Rallies, Protests and a Happy Hour

It's that time of year -- lots going on!

Protest Governor's Marcellus Shale Advisory Commission Meeting
WHEN: Wednesday, April 27 · 10:00am - 1:00pm
WHERE: Rachel Carson Building, rm. 105 - Harrisburg PA
WHAT: Protest Governor Tom Corbett's Marcellus Shale Advisory Commission meeting. More info here

Don't Make Us Work Till We Die!
WHEN: Wednesday, April 27 · 12:00pm - 1:00pm
WHERE: Social Security Office, 921 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA
WHAT: Action and Funeral Procession, "Bring: Skull and Crossbones, Death Masks, Skeletons, Wheelchairs and Walkers, anything that signifies Seniors Worked to Death! We have a coffin! After the rally, volunteers will gather petitions downtown and pass out Flyers for the May 3rd Rally, Sponsors so far: Strengthen Social Security, Health Care for America Now, The National Organization of Women, SEIU, ARA, SOAR, CLUW, looking for more!" Sign the petition at http://www.worktillwedie.org/ RSVP here


Rally for Valerie and A Community Call to Action
WHEN: Wednesday, April 27, 2011 at 12 Noon
WHERE: Freedom Corner (Centre Ave. and Crawford St. intersection), Pittsburgh PA
WHAT: 'Why a "Rally"? To support Valerie McDonald Roberts, the most qualified candidate for Allegheny County Controller.
Why a "Call to Action"? To effect the inclusion of African Americans in Allegheny County leadership positions.' http://allieswithvalerie.com/main/

The PAC is Back -- P2pac Happy Hour
WHEN: Thursday, April 28 · 6:00pm - 9:00pm
WHERE: 3705 Butler Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15201-1819
WHAT: "Join us at Eclipse Lounge Pittsburgh on Thursday from 6-8pm. Reconnect with long-time supporters, welcome new ones, meet our board, and discuss the important May 17 primaries. Mingle, ask questions, learn about the races, and donate to the P2pac (donation not required, but very much appreciated) so that we can support the best local candidates for Pittsburgh's future in the coming elections!" P2pac on Facebook here. RSVP here
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Gov. Corbett: Favoring natural gas severance tax is "un-American"

According to Scott Detrow -- who covers state government and politics for Pennsylvania's public radio stations, including WITF in Harrisburg, WHYY in Philadelphia and WDUQ in Pittsburgh -- Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett called the concept of a natural gas severance tax "un-American." (Even though that's what they do in every other state.)

This would be in a speech he made before the State Association of Township Supervisors yesterday. And, the tax he would be so opposed to would be on those who come to PA to extract gas from the Marcellus Shale via fracking -- a process which aside from producing mini-earthquakes -- creates millions of gallons of contaminated water. We aren't allowed to know exactly what chemicals are contained in that water as the Bush/Cheney Energy Bill exempted natural gas drilling from the Safe Drinking Water Act. And, we found out confirmation this weekend via the New York Times that:

Oil and gas companies injected hundreds of millions of gallons of hazardous or carcinogenic chemicals into wells in more than 13 states from 2005 to 2009, according to an investigation by Congressional Democrats.

Hmm, now that sounds "un-American."

What also sounds "un-American" is Corbett's appointment of C. Alan Walker, "a coal industry cited numerous times for polluting streams and drinking water" to acting secretary for the state's Department of Community and Economic Development and to the state's Marcellus Shale Advisory Commission. Most importantly, Corbett "gave him authority to expedite and influence permits at any state agency, including the Department of Environmental Protection, which regulates drilling in the Marcellus Shale."

Hmm, having the fox guard the hen house. That used to be considered "un-American."

Keystone Progress has a petition that you can sign to let Corbett know what exactly you consider to be "un-American."
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Photos from Pittsburgh's "We Are One" March & Rally

The union thugs were out in full force:


As were the class warriors:


500 strong according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (P-G video here):


(3-photo montage)
They were all out in Pittsburgh today as part of the nationwide "We Are One" action. In Pittsburgh, there was a rally at EQT Plaza and then a march and rally to Governor Tom Corbett's Pittsburgh headquarters for another rally.


The view from Inside the Crowd at EQT:




The march to Corbett's Pittsburgh office:


At Corbett's office:


The overflow crowd across the street:


Via the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:

The Downtown event seeking support for a number of causes was timed to mark the 43rd anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. Mr. King was killed in Memphis while he was supporting a sanitation workers strike there. The issues energizing the demonstrators on Tuesday included an extraction tax on Marcellus Shale drilling, restoration of cuts to Port Authority transit service and opposition to education spending reductions included in Gov. Tom Corbett's proposed state budget.

Unfortunately, today is not only the anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., it also marks the two-year anniversary of the assassination of three Pittsburgh Police Officers by an anti-Semite, Glenn Beck-loving white supremacist who believed that Obama was coming for his guns. A memorial service and statue unveiling was held today for Officers Paul Sciullo II, Stephen Mayhle and Eric Kelly in Pittsburgh. .

Time’s Run Out: It’s Sudden Death for adultBasic

If you're downtown today:

Time’s Run Out: It’s Sudden Death for adultBasic

42,000 of our neighbors in PA are set to lose their health insurance on Monday, February 28th. PHAN is hosting a vigil outside the Governor's Mansion in Harrisburg at 5:30pm and is organizing a NOON RALLY in Market Square in Downtown Pittsburgh to fight back.

Please join us to send the message to Gov. Corbett that we won’t stand by while he sides with big insurance companies over hardworking PA families. Help us show the Governor that the people of PA are not ok with cutting lifesaving health insurance programs—especially when the funding exists to save them!

Just like in Wisconsin, this is not about the budget—it’s about politicians putting the agendas of wealthy special interests over the needs and priorities of their constituents. The new radical political majorities in Harrisburg and across the country must be put on notice: we will NOT give up the fight for fairness and dignity for working people and for health care justice for all.

Stand with us on Monday—we want to get at least 100 folks there, so please send this to everyone you know!

WHAT: Solidarity Action to Stand Up for the 42,000 Working People at Risk of Losing Their Health Coverage Today
WHERE: Market Square, Downtown Pittsburgh
WHEN: Monday, Feb. 28th, 12:00pm

PS. If you or anyone you know is on adultBasic, please ask them to get in touch with me. We’ll be continuing to fight for a program like adultBasic (if it does end Monday as expected) and will definitely want to help folks get connected to any other resources and options available in the meantime. egill@pahealthaccess.org

and this:

"If you haven’t seen it yet, a lot of them have been posting messages to the Governor on his Facebook page, and on our Save adultBasic Facebook group page."

Have A Heart, Governor Corbett Rally! (adultBasic)

Via http://www.consumerhealthcoalition.org/:

HAVE A HEART, TOM CORBETT! RALLY TO SAVE adultBasic
MONDAY, 14 FEBRUARY 2011 @ Noon at the Governor’s Regional Office located at 301 Fifth Avenue (On the Corner of Wood and Fifth).

We will meet next two the lion statues (have some courage, too, governor!) and have a short rally where we will hear perspective from persons who have received their adultBasic termination letter as well as persons who are on the waiting list (along with a half million other Pennsylvanians!).

Following the rally, a group of us will deliver the Valentines to the Governor’s Regional office.

More on adultBasic here.
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Transit Workers Oppose Stringing-out Funds Over 18 Months

Darrell Sapp/Post-Gazette
A letter by Patrick McMahon, President of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 85, was hand-delivered to Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato on Tuesday, opposing Port Authority plans to "string-out" $45,000,000 in supplemental funding (by Gov. Ed Rendell) over the next eighteen months. The letter notes that these funds were intended to give the legislature six months -- not 18 -- to find a way prevent transit cuts next year and that stretching it out for triple that length of time will necessarily involve expedited cuts in services and routes.

According to the Post-Gazette article today, the union also believes that sunshine laws may have been violated:

Port Authority officials denied an allegation by a union spokesman that the board decided during a private conference call to cut service by 15 percent in March and close the Harmar bus garage.

AFL-CIO spokesman Marty Marks said such a call appeared to violate the state's open meetings law. "It's not fair to take the public out of the process," he said.

Full text of McMahon's letter after the break.

December 20, 2010

Mr. Dan Onorato
County Executive
101 County Court House
436 Grant Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15219

Dear Mr. Onorato:

Thank you for your efforts in helping to win approval from the Southwest Pennsylvania Commission for Governor Rendell’s proposal to shift $45,000,000 of transportation funds to the Allegheny County Port Authority from projects that finished under budget or are not going forward. Your leadership, helped to prevent massive cuts in transit services to thousands of riders who depend on bus and rail service to get to work, school, medical appointments and other essential needs and
services.

However, for the record, we strongly disagree with any plan that seeks to distribute that money over an eighteen month period requiring more cuts in transit routes and services. The Governor’s intention was to prevent cuts in transit services in 2011, giving the new governor and legislature six months to act on a transit funding formula that fairly and adequately provides for public transit at current levels.

Cutting transit at this time is bad for many reasons:

● Transit cuts kill jobs and that is the last thing this fledgling recovery needs. Many low wage workers in particular, will be unable to get to work without bus and rail service, adding to unemployment and personal hardship.

● Our riders, workers and local tax payers have sacrificed enough. In recent years workers have conceded changes in work rules and pension benefits saving the Port Authority more than $96 million. Transit riders are paying higher fares with yet another fare increase scheduled for January. Local tax payers are doing their fair share, adding $25 million annually to the pot with new taxes dedicated to public transit.

● Suggesting the legislature has an additional year to solve the problem takes the heat off of them and postpones the urgency of living-up to their responsibility.

● SEPTA, the transit agency serving the Philadelphia region, will be facing a funding crisis this budget cycle. The Governor’s emergency funding for the Port Authority, if used as intended, will bring our transit funding crisis to a head the same time as Philadelphia’s, significantly increasing pressure on the legislature to act responsibly and timely.

● With gasoline costing more than $3.00 per gallon and every indication prices will continue to rise, it is ill-advised to cut transit at a time when ridership is likely to increase in response to rising fuel costs.

We respectfully disagree with your assertion the incoming legislature needs eighteen months to solve transit funding inequities. More than three-quarters of legislators are returning to serve another term. These issues are not new to them and our new governor has been a statewide elected official for eight years, surely enough time to have become well-acquainted with high-profile, critical state issues affecting
millions of our citizens.

We believe our fight is now. We call on you to lead the effort to get the legislature to act now and provide the state’s fair share of public transit funding. Do not impose further pain on transit riders and commuters by misusing the funding the Governor has delivered. We urge you and our region’s elected leaders to join us in the fight to make this right. Pennsylvanian is counting on you.

Sincerely,

Patrick McMahon,
President of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 85,
The union that drives 200,000 workers to their jobs every day.

cc: Port Authority Board Members
Allegheny County Council Members
Pittsburgh City Council Members
Allegheny County State Legislators and Senators
Mayor Luke Ravenstahl

Bad Boys, Bad Boys (Local Edition)

Just in time to get a lump of coal from Santa:

CasablancaPA has the goods on PA Rep. and Majority Leader Mike Turzai's double dipping when it comes to per diems here.

Father Duquesne (formerly The Parkway Left) has a post up on Allegheny County Councilman Matt Drozd titled "Portrait of an ignorant bigot."

Infinonymous blogs on LeRoy S. Zimmerman (longtime friend and close political ally of PA Gov.-elect Tom Corbett) who oversees the Hershey Trust and who is under investigation by Corbett's office for using $12 million in "funds intended to educate impoverished children" to purchase a money-losing golf course and then spending another $5 million to bling the course out. (Full story in the P-G here.)

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has a story on Michael Jasper. Jasper is a PNC vice president and finance manager who was a Pittsburgh Parking Authority board member. "Was" as in he was the only board member who voted to study a pension bailout plan opposed by Lil Mayor Luke and "was" as in he's no longer a board member because his employer asked him to resign from that body. You figure out who the bad boy is in this case (Hint: it ain't Jasper.)

Rolling Rally for Permanent Solution to Transit Funding Crisis

WHEN: TODAY! Thursday, December 16th, 11:00 a.m. (10:00 a.m. assemble)
WHERE: - Rodef Shalom parking lot 4905 Fifth Avenue (enter off of Devonshire) in Oakland
- Press conference/Rally at 11:45 Mellon Square, Downtown Pittsburgh
WHAT: Via press release:

A Rolling Rally on Thursday will urge State Legislators to come up with a long term solution for Public Transit funding. While the SPC averted drastic transit cuts for the next six months, the system will face the same do or die funding situation come July 1st, leaving businesses and riders who depend on public transit in the lurch. The Rally is being organized by a group of transit riders, businesses, faith leaders and other public transit supporters will rally on Thursday to draw attention to the still critical state of Public Transit in Allegheny County.

Rev. Thornton, Vice President of Pittsburgh Interfaith Impact Network explained why PIIN is helping to organize the rally; "public transit is a public good. Like police protection or road maintenance, public transit allows our entire region to function. Without public transit, we cannot thrive. Therefore we urge the state legislature to recognize this and take leadership on making sure this public necessity has stable funding allowing our businesses, workers, and citizens to plan their work and lives without fear of losing this necessary piece of the puzzle."

[snip]

The rally is sponsored by the Pittsburgh Interfaith Impact Network (PIIN), Pittsburgh Community Reinvestment Group (PCRG), and Allegheny County Transit Council.

Greetings from Pennsylvania

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I Blame Corbett

My Comcast Cable has been out for 10 minutes now.
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