City council debate for Hill District

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: "Hill District Consensus Group" <hdcg@wildapricot.org>
Date: Mar 4, 2013 3:11 PM
Subject: Mar 4, 2013 - HDCG News & Events
To: "Mark Rauterkus" <mark@rauterkus.com>
Cc:

Hill District Consensus Group News & Events March 4, 2013 HDCG Monthly Membership Meeting The Hill District Consensus Group holds a monthly membership meeting on the second Friday of every month.  Friday, March 8th, 2013 10:00AM - 12:00PM Hillman Auditorium, Kaufmann Center The Consensus Group welcomes all  members, Hill residents, and all folks interested in the well-being of the neighborhood.  Hope to see you there!   \ District 6 Candidates Forum   Friday, April 12th 6:00PM - 8:00PM Kaufmann Center, Hillman Auditorium, 1825 Centre Avenue     The Consensus Group is organizing a District 6 Candidates Forum ahead of the upcoming primaries. Candidates will have the opportunity to connect with constituents and communicate their positions on issues important to the community. At the same time, it gives residents a chance to ask questions and get to know the candidates. What issues do YOU care about? What problems or opportunities do you want your City Council-person to address? Bring your questions to the next Consensus Group meeting for a chance to have them included in the forum discussion. Stay tuned for more details!  Next sd   Upcoming Events  dsad Clean Green Hill Meeting Wednesday, March 6, 2013 6:00PM Hill House Conference Rm A, 1835 Centre Ave Clean Green Hill will be holding a meeting to discuss plans for the upcoming Spring. Clean Green Hill is a local, volunteer-driven organization that works to clean up and green up the Hill District. The group organizes residents and other volunteers to clean up and beautify the neighborhood. Want to learn more? Attend this meeting and see how YOU can get involved! Event Details   Medicaid Expansion Hearing Friday, March 8th, 2013 10:00AM - 12:00PM Wyndham University Center (formerly Holiday Inn University Center) 100 Lytton Avenue Pittsburgh, PA 15213 Senator Jim Ferlo & Senator Vincent Hughes and the Senate Democratic Appropriations Committee invite you to attend a hearing on: Medicaid Expansion Pennsylvania has the opportunity to make a decision that will: Provide access to health insurance to a half million Pennsylvanians. Infuse 4 billion federal dollars into Pennsylvania's budget. Create an estimated 285,000 jobs over 10 years. Relieve hospitals from $1 billion in uncompensated care costs. Reduce burden on counties that currently provide insurance coverage for inmates and for mental health services. Event Details   HDCG Monthly Meeting Friday, March 8, 2013 10:00AM - 12:00PM Hillman Auditorium, Kaufmann Center, Hill House The Hill District Consensus Group holds a monthly membership meeting on the second Friday of every month. Wish to attend? The Consensus Group welcomes all members, Hill residents, and all folks interested in the well-being of the neighborhood. Hope to see you there! Event Details    ddddddddd  dadddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddd Button name   News Headlines   Addison Will Start Construction Summer 2013 KBK Enterprises KBK Enterprises has released a newsletter featuring the upcoming Addison Terrace Redevelopment project: "The design of the 186 units for Addison Phase 1 was approved by the City of Pittsburgh Fall 2012. We are anxiously working towards finalizing the project and look forward to starting construction spring 2013. The project has recently been accelerated due to a decision to reduce the amount of tax credits involved with the development. 734 units will be redeveloped into a 400 unit community and completed by 2017. 260 apartments will be constructed on the Addison Terrace site. The other 140 will be built nearby. Some will be subsidized, while others will go for market rents. The project's total cost is expected to approximately be $180 million." Read Article   Portrayal and Perception: African American Men & Boys WQED "The multiple-part series explores how the media portrays African American males and how society views them as a result. The episodes also report on people and organizations working to spotlight positive rather than negative images." Funding for Portrayal & Perception is made possible by the Heinz Endowments Read Article   Lottery losers: Despite increase in lottery revenue, PA seniors get fewer community services PublicSource PA "When Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane ruled that Gov. Tom Corbett's contract for private management of the state lottery was illegal, proponents of privatization shot back that Kane's decision meant a loss of an additional $50 million for senior services. Advocates said that having a private company running the lottery would increase receipts and eliminate growing waiting lists for senior services, which, by law, are supported by a percentage of lottery funds." Read Article   What We Lose When Kids Can't Play in Their Own Streets The Atlantic Cities "Opening the streets to children means closing them to cars, and that's why these events are precisely that – special events, rather than common practices. When it comes to who has priority when accessing our roads, we now take it as a given in our society that cars are king. But when you watch the video on Playing Out's site, you start to wonder why we tolerate the conditions we live under so meekly." Read Article   An Island Where There Is a Standard Shelterforce "Deryl McCray was about 12 years old when he realized he didn't like the way his uncle cut his hair. So he did something about it. "I figured if he let me use clippers I'd probably do a better job than he did," he says. His uncle let him give it a try, and McCray promptly put his uncle out of the family hair-cutting business. "I did a good job," he says. "My brothers saw it and they wanted my uncle to stop cutting their hair, and eventually my uncles saw it and they let me cut their hair, and then it became a venture from that day, where I became like the little community barber." After finishing high school in Washington state, McCray enlisted in the Army, became a paratrooper, and served in the Gulf War. After he'd served four years, it was a woman who lured him to Albany, N.Y. His wife had ties to the area, so McCray made the move. But the job opportunities he looked into didn't pan out." Read Article   1,000 Stories Project Duquesne University "Hill House Association is again working with students from Duquesne University to gather narratives for our 1,000 Stories Project. Each semester we pick a different theme to concentrate on. This time we are seeking food-related stories. Recipes. Favorite meals. Recollections about dinner conversations. What food meant to your family. The stories will be read at a community event in April, placed on our website and shared with Leslie Ansley, who was commissioned to do the artwork for the new Shop 'N Save grocery store." Read Article   Request for Proposals: 2013 Pittsburgh Summer Youth Employment Program City of Pittsburgh  "The City of Pittsburgh's Department of Personnel & Civil Service Commission announces the issuing of a Request for Proposals (RFP) for the 2013 Pittsburgh Summer Youth Employment Program.  Proposals are sought from organizations to create, organize and manage summer work experiences for youth, ages 14-21, in either Conservation Work, or Internships in business environments." Read Article   States Take Sides As Court Revisits Voting Rights Act NPR "The U.S. Supreme Court hears arguments next week in a case that tests the constitutionality of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, the law considered the most effective civil rights statute in American history. At issue is whether a key provision of the statute has outlived its usefulness. A staggering 49 friend of the court briefs have been filed, among them briefs from 11 states urging the court to either strike down or uphold the law. What is intriguing is that some of the states now arguing against the law were not troubled by its provisions just four years ago, the last time it was before the court." Read Article         Copyright © 2012 Hill District Consensus Group. All rights reserved. Contact email: info@hdcg.org You are receiving this message because you opted in at http://www.hdcg.org/         Facebook   Twitter Unsubscribe

Fwd: LaCec Sainti mentioned you on Facebook

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: "Facebook" <notification+ooo62909@facebookmail.com>
Date: Mar 3, 2013 9:58 PM
Subject: LaCec Sainti mentioned you on Facebook
To: "Mark Rauterkus" <mark@rauterkus.com>
Cc:

facebook LaCec Sainti mentioned you in a comment. LaCec wrote: "Mark Rauterkus is right is the sense that it is being used as a flag for freedom by people who are really fighting for it. Bruce Poinsette is right too because there are many things to say about how some people benifited from, not stealing, but copying elements of African-American culture. BUT at the same time, African-American culture is world-wide. It was with Jazz, with Rock n' Roll and now is with hip hop. The stealers are those who make MONEY out of copying. The idiots are those who mock the culture because they are racists. And the rest are people who respect it because, as with every other art, they incorporate it in their own art, or their own expression of something. That is very human." Reply to this email to comment on this link. See Comment This message was sent to mark@rauterkus.com. If you don't want to receive these emails from Facebook in the future, please unsubscribe. Facebook, Inc., Attention: Department 415, PO Box 10005, Palo Alto, CA 94303

Schenley SOLD

Many citizens gave great effort to save Schenley's building as an educational asset for city students. This was a noble fight. The public district used all its might and loads of misinformation to insure its eventual liquidation. 

Now, I fear, it is safe to say that the only things left to do is watch, wait, wag fingers and say, "We told you so." 

The deed to the building is almost gone from the clutches of its public trustees. 

Fingers wag at Mark Roosevelt, Patrick Dowd (former PPS board member who greased the pathway to closing the school) and all other politicians who did nothing, little or mowed down the grass-roots opposition.

Eventually the building will be filled with student housing.

Perhaps there will be a tweet or media story about the first resident to the Schenley Dorm who also uses some Pittsburgh Promise funds to pay for college. Perhaps the ownership of the building will flip from PMC. Perhaps historic tax credits will come too -- or a TIF like "development deal" tied to another project bundled with this rehab. Perhaps the union workers will get an elevator job and taxpayers get the shaft. 

Let's live to fight another day.

Sold! 

Wag on the ready.

Fwd: [wplug] Hacks and Hackers

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Elwin Green
Date: Saturday, March 2, 2013
Subject: [wplug] Hacks and Hackers
To: wplug@wplug.org


Hi,

Long-time, long-absent WPLUG'er here. I am writing to introduce you to
Hacks and Hackers. Who are they? Their website
says<http://hackshackers.com/about/>
:

"Hacks/Hackers is a rapidly expanding international grassroots journalism
organization with dozens of chapters (and counting) and thousands of
members across four continents (and counting). Our mission is to create a
network of journalists ("hacks") and technologists ("hackers") who rethink
the future of news and information."

As a hack (former reporter for the Post-Gazette, now running my own
community news website) with a strong interest in hackery, and especially
the possibilities of hacking journalism, I would like join with a hacker or
two to start a Hacks/Hackers chapter in Pittsburgh.

If interested, please drop me a line. Thanks!

Elwin Green
Publisher, Homewood Nation <http://www.homewoodnation.com/>
Twitter: @homewoodnation
Facebook: Homewood Nation <http://www.facebook.com/homewoodnation>

Personal blog: ReVisions: Bekitemba's GUT<http://bekitembasgut.blogspot.com/>
Personal Twitter: @elwin15208
_______________________________________________
wplug mailing list
wplug@wplug.org
http://www.wplug.org/mailman/listinfo/wplug



--
--
Ta.
 
 
Mark Rauterkus       Mark.Rauterkus@gmail.com    
PPS Summer Dreamers' Swim and Water Polo Camp Head Coach
Pittsburgh Combined Water Polo Team

http://Rauterkus.blogspot.com
http://FixPA.wikia.com
http://CLOH.wikia.com
412 298 3432 = cell

Fwd: PaYouthandGov just uploaded a video

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: "YouTube" <noreply@youtube.com>
Date: Mar 2, 2013 3:13 PM
Subject: PaYouthandGov just uploaded a video
To: "Mark Rauterkus" <mark.rauterkus@gmail.com>
Cc:

PaYouthandGov has uploaded Changes in the 2012-2013 Youth and Government Senate. Changes in the 2012-2013 Youth and Government Senate by PaYouthandGov An explanation of the changes in the Pennsylvania Youth and Government Senate for the 2013 Model Convention You were sent this email because you chose to receive updates about new videos uploaded by PaYouthandGov. If you don't want these updates anymore, you can change your preferences by visiting the subscription manager. ©2013 YouTube, LLC 901 Cherry Ave, San Bruno, CA 94066

Swim PHOTOGRAPHY/VIDEOGRAPHY STATEMENT seems harsh.

AMS PHOTOGRAPHY/VIDEOGRAPHY STATEMENT

THE FOLLOWING REVISIONS TO THE AMS PHOTOGRAPHY/VIDEOGRAPHY STATEMENT ARE EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY.... AMS PHOTOGRAPHY/VIDEOGRAPHY STATEMENT In compliance with USA Swimming Rules and Regulations; Use of audio or visual recording devices, including a cell phone, is not permitted in changing areas, rest rooms or locker rooms. Additionally, the use of equipment capable of taking pictures  or videos (i.e. cell phones, cameras, PDA's, etc) are banned from behind the starting blocks during the entire meet, including warm up, competition and warm down periods.  Unless approved in advance by the AMS Board and stated in the meet announcement, photographers /videographers are not permitted on deck at any time.  As an approved exception, USA Swimming-registered and credentialed coaches are permitted to utilize visual recording devices to record their swimmers in the pool for the sole purpose of stroke training subject to the location restrictions of this statement so long as they do not interfere with meet operations.  In the event of any disputes regarding video recording, the Referee's decision shall be final and binding.  In no case shall coaches be permitted to delegate this role to athletes.

Youth Governor in Butler for motivational speech to youth. Be big.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: "YouTube" <noreply@youtube.com>
Date: Mar 2, 2013 11:31 AM
Subject: PaYouthandGov just uploaded a video
To: "Mark Rauterkus" <mark.rauterkus@gmail.com>
Cc:

PaYouthandGov has uploaded 2013 Western Pre-Leg: Governor's Speech. 2013 Western Pre-Leg: Governor's Speech by PaYouthandGov Pennsylvania Youth Governor Erik Rauterkus welcomes delegates to the 2013 Western Pre-Leg, held March 2nd at the Butler County Community College. You were sent this email because you chose to receive updates about new videos uploaded by PaYouthandGov. If you don't want these updates anymore, you can change your preferences by visiting the subscription manager. ©2013 YouTube, LLC 901 Cherry Ave, San Bruno, CA 94066

Makers. Computer Programming.

What most schools don't teach. Computer programming.

Fwd: Enter the 2013 Lights On Afterschool poster contest!

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Afterschool Alliance <Afterschool_Alliance@mail.vresp.com>
Date: Wed, Feb 27, 2013 at 12:01 PM
Subject: Enter the 2013 Lights On Afterschool poster contest!
To: mark@rauterkus.com

The 2013 Lights On Afterschool poster contest is now officially underway! The winning poster could come from YOUR program—but only if you enter! Each October, 1 million Americans and thousands of communities nationwide celebrate Lights On Afterschool to shine a light on the afterschool programs that keep kids safe, inspire them to learn and help working families. Last year, more than one million people gathered at more than 9,000 sites across the country and at U.S. military bases worldwide to participate in the only nationwide rally for afterschool programs. Encourage all of your program participants to submit artwork that celebrates afterschool programs and conveys the importance of keeping the lights on afterschool. The winning poster design will be printed on tens of thousands of posters sent to Lights On Afterschool celebrations across the country, not to mention that the winning artist will be featured on our website, blog and Afterschool Storybook! This contest is a great opportunity for an afterschool program to gain national recognition for the great enrichment opportunities it offers, since the young artist's program will be credited on the poster, too! The deadline for submissions is May 1, 2013. Click here for contest details and submission guidelines. Keep in mind that the winning artwork will be scanned to become a digital image, so avoid using textures or raised materials. We love bright colors that jump off the poster, so materials that won't smear or rub off—like markers, paint and pens—often work better than crayons, watercolors or chalk (or why not try your hand at some digital art?). The artwork or design should generally promote or convey afterschool or Lights On Afterschool. Abstract or realistic drawings are welcome. Some examples of ideas might be: Portray or convey Lights On Afterschool celebrations (for an examples of events, see our event summary from 2012 and photo gallery some examples: children performing, communities celebrating, children learning, singing, acting, etc.) A design around the theme "keeping the lights on after school." If a light bulb is included in the design, think about using the energy efficient light bulb. Think about promoting afterschool by portraying the kinds of things that happen in afterschool programs or by demonstrating the benefits of afterschool. We're already excited about the 14th annual Lights On Afterschool on Oct. 17, 2013, and can't wait to see what our afterschool artists come up with to help us celebrate! Afterschool Alliance If you no longer wish to receive these emails, please reply to this message with "Unsubscribe" in the subject line or simply click on the following link: Unsubscribe Afterschool Alliance 1616 H Street NW Suite 820 Washington, District of Columbia 20006 US Read the VerticalResponse marketing policy.

Fwd: New Dawn, New Possibilities. Pledge for Stretch

THANK YOU! We crossed the line yesterday. More Stretch Goals include Windows Mobile

New Dawn: New Possibilities Not displaying correctly? Click Here   We Made It! A huge THANK-YOU to everyone who pledged, tweeted, facebooked and did all the outreach that meant we crossed the line yesterday. LiveCode Next Generation will become reality. Today, we have already made two of the three stretch goals we posted, so we're ready to offer you some more! We've still got 19 hours left, what can we do for you...? Physics Engine: we'll do this if we hit £417,000 Perfect for writing games and animation rich apps. Add a new 'sprite' layerMode to acceleratedRendering mode to enable fast GPU-based image transformation. Move popular graphic effects such as drop shadows to the GPU. Then using this, adding support for the Box2D physics engine. Windows/Phone 8 with Theme: we'll do this if we hit £424,000 So many people have asked for Windows Mobile support since RT was launched! Doing the Cocoa layer first brings this within reach. You'll be able to build your mobile apps seamlessly for iOS, Android AND modern Windows Mobile platforms. How cool is that? Vector Shape Object: we'll do this if we hit £434,000 Like the graphic object on steroids. Sub-pixel positioning, shape determined by intrinsic properties (i.e. width of rectangle, radius of circle etc.). 'Group' type, containing a collection of shapes to be nested - and imported/exported in a (subset of) SVG. Reworked Multimedia Support: we'll do this if we hit £441,000 Multi-channel sound on the platforms that don't yet have it. Upgraded Player control using latest native video libraries on all platforms (Mac, Windows, Linux, iOS and Android). Sound recording cross-platform - 'record sound' on mobile as well as desktop. New Browser Control: we'll do this if we hit £450,000 Upgraded to be one control for all platforms for identical rendering of web content. (Use WebKit on both Desktop and Mobile.) Reaching these totals means that we will start work on these items in parallel. Some of these items do have dependencies on other items being completed first (Pluggable Themes & Cocoa is essential before Windows RT for example). We'll work to deliver those items with dependencies as quickly as we can. We expect to be able to deliver everything within a few months of the main release. We cannot wait to start work on these great features for you! Let's see how far we can get in the remaining 19 hours!     Stretch Goals: Windows Mobile and Physics Engine

RunRev Ltd   25a Thistle Street Lane South West    Edinburgh  UK   EH2 1EW   UK You received this email because you are subscribed to Marketing Information from RunRev Ltd. Update your email preferences to choose the types of emails you receive. Unsubscribe from all future emails Powered by HubSpot

Can you spare $10 or $25?

Exciting!



Crunch time is here.

This is worthy.

Pay if forward.

Speaking to PPS Board about UNDEFEATED

First came Michelle. Then later in the evening, I spoke.



My talk. Stay tuned for my comments.

Post Meet Dunk

What to do?

VW and Chengdu

Check out this car from our favorite city in China.

Fwd: Schenley/ Call to action

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: "Concerned Citizens" <mail@change.org>
Date: Feb 22, 2013 3:45 PM
Subject: Schenley/ Call to action
To: <mark@rauterkus.com>
Cc:

CALL TO ACTION!

It is not over- really! But an affirmation of continued support for Schenley as a school is key.

We need 100 people to come to Monday's public hearing beginning at 6:00 pm at the Board of Education Building on Bellefield (near Forbes Avenue). Wear black and red and support those speaking in favor of Schenley as a school and/ or speak yourself (call (412) 622-3868 before Monday at 12:00 to sign up). Do not leave it to others- it's now or never. Email to schenleyschenley@gmail.com to let us know you will be there.

If you would like to speak, points to cover may include:

Equity
It is easy to say not to spend money on a building, but other city HS buildings have windows and do not require middle and HS students to share one set of athletic facilities.
Board members representing the relevant area of the East End support this facility.

An actual cost/benefit analysis is needed
Cutting air conditioning and the extra electrical capacity it requires would cut many millions of dollars from the estimate and reduce energy consumption. Other nonessential items may also be cut. East End families need the opportunity to offer input and prioritize.
How much will it cost to make comparable like new renovations at Peabody- all new systems, all new doors, all new finishes, acoustic tiles, etc. especially given the "building within a building" structure that was created when Peabody was bricked over; what is the cost of adding windows?
What is the cost of providing equitable athletic facilities to Hill students?
To what extent has the loss of Schenley increased charter enrollment, and what is the yearly cost of charter tuition for students who would have otherwise chosen Schenley?
What are the benefits to the city and the district of the educational offerings by some of the bidders (there were no educators on the sales agent's panel, limiting the usefulness of its recommendation).
Logic- it makes no sense that conversion to a totally different use would cost half as much as keeping the building a school. A requirement to use separate contractors might add a few percentage points to the cost of the project, maybe even 5%, but not 80%+.
How has the closing of Schenley affected achievement of students in affected neighborhoods?

Strong schools/ strong city
The school building is the first thing a family considering PPS or a transfer to Pittsburgh sees; if they don't like what they see their inquiry may stop right there. The building is a visible sign of a city's commitment to its schools. We need options that will attract families.
Schenley was the only high school with 100% enrollment and has a proven ability to attract students.

Upcoming changes in the Board
Many Board members do not plan to return. The next board is the one that will have to deal with the consequences of this decision so why not leave it to them. For example, where would students go while Peabody is renovated?
With building closed almost 5 years, what is the rush to sell now rather than waiting for input of new Board members in a matter of months?

The building is not well suited for housing
There is a very real concern it will be used as student housing, which is not a good fit for the neighborhood.
Due to large hallways and common spaces the building is not a strong candidate for residential use.
From an environmental point of view the existing use is best.

PLEASE COME OUT ON MONDAY EVENING- IT IS AN HONOR TO FIGHT FOR SCHENLEY

This message is from Concerned Citizens who started the petition "Pittsburgh Public Schools Board of Directors: Investigate if important information about Schenley was withheld at the time of closing ," which you signed on Change.org.

View the petition  |  View and reply to this message online

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