Trash Talking

Let's Redd Up Pittsburgh! It's time to Redd Up Pittsburgh, 'cause company's coming!' That was something I said referring to cleaning up the city for the Major League Baseball All-Star Game. But, in reality, my goal is to make Pittsburgh one of the cleanest, safest cities in...

But, if reality said that the goal was to make Pittsburgh one of the cleanest and safest cities, say that at on the first pitch.

Don't put lipstick on a pig.

Don't fall into the hype trap. Or, pull us OUT of the hype trap, already.

You could NAG as Tom Murphy did and get the same results as Tom Murphy. No thanks.

Or, you could lead by example, something that Bob O'Connor has been doing with plenty of gusto. Fine.

The deck chairs on the sinking ship are sure to be boarded up some time soon. But, it costs the city a lot to board up a property, to take it over, to maintain it, to do the title clearing and so on and so forth. The budget has 300 houses set for demolition -- but the list is presently at three to five -- if not more -- times that.

And, in two more years, the list is going to be even larger.

The Redding Up effort makes for a 'no win battle.' Rather, some big ideas are needed to turn the tide. Rather than walking away from properties, we need to see a rush to Pittsburgh from near and far. That's what I wonder about -- and what Bob O'Connor has not been able to deliver.

Moon high school plan nixed again - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

Moon high school plan nixed again - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: "Relying on Web sites, blogs and e-mail, community activists are finding they can reach more people more efficiently than ever before -- posting their positions instead of repeatedly recounting them or printing them in fliers and mass mailings.

John Broderick didn't know how many people had clicked on to www.moonread.org to learn about parents' battle to revive a plan to build a new high school in Moon, but he knows the Web site has been crucial to their fight."

Lofty plans vie for cash: Leaders push ideas for urban research center

Hat-tip to Pittsblog.

Lofty plans vie for cash: Leaders push ideas for urban research center 'To build buildings using the available resources, without building the entrepreneurial and research culture, I think that's a mistake,' said TechStar director Lane Brostrom. 'We don't have the critical mass of resources yet, so the question is: Where do you start?'

Both Byrnes and Brostrom are seeking political support for their respective plans. Given tight public finances, both have potential to stir controversy with their ambitious spending plans. Authors of both plans met last month in an effort to reconcile their aims.

Assuming that a compromise can be agreed upon, the question remains whether the plan can complement other efforts under way in Milwaukee, or whether it will overreach the city's capacity to generate patents and start-ups.

'The more of these organizations we have, the better it will be. It will raise the profile of the city,' Byrnes said.

Where do you start? Start at home. Start with the local kids. Start with the schools. Start with open source software. Start with open source software in government -- as a mandate. Eat your own dogfood.

Then kick things into gear with a YOUTH TECHNOLOGY SUMMIT. Build easy steps for local companies to interact with the young job pool. Make stars among the high school students, among the community college crowd, and among the leaders of those populations.

To reach for patents as a benchmark is a wrong-headed direction.

In Milwaukee, I've noted that they are trying to hire 40 new police as well. Platform.For-Pgh.org pointer

There there is the 'profile of the city' bunk. Screw that. Worry more about the 28 shootings on Memorial Day Weekend. Police staffing there has been short by 200 for several years. That sounds so much like Pittsburgh. Go figure.

Sharp increases in testing results for a school after switching to Linux

http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/stories/0621metcrctbestchart.html

The Atlanta Journal Constitution reported that Brandon Elementary scored top in the District of Atlanta Public Schools and third in the state on the standardized tests in Georgia. William Fragakis and I (posted by Daniel) converted all the old, nonfunctioning PCs into Linux thin clients running K12LTSP, got more than 100 donated PCs from businesses, and bought more than 60 new NTAVO thin clients at $99 each. The ended up more than tripling the number of working PCs in each classroom.

Scores were up across the board, and math scores, in particular were up sharply this year. All of the teachers have told us how much having all the Linux PCs have improved things, but this is the first hard evidence. Not that I'm a complete fan of all the testing that goes on here lately, but test results are paid attention to by decision makers, many of the ones we want to convince of the benefits of open source software and thin client architectures.

Thanks to the group for all the support! Daniel

Voters -- citizens -- poll workers -- democracy lovers -- lend us your cycles

* http://votepa.us/documents/allegheny/pressallghny_6-1.pdf

* http://votepa.us/documents/allegheny/ivo-report.pdf

Vote on November 7, 2006: My Assigments

Humm.... New web goodie. Give this a whirl. See if you can log on and make sense. Feedback welcomed.

Vote on November 7, 2006: My Assigments: "My Assigments
recently closed | all tickets
Tickets I am Working On"

DemocracyFest, Education by Day. Celebration by Night

DemocracyFest, Education by Day. Celebration by Night

Silver Eye's South Side Hike -- tonight

Silver Eye, Center for Photography, 412 431 1810 ext. 11 is holding a City of Bridges: Book Signing and Urban Hike, Wednesday, June 21, 7:00 p.m.

Bob Regan and Tim Fabian talk about their most recently published book: Bridges of Pittsburgh. An urban hike follows to nearby bridges. Members and Students: $10.00; Non-members, $15.00. Silver Eye Center for Photography, 1015 East Carson St., Pittsburgh, PA 15203. 412.431.1810, www.silvereye.org

Silver Eye's South Side Hike -- tonight

Silver Eye, Center for Photography, 412 431 1810 ext. 11 is holding a City of Bridges: Book Signing and Urban Hike, Wednesday, June 21, 7:00 p.m.

Bob Regan and Tim Fabian talk about their most recently published book: Bridges of Pittsburgh. An urban hike follows to nearby bridges. Members and Students: $10.00; Non-members, $15.00. Silver Eye Center for Photography, 1015 East Carson St., Pittsburgh, PA 15203. 412.431.1810, www.silvereye.org

The Sweatshop Stops Here

Are you aware of this??? You need to be. The All Star Game comes to Pittsburgh -- and we're going to send a statement to the world that Pittsburgh is a place were all workers are respected.

AlterNet: WireTap: The Sweatshop Stops Here

In the past decade, over 200 universities have adopted antisweatshop codes of conduct in response to student protest.

Student activists at the University of California have achieved a significant victory in restraining the forces of unregulated globalization. UC president Robert Dynes announced in May that the ten-campus system had pledged its 'full and enthusiastic engagement' with an antisweatshop policy advocated for the past year by United Students Against Sweatshops (USAS), a national coalition.

Swim practices have been going well. Our hip position is getting better on backstroke too.

Inside Mac and Mac Minute to Deliver "Inside Mac Minute" Radio Program

Are there any Mac users out there in Pittsburgh? Of course. I'm still without OS X. Oh well. This looks like a nice production.

CARSON CITY, NV. June 19, 2006 - Inside Media Networks (http://www.insidemedianetworks.com) a new media broadcast, consulting, and digital production company serving entrepreneurial content producers, today launches a daily Macintosh technology radio news program and Podcast in partnership with Stan Flack's http://www.macminute.com website. Inside Mac Minute will be hosted by industry veteran producer, Dina Orlando. Dina joins the Inside Media Networks team as Executive Producer of Inside Mac Radio & TV. She will also join Scott Sheppard, CEO and Executive Producer of all Inside Media Networks original content programs, as news anchor for the Inside Mac Weekly Radio program heard live on San Francisco Bay Area's 1220-KNTS station each Saturday and Sunday from 1-3PM Pacific Standard Time.

According to Scott Sheppard, "Mac Minute is the definitive source of Apple Mac Technology news on the web today, we are thrilled to provide a lively audio version that will keep our audience of over 250,000 up to date on the latest in Mac news, and product highlights. Dina Orlando brings a fresh approach and has a history of producing top-notch radio talk shows throughout the San Francisco Bay area including; sports-anchor Gary Radnich (680am - KNBR), Sports-Talk with ESPN and KGO-TV personality Carolyn Burns (1220am - KNTS), and was a principal creative director for (102.9fm - KBLX) and (810am - KGO) Radio."

"I'm excited about the opportunity to bring a new level of interactivity and new media to Mac Minute", says Stan Flack, the legend behind the #1 Mac news source online today. "I could not have chosen a more professional team or larger distribution base than Inside Mac Radio and TV, and look forward to the launch of the new program."

Inside Mac Minute daily news will begin broadcasting exclusively via Apple iTunes this week. Listeners can subscribe to the radio program via iTunes, to automatically receive your daily dose of the best in Macintosh technology radio news programming at ...

https://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZFinance.woa/wa/subscribePodcast?id=73329937

For more information about the Inside Mac programs, visit
http://www.insidemacradio.com or http://www.insidemactv.com

Report: Legal fees in pay-raise lawsuits top $1 million

The Associated Press has some expensive news for PA citizens. Not only did the pay raise cost a ton, as did its pensions. But now the total is in as to the amount it cost to defend that madness of the legislature that was signed by Gov Rendell -- as the legal bills are more than $1-million.

http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/103-06192006-672499.html

PHILADELPHIA - Defending state lawmakers, judges and Gov. Ed Rendell in lawsuits spawned by last year's short-lived, unpopular legislative pay raise has cost taxpayers more than $1 million so far, a newspaper reported.

The amount represents the total cost for outside lawyers working on five lawsuits stemming from the pay raise, one of which was thrown out by a federal judge last week, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported Monday.

State officials said they were obligated to defend themselves, even though they consider the lawsuits frivolous since the law raising the salaries of lawmakers, judges and executive-branch officials was repealed in November.

"Do I like hiring lawyers to defend these kinds of suits? No, I hate to do this," said House Majority Leader Sam Smith, R-Jefferson. "I understand why people think it is a waste of money, but if we think we are right about the process, we have to defend it."

Six staff lawyers on the state payroll have been involved in the cases, plus at least 16 private lawyers from five law firms, including one who charges $625 an hour, the newspaper reported.

"They have robbed the bank," said Gene Stilp, a Harrisburg activist who filed three of the lawsuits, "and then used the people's money to defend themselves."

Stilp estimated that he spent $10,000 of his money on the lawsuits, mostly for copying fees and court costs.

The pay-raise law was passed without public notice or debate in the early-morning hours of July 7 before lawmakers recesses for the summer. The ensuing furor over the raises led to the repeal and has been widely cited as the reason for the ouster of a Supreme Court justice in the November election and of 17 sitting lawmakers - mostly Republicans - in last month's primary.

Three of the five lawsuits directly challenged the pay raise. The other legal challenges sought a state audit of legislative spending and asked the court to declare unconstitutional certain legislative benefits such as leased cars and per diems.

U.S. District Judge Yvette Kane on June 12 threw out a federal lawsuit that challenged the manner in which the pay-raise law was passed, saying the ispute belongs to the "political and electoral process." The other suits were filed in state courts.

Barry Kauffman, executive director of Common Cause of Pennsylvania, a plaintiff in the federal lawsuit, questioned why the legislative, executive and judicial branches of government did not rely solely on their own staff lawyers to defend them.

Stephen MacNett, chief counsel to Senate Republicans, said the staff attorneys "are not litigators" and added that outside lawyers are constitutional-law experts. He said most of the legal costs were incurred after the pay-raise repeal as the lawsuits continued.

The repeal "should have been the end of it," MacNett said, but the plaintiffs "are attempting to make a point - an expensive point."

"And unfortunately, it's not done yet," he said.

All-star baseball update

Just got this email about the All Star Game in Pittsburgh with Major League Baseball in a few weeks.

I just found your Pittsburgh Pirates blog entry at http://rauterkus.blogspot.com/2006/05/may-1-day-of-celebration-or-week-if.html, and I think you may be of some help to me. I'm reaching out to you on behalf of Monster, Major League Baseball, and M80 regarding a chance to blog the MLB All-Star Game. From looking at your Pittsburgh Pirates blog entry, I think that you or your audience might really find the Monster MLB All-Star Game opportunity interesting. Monster and MLB are offering a trip for two to the All-Star game and all events, on-field press credentials, an all-star player interview, an official blog on MLB.com and $2,000.

You can enter, http://monstermlbgame.fanitorium.com/?L2854

Anyhow, if you'd like to pass on the information via a post or banner on your blog, I can offer you a baseball cap for the team of your choice. Please let me know if you're interested and I'll get you more information. Thank you for your time!
Lauren, M80 Lauren - at- m80im.com
www.m80im.com / www.m80teams.com

Santonio

Does this guy know how to catch the headlines or what? I hope he doesn't mind being in the limelight when there is a football game too.

Here is a blog mention and 'toast' to 'smartness and wide eyes.' Be like an owl to better see trouble before it happens -- and even at night -- all in black and gold.

The image is a papercut.

Gather dot com home page hits two HOME RUNS on first blush

Welcome | GatherPeople share perspectives on everything from politics to parenting.

Would you look at that --- Parenting and POLITICS, both, right on the top of the home page. Was that a "fathers day fluke" or "for real?"

Big 33 Classic: Pa.-Ohio matchup needs a new contract

Wow #1: Big 33 Classic: This may be last Pa.-Ohio matchup History lesson: There has never been a Super Bowl without a former Big 33 player.

Wow #2: Way to go Pine Richland High School Baseball Team!

Wow #3: PIAA Class AA champions: Riverside Panthers win title, 7-4 The win pushed Riverside into an elite class. The Panthers are only the fourth team in PIAA history to win back-to-back titles, and only the second from the WPIAL to do the double take.

Open Thread: Happy Fathers Day -- and lessons from Dads

One life lesson from my Dad was, "Would-a, should-a, and could-a don't mean shit. It is the "do-a-s" that count."

Tell us something that you'd like to share about your dad or parenting in the comments section, or email Mark at Rauterkus.com and I'll repost.

Join Us at the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium for Fathers' Day

My family and I will be greeting dads and others at the zoo on Sunday, Fathers' Day. Dads get in for free when they are with a child.

Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium: "Sunday, June 18, 2006
Verizon Yellow Pages Fathers Day
Celebrate Fathers Day at the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium. Dads receive free admission all day when accompanied by a child.

In addition to free admission dads can check out cars from the Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix and win a Golden Dad reward kit as the National Fatherhood Initiative spots 'Golden Dads' in action.

Editorial: All-star effort / The Pirates should speak up about sweatshops

From Saturday, June 17, 2006, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Would you mind if that Pittsburgh Pirates shirt you bought last week was sewn by a 14-year-old girl in Bangladesh during her 12th hour of labor in a factory that pays her in pocket change and certainly no overtime?

Polls have shown that most Americans do mind. And certainly Pittsburghers, with their long tradition of improving labor conditions through collective bargaining, are even more likely to balk at their hometown team's shirts being manufactured in sweatshops.
Major League Baseball, not the Pirates, signs the contracts with the companies that sell the stuff bearing team logos and arranges for its manufacture. The Pittsburgh Anti-Sweatshop Community Alliance has asked the Pirates to ask Major League Baseball to take the same measures that hundreds of universities across the country have to ensure that merchandise sporting their names isn't made by people trapped in grotesque working conditions.

The Pirates have responded by asking Major League Baseball to take a look at the issue of sweatshops -- not to resolve it, just mull it. Major League Baseball has assured the alliance that the players' uniforms and caps are made in the United States and that it requires companies contracting for manufacture of fan merchandise, almost always overseas, to "comply with all applicable labor laws."

Is it fine, then, if the local labor laws in Bangladesh allow 14-year-olds to work 12 hours for pennies without overtime?

Nearly 160 universities, including Duquesne, Penn State and Carnegie Mellon, deal with this by including a code of conduct for labor conditions in their contracts with these companies and by joining an organization that investigates workers' complaints.
It's not perfect. The group checks only a few of the thousands of factories around the world. Still, it's some policing.

The alliance plans to conduct a sweatshop information "carnival" on July 11, the day of the All-Star Game in Pittsburgh. The Pirates should head it off by asking Major League Baseball to make a real attempt at enforcement. It's not too much to ask.