Pittsburgh Council to Return Early, Deal With G20 Bills

At Mayor Luke Ravenstahl's request, Pittsburgh City Council will return early from its summer recess to take up legislation concerning the G20 Summit next month. Council President Doug Shields says he has spoken with the mayor and several colleagues and that council is likely to return to work early next week. Shields says council would not return this week because of the death of the mother of Councilman Jim Motznik. Her funeral is Thursday.
Shields says he has asked the administration to send over the legislation as soon as possible so council can get to work on it. It's his understanding that the law department is putting the final touches on some measures.
Shields says he doesn't believe that the mayor is trying to ram these 5 bills through council....."It's a function of the scope of the event, it's so big, so pervasive, there are so many details to be worked on in a short amount of time." He added that it's just the way things are unfolding and it all depends on the Secret Service.
Shields says some of the ordinances are minor but with those dealing with the demonstrators, "we will be careful not to tread on First Amendment rights."
The administration is reportedly considering a temporary ban in downtown Pittsburgh on such items as PVC pipe which protesters often use to link themselves together to make it difficult for police to remove them.