Proposal to strengthen open records law produces some disagreements on details

This is a hot subject.

Proposal to strengthen open records law produces some disagreements on details Proposal to strengthen open records law produces some disagreements on details

Wednesday, August 08, 2007
By Tracie Mauriello, Post-Gazette Harrisburg Bureau

HARRISBURG -- Everyone agreed that government records should be open to public inspection, but when it came to the details, speakers at a public hearing yesterday were divided.

This subject is so hot, it could be, how do you say, 'smoking.'

Remember the no smoking policy for city council offices? Then there was the expensive smoke eater put into the ceiling of a city council member. She said one thing and then changed her tune.

It seems that a request for the purchase order and work order for that 'smoke eater' has not been delivered, as asked. So, a court case was filed.

The city tried to squash the case and a number of attorneys from near and far have offered to take on the case, gratis. Open records are a big deal to many people.

I'll save the thunder for another blog. Stay tuned, again.

This is a great time to quit. Quit smoking. Quit telling lies. Quit pass in the blame. Quit voting for all those Democrats. Quit hiding records. Quit the folly of over-spending of public money.

Libertarian withdraws from mayoral race

The paperwork to pull out of the mayor's race was turned into the Election Department. It has been one of my stated intentions to serve in the role as a placeholder because the election laws are so ugly in terms of getting third party candidates onto the ballot.

Libertarian withdraws from mayoral race: "Libertarian Party standard-bearer Mark Rauterkus said today that he will withdraw from the mayor's race and seek to pass his position on the ballot to Tony Oliva, 27, of Oakland.

Mr. Rauterkus said he will continue to run for city controller and council."

I just gave an interview to KQV radio (aired at 1:30 pm) and WDUQ radio.

2010 governor's race gets early start

2010 governor's race gets early start: The May 2010 Democratic gubernatorial primary is more than 21/2 years away, but that isn't stopping some potential Democratic candidates from telling people about their interest in the state's top job.

Hearing candidates talk about possible races in the future is fine. Reading about it in the newspapers -- only because these are folks who are in power now -- is what hurts.

All Blacks and the Rugby World Cup -- let the games begin

08/09/2007 - New Zealand vs. Italy in Marseille, France. That's September 8, 2007. Can't wait!

New Zealand's All Blacks play in Pool C which consists of:
New Zealand
Scotland
Italy
Romania
Portugal

Match 1: September 8, 2007, New Zealand v Italy in Marseille, France

Match 2: September 15, New Zealand v Portugal in Lyon, France

Match 3: September 23, New Zealand v Scotland in Edinburgh, Scotland

Match 4: September 29, New Zealand v Romania in Toulouse, France

Ding, dong. The witch is dead. South Side Local Development Corp given firm advice.

http://www.wpxi.com/video/13843788/index.html#

A meeting was held today at 1:30 pm on the South Side. Outside consultants were in town for a few days and delivered an initial report concerning the South Side and its various community groups. Plenty of neighborhood views were gathered, sorted and filtered. They even used PowerPoint!

Remember in the classic movie, The Wizard of Oz, when Dorothy picked up the bucket. She tosses the water and it hits the wicked witch -- and then she melts.

The same anticipation from that moment is now in the air here in the South Side.

The consultants gave firm advice. In no uncertain terms, the message to the SSLDC (South Side Local Development Corp) was to 'think again.' A re-focus and re-birth with new priorities is needed and called for.

I will be very happy to see the SSLDC go away. The organization has run its course. It operates without a clear direction and vision.

We'll need to get a copy of the overall presentation. I hope it comes online in the days ahead. We asked for it. It has some meat.

At the end of the presentation, questions and comments came from the audience of locals who are all very involved in the neighborhood and city.

My point was: Balance is beautiful. But not once did I hear the words 'babies, children, kids and families.' The term 'residents' was used fleetingly and the word 'school' was used as a possible venue for a future meeting. You can't have balance if only certain age groups are part of the fabric. I asked if those populations were part of the discussions and just overlooked in the presentation.

The replies from the consultants were nothing to get excited about. They did talk about Seattle and how they faced this challenge. People who value more than being only a 'yuppie' village do many things with the community to insure that the wee ones are part of the scene.

The elements that I seek to inject go way beyond being 'safe' and 'clean.'

Update: Another nonprofit that is in the throws of a refocus is the Cool Space Locator.

Cool Spaces reorganizes duties - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review Cool Space Locator, a real estate organization started seven years ago to help businesses locate in Pittsburgh's urban neighborhoods, is reorganizing and could see some of its operations taken over by a nonprofit architects' group.

South Side addresses 'party' image - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

South Side addresses 'party' image - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: "East Carson Street has an image problem.

South Side residents feel their neighborhood is slowly being choked by bars, rowdy patrons and nuisance crimes. Local development leaders fear businesses are being scared away by the party scene stigma."

Councilman questions money for golf instead of city pools - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

Councilman questions money for golf instead of city pools - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review 'Schenley Park gets RAD funds, and they want capital funds on top of that?' Motznik said, referring to Allegheny Regional Asset District money, which comes from sales tax in the county.

The capital fund 'money could be used for other improvements, like paving and wall and step repair.'

Revolutionary ideas deep inside China - Tuesday August 7, 2007 11:55AM

SI.com - Olympics - S.L. Price: Revolutionary ideas deep inside China - Tuesday August 7, 2007 11:55AM She's right in identifying you, at least. You are distinctly foreign and, notebook in hand and photographer by your side, obviously media, but what she hasn't picked up on is this: Here in China you feel about as threatening as an infant. A first-time visitor from the U.S., you don't know the language or mores; you can't even begin to have a feel for subtleties three millennia in the making. You may as well be deaf, dumb and blind for all the good your senses have done you these past two weeks as you've tried to take the measure of a burgeoning nation preparing to stage the costliest, most anticipated, most transformative athletic event in history.

Lackawanna County Democratic lawmaker looks at run for governor - NewsFlash - PennLive.com

Lackawanna County Democratic lawmaker looks at run for governor - NewsFlash - PennLive.com State Senate Minority Leader Robert J. Mellow has formed an exploratory committee to prepare to run for governor, a newspaper reported Tuesday.

Kayaking to work offers ad agency employees exercise and serenity

Kayaking to work offers ad agency employees exercise and serenity Mr. Lepley and his boss, Mr. Bronaugh, 'made serious mistakes when they bought their houses. They could have moved to Millvale.'

Mayoral debate may include minority parties

I got some ink in today's (Aug 7, 2007) Post-Gazette.

The debate on debates lingers as a topic of discussion. On inclusion and diversity, there should be no debate. If you are on the ballot, you should included. That has always been my view.

If you are on the ballot, you have a chance to win. If the big party candidates speak or act foolishly, they will loose.

When all the choices are present on the debate stage, the heavy-weight candidates are more inclined to behave throughout the campaign.

Mayoral debate may include minority parties The conventional wisdom holds that a crowded stage favors the incumbent by drawing attention from the challenger. That's not necessarily true, said Mr. Rauterkus, a South Side swim coach who is also running for city controller and councilman.

A regular attendee at council meetings, he argues that he'll be better able to parry Mr. Ravenstahl on neighborhood issues.

'I think DeSantis and the Libertarians and the Socialist Workers Party can take down Luke Ravenstahl,' he said. 'I don't think DeSantis can do it himself.'

The real debate on the debates should not be confined to the thinking that there is only one hour of time. That's wrong. There are 90 days until the election.

If there is only one hour of time to stage debates among the candidates, Pittsburgh can't win.

Furthermore, I think we need debates among the city controller candidates too.

Some other mentions and quotes I shared in yesterday's interview with Rich Lord of the Post-Gazette that did NOT get into the article include:

- "Q: Who is to blame for debates without all the candidates?" My reply: Everyone needs to share the blame. The voters need to demand inclusion and diversity. The other candidates need to make a stand and not appear crooked by playing the part of a cronie. The station managers need to understand that democracy is not like a boxing match with only two opponents. Democracy is messy.

- "Q: Has this happened before?" Yes.

The Jewish Federation is the worst. Once that organization hosted a debate within the Jewish Community Center and excluded an active member of the Jewish Community Center. That debate was NOT on television. I spoke with strong words of protest.

I marched with LeRoy Hodge at WPXI's studios in the past.

Bob O'Connor could have been mayor in 2001, but he went onto the debate stage with Tom Murphy without the others on the ballot. Murphy was better in a side-by-side 'slow dance' and was able to zing O'Connor on his ability to 'go to Harrisburg' to bring back a bailout because O'Connor could not remember the names of the state house and state senate leaders. That 'Duhh' was a show stopper for Bob.

Then I shared the story of the AARP exclusion.

GOP Hopefuls Generally Agree on Iraq -- GOPUSA

GOP Hopefuls Generally Agree on Iraq -- GOPUSA But former Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson said, ''Any candidate that's pro-choice is going to have a difficulty with the party faithful. ... The Republican Party is a party of pro-life.''

A community wrestles with the issues of public housing and crime

A community wrestles with the issues of public housing and crime The usual handful of community activists has swollen to dozens, catalyzed by the Pittsburgh Housing Authority's interest in buying 10 homes, scattered through the neighborhood, for low-income clients. At a large and uproarious meeting with authority officials recently, more than 75 people turned out to protest.

Italian club fires swimmer - Manaudou -

SI.com - More Sports - Italian club fires swimmer�Manaudou - Monday August 6, 2007 7:57PM Olympic gold medal swimmer Laure Manaudou was fired by her Italian club on Monday because of her behavior at a meet in Paris.

LaPresse club did not elaborate on the circumstances surrounding the decision, but the ANSA news agency said Manaudou does not get along with her trainer, Paolo Penso.

Early Returns leaks the call from the League of Women Voters to include all candidates

Teaser from Early Returns about debate inclusion.

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette - Local News - Early Returns Yesterday Arlene Levy, vice president of voter services for the League, wrote to KDKA and Point Park officials noting the likely presence of Mr. Rauterkus and Mr. Scott on the ballot. 'Could we, also, extend an invitation to them to participate in our candidates forum?' she asked.

So far, neither major-party campaign is objecting to an inclusive debate, though Mr. DeSantis' reaction is a little cooler than Mr. Ravenstahl's. KDKA says it hasn't decided whom to include.

The conventional wisdom is that putting more candidates on the stage would benefit Mr. Ravenstahl, since it would reduce the amount of airtime Mr. DeSantis would get. Mr. Rauterkus, of course, argues otherwise. More in tomorrow's P-G.

Call to action for the Elect.Rauterkus.com campaigns

How many debates should be held for the Pittsburgh Mayor's Race

LiveContent + Creative Commons with Red Hat gets LiveCDs and LiveDistro

LiveContent - CcWiki LiveContent is an umbrella idea which aims to connect and expand Creative Commons and open source communities. LiveContent works to identify creators and content providers working to share their creations more easily with others. LiveContent works to support developers and others who build better technology to distribute these works. LiveContent is up-to-the-minute creativity, 'alive' by being licensed Creative Commons, which allows others to better interact with the content.

LiveContent can be delivered in a variety of ways. The first incarnation of LiveContent will deliver content as a LiveCD. LiveCDs are equivalent to what is called a LiveDistro. LiveCDs have traditionally been a vehicle to test an operating system or applications live. Operating systems and/or applications are directly booted from a CD or other type of media without needing to install the actual software on a machine. LiveContent aims to add value to LiveDistros by providing dynamically-generated content within the distribution.

Getting Around: Naysayer state rep may be good choice for Port Authority board

Democrat wants to limit freedoms of young people.

Getting Around: Naysayer state rep may be good choice for Port Authority board A 16- or 17-year-old with his or her own wheels or access to a family car will no longer to be able to have more than one teen friend as a passenger at any time if the Legislature passes a bill proposed by state Rep. Chelsa Wagner, D-Beechview.

Here are two bad ideas. First, it is a bad idea to create a new law. Second, it is also a bad idea to let your kid ride with a new driver. Everyone can't be trusted behind the wheel. Few youths are going to be trusted to drive my kids around.

Some kids need to drive. Some kids need to catch a ride. For many, it works.

When a young person needs to give a couple of friends a lift -- and they see a police car -- then what. Does a high speed chase unfold to evade the police until one of the kids can jump out of a moving car?

Western Pennsylvania has had plenty of deadly car crashes. They are sad. Often, they could be prevented if speeding was eliminated.

Here in the city, the trend has been to eliminate all buses for the high school students.

In the burbs, there are few buses.

Former Port Authority head sues over pension reduction

I don't normally do awards such as 'jerk of the day,' nor 'jackass of the month' nor worse. But, if I did, this guy would be nominated.

Former Port Authority head sues over pension reductionThe former CEO of Port Authority of Allegheny County has filed a federal lawsuit against his old employer and its board of directors, claiming that it illegally reduced his monthly pension by more than $3,000.

Paul Skoutelas, along with his wife, Denise, filed the civil complaint late last week in U.S. District Court. It includes claims for breach of contract, denial of property without due process and impairment of contractual rights and obligations.

Pig.