Indictments Announced In Huge Drug Bust

Good work. But, let's not call a big drug bust -- "fantastic for our city."

kdka.com - Indictments Announced In Huge Drug Bust "This is fantastic for our city," said Mayor Bob O�Connor.

Where are the visitors to the All-Star Game going to go to get their drugs? Not to a two-bit auto repair place nor a hauling company with trucks an at.

Help wanted: Drug pushers with nice cars and no record of zoning abuses. Come quickly while the city is still without a personelle director nor a 'weed and seed' director.

GOP's Hillman backs Democrat - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

GOP's Hillman backs Democrat - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review Hillman said her endorsement of Wagner is part of the 'Run, Baby, Run' campaign, an effort to get more women elected to the state Legislature. Hillman also noted that there is no Republican candidate on the primary ballot.

Dormont pool group gets pat on the back

Pittsburgh Laurels & Lances - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: "Laurel: To Friends of Dormont Pool Inc. A door-to-door campaign has raised enough money to open Dormont Pool this summer after all. The borough council this week reversed a decision to close the pool that's in need of major repairs. It also approved a deal that will see the grass-roots group pay for those interim fixes. The effort redefines for the better what the word 'community' really means."

PLUM Students Walk Out In Protest At Plum HS

WPXI.com - News - Students Walk Out In Protest At Plum HS ... About 60 students walked out of school in protest of the proposed 2006-2007 school budget.

In the new budget, students would have to pay a $50 participation fee to play sports or other activities.

Also, anywhere from six to 20 teachers positions could be eliminated.

School board officials said it is to help the district cut its budget, which is currently almost $2.2 million in the red.

The protesters said it's not fair to make the students have to compensate for the district's financial problems.

Student Sarah Urbanowicz said, 'We don't deserve to have our teachers cut who help us so much. This morning they told us we could write letters and stuff that would work but they didn't listen to us in the board meeting. Why would they listen to letters? We can't take this so we walked out.'

I Want My M-TV..... and make it free ... and where's Waldo?

Posted by Amy Gahran

Where Is That Stephen Colbert Video Now?

Stephen Colbert's now famous/infamous performance at the April 29 White House Correspondents Association dinner launched an online firestorm. C-SPAN shot and broadcasted the video, which was immediately recorded and widely reposted online by enthusiastic Colbert fans, Bush detractors, media critics, and others.

C-SPAN, which holds the copyright to that video, recently asked the popular video-sharing sites YouTube (http://youtube.com) and iFilm (http://ifilm.com) to remove the Colbert performance from their offerings. Both services complied. (Although, as of this writing, iFilm is offering an ABCnews.com closeup video of President Bush watching (http://www.ifilm.com/ifilmdetail/2724944) Colbert's "audition tape" spoof -- and appearing none too pleased.)

C-SPAN recently announced (http://www.c-span.org/special/colbert.asp) that it has entered into a non-exclusive arrangement with Google Video (http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-869183917758574879) "in order to increase the Colbert event's free availability. We worked with Google because they agreed to post both dinner segments in their entirety with links to c-span.org."

Of course, the Colbert video is distributed far and wide, and is by now impossible to recall -- from the fan blog Thank You Stephen Colbert (http://thankyoustephencolbert.org/) and video-sharing site DevilDucky (http://www.devilducky.com/media/45146/) to respected media organizations like Salon.com (http://www.salon.com/ent/video_dog/politics/2006/04/30/colbert_press/inde
x.html) (where I first saw it).

I can understand C-SPAN wanting to protect its copyright. However, when news footage "goes viral," there's no containing or corralling it. So the question becomes, what can news organizations do -- if anything -- to leverage such viral runaways? Please share your thoughts on this in a comment below. I'd love to hear some ideas on this.

Are you ready for some.... 'soccer.'

"Soccer" in U.S. and "football" everywhere else, the sport with most fans in the world, will have its World Cup competition in Germany in June. Are you ready?
Soccer ball in front of a sports stadium in Chengdu, China.

Congress critters to hit against "my space" and other social sites with pending law

The problem with this proposed bill is it tries to draw a line that in the real world won't be so clear. It will be impossible to draw. Enforcement will be lax and a joke.

Perhaps a solution or suggestion could be vendor ethical practices that call for parental consent to enter such networks. This would rest on the backs of the vendors.

A couple of states attorney generals (or auditor generals) could force this issue to them -- in advance of a congressional law of blacklisting.

I think blacklisting, as the law is being hatched, is a bad idea.

Free D.C. event for student journalists

On Friday, June 2, "The Nation" and CampusProgress.org will co-host a FREE Student Journalism Conference at the Center for American Progress in Washington D.C.

Student writers will have the opportunity to come together for a day of conversations, workshops, panels, and trainings featuring numerous "Nation" editors and writers, including Katrina Vanden Heuvel, David Corn, John Nichols, Liza Featherstone, William Greider, Eric Alterman, Laura Flanders and Victor Navasky, among many others.

Registration is free including meals. A limited number of travel stipends are still available. Both undergraduates and graduate students are welcome.

The application deadline is May 15.

For more information, http://www.alternet.org/nationinfo or, to apply, http://www.alternet.org/nationapply

For progressive journalism, Kristina Rizga, Editor, WireTapMag.org

Online Journalism Awards: Entries Start May 15 to June 15. The entry form is not yet online, but will be available shortly.

Honus & Me -- a great audio from SLB -- and the 10-year old meets a neighbor

Pittsburg....

This is a great listen about a play now at City Theater -- on the South Side. Everyone should give it a listen. And, I love the SLB with Larry.

Brigadier Briefings report:

Last night, we enjoyed the debut of City Theatre's "Honus and Me", a magical and fast-moving play with great Pittsburgh connections -- past and present -- that the whole family will enjoy. For an audio preview and ticket information, visit http://slbradio.com/slb/citytheatre.html.

Click that link (above) already.

Greedy - that word fits.

Cass wrote from eastern Pa to point out a new poll.

Did you see this poll that shows when asked, Pennsylvanians most often called the state legislature "greedy?" It's a big deal, especially since those polled weren't given multiple choice answers - they came up with the word on their own. Other words used to describe them include “crook,” “poor,” and “corrupt.”

IssuesPA/Pew Poll Shows Pennsylvanians

Dissatisfied with State Direction

Pennsylvanians Have Mostly Bad Things to Say About the State Legislature

May 10, 2006 (Harrisburg, PA) – A new IssuesPA/Pew poll shows that close to half (49 percent) of all Pennsylvanians are dissatisfied with the direction of the state, compared to just 43 percent who are satisfied with the state’s direction. These are the most negative ratings recorded in an IssuesPA/Pew poll since August 2004. These results also show the widespread nature of the dissatisfaction – reaching more than 50 percent in four of the six regions in the state; only one month ago, dissatisfaction was over 50% in only one region.

The poll also shows that rising gas prices are one factor behind Pennsylvanians’ growing dissatisfaction. Mentions of high gas/fuel prices as the most important problem facing the state have doubled in the past month (13 percent now versus six percent in March).

Views of the Legislature

When asked for a one-word description that best describes the legislature, the largest number of Pennsylvanians (69 respondents) said, “greedy.” Though the top ten list of responses includes some positive or neutral words like “good,” “okay,” and “fair,” most have a negative connotation such as “crook,” “poor,” and “corrupt.”

Only a quarter (26 percent) of Pennsylvania residents feel they can trust the legislature to do what is right just about always or most of the time. Nearly seven in ten (67 percent) feel they can be trusted only some of the time or never.

Pennsylvanians’ negative perception of the legislature might carry over into this year’s elections, as two-thirds (66 percent) of voters say that an incumbent state legislator’s vote on the pay raise should be a very important issue in this year’s legislative elections

“The well-reported furor over the Legislative pay raise appears to be having a lasting effect,” said Larry Hugick of PSRAI. “Pennsylvanians express low confidence in the state legislature as whole but have more positive opinions of their own state representatives.

Education

Education has emerged as a key issue in the 2006 elections. Most voters (85 percent) say that making sure high school graduates have the skills they need for college or a career will be very important in determining their vote in the gubernatorial and legislative races this year. Eighty-one percent say that making sure children have a similar opportunity for a quality education regardless of where they live will be very important. Voters were asked to rate the importance of 30 different issues this spring. Only one other issue – providing health care for uninsured children – was rated “very important” by 80 percent or more of the respondents.

Across Pennsylvania, most residents (56 percent) agree that financing education should be the responsibility of the state government. However, a similar majority (53 percent) want local school officials to be in charge of ensuring that public schools provide a quality education.

Gubernatorial Race Still Wide Open

The poll asked Pennsylvania voters about their chances of voting for Ed Rendell and Lynn Swann in the November gubernatorial election. Based on their responses to two questions, three in 10 (30%) voters are likely to support Rendell, another three in 10 (29%) are likely support Swann, and four in 10 (40%) are classified as swing voters, not strongly committed to either candidate. The new poll shows more voters on the fence than the March 2006 poll; the number of swing voters has increased by six percentage points.

Other Findings

Three in four (75 percent) voters statewide say the candidates’ positions on how to best control state spending will be very important to their vote.

More than two-thirds (71 percent) of voters say the candidates’ positions on how to best provide a tax system that is fair, adequate and pro-growth will be very important to their voting decision.

About half (52 percent) think the issue of helping cities and towns solve their financial problems should be very important.

Most Pennsylvanians (63 percent) do not think local communities without their own police department should be charged a service fee for state police protection.

Residents have many reasons for disliking local property taxes. Even numbers of Pennsylvanians (21 percent) say their main complaint about property taxes is that they make home ownership unaffordable and don’t specifically take household income into account.

In terms of reducing the property tax rates, the two least acceptable alternatives are expanding the state sales tax base (27 percent) and increasing the local wage tax (25 percent).

More than a third of Pennsylvanians (38 percent) think that conditions affecting their region’s economic performance have gotten worse in the past four years.

“There are a number of issues that matter to Pennsylvanians, and many of them may be important factors in the 2006 elections,” said Steven Wray, Project Director of IssuesPA and Deputy Director of the Pennsylvania Economy League’s office in Philadelphia. “The candidates’ positions on taxes, jobs and education may be key in deciding what could be a very close race.”

More pointers and details in the comments.

Rip-off: As seen on City Council! - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

Rip-off: As seen on City Council! - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: "Got yourself a councilmatic yet?

What? You don't yet own this amazing appliance that conveniently slices, dices and easily purees facts and opinions for insertion into hastily complied research?

That's understandable, I suppose. They can be expensive. Pittsburgh City Councilwoman Twanda Carlisle spent $28,795 on hers."

Locals Lead with Logic from Lessons Learned

Firms' familiarity breeds attempts - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review 'If you look at what's happening Downtown, local people are making it happen,' O'Connor said. 'Any investor is welcome, but local people seem to be the ones coming up with the best ideas.'

Of course the locals are going to be the ones best suited to fix our problems.

Pittsburgh has had a great fall. The locals along with the king's men and king's horses have to be engaged with the rebuilding.

The ones that come up with the best ideas come from anywhere and everywhere -- really. In an open-source model -- that can be locals, but it can be anyone under the sun. Every comment is taken.

So, we have a core of prime developers -- but we still need to have that public process.

I'd love to see that contract being let from the URA to Urban Design Associates as to what is going to be expected from the strategic plan.

City seeks advertising dollars -- sooooo, Les Ludwig Won!

Les Ludwig was a candidate for Mayor in the Dem primary in May, 2005 -- just one year ago. He talked constantly about this very topic -- art-advertising income.

Do more with Les.

His idea took root more than a year ago on the County Council. Now it is getting serious attention on City Council's agenda.

Les Ludwig MUST be put onto this 'task force.' Les really extended the conversation on this front and he has to be included. And, if I was Luke Ravenstahl, I'll give Les a big, public pat on the back and make him the first official appointment to this committee. And, give him special emeritus status too.

City seeks advertising dollars, sponsorships The City-County Building will not bear a corporate logo, and Schenley Park won't be renamed for a bank, but the City of Pittsburgh is preparing to solicit advertising dollars.

City Council today unanimously approved Council President Luke Ravenstahl's legislation creating a committee to look into selling ads on city buildings, ballfields, street furniture, cable programs and Web pages, as well as other means of reeling in corporate dollars.

City fires Weed and Seed coordinator

John T, a guy I know from being out and about in the community, like he is, got terminated today. The reasoning is unknown in the paper -- and with me.

Weed and Seed hit a bump in the road a bit in recent times. The prior director was terminated in the first hours of the new administration. I think that went down as the police boss was also let go, or around that time. But, then, John T. kept onto his job and might have picked up additional duties.

City fires Weed and Seed coordinator: "Pittsburgh Mayor Bob O'Connor's administration has terminated the coordinator of the city's Weed and Seed program. A mayoral spokesman said the program would continue to operate while the administration seeks a new coordinator.

The terminated coordinator, John T. Tokarski Jr., 49, of Hazelwood, started with the city in 1994. "

Weed and Seed is nice. But, my approach calls for Weed, Seed and Flourish. When do we ever get aroud to a HARVEST if we are always doing the weed and seed things?

There are too few programs in the city that are built to FLOURISH. We want our kids to soar. I want the buddies of my children to be able to soar too. We need to have a framework in the schools, parks, and neighborhoods where excellence is expected. That means we need more than 'lifeguards.' We need 'coaches.' We need programs that push and pull our kids.

I want my children to be in gangs. But I'm not talking about 'street gangs.' I want them to engage in gangs that are positive experiences.

A band, orchestra, swim team, and other efforts are 'gang-like' -- but -- postitive. That is the missing leg on the chair in the past approaches with our city.

Let us 'Create Literate Olympians Here.' That's the point of CLOH.Org, one of my hobby sites. That is a theme I'm wiling to sing and dance about for hours.

Do weed. Do seed. Fine. But let's also be sure that the entire forumla for success is established --- FLOURISH.

John, you did good work. You did a lot of time in duties where you had to make chicken soup and you only got chicken droppings to scratch about with.

John, you did a good job of survival and influence when Tom Murphy was in office too. I hated Tom Murphy's acts and the crew that was around him -- but -- for you.

John, let me know what your up to next.

Council clears way for PNC tower work to begin. I would have raised questions and voted NO

When I ran for city council -- just months ago -- I mentioned this tax break for PNC many times. I always talked about it. Meanwhile, the others on the campaign trail generally did not -- except for two others.

Jeff Kock, the eventual winner of the race, never mentioned tax breaks. He didn't have much to say about how the city council people always vote to give away our public money to big projects that fail to help the city and fail to make good financial sense.

Jeff Kock must have been told how to vote on this tax break by others -- such as the mayor.

I'd love to lobby new Mayor, Bob O'Connor, and get him to VETO the TIF to PNC. It is something that was hatched by Tom Murphy and Ed Rendell. The state (Pennsylvania) already gave PNC $30-million for this same building. That was a 'grant' and that is also illegal, but that is another story.

O'Connor won't veto this building.

Build the darn building -- but do it on its own merits with its own money -- not taxpayer funding.

The PNC Plaza is getting more than $1-million per floor. The citizens and taxpayers are getting robbed.

Council clears way for PNC tower work to begin City Council gave final approval to an $18 million subsidy for a new PNC Financial Services Group tower planned for Fifth Avenue.

I would NOT have voted to provide this Tax Break to the rich corporation. I would have voted to protect the taxpayer money -- not give it away. I would have voted to keep the funding in the schools, not help the profits of a downtown based business.

Furthermore, I would have been on council giving serious questions to those on the URA, the mayor's office, PNC, and others about this deal. I would have attacked the reasoning from every angle. I would have made a case as to how the $18-million could have been spent in other ways.

I worry -- why do we give money to build a hotel downtown when places like The Hilton -- are not performing as they need to perform. And, why undercut that long-time business with a subsidy to bring in another competitor. Next up -- see more requests for money to be spent on hotels downtown to prop up the others.

When things are not fair -- people walk away. The Hilton, Doubletree, Mariott, Wm. Penn and others from downtown to South Side to North Side -- can all smell the foul stentch of bad deals.

City Council Member Bill Peduto voted no on the deal. He was the only one. Good for Peduto. But, Peduto endorsed Bruce Kraus in the city council race I was in recently. Kraus would have voted WITH the TAXBREAK and NOT with Peduto. Kraus is all about doing big corporate welfare deals too. Kraus is a Chamber guy. Kraus would not have stood with Peduto in opposition on things that really mattered.

Britain targets improvements to reach medal target in 2012

The Brits are turning on the heat in various sports and with various athletic programs in the years to come. Come on -- get 4th!

SI.com - Olympics - Britain targets improvements to reach medal target in 2012 - Tuesday May 9, 2006 1:17PM... Cycling, rowing, sailing, equestrian and modern pentathlon regularly deliver medals for Britain and will have to 'consolidate on their success.'

Archery, boxing, canoeing, judo and badminton have a 'sporadic track record' and will need to increase their medal totals, he said.

The BOA is also targeting other sports where Britain is weak, including weightlifting, wrestling and water polo.

Meanwhile, London organizers said they will embark on a 'road show' across Britain to promote the games. The tour will begin in London on July 6 -- a year to the day after the city was awarded the Olympics -- and run until July 27, exactly six years before the opening ceremony.

Also Tuesday, a public hearing began into the forced relocation of businesses from the Olympic park in east London. Olympic organizers have about 86 percent of the land needed for the complex, but dozens of businesses are fighting eviction.

The London Development Agency has issued a 'compulsory purchase order' covering 306 hectares (756 acres) in the Olympic precinct."

In other news, eminent domain acts are an important next step in getting access to the land for the Olympic venues in East London.

Perhaps we could write new eminent domain laws in PA -- or elsewhere in the USA -- that pledge no eminent domain, UNLESS it is for the Olympics. Maybe not.

Bubble sport for the Brits.

Olympic racquet -- not always about a racket.

Blog Quiz:
Guess the sports of the Modern Pentathalon? (See comments for answer.)

Developers pass -- but this isn't any 'bid' -- it is cronism, plain and avoidable

Of course developers are going to walk away. They are voting with their feet. People leave when things are not 'fair.' People depart when there isn't a 'square deal.' People don't want to be part of a hand-picked dance.

This is business. And, this is business with public officials and public assets. We should have called for a comprehensive public participation process.. We should be doing bids, sealed bids. We should have accountability with a set of specifications. We should make up our mind as to what fits, what is ideal, what we are willing to provide. Then we should accomidate all suitors.

Developer may pass up bid - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review Developer may pass up bid for Fifth-Forbes job

By Andrew Conte, TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Tuesday, May 9, 2006

Yet another national retail developer appears to be losing interest in Pittsburgh's main retail corridor after spending months studying ways to bring the area back to life, Mayor Bob O'Connor said Monday.

Madison-Marquette, based in Washington, D.C., would become the fourth suitor to pass on remaking the area since 1999. A company spokesman declined to comment.

'I don't think Madison-Marquette is interested any more in the project,' O'Connor said.

Must read for all musicians and lovers of music -- Extra! Online, May 5, 2006

Extra! Online, May 5, 2006 Strike up the band ... safely
UPMC helps protect the hearing of Pittsburgh’s young musicians

See the article, now, before the URL changes.

Extra, a UPMC newsletter: Features Catherine

Students don goggles to guard their eyes while in the chemistry lab. On the football field, no one participates without wearing a helmet and pads.
It only makes sense then, says UPMC’s Catherine Palmer, PhD, for school districts to take steps to protect student musicians from a danger they face each time they tune up for a rehearsal.

Biker Event - open the tunnel

Bike lanes are needed too -- along with the tunnels.

Tunnel for pedestrians in Xian, China. The people can walk in a safe way under the ten lane road -- without stopping the flow of traffic. Most of the tunnels have ramps build in along the steps that allow for the pushing of bikes to join the walkers.

BST Event The Somerset County Rails-to-Trails Association (SCRTA) invites you to join the Light at the End of the Tunnel Celebration on Saturday, May 27th from noon to 3 pm at the Western Maryland Railway Station, Meyersdale, PA.

Trail rides, refreshments, entertainment, displays, and activities are planned for visitors of all ages. A grand opening ceremony will take place at 2 pm.

This is great progress. Soon the Pittsburgh to DC trail is going to be a real deal.

This September there is a 'World Clinic' for ASCA (swim coaches). It would have been great, given the price of gas, to be able to bike with 10-20 other swim coaches in the region on a three day trip to DC for the event.

I do like to push the functional benefits of biking -- not just the recreational ones. I think we need more bikes for everyday work and everyday travel. That means bikes get to take the place of cars. Bikes need bike lanes on busy city streets for commuters and travel to school.