Consultant begins study of city neighborhoods

This is folly.

Consultant begins study of city neighborhoods A Philadelphia-based consultant started a study of city of Pittsburgh neighborhoods yesterday, with the goal of providing detailed data and guidance on development investment.

Mayor Luke Ravenstahl introduced The Reinvestment Fund at a news conference that announced the start of the $35,000 study funded by the Urban Redevelopment Authority and the Surdna Foundation.

'We have to ensure that we are investing our limited resources wisely,' said Mr. Ravenstahl. TRF's data will allow the city to rebuild 'using hard data, instead of politics' to steer limited funds.

The root understanding of what's going on here is a flaw. They are building on falsehood.

We don't need a $35,000 study.

We don't want the city -- as in city government, public funds, URA, Authority weenies -- to rebuild. Luke is right in that the city does have limited funds. The city has NO FUNDS. The city didn't have any money for the city-owned capital budget for a couple of years recently.

The city is bleeping broke. There is NOTHING to give away.

Furthermore, even if the city was flush with cash, I don't want the city to do the rebuilding. The city should govern.

If there is public building efforts, the public officials need to take care of public places -- like the city-owned still closed indoor ice rink within a closed park.

The city's private sector needs to be put in the drivers seat so as to rebuild Pittsburgh. Faith in the marketplace is needed.

As the city squirms and weasels around with its nickels (our money really) and the consultants it hires (with our money too), potential investors stay away.

The city's priorities are screwed up.

Mayor Ravenstahl and the URA, including the new director, Pat Ford, need to do the following:

1. Publish the inventory of city-owned properties.

2. Publish the inventory of city-owned properties with the tax liens that have been re-acquired.

3. Hold public hearings to discuss a way to liquidate the various properties.

4. Hold fire sales, of sorts, so as to transfer ownership from the government to home owners. These are going to be hand-to-hand selling, one-to-one, hard work.

4b. I'm not interested in big-time sales of large blocks of land to holding companies and speculators.

5. Promise to NOT get in the way of private ownership, investors, builders.

The reality is the city can't do it. The city can't get the job done. There is too much to do. The city's assets are spread too thin. Nothing can be given to special interests as we need everything we have for those who are here now.

Public ownership of land has to shrink.

Nonprofit ownership of land has to be stopped. I've called for a moratorium on all nonprofit land expansion.

The research that is going to happen on vacancies, abandonment, foreclosures and more needs to be done in an open source method. We all need to contribute to this mission. The framework can be established by leaders and standards can evolve. The data should be public data. Code should be public code. Content should be public content.

Finally, as controller, this venture can occur within the controller's office and controller's domain as part of the Citizens' Congress.

We already pay sixty people who work for the city within the controller's office who can do these tasks, along with the citizens and professionals in the private real estate sector.

This is the type of performance elements I'm talking about in this quest to run the Pittsburgh's controller's office.

Dead People Vote In Recent Pittsburgh-Area Elections - News Story - WPXI Pittsburgh

Dead People Vote In Recent Pittsburgh-Area Elections - News Story - WPXI Pittsburgh: "Dead People Vote In Recent Pittsburgh-Area Elections Investigation Of Voter Records Yields Surprises"

This is what THEY mean with Get OUT the Vote.

Git Out!

More women are entering the blogosphere -- satirizing, sharing and reaching a key demographic

More women are entering the blogosphere -- satirizing, sharing and reaching a key demographic They can be snarky, satirical, nurturing, idealistic. They can be shy, fiercely guarding their anonymity behind monikers like 'PittGirl' or 'Agent Ska,' or bold, like Justine Ezarki, a k a 'iJustine,' who, with the help of her camera phone, enables readers to follow her virtually every hour of the day.

Women have always had a big place on the internet, if you know what I mean.

Daddy blogging has been a big joy of mine. Really, most of this was via email discussion groups.

There is a Daddy and parenting event on Sunday at the Science Center. Search for Fatherhood. Hope to see you there. I'm not sure how it fits with the bodies exibition.

I Hate To Say It: DeSantis Probably Lost It By Caving To Special Interest Union

I’ll preface my comments by saying I donated a small sum of money to the Mark DeSantis campaign a few weeks ago. I was actually even going to match my earlier donation by the end of this week, but then DeSantis pandered to the Special Interest Group that is Pittsburgh’s Fraternal Order of Police union.

Believe it or not, with interim Mayor Luke Ravenstahl floundering in the leadership category and lacking the humility to admit the misappropriation of a federally-funded, Homeland Security vehicle for a tailgate party, there was an argument to be made that he was vulnerable in next Tuesday’s election.

Mark DeSantis’ arrival onto the local political scene has been nothing short of remarkable. The longtime backseat politico wasn’t even on the ballot in the spring. He arrived on the ballot with a splash. Assuredly, the Democratic machine would have pulled some levers to put Ravenstahl on both ballots had it known that the current placeholder would be sputtering and spitting all the way to the finish line.

Ravenstahl holds the post well, sometimes channeling the city’s most dismal leader in 50 years, Tom Murphy. Ravenstahl chuckles off charges that he broke a law by firing up a charcoal grill in the aforementioned SUV. Needless to say, no media outlet has actively kept an eye on the vehicle. Out of sight, out of mind for the most part is the philosophy of television news directors. There isn’t a radio news director in town aggressive or even interesting enough to follow it either, and in 2007 the print media doesn’t provide the immediacy necessary to make a dent.

Meanwhile, DeSantis has largely said the right thing.

Then he nicked the Holy Grail.

Pandering to Pittsburgh’s employee unions is generally reserved for the incumbent Democrat for any race in the city. Rarely, if ever, does anyone do anything other than coddle the special interest groups that wield otherwise other-worldly influence and king-making power.

Heaven, or hell, only knows the real power the public sector royalty has, but the perceived weight of a couple thousand voters keeps tens of thousands of naïve ballot pushers and the downright disenfranchised away each and every election.

Lavishing public employees with contracts that become sweeter year in and year out is one of the primary reasons why Pittsburgh is in a tremendous and crippling financial situation.

Now the most compelling Republican candidate in decades has all but destroyed any chance he had by promising the most coveted of perks: permission to move out of the city that’s been decimated by generous handouts to the unions and other spending gaffs.

Mass desertion would ensue as police officers and their families would abandon Pittsburgh and its school district in overwhelming numbers. Who knows where they will go, other than outlying counties in which property taxes are lower. These magical lands feature movie theaters, five-star restaurants and kiddie playgrounds completely free of criminals they may have busted. It certainly won’t be to Millvale, Wilkins or Moon, as police officers will tell you that they rarely enjoy a moment’s peace, what with city criminals at every doorstep. Those neighboring communities less than five miles away couldn’t possibly include criminals. Tisk Tisk for imagining such a thing.

Much has been made about Pittsburgh being the only city with residency requirements. What’s wrong with residency requirements in a public position? Doesn’t the Mayor have to live within the city? Will he be allowed to move out? If residency requirements don’t matter, I want to run for the Mayor of Dravosburg, a dinky little town across the river from McKeesport. I betcha the monthly stipend there would cover most of my monthly city of Pittsburgh home mortgage, plus if Dravosburg is anything like nearby Brentwood Borough, I might be able to purchase untold boxer briefs with taxpayer monies before anyone’s the wiser.

Luke Ravenstahl touts a “Record of Success” that consists of virtually nothing tried, true and uniquely his. During a recent televised debate, he crowed about his relationship within the African-American community. The very next day, the city’s African-American newspaper “The Courier” joined Pittsburgh’s other print outlets in endorsing DeSantis.

City workers, the police in particular, absolutely, positively need to maintain a stake in the communities in which they serve. That should actually be required anywhere, but that cat’s already out of the bag. A vast majority of officers will simply sell their city homes and move presumably far away while still collecting paychecks that are massive in comparison to their average city neighbor.

Quite a few city neighborhoods (mine included) are able to boast high concentrations of city workers as proof that it’s safe and desirable. Urban Republicans understand this phenomenon, just like their Union spoiling Democrat counterparts.

It’s an honor to serve as a police officer anywhere and a privilege to work for a wonderfully diverse and eclectic populace as Pittsburgh has to offer. The rewards are high and for the most part, the workload is routine. It became big news a few years ago when the SWAT team was called out. I was in attendance when Chris Rock’s brother Tony launched into a hysterical routine about the cops realizing there was a SWAT team amongst its ranks when he performed at the Improv some time ago. That was a few days after the infamous Pigeon Shooter became folklore. Then newly-installed Mayor Bob O’Connor raced around downtown, looking like a less-criminal Robert Blake.

DeSantis claims that the city is missing out on a plethora of good cops who are too afraid or hesitant to move within city limits for a plum job. Truth of the matter is, if they were that good and desirable, the good suburban cops would land the job, move into a nice, affordable neighborhood and send their children to a posh private school.

From time to time, suburban Republicans like state Senator Jane Orie scare the population into thinking that the residency requirement will be lifted any day. These lawmakers simply don’t understand what it’s like to live in a typical city of Pittsburgh neighborhood where low rents and hand-me-down properties often produce a cacophony of calamity that’s unfathomable to the elites, liberal or conservative alike, in their gated communities, security-protected apartments, or sprawling estates of somewhere other than Pittsburgh’s 88 neighborhoods.

It’s simply un-Republican for DeSantis to cower to the special interest groups.

I’ll still vote for DeSantis on Tuesday as something new and revolutionary has got to happen. Perhaps I’ll be wrong and thousands of new real estate listings won’t pop up overnight if he wins.

Fact is, DeSantis had a really had a good, improbable, some might say miraculous chance to unseat a totally unqualified accidental placeholder. Ravenstahl’s claim that DeSantis sold the city off to placate the union is not that far off, and just enough to derail DeSantis’ chances.

Perhaps you missed this: I was a guest with Chris Mathews on Hardball

Panther Rants Rauterkus: I got two words for you, Chris: Poisonous Snakes. Forget using these things as research. We need to utilize them by dropping them in surrounding areas around Oakland.

So I've searched my photo archives for images of snakes, to help drive home the point. I know I've got something here.



Humping down the Snake River. That's Erik and Grant. Make more children Pitt fans!

We are, in this photo, on a raft on the Snake River.

The Great Wall of China snakes over the hills. But it is more of a dragon's tail, not a snake.

This pedestrian walkway snakes along the side of the road and under the highway. We need more elevated snakes in Oakland to take foot traffic off of the roads. Click image for a larger view.

The video from YouTube will be live in a few moments.

From planning-urban

Panther Rants invites me to a tailgate

Panther Rants We at Panther Rants don't regularly dabble in politics - we piss enough people off without getting into real hot-button issues. But when it comes to the race for Pittsburgh City Council and the Controllers Office, we feel it is in the best interest of all Pittsburghers to pull the lever for Mark Rauterkus on Tuesday.

Check it out! I'll be there!

Video: Great Interview with David Schuilenburg

The video of the interview of David Schuilenburg, guest, with David C. Adams, host.

Both Davids are Independent candidates for Pittsburgh City Council in the November 6, 2007 general election. Schuilenberg is in City Council District 1. Adams is a candidate in district 9.

I endorse both candidates for real change and new leadership in the city.

Audio: Great interview of David Schuilenburg, candidate for Pgh City Council, district 1

This is a man with a plan. Check it out.

Click To Play

Also available on TalkShoe.com.

Schenley Spartins -- State Champions in Basketball -- Defending for the final time.

I went to the press event hosted by Mark Roosevelt, Superintendent, Pgh Public Schools. He talked about closing Schenley High School. This is its last year, according to his plan.

He didn't want to break the news this way this soon. He wanted to keep the plan under cover for another couple of weeks. Too bad.

In a nutshell, the citizens, students and family of Pittsburgh need to brace themselves. Another number of tugs and yanks are about to come. The students and families are always getting jerked around by the district. It doesn't feel good. It means more are going to depart.

Frick Middle School -- it is closing too. Yank!

Rodgers Middle School moves too. Welcome to downtown 6th, 7th and 8th graders.

Humm....

In the presentation period, the five 'dropout factories' were not mentioned once. Not a peep about Westinghouse, Oliver, Carrick, Peabody nor Langley. Zippo.

It seems to me that Pittsburgh has some schools that work and some schools that don't. Tinkering with the ones that work and delaying action on the ones that don't is silly.

Schenley is a public high school. I got the feeling that the administration was looking for the Schenley graduates to chip in $20 or $30 million for fix-ups. They need $60 million, so they say. They might be looking for an endowment from the alumni. Gosh.

Stewardship means you take care of what you got.

Capital costs in the city are huge. They went ahead and designed lots of building additions that are now worthless. Poof. That's money down the drain.

Still no talk of a Vo Tech. Roosevelt said it would be talked about on or before May, 2008. Don't hold your breath.

Stay tuned..... Debate video is pending.

We've got debate coverage to post in a day or so. First, enjoy trick-or-treating with the kids.

Michael Lamb said some silly things, again. He even raised the dog license issue. Unreal.

Keep watching this blog....

Yahoo News sucks!

Mainstream media serves up another load of bull!



Fox News is in town now (yesterday and today at least) doing a story about the Mayor's Race. We used to have a FOX station. Now FOX's camera man is from Philly, freelance.

Going on a "witch hunt" on Halloween. Hey FOP, which witch is the wicked witch?

I got to speak to today in Pittsburgh City Council Chambers just after Mr. Jim M, the boss of the Pgh FOP (Fraternal Order of Police). He called the proposed domestic abuse bills and associated amendments a "witch hunt."

He provided the perfect introduction for a Haloween scare.

I don't want to dwell on the topic, but my support goes to Jeanie Clark and the good witches who hope to curb the powerful who have been given the upper hand with a badge, gun, or government job yet are known to have some feeling scared.

Jim Motznik says that all city employees with PFAs (Protection From Abuse) orders given to them by a judge should be under the same treatment.

Humm....

I feel that we shouldn't hire and promote those with PFAs. And, it would be good to not elect them as well.

Pittsburgh has serious problems with corruption. The Pgh Ethics Hearing Board is one slam dunk example, woops.... what out for that 'slamming.'

Plenty of trust among the citizens in the city, and throughout the nation, has been lost. Let's act. Let's work to protect those that need the protection by taking down the ones with power. Abuse of power by the powerful should be addressed.

Pool Plunge Saves Couple From Wildfire, They Stay Under Rock In Water Almost Four Hours, Watching Home Burn To Ground - CBS News

Pool Plunge Saves Couple From Wildfire, They Stay Under Rock In Water Almost Four Hours, Watching Home Burn To Ground - CBS News 'We spent the next three-and-a-half hours under (a rock overhanging the pool),' Roger said, 'inside the pool, watching everything we've ever owned burn up, and melt, actually.'

Post-Gazette NOW - Local News - Early Returns

You have to read between the lines. They were all sticking up for me!

Post-Gazette NOW - Local News - Early Returns Council Trashes P-G ... Pittsburgh Council was feisty today, sounding off on the Post-Gazette's endorsement of Republican mayoral challenger Mark DeSantis, especially challenging the following sentence critiquing Democratic Mayor Luke Ravenstahl's deal with a neighbor to handle its trash collection: 'Instead of privatizing a service like trash collection, he extends it to Wilkinsburg -- not because it saves Pittsburgh money but because it's created a few more city jobs while helping a municipal neighbor.'

Members of the all-Democratic council, led by Jim Motznik, criticized the paper for, in their view, turning a positive development into a negative one. They especially bristled at any suggestion that trash collection should have been privatized, since city workers beat out two private firms in a bidding process.

The other council members joined in, sharing for city cable cameras their beefs with the P-G's coverage and endorsements, and lashing out at the media in general. Even Councilwoman Twanda Carlisle chimed in, saying the media 'sensationalizes' everything -- possibly including the court-ordered seizure of her allegedly taxpayer-funded mink coat yesterday because she faces criminal charges of misappropriating city money.

Onorato signs sex offenders law - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

Onorato signs sex offenders law - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato today signed into law an ordinance that prohibits registered sexual offenders from living within 2,500 feet of a school, child care center, community center, public park or playground.

How will this be enforced? You bet that there are questions.

Questions of enforcement are everywhere.

Plus, we have 'grandfathered' sex offenders. That is an interesting concept.

The distance of 2,500 feet is more than 800 yards. That is about a half a mile in distance.

I'd love to see a map that marks circles around all the schools, child care centers, community centers, parks and playgrounds. These circles would stretch out 2,500 feet from those facilities.

This is a project for Google Maps after the election cycle ends.

Townhall on Nov 13 about jobs

See the comments. It is on my google calendar too.

QED to hold late debate

My rely to QED follows this email.

Mayoral Debate officially titled: WQED Presents: The 2007 Pittsburgh Mayoral Debate will air on:

WQED TV-13 and WQED HD (13.1) will first air on Thursday, 11/1/07, 8:00 PM to 9:00 PM. Program will repeat on WQED TV-13 Saturday, 11/3/07 from 1:00 AM to 2:00 AM.

Program description:

Who will be the next mayor of Pittsburgh and how is that person going to address the many issues that face the city & affect the entire metropolitan region? Meet the candidates and hear what they have to say about tough issues. Moderated by Stacy Smith. Produced by WQED in partnership with the League of Women Voters.

Live Studio Audience--please report to WQED Studios, 4802 Fifth Avenue in Oakland by 7:30pm on November 1.
Live Simul-Stream at wqed.org from 8-9pm on November 1
Public invited to post questions for the candidates before November 1 at wqed.org
Debate panelists: Michael Bartley, Chris Moore and Tonia Caruso

George Hazimanolis
Senior Director of Corporate Communications
WQED Pittsburgh
4802 Fifth Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15213
ghaziman@wqed.org
412-622-1366
412-622-6413 FAX
www.wqed.org

WQED Pittsburgh: Winner, 2007 and 2006 Mid-Atlantic Emmy Award for Station Excellence

"WQED changes lives."

Thanks for the mayor's debate efforts.

I wish the Libertarian and Socialist were included. I understand that these guys (Tony Oliva and Ryan Scott) are NOT going to win. However, we all are less and the region goes deeper into the despair when the elites exclude. When they are not free to join on the debate stage, the young depart the region.

Their inclusion isn't for this election on Nov 6. But, they need to be included for the future elections and the recruitment of new candidates in the years to come.

You need to think bigger and into the future.

We can't count on QED. That's very sad. That's not in line with the charter of public broadcasting.

My polls (with thousands of calls to city residents) say that more than 75% of the voters today are UNDECIDED about the controller's race. Meanwhile, six to seven percent of the voters are still undecided about the mayor's race.

You mayor's debate is nearly meaningless even for Ravenstahl and DeSantis. Furthermore it is like poison to the common ground of democracy for the third party candidates and independents.

If you really wanted to help -- you'd scratch the debate as you have planned and hold a different debate among the controller's candidates. Ask the mayor candidates to attend and ask the questions (being on the panel) to Michael Lamb and myself.

Can you forward this to J. I have little faith that she'll return my call.

Last night's impressions with conversations

Last night we had a candidate night and debate in city council district 9. I arrived early and stayed late, talking with nearly everyone who attended.

Overall, I was very impressed with the number of people who read my blog, watch the videos and care what I communicate.

I got questions about our recent trip to New Zealand.

One guy said, "I know about you thanks to blip.tv."

A women told me that she is a frequent blog poster to the other blogs. She reads my blog all the time. She especially likes what I have posted in the threads at other people's blogs. I invited here to post at this blog. Her reply was "why?" Her opinion was that my blog postings here generally leave no room for comment. She said, "I cover it all." She thanked me for doing a good job and she has noticed how many of the ideas have taken hold in other places.

Another candidate reads my blogs and the other blogs every day. He'll fit in on city council as many there also read this blog too.

We keep plugging. Thanks for reading. Thanks for your feedback and kind words when we meet in person.

Reason #1: We Don't Need No Stinking Reasons

There are plenty of reasons to vote "NO" on the judge retention vote on election day. But top among them is about plain old power. Power belongs with the people. The judges have gone overboard. The government has gone overboard. The people have power in their votes. It needs to be used.

From the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania:

Article I, Section 2

"All power is inherent in the people, and all free governments are founded on their authority and instituted for their peace, safety and happiness. For the advancement of these ends they have at all times an inalienable and indefeasible right to alter, reform or abolish their government in such manner as they may think proper." [Emphasis added.]

We are the sovereign People. As sovereigns, we are entitled to vote in any way we choose for any reason we see fit. We do not need the permission of judges. We do not need the approval of legislators. We do not need a note from the Governor.

We especially don't need to read some handbook on "How To Vote" produced by a bunch of lawyers at the Pennsylvania Bar Association who have a vested interest in maintaining business-as-usual. And we don't need them to infer that a retention vote is somehow too complicated for us to understand.

We do not live under Lords. We do not follow the mantra of some High Priest. Judges are not better than us. They are our servants, and we can choose to fire them at will. They are not automatically entitled to another term.

Year after year, the Republican Party infers that we'd be much better off if all elections were won by Republicans. The Democratic Party fights to elect all Democrats to office. Rational Pennsylvanians know that neither of these arguments hold water, yet we have an election system that provides a 'party lever' at the polling place to allow people to make such blanket votes.

This year, PACleanSweep is advocating a 'no' vote on most (not all) judges up for retention not to place power in the hands of some political party, but to return power to the People. All three branches of government have failed to defend the plain meaning of the Constitution. When they fail, the people must step up to the plate or risk losing all their rights.

We've heard a lot of reasons to vote a certain way in any given election: Because he's a Democrat. Because she's NOT a Democrat. Because he's rich and famous. Because she has the best hair. Because he's the best looking. Because she cheated on her husband. Because we need to send a message to Harrisburg.

The fact is, all these reasons - regardless of how silly some of them may sound - are perfectly viable reasons to vote for or against any candidate. There is no handbook on the proper way to vote. There is no right or wrong reason. It is up to each individual voter to make up their own mind in their own way. This is why We the People are sovereign - because ultimately, we can make any choice we like.

We don't need no stinking reasons. Really, we don't. Despite not needing any, PACleanSweep has provided a number of rational reasons in our Top Ten Reasons to Vote NO list. The most important of those reasons is to defend our most fundamental law, the Constitution. Government has utterly failed us in this area - despite every single elected official having sworn an oath to the document - so we must act on our own behalf.

It is not just our right; it is our duty and responsibility.

A 'yes' vote on retentions is a vote for continuing the culture of arrogance, greed and corruption in Pennsylvania. A 'no' vote applies the brakes and helps turn the Commonwealth in a new and better direction.

The choice is clear. And that choice is ours to make - in private, without anyone looking over our shoulders.

We don't need no stinking reasons.

Top Ten Reasons to Vote 'NO'

Rassling with Writters' Block -- or Bloggers Block

Man, there is so much going on. I'm sorta frozen with lots of loose ends on the posting fronts. Lots of posts are in the draft folder.

Five Pgh Public High Schools are now known as "drop out factories."

The teachers and union are okay with a strike about compensation.

Lamb thinks that competition in the marketplace is going to send prices through the roof.

The P-G editorial board becomes a mind readers and fails with a zero.