Progress Pittsburgh

The short answer to that question is – Nothing.  The PGH Lesbian Correspondent added another post about the yet to be announced Pittsburgh LGBT advisory committee.  She has blogged about this occasionally over the past year so we thought it would be interesting to see just how long this LGBT Advisory Committee has be discussed.  Here are a handful of posts from The Pittsburgh Lesbian Correspondents about the LGBT Advisory Committee/Panel that span the past year:

• 6/22/2009 – Luke Ravenstahl’s LGBT Advisory Committee. On Friday, April 24, the Mayor’s Deputy Chief of Staff Kristen Baginski told us that they were in touch with potential members and would announce when that process was complete. That was almost two months ago. You can email her to ask how many more months (it has been 7 since it was announced) will be needed to form the committee that will advise the Mayor on LGBT issues. You could mention the significant issues outlined above as proof that we really can’t afford to wait too much longer
• 5/22/2009 – What happened to plans for a LGBT liaison in the Mayor’s office? Or the LGBT advisory committee?
• 4/3/2009 – Kristen Baginski and Joanna Doven won’t return my calls or respond to my email messages about the LGBT Advisory Council.
• 2/26/2009 – email from Joanna Doven “There is nothing new to report re the LGBT advisory panel. We’re getting ready to choose the panel – once that happens we will have the inaugural meeting. Charles Morrison, the head of the City’s Human Relations Commission will be monitoring the process to make sure the panel is representative of the community.”
• 12/11/2008 – “the Mayor of Pittsburgh, Luke Ravenstahl, is launching a LGBT Advisory Council to provide an open line of communication between his office and Pittsburgh’s LGBT community. The planning meeting held on December 10 was chaired by Deputy Chief of Staff Kristen Baginski and the Mayor’s personal liaison to the LGBT community, Gary Van Horn, a local businessman and President of the Delta Foundation. 25 people were in attendance, along with two members of the media. The room was fairly even between men and women, but almost entirely Caucasian and middle to upper middle class. It was a pretty elite group and that didn’t surprise me for a 5 PM meeting held downtown. “
• 11/29/2008 – Pittsburgh is a great example — our gay community is as diverse as any other Pittsburgh group, except for the younger crowds. The next big opportunity to get this right is the Mayor’s soon to be appointed LGBT Advisory Committtee. Let’s hope his team finds a way to create a dynamically diverse group of folks who do not have deep pocket ties to his office.
• 6/19/2008 – “his promise to appoint a LGBT liaison and an LGBT advisory committee remain unfulfilled.”

Propel Pittsburgh?

All of this made us wonder what ever happened to the Propel Pittsburgh Commission.  Here is a description of the commission from the City of Pittsburgh Website

Function:
The 35-member Propel Pittsburgh Commission is dedicated to meeting the concerns and needs of the City of Pittsburgh’s young adults and young professionals. Composed entirely of members aged 20-34, and chaired by the Mayor himself, the objective of the Commission is to encourage greater participation in government, identify or create programmatic or policy opportunities in issues affecting young adults and young professionals in Pittsburgh, and to inform various elected and appointed officials representing young people about issues specific to them. The Propel Pittsburgh Commission will help to give the young adults and young professionals of Pittsburgh a major role in moving the City of Pittsburgh forward.

Also from the City’s website – the commission is to meet every other month – as of today the website says the next meeting is May 21, 2008.

Blog Mentions of Propel Pittsburgh

• 7/10/2009 – Get Involved!
• 11/25/2008 – The Angry Drunk Bureaucrat
• 10/26/2008 – The Pittsburgh Comet
• 9/15/2007 – The Pittsburgh Hoagie - Matt H is a member of the Propel Pittsburgh commission – it doesn’t look like he has posted any other blog updates on their meetings.
• Alik who was a member of the commission but no longer lives in Pittsburgh also posted some updates on the Propel Meetings that were held in 2007 at Pittsburgh.Metblogs.com – the last post on this was 8/17/2008.

I was wondering if any of the coverage of Dok Harris’s campaign kick off would pick up on this last week. (Post-Gazette coverage – Franco Dok Harris kicks off mayoral bid, July 28, 2009.)  But this post on Schloss in the burgh – Please explain this to me – reminded me that no one has mentioned the significance of Vento’s Pizza yet.  It has been so long that I almost forgot about it – and there isn’t much out there on the web – the Vento’t story occurred before every news item was posted to the web. But thanks to the website Castle Coalition (whose tag line is Citizens Fighting Eminent Domain Abuse)- we found this article from their 2003 report.

Home Depot Decides to Include Local Pittsburgh Pizzeria in its Plans Rather than Try to Have it Condemned

In 1998, Home Depot announced plans to build an $8 million, 131,000 square foot store and garden center on the former site of an old Sears store in the East Liberty neighborhood of Pittsburgh. However, a number of local small businesses would have to be displaced in order to accommodate the Home Depot and adjacent parking lot. These businesses included a bar, a dry cleaner, a nail salon, and Vento’s Pizza, a popular pizzeria that had been in the area for over 50 years.1 The Pittsburgh Urban Redevelopment Agency (PURA) hoped to avoid using eminent domain for the project, and promised to find suitable, nearby locations for the displaced businesses. The relocation effort was a success, except in the case of Vento’s Pizza. Vento’s objected to PURA’s plan to relocate the pizzeria from its prominent location on Highland Avenue to a less traveled side street. A bitter local controversy followed, pitting proponents of the redevelopment against a fiercely loyal pizza constituency.

This little pizza shop has a big political history – here are some of the other articles from the Post-Gazette that reference Vento’s pizza. I think that the issue between Home Depot and Vento’s even made the cover of the Wall Street Journal but I have not been able to find the article online.  This pizza shop has been a significant stage for politics of development in Pittsburgh.

Local leaders say mayor’s energy will help him, July 10, 2006

Every Saturday morning after buying a Starbucks coffee in his Squirrel Hill neighborhood, Mr. O’Connor drives to East Liberty to shoot the breeze at Vento’s Pizza on Highland Avenue and run his car through a car wash. He often leads walking tours in the area.

Chief executive candidate Onorato not known for backing off quietly, October 19, 2003

One of his best-known blowups came at the end of his tenure in a council debate over city aid to Vento’s Pizza near the old Sears in East Liberty, which had to be moved to make way for a new Home Depot.

Gene Ricciardi mentioned speaking to owner Al Vento about the matter in Italian, and Sala Udin, smarting from council’s recent approval of a development plan in the Hill District that he didn’t like, said city residents “shouldn’t have to speak Italian” to get aid.

Letters to the Editor, No Thanks to Murphy, April 11, 2001

I take exception to Steve Leeper’s comments regarding my business (”Ad Watch: O’Connor’s TV Ads Are First to Air,” April 6). Mr. Leeper claims Mayor Tom Murphy saved my business and without the new Home Depot in East Liberty, I would have been “done.” Nothing could be further from the truth. While I appreciate Home Depot’s willingness to accommodate me after City Council President Bob O’Connor brought us together, my business was thriving before it came along.

Ad Watch: O’Connor’s TV ads are first to air, April 6, 2001

O’Connor is rotating two ads, one that offers a list of promises on issues. The second emphasizes O’Connor’s theme of neighborhood commitment by portraying the challenger as savior of Vento’s Pizza, an East Liberty landmark dislocated by development of a Home Depot store on Highland Avenue.

We have been trying to keep tabs on the Race for PGH 2009 here and noticed that there are some interesting posts from not the usual political bloggers about the upcoming mayoral race.  Here are a few of the new blogs who are stepping into the Pittsburgh political blogosphere…

• Politics and Place - A Rare Foray into the Political: If He Loses, This is How He’d Lose
  • Let me be perfectly honest. I don’t think Luke will lose. But, I think he couldlose. And if he does, this is how he would lose:
• What Would Vannevar Blog – G-20 in Pittsburgh: Luke’s Real-World Moment
  • If I may, the conditions described set the stage but don’t ring the bell; they’renecessary but insufficient. For Luke to not be elected, there needs to be an event, either (1) a significant, understandable scandal (a bag of cash rather than complex financial derivatives), or (2) an obvious failure of leadership attributed to the Mayor’s office.Holy Cow, Batman! What’s that? The G-20 in Pittsburgh on September 24 and 25th? Zowie!
• Pittsburgh Polemics – The Mayor’s Race: Strange Football Connections
  • Luke Ravenstahl, the incumbent mayor, rode along with the Pittsburgh Steelers during their Super Bowl Victory parade last February. Camcorder in hand, looking somewhat dwarfed beneath the Steeler’s Quarterback, “Big Ben” Roethlisberger.

Know of any other blogs who are writing about Pittsburgh politics – please share the link below in the comments

Here are some blog posts, article and links that you may have missed.

• Facebook | Bring Lynn Cullen back to Pittsburgh’s Airwaves – facebook group to bring lynn Cullen back to Pittsburgh radio. As of today they have 24 members
• MattH gives a wrap up of the Theresa Smith fundraiser on Wed. Jan 21 – City Council candidate and endorsed Democrat Theresa Smith held a fundraiser in Banksville this evening that brought out a lot of support from community members and elected officials.

  Those in attendance were: Councilman Jim Motznik, Councilwoman Tonya Payne, Councilman Bruce Kraus, Councilman Ricky Burgess County Councilman Jim Ellenbogen, State Representative Dan Deasy, Auditor General Jack Wagner, 19th Ward Democratic Committee Chairman Pete Wagner, 28th Ward Democratic Committee Chairman Rob Kaczorowski and Mayor Luke Ravenstahl's Chief of Staff Yarone Zober.

• Podcast | Comments from Left Field – One of the longer running political blogs has added a Podcast. You can suscibe via itunes.

Here are some blog posts, article and links that you may have missed.

• THE HUDDLER: BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING – A new blog is on the scene in Pittsburgh politics. Who is The huddler?
• Patrick Dowd for Mayor of Pittsburgh now has a Facebook Group – 81 members as of Jan 20, 2009.
• EOP – Blog Post – Change has come to WhiteHouse.gov – The white house now has a blog!!!!

Here are some blog posts, article and links that you may have missed.

• The Motherhood – Moms CALL IN the Vote – It's no surprise in the most historic election of our lifetimes that moms are playing a critical role. When you vote in this election, record the moment for all of us — and posterity too FROM YOUR CELL PHONE RIGHT HERE!
• PG wins order allowing photography near polling places – Judge James signed a court order stating that county employees cannot interfere with photographers outside polling places as long as they are "located in areas accessible to the public or into which they have otherwise been lawfully admitted." The ruling applies to any member of the public, not just the Post-Gazette.
• Vote for hope – Khari Mosley's editorial on Barack Obama from Saturday's Post-Gazette

Here are some blog posts, article and links that you may have missed.

• 2 Political Junkies: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette to Wrap Monday’s Papers in “Vote for Freedom…Defeat Obama” Bags – I know times are tough for the print media, but this is just sad and pathetic. Tomorrow's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette — a newspaper which has endorsed Sen. Barack Obama for president — will be delivered in a bag which has printed on it:

  "Vote for Freedom…Defeat Obama"

• technology + politics: Hillary Clinton to kick off the last two days of GOTV in Mt Lebanon – Hillary Clinton will be in Mt. Lebanon on Monday am to kick off GOTV at the Obama office. 9:30 am
• Are the Candidates Healthy? : What If Post – A local blog looks at the issue of medical history and presidential candidates
• Tools for being informed voters – List of websites to help you learn about the candidates

Here are some blog posts, article and links that you may have missed.

• Get involved with GLUE – How to Get GLUEy Today – GLUE – IS – PEOPLE! In less than three weeks, we will have elected a new president, and many of you will have new-found free time to devote to, let's just say for the purposes of argument, mega-regional collaboration between civically engaged city dwellers, natch. How can YOU help us hit the ground running in anticipation of a new administration in January?
• Obama East End GOTV Strategy Meeting- Oct. 15 6:30pm – MoveOn sent out an email about this today – this meeting is about their GOTV strategy.
• WXDX goes conservative – Mark Madden, who was fired from ESPN AM radio several months ago after making some crude comments about Ted Kennedy upon word of his brain tumor, was hired by WXDX for a 3-6pm show. In his debut on the air yesterday, instead of the usual metal and hard rock we got Mark Madden telling us Obama is a secret terrorist.

Here are some blog posts, article and links that you may have missed.

• WTAE-TV gives Sally Wiggin the door. « BurghBoy Blogs – Sad news to report from Ardmore Boulevard.

  WTAE-TV news director Bob Longo has kicked Pittsburgh’s television news matriarch, Sally Wiggin, to the curb, downgrading her to just a noon anchor effective Monday.

• Merger morass: City-county consolidation has run aground – the post-Gazette says the merger is more talk with out walk from Dan Onorato and Luke Ravenstahl
• The Burgh Report: Cutting “vacant” jobs is not enough – a look at the Pittsburgh city budget with an interesting comparison of Luke and Yarone's current plan with Mark DeSantis's proposed ideas from last years mayors race.

Here are some blog posts, article and links that you may have missed.

• Pittsburgh Hoagie: All meat no filler: Party – Matt H. is promoting the Dem's Debate Party @ Mitchells
• Putting Down Roots: Maren’s List – This blog looks like it will be a great resource for information about enviromental, cultural and social justice activites in Western PA.
• Dozen cupcakes Pittsburgh – Dear Mayor Ravenstahl's office – more work on budget less celebrating cupcakes please.
  "Wednesday, September 24: $1 cupcakes all day In honor of the City of Pittsburgh Mayor’s office naming Wednesday “Official Cupcake Day”. Good at either location, limit one $1 cupcake per customer and no additional discounts."
• Pittsburgh councilman pushes civil service change – Jim Motzink proposes something that might actually make sense.

Here are some blog posts, article and links that you may have missed.

• GOP paid more than $1 million for additional voter data – Pittsburgh Tribune-Review – State House Republicans spent more than $1 million on extra features for a computer tracking program that were scrapped last year after they weren't being used, a GOP spokesman said.

  The Republicans spent $1.8 million in 2006 on a program from Aristotle International in Washington, D.C., that in addition to tracking constituent contacts enabled lawmakers to get detailed information on voters.

• Pittsburgh Hoagie: All meat no filler: Black out – Even Matt H. is not happy with Pat Ford – "I don't agree with the "buyout" he got from the URA. If Ford has something to say about URA or the inner workings of government he should say it. This reeks of hush money. It just doesn't look good at all. If people are willing to let this story fly it makes you wonder what type of information Ford had on people.
  "
• Onorato withholding transit funds to pressure union – Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato is prepared to withhold millions of dollars in key county funds and allow Port Authority to go bankrupt — possibly by year's end — if the union representing bus and trolley workers does not reach a satisfactory agreement that must include significant concessions on post-retirement benefits.

Here are some blog posts, article and links that you may have missed.

• Null Space: watching the bus drive by – "More politics involved this time for sure, but one of my answers is that the Port Authority's upper Management and fellow travelers have spent a lot more time and effort on PR this time around. Think about that some."
• Diondega 412: Bram & The Trib weigh in on Ford-Gate. – Are these voices a militant minority of Luke-Haters? Or does this reflect a bigger problem for the Mayor as the 2009 primary nears. STAY TUNED.
• Arizona governor stumps here for Obama – Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano — in town today campaigning for the Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama — received an earful today from Obama supporters worried the campaign isn't pushing back hard enough against attacks by Sen. John McCain.
• Fewer driving that long, lonesome Mon-Fayette Expressway – Barry Stout – "I'm as totally committed today as I was in 1970, when the Mon-Fayette Expressway wasn't a cubic yard of concrete," he said. "Soon we'll have 57 miles. This is a road we're building for the future, for our grandchildren, so they won't have to leave southwestern Pennsylvania to work and live."

  Sigh – how can we get these officials to see that the future of Western PA is not going to be determined by more super highway – if you want to think future think mass transit please!

• Shields calls for probe of URA deals, irks mayor – "Mr. Ravenstahl responded in a statement that Mr. Shields "has forgotten that he was sent to council to do the people's business, not to promote a political agenda focused on hurting me and aggrandizing himself."

  Dear Luke – it isn't all about you. It is the people's business to maybe question why you are spending lots of taxes payer money for settlements with people that you are supposed to be working with to move Pittsburgh forward. Thank You

Image via Wikipedia Chris Briem wonders if the Pat Ford settlement will mean the end of the Burghosphere – “I mean, will there be enough fodder for people to write about going forward. It’s debatable.”  But Doug Sheilds has already called for an investigation and thus the saga of what can only be labeled Pat-Fordgate continues.  Here is what the bloggers are saying…

• Dear Pat Ford and Alicia Sirk @ The Burgh Blog
  
  • “So let me shout it out right now.  You are a disgrace to this city and the people.  You are a disgrace to honesty.  You are a disgrace to what it means to be a public servant.  You are both egotistical, unethical, narcissistic thieves and when the karma boomerang hits you upside the head, I hope it circles around again to give it to you twice.”
• Adventures in Urban Redevelopment Land @ The Angry Drunk Bureaucrat
  • To answer questions elsewhere, my guess is that the URA would have had to hire specialized outside counsel in order to defend itself and the City against whatever allegations they may throw at them.  Not sure what Ford could have done to them, but the nuances of employment law escapes me (and it’s probably not the specialty of the URA legal team either) and there seems to be enough of a pretense of a challenge to warrant concern.
• Anthony’s Pie Chart Shakedown @ Tunesmith & Anthony
  • Public opinion of Pat Ford – 50% think he is creepy, 50% think he is weird
• Kraus on Radio – Pat Ford owes us an explanation @ Mark Rauterkus and Running Mates
  • Bruce Kraus of Pgh’s City Council was just interviewed on KDKA radio by Marty Griffin about the Pat Ford matter.

    Bruce said, “Pat Ford owes us an explanation.” “Those (letter of more than a week ago by Mr. Ford about corruption) are very serious allegations.”

    Others in city hall won’t give an interview to Marty for the show. Mayor Ravenstahl took the day off. Doug Shields nor Jim Motznik won’t do it either. Michael Lamb, city controller is talking.

Here are some blog posts, article and links that you may have missed.

• Palin’s Wasilla To Rape Victims: Bring Your Checkbook – "So, for four years – from 1996, when Palin took office to 2000 when this law was passed – Palin didn't seem to have a problem with charging rape victims to solve their own crime. And if she did, she certainly didn't communicate that to her hand-picked Police Chief, who didn't have a problem with it."
• Ayanna Lee – Ayanna Lee is a democrat running for State Rep in the 44th district against Mark Mustio
• The Sorry State of Pittsburgh’s Public Transit « My Life and Times – Another Pittsburgh bloger looks at the state of transit in Pittsburgh

Here are some blog posts, article and links that you may have missed.

• Pittsburgh, Pa : Car Free America – Post featuring Pittsburgh on a blog about Car Free living.
• Elections inspector gets role in documentary – Tribune-Review – A veteran Westmoreland County elections inspector, a vociferous opponent of touch-screen voting machines, appears in a recently released documentary, "Uncounted — The New Math of American Elections."
• MoveOn.org Political Action: Host an Organizer – MoveOn.org is looking for people who could host an organizer in their house for days or weeks during the last 2 months of the presidential campaign.