Act 47 team warns city on cost of pool openings - UNREAL Lifeguarding

This letter goes over like running on the pool deck to dive into the shallow end with a tray of whine (pun) glasses.

I think I'll listen to 1360 AM and the Ron Morris show from 9-11 am as I had heard (I think) a promo that a company leader from Centimark (sp?) would be an on-air guest. That firm donated money to enable a REAMS pool re-opening.

Act 47 team warns city on cost of pool openings

Saturday, June 18, 2005, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Pittsburgh's Act 47 fiscal recovery team has sent a letter to Mayor Tom Murphy and City Council warning that opening more than 12 swimming pools this summer would 'be inconsistent' with the city's strict budget.

The letter, dated June 16 and signed by recovery team leaders James Roberts and Dean Kaplan, expresses 'concern' with the possible opening of Ream Pool in Mount Washington, Riverview Pool in Perry North and McBride Pool in Lincoln Place.

None of the three pools was approved for operation in the city's 2005 budget, but plans have emerged to open them anyway. Ream Pool's operations would be covered by a private donation, Riverview Pool's with Regional Asset District funds, and McBride Pool's with state funds that may become available.

The letter warned that the city might be on the hook for maintenance costs, or face liability for any injuries, even if it didn't fund operations at those pools.

The letter asked for prompt clarification of the anticipated costs of operating the pools.

Though the letter did not threaten punitive action, the Act 47 team can call on the state to withhold some funding if it finds the city out of compliance with its recovery plan.

This is grounds for making waves and further investigation.

Riverview is a RAD pool.

REAMS is turning into a civic, private, grass-roots venture that is get strung out again from the city so as to rely upon lifeguards but have pay from non-city budget sources.

The county wanted to pick up the operation of the newer swim pool up in the 31st ward. That pool, on the edge of the city line, is generally used by lots of non-city residents.

COOPERATION.

What does Bob O'Connor have to say, by the way. He was going to see that ALL of the pools were reopened if he was mayor. (Bad idea as well.) Bob was full of hot air on the campiagn trails. Now it is time to sound off on do "follow-up" on this matter.

The city pools opened yesterday.

West Allegheny ponders chops to school budget, plus school offers early retirement incentives

Beaver County Times Allegheny Times - News - 06/17/2005 - School offers early retirement incentives ... Cuts being considered include items such as not hiring additional teachers; eliminating study groups; cutting back on supplies, equipment, books, periodicals and software; eliminating a dean of students position; eliminating some foreign language programs; eliminating conferences; and eliminating after-school programs.

'We don't feel good about these cuts,' DiSanti said. However, he added, 'we can make (the cuts) without compromising the integrity of the program.'

District officials can further cut the budget by eliminating things such as two marching band assistants and several assistant football coaches, sports such as indoor track, hockey and bowling, and cutting back on resource and instructional support teachers.

'I guess everything's fair game,' DiSanti said, adding that those additional cuts would have an impact on students.

'(Without) resource teachers, there's really no place (for students with learning problems) to get help,' he said. '(The cuts) would take a lot of great things that have happened here in education and turn that around.'

While many residents have been outspoken in their objections to a tax increase, several who spoke at Wednesday's board meeting said the proposed cuts would mean only a small savings to the average taxpayer while deeply impacting the students.

'If (the savings are) so small, why eliminate the help for these kids who need it?' said Mike Kiss of North Fayette. 'Most of these programs are for the kids who need them.'

Joe Diven, a Findlay resident and former police officer, also questioned the proposed cuts in the sports programs. 'You cut these programs, and you're going to end up with nothing but problems with these kids,' he said.

In other suburban school news, I noticed that Pine-Richland held a 6-4 vote among its school directors with the outcome to NOT install a JUMBOTRON at the stadium along with two additional gym-based scoreboards. The new materials in the sports venues were to be at no charge to the district and paid for by Datronics, a firm that makes scoreboards. Meanwhile, Datronics was to be enabled to sell advertising to the tune of aprox. $100,000 per year for eight years to pay for the new display toys.

Interesting trend.

Sustainlane US City Rankings

Sustainlane US City Rankings SustainLane began to take a look at 25 US cities across 12 major categories, to measure their relative levels of sustainability...

Hat tip to a comment poster at Pittsblog for the pointer.

Exactly one month from now. How is your training going?

The 8th Annual, Pittsburgh Triathlon & Adventure Race Race on Sunday, July 17, 2005. The Pittsburgh Triathlon and Adventure Race site is www.pittsburghtriathlon.com.
Sign up online and see the details.

The Olympic-distance triathlon consists of a 1.5 K swim in the Allegheny River, a 40 K bike along the I-279 HOV lanes and a 10 K run along the Three Rivers Heritage
Trail.

Adventure race will be slightly different this year, starting with a 2-mile canoe/kayak then a 12-mile bike, and 3.2 mile run following a shorter version of the triathlon course.

USA Triathlon sanctions the event.

I'm considering the race. If I choose to run, I'll try to get last place, just like I did in the recent senate race. But, if either Diven or Fontana enter too -- then I'll try harder and not opt to get beat -- again -- by either one of those guys.

Trail Opening - Dedication Celebration - July 8

Friends of the Riverfront sent out this news, in part ...

You’re invited! for a Trail Party and Dedication The South Side 10-1 Trail Segment of the Three Rivers Heritage Trail (AKA the missing link) is now complete.

Please join us on Friday evening July 8th from 4:00 - 7:00 pm for a Heritage Trail dedication party. No need to R.S.V.P. just walk, bike or blade along the Heritage Trail to the new trail head facility in Pittsburgh’s South Side at the Terminus of Fourth Street at the Intersection of McKean and Bingham off Carson Street.

We will enjoy food, entertainment and an inaugural bike ride. The dedication is being cosponsored by Dasani in conjunction with the Rails-to-Trail Conservancy, Friends of the Riverfront and Bike Pittsburgh.

The event will serve as an unveiling of a new Community Bike Program, a first in the City of Pittsburgh. For more information please join us for the party and visit http://www.railtrails.org/membership/corporate/dasani.asp

chickengen: election day McRantypants

Some nice comments from another blogger published just before election day:

chickengen: election day McRantypants: "
so i'm clearly one of the most hard core democrats among any of you who read my blog. however, i REALLY dig this guy. i mean, mark rauterkus has a blog!

relax everyone who doesn't know who mark rauterkus is, and thinks that i have suddenly begun to support a republican. i'm from pittsburgh, people. why, mark rauterkus is a very special libertarian. he's running for PA senate in the 42nd disctrict and he's rull dahn ta urth. he's all about parks and the arts and he's from the south side and i like that.
check it out, seriously: http://rauterkus.blogspot.com/
michael lamb supports rauterkus. but i still think michael lamb is mildly retarded.

an entry to mark's blog. i am in love with this man:
title: Big week -- and today's my birthday!"

Dads are no longer the 'assistant parent' - The Boston Globe

Some good dad talk in ink in Boston.

Dads are no longer the 'assistant parent' - The Boston Globe
By Barbara F. Meltz

Matt Miller of Ashland is the father of 20-month-old Aaron. Sure, he's also the happily married husband of Jennifer, he's an attentive son, and a respected first-grade teacher. First and foremost, though, he's Aaron's dad.

''Thinking about Aaron is where my mind goes when it doesn't have to be someplace else,' he says.

Miller, 34, had the good fortune to become a father at a time when society accepts, encourages, and values dads' involvement. Like many of his peers, he's just as likely as his wife to feed, bathe, or diaper the baby; to take his turn waking up in the middle of the night or staying home when Aaron is sick. Recently, he was supposed to meet an old friend for dinner and a beer, but cancelled at the last minute because Aaron was vomiting. It was another sign of the times that his buddy gave him only a one-sentence, half-hearted hard time about it.

''People just get it,' Miller says."

More of the article in the comments.

Cleanliness study puts city near the bottom

The PG article snip:

PG recaps Pittsburgh's bad showing 'This was a data-driven story,' said Reader's Digest reporter Derek Burnett, who wrote the article with two colleagues. 'We just let the numbers do the talking.'

McGrath and other local officials say numbers don't tell the whole story.

Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato blamed two poorly placed air-quality monitoring stations -- one on the Greene County line with Ohio and the other in Liberty near the Clairton Coke Works.

'We're penalized for all the smog that blows in from Ohio,' he said.

Guillermo Cole, spokesman for the Allegheny County Health Department, acknowledged the station near the coke works collects some of the worst readings in the country, but it doesn't mean the air throughout the region is poor.

'We think we are excessively penalized for that one station,' he said. 'It really makes us look bad when we really don't have air quality like that throughout the county and region.'

Water quality problems also are affected by the areas included in the study. Allegheny County hasn't had any water system out of compliance with Clean Water Act standards for more than 20 years, Cole said, but there were incidents in Butler, Washington and Fayette counties.

'Our waterways are cleaner than they've ever been,' said Onorato, who noted that the rivers were clean enough for the region to land this year's CITGO Bassmaster Classic, the nation's premier fishing competition.

Craig Kwiecinski, a spokesman for Pittsburgh Mayor Tom Murphy, said Pittsburgh is 'very proud' of the progress made in improving air quality in the last generation.

Kathryn Klaber, a vice president with the Allegheny Conference on Community Development who spends a lot of time on air quality issues, said it gets tiresome trying to refute air pollution information.

She said she would prefer that Reader's Digest and others look at 10-year projections that the EPA released earlier this year that show the region's air is expected to improve steadily.

'It really does cost us a lot of time and money to combat this kind of thing,' Klaber said.

McGrath said he's become convinced over the years that the only way to dispel negative images of Pittsburgh is to get people to come here. Thousands attending the Senior Olympics will leave with a far more favorable impression of the city than they had before, he predicted.

Face the facts. Deal with the truth. Think again.
Rather than spending a lot of time and money to combat this kind of bad PR for Pittsburgh, perhaps the Pittsburgh power brokers should try to invest more effort and energy into fixing the real problem and look more at the roots of the problems -- the smog and polution.

The leadership here is convinced that there is only one way to dispel negative images of Pittsburgh. Think again. To get folks here is fine. But, how about if we just worked a lot harder on fixing the problems.

Scrub the air. Scrub the water. Protect the shared resource -- spec by spec.

The excuse of poorly placed air quality monitoring stations is but a bad excuse. Bad air here can't be ignored because everyone doesn't live in that neighborhood. The air quality monitoring stations should not be put in Dan Onorato's living room nor the Lazarus perfume counter. The placement of the stations should be as they are -- in at-risk quarters. That's how its done elsewhere as well.

The whopper thought is within the bogus hope that the air quality score would be based on a "projection." The only necessary reply is, "Get real."

Fakes and fake outs are too popular here. Pittsburgh needs leaders who can get a tight grip upon the reality of the situations. We have too many who are "proud" of half-truths.

Free Shipping: for golf and basketball equipment

These offers expire on July 2:

Resource Reallocation Community Meetings - PPS meeting and info

Resource Reallocation Community Meetings Thursday, June 16 at 6 p.m. Brashear High School

Final meeting is slated for 6 pm on Monday, June 20 at Peabody High School.

At each meeting, presentations will include information for the entire District as well as data and discussion about the schools and facilities in the nearby communities.

I won't be going to this rally. I'd rather see investments into research. Or, how about if we let the military decide and insure make great choices.

RALLY TO SAVE THE MILITARY BASES

TUESDAY, JUNE 21, 2005 at 2:00 PM, CARGO AREA "A", PITTSBURGH AIRPORT

REPRESENTATIVES OF THE BASE REALIGNMENT AND CLOSURE COMMISSION (BRAC) WILL PARTICIPATE.

Directions: From Downtown, take the Parkway West to Business Route 60. Follow Route 60 to the Airside Drive Exit. Cross over Business Route 60 and proceed to the first Stop Sign. Proceed straight ahead. Follow signs for "Cargo A". Free parking will be provided in that area.

PIT-BRAC TASK FORCE
Military Affairs Council of Western Pennsylvania
pitbrac@yahoo.com
412-490-5092/5094

Newspaper contrasts while in Chicago

The front page of the Chicago newspaper peeked at me from a news box among the gates at O'Hare upon our arrival and departure. The top photo featured a new world-record breaker sprinting to a standard. Meanwhile, and for the sake of contrast, its the senior games that gets ink in Pittsburgh.

SI.com - More Sports - Powell receives hero's welcome in Jamaica - Wednesday June 15, 2005 9:54PM KINGSTON, Jamaica (AP) -- World record holder Asafa Powell arrived to a hero's welcome Wednesday when he returned to Jamaica.

Powell, who set the record in the 100 meters Tuesday, is confident that he can beat his mark of 9.77 seconds.

'I think that it can be lowered. The way I'm running this season, it's given me a lot of confidence. I've run 9.8 every time I've been on the track,' said the 22 year-old Powell shortly after arriving at Norman Manley International Airport.
Powell, who was accompanied by his coach Stephen Francis, was met by government officials, including sports minister Portia Simpson Miller, and cheering supporters from his school, the University of Technology.

The other day the PG ran a nice story on a senior swimmer from Shaler. Great. I'm not knocking any coverage for sports. But, ask about the chances of the PG ever putting a new track record breaker from another country onto its front page?

Our town's media perspectives gives "jaded" and bent coverage to our landscape. I long for better shared insights -- other than the water main break coverage in Pleasant Hills. Great video -- so -- run that as a lead story.

City of Brotherly Love does its version of a youth smack-down because of budget excuses

Notice the shift in blame. Notice who gets the short end of the stick.

Funding snag imperils youth programs

By Michael Currie Schaffer, Phili Inquirer Staff Writer

Philadelphia could be forced to eliminate at least $50 million in spending on youth programs because of a change in state funding patterns, city officials said yesterday.

Most of the imperiled programs are part of the city Department of Human Services' Division of Community-Based Prevention Services. They include after-school initiatives, truancy programs, and some programs of the nonprofit Philadelphia Safe and Sound.

"This really could be devastating," said Cheryl Ransom-Garner, commissioner of the Department of Human Services.

The change in funding is a result of a spike in state welfare rolls and tight limits on federal welfare funds, she said.

In the past, the programs were paid for with federal money that had been saved as a result of reduced welfare caseloads. Because that money was unavailable, Gov. Rendell shifted the funding source to state child-welfare funds.

But there is one big difference between federal welfare money and the state funds: Local communities are required to match 20 percent of what they get under the state program, known as Act 148.

State officials had told counties that they would provide some new funding to cover the transition. But Ransom-Garner said officials learned only recently that they would not be able to use those funds to pay the 20 percent match.

In Philadelphia's case, she said, it meant the city would have to come up with $10.5 million to access more than $50 million from the state for fiscal 2006.

The money was not included in a tightly balanced budget passed by City Council on June 2, said city Budget Director Dianne Reed.

Reed said that she learned about the funding problem only last week and that officials would meet to chart strategy. "There was some kind of a communications issue between our people and the state," she said.

Susan Hooper, a spokeswoman for the state budget office, said state officials had told Philadelphia officials that "they would have to pay a portion of that increase."

Little money remains in the city budget to pay the matching amount. Though the $3.5 billion budget for fiscal 2006 features a large enough surplus to pay, the money would not be available in later years of the city's spending plan. Under the law, a state board must certify that the city's spending plans project five years of balanced budgets.

The uncertainty about funding is particularly troubling because the money was supposed to pay for contracts that would start July 1, the beginning of the fiscal year, said Jo Ann Lawer, president of Philadelphia Safe and Sound.

"Without this money, we can only help kids after something bad happens to them," Lawer said. "It's a worry."

Contact staff writer Michael Currie Schaffer at 215-854-4565 or mcschaffer@phillynews.com.

The 'safe and sound' program now sounds to be 'fleeting and but a memory.'

One of my overall attitudes is: "Pull Your Own Weight." I published a book or two with that title in the past. Programs need to be funded. However, viable programs need to be created and sustained. This also goes to the 'band-aid attitude.'

Growing Greener -- Thinking again from a Libertarian perspective from Plum

Mark Crowley's letter to the editor runs in the City Paper:

It responded to an editorial that claimed the adoption of the Growing
Greener II bond issue was miraculous proof that everyone agreed to increased government spending on this one thing. Furthermore, he saw it as evidence that "timely government intervention" is a viable political strategy for PA Democrats.

This was more than enough to prompt me to write the LTE below.

Mark

PS -- I appreciate that the editor printed it given that
it's now old news and that it explains LP thinking while
criticizing the Rs and Ds.

---

Pittsburgh City Paper, June 15, 2005

Environmental Fig Leaf

It wasn't unprecedented agreement that passed the Growing Greener II (GG II) bond issue ("Potter's Field", June 1) as much as unprecedented misunderstanding.

At the Libertarian Party of Pennsylvania state convention in early May, our understanding led us to overwhelmingly pass a resolution opposing the GG II bond issue. We did so for two main reasons.

First, environmental matters such as mine drainage are only symptoms of a greater problem. That problem is a scandalous system that permits mining interests to damage surrounding property and then walk away under a protective shield of bankruptcy. GG II deceives us into trading our property rights for corporate welfare. Its adoption fuels more of that trade.

Second, what does GG II really mean when its wording talks about borrowing $625 million for things like "protection," "preservation" and "initiatives"? It means protection of politicians' jobs by the preservation of public dependence on government by trading votes for initiatives that return us our own money. It's "walking around money" in a trendy enviro-green wrapper.

GG II has about as much to do with the environment as the Republican and Democratic parties have to do with political choice.

Mark Crowley, Plum

Reams ready to re-open

Way to go Anne M, and others from Mt. Washington on the efforts to reopen the local, city owned swim pool with private money. Well done.

Details welcomed.

We are home, safe and sound!

The bottom line -- we are home and all here, safe, sound, with bags, gifts, memories and new experiences.

The day started, local time, with us in Bangkok. We had to catch a van to the airport in our hotel lobby at 4:30 am. Pittsburgh time makes that at 5:30 pm. We flew to Japan, then Chicago and finally Pittsburgh at 9 pm -- all on United Airlines. Great flights and service.

The boys have show and tell in their classrooms tomorrow for their final day of school. Erik and Grant both are going to do PowerPoint presentations with slides and even a quiz for their school mates. Erik is going to play two Chineese Folk songs on his new violin.

Next pop quiz / riddle. Where do you eat when you sit but can't put your napkin in your lap?

Had not seen CNN or FOX for a month -- and tune in today -- only to see M.J.

Thank goodness we don't export Michael Jackson to China. But, we do send that trash to much of the rest of the world. M.J.'s news is the story as I tune into CNN and FOX news for a peek, first in a month, this AM. I've not missed that hot air from the American media.

But, we did get to watch some NBA basketball finals in China.

Sigh....

Good weather -- 39-degrees "C" and gridlocked traffic

What was 39-degrees today, with 10-million people plus four more, thrives upon hot nourishment, hosts a national sport that is illegal in the USA, and has gridlock on the highways and side streets at rush hour?

I know you know --- Bangkok.

Catherine is loving this place. Exotic, romantic, great food, ice in our drinks again (but we are staying in a many star hotel).

We'll be at Thai Boxing tomorrow night. Going to a river-market in the AM.

The grad students headed out for the Hard Rock Cafe today and then the night art market. We needed some comfort time in our hotel.

Today we delivered baby gifts. That was a perfect activity after a long swim and a half-day tour of the palace, a temple and government elements. More on all of this later....

The river has a lot of traffic too.

Final pop quiz question:
What material is Emerald Budda made from?

Exotic Travel with Purpose -- OpenOffice call for papers

The third international OpenOffice.org Conference, OOoCon 2005, will be held in Koper-Capodistria, Slovenia, from 28-30 September, 2005, and you are invited!

Promoted this year as a joint effort by the Slovenian and Italian OpenOffice.org language projects, the conference provides the opportunity for the community to meet the developers, contributors, marketers, and others who are making OpenOffice.org one of the most important open-source projects and products today.

If you have been thinking about coding for OpenOffice.org and want tips, now is your chance; curious about OpenOffice.org's XML potential? Want to write extensions? Plug ins? Then come to the conference!

Indeed if you are not technically minded but want to join a great community come along and find out why so many people are switching to OpenOffice.org.

We have posted the call for papers (CFP) and are soliciting presentations from the general OpenOffice.org community (and then some) for papers concerning the development of OpenOffice.org to its marketing; from the global politics of free software to the technicalities of localizing OpenOffice.org.

To see all the tracks open and to obtain the template for submissions, as well as to request travel assistance: http://marketing.openoffice.org/ooocon2005/cfp.html

The 250-word abstracts in English must be submitted to callforpapers@openoffice.org by 10 July 2005. We ask that you use our template for your abstract.

To learn more about the lovely seaside city of Koper - Capodistria
(a bilingual community), see: http://www.slo-istra.com/koper/eng.asp.

What to wear to a palace in Bangkok

We arrived to Bangkok. Tonight was mostly about exploring our hotel, on the river. Splendid. Toilets too!

The exchange rate is 400 to 1 U.S.Dollar. And I have a problem paying for parking in Pittsburgh, getting a bill for Grant's Sprite, bowl of pasta, Italian Bread and wood oven pizza (International buffet and al a carte downstairs) is a bit of a heart stopper. Paying more than 1,000 for anything is a good way to get sticker shock.

Now, what to wear to a palace? No shorts. Half day tour is set to begin at 8:45 am.

We got our gifts gathered and packaged now with gift wrap. Can't do that gift wrap thing any more with the travel security.

At the front on the hotel there is a fence-like divider holding cars away from the front door. The hotel security checks you before driving up -- and does the mirror peek under the auto, van, taxi or three-wheeled cycle.

American breakfast in the morning. Erik will be hungry by then.

Soon hope to enjoy a visit with James -- fellow Pittsburgher and worker at Phillips Elem. James is here with his team to Thai Box. Jeepers. Who knows what that adventure is going to deliver?

Hope the camera can get a plug into the wall for a battery charge.

Time wise, we had been exactly 12 hours ahead of Pittsburgh while in China. Here there is a one hour time change as we went further west. Temperature wise, I think Pittsburgh has been hotter than Chengdu. But, Bangkok raises the bar a bit in terms of HEAT. The air is clear and the traffic was very light on a Sunday evening arrival.