Progress Pittsburgh

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

• State officials scheduled to get raises – Pennsylvania lawmakers and state judges are in line for 2.8 percent cost-of-living raises.

  Rank and file members of the state House and Senate will see their base pay increase to just over $78,000 starting next month. Members of leadership will get even more.

• Port Authority transit agency wants smart cards – Pittsburgh Tribune-Review – It is about time to consider smart cards for transit riders, the added benefit would be much greater data on what bus routes and stops people are using.
• Groups press Port Authority, union to settle contract – Dozens of business and community groups today urged the Port Authority and its drivers' union leaders to work for "a responsible settlement" in the current labor dispute that threatens to disrupt service Dec. 1.

  Specifically, they suggested that a fact finder's report issued in August become the basis for a new contract with Local 85, Amalgamated Transit Union, because it represents "a workable compromise."

• Democracy Rising is looking for volunteers to keep an eye on their house and senate districts – Be DR's "Local Eyes." Since all politics is local, DR is beginning a campaign to localize with Local Eyes. We're looking for one citizen in each House and Senate district to keep track of what his or her lawmaker is doing to give PA the highest standards of public integrity in America. We'll provide training in the legislative process and support you with resources to make your Local Eyes keen as an eagle's.

Again, there’s a really interesting conversation about transit going on over at Nullspace: http://nullspace2.blogspot.com/2008/09/transit-tuesday-metrics-to-be-proud-of.html

Chris B. deconstructs some of the “facts” touted in a recent Forbes.com report and P-G article about Pittsburgh being in the top 5 commuter-friendly regions.

He points out that the figures that put us in the top 5 are ridership numbers from BEFORE LAST YEAR’S BUS CUTS.

Where once we were ranked pretty high in transit usage, the only question at the moment is how far we have fallen. Will have to wait for some more data for answer that for sure, but that was the cost we will pay for the route cuts last year.

Some highlights from the comments—

• Downtown business scribe, Ken Zapinski,  asserts that increasing ridership and serving populations who don’t have cars shouldn’t (necessarily) be  goals of public transit.

Underlying your premise is that more ridership is the appropriate goal for the Port Authority (or any transit agency.) All things being equal, the more passengers, the better. But all things are never equal.

Thanks for finally putting it out there Ken!

• Blogger Ed Heath wonders what the “public” part of public transit is supposed to mean.

• Chris argues that prioritizing the commuter market over the transit-is-their-primary-transportation population will lead to even more residential segregation in our region.  And he reminds us how segregated we already are:

http://www.briem.com/gis/AA_county.pdf

Please feel free to join the conversation here or there.  Just please, join the conversation!

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

• Onorato holds firm on withholding Port Authority subsidy – Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato is standing pat in his vow to withhold nearly $28 million from the Port Authority until a new labor agreement is negotiated, even if it it forces the mass transit agency to shut down.

  Mr. Onorato told members of the Pittsburgh Airport Area Chamber of Commerce this morning that without a competitive labor agreement, the Port Authority is headed for bankruptcy, even if it gets the $27.7 million. The release of the money would only delay the inevitable, he argued.

• Gov. Rendells Newsletter – Dog Law Action – So we are in the middle of a major economic crisis – even George Bush cancelled a trip to make some statement to make us feel better yet the Governor Rendell's weekly newsletter is about dog laws. Interesting.
  "Pennsylvania's current dog law, written in 1982, is no longer applicable in today's dog world. The current law treats all types of dog breeding businesses the same, whether they sell or breed 26 dogs or 5,000. Most importantly, changes to the law are needed to address the conditions in Pennsylvania's commercial breeding kennels. Under current Pennsylvania law, it is legal for breeding dogs to live their entire lives in small, cramped wire-floored cages, stacked one on top of the other. Dogs in these situations may never have the opportunity to play, socialize, run, jump or even walk about. A lifetime of sitting, standing and lying down is all they know. "
• Shadyside’s Prantl’s, Mancini’s take Jenny Lee’s spot – Yeah – for local businesses. This seems like a great solution.l Congrats to the people who made this happen. The space vacated by hometown favorite Jenny Lee Bakery in Market Square has two new tenants that may also be familiar names to Pittsburghers with a taste for baked goods — Prantl's Bakery and Mancini's Bread Co.

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

• More sprawl sponsored by Allegheny County – Pop City – $14M Cherrington Parkway Extension completion signals airport corridor growth
  "Owned by Allegheny County, the property is being leased to the Airport Authority, and developed in conjunction with the Moon Transportation Authority. The project received $6 million from the state’s Business in Our Sites program and $3.5 million from the Airport Authority. Expected to create 1,300 jobs, the project also received $2 million from the Redevelopment Authority of Allegheny County and $2.5 million from Moon Township invested $2.5 million. "
• Build The Hill Conference Sept. 26-28, 2008 – The Build the Hill Conference and Events will offer an opportunity for residents, community stakeholders, community development professionals, elected officials, and members of the business and philanthropic communities to participate in a dynamic conference focused on the successful redevelopment of the Historic Hill District.
• Pennsylvania Democratic Party – Apparently the PA Dems have redesigned their website – it still doesn't make me want to give them any money.

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

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.

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

• Wednesday Hostorical Markers, Now On Thursday – Another great historical marker from the mobloggers at The League of Young Voters
• League of Young Voters Volunteer Orientation — Monday Sept. 8th – MONDAY, SEP 8th, and 7PM, at our office (6101 Penn Avenue Suite 302).
• Turnpike Commission Triples Act 44 Debt from $14 Billion to $44 Billion | Commonwealth Foundation – The Commonwealth Foundation overs an in depth look at the Turpike Commissions debt under Act 44.