Rea Questions new Redevelopment Authority Board

Allegheny county council member Jan Rea says she is concerned that a board overseeing the spending of more than $6-million a year has very little accountability. She says the “Allegheny County Economic Development, Community Infrastructure and Tourism Board” will be appointed by the Redevelopment Authority of Allegheny County and will dole out $6.6 million a year in gaming money. She says she is not sure why there needs to be any new board created at all but if there has to be, the members should at least have to be approved by the County Council. Rea has scheduled a public hearing on the creation and operation of the board Thursday at 5:00pm in the Gold room of the County Courthouse.

Market Square Place To Have Groundbreaking Ceremony

Market Square Place will be see its groundbreaking today take place inside as a result of bad weather, but Mayor Luke Ravenstahl and County Executive Dan Onorato will still be kicking of the ceremony inside what will become a mixed commercial and residential building. Market Square Place will have 60,000 square feet of retail space and 50 loft-style apartments to promote downtown living. There will be free food and drinks for those who attend as well as a free concert by a disco themed band.

Onorato Presents Proposed 2009 Plan to County Council

Allegheny County Chief Executive tonight presented his 2009 Comprehensive Fiscal Plan before Allegheny County Council. His plan once again refrains from raising property taxes and proposes a decrease in the drink and car rental tax from a 10 percent tax on poured alcoholic beverages to 7 percent. Onorato says excess revenue from the drink tax, which has already raised more than the $32 million that was needed to subsidize the Port Authority, will go towards outstanding debts on the county's roads and bridges. The overall proposed operating budget is $762.7 million and the proposed capital budget is $63.4 million. Onorato also stressed that in 2009 he will continue to follow the steps towards consolidation of the governments of Allegheny County with the City of Pittsburgh. He says the county will also pursue potential extraction of natural gas from Marcellus Shale located on the 10,000 acres of county land at the airport and in other areas. If approved, the budget will reflect the eighth consecutive year Allegheny County has not raised property taxes.

Family House Grows

Family House has inked a long-term deal with the University of Pittsburgh to rent out the top 4 floors of the old University Club to use as a new “house.” The charity hopes to have the 45-bed facility open by the spring of 2009. Currently Family House has 115 beds in three facilities in Pittsburgh and its executive director Christie Knott says they have to turn away 30 families every night. Any patient and their family traveling more than 60 miles to Pittsburgh to get treatment for a life threatening illness can rent a room. The rooms range from $40-$60 compared to a $120 hotel room. Knott says she knows many families wind up sleeping in hospital waiting rooms or their cars because they cannot afford a hotel. She says the average client stays in the Family House for 6 to 7 nights but transplant patients often need stays of 3 to 6 months. Each of the houses include common areas and cooking facilities where Knott says many families find the support they need from others in similar situations.

Average Pension Fund Tumbles

BNY Mellon Pension Services says the average corporate pension plan saw assets tumble last month 6.7%. That is more than the first 8 months of the year combined (4.3%). Pension Services Executive Director Peter Austin says the bright side is that funding ratios dropped only .3% because corporate bond yields jumped in September. He says once the markets calm down the yields will fall and that will cause funding ratios to climb. He says corporations will have to make adjustments not only to their current investments but also to the way the funds are managed. He says managers have learned in the least few months that they need to have a new appreciation for the risk and volatility in pension investments. He says these types of movements have never been seen before and managers will have to learn to be more proactive to dampen that volatility.

State Senator Speaks out against Domestic Violence

State Senator Jane Orie, Majority Whip and a Republican from Erie County, today spoke about domestic abuse under the Rotunda of the Main Capitol Building in Harrisburg. The news conference kicked off October as Domestic Violence Awareness Month in Pennsylvania. Orie, who authored the "Domestic Violence Health Care Response Act," says law enforcement and health care need to work together to combat domestic violence. She says through close collaboration between the two, Pennsylvania can lower its number of domestic violence victims. Since 2007 domestic violence has resulted in over 100 deaths, with more than 13 of them children.

ACLU Files Suit Against County's Sex Offender Laws

The ACLU of Pennsylvania and the PA Institutional Law Project filed a lawsuit Monday challenging Allegheny County’s law that limits where convicted sex offenders can live. The suit asks that the county’s law be thrown out in favor of state laws. The county limits sex offends from living within 2,500 feet of places where children gather including schools, day care facilities and parks. ACLU Legal Director Vic Walczak says that only leaves forested hilltops and a few high-income areas. The county was to have printed a map of acceptable areas 6 months ago. The lawsuit was filed in federal court on behalf of six sex offenders. Five are already living in the county and one is still in prison because he cannot find a place to live. Walczak says the laws prevent sex offenders from returning to society as productive citizens by separating them from their support networks. He says it also forces some to either be homeless or to not properly register their residence.

Catholic Parishes To Close in Greensburg

The Catholic Diocese of Greensburg says it's closing some parishes due to a drop in its number of priests and parishioners. The diocese will close 14 parishes later this month. Two others will merge and 26 will form new or modify existing priest-sharing agreements. The diocese provides a list of affected parishes on its website.

Diocese spokesman Jerry Zufelt says the decision came after a lengthy strategic planning process. He says most of the parishes that will close are small, and are located just a few miles from other parishes.

Zufelt also says the diocese has been working on recruiting more priests. The diocese currently has 83 active priests, but expects to have only 49 a decade from now.

The diocese covers Westmoreland, Fayette, Armstrong and Indiana counties.

New Call for Citywide Wireless Service

Pittsburgh should continue to pursue a citywide wireless network, says Councilman Bill Peduto. He's called for a special hearing on a potential WiMAX network. He says it holds greater potential than WiFi technology for expanding wireless service to other neighborhoods. The city already has a WiFi network that covers downtown and parts of the North Shore and lower Hill District.

Peduto says the WiMAX network would have to be run by a private company, since the city's current financial situation would not allow any kind of major public investment. But the city would play a role by granting a private company rights of way needed for the network and by establishing guidelines for the service's operation. For instance, Peduto says any wireless service should still allow users at least two hours of free access per day.

Baltimore recently rolled out a WiMAX system, and Peduto says others are in place in cities outside North America. He says companies like Sprint have invested billions of dollars in the technology, indicating there's private interest in creating these types of systems.

Peduto says the special hearing will likely take place in November. He would like to see the WiMAX network built by the end of next year.

Flu Shot Clinic Opens This Month

Flu season is quickly approaching. Allegheny County Health Department spokesperson Guillermo Cole says vaccinations are plentiful. Approximately 150 million doses will be available nationally this season.

The vaccination is highly recommended for people over 50, pregnant women, people with high-risk medical conditions, health care workers and all children from the ages of six months to 18 years. Cole says children are receiving a high priority this year because they are two to three times more likely to get the flu than adults are. (Last year children ages six months to four years old were given a high priority for the vaccination, along with older children with medical conditions.) Although it is not likely for children to have serious complications from the flu, they could pass on the flu to people who may develop such complications.

Cole says the county walk-in clinic will open Monday, October 20th at its office on 3441 Forbes Avenue in Oakland, and will be open throughout the winter. Clinic hours are from 9am to 3pm on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, and from 9am to 7pm on Wednesdays. The shots will cost $25 per patient. Patient who have the Medicare Part B plan will not have to pay an out-of-pocket fee. Cole says the inhalation vaccine (a nasal spray) for people ages two to 49 with no serious medical conditions will be available for $10, but those vaccinations are limited.