Council OKs surveillance cameras around city

Council OKs surveillance cameras around city

This will be the subject of my 3-minutes of public comment on Tuesday.

I've talked in the past about cameras.

I'm in favor of all the cameras being pointed at the public officials, the public treasury and the authorities. Why can't we listen in or watch the meetings of the PAT Board? Why are the Ethics Hearing Board meetings no put on the internet or cable TV?

Until we have complete access to open records and open meetings with cameras and technology -- we should not talk about pointing cameras anywhere else.

Beaver Ave Doll House on thin ice

Looks bleek for the Doll House that was slated for Beaver Ave. Seems there wasn't the necessary buy in from other tenants in the warehouse building. So, the owner is going to withhold the lease.

Design critique of the Chicago 2016 Olympics logo

Design critique of the Chicago 2016 Olympics logo Don't get too attached to this one (above)



Chicago, the city that works.

Ethics Hearing Board meets at 10 am on 2nd Friday of month and in the Google Calendar now

I keep a public Google Calendar called Pittsburgh City Hall. I've asked others in the mayor's office and in city council and in the city clerk's office to help keep it up to date, to no avail.

Anyhoo....

The Ethics Hearing Board meetings, held at 10 am in the Council Chambers in the City County Building on Grant Street are now listed in this calendar. Those meetings are open to the public. They are not on cable tv. They should be on TV, or just recorded via TalkShoe.com.

Now those meetings are part of the Google Calendar. Or, better yet, subscribe to my public calendar and get a mash up of all Public events for Running Mates.

Hotline On Call: Paul Gets in CA $wing of Things

Hotline On Call: Paul Gets in CA $wing of Things HOT DIGGITY! GO RON PAUL!!!!

Ethics Complaint Form as a Google Document

Ethics Complaint Form as a Google Document.

Printing the form from my blog, in the following posting, might not be best. Here it is in a format that does not include the sidebar, headers and such.

Now use it, if you care.

Ethics Hearing Board Complaint Form

_________________________

FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY

ETHICS HEARING BOARD- CITY OF PITTSBURGH

COMPLAINT FORM

1. Identify the person you are complaining about:

Name:_______________________________________________

Office Address: _______________________________________

_______________________________________

_______________________________________

_______________________________________

Position or Title: ______________________________________

Phone: Work: ______________________________________

2. Explain in detail why you believe that the individual named above may have violated the City provisions. Attach additional sheets of paper if necessary.

3. Attach or make reference to any documents, materials, minutes, resolutions or other evidence which support your allegations.

4. Sworn to and subscribed before me this I swear or affirm, under penalty

____ day of _____________________, or perjury that the facts set

forth in this complaint are

_______________________________ true and correct to the best of

(Notary Public) my knowledge, information and

My Commission expires: belief.

____________________________

Send completed form to: Signature

Ethics Hearing Board Print Name:

City of Pittsburgh Department of Law ____________________________

313 City-County Building Home Address:

414 Grant Street ____________________________

Pittsburgh, PA 15219 ____________________________

(412) 255-2015 ____________________________

Phone Work:__________________

Phone Home:__________________

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Complete all sections of the Complaint Form. Incomplete forms will not be processed.

2. Give the specific name and office address of the person about whom you are complaining. If you are complaining about more than one person, use a separate complaint form for each person. You may photocopy or reproduce this form if you need more forms.

3. Provide a detailed account of the activity that is said to be violative of the “City provisions: of the Code of Conduct. The Ethics Hearing Board’s jurisdiction extends solely to the complaints alleging violations of the City Provisions. All complaints with respect to violations of any terms of the state statute (Pennsylvania Public Official and Employee Ethics Law, Act 170 of 1978 as amended by Act 9, 1989), shall be within the sole jurisdiction of the Pennsylvania State Ethics Commission. If you have a question about whether the Board has jurisdiction over the conduct or individual in question, refer to the Code of Conduct, the Ethics Handbook, or contact the City Solicitor (Ethics Hearing Board).

4. Enclose records, documents, minutes, etc. that support your allegations.

5. Sign the form and have a notary sign, date and affix seal and note the date his/her Commission expires.

Important

Any person filing a complaint with the City of Pittsburgh Ethics Hearing Board should be

aware of the following provisions of the Code of Conduct.

Section 197.12

(i) No public official or public employee shall discharge any official or employee or change his official rank, grade or compensation or deny him a promotion, or threaten to do so or take any other retaliatory measures, for filing a complaint with or providing information in connection herewith, testifying in any Board proceeding or being the subject of a complaint or investigation hereunder except as provided in Section 197.16.

(j) As a general rule, no person shall disclose or acknowledge, to any other person, any information relating to a complaint, preliminary inquiry, investigation, hearing or petition for reconsideration which is before the Board. However, a person may disclose or acknowledge to another person matters held confidential in accordance with this subsection when the matters pertain to any of the following:

(1) Final orders of the Board as provided in subsection (g) hereof;

(2) Hearings conducted in public pursuant to subsection (f) hereof:

(3) For the purpose of seeking advice of legal counsel;

(4) Filing an appeal form a Board Order;

(5) Communicating with the Board or its staff, in the course of preliminary inquiry, investigation, hearing or petition for reconsideration by the Board;

(6) Consulting with a law enforcement official or agency for the purpose in initiating, participating in or responding to an investigation or prosecution by the law enforcement official or agency;

(7) Testifying under oath before a governmental body or a similar body of the United States of America;

(8) Any information, records or proceedings relating to a complaint, preliminary inquiry, investigation, hearing or petition for reconsideration which the person is the subject of; or

(9) Such other exceptions as the Board, by regulation, may direct.

Section 197.14

(a) A person who signs or causes or precipitates the signing of a complaint alleging a violation of the city provisions against another is subject to liability for wrongful use of this chapter if:

(1) The Complaint was frivolous, as defined thereby, or without probable cause and made primarily for a purpose other than that of reporting a violation of the City provisions; or

(2) The person publicly disclosed or caused to be disclosed that a complaint against a person had been filed with the Board.

Check out this new tool: Blogrush

Check out Blogrush. It is a new widget I've put on the sidebar of this blog.

Click the link below and it will help!

http://www.blogrush.com/r62881507

Mayor talked last night at Pitt to College Dems and says the strip club is good for economic development

The conversation in the Q&A period last night in a room at the William Pitt Student Union at the University of Pittsburgh with the College Democrats when something like this. (Disclaimer: I wasn't there. This is second hand info. However, I this recap comes on good authority.)

Question to mayor: Will there be other economic development opportunities on the North Shore around the new casino?

Answer from mayor: Sure. There is going to be a big strip club opening in the vicinity.

No way. Really?

Is this moving our city forward?

Is this how Pittsburgh is to 'stand tall' for the future?

By the way, this is NOT a joke.

Does anyone out there have either the audio or video of this 'presentation?'

This is exactly what I am so hacked off about. The Pitt Dems should have been one of the sponsors of a debate last night. The other sponsors could have been the College Republicans and the College Libertarians, to mention just two. A full-blown debate could and should have been staged. They could have had cameras on the participants. YouTube works! Rather, they held a small meeting where goofy things can get said and hardly disputed. The mayor is ducking his duty in a prime political season. And, the others throughout the community are gracious hosts to provide cover.

Pittsburgh is a smokey city -- still -- in this realm.

Agent Ska, where were you and your camera on the night that a potential strip club was revealed as a good economic development tool by Luke Ravenstahl?

---

Ravenstahl courts young voters - News Ravenstahl courts young voters

By George, we got a Director who ain't acting any more

After an exhaustive national search, and after months and months of acting, dress rehearsals, script reviews and a little bit of lawyering while on tv -- the city has a DIRECTOR for its LAW DEPARTMENT.

Congrats to George Specter. You're hired.

Months ago I suggested that George be fired.

I didn't like some of the early advice he gave us. George Specter said upon the passing of Mayor Bob O'Connor that city council president would be able to serve out the remainder of Bob O'Connor's term without an election. More than three years!

George Specter wasn't acting director for three years, but he had been one for a long, long time. Where is the historian when you need one.

At the interview process with city council today we learned from Doug Shields, city council president that George has a good demeanor. That makes him a plum for the job. Thanks for that endorsement Mr. Shields.

At least Twanda didn't pry into Mr. Specter's availability and married life as was the buzz when a handsome gentleman seeking advance promotion in the fire bureau came to the table next. He was cute. Wonder what Pitt Girl thinks?

The Law Department's budget allows for 15.5 FTEs (full time employees). Presently the staffing level is at 13.5.

I think one of the new hires for the Law Department should be Michael Lamb. He is an attorney. He is a city resident. He knows his way around town and city hall.

Hire Mike Lamb. He'd be a great attorney in the City's Law Department.

I called the City Law Department today to ask how I could and should file a complaint with the city's Ethics Hearing Board. I was sent into the voice mail of Kate DeSimone, 412-255-2010.

The first job for the new director of the Law Department should be the publishing of clear instructions on how to file a complaint with the ethics hearing board. Can an email address be established, such as "Ethics-Board@city.*" Or, "Legal-grip@city.*" or how about, "Ethical.Nebsters@city.*"

When Doug Shields asked about how the director of the law department would shape the city within a three part question of keen insight, we learned about how Specter would bridge the gap. He quibbled about how much work was forthcoming from the 13.5 and making it all the way to 15.5. The "deputy director" of the law department, Mr. Specter's former position, wasn't filled for all those months when he was the acting director.

Yep, the city is going to run much more smoothly now.

Kayak Pittsburgh - great offer for university week. F-R-E-E! Don't be up river without a paddle.

From Paddle-kayak

Kayak Pittsburgh

Contact: Rebecca Malena - 412.255.0564 ext. 29 - rmalena -at- ventureoutdoors.org

FREE KAYAKING FOR UNIVERSITY WEEK
Students offered free kayaking from Sept. 24 through the end of October

(Pittsburgh, PA – September 19, 2007, 2007) College students will be able to kayak for free at both locations of Kayak Pittsburgh from September 24 through the end of October during regular hours. University week is offered as part of Pittsburgh Connections, a project sponsored by Venture Outdoors and Richard King Mellon Foundation .

Additionally, to celebrate University Week, students will receive a free T-shirt with valid student ID when arriving at either Kayak Pittsburgh location. T-shirts will be handed out to students, regardless of whether or not they partake in kayaking.

Students must be 18 or over to kayak without a guardian signature.

Pittsburgh Connections is a project of Venture Outdoors with funding from Richard King Mellon Foundation. The project takes students from participating universities on outdoor excursions so that they may experience the region and hopefully gain an appreciation for the area in an effort to keep those students here after graduation.

Kayak Pittsburgh Downtown is located under the Roberto Clemente (6th St. Bridge) and is in easy walking distance of all Downtown and North Side locations. Cross the bridge, take the staircase nearest PNC Park down to the waterfront walkway.

Buses to Downtown from Oakland include the 71C, 71D, 500, 51B, 61B, 71A, 67F. Buses to Downtown from Squirrel Hill include the 61A, 61B and 61C. Buses from Shadyside to Downtown include the 77A, 77B and 81B.

Kayak Pittsburgh North can be found at the North Park Boathouse along North Park Lake, approximately 14 miles from Pittsburgh. Head up Route 19 from Pittsburgh, turn right/East onto Ingomar Road/Yellow Belt, left at Babcock Boulevard, and left at Pierce Mill Road.

Venture Outdoors, a non-profit organization, seeks to transform the Pittsburgh region into a place where the outdoors is an integral part of our culture, our identity and our lifestyle. Venture Outdoors does this by increasing participation in outdoor recreational activity. This in turn creates a sense of community among participants, an increased awareness of the region's excellent quality of life, and a better understanding of and deeper appreciation for the environment and wilderness among the residents of and visitors to western Pennsylvania.

For more information, visit www.ventureoutdoors.org or call 412.255.0564.

Open Thead: A+ Schools hosts meeting on proposed, new high school for science and technology concentration

 

Went to the meeting. Have plenty to say. But first, time to listen. Anyone else go and have something to post. Feel free.

Mark Brently in hot water for taking on the radio?

What's up with that? Marty Griffin of KDKA Radio says that Mark Brently is in hot water today for being on the radio yesterday.

That stink. What's up?

Houston, we have a problem. The microphone has been ripped from the wall by indifference and comfortable cronies

I sent this email to a few in the media.

We have a few problems brewing...

There are no debates -- zippo -- for these races:

Pgh Controller
Pgh City Council district 3
Pgh City Council district 1
Pgh City Council district 9

There are trends that need to be understood and reported upon.

The mayor's candidates should be together 30 times -- not 3.

It is great that the P-G is going to host a debate.

May I suggest that the P-G hold debates for the other offices, perhaps all in the same night?

And, may I also suggest that the P-G invite the candidates of the races in the above to go to the mayor debate and ask a question to the mayor candidates. That's right, a candidate asking another candidate a question. We are watching the issues. We would then have a 15 second time to be introduced to the audience as well.

Project Polling Place

The best way to get our 'No, No, 67 Times No!' message out to the public is to post volunteers at polling places across Pennsylvania on November 6 to help educate voters before they go into the polls.

PACleanSweep's plan of action to facilitate this effort is to compile a list of all polling places in the Commonwealth so we can assign volunteers to high-traffic polls. Our plan has run into a bit of a bureaucratic snafu and as a result we're going to need YOUR help.

The information required to compile such a list used to be available from the Department of State. This year, however, the state has decided not to provide this information. In a phone conversation with Bureau of Commissions, Elections and Legislation Commissioner Harry Van Sickle and attorney Al Masland, PACleanSweep was told that a statewide list of polling places is not available due to Homeland Security concerns.

We were informed the decision to make such information unavailable came from the Governor's office in response to terrorism incidents in Spain in 2005. We have attempted to confirm this policy in writing with Mr. Masland and Governor Rendell's spokesman Chuck Ardo without success as of yet.

Although we certainly understand security concerns and the possibility of polling place information falling into the "wrong hands," we question whether such a policy should be extended to a statewide political organization that is fully registered with the Department of State and files regular timely reports regarding every single penny it receives and spends.

Have the terrorists won? Should the fear of terrorism be allowed to interfere with the democratic process of voting, free speech and the freedom of information? We'll leave those questions for the philosopher kings to answer. Meanwhile, we have work to do to prepare for the November 6 election.

The Department of State informed PACleanSweep that we'll need to obtain this information from the 67 different county Boards of Elections rather than from one unified source. In response, we're launching Project Polling Place.

To make this project a success, we need a volunteer from every county in Pennsylvania to interface with their local Board of Elections. The volunteer will need to obtain a complete list of his or her county's polling places. Once the volunteer has obtained the list, PACleanSweep will figure out the best way to get the information into a format that best helps us assign volunteers to specific polling places on Election Day.

If you'd like to help with Project Polling Place, here is what you need to do:

1. Call your county Board of Elections. Click the link at the bottom of this message for the contact info for all 67 contacts in Pennsylvania.

2. Ask if they will provide you with a list of polling places in your county that includes the name of the building where the polling place is located, its street address and any unique identifying numbers assigned to that polling place (precinct, ward, etc.)

3. Ask if you can get the list in electronic or printed form and how soon they can have it ready for you. (Electronic form is preferable to ease our workload, but a printed list is fine, too.)

4. Go to the county elections office in person to pick up the list. You'll need to show ID and sign a form stating that you will not publish the list on the internet. If the form asks which organization you are affiliated with, write PACleanSweep PAC.

5. Once you have the list in hand, email us a reply this message and we'll move forward from there. Please include a phone number where someone can reach you.

Please be polite, courteous and professional when dealing with your county elections staff!

We asked for a list of Lebanon County polling places just today and obtained it without any hassles. We thank the Lebanon County office for their excellent and helpful response to our request. However, we still need the information for 66 other counties - and that's why we need YOUR help - and AS SOON AS POSSIBLE!

We need a few other volunteers for Project Polling Place as well. These volunteers need to be able to transfer information into a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet from the lists we obtain. Having a fax number will also help speed things along, but is not required. Please reply to this email if you can help with this part of Project Polling Place.

In the PACleanSweep Judicial Retention Poll, less than 13 percent of respondents said they worked a poll during our campaign against Nigro and Newman in 2005, but over 42 percent said they would do so in 2007 if we launched a similar campaign.

If we don't know where to assign these volunteers, however, we risk having some polls unnecessarily double-covered on Election Day while other heavy- traffic polling places might remain totally uncovered. This would not be an efficient use of volunteers or other resources. PACleanSweep wants to be as effective as possible on Election Day and that's why we need YOUR help in this matter!

We'd like to get these lists together ASAP, so the quicker you get moving the better we'll be prepared for Election Day! Let's make Project Polling Place a mere speedbump on the road to reform!

Contact Your County Board of Elections

PACleanSweep Judicial Retention Poll Results

About PACleanSweep

PACleanSweep is a non-partisan effort dedicated to reforming state government in Pennsylvania. For more information, please visit www.PACleanSweep.com.

School news: I.B. Program back in spotlight at USC (Upper St. Clair)

Edited slightly by blogmaster.

Call to Action!

Important meeting of the full School Board (at Upper St. Clair) to be held on Monday, September 24, 2007, 7PM, High School LGI

All residents should be concerned about the actions to be taken at this meeting. One agenda item is of particular concern to parents with children in the IB program, but should interest all residents, too. A vote will be held to decide whether to advance the recommendations of the districts teachers and Administrators, regarding the IB curriculum. Such recommendations (about various aspects of district curriculum) are proffered each year and voted upon in June. This year, however, the School Board majority moved forward with all recommendations EXCEPT the one concerning IB. In fact, this issue has been sidelined for three months, but will finally be discussed and voted upon on September 24th.

How do we know? As always, items which are to come before the entire School Board for a vote, must be discussed in the prior Committee meetings. On Monday, September 10th, the monthly meetings of both the Academic, Arts and Activities Committee and the Finance, Facilities and Operations Committee were held.

You can read the WAVES summary of these meetings by clicking here:

Or, if you prefer, you can watch the entire meeting at your leisure by clicking here:

What follows is commentary regarding the highlights of those meetings, which can best be summarized: Déjà vu?

These meetings, together, last almost four hours, and were fraught with School Board member making comments that attack the skill and professionalism of our teachers and administrators.

IB Discussions: Meeting attendees were stunned by the viciousness of attacks by Drs. Trombetta and Iracki during discussions about the district's curriculum recommendation to preserve IB at all grade levels.

Dr. Iracki implied that our elementary school teachers are encouraging their students to be rebellious and disrespectful, which drew a sharp rebuke from both Bolas and Dr. Bulazo, the district's Director of Elementary Education, who offered a courageous and articulate rebuttal.

Iracki stated that our teachers and administrators use aggressive marketing tactics to sell IB to USC families, which is insulting both to the district's employees and to USC families, who are certainly not intimidated by the annual and very low-key "Get to Know IB" meetings for interested parents of prospective students.

Trombetta implied that IB has been mismanaged by our district. A resident pointed out that our Diploma Program students have the highest pass rate in the country, clearly NOT a sign of mismanagement. Administrators appeared to be stunned and disappointed by Trombetta's obvious antipathy toward them.

Trombetta continues to insist on more data to evaluate IB and continues to imply that information is being knowingly and willfully withheld from him. He is politely reminded that statistically significant data take many years to collect and analyze but that the Diploma Program is only in its fourth year of graduates...

Dr. Iracki continues to oppose IB on religious and nationalistic grounds, and he asked several "values" questions (none of which received proper attribution) that match those raised by organizations like Ed Watch and Responsible Ed, both of which are hostile to public education. These groups do NOT reflect the moderate mainstream values of USC. Iracki tries to divert attention from his real motivations by manufacturing other criticisms of IB that have been widely refuted by many prominent researchers, educators, and corporate executives (e.g., IB is elitist, IB is expensive, not enough data to evaluate academic performance of IB students vs. non-IB students even though no similar evaluations have ever been required for AP or honors students).

Hall of Fame (HOF) Policy: It is unclear why Trombetta and the rest of the Board majority were so eager to adopt this policy, which would allow the Board President to appoint HOF committee chairs. Joyce and Petersen, who have served on these committees, called the policy a slap in the face of the current committee members, who are doing a very effective job and have a lot of experience in their respective fields.

USC Awarded $500,000 "Classrooms for the Future" Grant. The grant comes from the Pennsylvania Department of Education and will enhance classroom technology in the high-school math and English department.

Middle School Renovation Options. Public meetings to discuss the renovation options are scheduled for September 25 (Ft. Couch) and 26 (Boyce). Several minority Board members expressed concern that the community will be short-changed by the presentations, which will focus on costs and ignore an important discussion about future instructional needs that are dictating the renovation options in the first place. For the Board majority, it appears that project costs trump the quality of education that our children and grandchildren should be receiving. Concerned parents should attend these meetings, because there are fears that the Board majority may be "staging" these public meetings to manufacture support for a renovation option that cuts educational spending to the bone.

Powers of the President: Trombetta has written a new school policy - entitled "Powers of the Board President" - that will allow him, under certain circumstances, to act as a Board of One instead of consulting the other eight Board members who were elected in free and fair elections. Among other things, he is seeking the power to conduct investigations on anyone affiliated with the school district without prior Board approval, even if against the advice of the Superintendent. Trombetta also hoped to allow a provision enabling the President (himself) to call Emergency School Board meetings as long as three other School Board members have been contacted. Trombetta created the new Board policy propositions in collaboration with two of his like-minded Board members (Iracki and Coliane) and with the full expectation that his 5-4 voting bloc would easily pass the new policy. Fortunately, at Mrs. Petersen's questioning, Brooks expressed some legal concerns with the new policy. He will be taking a good, hard look at the new policy to see if it conforms to the Pennsylvania School Code.

Coliane and the Consent Calendars. Last month, we reported that Coliane never approves the consent calendar and has never provided a reason why. This month, she said it's because she objects to bundling all the names together in a single vote. When reminded that she can pull out any names for separate votes, and simply vote on the others in a bundle, she smiled and refused to that, too. Residents were left to question why vendetta and contempt had to get in the way of getting the job done.

WAVES urges you to take the time to watch the videos or read the summaries, so that you can stay informed! Thank you for your sustained interest in good education and transparent governance in USC!

Sincerely,

WAVES Executive Committee
Maureen McCullum, Tammy Murray, Katie Lynch, Deb Moretti and Mike Grape

Pittsburgh needs an independent, watchdog organization like USC Waves. Oh wait, I have a better idea. Let's just elect a controller that isn't in the pocket of the establishment. Then the Controller's office can do its job and be a watchdog of the highest magnitude.

Round up: Strippers on Ice on the South Side

In the North Side, they are stopping development of a property -- what about property rights -- for an establishment that was predicted. We knew slots would attract sluts.

Meanwhile, in the South Side, they are stopping development of a property that is owned by the city and could/should/would be used for POSITIVE activities. There is a closed indoor ice rink, a recreational facility. It has been closed for YEARS. The city rejected the proposals for re-opening the facilities in the park.

Go figure.

How about we get the best of both worlds, ... Strippers on ice for the south side. Then, you never know, a hockey game might break out.

Or, how about if we ask that we put a YMCA within the massive parking garage -- either in the North Side -- or at the uptown site.

By my most pressing question: Are they going to change the bus routes for the Ship of Zion to swing by the new joint on the North Side?

Opposition research

Google finds lots of hits, generally. Except, it has been bringing bad news for opposition research of late: This headline was a hit upon Kraus: 2 SOS candidates win primary

2 SOS candidates win primary For receiver of taxes, Kathleen Kraus won the Republican line.

Little or nothing else from Pittsburgh comes up when looking for firstname + lastname in the search field.

It is worse for my other opponent, Michael + Lamb.

Dave Schuilenburg For Council - New Leadership For True Change!

Dave Schuilenburg For Council - New Leadership For True Change!: "How low will she go to avoid talking about the issues?!?!?!?"

Let the good times roll.

Darlene Harris -- devoid of any fresh ideas. She is on the record as saying she has 'no plan.'

We can't argue either.

Unethical behavior, blah, blah, blah. Go read it yourself. Or, read it and weep.

Job Fair, C3, at Convention Center. World of contrasts

Went into the Convention Center today to scout around and network with people at a big, one day job fair. Nice event. It was hosted by both the city and county. This is a great use of the Convention Center.


This booth: The Welcome Center for Immigrants and Internationals.

Nobody was there. Might as well had been the South Pole.

There were many booths where there were constant conversations and a fine flow of people interacting, looking for jobs, looking to network. However, this was the one booth that buzzed the most in terms of people. It was for the new slots parlor on the North Shore, The Majestic Star.

There was no booth devoted to hiring people to work at the pending gentleman's club also expected to open on the North Shore.

Speaking of jobs, click the comments of this post to see interesting leads for various jobs with a firm that hopes to provide one laptop for every child on the earth.