Comment Archives: stories: News+Features: News
Re: “Making a Run: Candidate focusing on women's health issues in suburban senate race”
For someone who is opposed to "huge tax breaks for the natural-gas industry amid cuts," she sure has a funny way of showing it.
Back in June, she was blasting Vogel's legislation for the cracker plant tax credit as not being lucrative enough. In fact, she seems to have supported the Corbett "guaranteed credit" version of the language, rather than Vogel's version, which would have required legislative approval every year.
(http://www.politicspa.com/628-morning-buzz-2/37270/)
Say what you will about the wisdom of the cracker credit, back in June, she wanted more than even Sen. Vogel.
Re: “For-profit educator EDMC gives employees a tough lesson in modern business”
I think that the employees of EDMC may be about to give the board of Directors including the directors from Goldman Sacks a lesson in the consequences of long term criminal behavior. When you rip off two hundred thousand people to the tune of tens or hundreds of thousands of each dollars by fraud and the government to the tune of more than ten billion dollars heads may be about to roll and we may see some Goal time for these buckets of slime. It may not be pretty. This time I don't think that they will be laughing all the way back to Goldman Sacks.
Re: “On the Record with Wanda Guthrie of the Thomas Merton Center's Committee on Environmental Justice”
Yes,...thanks for standing in the gap, working for justice when none seems possible. It is only when I hear stories of people such as you am I convinced that I am not shouting alone in the darkness.
Re: “Uphill Climb: Perry Hilltop struggles to keep pace with changes on the North Side”
It's interesting that Rachel Canning is only trying to fill my neighborhood with vagrants through her support of overrunning the neighborhood with these types of group homes. And if the definition of creating a "social fabric" is loading the neighborhood with the homeless rather than lobbying for grant money to create interest in home ownership, then your writer is an idealistic fool.
Re: “Shaky Ground: Farmer fears for future as gas drilling begins near scores of abandoned well sites”
Great article. I was not aware of these risks. I was only aware of the fact that the cracking meant more jobs, etc.. Thanks! I will share this.
Re: “On the Record with Wanda Guthrie of the Thomas Merton Center's Committee on Environmental Justice”
Wanda,
Thanks for your intense and persistent efforts on behalf of environmental justice and democracy. You did a great job of tying these issues together during the interview.
Bob Mason
Re: “On the Record with Wanda Guthrie of the Thomas Merton Center's Committee on Environmental Justice”
Excellent article! On behalf of our Committee and the Thomas Merton Center I would like to convey my thanks. You took so much thoughtful care in your interview. This is exactly what our Committee wanted to express. You truly spoke our mind!
Re: “On the Record With Amy Goodman of Democracy Now!”
Is the misspelling of "Bain" Capital an intentional allusion to the Batman villain -- or perhaps a suggestion that Romney's company was the ruin of workers' lives? Either works for me! :-)
Re: “Blurring the Lines: Pa. redistricting wreaks havoc on city's black neighborhoods”
Good luck convincing a judge that residents in Pittsburgh have more in common with residents in rural Armstrong and Westmoreland Counties than the North Hills. Ferlo deserves to loose his seat ever since he declared that Texans, Virginians, Ohioans and Floridians can drink responsibly but Pittsburghers are somehow incapable of doing so.
Re: “Academic Warnings: PPS parents upset about notification process involving teacher accused of child porn”
This article is the only attempt to determine the true course of events over the past four years, leading to the arrest and conviction of Thomas Deane, for possession of child pornography. Neither the law enforcement agencies, nor the school district, took steps to ensure that the safety of children - very young, very vulnerable, mostly non-verbal children- was a priority. While I absolutely understand, and fully support, our right as Americans to a presumption of innocence until proven guilty, that is not relevant here. Thomas Deane is a convicted felon who pleaded guilty to the crime of which he was accused. I also understand, but DO NOT agree with, the policies and legislation in place which prevented the school district from contacting families during the investigation and when charges were filed. However, there is NO EXCUSE for their blatant negligence in not contacting every affected family immediately upon his conviction. District staff, who consistently make statements in the media about putting children first and being committed to student safety, should have made individual phone calls to personally discuss the situation with the families of the NINE students enrolled in that class on July 10th, when the court documents, which are a matter of public record, stated that he had been convicted. Making nine phone calls, and following them up with a letter offering phone numbers and names off resources to help parents obtain the support their children may have needed, should have been planned and ready to be executed as soon as the conviction was handed down. The district representatives could have, at that time, stated that although they regretted being unable to alert the families before that point, they wanted to be sure to provide them with the information available as soon as they were legally able to do so. That way, families could make their own decisions about pursuing evaluations to determine the safety and welfare of their own children. By withholding that information, the effectively denied parents the right to obtain timely and appropriate medical and/or psychological evaluations of their children, most of whom are non-verbal and/or have cognitive impairments and need specialized interventions in order to be accurately assessed. Instead of reaching out to the families and offering support, the district released statements which were blatant lies, specifically stating that Thomas Deane was never alone with children. That is patently untrue, as he frequently assisted children in the bathroom who were unable to wipe or dress themselves, took children for walks off campus, and frequently had one or more children alone in his classroom while his assistants were in other classes. Additionally, the district claimed to have mailed a letter on July 23rd, which NOT ONE FAMILY actually received, and then, finally sent a letter on August 27th, in which stated that they regretted being unable to share the information prior to that point. If they are claiming that they were unable to share information until Aug. 27th, how can they also claim to have sent a letter in July? How can parents of any child, let alone a child who cannot communicate clearly, trust a school district who does not demonstrate transparency in interactions and information sharing, honesty, and true concern for the welfare of children?
The legislation must be changed to place the focus on safety of children, and the district must be held accountable for the decision they have made and the lies that they have told throughout this ordeal.
Re: “Academic Warnings: PPS parents upset about notification process involving teacher accused of child porn”
Thank you SO MUCH for this article. The one change I would make is to the headline, replacing "accused" with "convicted" as Tom Deane is not just a suspect but a felon at this point. As a parent of a child who was in Mr. Deane's room off and on during the school day for 3 years during the time of the investigation, I was heartbroken and horrified to find out when this news broke that he continued to teach during this ridiculously long period of time. As had the Doughertys, we had also sought out Mr. Deane as he came highly recommended and we grew to respect and rely on him. He was actually a very effective teacher in all the ways one would consider as a parent unaware of his penchant for child pornography. But while Mr. Deane may think he could compartmentalize his life, the fact is that he is the same person in and out of the classroom. Parents are upset that this person who viewed child pornography in the evenings was charged with the care of their children the next day. The questions raised in this article are the same ones I had and still have (the school district and law enforcement spokespersons didn't provide satisfactory answers in its responses to the reporter's questions). We were on the verge of a relocation to another part of the state when this news broke, but if it can happen in Pittsburgh it can happen anywhere in PA or elsewhere, so it is still a concern for us and one I would have followed up with the district myself if not for the demands of our move. The systems are broken - both the law enforcement process (a three-year lag in the investigation?!) and the school district's system of handling situations like this in terms of (not) notifying parents during and after the investigation (We have still not received any letter from the district although I am getting other mail from them following our move). The school district could have put him on admin leave with pay and called it a 'sabbatical' until the results of the investigation were known. A district in Austin TX put a teacher on admin leave with pay during a similar investigation, so it is not unprecedented to place concern about the students first. I also know for a fact that Mr. Deane was alone with students regularly as would be routine under normal circumstances, especially in a public school without "extra" staff.
As for the commenter who thinks private schools are the solution to avoiding teachers who end up on Megan's List, you are living in a state of denial if you think it is only public school teachers who do so. And private schools frequently can't/won't/don't effectively address the needs of kids on the autism spectrum, as they are not required by law to do so. Again, thanks so much for reporting on this.
Re: “The North Side ponders a change of name — and direction”
Three names is one too many. Too much amundoo. Pick two.
Allegheny Center or Allegheny City works. North Side works as well, now that there has been a jettison with the North Shore.
If you want to be the South Side, then come live over here. We welcome you.
Permit parking sucks. Hate it. Do not trust it, and do not want to enable the giving of $45 tickets for self and friends and customers and workers.
Re: “Academic Warnings: PPS parents upset about notification process involving teacher accused of child porn”
What if he was innocent? His life would have been destroyed. I can truly feel for the kids and the parents. What if he didn't do anything wrong? There isn't any answer except in hindsight. If you are worried about the treatment of your kids do what most teachers do. Send to private schools.
Re: “School Bust: PAT cuts will sharply impact student riders”
Since when is it the school boards responsibility to transport a child to social events, part time jobs, etc? If parents are concerned about their child's ability to attend such events they need to either drive them or by their own kids bus passes. An even better idea to help them become independent is to let the teenager contribute money from a job to buy their own bus pass. Relying on the school board for social activities is not teaching independence.
Re: “Out of the Shadows: East Liberty club receives unusual complaints”
A friend who had been at the shadow lounge a few weeks back said that they saw cops busting an illegal party in the building being renovated. Apparently kids had broken in and were blasting music. If they've done this a few times, it could be them creating the noise that is being blamed on the shadow lounge.
I doubt anyone has heard too much noise from the shadow lounge. I would go to their open mic nights and shows constantly a few years back and you couldn't hear much outside. In all honesty, it would be good to have a business like them around there when the housing opens up. I would feel safer with an upstanding business open nightly there as it would be more eyes out on the street who could call the cops if they see someone up to no good.
Re: “Academic Warnings: PPS parents upset about notification process involving teacher accused of child porn”
The ideal answer to doing what is right in difficult situations won't be found within legislation authored by Senator Wayne Fontana.
Leverage for better action comes from solid journalism such as the above article.
Thanks and cheers for the City Paper.
Re: “Out of the Shadows: East Liberty club receives unusual complaints”
If Perlman is worried about possible future noise disturbances, why did he choose that spot to build an apartment complex? Sounds like another case of a big powerful developer moving in and forcing everyone else to change what was good about a neighborhood (not that I'm saying he's behind the noise complaints- but he could be a P.I.T.A. in the future because he invested in a location without bothering to research it first.).
Re: “Out of the Shadows: East Liberty club receives unusual complaints”
I rarely write comments on public sites. But this isn't just an attack on the Shadow Lounge but all business that are Mom and Pops in the area. People think that if you have an anchor chain then things will change. Small business bring diversity not Big Business. There has been this plan in effect for a long time now that is on the surface and seen by all now that the planning was done. True crime and the streets did need cleaned up in the area. The people that own the property in the area knew this was coming years ago. The city left places to rot and go unsold so this Change could happen. You see the steps. The hill, garfield, lawenceville, garfield, the strip next is the Northside. How can these places all of a sudden get financial backing to change the area massively. It isn't like people weren't trying to open businesses or buy and fix up properties in these areas. Garfield is a prime example of property that for some reason is now a majority white in a majority black area. An example of a business is Pig & Chicken in east lib. There was a BBQ Business there doing what they are doin now but with less money and black owned. As with the case in all of these areas the landlords slowly raised rent and made it difficult to run the business due to nags by property owners and rent hikes. How is it that Maybe two employees are black and from what i've seen in the back of the House. How do you redevelop an area and not hire or give the people in that area an opportunity to own or run a business there themselves. Chains stores won't save the area. A bulk of that money doesn't stay in the area. It just so you can say we got that here too.
I've seen this happen in other cities it just late as with everything else to come to Pgh. The attack on the Shadow Lounge is and actually isn't surprising. They are on Prime corner that they definately want. A place that they didn't want 12 yrs. ago. the Shadow Lounge showed that even in the shadows people bring light and the shadows receed. alonge with Royal Carribean, Abay and Your Moms House recording studio, that has an Academy Award.
But there is another problem that needs fixed, start representing yr hoods business district, the good things about it. For some reason if you live in the hill you can't go to this black hood. Or if yr from the northside you can't go here or there. Without feeling truely safe. The younger generation usual uphold this in away form of black on black intimidation. We are a minority that is pushing away money for what. A place you are renting from. What you own the streets, but not yr homes. There has to be a change in thinking or this will happen again and again. Support yrselves or others will come in and support themselves. Even if by design, Make that design change.
Re: “Out of the Shadows: East Liberty club receives unusual complaints”
Awe. I love Shadow Lounge and I love Justin for creating it. The presence of Shadow Lounge really increases room for diversity in East Liberty. I'm sorry that Shadow Lounge and Justin have been the target of these anonymous complaints. It's hard to feel like this comes from anything other than pro-racist ideology that supports only upper income white people. That is painful and my hope is that East Liberty as a community will reject that approach to life. Thank you Justin and City Paper for addressing this publicly.
Re: “Making a Run: Candidate focusing on women's health issues in suburban senate race”
Excellent article, Charlie! I wish Kimberly well and that she gets elected so that the Women's Health issues there can be taken care of. http://www.ivfvictoryphilippines.com