Winter is coming, you had better stock up on pierogis!! Pierogi Fest is to be thrown in benefit of a new riverfront park that extends development to the water's edge, and stands in good stead with officers of the peace, modern families and lovers of local cuisine. Dumplings, if you are new; the things which race around the ballpark during the 7th Inning Stretch.
What else is happening...
In a sudden and unexpected gush of not merely sensible government but collaborative government, the City has agreed that if it doesn't meet its 8% investment returns annually it's going to make it up the difference to the pension fund, annually. Now at least one semblance of reality is on the books. But eventually a year will sting us. 8% is an aggressive expectation for stock market speculation. [P-G, Trib]
In further tiny fortunes, the PWSA variable rate bonds or "swaptions" are insured again. [Null Space]
Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl is being silly. [One, Two, Three, Four, @MayorLuke]
Pittsburgh-based robotics entrepreneur John Thornton may be the first human being to exploit the Moon. But not necessarily in a bad way. [The Verge]
And finally, the Post-Gazette endorses Democratic nominee for Pittsburgh City Council District 7 Deb Gross with these words:
This variety of work, over a range of issues and for a broad sweep of constituents, has given her experience with different interest groups and, we hope, skills as a consensus builder.
The Post-Gazette endorses Deb Gross, the candidate most likely to work productively with the city's new mayoral administration on citywide issues.
The editorial made very clear its endorsement hinged most acutely on Gross' tolerant approach to state financial oversight. In a race involving many stated policy similarities among the frontrunners, that makes for one interesting contrast with leading rival Tony Ceoffe -- along with with his calls for hiring 130 more police officers and his alarmed aversion towards shared City / County management of the RAD parks. Is it possible these isolated but obvious contrasts fit together somehow?
Election Day is Tuesday, November 5th. Join us starting this Sunday for #Race4D7Week at the Pittsburgh Comet, and all over the 'Burghonet. We might learn a thing or two!
Awesome! It will be great to see some un-biased reporting!!
ReplyDeleteI aspire to do at least a little reporting. What it will be is information, and some analysis (and music) with underneath a slew of commentary and input, anonymous and otherwise. Might be a good time to brush up on the blagh Disclaimers (bottom sidebar right).
DeleteContrasts? Of course. The PG endorsements are always odd. What they usually say is some weird contorted subliminal message of "this is the person we think we will win, and we want to be on the side of winners, so we will make up whatever bs we can to support them."
ReplyDeleteThe P-G mentioned something about Act 47 which seemed crucially important.
DeleteMaybe not as important to the P-G as if any candidate had vast and long PA statewide experience and excellent statewide relations, with which to work with Harrisburg to deal with our financial mess, but that's not applicable to this city council race. They're happy Peduto knows to visit Harrisburg and lay groundwork.
Regarding PG endorsements, the editorial board failed to find a way to rationalize a Josh Wander endorsement today over anti-fracker Peduto. Things are really slipping down on the Boulevard.
ReplyDeleteAnd it's probably just me, but doing two mayoral smear stories based on reading two tweets, calling the spokesperson, and tracking down a buddy in academia to support your angle is some pretty lazy, albeit slightly clever, investigative journalism. And the reliance on technology sort of blinded the reporter and editors to the main point--not that Luke might have intended to deceive by not sending the tweets in real time (which is in fact a common way that Twitter is employed) but that he was at home and at the country club during normal business hours. An old-fashioned beat reporter home stake out would have kept the focus on the mayor's whereabouts. Instead, the PG's two day front page gotcha merely smacked of playing catch-up with the Trib.
The tweets [aka the "statements"] were the story.
DeleteThe mayor issued two statements. They were part of the sudden media engagement campaign our nowadays low-key Mayor had undertaken for about a week, to talk about Seven Years of Success. Moriah reported the statements, and the "investigative" part was looking at the geotracking and then seeking out and reporting the mayor's side of the story, as well as his amended and revised side of the story. And whatever else.
It is what it is. The meeting at Shannopin country club, he said, was for a combination of City business and job search.
LOL at the fact that your link to Gross' position on Act 47 was actually an article about Peduto's position on Act 47. Aside from judicial races (which nobody ever knows anything about), I can't think of a P-G endorsement based on less actual information about a candidate. Even the endorsement basically boils down to, "Peduto likes her better."
ReplyDeleteBrainWashing can be a cruel trick!! The Gross / Peduto Experiment will go down as one of the best "Training" methods since Pavlov's Dogs! When you see or hear GROSS..... U now sees / hears ...... PEDUTO! And let the salavation begin!!!
DeleteThe link was meant not as evidence of her stance (that was contained in the editorial itself) but as the handiest online justification.
DeleteNext Halloween, we really should all go out as a horde of Peduto Zombies.
Yeah, I know. I wasn't trying to pick on your research, just the fact that there is no known record of what she believes.
DeleteHmmm, Peduto Zombies. Live in coffins (green roofs), walk everywhere (pedestrian friendly), value brains, concentrated in the East End (Allegheny + Homewood Cemeteries), ... I think you're on to something, Bram!