Wednesday, January 10, 2007

New Blog: Early Returns from the P-Gers

Rich Lord called this a blog. Ha, ha, ha. This is a web site. A blog generally allows for comments. This is very 1999ish. Well, perhaps it is 2002ish.

I email Rich Lord saying that Les Ludwig started talking about "alternative funding" back in 2003. I felt that the news of Luke's deal with the California firm should have quoted Ludwig. Heck, he ran for Mayor on that as a central platform plank. Furthermore, the words, "Do More With Les" were spoken by young Mayor Luke Ravenstahl at his first budget address in recent months.
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette - Local News - Early Returns Welcome to Early Returns, the Post-Gazette's online guide to Pittsburgh and Pennsylvania politics. Politics Editor James O'Toole can be reached at jotoole@post-gazette.com, and former Harrisburg correspondent Bill Toland can be reached at btoland@post-gazette.com. The Early Returns staff also now includes city hall reporter Rich Lord, who can be reached at rlord@post-gazette.com.

Ora Lee Carol is a candidate for Pittsburgh City Council.

Newest US Citizen Formally Announces Bid To Unseat Harris Of Council Seat

Press Contact: Contact@Dave4Council.Net (412) 894-8743
New American and Returning Candidate.
Pittsburgh, PA – Responding to calls from North Side residents for a change in the way council does business, newly naturalized US Citizen, Dave Schuilenburg, affirmed today that he will seek to unseat Darlene Harris of Pittsburgh’s City Council District 1 seat. “It is with deep humility that I announce today my intention to present myself again as an alternative for voters to City Council’s & Darlene Harris’ spending ways” announced Schuilenburg, the 9-1-1 dispatcher & Summer Hill home owner who presented a respectable challenge to the unpopular former Pittsburgh Public School board member in the November 7th Special Election.

Schuilenburg’s confirmation of a re-run for the office comes amidst recent media reports which brought to light a purchase initiated by Ms Harris of a Smoke Eater for her office in the non-smoking City-County building. “Not only are tax payers forking the bill for her Ms Harris’ bad & unhealthy habit, but an illegal one at that, and that is simply unethical & unacceptable!” comments Schuilenburg.

“Not only does this show that Ms Harris has not changed her spending ways,” continued Schuilenburg, “but it also shows her blatant disrespect for the residents that elected her, and the law for that matter. Is this truly the ‘fiscal manager’, as she called herself before the Post-Gazette editors, we want to lead us out of the city’s fiscal crisis for the next 4 years? More importantly, is this the example of leadership we want to set for our children?”

In contrast, Schuilenburg plans on running a campaign focused on concrete reforms he calls ‘An Agenda Of Positive Change’, policy ideas he initially presented during last fall’s special election for the district’s council seat. The platform was overshadowed, however, by his opponent’s tactic of raising concern with his citizenship status at the time. “Though I had heard several reports of my opponents going door-to-door attempting to convince voters to hold back lending me their support due to such, their success was minimal at best. More importantly, however,” adds Schuilenburg “now that my 5+ year process to become a citizen has finally come to end last month, this time around the onus falls back on them to counter with their concrete ideas for change, something none of them, including Ms Harris, did last time around.”

Setting his sights on ‘out of favor’ Harris, Schuilenburg adds “Let’s not forget that she only won based on the electorate’s strong will to unseat Santorum & Hart, and the ‘Straight Party’ ticket wave that accomplished such, despite not having had to run in a May primary. Considering she only had 45% of the district committee members endorsement in the fall, however,” adds Schuilenburg “I can guarantee that she will not win this year without placing a 4 year plan for the North Side & the city out for debate, should she even have one!”

Ms Harris’ unpopularity originates from ill decisions made during her tenor on the PPS board, including one to open nearby schools with low attendance during a fiscal crisis, actions which subsequently cost the school district loss of significant grant money from highly respected local endowments. Temporarily withdrawing their financing of school programs, the Heinz Endowment & Pittsburgh Foundation specifically cited her lack of ‘governance, leadership & financial discipline’ as their reason, and subsequently reinstated the funding when the electorate voted her out of office the following election.

A respected member of various upper North Side community & action committees, including the North Side Weed & Seed and the North Side Public Safety Council, Schuilenburg presented himself last November as the most non-partisan choice to Harris, and was quoted as being ‘the most knowledgeable candidate on the issues’ by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Likewise, Schuilenburg ran a campaign on proposed concrete ideas as opposed to name recognition as attempted to do other candidates, and garnered almost half the votes the candidates with recognizable name did.

Schuilenburg’s documented platform of council reforms includes allowing the electorate the opportunity to vote on downsizing council from 9 to at least 7 members; improvements to public safety, including a reorganization resources so as to free up officers for true police work; pro-merger of city-county administrative & bureaucratic duplicate services; and refocusing capital investments into neighborhoods, a position current Mayor Ravenstahl has taken in his first budget. Schuilenburg even proposes holding a public ‘Socio-Economic Summit’ with North Side neighborhood groups & elected officials of all levels so as to set forth strategies & priorities for kick-starting improvements to the quality of life on the North Side as a whole. “When East Allegheny, Troy Hill & Manchester suffer, we all suffer; and it is time for leaders with ideas from across the North Side to come forth and present those ideas for consideration”.

Councilman Wants Stricter Nuisance Law Enforced - News

Councilman Wants Stricter Nuisance Law Enforced - News One local councilman is arguing that Pittsburgh's nuisance law is not being enforced, as it should be.
Motznik wants to see stricter enforcement. How about any enforcement. It isn't being enforced at all.

"This is something that has been holding my community hostage," said council member Twanda Carlisle.
The overlords in this town are also holding the city hostage. We don't self govern. We don't have self reliance. What then do you expect? Yes, Pittsburgh is held hostage.

Accountability is absent.

Transit riders are held hostage to PAT, an authority with an appointed board. The Pens fans felt jolted by the I.O.C. plan for a new arena by the appointed PA Gaming Board. The history lovers are held hostage to the Allegh. Conference folks who want to bulldoze over the significance of Point State Park.

We're in an era of authority madness.

Even the schools are pulled in certain directions by the foundations and their hired bosses, such as Mark Roosevelt.

"Right now, every one of our neighborhoods are being taken over by people who just don't care," said councilman Bill Peduto.
Until there was a fire, folks within the city didn't care. And, now, only the folks on council seem to raise a voice. The city administration does not care. That's the worse.
Motznik said he is going to get a full public airing of this issue with city officials invited to council table in the weeks ahead.
Wrong again. If Motznik wants a full public airing of this issue, then he needs to call for a combined post-agenda and public hearing. The public won't be able to speak at the public meeting Motznik is calling. Motznik doesn't really care to hear the public on this topic. This is not a full public hearing unless the public can speak and be heard.

Duhh.... Actions speak too.

By the way, the house that is next to mine, and the house that is next to that house -- sit vacant. They have been empty for months. They have suburban owners.

By the way 2, there are a number of houses for sale on my street. A house on my street was torn down two months ago as well. It was torn down by private funds, not a city crew.

The economic worry of this original bill could depress the property values of all of us who own in the city. And, it could increase the number of tax leins that the city dishes out. That's been a huge problem for years. Finally, empty lots where good houses used to stand causes blight and a loss of density. With current zoning laws, many of those structures can't be re-built.

The great fix for all of this -- a return to the land value tax.

Another fix -- give 12 year old kids something meaningful to do so that they are net setting fires to empty buildings, like what was done in Hazelwood. There is an empty school building, the former Gladstone Middle School, in Hazlewood, with an empty swim pool and two un-used gyms.

Tuesday, January 09, 2007

Ghost burgh -- part 2 on why the civic arena's venue should not be a tombstone marker

We all know and hear it often: downtown is ghost town after dark.

If you take the Penguins out of downtown, or really out of the lower Hill District, and that's right next to downtown. Then downtown is going to be a ghost town.

Humm. Downtown is a ghost town now -- with the Pens.

Perhaps the Pens help to insure that downtown continues as a ghost town.

If you take the Pens out of the lower Hill District location, then we'll have great opportunities to make the Civic Arena venue a real vibrant place for hundreds of people every day, every time slot.

When 15,000 people drop in for 3 periods -- they leave their mark. These people don't take mass transit to and from the hockey games. These people generally drive in and drive home.

The big venue in town would become the new hockey venue. If Mick and the Rolling Stones come to town -- they go to Mario's new place. Great. That's just what we want. We want the flexibility of big events in a big indoor venue that can cater to those mega crowds. Perhaps that isn't the Civic Arena.

But the Civic Arena is a great smaller venue. The facility can be re-tooled to suit the neighborhood and handle a constant flow of hundreds of people each hour, thousands a day. Ten thousands each week.

That's not scary. That's how to avoid the traps of being a ghost town.

Plan D objections: See the light -- part 1

Bill Peduto's Plan C was a topic of a brief discussion in council chambers today. I told Bill and a few others, get the talk of building a new hockey venue to another place besides the lower Hill District.

Bill's first quick objection was to the point of the hockey lockout. When the Pens didn't play a season of hockey recently, some in downtown, like Joyce at the Carlynton, nearly went out of business. The hockey fans helped keep him alive by eating meals there, even when the eatery is downtown.

No problem.

When the Penguins move to another venue in Allegheny County, perhaps there will be an opportunity to establish a new resturant within the complex of the new hockey arena, say out near the airport.

More to the point however, when the Pens move to another venue outside of Allegheny County -- the Civic Arena is still going to be there where it sits now. The Pens might play hockey elsewhere -- and in turn -- there will be more and different events slated at the existing Civic Arena.

Perhaps civic events hosted at the Civic Arena after hockey leaves the venue will be able to generate more customers for downtown eating establishments than what was done with Penguins fans.

If the lower Hill District, and the rest of the Hill District swells with new business and new home/condo owners, then the resturant will have tons of additional traffic on a day in and day out basis. Let's beef up the hill with new housing and in-fill developments and make that area attractive. Then there will be lots of new customers who are not there now.

Furthermore, the new customers I'm speaking about would never choose to live in the shaddow of a mega hockey venue. They won't want to live next door to Mario's new ice palace.

The entire east end of Pittsburgh's central core can flourish after the Pens depart. A hockey night in Pittsburgh is an exciting time. But, if you have to go home after work to give relief to the baby sitter, or go to a school event, or dash out for grocery and what-not, it sucks to be stuck in hockey game traffic for 30 minutes.

Case in point: I go every month to our Libertarian Party meeting at Ritters Diner on Baum Blvd. I drive from my home on the South Side. On a hockey night this trip can take me 40-50 minutes. The game traffic brings a good section of the city to gridlock. That isn't fun for everyday headaches. People will choose to live elsewhere.

People won't want to develop the Hill District and beyond if the Pens build a new arena there. Those neighborhoods will continue to slide.

People won't want to invest in a new business and put it so close to the new hockey venue so as to prevent delivery trucks, have sky-high parking rates, contend with fans who fill every available parking spot for miles, and so on.

Council eyes nuisance properties. Eye em all they want. Head scratching next?

Council eyes nuisance properties - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review Pittsburgh City Council this morning said it wants to resurrect a 2-year-old 'nuisance property' ordinance that hasn't been enforced since it was created.
Let's NOT make laws (or in this case, ordinances) that are not enforced. Serious enforcement problems exist. But, the enforcement comes because of a hyper-active legislative body that can't come to grips with its own mission.

Blogger is back

Blogger has been out for a good portion of today. It seems to be back. Yesterday Picassa was not working. It too is back.

Supreme Court refuses to hear Nader's appeal of Pa. ruling

AP Wire | 01/08/2007 | Supreme Court refuses to hear Nader's appeal of Pa. ruling HARRISBURG, Pa. - The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday let stand a Pennsylvania court ruling that requires former independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader and his running mate to pay more than $80,000 for costs incurred by a group who challenged their nominating papers in the 2004 general election.

Arena 'Plan C' offers Penguins profits.

This is bad, and its outcome goes the wrong way in the end.

Once again part of what Bill Peduto says makes sense and is worthy of support. Then the other part of what he says is hated. A little bit of good and a ton of bad.

If this was football, Bill Peduto played the game like Ohio State played last night. Opening kickoff goes for a TD and the rest is ugly.

Or if it is one play, Bill Peduto takes the conversation, the ball, downfield on a sweep to the sidelines. His student body left or right advances more than 10 yards giving a first down -- if only he did a Franco and ducked out of bounds then and there. But no. Peduto doesn't allow himself to stop where he should (IMNSHO). Peduto keeps on his feet. He reverses field. He goes back the other way and ends up seeing daylight. He runs backwards for 30 yards. He runs in the opposite direction ending up with a net loss of three times what he could have gained. Ouch.

Cheering for Peduto feels a lot like cheering for Ohio State in last nights big BCS Championship Game. The opening kickoff is a great run and touch down. Excitement swells! Then comes the rest of the game and a total disappointment follows. Florida blew the doors off of Ohio State after the first play.

I'm glad to see Bill Peduto do something to address the Pens situation. He finally went onto the field.

Last week I asked City Council to call a combined post agenda and public hearing concerning the Penguins and Civic Arena situation. They didn't. They had little to loose. They should have gotten some discussion moving on this hot topic.

On the kick off, Bill takes the ball and scores big points with me by saying tht the Penguins should share in the profits of activities that go beyond the game day transactions. The Pens greed makes it so that they'll need to have a better upside in the dealings so as to have long-term mega profits. The luxery and corporate boxes, naming rights, concessions and broadcasting elements are just not enough. Poor, poor, Pens.

I like the idea that Bill Peduto is thinking out of the box. He understands that there are creative ways to put the Pens operations into the bedrock of Western Pennsylvania. This makes it so the team won't threaten moves again in the next 5, 10 or 20 years.

I like the move too so as to link Don Barden's offers to the Pens and a proposal to invest in the Hill District.

Then everything else just sucks.

The Pens should NOT build its new venue on the lower Hill District. But, the Pens could sell its existing land interests in the lower Hill District to Don Barden.

Barden's money can provide an exit plan for the past investments of The Pens so as to not tie up that property for entertainment.

The lower Hill District and the upper Hill District need some serious attention. We need to make sustainable development work with the fabric of the community. We can't wedge a new venue in there that doesn't fit to the scale and desires of what we really needs -- affordable housing, mixed use properties, density of development, home owners, small businesses. The whole Hill District should start to thrive again by getting back to the basics. From Oak Hill to the edge of the Civic Arena property, there is a lot of potential.

I predict that the population throughout the Hill District to Oakland could increase by 20-times in 10 years if the right leadership emerged.

Presently, there is a lot of vacant land there. That land should be taxed heavily. Then the fix ups to the properties should be without new taxes. As we shift back to a land value tax, the Hill District would boom., as would other places in the inner core of the city.

One of the keys to getting The Hill District to flourish again is develop without the mess and snarls of a new hockey venue. Putting in a new palace, right in your face, isn't going to offer the stability and investment understanding that people want as a close neighbor.

If a public owned, public financed hockey venue goes into the lower Hill District, as proposed by Plan C, then tens of thousands of other home owners won't show up as residents and small business owners in those nearby neighborhoods.

I feel that you could put a ton of public housing around a new hockey arena and force people to live there. But we've tried that. It failed. We took down the projects -- for good reason. Or, you could put the new arena somewhere else in Allegheny County and thousands of people will move back into the Hill District in an organic way.

Calm the Hill District with peace keeping and by supporting basic needs -- and then we'd see those neighborhoods flourish again. Sensible development would work. New investments from a slew of owners would welcome a new day for the torn corners of The Hill.

A new hockey venue isn't a way to calm that part of the city.

I do love the concept of having local and state officials working with the Penguins to partner in development efforts so as to share in the profits. That concept would be key to negotiations to keep the team from moving out of state.

But don't give away a great part of the city to The Penguins. The greatness of The Hill District won't re-emerge under the guidance and ownership of The Penguins.

Get the Penguins 300, 400, or 500 acres of land out by the airport. We have the land there. We have the highways. We want a new palace for the Penguins. It could fit next to a new, urban, Olympic Village where The Penguins could sell high rise condos for people of all ages.

Remember Washington's Landing? That whole development sprung up around a rowing center. But this Olympic Village, the Penguins Village, should be with high rise buildings, not golf course town houses. We have Neville wood already. This would be a short van ride to the golf courses and the botanical gardens at Settler's Cabin. But, this vision is for new urban living, mixed use, long-term investment, home owners, condo living, vertical office park, recreation, and day cares for both babies and seniors.

If the Pens had a big chunk of that in the negotiations and 5,000 of its fan base was within walking distance on game night -- we'd be onto something new for exansion that the world would value and celebrate.

Arena 'Plan C' offers Penguins profits Peduto proposal would allow team to share in Mellon Arena site, Lower Hill development

Tuesday, January 09, 2007
By Mark Belko, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

State and local politicians should go beyond Plan B to offer the Penguins something other cities can't -- a share of the profits in the redevelopment of the Mellon Arena site, city Councilman Bill Peduto says.

City: Row house should have been sealed - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

Fix the problem, not the blame.

Some would blame ex-mayor Tom Murphy. He's been out of office for more than a year.

I'm fine at blaming Tom Murphy for plenty of our ills. But I can't pin all the blame on him for a fire that happened one week ago. But, it was started by a 12 year old kid who isn't on a water polo team, isn't able to play ball at the sports complex on the flat land next to the river at the bend in Hazlewood.
City: Row house should have been sealed - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review City Council President Doug Shields, whose district includes Hazelwood, said about 25 percent of the neighborhood's housing stock should be demolished.
What we should have done is build new housing down Panther Hollow and have a graduate student housing there, next to the Peterson Event Center.

Hazelwood matters. The nonprofits are doing nothing with this asset. We can blame Murphy and Doug Shield for this lack of action.

Don't point many fingers Doug Shields. You've been working on Grant Street for how long?

Honz Man and Tunnel Call

I got to speak with Fred, the Honz Man, as a call in on his afternoon KDKA Radio show yesterday. I wasn't clicked off the air too quickly. This is worth a re-cap as there was a funny moment, just after our conversation ended.

I hate the tunnel (Honz likes it) and the same for the "fair tax." We never got to talking about the fair tax however. Plus, I don't like the re-do of Point State Park either -- and Fred agrees with me on that waste.

The tunnel is a bad idea because it has a poor return on investment. R.O.I.

Honz's point of 'where was I' in offering opposition to the tunnel years ago does not wash with me. I hated the tunnel for a long time and I spoke out against it on many instances over the years. Too many to count. http://Ratsburgh.blogspot.com.

We naysayers did score a victory when they decided to nix the change in the light rail stop for the back of the Convention Center.

Honz wonders what we gain if the tunnel under the river for expansion of light rail is stopped.

I point to the Wabash Tunnel as a real example that has direct connections. The Wabash Tunnel was built with federal money. The capital construction cost for the Wabsh Tunnel was significant and today it is fair to say that the tunnel, owned by PAT, was a poor investment. The R.O.I. for the Wabash Tunnel is very, very bad.

The project was missguided and the spending was a huge waste. Furthermore the operation of the tunnel is so expensive that PAT wants to jetison the tunnel. Only 400 autos use the silly tunnel each day. It isn't worth the upkeep. PAT wants to get rid of the tunnel or close it.

PAT built a downtown t-stop that is seldom used. PAT owns a HOV car tunnel that is seldom used. Light rail to the North Side Stadiums is sure to be a seldom used extension. It won't help our quality of life in the region. People can walk over or back. Each ride to the North Shore would cost about $40 -- for every passenger. That is a low side estimate. It could climb to $80 or $100 to cover the capital costs and on-going upkeep of that tunnel. It isn't worth it.

Honz Man didn't see the obvious links between the Wabash Tunnel, after it was built, and how it is still a weight around the necks of this year's operational budget. Some projects are a drain to keep, year in and year out, beyond the one-time capital cost. The $1-Million per year for the Wabash Tunnel upkeep could go a long way in keeping other bus routes alive in this pending service cuts.

Honz pressed and asked again, "what does it gain by killing the tunnel?"

I said "trust."

Fred said, "You make some good points. But, trust doesn't buy you anything." He must think trust and rightous acts are worthless. I think that they are valued for our times and for that of our kids in the years to come.

Click. Call ends.

Then comes the clincher! Going into the 4:00 news, right after Honz finished our conversation by implying trust among citizens, government and budgets is to be blown-off, KDKA's producer airs a news promo -- "NEWS YOU CAN TRUST, KDKA-Radio." My sons and I were were in the car heading to swim practice and we laughed and laughed.

I love a good turn-about when words and concepts spin. The big-mouth (Honz Man) makes a senseless claims ("Trust buys you nothing.") and then his own forces (KDKA-radio promo) goes directly counter to what he just said. There is VALUE in NEWS YOU CAN TRUST. Bang, bang. It was like Honz got hit in the face by a pie -- thrown at him by his own station.

Too bad I was driving and wasn't able to run a tape to capture those 15 seconds.

More background: PAT wanted to build a new stop behind the Convention Center. Citizen outrage and a pinched budget deleted from the plans of that new stop on the line, thankfully. An existing t-stop on downtown's light rail system is already near the Pennsylvanian and just 2 short blocks from the Convention Center. It is there now. It is only used once a day to keep the rails from getting rusty. PAT wanted to move the stop a half block! How dumb. Moreover, how expensive. Put up a walkway from where it is to where people need to flow to. Install signs. Run the trains where you've got the stops and move the people from point to point in a light, safe, flowing way. But don't move train stops underground for no real gains.

Moving the stop would have also taken the course of the tracks off of the right of way for the busway that flows to the east. That would have been a fatal killer. One day, and the sooner the better, the east bus way should be re-tooled as a light-rail line. Then there is a straight shot out of downtown, past the block behind the Convention Center, to the east. That's where the next logical expansion should occur.

They wanted to move the stop to the Convention Center to insure that the east would not get the expansion.

I think it is better to put a t-stop in areas that need a pick-up so as to make an investment where it is needed. You don't run the t-stop to the Convention Center because we've already made a huge investment there. You want to spread out the opportunities. You want to get the entire area buzzing.

The area around the Convention Center would pick up if you put the t-stop slightly away from the Convention Center. The area around the Convention Center would decline if you put the t-stop right at the Convention Center.

Same too for the North Side. I think it is wrong to put a t-stop at PNC Park and Heinz Field. Put the t-stop at CCAC, at Allegheny General Hospital, in the North Side Business District. Presently, one can get off at the t-stop in Gateway Center and walk over Clemente Bridge to PNC Park. That walking from stop to destination is great for pedestrian traffic. It is great for the hundred of other locations that can spring up from here to there. We want street merchants. We want sidewalk cafes. We want a flow of walkers with a wide choice of destinations.

Monday, January 08, 2007

Steel City Derby Demons, female roller derby debut

Running Mates!
Don’t miss the excitement of girl-on-girl roller derby action, as Pittsburgh joins over 100 other cities in this new version of an old favorite.

DON'T MISS THE STEEL CITY DERBY DEMONS EXHIBITION BOUT! Doors open at 5:30 and game starts at 6 pm on Saturday, January 27, 2007, at Bladerunners in Harmarville. The venue is less than 30 minutes from downtown off of Route 28.

Tickets cost $10 in advance, $15 at the door. Kids 10 and under get in FREE!

Purchase tickets at www.steelcityderbydemons.com/events.htm and click the “Buy Now” button.

1st Half: The Wrecking Dolls vs. The Hot Metal Hellions

2nd Half: The Bitch Doctors vs. The Slumber Party Slashers

More.

The fight for speaker - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

I posted to this blog, a day before the vote in the PA HOUSE, Neither Perzel nor DeWeese.
The fight for speaker - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review many reformers said the fact that neither Perzel nor his Democrat foe, Rep. Bill DeWeese, D-Greene, was able to win the speakership was a signal that internal House reform is on the way.

Crazy as it sounds, they're right.
Told ya.

O'Brien has no credentials as a government reformer, just like Ravenstahl, our mayor. And O'Brien got to his present position, just like Ravenstahl, as a compromise candidate. O'Brien is Harrisburg's version of Luke Ravenstahl.

I don't want Dennis O'Brien leading the charge to reshape the way they conduct our government. The steps I seek are first, replace, -- then reform.

Dem leader wants to reduce size of Pa. legislature

Reform is getting more talk.
Dem leader wants to reduce size of Pa. legislature A Democratic senator from Berks County is joining the call for a smaller Legislature and for making two other changes he says will improve state government.

Sen. Michael A. O'Pake, the Senate's No. 2 ranking Democrat, wants to reduce the Senate to 40 members (from the current 50) and reduce the House to 121 members (from the current 203).

The reductions are similar to those proposed last year by Sen. John Pippy, R-Moon. They didn't go anywhere but calls for reform have increased in the wake of the repealed 2005 pay raise and defeats of three dozen incumbent legislators last year.

Reducing the size of the Legislature would need a constitutional amendment which could take two years or more.

Mr. O'Pake also wants a nonpartisan panel to redraw the state's congressional district boundaries after the 2010 census.

He also wants residents to be able to put political 'robo-calls'' on their list of Do Not Call numbers, an idea suggested last fall by Rep. Michael McGeehan, D-Philadelphia.

Security bug found in PDF reader

BBC NEWS | Technology | Security bug found in PDF reader Upgrading to version 8 of the Adobe Reader software removes the risk of falling victim to the flaw.

Folic acid may slow age-related hearing loss�|�Health�|�Reuters.com

Folic acid may slow age-related hearing loss�|�Health�|�Reuters.com: "NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Folic acid supplementation appears to slow the decline in hearing that commonly occurs with age, at least in people with high levels of the amino acid homocysteine, according to a study conducted in the Netherlands.
Perhaps one could sell this stuff to those who have played in rock and roll bands, drive motorcycles, work on road crews and at the airport, and are pregnant.

Pennsylvania Leadership Conference

Pennsylvania Leadership Conference Newt Gingrich to speak April 21st


Count me OUT. Newt's statements against freedom in recent months have been a great turn off, not that I was turned on to him before.

Petition text for ballot question called, "Pittsburgh Mirrors Population"

Here is the text of the petition now hitting the streets seeking to put a ballot question before the voters in May 2007. This is FYI and a starting point for discussions, perhaps. My position on the ballot question is pending.
Pittsburgh Mirrors Population Question

Shall Article 3 Section 302 of the Home Rule Charter of the City of Pittsburgh be amended to read as follows:

302. COMPOSITION

Council shall consist of seven Members, two of whom shall be elected at-large, and five of whom shall be elected by district.

Each of the five districts shall be represented by one Member that shall reside in that district.

Any political party or body shall be entitled to nominate one candidate for the office of At-Large City Council Member. In the Municipal Election, each voter may vote for no more than one candidate for the office of At-Large City Council Member, and the two candidates receiving the highest number of votes shall be electe as the At-Large City Council Members.



All petitions must be filed by 5 pm on February 13, 2007.

The introduction letter says that the Republican Committee of Pittsburgh (PGHGOP.org) will be conducting the petition drive. "No petitions will be controlled by any other entity, besides our committee. There is no way that these petitions will not be filed if we get enough signatures..."

In the summer, petitions were gathered by the firefighters and the GOPers. But they were NOT put into the election department. The papers might have been used as a bargain point and leverage for some other matter and just left to gather dust. Or, there might not have been enough signatures. Who knows?

"Any registered voter in the city can sign and/or circulate our petition.

"This City is in trouble. We need to make this change within City Government. The iron is hot NOW. This is when we have to act. People all across this City want this. Lets get out there and show Grant Street that they have lost their power."

Bikes work in Chicago too


Illinois has many miles of bikeways. Here is a bad photo of a pedestrian / bikers bridge built along the side of a roadway. The HOT MEDAL Bridge needs to be completed. The West End Pedestrian Bridge needs to be completed. Roads need some treatments so cars and bikes can co-exist.


Bike road along greenway stretch from suburban reaches to the lakeshore to the city.

Ideas from the bit bucket called Chicago, Illinois. Mayor Luke visits my former home town.


Worry alert: Luke might come back from Chicago with a new bag of tricks for Pittsburgh. This could be scary.

Perhaps he'll want to dedicate a "Pirate Ship" for a slip at the Allegheny River.

Perhaps he'll want to install Pedestrian Statues to fill Market Square.

Ferris Wheel at Navy Pier. Is Point State Park getting one next?

More to the point of speculation. Perhaps Luke is there to hold a secret meeting with possible head coaches for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Mike Singletary has Chicago roots.

Prayer station in Chicago park.

River shuttles between Sandcastle, Station Square, Point Park, Mon Wharf, Convention Center, Science Center, Slots Parlor, New Arena at Neville Island.

Multi-use buildings


Lived, worked and parked in this building on Davis Street in Evanston. Four stories of apartments. First level retail and dining. Basement is multiple floors of parking for residents. Private ownership. Density. Ongoing fix-ups. Evanston's percent of property held by nonprofits is five times greater than Pittsburgh's.


Front side of the apartments. U shaped courtyard. Notice the high rise buildings in the background. Lots of density is necessary for the urban lifestyle to flourish.


Construction. The buildings are pre-sold.

Whole Foods in Downtown Evanston


This is a "Whole Foods" in Evanston. Notice the high rise building attached to the retail space. Build with density. Build with two or MORE uses per building. Downtown needs a grocery store. A grocery can co-exist in a high rise apartment building.


Parking lot to the parking garage at whole foods. You don't need a massive surface parking lot to make a grocery store. The South Side Giant Eagle is a better place for a high rise apartment building, internal parking spaces and a grocery -- rather than downtown.

Mayor Ravenstahl Checks Out Chicago - News

Mayor Ravenstahl Checks Out Chicago - News
Wonderful. I get to post some of my Chicago experiences and images. Stay tuned.

Pittsburgh Splits With West Virginia in the swim pool. New Polish student sets record in breast

Fast foreign recruit makes a splash in Pitt's pool. CollegeSwimming.com::Pittsburgh Splits With West Virginia With the meet tied at 94 points and swimming in his first-competition meet of the season, Plutecki (Zielan Gora, Poland/High School #VII) recorded a pool and school record in the 200 breast with a time of 1:58.98. Plutecki's time eclipsed the four-year 1:59.42 record held by Randy Gertenbach.

Plutecki's time was also a NCAA B cut time and missed the NCAA A cut time by just a second.

Mark Roosevelt of Pittsburgh Public Schools and High School Reform: long rant on news article. Wrong way, wrong talk.

Let's sort through another pile of B.S. about our schools from the light of the Post Gazette. It becomes another great example of exactly how we should NOT operate in this city.
City plan for high schools may mean big change City plan for high schools may mean big change
Study will be unveiled this week
The task force was a closed door process. The task force didn't keep minutes. The task force didn't hold open meetings. The task force was full of hand-picked "yes" people. The task force for right-sizing for K-8 from a year ago had NO people from the ranks of the teachers. Meanwhile this task force is way to heavy from the ranks of the teachers and administrators. The task force is built to curb dissent.

From the get-go, the high school task force efforts are suspect.

Mark Roosevelt dispatched a tiny, select (elitist) group of administrators and boosters. The process was designed to shut out throngs of others as volunteers. Citizens and parents were shut out of the process. This public school district acted as if it was a foundation board operation. Homework wasn't done with any peer review.

The success stories from around the country always point to one main theme. No matter what -- communities with high performing schools have high performing students and tons of parent engagement. It takes a village. Everyone gets involved in every capacity in many dimensions. Then the students, staff, teachers, administrators and board performs.

If you want to sustain the failures -- lock out the parents in talks of reform. Mark Roosevelt fumbled as did this high school reform weenie group.

There is nothing more critical than parent engagement. Nothing.

Furthermore, that's the one element that is the weakest in our public school landscape.

We do have poor test scores. Pittsburgh does have high dropout rates. Dropouts and failed tests take a back-seat to how the school district slams the door in the face of its parents, customers, neighbors, ministers, coaches, advocates, voters, citizens, business owners, unions, employees.

Let's check out success stories of schools around the country, and the world. Let's look at how parents and families can soar in their educational lives -- by working together.

The Pittsburgh Public School district is academically troubled. It isn't financially troubled. But its biggest sticking point is its trouble when dealing well with its populations and especially parents.

There is a brain-packed trend to mull upon. Let's take our big, mostly empty, poor performing schools and say we're going to make them into smaller schools and call this a success. Our schools are shrinking because the people who can depart. The grass is greener in other school districts for many people, so they leave. They vote with their feet. They get feed up with the helpless feelings and blocks put up from the school landscape.

So, the pathway to victory is to have smaller schools! What????

We've got smaller schools!

Don't shoot for the size of the school. That was the same line of poor logic that was pushed down upon the citizens in the rightsizing plans of last year with the K-8 reform.

Parents don't give a rat's ass about the size of the school. Nor do voters and taxpayers.

We want schools where people learn great lessons! We want educational institutions that teach our kids how to become productive citizens in today's marketplace.

We want the school district to bring value to our communities. That means a district with a mandate to educate students ages K to 12th grade should focus on K-12 education and do a good job there. That means that the Pittsburgh Promise is out of bounds and not a high priority, when a majority of our kids can't pass 9th grade algebra.

Algebra is A + B = C. Pittsburgh Promise is Z. It doesn't matter. Smaller Schools is Y. Y and Z don't matter.

What is this 'capping of school size' trend? Elitist! Why cap and make haves and have nots?

I don't want caps. I don't want glass ceilings. I don't want to keep kids down. I don't want to prohibit excellence.

I want gangplanks to greatness. I want a rush to results. I want satisfaction to skyrocket.

He wants speed limits. I want hyperdrive.

Mr. Roosevelt wants to propose "breaking schools." News flash: The schools are already broken. How about if we "heal schools." The thing to do is "heal students." Fix the educational landscape of families in this region.

Let's think about "semi-autonomous 'learning communities'" for a few moments. I think that the best semi-autonomous learning community is a family. Furthermore, a thriving learning community isn't semi-autonomous. It is engagement and embrace of all assets and resources. To be semi-autonomous means you have to exclude and build walls.

Think of the internet. I want it everywhere. IP everwhere. I want learning everywhere. I want all resources at the ready and at our disposal when it comes to real learning enviroments.

The learning community here -- is called ... earth, if not universe. Pittsburgh Public Schools needs to play a dynamic role within our global marketplace of thinking, ideas and lessons. I think a call to 'semi-autonomous learning community' is really not about being in a modern urban community. The "semi" part must be the code word for thinking with only half your brain.

Enrollment at small high schools often is capped at 300 to 500 students.

We had a small high school -- South Vo Tech. It was closed. They called it too expensive. It was too expensive because it was too small. We turned our backs on those students in recent times and now we're saying what they had was just what we want. Unreal double-talk from a clueless district.
So, if we really want 'small communities of learning' -- then I look forward to the re-opening of South Vo Tech. The truth hurts. Their statements are lies, but they can be put to the test.
We've had small schools in K-5 settings that were 'capped.' They too were closed because the size of the school was not fitting into the cookie cutter model that the school district wanted in its rightsizing agenda. The schools were filled. The schools were closed anyway.

This is all wrong.

You need to put the right number of kids into the right sized buildings. Furthermore, the buildings are already built. The buildings are there. So, the factors are numbers of students.

In very recent times the bone headed school leadership has been saying that this school should have 500 students -- but the building is only able to contain 400 or 350. So, there are a number of building expansion plans to make these buildings fit the number that some rightsizing plan wrongly requires.

The concept that Pitsburgh's old school leadership needs to consider in every discussion is capacity. If a school or even a bus functions with X amount of bodies -- then that's where we start.

Schools that are filled to capacity should not be closed.

For PAT, bus routes that are filled to capacity should continue to operate.

Meanwhile, Pgh Public School District spent a lot of money to rehab the once great Westinghouse High School. The building is majestic. It is modern and bright and jewel for any student, staff, teacher and community group. But in the real world of today's educational landscape, Westinghouse High School functions at a fraction of its ideal capacity -- based upon its building size.

Let's cap these learning communities based upon the existing building capacity. This is a functional measurement that goes into the forumula right from the beginning.

You don't try to cram 10-tons of students into an 8-ton container.

We've got schools that have been rightsized and they are jammed.

An honest approach to space would be welcomed. The A+ Schools report should contain a much better inventory of the phsysical assets, for school buildings, open and closed.

As South Vo Tech shrunk in its number of students, the thrid floor was closed. Students didn't attend classes in those classrooms. Easy adjustments need to be a priority.

The luckiest districts have financed restructuring with millions of dollars committed by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

I'm not looking to live in a lucky district. I don't want to live in a 'lucky town.' I want to live in a place where we value and teach how to be self reliant. I want our schools to be valued for doing an excellent job in teaching our kids -- and luck has little to do with that mission. It is hard work dealing with everyone. It is hard work to put all the facts on the table and really get to understand a topic area -- and not have a blind spot. I want to say that Pgh Public Schools can thumb its nose to soft money of the Gates Foundation. That money can go to hopeless places -- like Philly -- where they have two stand alone slots parlors and are really lucky.

Listen to this double talk. First, "The traditional American high school is really an anachronism.
It was designed 100 years ago and really hasn't changed much since," said Naomi Housman, director of the National High School Alliance. As a result, she said, many schools aren't preparing students for today's world or holding students' interest on a daily basis. "They want to be engaged," Ms. Housman said. "They're just not finding it in the traditional high school.

Second, we are told this task force ran around the nation looking at schools throughout the country.

Don't paint with a broad brush. Some schools work. Some don't. And more to the point. Some schools are going to work for some kids while they fail other students. I'm a Libertarian swim coach so I understand the theme, "Different strokes for different folks."

The failure that makes the continual theme of hopelessness stems from the lack of choice.

Of course the trickle-up campaign didn't work. That's more smoke and double-talk.
Kati Haycock, director of The Education Trust, said high school improvements for years took a backseat to elementary school restructuring. But the desired "trickle-up" effect -- the idea that good habits established in primary years would pay dividends in high school -- didn't materialize.
You want a good high school, work on high school education. You want good pre-school -- focus on pre-school education. You want a good high school, don't focus on college education when the kids are in the K-12 setting. Stick to the focus area. The Pittsburgh Promise is a trickle-up idea that is going to flop.

I've been a stay-at-home dad who has objected to advanced pre-school efforts in the educational community. Head start is nice for some. But, head-start programs should NOT be mandatory. Head start programs might make great head-start programs, but they are NOT the key for making great elementary schools. We could use some head start efforts in the community. But, I don't want to see the school district spend a lot of effort in that domain. A K-12 district needs to cooperate with head start educators and parents. But, a K-12 district, needs to focus on K-12 students.

Mr. Roosevelt has called high school improvement the year's top priority -- and I think his stance is nothing but a joke. If Roosevelt wanted to tackle high school education he'd be doing a dance with the public. He hides behind a task force of hand-picked cronies.

There are many things that can be done to improve our high schools, and I'll cover them in depth. They have not been done for years. The ideas I want to advance are cheap. They'd make a huge improvement. They would have happened already if Mr. Roosevelt and the board really cared. I think these folks are motivated by CYA tactics. They want to talk the talk, yet cover they're backsides. Few are really interested in making system wide changes and making those changes stick in the greater community.

Voting with one's feet looks like this:
35 percent of city students, including nearly half of all black males, drop out of high school. Other students, dissatisfied with academics and environment, opt for charter or suburban schools.
I don't want a task force to shape a plan. I want a school board and superintendent to shape a plan. I want to engage the public in efforts of peer review so as to shape a future.
District Chief of Staff Lisa Fischetti said board members tomorrow will hear about lessons the task force has learned and how that information will shape a plan, to be unveiled in the spring, for improving city schools.
Information that should shape a plan is called 'data.' The data should be online for all to see.

Here is another task that a real task force might do. Examine the data collection and data reporting to the public. Examine the formulas for operations in Pgh Public Schools and beyond. Make accountability evident in both school performance and finances. I want to know teacher, building, classroom, grade and subject perfomances -- in real time. This would be a fine task for a task force. Then we'd have transparent models and knowledge for making better choices.

This next statement give a serious worry for two reasons. First, evolution occurs in many tiny steps. Organic changes are healthy. Give us piecemeal. Don't give radical shifts that ignore the results of the past. The results of the students at the schools that were re-tooled were thrown out the window and not even published in the A+ Schools report. They want to churn and not keep a record of where we've been.

While some districts have remade high schools on a piecemeal basis, she said, Pittsburgh's effort will be system-wide change that builds on current "pockets of excellence."


There are pockets of excellence within the PPS, but they have never been noticed nor rewarded. Often, they are discounted. Furthermore, the pockets of excellence within the elementary schools, the magnet schools where foreign languages are taught from K and up, has been discounted. The right-sizing plans didn't center upon the pockets of excellence.

The gifted education plan is a pocket of excellence and it is under a cloud of cuts too.

Another worry: Let's not design a school improvement plan and lean upon marketing savvy. Put lipstick on a pig and claim victory.

Other than CAPA, a theme-based school, the next best theme was Vo Tech. And, South Vo Tech closed. If you liked theme-based schools, Janis Ripper, where you fighting for the continual operation of South??? I did.
"We liked the theme-based schools," said Janis Ripper, the principal assigned to coordinate the task force.
The buzz word, academies, seems more like a CYA task, given the recent rightsizing.
Ms. Ripper said team members observed enthusiastic instruction and innovative ideas, such as "academies" -- one example of a small learning community -- to isolate ninth-graders from upperclassmen in a building. But cold data on achievement gains were elusive.
Cold data was elusive. That's what I mean. We need a task force to uncover and insure cold data.

There is an educational trend -- new is better. New is better when asking to spend more money. New is better when you don't know where you are going. New is better when you didn't do a good job with the not-so-new.
"Some of the schools had some data," she said. "But one thing to keep in mind with high school reform: Because it is so new, a lot of schools were in the process of a two- or three-year plan. Data wasn't as available as we'd like."
Likewise, I'm certain that the data isn't going to be available to defend a massive change to the landscape of our high schools in Pittsburgh.
Paul Vallas, chief executive officer of the School District of Philadelphia, said he's pleased with a continuing overhaul there that's increased the number of high schools from about 50 to 80.
Exactly. "continual overhaul."
He said the district with 180,000 students, more than six times Pittsburgh's enrollment, has moved toward smaller schools with college preparatory curriculums, signature programs and dual enrollment arrangements that allow students to take college classes. Nineteen of the high schools are charter schools. In all, 30 district and charter high schools met federal performance standards last year.
Again, the good is the fact that there are some charter schools. But, the problem is that the Pgh Public School board and administrators have always been fighting the charter schools. They've put up many roadblocks to specialized private and charter schools.

The dual enrollment part is nice as it comes closer to what I'd like to see. Rather than dual enrollment, give enrollment freedom. Get rid of the confinements of high school choice. Allow any kid in the city to go to any school. It can't be quite that simple, but it should be.

"I like to say we've gone from failure to adequacy. Now, the key is to get to excellence," said Mr. Vallas, who's faced some of the same academic and financial problems as Mr. Roosevelt.
Could someone please explain the financial problems of Pgh Public Schools. Just saying that they are there is not a real way to lead. That's call crying. Poor, poor us doesn't wash from my perspective. Why, exactly, does the district think it is with financial problems? -- Perhaps because of the charter schools???

No matter their neighborhoods, Mr. Vallas said, Philadelphia students have a choice of at least three high schools. BINGO. But our choice in Pittsburgh can be for eight or ten schools.

North Carolina's Charlotte-Mecklenburg School District offers signing bonuses of as much as $15,000 to build elite teacher corps at four low-performing high schools. ... Humm... Did you hear swim coach David Marsh is going to MAC and starting a program of excellence. His job brings a $1-million pay check. Interesting. Now we're talking "sizable."

Thanks for the article Joe.

Summary: A year long effort to reform our high schools is a wonderful idea. Too bad the process and efforts so far just compound the problems. I want to get to the roots of the problems, as do plenty of others. This article proves, again, to me, that Roosevelt's leadership is without a firm grasp of the keys to our situations.

Furthermore, I've got different ideas. Others have solid ideas as well.

Forum: Ban trans fats. Don't be silly. Ban the bans!

Forum: Ban trans fats Pittsburgh should step up to the plate and ban trans fats in restaurants, argues diet and wellness author WILL CLOWER
It is silly to promote a ban on trans fats in Pittsburgh or elesewhere in the US. The nanny state arguments are the same old intrusionist nonsense.

His writing seemed critical of one of our favorite words by associating it with childish tendencies rather than with enlightened self-interest:
"The real problem is more fundamental. It comes from that kernel, lodged deep within each of our foot-stomping, you're-not-the-boss-of-me Libertarian hearts, that screams that no one can tell us what to do."

And if you feel inclined to write a LTE in response, here's the PG LTE email address: letters@post-gazette.com

The use of a capital "L" instead of small "l" in that sentence is wrong. Don't write "civil Libertarian hearts."

Sunday, January 07, 2007

Riddle: What's round on the outside and "high" in the middle?

Riddle two: Erik, shown in two photos from yesterday's meet at Deer Lakes (we won) is wearing a special swim cap. Can you tell what it is and why he'd wear it?
On the blocks about to help win the free relay. Erik swam 3rd. In our league, the age group relays are co-ed. That is a nice feature. Our 11-12 "A" medley relay got second (D.P.,E.Mc.,E.R.,D.M.) but they won the free relay (E.Mc.,D.M.,E.R., D.P.). Both were exciting races.

After swimming his leg -- he cheered for his mates.

Saturday, January 06, 2007

New arena stupidity from SEA. Haste makes waste -- fools!

This shows exactly how stupid the Stadium and Exibition Authority is. Unreal. Haste makes waste.

I'm calling for a new, different, better location for the new hockey venue. Meanwhile, these bone heads are pressing ahead on site prep for the wrong location.
New arena hopes advance on 2 fronts New arena hopes advance on 2 fronts
Site preparation work to begin while Penguins haggle with local officials

Saturday, January 06, 2007
By Mark Belko, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

The city-Allegheny County Sports & Exhibition Authority is pressing ahead with preparations for a new arena even as state and local officials get down to the nitty-gritty of trying to cobble together a deal to keep the Penguins in Pittsburgh.
Think again.

Some would ask, "Do they think at all????"

The removal of asbestos from buildings is fine. But who is paying for it?

Two enter races for City Council

Who on the Pgh school board isn't running for another office? Four of the members were rumored to be in races. Others have run or tried to mount campaigns for other offices in the past.

I like Patrick. He is a good guy. He beat D. Harris in the past -- and that was a great change for the school board. Now, if he wins a seat on city council, he'll be with her on council, if she is lucky enough to win a full term too.

My favorite to replace Patrick Dowd on the Pgh Public School Board is Stephanie Tecza. She would be a splendid addition to the school board.
Two enter races for City Council Patrick Dowd is among the Pittsburgh school board members hoping Superintendent Mark Roosevelt will agree to a contract extension.

Perhaps Mr. Roosevelt should have asked Mr. Dowd for a similar commitment.

Mr. Dowd, 38, of Highland Park, one of Mr. Roosevelt's most ardent supporters, has decided to run for City Council this year instead of seeking a second term as District 2 school board representative.

Friday, January 05, 2007

Coaching takes a back seat to Parenting. Daddy Cower Power

I've blogged about this recently in another posting. Scroll down. But, it would be good to salute the parenting perspectives in the conversations and community buzz.

I've resigned coaching positions to re-set priorities to parenting.

Now that the Steelers get to hire the next coach, I'm pulling for Mike Singletary. We both have a connection to Chicago and Baylor University.

Clarke Thomas: Some big bills are coming due

Clarke Thomas: Some big bills are coming due Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. wrote in a 1904 case: 'Taxes are what we pay for civilized society.'
Is hockey civilized?

Are the owners of the Civic Arena slum landlords? Isn't that close to being uncivilized? Don't they already get a lot of taxpayer money from the RAD tax?

This would make an interesting concept map.

Sunnyhill-Dot-Org has video snip of Joe Jencks from 2006 concert we hosted

Sunnyhill-Dot-Org Special musical guest for Sunday, Jan 7 -- Joe Jencks

On Sunday morning, Joe Jencks is playing for our Chapel and for the opening music of the main service (led by Sue Richmond).

Mini championship meet in central PA

community.centredaily.com The most competitive regular season high school swim meet in all of Pennsylvania will take place at 10:00 am this Saturday at the Kinney Natatorium of Bucknell University.
Western PA's high school swim landcape needs more big-time meets, beyond WPIAL and STATES.

[412] Ho, ho, yo to Running Mates and beyond. Post Festivus. Yet no Octopus

Finally. I sent out an email blast to my 412-list.

I had gone about six months without using the blast list. That was a long time.
[412] Ho, ho, yo to Running Mates and beyond. Post Festivus. Yet no Octopus [412] Ho, ho, yo to Running Mates and beyond. Post Festivus. Yet no Octopus
The message twists and turns -- as does life. Oh well. Still waters run deep, from time to time.

Thursday, January 04, 2007

R.I.P: You don't get to choose when you die, generally.


We remember Bob Palmer, Catherine's father.
Catherine went to Maine this afternoon. She flew into Boston and her brother picked her up at the airport. They drove together to Maine. Twenty minutes after they arrived, Mr. Palmer passed.

My father-in-law, but much more importantly, my wife's dad and my kids' grandpa, was 73. He had some hard weeks, physically. Word from New Years' Weekend was that he had take a turn for the worst. He was in the care of hospice and at home. His two children are at his side along with his friends in Maine.

The plans were to have Catherine return to Pittsburgh on Saturday night. A memorial will be held in the weeks to come. Details unknown now.

This is the first grandparent to pass for my kids. They've been blessed to know them all.

One classic line from Mr. Palmer -- "Fix the problem, not the blame."

Peace.

The "Pride" Mentor Sweepstakes

Can't wait until March, 2007.
Pride - The "Pride" Mentor Sweepstakes The “Pride” Mentor Sweepstakes (the “Sweepstakes”) is intended for viewing and participation only in the 50 United States and the District of Columbia (“U.S.”)

Modern PRIDE guy(s).

Photo was taken of Pitt's recent co-captians in Irvine, California, in August 2005 at Nationals. D (left) is a swimmer from Philly. J (right) is now doing his student teaching at CV and made his cuts to the Olympic Trials. He's been the summer coach at Green Tree.

Movie Trailer. The story of PDR (Philadelphia Department of Recreation), which created a number of top 16 swimmers, National and NCAA finalists, and Senior/Junior National qualifiers. One year the team won Junior Nationals. Brielle White, Michael Norment, Atiba Wade, Valerie Patterson, are all products of PDR and the program led by Coach Ellis. There was a really good article on this team in The New York Times Magazine back in the mid 1990s.


Hosea, Pittsburgh's version of Philly's PRIDE story. Coach H.H. coaches at the Kingsley Center and Carrick H.S. Here he is coaching in the summer at Highland Park Pool.

Take the LCB and pull the plug on the entire agency

Pennsylvania does not need the LCB. (Liquor Control Board)

Thanks for your courage, outgoing chairman.

Fire the new CEO. Close the entire organization. Ed Rendell messed up again to benefit his cronies.

To spend more time with his family. Parenting becomes a priority for coach!

Is his wife going to have another baby?

No, he's a dad to a high school sophomore. His baby is a sophomore.

Good for you Coach. Too bad you can't retire in Carnegie or Crafton.

We need more 'full-time dads.'

But this line, to spend more time with the family, gets abused. Michael Jordan used it, poorly. Be like Mike was the marketing slogan. We stay-at-home dads were excited when M.J. said he was going to join our ranks. Then a few weeks later, he moved into team ownership roles and beyond in D.C. He pimped himself into the parenting parade for cover for a career venue switch.

Time will tell.

Parenting is a tough job. It is tough when the kids are babies. It gets tougher as they grow. Often parenting is toughest as the kids enter high school.

Pittsburgh Jack's Place -- Zooming into the bloggers' domain with facts and insights

He's back. Not Jason. But Jack!

The blog, Pittsburgh Jack's Place, saw a posting that looked very much like a comment on my blog about the ex-pol Dwadida. I too was about to blog about the cover story in the present Pgh City Paper -- but it was lurking in the drafts folder.

Well, his rant as an unsigned comment must have tickled his calling back into the blogger life.

Good to have you back, Jack. He posted today, Jan 4, 2007. His last posting was October 25, 2004.

So, what did you do on your summer vacation?
PittsburghJack's Place Out with the Old
Regarding the cover story in the current issue of the Pittsburgh City Paper about the generational shift in Pittsburgh party politics, there is at least one glaring issue that requires clarification.
I sense that Pgh Jack, like me, would be happy if Mike Dawida, stayed only as a fleeting memory in our shared political history -- and didn't freshen his resume with a run for office again in 2007.

My comments on the sperm to cronie cover story -- beaten to the punch -- will come later.

WP: New Orleans repeats mistakes - washingtonpost.com Highlights - MSNBC.com

WP: New Orleans repeats mistakes - washingtonpost.com Highlights - MSNBC.com 'There are areas where it doesn't make any sense to rebuild -- they got 20 feet of water in Katrina,' said Tom Murphy, a former Pittsburgh mayor who served on an Urban Land Institute panel for post-Katrina planning. 'In those places, nature is talking to us, and we ought to be listening. I don't think we are.'

Logic Trip concerning a caller about the Civic Arena

He said he worked for 31 years at the Civic Arena. He said he loves hockey.
The City and County has been acting like a slum landlord in its handling of the Arena in recent years.
So, he feels it makes sense to tear down the arena and build a new one.

Hold the phone, pal.

If the arena has not been managed well, who is to blame? Is that the Stadium and Exibition Authority? Is that the city and county? Is that the managers of the civic arena? Who manages the arena now?

If the arena was run down -- do you think the poor treatment should be rewarded? Run things down and trash things -- then it gets an upgrade??? That's churn. That's not healthy.

The city starved many things in the past. They city starved Fifth & Forbes district without washing the streets, without fixing sidewalks, without allowing for facade fix-up funds to building owners -- as provided to all the other sections of the city.

And if the city and county is a slum landlord, whey not fix this concept. Let's make sure that the new arena is owned and operated by another entity other than the public. The public agency has proven to be a slum landlord then we don't want to allow that to continue. Don't build a new arena and put it into the hands of these slum landlords. Put the new venue into the hands of those who are going to care. Put the team in an ownership role, not the city.

A big downfall of the IOC plan was the building of the facility with the windfall of the cheap slots license and then the giving of the facility to the public agency.

Billionaire Mark Cuban asks President Bush to cancel inauguration parties - Wikinews

Blast from the past:
Billionaire Mark Cuban asks President Bush to cancel inauguration parties - Wikinews January 4, 2005

United States – Mark Cuban, the billionaire owner of the National Basketball Association's Dallas Mavericks, has asked U.S. President George W. Bush to cancel the inauguration parties that are planned in his honor and redirect the cost to aid for Tsunami victims.

'It’s up to President Bush to set an example,' Cuban said in his web blog. 'Could there be anything more confusing and shocking than to read that our country was offering $35mm in aid to the areas affected by the tsunamis, but that the cost of inauguration parties would be about $40mm?'

Elevator Points for Dan Onorato, now on KDKA radio with Marty Griffin

Encourage the Pens to play 10 games a year in other cities until the new arena is built in Allegheny County.
Take the Pens off their game.
Build good-will.
Drive new fans to the Pens & Pgh elsewhere.

We (Pens, public, local goverment officials) must find a better location for the new hockey venue: Building off the lower hill delivers more profits and customer satisfaction.
Airport corridor, Neville Island, North Shore, next to the Convention Center, Parkway Center Mall, Settlers Cabin vicinity are possibilities.

PAT needs to quickly deploy E-Z Pass technology -- electronic, debit-card bus passes -- for all ridership. Data on efficiency and capacity is absent. Route cut factors are on a whim. PAT needs real-time and accurate data on the system. An electronic bus pass overhaul, first, ends fare jumpers, fraud, theft, and subsidizations can occur to those who need transit allowances (needy, seniors, students, special populations).

Wednesday, January 03, 2007


Road trip..... Bye, bye, birdie?

Poll: Who should be the Miami Dolphins next coach? | naplesnews.com | Naples Daily News

The NFL's Miami Dolphins are in the hunt for a new head coach now that the ex-LSU coach is headed to 'Bama -- Roll Tide Roll!

Talk goes to assistants with the Steelers as well as a throw back contender: "Bring Don Shula back." Is that the same Don Shula, and NOT his son who was coaching elsewhere recently???

Poll: Who should be the Miami Dolphins next coach? | naplesnews.com | Naples Daily News Possible candidates to replace Saban include Chicago Bears defensive coordinator Ron Rivera, former Green Bay head coach Mike Sherman, San Diego Chargers offensive coordinator Cam Cameron, Indianapolis assistant Jim Caldwell, Tennessee Titans offensive coordinator Norm Chow and Pittsburgh Steelers assistants Russ Grimm and Ken Whisenhut.
Perhaps they could get Jim Leyland to coach the Dolphins too as he won them (Marlins) a World Series once.

Then there is Chuck Noll, former Steeler coach, who picked up a vote or two as a write-in at the November 2006 general elections.

Young Stanley, the Penguin, checking the shoe leather of the fan base. (That's Grant in front row on the right.)

Pittsburgh Penguins STATEMENT from Mario

Penguins and "We, The People."
Official Home of the Pittsburgh Penguins: STATEMENT FROM PENGUINS OWNERS MARIO LEMIEUX AND RON BURKLE best ensure the economic health and long-term future of the Penguins franchise
Dear Luke, Dan and Ed,

The line above, from the Pen's web site, is your hook. That's your focus. Mario wants economic health. Mario wants long-term prosperity.

Staying in Pittsburgh is going to deliver more prosperity for the Pens and its owners.

Mario wants an "upside." He wants ROI (a Return on Investment). Mario has a business.

Furthermore, Mario doesn't trust you. Nor should he. Backslapping isn't going to work here as the opportunities have soured.

Tell Mario he can own and operate the Convention Center and we'll do a deal to get a new venue next to the Convention Center in The Strip District.

Tell Mario we'll fit a new venue on the North Shore. Fans in the region, Mario's customers, are familiar with the North Side venue for sporting facilities. Put the hockey arena on the footprint of the proposed, state subsidized outdoor concert venue that the Steelers wanted. The Pens and Steelers can cooperate. Besides, the Steelers don't like the new slots parlor. They'll like the Pens.

Tell Mario we'll give him plenty of land out by the airport and the new highways there. He can build a Penguins Village, like an Olympic Village.

Tell Mario he can build out on Neville Island, near another highway, near customers.

Mario's land purchase of recent years in the Civic Arena's neighborhood can be leveraged into the package as Don Barden said he'd devote money to The Hill.

When we talk about the big picture -- getting long term economic health for the franchise -- there are plenty of great options that offer a much better situation than re-building in the same area of the city.

My other post from earlier today offering him games elsewhere and cooperation with the civic arena can be like the cherry of your discussions.

Preview of a welcome from Luke to Mario:

Hi Mario. Hope Kansas City's trip went well. How about if the Pens play 10 games a year in KC until you get to move into your own brand-new venue in Allegheny County. Let's draw up a more flexible lease for Mellon Arena for next year so you can play some of the home games in other cities in 2007-2008 season.

Take them off their game, but don't stray from their goal, profits.

Honz Man won't run for ACE -- asked by GOP to run against Dan Onorato

Honz Man like Dan Onorato. Honz Man won't run for the Chief Executive slot. And, he says, he was asked by the Allgheny County GOP to run for the office.

Honz Man is injured. He has a bad leg or foot. He is doing his show form him home in recent weeks.

I'd say it would be hard for Honz to run when we can't even walk.

This isn't the year for a Honz Man Campaign. Get well first. Furthermore, don't pull a Lynn Swann. Honz should run for PA Senate. Honz might do well to run for PA House. Or, run for both in the same year, 2008.

I was at the Allegheny County Election Department today doing some research on the write in votes. I know that the Honz Man got some votes. Same too for Marty Griffin. Also, Rob Louge got a good number of votes. Some for Governor, some for US Senator.

Honz should get into politics. We need to keep putting attention into the local races.

My prediction is that the Honz Man might do as well as Bill Green did in his recent election for D.M.

stay at home, lockstepping local leadership

Rep. Dennis O'Brien became speaker of the PA General Assembly by defeating former speaker Rep. John Perzel in a 105-97 vote.

O'Brien, R, got nominated by the D. And, O'Brien got six Republicans to break ranks with the R leadership. These voted for O'Brien: Reps. Kerry Benninghoff (R., Center), Jim Cox (R., Berks), Brad Roae (R., Crawford), Sam Rohrer (R., Berks), Curt Schroder (R., Chester) and David Steil (R., Bucks).

Meanwhile, three Democrats in the House split from D leadership and voted for Perzel: Reps. Thomas Caltagirone (D., Berks), Angel Cruz (D., Phila.) and Rosita Youngblood (D., Phila.).

Summary: All the locals went with leadership -- lockstepping into the future without breaking ranks. None of them were original.

Furthermore, should a Libertarian, or a Green, or an Indie be in the PA House in Harrisburg, then more interesting deals would get made with these 'lone wolf reps.' Kings would be made by these lone voices, as I'd expect.

It only took a few to topple the log jam. I'd rather see the few be real thinkers and real reformers -- other than the backstabbing among cronies.

You Tube from 2004 - faded messages with faded protests


Big cuts are here from PAT. Duhhh....

Launch point from years ago.


Concept Map of Transit, a starting point. Link to transit pages at my Platform.For-Pgh.org.

SOS & Save Our Transit with Silly Old Slogans

Protesters marched downtown today and had a few fleeting moments before tv news cameras today outside of the city-county building on Grant Street. I counted no more than ten protesters. And, they are the regulars, as pointed out by a security guard inside the building working at the medal detector.

My message to them: Change the message and you'd have 100 others standing with you. For years, you've been barking and taking a beating. For years, the strategy has been failing.

They say:

  • Save Our Transit

  • No Service Cuts

  • No Fare Hikes

  • Dumb, dumb, dumb. They've been there with the same messages and it isn't working.

    I don't even want to march with them these days.

    They should be saying:

    Stop the Tunnel!

    But no. They defend the tunnel. They don't want to be real advocates for real reform.
    He wasn't at the rally.




    The screen on the top of this green box is what we need. The Octopus system in Hong Kong is wonderful. Think of E-Z Pass as used on the Turnpike but for all transit riders.

    Dealing with the Pens and Politicians in Pittsburgh

    The arena in Kansas City is not done. The building is not yet finished. So, no building sits waiting for the Penguins or any other NHL team, yet. The waiting might begin in the fall.

    The lease for Mellon Arena for the Penguins expires at the end of this season.

    Advice for Dan Ororato, Luke Ravenstahl and Jeff Koch, of Pittsburgh's City Council and a member of the Sports & Exhibition Authority, PA Senator, Wayne Fontana, also a joker on the SEA:

    + Invite the Penguins to sign a one year lease for Mellon Arena. Make the lease extension offer.

    + Invite the Penguins to play up to ten games per year at other venues until a new venue is built in Pittsburgh. And, the Penguins want to play 10 games in K.C. and 10 in Houston each year, let them do it.

    The Penguins should be free to move. The Penguins should be free to stay and scout around a bit.

    Should the Penguins build a fan base in Houston and Kansas City, they'll be building bridges back to the city of Pittsburgh too. Hell, let the team play games in Hamilton too. Play 4 in each town. Play in 4 different towns. That might get people in those towns hooked on the Pens and get them to future games in Pittsburgh. I think it would be cool to have the Pens play some home games in other cities while we work through this venue crisis.

    That's cooperation.

    That's a community solution.

    That's a win-win solution.

    That buys good will. And, the politicians deserve nothing from the Pens in the category of 'good will.' The politicans have done nothing.

    Yesterday a member of city council, Tonya Payne, told me that she does not want to see the Penguins move off the the hill. Well, Tonya's wants and the reality of the situation are not the same. She is out of touch and too selfish. If anyone insists that the Pens stay in The Hill -- the Pens will depart. The grass is greener elsewhere when staying put means the upper downtown area and lower hill.

    I want to be sure that the Pens have a long-term home in Pennsylvania. I want to have a solution that won't be back in the faces of the city and its fans again in 10-20 years.

    A new public financed arena owned by the public authority with a 10, 20 or 30 year lease is going to mean we repeat the same old story again in 10 or 20 years. The Pens should have the juice to design, build, upkeep and own its own facility forever. And, the deal for the Pens needs to be one that makes that organization healthy too, without tax subsidization.

    The leaders are going to need some creativity. And, this is what I fear most.

    Dan Onorato and Luke Ravenstahl and even Governor can not begin the conversation with a re-hash of "Plan B finances." That isn't what any sales person would do. That isn't what Mario really wants to hear.

    The sales process begins with questions to qualify the buyer. Overcome objections. Don't jump to finance matters.

    Furthermore, it is the public officials job to tell the Pens that when they leave the Civic Arena, it is NOT their building. They'll leave their lease and the building will remain. So, if the Penguins want to come back and play 10 games a year as turn-back-the-clock games at our Civic Arena -- fine. We might be able to work out that deal.

    Then the Pens could build a new arena out by the airport and make lots of money in multiple deals. Plus, a few times a year the Pens could have a golden opportunity to hold a special game in the city at the Civic Arena.

    The Civic Arena isn't the best venue for the mega rock shows. Fine. But, there is a future for that building beyond the Penguins. And, if the Pens are willing to craft a deal and venue in the area, the Civic Arena might be a perfect venue for supporting other activities associated with the team and its fans -- beyond game-day hockey nights.

    Ballot Access News � Blog Archive � Pennsylvania Releases Official Returns

    Get this! We hold an election but don't count the vote?

    Write in candidates score as 'write in' and not as they should?

    Ballot Access News � Blog Archive � Pennsylvania Releases Official Returns Pennsylvania Releases Official Returns

    December 22nd, 2006

    On December 22, Pennsylvania released its official returns. Carl Romanelli was credited with 645 write-ins. He was the Green Party candidate for U.S. Senate who fought to be on the ballot. His true write-in total will never be known, since 23 of Pennsylvania’s counties didn’t canvass write-ins. These 23 counties include some of the most populous counties in the state. They include Centre (the county that includes State College), Erie, and Philadelphia Counties.
    I looked hard for the write in results from Allegheny County and can't find them on the web. Where are they?

    The rail road worker from the eastern side of Pennsylvania who wanted to run for US Senate had the pleasure of being knocked off the ballot and getting more than $900,000 in bills -- thanks to undemocratic democrats. Then to add more insult, the write in vote count is unknown.

    We demand, as the PA Constitution says, "free and equal elections." That should be everyone gets equal status. A person who is less isn't equal. Count them all. Tell the results. Do your jobs!

    Tuesday, January 02, 2007

    Sports Business News: Two Steps Back and maybe one big step forward for the NHL

    Sports Business News: Two Steps Back and maybe one big step forward for the NHL: "Councilman William Peduto, expected to be the next Pittsburgh Mayor, was also an Isle of Capri supporter, and questioned whether Plan B could win legislative approval, if that is needed. 'My bottom line on Plan B is, show me the money,' he said."

    Predictions for the year to come

    Cute.
    Predictions for the year to come Feb. 13
    Ending speculation about his future career, former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum enters race for Republican nomination for mayor of Pittsburgh. He calls questions about his lack of a Pittsburgh address 'an irrelevant topic created by the media.'

    Feb. 22
    Scurrying to prevent the Penguins' threatened departure for Omaha, local politicians unveil Plan J, which would use state funds to cover the Dormont pool with an ice rink and roof and install 17,200 portable seats.

    Swimming sisters help each other overcome adversity

    Swimmers shine!
    Swimming sisters help each other overcome adversity Swimming sisters help each other overcome adversity
    Pooling their strength

    Monday, January 01, 2007

    Treason! To say that a state rep's vote for speaker is "treason" should that choice go to one outside his party is just the talk of a jackass!

    Treason????

    More of them need to be swept out of office. But talk of treason --- think again!

     Posted by Picasa

    Going to City Council Chambers to speak about the new arena on Jan 2 at 10 am



    I'm going to attend and speak for 3-minutes before the Pittsburgh's City Council meeting and share a few pointers about the Penguins and the hope of a new arena.
    The new arena could have glass pedestrian walkways.

    Ballot Access -- one of the many top priorities


    Pennsylvania's Constitution guarantees "fair and equal elections." However, nominees for statewide office from the two major parties need merely 2,000 primary election ballot access signatures to qualify for the November general election. Others need more than 67,000.

    That doesn't sound fair and equal to me. How about you?

    I urge you to bring fairness to statewide elections by passing the Voters' Choice Act.

    Find out more at PaBallotAccess.org and please let me know where you stand.

    Taking a dip with the Polar Bear Club: Air = 49 degrees F; Water = 47

    It was fun.

    The water felt much like the day at the beach in Maine when there was a heat wave and a stiff wind from land to ocean. The pins in my forearms ached quickly.

    Otherwise, my swim was about 30-40 yards. Jumped in at the "go" signal and slugged upstream for about 15-20 yards with most of the others in and out in that time. Not bad. But upon turning around, the dry land called and welcomed with a longing passion.

    There must have been 350 people at the Mon Wharf this morning at 9 am. More were flowing in as I was leaving. None were as prepared as me in certain categorys. In other regards, such as tobacco and booze, I was not in their league at all. I was wearing my yellow latex swim cap, pulled over the years to keep out the water. Tip one, keep the ears dry and warm.

    I also had my open water swim goggles with the reflective lense. We really needed it today as the sun was bright. Most near me were finding it hard to get good photos because of the bright sun. A few others were noticed with plain old swim goggles. The ones I use offer a great field of vision and are so large that most of my face stays warm as well.

    On my feet, the surf booties that tighten above the ankles. They can be made so tight as to keep out all water. My toes were happy feet. The rubber bottoms don't grip worth a darn on the slime covered steep edge of concrete leading from the parking spot and guard rail to the edge of the water, at a 45-degree angle. Thanks to the guy who offered me a hand in pulling me out to the bank. Perhaps I should have jumped at that location and climbed out at the more gradual ramp so as to keep my footing. Otherwise, I'm crawling on my bellie.

    Plus, I kept my pull-bouey! That way I could offer it to anyone who might be in need -- or just keep myself on top of the water and swim with the head out in an effortless way.

    My outfit was complete with the body glove surf suit that goes to elbows and knees. All in all -- I cheated on the wardrobe. No t-shirt nor trunks for me.

    After the exit, it took about 2 minutes and I was warm again. The recovery was quick, but I didn't feel the temptation to re-enter, as many others did.

    I had to rush home for some clean up duties around the home/office for a party today. We're going to fire up the Chocolate Fountain, a gift from last year. A few of the guys are going to visit for a play day.

    Very little on the web was available about the polar bear club in Pittsburgh. The zoo's new exhibit was easily found. But after today, with all the 'fair weather friends' taking the plunge, I bet we'll see lots of digital pictures at Flicker and Picassa. I hope so as I didn't take a single photo. KDKA and other tv stations were there, of course.

    My boys didn't join me. Grant was playing computer games and passed. He pondered the activity long and hard but whimped out. Erik is still sleeping. He's turning more into a teenager with his sleep patterns. He wasn't going to go anyway. No way. He's even worried about sharks with our pending swims in New Zealand with dolphins.

    E. and J. and their dad, swimmers on the Carlynton Swim Team, were there and swimming. Good for them. They'll have more stories to tell. I bet I saw 30 or 40 kids under the age of 14.

    Another swim group exists. I wish I had pointers to them.