high gear

This week, my boys are engaged in Lump Camp. This isn't anything new to us. We've gotten quite good at this activity in past summers as well.

We are going to get some of the details of this fantastic experience documented this year so as to allow others to sign-up for it in the future. But most of all, I'm hoping that my kids will grow up to one day be camp leaders for their own Lump Camps. They are still campers. Next year we might allow for one to graduate to Junior Leadership Roles.

Lunch is provided at lump camp, only if you ask for it, and ask at the proper times. Plus, lunch depends upon available leftovers in the refrig or hotdogs in the freezer.

We got a leg up on this week's lump camp this weekend. It is always good to build up to the activities of nothingness and not go 'cold turkey' so you don't hit the wall.

We did have a little bout of Thai Boxing at the end of lump camp today. But, officially, that session was AFTER Lump Camp's day ended. Thai Boxing and other such motions are strongly encouraged and permitted after mom walks in the door at the end of her long day at the office. We have to keep the daytime pure and void of activities.

In our Thai Boxing lessons, Grant, 7, worked on keeping his head up so as to avoide the headlock position between my ankles.

Next week, Grant goes to half-day Zoo Camp. So, our time in the zone, the sweet zone of nothingness and naps, is fleeting.

When it is 90+ degrees (F) outside, we have great weather for lump camp. You can't drop into Lump Camp. We have a strict policy on visitors. But, for the future, should you get the clearance and apply early, say for next year, be sure to bring sweaters. The air conditioning is on 'high.'

One of the nice perks of the Green Tree Swim Team is the 8 to 10 pm swim practice as it doesn't bump into Lump Camp. Time to shave and head to the pool.