Harris and Kraus pimping animals at city council before more serious business

Two members of city council feel it is good public policy to delay the start of city council meetings to pet cute cats and dogs and promote efforts of the animal shelter. The meeting didn't start until after 10:25 am -- a full 25 minutes late.

There is no problem with promotions of valid causes. That is what the 3-minutes of public comment is designed to provide. Give the people at the animal shelter a chance to go to the microphone and train the cameras on the animals then. That is public comment.

Furthermore, there is a fix that I proposed for getting the meetings to start on time.

At 10 am sharp, turn on the microphone and cameras. Point them at the podium where citizens give public comment. Open the cable broadcasts from 10 am until the chair of the council hits the gavel. Citizens, including animal lovers, could talk and promote as they wish, self organizing, until the meeting begins.

For example, today's meeting started at 10:25 AM, not 10. There could have been 25 minutes of extra citizen comment until the council members arrived at their seats to do their jobs and conduct the meeting.

There would be NO extra charges if the cameras were turned ON at the correct time. The camera operators are there. The signal is being piped to the cable and to the various TVs around the city. The resources are being wasted.

What will really happen -- however -- will be much different. They will start the meetings at 10 am. Otherwise, they'd have to face the wrath of the citizens for extended remarks at the podium.

Meanwhile, Bruce Kraus and Darlene Harris should work on something of greater merit while on city council. The city's population is half of what it was. The city's debt is massive. Get to work. Give the animal shelter folks a golden invite to join the citizens at the podium within public comment.

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Animal Friends: Animal Friends: Home Page Click on one of the faces above to meet a homeless animal who needs your help.

Allegheny Institute Blog: Time out Chief Executive

Allegheny Institute Blog: Time out Chief Executive: "Time out Chief Executive
Following a meeting between state legislators, Mayor Ravenstahl and Chief Executive Onorato regarding the proposed City-County merger, the Chief Executive was quoted as saying, “They (the legislators) agreed that if the two of us want to push this, they shouldn’t block it.”

Well how generous of the legislators. Perhaps they might want to consider the views of County Council, City Council, elected municipal officials and citizens groups before yielding the field to the Mayor and Chief Executive. There are a lot of reasons to slow this train down. Not least of which is there is no real plan for people to debate or discuss. No structure, no talk of potential savings, no estimate of job reductions, nothing."

Banners for Pens

Marty G asked:

Banners UP -- IF -- they pay.

Banners can go up on private property. That should be 'legal' in libertarian world. If damages occur, they'd be on the hook, of course.

On public property -- no banners unless they pay -- and cover the fix up costs of Schenley High School -- for example.

Read the Cappy Complaint from the League of Women Voters

Now online at http://www.pacleansweep.com/cappy.pdf.

Russ Diamond says:

Pretty interesting stuff, some of it eye-popping; certainly lends credence to all our efforts over the last few years. And gives more weight to the argument for a constitutional convention to undo some things that were done in 1968.

Another asked:

Who is the "Senator" and "House Member A"

Shades of "Deep Throat" and Watergate.

Lets keep hammering them - eventually the truth will come out.

Schenley High School worth fixing, architect says - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

The price tag: $10-million. That is it. And, the students do NOT need to be out of the building. Roosevelt is way out of bounds.



It is cheaper to fix the building and not move the school and make such radical and rushed changes. It is better for Pittsburgh's taxpayers to fix the building and keep Schenley operational in Oakland.

Schenley High School worth fixing, architect says - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: "In recommending the closure of Schenley High School, city schools Superintendent Mark Roosevelt stressed an architect's cost estimate of $76.2 million for renovations.

He left out one thing.

The Downtown firm, MacLachlan Cornelius & Filoni, said the 92-year-old building is worth fixing.

'Despite its high cost, it is our opinion that the building is worth the investment,' Albert L. Filoni, president of the firm, wrote in a report Thursday to Paul Gill, chief of operations for the Pittsburgh Public Schools."

This is the headline:

Filoni's firm, which designed Schenley, estimates it would cost $10.5 million to remove the asbestos. The firm suggests that the work not be done while students, faculty and staff are in the building.

The inflation of the fix-up is being reported upon as $77-million. The early reports to the board were $44-million. But those reports had done LOTS more than just the asbestos removal. The price tag is NOT what we have been shown.

There are much better ways to manage the overall situation.

1. Move Schenley to Milliones on a temporary basis until the work in Schenley is done. Keep Schenley's sports facilites open for after-school efforts. Kids can walk to Schenley from Milliones. The newer sports wing of Schenley isn't in the rage of asbestos. Or, at worst, do that section in the summers.

2. Do NOT open the University Prep in its own building. Instead, put the University Prep into Schenley. The University Prep should be a city-wide magnet for grades 9, 10, 11 and 12.

3. Keep Rodgers Middle School right where it is for now; grades 6, 7 and 8.

4. Keep Frick Middle School right where it is for now; grades 6, 7 and 8.

These moves, I and others have suggested, ends the fabricated crisis from the zealot, Mark Roosevelt. Lots of money is saved. Performing schools are not crushed. More time is allowed for Mark Roosevelt to do his homework for the whole of high school reform for the district.

Nothing should be done in such a rush. And, nothing should be done until the entire scope of the district and associated costs are fully understood.

For instance: The Pgh Public School district should sell its Board of Education building in Oakland. That is valuable. The windfall from the sale of that building can fetch the necessary money to pay for the fix-up at Schenley.

Furthermore, the Reizenstein building at the eastern edge of the city, a building that was always an inferior school, should be sold. That building is valued for development, as it sits next to the new Baker's Square new development. Land circles the building. It is also next to a park, offering a benefit for housing. The Reizenstein building is a poor excuse for a school as it has no windows. The fix up for the Reizenstein building into a school again is going to cost $50-million or more. Sell it. It could make for a nice office park.

Provide a plan for Vo Tech right away. It is already four years late!

Do your homework school administration!

We want to know more about the proposed Sci-Tech educational plan. Where is that building going to be located. Reveal it to us -- and consult with us.

EarthLink to pull the plug on Wi-Fi in Philadelphia

If I lived in Philly, I would be starting a new ISP business.

EarthLink to pull the plug on Wi-Fi in Philadelphia: "EarthLink, which will give current customers until June 12 to switch to another provider, said it even offered to donate the Wi-Fi equipment to someone and give them an additional $1 million.

Too bad they didn't come to Pittsburgh.

I wonder if there is a list of other assets from Earthlink in other metro areas that are going away at better than fireside prices?

Fighting for Schenley: Gathering set for planning

Save the date:

Tim just called to let me know that he made the reservation for June 5th at 6pm at the Hill House so that we can continue strategical discussions around Schenely and overall High School reform.

Root, root, root for this guy! He is running for President

Comments from others (Pittsburgh Libertarians):

HK:

If you have a few moments, view some of the YouTube videos listed here -- Wayne Allan Root is truly a great performer (in one of them, he billed himself as "Ron Paul on steroids"):

I've watched a half-dozen or so of them, and he has yet to say anything I disagree with, and pushes all the right buttons. What's really cool about it, besides him being a great communicator, is he says he's in it for the long haul, and plans to run every 4 years, getting more recognition and votes all the time, until he wins in 2020.

Catch some of the Fox News debate between him and Mike Gravel. Gravel comes across in places as an angry old man who's losing it, while Root is everywhere positive, in control, and incisive in his answers. (I disagreed, though, with his characterization of the sub-prime mortgage fiasco as caused by government regulations forcing banks to make loans to people who shouldn't own homes. I heard some interviews on NPR last weekend with bankers who were being flooded with dollars from foreign investors who couldn't get enough of U.S. investments, and they couldn't create these mortgage package investment opportunities fast enough to supply the market, and so their bosses, simply out of blind greed, instructed them to keep relaxing the standards until having a pulse was all that was required.)

---

Henry Haller remarked:

During the Presidential debate at the Pa. state convention, in one of the "lightning rounds," Ken asked the candidates - by a show of hands - who could envision the future need to launch a war against Iran. Wayne Root was the only candidate to raise his hand.

Therefore, I will not vote for Wayne Root.

---

HK again:

Yes, his initials are WAR, he did support Iraq 2 initially, and he supposedly has some hawkish tendencies, perhaps because he's Jewish and has pro-Israel sentiments/loyalties. But he doesn't push it, when he talks about foreign policy he sounds like Ron Paul (no wars without a declaration by congress, no spreading democracy by force, closing many of the bases around the world, etc.), and he's far and away the best libertarian communicator for the common man I've seen. Harry Browne was good for intellectuals, but Root can reach the blue-collar working people much better, I think.

Close Schenley, Roosevelt urges - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

I got some ink in today's Tribune Review concerning Schenley:

Close Schenley, Roosevelt urges - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review Mark Rauterkus, 49, of the South Side had hoped that his two sons, Erik and Grant, would someday attend Schenley.

'You don't break the best schools,' he said. 'You replicate them, and you fix the other schools.'

I was also shown in two TV interviews on the 11 pm news: TV 11 and KDKA TV 2.

kdka.com - Superintendent Mark Roosevelt Recommends Closing Schenley High School Roosevelt Recommends Closing Schenley High School

The point of the interview was to say that Pittsburgh Schenley is home to the I.B. program AND other programs as well with neighborhood students and robotics. The blending of the urban fabric happens at Schenley, in a safe and successful school. Schenley is sending students, again, to Stanford. It works! It should not be taken apart. Rather, it should be replicated. Fix the schools that are failing. There are too many 'drop out factories' in the district. Those schools with unrealized potential and excess capacity need to be address. What about Vo Tech Education? What about the other places?

Updated:

A summary from another parent, Jen Lakin, came in email.

Well, you read or saw the big news already. Basically, the exact same thing we heard in the fall, only with bigger numbers. Lots of reassurance that they've really worked hard to not have to do this, but not a single thing fell into place despite their 6 months of looking.

However there were several interesting tidbits that came out during the meeting:

It's a 4 year commitment to Reizenstein -- they'll put in under $5M to the building and make sure that next year's 9th graders graduate from that building. Then they'll probably move again. Or not.

Several members pushed for some sort of comprehensive/district-wide/long-range plan. This was answered in various ways, none of which was yes. Randall Taylor pushed on the idea that there would be another 1050 student building in the district available in 4 years that wouldn't also require $$ to make suitable. When he asked a second time (it wasn't answered) and pointed out that the only buildings fitting that description meant that other students would be displaced or merged. There were other questions about what reform has been or will be for the failing, underenrolled schools. Both of these threads were finally answered in that as kids are sucked toward the new schools, it'll be a slow death for the bad schools. Rather than getting direct reform, those kids and their parents just better jump ship to a new school. Anyone left, well...they'll be moved when one of the new schools needs the building. Obviously, that's a paraphrase, but that's the gist of the plan.

There were several highlights (learning that mature people living in the real world support these plans, for instance) but I did like as well when Mark Roosevelt assured the board that they'd spent time when he got here talking to a lot of parents, especially those who had left the district, and they were answering their stated needs for "more high school choices." Of course, it's a bit of a leap from that to 6-12 themed schools, but hey! And we also know where those of us who've stuck through good and bad stand in their eyes.

If you get a chance watch the meeting -- I think they're on cable at some point (I don't have cable so I'm clueless there) and available on the PPS website, maybe?

I'll send out more later, but basically, it's time to support the board members in not acting on Schenley or ANY other building spending until they have an idea of what we're aiming toward as a district. It's also time to get it out in the media that this isn't about just Schenley, it's the start of a huge structural change in the district. Changes are long overdue, but people need to be informed and a part of the change before it's already happened! Honestly, before all this happened, I understood the meaning of the word 'transparency' but now, I get it, I really get it. There is such a chokehold on information from the administration, such a lack of ability for parents to have their voices heard before plans are made, and a near total disregard for the knowledge and expertise of the really excellent teachers and principals who are still out there.

Here's an email I received earlier in the week, sent out with permission (and some names removed):

I just wanted you to know that as a parent [and retired teacher...] I've been sending you moral support and good vibrations for the past months of this.....fight?

It seems weird to refer to it as that. Why must one fight for one's children with an institution whose very existence is for the welfare of those same children? One of my reasons for choosing to retire when I did was that I became very weary of fighting for what is right for children in all aspects of Pittsburgh public education. I needed to be so much more than a disseminator of information; children need adult role models, parent figures, and, indeed, friends. The system increasingly allows teachers to be NONE of those. Our days became filled with shoveling the information for tests down the throats of students and worrying about our own jobs and family security in the face of poor fiscal management, bad decision making, deaf ears in Harrisburg, a lack of clear moral standards for an orderly environment, and overworked principals and administrators who must become spin masters and middle managers rather than educational leaders. ... Early on, [a current teacher] invited me to become a part of your cause. I declined due to weariness, and yet I find myself increasingly unable to stay quiet in the face of the unbelievably botched (even for our Board and administration) attempt at "improving" our high schools at the cost of its one true gem. (Allderdice seems to get that title; however, if I knew then what I know now [...] All one would have to do is to attend the musicals of both schools and allow him/herself to feel the vibes.)

(parent of a Schenley 2003 grad and Allderdice 2009 student)



More later --

Jen Lakin

Today's message theme: Pompus Folly. Stay tuned and headed to city council

We're just back from Amsterdam where they have a clever t-shirt:

Amsterdam: since 1275

Meanwhile, Pittsburgh is headed into a big 250 celebration. Wow!

Frankly, I'm getting sick of the "Pompus Folly" that is filling our city, county, state, federal and school board governance.

More to come.

Tom Sumpter cried. He realized Schenley High School is about to die. He killed it.

Pgh Public School Board Member, Tom Sumpter, chair of the education committee, spilled a tear or two at the very end of the meeting tonight.

He said, "My grandmother graduated from Schenley. My mother graduated from Schenley. I graduated from Schenley. And my kids graduated from Schenley." He said, "We are Schenley."

This weekend, Mr. Sumpter is to attend his 40th class reunion.

Sumpter is Schenley. And, Sumpter and all that have gone before are in the past. Schenley is now just a memory. Schenley is about to die.

Next year, Schenley gets ripped apart. The final chapter on Schnley is not written. But, there is certainty that the evil forces are sure to have the upper hand in the next battle and section of history.

Schenley has its I.B. students going to "I.B. High" -- or -- I.B. World.

Schenley has 90 students being forced to attend a new University Prep School that was once a middle school. It will be in Milliones.

This is a royal mess. The district didn't do its homework. And, they admit as much. A full high school reform agenda was asked for by a board member in the questions but Mark Roosevelt said that it would not be delivered in the next months.

Tom Sumpter is going to kill Schenley High School. Let the tears of its funeral flow farther and wider.

There are four on the board who are NOT in favor of this. Sumpter can cast the vote that swings the tide. Or, he can move ahead on a half-baked plan that re-segregates the district and drives more families with the capability to move to depart.

Fathers urged to attend council meeting

Fathers urged to attend council meeting: "Fathers urged to attend council meeting

Yes, I expect to be there.

The Economy: Another Casualty of War

The Economy: Another Casualty of War ... Even though the House failed to pass the war spending bill, opponents of the war should not be fooled into believing this vote signals a long term change in policy. At the end of the day, those favoring continued military occupation of Iraq will receive every penny they are requesting and more as long as they agree to dramatically increase domestic and international welfare spending as well.

Jen Lakin has something to say about Schenley High School

It took until your vote in February, 2008, for me to really crystallize what I find wrong with dividing up Schenley, both the building and the kids. Your plan not only breaks the kids apart, it will, by design it seems, pit the new schools against each other.

We chose the magnet program because we believed in the idea that different kinds of kids could and do learn things from each other. I chose it because when I asked for changes or better choices, I wasn't asking just for my kid(s), but for all of the kids.

Now, I'm in a position where fighting for the best interests of my child (in particular, my 8th grader) pits me against the same kids who would have been his peers at Schenley.

To demand the best teachers at Frick’s 9th grade next year is to lessen the possibility of the kids at University Prep having those same teachers. The division guarantees that the good and great teachers have to make choices about where to be -- and I can't see how they can be fairly split in the future, either.

To demand a range of classes (CAS, PSP, mainstream, electives) at Frick is to ask for resources that will take away from the kids at University Prep and Reizenstein. Elective choices in the three locations for next year are obviously going to be far more limited than they are at Schenley. Sharing programs like Youth and Government, the musical, band, chorus, and sports for a year or two by busing kids around every day only puts off the problem that the two new smaller schools will never be able to offer the choices available now at Schenley.

You are tearing apart a family, a working community. I’m not saying it’s perfect nor that it can’t be improved – ask us! The parents have lots of suggestions.

I’ve attached several charts, showing that Schenley’s population (which is 71% African-American, 24% white, 6% other):

* Outperforms the district averages (the only majority AA school to do so)
* Has the highest performing AA students
* Has the highest percentage of college bound seniors – the most males and females, black and white

Even when the district pulls out only the lowest performing scorers at Schenley and not at any other school? Those kids still outperform 5 schools’ averages for all students, not just the lowest scorers. A cynic might suggest that the University Prep planners specifically chose a traditionally high-scoring population for its experiment, rather than the more difficult task of fixing a failing school.

Soon, if these reforms go ahead as planned problems will be faced by the whole district. Where do you think the students for these new themed schools will come from? IF the new schools populate most of the kids will be coming from the current high schools – which will then be faced with underenrollment, leading to cuts in staffing and cuts in programs. Some kids for the University Prep middle school program starting in 2009 will be coming from Arsenal’s feeder pattern. What will that do to Arsenal? You are going be faced with this same situation over and over again if you don’t stop and look at the big picture soon.

As a board you need to make sure that you aren’t receiving cherry-picked and incomplete information that leaves out both comparisons and context for the information you’re given. This district needs comprehensive, well-planned reform created with public input and supported by public buy-in.

Save Arizona State University Swimming

Save ASU Swimming: "ASU Men's swimming is in crisis mode after the ASU Athletic
department disbanded the Men's swimming team. The ASU Swimming
foundation has been created to reinstate Men's swimming and
Protect the future of both Men's and Women's swimming at ASU.
The ASU Swimming foundations primary mission is to generate
money to fund the ASU Men's and Women's Swimming team.

Go Sun Devils.

Statement from Nick Lardos to the Pgh Public School Board

05/19/08

Good evening everyone. My name is Nick Lardas. I am a resident of Oakland and am here to speak again as a concerned parent, taxpayer and voter.

I am here today to ask you for two things:

1) Stop the current High School Reform Plans now and take the time to plan fully for meaningful improvement not change for the sake of change.

2) Leave the current programs and students that are in Schenley HS in Schenley HS and make phased plans for improvements to the building and the programs.

Over the past year I have made a good attempt to keep up with the plans for High School Reform and Schenley HS. And the only thing I know for sure is that I am totally confused. Each day there are new rumors as to what the renovations of different buildings will cost where programs will be moved and then possibly moved again, what programs will be dropped what will be added, the district is in even worse financial condition than previously thought, taxes will have to be raised and on and on. The latest rumor is that Mr. Roosevelt is abandoning us and interviewing for jobs.

The end result is that parents are voting with their feet and leaving the district. Your latest projections show enrollment for September down over 10% from last year.

The excuse often given that the sudden deterioration of Schenley HS forced the district to begin implementing their incomplete reform plans is false. If Schenley were unsafe the students should not have been let back into the building for the 2007-08 school year. Your own documents and a tour of Schenley show that there is no imminent danger. Classes can continue in the building this year and next year and the year after while thoughtful planning takes place. The last time I testified before this group I offered to meet with you to tour Schenley and review your Architect’s reports with you. No one took me up on my offer so I am making it again.

The current confusing HS reform plans call for scrapping the second best middle school and third best high school in the city and tearing them apart to create two maybe three new themed 6-12 high schools. There has been no statistical information nor any educational theory presented that either the 6-12 concept or the themed high school concept have any merit. There have been no cost benefit studies done to show that these concepts and the massive facilities changes they entail will financially or educationally benefit the district and our students. There are no plans for the high schools and middle schools that are totally failing in our district. None of this makes sense from a fiscal or educational point of view.

Stop the current reform plans keep Schenley and its students intact. Take the time to work with the parents, teachers and students. Find out what works and what doesn’t. Look at what is working at the private and suburban schools that are taking our students. Then come up with a comprehensive plan for the entire school district and begin to implement it slowly and methodically.

Respectfully Submitted by:

Nicholas D. Lardas

3434 Parkview Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15213

Phone: 1-412-(NUKED by BLOGMASTER)

Email: (NUKED by Blogmaster too)

Re-sent letter to PPS about Schools and Schenley

B-PEP

THE BLACK POLITICAL EMPOWERMENT PROJECT

c/o Hill House Association, 1835 Centre Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15219

412-758-7898

Superintendent Mark Roosevelt and Board President, Bill Isler

Board Members: Heather Arnet, Mark Brentley, Theresa Colaizzi, Jean Fink,

Sherry Hazuda, Bill Isler, Floyd McCrea, Thomas Sumpter, Randall Taylor

Pittsburgh Public Schools Board of Education

341 South Bellefield Street

Pittsburgh, PA 15213

Dear Superintendent Roosevelt, and Board President Isler, Members: Heather Arnet, Mark Brentley, Theresa Colaizzi ,Jean Fink, Sherry Hazuda, Bill Isler, Floyd McCrea, Thomas Sumpter, Randall Taylor:

For many years, B-PEP, the Black Political Empowerment Project has been very concerned about and involved in the issues of reforming Pittsburgh Public Schools so that all of our children, in particular African American children receive a high quality education. Our involvement in school reform became even more heightened as a result of the announcement on October 31, 2007 that called for the closing of Schenley due to students and staff being exposed to asbestos where conditions had deteriorated and the cost to remediate was prohibitive. Also on October 31, 2007 we learned of other dramatic high school reforms that didn’t come with as much details or a good public process that should have occurred for such an enormous undertaking to be successful.

Our informed position of today, February 26, 2008 has been influenced by attending meetings, public hearings, information provided from the Superintendent, his staff and administration, Board members, PA Department of Education, principals, teachers, students, parents, news media, concerned community members, in addition to independent building engineers, legal and finance experts. Weighing all of this, we respectfully ask that in order to "completely assure the safety of the students and faculty, that the Schenley High School building be remediated this summer by removing the ceiling plaster. This would give the district time to develop the further needed renovations and updates, many which would be on an "as needed" basis. It would allow the students to remain in the building, instead of letting it sit vacant, unnecessarily. It would also give the district the time to completely and effectively develop the programming and the implementation aspects of the high school reform initiatives.

Understanding the fierce urgency of now to make ensure that ALL of our children are receiving a high quality education is something that we all agree on. Can we please focus on figuring out a way to teach and reach them where they are at NOW and have some good results to show for it and NOT use the excuse that we were not able to this because we spent so much time discussing not so well laid out plans?

Thank you.

Respectfully submitted,

Tim Stevens, Chairman and Celeste Taylor, Vice-Chairperson

Web page www.b-pep.net

Will Schenley stay or close? Recommendation due Monday - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

The reporting on this is so wrong. Still.

Will Schenley stay or close? Recommendation due Monday - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review Roosevelt previously has suggested closing Schenley, citing the $64 million cost to fix asbestos problems and update the school's mechanical systems. But students, parents, alumni and other residents have opposed him because of the school's listing on the National Registry of Historic Places, its revered architecture and storied history. The school has produced such illustrious graduates as pop artist Andy Warhol and Clifford Shull, a Nobel Prize winner in physics.

Roosevelt is closing Schenley because he wants to leave his mark on the district. That's it.

The money is a lie.

The asbestos is a lie.

As a dog walks down the street, it lifts its leg to piss on the post -- leaving a mark. That's Mark Roosevelt's motivation. The other reasons don't hold water.

The reporters have let Roosevelt get a pass, mostly.

The $64-million dollar amount has been discounted dozens of ways at dozens of meetings. It isn't even being used by those within Pittsburgh Public Schools -- since about December 2007. But the media still uses it.

To install air conditioning is not an update of the school's mechanical system.

Here is an idea. Fix the windows that were just installed five years ago. And, do these repairs under the terms of the warranty from the manufacturers. The windows don't work as they should. Windows can't open. They screwed them shut as a bastard fix. They (school administrators) didn't do the job they needed to do to keep the building running because they wanted to suck the blood from the building and use that as an excuse to sell it.

The $64-Million is inflated from about $30-M real price tag. And, they are now running up the tab to move programs (successful programs) to other buildings (crap buildings) at prices that are far greater than the $30-Million to fix up Schenley.

* The cost of Milliones is NOT being reported.

* The cost of a fix up to a once failed middle school, Reisenstein, (no windows now, valued property that is an easy sell) is in the dozens of millions. It was pitched at a cost of $300,000. Now the costs are 10-times greater and still rising.

* The cost of CAPA's expansion is not being factored in to the formula. Plus, those two successful schools are going to crash.

* The cost of moving robotics to Peabody is not being considered.

* The cost of moving the professional development from Reisenstein to West End's PCA/Gifted/Greenway is not in the mix.

* The cost of busing from the Hill to the east edge of town is not in the mix.

* The changes to Frick Middle School.

* The loss of student confidence.

* The acceleration of outward migration.

Fix Schenley.

Think again.

Think it through.

In the near future, the school boards of tomorrow will re-open Schenley anyway. The political promises have been made and this will occur. Mark Roosevelt has the helm for the short term, with the help of board president Issler, but that will end shortly. This entire move and crisis is a fabrication that won't wash in the long term and with the truth.

When everything is understood, looking at the forest and not the trees, it becomes clear that their reform moves are killing the school district and must be corrected.

Roosevelt had a hand-picked group spend more than a year on 'high school reform.' The entire body of work on that policy advising group went out the window in one meeting. Those that objected by asking questions were NEVER INVITED BACK to attend another meeting. The discussion for them ended. Roosevelt's own game of divide and conquest failed within the ranks of his own generals.

Tax-increment financing successful -- in creation a divide between rich and poor while killing city

Tax-increment financing successful, city data indicate - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: "An often criticized financing tool used by local governments to spur private development appears to be working well in Pittsburgh, according to data provided by the city's redevelopment agency.

Sure, tax breaks work for the URA and for the special interests. Tax breaks and TIFs suck for the city as a whole and for the little guys. TIFs suck for the poor. TIFs suck for the one's who already invested here. TIFs suck for the home owners. TIFs suck for the school children. TIFs suck for the urban fabric of the city.

TIFs are great for churn. TIFs are great tools to strip away the authentic characteristics of a once great city.

TIFs are great for the old guard trying to keep its power.

TIFs are great at driving the overall decline of the region to new speeds of depression.

Rainmakers

The Trib reported:

Pittsburgh City councilman Bruce Kraus taped a novelty-sized fundraising thermometer to his office door last week in hopes of raising cash to cover $10,706 in legal bills he's splitting with colleagues Bill Peduto, the Rev. Ricky Burgess and council President Doug Shields.

The councilmen racked up the legal charges in a zoning appeal and lawsuit against an electronic billboard Lamar Advertising built Downtown.

The four abstained from a vote Tuesday that would have made city taxpayers pick up the tab for the legal services.

City lawyers had warned the four that they were dangerously close to committing a conflict of interest because paying the bill would be the same as forcing taxpayers to cover a "personal debt."

The councilmen haven't exactly turned out to be major rainmakers. The council members this week will try to build on initial donations of $3.99 - a mere 0.03 percent of their goal.

What's wrong here?

Lamar Advertising started this whole messs. Lamar got dinged for putting up a sign for private use / profit on public property without the advance clearances and proper proceedures.

So lets review what Bruce Kraus does in his efforts to keep the folly sustained.

Bruce uses public property, a door in city hall, to place advertising messages that are NOT allowed. Kraus posts a sign for personal profit in city hall. The procedure and ethics battle grounds extend.

Clueless.