Swann watch

Updates from others who went to the PA Converative meeting. See comments for more on two other keynotes.

The Evening Bulletin - Home - 04/04/2006 - Observations Made At The Pennsylvania Leadership Conference
Lynn Swann kicked off this weekend's Pennsylvania Leadership Conference with a message that was not received well by the staunchly conservative grassroots activists that attended. It appears that Swann is now becoming complicit with the legislative leaders in the rewriting of history about the construction and passage of the pay raise of 2005, specifically the shifting of blame to the governor. As recently as November of 2004, Swann's campaign manager, Ray Zaborney, was a paid political consultant of the political action committee PA Future Fund, which is a PAC run by Bob Asher! Why would our gubernatorial candidate want to dirty his hands with the current corruption in Pennsylvania since he is running as a reformer and a so-called 'outsider?'

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Lynn Swann gave a mixed performance. When he was off the script or regaling the crowd with football analogies, he was brilliant. But when going through his prepared speech dealing with policy, he seemed like someone who only recently learned a foreign language. The Q and A portion was especially turbulent for him. Questions about the pay raise and the abhorrent spending of House and Senate GOP leaders were given very weak answers, so much so that Swann was heckled a bit. Note to Swann: TRIANGULATE, lest it be rendered true that you are deeply in the pocket of one Bob Jubelirer, a bete noir to conservatives. Swann also dropped a golden opportunity by bunting a softball on Right to Work. Swann said he'd sign a Right to Work Bill, but implied he'd take the Tom Ridge approach and not expend any political capital on it. In other words, if Swann is governor and Right to Work is your top issue, sorry about your luck.

State House gives threat to drop $25-million of school funding for Philly

KYW - Newsradio 1060 In a preliminary budget vote, the Pennsylvania House on Tuesday refused to continue an extra $25-million appropriation for Philadelphia schools that began after the state takeover of city schools.

Over and over and over again, we've heard that the Pittsburgh Public School District is about to be snatched up "by the state." Well, it seems as if the state has little interest in taking over school districts when it won't even pay for the district it had to assume control over in the past.

I don't think we should call the bluff of the state and drive the local school district into nothingness -- just so we can dare them to take it over. Not at all. But back off with those idle threats.

We've got to fix the local school district. We've got to do it ourselves. We got to make progess. We are making steps. And, there is a long way to go.

Coach Bonnie's last day at swim practice.

My guys.

Gators grab the men's hoop crown

Erik, my oldest, had in his NCAA chart (an in-house activity) FLORIDA as national champions.

Meanwhile, B, (name withheld for security and eye-are-ess purposes), won $130 for being the victor in his office pool.

I don't like to bet. I just cheered for the underdog.

Democratic Lieutenant Governor Candidate Gene Stilp to Argue Pay Raise Case Before PA Supreme Court on Tuesday

Monday April 3, 12:36 pm ET

Stilp is Only PA Citizen to File Lawsuit Against Legislative Pay Grab

PHILADELPHIA, April 3 /PRNewswire/ -- Democratic lieutenant governor candidate and anti-pay raise activist Gene Stilp will personally argue the pay raise case before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in Philadelphia on Tuesday, April 4.

The hearing will take place in the Pennsylvania Supreme Court hearing room located in Room 468 of Philadelphia City Hall at 9 a.m.

Stockholm Challenge Event 2006 - Program

If I was ever elected State Senator -- I'd start up a Youth Technology Summit. It would have outcomes such as those found within the Stockholm Challenge. Looks like lots of interesting projects to explore.

Stockholm Challenge Event 2006 - Program: "The Stockholm Challenge Event, May 8-11, for the world's best ICT projects

The Stockholm Challenge brings together inspiring people working with ICT from around world in the six categories of the Award. This time around 100 finalists will participate in the Final Event of the Stockholm Challenge 2006.

The finalists will gather for closed workshops on the 9th to share their experience with academic and industrial members of SPIDER, the Swedish Program for ICT in Developing Regions."

Swingers....

Your fly is about to open.

Imagine your favorite, high-speed coaster. What do you like best? Most people go for the fast descent into a wild dip followed immediately by ‘air time’ as you crest the next hill.

Imagine a ride with that thrilling sensation of weightlessness immediately followed by another... then another... and another... over and over again, in very rapid cycles? Yeah, baby!

Everyone knows a coaster descent is only as good as gravity makes it, so this is where our imaginary ride gets even better. Imagine being actually powered down, i.e. driven, into the dip! Imagine that you are then powered back up to the next heart-pounding crest with dragster-like acceleration!

Now that’s what we’re talking about! A real thrill ride! One that isn’t a coaster, but thrills like one! And it is comes into existence as Kennywood’s new ride: SwingShot.

Interesting multi-media from the old-school folks at Kennywood, Welcome to Kennywood - What's New MORE CABLE GIRLS: The SwingShot is featured on Local Cable Show. Park opens May 6. Season Passes are available for Sandcastle and Idlewild for only $49.95 until May 15th. Don’t miss a whole summer of fun for the price of about two visits!

Volunteer at WYEP -- or roar with a campaign

You can get a no pay job at WYEP on the South Side -- or -- if you care about your political life, I would suggest you volunteer for a campaign. Mike Isaac has a political office to manage on East Carson Street, within the Terminal Bldg and the Pgh Courier. With the campaign, you'd do much more and be the boss -- not just a receptionist.

WYEP is looking for several energetic individuals to volunteer at the reception desk in the new Community Broadcasting Center. The receptionist will be the point of contact for the Community Center and be responsible for all incoming calls into WYEP. They may also be asked to assist in some other office tasks such as assisting with outgoing mailings, sort and deliver incoming mail, greet guest and take memberships. This position requires that the individual must have wonderful communication and people skills. Volunteering Shifts are 9am-1 pm and 1pm-5 pm Monday through Friday. For more information on open shifts, or to volunteer, please contact Kathi Radock at 412-381-9131 x 212

Coyote Music is in concert in Pittsburgh on Saturday night

Coyote Music from Ocracoke Island NC COYOTE is the songwriting duo of Marcy Brenner and Lou Castro who make the beautiful island of Ocracoke, NC their home.

At 8 pm on Saturday, April 8, is this season's final Legends Concert to feature Coyote.

The songwriting duo of Marcy Brenner and Lou Castro has a unique blend of folk, blues and rock influences. Hear enchanting audiences with intimate songs and a variety of acoustic instruments at the First Unitarian Church of Pittsburgh, 605 Morewood Avenue, Shadyside.

Admission for the Evening is $15.00 at the Door and
Students only $5.00.

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But the best is a COYOTE Youth Band Workshop slated for Saturday, April 8 from 2 - 4 pm -- for FREE.

This is open to students age 10-18, but is limited 20 participants. Bring your instrument. You must have taken at least one lesson.

Reservations required, call Calliope at 412-361-1915 before noon on Friday, April 7.
Jam session with five fiddlers.

Catch COYOTE on the radio with Saturday Light Brigade (SLB) 88.3 WRCT-FM, with Larry Berger the morning of the concert, April 8.

Wellness is coming into bloom.

Allegheny Alert from Mke Ference about abuses and kids

Allegheny Parents and Police in the Mon Valley -- state concens about wellness and abuse of kids

PRESS RELEASE

Mike Ference

See the Allegheny blog for the full press release. Mike is doing a lot of whistle blowing.

I noticed in the newspaper how a WVU student was found dead in his room, after choking. And two college age kids have died in the past months with falls from 9-story buildings. And, then there is the other story about a college kid with blood found in the garbage shoot, but no body yet.

There is a lot that can go wrong with a young person. One missed step can be serious. Life gets zapped and others are left wondering. Be safe out there, everyone.

Pitt vs. Penn State --- in baseball on WED night, this week in Washington County -- FREE Tickets

Free Tickets! Yes, that is worth repeating.

Ticket booth in Chicago at Navy Pier.

Pitt and Penn State do NOT play each other in football. But, they'll meet in a baseball game at 7 pm on Wednesday night in Washington County at the baseball field of the minor league team. Nice ad in the P-G today caught my attention.

Want to join us?

My wife is on the road this week to Minn. She'll be at the Am. Academy of Audiology event -- and the boys at home are ready to be out and about. Baseball is on tap for WED night. Then we've got the OPERA on Friday. On Saturday we hope to hit the Carlynton High School musical, Fiddler on the Roof. We know some of the fiddlers.

Meanwhile in Iowa, also home to a fine Audiology program, there is a massive outbreak of MUMPS. I figure they'll all get to the convention and the rest of North America will get hit in about a month. The sky is falling!

Grant, now 8, is really interested in playing baseball this summer. We'll get into softball at Ormsby Rec Center. Those practices and games are when school is out from 1 - 3 pm. If there was a baseball league in the South Hills areas that started after school ended (because I don't want to have conflicts with swimming) -- let me know. Most of the kids seasons start any week, and afterschool sessions (practices or games) won't work for us as I'm coaching and the boys are swimming five nights a week.

Deaf firefighter overcoming obstacles (phillyBurbs.com) | Courier Times

Deaf firefighter overcoming obstacles (phillyBurbs.com) | Courier Times “Not everybody is open and accepting of having a deaf person in the fire department,” McDevitt said.

Searching -- still --- for candidate for November 2006

Candidates wanted for US Congress races too. Do we have anyone who can run in the 1st (Robert Brady), 9th (Bill Shuster), 14th (Mike Doyle) or 15th (Charles Dent) districts? It looks like those races will only have one name on the ballot in November. It is an absolute shame if there is no choice for the voter for federal office.

It looks like there will also be six races for Senator in the General Assembly that will only have one name on the ballot. We need candidates in the 4th, 14th, 22nd, 38th, 40th and 46th districts. There are a lot of state rep slots left to fill, and far too many with only one name.

Anyone wishing to run for office, please let us know so arrangements can be made to collect signatures!

Yes, this is a LIMO.... Babies need not apply.

West Wing talks of bloggers

Josh, the character on NBC's West Wing, hits the roof in the show when a blogger predicts on election day that his guy is going to win three states. It was a funny quip. "How many people read this blog?"

Blogging is sorta important to an election -- but not really important.

On one hand I can feel for the show's characters who get to the finish line and are just spent. I don't think I took a nap on the recent election day, like the Santos character did. But, I know I did in a past race when I was on the ballot. And, I did need about two weeks to get over the race -- in what I call a 'decompresion' period.

So, a summmertime favorite of ours, 'lump camp' came early around here for me due to the March 14 election.

But, on the other hand, this time when I was a candidate, I ran and kept a good bit of the powder dry. I understood my role in the race and knew that it would not be worth the effort to burn out, rack up debt and feak out as they did in the TV show.

Others in the race, to their credit and debt, did run themselves into the ground. The post-election reports are due soon. Our went in last week. I kept it under $250 again and filled out the short form.

My POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEES -- PACs -- have been 'closed.'

P-G hits two topics: 'Moblogging' trend and God-podcasting

Airport Blogging... and looking to heaven.
The P-G hits on technology, twice, in the same day.

TechMan: 'Moblogging' trend makes mobile Web posting possible ... pronounced 'mo-blogging,' rather than 'mob-blogging,' as it's a combination of the terms 'mobile' and 'blogging.'

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For years, I was a webmaster at my religious community, Sunnyhill.org. Now the church administrator does some of the work and our minister is shy about the use of the net. I called, in an unsuccessful way, for podcasts of messages from the services. But, few others in the congregation supported it. Some did -- but hardly the board. Now the Sunnyhill blog is just a few points here and there to hold onto the namespace. As a point of irony, after today's fine service by Sue R, others were asking for the speaker notes, a GREAT use of the net. Oh well.

Churches turn to 'Godcasting' Churches turn to 'Godcasting'

Tips on crime prevention from South Side

Thefts from vehicles are still are a problem in the South Side around 14-18th streets. Don't leave anything of value in view in your car.

Wallets and purses are being taken out of shopping carts at the Giant Eagle in Wharton Square on the South Side. If you are going to place your purse in the cart, wrap the child restraints through the handle and lock. Make it very difficult to quickly remove the purse without drawing attention to the act. Additionally, make it more difficult to unzip the purse and remove the wallet.

Selling swords might be one way to diminish theft at a shop. Those who might swipe a purse would 'think again.' In the photo, Grant is checking out some wares in China. He wanted to bring home a functional blade, an old-style light sabre. But airport security might have caused some problems for us.

On The Economy: Rendell's score on jobs, not ice, to determine election fate

On The Economy: Rendell's score on jobs, not ice, to determine election fate a matter of far more importance in the Pittsburgh area -- jobs.

Jobs tied to gambling with slot machines are fleeting, at best. Jobs tied to gambling and table games are much better and more abundant. There are more jobs to be expected from a casino -- where ever it might be located -- with table games instead of slots. And, those jobs would pay more. Better paying and more of them -- seems like a winning combination. Furthermore, when Pennsylvania's slot bill was hatched, it sprang up from a bill that was to put slots only at the horse race tracks. Then came the parlors for the cities and for the resorts. In the end, PA is going to have plenty of locations with slots. The marketplace is going to have a big glut of options and the demand is going to be much less. When the supply is increased in such a drastic way -- there are expectations that the value of each location is going to be less. People in Pittsburgh can still and will still play the slots in Las Vegas, Atlantic City, West Virginia, Niagra Falls, Indian Casinos and perhaps in Erie and Seven Springs too, plus The Meadows in Washington County, Gettysburg, and the Downs near Harrisburg. The options are extensive for slots.

Indian Reservations have gambling too.

I think it would be wise to make a break-out statement and say Pittsburgh will do without its slots license and turn it into a license for table games. Then we'll have something on the front of the wave -- rather than getting crushed in the tail end. Being a laggard in terms of a marketplace offering is always Pittsburgh's way -- so far. They overbuilt the Convention Center in Pittsburgh and now the Convention Center is never going to be used to its capacity. It is a waste as all the other convention cities have out paced Pittsburgh. Looser again. If we asked for a TABLE GAME LICENSE, an exception that all the other slots places are sure to embrace, as the Pittsburgh venue will be less of a competitor to theirs, then we'll have something. Consider the game of 'BINGO' and its popularity. That game is much unlike that of playing a slot machine. With BINGO, it becomes a social game, a community game. Furthermore, BINGO is more of a mental game when contrasted to the slot machines. There are women who play bingo with 24 cards and no chips. That's amazing. That's mental stimulation that is worth its price in gold. I understand that BINGO isn't a "table game" -- but with Pittsburgh being what it is -- perhaps there are plenty of other interesting games that we'll be able to play, learn, develop and form into an attraction for others. In Florida they play the betting game of Jai alai, i.e, "HI-LIGH." ?? Right? In Asia, they play a betting game with FIGHTING FISH.

Ticket window to the Thai Boxing Stadium -- a real event and place to gamble.

In Thailand, they play the betting game of Thai Boxing. Well, I'm not going to go that far and suggest that any of these are 'table games' that would work in Pittsburgh. But, each has a bit of character and sense of being unique. 'When in ROME, do as the Romans do.' When in Pittsburgh -- let's NOT do what everyone else is doing. We are someplace special.

Action in a Thai Boxing match.

Finally, the other thing that would be interesting to see in Pittsburgh is a "re-match" among these gambling folks who are bidding for the rights to the casino. Double or nothing is a slogan that could fit in as a groundswell cry to put the brakes on the existing plans and make for another plan that has a better hope of being an economic boom to THIS REGION. A year delay or a delay of even six months -- could be good so as to string out the opportunities for more to get on the ground floor of the bribes and payouts. Why should Rev. Sims and Franco and that gang be so exclusive? This re-do will allow more to be in the fray -- more ads to run in the Post-Gazette, more community meetings, more time for tour bus operators to plan their trips.

Veronica Veil -- Jeepers -- an investment there might net 420 jobs

Stage face of an opera character. Fast Eddie is at it again. This time, I've got a better answer for him to consider. You do the vo-do math.

Source: Pennsylvania Office of the Governor

PA Governor Rendell Says State Investment in Beaver County Performing Arts Center Will Create 320 jobs

Friday March 31, 5:00 pm ET

MIDLAND, Pa., March 31 /PRNewswire/ -- Pennsylvania Governor Edward G. Rendell today said residents of the former steel town of Midland will enjoy greater cultural and educational opportunities with the commonwealth's investment of $4 million in the new Lincoln Park Performing Arts Center, a project that will create 320 jobs.

Okay, if a cultural center in Midland can knock out 320 jobs, I'll just yawn. Heck, Veronica's Veil Players who already own their own building with a high stage and seating in a classic auditorium, with balcony, with character -- sans a working heater and a bit of debt on the gas bill -- should be a mother load of jobs. Why not give that organiation $2 million and generate even more jobs. Why 320 jobs -- why not 420 jobs. Beat em by 100.

The South Side has a great theater hall already built. It is owned and operated by Veronica Veil Players. Such a deal.

Take $2-million and divide it by 420 people and you'd get $50,000. One guy gets the buy the heater and install it. The other guy gets to play catch-up with the gas bill. Then you've got 418 people who can all get $20,000 per year for two years and a $10,000 signing bonus.

Heck, these are artists. These are part-time jobs mostly.

I could make my $50,000 spread out over 10 years if I'm just going to be a big patron for the arts. I don't think this show will be playing in Midland, Pa., any time soon.