Grand finale set for 'Pittsburgh Celebrates 250' - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

Grand finale set for 'Pittsburgh Celebrates 250' - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review 'Pittsburgh Celebrates 250,' set for Oct. 3-4, will climax with a Zambelli fireworks display that will turn Pittsburgh into a colossal birthday cake, with the skyscrapers of the Golden Triangle transformed into giant candles.

I think that the Opening of the 2008 Olympics in Bejing, China, will beat the pants of the Zambelli show. I am not sure. But, that's my hunch. China invented 'fireworks' before the rest of the world figured out how to slice a pizza.

I'll let you know in about 10 days.

I do get some serious joy at the possibilities of being a lead in the parade as a Libertarian in a canoe. Perhaps we (my sons and I) can take the place of the Native American.

An Oct. 4 flotilla that starts at Brunot Island on the Ohio River and includes commercial, private and non-motorized watercraft. It will replicate a similar event in 1908 that celebrated the city's 150th anniversary, when the watercraft were led by a lone American Indian paddling a canoe. It also will mark the final voyage of the Delta Queen, the last of the original paddle-wheel steamboats to ...

Nice foot

Football.

Are you ready for some football?

Soccer Donut Stunt

Hilltop residents looking for help

Hilltop residents looking for help'Continuing gun violence is why my Hilltop is falling apart,' Kraus said in a recent interview. 'The No. 1 key to turning a neighborhood around is safety. It takes political will to allocate the money.'

Well, to begin, for the record, Post Gazette info on the main character of this story is off. The woman they refer to is an insurance case manager at Children's Hospital which is a bit different from being an audiologist!

As for the statement by Mr. Kraus, it is typical.

A lack of safety will turn a neighborhood to the worse.

However, a blanket of safety will NOT turn a neighborhood to a thriving, dynamic place. Being safe and feeling safe will help, of course. But, safety is not the key to prosperity.

Living under an authoritarian state can be very safe. Having police at every corner can be safe. But, there is more. Much, much more. And, by more, I do not mean more wire taps, more drug busts, more DUI check points, more remote cameras, more grocery stores even.

Furthermore, there is not a clear connection between 'political will' and 'allocation of money.'

Bruce Kraus if brimming with political will to allocate money. He'll give to his political pals. He'll take from his political foes. He'll nag about politics and cry for more political will. He is a politician, two-faced and without logic -- as the politicians around here have been trained to behave.

I don't scorn political will. Just those who discount it on one hand and expect it on the other.

The real issue I have is the connection of political will and money. This is what Kraus and the others on Grant Street fail to understand. There is no money left in the budget. They want to spend like this is Pittsburgh in the 1960s. They want to give away stuff to places where there is political will. They want to buy votes. They want to bribe folks into moving here. They want to spend our money and have that be understood as an investment into the community from the politicians.

The political will walking around money is gone. Tom Murphy and the ones that came before Bruce Kraus have spent it all.

All the hanging baskets of plants and lipstick on the business district with the right shades of paint can't fix this city again. They don't get it. That isn't safe for anyone of us.

Local Activist Questions Where Weed And Seed Money Is Going - WPXI

Pittsburgh

Local Activist Questions Where Weed And Seed Money Is Going - News Story - WPXI Pittsburgh: "Local Activist Questions Where Weed And Seed Money Is Going"

Hat tip to BurghReport:

The Burgh Report: Fox Chapel Soccer Clinic Funded By City Weed and Seed?: "Fox Chapel Soccer Clinic Funded By City Weed and Seed?"

I've been waiting for a call back from Weed and Seed folks on matters much like this.

PURE Reform - Parents United for Responsible Educational Reform

Brand new web site! Welcome to the Pittsburgh digital landscape.

PURE Reform - Parents United for Responsible Educational Reform: "Parents United for Responsible Educational Reform ('PURE Reform') grew out of the movement to keep Schenley High School. All along, many parents had questions and concerns about high school reform in general, including concerns about high schools needing the most improvement but which have not been a focus of the reform process."

My only $.02 is the 'reform' word. Bill Ogden has a statement on 'reform.' When he hears 'reform' he often worries about so much reform that the result is 'de-formed.' Sorta cute. Sorta makes sense.

I'm excited to see parents unite for responsible education.

Mark Roosevelt's plan is reforming -- and really deforming.

Tickets in Beijing for Olympics -- pack a lunch

Olympic ticket sale in Beijing starts stampede

Thousands of eager fans who had waited for up to two days swarmed sales windows Friday for the final batch of tickets to next month's Olympic Games, knocking people to the ground and bending metal barricades in the chaotic crush.

Private Council meetings to halt

Private Council meetings to halt Private Council meetings to halt
Democrats met behind closed doors

This is another reason to not be a Democrat.

They should all resign. They've done much to advance the city's image as a smokey city.

Wilburn, our present house guest reports that it can be Smokey City or Smoky City -- as either way works for the Smokey Mountains!

Poverty leads to playing lottery, study says

I predict that I will not win the lottery.

Poverty leads to playing lottery, study says Poverty leads to playing lottery, study says

I don't play the lottery. But, I'm not rich.

A professor taught that the lottery is really a stupid tax. That has nothing to do with being rich or poor.

Olympics: China urges US athletes to focus on friendship 2008 Beijing Olympic Games - News - Yahoo!7 Sport

Olympics: China urges US athletes to focus on friendship 2008 Beijing Olympic Games - News - Yahoo!7 Sport China on Tuesday said US athletes should focus on building friendships at the Beijing Games, in a curt response to US President George Bush's call for them to be 'ambassadors of liberty'.

'We hope and believe that all athletes, including American athletes, attending the Beijing Olympics, will make efforts to promote friendship among the peoples of the world,' foreign ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said.

Being a friend, and being an example of liberty, are two faces from the same side of the coin.

Your best fried loves you for being who and what you want to be. And, to be whatever and whoever means that you've got choices and freedom to self evolve.

Everyone needs friends and running mates who are there out of a duty for both the friendship and its enduring hope of liberty.

Freedom and liberty can be kind and gentle. Friends care. Friends are open and honest in unselfish ways, in loving ways.

Friends challenge others to do well and to do right. But it is much like a teacher and student relationship. The teacher learns more than the student in many instances. Friends learn from each other. Friends give and share respect. Friends have relationships because we can.

I want to make new friends with thousands of others from around the world. This will be fun. This will be enriching to me. This will be a way to be more free.

Proposed playground disputed in Schenely Farms - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

Contradiction:

Proposed playground disputed in Schenely Farms - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review But a few neighbors of the center in the historic east Pittsburgh neighborhood fear that children playing on slides and swing sets will make noise late into the night and that already high traffic volumes created by visitors to the center will worsen if the playground is built.

Children and kids are often a contradiction to old and dying.

Get over it. Let the playground be built on the private property.

The children won't be there late into the night. Kids go to sleep at 8 pm.

Board OKs merger of city arts schools

Board OKs merger of city arts schools Board OKs merger of city arts schools

For months, I've been saying that the merger of the middle school and high school is a bad idea. Recently, I've been less vocal because of our summer schedule. But, it still sucks.

Once again, the Pgh Public School District is doing the wrong thing. First, it is going against the wishes of many thoughtful parents and prime customers. We pay the bills. We get yanked around again.

This is bad news.

CAPA is not a clown car!

CAPA High School should expand. It is a school that is working better than the other high schools in the district. It has a growth opportunity with the addition of new floors within the building complex downtown. Put in more high school students. Expand the program that is doing well.

Rodgers Middle School is one of the very best middle schools in the city too. Same with Frick Middle Schools. Lots of middle schools are very bad. They do the wrong thing by messing with the best middle schools and do nothing with the worse.

Rodgers should not be put downtown. We don't want middle school students with high schoolers. We don't want yellow school buses on the downtown streets on weekdays in rush hour traffic.

Police station's move to hilltop worries South Siders - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

Police station's move to hilltop worries South Siders - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review 'Our big problem is that the news stations quoted our mayor as saying that they had to make a decision between murders and drunks. That's totally erroneous,' McCoy said. 'We've had stabbings, shootings, armed robberies and we've had people mugged on a nightly basis.'

McCoy filed a petition with Pittsburgh City Council seeking a public hearing about what she believes is a lack of police protection in the South Side and the revolving door of police commanders who have supervised the Zone 3 station. The hearing is scheduled for Aug. 12 in council chambers.

USA 2008 Olympic Team - A for Athlete

USA 2008 Olympic Team - A for Athlete USA 2008 Olympic Team

The list of the athletes is on the wiki.

Pennsylvania did well in terms of numbers of Olympians headed to Beijing.

Pittsburgh has some mentions too, mostly as a former home town.

Key:

* Name, Date of Birth (Month/Day/Year), Hometown, Birthplace, Current Residence, Sport, Event/Position/Weight Class/Horse

Watch for:

Marvell Wynne II, 5/8/1986, Poway, Calif. (hometown), Pittsburgh, Pa. {birthplace), Toronto, Ontario, Canada, (Current) playing Soccer, as a Defender.

Lauryn Williams, 9/11/1983, Miami, Fla., Pittsburgh, Pa., (Rochester HS) Miami, Fla., Track and Field, 100m

Allison Schmitt, 6/7/1990, Canton, Mich., Pittsburgh, Pa., Canton, Mich., Swimming, 200m Free, 4x200m Free Relay http://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif

Lauren Crandall, 3/17/1985, Doylestown, Pa., Pittsburgh, Pa., Chula Vista, Calif., Field Hockey, Defender http://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif

Michael Friedman, 9/19/1982, Pittsburgh, Pa., Pittsburgh, Pa., Colorado Springs, Colo., Cycling, Track Madison

Since this is a wiki, if you know these folks, or want to do the research on them, post them to their page.

---

Meanwhile, at the other end of the bleachers, the International Olympic Committee just announced the news that the Iraqi teams are being banned from the Beijing 2008 Olympics saying the government missed the deadline to address accusations of political interference.

iPods, MP3 Players Can Hurt Ears Of Young Listeners - Consumer News Story - WPXI Pittsburgh

Catherine got some media coverage at TV 11.

iPods, MP3 Players Can Hurt Ears Of Young Listeners - Consumer News Story - WPXI Pittsburgh: "Dr. Catherine Palmer, director of audiology at UPMC said , 'Certainly these devices have potential to damage hearing. They can be set that loud.'

In fact, they can register more than 115 decibels.

That's about the equivalent of an ambulance siren.

Channel 11 teamed up with UPMC to see just how loud some kids are playing their iPods and MP3 players.

Using a device that has a simulated ear and decibel meter, Channel 11 reporter Stacia Erdos and Palmer went to a local pool to check out music levels.

City council members that watch this video will get a headaches

They have few if any answers to these questions.

Purpose and process are are foreign to what most do and understand on Grant Street.

Hiring a Youth Coordinator - Job Description

Need a job?

BGC Youth Coordinator Job Description - Fix PAJob Description Title: Community Development Specialist

Grand jury: Dem leaders illegally targeted Diven - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

Shall we all throw a pitty party for Michael Diven?

Grand jury: Dem leaders illegally targeted Diven - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review Grand jury: Dem leaders illegally targeted Diven

Poor, poor Michael.

I called Dave Brown of the Trib about this article. It made me giggle.

The Dems picked on Diven. However, Diven's new friends, the Republicans, picked up the fight for him. The Rs and the Ds are both guilty.

Pennsylvania's Attorney General made a big splash recently with his first wave of trouble. His statement was with specifics that included the work of government employees in campaign, including special elections.

I was in a special election right as this was all going down. I ran for PA Senate, 42nd district, as a Libertarian. The opponents were Michael Diven and Wayne Fontana.

On election day, Michael Diven had more than a dozen poll workers who were state senators. Diven and Fontana each spent about $1-Million. But, the bulk of that money did not come from locals. It came from Harrisburg. And, it was PAC money that didn't even pass through the candidate PACs.

Both Fontana and Diven are people that are okay with others pulling strings for them.

The State Attorney also made specific mentions that the state house Dems, state house Republicans as well as the state senate Ds and Rs are all guilty. Both house chambers and both major parties have been breaking the law. Both have been clueless as to fairness for the democratic process.

They are all guilty. And, this isn't news to me.

Another major objection from the recent reports deal with petition challenges of candidates. Diven didn't get onto the ballot for the Republican primary because he had too many dead people sign his papers.

Furthermore, Wayne Fontana's long time buddy was the stooge that filed a petition challenge against me in August of 2006 -- just as Dan Romanelli was in another court room in Harrisburg. Romanelli was the Green Party candidate that the Dems didn't want on the ballot for the US Senate.

The Dem operatives and the fax machine within the office of my PA SENATOR, Wayne Fontana, was used to challenge the petitions on my nomination papers. Those are the same 50 people that were mentioned by the PA Attorney General doing the same hit jobs -- but it was against me, a Libertarian candidate for PA Senate.

I put the proof before the judge in a Harrisburg court room. It was entered into evidence. The judge told me that the materials were very interesting. And, they well suited for another judge on another day.

Now it is time to get back to wallow in the sorrow for Michael Diven.

My FCC Presentation on the Future of Digital Media - Blog Maverick

My FCC Presentation on the Future of Digital Media - Blog Maverick: "Thank you for allowing me to offer this presentation on the Future of Digital Media. Its great to be back in Pittsburgh. A city that continues to grow in its vibrance, entrepreneurial spirit and verve to continually reinvent itself. I'm proud to have grown up here.

We're proud to call you one of our own, too, on most days.

Wish we could have hooked up. But, I had a basketball game to attend to in The Hill District with the Ozanham Program. It was Grant's final game of the season. Playoffs are on Saturday.

Until next time....

Old polling results.

Should PPS place a moratorium on capital spending on High School Reform until it presents for public review and comment a plan (i.e., configuration, costs, location and projected enrollment for each school)?

* yes = 14
* no = 8
* unsure = 0

Can Pgh spend 1% of the school district's budget for 20 years so that Schenley High School can house almost 20% of the district's high school students for the next 100 years?

* yes = 13
* no = 8
* unsure = 1
* let voters decide = 2

Pick Up the Phone for a Convention!

Russ Diamond and PA Clean Sweep is making progress in terms of a PA Constitutional Convention. Now comes the push to get the bill moving in Harrisburg.

Now that PACleanSweep's recommended language to enable a constitutional convention has been introduced in both the Senate and House, it's time to get on the phone and start pressuring members of the two State Government Committees to move this bill along.

Below, you'll find a phone list of all the members of these committees, the leadership of both chambers and the Governor. Without input from citizens, these people will not act. The most effective citizen input is via live phone calls.

It is highly recommended that you call ALL elected officials listed in bold, because in their committee or leadership roles they are acting on behalf of all Pennsylvanians. If your own Senator or Representative is a member of the committee, place a call to them as well.

When you call these folks, simply urge them to support SB1290 (for Senators) or HB2714 (for Representatives) and ask what they will do to move it along, get it out of committee and on the floor for a vote. Be courteous!

Then call again in a week or so to follow up on what they've done. Keep calling until we get some results!

Each legislator's Harrisburg office number is listed first and the subsequent phone numbers will put you in touch with their district offices.

In the Senate (SB1290)

(click comments for phone #s of specific committee critters.)

Click here to track HB2714

Call the Governor, too!

Edward Rendell, Governor
(717) 787-2500

Click here to read more about a constitutional convention

Who are my legislators?