Farewell to the Yangtze dolphin

The Public View of Farewell to the Yangtze dolphin

So sad.

Mark Crowley's Letter to the Editor in the P-G

Mark C, wrote to say:

I had a LTE in the Post-Gazette today (Christmas Day) promoting the Voters' Choice Act. In the print version they gave the LTE the prominent spot at the bottom right of the editorial page in its own box and even drew a little sketch for it. I suppose that today isn't one of the days people make it a point to check the editorial page, but I'm glad they saw fit to place it as they did.

Oddly, I submitted it about three weeks ago and they called soon after to confirm my intent to print. Next they just held it, I guess, for a slow time. (Either that or they dug mine back up after they got tired of endless letters from hockey zealots complaining that the award of the local slot casino wasn't the one that would pay 100% for a new hockey arena.)

This LTE follows an old formula for getting into the papers to promote the VCA: find a voting/election oriented article, recognize its central theme but make the point that ballot access consequences are at least as important, give one reason why expanded ballot access is good for PA, and finally offer the VCA as a solution. I've used variations of this approach four times in two years to get VCA LTEs
into local papers.

Too bad getting on the statewide ballot isn't as simple.

Mark

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http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06359/748680-110.stm

The real voting problem: third-party or independent candidates are shut out

Paper ballots may stop votes disappearing from recounts ("In Praise of Paper" by Bruce Schneier, Dec. 3 Forum), but they won't stop candidates disappearing from Pennsylvania ballots.

2006 saw no Pennsylvania third party or independent statewide candidates because unfair rules required more than 67,000 ballot access signatures. Major-party statewide nominees needed only their 2,000 primary election signatures.

When the Green Party's U.S. Senate candidate attempted ballot access, Democratic Party lawyers filed suit resulting in ballot denial and a staggering $1 million fine.

Incumbent parties use law and crippling financial threats to silence candidates who serve us all by bringing uncomfortable topics to political debate. Thus, paper backups won't stop disappearing debate from disappearing candidates.

What will? The Voters' Choice Act.

Since 2005, PaBallotAccess.org, a coalition of Libertarian, Green, Constitutional, Reform and other parties, has promoted the VCA. It would implement fairer ballot access rules. We need to push this again in the 2007 Legislature.

While unverifiable recounting is a concern, a far greater concern is censoring debate by unfairly prohibiting ballot access.

MARK CROWLEY, Plum

Running Mate photos from the 2006 Liberatian Christmas Party. Speaker, State Chairman, Chuck Molton, said our gathering and chapter had more people and energy than that of Philly. Professor David of CMU spoke of some of the worries of the county's policy with electronic voting machines and what fixes make sense. Others spoke and showed their brillance too in presentation and daily jazz, including Mark Crowley (in top left of first).

It is December 25 and this guy is eating Chinees Food

Not as spiritual as the Joy To The World pointer. And, I don't know this dude like we knew the string players in our church service last night. But, enjoy.

Hope your day is as nice as ours.

Jewish friends, be sure to visit Grant's blog to see and hear him doing another tune. That was from the Phillips Elementary School holiday concert.

Joy To The World, with 20 strings, at Sunnyhill

Watch and hear Erik, Grant, Phillip, Tess and Marina (left to right) at Christmas Eve service, December 2006.

Steelers, Pirates Disappointed by Slots via Chron.com - Houston Chronicle

Hey Houston. We have a bit of a problem. This from the Chron.com, of the Houston Chronicle. Note, this article in Houston isn't harping about the Penguins moving to Texas.

Steelers, Pirates Disappointed by Slots | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle: "The Pittsburgh Steelers and Pirates were surprised and troubled by a state gaming panel's decision Wednesday that allows a gambling casino to be built close to their stadiums, with each team wondering how the slots parlor will affect them on game days.

The Steelers, long opposed to sharing their North Side neighborhood with a $450 million glass-and-steel casino, issued a terse statement that didn't disguise their anger that Detroit developer Don Barden will build the casino only a block away from Heinz Field."

We'll deal with the Steelers, what time is the game anyway, and Pirates in another thread. But let's clear up the facts.

Steelers President Art Rooney II said. "It seemed it was a process that was designed to give little weight to local interests....

No sir Mr. Rooney. First, the statue of Art Rooney with a cigar gives little weight to local health concerns. The no-smoking ban aside, the process gave great weight to local interests. The slots parlor didn't fit in the lower Hill and there were protests. The slots parlor didn't fit in Station Square as there were serious concerns from locals in both South Side and Mt. Washington. Furthermore, no local interest doubt came from the North Side. The Pirates and Steelers don't have ownership of squat in our public built and owned stadiums.

The Steelers could have local interest if the Steelers purchased Heinz Field. Buy it. Get local interest with ownership of the facility you play in.

The Steelers could have had more local interest if it would have built a practice facility on the North Side. The team could have practices over there and you could have rented offices to Dr. Fu and UPMC for an Orthopedic Clinic. So, the Steelers don't have any interest in the South Side either, just for the record. Rooney's Steelers are renters.

The Steelers had an opportunity to build an outdoor concert venue on the North Side. But the state came in with a promise of $4-million as a gift. This was two years ago and I don't remember any concerts over there yet. Fumble! I'm glad that project is in limbo, frankly. We'll get a nice outdoor concert venue on the North Shore, around the glass facade of the river front slots parlor.

The deal of the Stadiums, another broken promise squared, was that the Steelers and Pirates would get their new facilities and have ownership stakes and incentives for development of the land around Heinz Field and PNC Park. That rip off didn't materialize either. Years passed an little to nothing was done. The promise was that mixed use development would come and the teams would be the driving force of that value expansion. The development around Three Rivers Stadium never materialized as was promised back in the 1970s too.

The Steelers and Pirates squandered an opportunity of a lifetime. The deal that was hatched to get Heinz Field, before it was even called Heinz Field and you hogged the naming rights revenue, was crooked and all in the favor of the Rooney family. We've got rid of Steve Leeper and Tom Murphy and the boss of the URA too. The local interests of the ball teams on the North Side can be put into one surface parking lot, after the tailgaters have departed. I see the statement about your new, soon-to-be neighbors as nothing more than trash talk. And, its to #32 and his extended biz buddies too.

Furthermore, the Steelers statement continues, "We will have to consider all of our options in determining how to respond to this decision."

Your options were clear: The Steelers were to pave the streets of the North Side with gold -- and do it with tax-payers money with private developers jumping aboard. The Steelers fumbled. The Steelers didn't get it done. An open hole was presented and you didn't run with the ball -- jagoff.

The North Side should be much, much more than it is today, and it isn't because of the Steelers total lack of leadership and ambition.

The Houston article states, "The Pirates' tone was more conciliatory than that of the Steelers, perhaps because their PNC Park is four or five blocks away from the planned casino."

It is a slots parlor, not a casino. It is NOT the Pirates PNC Park, it is owned by the public. The Pirates rent PNC Park and they get a bunch of free parking spots too.

Last year the SEA, (Stadium and Exhibition Authority) granted a slew of parking spaces to the Pittsburgh Pirates organization. This large give-a-way came in Luke Ravenstahl's first SEA meeting. The office people, coaches, players and workers didn't want to pay to park. They wanted a free spot. They cried about the lack of perks to the SEA, a board that is to care for the public interest of these public spaces. The SEA caved and granted the free parking to the Pirates.

The reported loss of parking spots is backwards. The Pirates have been making out on parking. And there is a mega new parking garage between the two sports venues that just opened months ago. I don't think anyone has seen a spot on the 3rd, 4th, or 5th floors -- yet. Because it is never used. But, they were built. And the ramp right onto and off of the highway might come soon too.

The upper decks of the parking structure with ramps to the highway might make for a great place for teens from Robinson and Shaler to gather so as to burn rubber in circles since there is no room lots of security at Ross Park Mall.

Mr. McClatchy, congestion has an upside and doesn't need to hurt. McClatchy asked, "will it (slots parlor) create congestion that hurts everybody?" Most urban aware business people see congestion and density as an opportunity for profits. When fans have the ability to get to the ballpark quickly, it is because nobody wants to go to PNC Park. Getting to Fenway has never been seen as a problem. Getting to Wrigley has been seen as an experience, not a problem. Those navigational worries are what they are because of the urban experience of fans among community.

More worries come in the 2nd, 3rd and 4th innings of games with the team on the field.

Western Pennsylvania Sports -- Infrastructure that needs some action!

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We'll destory that bridge when we get to it

The statement, "The fix is in", became a buzz statement back in September, 2005, and pressed on people's minds for more than a year. It may or may not go away in 2007.


View of the speakers.


This is the day when Tom Murphy said, "The fix is in."


Tom Murphy was able to scold the media for not reporting on how 'the fix is in.' But he wouldn't name names and be transparent as he expected the media to be. Some mayor. Then can Bob O'Connor, then Dennis Regan. Now Luke, the young Jedi, in full campaign mode. But, the casino choice was made and the North Side won -- the dark horse.

What is the deal now with the West End Pedestrian Bridge?

West End Bridge from the water. The Pedestrian Bridge might be built on the downtown side of this span. It would be a smooth connection to the North Shore (shown on the left) and the pending slots parlor.

What is the deal with the North Side's outdoor concenrt venue to be built by the Steelers? Two years ago Gov. Ridge promised $4-million in grants to that deal, sadly.



Watch the Video

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Yesterday I posted these 'old photos' and then today (Sunday) the Trib put this in the paper, proving that this is a quote that didn't go away easily.

Wrong again, Mr. Murphy.

Anyone remember Pittsburgh Mayor Tom Murphy alleging the "fix" was in last year to award the city's sole slots license to Harrah's Entertainment for a Station Square casino?

Thomas "Tad" Decker, head of the state Gaming Control Board, certainly did.

Shortly after awarding a bunch of casino licenses across the state -- including one to a group headed by Detroit's Don Barden, who will operate the Majestic Star on Pittsburgh's North Shore -- Decker became irked when asked by reporters about Murphy's remark.

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"It's hogwash. It's nonsense," he said. "Who was fixing what? It's insane."

Care to elaborate, Mr. Decker?

"How can people accuse us of this not being on a level playing field without having some facts? It irritates the hell out of me because it's not true."

Given the inaccuracy of the former mayor's comment, which he quickly retracted, it's hard to blame Decker for being a bit upset.

---

And another:

The Citizens Voice - Loaded questionsThis is a town where backroom deal-making is part of everyday business, so it shouldn’t be surprising that some people believed — and will continue to believe — that clandestine deals were behind the awarding of the state’s slots licenses.

We going to do something about this yet.

ESPN did a ranking of sports. This beat swimming.

Video removed by ESPN.

Today is Festivus!

Happy Festivus. A holiday for the rest of us.

Grant has been saying, "Have a kicking Kwanza."

Teliban Teachers a no-no

Detention never looked like this:

Sturmgeschutz and Sorcery Taliban are explicitly forbidden from working as teachers for the government. The Taliban sees the growing number of schools, especially those that educate girls, as the most dangerous threat. If the Taliban can get to a teacher, they must first warn them to stop teaching. If that is ignored, the teacher is to be beaten. If that doesn't work, the teacher is to be killed. So far this year, twenty teachers (male and female) have been killed by the Taliban, and hundreds beaten, and even more threatened.

The best way to get revenge on those elements of culture isn't with war, but with education.

We shouldn't send soldiers. Rather, we should educate their daughters at fine educational institutions such as Smith, Kenyon, Chattam and Carlow -- and then send them back home.

Quiz: Where am I?

This is a game at JumpCut. The video asks, Where am I?

The correct reply has not yet been left on that groups page.

This post is dedicated to those in Hays and near Mifflin who have been without water, given all (now 10 or so) their water main breaks. Do you think we'd ever see man-hole covers and craftmanship like this around our streets and sidewalks?

Bits&Bytes: CMU kids ponder city-wide wi-fi

Noodle heads noodle behind closed doors:

Bits&Bytes: Comcast unveils higher rates after FCC eases rules A group of Carnegie Mellon University students are putting the final touches on a report considering what a citywide Wi-Fi Internet access could mean to Pittsburgh, but stops short of telling the city what to do.

'It's not our job to say what's best,' said Jon M. Peha, an associate director of CMU's Center for Wireless and Broadband Networking, whose class of about 21 undergraduate and graduate students spent the fall semester doing the work free of charge.

The report, likely to be released to the public sometime in January, sought to present scenarios estimating how much a citywide Wi-Fi Internet network might cost, what one or multiple Wi-Fi providers could expect to earn from each neighborhood, and how city government and services might use the Wi-Fi network.

The class presented its analysis to an invitation-only panel that included city Councilman Bill Peduto, telecom attorney and former city Councilman Dan Cohen, a representative from Verizon and technology nonprofit 3 Rivers Connect. The class is tweaking the report before making it widely available.

There are trade-offs to blanketing the city with Wi-Fi, Dr. Peha said. 'Some parts oft he city are probably profitable' for a Wi-Fi provider but to bring Wi-Fi to the whole city would require additional financial resources, he said.

This is what I've been saying all along. The effort to make the city covered with robust wi-fi is going to present some places where there will be profits and other places where there will be losses. Downtown's might and density is a cherry. One should NOT give away the cherry of the region. The cherry needs to go out as the rest of the city gets coverage.

The Pgh Downtown Partnership picked the cherry in the wi-fi landscape. The next move for city-wide wi-fi is stalled. No doubt: "The wi-fi to the whole city would require additional financial resource." Darn you!

I still think that the downtown wi-fi plan that was to hatch by the All-Star Game (but didn't come on time) was a bad deal for the entire city. I am proven correct -- still.

I'd love to see the report and give it my serious feedback. It might be better to have me address it with my sharp insights and skeptical peer-review, before it goes out to the world.

Call to Flip Side -- ends in a quick click

Happy Festivus Eve.

Headline in today's Tribune Review: "Pens start looking out of town." Exactly!

The Pens should move off The Hill. Move to an Allegheny County destination. Build the new arena near the airport.

The prior caller said, "Show me the money." That isn't ideal. Rather, we've got to guide the conversation into "Show me the upside." There is no room for expansion into other ventures if it stays on The Hill.

Build out an Olympic Village complex with a new arena. Insert RMU grad housing. Set a new vision with room to grow.

The small minded broadcasters said, "The location decision has been established." click.

Going down this pathway, then, the location decision is out of state. The location decision is UP IN THE AIR. Put all options on the table. Pick a place with big upside. Pick a place that people can get to, in their cars, near their homes, near the airport, with room for expansion.

flower currency

flower currency A Hippyesque Post-Hippie Approach To Changing the World

A project to explore a value exchange system, created and owned by children, to enable artists to collaborate on the creation of interdisciplinary art works.

Judge Puts Allegheny Co. Smoking Ban On Hold - News

Judge Puts Allegheny Co. Smoking Ban On Hold - News Judge Puts Allegheny Co. Smoking Ban On Hold
Injunction Stands Until April

On the 12th day of Christmas, Another water main break.

Another water main break repaired in W. Mifflin Another water line in the West Mifflin area developed a leak last night, but this time Pennsylvania American Water Co. reports that it was able to make repairs quickly.

ThePensblog.com comes up with a solution to the new arena funding problem

Funny.

ThePensblog.com: 2. The 'Shoeless Joe Jackson' Initiative

This would be tough for us to execute because we hate to see our Pens lose. However, our plan is to contact the Pens and have them throw the rest of their season; losing every game while keeping an eye on the spread and the over/under for every game. Pens fans everywhere bet against the Pens for the rest of the season. $290 million dollars. New Arena.

I love it as gambling was at the root of the fussing. Use gambling to get the arena back on track.

There is a vote under way too. And, I picked a whinner!

Clever.

Come To the Island of Misfit Reformers!

Crank Up the Radio; Pick Up the Phone. Stream.

Join activists Russ Diamond and Eric Epstein as they fill in for two of talk radio's greatest assets in Central Pennsylvania during the holiday season!

Russ and Eric fill in for talk radio host Bob Durgin on WHP 580 AM from 3:00 - 6:00 pm on Friday, December 22, Tuesday, December 26 and Wednesday, December 27, 2006. The Bob Durgin Show’s toll-free talk line is 1 800 724 5801.

WHP 580 website

The fun continues with The Gary Sutton Show on Newsradio WSBA 910 AM from 9:00 am - noon on Wednesday, December 27 and Thursday, December 28, 2007. The Gary Sutton Show’s toll-free talk line is 1 800 357 0910.

Listen to the Gary Sutton Show live on the internet. Link to the The Gary Sutton Show

Call in and talk about reform issues, the future of responsible government in Pennsylvania, or whatever else is on your mind! One never knows where the conversation will lead with these two at the helm.

Dates, times and pointers are on the Google Calendar of Mark Rauterkus and Running Mates.

Bill Toland casino chat transcript

Bill Toland casino chat transcript We must not forget our third new arena in the area paid by the state. The Peterson Event Center. The cost over runs alone could have paid a large chunk of the new arena. Why did Pitt not look to combine a multi-use arena with the Pens at that time? They would have had more seatting than the Pete.

FYI: I was against Pitt's building of The Pete on its present location as a basketball only venue. That was a bad deal.

Pitt should have kept Pitt Stadium for one game a year, Akron, etc. And Pitt Stadium was used around the clock for practices for many sports teams and even the band. Pitt Stadium could also have been conditioned to hold graduate housing on an upper ring.

Pitt's new basketball facility should have been able to do ice too. That should have been built at Pitt's new River Campus, down Panther Hollow - in Hazelwood -- at the foot of the Parkway East and perhaps one end of the Mon Valley Toll Road.

More Pitt buildings, such as more graduate student housing, and the UPMC Sports Fields could have been put back on campus. Then they'd have spaces for intramurals and such.

By the way, Bob O'Connor loved those ideas. I delivered them to city council in 1999ish.

Another idea that has merit to speak of again, but not mine, comes when talking about the new stadiums for the Pirates and Steelers, but the Pens were left out. A guy had a great vision of building PNC Park on top of a sunken ice facility. The same footprint would hold both the baseball and hockey venues.

The baseball field is the roof of the hockey facility. Much of the stands and fan infrastucture can be shared. That would have been great.

Today, I guess we could still flood the ballfield and play outdoor hockey with the red line about the pitchers mound.