Two days after quarterback Ben Roethlisberger met with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, Pittsburgh Steelers President Art Rooney, II says the team is ready to take disciplinary action against Roethlisberbger but that will be coordinated with Goodell..
"As far as the timing of any disciplinary action, the Commissioner has told me he would like to take at least a couple weeks to review this matter. So, I don’t expect we will be announcing any final decisions until the week after the draft, at the earliest."
Monday, a Georgia District Attorney announced that no criminal charges would be filed against Roethlisberger in connection with an alleged sexual assault of a 20 year old college coed at a nightclub in Milledgeville, Georgia March 5. District Attorney Fred Bright said that there were still questions at to what happened in a bathroom at the nightclub, but the accuser and her family did not want to file charges and there was not enough evidence to make an arrest.
Bright said he "doesn't prosecute morals, just crimes" and his advice for Roethlisberger..."grow up."
Rooney said that each Steeler player has a responsibility to live up to the highest standards on the field, but also to equally high standards off the field.
"I have made it clear to Ben that his conduct in this incident did not live up to our standards. We have made it very clear to Ben that there will be consequences for his actions, and Ben has indicated to us that he is willing to accept those consequences.æ
Rooney said they allowed Roethlisberger to join off-season workouts with the team after being convinced that he is truly contrite and receiving his assurance that he "is firmly committed to working hard everyday to regain the trust and respect of this organization and Steelers fans."
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Pittsburgh Students Tackle Water Quality
Students from Allderdice High School in Pittsburgh have been selected as "Best in State" in the Junior Engineering Technical Society's (JETS) annual TEAMS engineering competition. The two, 8-member teams took the top ranked spots for both the 9/10 and 11/12 grade levels. This year's competition focused on one of the world's pressing problems: the global water shortage.
Teacher Sally Martin says the students really enjoyed working as a group and offering suggestions to one another. Martin says the first half of the test was a series of mathematical questions and the second part encouraged "creativity, thinking outside the box....they had to come up with solutions to a problem but not mathematically."
Martin says the students had to tackle the issue of improving water quality and availability through a variety of methods: everything from "ceramic pot filtering that is used in some third world countries, to super pure water, to reverse osmosis, to saving water at home."
The results of the Allderdice students' "Best in State" competition will now be matched up with state winners from across the country with the nation's best announced later this month.
Martin says the purpose of the competition is to get more kids interested in engineering by giving them a theme, and issue to which they can relate.
Teacher Sally Martin says the students really enjoyed working as a group and offering suggestions to one another. Martin says the first half of the test was a series of mathematical questions and the second part encouraged "creativity, thinking outside the box....they had to come up with solutions to a problem but not mathematically."
Martin says the students had to tackle the issue of improving water quality and availability through a variety of methods: everything from "ceramic pot filtering that is used in some third world countries, to super pure water, to reverse osmosis, to saving water at home."
The results of the Allderdice students' "Best in State" competition will now be matched up with state winners from across the country with the nation's best announced later this month.
Martin says the purpose of the competition is to get more kids interested in engineering by giving them a theme, and issue to which they can relate.
No Coal Will be Mined by Consol in WV Friday
Pittsburgh based Consol Energy says it will honor West Virginia Governor Joe Manchin’s request to not produce coal in any West Virginia Mines Friday. The request was made as a way to honor the 29 miners who lost their lives last week in Massey Energy’s Upper Big Branch Mine. The governor has asked that instead of mining the workers report for their shift as normal and then spend the day working on safety issues. Consol spokesperson Joe Cerenzia says their workers will spend the day in training. He says the workers get regular training on safety issues and the company has an “absolute zero” program aimed at preventing accidents, “So the classes will serve as refreshers” for Consol Employees. Consol operates 7 mines in West Virginia. Cerenzia says it is unclear right now what the one-day stoppage will mean to the company’s bottom line. He says that is not the issue, “At Consol Safety trumps every thing. It trumps production, it trumps profits.” Cerenzia says the drop in production should not hurt the company’s ability to service its customers. He says they have enough coal in stockpiles to make sure power plants that count on just-in-time deliveries do not see an interruption in supply. Governor Manchin has also called on state inspectors to enter every WV mine immediately to look closely at safety related issues. Massey Energy says it will also honor the Governor's request.
Free Trees Go Like Hotcakes
The city’s first of two tree giveaway days this week brought a big crowd to the City-County Building this morning. 1,000 10-inch tall saplings were handed out in less than an hour. The city had set aside two hours to hand out the trees. City of Pittsburgh Urban Forester Lisa Ceoffe says, “I’m overwhelmed by the participation. I just think it is great that the city has this many people who want to actively help to make the city greener and increase our shade canopy.” The city hopes to plant 20,000 trees by the end of 2012. Bob Glass of the North Hills says he is trying to be a bit greener and he plans to plant his sapling in his backyard. 
Lori Myers will be planting her tree in honor of her father and Angela Watson of Pittsburgh says she is looking to replace the pine trees she recently cut down. The city will hand out another 1,000 trees Saturday starting at 11:00am at the Frick Park Environmental Center on Beechwood Blvd. Ceoffee says the city will also be planting much larger trees along some of the city’s main thoroughfares this summer including Penn Ave, Liberty Ave and Brighton Rd. The city will also plant trees downtown as part of the International earth day celebration in June.
Navy Honors Murtha
The late Congressman John Murtha of Johnstown will have a navy amphibious ship named for him.
According to the Navy Times, Navy Secretary Ray Mabus has decided to name the 10th San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock for the long-time Congressman who chaired the House Appropriations Defense Subcommittee. Murtha, who was a marine during the Vietnam War, died in February due to complications following surgery.
One of his former colleagues, Congressman Joe Sestak of Delaware County, is a retired 3-star admiral. Sestak says this is a large amphibious ship that can carry up to 800 mariners plus their landing craft and helicopters. He says the ship is good for quick surgical strikes.....
"You may have a terrorist who is residing in a country like Somalia. That's a ship in the middle of the sea that can quietly and stealthily go in with about 20 marines, land, seize the terrorist and repart (leave) quickly."
Sestak says this is due recognition for Murtha who was the first Vietnam War veteran to be elected to Congress...
"to a man who was truly a patriot, a warrior, a wonderful Congress member, who served this nation ever war. But it's also recognition to a generation, an era of wonderful service members who loved this country."
There are opponents to the naming of the ship for Murtha. Detractors criticized his comments from 2005 when he said that marines operating in Haditha, Iraq had killed "innocent people."
Congressman Sestak says Murtha spoke his beliefs and "while he loved the service he knew there had to be accountability in the service."
$3.4 Billion Pension Problem for PA
An explosion in contribution rates for Pennsylvania’s two major public employee pension systems will likely dominate the Harrisburg landscape over the next few years.
In 2012, employer rates for the Pennsylvania Public Schools Employees’ Retirement System (PSERS) will nearly triple, to 29.2 percent.
PSERS executive director Jeffrey Clay recently told the House Finance Committee that will mean school districts and the state will need to come up with an extra 2.7 billion dollars.
"It’s unlikely both the districts and the commonwealth and school employers can afford these costs without significant and perhaps prohibitive tax increases at both the state and local levels. And that is the issue. I’ve been across the state talking to a lot of school districts. Every district says they cannot afford that rate of 29.22 percent. Something has to happen to resolve it."
The State Employees Retirement Fund is expecting a 700-million dollar spike. Finance Committee Chairman David Levdansky, an Allegheny County Democrat, says the good news is, lawmakers have time to examine the problem.
"We’ve got about a two-year window of opportunity here, that we need to act in a year or two. I kind of view this as laying the groundwork. That we understand the complexity of the problem that confronts us, and we start serious discussions and examine the alternative solutions that are being proposed."
But he admits the options aren’t pretty, saying they’ll involve “shared sacrifice.”
In 2012, employer rates for the Pennsylvania Public Schools Employees’ Retirement System (PSERS) will nearly triple, to 29.2 percent.
PSERS executive director Jeffrey Clay recently told the House Finance Committee that will mean school districts and the state will need to come up with an extra 2.7 billion dollars.
"It’s unlikely both the districts and the commonwealth and school employers can afford these costs without significant and perhaps prohibitive tax increases at both the state and local levels. And that is the issue. I’ve been across the state talking to a lot of school districts. Every district says they cannot afford that rate of 29.22 percent. Something has to happen to resolve it."
The State Employees Retirement Fund is expecting a 700-million dollar spike. Finance Committee Chairman David Levdansky, an Allegheny County Democrat, says the good news is, lawmakers have time to examine the problem.
"We’ve got about a two-year window of opportunity here, that we need to act in a year or two. I kind of view this as laying the groundwork. That we understand the complexity of the problem that confronts us, and we start serious discussions and examine the alternative solutions that are being proposed."
But he admits the options aren’t pretty, saying they’ll involve “shared sacrifice.”
Free Trees Today at City-County Building
Trees will be available for free today at the City-County Building in downtown Pittsburgh. The give-away event will be held from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., as part of Mayor Luke Ravenstahl's "Tree-Vitalize" effort to add 20,000 trees to the city by 2012. Dogwood, crab apple and sweet gum saplings will be provided with information on how to care for them. Pittsburghers will be asked to register their tree online at www.treevitalizepgh.org.
A second Free Tree Giveaway is scheduled for April 17 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m at the Frick Environmental Center in Squirrel Hill.
A second Free Tree Giveaway is scheduled for April 17 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m at the Frick Environmental Center in Squirrel Hill.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Council holds "Miles" bills
Pittsburgh City Council members expressed legal concerns about the “Jordan Miles Public Safety Agenda” and then voted unanimously to hold the bills for three weeks. The members say they will use the time to seek an opinion from the city’s legal department before putting the legislation to vote.
Councilman Bill Peduto says the police force has been suggesting for years that cameras be mounted in police cars, but has been denied by the administration. He recounted the ways they said it would help the city.
“One: public acceptance of patrol practices, two: reduction in lawsuits, three: enhancement of officer safety, four: will provide evidence in court cases, and five: will increase the number of upheld citations,” says Peduto. “That wasn’t coming from the Citizen Police Review Board. That came from our Bureau of Police.”
Citizen Police Review Board member Beth Pittinger says the accreditation process is 70% complete, with a mock survey expected in December. She says the actual accreditation process could occur within six months of the mock investigation.
Councilman Bill Peduto says the police force has been suggesting for years that cameras be mounted in police cars, but has been denied by the administration. He recounted the ways they said it would help the city.
“One: public acceptance of patrol practices, two: reduction in lawsuits, three: enhancement of officer safety, four: will provide evidence in court cases, and five: will increase the number of upheld citations,” says Peduto. “That wasn’t coming from the Citizen Police Review Board. That came from our Bureau of Police.”
Citizen Police Review Board member Beth Pittinger says the accreditation process is 70% complete, with a mock survey expected in December. She says the actual accreditation process could occur within six months of the mock investigation.
Murtha Foundation to Create Center
The University of Pittsburgh Johnstown will be home to the John P. Murtha Center for Public Service in honor of the late congressman, who died February 8th. Fundraising is beginning for a 25- to 35,000 sq. ft. structure that will house classrooms and public meeting rooms, as well as Murtha's awards, mementoes and papers.
Former Communications Director Matthew Mazonkey says Cong. Murtha was part of almost everything that happened in Western Pennsylvania during his 36 years of service, so the exhibits will be relevant to the whole region's history.
The foundation will continue to support the dozens of non-profits that Murtha worked with over the years, including Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, YMCA, and women's health centers.
Mazonkey says House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will be an honorary host at a benefit dinner in Washington, D.C. on May 26th, and there will be a fundraiser in Johnstown at a later date.
Former Communications Director Matthew Mazonkey says Cong. Murtha was part of almost everything that happened in Western Pennsylvania during his 36 years of service, so the exhibits will be relevant to the whole region's history.
The foundation will continue to support the dozens of non-profits that Murtha worked with over the years, including Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, YMCA, and women's health centers.
Mazonkey says House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will be an honorary host at a benefit dinner in Washington, D.C. on May 26th, and there will be a fundraiser in Johnstown at a later date.
Rohrer: Cut Costs Elsewhere to Fund Transportation
Republican gubernatorial candidate Sam Rohrer says Pennsylvania is facing a 450-million dollar transportation funding gap due to "reprehensible financial irresponsibility."
For the past few years, the Turnpike has borrowed against anticipated I-80 tolling revenue.
Tolling dollars are also built into next year's transportation budget.
Rohrer, a Berks County representative, says banking on the proposal before it was approved was awful planning.
He says it's indicative of Governor Rendell's approach to budgeting, noting anticipated federal dollars in next year's spending plan.
"He's recommending a billion dollars more, for 29 billion, but banking on 800 million dollars coming from the federal government, from a program that has not yet been debated by Congress, that won't even be covered until the fall. But he says you can count on it, because it will be here."
Rendell has called for a special legislative session to find new transportation revenue. Rohrer says lawmakers need to reassess the state's transportation needs and cut spending from other line items before they consider raising taxes.
He says getting rid of prevailing wage mandates on transportation projects is one way to save money.
For the past few years, the Turnpike has borrowed against anticipated I-80 tolling revenue.
Tolling dollars are also built into next year's transportation budget.
Rohrer, a Berks County representative, says banking on the proposal before it was approved was awful planning.
He says it's indicative of Governor Rendell's approach to budgeting, noting anticipated federal dollars in next year's spending plan.
"He's recommending a billion dollars more, for 29 billion, but banking on 800 million dollars coming from the federal government, from a program that has not yet been debated by Congress, that won't even be covered until the fall. But he says you can count on it, because it will be here."
Rendell has called for a special legislative session to find new transportation revenue. Rohrer says lawmakers need to reassess the state's transportation needs and cut spending from other line items before they consider raising taxes.
He says getting rid of prevailing wage mandates on transportation projects is one way to save money.
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