Panel approves South Side restaurant - Pittsburgh Tribune-ReviewPanel approves South Side restaurantIn other news, UPMC is shaking in its boots with fears that Bruce Kraus is going to come down and demand that the UPMP South Side Hospital remain open.
By Jeremy Boren, TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Pittsburgh's Planning Commission served a setback Tuesday to South Side residents who have fought to prevent more liquor-serving restaurants and bars from opening in the neighborhood.
"This is a rush to judgment," said Nicholas Kefal, 71, of the South Side. "(The commission) could undercut years of work by the community."
In a 6-0 vote, commission members recommended that the owners of Baba D's, a Mediterranean restaurant in Oakland, be permitted to open with a liquor license in the 2100 block of East Carson Street across from the Carson Towers apartment building. The decision requires City Council's approval.
Councilman Bruce Kraus, who represents the South Side, told the commission the corner already has five liquor-serving establishments and that many of his constituents do not believe a sixth should be allowed.
He read aloud several letters from neighbors opposed to the restaurant owner's request to sidestep an ordinance City Council approved in July 2007 that sought to limit the number of liquor-serving establishments in neighborhoods already packed with them.
The South Side has more than 90 bars and restaurants that serve liquor.
Dourid Aboud, whose family owns the business, said it will be a family-run restaurant, not a rowdy bar. He agreed to stop serving food and liquor at 11 p.m. daily and not to expand seating in the bar area beyond 13.
Some South Side residents at the meeting questioned who would enforce the rules, particularly if the restaurant and its license are eventually sold.
Before the vote, commission member E. Paul Dick cautioned against making an exception for a restaurant "the first time this issue comes up." He abstained from the vote.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Bruce Kraus = Ineffective. Such a failure.
To be sure, the fight isn't over -- yet. But, for now, the 6-0 decision is clearly on the side that is against years of work. All the work is fruitless. Worthless leadership, perhaps.
Customers Affected By Recent Power Outages To Get Answers - News Story - WPXI Pittsburgh
Customers Affected By Recent Power Outages To Get Answers - News Story - WPXI Pittsburgh: "Those affected by the recent power outages will have the chance to get some answers Wednesday.They won't get many new answers. The wind blew. The lines fell. The repairs were slow as a new bottle of Heinz ketchup.
Allegheny County Councilman Matt Drozd wants anyone affected by last week's power outages to come to Wednesday night's county council public safety meeting.
The wind storm left tens of thousands in the dark, some for an entire week.
Top management of local utility services have been asked to attend.
'They didn't even have a chance to voice their concerns, didn't even reach their call centers, did not get a call returned for days and days later, and their frustrations were pent up inside them,' said Drozd.
The event is at 5 p.m. in council chambers.
However, it is great that Councilman Drozd is trying to hold their feet to the fire. And, we might get a nice surprise.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Calls requested for Obama's PA offices for debate inclusion
As Bush invited Perot into the debates and as Reagan invited John Anderson to debate, Barack Obama can demand that Bob Barr be included in the debates.
So here's the task:
Pick up the phone and call 267-886-8591.
"Hi my name is __________ and I'm calling to request that Senator Obama invite minority party candidates Bob Barr and Ralph Nader to participate in the upcoming presidential debates. Could you please leave this message with the head of your office, Jesse Thomas?
Send me a note at feedback@bobbarr2008.com and let me know how it went.
Orange going rotten: Robinson's time at Syracuse coach appears to be growing short - College Football
Pitt's footballers go to New York this week to play Syracuse. Interesting.
Syracuse athletic director Dr. Daryl Gross said Monday that the Orange football team has yet to show the "obvious progress" necessary for Greg Robinson to remain as football coach beyond this season.
Syracuse has a Big East record of 2-22 in the past three seasons.
Dr. Daryl Gross, Syracuse athletics director, has been stung by recent coast-to-coast criticism, including on ESPN's "College GameDay," of the program's decline under his watch. He made an unsolicited phone call to ESPN.com to defend himself, citing the university's success in nonrevenue sports, ranging from the 2008 NCAA men's lacrosse championship to an Orange field hockey program currently ranked third in the nation.
"We got so many good things going on here," Gross said. "The 800-pound gorilla is football. You and I both know we've been very fair to Coach Robinson. Everyone wanted the guy's head last year. I said I didn't want Syracuse to become one of those three-years-and-out schools. I said, 'Let's calm down and [if needed] we'll get the first pick of the draft [of coaching candidates] next year.' That's where we are."
Hope Pitt beats Syracuse this weekend in football.
Hope Syracuse puts the AD's head on a stick.
Hope Syracuse moves to re-start the swim team and fund them fully.
ESPN - Robinson's time at Syracuse coach appears to be growing short - College Football: "Robinson's time at Syracuse coach appears to be growing shortI can't wait to see the movie. I'm a big fan of sports flicks from Hoosiers to Remember the Titans to Miracle to Pre (a movie about Steve Prefontane). Sports flicks are interesting -- even Rocky.
Syracuse athletic director Dr. Daryl Gross said Monday that the Orange football team has yet to show the "obvious progress" necessary for Greg Robinson to remain as football coach beyond this season.
Syracuse has a Big East record of 2-22 in the past three seasons.
Dr. Daryl Gross, Syracuse athletics director, has been stung by recent coast-to-coast criticism, including on ESPN's "College GameDay," of the program's decline under his watch. He made an unsolicited phone call to ESPN.com to defend himself, citing the university's success in nonrevenue sports, ranging from the 2008 NCAA men's lacrosse championship to an Orange field hockey program currently ranked third in the nation.
"We got so many good things going on here," Gross said. "The 800-pound gorilla is football. You and I both know we've been very fair to Coach Robinson. Everyone wanted the guy's head last year. I said I didn't want Syracuse to become one of those three-years-and-out schools. I said, 'Let's calm down and [if needed] we'll get the first pick of the draft [of coaching candidates] next year.' That's where we are."
Hope Pitt beats Syracuse this weekend in football.
Hope Syracuse puts the AD's head on a stick.
Hope Syracuse moves to re-start the swim team and fund them fully.
Schenley High School web site stinks
Check out the Schenley web site http://www.pps.k12.pa.us/schenley/site/default.asp. Gosh, there is room for improvement there. They get 50% on many pages -- when I'd give them a grade of "F."
Welcome to Pilot Aquatic Club. New coach hired in TN -- my old swimmer
Big swim news, a bit further south. Jim Rumbaugh got hired as the head coach of a big club, Pilot.
Too bad we don't have a slew of programs like this in our region. It would be great to have him home as a swim coach. But, it just isn't happening here.
I was able to coach Jim was a high school senior, at Plum High School. He set two WPIAL swim records, beating one classic record by Mel Nash in the 100 back. At states he won 2 gold medals, 100 back and 200 IM. He was .01 from the state record in one event and broke the state record in the other.
The great thing about Jimmy's senior year of swimming was that he went faster at Jr. National than he did at the PIAA Meet -- as I had hoped and predicted.
We'll need to get to Knoxville for a swim meet in the months and years to come.
Jimmy swam USA Swimming (club swimming) for the JCC Sailfish, the same team where my sons swim now.
Welcome to Pilot Aquatic ClubWay to go Jimmy!
Jim Rumbaugh has accepted an offer to be the next Head Coach of Pilot Aquatic Club.
Jim signed a four year contract this afternoon and is assuming the Head Coach position effective immediately.
Jim interviewed for the position last Monday. After going through the interview process a unanimous decision of parents assisting with the search and the Board was reached to offer Jim the position as Head Coach.
Jim comes to us HIGHLY recommended by John Trembley and Matt Kredich. He has most recently been serving as Head Coach of Tennessee Aquatics and as a volunteer assistant coach for the Men's Swimming program at the University of Tennessee. He also coached seven years at Dynamo Swim Team in Atlanta and also served as Head Coach of Lompoc Tsunami Swim Team in Lompoc CA. He was a team captain of the University of Tennessee Men's team for two years, was a five time All-American. Jim is married and is a 3rd degree black-belt in Taekwondo and is an avid golfer.
Jim will be introduced at the Membership meeting tomorrow, Tuesday September 16 at 6:00 pm at Allan Jones Intercollegiate Aquatic Center.
Please join me in welcoming Jim to the Pilot Aquatic Club family.
Too bad we don't have a slew of programs like this in our region. It would be great to have him home as a swim coach. But, it just isn't happening here.
I was able to coach Jim was a high school senior, at Plum High School. He set two WPIAL swim records, beating one classic record by Mel Nash in the 100 back. At states he won 2 gold medals, 100 back and 200 IM. He was .01 from the state record in one event and broke the state record in the other.
The great thing about Jimmy's senior year of swimming was that he went faster at Jr. National than he did at the PIAA Meet -- as I had hoped and predicted.
We'll need to get to Knoxville for a swim meet in the months and years to come.
Jimmy swam USA Swimming (club swimming) for the JCC Sailfish, the same team where my sons swim now.
Nike will not compete with Speedo, TYR - More Sports - SI.com
Nike will not compete with Speedo, TYR - More Sports - SI.com Nike said Monday that it is leaving the elite swimwear market.
The company will continue to provide swimwear for colleges and sell to traditional retail customers. But it will not compete against the likes of Speedo to get the swoosh on the world's top swimmers.
'We will not invest in next-generation swim innovation, which is not in line with our stated category growth strategy,' the company said in a statement.
What will the new Science and Tech High School & Middle School do with its software elements?
"The real shock is that the academic programming language community continues to reject the sea change in programming practices brought about by scripting. Enamored of the object-oriented paradigm, especially in the undergraduate curriculum, unwilling to accept the LAMP (Linux-Apache-MySQL-Perl/Python/Php) tool set, and firmly believing that more programming theory leads to better programming practice, the academics seem blind to the facts on the ground."I say, the school needs to use Open Source Software and that's that. Any other move is a tragic mistake.
Monday, September 22, 2008
Stay tuned. Thinking about my possible replies.
1. What brought you to Social Media and what keeps you hanging around?
2. Which social networking tool gives you the shakes when it's not updated or is experiencing down time? (Podcasts, Blogs, Micro-blogging, etc)
3. What kind of insight could you offer to others on a topic at PCPGH3? If none, then what do you most want to hear more about?
Humm....
PodCamp Pittsburgh - PCPGH3 themed Friday 5 this week!: "PCPGH3 themed Friday 5 this week!"
In other blogging news:
Annual National Bullying Prevention Awareness Week Calls on Bloggers to Become Partner and Help Stop Bullying: "Annual National Bullying Prevention Awareness Week Calls on Bloggers to Become Partner and Help Stop Bullying"
With eye on rash of arrests, Hawkeyes hire director of player development - College Football
Does your favorite college football team have a parole officer on its coaching staff too?
What about the good old days: If you screw up, then go home. There. Don't need to have a new position to pack the player's bags.
ESPN - With eye on rash of arrests, Hawkeyes hire director of player development - College Football Iowa has hired former defensive back Chigozie Ejiasi to be its director of player development following a rash of off-field problems involving football players.Pitt beat Iowa. Now Iowa needs to hire a nanny to do bed checks and dish out time-outs.
Head coach Kirk Ferentz promoted Ejiasi, who has served as an administrative assistant for the team the last two years. Ferentz chose Ejiasi from a pool of more than 100 applicants.
'We created this position to assist our student-athletes in the transition from high school to college and to help make their experience at Iowa as positive as possible,'
What about the good old days: If you screw up, then go home. There. Don't need to have a new position to pack the player's bags.
Bullet Point Ballet - He tells us who is is voting for and I feel inclined to agree on most points!
He hits a home-run in my book.
Bullet Point Ballet His lack of experience isn’t what bothers me. In the tradition of many libertarians before me, I think lack of experience is much more appealing than a lot of it.Read the entire article for a good perspective.
Congress Lowers Drinking Age To 17 Just For Jenny's Party | The Onion - America's Finest News Source
Congress Lowers Drinking Age To 17 Just For Jenny's Party | The Onion - America's Finest News SourceWASHINGTON — Overturning a law that has been in place for 24 years, Congress approved a temporary repeal of the Minimum Drinking Age Act Wednesday upon learning that Benjamin Harrison High School student Jenny Larsen is celebrating her 17th birthday with an unsupervised party at which attendees are expecting to consume alcohol.This is a way to deal with the 'war on drugs.' Allow for preemptive strikes -- and pardons.
H.R. 874, more commonly known as the Jenny's Turning 17!!! Bill, will go into effect Friday, Sept. 19, 2008, as soon as Jenny's parents leave for their weekend trip to Vermont. Until the bill expires on Sunday afternoon, it will be legal for any American aged 17 or older—or 16 if they have a birthday coming up—to consume alcohol within the confines of 128 Longfellow Rd.
Nader, Barr & Paul: 'Told you so' - Ben Adler - Politico.com
Nader, Barr & Paul: 'Told you so' - Ben Adler - Politico.com: "Nader, Barr & Paul: 'Told you so'
By BEN ADLER | 9/21/08 12:57 PM EDT
Text Size:
While the presidential campaigns of John McCain and Barack Obama have stepped gingerly around the financial crisis and the question of government intervention, third party candidates Bob Barr and Ralph Nader have shown no such compunction.
Instead they have embraced the market meltdown, viewing it as a rare opportunity to highlight bold economic positions and, perhaps as important, claim credit for sounding the early warning alarms.
'We've been hammering it,' said Shane Cory, Barr's deputy campaign manager. 'When this first came about with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, Bob was explaining, 'When we bail out Fannie and Freddie, expect more to come.''"
Live Blog Roosevelt interview
Students get 50% for nothing. Raising all students to get something for nothing. Rant from Marty Griffin from a school teacher. Tear up the test, get 50%. Fifty percent for nothing.
Roosevelt said, "You got to keep the kids engaged."
Well, let's keep the kids in sports.
If you get 20% and then 2 Bs in a class -- you still fail.
Well, if the kids gets 20% -- they'd be fired if they were on a job.
School district given Es not Fs.
Last week the Pgh Promise Board said 2 years to move to 2.5 rather than 1 year. Adolescence is a tough time. They are moving a college scholarship to 2.5 GPA. Go figure. If a kid gets a 2.5 they are not going to do anything in college except flunk out.
http://www.KDKARadio.com
Kids that get to graduate from a 50% worst score will hit college and might expect the same treatment. That is not the time to have a surprise, in college.
Lot of places have these policies! Who? Where? We'll be surprised as to how many.
Even if there are plenty of places that are giving 50% for nothing -- does that make it right?
Have a test re-take. Make-up the homework. Make sure that the class is not
4 Bs and 1 E give a kid a promotion to the next grade.
Trying to keep the kids engaged.
Taking 1 more year to go to 2.5. Then we'll have a graduation test at 2012. Then we'll raise the standard again. But, that standard is not constructed yet.
Brashier High School has more than expected students this year. He does not have the numbers yet. It has been nearly a month into the school year and he does not have the numbers! Furthermore, the media needs to ask him these attendance figures and have them reported. Brashier is up 200 students. The lunch room is over filled.
Eyebrows raised over city school policy that sets 50% as minimum score: "Eyebrows raised over city school policy that sets 50% as minimum score
1 1=3? In city schools, it's half right"
Roosevelt said, "You got to keep the kids engaged."
Well, let's keep the kids in sports.
If you get 20% and then 2 Bs in a class -- you still fail.
Well, if the kids gets 20% -- they'd be fired if they were on a job.
School district given Es not Fs.
Last week the Pgh Promise Board said 2 years to move to 2.5 rather than 1 year. Adolescence is a tough time. They are moving a college scholarship to 2.5 GPA. Go figure. If a kid gets a 2.5 they are not going to do anything in college except flunk out.
http://www.KDKARadio.com
Kids that get to graduate from a 50% worst score will hit college and might expect the same treatment. That is not the time to have a surprise, in college.
Lot of places have these policies! Who? Where? We'll be surprised as to how many.
Even if there are plenty of places that are giving 50% for nothing -- does that make it right?
Have a test re-take. Make-up the homework. Make sure that the class is not
4 Bs and 1 E give a kid a promotion to the next grade.
Trying to keep the kids engaged.
Taking 1 more year to go to 2.5. Then we'll have a graduation test at 2012. Then we'll raise the standard again. But, that standard is not constructed yet.
Brashier High School has more than expected students this year. He does not have the numbers yet. It has been nearly a month into the school year and he does not have the numbers! Furthermore, the media needs to ask him these attendance figures and have them reported. Brashier is up 200 students. The lunch room is over filled.
Mike Folmer introduces Voters’ Choice Act (SB 1578) in Pennsylvania State Senate
Libertarian Party of Pennsylvania urges co-sponsorship of legislation
Libertarian Party of Pennsylvania
3915 Union Deposit Road #223
Harrisburg, PA 17109
http://www.lppa.org
For Immediate Release: September 22, 2008
Contact: Doug Leard (Media Relations) / Media-Relations@lppa.org or
Michael Robertson (Chair) at 1-800-R-RIGHTS / chair@lppa.org
Harrisburg, PA – The Libertarian Party of Pennsylvania (LPPa) strongly endorses state senator Mike Folmer’s ( http://senatorfolmer.com/ ) ballot access reform bill, Senate Bill (SB) 1578.
In a letter to his fellow state senators, Folmer wrote “No state makes it more difficult for minor party and independent candidates to run for public office than Pennsylvania. During the 2006 General Election, minor party and independent statewide candidates in Pennsylvania were required to gather more than 67,000 signatures to appear on the November ballot. Meanwhile, the major parties’ candidates had no such signature requirements for the General Election. Had similar ballot access been in force in Utah, the Democratic Party would not have qualified as a political party. If similar provisions existed in Massachusetts, the Republican Party would neither qualify as a party nor be able to hold primary elections.”
Sen. Folmer’s legislation provides for significantly fairer ballot access in Pennsylvania. Candidates would need to collect the same amount of signatures as required of major party candidates in order to appear on the November ballot. (Minor party or independent candidates do not participate in the Primary Election). A political party would need from 0.05 and 15 percent of the total number of registered Pennsylvania voters as of 21 days prior to the date of the Primary Election in order to qualify as a “minor political party.”
“This bill is a major step forward and a welcome change from the political monopoly-as-usual in Pennsylvania,” explained LPPa representative for Pennsylvania’s Ballot Access Coalition David Jahn. “Earlier this year we saw Bounsgate allegations of Democrats using taxpayers’ money to keep Green Party candidates off the ballot. Just days ago we saw the unsuccessful Republican challenge to Libertarian presidential candidate Bob Barr’s placement on the ballot. Given this openly hostile political environment, we are all the more elated and thankful that Senator Folmer sponsored this legislation.”
The LPPa urges voters to support ballot choice by asking their state senator to co-sponsor and support SB 1578, the Voters’ Choice Act.
The Libertarian Party is the third largest political party in Pennsylvania and the United States. More than 200,000 people across the country are registered Libertarians, and Libertarians serve in hundreds of elected offices. Please visit www.LP.org or www.LPPA.org for more information.
Bike tour to mark reopening of Point State Park, city's birthday
Bike tour to mark reopening of Point State Park, city's birthday The PNC Legacy Relay will cover that 335-mile distance in 24 hours and catch up to the bike tour as it enters Pittsburgh.Bikes need to be for everyday use, not just leisure and tourism actions.
Waiting for them on the Hot Metal Bridge on Oct. 4 will be the PNC Legacy Trail Community Ride, a group of bicyclists who will accompany them to the park via the PNC FirstSide Center where another group of community riders and some walkers will join the group.
Volunteers from 1996 Olympics gathered at White Water for community
Sounds like a great place to live.
Who and how can the volunteers from the 2008 Olympics be pulled together for a reunion?
Sunday, September 21, 2008
# 12 Bush Profiteers Collect Billions From No Child Left Behind | Project Censored
# 12 Bush Profiteers Collect Billions From No Child Left Behind | Project Censored: "The architect of No Child Left Behind (NCLB), President Bush’s first senior education advisor, Sandy Kress, has turned the program, which has consistently proven disastrous in the realm of education, into a huge success in the realm of corporate profiteering. After ushering NCLB through the US House of Representatives in 2001 with no public hearings, Kress went from lawmaker—turning on spigots of federal funds—to lobbyist, tapping into those billions of dollars in federal funds for private investors well connected to the Bush administration.
My Friend sold her car and now lives only with a bike as transportation --- her saga
She has survived the first week. See the comments for the update.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
