A call to a meeting as published in the AIA newsletter

Working Together for Pittsburgh's Future

What does your neighborhood need to succeed? Please join the Community Design Center of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh Partnership for Neighborhood Development, and Southwestern PA LISC for a Town Hall Meeting for Pittsburgh's Future. The meeting will be held Thursday, October 20th from 2:30 to 8 pm at The Circuit Center, 5 Hot Metal Street in the South SIde. To RSVP, call Jennifer Fox at the Community Design Center of Pittsburgh at 412-391-4144 or email jfox@cdcp.org For more information, visit www.ppnd.org

Stan, muddy Stan

Stan was the name of the hurrican that hit Central American recently. A few emails via the Katrinia Helpers list are posted in the comments.

Class photo.

Swimming is okay at the beaches if you swim within the shark nets. No thanks. We did a lot of swimming, but it as at swim pools, not the beach. This warning is from Lamma Island. It is one of the smaller islands that make up greater Hong Kong. We hiked there on a paved pathway. We got over there and back via ferry from Central, pier 3.

Thanks for the gifts -- friendships -- and hospitality in Hong Kong

We were treated very well in our recent trip. Thanks.


Teresa, Nhicole, Elaine and Lena (faculty at HKU) at lunch.

Photos are to be posted shortly -- we're home!

Julie and Lindsey, Pitt graduate students, fellow travelers, at Ocean Park in Hong Kong.

Carlynton Swim Club -- back in the day -- 2005

City to vote on panhandling bill

Okay, let's turn downtown into Rosslyn Farms. Let's knock out all business. Let's stop all interactions. Let's take down all the signs on all the buildings. Let's end all transactions too. Make them illegal.

The Pitt News - City to vote on panhandling bill The proposed extensions include expanding the definition of panhandling to incorporate all types of solicitation, including religious groups and community service organizations that ask for money. The new bill also lists stricter regulations on when and where individuals are allowed to panhandle.

Downtown's problems are not rooted with some homeless folks.

Downtown's problem is that there are only homeless folks there. Where are all the other people? Where are the everyday hustle bustle folks?

They left when freedom departed.

People vote with their feet!

Legislators aim to put limits on uses of eminent domain

PG coverage of pending bills Headline: Legislators aim to put limits on uses of eminent domain

I've sounded off on eminent domain.

Thousands of new jobs to be created -- says out of touch congress critter

Details at the my Transportation blog, http://Ratsburgh.blogspot.com.

Gene chimes in. Point noted.

MARK, I am a friend of public education! Gene

Hi,

Perhaps Gene R., City Council President and soon to be district magistrate is a friend of public education. But, I feel that a friend of public education would NOT ask the schools to give up any money for the city's dire straights -- such as with the loss income from taxes on a Second Ave TIFF. TIFFs hurt the kids in public schools right now.

We can leave funding for crossing guards out of the 'public school' discussion, but that would enter into the fray in another chapter.

I also feel that the school board races are able to be pulled and mangled by political forces as you, Jim M and Michael Diven attempted in the not too distant past. It serves as a good example for the rant and with the state of the landscape in Pgh politics. Pulling the political wires -- of itself -- isn't so bad. No harm there. But, when there isn't suitable understanding of the candidates running for school board offices -- and then we have some serious problems. So, I rail against the lack of balance.

Put a tea party into your future plans, please

My email blast from Hong Kong....

412-archives

See ya soon, I hope.

We got the tea.

Opening of Chinese National Games and that

Just got to see the lift off of a Chinese rocket into space with two passengers. They'll orbit the earth and are geared to go to the moon, perhaps, in future years. The names of the astronauts was not even mentioned throughout most of the day. The coverage wasn't secret, but it was hardly direct and up-front. Interesting. The liftoff was reported to happen in a few days -- with a few day range of time. Weather was a factor, but so too was putting the cat out of the bag.

Then we got to see the opening ceremonies of the National Games in China. Parade, flags and teams of athletes. There are teams from various regions and provinces. Plus, there are teams from Telco Workers, Space Workers (big cheer with the liftoff today for them), Forestry, Railway workers, etc.

Chinese weightlifter breaks three world records -- Olympic champion Chen Yanqing broke all three world records in the 127-pound weightlifting class on Tuesday, one of two Chinese women to set new marks this week at China's national games. SI

Diversity is not Divine

The wrong bark goes out up the wrong tree, again.

The point is not to make the 'queen for a day' concept work better in Pittsburgh. Rather, the real goal should be the elimination of royalty, boards, overlords, queens, court honchos and better-than-thou kiss-ups.

We don't need as many authorities as we got. We have too many governmental appointees.

Councilman to introduce board diversity bill
Tuesday, October 11, 2005, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Pittsburgh Councilman William Peduto expects to introduce legislation today aimed at increasing the diversity of appointees to city boards, authorities and commissions.

The proposed ordinance would require that the city advertise on its Web site openings on boards, like those that guide city redevelopment, public housing, parking, water and sewerage and other functions.

People could apply via the city's Web site. Each year, the city would report on the diversity of the applicants and appointees, allowing the public to track progress, he said.

"By law, we could not create a quota," he said.

"But what we can do is create a system by which the next mayor would be persuaded to make diverse appointments."

The legislation would "encourage [officials] to look beyond their usual suspects" when making appointments, said Heather Arnet, executive director of the Women and Girls Foundation of Southwestern Pennsylvania, which helped craft the proposal.

Mr. Peduto said council will hold a public hearing before voting.

And now for some modern art. This was a very impressive room in the Hong Kong Museum of Art. It celebrated the book and pages flowed from the sky, along the walls and open on the floor. Furthermore, all the characters (words) were made up -- jibberish so to speak.

Good reason to put our priorities in order -- and it isn't for government groups to get into real estate

PG article:

North Side housing renewal reversed by neighborhood violence

We need to get our house in order, and I don't mean the bricks and windows. The problems of Pittsburgh are not hardware ills. Rather, we have software, performance, activity, community problems. This isn't about blight. This isn't about buildings. This isn't about shade trees. Nor is it about parking garages and stadiums.

Cardinal beat Red Storm and the other hot-shot from CMU

Stanford robot beats CMU in desert race -- so reported the PG headline.

This was a science experiement -- and a big-deal race. This was more about 'sport' than it was about toys and play. Perhaps it was a test-match, as is said in international competitions when one squad battles another.

But, CMU's problem is that it was up against Stanford. No other university in the world can hold a candle to Stanford in terms of its sporting success. Stanford owns the NCAA's President Cup for the best sports program. Stanford has won at least one national title every year for the past ten years -- in at least one sport.

CMU, meanwhile, is bush next to them -- in terms of sporting success. Different league. This isn't like the Pirates playing the Yankees.

The slow drowning of New Orleans

Ken S, a PA Libertarian, wrote with a pointer about the article:

The Washington Post ran an article Sat, 10/08, with the headline: The slow drowning of New Orleans. It is available under the "Hurricans' Aftermath" section on msnbc.com
with the same headline.

I encourage you to print it for yourselves, and safe it as a classic tale of the long-term damage caused by politicians who: a) look no further than their own relections, b) are happy to spend everyone's money except their own, and c) are arrogant and stupid enough to believe they can control the forces of nature, despite repeated evidence to the contrary.

Ludwig and Lamb put their chips on the table -- still -- while Bob and Joe slumber

The first gambling forum was held and this excellent idea was put forth by Les Ludwig.

Two of the first three speakers were unsuccessful Democratic mayoral candidates in the spring primary. Les Ludwig wanted to know whether the David L. Lawrence Convention Center could be used as a casino. Allegheny County Prothonotary Michael Lamb said he has concerns about how a Station Square casino might affect Mt. Washington, where he lives.

Neither Murphy nor either of the nominated mayoral candidates, Democrat Bob O'Connor and Republican Joe Weinroth, attended.

Perhaps I'll go to the meeing on Monday night at The Dice.

Characters, giggles really

Salina had a story (and it is more a story than news) in the Trib about Diven and his band of merry folks.

It is hard to say one is not making footprints when you spend $1-million and only get votes at $70 or so per tick. The footprints are up and down Diven's front and back sides. Diven did a deer-in-the-headlights campaign for PA Senate -- and wasted $1-million. And, he is still doing the PSAs, as mentioned in the article.

If Diven was christened by Harrisburg's elite -- we only have to remember that it was those devils who bailed out Pittsburgh, gave us gambling, can't understand schools and took the big pay raise. To me, a christening from them is more like darnation!

Even the savior had 12 others to loaf with.

I hope to see Michael Lamb running, not for Diven's seat in the state house, but for Fontana's seat in the Senate -- in the D's primary. Lamb should not have run in the race in 2001 for Mayor. And, Lamb should have switched out of the Mayor's race to enter the State Senate race, even as an Indie. Even late in the game.

My curb talk says that the present city councilman, Motznik, runs for City Controller if Tom Flaherty gets the win in his quest for a seat on the bench as a judge. Motznik can't run against Diven. No way.

The classic line of the entire article however is this: Affable, hard-working and focused, Coghill's only black mark may be a lack of knowledge of the issues.

His only black mark is a lack of knowledge of the issues. Jeepers. Seems to me that the knowledge thing is way over-blown, or not.

Then there is this typo. Nerone isn't on city council. Was that to be Motznik?

Nerone ascended to his City Council seat the easy way: It was vacated. He borders on bland and would be the weakest candidate of the lot. Aggressive door-knocking, a solid base and drive-by visits to neighborhoods are needed to win House seats like this; none is Nerone's strength.