kdka.com - O'Connor Puts Hold On Plans To Expand Police Force

kdka.com - O'Connor Puts Hold On Plans To Expand Police Force Right now, the city has 814 officers and 45 cadets will start field training next week.

Glass is half full -- not half empty.

The headline, O'Connor Puts HOLD on Plans to Expand Police Force, is wrong if you just read the article. When you do the math, + 45 + 814 = 859. That is a net gain -- and movement to 900.

I hate to see the twisted reporting. Move Saks (as blog says below) is media expansion and I say it is NOT a net gain. But, add 45 officers is called a a HOLD by the media, and I say it is a gain!

When the MATH is in question -- and the outcomes are at odds with the truth -- we've got some serious watchdog problems still lurking.

Another 45 officers in a month or two is going to be 'perfect.'

Heck we are already due to get more video monitors, cameras and robots. And, we've already got new river frogmen and high-speed air boats -- all in time for the All-Stars. Those acts are hardly "PUTS HOLD ON PLANS" if you ask me.

Another 'under current' (pun intended) is the fear that dangles about too many rookies hitting the streets in some tinderbox neighborhoods. The zone commanders have shifted. The city has some fragile areas that could spiral out of control if a few acts get out of hand.

Let's pray some more.

Lawsuits add to Pittsburgh's financial woes - PittsburghLIVE.com

Of course! Thanks for the notice. People do read my blog and platform.

Lawsuits add to Pittsburgh's financial woes - PittsburghLIVE.com Lawsuits have amplified the costs of guiding Pittsburgh out of its financial mess, according to preliminary budget figures from the city's state oversight board.

Much of the higher-than-anticipated costs comes from legal fights the board started or was forced into with former Mayor Tom Murphy, the city-county Sports & Exhibition Authority and the city's firefighters union.

The coutless lawsuits that the city, and even the county have engaged, in the past decades is horrid.

I've called for a major shift in the benchmark for litigation. To me it is a no brainer. These court costs have been massive. And, the city has been big-time loosers. The decisions have more often than not gone against the city's best interest. And, for good reason.

The parking lot in Panther Hollow is one example.

The seedy theater in the North Side is another fine example.

As the country song goes, "you gotta know when to fold 'em."

The city's leadership must "Lay the Shovel Down" -- and do much more to cut their losses. Snip away.

The next big case that is brewing, and I already made mention of this on the blog and on the record at city hall before city council is the Bill Peduto sponsored "Bubble Bill." The city should not waste a nickle trying to defend the "Bubble Bill."

Background: In the fall of 2005, the city, at the urging of the women's health clinic and Planned Parenthood folks, drafted a new set of laws that makes a protected area around people that moves around a protected area already designated around the entry of women's health clinics. This new 2005 law came into being because the managers within the Police Department were without strong leadership. They were fearful of backlashes from city hall politicans who flapped in the wind. And, because of police force cuts and a lack of new hires to cover needed shifts.

Make no mistake, the situation was broken because of compounded problems on compounded problems -- all caused from the ill management of Tom Murphy and his administration.

So, city council acted -- and did a classic 'over reach' so as to write new laws. The best fix would have been new directions and understood policies from the police and top brass. And, there was an enforcement issue that needed to be monitored.

The people need to feel safe and respected on the streets -- and near the health clinics. But, the police were only able to toss their hands into the air and look the other way -- if they were even around due to cutbacks, overtime headaches and thin force in general.

Now that the 'bubble bill' of 2005 is on the books it is right where we thought it would go -- into the courts.

The city might need to spend $200,000 or $400,000 on the defense of the 'bubble bill' -- OR -- a wise, prudent city council member could introduce a new bit of legislation that RECINDS the 'bubble bill' and gets the court case to be dropped. That would take about ten phone calls and save $200,000.

Then, with the $200,000 -- the city can open a few swim pools, hire a few crossing guards and get new rat bait for rodent control.

I feel strongly that there are times and places where defending principles are justified. Let's not burn money on the 'bubble bill' -- NOR another dozen fruitless court cases.

Meanwhile, the ICA (oversight board) paid $800k to a law firm -- and that must stop too.

As we settle disputes in the courts -- nobody wins. Judges are bad at finding the best solutions for the long-term health of the region.

We need a better margin of litigation!

Piatt Place plan grows

This is a red herring alert. The catfish are jumping. ...

Piatt Place plan grows - PittsburghLIVE.com Millcraft Industries Inc., of Cecil Township, Washington County, also wants to talk to officials of Saks Inc. to determine its interest in moving its Saks Fifth Avenue store Downtown to its expanded development site.

'We also will be contacting Saks to determine if it wants to use part of the site to expand its store,' said Lucas Piatt, vice president of real estate for Millcraft, which in January completed purchase of the Lazarus-Macy's building from Federated Department Stores Inc.

If you move -- you move. That isn't a guarantee of growth. Rather that is called "CHURNING." We don't need to churn. We need to grown.

And more over, we don't need to subsidize the churning.

To get Sacks to move from A to B is but a shell game. What then goes to B, an empty building?

Even the downtown residents -- they'll be moving out of other neighborhoods to go downtown. That is displacement.

Developers make money when they bribe folks to move near them -- as their land values and property values can double, triple or more. But, holes elsewhere are created, often.

This shifting is often just to allow the rich, err, the super rich to get richer and the poor to get poorer.

If I had a voice in O'Connor's office I'd say in no uncertain terms that any move to this development area that is just as described in the article -- would insure that the entire project gets $0 as a subsidy. It should NOT be accepted.

We're going to take the high road and improve our city -- with gains, real net gains. We can't toss up some smoke and mirrors and expect real progress to occur. We can't have the city be fooled into such sillyness.

O'Connor shouldn't say, Saks should stay here. He should say that he wants Saks to stay PUT. Big difference.

Even with the Penguin discussions. The Penguins should stay here (in the greater Pittsburgh area) and the arena should stay put. The Pens can build a new areana and move out of the civic arena -- but the old arena is going to stay put and be a home to the circus and Disney on Ice and Carrick High School Graduations.

Pittsburgh Laurels & Lances - PittsburghLIVE.com

Pittsburgh Laurels & Lances - PittsburghLIVE.com Lance: To Dan Onorato. Allegheny County voters twice have rejected a home rule charter amendment that would have allowed sitting County Council members to run for other offices. The idea, a good one, was to prevent the council from becoming a springboard and soapbox for those with higher political ambitions. Yet Mr. Onorato, the chief executive, is proposing a third referendum on the very topic. How many times do the people have to speak?

Lance: To Mr. Onorato. The aforementioned amendment might not pass legal muster. Why? It places before voters not a single issue but a second issue -- if voters also want quick special elections to fill vacancies to avoid the practice of the council appointing people to fill vacancies. Convoluted, 'Christmas-treed' amendments are a constitutional no-no at the state level; there's no reason to think that same rule is not applicable at the local level.

Hear, hear. I've got plenty to say about special elections and those who want to run for office other than the one they are in presently.

Diven Speaks Out On Forged Signatures

kdka.com - Diven Speaks Out On Forged Signatures Diven has withdrawn from the Republican Primary.

Diven could still mount a write-in or independent campaign.

Mayor: Point Park's plan enhances efforts to redevelop Fifth-Forbes

too bad Point Park University isn't seeking to take over the now closed YWCA. That could be a recreation center for students, staff, faculity and community.

Mayor: Point Park's plan enhances efforts to redevelop Fifth-Forbes Pittsburgh Mayor Bob O'Connor says the purchase of five properties by Point Park University in the heart of the Fifth and Forbes shopping district Downtown only enhances his efforts to redevelop the beleaguered corridor.

Judge upholds third-party ballot access rules

This is bad, bad news. News like this means Pennsylvania will stay in the dark ages for another decade or more. Folks, this is the time to act up! http://www.timesleader.com/mld/timesleader/14272051.htm

MARK SCOLFORO, Associated Press

HARRISBURG, Pa. - A federal judge on Wednesday denied a request from minor political parties to reduce the number of signatures required to place their candidates on the statewide ballot.

U.S. District Judge John E. Jones III said a formula that requires minor party candidates to collect 67,070 signatures this year is constitutional and reflects a legitimate state interest.

Jones said he was sympathetic to the plight of the parties and candidates who sought to overturn the law. He urged the General Assembly to reconsider the law, but he declined to issue a preliminary injunction that would invalidate it.

Jones wrote that he is not "a super-legislature, but rather a court of law, and thus we decline to supplant our wisdom in place of that of the Commonwealth's elected officials."

Jones said he shares the state government's concern that, without some standard to make minor parties demonstrate a minimum level of support, the ballot could become cluttered and confusing.

"Undoubtedly, and in particular during these contentious times in Pennsylvania politics, some will brand this concern as undemocratic in that it places little faith in the ability of voters to sort out a potentially long general election ballot," Jones said.

Robert Small, founder of the Pennsylvania Ballot Access Coalition, said his organization will next seek changes to state law that will loosen access.

"We'll have to go back to Plan A, which is trying to get it through the state Legislature," Small said.

Republican and Democratic candidates for governor and U.S. Senate this year needed 2,000 signatures to make it onto the May 16 primary ballot.

But the signature requirement for others is 2 percent of the ballots cast for the largest vote-getter in the last statewide election race, which was Treasurer Bob Casey's record of nearly 3.4 million votes in 2004.

Sam Stretton, attorney for the plaintiffs, said he was disappointed in the ruling and said the parties have already shown public support by qualifying as minor parties under the state Election Code.

"I think it's a serious First Amendment violation and an equal protection violation, so we're going to let the 3rd Circuit (Court of Appeals) take a look at this," he said.

A spokesman for the state Attorney General's Office said the third-party access rules fit within the limits of the state constitution.

The lawsuit is being pursued by the Green and Constitution parties, the Green Party candidate for governor, the Constitution Party candidate for governor and the Libertarian Party candidate for U.S. Senate. The defendant is Secretary of State Pedro Cortes.

BUY ONLY OPTICAL SCAN VOTING MACHINES

STOP COUNCILMAN JOHN DEFAZIO
CALL (412) 350-6516
jdefazio@steelworkers-usw.org
JDefazio@county.allegheny.pa.us

STOP CHIEF EXECUTIVE DAN ONORATO
CALL (412) 350-6500
executive@county.allegheny.pa.us

DEMAND PAPER BALLOT VOTING!

Allegheny County's CHIEF EX. DAN ONORATO, AGAIN, wants to buy an UNSAFEGUARDED voting system without paper ballots.

The BOE will meet on Friday, 6PM, 119 of the County Court House to decide to purchase the iVotronic machine. Onorato is counting on John Defazio to vote with him.

Tell John Defazio to SAY NO TO PAPERLESS DRES...
SAY YES, ONLY TO OPTICAL SCAN VOTING.

Optical Scan is the only Paper Ballot system that we can purchase or use in PA today. Paper ballots form checks and balances for electronic voting. Op scan is the most cost-effective, secure, reliable and auditable voting.

Optical scan is the only voting system with a meaningful audit or recount. Avoiding recounts is not a valid reason for not choosing optical scan. Candidates are entitled to recounts and voters are entitled to see a permanent record of their vote to provide backup reliability in case of electronic glitches and to prevent fraud.

*Onorato/DeFazio plan to purchase iVotronic voting machines that dont have paper ballots and may never have them. Their plan is to wait for stalled legislation to pass (SB977), then will ES&S have to develop a new printer to submit for certification which may or may not be certified. Their present printer will not pass certification. Once again, Onorato has presented a farce of a plan for paper ballots in Allegheny County - Political cover for a fraud prone voting system. Don't let them get away with this.

Optical Scan costs less, is most secure, and is the most used system in the country, as well as the best ADA compliant system, why wouldn't the county buy it?

EITHER THEY DONT WANT RECOUNTS, OR THEY DONT WANT SAFEGUARDED ELECTIONS.

Recounts and audits are the standard for integrity in elections. they simply must happen.

Richard King, Ph.D.
(412) 400-3773
kinggaines@comcast.net
www.PA-VerifiedVoting.org
www.verifiedvoting.org

Jerry Bowyer - hope all is well with you these days

Jerry Bowyer - Home Page Susan and I would like to let you know what has been going on with me and my absence from the airwaves over the last couple of weeks.

Get well soon. I didn't notice a date on the blog entry.

Who's who -- getting along to recovery: Jill Carol

Jill Carroll, recently freed in Iraq after nearly three months in captivity, was a former swimmer and water polo player at UMASS (Univ. of Mass.).

My wife got her undergrad degree from UMASS too.

News accounts said Carroll is in good health and told reporters that she was treated well by her captors, but said she did not know why she was kidnapped. Her release came a day after her twin sister, Katie, made a televised appeal for her freedom.

Carroll, 28, was abducted Jan. 7 in Baghdad while on assignment for The Christian Science Monitor.

Hope all is well with her and her family.

Beep, beep. That's not a four-wheeled Harley -- but a three wheel motorized bike -- with a roof -- headed down the expansive sidewalk in Chengdu.

City Wide Public Safety Meeting is 7 pm on Monday, April 24 in Lawrenceville

The City-Wide Public Safety meeting will be held on Monday, April 24, 2006 at 1900 or 7:00 pm hours. The meeting will be held at Our Lady of Angels located at 37th and Butler in Lawrenceville. Zone 2 and Zone 3 are the hosts for this meeting. I would encourage everyone to attend, so that you can hear information vital to the entire city, and Zone 3. Typically, representatives from Police, Fire EMS, 911, BBI and other high ranking officials are present.

We're going Friday... to Tosca

The Big O - PittsburghLIVE.com Tosca is one of the signature roles of Neves' repertoire. The title character is a diva's diva. Puccini's 1887 composition is an opera about an opera singer plagued by a malevolent magistrate with a hidden agenda.

We understand that this lead is a nice person. Unlike one in New York who (so the story goes), on the last performance, jumped off the castle wall not into a padded landing but onto a trampoline set there by the stage crew in revenge.

---

Another theater date we hope to share is Fiddler On the Roof at Carlynton High School -- this weekend. We know a couple of the fiddlers! How cool is that! Break a leg, but not a string!

Talking about 'Plan B' -- Hat tip to the Pens for capacity to "Think Again"

This is good news -- because it is healthy to 'think again.' Those that can't 'think again' have closed minds -- and should not be given millions for a new hockey arena.

Talking about 'Plan B' - PittsburghLIVE.com: "Penguins officials are planning to talk this week with Pittsburgh and Allegheny County leaders about an alternate plan to build an arena, a spokesman said."

Wonderful motivational slogan for the back of a t-shirt

T-shirts for the Junior High Team...


How many swimming pools are going to open this year in the city -- and in Dormont?

Stickey Sportsmanship to Norwegian ski coach from Canadians

SI.com - Olympics - Norwegian ski coach rewarded with maple syrup - Wednesday April 5, 2006 12:54PM OSLO, Norway (AP) -- Bjoernar Haakensmoen's act of sportsmanship was rewarded Wednesday -- with more than 5 tons of Canadian maple syrup.

At the Turin Olympics, the Norwegian cross-country ski coach handed Sara Renner a spare ski pole after the Canadian broke one during the Nordic ski sprint relay final. Renner went on to win a silver medal while the Norwegians finished fourth.

'It was natural for me to do it, and I think anyone should have done it,' Haakensmoen told The Associated Press. 'I didn't think about it. It was just a reflex. ... but the response has been unbelievable.'"

"Natural.... all natural" -- funny pun.

Let's get him to Pittsburgh for a pancake breakfast.

Allegheny scraps deal for new voting machines

GREAT. We dodged a bullet.

Allegheny scraps deal for new voting machines: "With just six weeks to go before the May primary, Allegheny County is scrapping a multi-million-dollar deal for electronic voting machines built by Sequoia Voting System and instead is purchasing 4,700 touch-screen machines from Nebraska-based Election Systems and Software Inc.

County Chief Executive Dan Onorato made the announcement today, saying Pennsylvania Secretary of State Pedro A. Cortes told him last week that Sequoia's system likely would not be certified because of critical software problems."

However, that does not mean there isn't another bullet on its way.

I want and urge, from the get-go, "OPEN SOURCE VOTING MACHINES." That's my benchmark. And, that's what would be BEST.

It is foolish to take something old that works and JUNK it for something that is new and broken.

Even if the new broken elements are paid for -- so too are the old working elements. They are paid for! Keep em.

Rush and hurry to scramble to spend. Forget that. Think again, thank you. We want a hungry, local, 'tiger team' to tell us that these machines work -- flawlessly.

I don't think we need to satisfy the Help America Vote Act -- until there is TRUST. That's the bottom line.

Where are the results of the Allegheny County "TIGER TEAM" who have pounded and tested the new machines on all sorts of angles?

As a backup in May, precincts with long lines will allow voters to use optical scan ballots. Those ballots, which resemble standardized tests, would be placed in secure boxes and taken to a central location for counting.

There will NOT be many precincts with long lines because too few people vote. I don't see a big groundswell of people rushing to the polls for the spring primary, sadly. But, at certain times in the day, there is a bit of a wait.

...The county will begin an "aggressive" educational campaign for voters and poll workers ....

Great, we need an aggressive educational effort. And, we need an aggressive TIGER TEAM approach as well. The TESTING campaign that I'm calling for is part education, part research and development. It can happen as the educational effort happens and the two can have, at times, meetings of the minds. But, both need to occur to raise the various issues and find flaws that are sure to exist.

Allegheny County voting machine with levers.
Mr. Onorato acknowledged the potential for difficulties. But, the biggest difficulty isn't with the act of the vote -- is it the process from within the technology of the voting. The potential difficulties are greatest when trust vanishes. That is the worst of the worst.

Mr. Onorato said the board would hold a public meeting Friday at 6 p.m.

Good. Put that meeting onto cable TV and onto the internet. Start the educational process now, with that introduction. Capture the meeting on video and put stream it off of the county's web site.

And if anyone is going -- please ask about the 'tiger team.'

Ballot Access is a major key to the salvation of Pennsylvania

General News The state Libertarian Party has joined a coalition of minor parties representing a broad range of ideologies. Ranging from socialists to libertarians and from the ultra-conservative Constitution Party to the liberal and environmentalists of the Green Party, the coalition has one thing in common: a goal to bring a level playing field to all political parties in the state.

The Pennsylvania Ballot Access Coalition has drafted legislation to make it easier for minor parties to have candidate listed on general election ballots, and has asked every state Senator and Representative (all are either Republicans or Democrats) to introduce the legislation; so far, none have done so.

There is bad -- and then there is really bad. Bring it on Madame Justice!

Two examples of what NOT to do follow. I've always said that there are a million ways to do it wrong. However, there is only one way to do it right. Here are two ways to failure.

When things go bad -- one has to wonder.

First, a bit of a hassle has come to Russ Diamond, founder of PA Clean Sweep. There were some board members who were not doing much -- but now they are trying to take over the show. Another asked, are they morons or moles? Good question.

Then from a southern state comes the story of a Pitt Law School Grad, Rachel Lea Hunter, who has ambitions of being elected to the bench. When the power-brokers start to slam a candidate that challenges the status quo -- then things are going well for the challenger. Part of her recent letter follows. (The rest is in the comment part of this blog.)

Release 4-3-2006

Dear Friends & Voters:

It seems that my detractors have been hard at work. Several weeks ago, those in the judicial establishment who are vehemently opposed to me took the opportunity to file a bar complaint against me. Did it relate to taking money or having sex with clients? No. Did it allege some other misbehavior in the practice of law?

No.

What grievous act do I stand accused of committing then?

My use of my nickname, “Madame Justice” on my website in which I render opinions on the law or give free legal advice to those who contact me.

And for this, I am to either withdraw from the race or face censure or disbarment?

This country is facing enormous problems. This state also has its share. There are others accused of committing crimes and those who have committed them but who have not even been charged. And they are worried about what a woman with a brain tumor and a paralyzed face says on a political website?

It sounds ludicrous.

It is ostensibly to protect the poor unsuspecting public, who as we all know is too stupid to think.

There is no “Madame Justice” office in our state; there are only justices and a chief justice. This complaint has nothing to do with protecting the public, which is NOT too stupid to think, as I well know.

Nor is this about prospective clients thinking that I have some special connections with the justices that will help their case. I don’t and never indicated that I had and anyone who thought otherwise has been disabused of that idea. The argument does not hold water, in any case.

We could save all lives by driving at 5 mph. Do we do that? No.

Nor should we prohibit political speech because there might be one misguided soul who might somehow think that I am a real justice or that I might have special connections that will help their case.

This complaint is politically motivated and is a sign that my enemies are so desperate that they will do anything to stop me.

I will not withdraw from the race. Nor will I accede to their attempts to censure or disbar me. If such sanctions are imposed, I will seek redress in the federal courts. And someone somewhere will reveal to me who it was that filed the bar complaint. They too will be part of any lawsuit.

That is why I need your help more than ever to donate to the PAC!

Aside from responding to frivolous bar complaints, I was in Fayetteville a few weeks ago and briefly spoke to the Progressives down there. I will be returning there to speak in more detail about the death penalty. While there, I had the opportunity to meet Luis Olivera who is running for district court there. He has been a prosecutor. He has been in the military. He has been involved in the community. And he is very bright and hard-working. I think he will make a fine addition to the bench and I hope the voters in his district will give him consideration and hopefully their vote.

(... snip ... See the rest of the email letter in the comments, but nothing much of an attack happens there.)