Public talk on bikes today at Point Park

Allegheny County will be looking at ways to enhance people powered transportation opportunities over the coming months.

Here's the information you need to participate: If you live, work, study or play in Allegheny County – or even just pass through the County, we encourage you to use your local knowledge to help us make the County a more accommodating place for pedestrians, cyclists, skaters and others.

See links below for more information. 

Allegheny County has partnered with PennDOT's Bureau of Public Transportation to develop a comprehensive active transportation plan. The primary objective of the "Active Allegheny" Plan is to accommodate and encourage walking and biking as an integral part, and common means, of getting around Allegheny County.

To receive input from the public, the following public meetings will be held in open house format: 

Wednesday, June 23, 2010 4:30—7:30 pm Point Park University Ballroom 201 Wood St., Pittsburgh, PA 

Thursday, June 24, 2010 4:30—7:30 pm Carnegie Borough Building One Veterans Way, Carnegie, PA

http://www.activeallegheny.com/ http://bike-pgh.org/2010/06/your-input-is-needed-for-the-countys-active-allegheny-plan/ 
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Public Schools' parents wary of realignment when Peabody closes - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

Public Schools' parents wary of realignment when Peabody closes - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: "Kelly Howze is worried about how her sons will be affected by the Pittsburgh Public Schools' proposed reconfiguration of East End schools.
'We are strictly opposed to it. I don't think our children would survive in Westinghouse,' said Howze, 30, the outgoing president of the Lincoln K-8 parent-teacher organization.
The plan, presented to the school board yesterday, would relocate Pittsburgh Peabody students to Westinghouse High School or Milliones. Milliones, which houses the university preparatory magnet, is a 6-12 school."

My plan would 'fix' this objection. Do not force the kids to go anywhere. Allow the students and families to choose where to attend.

If space is limited in the other schools -- then performance requirements might be necessary too.

If you don't do your homework at Allderdice, and there is a waiting list, then you'll be asked to leave to make room for students who are going to do their assignements.

If you want to get into a popular school and have missed 20 days of school in the 8th grade -- forget it. That school may not need to take you.

One of her sons is a sophomore at Peabody and the other is in seventh grade at Lincoln K-8. "I think it should have been thought out a little better when they forced us into K-8, and now they're turning around in less than five years (and) forcing us into another transition."

People do not like to be 'forced.' People don't like to be yanked around. And, when they see that happen to others, they vote with their feet. They depart. They leave the city. Or, they stay in the city and go to charter or private schools. Or, they don't move into the city.

If we had a new attitude of closing schools only over time and of giving all kids a choice of where to go to school -- the new pittsburgh pledge -- then we'd have hope of seeing more people keep their students within the PPS -- and even some to move here as well.

Some kids at Pittsburgh Obama, headed into grade 11 for the fall of 2010, will have attended three high schools (buildings) in their four years of high school. That's yank, yank, yank. That's reactionary. That's unpleasant.

So, the move to Peabody could occur in the fall of 2012 for their benefit.

And, end feeder patterns.

And, don't allow kids to enter Peabody as 9th graders in the fall of 2010 -- as they'll be another 'lost class.' Phase out the school starting as soon as possible.

End all FEEDER Patterns for High School Students in Pittsburgh

The PPS does not need feeder patterns any more. Let the kids and the families choose the school of their choice, as space permits.

City school board discusses high school reorganization: "Sherry Hazuda echoed Mr. Sumpter's sentiments as she proposed that the board consider extending open enrollment to all schools, which would allow students from any part of the city to attend any school in the city, if they meet the admission requirements."

Fw: [kayaking-129] Call for safety boaters - 2010 Search for Monongy1.2 & 2.4-Mile Open Water Swim

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---

From: Mike Cornell <cornells@zoominternet.net>

Sender: kayaking-129-announce@meetup.com

Date: Mon, 21 Jun 2010 22:28:38 -0400

To: <kayaking-129-announce@meetup.com>

Subject: [kayaking-129] Call for safety boaters - 2010 Search for Monongy 1.2 & 2.4-Mile Open Water Swim

Event: Call for safety boaters - 2010 Search for Monongy 1.2 & 2.4-Mile Open Water Swim
Date: Sunday July 11, 2010 9:00 AM
Location: Heinz Quay (North Shore @ Heinz Field)


OK 'yackers, time to put your paddling skills to work! Our Meetup group is going support an endurance swimming event - the 2010 Search for Monongy 1.2 & 2.4-Mile Open Water Swim. It's put on by the U.S. Masters Swimmers (USMS) Allegheny Mountain Masters chapter here in Pittsburgh. The course runs between Heinz Field and the Clemente Bridge on the Allegheny River. We will be part of the safety crew, monitoring the swimmers, keeping them from going off-course and calling in help if one of them has a problem.

No special skills or gear are required. All you need is your kayak, PFD, paddle, and basic paddling skills. We will meet at Heinz Quay, the same place as we launched for Paddle at the Point. Please arrive at 9:00 AM. This will give us time to stage our gear, and then meet with the safety coordinator for instructions. Swimmers start warming up at 10:00, and the first swimmers are off at 11:00. The last swimmers will be off the water by 1:30. There may be special perks for the safety boaters, details to follow.

I'm an endurance runner. I really appreciate all of the selfless volunteers that come out to support the trail races that I compete in. So I know how much YOU will be appreciated if you can help out for this event.

By the way, what is "Monongy"? Legend has it that Monongy, the man-fish lives in the river. There are records that go as far back as the French and Indian War that describe encounters between British soldiers and strange aquatic creatures. The local Indian tribes referred to this creature as "Monongy". There was even a Monongy craze in the early 1930's through the late 1950's. Sightings occurred on a weekly basis and the police department created a task force whose sole purpose was to investigate sightings of the creature. No evidence was ever produced to lend credence to the claims until May 12, 2003 when a privately owned fishing vessel was the first to take photos of the creature. The photos were available on line for a short time until they were inexplicably taken down. Speculation persists that the government has procured the photographs and are covering up the existence of Monongy. Crypto zoologists from around the world still frequent the Monongahela every year to catch a glimpse of the elusive water beast.

This Meetup listing will be updated as more details come available. I expect our group to have a big turnout, and I'm sure we'll have a great time. Hope to see many of you there!

For the full listing, see http://www.meetup.com/kayaking-129/calendar/13870986/?from=list&offset=0




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Fw: [Locals] Final questions?

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-----Original Message-----
From: Steven Clift <clift@e-democracy.org>
Date: Mon, 21 Jun 2010 16:32:36
To: <locals@forums.e-democracy.org>
Reply-To: locals@forums.e-democracy.org
Subject: Re: [Locals] Final questions?

I'd definitely like to hear more experiences about online leading to
greater connections in-person. What works?!

This definitely happens across our network - particularly at the
neighborhood level-, but we really don't know if it is a once a month
rare occurrence or something we could design to make happen more
often. I often contemplate what the "Do Something" button might look
like or what tools we might offer/recommend for small groups to take a
discussion from the forum, get into a small online group, meet in
person or facilitate some lighter time effort mix of MeetingWizard
with FreeConference to make telephone group calls easier to promote
AND then importantly report back to the full forum on their progress,
need for larger group input.

Offline Connected Examples:

1. Community garden group launched from online discussion - interest
discovered online, people met offline many many times and reported
back online from time to time - See our recent webinar for story:
http://e-democracy.org/webinars

2. Powderhorn Park - Response to violence - No forum is better at
sharing written notes on public/neighborhood meetings. In response to
recent shooting and gang violence, folks used the forum to promote a
number of in-person gathering including some "Talking Circles":
http://forums.e-democracy.org/r/post/1ushRoG1XfIk3iQo3MhHJp

3. Event recruitment - The Experimental College group used our Cedar
Riverside forum to recruit new participants:
http://forums.e-democracy.org/r/post/40hpcLeboYobvykSRA8qF4
They even included a Somali version of their announcement. Someone
with their confirmed with me directly that a handful of new people
came based on the forum posting.

4. Regular gatherings - For the first six months of the rural Cass
Lake Leech Lake forum they had monthly get togethers to chat local
issues and celebrate the birthdays of the month. They even had their
own inaugural ball fostered by the forum:
http://blog.e-democracy.org/posts/189
This participant noted that because of the forum she was interacting
with more non-Native folks since moving to the reservation (this is a
major Native American area) over a decade ago:
http://blog.e-democracy.org/posts/509

5. Park Design Input - We used my neighborhood forum to encourage
people to attend a planning meeting on a new splash pad. When no one
reported the highlights, someone who went did and I tracked down the
presentation:
http://forums.e-democracy.org/r/topic/hVgJbedNeTPfdIHM9Hj7d

Steven Clift - http://stevenclift.com
Executive Director - http://E-Democracy.Org
Follow me - http://twitter.com/democracy
New Tel: +1.612.234.7072

Steven Clift
Ericsson, Minneapolis
Info about Steven Clift: http://forums.e-democracy.org/p/stevenclift

View all messages on this topic at: http://forums.e-democracy.org/r/topic/4gTh5Ee97rHKs43s0Q6jTi
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Commonwealth Foundation - Lay Off the Private Sector with Public Sector Layoffs

Commonwealth Foundation - Lay Off the Private Sector with Public Sector Layoffs

Plans for schools

Hi Mr. Roosevelt:

So, any update on getting our kids into our swim pool this summer?

My insight into the PPS changes for Monday news is:

Do open single gender high schools as distinct campuses and;

Westinghouse H S as an all city PUBLIC boys or girls school makes sense. And then use another building - such as Langley or Gladstone or Oliver or old Schenley or Reizenstein - as the school for the other gender.

Eliminate all feeder patterns for PPS high schools.

Do not force single gender public education nor prohibit other families from around the city to not have the option choose it as an alternative to Central Catholic / Oakland Catholic / Ellis. A forced single gender 6 - 12 is not ideal nor E4All-ish.


Mark Rauterkus

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Fw: Taking Back Government, One Politician at a Time!

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---

From: "FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:" <alerts@restoretherepublic.com>

Date: Thu, 17 Jun 2010 09:42:15 -0400

To: Mark Rauterkus<mark@rauterkus.com>

Subject: Taking Back Government, One Politician at a Time!

Taking Back Government, One Politician at a Time!

By Debbie Morgan, Staff Writer, Take Back Washington, June 14, 2010

debbie@bridgestonemediagroup.com  

The early demise of Pennsylvania Democratic Senator Arlin Spector, Utah Republican Senator Bob Bennett, the Kentucky victory of Rand Paul and the recently faced run-off of Blanche Lincoln cannot be better news to those of us seeking "change we can believe in."  Many other incumbents are facing increasingly difficult elections this year, as well.  While pundits and other "experts" try to explain what is happening during these ever-increasing rounds of status quo political blows, the people are quite pleased.  The obvious question to those in D.C. is "Can you hear us now!?!"

We-the-People, tired of waking up to more losses of liberty, never wanted this kind of  "change" and are sending a very loud message to the buddy network at the federal level...Protect our rights or get out of our House!  In a recent Washington Post/ABC Poll, only twenty-nine percent of Americans continue to support their present Congressional representatives.  That says a lot about how Americans feel they are being represented (or misrepresented!), as it is an all time low for incumbent support.  Bloomberg is reporting that a late-May Gallup poll shows that sixty percent of those polled would prefer a candidate that has never run before as opposed to the thirty-two percent of people who would like to see someone with at least some legislative experience.   

A Washington Post article states, "This sour mood has made for nervous politicians, as candidates from both parties have tried to figure out what voters want -- and don't want."  Really?  That means that our REPRESENTATIVES are still not listening!  In an effort to enlighten them, let us take a look at a few key things.  

First, what does representative mean?  The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines it as standing or acting for another especially through delegated authority, constituting a government in which the many are represented by persons chosen from among them usually by election.  And to represent means to act in the place of or for usually by legal right, to serve especially in a legislative body by delegated authority usually resulting from election.  The first line of the United States Constitution tells representatives whom they will be representing: We-The-People.    

What incumbents need to know is that the people are fed up with their utter lack of representation.  These politicians do not get elected to go to Washington DC so THEY can decide what is best for us and then cram it down our throats.  Let me put it in plain English...Stop deciding for us and just go to DC and protect our rights!  THAT is what we elect and pay you to do!  Is that so hard to understand?   

We know our representatives actually do understand us.  The New York Times reported that Democrats are skipping Town Hall meetings this summer because their constituents are still fuming and they don't want another repeat of last year's devastating get-togethers.  Why would their constituents still be angry?  Because last year's Town Hall meetings saw irate voters livid over the Healthcare debate, and yet, our representatives passed the catastrophic healthcare legislation, anyway.  They can be absolutely sure that we remember their lack of concern for our views.  Now, is that representation?   

The article says that Democratic Party leaders had advised their members to hold "controlled" events, do not engage in unscripted Q&A-type meetings, and get active in the community.  The question for these Congressional representatives is, how are you going to know what the people you represent want you to do for them if you are not going to engage them in conversation?  While a handful of these elected officials said they thought the meetings last year were informative, they are not repeating their Town Hall meetings this year.

So, what happens now?  From the looks of it, the people may get some much-needed new representation in DC.  Incumbents are finding it harder and harder to hold on to their seats, as those who have had enough of their Congressmen and women's do-what-we-will attitude are stepping forth and getting involved.   

The new film, Don't Tread On Me, has become an invaluable tool to educate the masses as to the role government should play in our lives and the duties of our elected officials.  Our country's Founding documents are clear, yet our Congressional representatives continue to let us down.  Congress derives its power to govern from the people, not themselves.  Their duty is simple...Protect and defend the Constitution against all enemies...ALL enemies.  And, for those who may be unsure just who those enemies are, they would be any person or country who would deny us our unalienable right to life, liberty and our pursuit of happiness.  

Just to be sure we understand what we are talking about, let us take a look at a few other important terms.  Liberty, as defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary means "the quality or state of being free, the power to do as one pleases, freedom from arbitrary or despotic control and the positive enjoyment of various social, political, or economic rights and privileges."  The root of the word simply means free.  Life, in old English, comes from the word that means to live.  Pursuit means the act of pursuing, and to pursue means to engage in.  The obsolete definition of Happiness may be the most telling.  Happiness used to mean good fortune or prosperity.  The present meaning is still good for our purposes, though; the state of being content...well-being, to experience satisfaction or pleasure.

What does all of this tell us?  It tells us that our Founding Fathers wanted the inhabitants of this new country to have the inherent right to be free to live our life in good fortune and to be able to experience pleasure and satisfaction or enjoyment in our social, political, and economic rights and privileges...to be content in our free lives.  Simple enough!

We have all heard "Constitutional Experts" and others tell us that the Constitution, along with other founding documents, is unclear with regards to what our rights actually are.  We have heard it over and over again, it just says you have these "rights," these "inalienable rights," that cannot be taken, but they are not defined.  I beg to differ!  The Declaration of Independence clearly states that we are given certain unalienable rights.  What rights?  "That among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."  The Constitution says in the opening line that it's stated purpose is to "secure the Blessings of Liberty"...To whom?  "To ourselves and our posterity."  How much more clearly can this be made?  

Since our infamous Congressional representatives cannot understand it, how do we achieve this?  Our forefathers laid that out for us, as well...by limiting the central government and retaining as many rights as they could for the State governments and the individual people of the United States.  Where can we find this bit of information?  Don't Tread On Me poignantly points out that this most important information is listed in our Constitution and our Bill of Rights: most especially our Ninth and Tenth Amendment rights.   

I am not Ivy League educated (maybe that is the problem!), but I can tell you this; it took me a couple of afternoons of reading through some of the debates during the writing of the Bill of Rights to understand exactly what our country's framers had in mind for their fellow countrymen and women.  So what was that, exactly?  To have a section of the world's population who is actually free to be happy and pursue their own interests, unencumbered by government intrusion.  This bit of information coincides with the information in Don't Tread On Me, and has brought about a major shift in the consciousness of Americans who are frustrated with the utter lack of their Congressional representation.    

The people are getting it as they are beginning to understand what has gone wrong and what it will take to make our country great again.  They are forming new groups or joining others that have been around for a while.  The Campaign for Liberty, the TEA Party and Restore the Republic comes to mind.  They are getting involved with old groups, all in an effort to make a difference. They are paying attention to alternative news...they are waking up and getting involved!  

In the face of harsh criticism on the federal level, Arizona Governor Jan Brewer has promoted legislation that will protect her state against the onslaught of illegal immigrants.  Citing that the Federal Government would do nothing to secure the Arizona/Mexican border, she took matters into her own hands and asserted her state's right to take care of itself.   

In Maine, the Republican Party, at the hands of many dedicated individuals, showed backbone this past May when they rewrote their political platform, returning their State Republican Party to it's Constitutional roots, with an emphasis on retaining its Tenth Amendment rights.  Montana and Tennessee were among the first states to tell the federal government that guns manufactured in their respective states, with parts manufactured in their respective states, and that do not cross state borders, are off limits to federal gun laws.  Many other states followed suit.

Many states, in fact, are seeing the benefit of asserting their Tenth Amendment right to govern in the manner to which they see fit, without federal strangleholds on the issues that their citizens find important. The Tenth Amendment Center reveals that several states are introducing or passing legislation to re-establish the Tenth Amendment on the state level.  From the Firearms debate to Medical Marijuana to Health Freedom to Real ID to Cap and Trade and anything in between, the states are taking charge.   

This election cycle is proving to be a very interesting one, as mainstream politicians are realizing that we do, indeed, want that illusive "change we can believe in" and that we were deadly serious during the Town Hall meetings back in 2009.  Politicians better start representing the people they serve or they will face a loss of their lucrative little political careers or, for the newcomers, they better represent the people who chose them or their political careers will be VERY short-lived.  Let it be known now that we, the people of the United States, will be watching every move you make, and if you plan on representing us, you had better know OUR Constitutional rights and protect them.  After all, that IS what we elect you to do!

End Notes:

Don't Tread On Me
http://www.DontTreadOnMeMovie.com/

Voters' support for members of Congress is at an all-time low, poll finds
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/06/08/AR2010060800016.html?wpisrc=nl_headline  

Lincoln Wins in Arkansas; Angle to Face Nevada's Reid
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a_4ex_PG3sMM&pos=8  

All definitions are from the Merriam-Webster Dictionary
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary  

Democrats Skip Town Halls to Avoid Voter Rage
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/07/us/politics/07townhall.html?nl=us&emc=politicsemailema1  
Arizona Enacts Stringent Law on Immigration
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/24/us/politics/24immig.html  

Platform of the Maine Republican Party
http://www.mainegop.com/PlatformMission.aspx  

Tenth Amendment Center
http://www.tenthamendmentcenter.com/
http://RestoreTheRepublic.com
3149 Dundee Rd #176
Northbrook, Illinois 60062, USA

To unsubscribe or change subscriber options visit: http://www.aweber.com/z/r/?rAwcjGyMtMzsLExMzAwstEa07IxMzEyMDA==

Fw: [Locals] Quality Online Engagement Brainstorm

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-----Original Message-----
From: Steven Clift <clift@e-democracy.org>
Date: Fri, 18 Jun 2010 07:22:12
To: newswire<newswire@groups.dowire.org>; <locals@forums.e-democracy.org>
Subject: [Locals] Quality Online Engagement Brainstorm

Very useful list!


From: Susanna Haas Lyons to NCDD-DISCUSSION

Hi folks,

Last weekend at Vancouver Change Camp I hosted a session on what is
good quality online deliberation, inspired by the conversations we're
having here, the upcoming NCDD confab, and my ongoing work to explore
the use of digital engagement tools in public participation. (note, we
used engagement, deliberation and participation interchangeably while
also noting that they are very different things!)

Below are the bullet point notes from our session. Three top take aways:

* good quality online engagement has many of the same qualities of
face to face participation
* incorporate a tool to quantify degree of support (gradients) or
dislike to feed into ongoing participation and offline actions
* the question of anonymity, privacy, and legitimate public
representation are contentious and highly relevant to conveners and
participants (we had lots of discussion but nothing close to
resolution on this one!)

enjoy!
Susanna


http://vanchangecamp.wikispaces.com/

What is good online engagement?

* diversity of opinion and people
* star power, hook, reason to get involved
* ladders of engagement for people to be involved at different
time / commitment levels
* process is designed with end-product in mind; clear focus /
direction for the dialogue
* expectations are clear for how and why to participate, and what
to expect from reporting back / responses by conveners
* Designed technically and in structure for receiving / using input
* well organized, tagged entries to support easy navigation, avoid
duplications and facilitate building on each others' ideas
* set up for ongoing reporting and easy analysis at back end
* time to explore ideas before making decisions
* people feel heard
* good facilitation
* ground rules are clear
* value-add for participants, not just conveners
* collaborative
* low technical barriers to entry
* collaborative tone


How to improve online engagement?

* have tool to quantify degree of support (gradients) or dislike,
to measure feedback and feed into offline actions
* limit anonymity to certain levels of engagement (scale up based
on willingness to ID)
* need to protect privacy if want to identify contributor in some way
* need language that reflects people submitting ideas are not
usually those who are making decisions (dialogue, deliberation,
conversations?)
* use principles of adult learning
* geolocate attendees to ensure their voice should be counted as
reflective of community priorities
* have strategy to drive people to the dialogue
* have meaningful content
* be clear: what is your goal? Is it really dialogue?
* custom settings for privacy?
* Use software to collate input
* can't remove need for facilitator
* ensure the structure is iterative and responsive to the
dialogue, and allows branching
* people using forum should set boundaries for appropriate participation
* remember the digital divide – and that some people distrust govt

Tim Bonnemann Added:

Here's a couple of things I'd really like to explore further (maybe
starting with the upcoming Confab call):

* How can we enable participants to help with some of these
activities (e.g. outreach, learning, facilitation, content
synthesizing etc.)?
* How can we design online processes so as to better support the "low
commitment" participants?



Susanna Haas Lyons
Public Participation Consultant | AmericaSpeaks Network Associate
MA Candidate 2011, Institute for Resources, Environment & Sustainability, UBC
Board Member, Canadian Community for Dialogue & Deliberation

susanna.haas.lyons@gmail.com
twitter.com/zannalyons


Steven Clift - http://stevenclift.com
Executive Director - http://E-Democracy.Org
Follow me - http://twitter.com/democracy
New Tel: +1.612.234.7072

Steven Clift
Ericsson, Minneapolis
Info about Steven Clift: http://forums.e-democracy.org/p/stevenclift

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Arts festival spawns free-speech challenge

Arts festival spawns free-speech challenge: "After state rangers at Point State Park recently stopped two Green Party congressional candidates from soliciting petition signatures and twice told a balloon artist that he needed a permit, the American Civil Liberties Union wrote to the state claiming that it was violating First Amendment rights."

Open Bounties

The OpenOffice.org Documentation project and the OpenOffice.org Community Council are now offering bounties for some specific OpenOffice.org Development documentation projects. These bounties will cover tasks from collecting and sorting development information and documentation, to producing and publishing documentation detailing how you can contribute as an OpenOffice.org developer.

For more information on what bounties are available and how you can apply for a bounty, please visit http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/wiki/Documentation/Bounties

Need a summer job?

Southpointe sport fields fill growing local need

Nice for the suburban kids. Meanwhile, in the city, we get what?

Southpointe sport fields fill growing local need: "With World Cup mania at a fever pitch this week, local entrepreneur Matt Giglotti is thrilled that he decided to take the leap and start his own soccer-related business six months ago.

Mr. Giglotti, 32, of South Fayette, opened the Southpointe Fieldhouse in December after he saw the need for a large, indoor practice field to accommodate the burgeoning number of local soccer and lacrosse teams.

'There was nothing like this in the Pittsburgh area,' said Mr. Giglotti, a longtime boys lacrosse coach and former lacrosse player at Upper St. Clair High School and Penn State University."

East end invite.

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-----Original Message-----
From: mark.rauterkus@gmail.com
Date: Thu, 17 Jun 2010 13:12:20
To: Tom Kawczynski<quantumquiescence@yahoo.com>
Subject: East end article

Join us for the East End Partnership Focus Group

Thise that live in the East End of Pittsburgh are invited to a discussion about what your neighborhood and community. Please join us for the East End Partnership Focus GroupProject. They want to hear what you have to say to get a sharper picture of how residents feel about the East End and how they identify themselves within the larger fabric of the neighborhoods. Seeking a diverse group of people who have something to say; all are welcome and encouraged. All races/ethnicities, ages, genders, and property holders (business owners, property owners, and renters) are expected.

The focus group will be held at the Penn Fairmont Apartment's 1st floor conference room (5461 Penn Avenue) at 6 pm on June 30 and July 1, 2010.

Food and refreshments to be provided. Contact Rebecca Adelsheim at 412-441-6147 x1 or r.adelsheim@gmail.com if interested in participating. The East End Partnership of Pittsburgh promotes more livable communities in Pittsburgh's East End through collaborative planning, programming, and investment. The Partnership is an alliance of non-profit community organizations that work in the East End neighborhoods of Bloomfield, East Liberty, Friendship, Garfield, and Lawrenceville.
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Fw: [FTL-Updates] Thinking Liberty Interviews Mark and Ian

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-----Original Message-----
From: Free Talk Live <ian@freetalklive.com>
Date: Wed, 16 Jun 2010 19:44:37
To: FTL-Updates<ftl-updates@googlegroups.com>
Subject: [FTL-Updates] Thinking Liberty Interviews Mark and Ian

Last night we joined Bile, Tennyson, Bosco, and Darian on their show,
"Thinking Liberty" for an interview. Hear it here:
http://freetalklive.com/files/thinkingliberty2010-06-15.mp3

Also, Thinking Liberty is the newest show in our lineup on the Liberty
Radio Network, at http://LRN.FM Visit their website at http://thinkingliberty.net

Thanks for listening!
Ian

--
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Swimming skills lacking in minority communities | SCNow

Swimming skills lacking in minority communities | SCNow: "Their hair. Their skin. They weren’t allowed. They can’t. They’re black.
There are many reasons — some stereotypical, others downright untrue — for the disparity between blacks and other cultures when it comes to the ability to swim.
A 2010 study conducted by the University of Memphis found that 70 percent of black children have no or very low swimming abilities compared with 40 percent of white children.
And it’s not only African-Americans. The study shows as many as 58 percent of Hispanic children have little or no swimming abilities.
Not knowing how to swim is not a recreational issue, but one of safety, said Sue Anderson, director of programs and services for USA Swimming, who commissioned the university’s swimming study.

USA Swimming partnered with black Olympic gold medalist Cullen Jones to offer the Make A Splash program, which aims to reduce the risk of drowning among minority children.

Statistics show three times more minorities drown than Caucasians, she said.

“Our whole thing is messaging. The first thing is making people aware that this is a huge issue. It’s sort of a silent epidemic,” she said. “Seventy percent — that’s seven out of 10.”

Lack of swimming skills among blacks is well known in the African-American community. But what isn’t widely known are the real reasons why.

Until the 1970s, many public pools were segregated and there were few or no ample facilities for blacks.

“I think we can definitely look back to a time in our history where minorities weren’t welcomed at swimming pools,” Anderson said. “And the best place to learn how to swim is in a pool. I think we have to look back and say, ‘What about all those years minorities weren’t welcomed at swimming pools?’”

Now that there are swimming pools available to everyone, there are still generations within families of people who don’t know how to swim.

Black and Hispanic children are six times more likely to be members of a family with no swimmers, according to the study.

“You can say that’s cultural, but it’s mostly because the parent’s never learned to swim, and so it keeps repeating itself,” Anderson said. “If you don’t teach your children how to swim, your grandchildren are at risk of drowning.”

Children with parents who don’t know how to swim often don’t get enrolled in swimming lessons, she said.

In white communities, it is customary and considered the norm for children to take swimming lessons, Anderson said. This, she said, is one of the reasons for the disparity between the groups.

But there are signs the tide is turning, Anderson said. USA Swimming works with competitive minority teams in Detroit, Anderson said.

Many of the team members have parents who cannot swim, but yet those same parents allow their children to take swimming lessons, she said.

“That was sort of bucking the trend, which is awesome. But I said, ‘You need to go talk to your brothers and sisters and your neighbors and make sure their kids can swim,’” Anderson said. “Parental encouragement is hugely important. Most kids don’t bring themselves to a pool for swimming lessons.”

Florence resident Josie Little doesn’t know how to swim, but has enrolled her 7- and 3-year-old children in swimming lessons at the Florence Family YMCA.

“I’ve tried swimming lessons as a child, but I always feared the water, so when I had my son, I felt the need for him to learn how to swim, just in case there’s a problem and I can’t save him. I want him to be able to take care of himself,” she said.

Statistics show fear is the main reason why many minorities never learn to swim.

“I think about (learning to swim) every summer, I’m looking at my son and I’m really impressed,” Little said. “I don’t know of too many African-Americans that can truly, truly swim in water.”

Anderson said there are other reasons besides fear, such as cost and pool availability and even hair, which many black women said is a huge factor.

In the study, many African-American’s said they never learned to swim because of their hair and skin.

Florence resident Krystle White, an African-American, agrees with the study’s findings.

“For black women, it’s not as easy. When we get our hair wet, it’s a long process … a lot of us don’t like going through that,” White said.

Sherry R. Bess, a hair stylist and cosmetology instructor, said many of her black clients have expressed concerned over swimming and their hair. Many black women choose to use a chemical process, called a relaxer or perm, to straighten their naturally tight curls.

“The chlorine and the relaxer don’t agree,” she said. “It can lead to dryness in the hair and damage.”

Each person’s hair is different, but spending just a few hours in a pool can adversely affect relaxed hair, Bess said. Taking regular swims will most certainly damage hair, she added.

“If you swim every day, you won’t have any hair to worry about,” White said

Bess said many black women believe exposure to water or sweat will cause the relaxer to leave their hair and their curls to return.

“I don’t know where that information comes from. You can’t sweat it out. Once it’s in there, it’s in there,” she said. “Some clients ask me after they get a relaxer when they can shampoo their hair. I tell them you can shampoo your hair today if you like. Your relaxer isn’t going anywhere.“

African-Americans who swim with their natural curls and no chemicals still have their own battle to fight.

Using flat irons and blow dryers daily to straighten curls after a swim is damaging, Bess said.

“I wouldn’t recommend applying heat daily. That’s like sitting out in the sun with no sunscreen. It’s too much heat,” she said.

Many blacks believe their hair is “different” from that of whites and somehow more delicate.

In general, that’s not the case, Bess said.

“Hair is hair. It’s all in how you take care of it,” she said. “If you want your hair to do right by you, you have to do right by your hair.”

Chlorine is no friend to hair, period, no matter the race, and it must be removed as soon as possible after swimming by washing, Bess said.

Many black women find this time-consuming and difficult, as many are in the habit of just washing their hair once a week, she said.

“I have clients who wash their hair every two weeks, and that’s really stretching it,” Best said. “Caucasians wash their hair every day and I recommend that my clients wash their hair twice a week.”

Bottom line, Bess said, if you swim, you must wash the chlorine from your hair, preferably with a shampoo and conditioner designed to remove chlorine.

No matter the reason, it is important for all children and adults to be taught how to swim from a certified swim instructor.

USA Swimming has partnerships with many agencies cross the country to bring reduce-cost swimming lessons to communities.

For more information on swimming safety, visit http://www.poolsafely.gov/ , and for more information on Make a Splash, visit http://www.makeasplash.org/.

This summer, again, I'll be teaching swimming at the Kingsley Association. We'll be making swimmers out of people!

Time for a dip in the pool.

Work to begin on E. Liberty Target

Work to begin on E. Liberty Target: "The URA supplied $14.1 million for site development, including a $10 million U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development loan and a $2 million HUD grant."

Pittsburgh councilwoman pushes revised capital spending plan

Have you ever put on a seldom worn sports coat or pair of slacks and found a $20 bill in your pocket that you didn't know was there?

That is a nice feeling.

What Pittsburgh city council does is not the same. Different feeling for the taxpayers. Different outcome for our governement. Different flavor of folly for the day.

Pittsburgh councilwoman pushes revised capital spending plan: "In a classic example, council recently decided to pull $250,000 from capital accounts dating back to the 1990s to fund a study of the city's parking assets.
Ms. Rudiak said her bill would establish a 'reconciliation committee' to periodically review capital accounts and redirect unspent funds to the general fund or other capital projects."

Fw: [school-discuss] Free Technology Academy Announcement: "Study Programme 2011 published and registrations open"

Sent on the Sprint® Now Network from my BlackBerry®

-----Original Message-----
From: Franco Iacomella <yaco@gnu.org>
Date: Tue, 15 Jun 2010 03:37:34
To: <schoolforge-discuss@schoolforge.net>
Subject: [school-discuss] Free Technology Academy Announcement: "Study Programme 2011 published
and registrations open"

FTA Announcement #7: "Study Programme 2011 published and registrations open"
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Free Technology Academy does not only continue after the initial
period supported by the EC's Lifelong Learning Programme, we also
expand the number of courses available! We hope to keep growing and
are working towards a complete International Masters Programme. In
this newsletter the tentative programme for 2011, our discount
policies, news on the fascinating lecture by Jon 'maddog' Hall and an
introduction to our future plans.


== 1. FTA Programme 2011 ==

The Free Technology Academy offers three rounds of courses in 2011.
Registrations for these courses are now open! The programme is
tentative and subject to changes. Should a module be cancelled by the
FTA, tuition fees will of course be fully refunded. In the following
list you will find all the courses available:

 * The Concepts of Free Software & Open Standards
 * GNU/Linux Basic
 * GNU/Linux Advanced
 * Free Software Utilities
 * Network Technologies
 * Web Applications
 * Software Development
 * Implementation of Free Software and Case Studies
 * Economic Aspects of Free Software
 * Legal Aspects
 * Software Architecture
 * Assessment of Free Software Projects (Quality Metrics)
 * Free Software in Public administrations
 * Software Engineering in Free Software Environments

For the full details, including trimester starting dates, please
visit: http://ftacademy.org/courses/programme/2011


== 2. Discounts available! ==

To facilitate the participation of a great number of students, we
offer a range of discounts that are described below:

 * Course Package deal:
register now for at least 3 courses of the 2011 programme and you get
1 course fee waived for a course in 2010 (for the third trimester,
i.e. from September till December 2010). We appreciate it if you
already commit to follow FTA courses next year and in return we offer
you this special package deal. We hope you like it!

 * Early bird registration:
10% discount for registrations up to 2 months before the scheduled
start of the FTA 2011 courses.
If you want to participate in the third run of 2010, you can register
now and receive 25% discount on available courses: "The Concepts of
Free Software and Open Standards", "Legal aspects of the Information
Society" and "Network Technologies". The discount counts for completed
registrations up to 2 months before the scheduled start of each
course.

Notice that different discounts are not cummulative. See for more
details the General Conditions:
http://ftacademy.org/general-conditions


== 3. Jon 'maddog' Hall lecture and interview ==

The famous Jon 'maddog' Hall recently popped in and gave a really
interesting lecture for the FTA students. Now we present the lecture
to you and anyone is able to watch it and re-use it.

Jon 'maddog' Hall is the Executive Director of Linux International, a
non-profit organisation of computer vendors who wish to support and
promote Linux-based operating systems. The nickname 'maddog' was given
to him by his students at Hartford State Technical College, where he
was the Department Head of Computer Science. He now prefers to be
called by this name. According to Hall, his nickname "came from a time
when I had less control over my temper".
The video lecture is available to watch and download from our site,
under a Creative Commons BY-ND-NC 3.0 license. You can access the
material by visiting: http://ftacademy.org/materials/videos/gl1

We have also published an interview with Jon in which he
gives us his opinions on the "Open Source" term, Free Software
specialists, markets and the future. Read it and spread it!
http://ftacademy.org/interview-with-Jon-maddog-Hall


== 4. Working towards a complete International Master Programme ==

The FTA has as a long term goal to offer a complete International
Master Programme in Free Software. For that purpose it has recently
set up a taskforce with representatives from Universitat Oberta de
Catalunya, Open Universiteit Netherlands, Universitat Rey Juan Carlos,
University of Agder and the Free Knowledge Institute. The study
programme for 2011 has been established in collaboration with the
taskforce and forms an important step towards a complete programme.
See for more information:
http://ftacademy.org/taskforce-international-master-programme-free-software


== 5. About the Free Technology Academy ==

A Consortium formed by the Open University of Catalonia (Spain), the
Open University of the Netherlands and the University of Agder
(Norway) and led by the Free Knowledge Institute (FKI), the FTA has
received the support from the EC's Lifelong Learning Programme to set
up an international educational programme on Free Software. The
courses are taught completely online in a virtual campus based on the
Campus Project interoperability framework.
Following the Open Educational Resources movement, all learning
materials are freely available through the Internet. The use of Free
Software (also referred to as Open Source software or Libre Software)
is rapidly expanding in governmental and private organisations.
However, still only a limited number of ICT professionals, teachers
and decision makers have sufficient knowledge and expertise in these
new fields. The Free Technology Academy aims to address this gap by
providing high level courses that fit into larger Master Programmes at
the participating universities.

 * More information: http://www.ftacademy.org
 * Contact information: contact@ftacademy.org
 * Digital version: http://ftacademy.eu/announce/7

Fw: Refresh Pittsburgh June Meetup!

Sent on the Sprint® Now Network from my BlackBerry®

---

From: "Refresh Pittsburgh" <info@refreshpittsburgh.org>

Date: Mon, 14 Jun 2010 10:40:13 +1000

To: mark@rauterkus.com<mark@rauterkus.com>

Subject: Refresh Pittsburgh June Meetup!

Having trouble viewing this e-mail? Click here to read it online. No longer want to receive e-mails from us? Unsubscribe from the newsletter. June 2010 Meetup Please join us on Thursday, June 17th at 6:30 pm for the next Refresh Pittsburgh meet-up. We'll be back at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh. AIP is located downtown at 420 Boulevard of the Allies. We'll be in room 320. Take the gold elevator up to the third floor. Take your first right and the room will be a few doors down on the left. There may be a security guy at the door - if there is just let him know you are there for the Refresh Pittsburgh meet-up. As always, A HUGE thank-you goes out to our friend Norm Huelsman for offering to host a Refresh meeting at AIP. Presentations We have two presentation on tap for this evening: First, Norm Huelsman will be starting the evening with a review of Wordpress 3.0. Wordpress 3.0 is scheduled for release on June 14th. Norm will be showing us what is new, and what has been improved. He will also review some of the new features including; multi-site, menus, installation, and child themes. A co-organizer of Podcamp Pittsburgh, Norm is a long-time blogger at his site normhuelsman.com and a popular Magic: The Gathering blog, Casual Magic. During the day, Norm focuses on visual communication and branding in the PR department at The Art Institute of Pittsburgh. Next, Sean Geng will be presenting, "The Future of Web Design". Web design is a fickle industry. In this constantly changing field, there are always new techniques being invented, and technology that is always being upgraded. In this presentation, he'll cover topics including HTML 5, CSS3, designing for mobile devices (including the iPad), and some of the latest techniques. He'll also showcase some upcoming trends and discuss what lies ahead. Sean Geng is a freelance designer located here in Pittsburgh. He runs the online design community at Designmess. For more information, you can check out his website or follow him on twitter. Feel free to forward this invite to a friend. As always, please RSVP by sending an email to info@refreshpittsburgh.org or just let us know you are coming on the Facebook event page so we can plan accordingly! Pittsburgh Web Design Day 2010 This year's Web Design Day will be on Saturday, August 21st. Our lineup was announced this week. Out speakers this year include: Geoff Barnes - Director of User Experience at Elliance Chris Cashdollar - Creative Director at Happy Cog Zack Naylor - UX Designer & Front-End Developer at Lockerz.com! Margot Bloomstein - Brand & Content Strategy Consultant at Appropriate, Inc. Matt Griffin & Michael Hellein of Bearded Studio Elliott Munoz - Sr. Web Designer at the Washington Post Jon Dascola - Interactive Designer at Elliance Kevin Hoffman - User Experience Director at Happy Cog Join the Web Design Day mailing list to be the first to know when tickets go on sale late this week! User Group Discounts We have a lot of good user group discounts to pass along to various publishers. If you are buying anything, be sure to use the following codes to help you out a bit: O'Reilly: Use discount code DSUG for 45% off any e-book as well as 35% off any print book! Manning: Use discount code UG367 Save 40% on any print, ebook or MEAP edition through the end of May! Rosenfeld Media: Use discount code UXPITTSBURGH for 30% off any title! Refresh Pittsburgh Job Board There have been a number job posted recently to our job board. If you are a company looking to hire, the Refresh Pittsburgh job board will give you access to the largest web development users group in the area - and you'll be reaching some of the most talented people in the Western Pennsylvania. Job listings are only $25 for 30 days. Remainders We’re on Twitter because we are addicted to it. Please add us as a friend for periodical (non-important) updates. Refresh Pittburgh: Google Group Refresh Pittburgh: Linked-In Group On Facebook? Look for the Refresh Pittsburgh group! Special thanks to our fantastic friends at Campaign Monitor for sponsoring our newsletter. We love them. Check them out for all your newsletter needs. See You Soon! Thanks for your interest and participation with Refresh Pittsburgh. Jason Head & Geoff Barnes You have received this e-mail because you are subscribed to the Refresh Pittsburgh mailing list. If you received this e-mail in error, or would like to unsubscribe from our newsletter, you may do so by clicking here or sending us an e-mail to info@refreshpittsburgh.org.