14^th WARD CLUB BACKS MURPHY FOR ATTORNEY GENERAL

Gainey Endorsed for State Representative

The 14^th Ward Independent Democratic Club has endorsed Patrick Murphy for Pennsylvania State Attorney General. At its annual endorsement meeting Sunday the club also selected Ed Gainey over incumbent Joe Preston as its choice to represent the 24^th District in the state House of Representatives.

Candidates spoke to club members and answered questions at the club’s meeting at the Schenley Park Ice Skating Rink. The Democratic primary election is set for Tuesday, April 24.

With more than 18,000 registered Democrats, the 14th Ward is the largest ward in Allegheny County and second largest in the state.  The Ward includes all or part of Squirrel Hill, Point Breeze, North Point Breeze, Regent Square, Park Place and Swisshelm Park.

The Club, which is not affiliated with the Democratic Committee of Allegheny County, is the oldest independent Democratic club in the country and has made annual candidate endorsements for more than 40 years.  Its endorsements are printed in a Voters Guide and mailed to likely Democratic voters in the ward.  The endorsements are also posted at the club’s website http://www.pgh14widc.org

The Club’s open endorsement process allows members to hear candidates present their positions before casting their votes for the office seekers that best match their values.

Here is the club’s full slate of endorsed candidates:

• US Congress - 14th District: Mike Doyle
• US Senate:  Bob Casey
• PA Attorney General: Patrick Murphy
• PA Auditor General:  Eugene DePasquale
• PA Treasurer:  Robert McCord
• PA Senate – 43rd District: Jay Costa
• PA House of Representatives:
• 23rd District: Dan Frankel
• 24th District: Edward Gainey
• 34th District: Paul Costa

Phipps Takes Firm Stand against Childhood Obesity and Boldly Eliminates Soda from its Cafe
Pittsburgh’s premier public garden “walks the walk” when it comes to healthy foods.

   Pittsburgh, Pa. – In a bold move, Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens announced that as of Sept. 30, 2011, it will no longer sell soda in its café. This decision, made in the wake of the public garden’s involvement in First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! campaign to curb childhood obesity, aligns perfectly with its mission, which encompasses concern for both people and the planet.
While soda turns a good profit, it does so at the expense of our children who, according to the Harvard School of Public Health, can take in about 150 calories and 10 teaspoons of sugar from just 12 ounces of cola. With childhood obesity rates on the rise—and one third of all children born in or after the year 2000 facing diabetes, while others will struggle with heart disease, high blood pressure,  cancer, and asthma according to Let’s Move!—Phipps saw an opportunity to make a difference by eliminating these unhealthy beverages from its café.
“Our mission at Phipps is to connect people to the important role that plants play in our lives and to promote environmentally-responsible lifestyles and practices,” says Phipps Executive Director Richard Piacentini. “The most important ways that people and plants interact is through the food we eat and the biggest impact on our health and the environment is made through the way that interaction is currently taking place. Our industrialized, factory farm food system and highly-processed products are destructive to the environment and our bodies, and disconnect us from nature. In this respect, promoting healthy and responsibly-produced foods is right up our alley and ties in seamlessly with all of our other greening efforts up to, and including, our construction of a living building.”
In addition to eliminating soda, and replacing it with refreshing drinks made with filtered seltzer water and freshly-squeezed fruit juice, and containing less than 40 calories, Café Phipps operates with visitor health in mind in other ways, too. Dedicated to offering meals for adults and children alike that are centered on fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains and other minimally processed foods, Café Phipps does not offer the typical fried fare found at many attractions, but rather ingredients that were grown with care for the environment and contribute to the health of the community. Café Phipps’ commitment to sustainable practices has also led to its certification by the Green Restaurant Association in 2009.
Another expression of the organization’s commitment to healthy choices, Phipps will host two upcoming symposia: Let’s Move Pittsburgh: Leading the Way to Healthy Lifestyles for Children on Oct. 12, and Feeding the Spirit: Museums, Food and Community on Oct.13, 2011. Let’s Move Pittsburgh, a regional event made possible by Phipps, UPMC Health Plan and the Heinz Endowments, will bring change-makers together to discuss best practices for and barriers to making Southwestern Pa. one of the healthiest places in the nation for children to live. Similarly, Feeding the Spirit—a national symposium of the American Public Gardens Association; Association of African American Museums; Association of Children’s Museums; and the Center for the Future of Museums, an initiative of the American Association of Museums—will bring together food and policy experts with U.S. museum and public garden leaders to strategize and identify ways to tackle community food issues.
To learn more about Café Phipps and its mission, please visit www.phipps.conservatory.org. More information about Let’s Move Pittsburgh and Feeding the Spirit can also be found at www.letsmovepittsburgh.org and www.aam-us.org respectively.

ABOUT PHIPPS

Built by Henry W. Phipps in 1893 at the height of Pittsburgh’s industrial prowess, Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens has evolved from the nation’s first teaching conservatory to a distinguished eco-champion among America’s 500 public gardens.

Phipps’ mission is to inspire and educate visitors with the beauty and importance of plants; to advance sustainability and worldwide biodiversity through action and research; and to celebrate its historic glasshouse.

Phipps is open daily from 9:30 a.m.-5 p.m.; Fridays until 10 p.m. Adults, $12; Seniors 62 and older and students with valid ID, $11; children 2-18, $9; children under 2, free.

For more information, call 412/622-6914 or visit phipps.conservatory.org.

Follow us on Twitter

Become a fan on Facebook
Watch “The Evolving Green Story of Phipps” on YouTube

 

###

This time the mayor is removing himself from the commission and making it smaller 15 people instead of 35.

While I would love to be excited about the Propel Pittsburgh commission actually meeting – this does look like some sort of PR attempt from the Mayor’s office.

The PG interviewed Anthony Smulski Jr. – former Vice Chair of the commission.

• “However, he said organizers repeatedly struggled to get all 35 members to a meeting, even though they applied for the slots, went through interviews and promised to serve.”
  • According to the City’s website – only 21 of the 35 spots were ever filled – the city lists 14 of those (10 of which were to be appointed by the mayor) as vacant.
• “In theory, it was a great idea,” Mr. Smulski said of the commission structure. “In practice, it was hard to execute.”Mr. Ravenstahl missed some meetings, too, he said.
• “Membership is limited to city residents, so Mr. Smulski, who moved from the North Side to the south suburbs, no longer is eligible.”

Also fascinating that the city still hasn’t updated the Propel Pittsburgh page on their website.

If we blog about it the mayor will talk about it… if only it were that easy.  But it is interesting to note that this announcement comes just a few weeks after a blog post about the Propel Pittsburgh commission was posted on a Pitt Students blog – The Publius Foundation - here (Progress Pittsburgh linked to it here and the PG’s Early Returns linked to it here).

Also fun to note – Matt Hogue (the blogger formerly know as the Pittsburgh Hoagie) left the following comment on the post on The Publius Foundation:

Screenshots of Propel Pittsburgh Websites:

With large storm predicted for Pittsburgh – the mayor’s office sent out this press release on Monday afternoon.

MAYOR URGES RESIDENTS TO PREPARE FOR SEVERE WINTER WEATHER
Mayor Luke Ravenstahl today urged residents to prepare for snow, sleet and freezing rain tonight and tomorrow. According to the National Weather Service, precipitation will begin as light snow this evening, with sleet and freezing rain mixing in by Tuesday morning. Prolonged freezing rain on Tuesday could lead to the largest ice accumulations of the season, posing serious public safety concerns. The City is under a winter warning from 7 p.m. this evening until 5 p.m. Tuesday.

“We know that this is a very wide-spread storm that will affect our area and many other areas. We also know that the wide-spread nature of this storm brings about a high level of unpredictability, so we must prepare ourselves for the worst and of course hope for the best,” Ravenstahl said. “I encourage residents and commuters to stay in tomorrow morning. If you must drive, commuters need to prepare for slick roads, and possible downed trees and power lines.”

“I urge residents to exercise extreme caution,” Public Safety Director Michael Huss said. “When we have ice accumulation, the number of 911 calls for slip-and-falls spikes significantly. In addition, residents should expect wide-spread power outages.”

The City encourages residents to prepare for the weather conditions now:

• Minimize travel as much as possible Monday night and Tuesday morning.
• Salt/treat your walkways now. Be cautious of black ice and walk slowly.
• Check on elderly or special needs neighbors and make sure they are adequately prepared.
• Have 72-hour emergency kit fully stocked and ready to go.
• Stay away from downed trees near power lines and be prepared for loss of electricity.
• Stay informed and monitor media outlets – maintain a battery powered/hand-crank radio, fully charged laptop or cell phone in order to stay informed of further weather developments.
• The City of Pittsburgh Public Works has issues a Phase 1 Snow Emergency Alert, with 1”-3” of forecasted snow/ice. Crews will be working 12-hour shifts and all DPW equipment will be put into salt mode. The Forestry Division and Fire Department is on standby for possible downed trees. Additional tree contractors are also on alert if needed.

In addition, the City’s pre-identified warming centers are on alert for possible opening. Residents have received a mailer with information on warming centers and emergency preparation.

Residents are reminded to report power outages and downed trees on or near power lines to Duquesne Light, at 412-393-7000 or 888-393-7000.Down trees on public right of way should be reported to 911.

via Mayor Luke Ravenstahl · Press Release.

Just got an email from Joanna Doven – the press secretary for the mayor of Pittsburgh.

Is the Mayor’s Office ready for this kind of technology

Here is an email about this new technology but no link to the new Facebook page?  This email also came in just the text format – not the usual fancy HTML email that press releases are usually sent in.

Subject: City of Pittsburgh’s Facebook Page is Officially Published

The City of Pittsburgh’s Facebook Page is officially published. Become a fan now and help to promote the page!

Search City of Pittsburgh – we are identified as a government organization. We have a picture of the City with a banner which includes a City seal.

The City will be posting information on City related events, programs and general good news. We would be happy to consider posting positive information related to your group or organization. Just send me an email!

Building off of our plan to further utilize social media, a new City website which promotes more two-way interaction between government and citizens will be launched this summer. A sneak peak on the new format isavailable on the Facebook page. Stay tuned!

Thank you,

Joanna

Is Facebook a good tool for the City?

Is Facebook a good way to communicate with city residents? Don’t know – seems like this could have great potential for sharing important info and educating residents about what is happening in their city.

The bigger question, is the city ready for this kind of open online conversation?  Most of the time the city makes it pretty difficult to find out what is happening when – and has not been quick to share feedback from citizens.  For example, the city of Pittsburgh doesn’t publish 311 reports – it would be very interesting to know how many people have called in about what issues from what neighborhoods.  Is the mayor’s office ready to see the type of feedback that will be coming to them from Facebook.

The Link

We think this is official city of Pittsburgh Facebook Page.

The Sunlight Foundation is an organization and a campaign to use technology to bring more transparency to government. Last week the Sunlight Foundation kicked off their Public Equals Online campaign with a panel discussion at the Google Headquarters in Washington DC.

Panelists included:

• Jake Brewer, engagement director of the Sunlight Foundation
• Mark Tapscott, editorial page editor of the Washington Examiner
• Jose Antonio Vargas, Technology & Innovations Editor at the Huffington Post
• Ginny Hunt, Head of Google’s Public Sector Lab
• Ryan Hopkins, Public Square Project
• And a representative from the federal government

The Public Square Project is based in Pittsburgh.  From the website:

The Public Square Project seeks to empower citizens to make positive change in local government by building an online hub for information about government and public policy in the Pittsburgh region.

Be a Fan of the Public Square Project on Facebook here.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Let the Sunshine in (googleblog.blogspot.com)
• Jake Brewer: Bringing Local Government into the 21st Century (huffingtonpost.com)
• Sunlight Foundation wants more government docs online (computerworld.com)

In the Spring, Tonya Payne (illegally) used a fake political committee, “Sensible Constituents of District 6,” to distribute some negative materials.  This Fall, she was at it again.  See below for a flyer that she passed out (again, illegally using another fake political committee — “Neighbors Against Dirty Politics”).

She also had the flyers below–which accuse City Councilmember Bill Peduto of racism–distributed in his district.

The Neighbors Against Dirty Politics also sent around the following email:

From: neighbors against dirty politics 2
Date: Sun, Nov 1, 2009 at 11:01 PM
Subject: IS TRUMP FINANCING LAVELLE?

IS TRUMP FINANCING LAVELLE?

Is Trump financing Robert Daniel Lavelle‘s campaign in District 6? No, not really,  but I am confused where Lavelle received his money to add “extra” bonuses to his campaign workers.  I know if I truly believe in a candidate I do not have to be paid!  Why would he have to pay 130 workers $100.00 each?  Why would he have to pay workers breakfast, lunch, and dinner?  Who paid for his Rent A Cars? Who paid for his color brochures?  Who paid for his postage?  Who paid for his color postcards? Who paid for his t-shirts? Who paid for his parties? Why did he not put these expenses on his campaign report? Why did he drop his first name and change his campaign name now to Daniel instead of Robert.  Wasn’t his father, Robert,  fired from The Dwelling House Bank and under FBI investigation?

The Post Gazette’s article stated

the following about the bank;

“it suffered a severe blow to its stability late last year when federal auditors discovered that about $3 million had been drained out of its capital account and the bank..  Pittsburgh police and FBI agents are investigating the case.”

“Former Dwelling House president and CEO Robert M. Lavelle, who was fired in November by order of the OTS, also was fined $5,000 last week for his role in the gross negligence that ultimately brought down the bank.”

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09227/991047-28.stm

Where is this money? Robert “Daniel” now flip flops his name so people will not put two and two together. Call him Daniel now, not Robert .Does he think we are stupid?  Is this where the money comes from for his campaign?   The apple does not fall far from the tree.  I would “write in” TonyaPayne, her workers do not have to be paid to campaign for her!

She does not change her name to hide. Our group Neighbors Against Dirty Politics are starting an official “write in” campaign for Tonya Payne!  When you go to the polls just go to the “write in”section and write her name in the spot.

ON NOVEMBER 3, 2009

ELECTION DAY

“Write In”
Tonya Payne
Don’t Write Her Off!

District 6 City Councilwoman

“Let justice remain in your district!”

“Keep her REAL name in your decisions.”

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!
NEIGHBORS AGAINST DIRTY POLITICS

Finally, if you still have any question about who the “Neighbors Against Dirty Politics” actually are, there’s a facebook group called “URGENT!! WRITE IN Tonya Payne for City Council District 6″.  The administrator and creator of the page?  Tonya Payne.

Of course, this election is history.  So why does it matter?  Two reasons:

1. To date, Jim Burn, chair of the Allegheny County Democratic Committee, is turning a blind eye to the City Chair staging a campaign against the duly nominated Democratic nominee for office.
2. It’s really not clear what Tonya Payne was hoping to gain from these hijinks, but she is rumored to be preparing for a run against Jake Wheatley for State Representative next year.  Even her most staunch supporters must be turned off by her embarrassing behavior.

One complaint that we hear from time to time is that poor neighborhoods often get the leftover trashcans from other neighborhoods.  One example taken earlier in the year (Kevin Acklin used this particular example in the second mayoral debate, back in October): a trashcan behind the Homewood-Brushton YMCA labeled “Bloomfield”.

Here’s a photo taken today:

Problem solved?  Glad to see that the mayor is still getting it done.

This first map (a reproduction from the last post) shows how Ravenstahl performed in this election versus how he performed in the 2007 general election.  In this map, basically,

• The bluer the district, the worse Ravenstahl did against Harris & Acklin than against DeSantis
• The redder the district, the better Ravenstahl did against Harris & Acklin than against DeSantis

• The bluer the district, the worse Ravenstahl did against Harris & Acklin than against Dowd & Robinson
• The redder the district, the better Ravenstahl did against Harris & Acklin than against Dowd & Robinson

Potter says that it doesn’t matter how much Luke won by, because it won’t force him to govern any differently.  I agree with Potter, in that I doubt that Luke will take heed for his rapid deterioration in support.  The administration will likely govern with just as much bravado as they always have.

I disagree that the results are completely irrelevant, however, because Luke has relied on his strong electoral support (in the past) to lend his capitol to other candidates.  We have already seen in this year’s primary that Ravenstahl has no coattails.  These results may be good news for Bruce Kraus and Patrick Dowd, who are both likely to see well-funded challengers whose best argument for election will be their close relationship with the mayor.  This may also give some political cover to Theresa Smith and Darlene Harris to act with more independence.

What is remarkable is the near-uniformity across the city where Luke’s support has decreased.  In the map below, I’ve shown the change in Luke’s win % from 2007 to 2009.  The more intense the blue, the greater the decrease; the more intense the red, the greater the increase.