$32-million -- for what? Point State Park should NOT have closed

Waste.

I love parks. I know parks.

We got ripped off.

They can pat themselves on the back. Meanwhile, $32-million went poof.

Campaign Finance Reform legislation

BILL 2008-0026

SPONSORED BY MR. PEDUTO

Ordinance supplementing the Pittsburgh Code, Title One, Administrative, by adding a new section, Article XIII, entitled, “Campaign Finance Regulations.”

Be it resolved that the Council of the City of Pittsburgh hereby enacts as follows:

Section 1. The Pittsburgh Code, Title One, Administrative, is hereby supplemented by adding a new section, Article XIII, entitled, “Campaign Finance Regulations,” as follows:

Chapter 198: Campaign Finance Regulations

§198.01 Definitions

For purposes of this Chapter, the following definitions shall apply:

(1) Candidate

(a) An individual who files nomination papers or petitions for City elective office.

(b) An individual who publicly announces his or her candidacy for City elective office.

(2) Candidate Political Committee.

The one political committee used by a candidate to receive all contributions and make all expenditures as required by §198.03.

(3) City elective office

The offices of Mayor, City Controller, or City Council.

(4) Contribution

Money, gifts, forgiveness of debts, loans, or things having a monetary value incurred or received by a candidate or his/her agent for use in advocating or influencing the election of the candidate.

(5) Covered election

Every primary, general or special election for City elective office.

(6) Person

An individual, partnership, corporation, sole proprietorship, or other form of business organization permitted under the laws of the Commonwealth to make political contributions.

(7) Pre-candidacy contribution

A contribution made to a political committee that: (a) has been transferred to, or otherwise becomes available for expenditure by, a candidate for City elective office; and (b) was made before such candidate became a candidate.


§198.02 Contribution Limitations

(1) Except as provided in subsection (3), no individual shall make total contributions per covered election, including contributions made to or through one or more political committees, of more than two thousand dollars ($2,000) to a candidate for a City elective office.

a. On the Monday following a mayoral general election, the contribution limit shall increase by the percent difference in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Customers (CPI-U) for the previous two years.

(2) Except as provided in subsection (3), no person, other than individuals who are covered under §198.02(1), and no political committee shall make total contributions per covered election of more than five thousand dollars ($5,000) to a candidate for a City elective office.

(3) The limitations imposed by this Chapter shall not apply to contributions from a candidate’s personal resources to the candidate’s political committee. However, if such contributions total $250,000 or more (regardless of the time period over which such contributions are made), then the contribution limits set forth in this Section for all other candidates for that City elective office shall double.

(4) The limitations imposed by this subsection shall not apply to volunteer labor.

(5) No candidate for City elective office, and no political committee, shall accept any contribution which exceeds the contribution limits set forth in this Chapter.

§198.03 Candidate Political Committee Accounts

A candidate for City elective office shall have no more than one political committee and one checking account for the city office being sought, into which all contributions for such office shall be made, and out of which all expenditures for that office shall be made. If the candidate for office maintains other political or non-political accounts for which contributions are solicited, such funds collected in these accounts shall not be used for the purpose of influencing the outcome of a covered election

§198.04 Competitive Bidding and Disclosure

(1) Any person who makes a maximum contribution during an election cycle may not be awarded a contract relating to City affairs, without going through a competitive bidding process.

(2) Any candidate seeking an elective office in the City must submit a disclosure form for every contributor who makes a contribution of five-hundred dollars ($500.00) or more:

1. Does business with or has a contract with the City, its Authorities, Boards or Commissions and the nature of said business or contract for the past five (5) years;

2. Is employed by the City, its Authorities, Boards or Commissions or was employed by the same in the past five (5) years;

3. Has an appointment to any Authority Board or any other Board or Commission of the City or has held one in the past five (5) years;


§198.05 Public Record of Reports

All candidates submitting campaign finance reports to the Allegheny County Department of Elections shall simultaneously file copies with the City Controller for the City of Pittsburgh. The Department of City Information System is responsible for maintaining an up-to-date and public database that is searchable based on the following categories: candidate name, contributor name, contribution level, and, where applicable, employer.


§198.06 Required Notice of Contribution Limits

The Ethics Hearing Board shall annually arrange for the publication of a notice setting forth the contribution limits set forth in this Chapter, together with a plain English explanation of the provisions of this Chapter and the penalties and remedies for violations. Such notice shall also appear at all times on the City’s official website.


§198.07 Penalties and Injunctive Relief

(1) Any person residing in the City of Pittsburgh, including the City Solicitor may bring an action for injunctive relief in any Court of competent jurisdiction to enjoin any violations of, or to compel compliance with, the provisions of this Chapter. The Court may award to a prevailing plaintiff in any such action his or her costs of litigation.

(2) The provisions of this Chapter shall be subject to the jurisdiction of the Ethics Hearing Board.

§198.08 Severability

If any provision of this Ordinance shall be determined to be unlawful, invalid, void, or unenforceable, then that provision shall be considered severable from the remaining provisions of this Ordinance, which shall be in full force and effect.

§198.09 Effective Date; Implementation

(1) This Ordinance shall take on January 1, 2010.

(2) By June 1, 2009 the City Controller should provide City Council with a report on the City’s preparedness of the implementation of this ordinance.

Teachers are a huge concern. Same too with principals.

Article link from Pgh City Paper @ schools.

"I'm not trying to minimize their concerns, and I'm not saying there aren't any, but I haven't been besieged with concerns," Roosevelt adds. "For all of the public turmoil, there is also a lot of excitement."

The above quote is taken from the article "Class Trip" in the May 29 edition of City Paper (see link above). I do admit to taking the quote out of context. The article deals with the very real issue of teacher assignments which I know I, and several others, especially Jen, have brought up. With a son who is entering the diploma programme in the fall, I do not have to worry much about teachers. Teachers who have IB training have preference over non-IB trained. However, if this article is true, there is the possibility of teachers with higher seniority "bumping" non-IB teachers. More experience doesn't necessarily mean better teacher. We are already having to deal with the chaos of a new school; do we need to have a staff that is not used to working together? Sometimes change can be good but too much too quickly can lead to disaster.

Mr. Roosevelt does not think that he has been besieged by concerns. Maybe we need to speak up a little louder, write a few more letters, make sure that we are heard. There a far too many details that have NOT been worked out. Please don't experiment with our children. Plan first, before taking any action.

amy moore

I'm going to 'pile onto this concern and talk a bit about principals. Why on earth would the city hire a new principal for a new school and pick him from a leadership position directly from the worst situation ever?

I'm not sure if the Assistant Principal at Woodland Hills, a place where one teacher this year has already had to break up 60 fights within the school, is fit for a leadership position in a new school in Pittsburgh -- in the Hill District.

Generally, discipline falls onto the shoulders of the "assistant principal." Clearly, the school year at Woodland Hills has been a disaster. Good for him for getting out. Bad for us for getting a promotion here.

So, there are no problems with hiring teachers?

Connect the dots.

The district has already lost too many battles in the front lines of the war with 'trust.' Discpline was to be the battle cry for the year too. Yeah, right.

Multimedia Center from the P-G visits with Bill -- where is Justine?

Multimedia Center: "Post-Gazette staff writer Bill Toland and Bill Peduto, councilman for District 8, discuss several issues important to residents of Pittsburgh.

Penguins to open arena for Game 5

Great news. Pens keep arena open for game five. Well now. Let's continue the streak and keep the arena open for the next 15 years. Sure, build a new arena. Play the games there. But, keep the existing arena for overflow and community, err civic, events.

Penguins to open arena for Game 5: "Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Finals will be on the road Monday night in Detroit, but Pensguins fans can watch from the comforts of home ice, yet again.

The Penguins announced today that they will open Mellon Arena for Game 5 so that fans can watch the game on the arena Jumbotron.

Great news: The lame duck is dead, at least in one chamber

Following is a statement on today's decision by Senate leadership not to convene lame-duck session this year:

The Senate's decision not to hold lame-duck session is an important step in the right direction. For at least this year, it gives Pennsylvania citizens the same protection against post-election deal-making that citizens in most states already enjoy. Since the House cannot enact legislation without the Senate, citizens may rest easy after Election Day.

This is an improvement that 82 percent of Pennsylvania voters want, according to a 2007 Keystone Poll. It's good to see that Senate leadership values demonstrating that things really can change for the better in the Capitol.

Questions

* Will House leadership make the same declaration?
* Will House leadership pass legislation amending the Constitution to prohibit lame-duck session permanently?
* Will House leadership pass a law to the same effect until a Constitutional amendment can take effect?
* Where do your legislators stand on this issue?

My answers:

I am against all lame duck sessions.

I would try to amend the Constitution, and the city charter, to prevent the spending of any money in a lame-duck period.

I'm not sure where our state reps stand on this issue. If you do, please inject into the comments.

Rush to judgment

Op-Ed by citizens who care about our schools.

Rush to judgment Closing Schenley cannot be justified until the school district develops a high school reform plan

By Linda Metropulos and Jill Weiss

On May 19, Pittsburgh Schools Superintendent Mark Roosevelt recommended that Schenley High School be closed -- even though a comprehensive, districtwide high school reform plan has not been formulated or presented to the school board.
Linda Metropulos (lmetropulos @earthlink.com) and Jill Weiss (weissjm@carlow.edu) are co-chairs of a committee working to save Schenley High School.

Without such a plan, how can the decision be made to close one of the most illustrious and successful schools in the district, a building that could be saved if the right team of professionals helped guide the process? We are asking the school board to table the Schenley vote until a comprehensive analysis has been conducted and publicly debated.

Members of the board, parents, students and the public have asked for a comprehensive reform plan. The only plan so far has been to close Schenley because it has deteriorated, thanks to years of neglect and poorly executed renovations.

Mr. Roosevelt stated that the district must choose "instruction over bricks" while not revealing the true cost of re-opening two schools and renovating two additional schools to accommodate the current Schenley student body of 1,100 students. According to Mr. Roosevelt, Schenley would cost at least $76 million to renovate. When board members questioned the cost to remodel four schools to accommodate Schenley students, they were given a low-ball estimate of $35 million.

There is some question as to whether these numbers are only construction costs or complete project costs. A report by MCF Architects that compares the cost of renovating Schenley to those of renovating the Reizenstein building has not been released to the board or the public. How can the board undertake a smart and fiscally prudent vote when information is confusing, sketchy or withheld?

It is also disappointing that the International Baccalaureate program, one of the strongest academic programs currently offered by the Pittsburgh Public Schools and a reason many families have stayed within the city, would be set adrift, with no permanent home identified until 2009. The lack of a well-thought-out plan for the IB program is causing chaos and concern and is forcing many families to look for other options for their children.

It is disingenuous to assume an inexpensive building solution is going to mysteriously appear for 1,100 IB students from throughout the district. Why would the administration want to prematurely eliminate Schenley from future consideration? What other options are there?

Mr. Roosevelt talks about creating a science and technology school, possibly alongside the Carnegie Science Center. Are we to believe funds will mysteriously appear for this school, as well?

Over the past year, a committee of concerned professionals has been meeting to look at renovation and fund-raising options for Schenley. Schenley is so well constructed that it would cost more than $500 per square foot to build new today -- about twice the value of modern school buildings. Why walk away from such a formidable structure?

There are alternative ways to approach the needed improvements that would cost less than the worst-case scenario that Mr. Roosevelt presented to the board. An investment in Schenley now could allow the school to be used for another 100 years.

One idea is to re-use the building's original passive system for ventilation instead of installing air conditioning. There are numerous such practical options that could lower the cost of renovation. Pittsburgh prides itself on being a leader in green design and construction; what better way to demonstrate this than by keeping an institution of this caliber functioning instead of discarding it?

Mr. Roosevelt said his staff had looked at possible state and national resources to renovate Schenley but had found nothing useful. However, our committee has found numerous programs that might be available.

Schenley High School has been set adrift by the Roosevelt administration. The superintendent says we cannot afford to save the building where Nobel Prize winners and internationally known artists and musicians were educated. He says we cannot afford to renovate the building in which politicians, civil rights lawyers, star actors and athletes have been nurtured and where children from throughout the city have thrived and learned.

Our question is how can we afford not to renovate this building, one where students of every color and social strata choose to attend school together. Living and learning together is a life lesson that cannot be taught in books; it becomes a part of us only through experience and tolerance.

We have been told that the fate of Schenley must be decided now. We are asking school board members to table the issue beyond their June meeting until they can make an informed decision.

Keeping alive the option of renovating Schenley High School would be choosing "students and bricks.

Schenley High School, interview with board member

* http://kdka.com/video/?id=41766@kdka.dayport.com

Budget Discussion about schools

Another school meeting. These meetings should happen with the district. Instead, they sub-contract to A+ Schools. Thankfully A+ Schools is there to be a bit of an escape value. But, when you really have some troubles with the schools, you don't want to go talk to the lunch-room lady.

A+ Schools is to Pgh Public Schools as a lunch-room lady is to a school principal.

That isn't an original quote authored by me. However, it came from one of the four citizens who recently spoke to the Pgh Public School Administrators and Board at last month's public testimony meeting.

Join A+ Schools to talk about the PPS budget!

Schools and Money: Community Meeting on School Budgets

A+ Schools, in cooperation with the Pittsburgh Public Schools, invites you to attend this community meeting about the PPS site based budgeting process and the budget reductions that result from enrollment declines. We’ll discuss maintaining educational priorities as part of the budget process.

Monday, June 9th
6PM to 8 PM
Life’s Work of Western PA
1323 Forbes Avenue, Uptown (across from Duquesne University’s Palumbo Center)
Pittsburgh, PA 15219

TO REGISTER: Sign up online at www.aplusschools.org or by calling 412-258-2660 ext. 101.

FREE Dinner and childcare (for children over 1) will be provided to registrants.

Free parking is available in the Life’s Work parking lot as well as the nearby streets.

Please RSVP by Friday, June 6th.

---

Theresa Smith's comments:

Greetings:

As many of you know, I have requested that A+ Schools schedule a meeting with PPS regarding the budget. I am thrilled that they have successfully scheduled the meeting and that PPS has agreed to meet, please see the meeting information below. The intention of the meeting is to provide folks with an opportunity to receive answers pertaining to the PPS individual school budgets. Many of our schools face serious cuts in funding and PPS has mentioned that they attribute the declining enrollment as one factor. I did question ...what would happen to the funds that would no longer be allocated directly to the schools. I was told the funds would remain in the general budget and could be redirected to other PPS initiatives. I am hoping parents realize the importance of showing a large crowd to reflect our concerns for our children and all schools.


Thank you for considering attending this worthwhile meeting and I hope to see you there,

Theresa Smith

Live blogging: City council

These are urgent times for kittens. Thanks for that knowledge Mr. Kraus. He thinks you'd be doing a "great service" to the city by adopting a cat or dog. We learned this at 10:20 am, 20-minutes after the scheduled meeting should have begun.

In campaign finance reform discussions.

Rev. Burgess does not want to have the reporting to include spouse info. So, if Mrs. Ravenstahl makes a donation to someone, then she'd not need to note that she is the spouse of an important person (authority board member, etc.).

Tonya is confused. She said, "I'm confused here."

Darlene does not want to neuter the political action committees. She feels that the amount of donations should increase for PACs. Hey, neuter those pets Darlene.

Vo Tech in our schools

The P-G did an article about Vo Tech in schools. This is a topic that I've talked about on many instances.

But, I don't get to talk to Jon Delano on a Sunday morning TV show, like the media darling, Superintendent of Schools, Mark Roosevelt.



The article by P-G's Joe Smydo, is something to look at with an eye to fine detail.

It is very funny, and tragic, that the mentions of 'cutting edge Vo Tech lessons' are being hyped as a part of the Engineering Magnet at Taylor Alderdice High School. The Dice students have an interesting program. The Dice students are NOT Vo Tech students.

South Vo Tech High School closed a few years ago. Vo Tech education in Pittsburgh Public Schools is frail, at best.

Pittsburgh Public Schools needs to do an overhaul of its Vo Tech positions and programs. This was promised years ago. It is late and long over due. The administration has not done its homework in this regard, like the other missing plans for high school reform.

When South Vo Tech closed, we were promised a comprehensive plan for Vo Tech Education. We are still waiting.

The article has plenty of interesting talk. Sadly, there is very little evidence of that talk being walked in the schools of Pittsburgh -- with the smaller, specialized expection of the Alderdice Engineer Magnet.

Brings May Flowers ... slideshow

Gives new meaning for local drivers of "flipping the bird"

Took this photo while walking the sidewalk in another city.



This guy was right outside of these joints:

and . It was like he was a prop!

He makes our pigeon problem look small. Pound for pound, don't know how it stacks up with the geese that Dan Onorato needed to gas at the local parks last year.

What's going on here? (game)

Photo 1:


Photo 2:


Comments welcomed.

Hint: Both photos were taken in the same stretch of road (perhaps a private driveway), outside a hotel in Amsterdam.

City Council intends to hire its own attorney

The taxpayers of the city already pay for a legal department. We don't want to pay for another.

I'm with Motznik and Dowd.

City Council intends to hire its own attorney Council members Jim Motznik and Patrick Dowd did not sign the letter.

If you have five pitchers on the team and they are not getting the job done, fire the pitching coach -- and -- fire a few of the pitchers. Bring up a few new replacements.

Don't hire a sixth lawyer. Don't hire more.

To rebuild our city, we must take down some of the broken parts first. Then we can build on solid ground.

City council should move to make the budget for the law department ZERO for the next six months. The law department isn't doing the job it needs to do. So, they should not be funded.

City council has the power of the purse. Use it.

The city, the taxpayers, and the citizens are all going to suffer -- nobody wins -- when more lawyers are hired. When parts of the city fight with other parts -- the only victors are the lawyers. We don't need more lawyers. We don't need to spend additional money on lawyers when the ones we have don't do the jobs that they should be doing.

What do the OVERLORDS say about the hiring of additional attorneys? They are often attorneys too -- so that will be interesting.

How about if the members of city council want to get a second opinion, then they go to the Act 47 Overlords or the ICA Overlords (we have too many of them too) -- and ask their attorneys to come up with an answer.

So, we really have the city law department, plus, we have the law departments of the two sets of overlords. I figure that is THREE sets of attorneys.

How about if they run to one of the authorities and use the legal council that they hold on retainer.

The School District has its own attorney. Perhaps we can get some additional work out of him?

What about the Allegheny County Bar Association? What about some of the law schools in the area? Perhaps Pitt Law or Duquesne Univ. might be willing to help out in a pinch?

Is this about patronage and jobs, again?

Why not get some advice from the lawyers that are quick to rush into municipal bond deals?

In the past, Jim Motznik hired attorneys to do the work of his district out of his district's slush fund. If the staff of the council is not good enough with law -- then perhaps a member of city council should hire a lawyer for his or her staff. Use staff money to hire lawyers. That is already in the budget.

City council staffers are too busy working on the next pets to present before city council meetings. There are the proclamations too -- but here, I mean dogs and cats. Council and Bruce Kraus is working to make sure that the animal shelters are moving animals.

The legislation that was presented and eventually passed today was redundant, so he said himself. There were changes (amendments) to the new law that came after talking with a local District Judge. Thanks District Magistrate King. Pittsburgh does NOT need new laws that are just re-dos of ones that are already on the books.

Folly!

City Council increases fines before passing graffiti bill: "Now vandals can be hit with fines ranging from $250 to $1,400 per incident, depending on the amount of damage done, in addition to being compelled to remove the graffiti. Councilwoman Tonya Payne pushed for the higher fines -- up from a range of $100 to $500 approved last week -- which were unanimously approved."

More questions:

Is council going to do a national search for its lawyer? Will this be a bid process? Can a 'retainer' be used for the contract?

Did the present law office director undergo scrutiny after Luke fired all (or most) the directors? They had to re-apply, right? What about George?

Does council provide a 'performance evaluation' of the law department and its director? Does the mayor?

What do the OVERLORDS think about more spending by city council for marginal value added services in terms of fixing the city's massive debt? Might the overlords nix the contract for council's own attorney?

Pittsburgh Pist-Gazette: Patrick Dowd On The “Politics Of The Middle”

Pittsburgh Pist-Gazette: Patrick Dowd On The “Politics Of The Middle”: Patrick Dowd On The “Politics Of The Middle” By Bram and Char

Fellow bloggers talk to Patrick Dowd. Long posting. Nice insights. My comments are over there and posted in these comments for my records.

Enjoy.

Great work bloggers. Keep it up.

Fantastic opening season Mr. Dowd.

Now if you only had the time to get into saving Schenley, working on Vo Tech plans and urban recreation -- we might be able to die more slowly with the bleeding of our young people in the city and region.

C-Span -- LIVE -- NOW -- Libertarian Party Convention

Tune into the C-SPAN coverage of the . Our guys from Pittsburgh are there too.http://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif

The first round vote count is happening now. Real democracy at work.

PA Voted as follows:

6 Bob Barr

5 George Phillies

7 Mike Gravel

1 Mike Jingozian

2 Dr. Mary Ruwart

1 Steve Kubby

3 write ins

0 Wayne Allen Root

0 Christine Smith (given an anti Barr speech on her way off the podium.)

---

First vote totals and candidates for the second vote:

• Barr, 153, = 25%
• Mary Ruwart, 152, = 25%
• Root, 123
  
• Gravell, 71
  
• Phillies, 49
  
• Kubby, = 41, = 7%

  ---

  2nd vote:
  

• Barr, 188
• Rwart, 162
• Root, 138
• Gravel, 73
• Phillies, 36
• S.Kubby = 32

---

Updated:

PA's final vote: 15 for Bob Barr, 8 for Mary Ruwart, 2 for None of the above.

The Libertarian nomination for US President goes to Bob Barr.

Next up, the running mate.

I'll help him pack his home and office

Talk about the future of this guy's career is not welcomed because I'd rather work on fixing the schools. Sure, he his breaking them as fast as possible. But that isn't the real problem. However, if he needs some boxes, tape or a hand when it comes to moving -- let me know. I'll be glad to volunteer.

The final solution to $8-a-gallon gas - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: ".

ROOSEVELT WILL NOT RUN. Besides facing a firestorm of criticism over his plan to close Schenley High School, city schools Superintendent Mark Roosevelt has also been the target of rumors about job opportunities elsewhere.

Roosevelt told Whispers he wants to dispel the gossip once and for all.

'I've been approached about a lot of jobs,' he said. 'I'm not interviewing with anybody. There was one job I got into deep discussion about, but it was not a superintendency.'

Roosevelt declined to specify what that job -- or any of the others -- was about or where it might have taken him."

Earthquake lessons?

Earthquake lessons? - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review Somebody better tell President Bush to send his FEMA director to China.

Looks to me like its government can handle a disaster far better than ours.

Lynn Ford, Gibsonia

Let's do all we can to pull our troops out of bases in foreign land and have them here, state-side. Then if there is an earthquake in the United States, we'll be able to deploy the people here to save ourselves, re-open the roads, check on the dams, fix the bridges, clear rubble, mend crushed bodies and bring relief where it is urgently needed.

Told ya. If you missed it -- too bad for you. Schenley's musical claims top prize

Kelly Awards.... and the envelope please.... (drum roll) ....

It will be in tomorrow's paper but I couldn't wait to break the news: Schenley's musical All Shook Up won best musical in the low budget category. Schenley student, Teressa LaGamba, won best supporting actress at the Kelly Awards presented last night. It is nice to have others recognize what the Schenley family has always known: Schenley musicals are magic!

Thanks for the news from our regular network of insiders!

2008 Gene Kelly Awards announced: "The Benedum Center was packed Saturday night as Pittsburgh CLO and the University of Pittsburgh honored Allegheny County high schools with the 18th annual Gene Kelly Awards for Excellence in High School Musical Theater."

See the article on the show:

---

Award winning Kelly Critic review: "All Shook Up," Schenley, April 24-May 3: "It was this evident sense of community that allowed Schenley to take what would otherwise be written off as a testing situation and turn it into something truly magical. Whether in the moments of surprisingly-well-executed dramatic and choreographic teamwork (for a group of over 40 performers), or in the unmistakable passion shining through the smiles of each cast member, Schenley managed to prove, as their program so wholeheartedly attests, 'They can take the kids out of Schenley, but they can't take the Schenley MAGIC out of the kids!'"