Signs still stink. Click for a bigger view of some recent sign sightings.

Click on the image and see a larger version of the same photo, as is the case with most of the photos in this blog.
Please do not spit. Sign posted in Hong Kong at Ocean Park. Perhaps it should be posted in suburban Pittsburgh for school board members to read.

Election law charges draw police attention ... Signs were erected that read 'Esterly = Higher Taxes.' A worm was crawling out of the red apple.

Mrs. Esterly is not nearly as concerned about the rotten apple implication as she is about the sign's fine print that read, 'Paid for by the candidate.'

'Obviously, I did not pay for that sign,' Mrs. Esterly said.

Please do not cross in front of bus.

Thought that the transit advocates would get a kick out of this sign. If there isn't anyone working on transit, perhaps there won't be any bus to walk in front of -- in the months to come.

Controller's race, should he win, would not occur until 2007

The City of Pittsburgh is going to elect a new controller in 2007, so it seems.

Tom Flaherty, Dem, Pgh's Controller, is running for judge on Nov 8 -- election day. If Tom wins the judge seat, (OMG) he'll resign from his elected, multi-term office as controller.

I assumed and expected that there would be a special election for that post -- along with the special election I'm to enter for the city council (District 3). However, I've talked with Bill Robinson, Dem, County Councilman. Robinson and I have talked at the gala/auction hosted by WPSD (Western PA School for the Deaf).

Bill Robinson is interested in the race of city controller for himself, by the way. So, he looked into this. Robinson thinks that there will NOT be a special election. Should Flaherty move to another office (judge), then the next in line to be the controller is the assistant contoller, Tony P. The assistant will serve as controller until the term expires. So, the next election for controller in the city will be as scheduled -- in this case in 2007.

I had given some bad advice and was starting to talk to a few possible candidates for the city controller race in 2006. Well, the timing is wrong. A run for city controller's job could make a good exercise for a political rookie so as to gear up for a race for PA House the next year. Perhaps it is good to start thinking about a run for controller in 2007 anyway. Flaherty has said he doesn't want the job he's in now, as he is running for another office.

Unless I hear otherwise with other news -- say from the election office directly -- there won't be a race in 2006 for a special election for controller.

Insanity's example -- THINK AGAIN slogan might be best as "think at all!" Land isn't able to be hidden.

This is nuts. On one hand we have an elected official who says the answer is 40. On the other hand we have some of the most powerful institutions in the region saying the right answer is 14 percent.

What gives between 40 and 14?

Just who owns that doggie in the limo? - PittsburghLIVE.com Doug Shields criticized Mayor Tom Murphy for saying 40 percent of the city's land is controlled by nonprofits. The nonprofits contend that figure is much lower, perhaps 14 percent.

It would be great is someone did the necessary homework so we know where we are. You can't get to where you want to go if you don't know your present location and course. Hey, we can't get on the right track even -- to use Bob O'Connor's pea-brained slogan -- if we can't find the rail yard.

The rail yard was taken out and replaced with a jail that is over filled.

Seems like the region is behind bars now -- too dumb to know better.

How much land is occupied and owned by nonprofits?

How much land is occupied and owned by the city?

How much land is owned by the URA?
Playground, school, apartments. Figure out the space of each is just a matter of math.

We need to know. I've called for those audits in the past. They need to be done.

And, what about the watchdogs? How about if the Trib does some homework too. Put up the chart and research. Do some more investigative reporting.

As a citizen I can make some educated assumptions. I think that half of the 'nonprofit land' is owned by the city and the URA. That's way to much. I think that the city's URA owns more than 7,000 parcels of land. The URA should liquidate that land, even selling some of it on eBay.

I also have called for a moratorium on land expansion by the nonprofits.

Finally, we need to know the trends. How much land was in the ownership of the nonprofits in the past, year by year, for the past 50 years. And, where is it going in the future.

The Salvation Army wants to purchase a 34 acre park in Brighton Heights for $100. I don't know if it is wise to give up so much land for so little when the nut of getting past this year's budget is so hard to crack. The city expected $5-million from the nonprofits and much less is to arrive. And, we're at November and little or nothing has come in so far.

Criminals generally rob from the poor. The city is poor. Lock the doors as the next wave of institutional thieves are arriving.

I don't want my city to be desperate.

I don't want my city to be dumb.

I'm not going to raise my family in a dumb, desperate landscape. So, I'll do my best to fix the situations. Let's 'think again.'

Radio recap with AE's Ron Morris and Mr. Soffer

High rise and mass transit too! Imagine that. Urban density is craved.

As a caller to a favorite radio show, Ron Morris, American Entrepreneur, I was able to ask a few questions to Mr. Soffer, a big-time developer who has been building out the South Side Works on the South Side.

Ron makes his shows available on tape. This is one I'll need to obtain as the conversation is a perfect illustration of what is good but still not good enough for my tastes. And, its not good enough for the long-term future of Pittsburgh. Our opportunities to floursh in the decades to come are being minimalized.

My first question went to the South Side Works' massive new parking lot. It is a surface lot that was created at the insistance of REI. And, Mr. Soffer said it is a temporary solution.

The long-term solution includes a parking garage.

The parking garage funding is going to include some type of cash outlay from the governement. Save Our Transit advocates worry that we're spending a lot of money on new parking structures and NOTHING on mass transit nor in park-and-ride.

More to come.... but for now....

Bottom line from the conversation: This is a lifestyle development and it isn't about keeping people here in the city. The condos and apartments are fine for youngsters. But the best solution the developer could offer is move to the suburbs once you have children.

So, we'll subsidize buildings and surface parking lots that will one day be parking structures -- taking away from the kids that are in the city now -- (that's what a TIF does) -- only to get outward migration.

The sustainability in terms of life's cycles isn't a factor here.

The plans are flawed in my opinion. The plans need to grow up. Think again. Think it through. We must do better.

More news on Queen for a Day pagent

This is junk politics. This is junk leadership. This is typical bunk from Democrats who don't like real democracy.O'Connor pledges boards on women, youth Democratic mayoral nominee Bob O'Connor said this week that he plans to establish new city commissions on women and youth issues.

Pittsburgh does not need another blasted commission, authority, oversight body, nor class or royalty.

Pittsburgh needs real democracy.

Queen of Hearts -- Disney style. Would you want to get in line to be "queen for a day?"

Women don't want to be "queen for a day" and rotated onto and off of boards just to feel good. Rather, have nobody in the elite -- and we'll all win. Get good elections, get better exposure for all candidates, get rid of the other layers and just stick to fixing our problems with clear thinking people who interact and listen to everyone.

The new CD, Live from Pittsburgh, by Mindy Simmons, is due soon.

Mindy's album release -- Live from Pittsburgh -- is on hold while Wilma takes aim on Mindy's hood

Hold onto your hat, dear friends of Southwestern Florida. Photo shows us together after she played a gig in 2003 at the Green Tree Swim Pool.

Mindy Simmons is about to release a new album, recorded while she performed in Pittsburgh. But first things first. Wilma is taking aim -- right at them.

American Eagle Outfitters

Pittsburgh Laurels & Lances - PittsburghLIVE.com On the 'Watch List' II: The American Eagle move. The big clothes retailer, now based in Marshall, plans to relocate its headquarters and hundreds of workers to Pittsburgh's SouthSide Works. It's great news for the new development; details are expected today. That said, a critical question is how much, if anything, this will cost the public? If taxpayers are being asked to help pay to move a company from one part of Allegheny County to another, it might not be the great deal that everyone is touting it to be."

Good to watch this now -- when it is too late. How about we watch a little sooner on the uptake.

The river park that is being talked about over near the AEO and REI is worthy of some serious considerations -- NOW.

RCAC hosts breakfast with Team 88's leader -- Swann -- on Monday

RCAC: "Eggs and Issues

An Event sponsored by Jan Rea

Featured Speaker: Lynn Swann
Monday, October 24th, 8am

The Rivers Club, One Oxford Centre

Cost is $35 for RCAC Members/$50 for all others.

To reserve a seat, please call RCAC at 412-281-9748 or email info@rcac.net"

County Candidates

Mark Purcell, Democrat

Wants to take politics out of property assessments by putting county controller in charge of valuations. Favors adding assessors in the field to improve accuracy.

We should take politics out of valuations of property. The best way to do that is to only tax the land. Then formulas on square foot of land can be applied to the various land footprints.

We used to have county assessers. But, they became, how should we say, shady -- from time to time. We really should have been better at protections for whistle-blowers and keeping the county assessment department above reproach. They were good, so I've come to understand. But, they needed to be excellent. And, the three county commissioners had a way of fussing with property values.

I would be in favor of county employees as assessors.

We could also make a change in the county charter to allow for an elected assessor. We don't need a register of wills to be elected. We could use an elected assessor. If the assessments are not square -- then the people toss the person out of office.

---

Matt Drozd, Republican.

Vows to vote against any tax increase. Wants to institute voter referendums for all tax increases and major spending items. Says county needs greater focus on job creation.

Yes, let's start to have some real democracy. Let's put more voter referendums into the landscape and vote if we should give American Eagle Outfitters more than $5-million.

Yes, let's not make tax increases. We are already taxed enough.

However, I'm not too sure what he means about the county needing to put a greater focus on job creation. The private sector makes jobs. Government has a poor record with job creation. No thanks. Perhaps I'll visit his web site to see what he means by that short statement.

---

Edward J. Kress, Republican.

Wants to create economic opportunity to reverse tide of young people leaving Allegheny County. Favors finding alternate sources of county government revenue by selling naming rights to parks, other county facilities.

The "alternative funding" efforts are fine, as per Les Ludwig's ideas. Bring them on. We should have never sold the naming rights to the Civic Arena to the Penguins. The Pens want to tear down the Civic Arena now.

However, I wonder what is up with the econimic opportunity efforts. Does he want to create more TIFs for young people that are not here? Or, does he want to help in the sponsoring of a YOUTH TECHNOLOGY SUMMIT as an annual event at the Convention Center so our kids, academics, parents, foundations, schools and volunteers can mingle with businesses?

---

James R. Burn, Republican

Favors assessment plan adopted by Allegheny County Council, but says county must work toward annual assessments to gain accuracy. Says he will bring financial stability and economic growth.

Great to hear that someone is against the current trend of freezes on assessments. We used to freeze property assessments and that leads to trouble.

Yes, we need financial stability, and yes, we need economic growth -- but how and where?

---

Michael J. Finnerty, Democrat -- no web site. Welcome to 2005. Sounds like an old fart.

Wants to create jobs and economic development. Favors incentives for building and development, especially in area near Pittsburgh International Airport. Seeks more consolidation of services such as purchasing with city, but would go slow with mergers of major offices.

I'd like to work against this type of thinking. I don't want to create jobs and econimic development by the airport and kill the city. If people want to buy that land -- let them do it on their own. We have an urban decay that needs more attention than development on greenfields by an airport that has few flights.

---

Doug Price, Republican. It breaks my heart to find out that Doug does not have a web site. But, at least he has a record to stand upon. He's been on council and you know what you're getting.

Seeks continued reform of county government by transforming treasurer and sheriff from elected to appointed positions. Favors developing the airport corridor by funding a new water treatment plant to serve two major development sites there.

Okay, I'm okay with a water treatment plant by the airport. That is a public infrastructure investment. That's great. We could do some 'green' development with better treatment of water sources, etc.

I've always liked Doug's approach to reform. I hope he keeps his seat.

---

Geneva McKee, Republican -- no web site, sadly.

Says assessments need to be made more fair so lower-priced properties do not subsidize underassessed properties. Favors cutting taxes overall to try to create jobs and keep people in the region.

---

Charles Martoni, Democrat -- no web site.

Favors economic development to keep young people in the area. Wants to develop brownfields. Favors government free of partisan rancor.

His web site is free of rancor -- and void of ideas. I don't mind a little rancor from time to time as democracy is messy. Martoni is no saint either. How we should develop brownfields is not understood. To put in big-box developers at tax-payers' expense isn't okay. Martoni has approved tiffs.

---

Your comments are welcomed too.

The other Pittsburgh mayoral candidates protest

Bob and Joe don't have a monopoly on the good ideas for fixing Pittsburgh.

A show-down will occur on Sunday morning at the TV studios as some other candidates will appear and expect to be put onto the telivision for the debates.

Furthmore, Bob O'Connor has said that he won't debate unless all the candidates are invited. Bob O'Connor knows that 100% of the people, with the lone exception of a few television executives who must not live in the city, want to see all the candidates on the debate stage. Bob knows he'll loose massive volumes of respect if he is going to debate without inclusion.

Bob wants to get a new group of people together to talk about equal opportunities for women and minorities and youth. Humm. He better walk the talk and go out of his way to appear on the public airways (TV stations get airway rights from public-controlled spectum) and be inclusive.

Furthermore, Bob O'Connor is going to get beat by Joe Weinroth in a head-to-head debate. Bob isn't good in one-on-one debates. This is why Bob wasn't mayor in 2001. Bob went on the air in 1-on-1 debates to Tom Murphy and lost the election.

Bob O'Connor would have won all the debates by a landslide in 2001 -- and would have been elected as the Democratic nominee in 2001's mayor race -- if Bob would have only insisted upon going into the five debates along with Leroy Hodge and Josh Pollock.

Bob fumbled them. We'll know in a few hours what Bob does in 2005.

2 Pittsburgh mayoral candidates protest Two candidates for Pittsburgh mayor protested their exclusion from televised debates yesterday.

Independent David Tessitor and Green Party candidate Titus North said they were not invited to debates to be taped tomorrow by PCNC and Nov. 4 by WTAE-TV. Only Democrat Bob O'Connor and Republican Joe Weinroth were invited.

Mr. Tessitor said the exclusion of candidates that are on the ballot amounts to 'silencing alternative points of view' and a 'breach of trust by the media.'

Mr. North said the media's view that small-party candidates can't win is a self-fulfilling prophecy.

All five candidates on the ballot have been invited to a debate to be taped by PCTV Channel 21 on Wednesday and untelevised forums on Tuesday and Nov. 3.

The other mayoral candidate on the Nov. 8 ballot is Jay M. Ressler of the Socialist Workers Party."

Mom goes to college swim meet and cheers for two sons -- at different teams

CollegeSwimming.com Barbara Farnham's alternate screams of 'Go, Daniel!' and 'Go, Adam!' at tomorrow's swim meet against the University of Tennessee are certain to echo in the ears of nearby fans.

Farnham is the mother of the All-American UK senior Daniel Farnham and UT sophomore Adam Farnham - two brothers, two rival swim teams.

Maryland editorial about PA politics and access to ballot

editorial

Pennsy shouldn't make third-party runs so tough

It's no surprise that America's two main political parties don't want to make it easy for a third or even a fourth party to muscle in on their turf.

But should it be impossible for third-party candidates to get on the ballot?

We say no, especially in the state of Pennsylvania, which some would argue was the cradle of the American political system.

Well, unless you're a Republican or a Democrat, the Keystone State's laws make it mighty difficult for any political movement in its infancy to survive.

The Associated Press reported that when Ken Krawchuk ran as the Libertarian Party candidate for governor in 2002, he needed to collect about 32,000 signatures from registered voters to get on the ballot.

About 21,000 of those were required by law, but the Krawchuk campaign obtained 11,000 more to ensure that the campaign wouldn't go bust if a significant number of signatures were challenged.

There is a good reason to be careful. The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review this week reported that Pennsylvania's 1995 motor-voter law, which allows people to register when they renew a driver's license, has caused problems. It's a good idea in theory, but in practice election officials say it makes it difficult to purge from the rolls voters who have left the state.

But the state's difficulties in keeping track of who is registered and who isn't shouldn't have any bearing on how difficult it is to for third-party candidates to get on the ballot.

For example, the aforementioned Krawchuk, who said he might try a U.S. Senate bid in 2006, would need to gather 100,000 signatures to ensure himself a spot on the ballot.

The required number of signatures is 67,000. The rest would cover the campaign in case many signatures are successfully challenged.

How was the 67,000 figure arrived at? Pennsylvania law says that candidates need 2 percent of the number of votes cast for the highest vote getter in the last statewide election.

It's Krawchuk's bad luck that in the 2004 election, Robert P. Casey Jr. amassed a total of 3.4 million votes in his race for state treasurer.

Does it make sense that circumstances beyond a candidate's control should dictate the number of signatures, or that Krawchuk be required to obtain four times as many names as third-party candidates in 2004?

No, this law does not make any sense. It should be changed so that prospective candidates would need to gather signatures from a certain fixed percentage of the state's registered voters.

If that total is difficult to ascertain, election officials have to go with their best estimates, remembering that it is they - and not the candidates - who are charged with keeping track of such things.

Write to cure the pain. That's what this blog is all about!

Susan Barnhorst of the Nuin Center sent this along about "healing." Humm... The writing effort I put into this blog is to "heal" -- as in HEAL our City. There is a half-hour lecture called writing as therapy might blend well with blogging. If you'd like to heal our city, you can write to me and we'll get your ideas onto this blog. Then we'll talk about those ideas and see if they make sense and really work. Ours is about tough love medicine that aims to heal so we all can soar and live freely.

Festival of Healing at the Nuin Center, 5655 Bryant St. in Highland Park, free, on Saturday, October 29th from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm. Healing lectures
every half hour, demonstrations, health advice, prizes, organic food. Meet
our practitioners from bodywork, psychotherapy, and complementary and
alternative medicine. 412.661.6108 or nuincenter.com for more information.

Lectures are as follows:
11:00 am Massage Therapy for Chronic Pain and Injury
11:30 am Fibromyalgia Workshop-Natural Solutions
Noon Overcoming Anxiety and Fear Response
12:30 pm Acupuncture for Chronic Pain
1:00 pm Bringing Your Higher Self into Everyday Life (Meditation)
1:30 pm Easy Antidotes, For Everyday Aches
2:00 pm Writing as Therapy2:30 pm
Preventing and Treating Arthritis Through Proper Nutrition

PNC will boost city -- OR -- PNC robs the taxpayers with lots of corporate welfare.

Here comes santa clause -- with more corporate welfare. To take money for a private development is wrong.

PNC will boost city - PittsburghLIVE.com PNC Financial Services Group is expected to unveil plans in coming weeks to redevelop properties it owns on Fifth Avenue near its headquarters Downtown, giving a private boost to stumbling public attempts to breathe new life into the moribund city center.

But the effort won't come without a further infusion of taxpayers' money.

Gov. Ed Rendell hinted Friday he would be in Pittsburgh sometime around Thanksgiving to serve up a heaping helping of state subsidies for the latest redevelopment effort in the Fifth and Forbes corridor.

More meetings: Gaming Task Force

Oct 24 - 6:30-8:30, Manchester Craftsmen’s Guild
Nov 1 - 6:30-8:30, Goodwill Industries of Pgh Cafeteria
Nov 16 - 6:30-8:30, Regional Enterprise Tower 31st Floor

Crossing guard with red flag, white gloves and orange vest and hat. Crossing guards are a fixture at big cities, such as in Chengdu, China. They work for everyone's sake, not just school kids. Often at big intersections, there are four or more crossing guards at each corner.

I walk my kids to our neighborhood school.

Murphy's budget rejected - PittsburghLIVE.com

Guess who gets the short end of the stick, again and again? ....

The children.

Murphy's budget rejected by ICA (oversight board) A solution also has not been reached on paying for the city's school crossing guards.

For the past few years, the city and Pittsburgh Public Schools have split the cost of school crossing guards. The mayor included $1.75 million to pay crossing guards for half a year.
The district, however, informed the city that because of its own financial problems, it will no longer pay half of the cost.

The cost of the crossing guards should have never been transfered over to the budget of the Pgh Public Schools. The crossing guards work the streets and the functions are much like the police force. Crossing guards help motorist, private school children, college students, elderly, and the police.

We could protect our kids by giving them all their own cars -- or build more elevated sidewalks above the streets -- or have them walk with some supervision in the most dangerous intersections with crossing guards. The crossing guards could either write tickets and be employed by the police department or else they might be school employees who can't even slap motorist with a chewing gum on the nose punishment.