Hey Challengers: Be the change.

I posted at Bram's blog some additional reactions of the first mayor candidate debate that was hosted by KDKA TV and is now on the web site there.

As for big box development, Franco Dok Harris said he was against it - then okay with it too.

Kevin Acklin wants to take half of the URA assets and turn the focus to neighborhoods.

Luke Ravenstahl's reply was that the URA already did focus on neighborhoods and small businesess. With the URA question, Luke won that inning.

Challengers needed to score big -- and that could have happened by striving to liquidate the entire URA and turning all of its assets into debt reduction, or more police, or whatever.

The challengers were not really so different.

Likewise, if asked, would you, (as mayor) accept another invite to host a future G-20. All 3 said yes. No difference.

Of course I would NOT choose to host a G-20 so as to have these world bankers meet in secret while our city became a ghost town. I'd offer them a closed wing of the airport at the very best.

The aim and a central purpose of government is to protect freedom. With the G-20, many freedoms were lost. That's progress in the wrong direction.

I'm looking for bold constrasts among the candidates in a debate. Perhaps that will be more evident in the second and third meeting.

Library Closings - by the numbers

Natalia Rudiak received this eloquent essay and research from a soon-to-be Beechview constituent. She did not yet verified this information, but the citations are listed below. Please feel free to share with your networks.

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"I and my neighbors are dismayed by the apparent inequity of closing our library and those in other less affluent neighborhoods. In my correspondence with the RAD Board I questioned the rationale and criteria used to determine which branches were to close. It seems as though community libraries like Squirrel Hill's were never in any danger even though they are so very close to the Main Library and have ample and direct bus service to and from that location. Their library is also open 7 days a week compared to Beechview's 5 days. The Squirrel Hill branch is also open 52 hours per week compared to Beechview's 37 hours. When I expanded my research to include some of the other locations earmarked for closure, the number of hours and days per week are very similar. In addition, the number of available hours on evenings and weekends is similarly lopsided. Squirrel Hill's library has 45-60% more evening and weekend hours than those libraries due to close. This is especially important if overall library usage was used as one of the criterion for closures. With such a disparity of hours of operation and especially those on evenings and weekends, is it any wonder that a branch such as Squirrel Hills has more usage?

"Their square footage is also larger and the additional resources within also impact usage. The Carnegie Library has recently added an outdoor scrolling message board to the Squirrel Hill branch. In the face of impending funding shortfalls and economic troubles, it seems extravagant to be adding a sign yet completely closing branches in other communities.

"With the announcement of branch closings, the Carnegie Library mentioned that neighborhoods losing their branches were close to other branches -- like Brookline's branch to Beechview (1.5 to 2 miles away with no direct public transportation). If proximity to other branches was another primary criterium, then why, with Squirrel Hill about a half a mile away from the Main Library, were they not more strongly considered? It appears as though CONVENIENCE is an option for communities like Squirrel Hill, but not for smaller and less wealthy neighborhoods.

"I have nothing against Squirrel Hill, their residents or library users, but I don't feel like the playing ground is a level one. Looking back over the last few years on the tens of millions of dollars that the Carnegie Library Board has spent on expansions and renovations on many of its branches, it appears like these closings may have been planned for quite some time. I don't know whether or not any of the libraries planning to be closed were those receiving renovations or expansion, though it wouldn't be hard to find out.

“With the Board's acknowledgment of funding shortfalls that they knew and admit were coming about -- these multimillion dollar expenditures are in hindsight foolish and irresponsible. The Carnegie Library Board is made up of well-compensated smart people who now appear to be shrugging their shoulders and acting like these events were totally unforeseen. This is a stretch at best.

"One of Andrew Carnegie's primary goals when establishing the libraries was for the "improvement of the poorer classes." If this is an ongoing importance to the Carnegie Library, then these closures make no sense whatsoever. It seems that the values and goals which were once so vital to the heart of the library mission are no longer an issue. Communities like Beechview, Hazelwood, West End, Lawrenceville and Carrick are exactly the type of areas public libraries are intended. No one would argue that more affluent communities like Squirrel Hill have more options and resources available to them when compared to these other neighborhoods, yet it is the very communities that need this resource the most and have fewer options which are asked to do without. Somehow, the Carnegie Board has lost its clarity of purpose and direction.

"This is yet another devastating blow to Beechview residents. Having endured the many losses of businesses and the URA debacle with Bernardo Katz, Beechview needs some true support and not the loss of another community resource. It seems as though our tax dollars rarely, if ever, find their way back as reinvestments in our community. However, it feels as though whenever the city needs to make cuts or look for cost-savings, then Beechview magically appears at the top of the list.

"Here are the library hours information that I paraphrased. When you look at these numbers, it isn't hard to see how usage numbers can be easily skewed or slanted to damn some libraries and protect others. I'm starting to think that Beechview residents should petition for a reduced tax rate given that city, county and state funds seem to be concentrated elsewhere. If the mayor would ever respond to any questions, I would like to ask him to name just one thing that he's done to 'specifically' help Beechview. What it boils down to is; in these difficult economic times, what are more affluent neighborhoods like Squirrel Hill losing when it seems as though other neighborhoods like Beechview and Hazelwood are losing so much?

“Please note that I revised my distance numbers for the distance from Squirrel Hill to the Main Branch, as I was using the 'half-mile' distance I read from a Post-Gazette article and I wanted to verify.

Beechview Library Branch:
Open 5 days/week (closed Fri. & Sun.)
37 total hrs/week (9 hrs evenings & weekend)
1.35 miles from Brookline Branch(Library to library location)(No public transportation between neighborhoods and must cross major/dangerous W. Liberty Ave. intersection)

Hazelwood Library Branch:
Open 5 days/week (closed Mon. & Sun.),
36 total hours/week (10 hrs evenings & weekend)
2.7 miles from Squirrel Hill Branch or 2.69 miles from South Side Branch

Carrick Library Branch:
Open 5 days/week (closed Mon. & Sun.)
37 total hours/week (8 hrs evenings & weekend)
1.22 miles from Knoxville Branch(Bus service available - 51C)

Lawrenceville Library Branch:
Open 5 days/week (closed Fri. & Sun.)
39 total hrs/week (only 7 hrs evenings & weekend)
1.94 miles to East Liberty Branch(Bus service available - 86B or 91A w/transfer to 500)

West End Library Branch:
Open 4 days/week (closed Mon., Fri. & Sun.)
26 total hours/week (only 8 hrs evenings & weekend)
2.01 miles from Sheraden Branch (Bus service available - 26A, 26D)

Squirrel Hill Library Branch:
Open 7 days/week,
52 total hours/week (14 hours evenings & weekend)
1.67 miles to Main Branch(14 blocks)(Library to Library location) (Bus service available - 59U, 61A, 61B, 61C)

“This hours of operation information is based upon information posted on www.clpgh.org and distances from mapquest.com. I've defined evening hours as 6:00 p.m. and beyond. The bus routes are from calls to PAT Transit's Customer Service Phoneline.

"You may definitely use this information in anyway that you feel will help the cause. It is not necessary to be credited at all. My benefit will be when we save our library and that's all I'm interested in."

This came from N.R.'s Facebook page. The author is unknown to me now. I'll ask.

I'm wondering where Glenn Walsh is on this issue? Did he just give up on the city?

Hearing likely on Monaca fan's fight with football referee

Hearing likely on Monaca fan's fight with football referee Hearing likely on Monaca fan's fight with football referee

You mean to say that these folks don't know what went on? Of course they do. Three phone calls and you know what is what.

The fan should be unwelcome at all sports games at that school for the rest of the year, at the least. He should volunteer that as a self-punishment and hope that civil and criminal charges are not put against him.

First Mayor Debate on Saturday at Noon

The debate is on the TV on Saturday at noon. Must be in tv studio today. A three way with Kevin, Dok and Luke.

I wonder, if the debates will matter to the Pittsburgh voters?

I will try to live blog them.

Anticipation..... Or, Apathy...

I often hold that the excercise of a candidate debate is much more than about winning a vote or two from the small percentage of undecided voters. Really, this is about policy promises, about cred, about watchdogs and finally, about public process.

Most of all, shame on WQED, Pittsburgh's public TV outlet. That outfit is unfit and its charter calls upon candidate debates as part of its mix for operations. Nothing. QED is one of the larges drags of the region.

PA Sucks: State Budget Lacks Funding for Summer Camp Activities

Proposal Update E-mail:

Audience: 62 providers who submitted proposals

Hello,

State Budget Lacks Funding for Summer Camp Activities

Thank you for submitting a proposal to partner with the 2010 Pittsburgh Public Schools Summer Middle-Grades Camp. Our team is thrilled to have received many proposals from a wide range of individuals and organizations in Pittsburgh. The quality and quantity of the responses to the Request For Proposal (RFP) continues to inspire us to create the largest and most unique camp for middle-grade students ever offered by the Pittsburgh Public Schools.

As you know, this one-of-a-kind camp is being funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) stimulus dollars. We have been anxiously waiting for the state to pass a budget to determine the final amount the District will receive to allocate towards the summer middle-grades camp. Unfortunately, the state fiscal stabilization funds needed to operate the afternoon activities portion of the camp did not come through when the budget passed. The good news is we will still have Title I stimulus funds to operate the Summer Middle-Grades Camp. While the Title I funds make up less than the original anticipated amount of total funds, we believe strongly that we will be able to facilitate a robust and innovative summer camp nonetheless.

Title I funding is more restrictive than the anticipated state fiscal stabilization funds, and any activity that takes place during the summer camp must meet the Title I mandate of providing a clear, research-based literacy curriculum and/or model proven to be effective in raising student achievement, have a student to teacher ratio of 15:1 or less, and be delivered by “highly qualified” staff[1]. In order to continue to offer an afternoon activities component facilitated by community organizations and individuals, we must ensure the activities align with this Title I mandate.

The District is committed to offering our students the opportunity to experience unique afternoon activities as a part of this camp. Through an initial review of the submitted proposals, it is clear that some proposals already integrate and infuse literacy in the proposed activity. However, all proposals must now have the direct focus of increasing academic achievement in literacy or math.

New RFP Issued October 21, 2009

We are requesting every organization that submitted an initial proposal to consider submitting a new proposal based on one of the following options:

1. Make revisions to expand and/or clarify the direct literacy connection for the proposed activity, this revision option is only for proposals already directly tied to literacy and should include links to state standards, daily objectives, and lesson plans. However, you must submit a new proposal that incorporates the revisions.

2. Re-write a proposal to focus on literacy with the integration of an engaging activity. The new proposal would need to include links to state standards, daily objectives, and lesson plans.

3. Choose to not re-submit a proposal with a written confirmation of such inaction to Eddie Willson with the knowledge that your organization will no longer be considered for partnership in the Summer Middle-Grades Camp.

A new Request For Proposal document will be issued on Wednesday, October 21 that clearly outlines the new criteria providers must include in a new proposal. This new Request For Proposal will be open to providers who submitted an initial proposal as well as individuals and organizations who are interested in submitting for the first time. New proposals that are literacy-focused are due to Eddie Willson by 5 p.m, on Friday, November 6, 2009.

To discuss the funding situation and proposal resubmission process further, we are requesting every organization who submitted an initial proposal to attend a meeting on Wednesday, October 21 from 8:30 a.m. - 10 a.m. The meeting will take place in conference room A in the board of Education building located at 341 S. Bellefield Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15213. Please RSVP to Eddie Willson at awillson1@pghboe.net by Tuesday, October 20 at noon to attend.

We anticipate there will be questions about the funding situation and proposal resubmission. We ask that you please bring your questions to the meeting on Friday and we will do our best to answer them at that time. You are also welcome to send your questions to Eddie in advance via e-mail and we can prepare the answers and share more information at the meeting.

Thank you for your understanding. We are looking forward to continuing to work towards our goal of creating the largest and most unique camp for middle-grade students ever offered by the Pittsburgh Public Schools.

Sincerely,

Eddie Willson, Activities Project Manager, Summer Middle-Grades Camp Team (412) 622-3985

[1] “Highly Qualified” is a term defined by NCLB as either a teacher with state certification, a bachelors degree, and proven competency in his/her subject or a paraprofessional with at least two (2) years of college.

So, Rush wants to own a NFL team. Poor, poor, Rush.

Please comment on Huff Post to counter-balance the trolls:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dave-zirin/post_413_b_321290.html

Response to Rush Limbaugh's Rage by Dave Zirin

Yesterday I was referred to on air as "scum " by Rush Limbaugh. Limbaugh called me out by name on his radio show because, along with Bryan Burwell of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and Drew Sharp of the Detroit Free Press , I challenged Limbaugh's efforts to own a NFL team, saying that his history of racial bombast should count against him.

Limbaugh said of us:

They are the ones with prejudice and bigotry coursing through their vanes [sic], through their hearts, and through their souls. They are consumed with jealousy and rage. They are all liberals--and make no mistake: That's what this is about. It is about ideology. It isn't about race. It's about their being jealous and attempting to discredit me, and they've now sunk to the low of repeating fabricated quotes that they cannot source.... These people are scum.”

What we all did was carry a quote from Limbaugh that he absolutely insists he did not say. The quote is:

We didn't have slavery in this country for over 100 years because it was a bad thing. Quite the opposite: slavery built the South. I'm not saying we should bring it back; I'm just saying it had its merits. For one thing, the streets were safer after dark.”

For all the dittoheads out there, here is how we came up with the quote: it was in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch , the Detroit Free Press , the Washington Post , and in the book 101 People Who Are Really Screwing America by Jack Huberman. It has been out in the ether for years. Now that it is endangering his chances to become an NFL owner, Limbaugh is serving up a full heaping of indignation..
As Jason Whitlock, with whom I have had every manner of political disagreement over the years, writes :

Limbaugh claimed on his radio show Monday that his staff could not find any proof that he ever joked about slavery. I'm sorry. Limbaugh doesn't get the benefit of the doubt on racial matters.... You can argue the comments are presented out of context and were meant as jokes. Then I'd argue that Limbaugh needs to get on the comedy-club circuit and out of the business of attempting to influence presidential politics. Limbaugh wants to be taken seriously.”

But let's take Limbaugh at his word, for now, that he didn't say it. We should also look at the myriad of quotes on record he makes no effort to dispute. We can only assume that he is proud to have said , "The NFL all too often looks like a game between the Bloods and the Crips without any weapons."

Or these other gems :

The NAACP should have riot rehearsal . They should get a liquor store and practice robberies.”

Have you ever noticed how all composite pictures of wanted criminals resemble Jesse Jackson?”

To an African-American caller: Take that bone out of your nose and call me back.”

Or upon hearing that Spike Lee said that black schoolchildren should take off from school to see the movie Malcolm X: Spike, if you're going to do that, let's complete the education experience. You should tell them that they should loot the theater and then blow it up on their way out.

”
Or calling Barack Obama "Halfrican-American " and saying: In Obama's America , the white kids now get beat up with the black kids cheering, ‘Yay, right on, right on, right on, right on’.... We need segregated buses--it was invading space and stuff. This is Obama's America.”

The real reason Rush is doing a slow-burn on his show and setting loose his army of Internet flame throwers is that his dream of owning an NFL franchise is going up in smoke. After seven players and the union went public and stood up to Rush getting his mitts around the most powerful cultural and athletic brand in America, commissioner Roger Goodell finally spoke out. Goodell said on Tuesday that Limbaugh's "divisive comments " had no place in the NFL. "I have said many times before, we're all held to a higher standard here," Goodell said to reporters. "I would not want to see those kinds of comments coming from people who are in a responsible position in the NFL. No. Absolutely not."

Goodell's statement was complemented by Colts owner Jim Irsay, who told ESPN, "I, myself, couldn't even think of voting for him.... I'm very sensitive to know there are scars out there. I think as a nation we need to stop it. Our words do damage, and it's something that we don't need. We need to get to a higher level of humanity, and we have." Other owners issued decidedly lukewarm comments about the possibility of sharing space with Rush.

Some are surprised that ownership isn't welcoming Limbaugh with a passionate embrace because most owners are to the right of Attila the Hun. They are billionaires who have feasted at the public trough of corporate welfare while basking in tax breaks for the rich. In other words, they constitute Limbaugh's base. But his membership in this exclusive fraternity of billionaires would violate the first rule of ownership: protect the bottom line.

The inconvenient truth is that no matter how much he rants and raves, no matter how often he calls columnists like Burwell, Sharp and me "state-run-media scum," it's the commissioner and the owners who believe that his history of ugly vitriol would be just too harmful to the NFL brand. You reap what you sow, and Rush Limbaugh has reaped a whirlwind.

[Dave Zirin is the author of “A People’s History of Sports in the United States” (The New Press) Receive his column every week by emailing dave@edgeofsports.com. Contact him at edgeofsports@gmail.com

Please comment on Huff Post to counter-balance the trolls: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dave-zirin/post_413_b_321290.html

Jonathan and Mary Robison of Oakland give their support to Dok

For Pittsburgh Mayor, we are supporting Franco Dok Harris running as an independent on his own party label. He is a graduate of Princeton and graduated from the joint law-business degree program at the Pitt Law School and CMU’s Tepper School of Business. He is articulate, independent-minded, and progressive. He also is endorsed by the Gertrude Stein Political Club and Planned Parenthood. He is 30 and is the son of Franco Harris, star of the Pittsburgh Steelers. He is biracial, like our president – ‘Dok” is short for his mother’s maiden name, Dokmanovich.

The Democratic incumbent is Luke Ravenstahl. His programs are better than his politics. He has been strong on accessibility for persons like me – Jon – who use a power wheelchair to get around. We applaud Ravenstahl for creating an advisory council to work with the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities. We are told that his Department of City Planning is working creatively with the neighborhoods and neighborhood organizations. We don’t know why Ravenstahl is refusing to proceed with the asphalt recycling paving machine which will save time and money fixing streets and was approved by City Council. And why is Ravenstahl backing Dan Onorato’s bizarre proposal to merge the city into Allegheny County? Does he hope Dan Onorato will succeed Ed Rendell as Governor, and he will run the whole city/county government?

In politics, Luke Ravenstahl is the nation’s youngest “good old boy.” He supports the old guard. He is anti-choice and negative to campaign finance reform. His enormous political treasury both exemplifies and worsens the problem. Big money is a disease in American politics. You or I might give $50 to a candidate we thought good for the public. That’s a contribution. But when a candidate has a $200-a-plate fundraising dinner, and someone buys a table – that’s an investment.

The snip above is from Jon's email newsletter.

Daydreamin': What IF Onorato Wins? Peduto Is The Answer

It's time for a little political day dreaming. Pretend for a minute that Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato wins the gubernatorial race and vacates his current post.

Winning the race might be considered a nightmare for some, as Onorato has proven himself to be a dandy tax raiser. “Dan, Dan the Tax Man,” will be a nifty limerick to overcome over the next election cycle.

Democrat Onorato bested Allegheny County's first Chief Executive, Republican Jim Roddey, by running to the fiscal right of the moderate businessman. Roddey, a successful advertising executive and philanthropist, laid the proverbial goose egg once in office and fared only one term.

Onorato skated to an easy re-election and has not-so-secretly been priming the pump for a gubernatorial run ever since. Current Governor Ed Rendell, thankfully, cannot run for re-election. Rendell's ineptitude over the last eight years promises that not even a Turnpike rest stop can be named “in his honor.” Rendell's tour of duty as the Commonwealth's top general has been an utter and complete failure. And that legacy was cemented before the Democratic political machine propelled him to a second, more dismal turn.

If Onorato could surge past the competition and take residence in Harrisburg, suddenly, the state's second-most-prestigious post becomes available, with almost no sure-fire candidate ready for the seat.

Now, don't get me wrong. There's a certain boyish, big city Mayor who thinks that he would be the first-in-line for the post, but there's significant thought that the rather lightweight figurehead might not transcend from the inner city to the suburbs.

Add to that a certain moderate-to-conservative voting block in the northern-most region of the county that doesn't enjoy having taxes raised at every conceivable turn.

Finding that fiscal steward could be, would be difficult. But you've read it here first: no one in Pittsburgh or Allegheny County politics is better suited for the job than Pittsburgh City Councilman Bill Peduto.

A “Reform Democrat,” Peduto is decidedly not of the ACORN crowd. Recently, the long-time Pittsburgh pol attended a Jewish Women's dinner. And instead of using wheels provided by the Department of Homeland Security for a concert tailgate party, Peduto, in his early 40's, plays sports on the weekend. Most notably, he can be found checking opponents into the boards of a Pittsburgh-area Celebrity Hockey Team. Peduto also recently spoke at the eagerly-anticipated PodCamp Pittsburgh event and the 2009 Mahatma Gandhi Birthday Celebration. There isn't another politician in Allegheny County who would effortlessly make those activities work. There may not be another politician in the state who wouldn't look like a kook at one of those events.

In the last election cycle for Pittsburgh Mayor, Peduto was expected to participate. He didn't. That perplexed some, intrigued others. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette called him a “coward” for not running. Pittsburgh's true revolutionary thinker, and doer, was on the sidelines. Hosting urban bike rides, doing more substantial “ground work” than any candidate, and he wasn't even running. He's keeping his name out there, perhaps in a more positive way than any other local politician.
Surely, Pittsburgh's Mayor took kudos for dodging the bullet that was G-20. Most of the “action” took place in Peduto's Bloomfield and Oakland. Peduto laid quiet and his neighborhoods did not burn. Onorato will also use the success that was the G-20, but his opponents are smart. They will drive home the fact that Onorato pushed through a drink tax to fund public transportation.

Smart people in and around Pittsburgh wondered why Peduto was passed over for Pittsburgh's current Mayor, but it clearly wasn't “his turn.” Remember, long-time Councilman Bob O'Connor was an also-ran for two mayoral races before finally winning when controversial Mayor Tom Murphy stepped aside after the 2005 election. Only then did O'Connor become a beloved, fatherly figure. Tragically, just as O'Connor earned his goal, he was diagnosed with cancer and died in 2006.
If Onorato wins, and there is no certainty in that (a continual liberal swing toward fiscal socialism hopefully will awaken a slumbering Pennsylvania electorate that appreciates financial responsibility), he will need to be replaced.

The current Pittsburgh Mayor appears to provincial, too limited in intellectual scope. Onorato is an attorney. Roddey before him an executive who became a multi-millionaire through decades of business ventures. It took him awhile, but Peduto did earn a BA from Penn State University just a few years ago.

The current mayor earned his position on Pittsburgh City Council almost right out of college because of his parent's political ties. Shortly after that, he was appointed Council President as a compromise candidate, nothing more. Twanda Carlisle, a councilwoman who was later busted for giving tens of thousands of public dollars to friends, and buying fur coats with city funds, nearly was that compromise candidate.

The current mayor cannot, or should not be ignored politically. Chances are his pal President Barack Obama might cast some influence his way should the Allegheny County Executive position crop up. By that time, Obama's popularity (see a base-less Noble Peace Prize as proof) might, hopefully, be on the wane. Again, a moderate-to-conservative block might enter the fray. That would benefit Peduto, who earnestly seems to look beyond his constituents' wallets for an easy fix.
Let's be honest: there isn't a Republican, or an Independent who would electrify the voters. Roddey's term as ACE might be the last for a Republican in Allegheny County. A vibrant, intelligent, viable Democrat could be the answer. There isn't a single person on Allegheny County Council with the name recognition or resume to make a charge.

That only answer is Bill Peduto. I would suffer those sleepless nights, knowing I changed my voter's registration card to Democrat to help Bill Peduto. I've done it before.

That's my alarm clock. Daydream is over.

Good News: PA has a budget. Bad News: It sucks.

Citizens of PA waited for 101 days to get a budget from those in Harrisburg. But, we really just wasted the time and opportunity to make 'real change.'

For years, I've asked that we replace before we reform. So, I am not suprised. We can't get reform with the ones that are there now. They don't have the capacity.

Ticking Time Bomb
PA headed for fiscal 'perfect storm'

By Lowman S. Henry


Finally, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has a new state budget. The 101-day budget crisis ended with a new spending plan of $27.8 billion, a mere $500 million less than the previous year's budget which ran up a $3.2 billion deficit. Given that the new budget projects a zero percent growth in revenues, it would be logical to assume another multi-billion dollar budget deficit will ensue.


Some in the legislature understand what has happened. House Republican Leader Sam Smith summed it up well: "With more than a billion dollars in new or increased taxes, billions in federal stimulus dollars, and now by draining the Rainy Day Fund and the Health Care Provider Retention Account and raiding the Tobacco Endowment Fund, we are positioned on a giant funding cliff if the economy doesn't swing back strongly in a year."


The situation, in fact, is even more dire than Representative Smith portrays. According to state Representative Sam Rohrer, House Republican Finance Chairman, it is unwise to use fiscal year 2008-2009 as a revenue benchmark because September of 2009 marked the 17th consecutive month where revenue collections were below estimates. In fact, revenue for the 1st quarter of the new fiscal year (July, August and September) fell $140 million below estimates.


Using historic fiscal data, Representative Rohrer says a more realistic revenue projection during the current fiscal year would be $24.3 billion in tax collections. That is $3.5 billion less than the spending contained in the recently approved state budget. Much, but not all, of the deficit will be plugged by stimulus money and one time revenue sources. But, even with that, a massive budget deficit again looms for next year. Given these figures, it would have been more responsible for the General Assembly to have pared spending in the current fiscal year to the $24.3 billion level.


It would be bad enough if that were the only fiscal problem facing the commonwealth. But, it is only the tip of the iceberg. A looming melt-down in the state's pension system threatens to make the general fund deficit look like chump change.


The Commonwealth Foundation has been conducting a series of public meetings across the state to raise the profile of the pension problem, an arcane issue that fails to attract much media coverage but will soon have a profound effect upon taxpayers.


A policy brief issued by the Commonwealth Foundation puts the problem in perspective: "The looming crisis in the long-term commitments made by policymakers on behalf of taxpayers is reflected in the rapid 615% increase in expected taxpayer pension contributions from $584 million in FY 2004-05 to more than $4.2 billion in FY 2012-13." The foundation concludes that "without significant action affecting plan design, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania will likely be facing unaffordable costs." In other words, when the two funds become insolvent billions of taxpayer dollars will be needed to finance the bail-outs.


Making matters worse, the state Unemployment Compensation Trust Fund, facing a $1 billion deficit, is now borrowing money from the federal government to provide benefits to the unemployed. Given that unemployment continues to tick upward, there is every reason to believe the situation is going to get worse before it gets better.


Warren Hudak, a member of the Unemployment Advisory Council, said during a Lincoln Radio Journal interview that the system has a "structural problem" and that only three other states in the nation are now paying out more in benefits than Pennsylvania. Hudak says that under the most optimistic scenario the fund will remain insolvent for a "minimum of seven to eight years."


At the moment, federal stimulus dollars are being used to plug the holes in Pennsylvania's leaky fiscal ship. But, stimulus spending does nothing to change the underlying dynamics that point to major deficits when that temporary funding stream ends. When it does, Pennsylvania will be hit with a perfect storm unless spending is quickly reduced to more realistic levels. Unfortunately, as the recent budget crisis has proven, the political will does not exist in Harrisburg to take that responsible course of action. And so, the fiscal storm continues to brew.


(Lowman S. Henry is Chairman & CEO of the Lincoln Institute and host of the weekly Lincoln Radio Journal. His e-mail address is lhenry@lincolninstitute.org)


Permission to reprint is granted provided author and affiliation are cited.

I do have my eyes on a slice of the 'stimulus funds' that are going to be spent here in Pittsburgh with the school district. In those plans, I did try to make significant changes with the proposal so as to make serious changes to the long-term landscape of the community with public health and fitness levels of the students -- and others.

Around Town: No quiet in these libraries

Lesson of Politics 101:

Around Town: No quiet in these libraries 'A lot of elected officials want to save one branch,' she said.

Divide and Conquer.

Lesson two, same chapter: Myopic Pittsburgh in terms of its political leadership and how they are rewarded.

Arena goodbye idea - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

Arena goodbye idea - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: "I propose that before Mellon Arena is torn down, we have a massive concert that headlines local musicians. Joe Grushecky, Donnie Iris, The Clarks, Bill Toms, Bill Deasy, Tom Breiding, Good Brother Earl and so many more could play. We could even open the roof.
Hate to lose you, Mellon Arena.
Wilson Kondrich
Swisshelm Park

The Civic Arena does NOT need to be torn down.

Good idea about a local concert. I'd call it more of a music festival, not just a concert. And, there was some talk about the opening of the roof again on the RAD Day. So, that is NOT out of the question.

The Civic Arena is a great place for open air hockey too. And, turn back the clock nights as well. It can stay for video screens of home games for overflow crowds.

The Civic Arena played an important role in the G-20 events too. It is a handy building to work in harmony with the Convention Center and the new Consol Arena.

Five swimmers suspended after party | dailytarheel.com

Interesting. The police called the athletic department, then they made the bust together.

Five swimmers suspended after party | dailytarheel.com Officer Mitch McKinney of the Chapel Hill Police Department was present and said Chapel Hill Police called Student-Athlete Services that night when they determined the party involved team members.

“If it’s a UNC student-athlete, we have agreed to make the athletic department aware of it also,” McKinney said. “Normally we’ve only done that after the fact. But we received a lot of resistance from everyone involved in that call.”

Once the athletics department was notified, senior associate athletic directors Larry Gallo and John Blanchard went to the house and helped break up the party, athletic director Dick Baddour said.

“They went to try to bring some calmness to the residents of the house, and that’s what they did,” Baddour said. “And they actually got cooperation from some of the swimmers who were there.

“To my knowledge, we’ve never been called out before."

JV Water Polo Teams

Great games at Chartiers Valley. Our first tournament, and the first ever of its type in Pittsburgh.

Parade in Bloomfield

Carnegie Library Closings Becoming A Political Issue - kdka.com

Carnegie Library Closings Becoming A Political Issue - kdka.com: "Ravenstahl Calls For Audit Of Library System

Luke took a page out of the Michael Lamb playbook. Did he borrow the book? Did he check it out? What is the Dewey Decimal Number for the Michael Lamb Playbook?

Tour Pittsburgh Phillips K-5 on South Side

Pittsburgh Phillips K-5 invites parents and community members for a tour of the elementary school, located at 1901 Sarah Street, on Wednesday, October 14th at 6:00 p.m. This event is a great opportunity to learn more about the school¹s students, programs, and achievements.

"Whether their child is starting Kindergarten next year or in future years, we hope that parents and families will stop by to learn more about our school," said Mr. Rodney Necciai, Principal, Pittsburgh Phillips K-5. He added, "We are also eager to share information about the Pittsburgh Promise and what we are doing as a school to provide the necessary "Pathways to the Promise" steps that we are taking so that all of our kids have the right foundation from which to someday take advantage of this unique opportunity." (The Pittsburgh Promise is now in place to help our students to "Dream Big and Work Hard" by providing scholarship monies for post-secondary education that is available to all of our students, regardless of income.)

During the event, guests will tour the school and learn about the curriculum, including the Spanish language emphasis of the school. Guests will have an opportunity to ask questions of Mr. Necciai and several parents of students who currently attend the school. Cate Reed, Project Manager, Office of Strategic Initiative, Pittsburgh Public Schools, will attend to answer questions about the Pittsburgh Public School district magnet program and the Pittsburgh Promise. A+ Schools will also provide information.

"We are a very lucky to have Phillips Elementary in the South Side, and impressed with our daughter¹s education at the school," said Michele Margittai, parent of a Phillips student. "This tour offers parents and others a chance to learn about this wonderful resource in our community."

Pittsburgh Phillips K-5 is a neighborhood school located in Pittsburgh's South Side community. Pittsburgh Phillips also includes a Spanish magnet program, open to all students by application. Parents must apply during Preferred or General Registration periods.

Pittsburgh Phillips K-5 is a neighborhood school located in Pittsburgh's South Side community. Magnet Program registration for the 20010-11 school year ends on December 12, 2009.

No RSVP is necessary. For more information about the tour, please call the school at 412-488-5190.

Michael Moore knows what capitalism is after all! | Young Americans for Liberty

Michael Moore knows what capitalism is after all! | Young Americans for Liberty: "Chad Swarthout of GWU Liberty Society gets Michael Moore to admit that we do not live in a capitalist society today. Wish he would have included that in the movie! Now Americans who have no understanding of a true free- market economy are lead to think that today's economic system is capitalism. When in fact it is not.
Even Michael Moore knows this. Why would he not include this into the movie? Is it perhaps that he is so obsessed with a utopian society where everyone is taken care of?"

Young People Don't Need Unions If They Want To Succeed In Work & Life

Recently, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette ran a joint Letter to the Editor from two union leaders who repeatedly touched on socialist items under the guise of the American work force. The letter was entitled, “Young People Need Unions. They've Not Been Told What Collective Action Can Accomplish.”

The piece, compiled by Michael Fedor and Jennifer Jannon, touted on shockingly anti-American principles. Let's get started with the diagnosis:

“Young workers are among those hardest hit by the economic recession and the group least likely to have health insurance. We are shockingly likely to be living with our parents because we can't afford to pay rent -- let alone a mortgage. A recent study done by the AFL-CIO and Working America found 34 percent of workers under the age of 35 still living with parents, a number that jumped to 52 percent for those making less than $30,000 per year.”

First off, how is this different than just about any other generation? Nearly 20 years ago, when I was starting out after graduating college, I lived with my fiance. We had a plan to live together, pooled our money together, and survive day-by-day. We rented a small apartment. Then a larger one. Then an even larger one. Then half a house. Then we worked enough to buy a house. I was 30 when we closed the deal. From what I understand, that was my parents' plan slightly more than 20 years before that. And so on.
Secondly, if a young worker makes $30,000 a year, count yourself lucky. As someone in your early 20's, college graduate or not, you most likely don't have the work resume to make that kind of scratch. The same was correct 20 years ago. In fact, my goal was to make more money every year. Through hard work, that basically happened. To toss a blind “$30,000” at someone in their late teens or early 20's is fiscal bankruptcy. Who pays these wild prices? The consumer. Any consumer.

Back to the manic assertions of Fedor and Jannon: “Young workers know that the answers to their struggles won't necessarily come from employers. Just 41 percent said they strongly trusted their employer to treat them fairly. Young adults, in other words, need the benefits of union membership more than anyone.
That's why, as young adults in the labor movement, we were pleased by the focus on young workers at the recent AFL-CIO convention in Pittsburgh.”

They say that “just 41 percent...” I wonder if my grandfather, working in coal mines 60 years ago, had a higher “satisfaction” rate for his managers. Yes, he was a proud member of the United Mine Workers Association back in the day. Did “Pap” have top-of-the-line accommodations all the while working in an industry that defined the need for early unions? Seeing that the biggest thing he did in my lifetime was add a second trailer onto the decades-old one I remember from my earliest days. Family, not contractors, built the wonderful hallway between the two residences.
It's clear that Fedor and Jannon are aiming for the lowest-common-denominator: soft-mushy-minds of the disenfranchised who aren't ambitious, hard-working, principled employees. Instead, they are cobbling archaic ideals into empty ideas that—as a vantage point—somehow got the least-qualified Presidential candidate in the history of the union the top spot in the land.

More from Fedor and Jannon: “The need to involve younger workers wasn't just given lip service. This convention saw the election of the first woman and the youngest AFL-CIO secretary-treasurer ever, Liz Shuler, 39. A powerful new voice in the labor movement, she told the convention, 'It's not that today's young people don't like unions; it's just that they really don't know about us.'
How true. In school, most of us weren't taught that America's working people, united in unions, fought to win weekends off, the 40-hour work week, the minimum wage and safe workplaces. Nor were we taught that union members now earn 30 percent more and are 52 percent more likely to have employer-provided health insurance than nonunion workers. Or that for women and people of color, the best guarantee of equal pay for equal work is a union contract.”

Only a moron wouldn't use a relatively-minor office to showcase a a “young” leader. That being said, Shuler, 39, isn't young enough to be touted as youthful. Richard Trumka, 60, the new union president, seemed like an old man 30 years ago when he was yielding a relatively-heavy thuggish persona in the coal mining industry. Add to that the fact that he was an attorney and his creepiness was off the charts.
And by the way, when Trumka was “standing up to management” in 1979 in Western Pennsylvania, the coal mining industry was crippled throughout the region as a result. Mines closed, jobs were lost. Families were ruined. Forever.

It's beyond easy to call rallies for unionization asinine. Here's perhaps the coup de' gras: “These omissions have done our generation a disservice by obscuring the power of collective action. Instead, we've been taught that progress comes from above and that our success should be measured by what we alone accomplish.”

Again: “that our success should be measured by what we alone accomplish.” Economies are created, lives are enriched by “what we alone accomplish.” There were reports that the lunatics at the AFL-CIO convention booed a picture of Ronald Reagan. Reagan, who as president, railed against large governments, all the while extolling the virtues of the individual. Unionizing, just to save the least-productive worker for the highest hourly-rate possible, is extreme madness and way-of-life destroying. We won't even talk about the freedoms of working without “union representation.” The next union member I meet who is proudly ambitious at work will be the first.

The twosome continue: “Even for those of our generation who want to join unions, it's difficult to do so. Decades of union-busting have left many too afraid to risk their jobs with an attempt to unionize; workers are fired in one-third of unionization attempts. Passage of real labor law reform would go a long way toward ensuring that all workers have the freedom to join a union.”

In many areas of labor, unionizing is simply unfeasible. Only a few years ago, I enjoyed a part-time job in which fellow workers were eager to hear from a union organizer. I attended the meetings and heard altruistic, but unreasonable pay demands from co-workers. Those discussions continued after my time there was over. Within the blink of an eye, many of those jobs were eliminated. Guess what? They were not necessary jobs and management reacted accordingly.

Let's conclude Fedor and Jannon's argument: “Beyond that, young workers face unique challenges. As employers hire more temporary, part-time and contract employees, we feel stuck -- and ever more isolated.
That's why the renewed commitment from the AFL-CIO to help younger workers find their voices is so exciting. Every day Working America, the community-organizing affiliate of the AFL-CIO, talks to people who don't have unions in their workplaces but want to be heard on issues like health care and job security. We know that the passion for change is out there, waiting to be tapped.
To do that, the AFL-CIO is joining partner unions and organizations to engage our generation, awaken the best in us and involve us in the movement that built this nation -- and that will rebuild it better than ever.”

Not once is an argument for success or excellence forwarded in this naive, insulated diatribe. Success and excellence can only be forged with the freedom, hard-work and determination that is gleefully placed on the back-burner of this argument.
Unionizing for the sake of unionizing destroys jobs. That much is fact. Simple economics proves that unions cannot operate fast-food restaurants. The average burger flipper or mop person is a kid just starting out, a part-timer looking for supplemental income or a retiree looking for something to do. The aggressive worker at the corner fast-food joint is in the management program. There isn't a custodian in America who should earn $25 an hour to push a broom, yet unions prod for that type of wage.
Entrepreneurship has and will always run this country. They are the risk takers who will employ workers at a fair market value.

Unions did at one time assure menial laborers weren't being killed on the job. Antique unions made sure workers got paid over time and had time off. Today, unions push for Sundays off, all the while members routinely stay away from the church services “unions” seemingly wanted to protect.
America was built on ingenuity and personal accomplishments. Not the selfishness of a few. There's a genuine reason why union membership is on the wane in big numbers. Collective action slows growth to an excessive crawl.

Live Blog Bruce Kraus on KDKA Radio with Marty Griffin

Six agencies and the other enforcement agencies (two more?) are necessary to take away the rights of property owners. All of those agencies are good for a big government advocate.

Bruce is still glowing about his mind-expanding trip to San Francisco.

Wonder if any of those lines by the sidewalk cafes were painted by Bruce himself.

Jason got in a zinger at the start of the interview by passing on an instant message: "Tell Adolph Kraus he's fired."

Bruce says many people can't get to the post office because they can't navigate around the outside tables at Falino's. Humm. Tom's Diner was the place that had the giant election signs for the Kraus opponent, twice. If one lives in a cronies world, then to the victor go the spoils. Bang. Pay back. Blow back.

Kraus said, "You don't rule the world, Marty." Who does?

The zoning code in the Strip District is different than what applies in the South Side.

Penny calls: Bruce worked on the removal of the sidewalk cafe on his first day. Not after getting a ton of complaints. Penny has to come out to defend herself. Sidewalk is 18 foot wide.

Puts a rope around the neck of the small business owner.

Bruce wrote the sidewalk cafe ordinance. Bruce says it is not a personal issue. Bruce has HOW many businesses in HIS district? Bruce has 33,000 constituents.

Caller from Monroeville: "That guy does not have a clue!"

John calls and says "Bruce is from another planet." Where are you at on the cars parking on the sidewalks. Marty, he is an absolute liar."

My instant message: Ask Bruce if we'll be able to open South Side's Oliver Bath House for the summer of 2010 in the months of June, July and August for swim lessons? It is closed all summer.

Ask Bruce about the still closed indoor ice rink in the close South Side Park. Any progress there? This is a place that they said was being used for G20 protesters.

Penny got in a closing word. Back in the day....

Library system trims five Carnegie branches across city

Library system trims five Carnegie branches across city: "'There were a lot of pained expressions in the room over the vote,' city Councilman Bruce Kraus, who's also a trustee, said yesterday, 'but it was clear the library really did its homework on these decisions.'

Jeepers. The Library did not do its homework. It has made a long series of mistakes.
I was there and making strong objections to moving the Hazelwood branch of the library years ago. That was a bogus move. It was wrongheaded. We told ya.
The state charter for the library says that a librarian should be at the helm. But, political appointments put a person there who IS NOT with library credentials. Wrong again. Wrong homework. Wrong outcome. Hack. Now this.
There are plenty of other things in the 'homework realm' that can be done and should be done.