Allegheny County Jail guard's fitness for job at issue - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

Allegheny County Jail guard's fitness for job at issue - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: "Deputy Warden Bohn suggested to the warden and the Trib that for the good of staff morale and to remove any hint of impropriety, Pellecchia might return to the range to requalify — an annual event for those who will work the armed hospital details.
Leon said he had no problem with that, but the 'decision isn't up to me. It's up to the warden.'
'She's qualified,' Rustin told the Trib.
After the incident, Rustin ordered Leon to stay off the range. In e-mails to jail brass, the warden urged those alleging nepotism to let him handle the matter instead of taking the dispute to other agencies in County Executive Dan Onorato's administration."

Wrong. Some of these management decisions are stupid. A guard is having problems with the gun. Failed the test twice, even if it was good once. So the manager orders the empolyee off of the range. Say what? That's just dumb advice. Have the person practice more.

Work to begin on Penn Circle in East Liberty

Work to begin on Penn Circle in East Liberty: "A new stage in the transformation of East Liberty will begin Monday with a $5 million project to improve the Penn Circle South and East corridor."

Not a PEEP about the two schools that are in that area. Nothing. Zippo. There are more people headed to Peabody and Reizenstein than anything else in that area. I wonder if the newspaper just missed it or else if everyone in City Planning missed it too?

Ohiopyle to allow boaters to take plunge at the falls

Ohiopyle to allow boaters to take plunge at the falls: "The area receives more than 1.5 million visitors annually, though according to park statistics, only about 1 in 10 people visiting actually does any rafting or boating."

One in ten is really HUGE.

Fun night. Took an open water swim. Saw a beaver.

These are some of the swimmers. One guy took the photo and another was still in the water. A beaver joined us in the water and put on a bit of a show as we were finishing.

I swam to the bridge and back. Use the PBs from Steve and snorkel. Need some body glide under my left arm, but all is well.

I biked over from home (South Side) to the Rowing Center and did a bit more. The bike path extension on the other side of the bank is like an elevated expressway. It will be great when finished. I'm not sure how far the path goes beyond the skateboard park. It seemed to turn into a dirt road and less of a path, so I turned around.

They do this every week and it is part of the Pittsburgh Triathlon Club. I'll have to join. In the winter, I wonder if they'll be interested in being a part of our Saturday Swim School as part of the 4-H program? (New venture.)

On Facebook too, for better tagging. http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20100821021518/aforathlete/images/9/95/Swimmers_Aug20_2010_PTC.jpg

Two Pitt football players leave training camp

Two Pitt football players leave training camp: "Woodland Hills freshman defensive tackle Khaynin Mosley-Smith has been declared academically ineligible and has left camp.
He will likely enroll at a prep school and look to return to the Panthers for next season."

Prep School. Humm... To bad we don't have one here -- in the city.

Keystone Oaks seeks school consolidation task force

Say what?

Keystone Oaks seeks school consolidation task force The meetings will not be open to the public.
Director Thomas Nee, who cast the sole dissenting vote regarding the formation of the task force, said he believed the decision should be made by the board itself, not a task force.
'We are the elected officials,' he said. 'We have to make tough decisions on controversial issues.'
Mrs. Randazzo, though, said she was confident that the task force could be formed in a timely manner, and that the closed-door-meeting format would allow for a candid exchange of ideas among all involved.
'I feel it will be a more productive setting,' she said.

Thomas Nee is a man after my heart. He seems to get it.

Updated: We did find a pool for next week's water polo. YES!

Today, Friday, Aug 20, I'm going to check out the open water swim practice with the Pittsburgh Triathlon Club. That happens at 6:30 pm at Washington's Landing.

Saturday, Aug 21, we've got some fun planned. We'll play water polo on Saturday at North Park's pool, Allegheny County facility, from 5 to 7 pm.

Pay $5 for adults or $4 for juniors or $3 for kids 12 and under at the gate.

Hope to see you there, even rookies and those that have not yet played this summer. The water there is great. Go early and enjoy the pool and its slide too.

North Park Pool closes for the season after swimming on Sunday, this weekend.

The swim schedule for public hours at Highland Park Pool the rest of the summer to Sept. 6 is as follows:

Mondays to Fridays: 1 pm to 7:45 p.m.
Saturdays, Sundays and Holidays: 1 - 5:45 p.m.

Citiparks pools will remain open through Labor Day as staffing levels permit. Meet at 5-6 pm for lap swimming and 6 to 7:45 for conditioning and tag.

Water Polo practice on WED, Thur, Fri, Aug 25, 26, 27, from 2:30 to 4:30 pm at Woodland Hills High School. Enter at the Athletic doors on the right side of the building. We'll be joining a group of kids at Woodland Hills as they begin their quest to form a water polo program. Woodland Hills has school on those days.

Early, Saturday, Aug 28, game at IUP vs. NJ Prep School. On your own.

Sto-Rox schools approve grade requirements for athletes

Sto-Rox schools approve grade requirements for athletes If Sto-Rox is going to keep up its tradition of athletic excellence, its athletes are going to have to be at least average students.
The Sto-Rox School Board last night approved a policy stating that students must have at least a C in all their core subjects to take part in sports and other extracurricular activities. Their grades will be reviewed weekly.
'We will not have a football team,' board member Luanne Schipani said, advocating that the board instead use the Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League standard of a C average. 'You can have kid getting an A in English and an A in history, but maybe he's in trigonometry and he's struggling.'
Other board members said it was a matter of raising expectations -- and noted that with weekly reviews students who are struggling will get ongoing chances to raise their grades and regain eligibility. Ms. Schipani cast the only dissenting vote.
To be eligible under the previous policy, Sto-Rox students had only to be passing four classes total and three of their four core subjects.

I'm all about getting good grades. Academics are important.

But, it is also important to have opportunities. It is important to get and retain kids in activities that are motivational. Should sports be only for the smart?

Street gangs are happy with this new requirement as a set of kids are going to give up on school now. They will not be eligible. They'll skip. They'll not be engaged. They'll drop out sooner. They'll never go to tutoring. They won't hang with the right kids.

Then there is the matter of grade inflation.

And, another matter -- course selection. Why push yourself into the trig class when there is a chance that you won't cut it there so you won't be able to play basketball. So, the kids might graduate from high school having played sports but with out the challenges to advance to college admissions due to weak transcripts, weak SAT scores or else get into college and need to take remedial classes or else flunk out after one grading period.

What about the kid that is tossed into a family crisis and misses some school? Then he'll be off the team, out of the band, not able to cheer. That kid should be home with the books -- but what if home is the last place for that kid's time.

Then there is the problem of the kid that is a key player on the team -- and most teams have lots of those kids. Then he is wacked out of a game because of one class one week. That screws up the rest of the kids on the team too. The punishment is for all the kids and the entire program and the full school to feel. Hence, the pathway to not caring is accelerated. Not knowing who is in and who is out is not a way to build devotion. Devotion often starts with what is loved and then, later, can be applied to what is necessary. Sports teach transferable skills and valued lessons, as well as general fitness, can be absorbed by those who are getting a "D" or an "F" in one class this week.

Good luck with the program and new policy Sto Rocks. Let us know how it comes along for you.

Here in the Pittsburgh Public Schools, we've got a more aggressive grade and eligibility standard that what the PIAA rules enforce. Our teams are thin on participants, generally. Our drop out rate is too high. Our school spirit and the engagement is what it is.

Contempt exposed

Mark C of Plum wrote the intro and the following letter to the editor that is in the P-G:

Before our statewide candidates were extorted off the ballot, I had written a letter to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette where Republicans were my focus. The PG printed my letter today ("Contempt exposed") and it still was relevant given the removal from the ballot.

I also had an interesting conversation with their letter editor yesterday about my LTE. She called about a grammar mistake she had corrected before she sent it along to press, but we then talked about ballot access and how (my words) it's now effectively illegal to run for statewide office in PA as a third party or independent candidate. She's not a political editor, but she said she would pass along a note about our conversation and the LPPA contact web page to their political editor.

I mention this to remind everyone that a letter can be an avenue leading into a newspaper's editors. While there's no guarantee of an editor calling our banished candidates or our state chair, there wouldn't even have been a phone call without the letter. She also said that I'm in the PG blackout period, but she encourages other letters from libertarians.

Here's the letter (and check the last letter on this page):

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10231/1081046-110.stm  

Contempt exposed

Pennsylvania's Republican Party proved beyond any doubt that it holds in contempt anyone sympathetic to the ideals of the tea party movement or anyone critical of the two-party monopoly.

On Aug. 9 GOP operatives filed last-minute challenges to ballot access petitions of the Libertarian and tea party statewide candidates (governor, lieutenant governor and U.S. senator). According to spokesman Mike Barley, the state GOP supports the challenge.

Petition signatures can be invalidated for reasons as innocent as omitting a middle initial. What's worse, the challenge is "loser pays." Deep-pocket Republicans are immune if too few signatures are invalidated. Challenger candidates, however, face devastating financial liability if just one too many is invalidated. In 2006 the Democrats' challenge cost the Green Party U.S. Senate candidate $80,000 for his crime of running for office.

Given Pennsylvania's decline from decades of incumbent party malfeasance, it's no wonder they require Bonusgate tactics, coercion and threats to protect their career politicians.

GOP claims of being a kindred spirit to America's grassroots awakening are a glaring falsehood. It would be more in character of the party to suggest banning third-party and challenger candidates.

MARK CROWLEY
Plum

---

Update: Letter from a Libertarian candidate that got bumped from the ballot:

August 17, 2010


I am saddened to announce that thanks to the blackmail forced upon the Libertarian Party of Pennsylvania by the Republican Party of our state, I am forced to withdraw from the governor's race. The Republicans presented us wit...h a Hobson's choice of withdrawing our candidates from the ballot, incurring no costs assessed to us by the Republicans, or going on to court after the signature review and potentially bankrupting the Party and its candidates by fighting for the right to remain on the ballot, being assessed inflated costs and associated penalties should we lose, as have most third-party candidates in the past several years.


This blackmail, unfortunately for the public, extends to the voters of Pennsylvania as well and hurts them, due to Pennsylvania's draconian ballot access laws, even more than it hurts the LPPA. Hundreds of legally registered voters in this state had their names removed from our petitions due to an error of signature or a change of address within their voting district, among many things that ordinary voters do not realize will affect their franchise. Further, given that the Democratic candidate for Governor is as anti-female and anti-rights as his opponent, Tom Corbett, my absence from the ballot presents the voting public of Pennsylvania with a choice that is no choice, for either of two conservatives who are unlikely to provide the sweeping changes in taxes and in control of the legislature that the residents of the Commonwealth sorely need. There will be no debate of land use value taxes. There will be no discussion of reforming the legislative system in the state. Women's rights and minority rights in the Commonwealth will not be protected substantially.


I thank the members and candidates of the Libertarian Party of Pennsylvania for their hard work, the members of the Green Party and the Constitution Party, as well as many Tea Party activists, for their work and their support of the other third-party candidates who ran for statewide office this year, and I especially thank the members of Gertrude Stein Political Club in Pittsburgh for their support as well. My deepest gratitude goes to Mik Robertson, our state chair this year, for his efforts in coordinating the Libertarian defense to the signature challenge and for his sacrifice of time, money, and family in the process. I also thank the voters of Pennsylvania who responded to Libertarian solicitations to sign our nominating papers, especially those many whose names were struck from our nominating papers by the Republican Party due to legal technicalities designed to prevent their signatures from being counted.


I urge Pennsylvania's voters to rise up against a system that takes away their real choice in selecting candidates to be on the ballot, and to contact their state legislators to demand that the state electoral code be revised to provide a true chance for what is supposed to be provided for in the state constitution, free and equal elections.


Marakay Rogers
"Let's make history together!"

Here is an option:

Write-In "Samuel E. Rohrer, Berks County" November 2, 2010 http://www.SamRohrerWriteIn.org
Volunteer at http://www.PatriotsForSamRohrer.org

With Arena Football -- Pittsburgh is going to be out of balance with Title IX

The sky is going to fall!

Ballot Access Press Event in Harrisburg

on the electoral process.

Pennsylvania is seen as one of the three or four most restrictive states in terms of the nominating procedure for candidates of alternative minority parties or who are independent. State law requires these candidates to collect a much larger number of signatures to qualify for the ballot than candidates of major parties need for their primary election ballot. That number varies widely from year to year under a complex formula based on voter turnout in previous elections.

The press conference will address the result of the recent actions, and will look at what can be done to address this increasing threat to the democratic process in Pennsylvania.
Senator Mike Folmer introduced the Voter’s Choice Act (SB 252) that would eliminate the current complex ballot qualifying formulas and enhance Pennsylvania’s democratic process by leveling the playing field for minority and independent candidates.

Those appearing at the conference will include:

Senator Mike Folmer, Prime sponsor of the Voters Choice Act (SB252)

Marakay Rogers, Libertarian Candidate for Governor

Kat Valleley, Libertarian Candidate for Lieutenant Governor

Doug Jamison, Libertarian Candidate for US Senate

Mik Robertson, Chairman, Libertarian Party of Pennsylvania

Bonita Hoke, Pennsylvania League of Women Voters

Marybeth Kuznik, VotePA

Tim Potts, Democracy Rising

Bob Small, Green Party of Pennsylvania and the Pennsylvania Ballot Access Coalition.

Libertarians withdraw from statewide races

Libertarians withdraw from statewide races: "All three Libertarian Party nominees for statewide office in Pennsylvania abandoned their bids for the fall ballot today, leaving no third-party opposition to the Republican and Democratic candidates for governor and U.S. Senate.
Filing papers to withdraw were York lawyer Marakay Rogers, a perennial candidate who was running for governor; political newcomer Douglas Jamison, an engineer running for Senate; and Kat Valleley, a Bucks County homemaker seeking to become lieutenant governor. The action followed nearly two days of intensive scrutiny of their petition signatures.

We have Jim Roddey, and others just like him in the ranks of the GOP to thank for this. They think they know best. They think they can lawyer up to no end and then put the burden of their bill onto the citizen candidates. Jim Roddey thinks that in 10 to 20 years, his words, third parties are going to be big. Say what?

The action isn't after intensive scrutiny as much as it is about a calculated risk to pay more than $90,000 for the pleasure of NOT running for public office.

North Korea is Now Itself a Twitter Account | techPresident

North Korea is Now Itself a Twitter Account | techPresident: "Perhaps drawing on Hugo Chávez's tremendous success as inspiration, North Korea has joined Twitter. The Guardian runs its translation magic on the country's regime's first tweet, and comes up with 'Website, 'our nation itself' is a Twitter account.' Okey doke."

We used Twitter while in Beijing for the 2008 Olympics. Could also use my blog, as per August 6, days before the Games began. But, only then. Never could use a wiki nor wikia.

48 Hour Film Project Screenings

SCREENINGS
Remember to celebrate your film and lobby for audience votes. Postcards, signs, costumes, and other promotions are encouraged.

Wednesday, Aug 18
The Screenings will take place at the Kelly Strayhorn Theater, 5941 Penn Ave.
Group A will screen at 6:30PM.
Group B will screen at 8:30PM.


Thursday, Aug 19
The Screenings will take place at the Kelly Strayhorn Theater, 5941 Penn Ave.
Group C will screen at 6:30PM.

TICKET SALES
Tickets may be purchased night of the screenings at the door. Cash only please.

$8 or $6 w/valid student ID per screening.
We will be offering passes for all 3 screenings. $20 or $15 w/valid student ID.

Sounds like a fun date.

Pennsylvania: School Vouchers - mcall.com

Pennsylvania: School Vouchers - mcall.com: "The head of Pennsylvania's largest teachers union said Thursday he needs to take a closer look at Democratic gubernatorial candidate Dan Onorato's new proposal to offer 'grants' to poor kids in bad schools so they can attend a private school.
But Jim Testerman, the president of the Pennsylvania State Education Association, said the union won't withdraw its support for the Democratic nominee, because he also favors full funding for public education and other causes near and dear to the union."

Spoken like a real union leader.

Pittsburgh councilman wants to protect city against drilling

I feel the earth move under my feet. I feel the sky tumbling down. Not because of the drilling next door. But rather because of the talk of 'rights' from a member of Pittsburgh City Council.

Pittsburgh councilman wants to protect city against drilling 'Rights precede the state,' he said. 'Rights precede government. Rights precede state statues and are superior to them.'

Rights, liberties, freedom! Yes.

But, as usual, I'm not certain that this is what we really need.

It is very hard to give rights yet insure that government grow and block things from happening with blanket denials by law under all conditions.

If it makes sense to drill in the city, then let's do it. I do worry about the lack of rights for property owners to sue for damages when an industry causes harm to a neighborhood.

Mostly, on a basic level of city leadership, here they go again. People on city council are hell bent on pushing legislation that begs for lawsuits. Bubble bills, bar saturations, and now no drilling ordinances have put the city on the pathway of frustration where only the lawyers get rich while the residents and citizens are left to pay the bill.

In other news, City Council's Patrick Dowd is looking for a project so big that it will be impossible to pay for in 50 years, like NASA's space station, a Pittsburgh canal to link Homewood to Hazelwood, or else an underwater amusement park (think Kennywood at the Point but 100 foot deep).

Sale of parking could aid other projects: "Councilman Patrick Dowd said the money should be allocated to the pension fund, used to retire debt or spent on a capital project so big that it couldn't be tackled with a normal 30-year bond issue. In other words, he said, the project must be worth giving up parking assets for 50 years."

Another blog thread on same topic: http://pghcomet.blogspot.com/2010/08/gasburgh-exploring-no.html

Rebecca's Breastroke

The point that I stress is the timing. The feet come up to recover the kick as the arms pull apart. The legs recover as the arm provides power. Then the arms can recover while the legs give the propulsion.

To often in scholastic swimmers, the legs stay together as the pull begins and then when the legs do recover and come up the arms are in a recovery too. That stops the swimmer's forward movement as the recovery of the legs is matched with the timing of the recovery of the arms. That's a no-no.

Mostly, swimmers need to kick breastroke sooner. Or, put another way, swimmers need to hold the glide of the arms until the legs are ready to explode up into the recovery.

Interesting

Same clip but posted on Viddler:



These highlights of the community meeting held last week at Westinghouse High School Library hit closest to home for my family. My kids go to Pgh Obama.

Their school is going to move from Reizenstein to Peabody. And Peabody has few windows and only slivers of natural light.

Plus, the sports elements are important to me too. I don't think that the new schools, with grades 6 to 12 are able to put the middle school sports teams into the same high school gyms without serious troubles. They don't fit.

Humm...

The issue of sports is more than just a conversation between adults, unless those adults can fabricate more hours in the day or else have the basketball teams practice outdoors.

Beach, climbing wall in plans for Mt. Lebanon pool - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

Beach, climbing wall in plans for Mt. Lebanon pool - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: "Mt. Lebanon is considering $49.1 million worth of improvements over the next five years, including some to make the township's swimming pool more fun.
Next year, it would spend nearly $4.4 million to renovate the swim center; $3.2 million on sanitary sewer upgrades; $1.8 million to reconstruct 1 mile of streets; and more than $1 million for turf and lighting at Wildcat and Middle fields.
'Our swimming facility is over 30 years old, and it's just in need of some reconstruction work,' said township Manager Stephen M. Feller.
He recommends some spray features, a poolside climbing wall, a heater, a family slide and the installation of a beach area."

What about the water polo stadium?

Pittsburgh Public Schools had a community meeting last week at Westinghouse

Last week there was a community meeting at Westinghouse High School's library with written questions delivered to Mr. Lopez about the Excellence for All plan for high schools.

A big school board vote is due in the next week or so. They'll be with a multi-prong plan to do many things to the landscape of the schools.

- close Peabody HS

- shift Westinghouse High School to include grades 6, 7 and 8 to go along with grades 9, 10, 11 and 12.

- make the classrooms at Westinghouse split by gender so boys are in one class and girls in the other, most of the time. In the Vo Tech or CTE classes, they will be co-ed. And, we expect that some of the higher level classes will be co-ed too. But, time will tell.

- move the IB school, now at Reizenstein, called Pgh Obama, into the building at Highland and East Liberty Blvd known at Peabody. This move is slated for the fall of 2012.

- keep the robotics at Peabody, even when the school is devoted to IB.

- move the kids that go to Peabody into U-Prep or Westinghouse, based upon their address or upon a preference of avoidance of single-gender classrooms.

- Make one school that was recently made into a K-8 back to a K-5 so that the ones in grades 6, 7 and 8 can go to the Westinghouse school.

- Mess with another elementary school too.

- and a couple of other things.

Well, some of the meeting was captured on my video camera. That footage is being uploaded.


Part 1:



Part 1 but hosted on Viddler.com:



Part 2:



Part 2 but hosted on Viddler.com:



Highlights of part 1 and 2 for interested folks geared to Pgh Obama's move to Peabody and my question of sports fitting into the high school facilities with the arrival of middle schools as well.

This highlights clip is for all the Pgh Obama folks to see:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxn3O15ZE7g