Let no one accuse Mayor Luke Ravenstahl of going out with a whimper: In the waning months of his administration, he has launched a lawsuit challenging the tax-exempt status of UPMC, the region's largest employer.

"After a thorough and exhaustive review," Ravenstahl told reporters this morning, "It's very clear to me that the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center is not a purely public charity, and therefore the city of Pittsburgh will take action to challenge that claim." That action will include a lawsuit, being filed today in Common Pleas -- which will demand UPMC being paying city payroll tax -- and a challenge of its property-tax breaks to county property assessors.

The lawsuit -- a copy of which is here -- takes advantage of a window of opportunity opened by the state Supreme Court last April. In a case involving a religiously-affiliated summer camp, the court ruled that in order to qualify for tax exemption, a nonprofit must meet a five-part "HUP test." That test -- which is more stringent than a previous standard in state law -- requires an organization to: advance a charitable purpose; donate a substantial portion of its services; benefit people who are legitimate subjects of charity, relieve the government of some burden; and operate entirely free from private-profit motive.

Working from guidance provided by the city's legal counsel on the issue, the law firm of Strassburger McKenna Gutnick & Gefsky, Ravenstahl said that UPMC failed at least three of those tests.

"UPMC donated less than 2 percent, and perhaps less than 1 percent, of net patient revenues to patients eligible for financial assistance," said Ravenstahl, who called that "unacceptable."

Ravenstahl also faulted UPMC for "participat[ing] in massive advertising campaigns" and for shuttering hospitals in the South Side and Braddock, while opening or acquiring facilities in the suburbs. "They've closed facilities in underserved areas and moved to more affluent areas," said Ravenstahl, who said that proved UPMC's actions "do have a for-profit motive."

UPMC has not yet responded to the suit, but the hospital giant did have harsh words for the city in a Tribune-Review story previewing Ravenstahl's action this morning. A spokesman told the paper that the challenge "appears to be based on the mistaken impression that a nonprofit organization must conduct its affairs in a way that pleases certain labor unions, certain favored businesses or particular political constituencies -- in other words, the way that some local governments are also run." UPMC also noted that it does pay tax on nearly half the property it owns.

In today's installment of copwatch ... a couple stories touch on the police bureau's "reckoning period" policy, in which prior disciplinary issues have a sort of statute of limitations, after which they can no longer be considered when setting punishment for later infractions. It may complicate the city's attempt to address concerns about Detective Frank Rende, whose behavior toward St. Patrick's Day revelers has apparently drawn the attention of the FBI. While Rende admits a lapse or two in his career, he says his record is otherwise spotless ... and it's not clear that a decade-old incident (in which he had a sexual encounter with a woman who called police to her home) can be used against him now. Meanwhile, in a federal courtroom yesterday, former police chief Robert McNeilly groused that the reckoning policy made it hard to gauge the disciplinary problems of a cop like Bradley Walker, whose employment by the city in spite of dozens of citizen complaints has become the subject of a lawsuit. In the latter case, Walker's supervisors noted that while there were multiple instances in which complaints against him were upheld, he also got multiple Officer of the Month citations.

... And here's another guy who claims to have been mistreated by police on St. Patrick's Day. But fear not, my friends: an internal investigation is underway!

Will Mayor Luke Ravenstahl challenge the tax-exempt status of UPMC? Looks like it. Could it be that Ravenstahl meant it when he said that not running for re-election would free him up to take on some issues he might not address otherwise? Stay tuned.

Good luck with that: Undocumented students -- generally the kids of immigrants who came to the United States illegally -- want Harrisburg lawmakers to grant them in-state tuition at state universities, rather than charging them out-of-state rates. There's opposition from the Republican-controlled state House -- though He Who Shall Not Be Named (R-Cranberry) does not appear in this story. But there appears to be at least some bipartisan support for the measure, and similar legislation exists even in Texas.

A California group releases a report that says Gov. Tom Corbett is the nation's best-paid governor ... but that's only on paper. Corbett, like Ed Rendell before him, has declined cost-of-living adjustments the law enables him to take, so he's actually only the sixth-best paid governor in the country. Still, the salary hasn't dissuaded others from casting an eye at his job: Rendell's former environmental secretary, Kathy McGinty, is said to be considering a bid. With already-declared John Hanger in the race, that's potentially two former environmental chiefs in the field.

There is going to be, like, a hundred bajillion dollars invested in Downtown, thanks to a new wave of development that will include a Downtown apartment building with a rooftop pool. Finally!

Nakama Japanese Steakhouse & Sushi Bar is no longer part of the redevelopment of the Central North Side block home to a now-defunct adult-movie house.

Wayne Zukin, the project’s developer, confirmed Nakama’s withdrawal this afternoon in an email to City Paper.

In January 2012, the steakhouse chain with a flagship location on the South Side had signed a lease to take over the former Masonic Temple Building on West North Avenue, right next to the old Garden.

Phone messages left yesterday and today for Nakama’s owners were not returned. Nakama has satellite locations in Heinz Field, PNC Park and CONSOL Energy Center. There is also a Nakama in Long Island, N.Y.

The lease signing for Nakama’s space at the Garden project last January was marked by a press conference featuring Mayor Luke Ravenstahl. It was the first lease signed at the site since the Garden Theatre closed in 2007, and was hailed as a big step in the neighborhood’s revitalization.

Messages to Zukin were prompted after yesterday’s announcement that nonprofit arts and human-rights group City of Asylum/Pittsburgh would locate its new literary center in the three storefronts on the first floor of the Masonic Temple — the space formerly to be occupied by Nakama. But until today it was unclear publicly whether Nakama was still involved in the redevelopment project.

COAP president Henry Reese says he’d heard in November that the space might be available and contacted the developer. At the time, Reese says, COAP was preparing to resubmit plans for the center, called Alphabet City, to the city after a court ruling upheld a zoning appeal by neighbors objecting to the project.

But Reese says the West North Street location is in many ways a better fit for Alphabet City, which itself will include a small restaurant along with a bookstore and performance space. It is more centrally located and more visible to street traffic than the original location.

Other announced projects on the Garden block appear to be proceeding, including apartment units and a new restaurant in the old theater space run by the owners of Lawrenceville’s Piccolo Forno.

Barbara Talerico, president of the Allegheny City Central Association, says the loss of Nakama wouldn't hinder the redevelopment project. "Things change over time," she says. "We think that the whole block itself is really very exciting. There'll be a good mix of all the neighbors and all the visitors to the area."

A body in motion tends to stay in motion, at least when The Mike Dillon Band is supplying the dance music. For two one-and-a-half hour sets, the psychedelic rock group kept the audience at the Thunderbird Café shaking and gyrating with heavy, vibraphone-driven grooves on Friday night, delivering a steady stream of infectious rhythms and hypnotic percussion.

Upon kicking off the first set around 10 p.m., Mike Dillon invited harmonica master Wammo on stage, adding a fifth element of funk to the quartet’s sound. The ensemble played off of each other’s energy and musical intensity, making each song, especially “Fat Redneck Gangster” a well-blended collaboration. The ferocity Dillon applied to his array of percussion instruments fused with Wammo’s command of the harmonica threw the majority of the crowd into fits of head-bobbing and hip-shaking.

The untameable energy of trombonist Carly Meyers also enhanced the enthusiasm of the crowd, her twisting, contorting body movements matching the sharp motion of her instrument’s slide. When she wasn’t on stage bouncing and singing along with Dillon, she snaked through the audience, blowing a whistle and assailing a tambourine with a drumstick like a marching band drum major. Both Meyers and Dillon attempted crowdsurfing, with Dillon falling to the ground abruptly after throwing his shirtless, perspiring body onto the audience. He shrugged off the thunderous splat and assured everyone that as long as Iggy Pop still crowd-surfs, he shall crowd-surf.

Dillon varied his instruments throughout the evening, frequently using a cuica, or friction drum, to create a muffled washboard-like noise. The orange-red cylinder provoked coyote-like howls from the audience, inciting a devilish grin on Dillon’s sweat-soaked face. The vibe and style of music varied as well, ranging from relaxed jazz rock to angsty punk rock. The band even crossed over into dubstep, with Dillon adding, “To make it ours, we gotta make it punk rock.” The boisterous, thumping tune derived its inspiration from Meyer’s disdain for the genre, as part of the chorus stated, “Carly hates the dubstep.”

Other hits of the night included “Chef Boyardee, “Get Small Ya’ll,” “I Just Found 100 bucks on the Ground” and Garage a Trois’ “Omar.” The performance exemplified impressive vigor and jam band perfection, proving The Mike Dillon Band knows how to move a room.

Karl Marx once said that history repeats itself, the first time as tragedy, the second time as farce. And the third time, apparently, it repeats as an allegation in a federal civil-rights suit against the Pittsburgh police.

As the Post-Gazette first reported Sunday, the city's police brass is on trial in a federal civil court this week, thanks to a lawsuit filed by 32-year-old Jarret Fate, who alleges that his vintage Porsche was damaged in 2010 by a former police detective, Bradley Walker. Walker reportedly rammed his vehicle into Fate's and later choked the man; he was fired after pleading guilty to simple assault in the incident. But Fate is alleging that the city was negligent in keeping Walker on the force even after he'd been the subject of more than 30 complaints between 1993 and 2008. The complaints included allegations of excessive force, domestic violence, and "road rage"-like behavior. You can read a list of those allegations against Walker below, in a document culled from fillings in Fate's lawsuit.

Fate vs City of Pittsburgh Stipulations.pdf by Charlie Deitch

Judging from yesterday's arguments in court, city attorneys will argue that Walker was off-duty when he accosted Fate, so his behavior isn't the city's fault. It'd be ironic if that defense actually worked: In another case of a cop accosting an innocent citizen while off the clock, a judge found that police officers are never really "off duty" -- even when they are celebrating their wife's birthday on the South Side and shoot someone by accident.

But whatever the court finds in the Fate case, there's at least anecdotal evidence to suggest that the city can't effectively handle officers with long disciplinary records.

Here we go again. After the whole freakin' city saw this video of Pittsburgh police detective Frank Rende going off on some dude during St. Patrick's Day, Mayor Ravenstahl is taking action. He wants Rende fired. If that happens, it will be only 13 years after Rende was given a "last warning" from a supervisor ... despite some controversies in the meantime. But I'll believe it when I see it. Ravenstahl hasn't had great luck with these ultimatums (Eugene Hlavac, anyone?) ... and maybe we remember the LAST time a cop was accused of acting up on the South Side?

But hey, let's not single out Rende here. The city is also in the midst of a federal lawsuit concerning its alleged inability to discipline another city cop ... this one who accosted an unsuspecting motorist off-duty. On the bright side, maybe, the city did manage to terminate the officer in question, and it only took 32 civilian complaints. Baby steps, people!

Meanwhile, Highmark is apparently STILL trying to work out a severance package for ousted CEO Ken Melani. The most shocking news -- the guy earned a BONUS last year?

A bipartisan group of Pennsylvania governors is lining up behind the idea of having judges be appointed, rather than elected. I know what you're thinking: You elect one Supreme Court justice who gets nailed on ethics charges, and everyone wants to make a big deal about it. But as former Gov. Ed Rendell puts it, in these races, "Voters have no idea who they’re voting for anyway."

Speaking of choices that don't necessarily turn out the way you'd expect ... Democrats in the state Legislature are seeking to rework the laws governing charter schools, which they say drain public schools of revenue with little in the way of results. They're promising to release a report documenting various abuses by Philadelphia-area schools this today.

City of Asylum/Pittsburgh plans to occupy three North Side storefronts with its new Alphabet City literary center, the nonprofit literary and human-rights group announced this morning.

The building, the former Masonic Temple, will be the first to be redeveloped on the block housing the shuttered XXX-movie house on West North Avenue. The site will house a bookstore, a free book-distribution program, a performance space, room for workshops and classes, and a restaurant, the group said in a statement.

Alphabet City had been planned for a triple lot on nearby Monterey Street. But neighbors objected to the zoning board’s approval of the project, and in November a judge found that zoning exceptions granted to the project were inappropriate.

In a statement, COA co-founder and president Henry Reese said the move from the Mexican War Streets to the more commercial perimeter of the Central North Side will allow the center “to grow beyond our original plans.”

Barbara Talerico, president of the Allegheny City Central Association, praised COA/P as “a standard-bearer for arts-based community development for almost a decade. … The build-out of this block, with City of Asylum/Pittsburgh as an important component, further extends the appeal and vibrancy of our neighborhood.”

Alphabet City is planned to open in the spring of 2014 — a decade after COAP began as a refuge for writers persecuted in their home countries. (COAP is an independent affiliate of the international City of Asylum network.) The group has since expanded to include the popular annual Jazz Poetry concert, the online magazine Sampsonia Way, frequent literary readings and more. Its art houses, shelter for persecuted writers, are neighborhood landmarks.

In addition, “We plan for Alphabet City to be a hub for Pittsburgh authors, musicians and community groups,” said Reese. He said the space will have a capacity of 150 and “a living-room feel.”

Architects for the project are Loysen + Kreuthmeier Architects, who designed the nearby Carnegie Library branch. The projected opening date is spring of 2014.

• Grand Piano

It appears that my claims that winter was over were a little bit premature. Still, the two or so days of sun were much appreciated, and maybe the second time's a charge. Either way, we've got "Trainhound," an absolutely fantastic, horn-filled track from Grand Piano this week. Between these guys and Red Western, I'm really looking forward to checking out the entirety of that Split LP they put out recently. Stream it below!

Just days after filing the petitions to put himself on the May primary ballot, Jim Ferlo has dropped out of the mayor's race. In a statement, Ferlo cited the short amount of time in which to mount a campaign based on "grassroots fundraising and mobilization of people power."

"Others have been running for Mayor for the last several years," Ferlo's release added, somewhat tartly.

Goddamn, I'm gonna miss him.

Still, Ferlo's move was something less than a total surprise; he had declined an invitation to appear at a mayoral debate this Sunday, and he sounded somewhat ambivalent about the prospects for a run even after filing his papers.

This week in CP:

—Ray Dawn goes from law student to hip-hop lyricist in our Music Feature

Ray Dawn

—Coverage of the slew of local artists, including Donora, who are representing the Steel City at SxSW.

Donora

—Homeless Gospel Choir's plans to make a documentary about his one man DIY music operation.

—Mark Dignam, Tyler the Creator, Perpetuum Jazzile, Kate Nash, and Trust all make it into our Critics' Picks.

Mark Dignam

Tyler the Creator

Perpetuum Jazille

Trust

Kate Nash