Blog Entries for allegheny

Who Rained on Labor’s Parade?

info@alleghenyinstitute.org — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Newspaper reports on the Labor Day parade Downtown noted that something was missing from the march: spectators. In fact, people walking in the parade outnumbered people watching. What gives?

Was it the economy? One union official flippantly noted the bad economy and remarked that people who would normally be there were prob [...]

Labor Union Ad to Denounce Pennsylvania Roads

info@alleghenyinstitute.org — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 00:00:00 +0100

How deliciously ironic. The Laborers Union International announces it will run ads warning motorists about Pennsylvania's structurally deficient bridges. And why are the bridges deficient?-according to the union not enough money is being spent on the bridges.

Perhaps if the bridges did not cost 30 percent more to repair th [...]

More States Go Corporate for Park Upkeep

info@alleghenyinstitute.org — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 00:00:00 +0100

In 2008 and a few weeks ago in this blog we explored the idea and the progress in Allegheny County's plan to look for private sector help for park improvements. Facing tight revenue sources and maintenance needs that have been deferred for some time, the County thought that there might be an opportunity to solicit interest from the private sect [...]

Drilling Revenue Could Go Up in Smoke, and Fast

info@alleghenyinstitute.org — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Tapping in on the Marcellus Shale bonanza is the Mon Valley community of McKeesport, which just announced a deal to allow drilling on 27 acres near a park (which is designated as a regional park and qualifies for funding from the Regional Asset District, $10 million from 1995-2010) in return for a $10k annual fee and 12.5% in royalties.

[...]

Times are Tough, But, It’s State Money

info@alleghenyinstitute.org — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 00:00:00 +0100

We've written about the Redevelopment Capital Assistance Program (RCAP) before: it is one of many arrows in the state's quiver aimed at eliminating blight and stimulating economic development. The General Assembly not long ago authorized increasing the cap on how much the state could borrow to fund projects through this program, a [...]

Public Hospitals on Life Support?

info@alleghenyinstitute.org — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 00:00:00 +0100

County Council is considering whether to form an independent panel to examine the possibility of pulling several authorities into County government or privatize them altogether. One of these agencies is the Kane Regional Hospitals, the County-owned system of four nursing care centers.

Might the analysis be beaten to t [...]

Sunset Review Redone?

info@alleghenyinstitute.org — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Realizing that the County's departmental sunset review is well overdue (the Charter requires one every four years, yet the Manager's office has not completed one since July 2003) three of the Republican members of Council (the Council is responsible for taking action on the Manager's recommendations in the review) have put forth an ordinance th [...]

The Shifting Sands of PPS Employment

info@alleghenyinstitute.org — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 00:00:00 +0100

In a recent piece on education funding an analyst noted that "two-thirds of public school employment growth has been teachers (41%) or teacher aides (23%). The remaining one-third was comprised almost entirely of support staff in schools and district offices".

Has the Pittsburgh Public Schools follo [...]

Who’ll Man the Police Desk?

info@alleghenyinstitute.org — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Under a proposed state law, retired police officers could return to work on a part-time basis (800 hours a year) without jeopardizing their pension benefits. Such a bill might be welcome news to a cash-strapped city like Pittsburgh, which is always looking for ways to effectively deploy its 900-member police force.