Mayor Luke Ravenstahl and Superintendent Mark Roosevelt Announce Partnership to Create The Pittsburgh Promise

Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl and Superintendent Mark Roosevelt announced a collaboration between the City of Pittsburgh and the Pittsburgh Public Schools to develop The Pittsburgh Promise, a college access program and revitalization strategy for the City of Pittsburgh.

“Our goal with The Pittsburgh Promise is to help our children and their families plan, prepare and pay for education after high school,” said Superintendent Roosevelt. The Pittsburgh Promise would make higher education achievable for all Pittsburgh Public Schools students regardless of need or income. It also would enhance the economic development of the City.

“To advance the economic vitality of the City of Pittsburgh we need to invest in our neighborhoods, create a business friendly environment and strengthen our school district,” said Mayor Ravenstahl.

The Pittsburgh Promise will prepare students for success in the 21st Century by addressing the three primary barriers to college access: academic preparation, accessibility and affordability. As an integral part of the District’s Excellence for All plan for improving student achievement, The Pittsburgh Promise will begin working with students at a young age to make post-secondary education an achievable goal for
everyone.

The Pittsburgh Promise anticipates making funds available to Pittsburgh Public Schools graduates for tuition at an accredited post-secondary institution within the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Students would be required to make regular progress toward the completion of a degree or certification-seeking program and remain in good standing at the post-secondary institution. It is expected that the Pittsburgh
Promise will be funded through an endowment and an annual fundraising campaign from private donors.

An official cost analysis is currently underway. The Mayor and the Superintendent will be forming a joint task force to develop a comprehensive plan for The Pittsburgh Promise. Preliminary work has been done by members of the District’s High School
Reform Task Force and the Mayor’s Business and Economic Development Committee.

What is this saying?

An official analysis is underway. Perhaps someone got a clue that there might be some link between economics and education in this city.

If you get great grades and make serious progress in academic areas, kids will get into college. No joke. If you have a heartbeat, you'll be able to get into some college these days.

Isn't need also part of income too.

I don't think this is much of anything.

I'd love to see a deal cut with Mark Roosevelt and Mark Nordenburg. I'll broker it. It would go like this:

1. Every kid who graduates from any Pgh Public School and is in the top 20 in his/her class gets three years, including summers, of paid tuition to Pitt, CMU, Duquesne, RMU or Point Park.

2. Every PPS High School grad in the top 100 of his or her class gets automatic admission and a one year tuition scholarship to those schools.

3. Everyone who graduates from a PPS high school in good standing (regardless of class rank) gets a one year academic scholarship to CCAC.

4. Any kid that graduates from a PPS high school and presents a 4-year degree from any college/university within five years of his or her graduation gets a ticket into an semi-annual lottery run by the city so as to pick a free piece of property in the city-owned inventory. The graduate has to own the property for three years, or else some of the sale income goes back into the Pittsburgh fund. (i.e., 50% of sales price in year one; 40% of sales price in year two; 30% of sales price in year three.)

In the past, I've ranted about how the city should present a program to liquidate much of its land / property holdings on a regular basis to college grads and grad students who make a pittsburgh pledge.

A+ Schools Report in today's PG and on the web

A+ Schools has published the second annual "Report to the Community on Public School Progress in Pittsburgh," as an insert in today's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The report contains data about each school with a few blindspots.

The Report is based on the 2005-06 school year. So, the new Accelerated Learning Academies (ALAs) were not included in this year's Report. They were "reconstituted." The K-8s that were elementary schools last year are listed in the elementary section of the Report.

More to come from me.

In general, in my humble opinion, A+ Schools is but a bad joke. The organization used to have a web-based discussion group -- but that was taken down. I've never been able to see any minutes to any of the A+ School meetings. Who attends? When? What is said? The bold support from A+ schools for the 'right-sizing' came without a board vote.

The organization is built for political leverage and little else. Michael Lamb is associated with the effort, and that is one of the worst things he has ever done.

There are hundreds of things that A+ Schools could and should be doing. Our schools need lots of help and support with critical thinking among many sectors of the community. But, we've got another entity that strives for a scripted, elitist, top-down agenda.

Just as I don't want my schools to cater to some students and ignore others -- nor do I want organizations that are about our schools to do the same.

A comprehensive look at the schools that isn't comprehensive is fine. But, trouble comes when they say and think this is a comprehensive view. If they called it what it was -- I'd be fine with that approach.

There are serious blind spots in this report about our schools, about our school district and about our communities.

The ALAs (Accelerated Learning Academies) have been reconstituted. But, the kids that go to those schools have not been reconstituted. And, the performance of the schools that closed are just ignored and not a part of the report. What's up with that? If we reconstitute schools every year, we'll never need to put important data into a report.

Furthermore, getting base-line numbers of the old system is not welcomed when you have a new system. Let's erase all hopes of being able to fail. Don't publish the numbers of the old schools. Then the new schools numbers are never going to be worse that that of the old school -- because we're not going to reveal the numbers from the old school.

Shame on the report for selective reporting by not sharing results that enable us to look back. Perhaps 'history' isn't part of the new accelerated math and reading programs -- and that's another failure.

How did Knoxville Middle School stack up? How did Greenway Middle School stack up? Those schools just are NUKED from the report. There were kids that went to those schools last year. Those schools fed into other high schools.

The best thing we learned about Knoxville -- Hanna Montana was in a movie that was filmed there last month. The place is a nice movie set now. That's it. That's their version of comprehensive.

Perhaps they should have done a phone book. Perhaps they are trying to make a hype and PR brochure to get people to move into downtown loft apartments.

The expansion into the realm of charter schools is welcome. Next, let's see an expansion into private schools and catholic schools too.

My big knock when it came to the report last year was that there were no benchmarks as to how the kids in the city did with a contrast to those in suburban schools. Face the facts. A family that is able to move from one school setting because they see that the kids are not progressing as they should won't look at this booklet and say -- humm.... Frick vs. South Brook vs. Schiller ... ??? No way. People who are pulling their kids out of the school district are moving outside the city. The choices are South Brook vs. Baldwin. Or, Frick vs. Shaler. Or, South Hills or Montour.

This isn't being framed well. It isn't really a battle among city schools. The real contrasts need to be among schools in the region, city and not, public and not.

On the last page of the report is a call for opinions. I've given my opions on a number of topics central to our schools and communities -- at the A+ Web Forums in the past. Then they pulled the plug on that communication tool. They don't really want to hear my opinions.

With watchdogs like A+ Schools, we're sure to stay in a heap of trouble. Comprehensive trouble.

Court battle over 'base year' assessment system starts today

Court battle over 'base year' assessment system starts today The plaintiffs, homeowners from Pittsburgh, Franklin Park, Mt. Lebanon, Braddock and other Allegheny County municipalities, are mounting a 'full frontal challenge' of Allegheny County's 2002 base-year property assessment system, arguing the taxation method violates the Pennsylvania Constitution.

They want to see the county's system -- which relies on property values frozen indefinitely four years ago during the last full reassessment -- declared unconstitutional, and therefore invalid. The state constitution calls for uniform taxation of property.

Uniform is good. Onorato's plan is bad.

Commencement Dates at Mellon Arena

Commencement Dates Allderdice High School 1:00 PM
Sunday, June 17, 2007 Mellon Arena

Mellon Arena is the venue for high school graduations for:

Allderdice,

Brashear,

Carrick,

Oliver,

Peabody,

Perry, and

Schenley.

Do you really need luxery boxes for a high school graduation? Do you really want to go to a slots parlor after the high school graduation?

Perhaps the Mellon Arena can be turned into a charter school, say for bank tellers and those in cash businesses.

My point is that we should keep the building and turn it into a 'civic arena' again. Let the Pens do Plan B or whatever with the IOC. But don't let the Pens knock down an important civic building that has many uses beyond NHL games.

Excellence for All Parent Steering Committee

Excellence for All Parent Steering Committee

Why are all of the Excellence for All Parents Meetings scheduled from 6:30 to 8:30 pm. All the parents can't make the evening times.

I'd be happy if that meeting was taped and put onto the net. Or, if there was a morning briefing the next day.

Some parents can't make ANY of the evening meetings because we are with our kids.

Let's call a spade a spade -- and nothing else, please. It will be a SLOTS PARLOR.

Everyone.

The gambling license will be awarded shortly. A Slots Parlor is to open. It isn't a 'casino.' They have the right to conduct gambling at slot machines. That's it.

If we all call it what it is, a slots parlor, then we'll not see an easy expansion to table games -- without another handsome payment.

The stand-alone slots license sold for $50-million.

If there is to be an expansion to table games, we should expect them to pay an additional $300-million to $950-million. And, the approval should come after a voters have their say. And, by all means, the table games license should EXPIRE in the future.

I hate the fact that the slots license does NOT expire.

The worst thing we can do is do what the Post Gazette did in today's Sunday paper. There was a big, color, illustration showing a card game with chips so as to talk about the casino and traffic. Cards and chips won't be a part of this casion -- err --- SLOTS PARLOR. At least not in 2007.

Isle of Capri's casino proposal still favored City task force says its plan is strongest

Less than two weeks before the Pittsburgh casino license is to be awarded, the city's gaming task force is standing by its near endorsement of Isle of Capri, even as a group of ministers works to prevent the Hill District slots parlor.

The Carbolic Smoke Ball digs at Wikipedia

One of my favorites gets lampooned. Wiki news is there to view as well. I'm loving the Wiki University effort as well. Perhaps I'll restart the Mon U endeavor.

The Carbolic Smoke Ball WIKIPEDIA POSTED EXACT DETAILS OF AUGUSTO PINOCHET'S DEATH TWO DAYS BEFORE IT OCCURRED

Saturday Talk | ajc.com - about Pittsburgh's Ballet sans Musicians

FWIW, our Nutcracker boycott continues. They didn't get a donation from us this year either.

Nice ink about Pittsburgh in an out-of-town newspaper, LTE about music!

Saturday Talk | ajc.com Live music isn't just mere sound

While it's good to read that the musicians of the Atlanta Ballet are not struggling financially this holiday season ('Nutcracker joys missed,' Living, Dec. 2), I think this article does a great deal of harm to the cause of live music for the Atlanta Ballet and for any ballet or theater. It gives tacit approval to the replacement of live orchestra with recordings as long as the musicians can make up the money elsewhere. But the harm to the community of musicians, to the art form of ballet, and to the cultural climate of Atlanta is much bigger than whether or not lost income can be made up by teaching a few more lessons or playing another church gig.

Do we want to live in a community that does not value live music? I don't, and it's not just because I'm a musician. The iPod generation already expects music to come through tiny ear pieces. The artistic experience of being in a concert hall or theater with hundreds of other people, all experiencing the power and originality of the live performance, is something I want to have for myself and for my children. Presenting great art isn't about the bottom line; it's about something intangible that will never be replaced by electronic means because it is at heart human. The situation in Atlanta demands that musicians educate the audience to what we already know: live music is worth the price.

Here in Pittsburgh, the public responded with one voice when the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre tried to eliminate their resident orchestra, and the result is a company rededicated to the use of live music. I hope the residents of Atlanta come to the same realization before something precious is lost.

CYNTHIA ANDERSON, Anderson is an oboist with the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre Orchestra.

Brova!


We're getting ready for our holiday concerts. Grant plays first chair in the Phillips Elementary School performance as Erik moved to middle school. Erik's gig is Tuesday night.

In other fronts, our church pagent is now with two Marys. The one had a bad case of stage freight in today's dress rehersal. Seems that the dalmation is going to be put into a new role. Joseph -- quite a guy. This year he is Mormon-like and still not inclined to squak about a DNA test.

Changes Are Expected in Voting by 2008 Election - New York Times

This is a move to open-source software. We need to demand open-source.

Changes Are Expected in Voting by 2008 Election - New York Times The changes also mean that the various forms of vote-counting software used around the country — most of which are protected by their manufacturers for reasons of trade secrecy — will for the first time be inspected by federal authorities, and the code could be made public. There will also be greater federal oversight on how new machines are tested before they arrive at polling stations.

I've been harping about open-source since day one. The open-source part is every bit as important as the paper trail.

City Clerk & Webmaster for City of Pittsburgh -- Run with this Google Calendar for Pgh City Hall

Update: Some weirdness showed in the Google Calendar with meeting time shifts (as the wrong time zone was established) and the length of meetings. The start time and end times are the same now. So, it looks like this is ready for prime time.

My Christmas wish to Linda Johnson-Wasler, Clerk for City of Pittsburgh, and the Webmaster for the City.Pittsburgh web site -- a Google Calendar called Pittsburgh City Call.

I've set it up and can hand it off to you. Next, you'll need to feed it and leverage it within the City of Pittsburgh site. The gift comes from Google too. I've set up a Google Calendar and made it public and call it Pittsburgh City Hall. Come one, come all.

As of Friday, the city's website did NOT tell the public that there will be meetings on Dec. 18 and 19 (Monday and Tuesday) rather than the traditional dates (Tuesday & Wednesday). Meetings are shifted from time to time around Christmas. No big deal, unless you come the wrong date. Plus, a meeting is slated for December 27, 2006. Two meetings are also slated for the first week of January 2 & 3, 2007.

Yes, this is the 'hardest working legislative body' around, so says Doug Shields. Well, proving it on a Google Calendar is easy with these new utilities.

Philly Jury without brotherly love. Rejects voluntary-tax argument & link to Wesley Snipes

Philadelphia Inquirer | 12/09/2006 | Jury rejects voluntary-tax argument Jury rejects voluntary-tax argument
By John Shiffman
Inquirer Staff Writer

A Bucks County engineer who did not pay federal income taxes for three years because he said he believed such payments are voluntary was convicted yesterday of tax evasion.

A federal jury in Philadelphia deliberated for less than two hours before convicting Arthur L. Farnsworth, a former Libertarian candidate for Congress.

Farnsworth, who testified during the weeklong trial, has espoused his belief that tax payments are voluntary on his Web site, www.arthurfarnsworth.org.

During direct examination by attorney Mark Lane, Farnsworth said he had come to this conclusion after conducting his own intense legal research.

Farnsworth, 43, agreed with the government's estimate that he had grossed about $220,000 in 1998, 1999 and 2000. But he disagreed with the IRS's determination that he owed about $82,000 in taxes for those years.

Farnsworth, appearing confident and combative on the witness stand, testified that he had a good-faith belief that 'compliance is voluntary.'

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ara B. Gershengorn and Amy L. Kurland argued that Farnsworth's motives were rooted in his tax-protester philosophy, not his understanding of the law.

---

Raid in Pa. led to Snipes tax probe
Associated Press

PHILADELPHIA - The tax-fraud investigation that led to the indictment of "Blade" star Wesley Snipes began with a raid four years ago in Pennsylvania, an IRS agent testified.

Special Agent James Morris, speaking in court Wednesday, said agents found documents in a man's home in 2002 that led to a nationwide investigation into fraudulent trust funds. Snipes owned one of those trusts, another witness said.

The testimony came in the trial of Arthur Farnsworth, who is accused of tax evasion.

When agents searched Farnsworth's home near Sellersville, they found documents suggesting Farnsworth owned several bogus trusts, Morris said. Among them was one designed to hide money and assets to avoid payment of federal income taxes.

Snipes owned a similar trust, according to testimony by Wayne Rebuck, a former director at the company that sold the trusts. Rebuck said he pleaded guilty to a conspiracy count in return for his testimony against Farnsworth.

Snipes, star of the "Blade" trilogy, "Jungle Fever" and "White Men Can't Jump," was indicted in October on eight counts of tax fraud. He was accused of trying to cheat the government out of nearly $12 million in false refund claims and not filing returns for six years.

The 44-year-old actor has said he is a scapegoat and was unfairly targeted by prosecutors, and has suggested he was taken advantage of.

Farnsworth, 43, who has publicly stated he hasn't paid federal taxes in years, was charged in November 2004 with three counts of income-tax evasion.

His trial in U.S. District Court in Philadelphia was continuing Thursday. Farnsworth's attorneys say the government did not prove its case against their client.

Rodriguez To Stay At West Virginia

Is this news grounds for lighting up some furnature?

Rodriguez To Stay At West Virginia - Sports West Virginia football coach Rich Rodriguez held a press conference Friday to confirm that he has turned down an offer to coach at Alabama and will remain with the Mountaineers.

There was speculation that Rodriguez would accept Alabama's reported six-year contract offer, but that ultimately proved inaccurate.

'I fully respect his decision and wish him the best,' said Alabama athletic director Mal Moore in a statement. 'I want to remind everyone of what I said at the outset of this process: my only objective is to get the best person available to lead the Alabama football program.'

Roll, Tide, Roll -- except over them thar hills of West Virginia.

I really think Pitt should play its spring game at Cupples Stadium on the South Side. That will be the team's next game. If that news was made public on the morning of the Gator Bowl, we could have a huddle around 10th Street and set fire to a couch or two to psych up for the Blue-Gold game.

You never know, a real 'Festivus Party' might ensue too. Festivus, the holiday for the rest of us.

Iraq Study Group: United States Institute of Peace

Iraq Study Group: United States Institute of Peace: IRAQ STUDY GROUP REPORT

PDF Download the report 962 KB

In our efforts to make this report available to all, the report may be downloaded, reproduced, and translated free of charge. The United States Institute of Peace would appreciate being informed of translations so that we may direct our international readers to the respective versions.

This is how you make a report available. It is without any restrictions nor copy protection.

Walkways above traffic make great sense. We need much more of this in Pittsburgh, especially in Oakland.

100 days and a Bob O'Connor birthday passes

Today is the birthday of the late mayor, Bob O'Connor. We miss you Bob.

Luke's been the mayor for 100 days.

Tom Murphy was mayor a year ago, finishing his 12 year term at the boss in city hall and of the D party in the city. About this time last year there was a photo of all the 'shovels' in Tom's office being cleared out as he was packing to leave.

That's plays right into the song, "Lay the Shovel Down."

In the last 100 days, we've had a chance, be it fleeting, to nuke the notion of the building of the tunnel under the Allegheny River. Now we look to the bypass being closed for a year so it will be harder to drive from the South (airport) to the Convention Center.

MacYapper was defending Tom Murphy last night on his show. Many of the ills we face in this city are going to be holding us back for years to come -- thanks to Tom Murphy. We've got to pin some blame on him and have it leave town so we can get to the solutions. But, we need to understand the past and history -- else we are sure to repeat the same mistakes.

I think it is a mistake for the mayor's office and its administration to do a lot of slow-dances with the neighborhood development coroporations. Murphy did a lot of swapping of spit with them. City council still does.

Last week Jim Motznik gave away (like it is his to give) $2,500 to a re-start of the Overbrook neighborhood group.

We need development groups. But, we need to get these relationships into a tighter focus. Bob O'Connor gave those interactions some focus in jump starting the redd up campaign. He had people putting on the work gloves and getting away from the blueprints and building of new upscale condos -- condos that take eight to ten years on average to be finished and another few to finally sell. (I'm a bit overboard. Some have sold quickly. All have taken long to materialize.)

Running Mate, Tom L. is doing the news on Saturday with AM 1360

Way to go Tom. How long have you had that gig? No wonder you've been quiet in the blogging world.

Great for you and 1360. What are the details?

Image Quiz: Can you tell what's going on here?

Hint: This has nothing to do with a traffic jam on the PA Turnpike, after it is sold and the new owners go bankrupt.

Hints: All slides are from the same, larger canvas. This is very old.

Pothole.

Co-ed.

I took these photos as we were visiting a museum.

If you can tell what's happening, leave a note in the comments area.

Snowfall 'hit at the worst possible time' - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

Traffic sucked last night. Locals know this. Everyone was stuck in it.

Let's fix it. No more Steeler games on Thursday nights. None. The mayor can tell the NFL that our stadium is not for lease on a Thursday night.

Snowfall 'hit at the worst possible time' - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review Traffic snarls were heavy leading in and out of Pittsburgh as workers headed home and Pittsburgh Steelers fans headed to Heinz Field on the North Shore, many arriving after the start of yesterday's game with the Cleveland Browns.

At one point, bumper-to-bumper traffic along the Parkway West stretched from the Fort Pitt Tunnels to Robinson Town Centre.

It took more than an hour for some people to get out of a parking garage in Oakland. Not even on the street. Then it wasn't any better.

One guy called into the radio show and said he had been on the Bloomfield bridge for more than an hour.

It took us far more than an hour to get to swim practice too.

I think the Steelers should play its games on Sundays at 1 pm. We should do this for economic reasons.

Calendar: Vacant Land Management in Pgh - hot news with buy-back of tax leins.

Forum: Green Strategies for Vacant Land Management in Pittsburgh is Wed Dec 13 noon to 1:15.

Pittsburgh to pay MBIA $6.5 million for tax liens Pittsburgh to pay MBIA $6.5 million for tax liens By CHRISTINE RICHARD, BLOOMBERG NEWS

Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl said the city will buy back tax liens from bond insurer MBIA Inc. that were used as collateral for debt securities and have been blamed for holding up redevelopment of the city's most blighted areas.

Pittsburgh will pay $6.5 million for the liens on about 11,000 derelict properties, according to an e-mailed press release yesterday from the mayor's office. Armonk-based MBIA controls about three quarters of all real estate with tax liens in Pittsburgh, and nothing could be done to improve the properties until the bills were paid or MBIA wrote them off.

12-year-old life saver in the surf saves two and gets national honors

ASCAOnline - Your Coaching Resource MORRO BAY, Calif. – Twelve-year-old Trent Popovich, a USA Swimming Junior Olympian, will be recognized today with the United States Lifesaving Association’s Heroic Act Award for his successful rescue of two young girls from the California surf on February 12, 2006. Popovich was surfing near the Cayucos Pier when he heard the cries of the girls, ages eight and 10, who were caught in the riptide. An accomplished competitive swimmer, he rescued both girls by lifting them on to his surfboard and swimming them to the shore.

The full article is in the comments. This part about the parents makes me smile. The photos of the surfers are mine, not the real lifesaver hero.

In local lifesaving news, we've got some who have made some serious saves in our neighborhoods too. They should get awards and honors.

Jim, Grant, Mark and Erik from the photo album "Beach in Maine." Click to see more photos.