Advice for Luke

At Pittsblog, the question about the 'mayor matters' surfaced. The mayor does matter, mostly.

To be sure, Pittsburgh still has two oversight boards. The ICA and Act 47 folks are still here. Plus, we've got authorities out the ying yang too. Even the Gambling Control Panel has serious powers and influences now too.

Let's reflect a bit on the role of the overlords for a moment. I see the biggest role in the city for the overlords (Act 47, ICA, etc.) as insurance. They must make sure that the bond holders get paid. The city's debt is sky high. Pension promises are massive and still not fully accounted. URA Properties are not even listed in an inventory.

The overlords can't 'run the city' as the question asks. Nor do they try. Nor are they capable. The overloards are here to make sure that the city doesn't run on empty without the loss of serious flesh and blood first. The money interests don't want the city to go bankrupt. That would be a black eye. Rather have a kick in the teeth and rats running wild snf eatting what they can gobble.

Luke: The overlords should be shown the door. That should be one of Luke's biggest missions.

Bob didn't choose to kick any tailfeathers with the overlords. To each his or her own.

My first address if I had been O'Connor in January, 2006, would have been, "I'm here now. I'm in charge. Overlords, there is the door. Hit the road. We don't need you help, now. We don't want your help, as you've not been doing any heavy lifting anyway. And, nobody voted for you -- so take your high priced bills out of here. Morph back into citizens and grab a broom like the rest of us are about to do."

But, that song from Day 1 (January 2006) of a new O'Connor Administration would have been 'flat' as O'Connor was on council when quick fix after quick fix was approved and the city slid into its debt. Bob was on Grant Street, with powers, and then with the Gov, too, with powers, when Pgh did a lot of its financial bleeding. Overspending is the norm.

Luke wasn't. That's Luke's advantage. The new guy should be known as "Long Term Luke."

The spend now and pay later philosophy doesn't sit well with a (mature) 26 year old. The high spending ways works for a one-term chief executive who is about to retire.

Luke should be about 'Long-Term Vision' + Short-term power + and finding the ULTIMATE solutions for fiscal sustainability.

Now is not the time for a band-aid approach.

In Luke's 2007 budget address, Luke needs to talk about the work process for the 2008 budget. The 2008 budget needs to be the best budget any city has ever seen -- anywhere in the world. And in 2007, we build the monitors and enforement and accountability into our city's work culture -- round by round, department by department.

Luke needs to not only send the overlords a message to start packing, but then he needs to take his clipboard and computer over to the building next door. Luke needs to camp out with Dan Onorato for a few weeks, after this year's budget is handed off to city council.

Short term, Luke needs to be with Scott Kunka and Bill Urbanic and the present budget folks on the city side. Luke has to be prudent and go with the flow for now. Perhpas Luke can insert a few financial widgets and utilities for 2007 that make budget monitoring possible in the years to come. Then punt and put faith in the ones who have been in the administration all year.

When Luke goes out into the neighborhoods in the weeks and months to come, I hope he is with a calculator. Luke should be meeting with various employees about various spending and revenue matters at every turn. Luke should be dead set upon finding the best solutions possible. That is going to take a lot of research and hard work -- on paper -- and with the folks in the field.

I dare say that the sillyness and silly spending has already been cut from the budget. But, now it is time to turn to the new and next chapter -- serious solutions with honest accountability. Luke can fix the framework for the city, and make the 2008 budget something to behold, if he and everyone decides to take that bull by the horns.

It is 9-11. Oh my.

Creep stinks. I think it is silly to do a 9-11 flashback on September 10th. The 5 year date should be marked, but not the eve of 9-11, nor the week prior. Hell, if we knew 9-11 was to arrive then like we saw it approach this year, the entire tragic mess could have been averted. The surprise of 9-11 and shock then -- makes 9-11 events on 9-10 or earlier shameful and perhaps, hype driven.

When does Christmas arrive? And 9-11 isn't Christmas, OMG. So, Post-Gazette editors, all that 9-11 stuff should have gone into today's newspapers, because it is 9-11.

---

Jon Delano hosted a talkshoe event today at 9 am. A 30-second moment of silence came, along with some interesting talk.

Personal safety is important. To be safe provides a huge animal need. We need to be safe in our neighborhoods. We want to be safe in our schools, in our travels, in our communities.

I'm a 'lifeguard.' I understand that prevention counts. I keep certifications current in giving first aid. It is hard to discount wellness and safety.

However, being safe isn't the end all and be all question for me nor for our society. To be safe raises 'primal concerns' -- such as in a 'fight or flight' response. But other concerns and ambitions within the human experience make 'safety' factors less than the number one priority.

As we ponder 9-11, we are reminded by some that we are 'at war.' There are 'bad guys' who want to take us (the United States of America) down in flames. They are real. They'll strike again. They are driven. They are planning. We can expect additional actions, gross ones, against humanity, again. No doubt.

This isn't a new lesson. We are all aware of the threats. The possibilities are endless. And what comes next might be unthinkable for most of us.

One guy said that 9-11 came about because of a failure in our intelligence. And, nobody has been held accountable. None got demoted or fired. Rather, most who fumbled got more responsibility and raises even.

My point is that there isn't accountability -- just like there was none in the war on drugs. We were at war, a decade or two prior to this one, with a 'drug culture.' We had and still fight a 'war on drugs.' And, we are not winning that one either. And, I don't see folks there being the fall guys for that campaign either. More and more is spent in those battles too.

(more to come)....

Green defense in City Paper

Growing Green

In “Political Deform” [Aug. 16], Chris Potter chooses to mock the Green Party, quoting someone who is no longer a Green.

He should have interviewed Ed Boortz, Allegheny County party secretary, and Titus North, candidate for Congress in the 14th Congressional District, who spent last week in Harrisburg explaining to a judge how they spent day after day along with other Green Party members, collecting thousands of signatures, working hard to see they were meeting requirements. Potter does not focus on the injustice of denying a voice to people who feel betrayed by Democrats and Republicans, held hostage to the “military-industrial-petrochemical-nuclear complex” for the past 50 years.

In spite of this, the Green Party of Allegheny County continues to grow, and we are waiting for an intelligent analysis of the present system that will bring about campaign reform by the local media.

— Liz Hughes, vice-chair
Allegheny County Greens

Lane 9 News Archive: Creative Financing To Save a College Swimming Program

Lane 9 News Archive: Creative Financing To Save a College Swimming Program Creative Financing To Save a College Swimming Program -- September 8, 2006

Clever swimmers. Unprudent footballers.

The book | OpenLife.cc

Put this on your back to school reading list.

The book | OpenLife.cc Open Life: The Philosophy of Open Source

You can get a copy without charge for online reading. Download it and give it a peek.

I think I'll take parts or the whole work and make it available as I make new CDs for handouts to others. It would be part of my TV show, HON, (Heavy Or Not) if I had a TV show. :)

kdka.com - Will Bob O'Connor's Legacy Fade Or Continue?

Question:

kdka.com - Will Bob O'Connor's Legacy Fade Or Continue? But without his driving force will those grand ideas fade away?

Answer:

No.

Furthermore, the ideas of from Bob were not grand. Bob was grand. But his ideas were basic. To clean up is core to what government should do. Pick up the trash. Redd up. Move junk cars off the streets. That's 'sticking to the knitting.'

Bob was grand in his ambitions to to the basics. Bob was grand in his personality and willingness to serve. Bob was grand in his ability to connect with people.

The O'Connor legacy is but a day or two old. It hasn't even hatched yet. There is no way under the sun that Delano can ponder the O'Connor legacy -- yet.

Delano might be able to ponder the O'Connor tenure and the short six months of his agenda as mayor. I think Delano might be able to review O'Connor's legacy as President of City Council and as a councilmember.

Bob didn't aim to 'rebuild downtown.' Bob's approach was more of a localized approach. He wanted to build upon what we already had. Bob wanted to have smaller projects rather than 'grand, mega projects.' Bob was more about being organic -- or more about an step-by-step evolution. Not a 'rebuilding.' More keep building, and a re-establishement of the building.

Steve Hargadon

Steve Hargadon

Rebirth of the New Idea Factory -- with second life at The Sprout Fund

Today, it seemed to me, The Sprout Fund re-launched the New Idea Factory. I was there. It felt good the second time. More open. More dazzle. More digital.

James C. Roddey championed the "New Idea Factory" back in the day. I don't know what was first, that or the Sprout Fund. So, in a way, it is like the Sprout Fund calling back to its roots.

All in all, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

Hundreds of good ideas were shared. Lots of doodles developed.

Sorry, I'm skeptical. I'm a guy who wants to go out of my way to wear a black hat, and that's not allowed in a 'brainstorming session.' To say the least, as I did, I can mostly claim tonight that I have a sore tongue. But, I didn't try to be a party pooper. No way. I did have fun and it was a feel good structure and I'm very hopeful of the outcomes yet to flourish.

This type of meeting is right up my alley. The cycle of 'weed and seed' without the inclusion of 'harvest' has been under my skin for more than a decade. We need to do more than weed and seed -- and lots of those ideas were getting out there today. So, in some instances, I'm thrilled.

And, only a moron can't love AlphaChimp Studios! Peter is great. We need more integration and more graphics to support our stories. We've got too many stories that are NOT strung together.

One of the ideas that I helped to poke along the pathway in our homeroom to the final stage was called "Bob's Bean." The concept builds upon the legacy of Bob O'Connor's of going into the neighborhoods. We need to build bigger, bolder routes along the pathways he blazed from Grant Street to neighborhood spots.

Bob's Bean is a temporary, mobile, coffee truck / chart, that causes civic engagement and has a digital support infrastructure, much like an internet cafe. It can go from place to place, as scheduled much like the Citiparks Art-Cart or the Library's Bookmobile. It has a moderator or facilitator. Expect urban hikes in that neighborhood that day so as to engage everyone.

Huddle, Hike and Hypothesize.

We need to get politicians off of Grant Street. We need venues of common ground. We need to say "free food" and / or drink (coffee, tea, hot chocholate, cider, lemonaid, etc.) and have casual places to mingle, get to know one antoher. We need to hear of successes and failures in various places -- while those places are present.

Think of a traveling internet cafe. Think of a meeting place that isn't owned by anyone -- but by everyone. Think of a place where the shirts get rolled to the elbows -- and sip to admire a mural and then start to lock horns and plan for new actions for the weeks to come.

This would be a monthly, (or so) scheduled function. Sessions would go for the day -- and then go away for another place and another time.

There is $100,000 of funding that is due to hit the streets in "several months" -- complete with RFPs (Requests For Proposals). Yes. That makes the exercise more than just an academic letter grade.

In the past, I knocked The New Idea Factory because it was elitist and more about being 'invited to participate' and less about an attitude of open door inclusion. This event was held at a public school (great) with a $10 fee (more than fair) and lunch was provided (goodie).

The 'New Idea Factory' could have been great boon for the mass production of cookie cutter stuff. I don't want to mass produce fun. I don't want certain specs applied to all aspects of our lives. We've been a 'factory town' for many generations. It has its hang-ups from my point of view.

However, a 'New Idea Distillery' -- that is different. That 'distilling' effort seems to have a much better ring to the concepts that we crave around here.

Case in point: Tom Murphy could take a stretch of land and figure out how squeeze a lot of tax breaks into its infrastructure and how to get new development onto either greenfields or brownfields. He was a mastermind at making new retail developments. And those goals go counter to what I think we need and really want in the end. Let's take a new idea -- and then take it apart to study if it is sustainable, if it is helping our urban core, if it is just, if it is what government should be doing.

Along these lines, I don't want to see something such as this "Bob's Bean concept" be turned into a "dog and pony show" that exists to leverage grass-roots support for hidden agendas. Many have seen and lived through the Tom Murphy styled "Power Points" for various "projects." Spare us of that top-down type of song and dance. Bob's approach wasn't about the computer presentation and vision that fit into a series of bullet charts.

Bob's way was to be there in person. Look folks in the eye. Share a cookie and/or coffee. Shake hands and spill out with an attitude that includes, "just do it." But, there needs to be more if we are to institutionalize this approach. We can't be Bob. We all can't be there at the same time. We can't just 'show up' -- mostly unannounced. We can't always host roving meetings and pull strings so something is always getting done.

I think the Bob's Bean venture could work. The concept builds a mini town-hall that travels and includes digital assets.

As the social following the event I heard a bit from John Allison of the PG. Expect something to run in a week or so that catalogs some of the ideas. I also saw a reporter from the City Paper as well.

Let's roll out the red carpet for these ideas on the internet.

Perhaps many of the ideas, if not all of them, can be pulled into the Platform.For-Pgh.org wiki as well. Some have been there for some time. We'll need forums and FAQs and wikis and in turn, RFPs and real folks to pick up the project and run with them.

Pittsburgh has something to get Jazzed about. Did you hear about the new Jazz concept???

Baby-Faced Mayor Takes Over an Aging Pittsburgh - New York Times

Baby-Faced Mayor Takes Over an Aging Pittsburgh - New York Times

Now comes the hard part.

Luke, fear not. I don't give a flying fart what you wear to the Steelers' games. You'll get a pass on that from me.

Nice quote from fellow blogger, Carbolic Smoke Ball!

Tip: The best way to raise downtown development is to tax the land. If you tax the land -- then you reward those who build upon it. We have a dense downtown because we have had a legacy of a land tax.

We'll empty the tall buildings, get folks to move out of the city and continue the downward slide if we keep up with the recent policy of taxing the buildings and taking the burden off of the land.

A dumb public policy would reward the one who tears down a building and makes a surface parking lot.

A better public policy would be a blanket reward for those who fix up their properties.

Luke's biggest problem is NOT the uncertainty surronding him. I'd say that is Luke's biggest asset and strength.

Some say Luke would be a fool to NOT use O'Connor's playbook. I say Luke would be a fool to ONLY use O'Connor's playbook. And, if LUKE executes from O'Connor's playbook -- he'll never be able to be known as a smart leader with his own leadership style.

Luke's got the luxery of being able to build upon the O'Connor playbook and greatly expand it.

A Charlie Batch Encounter

Last night's meeting: Charlie and I talk after he got an award from the Jerome Bettis and the Bus Stops Here Foundation. Charlie has the man of the hour and is a superstar in his community work in Homestead with the kids.

Daly, NBC: 'Show' us your stuff

Daly, NBC: 'Show' us your stuff Daly, NBC: 'Show' us your stuff

NBC and Carson Daly plan to reward those with a penchant for storytelling on the Web with an interactive contest dubbed 'It's Your Show,' the network said Thursday. The online competition, which began Thursday, will encourage users to create and submit their own user-created video with the help of clips and a 'video tool kit' and the lure of $100,000 in cash. 'We want to give people a chance to show us what the next level of user-generated content can look like when given the tools and the opportunity,' NBC Entertainment president Kevin Reilly said. Reilly also indicated that a television component of 'It's Your Show' is in development, with plans to integrate the best and worst of content into a broadcast. Daly is set to host.

Among those paying their respects - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

Among those paying their respects - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review What's up with this as a news story?

More on my summer vaction

The food was good. An army marches on its stomach -- and mine had no complaints. (Left to right: Les, Mark, J.P, Zack)


Staffers. Bob and Les are kneeling. Dick Bower and Barbara are center. I'm far to the left in the jacket.


At the Chikopi swim meet. I'm the one without the hat to the left of the guy (Dick Bower) with the hat. Bob D is starting the race at the far right.

Water Polo in a lake at Camp Chikopi, Canada

The water polo course we built at Camp Chikopi. The kids are warming up in this photo.


Another angle of the water polo warm-up. In this shot I'm off to the left. In the prior, I'm off to the right. I was able to coach the polo from a row boat or else I stood on a wooden, but aged docking of sorts.


Closer action shot -- as we had lots of balls in the pool to dribble, shoot, pass and move about with.

Fore!

Proposal would name Schenley golf course for O'Connor

Proposal would name Schenley golf course for O'Connor An organization involved in running the Schenley Park Golf Course wants the city to rename the facility after the late Mayor Bob O'Connor.

'My hope is that it eventually comes to be called the Bob O'Connor Golf Course at Schenley Park, and that people end up calling it The Bob,' said Bruce Stephen, executive director of The First Tee of Pittsburgh, a nonprofit organization that teaches kids golf and moral values at the course.

'The [O'Connor] family very much wants that.'

Sounds like a 'slam dunk' to me. Let's make sure that the pins are 'red' -- as in 'redd up the green.' Golfers will be able to 'redd up their shots at The Bob.'

There are sure to be other ways to honor O'Connor too.

Back in the day, I suggested that we re-name the "Liberty Bridge" and "Liberty Tunnel" for Tom Murphy -- IF he would resign from office before his term ended. Murphy did plenty to erase Liberty from our landscape, so taking that tag off the bridge and tunnel seemed fitting. Murphy was also a champ at 'gridlock' as well, something that the goes hand and hand with the tunnel and bridge. But, that rant is all water under the bridge now.

Bob O'Connor didn't re-start the marathon in May, something that Tom killed. Next up in our sporting datebook, The Great Races (10k, 5k, tot trot) named for a past mayor. The Great Race was also killed for a year by Tom Murphy -- but it was born again. It makes money.

Bob was a friend of sports.

We are all missing this gentleman.

Time to lower our heads in prayer....
Now Bob gets to look down upon us, from heaven.

Much is being said and written. I'll listen and share in the grief.

Funeral, then football. Weird set of events today for Pittsburgh.

Crazy for Liberty displays Atlanta Constitution article about Libertarian Party

Crazy for Liberty The Libertarians, unlike the Republican and Democrat parties, actually take their platform seriously, rather than viewing it as a quadrennial exercise designed to throw red meat to the faithful then to be ignored for the following 47 months.

The Idea Round Up - This Saturday!

At this one-day event, The Sprout Fund will engage creative young thinkers and regional leaders in a conversation that promotes new thinking about the topics that matter most to our community.

This Saturday, September 9, 2006
CAPA High School, Downtown
9 AM - 4 PM
$10 (includes lunch)
Only 100 spaces left!
Register now: engagepittsburgh.org

Not Your Typical Civic Meeting

Roll up your sleeves and be a part of community change at a day-long civic engagement symposium

Learn what's going on nationally in other cities, engage in panel discussions with regional leaders, and work in small design groups to generate as many brain-busting ideas as possible. All ideas will be welcome-the wacky, the way out, the logical, the needed, the necessary, the fun, and the futuristic.

The Idea Round Up promises to be a highly visual and highly interactive day with 20 local artists on hand to illustrate all the ideas generated.

Sprout will announce plans to release $100,000 in funding to support projects that grow directly out of the ideas developed during this exciting collaborative design event.

Meeting to address new aquatic center for Mt. Lebanon

Serious talk of a swim pool is back to the front burner in Mt. Lebo tonight.

Meeting to address new aquatic center for Mt. Lebanon
Mt. Lebanon residents are invited to the first of three public meetings to help plan the municipality's new aquatic center at 7:30 p.m. tomorrow at the Mt. Lebanon Recreation Center, off Cedar Boulevard.

The talk of a swim pool in Mt. Lebo should be associated with the talk of a swim pool repair and/or rehab at Dormont too.

If we had a Pittsburgh Park District, we'd put these decisions into a venue and forum that makes much more sense. We'd be thinking more as a region and not as tiny municipalities.

This summer I collected signatures at the Dormont Swim Pool and there were many who were there from Mt. Lebo.

Mayor's term goes to when ???

There has been some talk about how long Luke gets to be Mayor of Pittsburgh, without an election. That is a valid conversation given the ugly conflicts of words within the City's Charter. But that is for another thread. See below.

What became of the "TERM LIMIT" idea? Presently, Pittsburgh has NO TERM LIMITs for its Mayor, nor for City Council Members.

The US President and even the PA Governor can only serve two terms.

We have the potential of Luke, now in his mid-20s, serving as mayor until he is in his mid-60s. With a 26 year old mayor at the helm, we could have a 40-year period where Luke is the boss on Grant Street.

The concept of 'term limits' goes both ways. To favor democracy, let the people decide, not some charter. But, to avoid a czar-like state, keep a revolving door in the top offices.

I think we need to think again about 'term limits' in the city, for mayor and for those on city council.