The Pittsburgh Comet

Friday: Diving In!

2012-01-20T02:06:00.024-05:00

Yes!

I love it when anything winds up in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court. They deserve their very own leitmotif.

Lamar Advertising, based in Baton Rouge, filed suit on Wednesday, asking Allegheny County Common Pleas Court to void the legislation passed by an 8-1 vote of City Council on Dec. 19. Lamar claims the ordinance is critically flawed by procedural errors and violates its First Amendment rights. (Trib, Bob Bauder)

First, I will have to check to see if I know any good civil rights lawyers.

Second, I was just thinking about the Kamins, I forget why. I was thinking they're always reliable to go stately forth and deliver an old-fashioned, "This is a violation of the most shocking caliber! Not since colonial Boston have we seen such an affront to economic liberty!"

"This bill was a compromise," said Councilman Patrick Dowd, a co-sponsor. "Lamar was involved with this. None of us got what we wanted, including me." (ibid)

If Dowd was in the majority on this one and the City enacted it, I'm sure it's fine. Legally speaking. The City as a whole brings its A-game to carefully vet politically charged things -- it's most everything else that might potentially be problematic.

Expect this law suit to take a long time. A very very long zzzzzz.......

Now on to things that are crucial:

Moody's and Standard & Poor's both said they are convinced the city has attained financial stability in recent years. City officials credited the upgrade by Moody's from an A1 negative to A1 stable rating and Standard and Poor's BBB negative to BBB stable rating to their trip to New York City last week where they met with agency representatives. (Trib, Bob Bauder)

It's like the Ravenstahl team is just toying with the competition. Here you go, up and took our Spiffy New Council to New York City, New York City did we mention, and together won the confidence of the world's most powerful investors. Saved us a small fortune.

It's early, but they're so good at this.

It's also a data point in favor of the proposition that the Great Midnight Pension Solution was for real, for real -- or that Wall Street doesn't actually know what we did. Or doesn't care to understand. Or knows better than the vast majority of us.

Onward! By car, foot or bicycle.

[State Rep. Dan] Frankel said he had seen evidence of "the inklings of a bipartisan solution" to provide more funds for transportation projects. (P-G, Len Barcousky)

So expect service cuts somewhat more mild than the draconian ones now placed on the table. The same thing we get every year. The chances of a new subway "spine line" extension from Downtown to Oakland being announced in 2012 are ... steady, let's call it? (For a passing glance at the political calculus, see link.)

"The Port Authority's problems were created locally, and they should be solved locally," [Gov. Corbett spokes] Kevin Harley said. "For years, generous contracts and high management salaries, combined with unrealistic pension costs, have strained the system to the breaking point. Gov. Corbett wants to see the problem solved, but the Democrats, who have controlled Allegheny County for all but a handful of the past 80 years, will have to do their part." (ibid)

I'm sorry Mr. Republican conservative sir! We don't deserve decent public transportation! The only way to save mass transit is to destroy it, Outbreak-style! Bus drivers don't deserve to be able to afford to put their kids through some college and to retire, simply because they can be relied upon for years upon decades to pilot hulking and sometimes bending vehicles safely in this weather and through this terrain! Just don't hit us in the food stamps again, m'lord! #cringe

If you've spaced out on Null Space because property assessments ain't your thing, 1) shame on you for six weeks and 2) you may not fully appreciate the tale of the purple-coloured river.

Maria of 2PJ's highlights some of the adversity facing Mitt Romney v. 10.4.11. It's like, he's a been a robot, right? Perfectly performing mechanics, this is common knowledge? Only now we actually, finally can see him shorting out. "Inquiry cannot be responded to with standard reference to free market ideology, can not be responded to with an appeal to military might or Divine right, cannot be resolved by an attack on incumbent, must account for own existence [whir, click] frank lack of empathy, er, horrible awkward joke, er, irrationally simple lies, clueless, clueless, Error Message 657" and frozen.

Here is Occupy Pittsburgh's legal page in regards to their matter with some bank -- I think it's Bank of America? -- including all court filings, hearing transcripts and a slightly dated but still usable FAQ.

What Will the Reassessments Fiasco Reveal?

2012-01-13T01:01:00.002-05:00

This appears in today's Tribune-Review:

Laurel: To Chris Briem. Numbers crunched by the Pitt researcher suggest what Allegheny County's panderers of populist anti-reassessment pap don't want you to know: Sixty-five percent of residential properties in the City of Pittsburgh would see their real estate taxes drop. Fewer than 25 percent would see property tax bills rise by 10 percent or more. Here's to the truth trumping the political tricksters. (Trib, Edit Board)

Even more tellingly, this appears in today's Null Space:

So it's been an interesting couple of days. Sincere thanks for all the notes of support and sympatico along the way. (Null Space)

With:

Can we all at least agree on the issue being data transparency, openness and why we don't even know what is known. So the very first question is will the new assessment numbers reappear on the county web site anytime soon? Has anyone asked that question? Not there as I write this is all I know. Will they release a full data set or will we all have to become a county of hackers to scrape it over and over again? (ibid)

All of a sudden I recognize a sort of distinct, woodsy aroma, with hints of ozone. The bloggers are now entering the Heinz Red Zone. Stop by your local Giant Eagle for great deals on thick and rich Heinz Ketchup.

Guy Fawkeseses Day: Our Day In Court!

2012-01-11T18:50:00.005-05:00

Symbolically that is, as one among 99 Jane Does and John Does.

"Is that called rickrolling?" asked Daniel I. Booker, an attorney for BNY Mellon, which is asking the court for a preliminary injunction to have the protesters removed.

"Yes," Mr. Lawson said, prompting court spectators to roar with laughter. (P-G, Moriah Balingit)

I still think that's hysterical. Mad solidarity with the Internet.

SEE ALSO: Trib, Bill Vidonic

Jess and the Marcellus Shale

2012-01-07T13:48:00.001-05:00

Do You Get Occupy At All?

2012-01-06T17:32:00.002-05:00

Michael Lawson on Occupy Pittsburgh

2012-01-06T11:54:00.007-05:00

This guy has since volunteered to file briefs regarding the litigation.

Pittsburgh Solidarity Now!

2012-01-05T23:39:00.008-05:00

DARLENE HARRIS HAS ALWAYS BEEN AT WAR WITH OCEANIA

2012-01-03T22:30:00.004-05:00

In a maneuver carefully designed to demonstrate how little I know about City Hall these days, Councilwoman Darlene Harris was elected Council President today for a second two-year term with the support of council members Ricky Burgess, Patrick Dowd, Daniel Lavelle, Theresa Kail-Smith and newly minted Councilman Corey O'Connor.

Burgess was appointed Chairman of the Committee on Finance and Law by Harris, a position which entitles him to hold a gavel on Tuesdays and to write strongly worded, politically loaded open letters to the city's financial oversight panels.

Since I don't know why this developed, how council members Bruce Kraus, Bill Peduto and Natalia Rudiak came to be left out in the cold, or what this means for the future, we will fill the remainder of this essay with familiar song lyrics.

We're no strangers to love
You know the rules and so do I
A full commitment's what I'm thinking of
You wouldn't get this from any other guy
I just wanna tell you how I'm feeling
Gotta make you understand

Never gonna give you up
Never gonna let you down
Never gonna run around and desert you
Never gonna make you cry
Never gonna say goodbye
Never gonna tell a lie and hurt you

MORE: The P-G alludes to "personal political differences"; the Trib has Mayor Ravenstahl foreseeing "a very, very good time"; Infinonymous detects "no apparent majority for anything"; Early Returns perceives the avant-garde possibility of "a veto-proof six votes in support of Ravenstahl"; Chris Potter sagely writes in retrospect that "Harris' defection to lead a council bloc allied with Mayor Luke Ravenstahl should come as little surprise".

Happy New Year!

2012-01-01T16:31:00.003-05:00

A day late, and a dollar short.

On Allegheny County Property Tax Follies

2011-12-31T18:36:00.005-05:00

If we're going to have property taxes (and I'm not sold on the necessity, but here we are!) we have to reassess property values regularly -- so that perceived increases in property value don't pile up, don't go unchecked, aren't as daring when they do happen and don't ruin the stability and predictability of Allegheny dwellers' budgets. Also so that all County reassessment functions remain good at what they do over a decade.

Secondly, if we are going to reassess property values only after a rare court order, we should NOT send out tax bills to ANYBODY until ALL property in the county has been duly reassessed, the appeals exhausted, and the tax rate DULY LOWERED. Not a day before.

T-Bone on Occupy Pittsburgh, Wall Street etc.

2011-12-30T22:01:00.001-05:00

This is the best.

A Guided Tour of the People's Park at Mellon Green

2011-12-26T11:34:00.001-05:00

Christmas edition.

FIVE YEARS OF THIS!

2011-12-16T21:11:00.001-05:00

Wednesday: Occupy 'Till you Drop

2011-12-14T22:05:00.008-05:00

The Comet presents another unpublished submission to the ol' P-G.

This one we began writing only this morning, so we have no idea if we're going to get a bite. And this one is intended to be column-length; actually by those standards it comes in about 100 words under the ceiling. We're probably going to use some of the balance to add some nice words about BNY Mellon's evident civility, and other positive attributes.

But now. If this online, in-progress rendering doesn't jinx it, consider this a "sneak preview" for you loyal Blur-Go-Sphere holdouts. If it fails to be published in the papyrusphere, well, here's what I have to say. Cut and paste follows:

----------

If unemployment were low and wages high, if health care were affordable and widely accessible, if public transit options were plentiful and public schools successful and expanding, then Occupy Wall Street would not be necessary. As things stand, it is little wonder the movement has spawned franchises in over 300 cities in the United States, including at least 13 in Pennsylvania.

Perhaps no occupation sits on a site quite so appropriate as Occupy Pittsburgh. BNY Mellon Corp. is now the world's most overgrown securities and asset management firm, after the merger in 2006 which gave it its name. The juggernaut extracted $651 million in profits just during this last fiscal quarter -- but it is the sources of much of that profit that are so troubling.

BNY Mellon prevailed upon the U.S. Treasury to be hired as "master custodian" of all $700 billion in federal Troubled Asset Relief Program or TARP funds. These were utilized to bail out banks deemed "too big to fail" immediately following the catastrophic failures of non-regulation and opportunism which created the sub-prime mortgage crisis. The taxpayer money went to job security and bonuses for those responsible for the economic collapse, without providing relief to homeowners and small business owners seeing their bills skyrocket.

Additionally, BNY Mellon finds itself defending fraud charges filed by several state Attorneys General and a US Attorney for having allegedly skimmed billions from public pension funds. The raft of lawsuits claim that BNY overcharged its clients for foreign currency exchanges by making purchases at the best prices available on a given day, but then providing pensioners and others with the worst prices notched on those same days.

Finally this week, BNY Mellon was sued again on behalf of three more investment funds for "gross negligence" in the administration and custodianship of a fund linked to Bernard Madoff's audaciously destructive Ponzi scheme, for which he was sentenced to 150 years in prison.

Meanwhile, the lobbying and "campaign donations" -- also known as bribery -- continue stronger than ever. Those questionably-attained billions are cycled back to politics in the name of fighting attempts at consumer protection, and ensuring that as little profit as possible trickles back to public schools, public transit, public infrastructure and sustainable energy development. A favorite slogan on these occupations has been, "I couldn't afford a lobbyist, so I made this sign."

BNY Mellon is not alone in fostering this perversion of democracy, but for generations it has been a notable player. In 1921, Andrew W. Mellon graduated from banking and industrial concerns to become U.S. Treasury Secretary, urging tax cuts and "liquidating" public investments. In 1932 after the onset of the Depression, Articles of Impeachment were introduced in Congress against Mellon for wielding his public office to enrich his own and his family's aluminum, shipping and other interests -- but he resigned before he could answer these. Fast forward to this day, and we find executives from Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase similarly insinuated into government, yet the incestuous relationships produce nary an official rebuke.

In short, the country is accelerating on the wrong track, deaf to the needs of its vast majority and in a state of emergency. Drawing within the lines clearly has not been working; those lines were drawn by "the 1%" in the first place. Occupy Pittsburgh is absolutely committed to peaceful tactics, and has demonstrated that commitment to a fault over the past two months. Yet if "trespassing" on what was meant to be an "open public space" at the foot of a morally bankrupt Goliath is necessary to awaken others to extreme and immediate crises, most will gladly remain. Even if courts and public officials ultimately feel they must intervene to clear out the demonstrators, most will be eager to demonstrate how life goes on even after a bit of peaceful defiance.

Occupy Pittsburgh remains at the corner of Grant St. and 6th Ave. in Downtown Pittsburgh. You will find Old Glory flying high above its arctic tents and yurts, housing its subzero-rated sleeping bags and blankets. To take a stand at this overdue moment in American history and ensure that people and communities are prioritized over profits for a diminishing few, come together on that spot this week.

Dun Dun Dun.......

2011-12-10T00:50:00.000-05:00

DECEMBER: Deep Cut from the Pension Album

2011-12-01T13:31:00.013-05:00

Right. How to get things started? How about some rare, B-side, never-before-published material?

I wrote the following letter to the P-G in the wake of its 9/22 editorial Pension Reprieve. I edited it only slightly and resubmitted it after a follow-up editorial four days later entitled Better Mayor. It was not picked up (not a criticism -- some great letters appeared on the days it might have run) but even still, it tends to stay relevant after pieces like Tackled for a Loss and most recently He's no JFK.

So without further ado:

In recent weeks, PG editorialists have bluntly set themselves the task of deposing Luke Ravenstahl as Pittsburgh's mayor. While I certainly appreciate the thrill of donning a helmet and charging into political battle, we must remember that the challenges a city faces are indifferent to simple changes of the guard.

To wit, the pension "solution" crafted by City Council and the City Controller satisfied the whim of the state Legislature but did nothing to address the underlying funding crisis. Although your editorial pointedly refused any credit to the Mayor for helping to avoid a "state takeover," the fact that underwriters and state officials credulously assented to the unprecedented arrangement is proof enough that city leaders must have been working grudgingly in concert.

Specifically, the Mayor was wise to leave certifications of compliance and his Finance Director's signature from the documentation entirely -- in some matters, discretion is the better part of valor. An I.O.U. for $735 million over 31 years time generates no present-day liquidity with which to earn interest, make investments or actually pay pensioners from an account poised to empty in a handful of years. The claim of being "62% funded" is a grand, mutually agreed-upon fiction.

Like it or not, the only solution proffered on a scale befitting the crisis was Ravenstahl's proposed leasing of public parking garages and meters to private investors. That it proved unpopular should have been no surprise, as it committed the cardinal political sin of honesty -- the honesty that a billion dollar debt cannot be paid without noticeable discomfort.

Soon we will again be right here, facing the same intractable difficulty only with a slimmer menu of options. Try not to be surprised if in hindsight we regard this mayor as having somehow seized the mantle of seriousness and foresight.

I realize this begs for some explanation. How, during the very week that protesters had garrisoned Zuccotti Park, could a future 99 percenter issue a letter advocating the selling out of public assets to Wall Street investment bankers?

Obviously the answer has a little to do with public employee pensions -- and a lot to do with basic math and Pittsburgh's pension history. I wouldn't recommend leasing revenue-enhancing assets as a general rule; the city obviously was (and remains) under the thumb of bond holders and a legacy of evacuation, parasitic financial advisers and near-sighted political leadership. A spiritedly negotiated long-term parking assets deal would have constituted a a bit of swashbuckling derring-do, a turning of the tables, a "So crazy it just might work" style of arrangement.

Meanwhile, in a world with no parking lease and the Non-Lease Plan generating more sparks than revenue, Mayor Ravenstahl now seeks to borrow $80 million for routine capital improvements from Wall Street investment bankers while City Council remains skeptical.

Mr. Peduto suggested that the city borrow a smaller amount for 2012 and 2013 and preserve borrowing power for future years. (P-G, Joe Smydo)

Indeed. Trying to recollect if anything might possibly occur as we turn the page to 2014 that would make the receipt of bunch of money more palatable to several at that time.

The real issue however is, how much money would we have to borrow come 2014? How much will we have to borrow, either and any way, to satisfy the pensioners, the other creditors, and the demands of our routine "capital needs" we have routinely been failing to meet? How many hundreds of millions of dollars? Two? Three? More?

A better question: who is working on a new, presumably improved parking assets deal? After all it is that or "renegotiate" with our various creditors, isn't it? I know it seems like campaign season already, but it is in fact still 2011. The time horizons for the "Wait until somebody we all like better can execute various maneuvers" gambit make it the more fantastical, unrealistic feat of derring-do. Not possible without a ton of CGI and willing suspension of disbelief. Do not try this at home.

Meanwhile, Far, Far Away...

2011-11-18T01:47:00.003-05:00

Monday: State of the Yinzion

2011-11-14T07:10:00.002-05:00

Also, there are ~~new~~ ~~old~~ new news links along the sidebar: Check 'em out, check 'em out, check 'em out. --->

We are assuming the Mayor's 2012 budget address this afternoon will be livestreamed, livetweeted or otherwise made lifelike today.

Don't Forget to Vote

2011-11-08T11:35:00.001-05:00

I didn't almost forget to vote, but I definitely almost forgot that Election Day usually means something in regards to this web area.

Here are some endorsements by Infininymous to get you through the ordeal. Here is Early Returns which usually kicks in with burgh-centric elections returns and news-tinis.

There will also be no customary results heraldry this evening, as I believe I will be playing Jenga or Balderdash or Scattergories or one of those. Congratulations to all winners including Rich Fitzgerald, Chelsa Wagner, Stephen A. Zappala Jr. and Corey O'Connor. You've all earned it.

Finally, you should all be aware of Don't Just Vote -- March, what looks to be another friendly scrimmage in Oakland in evening.

We'll be Back...

2011-10-31T13:15:00.003-04:00

There is a big fancy indoors General Assembly of Occupy Pittsburgh being held tomorrow (Tuesday) night at 7 PM at the United Steelworkers Union Building.

We should be back to blogging regularly and largely on normal topics after that.

There is a monster agenda for the big fancy GA, including: a policy related to the receipt of some donations, a political statement, and a policy on how and when Occupy Pittsburgh will commend or stand with outside groups. All that, and it's going to be hard to avoid the late-breaking political story concerning the true origin of the portable toilets. Having watched a thoroughgoing variety of Pittsburgh City Council meetings, we can tell this assembly is destined to be grueling, contentious and consequential.

The Band: The Beatles

2011-10-26T14:32:00.002-04:00

The time: 1967

REDISTRICTING

2011-10-23T11:53:00.001-04:00

It's coming to City Council. What's up with that? Which council districts are set to be gaining or losing territory, and where most likely? And why?

To the Media: Occupy and Embed!

2011-10-20T13:13:00.009-04:00

(This blog post is an act of personal autonomy, written in a spirit of solidarity with Occupy Pittsburgh.)

(That is the kind of thing you have to say and show that you're thinking about a lot in Occupy Pittsburgh.)

To all members of the media:

Great job covering our marches, rallies, and day-to-day camp living!

This is, for the most part. Yet even then, attempts at due journalistic diligence on behalf of the reading public are greatly respected.

Media brothers and sisters: you are all cordially invited to stick around after dark, covering nighttime at the camp -- a time of conspicuous energy and ferment!

General Assemblies pertaining to the "movement" issues start at 7:00 PM every night. General Assemblies pertaining to "camp" issues start at 10:00 PM nightly. The street corner outreach, art and hospitality crews are relentless and creative through 11:00 PM. There is always tent space available for you, just go to the Media / Hospitality / Camp Nexus of Tents. Morning at the camp is a time for calm reflection and "magic hour" sunlight.

One stipulation: if you work for the corporate media, it would be best to keep a press pass dangling from your neck or poking up from your fedora at all times. It just keeps things more harmonious. Believe me, you'll get great, important stories, without going all Harriet the Spy.

We are at Mellon Green, on the corner of Grant St. and 6th Ave. in Downtown Pittsburgh.

"The Fight for 'Real Democracy'"

2011-10-19T01:11:00.006-04:00

Some of its conclusions upon its conclusions are in error, but yeah...

The clearest clues lie in the internal organization of the movements themselves -- specifically, the way the encampments experiment with new democratic practices. These movements have all developed according to what we call a "multitude form" and are characterized by frequent assemblies and participatory decision-making structures. (Hardt & Negri, Foreign Affairs)

This article together with this post will get you to some of the next steps in Occupy Everything.

Indeed.

2011-10-16T02:20:00.003-04:00

[This is why the movement needs time. This is just like, one little issue.]

The Episode: S1E2 - The Elements of Harmony

2011-10-15T14:30:00.002-04:00

The intellectual property: Hasbro

Videos to Show This and That

2011-10-14T11:36:00.008-04:00

One of the forthcoming critiques about this "occupation" movement is that (aside from the fact that it has no clear goals yet) all of its complaints are so doctrinaire, exhausting and impenetrable. Inevitable really, since social and economic problems are so complex that problem-solving requires a certain amount of digging backwards.

So with all that as a throat-clearing -- here are some videos that we've really enjoyed:

[Don't worry, the magic marker stops squeaking very early]

The Comet is undecided on the Fed existentially, but it strikes us that we should all agree Greenspan was a disaster.

Obviously these cartoons are leading and glib, but they're also decently illustrative.

Finally, the reliably over-the-top dramatic Anonymous:

"We are dirty. Oh, yes. Unamerican. Stupid."

Developing story...

2011-10-13T23:49:00.003-04:00

Dear BONY Mellon -

2011-10-13T18:45:00.012-04:00

We must complement you. You have a lovely building there, with lovely and thoughtful signage. Not to mention the art.

You have a golden opportunity here:

Protesters have selected Mellon Green -- a Grant Street parklet located conveniently near One Mellon Center, and the US Steel/UPMC building -- as the site for their encampment. As a political statement, it's an ideal location: Grant Street is the heart of the city's political and corporate establishment. But the site is owned by Bank of New York Mellon itself.

And Mellon, ultimately, will decide whether the protesters are allowed to stay or not. (Pgh. City Paper Slag Heap, Chris Potter)

Because Bank of New York Mellon supports people trying to make their dreams come true -- and because you are enthusiastic about constitutionally enshrined values and civil discourse -- you can let these charming folks camp on your lawn for a few days at least. A week! As long as the demonstrators retain decorum of course.

And then, you can say, "Well, for goodness sakes, it's time we keep the place well taken-care of, mind the landscaping, and no longer unduly burden our neighbors! Sorry, out." By then, some of those demonstrators will desperately be missing a night at home sleeping.

Meanwhile, it's a beautiful postcard. The grove, the flowers, the fountain, the colorful people -- it would make a lovely picture. Moving picture, what have you. Lots of exposure.

Think about it.

---------

UPDATE: And we have an accord! (Trib, Bill Vidonic)

Loading...

2011-10-13T00:12:00.000-04:00

We've Heard, Competition is Good

2011-10-09T01:26:00.006-04:00

Better deals... quicker results... more varied architecture... more desperate businesspeople.

"The bottom line is that we're in the middle of a very successful development here, and I don't know why anybody would want to change developers at this point," [Art Rooney II] said. (P-G, Jon Schmitz)

Really, he doesn't see it?

(Image: Inside Sports)

Occupy Pittsburgh: Heading to the Market

2011-10-06T14:39:00.017-04:00

Deciding on a Date, Time and some Locations
Sorting out the Comment Policy and how to deal with Trolls.

The regional autonomous collective styling themselves after the #OccupyWallStreet protests in New York City has published a write-up of yesterday's meeting, which was held at the First Unitarian Church in Shadyside:

After much discussion about where best to have a group congregate to begin the movement/events, it was decided that the location working group would work on it, but anyone who is not in contact with the movement between today’s GA and October 15, 2011, should choose to meet at 10:00 am at one of these 3 locations: Freedom Corner, City-County building, or Market Square.

If the base location has changed from any of these locations, members of the Occupy movement will be on hand at these locations at 10:00 am to direct people to the new location(s) where they can assemble/march/camp. Some reservations were expressed to using Market Square, since there is a possibility of entrapment by the police if too many people assembled there, and this is noted. (OccupyPgh)

346 people had indicated an intention on Facebook to attend this first Occupy Pittsburgh General Assembly, or organizational meeting.

By all accounts, between 300 and 350 did attend.

3,607 "like" Occupy Pittsburgh on Facebook.

About 50% of the crowd at the First Unitarian Church looked to be between 18 and 29 years of age.

"Be gentle with each other," implored a moderately more mature Cassi Schaffer, who would later wind up becoming the lead facilitator for the first General Assembly and -- we'll write it -- the "leader" of Occupy Pittsburgh on that particular evening.

"Remember, the person sitting next to you right now, you might be sleeping next to in a week!

"Wait, I mean..." and there was a deeply appreciative chuckle.

The dozen or so organizers -- whom Schaffer describes as nothing greater than those "early adopters" on Facebook who became active just a week to ten days ago -- presented to the audience an elaborate consensus-seeking process patterned after the one being used in New York, imported to the group via #WallStreet veteran and one-time "acting spokesperson" Nathaniel Glosser. Handouts were on every seat.

This formal process was practiced for a time, or at least attempted, over sometimes vociferous objections from those more impatient. Then it was largely ignored for another long stretch. Applause, grumbles, out-of-turn exclamations and executive fiat replaced hand signals and formal processes. Then the rules were all humored or restored again towards the conclusion.

Early on, some sharp objections arose from several attendees regarding a proposed consensus statement endorsing non-violence -- which the organizers had hoped would pass that night.

"It says here I'm supposed to 'be prepared to absorb suffering,'" said one speaker, lodging a formal procedural "block" which at that time was still being honored. "I'm not going to do that." There was a scattered applause.

Another speaker in that same section of the church chimed in, "Look, anyone who has been in touch and who knows what's been going on here for years, they know we've been debating non-violence forever. We're never going to solve it tonight! Let's just forget about it and decide what we're going to do already!"

The two would leave partway through the meeting. Some followed them -- and this was loudly pointed out and complained over, again from that corner -- but some new attendees were still arriving.

Everything else on the agenda aside from the date, time and locations was tabled and to be sorted out by seventeen "working groups":

Facilitation
Location
Outreach / Media
Outreach / Organizations
Outreach / Labor
Government Relations
Action
Non-violence
Art / Entertainment
Safety
Camp
Food (there was a call among professional chefs to really get together and git-r-done)
Medic
Law
Education
Veterans
Statement (ibid)

When it was asked how the working groups should get together amongst themselves, and then how to coordinate with the rest of the organization, an answer came swiftly.

"Twitter and Facebook," called out a droll voice. And there was much rejoicing. No need for another consensus-check on that score!

This blogger recognized very, very few of the "usual suspects" one runs into from a variety of local political events and rallies. To me there were exactly four familiar faces out of 300+ at this General Assembly.

One of those was Antonio Lodico, Co-Director at the Mon Valley Unemployed Committee and one-time Coro fellow.

"I was impressed with the brevity," Lodico offered. "You didn't get a lot of 90-second preambles like you get at a lot of these."

Some disinterested observers left feeling bewildered by the "cluster" they had just witnessed. Other attendees departed more upbeat, smoking cigarettes and lingering, chattering over working group ideas. More than a few left with both hugs and the rejoinder, "It was nice to meet you!"

Nearly everyone's favorite moment of the evening was Rev. David Herndon's of First Universalists Church very brief welcoming statement.

"You are all immensely welcome here," he said deliberately. "Go forth and occupy."

*-UPDATE: Potter recognized a few more faces: Slag Heap.

Steve Jobs at City Council

2011-10-05T22:02:00.002-04:00

Oddly enough, this is how I'll remember him:

"And uh, and, so, I think the overall feeling of the place is going to be a zillion times better than it is now -- with all the asphalt."

All manner of men and women must needs humble themselves before the municipality.

Marcellus Taxes & Fees: Is KISS on the Table?

2011-10-04T15:22:00.016-04:00

We have read about State Reps DiGirolamo and Murt's plan to collect the money with extraction taxes, and we have read about Gov. Corbett's plan to collect the money with fees. It's fascinating.

Firstly, it looks like the tax plan on the table will raise more money than the fee plan on the table. Operating under the assumption that the Corbett administration would have erred at most instances on the side of capital, then we say if the Governor raises his fee schedule we might be convinced to prefer his fee methodology over that of the state Reps and their vulgar taxes.

Then again, under the Corbett plan each time one digs a well, one will get hit with fees. It does not matter how much gas and gas money is produced. Corbett's plan might be more fair in one sense, since impacts aplenty would be caused simply by digging, fracking, disposing and attempting.

But in another sense, developers of successful wells will actually better possess the money to pay an extraction tax on those wells. This question of taxes vs. fees might actually be a contest between smaller producers hoping to enter and begin to expand in the market, a few wells at a time, versus sprawling established conglomerates, more comfortable paying moderate individual fees for a lot of strikeouts rather than much larger payouts culled from their profitable scores.

Regardless, two more facets of the Corbett plan could use a bit of work. First, by allowing county governments to assess lower fees on wells than those permitted by the state, one causes significant problems sufficiently addressing downstream, downwind and down-the-line impacts.

Next, the fact that those allowable well fee maximums descend over time, might actually disincentivize investment and job creation now. Businesses will be operating with a certainty that their costs will diminish in the near future.

We do congratulate Gov. Corbett on the 75/25 county-state split. Let us address the bulk of this locally, according to our own tastes, aspirations and prejudices. Compliance will be a key issue, however. We can't have county officials spending the money on statues and obelisks.

Certain kinds of infrastructure, absolutely. And toothbrushes, with which to scrub the otters.

MORE: Pgh City Paper, Chris Potter. Turns out Corbett's proposed fee schedule may generate a third less revenue than even the Marcellus Shale Coalition once lobbied for.

50% of Today's Younger Adults have Zero Wealth

2011-10-03T15:42:00.002-04:00

There are different programs available on 90.5 on the FM radio dial than there used to be. Sometimes when we listen to WBUR in Chicago's On Point we desire only to choke everybody equally, but today the NPR program was particularly on point.

Today's piece is the aptly titled A Lost Generation? [question mark]

Starring Andrew Sum, professor of economics and director of the Center for Labor Market Studies at Northeastern University, plus three other voices which taken together weren't half bad.

THOUGHTS: If we assume the kind of strong national stimulus targeted toward younger demographics that he suggests towards the very end will not happen -- and let's -- what happens next?

The Artist: Adele

2011-10-02T02:42:00.004-04:00

The song: Take it All

Friday: Rolling in the Deep

2011-09-30T15:23:00.007-04:00

Never don't not neglect to read Friday Happy Hour:

Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl is ready to unveil his fifth city budget with no tax increases, making him 5-for-5 during his tenure. If he were in Philadelphia, they would nominate him as Mayor for Life. In Pittsburgh, his detractors will undoubtedly shrug this off and complain that Ravenstahl was late appearing at a parade or something, or that his tie had a coffee stain on it at his last press conference. (The Triadvocate)

If history serves as any reference, this public affairs / lobbying / strategic communications / web-blegging firm out of Harrisburg and Philadelphia will get around to determining Ravenstahl should be shot out of a cannon and into a bigger cannon in about three years time -- just as he's being outfitted for a crown. And by then the Washington Post will be left wondering, "What's their ish?"

Triad also points us in a direction we should have been looking anyway:

And while [the state Senate] thinks transportation funding is a must, all sides are standing outside the Vatican right now, waiting for the white smoke to rise from the Governor’s Office. Nobody seems to want to move until Governor Corbett weighs in. (ibid)

There seems to be a swell of griping out there about how come things like this and others aren't moving much in Harrisburg.

In response possibly already to this gurgling public relations problem, today Corbett was all, BAM, privatization task force, and PIFF, Marcellus Shale bill. However, those still anxious over public transportation funding might have to wait to see how the Marcellus tithe shakes out. Or maybe that's what he wants us to think -- better not hold up Corbett's drilling bill for any diddly-twink reasons, if we want transportation funding in time! So this is what chess actually looks like.

Speaking of the Marcellus, Congressman Glenn Thompson (R-PA) has some interesting news:

"Marcellus shale is something I've been very involved in. It's an opportunity that comes with responsibility," he said. "Two of my counties have a zero percent unemployment. This has been very positive." (Ithaca Journal, Jeff Murray)

Only slightly less laughably detached from any semblance of reality, we learn from Null Space, is word that Marcellus Shale interests are taking credit (let alone exclusive credit) for the Downtown construction boom. Someone out there has got to be hosting a Marcellus Truth-O-Meter, right?

And finally, Tuesday Oct. 4th is Double Your Charitable Contributions Day at the Pittsburgh Foundation? As in, any donation to anything from A+ Schools to Zachary's Mission will be matched by the Pittsburgh Foundation for 24 hours? That's Church provides some suggestions out of several hundred, including Comet fave CHS. So early next week, get your Jewish New Year off to a sweet start, and may you be inscribed for a year of health, happiness and peace. L'shanah tovah!

Morning Call Erects Paywall; We Have Analysis

2011-09-28T14:29:00.013-04:00

Just weeks after we finally linked to and started reading the incomparable Capitol Ideas blog daily, this happens:

If you're even a casual student of the media, then you know that we've been going through something of an upheaval these last few years. It's also no secret that newspapers have been looking for ways to make money off the Web.

So, starting Oct. 10, The Morning Call will start offering digital subscriptions to its readers. Purchasing a digital subscription will allow you to view an unlimited amount of our website’s articles, blogs, photos and videos.

If you choose not to subscribe, you'll have free access to 10 pages each month. And if you blow through that limit, you'll be asked to become a digital subscriber. (Capitol Ideas, John L. Micek)

Micek goes on to write that the subscription will cost 35 cents a day, and links to the parent newspaper's announcement, which repeats the line about 35 cents a day.

On such notes these new relationships always begin. Or fail to.

Assuming the "35 cent" rate is available monthly -- and you know what they say about assumptions -- a subscription would cost $10.50 per month. Which is how one would pay.

So don't condenscend us, man, just say it costs ten bucks a month. You're a newspaper. Have you ever reported that a proposed tax cut or increase will save or cost people just pennies a day? Or do we all pay our taxes on April 15th at 10:30 PM, and that's how we are accustomed to weighing impacts on us? Even PWSA didn't try to tell us that their opt-out water line insurance program would cost 17 cents a day, and they're horrendous in every way.

If our phone bill went up $10 next month, we'd have to consider switching carriers or downgrading service. That's just life -- no way around that. And we'd more seriously consider such change if our carrier came at us all Tricky McMarkety about the rate hike.

But this is all transference, of course.

The real difficulty is this: although a subscription to the Morning Call might actually be worth it -- and mostly because of Capitol Ideas, literally the only place to reliably learn about campaigns in Harrisburg to save HEMAP or to keep abortion services practically available -- we don't actually look forward to reading the Morning Call, we look forward to reading "the news".

Which means ALL THE THINGS.

If we pay $10 to the Morning Call, that means we know we will ultimately have to pay $10 to the Post-Gazette, $10 to the Tribune-Review, $10 to the Philadelphia Inquirer, $10 to the New York Times and $10 to the Atlantic Monthly so we can continue reading Andrew Sullivan. Taken together, that comes to many hundreds of cents per day!

Which is unsustainable. Which is why this model isn't the future.

At best, the Morning Call will time their situation in the market well -- that is, acquire a set cache of subscribers, enjoy a boost, and get to keep some talent in the newsroom contented for a season or two. But shortly new Internet readers will fail to catch on and develop their own addictions, as we did a couple weeks ago. Meanwhile, subscribers garnered during the roll-out will slowly drop out as they encounter months and moods where money seems a little tight and maybe their debit and credit cards turn sour for a spell, or read MC editorials which enrage them and cause snits, or simply no longer enjoy being able to discuss MC content with as many friends and colleagues.

We still believe the answer lies in more innovative advertising and marketing. We know everything has not been tried, or um -- resorted to.

Perhaps if individual features of the paper or individual authors were sponsored exclusively, each according to their own style and swagger. One could even ask reporters for help in securing their own sponsors.

Perhaps if reporters and editors were made to cleverly include product placement within news articles. Don't make that face. It can be done with a wink and a smirk; today's readers will recognize it and understand. It's been happening on the radio for decades. These are not "modest proposals", these are real.

Finally and most crucially, perhaps if more opinion, analysis, cross-source synthesis and sensationalism (you know: all that awful, valueless derivative blog stuff) were made to be included seamlessly and in one piece with existent excellent reporting as a part of regular daily news content, that might make newspapers more engaging, useful and entertaining to many, many more consumers -- thereby improving advertising and marketing prospects all around.

That last idea might have a side-benefit of encouraging a wider, better-informed populace on average, including much better-informed young people. What's more desirable: a better-informed populace and increased sales, or fewer 60-year old high priests of Journalistism throwing up in their mouths a little? We know what we'd choose.

"What the Property is Worth"

2011-09-27T13:11:00.006-04:00

UPDATED below.

Strangely developing resuscitation of a story:

Merrill Stabile, general partner in 501 Martindale Associates and president of Alco Parking, is offering the city Stadium Authority $13 million for two parcels on North Shore Drive now used for parking, in part to develop a "signature office tower."

The land is reserved for Continental Real Estate Cos. to develop under an option agreement reached with the Pirates and the Steelers nearly a decade ago. (P-G, Mark Belko)

Yesterday's quick version has Mr. Stabile promising not to seek public subsidy for his project.

Mr. Kass of Continental sounds indignant. Ms. Conturo of the Stadium Authority sounds queasy.

BACKGROUND: [Hmm... let's stick with] P-G Mark Belko, 9/05/08

UPDATE: On the flip side:

It appears from the offer letter that Stabile might not be committed to building an office tower, Zober said.

"If, after 10 years, these projects have not materialized, the authority will have the right to repurchase the parcels under a pre-determined formula taking into account the purchase price and the elapsed time from the purchase date," Stabile's offer states.

"That paragraph creates that uncertainty," Zober said. (Trib, introducing Alex Nixon)

Notwithstanding the fog, Trib editorialists are dancing in the street.

The offer was "delivered" to the Authority on Monday, but somehow we all found out about it on Tuesday. Stabile seems to be end-running his proposal around city leaders through the press, as though he's Rob Pfaffman or something. The parking baron should by now be much better equipped at doing business in these parts than having to rely on hail marys.

Monday: Bank Errs in Our Favor

2011-09-26T14:49:00.006-04:00

Collect $10 million.

"This is once and done," Mr. McAneny cautioned.

"The law requires that the money be put into the pension," he added. He acknowledged, though, that some municipalities may decide that the increased state aid allows them to put less of their local tax money into the pension fund next year. (P-G, Rich Lord)

Then it couldn't have come at a better time, if say, one wants to avoid doing anything rash such as raising meter rates and expanding enforcement. We'd be worried about what Rich Lord was doing poking around Jim McAneny's office in the first place, but still.

Meanwhile, the Mayor's proposed 2012 budget finally calls for borrowing some cheddar. Some disinterested analysis:

Spending on roads and other infrastructure (parks, garbage cans, playgrounds) are the coin of the realm in municipal government. One might note that the budget announcement on the two years of capital spending comes the same week as Luke Ravenstahl's moves toward reelection . . . in two years. (P-G Early Returns, Tim McNulty)

What interests us most about this, if it passes and is transacted, is there will be no more talk about reaching the Debt Cliff in 2017, or indeed about ending our Credit Card Mentality. There may be no way around it, though. That guy in the McNulty piece wasn't pointing at a broken swing set or the lack of a cotton candy machine.

Is anyone else bored with this? WE ARE SO BORED. That's it: there will be far less stuffy financial and budgetary analysis in this space; few care, and for excellent reasons because apparently almost none of it is real. Take for example the indispensable Null Space's perpetual incredulity. Is anyone else reaching the conclusion that politicians intuitively understand something fundamental about the real world that economists and even attorneys do not? That somehow it's turtles all the way down? There's always a bigger fish? No damn cat and no damn cradle?

The city is nearly a quarter poverty-stricken ... public education and public transit are bad and getting worse while our prospective leaders compete over who can best trusted to starve government ... and our public charities are engaging in profit-seeking terrorism. How much did we leave out? There have got to be stories there which are likely a bit more satisfying.

Loading...

2011-09-26T01:37:00.000-04:00

and...

Assessments Solution: Hit the Road

2011-09-24T09:00:00.001-04:00

Okay. We give up.

It is clearly more urgent that Allegheny County compete economically on a level if screwball playing field with neighboring counties, than its own residents finally be treated equitably and constitutionally or that its schools and localities be allowed to benefit from all its general prosperity. Clearly.

But this:

It just so happens that the governor, Tom Corbett, is subject to the same county assessment system. The longtime Shaler resident would be prime for lobbying on the issue because he knows the reality firsthand. (P-G, Edit Board)

Mmm. Yes. State politicians are frequently motivated by "knowing" and "realizing" things, not by the self-interested passions of innumerable legions of rural and affluent property owners and stakeholders, who fervently desire to be left alone to benefit from prevailing absurdities.

Instead, try this:

HIRE A HANDFUL OF PART-TIME ORGANIZERS THIS FALL SEASON FOR $18 AN HOUR.

AND I ONLY SUGGEST "$18 AN HOUR" BECAUSE I KNOW TOO MANY ORGANIZERS WHO READ THIS BLOG.

Send them to Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Washington and Westmoreland counties.

Instruct them to seek out school district officials, property owners invested in declining communities, and one-time political players relegated to the wilderness. Illustrate the real injustices from which they all either suffer or can take advantage. Motivate them to copy, paste and refile that lawsuit which a similar ragtag bunch of misfits launched in Alleghenyland. If they need help doing their own localized research, send Ira Weiss down for an afternoon to get them started.

Wait a year. Maybe more. Maybe less.

At a minimum, all our neighbors will get similarly stuck having to institute fair and constitutional taxation regimes. In every likelihood however, one of those judges is bound to see this issue is crying out for a statewide solution (as we all expected the first time around) and will force the state's hand.

Then finally, release Rich Fitzgerald from prison, a vindicated civil rights hero.

Thursday: WHEYEN is it GOING to EYEND?

2011-09-22T08:57:00.005-04:00

1. Thanks to CBS Local Digital Media for selecting the Comet as the "Editor's Choice" for Most Valuable Pittsburgh Blogger for local affairs! Especial great thanks go to Chad Hermann at the P-G's Radical Middle for the nomination in the first place -- he who has long added a fair amount of value to the blurghosphere himself.

More thanks certainly go also to everyone who voted for me -- although we did lose the popular vote for the "People's Choice"award (in retrospect, it might have been a poor month to spend bombing you all with, "This pension plan is goofy and notional! Maybe the State should just take over, you guys!") but those of you who did vote probably helped the Editors feel justified in going with their gut.

2.

She could have been talking about parking meters, you know.

3. AND AWAYYYYYYY WE GO!

Mayor Luke Ravenstahl is poised to announce his re-election run -- more than two years before the next mayoral election -- while the two candidates for Allegheny County executive prepare to start running ads on television. (P-G, Timothy McNulty)

Opposing Ravenstahl in the 2013 Democratic primary will be the Post-Gazette.

It took hard negotiations and persistence, but the immediate threat of a state takeover of Pittsburgh's wobbly pension fund was averted Monday, no thanks to Mayor Luke Ravenstahl. (P-G, Edit Board)

How you gonna play a mayor like that. He worked with actuaries, accountants, antediluvians, and so forth! (Worked on keeping all their big mouths shut most likely but still.)

4. Doesn't even sound like we're going to see a decent implosion:

Ms. Conturo said the full demolition -- or more precisely, the dismantling -- should be completed by May.

The SEA is clearing the 28-acre arena site as part of the 2007 agreement to build the Consol Energy Center for the Penguins. As part of the deal, the Penguins were given development rights to the land. The agreement also called for the Civic Arena to be demolished. (P-G, Mark Belko)

Time to get into the right frame of mind for reflecting on past errors and encouraging future triumphs.

LOCALLY APPOINTED BOARD PERMITTED BY STATE TO CONTINUE MANAGING PENSION FUND

2011-09-19T12:00:00.033-04:00

Group hug:

Wrapping up a season-and-a-half long story arc:

State officials today approved Pittsburgh`s plan to bolster its chronically underfunded employee pension funds, staving off a state takeover that city officials predicted would cost up to $100 million annually. (Trib, Bob Bauder)

Next, of critical importance:

The city now must determine how it will offset the general fund deficit. Council`s plan for plugging the gap with revenue from increased parking garage and meter fees has been stymied by disagreements between members and the mayor`s office.

Pittsburgh Parking Authority officials say they must first address capital improvements to the parking facilities before the authority can turn over any extra cash to the city. (ibid)

Reax:

Two contentions there: 1) That the Council-Controller / Controller-Council plan did the trick (fairly accurate) and that "the pensions" are "saved" (fairly shorthand).

That'll be the overwhelming consensus contention.

Sounds like a rip-roaring good time.

Excerpted from a press release from Mayor Ravenstahl:

“This is extremely good news for the people of Pittsburgh,” Ravenstahl said. “We worked very hard to make sure that the City's plan would be accepted by our accountants, actuaries, and ultimately the Commonwealth. I want to thank members of my finance team for their hard work in ensuring that we can continue to provide quality services and balanced budgets with no new tax increases. This is a critical step for us as we get closer to completing our financial recovery."

Council President Darlene Harris sent out her own press release touting funding that is "sufficient to avert takeover by the Commonwealth", and naming, crediting and/or quoting various officials for last year developing "the inspired idea of using present valuation."

The Allegheny Institute adopts a tone of confusion:

[W]hy was the City so afraid of a takeover? The state law clearly stated collective bargaining would remain at the City level. Also, where is the binding language that holds future City administrations and Councils to honor the promises of 2010? And, if we are to take the comments of the City Controller at face value when he said the bailout plan "is no long-term solution [but] a mechanism to avoid state takeover", then what is the long-term solution? (Allegheny Institute)

An oft-cited rationale for takeover aversion has been that the mandatory commencement of annual $100+ million pension payments was deemed infeasible. Of course, questions persist as to how long the fund can remain solvent without dramatically more substantial cash payments -- notwithstanding the commitment of 30 years worth of future parking tax receipts.

As for the blogger/professor/economist/nabob, we are left with this:

[N]o matter what the state says today, nothing at all has changed impacting the long run financial health of the city of Pittsburgh. This all gives 'accounting fiction' an entirely new meaning. (Null Space; see also from this pm)

Well. Be that as it may. But look on the bright side. We'll still have chances to make news.

Sewer Issue Spill Over

2011-09-16T11:28:00.005-04:00

As part of the furious political battle to determine who will be seen as the least-taxingest candidate since biblical times and in any universe, a side-issue has emerged which verges on something of urgency:

Democrat Rich Fitzgerald accused Republican D. Raja of doing a "bait and switch" as a Mt. Lebanon commissioner by promising to lower taxes while running for office and then, once elected, imposing a sewage tax on residents. (Trib, Tony LaRussa)

Or if you prefer:

Mr. Raja, [Fitzgerald] argued, has not owned up to a monthly sewer fee he approved in Mt. Lebanon last year. (The Republican says it was offset by a simultaneous drop in property taxes.) "What you get from me is you get the truth about what we're going to do," Mr. Fitzgerald said. "What you get from him is a bait and switch and he gives you half the story." (P-G, Timothy McNulty)

We hope Mr. Fitzgerald effectively communicates that his beef is with hypocrisy, not with the wisdom of upgrading sewers and establishing drainage protocols. The creation of a regional "storm water management district" is something that public officials have been discussing for at least a year, and has recently been lent new urgency for obvious reasons. Water flow is something that cannot possibly be managed effectively on a municipality-by-municipality basis or a Good Samaritan volunteer-basis. Many consider such regional management to be desperately necessary and a timely challenge in a region with three rivers, 8,792 streams, mountainous topography and burgeoning new concrete and asphalt developments all over the place.

The very fact that our probable next head of Allegheny County is loudly trumpeting that sewer fees should really be regarded as just another tax, is something that is politically unlucky. We should all hope Fitzgerald and his campaign staff aren't accidentally painting the man into a corner from which he will later need to maintain that sewer investments and drainage regulations are outrages in and of themselves.

Water Bombshell: RDM Slams PWSA *

2011-09-12T01:30:00.007-04:00

And then. Get a load of this performance review of the municipal water authority, which apparently was just released:

Problems at the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority run the gamut from excess turnover among top managers and over-reliance on outside contractors at much greater cost, to inadequate attention to cleaning and maintaining the system and a lack of accountability at all levels, according to the authority's most recent performance review. (P-G, Amy McConnell Schaarsmith, AKA ShaarDog.)

It's a very fortunate thing that Amy doesn't read blogs or anything of that sort. Things could have gotten seriously out of hand.

*-UPDATE: Apparently this review has only recently been re-released after a very exclusive opening run. Search therein for the term "83-page report". Who is revealing this 2009 report with such guarded discretion and at such portentous junctures?

2011-09-11T16:39:00.000-04:00

The Band: Dire Straits

2011-09-09T18:01:00.001-04:00

The song: Why Worry

Harrisburg still Calculating Level of State Act 44 Pension Legislation Seriousness

2011-09-08T09:03:00.007-04:00

Put these together for yourself:

The Comet: The Three (3) City Money Problems

3 Murky Rivers: An Asset You Have to Believe In

Null Space: Paper Chase

Pittsburgh Business Times: Pittsburgh pension loses out on millions and a follow-up Letter to the editor.

And what should you get?

BOTTOM LINE: If we were lots of different people, we would already be describing in epic terminology to everyone who could be made to listen, what life was like in Pittsburgh all the way from autumn through Christmas, so people might better understand the mere footnote coda trivia of that which transpired as a consequence on New Years' Eve.

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Does anybody else smell Napalm?

2011-09-06T14:53:00.004-04:00

Shorter Rich Fitzgerald today:

"You call it 'unethical' of me to have sent that campaign email to Marcellus Shale drillers? Why you LONELY, BORING, VAPID, BACKWARD, LYING, HACKNEYED, CRIMINAL, CALLOUS, EXPLOITATIVE FAILURE -- how dare you go negative!" (P-G Early Returns, Tim McNulty)

That's all for today. I just feel too disenchanted to engage in the political process. :(

Happy Labor Day, Pittsburgh!

2011-09-05T01:23:00.006-04:00

That one day every year we take an interlude from honoring job creators so that we might appease job doers.

The United States Department of Labor provides its own online History of Labor Day.

PBS's News Hour with Jim Lehrer fills in some blanks regarding such things as the Pullman Company strike, Eugene Debs, President Grover Cleveland and over 12,000 federal troops and US Marshals:

But now, protests against President Cleveland's harsh methods made the appeasement of the nation's workers a top political priority. In the immediate wake of the strike, legislation was rushed unanimously through both houses of Congress, and the bill arrived on President Cleveland's desk just six days after his troops had broken the Pullman strike. (PBS)

Better make it count, then.

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Council Sends Frank & Open Letter to Ravenstahl

2011-09-02T12:52:00.008-04:00

In the letter, Council members Harris, Kraus, Peduto, Rudiak and Shields make clear that they will merely be temporarily suspending expanded parking meter enforcement (sorry, Ginny) until such time as the Parking Authority comes around to Council's way of thinking.

*-UPDATE: Mayor Ravenstahl and Finance Director / chief administrative officer on financial matters Scott Kunka each respond in short statements.

Further, the Harris majority is setting out to transfer $1.3 million from the city's 2011 general fund balance [which we all hope will exist] to the pension fund.

That "further" part has us a mite confused. As part of its New Years Eve deal, Council already diverted money from the parking tax (which winds up in the general fund) over to the pension fund. The difficulty has been that this general fund revenue has not been replaced by Parking Authority revenue as Council had intended. Is Council here saying that the Powers That Be have refused also to move the parking tax money over to the pension fund to begin with? Because otherwise, why send more money over to the pensions than previously arranged?

The timing of the nastygram makes this all the more curious. The fact that Councilman Patrick Dowd, a leading architect of Council's New Years' Eve plan and critic of the Mayor's alternative, did not cosign today's missive is only mildly curious.

Meanwhile, just to stir the pot a little further, check out how folks from Harrisburg are seeing these machinations:

The City of Pittsburgh this morning submitted its new municipal pension shortfall estimates to the state, hoping to avert a state takeover of the fund. The submission was the culmination of a two-year battle between council, which wanted to dedicate future parking revenue to the fund, and Mayor Luke Ravenstahl, who preferred shoring up the fund through leasing the parking facilities. Council ended up getting its way; now we get to see if it actually worked. If it doesn’t, expect the mayor (after a hearty round of “I told you so”) to re-submit his plan to lease the city’s parking garages. (Triadvocate)

That ain't necessarily so. But it ain't necessarily not so.

Thursday: Department of Innovation Department

2011-09-01T19:09:00.012-04:00

62%! Wow! A large number, m-hay! (P-G, Joe Smydo)

Acceptance of this calculation is going to turn on a point such as why the state settled on the figure 50% as being determinative of "severe distress" to begin with. Was it arbitrary? Did it seem like a good round number, or what? Had to draw a line somewhere?

MORE FRETTING: Null Space

Township commissioner D. Raja (R-Mt. Lebanon) thinks a Department of Innovation is the kind of thing for which we all might clamor. (joinraja.com)

County Council President Rich Fitzgerald (D-East End Pittsburgh) responds to this news by painting Raja as a failure, a phony, a liar and vaguely absurd. (P-G, Timothy McNulty)

NOTE TO RAJA: You might want to try critiquing your opponent's record on Allegheny County Council. Call it a random neuron.

New poll: 65% of Pennsylvanians favor the natural gas industry; 23% are opposed to it. (PoliticsPA)

Whatever that question is -- and it's admittedly a different question than, "Are you opposed to drilling in your city, the one that is dense and noisy already?" -- much like the Civic Science survey it should give people a certain amount of pause just to see those numbers. Not everyone is out there all, "It's the People vs. the Corporations!" People like their royalties and signing bonuses and idea of jobs and economic activity. To not take that into account is to appear as something of a weirdo.

Do you count yourself as still confused over what happened in Bloomfield involving gay activists, City police officers and at least some anarchists? Me, too!

In addition to a City Paper article on that incident and a follow-up Slag Heap blog post, blogger Thomas C. Waters was there in the flesh. He has published many ruminations already, which in turn have garnered many comments. The first of five personal dispatches from the rally is right here; his latest, a report on some follow-up with the City is here. Lots to digest in between.

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POTUS to Address Congress on Jobs Proposals

2011-08-31T13:45:00.007-04:00

A week from today: Wed. Sept. 7th, at 8:00 PM. *-UPDATE: Or Thurs. the 8th. "Logistical impediments".

It better be good. We need first-down yardage.

Image: Streetsblog.org.

Tuesday: Here They Come

2011-08-30T14:43:00.026-04:00

State Rep. Daryl Metcalfe (R-Butler) is holding hearings today on the Hispanic invasion. John L. Micek at Capitol Ideas has posted a fascinating breakdown of some of the facts surrounding this crisis-for-some. *-UPDATE: P-G

(Las Palmas, the Mexican grocer in Brookline which opened in 2009 seems to be doing well. No reports yet on whether or not they're putting french fries in the tacos. Legal immigration is one thing, but they have to be willing to assimilate.)

Super Senator Pat Toomey (R-PA) is reportedly holding a (a) Town Hall Meeting clear on the other side of the state on Sept. 1st. If I'm reading that correctly, that's three days notice to plan a visit to Jim Thorpe, PA -- which sounds absolutely lovely, but it doesn't leave a lot of time to pack and write a little speech.

It looks like Rick Santorum (R-Your Body) is seriously lining up to take down Rick Perry and try to become the natural, notable cultural conservative willing to play attack dog, and to one day testify that Mitt Romney has "steel in his spine". He'll even score sympathy points for his problems with Dan Savage, and who doesn't love milking those? Nonetheless, we're not sure whether that pairing wouldn't exacerbate more problems than in solves.

The Allegheny Institute wonders whether the Pittsburgh School District (amidst the many other changes it is making right now) moving seven teachers from classroom instruction to "making students feel safe and welcome" is a useful or cost-effective idea.

From the School District website:

Learning Environment Specialists are teachers who demonstrate strength in positive classroom management, leadership and peer coaching skills. Learning Environment Specialists will be classroom teachers in high-needs schools, have a reduced teaching schedule and will participate on school teams, possibly leading teams, to ensure that school-based goals for a positive teaching and learning environment are being met. (PPS)

"High-needs schools" and "teachers who demonstrate strength in" seem to be the operative phrases there.

If it's true that the City of Pittsburgh actually leads the nation in poverty rates among working-age racial minorities and young minority children, and if it's true that growing up in poverty and amidst much poverty can lead to a sticky situation as far as schooling -- then it's hard to see any reason for bafflement here. We've got to try something to get these kids feeling more positive about school, right? It sounds like these teachers' roles will be to teach the merits of personal responsibility among children who were especially likely to have missed those memos.

What do our buddies at the A.I. advocate in its place, we are left wondering? Charter school vouchers for everyone, but no special resources for acclimating and acculturating the students, or even for steering all of them into appropriate schools to redeem those vouchers? What?

It is two days until September 1, the deadline for handing in our financial homework to the state. Is it going to be submitted on time by the appropriate administrative officer with all of the T's crossed and I's dotted correctly? Do we think the state will try to take notice of any possible distinctions between pension obligations and pension liabilities? Or are we going to sail right through the 50% funding threshold into comfortable waters -- before being gifted with a new, strengthened form of Super Oversight? In the City of Harrisburg, they're talking about yet another kind of state takeover just because our state can -- and seems amped for the challenge.

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Monday: And Where Might we Purchase the T-Shirts?

2011-08-29T13:09:00.031-04:00

The biggest news over the weekend might have been a sleeper: the sudden discovery of Jasiri X by the Blur-gho-sphere, as evidenced first on What Would Vannevar Bush Blog? and then shortly on Infinonymous.

WWVB has all the lyrics. A sample:

And downtown it's a bunch of new buildings
Glass and steel cathedrals the cost a few million
They make billions to treat a dudes illness
With medicine and pharmaceuticals so who's dealing
But the schools are failing screw children
Just make sure the office has a see through ceiling
Pitt University and CMU killin
classes cost thousands I don't see you fill em (at WWVB)

This contribution by Jasiri X (MySpace) is added to a long history of municipal protest folk music:

Jasiri's last single release garnering significant notoriety was 2010's What if the Tea Party Was Black. He just needs a good hook writer. America's Most Livable Irony, what? How about, "White Pittsburgh / Black Pittsburgh." Come on kid, we'll make a record. Wiz Khalifa, Mac Miller -- these things work best in threes and fours.

No seriously, expect someone of Jasiri's artistic talent, uniqueness, and sense of civic responsibility to gain significant attention from outfits like Pop City Media, the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust and the Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council in a matter of weeks or months. There's no reason to keep this all to ourselves.

What else?

P-G on-duty battlecat Joe Smydo went stately forth and delivered that newspaper's Quarterly Blowing Off of Steam over Luke Ravenstahl.

This time, that work took the form of a litany of stories about mayoral absences at and around specified events and incidents. Here was our favorite part:

Months ago, the Post-Gazette switched its online publishing options to divide up its articles onto different pages as a default (in order to garner more net pageviews and pump the advertisers, we assume). It's been mildly irritating, and we had been considering airing a grievance.

But no longer! The sheer style points credited for launching into a series of tales of an unfortunately timed ski trip here, a similarly timed vacation there, another little mystery or two and then PLEASE CONTINUE TO PAGES TWO THROUGH FIVE UNITL YOU REACH THE STOP SIGN -- as a blogger, Post-Gazette, we salute you.

What else is there...

Looks as though the landowners of active gas fracking sites are doing fairly well with royalty payments, a fact which has translated into $100 million last year in tax revenue for the state (to gain just little perspective, that constitutes 2.5% of the state budget deficit, which is estimated to have been about a $4 billion shortfall.) ... The P-G editorialists proper are all like, here here! here here! when it comes to Highmark / UPMC and Big Healthcare ... Rick Santorum will be in or around Pittsburgh on Tuesday or Wednesday to raise money at a crucial moment in his campaign to become Mitt Romney's running mate.

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2011-08-28T18:00:00.007-04:00

Also, please enjoy the new Comet Sidebar feng-shui. -->

Hurricane Irene Resources

2011-08-27T00:50:00.005-04:00

The Weather Underground.

The latest Daily Downpour audiocast, which is billed as the "final" Hurricane Irene special, from Fri. August 26th at 4:30 PM.

The attached map is of relative storm surge probabilities (h/t Jeff Masters at WU again). Lots of H2o for the Mid-Atlantic coast and waterways.

Fox News Extreme Weather Center.

WRAL Raleigh Durham Fayetteville liveblog-style coverage.

*-UPDATE: Philly.com staff report about Sunday's situation.

An Invitation, a Question, and a Rant

2011-08-26T15:11:00.014-04:00

1. Remember last year's blurghosphere-wide (and then some) Community Human Services or CHS Holiday Gift Drive to provide individuals and families with unique challenges practical gifts for the holiday season? It is launching earlier and more ambitiously this year, with the Pirates vs. Marlins game on Saturday Sept. 10th at 7:05.

Those who consent to watching the Pirates live at PNC Park alongside web-loggers like myself, Virginia Montanez, Jennifer England, and Kevin Acklin (his campaign was basically a five-month long blog post, right?) in the special Roberto Clemente section will enjoy the view from the lower left infield, fireworks and a Clemente t-shirt all for just $20. Register now! Please join us.

*-UPDATE / INSPIRATION: For those of you familiar with CHS's work and who don't care to join us at this ballgame -- how about getting your Christmas donating out of the way now, while your credit card bill still fits in an envelope?

2. Professor Briem points us in the direction of a couple interesting articles in the most recent Pittsburgh Business Times. Go read them through his portal -- or read as much of them as you can without a PBT subscription. We'll wait right here. Dum de do.

3. Back again? Good. Now, a serious request. Can somebody quickly remind us why it is crucial to prevent our pension fund management from getting "taken over" by PMRS? We understand why the local pension board itself would be anxious to prevent a takeover by a statewide investment cooperative with a far superior track record. Very clear on that. We just need a quick refresher course on why Pittsburgh At Large ought to be persuaded to "all row in the same direction", towards what is in any event the same waterfall around the next bend.

4. If two or more providers of similar products or services operating in the same area are by definition in the same "market" -- and this state of affairs necessarily entails "competition" among the two "competitors" -- and this "market competition" absolutely mandates the cessation of cooperation between competitors to further efficiency in delivery of these products and services -- how can we possibly be discussing institutions of purely public charity, or non-profits?

Some cry in cowardice, bad judgement or bad faith, "Don't kill the goose that lays golden eggs!" Health care is the new steel, the new coke, and the new coal combined. Health care is one of the few consumables guaranteed never to go obsolete or out of style. Those remaining in charge of it -- only the most aggressive and methodical practitioners of corporate piracy, the monopolists -- have obviously given up any pretense of being motivated by compassionate instincts. Watch any old telephone company commercial -- "We bring mothers and daughters together, over distances! Communication! Aren't we the sweetest things?" This is the very self-same self-serving non-sequitor. Extravagant claims about "charity care" have never been audited. Taxpayers entirely underwrote the construction and evolution of one of these two self-involved "competitors": the University of Pittsburgh.

Meanwhile, a ridiculously high volume of tax exempt land is slowly but now noticeably strangling this city in particular, just as it's struggling to rebound. The center cannot hold.

Tax these deluded phony plutocrats. Tax them no harsher than all the other duly celebrated profit-seekers in this vibrant working world must be taxed. Tax them whether they agree to play nice with each other or not.

Who knows? We might actually be able to hire some teachers for our schoolchildren, or update some critical infrastructure to keep us from drowning in the rain.

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Lower-most image: PBT, Jim Snively. And did you find this post valuable? If so, then please consider voting for the Pittsburgh Comet again today in the Most Valuable Blogger thing.

Mayor Luke Ravenstahl = 19% Job Approval?

2011-08-25T16:02:00.014-04:00

So says Pittsburgh's own Civic Science Inc. in an interview with KDKA's Jon Delano, that is.

*-UPDATE: "CSI Pittsburgh" offers up some thoughts and answers to suddenly frequently asked questions on its blog. Original post continues:

Before folks start breaking out into song, a few important caveats. Civic Science Inc. is a consumer market research firm, and something of an innovative high-tech start-up at that. It does political tracking mostly "for fun" (and, apparently, for publicity). Although they reputedly were alone in accurately predicting the results of the Rich Fitzgerald / Mark Patrick Flaherty race for Allegheny County Executive, this particular business avowedly isn't even their specialty -- as evidenced by the lonesomeness of their one and only local politics query.

Furthermore, this is somehow an Internet-based poll -- though it looks as though there's more to it than the straightforward, rinky-dink, answer-as-often-as-you'd-like polls any of us can slap on our website. There is talk for example of "sampling", "demographics" and "science".

Judge for yourself how the firm's CEO, John Dick, answered the Comet's cursory question about compensating for the "digital divide," or the fact that several sets of demographics interact with the Internet a lot less frequently and intensely than others:

1) We believe in the law of big numbers. While there is admittedly bias in any human sample, those biases can be measured when you have large enough data. In the case Ravenstahl #s, a 26,000+ person sample included enough people in every imaginable demographic to build reliable models. 2) On the matter of "digital divide:" First, this is a dying phenomena. Web connectivity is virtually ubiquitous among all but the oldest and most indigent populations. Compare that with the landline telephone (still the prevailing means of opinion research). Only 74% of US households have a land phone. Among those, at least half subscribe to Do-Not-Call Lists and CallerID services, rendering them unreachable. If there is a "digital divide," think of it as a crack in the sidewalk. The "land-phone divide" is Panther Hollow.

In our non-expert opinion, if there happens to be any significant sampling biases (if there are no significant controls for age, race, income, and for whatever psychology explains people choosing to fill out Internet political polls on their own initiative) "large numbers" would not do anything to fix that. We don't feel like we have the data quite yet to weigh whether that is in fact a problem here, but the amount of attention this poll is garnering so quickly suggests that's likely to change.

All of that aside -- 19% job approval! It's hard to imagine any skewed sampling of any variety that could make Mayor Ravenstahl feel okay with a number like 19% being produced. Colonel Gaddafi used to poll at least in the low 30's.

Next time we hope they also measure the "job approval" of City Council, or of other specific local public officials. The responses may have simply reflected a general "Aw, phooey" sentiment towards city government as a whole, until we discover some one or some thing polls any better.

And we hope there are many next times. Poll numbers are like crack for the media, and nonpartisan polling data would make local politics a lot easier to cover and analyze. Kudos to Civic Science for taking some first steps!

MORE: That's Church seemed to be at least a little impressed by the "trust me, geniuses" argument, though Null Space wonders how much better this is than a radio call-in poll. Maria of 2PJ's in fact broke out into song 40 minutes before we published this.

COMETNONYTUNE: Hey Nineteen (Steely Dan)

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Quake Rocks City on Heels of Embarrassing Flooding Gaffe

2011-08-23T16:36:00.003-04:00

Official reaction to inquiries over what caused today's earthquake:

Too soon?

Now, onto the very real deadly flooding and today's news conference:

Reacting to statements from Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority and Allegheny County Sanitary Authority that water volume was the culprit, not the quality of their systems, Mr. Ravenstahl said, "I'm not necessarily 100 percent satisfied with that answer yet." (P-G, Joe Smydo)

That's pretty much where I'm at. And no further. It's too easy to say, "PWSA in particular and city government in general drives me up the wall, they must be at fault here."

But there are still some unanswered questions:

For example, though it was quickly made to sound like all the relevant parts of the system were recently inspected and confirmed to be operating in perfect condition, we're now considering "using robots to inspect the submerged outfall pipe". How critical is the function of that outfall pipe to systemic function, and when was the last occasion on which it was inspected?

Do we still really not know whether the storm drains on Washington Boulevard were clogged with rocks prior to Friday's storm, or whether the clogging occurred as a result?

Do we have any confirmation yet by meteorological professionals that this was in fact a "100-year storm"? We know it was bad. Three inches in an hour, two inches in 37 minutes is bad. Can actual weather experts state with the same confidence our public officials are employing that it was the Storm of the Century, the implication being, no sense fretting over another one that bad?

Even if it was an event we might once have considered a 100-year storm, is that still the case?

Finally, assuming we won't be laying this all at the feet of a submerged outfall pipe and clogged storm drains, I think we can take ALCOSAN readily at its word that an engineering solution preserving Washington Blvd. as we know it will take billions (with both a "B" and an "S") no matter which option we settle on.

Talk about a big dig -- imagine four or five North Shore Connectors.

Where in the hay is that supposed to come from?

Better to make sure those flashing warning signs work really well, and maybe add some mechanical arms to discourage the real idiots.

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The Three (3) City Money Problems

2011-08-20T18:37:00.018-04:00

The administration and Council are haranguing each other about parking plans and pension problems. PittGirl has been drawn into the fray. Should we welcome you back to 2010?

Now would be a useful time to review the city's monetary gestalt, since the exciting conclusion to last year's "state takeover" story is fast approaching, and another nerve-wracking round of annual budget talks is right around the corner.

The point we'd most like to illustrate is this: "the city's budget woes" you'll be hearing about are actually threefold. Three. Different. Issues. Understanding that is the first step towards not coming across like a rube or an easy mark.

Problem Number One is that the pension fund could simply run dry by 2014.

Almost nothing can be found in terms of predicting the actual drop-dead date, except...

"Right now, there's only enough money in the fund to pay our obligations for the next three or four years," [Mayor Ravenstahl] said. (P-G, Smydo, Dec. 30 '10)

And:

At that rate we are now exactly 6 years from a zero fund balance in the fund. Hopefully the market does not sustain its downward trend and the city will certainly be forced to increase contributions (that is a story unto itself) so that 6 years may be overly pessimistic, but things will be quite insufferable years before the funding ratio reaches absolute 0%. (Null Space, Aug. 15 '08)

Startling agreement, there.

Now, part of City Council's pension plan of last winter was the shifting of $45 million from a fund formerly earmarked for other sorts of debt into the pensions. Another part of it was pledging to divert an extra $13 million each year from the parking tax -- starting this year. Taken together, one might have expected those twin boosts to provide the fund with an extra year or two worth of breathing space.

However the market pointedly did not reverse its downward trend since fall of '08, or the conclusion of '10 for that matter. Besides which, the city's fund hasn't exactly always beaten or reached market performance -- we found out this year that in the 4th quarter of 2010 (when the market was actually strong) the city fund performed in the 96th percentile of American pension funds. Next, there are actually literally three separate Pittsburgh pension funds -- police, fire, and non-uniformed -- all at different levels. It only takes the weakest of those three bottoming-out to trigger consequences. Finally, even before a fund literally equals "zero dollars", it begins running into unavoidable problems with sustainability -- like how to pay associated fees, make worthwhile investments, and keep a straight face.

So let's go ahead and say those issues counterbalance last year's funding initiatives by Council.

Today, a person can walk around town saying our pension fund is fixing to run out in 2014, with their heads held high.

Problem Number Two is that the pension fund might be "taken over". We should learn that for a certainty by Halloween.

In September of 2009, Pennsylvania passed a stripped-down version of an Act requiring that city pension funds containing less than 50% of their total obligations would be dubbed "severely distressed". Local management of such severely distressed funds would have to shift to the Pennsylvania Municipal Retirement System -- a sort of co-op originally intended for much smaller townships, boroughs and counties. PMRS would then call the shots as far as how much cash Pittsburgh would be made to contribute to its pension fund, when it would be made to do so, and how those funds would be invested.

In terms of trivia, the initial version of the Act would also have frozen the benefits of employees in the distressed systems and allowed those local governments to switch to "defined contribution" or 401(k) style benefit plans, never mind collective bargaining agreements. These Walker-esque components -- perhaps the actual original point of the Act -- did not survive Labor's lobbying and a narrowly Democratic state House.

But for our purposes, the fateful change to the final edition was carved out for Pittsburgh alone, whose pensions were funded at something like 35%. We were granted a special extension and a New Years 2011 deadline to reach 50% before being made to surrender control to PMRS.

State lawmakers had been persuaded that Pittsburgh might fill the gap by executing Mayor Ravenstahl's proposed leasing of city parking garage and parking meter assets to a private consortium. But lo and behold or alas and alack, City Council rejected that grossly unpopular strategy, and instead executed its cocktail of financial shifts and pledges.

Did it work? We don't know yet. We were given a deadline of Sept. 1 to provide all the information necessary for state officials to make the calculation. Today is Aug. 20.

"Please give me this stuff in advance before we make ourselves nuts worrying about this," he said. "If we wait until Sept. 1, there's no way (the retirement system) can take over administration in two months." (Trib, Bill Vidonic)

Could he have been giving us a hint? PMRS doesn't really want to take over our pension fund management -- we are regarded as a huge headache. This was all the Legislature's idea, and a bastardized one at that. That's probably why a City Council I.O.U. over 30 years is even being considered as a present-day fund asset capable of counting towards 50%.

"I don't know why they did it without professional assistance, but apparently they did, and now I'm worried they didn't do it right," said James McAneny, head of the Public Employee Retirement Commission. "No one has bothered to notify us exactly what they did." (ibid)

That especially didn't comfort any of the players around here. In fact, it right shocked them, as McAneny's "crackling voice" on speakerphone during a Council meeting on Wednesday, Dec. 29 sure seemed to indicate otherwise. Perhaps there was then some nuance overlooked.

And finally, even if the pledge / transfer were done acceptably, there is not any ironclad guarantee that it, plus our existent pension fund, will reach the 50% threshold. Not until they do the calculating next month.

Now, this is important. This may be the most important nuance to the blog post.

The relationship between Problem Number One (the Pension Problem) and Problem Number Two (the "State Takeover" Problem) is roughly the same as the relationship between the nation's 9% unemployment and the nation's $1.3 trillion deficit.

That is to say, people seem to think there is a relationship where none such exists.

If Pittsburgh manages to dodge the state takeover, we're going to be facing the same day of reckoning in terms of no longer having cash on hand to meet our contract-laden financial obligations -- and there is a word for that state of affairs. In fact, the state would be likely to stick in its beak via different means even as such a thing unfolds.

Whereas if we do indeed get taken over, we'll be facing the exact same reckoning -- we'll just have a little less personal discretion as to how we twist in the wind, and for how many months we can resist voiding ourselves.

State Auditor General Jack Wagner hinted towards this non-relationship back in May with a football analogy. Yet confusing the two problems is still very easy and still has a certain political utility.

However and finally, the Pension Problem and the State Takeover Problem both impact Problem Number Three: the Budget Problem.

As we make these higher, more urgent pension payments and deal with several other challenges (bonded debt, the Lesser Depression, conservative ascendency), we progressively are and will be discovering new atmospheric layers of having no money left for running the city: for street paving, emergency equipment, civic ~~improvements~~ maintenance and the like.

We can isolate glimpses of this when city officials argue about how much money remains in the annual capital budget, or when federal grant money gets rescinded, or when we argue (we do this a lot) over the impact of possibly rolling back parking rate increases and the implementation of the Council's pensions strategy. It can also be sensed when you hit a pothole, dive into a public pool lacking any water, encounter a landslide or other emergency, get hit with a parking ticket, stare at the vacant crumbling rat-infested building / lot adjoining your own, or watch a moving truck pull up to your neighbor's house. In the near-term future, the same may even be noticeable as your taxes go up.

To populists, skeptics and the politically indifferent, this could be the only problem that actually matters.

However -- and this is a big "however" -- the facts surrounding how exactly Problems Number One and Two have, are and will impact Problem Number Three will always be strenuously difficult to ascertain.

Strike that. Prepare for an era of wince-inducing postmodern politics. Facts regarding how our concrete pensions shortfall and our concrete responses to it are affecting our concrete city may not objectively exist.

We know there is a relationship, but -- did this, that, or the other thing fail to materialize because of pension problems, or because somebody would rather it not? Was it because of something Council did, or because of something the Mayor didn't do? Was it all really because of the mean old State and its stupid rules and gross Republicans? Or is it because of all that government waste? And what or whom is that waste?

Does the city Parking Authority's decision not to fork over $8 million to the City -- as is called for in the 2011 budget -- blow an $8 million hole in that budget? Are you sure? Even if it does, would that mean there's going to be $8 million less City surrounding us? How could you tell?

We have no advice yet for navigating this thicket.

Our instinct is to focus most of our attention on Problem Number One. Mathematics is the language of nature, and zero is an eigenvector of a Hamiltonian. You have to cling to something in this crazy workaday world.

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August Recess: Around the Blurghosphere

2011-08-18T17:18:00.009-04:00

Gotta hand it to the P-G's Radical Middle; it keeps following its favorite stories to their bitter, bilious non-ends. Read its latest on the Penguins' continuing mission to bring transformative, destination-caliber development to Uptown around the Consol Energy Center in the form of a TGI Fridays and hopefully a Subway.

THOUGHTS: On the one hand, these things take time, especially in a global recession, and a little promotional bluster is not beyond the pale. On the other, given this understandable sort of pace, why the darn the torpedoes sprint towards Civic Arena demolition? Maybe we're not all looking at the same calendar.

More on development: the brand new mysterious blog 3 Murky Rivers posts long-form concerns regarding the much-anticipated Allegheny Riverfront project in the Strip District -- it seems old buildings just can't profitably enough be adapted for reuse, even when folks are still using them. New construction remains king.

The utterly indispensable Nullspace has been following the spate of local television reporting (!) on fallout from the Pittsburgh Water & Sewer Authority's attempted and unsuccessful water line insurance program (1, 2, 3) <-- use these links as your portal. Money analysis quote:

So let me get this right. An insurance/warranty company, a new and undercapitalized insurance/warranty company at that, taking in $5/month is about to be able to shell out nearly $10K per property on more than 20% of the insured. There is a business model for you. If you really think that was going to happen, that Brooklyn Bridge is still for sale on some infomercial somewhere. I think I am beginning to appreciate how they got themselves into the bind with the variable rate bonds. (Null Space)

Nothing to do about it but laugh -- conceivably during Happy Hour.

15211.org tips us that Pittsburgh Magazine includes Mount Washington in its list of the "12 Top Neighborhoods" in and around the city, with special mention of the Shiloh St. business district running perpendicular to Grandview Ave, and its new restaurants, shops and art dealers. A distinctive honor, for also making the list of top Pittsburgh "neighborhoods": the North Side and the South Side.

"One Pittsburgh" has been pretty active lately, as befits activists. Read its piece comparing the crimes and punishments of Dwelling House Savings and Loan malefactors as compared to those at JP Morgan Chase, and its bird-dogging of America's Most Important Supersenator Pat Toomey. Not having materialized yet: any signs of local political entanglements. Perhaps we've read this gang wrong?

Are you listening to the new 90.5 FM WDUQ, Essential Public Media? You're not alone -- but you might be getting lonelier, points out the City Paper Slag Heap. Where is the intensive local / regional coverage and the citizen-journalist-led Internetty goodness already, we wonder with sincere impatience? If we want to hear about Rick Perry, Michelle Bachman and the S&P downgrade, we could just spin the dial like a roulette wheel and make do wherever it lands.

Ginny Montanez is at it again, raising money for children with cancer and promoting a benefit 5K run in Irwin, PA this Saturday by means of publishing pictures of her during her "awkward phase". She has a sister she calls "Tina Fey", but really, the similarities between young PittGirl and young Liz Lemon are striking.

Finally (as the ostentatious badge to the upper-right alerts all of you) the Pittsburgh Comet has been nominated for "Most Valuable [Local Affairs] Blogger 2011" by CBS Pittsburgh, which I think most of us know as Channel 2. I've decided that I want this. Go vote daily, (and vote also for our blogroll bronies under the "Lifestyle" and "Everything Else" categories) and I'll do my best to keep things valuable around here.

And With That Out of the Way...

2011-08-11T01:04:00.000-04:00

Mayor "Withholding Signature" on Marcellus Drilling Ban Referendum

2011-08-08T18:15:00.020-04:00

MAD UPDATES, see below.

... effectively smothering it*, by means of running out the clock.

I have several reasons for this action. Chief among them is the message that we are sending when we are essentially blocking an industry from investing in our City and region. Additionally, legal concerns have been raised about the language proposed by this ordinance and I have reservations about incorporating a drilling ban into our City's Home Rule Charter. On top of these standing issues I must note my grave concern for the expedited process that was utilized as the state-created statutory timeframe for referenda neared. (Mayor Ravenstahl)

The line for scheduling gas extraction industry events begins to the left; for opening corporate headquarters, to the right.

MUCH MORE: City Paper Slag Heap.

*-UPDATE: Or not; see P-G Early Returns. Council's majority in favor of the ban may try to obviate the deadline by means of sending an "interim letter" to the county Elections Division. Of course the County Executive is chairman of the Board of Elections and no fan of the referendum either.

SO MUCH MORE: Slag Heap. And. There is yet another possible outlandishly contentious world developing: one in which the County Elections Division, on the advice of its Law Department, rejects the attempt to put the referendum on the ballot for either process or specifically inherent concerns. City Council's issue-specific supermajority then appeals that ruling in Common Pleas court. Since the City's Law Department is already conflicted (having spoken already on the issue) Council would have to hire an attorney for this task -- by interim approval of course, during the recess -- and at a weird time to do such a thing to boot. The judge would then invite objectors against this appeal to the bench -- the most conspicuously aggrieved of which during this process might be our Mayor himself, inasmuch as his Charter-given prerogative to smother legislation for the good of the City would be under challenge.

Talk about your blazes of glory.

**-UPDATE (Orange): The Allegheny County Elections Division does in fact deny the drill ban referendum, stating that the bill was not made a valid ordinance by the deadline, and that the interim approval is "legally inconsequential". The letter is silent on the matter of the propriety of the ballot question at issue. In related news, the Elections Division officially approved the library funding property tax referendum.

Later came this Facebook posting from Councilman Shields, which does not make a legal challenge sound particularly likely:

The Comedian: Rodney Dangerfield

2011-08-05T21:29:00.001-04:00

The bit: What else? No respect.

Not Too Little, But Too Late?

2011-08-01T15:03:00.004-04:00

The drilling ban referendum bill passes 6-3, but...

But if [the Mayor] waits the full 10 days, council members said, they won't get the referendum to the Allegheny County elections office in time to be on the November ballot. Council members said legislation authorizing the referendum must be at the elections office Aug. 9, eight days from today. (P-G, Joe Smydo)

You get the feeling, he'd have found a way to raise the debt ceiling cleanly if these guys were in Congress.

MORE: City Paper Slag Heap, Chris Potter

The POTUS on "First-Ever Default" Avoision*

2011-07-31T16:02:00.028-04:00

... and you could call this a liveblogging.

BEST ARGUMENT = starts at 2:25. Most of the previous might have been sent out in code.

In this coming (we hope) "process" to come up with real deficit reduction, it would be fantastic if these two bipartisan study commissions (on Tax Reform and Spending Reduction) each had to come back with draft bills no later than six months from now. No, better make that four months from now. We'll need another two months at least, to amend and improve them for enactment by the (symbolically critical) deadline.

Now in terms of optics -- it might be time for President Obama to alter the tone of his voice from that which has been his favorite (placid, exasperated calm) to something else. Emoting fear and passionate resolve are two ways of convincing people you see things their way.

*-UPDATE: A compromise breaks late in evening between the President and Congressional leaders (LINK) There is a degree of apparent confusion over what it would preclude in terms of the deficit-reduction approach. **- UPDATE II: POTUS explains himself, and rallies his troops again towards a "balanced" prescription. (LINK)

The Music: U2

2011-07-29T13:41:00.001-04:00

The visual material: Lauren Faust

So! We have these 'Property Taxes'...

2011-07-26T18:05:00.008-04:00

It should be starting to occur to people:

A 0.25 mil increase in the property tax would cost individual property owners $25 annually per $100,000 of assessed value, while raising $3.25 million annually, in this case for Carnegie Libraries of Pittsburgh (source).

As of this early date, nobody is indignantly recoiling from the concept. There is a comprehensible rationale for the tax increase, after all, and the cost is not very onerous compared to it.

So hypothetically and presumably, a 1.00 mil increase in property taxes would cost owners $100 per $100,000 in assessed value and raise $13 million annually for, let's say, the City of Pittsburgh.

$13 million with which the City might be enabled to pave a few streets, demolish some rat traps, and fix some pools -- that is, here and now, during the 3 to 5 years it will take before our pension fund runs out NO GOD NO WAIT I MEAN while we all address meaningful pension reform, maintain our pay-as-you-go capital budget and approach our debt drop-off in 2017.

The take we might generate from a one mil property tax hike is just a bit shy of the $15 million we hoped to generate with the 1% tax on college tuition. That $13 million also lies roughly in line with figures quoted in the recent past for various budget gaps, capital budget reductions, final solutions, forever elusive non-profit PILOT arrangements, pledges of diverted future revenue et cetera.

$100 on the other hand is a couple new tires, or a frightfully austere night for the family at PNC Park (bringing-a-flask austere), or a fraction of one's insurance deductible should the deterioration of public services lead to a problem in one's home.

The conventional wisdom has been that, "If we raise property taxes, there will be a 'whoosh' as the city empties out and collapses." However when contemplating sums like $100, one begins to wonder if that is really code for, "If I agree to raise property taxes, my next opponent will have something easy and interesting to say against me."

Thus for most who are in a position to decide, it's preferable to see taxes raised only upon a deus ex machina forcing us -- that is, a "state takeover", legal ruling or similar. Problem is, awaiting the arrival of an outside force takes much longer -- time during which problems fester, deterioration becomes decay, decay becomes disease, and real emptying-out might actually be occurring more subtly as a result.

Mayor Ravenstahl deserves credit for having actually advocated raising revenues -- via a tuition tax, yes, and via an infrastructure lease (no plan for parking rate increases was contemplated prior to the Mayor putting higher rates on the table in that way). However the easiest, most forthright, and perhaps the most painless way to collect more revenue remains a strict taboo, a ghost story.

It may not have to be property taxes, but there are not a plethora of options. If we understand that we need more money, it might be best to commence doing what is necessary to assemble more money -- rather than jockeying around the periphery and politically gaming the endgame, the deus we all sense is coming. It might even be a good way to be remembered -- ultimately -- as the one who was serious.

Monday: ISO a Balanced Approach

2011-07-25T14:16:00.006-04:00

With the clock ticking closer towards financial Armageddon and no political compromise in sight, the federal government is starting to look and sound a lot like Pittsburgh. That's not good. (Wall Street Journal)

Infinonymous alerts us to the fact that a debt refinancing proposed by Mayor Ravenstahl which it is said will save 3 million precious dollars is not without controversy (Infinonymous). There was indeed a long discussion about it at the table last Wednesday, but I wasn't really tuned in and the video isn't up yet **-UPDATE II: The video is now up, and it appears Infi's speculations mirrored the amount of public due diligence applied to all such issues -- but as it turned out, there was nothing to worry about in the decision over whether to go after this financial opportunity (either generally or right now instead of "March"). It was preliminarily approved by the Council. *-UPDATE I & III: The City withdrew its pursuit of this high-to-low bond deal refinancing after all, due to investor uncertainty regarding interest rates pertaining to the aforementioned debt ceiling issue, Greece, Ireland, pension uncertainty and other things. "The numbers didn't work."

Target opened in East Liberty and it's a pretty big deal, judging by the amount of SQUEE! in my Facebook feed. (P-G, Mark Belko; Boring Pittsburgh; Null Space)

Councilman Shields asserts that his own party's County Executive nominee Rich Fitzgerald, as well as members of the ICA board, are lobbying Council to kill his Marcellus drilling ban referendum. (City Paper Slag Heap)

It seems like it's getting harder to recruit black police officers, or to retain and develop black applicants through the long hiring process. (P-G, Sadie Gurman)

One Pittsburgh -- the "recruiting campaign of Pittsburgh United" -- helped organize 600 people to attend a town hall to tell Congressional staffers that they want "good jobs". (P-G, Ann Belser)

Sue Kerr reminds / urges us to sign a petition asking the Pirates to create a video and join the It Gets Better campaign (the Pirates would know about getting better) (Change.org)

On the Library Tax Ballot Question

2011-07-21T13:13:00.004-04:00

Looks like we're going to see an especially meaty ballot this November.

The question would ask voters if they would support a property tax increase of 0.25 percent, or about $25 for every $100,000 in assessed value. The levy would raise approximately $3.25 million and help close the library system's budget shortfall. (P-G, Amy McConnell Schaarsmith)

It'll be interesting to see the results. As an option on the ballot with a webpage, we now have a link for "Our Library Our Future" to the right. If the "Screw the Stinkin' Lieberries" campaign takes to the World Wide Web, we'll let you know.

So much to weigh here. There's something about using the ~~Home Rule Charter~~ or whatever to end-around a hesitant executive at a specific moment in time that seems vaguely imprudent (if that's what it is). Perhaps more so considering that the funding which Council duly allocated, but the Mayor has long been declining to deliver, was intended to provide mere stopgap funding during a bad economy (and a not-so-great political climate for funding ... useful ... things) rather provide the state and major donors feelings of calm and reassurance for all time. And of course, with the City having likely passed the event horizon regarding its pension fund, and with federal and state education cuts so prevalent, Pittsburghers are likely to see their property tax bills rise before very long as it is.

Then again if we happen to value our hoary and sprawling Carnegie Library system that much, a dedicated local revenue stream may be the only way to keep it from withering away right along with the rest of City infrastructure and services. And $25 a year per hundred large doesn't seem like a lot, especially when you know what you're getting.

Now here's your impertinent discussion topic for the blog post. We have Patrick Dowd leading the charge within City Hall for a libraries referendum, and Doug Shields at the head of a similar anti-drilling cohort. Once upon a time we thought -- if the election went well for the forces of Greater Team Progressive -- that those frustrated in loyal opposition would use their strengthened and reaffirmed political capital during this once-in-a-generation window of majority dissidence (with the dependably rebellious Shields still on the legislature) to put very different kinds of referendums on the ballot. Fundamental, structural changes. Perhaps something to alter how board, authority and commission members are appointed and removed, or perhaps even Departmental directors. Or even something confining the Mayor's role to vetoing bills and issuing proclamations, whilst a City Manager appointed by the Council actually runs city operations. There would have been legitimate arguments to make about what "absolute power" tends to do and what one hopes the power of consensus might do instead.

However, as it turns out, the ballot will be employed only to effect changes (or reaffirmations) on very specific issues for rather specific constituencies. All of us apparently remain enthused about our Strong Mayor system of government continuing on into the foreseeable future. It's noteworthy, considering.

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2011-07-20T10:29:00.001-04:00

On the City Charter Kibosh on Gas Drilling

2011-07-19T10:57:00.017-04:00

If you haven't already listened to this delicious hour of audio (focused squarely on Pitt, Penn State, Southwestern PA and a Mt. Pleasant zoning controversy) then shame on you for six weeks:

Applicable and timely to the point of required listening in light of news that:

First thoughts:

1. "Conceivably" a Charter amendment would be harder to overturn than the mere drilling ban law which Councilman Doug Shields introduced and the City enacted last year.

2. Does this mean that Shields somehow came under the impression that future Councils -- perhaps near-term future Councils -- will be more amenable to taking advantage of this tremendous, game-changing opportunity for America, for the region and for the City that is clean-burning natural gas from the Marcellus Shale, and all the jobs, revenue, energy independence and energy affordability it will conceivably create?

3. How would such a referendum to ban local drilling fare at the polls here? Could it reach 80-20 in favor? Very few leaseholders in the City, and lots of Democrats excited about their rivers, all conditioned by a popular civic narrative which emphasizes overcoming pollution. Is that part of the impetus -- more activism and debate centered around Pittsburgh?

4. Are we witnessing the beginnings of a universe featuring Douglas Shields as the AntiKlaber?

The Politics of Götterdämmerung

2011-07-16T01:33:00.001-04:00

Keeping this in mind, this indicates a redshift:

Council President Darlene Harris and member Patrick Dowd already have raised the specter of abolishing the authority, a warning that the parking authority should start cooperating with council. And soon. (P-G Edit Board)

Circumspection is so 2010. Scientists and futurists will note the term "pension fund" only appeared in this editorial in relation to "state takeover," but that may be like trying to apply quantum theory to toast a bagel when the power goes out.

PA Gas Drilling Recommendations Voted On Tomorrow

2011-07-14T14:33:00.006-04:00

Pins and needles, right?

Here's a lovely bit of hand-wringing over process by Laura Olson at P-G E.R., on what the Marcellus Shale Adviiiiiisory Commission is going to do tomorrow.

It sounds like this commission will do a good job helping the Governor figure out exactly what he wants to do. Of course it seems like he already has a pretty good idea what he wants to do in general -- and has every reason to believe he will have the votes (actual, legislative) to get it passed. So on the margins, check to see if the penalties to be levied for actual apprehended drilling violations come out high, low, or hilariously low.

Tom Corbett says, Educate This

2011-07-13T13:29:00.012-04:00

Here we go.

"The school districts have their responsibilities to their voters as to how they're going to budget," [Corbett] said. "I regret seeing anybody get laid off, but the budgets right now are very, very tight." (Morning Call, John L. Micek)

So education is no longer a very high priority to Pennsylvania in general. And forget reasonably equal opportunity to education.

(Or -- #shiver# -- vouchers are MAGIC!)

Enter One Pittsburgh.

2011-07-12T15:42:00.001-04:00

Hi-yoh!

Right now, they are taking aim at UPMC, and have been blogging since Friday (c/o a blogger named Brad. Do not get us confused.)

Parking for Profit: Whistlin' Past, over Trifles

2011-07-12T01:25:00.011-04:00

Okay, I don't have any kind of grip on startup costs -- I only know about legacy costs.

Three Pittsburgh City Council members rejected the Parking Authority director's suggestion Monday to double some hourly meter rates to help pay for meters that accept credit cards, five weeks after higher rates and expanded enforcement hours took effect in some neighborhoods. (Trib, Bill Vidonic)

I was under the impression that we owe crazy tons of money to retired city workers and municipal bondholders, and have no nothin' revenue to pay for it. And driving is so nineteen hundred and late. Let's raise the meter rates, let's raise the garage rates, let's raise a few more garage roofs and dig some garage holes. Let's think about services contracts and a congestion tax.

And while we're at it, let's think about our investment strategy.

Let's do just about everything besides raise wage, property and small business taxes, or really let go of the quality of city services, or go bankrupt, or eliminate just about all neighborhood projects, or roll the dice that Harrisburg will fix everything before most of that happens (they're only geniuses at helping us prolong our suffering.)

SEE ALSO: P-G, Joe Smydo; and P-G, Team Effort

The Big En$hilada: All the Things

2011-07-07T13:12:00.006-04:00

Glad someone's on this.

Pittsburgh's pension system is rapidly approaching a transversality condition no doubt... (Null Space, Chris Briem)

See how he writes in code, so n00bs don't get their monitors all wet. You're welcome for that also. But think about it -- 20% returns.

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2011-07-03T21:24:00.000-04:00

Happy 4th of July!

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2011-07-01T01:32:00.002-04:00

Down Goes the Civic Arena

2011-06-28T15:24:00.017-04:00

File this one under "Missed opportunity", not "Calamity" nor "End of the world."

After lengthy debate, council voted 6-3 today to reject a city historic designation for the 49-year-old landmark, all but sealing its fate.

Its decision allows the city-Allegheny County Sports & Exhibition Authority, the arena's owner, to move forward with plans to demolish the iconic structure with the retractable dome.

The SEA wants to clear the site to make way for a 28-acre residential, commercial, and office development proposed by the Penguins. The team won development rights over the land in the 2007 deal to build the new Consol Energy Center across the street from the arena. (P-G, Mark Belko)

In point of fact, demolition only "makes way" for more discussion and debate regarding redevelopment -- though at this late date, far more fertile.

As nice as it would be to go back to 2006-07 and negotiate a better deal with the Penguins, history is history -- and at this point in history, there is certainly something to be said for obeying the fairly impressive uniform wishes of the African-American Greater Hill District. Even though some others might believe them to be mistaken for whatever reasons, they have a solid point in that a clean slate has certain inherent virtues.

[...] Councilman Bruce Kraus voted against the designation based on the potential for restoring the street grid from the Hill to Downtown and eventually connecting Oakland to Downtown.

"I am taking a gamble here," he said, noting he originally supported the historic designation. (ibid)

There has lately and generally been a resurgence of talk about more seriously reconnecting that which lies unconnected in the street grid -- in an aspirational time-frame we assume; Crosstown Expressway be hanged. The Comet has an immense fondness towards aspirations, especially when written down and posted in everyday lines of sight.

The Wedding: Angelisa & Sinjoyla, 2010 in D.C.

2011-06-26T14:00:00.002-04:00

The officiant: Rev. David K. North, Holy Redeemer MCC

Obama Proposes 1/2000 Trillion Dollar Manufacturing Plan

2011-06-24T15:43:00.018-04:00

Haz manufacturing plan? When you unveil it, make sure you're not too far off Butler Street. Otherwise you risk losing Ferlo.

In the speech, he launched his new high-tech plan with six universities in what the administration is calling the Advanced Manufacturing Partnership.

The plan also features 11 manufacturing companies, including Ford Motor Co., Caterpillar Inc., Procter & Gamble Co. and Northrop Grumman Corp. Leading the effort will be Andrew Liveris, chairman, president and CEO of the Dow Chemical Co., and Susan Hockfield, president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. (P-G Early Returns, Daniel Malloy)

Assertively rebuilding our manufacturing capacity and spurring our technological sector sounds like a good strategy for America.

The only issue is, when we think about "real money" these days, we usually think of it in billions if not trillions. This knowledge was revealed to us all in having attentively watched a parade of certain bailouts, stimulus packages, weapons systems, quantitative easing, routine entitlement and occupation spending, and tax cuts.

$400 or $500 million is real money in terms of building a skyscraper -- albeit a fancy one -- but is it even close in terms of rebuilding an atrophied world-power economy? Hard to say. What about once we concede there is a significant public-private-and-academic partnership aspect to the plan? That itself can be a real hot potato.

Alright, I admit it. When it comes to economics, I just read Paul Krugman and believe whatever he says. He's the only one in the game with a Nobel Prize, and whose work passes the smell test on each and every occasion. No glaring omissions, no over-reliance on maxims and quotations, no flowery puffing up. It engenders confidence, this making of his real theses so easy to apprehend.

Let's see what he has to say right now:

But [Republicans are] willing to sacrifice that future [they say is at risk due to the deficit], not to mention risk the good faith and credit of the federal government, rather than accept so much as a single penny of tax increases as part of a deal.

Given all that, it seems almost redundant to mention that federal tax receipts as a percentage of GDP are near a historic low: (NYT Conscience of a Liberal, Paul Krugman)

Nothing on the President's manufacturing plan yet, but note where Krugman focuses. We agree. Forget the deficit*. Prioritize our present spending, raise revenues, and plow all those sweet proceeds into manufacturing, technology, education and infrastructure -- that is, with real money. Employ the country productively, then worry about the bondholders with a sufficiently productive and competitive country.

___________

*- And forget the curveball, Ricky.

Docs say Insurers Shouldn't War On Providers

2011-06-22T02:36:00.028-04:00

People.

"We're hearing it from our patients: 'What happens if I can't go to a UPMC facility? Or what if insurance won't cover a visit to the doctor who has been seeing me for 29 years?' (P-G, Steve Twedt)

Congratulations, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center aka UPMC. You've found a way to turn all the Hillarycare, Obamacare and socialized medicine ghost stories into a horrid reality.

Now to change things sensibly. How?

Remember the old Glass-Steagall Act, separating investment banks and depository banks? Maybe we need something similar to ward off malignancy in these insurer-provider combines.

Remember Act 55, the old Institutions of Purely Public Charity Act? Maybe we'll be asking that one day, or at least rereading it and tinkering with the fine print. If the dominant players in health care are intent on conducting their business operations more like corporate sharks and racketeers than humanitarians, we might as well buy some public safety vehicles and educate some children.

__________

ARCHIVAL: A 2007 state Senate subcommittee hearing on Act 55 was liveblogged here and here.

Two Topic Monday: Josh Wander, and Adult Entertainment

2011-06-20T01:48:00.013-04:00

Today we note the occasion of a great honor for Pittsburgh City Council District 5 candidate Republican Josh Wander, who is opposing Democratic party nominee Corey O'Connor in the November 8th general election.

Wander has joined an illustrious line of political figures whom the Comet has interviewed, only to spend absolutely forever getting around to actually chronicling the experience online. Far too long a time. To an embarrassing degree. To the point where an interviewer might forget wide swaths of the conversation.

Fortunately for Mr. Wander, there is a strong correlation between this very situation and the incidence of multiple-part blog posts and heightened long-term interest. Even still, that also sometimes correlates to an extended "teaser" period and stylistic unpredictability.

Yet c'est la vie, for que sera, sera. If you'll pardon the French. Sometimes an unorthodox approach is for the best.

We begin this months-long festival of cop-outs and subsequent penitence with some questions posed to Wander by the Comet author's Twitter followers:

Wander responds:

Attracting new businesses to our district and to our entire city has to be a main priority. It is the lifeblood of our economy and realistically, this is accomplished by removing government hindrances, not adding new ones. I would suggest making our city more business friendly, and I plan on providing specific examples as my campaign progresses. Please stay tuned. www.votewander.com

Next:

Mr. Williams references this story above. Wander responds:

I appreciate the opportunity to address this prank that I played almost a decade ago. During the height of the Second Gulf War, when we invaded Iraq and France did not support our efforts, there was a movement to rename French Fries, Freedom Fries in protest. I decided, as a practical joke to up that by creating a website called, giveitback.com, which supposedly advocated returning the Statue of Liberty to make a "stronger statement" to France. I never expected it to go viral, but it did and was picked up by the national news. Trust me, I was humored. As I still am at people that drudge this up to be used against me!

The Comet led off its own interview by asking, "Why are you running?" Wander immediately gravitated towards a discussion on transparency, in decision making and in policy making.

He recalled a county-wide event among municipal leaders which he attended, one from among the several associations and forums wherein our fractionalized regional governments come together to commiserate over common problems, and hopefully cooperate. He described one municipal Council member giving a stirring address on serious pension-funding problems, and how they all need to get serious together to tackle this widespread challenge.

So far, so admirable -- until that official went on to emphasize, explicitly, that this must be handled behind closed doors, away from the public. And there was a strong murmur of assent in the crowd. Wander says a light went on in his head at that moment, as to a big part of the nature our civic obstacles. (For some reason, Wander is naturally suspicious of what "must" take place beyond public view.)

He then touched upon issues that sometimes go hand-in-hand with a lack of transparency, in a way that mirrored what appears prominently on his campaign's website:

78 years of one party rule, cronyism, patronages and just plan corruption has crippled our once shining beacon of bustling business activity, has seen young growing families – the city’s future – diminishing. Our schools are closing. And frankly, the city is so broke that the State of PA had to supervise it’s financial activities and put the city in receivership under the “Financial Distressed Municipalities Act.”

We asked Wander then specifically, how if in any way does his opponent O'Connor fit into this equation. Wander pointed out that he himself filled out every candidate questionnaire he was given, whereas O'Connor took criticism during the primary campaign for neglecting to fill out many of these and "remaining silent". Front-runner status be hanged -- voters deserved to hear O'Connor's thoughts on these issues, and that they did not was "disturbing".

The relative silence on the abortion issue particularly rankled Wander, who goes to great lengths to describe his nuanced position. He makes no secret in his campaign literature that he is deeply religious, yet at the same time specifies that "in Catholicism, the life of the fetus is held as paramount, but in Orthodox Judaism we put the mother first" at all times. Wander is Jewish. Whatever his ruminations on the issue -- and he stubbornly refuses to simplify -- it satisfied Planned Parenthood enough to earn a "mixed" rating in their Voter Guide.

Wander's avowedly strong Jewish perspective has proved a mixed bag for him in the political realm before. During the 2008 presidential campaign, he says he placed on display in a campaign office what he described as factual information about then-candidate Barack Obama's stance on Israel. He says he was criticized bitterly by some in the neighborhood for doing this -- which he attributes to some extent to an overly reactive loathing for Republicans in general.

Closed-mindedness, he calls it, and which he described here recorded in a speech at a campaign forum. To his mind this closed-mindedness to alternatives feeds into that culture of insularity which produces non-transparency (opaqueness?) and other problems.

I think on second thought we'll leave what (for lack of better terms) we'll call "adult entertainment" or "sexually oriented businesses" to an entirely different blog post. We owe Mr. Wander that much.

Surely the hobgoblins of meddlesome minds can wait a day or two in this process, before we begin seductively peeling away layers of prejudice, assumption and political aspersion -- until we fully reveal the breasts of empirical understanding and finally the areolae of truth. After all there's no profit in giving it away all at once!

Sustainabiwity from a State Alphabet-Soup Money Commission

2011-06-13T12:44:00.003-04:00

This is what's up with the funders of Allegheny County's and all of SW PA's transportation master planning:

The Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission added sustainability practices to its update of the region's long-range transportation and economic development plan for the first time five years ago.

Friday, at one of the many public input sessions the commission has held in recent weeks, transportation planners emphasized the need for municipalities to plan accordingly for the 2040 plan, an update of its 2035 plan. (P-G, Diana Nelson Jones)

They say best laid plans of mice and men gang aft' agley or else never get implemented, but all the same:

What I want to share here is the passion for this stuff that SPC transportation planner Tom Klavon shared with us when he talked about their session yesterday in Wilkinsburg.

There they did a walking tour and applied their TOD formulas to determine where Wilkinsburg is vis a vis successful transit-centered development.

He said something that made my ears go pointy: That a presentation by Mark Minnerly of the Mosites Co. — the guys who brought us Eastside in East Liberty — made him feel that Wilkinsburg today is where East Liberty was 15 years ago. (City Walkabout, Diana Nelson Jones)

Get it, girl! Great blog post.

The Artist: Rebecca Black

2011-06-10T22:12:00.003-04:00

The record label: ARK Music Factory.

Secondary Effects: Real. Important.

2011-06-07T16:41:00.009-04:00

The initial round of news stories regarding Councilwoman Smith's initiative to regulate the city's adult entertainment industry isn't at all awful, especially considering the complex narrative and the legal trade-offs involved in the proposal.

What is being overlooked thus far -- and maybe this is partially our fault -- is any meaningful consideration of the "secondary effects" which accompany poorly regulated or unregulated sexually oriented businesses. So here are some resources.

Secondary Effects Research is run by a group of university social scientists and criminologists. There is more than a tiny bit to read, but basically you will find one theme: we are contending with statistically significant increases in certain kinds of crime, and decreases in property values. Another good resource has been compiled by the Community Defense Council.

Why should such a correlation exist? Adult businesses, so the theory goes, attract patrons from a very wide area, predominantly male, prone to vice overtures, with lots of money in their pockets, who are frequently ill-inclined to report crime incidents for fear of embarrassment of some kind. Ideal targets, basically. Now add to this the social effects of promoting the type of business which promotes lap dances or couch dances, from subcontracted and off-book employees, behind closed doors, in the dark, where anything else might be provided or traded. Basically you are assembling all the ingredients for a regional crime node.

Unfortunately, especially in the cases of some smaller and independent strip clubs, that can make up a big part of the attraction of going into business in the first place.

Residents have objected to this on these grounds for some time. What we are discovering, going back into the Council archives, is that people have rarely gone into Chambers bewailing sin and corruption. Quite the contrary, they have been leery of attracting a "bad element," and making it that much harder to rehabilitate their business corridors and attract homeowners. It has always been a micro-scale chamber of commerce issue.

Here is one easy to read, peer-reviewed study from Garden Grove to get you all started; here is another, on a slightly different subject matter, from Minneapolis (language on page 14 quite NSFW).

What we can already say about Pittsburgh based on an analysis of five years of local crime data is that we are seeing significantly higher incidences of:

Burglary
Larceny
Robbery
Vandalism
Vehicle Theft

...across the board in the areas surrounding our local adult cabarets, which corresponds perfectly with secondary effects theory.

I hope this long exposition is not presently robbing some reporter out there of enthusiasm for writing about this, as is sometimes known to happen. That would be a shame, because concern over the secondary effects surrounding sexually oriented businesses isn't just an important part of this story. It's the entire story.

Thursday: Items Typed Quickly

2011-06-02T11:49:00.006-04:00

ZOMG, parking rates are going up! Why didn't we figure out a way to get the money for nothing? Or cut a mere billion dollars out of our extravagant city budget? It's pretty ridiculous. (P-G, Ashe, Butterfield & Feldman)

We could always go back to the tuition tax if you'd prefer.

Lost in the noise surrounding Councilman Burgess's request of state government to please invade the City of Pittsburgh with siege weaponry and biological agents, was his request for "immediate mandatory enrollment in PMRS to be completed by March 31, 2012." This comes on the heals of Auditor General Jack Wagner saying such a thing might not be a bad idea. Guaranteed 6% investment returns -- regardless of any bad managerial decisions (which demonstrably have been occurring less often at PMRS than at CMPTF) and even regardless of a dreadful overall stock market -- does not seem like a bad idea. Would it? It might help us avoid raising rates / fees/ taxes again sometime down the road. Isn't relinquishing parochial institutional control in exchange for long-term financial advantage some species of a progressive value?

Here is an argument that is happening for some reason. (WDUQ News)

The Penguins believe it to be uncouth to mention how much public assistance they are receiving, in light of the fact that they are spending a portion of it. Maybe someone in the 4th Estate can do some math if there is some dispute, or a world record to report to Guinness. (Trib, Bill Vidonic)

Question about the Civic Arena: everybody says, "You realize, even if they designate it a historic structure, they can still tear it down." So what are we arguing about? (P-G, Mark Belko)

Like the changes or not, somebody is going to have to edit the portions of pledge drives which emphasize of "your!!! station for" whatever. (P-G, Edit Board)

One of these days, all our old friends are going to come back to town for weddings and class reunions, and ask us, "Why does the City look like chincy trash all of a sudden?" all whilst zero foreign investors exclaim, "WOW! Flashing lights! Economic vitality! Is this Coruscant or Pittsburgh?" But these signs will not be permitted to be so bright they'll literally blind us, and will only be permitted to change every 7.5 seconds, preventing seizure -- and religious and community groups greatly desire to see their name in lights owing to the Nietzschean will to power. So this is the way it's gonna be. (P-G, Sam Butterfield)

CELEBRATE MEMORIAL DAY

2011-05-30T10:34:00.002-04:00

Downtown: Presenting the "People's Indictment".

2011-05-28T16:36:00.021-04:00

This afternoon, four "counts" of criminal activity were ceremonially alleged against city police officers who in early 2010 were involved in an altercation with Homewood teenager Jordan Miles -- counts consisting of Racial Profiling, Assault and Battery, False Arrest and Perjury. We begin in this video at the presentment of the nonlegal Perjury indictment by event organizer Brandi Fisher:

For material related to that which Rev. Thornton alludes above regarding the role of the church, see also this essay by Tracy M. Jennings.

Here is East Allegheny's own Paradise Gray:

And at about 1:15 below comes pastor Fred Dukes, uncle of the alleged victim:

The remainder is being added to the blog's YouTube channel.

And for our Next Trick: The Green Tower

2011-05-25T12:43:00.027-04:00

This is going to get G20-ish in a big hurry.

(Minus almost all of the protests I am sure.)

The PNC Financial Services website for the Tower at PNC Plaza is here.

Excerpts:

To define what is beyond LEED Platinum, PNC's project team has three aspirational goals:

Community Builder: Support Pittsburgh's existing infrastructure, spur further development and business growth downtown and positively accentuate the skyline as a symbol of PNC's commitment to the city's sustainable future.
Workplace Innovator: Attract tomorrow's leaders to Pittsburgh by utilizing innovative space planning and building systems that promote collaboration and productivity, and set the bar for a healthy indoor environment.
Climate Responder: Tuned to Pittsburgh's climate by aggressively pursuing strategies and technologies that minimize resource use and maximize renewable energy opportunities.

PNC's design team is currently considering the following technologies:

Fuel cells, solar panels, geothermal systems and other alternative power generation sources that will significantly reduce carbon emissions
Optimally oriented building facades, operable windows, occupancy-based heating and cooling systems and other state of the art energy reduction technologies.
Rain water collection, water reuse and retention systems that prevent wastewater release into Pittsburgh’s three rivers when sewers are at capacity

Shovels in the ground:

Design Phase Began – April 2011
Construction Begins – Spring 2012
Open for Business – Summer 2015

No. Forty stories tall, ultra-green skyscrapers do not happen every day.

Figure this should hit the Planning Commission towards the end of the year.

I'm mostly excited about this as an environmental / technological / municipal-ergonomics Manhattan Project, or moon shot. That and like, way more Primanti's sandwiches sold.

ENTER THE APOSTOLOPOULOSES!!

2011-05-23T14:09:00.015-04:00

... with a $5 million opening offer for the Civic Arena, embargoed for now in its specifics.

"If the area needs major economic development, that's what should go there," [Steve] Apostolopoulos said. (Trib, Bill Vidonic)

Still searching for a website for Triple Properties, Inc. Here is an entry for company patriarch Andreas. Here is the source of the photo from the Tornoto Star. Here is the current site for the Pontiac Silverdome, which sold for $583,000. Hard to Google anything comprehensive about the tale of Detroit's Tiger Stadium after Mike Illich moved the team from Corktown to Downtown, the city sat on it for 7 years at a cost of $4 million, and what now sits there since they demolished it in '09. However this guy seems to want to pay for our thing and not demolish it right away.

Steve Apostolopoulos of Toronto, president of the developer's sports division, said the company is interested only in the arena, not the land around it. (ibid)

And hmm, to do what with it? Tractor pulls and lacrosse? Same thing eventually as the Penguins? No regal public thoroughfare, no colossal mural depicting the history of urban redevelopment? Guess we'll have to wait and see.

SPECIAL TO THE APOSTOLOPOULOSES: Thanks for engaging with Pittsburgh 'n'at, eh!

Unsolicited Bit of Advice: Movements Grow

2011-05-23T11:52:00.008-04:00

Two weekends ago:

About 90 demonstrators gathered Saturday at Pittsburgh police headquarters to repeat demands that... (P-G, Ryan Brown)

This last weekend:

The second of three planned weekend protests seeking “Justice for Jordan Miles” was held Saturday at the Strip District building housing the city’s Office of Municipal Investigations.

About 90 protesters decried OMI’s probe... (P-G, Michael A. Fuoco)

That's not going to do it.

Inside with some element of surprise, possibly -- but not outside and not with advance notice. Outside and anticipated, one will require at least 250. The next and final "emergency protest" of the trilogy is Saturday the 28th at 1:00, outside the Courthouse on Grant St. We should soon see whether or not this is an issue that is going to continue to produce consternation.

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2011-05-22T20:35:00.002-04:00

Thursday: Expectant City

2011-05-19T07:12:00.021-04:00

Hopefully you've read three things already.

First, from the Post-Gazette's Tim McNulty:

LOSERS

Luke Ravenstahl/The Network -- Everybody knows by now how all the mayoral-supported challengers to Harris/Dowd/Bruce Kraus lost. And the money thrown at the challengers by the members of the Verbanac/Lieberman/Zappala "Network" went down the commode. Additionally, the council incumbent the mayor's team supported, Ricky Burgess, fell short of getting 50% yesterday (though against two challengers).

Second, from the Gost-Pazette's Nim McTulty:

Ravenstahl didn't lose Tuesday

Council races are not referenda on a mayor's performance, but rather about distinct issues and personalities. That's especially true in the district era (council members were elected at-large until the late 1980s) but it was true before then too. Take Pat McFalls.

Third, from the City Paper's Chris Potter:

To borrow from Nietzsche, the danger of fighting a machine is that you become one. Do groups like SEIU back politicians who support their agenda, or do politicians back an agenda in order to garner the support of groups like SEIU? Is one man's "network" just another man's "coalition"?

That's a question on everyone's mind; an instant wedge issue.

Doug Shields is retiring as a Member of Council in 2012, so the on-record Harris majority will be down to four members -- hence receding to a plurality. In January, Corey O'Connor can try to play hardball and become Council President himself (my guess is he would succeed) or he could almost certainly get away with picking the president of his choosing, from any faction. His two most obvious choices would be Darlene Harris again ("Progressive") or Theresa Kail-Smith ("Mayoral"). Ricky Burgess is by no means out of the hunt. Patrick Dowd would make for an interesting statement. Bruce Kraus would be a crafty choice. To grant Natalia Rudiak the presidential nod in '12 might be seen as overly provocative; she faces what all will expect to be a heated reelection contest in the spring of '13. Bill Peduto still glows with radioactivity for some reason.

What then for Pittsburgh? The City, it does exist.

Expect the question of Council's power to get its allocations turned into expenditures -- for "pet projects" and otherwise -- to grow more defined.

Expect the State, in the fall, to accept the City's pledged future pension fund payments as sufficient to warrant not seizing control over City pensions management for being as irredeemably distressed as it is. Expect the operating budget to have to get chopped again and again. Expect money from the Parking Authority envisioned as part of the "Council-Controller" strategy not to come through. Expect another dramatic financial reckoning of some kind around year's end, this one being one step closer to rank impossibility than the last.

Expect the Lease issue to come back. Expect a different conversation.

Expect the shape of the Hill District, Uptown and Penguins-Manhattan to evolve as an issue, perhaps resulting in a flash point or two. Expect the "Allegheny Riverfront" and East Liberty development both to begin emerging in corresponding lights.

Don't expect widespread neighborhood crumbling to reverse itself.

Don't expect the city and region's impressive economic, employment and PR trends in relation to most of the rest of the United States to reverse, either.

Don't expect we won't hold it together.

Expect the City to secure access to a fresh revenue stream -- a commuter tax, a payroll tax and/or business privilege taxes. Don't expect any component of that to include ghastly overdue property reassessments at the County level. Expect a regime of fairer tax assessments to come later, eventually, statewide, really.

Expect some surprises. Expect no indictments. Expect the Steelers to remain dominant in the division. Expect the Pirates to flirt with .500 ball every now and again. Expect progress and forward motion. Expect to thrive. Expect the Comet to take the long view of history. Eschew the short game.

DISTRICT 5 = COREY O'CONNOR

2011-05-17T22:34:00.000-04:00

DEM COUNTY CONTROLLER NOM = CHELSA WAGNER

2011-05-17T22:14:00.001-04:00

Have fun, Fitz.