Affidavit outlines shootings that left three Pittsburgh police officers dead Earlier yesterday, she called David Shribman, executive editor of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, to complain about the newspaper's coverage of the shootings and threaten a lawsuit.
She demanded that the newspaper stop publishing information about her and her son, saying the reporting thus far was not factual and should be limited to the officers and their grieving families.
'You're going to have the biggest lawsuit in the history of the city of Pittsburgh,' she later told a reporter.
Monday, April 06, 2009
Coverage
Sunday, April 05, 2009
IOC officials tour possible Chicago Olympic venues - More Sports - SI.com
Windy City news.
Greg Louganis -- insist that long term facilities be built.
IOC officials tour possible Chicago Olympic venues - More Sports - SI.com: "Earlier, the committee members visited the proposed Olympic Village site on Michael Reese Hospital property on Chicago's near South Side, where they were met by Mayor Richard Daley and former Olympic diver Greg Louganis.Why is there only a temporary facility slated for Chicago's Olympic bid in terms of the aquatic facilities?
Greg Louganis -- insist that long term facilities be built.
Feuding in the South Hills
Open thread. My thoughts soon.
Feuding in the South Hills: "Intense political battle between former allies Motznik, Diven runs much deeper than May 19 district judge race"
Saturday, April 04, 2009
East Liberty TIF is not what Pittsburgh should be doing.
I'm not happy with yet another tax break, a TIF, Tax Increment Finance, that is coming to Pittsburgh. There are lots of reasons for my objection. Here are a few.
The TIF deal was presented by bosses of the URA (Urban Redevelopment Authority) to members of Pittsburgh City Council on Tuesday at a post agenda. The statements from the URA are crazy and way beyond belief. They should be called on the absurd nature of their discussion and presentation -- but all on council seemed to just smile.
A new TARGET store, so the URA said, is not going to take away anything from business in the city council district where it will be built. This is a big development with a big box retailer. They combine three parcels of land for the project and all the money that goes there from customers would not be spent elsewhere in the district. Oh my gosh. Opening a new TARGET in the east end of Pittsburgh is going to impact other business receipts from Ross Park Mall to Monroeville to Homestead's Water Front. It is a regional impact. The URA is right, Target won't offer any detrimental impact to others near by -- such as the ice cream truck that goes around in the summertime.
The TIF comes, but where in the world is the CBA (Citizens Benefit Agreement). Why don't we have one? There was a lot of noise made about CBAs in recent development deals with the hope that they would be a standard point of order. Promises are being made, but they are not being documented in a formal agreement. Rather, the promises are much like campaign pledges -- hot air.
Should we trust in: More than 150 jobs. Most of the employees are going to be residents of city council district 9. Green buildings to certified standards. Better traffic patterns. Pedestrian friendly treatments.
The subject of wage taxes is raised at the table with city council. But the focus of the meeting is about the TIF. What is the topic? Why get hoodwinked? The TIF deal and the other taxes (wage, RAD, parking, etc.) are not to be combined.
Why should the URA pay for sidewalks, street lights and road re-configuration? Is the URA gong to pay for winter-time salting of the streets too? Is the URA going to replace the street lights after they burn out or flip to LED lights? Point being, these basic services are city infrastructure bits that the city should pay for out of its budget -- not the URA's budget. The URA should be doing development deals -- not running public works.
Of course taxes are not to be spent on one's self. They make it sound like the TIF money is going to be spent on other bits of infrastructure elsewhere -- within the same general neighborhood. Hello. That's the way all taxes work, generally. You don't pay taxes to fix your own roof. Covering costs that your create is called investment. Taxes are paid so that the money can go to fund government and areas where there are public rights of way. Duhh. The uptick in taxes should be collected by the city and then spent as the city sees fit. That's ideal government.
What are the pay to play implications of this TIF deal? Research? Where is that database? Mossites (sp?) is the developer.
If the East Liberty area is booming now with all sorts of new biz springing to life there, then the last thing that East Liberty should want is more government money in the mix with an additional layer of red tape. Government needs to get out of the way. New development needs to be sustained on its own with private money.
Fix the traffic circle. Do that as part of everyday government -- not a TIF tied to a TARGET store.
City council and the URA have a role. But it isn't with tax breaks. City council wants to have a bigger role. I want them to get out of the way. And, it takes work to get out of the way at times.
In the end, the TIF is a way to rob the school district. That tax break robs the kids of today. Why not just have the developer pay what is due?
I said that the tax break should not be given so as to cut the income for the school district. Then City Council President, Doug Shields, the man who won't shut up and won't let me talk in public comment, said he wants to short change the school district. Doug thinks that the school district needs to give up money with the TIF if it wants to get the increase in taxes later. Wrong Doug. Why should the school district give up income when it is needed? Why not do public investment into the school instead of undoing the goffy things that the city did wrong in the past? The public investment going to street lights and roads is not going to help our kids be more competitive in the classroom. Doug Shields is double trouble for the school kids of today: He robs what is due to them now. And, what is to come later he skims from the top to spend with the URA.
Why not have the URA have a school investment fund?
The TIF deal was presented by bosses of the URA (Urban Redevelopment Authority) to members of Pittsburgh City Council on Tuesday at a post agenda. The statements from the URA are crazy and way beyond belief. They should be called on the absurd nature of their discussion and presentation -- but all on council seemed to just smile.
A new TARGET store, so the URA said, is not going to take away anything from business in the city council district where it will be built. This is a big development with a big box retailer. They combine three parcels of land for the project and all the money that goes there from customers would not be spent elsewhere in the district. Oh my gosh. Opening a new TARGET in the east end of Pittsburgh is going to impact other business receipts from Ross Park Mall to Monroeville to Homestead's Water Front. It is a regional impact. The URA is right, Target won't offer any detrimental impact to others near by -- such as the ice cream truck that goes around in the summertime.
The TIF comes, but where in the world is the CBA (Citizens Benefit Agreement). Why don't we have one? There was a lot of noise made about CBAs in recent development deals with the hope that they would be a standard point of order. Promises are being made, but they are not being documented in a formal agreement. Rather, the promises are much like campaign pledges -- hot air.
Should we trust in: More than 150 jobs. Most of the employees are going to be residents of city council district 9. Green buildings to certified standards. Better traffic patterns. Pedestrian friendly treatments.
The subject of wage taxes is raised at the table with city council. But the focus of the meeting is about the TIF. What is the topic? Why get hoodwinked? The TIF deal and the other taxes (wage, RAD, parking, etc.) are not to be combined.
Why should the URA pay for sidewalks, street lights and road re-configuration? Is the URA gong to pay for winter-time salting of the streets too? Is the URA going to replace the street lights after they burn out or flip to LED lights? Point being, these basic services are city infrastructure bits that the city should pay for out of its budget -- not the URA's budget. The URA should be doing development deals -- not running public works.
Of course taxes are not to be spent on one's self. They make it sound like the TIF money is going to be spent on other bits of infrastructure elsewhere -- within the same general neighborhood. Hello. That's the way all taxes work, generally. You don't pay taxes to fix your own roof. Covering costs that your create is called investment. Taxes are paid so that the money can go to fund government and areas where there are public rights of way. Duhh. The uptick in taxes should be collected by the city and then spent as the city sees fit. That's ideal government.
What are the pay to play implications of this TIF deal? Research? Where is that database? Mossites (sp?) is the developer.
If the East Liberty area is booming now with all sorts of new biz springing to life there, then the last thing that East Liberty should want is more government money in the mix with an additional layer of red tape. Government needs to get out of the way. New development needs to be sustained on its own with private money.
Fix the traffic circle. Do that as part of everyday government -- not a TIF tied to a TARGET store.
City council and the URA have a role. But it isn't with tax breaks. City council wants to have a bigger role. I want them to get out of the way. And, it takes work to get out of the way at times.
In the end, the TIF is a way to rob the school district. That tax break robs the kids of today. Why not just have the developer pay what is due?
I said that the tax break should not be given so as to cut the income for the school district. Then City Council President, Doug Shields, the man who won't shut up and won't let me talk in public comment, said he wants to short change the school district. Doug thinks that the school district needs to give up money with the TIF if it wants to get the increase in taxes later. Wrong Doug. Why should the school district give up income when it is needed? Why not do public investment into the school instead of undoing the goffy things that the city did wrong in the past? The public investment going to street lights and roads is not going to help our kids be more competitive in the classroom. Doug Shields is double trouble for the school kids of today: He robs what is due to them now. And, what is to come later he skims from the top to spend with the URA.
Why not have the URA have a school investment fund?
Friday, April 03, 2009
YouTube - ChathamChannel's Channel
YouTube - ChathamChannel's Channel: "Subscribe
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The Chatham University Channel"
Spring break is here. Time for a break, of sorts. Enjoy. Refresh.
Unsubscribe
The Chatham University Channel"
Spring break is here. Time for a break, of sorts. Enjoy. Refresh.
Woodland Hills Aquatic Team : Job Openings
Woodland Hills Aquatic Team : Job Openings: "Woodland Hills Aquatic Club (WHAT) is seeking to immediately fill their head coaching position."
Pittsburgh Peabody
My $.02.
I posted my initial thoughts at the PURE Reform blog. Here they are again with numbers and a few extra points.
#1 I think that the plan A should be for 150 IB kids per class, for a total of 600 students, not 500.
#2 Furthermore, I think that we can fit in 50 extra seats for a 13th Grade Option as well. So, round that to 650.
#3 The traditional Frick school (grades 6, 7 and 8) would need to stay at Rise&Shine Middle School. Frick's building is being used as a 6-12 Sci Tech High School. This should be part of the counter plans. What about middle school for IB track? Missing element must be proposed.
#4 Idea: Put 600 at IB Jr. High (Reiz), 200 in each grade (6, 7 and 8). Figure at the leap to HS, 20 kids go each to CAPA & Dice and some to other HSs and even CTE.
#5 By all means, the IB Middle School is NECESSARY to making the IB High -- work. Would 600 in that building be okay with the economics?
#6 Furthermore, the CTE students in certain grades would be able to have half-days at school and half-days at other sites / jobs, etc. The student load with half days could be greater on the CTE side? I know that the kids at South Vo Tech often were out of the building but still in 'school time' as they were on the job.
#7 I don't like the CISCO option. It is a dead technology. It is too much like that offered at computers at Brashear and the Sci Tech too.
#8 All our efforts in networks and tech should be with an open-source approach. Perhaps a computer programming / languages model -- to rely upon the thrust of writing and languages (foreign, PERL, JAVA, etc.) would fit.
I reserve judgment if the idea of a mixed IB / CTE school at Peabody makes the most sense. It is a worthy investigation, for sure.
The boutique option of only IB is something that Mark Roosevelt wanted, I dare guess. That isn't a priority of mine.
#9 How about an IB Jr. Sr High School with one or two CTE options -- such as Robotics and Open Source Programming. Don't get all overboard on new programs that would fill the CTE menu and eat up a lot of space.
#10 I think we should still demand a FULL CTE school to be built. State of the art, etc. Wonderful for the trades. That would be, I dare say, in a new site.
#11 I would like to see single gender, city-wide magnets for public high schools put onto the table. These could also include smaller single gender middle schools too. Perhaps there is a push for 6-12 schools. It might be present as an option.
#12 Put a boys high school at Westinghouse and a girls high school at Reizenstein. Or, do it the other way around. Or, flip the gender at the schools every three or four or five years. The other option would be to use OLIVER HS for one gender and Westinghouse for the other.
Put 75 kids in each grade, 6, 7, an 8. Put 100 or more in grades 9, 10, 11, and 12.
The single gender option would be cheap to implement.
The single gender option would sink or soar on its own merits. If they get a good program and good teachers, more will want to go there.
The single gender public option could and should compete for students with Oakland Catholic and Central Catholic.
#13 When I've sent email to the BGC in the past about ideas and schools -- they've never had a reply or even notice that the messages were read. A simple note in reply would be welcomed.
Sorry I could not attend the most recent meeting at the end of March. Had a conflict that could not be avoided. When is the next meeting? Keep us posted.
I posted my initial thoughts at the PURE Reform blog. Here they are again with numbers and a few extra points.
PURE Reform: Proposed options for future uses of Peabody HS: "Proposed options for future uses of Peabody HS"
#1 I think that the plan A should be for 150 IB kids per class, for a total of 600 students, not 500.
#2 Furthermore, I think that we can fit in 50 extra seats for a 13th Grade Option as well. So, round that to 650.
#3 The traditional Frick school (grades 6, 7 and 8) would need to stay at Rise&Shine Middle School. Frick's building is being used as a 6-12 Sci Tech High School. This should be part of the counter plans. What about middle school for IB track? Missing element must be proposed.
#4 Idea: Put 600 at IB Jr. High (Reiz), 200 in each grade (6, 7 and 8). Figure at the leap to HS, 20 kids go each to CAPA & Dice and some to other HSs and even CTE.
#5 By all means, the IB Middle School is NECESSARY to making the IB High -- work. Would 600 in that building be okay with the economics?
#6 Furthermore, the CTE students in certain grades would be able to have half-days at school and half-days at other sites / jobs, etc. The student load with half days could be greater on the CTE side? I know that the kids at South Vo Tech often were out of the building but still in 'school time' as they were on the job.
#7 I don't like the CISCO option. It is a dead technology. It is too much like that offered at computers at Brashear and the Sci Tech too.
#8 All our efforts in networks and tech should be with an open-source approach. Perhaps a computer programming / languages model -- to rely upon the thrust of writing and languages (foreign, PERL, JAVA, etc.) would fit.
I reserve judgment if the idea of a mixed IB / CTE school at Peabody makes the most sense. It is a worthy investigation, for sure.
The boutique option of only IB is something that Mark Roosevelt wanted, I dare guess. That isn't a priority of mine.
#9 How about an IB Jr. Sr High School with one or two CTE options -- such as Robotics and Open Source Programming. Don't get all overboard on new programs that would fill the CTE menu and eat up a lot of space.
#10 I think we should still demand a FULL CTE school to be built. State of the art, etc. Wonderful for the trades. That would be, I dare say, in a new site.
#11 I would like to see single gender, city-wide magnets for public high schools put onto the table. These could also include smaller single gender middle schools too. Perhaps there is a push for 6-12 schools. It might be present as an option.
#12 Put a boys high school at Westinghouse and a girls high school at Reizenstein. Or, do it the other way around. Or, flip the gender at the schools every three or four or five years. The other option would be to use OLIVER HS for one gender and Westinghouse for the other.
Put 75 kids in each grade, 6, 7, an 8. Put 100 or more in grades 9, 10, 11, and 12.
The single gender option would be cheap to implement.
The single gender option would sink or soar on its own merits. If they get a good program and good teachers, more will want to go there.
The single gender public option could and should compete for students with Oakland Catholic and Central Catholic.
#13 When I've sent email to the BGC in the past about ideas and schools -- they've never had a reply or even notice that the messages were read. A simple note in reply would be welcomed.
Sorry I could not attend the most recent meeting at the end of March. Had a conflict that could not be avoided. When is the next meeting? Keep us posted.
Pittsburgh's 3 mayoral candidates agree to debates
Pittsburgh's 3 mayoral candidates agree to debates: Three Democrats have agreed to appear in three televised debates before Pittsburgh's mayoral primary on May 19.Where is the P-G sponsored event? What about QED's event?
Incumbent Luke Ravenstahl and his challengers, City Councilman Patrick Dowd and attorney Carmen Robinson, will debate live on April 6 on PCNC, the cable news channel affiliated with WPXI-TV, the city's NBC affiliate.
KDKA-TV, the CBS affiliate, will air a taped debate April 15. And ABC affiliate WTAE-TV will broadcast a live, in-studio debate April 20.
All the debates will last an hour and air at 7 p.m.
I think that the Jewish Foundation is also going to host an event, but it might be more of a candidate talk and less of a full-fledged debate.
Neighborhood groups, nonprofits, Sustainable Pittsburgh, -- time to step up!
Education spending of stimulus funding
U.S. Department of Education Secretary Arne Duncan just announced how states and school districts can begin receiving the first installment of education stimulus funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA).
Read the full story.Edweek.org is hosting an Open House through April 8, so you can get this type of breaking news and access to all of the vital coverage posted recently on the stimulus. Some highlights you won't want to miss while access is totally FREE:
- States Eye Education Stimulus to Fill Budget Gaps
Local officials are crying ‘foul’ as a growing number of governors make a play for federal economic-stimulus aid for schools.- Stimulus Providing Big Funding Boost for Early Childhood
Advocates are betting that the billions of dollars for programs like Head Start are just a “down payment” on future expansion.- K-12 Taking Primacy in Use of Stimulus Dollars
Many states are targeting the new education aid at elementary and secondary schools, rather than toward higher education.- Exclusive Video Interview: Duncan on States That Reject Stimulus Money
U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan talked with Education Week about the stimulus, school reform, teacher issues, and his pick for deputy.For complete coverage and to keep fully up-to-the-minute, visit our Schools and the Stimulus page. Stay easily updated on all of the stimulus news: download the Stimulus widget and place it on your Web site, blog, Facebook page, or other personal page. Or get the RSS feed on the stimulus.
In addition to digging into the stimulus, you should also visit our annual report on how well states are incorporating technology into their schools, Technology Counts 2009: Breaking Away From Tradition: E-Education Expands Opportunities for Raising Achievement. Read about the latest research on e-education, find out how to search the internet for quality content, see how your state compares nationally, and download your state report.During the edweek.org Spring Open House, all articles are available gratis.
Highlights, edited slightly for brevity are below. Looks like a rehab of Schenley High School is very possible and able to be justified fully.
- significantly more spending flexibility on school construction than many administrators had expected.
- Unveiling the first payments at a school in Capitol Heights, Md.
- funding could be a once-in-a-lifetime phenomenon.
- to invest significantly in best practices and scale up what works
- stabilization funds used to backfill cuts,
- allows districts to spend funds on new school construction. Lawmakers had opposed funding for school construction during the drafting of the $787 billion stimulus package, which President Barack Obama signed into law in February.
- “[School construction] has the potential to eat up a lot of these funds, particularly for states that don’t have severe funding shortages,” said Vic Klatt, a lobbyist with the Washington firm Van Scoyoc Associates, who previously served as the staff director for Republicans on the House education committee. “People who are hoping a lot of this money will go for education reform activities may be a little disappointed.”
- “In an urban district, if 30 percent of your schools are not [meeting testing benchmarks] and ... all your teachers are doing well on your evaluations, that’s going to be embarrassing.”
- connect student-achievement data to individual teachers,
- track students from high school through college graduation.
- Some states prohibit the sharing of data across systems for privacy purposes.
- more flexibility than anticipated to use money on school construction. The completed bill permitted districts to undertake modernization and repairs.
- Districts may spend on any activities authorized under the No Child Left Behind Act and other statues—including the federal impact-aid program, which authorizes funds for building new schools.
- Secretary Duncan said the interpretation offers districts the flexibility to work on construction projects that fit local needs. “There’s a need there—there’s a need to do renovation and rehabilitation,” he said. “You have areas that are significantly overcrowded, and children jammed into buildings. That doesn’t work.”
- ... spend tens of billions in taxpayers’ money on virtually anything—including new school construction,
- Districts can use the impact-aid authority to pay down past debt
- a state may not limit how a local district uses its share of the stimulus money.
- “While states allocate the funds, it should be up to local school districts and colleges and universities to decide how to use this emergency aid, not states,” the statement released by his office says.
- States do have discretion in deciding how to spend money in the $8.8 billion Government Services Fund, which can be used for “public safety and other government services,” including assistance for K-12 or higher education, as well as to support administrative costs associated with implementing reporting requirements.
- any states playing “shell games” with stimulus spending would disqualify themselves for future funding. He singled out the $4.35 billion in discretionary money he has dubbed the “Race to the Top” fund.
LTE: Give me liberty
Post-Gazette LTE 4/2/9
Give me liberty
It seems that President Obama's stimulus plan does come with strings attached. That really is no surprise. Over the past nine years we have come to expect the government to give at a cost. Be it "compassionate conservatism" or "hope," we the people end up paying the cost.
The Patriot Act gave us security with a loss of freedom and liberty. The Bush years led to deficit spending by the Republican Congress, and the current administration seems to be following suit. Is there really a difference in the two parties?
On issues of freedom and liberty both parties talk a good game, but in the end both regulate and impose laws that hurt both the individual and business. The Republicans wrap themselves in the flag and challenge your patriotism if you question their motives and policies. The Democrats
surround themselves with various groups and call you names if you disagree with the direction they want to take the country.
In the end, nothing is accomplished. Why? Getting things done means losing an issue to raise funds on or losing an issue to divide and scare the nation into voting against the opponent. Change is the last thing our elected officials in Washington and, yes, Harrisburg want. Real
change would involve them losing power and the citizens gaining power.
I challenge you to find what the government is not involved in as you go through your day. From the amount of water in your toilet to what you can eat or do, the government is there, helping you throughout the day. Big Brother is there whether you want him or not.
JOHN G. PARKS, Pleasant Hills
Thursday, April 02, 2009
Cognitive dissonance in Pittsburgh and beyond: Blogging gets as bad as everything else.
Cognitive dissonance in Pittsburgh and beyond: Blogging gets as bad as everything else. Blogging gets as bad as everything else.I would love to see the city sue for copyright infringement on a re-broadcasting of a city council meeting. That will be the day we get a new city solicitor, for sure.
If I was elected, I'd move to put a public domain statement on everything that the city does.
I'm a big fan of public domain.
As to the P-G interview, the first point would be a claim of fair use. There, humor helps. It is sorta a lampoon in a sick and twisted kinda way. The P-G lawyers are better served looking at employee buy-outs now, not campaign issue noise finding its way on YouTube.
Hell, Matt (or whomever), might want to send the P-G a bill for advertising its P-G web and turning the content into something that others should take notice of.
BTW, I remember when this came before council from the PWSA. It smelled bad then.
Laggard vs. Young Fluke. Humm...
I think that the YouTube clip is effective as a dis-credit to the mount of the campaign. We're watching. How one handles the bumps in the road are telling the most, it seems to me. There are sure to be other chapters.
Set the stage for the debates. They become more important as time shrinks. Carmen could rise as the two men sustain their blazing boyhood ways.
Men in Blue fast break to make officials red faced before the world
Chicago cops protest during IOC visit CHICAGO (AP) -- Chicago police officers unhappy with contract negotiations have picketed outside City Hall -- an action that coincides with a visit by an International Olympic Committee inspection team.
Pittsburgh may consider payroll tax for nonprofits
Mr. Lamb, city controller, misses the mark.
There is another approach. Tax was does NOT move. Tax land. Don't tax productivity. Do not tax work. Don't diminish earnings from service to better health and quality of life endeavors (as the nonprofits are, mostly).
We need to put on a moratorium on all nonprofit land expansion. We need to turn more of our physical spaces into taxable spaces -- not nonprofit, tax free spaces.
The land grab, the trampling of neighbors by the nonproft over the taxpayers is the real long term worry of Pittsburgh.
We need to tell the nonprofits that they can expand upward. Not outward.
We need to tell nonprofits to better utilize their existing spaces, consolidate what is already theirs -- but take no more.
We need the controller to lead an audit of all the spaces that are throughout the city and perhaps the county and measure, inch by inch, what is taxed and what is not able to be taxed with property taxes. What properties are owned by nonprofits? What are not?
Then the Pittsburgh nonprofit secret cadre of whimsical givers to Grant Street needs to sign-off on the land shrinkage plan.
This is an excellent time to make the ask as few are expanding. The Catholic Church is closing schools. They have too much land that isn't being used now. They would see a spike in the land value of existing holdings as if there is another nonprofit that wants to move -- they'll consider a move into what property the church already owns.
When you tax earnings -- government discourages earnings. That's wrongheaded policy.
I want nonprofits to flourish here. I want their employees to make money here. I just don't want the institutions to buy up all the land here as we'll have a big crash and my kid's won't be able to live here.
Pittsburgh Public Service Fund, an umbrella group of tax-exempt entities, needs to do an evaluation of the size of its umbrella. And, the city controller can help with an audit of the umbrella's footprint.
Pittsburgh is a space. The city is a space. Where the city is needs to be mapped -- and that is easily done, even with Google Earth for pete's sake. We need a grip on the spaces and the taxes associated with those spaces. That's the future of this city.
If the nonprofits want to build taller buildings, that is going to bring more value to the city. That density is going to be matched by private citizens as well. And, we'll need robust incomes -- without seeing them taxes at higher rates.
With Michael Lamb's position, we'll have higher costs of health care.
With Michael Lamb's position, we'll have government auditors snooping into the books of the Little Sisters of the Poor -- watching for hidden wage taxes.
Those are the wrong ways to lead a city.
The year-by-year breakdown has to be about the size of the nonprofit land holdings and NOTHING else. That's the breakdown that this city is hungry to understand and control.
Pittsburgh may consider payroll tax for nonprofits: "Pittsburgh Controller Michael Lamb today proposed a tax shift that would lower levies on businesses, and shift some of the burden to nonprofit employers.The goal is not to punish the one sector that has growth. These Dems want to tax anything that moves. Wrong approach. Without the nonprofits, Pittsburgh is dead. Tax the nonprofits, Pittsburgh would die.
He asked city council and state overseers to consider seeking state approval for a 20 percent cut in the payroll preparation tax, now 0.55 percent of for-profit employers' payrolls, but broadening that tax to include the growing nonprofit sector, which includes hospitals, universities and some insurers.
There is another approach. Tax was does NOT move. Tax land. Don't tax productivity. Do not tax work. Don't diminish earnings from service to better health and quality of life endeavors (as the nonprofits are, mostly).
We need to put on a moratorium on all nonprofit land expansion. We need to turn more of our physical spaces into taxable spaces -- not nonprofit, tax free spaces.
The land grab, the trampling of neighbors by the nonproft over the taxpayers is the real long term worry of Pittsburgh.
We need to tell the nonprofits that they can expand upward. Not outward.
We need to tell nonprofits to better utilize their existing spaces, consolidate what is already theirs -- but take no more.
We need the controller to lead an audit of all the spaces that are throughout the city and perhaps the county and measure, inch by inch, what is taxed and what is not able to be taxed with property taxes. What properties are owned by nonprofits? What are not?
Then the Pittsburgh nonprofit secret cadre of whimsical givers to Grant Street needs to sign-off on the land shrinkage plan.
This is an excellent time to make the ask as few are expanding. The Catholic Church is closing schools. They have too much land that isn't being used now. They would see a spike in the land value of existing holdings as if there is another nonprofit that wants to move -- they'll consider a move into what property the church already owns.
When you tax earnings -- government discourages earnings. That's wrongheaded policy.
I want nonprofits to flourish here. I want their employees to make money here. I just don't want the institutions to buy up all the land here as we'll have a big crash and my kid's won't be able to live here.
Pittsburgh Public Service Fund, an umbrella group of tax-exempt entities, needs to do an evaluation of the size of its umbrella. And, the city controller can help with an audit of the umbrella's footprint.
Pittsburgh is a space. The city is a space. Where the city is needs to be mapped -- and that is easily done, even with Google Earth for pete's sake. We need a grip on the spaces and the taxes associated with those spaces. That's the future of this city.
If the nonprofits want to build taller buildings, that is going to bring more value to the city. That density is going to be matched by private citizens as well. And, we'll need robust incomes -- without seeing them taxes at higher rates.
With Michael Lamb's position, we'll have higher costs of health care.
With Michael Lamb's position, we'll have government auditors snooping into the books of the Little Sisters of the Poor -- watching for hidden wage taxes.
Those are the wrong ways to lead a city.
The year-by-year breakdown has to be about the size of the nonprofit land holdings and NOTHING else. That's the breakdown that this city is hungry to understand and control.
Audit says Allegheny County sewer fixes could cost $21 billion
Is there any indication that these guys know what they are talking about other than a big cost to a government authority?
The problem is the rain water run off that mixes with the same pipes as what was flushed. In times of a downpour -- you don't want to be at the edge of the river unless you want to see brown trout and worse.
We need to catch more water in times of rain. We need a real awareness of wet weather management -- by land owners, rate payers, citizens and environmental do-gooders too.
Frankly, we need leadership.
Sadly, we've got bean counters in the controller's office and hacks on the authority boards.
Audit says Allegheny County sewer fixes could cost $21 billion 'You should be aware that in the future, your sewerage bill is probably going to cost more than your water bill,' said Mr. Flaherty, adding that the amount of funding the authority needs over the next 15 years will be 'the largest municipal project ever undertaken in our area.'The root of the problem isn't the what we flush -- our sewerage. No.
The problem is the rain water run off that mixes with the same pipes as what was flushed. In times of a downpour -- you don't want to be at the edge of the river unless you want to see brown trout and worse.
We need to catch more water in times of rain. We need a real awareness of wet weather management -- by land owners, rate payers, citizens and environmental do-gooders too.
Frankly, we need leadership.
Sadly, we've got bean counters in the controller's office and hacks on the authority boards.
View from the BurghChair: April Fools Is On Us
View from the BurghChair: April Fools Is On Us: "Since it's all a joke, on this April Fool's Day I found it appropriate to write about Pittsburgh's Campaign Finance and Ethics Reforms. I just can't stand it any more. Both issues are hugely important and indeed are related to each other. Like conjoined twins, one cannot exist without the other."My comments:
America isn't the land of the level playing field. Rather it is the land of the free.
A level playing field means that the rich will have better tools to launder money. That's it. Don't fool yourself. Money laundering isn't what we want to teach and promote with our candidates -- so that when they get elected that are even better at it.
Access to politicians does NOT hinge upon campaign donations. Well, that isn't the only key. Those who are elected that don't return phone calls are generally not re-elected -- else they get jobs in the courts.
Chris Chandler's MUSE AND WHIRLED RETORT April 2009
Updated from yesterday, keep reading:
Chris is one of my folk music friends. He always has something fun to report. This month bring some big news for him. We'll need to get him to perform again for us in Pittsburgh.
Here is the update:
The April 2nd Edition of The Muse and Whirled Retort from Chris Chandler
T.h.e. .M.u.s.e. .a.n.d. .W.h.i.r.l.e.d. .R.e.t.o.r.t.
The April the 2nd edition
April 2, 2009
Vol X Issue vi supplemental
Silver Spring, MD
APRIL FOOLS!
No, ladies and gentlemen - I am not now the Mr Whipple of Wachovia. But thanks so much for believing I was (those of you who did)
I am not sure if I enjoyed the letters of congratulations or the lengthy multi-paged screeds on the evils of Wachovia and how I am a major sell out.
Or even the little walks down memory lane from April Fools 5 years ago when I managed to convince many of you that I was now a motivational speaker for Lockheed Martin and would be opening for the Charley Daniels Band at the Paul Wolfowitz theatre in Langley, VA.
This time around, I managed to fool some of the smartest people I know. Zoinks!
I think my favorite might have been my own entertainment lawyer writing me asking, "What do you mean you need an entertainment lawyer?!"
Someone told me they had read it out in the blog-o-sphere first. HA! I have trouble traversing the Chandler-o-sphere so I will just imagine that part to be true.
OK OK. If any one of you had written me to say you asked a question in Barack Obama's town hall meeting I would have bought it.
Maybe I would have bought that anyone of you was becoming a spokes person for Wachovia. Where my BULL SH@#%*! Flag would have gone up is the fact that Wachovia Bank would hear our concerns and start investing in neighborhoods.
Now that IS a Whopper .
Well, in any event, I felt a second E-Mail is in order. Feel free to reply.
OK OK - I promise not to bug you guys with two E-Mails in a row like this often. I really try to make this strictly a once a month thing. I really do appreciate your kind words and thoughts.
I am going to wait to unsubscribe those of you who did so until after tomorrow in the hopes that this note will at least change some of your minds.
I won't bore y'all with another newsletter - other than to say
THANKS for all the responses.
I swear the people on this list are the absolute coolest folks on the planet!
And since so many of the coolest folks on the planet have asked -I
will give you a few highlights of what is really going on.
Chris is one of my folk music friends. He always has something fun to report. This month bring some big news for him. We'll need to get him to perform again for us in Pittsburgh.
T.H.E. .M.U.S.E. .A.N.D.. .W.H.I.R.L.E.D. .R.E.T.O.R.T.http://chrischandler.org/
April 1, 2009
Vol X Issue vI
Silver Spring, MD
As I am sure by now most of you have heard, things are pretty a buzz here in chandler land. So I want to first say thanks all of the letters of congratulations for my most recent little blip of recognition on the National Radar screen. Thank you Thank You THANK YOU! It has been a trip!
For those of you who don't know, In Barack Obama's recent national town hall meeting, a question was asked to The President of the United States by YES! Little ol me! I couldnt believe it either, I am still kind of in shock. But all the hype at home afterwards made it even wilder.
It was a simple question really. It was about breaking up the banks. I guess that is why they picked it. But still - Wow! Truthfully, I logged on to ask the question more or less on a lark and didn't think much about it. Then I got an email (a You-Tube message actually) saying it was going to be used!
I mean it's not like I asked all of you to go out there and vote for my question like the people wanting him to address Marijuana legalization. My favorite oxymoron BTW: Marijuana Initiative.
Anyway, I digress. I asked that if the financial institutes are too big to fail what steps are being taken to break them up so they will no longer be too big to fail. His answer, you will recall (at least I thought) was pretty lame. Basically he said, "Tougher regulation." At first I was (honestly) kind of pissed. But then, the phone started ringing and emails started pouring in. Sheeze, I have been trying to get national attention for 20, now 21 years (technically 20 years and 11 months, but who is counting?) and I get more attention for this one thing I did as a lark than the 13 albums I have put out combined!
It was nice hearing from a bunch of people I hadn't heard from in a long time. My mother was impressed. I got a bunch of extra hits on my web page (although not as many as you would think after kind of having a conversation with the President of the United States.) OK, it wasn't in real time or linear, and wasn't really even a conversation at all, I just had my name and home town of Stone Mtn, GA read and then a little U-Tube clip of me reading a from a piece of paper in my bed room. But it was on national TV.
Can't I say I had a conversation with the President of the United States? Can't I have my little moment, just for a second? OK maybe not. It is pretty amazing how many people will contact you just from one little blip on the national media.
Three different people went to my website and then telephoned me to ask if we were related because we had the same last name. Really. One of them called at 2 AM in the morning! I am going to have to remove my cell number from my website.
Well, thats the way I thought about it. It was cool. (except for that) But then, I get an email to the chandler.org account from a company called Schwartz and Lowman who handle advertising for Wachovia Bank. They liked the question too.
Ya see Wachovia was recently bought by Wells-Fargo. They want people to know, that they have heard our concerns and they understand. So they are launching an ad campaign. "Wachovia, we are still in the neighborhood!"
These guys had gone as far as researching my past little newsletters and found the one where I talk about the bank account I had when I was a teenager, and how it got bought by someone and then by someone else and then by First Union and then by Wachovia. Now that Wachovia has been bought by Wells Fargo and they received TARP money, AND in the wake of the AIG bonus brew-ha-ha they want to launch an add campaign. That's where the ad company comes in.
They want me to tell MY story in an ad. "Wachovia, We're still the same bank."
They liked me -- Chris Chandler taking his concerns to the president, and They want people to know that they too are listening.
It's cool I read the first draft of the script day before yesterday. They liked the angle, of little ol broke nobody folk singer trying to make a living and taking his little bits of money to his neighborhood bank and then the bank gets bought and sold. So he manages to get on National Television to ask the president about his concerns. There is a shot of Wachovia executives watching in a big board room and then deciding to invest in a play ground at an inner city elementary school. WAY COOL!
I start the shoot in two weeks here in Silver Spring. So, to any of my stage hand friends that are reading this, I know where you can get some work. I kind of have an in!
Twenty years on the road and FINALLY Chandler catches a break. I am going to be featured in a national TV ad for Wachovia- Wells Fargo. "Wachovia, investing in Neighborhoods since 1953." The thing that honestly excites me, aside from a national Bank hearing my concerns and doing something about it, is the pay. I will make more from this one ad than I did in all of 2008 and 2007 combined!
If any of you know any entertainment lawyers out there I could use a hand because honesty I am in a little bit over my head. There is all this stuff in this contract I just got about my likeness being owned, and what happens if there are repeat commercials. Like what happens if I become like the "Mr Whipple." of Wachovia? Or The Maytag Repairman?
I mean stranger things have happened. But I can't think of any. Wow what a weird two weeks!
Yes, I am still doing the tour in May with Danny Dolinger. I don't think it is going to change that much its just I will be able to make a bit more of a comfortable living for this one commercial. YAY! To comfort. But, don't worry. I will still be keeping it on the road. Speaking of such I will see you between the white lines!
*************************
A.n.n.o.n.c.m.e.n.t.s.
The TV commercial should be running by late spring. I hope to be able to put an advance copy on my web site!
*****************************
As part of my contract Wachovia has agreed to forgive the $800 in bounced check charges was complaining about a few months ago. In exchange I have agreed to run an ad for them in this news letter for one year.
****************************
Danny Dolinger and I are STILL doing the NE tour in May. We have some holes in our calendar and would be willing to extend the tour on either end. See dates below.
In particular we would like something in Baltimore and DC.
***********************
Paul Benoit and I are looking for dates on the West coast for July for the Wachovia in your neighborhood House Concert Tour.
I haven't posted much but we have a lot of irons in the fire. We are looking for shows anywhere from Santa Cruz to Courtney, BC.
As well as a date in DC/Balto/Philly June 13 14ish He will be playing with me at X-Fest.
********************************
Paul Benoit and I are looking for dates in England and or Holland for August. Again, nothing is posted but We have some irons in the fire. If you can be of some help here please let us know.
*********************************
The Box set continues to do well. If you are interested in obtaining a boxed set featuring the best of the past twenty years on the road click here.
I can still sell the ones I have before I have to add the Wachovia Logo to it.
**********************************
I hope to have a book out for the summer that is a compendium of the best of the past ten years of this news letter. T.H.E. .M.U.S.E. .A.N.D. .W.H.I.R.L.E.D. .R.E.T.O.R.T.
*********************************
I have a different featured video on my home page each month. I have not completed a new one since the last George Mann Project. I am still working on one for Anne Feeney.
*********************************
T.H.A.N.K. .Y.O.U.!
Edward Lowman and Neil Schwartz at Lowman and Schwartz, Barack Obama for answering and staff for picking my question, Jill Hirshorn at Wachovia, Shirley Myers, Anne Feeney, Celene de Loach, The Baltimore Poetry Slam, Brian QTN, Joe and Jay, EEQ, Pat Barnes, CD Baby
H.E.R.E.S. .D.A. .D.A.T.E.S.
(see comments)
Here is the update:
The April 2nd Edition of The Muse and Whirled Retort from Chris Chandler
T.h.e. .M.u.s.e. .a.n.d. .W.h.i.r.l.e.d. .R.e.t.o.r.t.
The April the 2nd edition
April 2, 2009
Vol X Issue vi supplemental
Silver Spring, MD
APRIL FOOLS!
No, ladies and gentlemen - I am not now the Mr Whipple of Wachovia. But thanks so much for believing I was (those of you who did)
I am not sure if I enjoyed the letters of congratulations or the lengthy multi-paged screeds on the evils of Wachovia and how I am a major sell out.
Or even the little walks down memory lane from April Fools 5 years ago when I managed to convince many of you that I was now a motivational speaker for Lockheed Martin and would be opening for the Charley Daniels Band at the Paul Wolfowitz theatre in Langley, VA.
This time around, I managed to fool some of the smartest people I know. Zoinks!
I think my favorite might have been my own entertainment lawyer writing me asking, "What do you mean you need an entertainment lawyer?!"
Someone told me they had read it out in the blog-o-sphere first. HA! I have trouble traversing the Chandler-o-sphere so I will just imagine that part to be true.
OK OK. If any one of you had written me to say you asked a question in Barack Obama's town hall meeting I would have bought it.
Maybe I would have bought that anyone of you was becoming a spokes person for Wachovia. Where my BULL SH@#%*! Flag would have gone up is the fact that Wachovia Bank would hear our concerns and start investing in neighborhoods.
Now that IS a Whopper .
Well, in any event, I felt a second E-Mail is in order. Feel free to reply.
OK OK - I promise not to bug you guys with two E-Mails in a row like this often. I really try to make this strictly a once a month thing. I really do appreciate your kind words and thoughts.
I am going to wait to unsubscribe those of you who did so until after tomorrow in the hopes that this note will at least change some of your minds.
I won't bore y'all with another newsletter - other than to say
THANKS for all the responses.
I swear the people on this list are the absolute coolest folks on the planet!
And since so many of the coolest folks on the planet have asked -I
will give you a few highlights of what is really going on.
City-County merger goes nowhere fast
City-County merger goes nowhere fast City-County merger goes nowhere fastThat is not a false start. Rather, too little action. And what action they deliver when it comes is too late. This is the typical "little and too late" theme.
It's been a year since officials proposed a referendum on governments' consolidation
Thursday, April 02, 2009
By Rich Lord, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
It was pitched as a historic moment when, a year ago tomorrow, Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato and Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl called for a prompt referendum on merging the region's two biggest governments.
With no concrete movement toward a referendum, it now seems to some like a false start.
It is too little as they are only talking about a merger of the city and county -- and NOT the other 100+ municipalities.
It is talked about being too late as they did nothing in the past year.
Frankly, I have a much different focus and would offer a different type of leadership. The next merger to happen should be with our parks. Let's merge city, county and school district park assets.
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