18-seconds of video that is still giving fits to Pgh's Planning Board and now its Legal Department

Here

We are still waiting for an official policy from on the use of video cameras and recording devices for city planning meetings. Now the legal department is making sure the pending, unreleased policy is valid.

Oh my gosh.

Kiski Area needs a swim coach

Kiski Area is accepting applications for the position of Head Varsity Swimming and Diving Coach. Interested applicants should send a letter of interest, resume, three letters of recommendation, and clearances to: Ryan Berberich - Athletic Director, Kiski Area High School, 200 Poplar Street, Vandergrift, PA 15690 Deadline: April 16, 2007

Lou Dobbs interviews Ron Paul tonight

Congressman Ron Paul will be interviewed on CNN's Lou Dobbs program tonight between 5:30 - 6:00 pm CT.

This Wednesday, Congressman Paul will make his first campaign trip to Iowa. Here is the schedule of public events as posted by the Republican Party of Iowa.

Public comment to City Council, April 7, 2007. Handing voter registration form to Bill Peduto

On Wed, April 4, 2007, I spoke to both city council in the morning and county council in the evening.

I'll move these posts in the days to come, to the day that they were delivered. But, this one just got uploaded.

If the image or file does not play, hang tight. It will. It takes YouTube some time from the upload before the link becomes active.

Judges make a smack down of ballot access. On to the US Supreme Court

Ken K, past candidate for PA Governor and a leader in the ballot access movement wrote with some bad news:

I just received word today that the 3rd circuit federal appeals court has denied our request for an en banc rehearing of our ballot access case to have the 67,000-signature requirement ruled unconstitutional. (Background and other info regarding the ballot access lawsuit can be found at
www.paballotaccess.org/news.html.)

Our only recourse now is to appeal to the US Supreme court, which (of course) we are doing. We have 90 days to file the appeal, and extensions are routinely granted, I'm told.

So the courts have struck yet another blow for tyranny and against the plain meaning of the Constitution. No surprise. Another reason to vote Libertarian -- as if we needed any more!

Health Care takes center stage tonight in a debate

PA Gov. Ed Rendell has said that he'd sign the universal, single-payer "Family and Business Healthcare Act" once it passes the House and Senate. He agrees that that legislation is superior to his own set of health care bills.

To date, the story has not been told by the MSM. So far, SB 300 (the superior, citizen driven bill) has been ignored while the Governor's legislation, HB 700, has received the lion's share of attention. The two approaches are NOT similar. The two bills would have different impacts on PA.

At 9 pm on MONDAY, APRIL 9, 2007, PA Health Care, and a TV show, Progressives for Pennsylvania (host) are to stage a conversation with Gov. Ed Rendell (Prescription for Pennsylvania) and a leader of HELP Fund PA's Chuck Pennacchio (Family and Business Healthcare Security Act). Tune in to: http://www.pcntv.com/

More insights at http://www.helpfundpa.org.

Advance coverage.

Presently, a dozen states are considering universal, single-payer healthcare. Pennsylvania presents the greatest confluence of factors favoring passage: demographics, economics, and politics. There are 31 co-sponsors in the PA House and PA Senate among both Democrat and Republican.

Zen and the art of Nonprofit Technology: How do we do make change if we keep doing things the same way?

Zen and the art of Nonprofit Technology: How do we do make change if we keep doing things the same way? In other words, don't make a copies for a workshop, or for a colleague who isn't inside your organization, and definitely don't make a copy for your mother to read.

But it's a journal about technology and social change! This goes back to my constant refrain - the means are the ends. How can we talk about technology in social change, while, at the same time, publishing in a format that limits the availability of this knowledge to people privileged enough to pay for it? How can we talk about promoting change when we're not pushing this content into the commons?

The Public Library of Science is a wonderful example of a reputable, respected peer-reviewed journal where articles are freely available to the public. They say:

Published research results and ideas are the foundation for future progress in science and medicine. Open Access publishing therefore leads to wider dissemination of information and increased efficiency in science ...

President of Pgh FOP talks against paying $85 to police commander

Chicago awaiting decision on 2016 Olympics

From family - travels

I love Chicago. Because of that love, I'm not sure I want the Olympic Games to land there. I coached state record breakers in Illinois. I coached a girl who was named the best athlete of the Prarie State Games as well. Chicago is a city with broad shoulders.

Most of all, for me, Chicago is where I fell in love -- with my wife.

Stir the soul. But don't drip or spill down the drain.

SI.com - More Sports - Chicago awaiting decision on 2016 Olympics - Sunday April 8, 2007 8:32PM Architect Daniel Burnham planned the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition, and famously reminded Chicagoans: 'Make no little plans; they have no magic to stir men's blood.' His words are now part of the city's Olympic slogan: 'Chicago 2016, Stir The Soul.'

If Chicago does get the games, athletes and spectators will walk in the footsteps of fairgoers. The games would be centered on the downtown lakefront and the South Side at some of the same spots used in the 1893 exposition and the 1933-34 Century of Progress.

From Mark Rauterkus

Mayor Luke doesn't play well with voters his own age - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

Mayor Luke doesn't play well with voters his own age - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review The Pennsylvania League of Young Voters is upset that Ravenstahl has decided not to attend an April 16 youth forum the 27-year-old pol previously said he would attend. Coincidentally, the withdrawal came after Ravenstahl's only opponent in the May primary, Councilman Bill Peduto, quit the contest.

The real question is how will the League of Young Voters play with Libertarians?

I've asked. I've waited. Time will tell.

The leadership of the League of Young Voters to go to idle or put efforts into overdrive.

People often like to play fast and hard when the sandbox is in their comfort zone. Otherwise, when the characters are not from their ranks, little happens.

Slovenian man ends 65-day swim down Amazon - Saturday April 7, 2007 3:47PM

Get out!

SI.com - More Sports - Slovenian man ends 65-day swim down Amazon - Saturday April 7, 2007 3:47PM After 3,272 miles of exhaustion, sunburn, delirium and piranhas, a 52-year-old Slovenian successfully completed a swim down the Amazon River Saturday that could set a world record for distance -- something he's already done three times before.

After nine weeks, Martin Strel arrived near the city of Belem, the capital of the jungle state of Para, ending a swim almost as long as the drive from Miami to Seattle. Strel averaged about 50 miles a day since beginning his odyssey at the source of the world's second-longest river in Peru on Feb. 1.

And we worry about swimming in the three rivers.

Pet Food Recall Database

Great resource

Pittsburgh Penguins and Neighborhood Concerns

P-G "We anticipate having meetings with community members in the Hill District on the redevelopment of the Lower Hill," said new Penguins President David Morehouse yesterday. "It's far too early to anticipate what the outcomes of community meetings will be."

The Pittsburgh Penguins had a hand in the South Side, some years ago. The team needed a practice facility. So, a deal was hatched to have the team put a roof over an outdoor ice rink in a park, South Side Park. The park sits behind what is now UPMC South Side Hospital and is below Quarry Field, home to the South Side Sabers football team.

The Pens would host an NHL All Star Game and one of the practices for the players before that game was even held at this rink.

The rink would be home to a few local hockey programs as well. Pitt played there as well.

Well, the Pens got out of that deal. The support of the team departed and the rink would eventually close due to poor management and a lack of oversight from the city officials.

The Pens would then have a hand in an impressive fitness and ice facility built at Southpointe. The new facility was out of the city and it was nice. After a while, the team pulled its support out of that program as well. The Pens has a one-time ownership stake in that facility -- and then it went away.

I don't think that the Pens have a presence in a region when it comes to neighborhood efforts and venues. Sure, there is the Mario golf classic and a wing in a hospital -- but nothing with a 'facility.'

Folks in the Hill District are now looking to the Pens to shell out some money for neighborhood programs. A small sliver of that pie could be obtained for a re-do of the city's lone indoor ice rink. I'm not sure that this is what the folks in the Hill have in mind -- but they'll hear from me in the days to come.

Traffic camera contract process detailed

Times Picayune - New Orleans,LA,USA
article
... she met with council members... The meetings were held in the members' individual offices under ...

Statistics

Thirty four percent of the American people believe that chapter nine verse eleven of the Koran predicts the 9/11 attack by referring to the awakening of a fierce eagle. Thirty nine percent believe Elvis is still alive. Eighty-seven percent believe that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction and was responsible for 9-11. Seventy two percent of all statistics are made up on the spot.

Thanks Chandler.

Summit. Or, and elitist pow-wow photo opportunity for those with tall hats and rabbits

All the king's horses and all the king's men won't be able to put Humpty together again. In this case, Humpty's crack comes from stresses of pensions.

I love the line in the article, "anemic pension funds."

Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl is calling mayors together from 17 cities statewide to brainstorm solutions to a common problem: anemic pension funds.

The mayor plans to hold a summit on the pension problems next Thursday at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, Downtown. In addition to the other mayors, Ravenstahl has invited state Rep. Dan Frankel, D-Squirrel Hill, and Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato.

The Mayor's Office will release a list of those attending no later than Wednesday, according to a news release.

"Our goal for this summit is to look at the best practices among various cities and develop a workable, realistic plan to address the situation," Ravenstahl said in a statement.

This isn't a summit. It is a photo opportunity.

Luke, if you want to hold a summit, the mayors might be a good start for licking stamps and stuffing envelopes. The mayors might make a good start for testing the will for the quest to find a fix. But, the mayors are not holding the keys to our salvation.

Look to see who has been stealing from the pension funds. Has it not been the case that the politicians have been taking money from pension funds. They grab. They take. They spend. They do it under cover.

Here are some of my proposals as to what to do about this mess these guys have gotten us into.

First off, those that make the problems are often the worst to turn to at fixing it. If you've had a hand in making the mess, you are not the best suited at cleaning it up. Luke, you're so young you don't have too much dirt on your hands -- unlike Dan Onorato. But, since he's your mentor, hopes for you have been dashed.

To fix the problem, make an open summit. Everyone who is interested should be able to attend. All can bring their own video cameras. The entire event should stream to the internet. Invite the world to sit and watch and participate.

The mayors should be given a homework assignment before their arrival. Get them to contribute as soon as they arrive. I want them to put real numbers and real situations into a shared well of knowledge. I want contracts opened. I want past dealings revealed. I want a real listing of liabilities.

I want the pre-summit homework turned in and screened by hard-nosed watchdogs who check the homework and give out grades. This is urgent and should come before the first in person meeting. Everyone's response should be up for review by everyone. Honest, brutal, critical, fact-finding and reporting is necessary.

So, the first period is a return of homework to the mayors and a chance for them to reply and re-tool their advance submissions.

Peer review should fill the second period. Mayors need to rip into reports and reactions of other mayors -- in public -- on the second hour. Citizens should be able to dive into the fray with specific statements about specific pensions and programs.

The third period should be devoted to tutorials and educational efforts. Coursework on pensions should be done in an open university setting. Best practices, meta data, case law insights, tragic outcomes, and a wide range of other 'classes' should be prepared, developed, delivered and documented. Academic deans and professors should self identify.

Testing, benchmarks and evaluations should be part of the fourth period. Putting mayor's together and there is a threat of the blind leading the blind. Proven levels of understanding should become obvious to all in the open network.

The first efforts of pre-summit and periods 1, 2, 3, and 4 was about reporting, reviews, and basic fact finding of the past and present.

The fifth and sixth periods of my pension summit concept comes after the lunch break. Talk about the future come here. The next steps of the fifth and six period go to both policy proposals and integration efforts.

Give attention to specific solutions, period five. Some may have strong feelings as to what could and should be done. Those leading opinions need to be put out into the open to stand or fall on their own merits. Be sure to put solutions under the spotlight for standing or melting on their own merits.

Period six is to give cycles to systems, networks, process and organizations. I'd love to see organizational charts, concept maps, charts, and all sorts of graphics that frame various issues and understandings.

Some global questions:

What are the various types of pension funds?
What are the various health conditions of pension funds?
How many pension funds are in the state?

Some micro questions:

How does a pension fund help a retiree -- with social security, etc., by age group by income.
Where are the retired school teachers, firefighters, police, etc.
How does the VA fit into the lives of various people.
Spouse impacts.
Enron impacts.
Taxation impacts.

Here is my point: Gathering the mayors together might be a valued exercise if it leads to a grand effort of accountability, openness, reporting, and dedication to the necessary thinking involved from informed leaders.

However, I'm not interested in getting mayors together so that they can share tricks on how to further break unions, rob trust funds, destroy infrastructure and re-mortgage our future with adjustable rate burdens for our kids in the decades to come.

Let me use another example, TIFs, (Tax Increment Financing). Our former mayor, Tom Murphy, became a master at establishing TIFs. Those TIF deals were masterful, complicated, rip-offs. Murphy's TIF approach is perhaps Pittsburgh's greatest export of recent times. Other mayors and other county governmental officials have taken his strategy and plugged them into other settings. Developers and politicians alike love TIFs as they profit and the ones that get hurt are the non-voting school children.

I'd hate to see a summit on pensions occur and backfire. Don't get hoodwinked Luke. And, Luke, don't hoodwink the public. I'd hate to see a number of fast-talking weenie finance folks, sorta like PNC executives who have sold bonds to the city in the past, make a number of presentations. They'd be sure to 'uncover' a suite of new loopholes that tap into hard earned retirement money so politicians can buy new votes in the next election cycle. Meanwhile, the future gets darker and darker.

The mentality of a one-time fix is mighty. One-time fixes allow for more spending now and kill the future. They were clever and sold off the water lines. They are getting clever and are getting set to sell the PA Turnpike. Tax leins, slot licenses, bond deals, you name it... the list is long.

Pension funds should be able to pull their own weight. Pension funds can't float when the weight of politicians lean upon them.

Final goodie: I think it might be time to NUKE all pensions for all elected government officials. Let's put that on a referendum.

Return of the Bar Bill

Bill to limit South Side bars advances The city planning commission took the first step yesterday toward returning 'civility' to Mary Ellen Lee's South Side neighborhood.

The board voted unanimously to recommend that City Council approve an ordinance prohibiting new liquor licenses within 150 feet of any two other liquor licenses along East Carson Street.

City Planning did NOTHING to help return 'civility' to the Streets of the South Side. Nothing.

What do they mean by civility?

I want civilitity as much or more as the next person. But, this "bar bill" is not going to be a guarantee for a return to civility. You can't connect those dots.

The "bar bill" is a campaign ploy by Jeff Koch. The bar bill is a way to allow Jeff Koch to get re-elected. The bar bill's help for the South Side, in the end, remains to be seen and may never be seen.

The bar bill is a perfect bill for Kock as it pleases everyone yet does nothing. It attacks those that are not here yet. Those with bars love the bar bill as it limits competition. Those who want action love the bar bill as it kicks up a cloud of dust. It is something. It is better than nothing. But, it is one step better than the worst possible decision -- nothing.

Everyone loves a tax when the tax is paid by those who don't live or vote here. Taxing out of town visitors is the best tax for any politician. This is a tax on those that are not here yet. If you don't have a bar on the South Side -- this bar bill hits you between the eyes. That's it.

Bars don't come to the side streets on the wee-hours of the night and piss on the sidewalks. Bar patrons do.

Ordinances on the books in council chamber minutes and planning commissions, don't enforce bad-boy behaviors. Police enforce. We need peace keepers. We need officers of the peace.

We've got a long way to go. And when we take detours keep everyone happy but sidestep the real problems, we'll never get to where we want to go.

I have my doubts about the 'bar bill.' I'll give it good consideration and investigation. Time will tell. More opinions later.

Pittsburgh people are voting with their feet. They are departing -- still. Told Ya!

Jobs are elsewhere. Taxes are lower there too. Pittsburgh is shrinking -- still.

I've known that the downward slide has not changed its course. The downward spiral continues. People are leaving -- still.

The folks that are moving downtown won't save this city.

The boosters won't save this city. Nor the region.

For starters, all the seniors around here are NOT having babies. They are growing older and departing. And, I don't want you to think that they're going to Phoenix. I dare say that more people are leaving Allegheny County to reside in Heaven than anywhere else. And that is a long spell beyond Moon.

People vote with their feet. This is a core concept that we all need to understand. When things don't square, and things are not fair, not just, not with balance -- it doesn't smell right. People notice. Practices and policies have a slanted tint. The earth we walk on often seems to have been undermined. Things crumble quickly for unknown reasons or justifications. Corruption is just below the surface.

This is unsettling. This is what drives people away.

Corruption. Goofy relationships. Back-room dealings. Done deal mentality that defies logic. Labels that are worn like anchors around the necks of neighbors. Glass ceilings.

I would not go so far as to call this a 'racist city.' But, there are pockets of that. But, there are system wide styles where ugly treatments of some are the norm.

I would not say that the fix is to 'be nice to one another.' That would go a long way, but we've got friends and family and plenty of wonderful people that would give you the shirt of of their backs. Being 'good' isn't too much of a problem. But, being great and expecting greatness is a HUGE problem. Pittsburgh settles for survival and stops. Pittsburgh's leaders have been quick to weed and seed repeatedly, but never (or seldom) choose to thrive.

From signs

The drinks that quench sky-high ambitions can't be poured in the corner tavern. When there is a thirst to thrive, when a drive to excel arrives, when folks mature past high school -- the time to look in the mirror arrives. The mirror says -- 'move.' The message is 'get out of town.' The future pulls the young people out of Allegheny County with the hope of a richer maturity and opportunities that better match one's own confidence and passions.

From signs

The brian drain is real. Thank God we've got CMU and Pitt and other institutions.

From signs

Another time to depart Pittsburgh comes when you have kids. When a parent looks at his or her child and sees talent, character and hope -- the voices of a parental conscience speak and urge an exodus from the city. By the way, moving downtown isn't the solution that these folks appreciate either.

From signs

There are times when it makes sense to pack up and move. And those are very hard decisions. Very hard.

There are some cultural points (not culture district) when Pittsburgh just seems to jettison its folks out of here. These departures are not quick. But, they are deliberate and deep. Checking out can take seasons.

From signs

The sky isn't falling. But, it is still raining. And too many of us are in shelter where the roof is leaking. The reign of the overlords still depresses the landscape of Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh's decline is still unfolding.

I know we need a different mindset. I know that new civic attitudes that stress honesty and inclusion are part of these solutions.

If we redd up Pittsburgh throughout 2007, 2008 and 2009 I'm sure we'll be 50,000 fewer. St. Pete, here we come. And I don't mean to call ahead of our arrival to Florida. I mean St. Peter, the guy at the pearly gates.

The (more than) Semi-Annual (often) Autoharp House Concert Series

When does the O'Hara Township hold its meetings? I'd love to go there and inject a sense of freedom into their meetings and offer a clue as to the right to assemble.

Check this out.

The (more than) Semi-Annual (often) Autoharp House Concert Series Things are moving along with our Federal civil rights complaint against O'Hara Township. The case is now on appeal to the Federal Third Circuit Court of Appeals. More information and documentation is available here. And of course we're continuing to accumulate legal bills to support the suit. So we're asking for help from everyone who hosts house concerts, performs at house concerts, or attends house concerts. There are at least two ways you can help.

Presented to Allegheny County Council with Erik

Tonight, Erik, my son, and I went to Alleghney County Council's meeting and gave a public comment at the end of the meeting.

I talked a bit about red tape. Dan Onorato is going to China, and I'll blog about it from Pittsburgh. We've been to China three times in the past couple of years.

But I've been running into 'red tape' here in Allegheny County with the Dept. of Elections and especially in Harrisburg. I've been trying to obtain a form as an email attachment, DSBE 210-C PB (rev. 2/07). I'm sure it is on someone's desk top in Harrisburg, perhaps as a WORD file. But the only copy I can get here in Pittsburgh is on paper.

I really need an electronic version of the form.

To create it has been a pain.

In talking about the form, I passed around a copy of our nomination papers that show the various offices we're running candidates.

Erik talked about Single Payer Health Care. He did a much better job at speaking than I did, so everyone says.

I think you can watch the meeting online. We were at the VERY end of the meeting.


Another mention, but I didn't get to it, was about swimming elsewhere in the meeting. The swimmers of B.P, N.A. Oakland Catholic, and even a diver got notice for winning WPIALs.