Tire clean-up nets nearly 600 from the landscape!

Bev of the South Side Slopes Neighborhood Assn posted a recap of the weekend efforts on a tire pick-up project.

We gathered 319 tires without rims and 70 tires with rims. Today's total is 389. From the same area we pulled out 150+ on April 17, 2004 and nearly 100 September 14, 2003 for a grand total of close to 600 tires! There might be ~10-15 left buried so deeply in mud that they cannot be removed. There is a great deal of trash that was bagged and piled for a later clean up. If you drive down Brosville, you will see the tires all piled for Monday pickup...

There will be photos in the Trib tomorrow and in the Reporter. The PG was also there sans photographer.

Thanks to the South Side Chamber of Commerce and Tier1 for the funding to pay the $0.75-$2.00 per tire fee for Proper Tire Disposal!

I am so very happy that we started cleaning this illegal dump area 2 years ago and have had such a great success, that new dumping has been curtailed with our surveillance! This is all due to the StepTrek calling attention to our public stairways. Thanks to all of you that will be very sore tomorrow!

We will be meeting at 9:00 am next Saturday to clean up the StepTrek routes. We will be at the UPMC SS Lot 21st & Josephine Streets. We will make our final pass on Saturday 10/1 for last minutes pick up. Then, the StepTrek is Sunday October 2 from noon to 4pm! We could use volunteers as early as 8 am.

Email Bev to help with the Step Trek. Or, just sign up and take the urban down and uphill hike!

Her Hopes Can Come True

Email from a pal in Pittsburgh's west end.

Mark--

Thank you for posting information about the eminent domain hearing on your blog. Incidentally, congratulations on your issue-oriented campaign for the Pa State enate. Your opponents waged one of the worst campaigns I have ever seen. Reading their ads, I felt embarrassed for both of them. I hope to see you in the running for City Council in the future.

Sincerely,

Kathleen

My Pet Goat: A cease and Desist letter sent to volunteers helping in the wake of Katrnia - OMG

My Pet Goat: "Cease and Desist

As background, our Katrina data project is a group of volunteers who are trying to aggregate data from numerous Katrina-related websites so that it's easier to search....

Read the rest there. I have much more to say about this, should I find the time.

Flashback: Any guess what these girls are doing? (Leave your ideas within the comments.)

New Climbing Wall to open -- we'll visit an older one in HK

We'll be missing the opening of the REI store on South Side Works. Harbor City in Hong Kong has a climbing wall too. Grant is giving it a whirl in this photo. Bike Pittsburgh was looking for some volunteers for bike parking duties on the opening days. Wonder if the union on strike will make a fuss with them as 'scabs?'

See ya soon. Tonight we are hosting a mini-party with two grad students and their buddies. In a couple of weeks, the two students join the four of us (photoed above) for a two week trip to Hong Kong.

Downtown in their dreams.

Candidates seek new Downtown plan. Downtown in their dreams.

If this was baseball, Weinroth hit a triple while O'Connor sat on the bench and sent in a pinch hitter.

Where in the world is Bob O'Connor? I'm not interested in hearing from a spokesperson. Bob is silent on Fifth and Forbes. Bob is silent on the budget. Bob is silent on property taxes. Bob is silent on closing schools. Bob is silent on everything. Furthermore, Skrinjar and Weinroth's statements are with serious holes and don't satisfy my urge to get Pittsburgh to thrive.

At least we heard George W. Bush repeat one of my often used phrases -- we want to thrive and not just survive. He was speaking about New Orleans in a prime time speech.

Candidates seek new Downtown plan - PittsburghLIVE.com The city needs to stop trying to do real estate development, Weinroth said.

I'd rather hear, "the city needs to stop doing real estate development." One could say, stop trying, just do it. Don't plan again -- just go.
But the headline, "candidates seek new downtown plan" is at odds with what Weinroth said. Weinroth wants a marketplace plan and that is simply no plan at all.

Meanwhile, the twisted logic in Dem's side is horrid. Bob wants downtown as a neighborhood. Neighborhoods have neighbors and residents. So, "If you have a population of residents, the businesses will find their way there," Skrinjar said. Yes, but, downtown is cramed and full of business now. Or, at least it was full of business to the point that downtown living got to be too expensive. The business influences elbowed out the residents, mostly. So I wonder how businesses can follow residents when the landscape is already overwhelmingly that of business.

Or, let's look at the other side of the landscape. A neighborhood -- say Fox Chapel -- has a lot of residents with a lot of spending power too. That does not mean that businesses can go there and follow them just because there are residents.

Even on Rt 28 we had to build with a major TIF (tax break) a suburban mall -- Pittsburgh Mills. Sure, that isn't quite within the limits of Fox Chapel proper, but it is for those shoppers. The county government officials had to bribe the businesses to go there.

So the O'Connor plan is to empty downtown of businesses, make downtown more residential, then hope more businesses are going to move there from say the mall at Pittsburgh Mills.

I don't want to subsidize housing for rich people.

ANOTHER PITTSBURGH ROAD TRIP for PA Clean Sweep's Russ Diamond

Russ Diamond will be traveling to the Pittsburgh area once again on Monday, September 19th. There will be a TV taping with Bruce Krane on PCTV 21, which is scheduled to end about 2:30 pm, but after that, we'll be looking for another informal get together in the evening.

If you'd like to help out by being our point of contact for such a gathering, please email info -at- pacleansweep.com. We had a great time with everyone who came down to Station Square on Wednesday evening and we hope to repeat that with another batch of CleanSweepers! It was great to meet everyone in person!

Speaking of road trips, for those of you in other areas of PA, why not help organize a road trip to your neck of the woods? All we need is a backyard barbeque or some other informal setting to help reinforce the PACleanSweep excitement and get new people in your area involved! Email info -at- pacleansweep.com if you think you could put something together in your area.

On the Snake River

Flashback: From September, 2004. Photo of Erik, Grant and I speaks to the bi-polor city we live in. Sometimes is it good to get away from it all and cherish the memories.

Bad week for the airlines

Bad week for Delta and Northwest. Like this is going to make us feel better? Remember when all the cities had crime -- so we are just like them. Remember when the rust belt north lost its population. So, we are like them? I say think again. Too many leaders just go along and follow.

ESPN.com gives Swann some ink in race for PA Gov job

ESPN.com - NFL - Garber: New arena Swann lacks experience, but celebrity status a plus

AlterNet: WireTap: To Have and Have Not -- unplanned parenthood thrives in Ohio

A longer read about Kent, Ohio, and the kids in the high school.At one school, 64 girls are pregnant.

AlterNet: WireTap: To Have and Have Not: "Timken High is a well-policed fortress; it's a shame the real threats -- politically motivated ignorance and soul-crushing boredom -- lie within its walls.

In the net. Market House soccer is about to begin. If you have younger children, especially if they've not been on a sports team in the past, the activity is worth your investigation.

Eminent Domain gathering here in Pittsburgh

Kathleen Walsh at Ridgemont neighborhood friend from back in the Fifth-Forbes days wrote with this info. I put in for a time to speak.

The State Government Committee will be holding a hearing on eminent domain at 11:00 am., Sept. 22, City Council Chambers, City-County Building, fifth floor. The public is invited to attend. People who wish to speak must register before the hearing by contacting Susan Boyle by either email, sboyle@pahousegop.com or by phone (717-772-3465).

She will schedule speakers as time permits. Please attend whether you plan to speak or not. There are very few speakers scheduled thus far.

... After our struggles of the past, it will be very sad if the committee comes to Pittsburgh and does not get a full picture of the problems we have had and of the community's deep opposition to eminent domain.

I am sure you are aware of the recent Supreme Court decision which approved the use of eminent domain to transfer property to private parties for so-called economic development, which is just the sort of legalized theft that we fought against.

In response to that decision, a number of states are considering legislation to restrict the use of eminent domain. In Pennsylvania, two bills have been introduced, House Bills 1835 and 1836. You can find the text of these bills at www.legis.state.pa.us. The hearing is concerned with problems that have been experienced with eminent domain, and what type of reform is needed.

Operation PA Clean Sweep's leader, Russ Diamond, visited Western PA

Photo by Mark Rauterkus. Click image for enlarged view.
Leaders from Operation Clean Sweep gathered (Sept. 14) at 5 pm at Crawford Grill in Station Square. I was able to attend, with 18 others on two days notice.

Russ Diamond recorded some segment with Clear Channel to play on six various radio stations in the days to come.


Photo by Mark Rauterkus. Click image for enlarged view.
Feeling especially tidy, so enjoy the bonus photo of a helper. Send me a photo of you and your dust-pan, and we'll see if we can make you famous for cleaning up PA Politics by getting a new house and senate in 2006.

Road trip to DC for techie talks in the wake of Katrinia and other storms ('n at)

Does anyone want to go to DC for an event?

N-TEN and HumaniNet invite you to a unique conference that will focus directly on the use of information and communications technologies (ICT) in humanitarian relief operations and post-crisis development.

ICT and Humanitarian Relief:
Being prepared, launching your response, and creating sustainable change
Monday, Oct 17 * Omni Shoreham * Washington, DC
Register: http://www.nten.org/conferences-ict

From the Katrina Response to the Tsunami to Darfur to Afghanistan, humanitarian relief operations depend critically on the effective use of information and communications technologies (ICT). In both emergencies and ongoing relief efforts, humanitarian relief operations present enormous ICT challenges: working environments with non-existent or damaged communications and support infrastructure; the need to interoperate with other aid organizations and government agencies; and managing massive logistical problems and information flows. Successful relief operations that bring about sustainable change depend upon early preparation and planning.

Over 100 key program and operations managers from NGOs, government, and the technology industry will meet in Washington, D.C. on October 17 to discuss lessons learned in the tsunami response and other relief operations, with an emphasis on practical, on-the-ground solutions and near-term opportunities.

This conference will bring together practitioners with hands-on experience and fresh ideas about the use of ICT to share "lessons learned" and innovations, to identify opportunities for collaboration, and to craft best practices. The conference will focus on ICT in all phases of relief operations: preparation and planning; emergency response; long-term relief; transition to self-sufficiency.

Please see the conference agenda page at http://www.nten.org/conferences-ict-agenda for more details on the sessions available for the day. We will address such topics as best practices for ICT preparation and planning, "day one" communications and connectivity, tools for collaborative information sharing, and the need to plan for ICT support of long-term, sustainable reconstruction projects.

At the conference, we will form informal communities of interest around the main themes and technologies to maintain the momentum of the networks and recommendations that emerge from the discussions. Cost is $100 for N-TEN members, $150 for non-members.

Camron Assadi, Marketing and Business Director
N-TEN, The Nonprofit Technology Enterprise Network http://www.nten.org
(415) 397-9000 main
(415) 397-1833 fax
camron@nten.org

South Side Market House to begin fall programs soon

Market House soccer to begin shortly. News was in the South Pittsburgh Reporter.

The photo above was taken of the kids giving each other a handshake at the end of the game, a tradition at the Market House.

The Market House is a Citipark Rec Center and Senior Center. The Rec Center activities were closed by Mayor Murphy a couple of years ago. All centers were shut. The Market House has re-opened to kids activities again, to some degree, but NOT by the city as it was. Parents and volunteers have a much bigger role in the programming now.

Youth soccer sign-ups are slated for 6 pm to 8 on Monday, Sept. 19 and Thursday Sept. 22 at the Market House.

The programs will be held Mondays, Tuesdays and Thrusdays. Age groups are 4, 5 and 6 year olds from 4:15 pm to 5. The 7, 8, 9 and 10s are from 5:15 to 6 pm.

The games are once or twice a week, after a few weeks of practices. Family night ends the program on December 2.

Open to boys and girls, the nonrefundable fee of $10 is required at sign up. Call 412 488 8390 for more specifics.