Can’t make it to the event? You can still make a contribution to the P2pac – click here to contribute online.

14^th WARD CLUB BACKS MURPHY FOR ATTORNEY GENERAL

Gainey Endorsed for State Representative

The 14^th Ward Independent Democratic Club has endorsed Patrick Murphy for Pennsylvania State Attorney General. At its annual endorsement meeting Sunday the club also selected Ed Gainey over incumbent Joe Preston as its choice to represent the 24^th District in the state House of Representatives.

Candidates spoke to club members and answered questions at the club’s meeting at the Schenley Park Ice Skating Rink. The Democratic primary election is set for Tuesday, April 24.

With more than 18,000 registered Democrats, the 14th Ward is the largest ward in Allegheny County and second largest in the state.  The Ward includes all or part of Squirrel Hill, Point Breeze, North Point Breeze, Regent Square, Park Place and Swisshelm Park.

The Club, which is not affiliated with the Democratic Committee of Allegheny County, is the oldest independent Democratic club in the country and has made annual candidate endorsements for more than 40 years.  Its endorsements are printed in a Voters Guide and mailed to likely Democratic voters in the ward.  The endorsements are also posted at the club’s website http://www.pgh14widc.org

The Club’s open endorsement process allows members to hear candidates present their positions before casting their votes for the office seekers that best match their values.

Here is the club’s full slate of endorsed candidates:

• US Congress - 14th District: Mike Doyle
• US Senate:  Bob Casey
• PA Attorney General: Patrick Murphy
• PA Auditor General:  Eugene DePasquale
• PA Treasurer:  Robert McCord
• PA Senate – 43rd District: Jay Costa
• PA House of Representatives:
• 23rd District: Dan Frankel
• 24th District: Edward Gainey
• 34th District: Paul Costa

There will be a suggested donation of $10 at the door. All funds will go to support P2pac and future candidate endorsements.

P2PAC develops, supports, and helps to elect candidates who demonstrate vision, progressive values, and electability. For more information, visit p2pac.com

Tuesday, Februrary 21, 2012 6-8pm
The Park House, 403 E. Ohio Street
Please RSVP via the Facebook Event - http://www.facebook.com/events/237247409693962/

Phipps Takes Firm Stand against Childhood Obesity and Boldly Eliminates Soda from its Cafe
Pittsburgh’s premier public garden “walks the walk” when it comes to healthy foods.

   Pittsburgh, Pa. – In a bold move, Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens announced that as of Sept. 30, 2011, it will no longer sell soda in its café. This decision, made in the wake of the public garden’s involvement in First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! campaign to curb childhood obesity, aligns perfectly with its mission, which encompasses concern for both people and the planet.
While soda turns a good profit, it does so at the expense of our children who, according to the Harvard School of Public Health, can take in about 150 calories and 10 teaspoons of sugar from just 12 ounces of cola. With childhood obesity rates on the rise—and one third of all children born in or after the year 2000 facing diabetes, while others will struggle with heart disease, high blood pressure,  cancer, and asthma according to Let’s Move!—Phipps saw an opportunity to make a difference by eliminating these unhealthy beverages from its café.
“Our mission at Phipps is to connect people to the important role that plants play in our lives and to promote environmentally-responsible lifestyles and practices,” says Phipps Executive Director Richard Piacentini. “The most important ways that people and plants interact is through the food we eat and the biggest impact on our health and the environment is made through the way that interaction is currently taking place. Our industrialized, factory farm food system and highly-processed products are destructive to the environment and our bodies, and disconnect us from nature. In this respect, promoting healthy and responsibly-produced foods is right up our alley and ties in seamlessly with all of our other greening efforts up to, and including, our construction of a living building.”
In addition to eliminating soda, and replacing it with refreshing drinks made with filtered seltzer water and freshly-squeezed fruit juice, and containing less than 40 calories, Café Phipps operates with visitor health in mind in other ways, too. Dedicated to offering meals for adults and children alike that are centered on fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains and other minimally processed foods, Café Phipps does not offer the typical fried fare found at many attractions, but rather ingredients that were grown with care for the environment and contribute to the health of the community. Café Phipps’ commitment to sustainable practices has also led to its certification by the Green Restaurant Association in 2009.
Another expression of the organization’s commitment to healthy choices, Phipps will host two upcoming symposia: Let’s Move Pittsburgh: Leading the Way to Healthy Lifestyles for Children on Oct. 12, and Feeding the Spirit: Museums, Food and Community on Oct.13, 2011. Let’s Move Pittsburgh, a regional event made possible by Phipps, UPMC Health Plan and the Heinz Endowments, will bring change-makers together to discuss best practices for and barriers to making Southwestern Pa. one of the healthiest places in the nation for children to live. Similarly, Feeding the Spirit—a national symposium of the American Public Gardens Association; Association of African American Museums; Association of Children’s Museums; and the Center for the Future of Museums, an initiative of the American Association of Museums—will bring together food and policy experts with U.S. museum and public garden leaders to strategize and identify ways to tackle community food issues.
To learn more about Café Phipps and its mission, please visit www.phipps.conservatory.org. More information about Let’s Move Pittsburgh and Feeding the Spirit can also be found at www.letsmovepittsburgh.org and www.aam-us.org respectively.

ABOUT PHIPPS

Built by Henry W. Phipps in 1893 at the height of Pittsburgh’s industrial prowess, Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens has evolved from the nation’s first teaching conservatory to a distinguished eco-champion among America’s 500 public gardens.

Phipps’ mission is to inspire and educate visitors with the beauty and importance of plants; to advance sustainability and worldwide biodiversity through action and research; and to celebrate its historic glasshouse.

Phipps is open daily from 9:30 a.m.-5 p.m.; Fridays until 10 p.m. Adults, $12; Seniors 62 and older and students with valid ID, $11; children 2-18, $9; children under 2, free.

For more information, call 412/622-6914 or visit phipps.conservatory.org.

Follow us on Twitter

Become a fan on Facebook
Watch “The Evolving Green Story of Phipps” on YouTube

 

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Image by mek22 via Flickr

but without the butter scuplture.

If you are thinking of running for President – then a stop at the Iowa state fair is a must.  Romney is planning to stop by on Thursday, Ron Paul will be visiting the fair on Friday and CSPAN will be providing live coverage of the fair all weekend long. And yes – there are butter sculptures at the state fair.

Well if you want to see who is testing the waters for a run in a future Pittsburgh or Western PA election – the SEAD picnic is the local version of the Iowa State Fair.

SEAD = South End Active Democrats

SEAD is a county wide grass roots Democratic organisation dedicated to getting every day people involved in the Democratic Politics. We have over 250 members from 39 communities in Allegheny County. Members include elected officials, candidates, campaign workers, union members, community activists and tireless volunteers.

The SEAD picnic is particularly interesting in Pittsburgh races where georgraphy plays a big deal.  The southern votes can make or break a campaign.  In the past both Luke Ravenstahl and Tom Murphy have been from the North Side.  The East End tends to stick with a candidate – and the southern neighborhoods could be the deciding factor.

Image via Wikipedia

It will be interesting to see which candidates make an appearance.  Will Michael Lamb be there building his base of support in the South? With Peduto or Dowd cross a bridge to make some friends on the other side of the river? Rumor has it that Jack Wagner is interested in running for mayor – maybe he will make an appearance.

We doubt that there will be much happening at the SEAD picnic with the county exec race – probably not a friendly place for team Raja – but Fitzgerald is from the east so maybe he will be there making some friends too.

While we doubt there will CSPAN or even PCTV coverage of the SEAD picnic.  Maybe Bram or Lady Elaine will be there live tweeting the action.  And there probably won’t be a butter scupture but there will be door prizes…

door prizes, a pig roast, pony and horse rides, Hawaiian Moonwalk Bouncer, Kids games provided by the Young Democrats of Allegheny County, DJ and the Wild World of Animals Show featured on the Regis and Kathy Show. Plenty of Democratic Candidates, but no speeches.

22nd Annual SEAD Picnic & Luau (complete with Pig Roast)
Sunday, August 14, 2011 Noon-7pm
Clock Building South Park Fairgrounds
Facebook Event – http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=148166181932959

Related articles

• Butter sculptures churn 100-year state fair legacy (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• Sneak Peek: What’s New At Iowa State Fair 2011? – Des Moines News Story – KCCI Des Moines (faircarnivals.com)
• 25 OK Butter Sculptures That Are Probably Not Worth Having A Heart Attack Over But Here They Are, Have Fun (buzzfeed.com)

State representative Eugene DePasquale will be in Pittsburgh for a Meet & Greet (looks like a fundraiser with a suggested donation of $25/person) on Wednesday, July 27, 2011. Details and host committee are below – it is a pretty interesting host committee too – state reps, former state reps and campaign staffers. You can check out the Facebook event here – thus far 54 people are attending so there should be a great turnout.

Please join us for a meet and greet with State Rep. Eugene DePasquale

Wednesday, July 27, 2011, 5:00 – 7:00 PM

AVA Restaurant, 126 S. Highland Avenue & Baum Blvd. Pittsburgh, PA 15206

Suggested Contribution: $25

RSVP: To this posting or via email to liz@eugene4pa.com

Checks may be made out to “DePasquale for PA” and brought to the event or mailed to: DePasquale for PA, PO Box 1822 | York, PA 17405

Donations may also be made online via ActBlue: https://secure.actblue.com?/entity/fundraisers/24166

This event is generously hosted by:

• Kevin Acklin
• Damon Andrews
• Matthew Arena
• Fmr. Rep. Lisa Bennington
• Andrea Boykowycz
• Rep. Dom Costa
• David Dix
• Jennifer England
• George Fitch
• Rep. Marc Gergely
• Dan Gilman
• Sue Kerr
• Rep. Bill Kortz
• Rep. Nick Kotik
• Lynette Lederman
• Stan Lederman
• Rep. Bob Matzie
• Matt Merriman-Preston
• Khari Mosley
• Chuck Pascal
• City Councilman Bill Peduto
• Linda Piso
• Karen Rollins-Fitch
• Amy Jude Smotzer
• Martin Michael Smotzer
• Connie Sukernek
• Pat Sweeney
• Rep. Chelsa Wagner

Application Deadline is August 1, 2011.

Running For Public Office:Emerging Leaders in Public Service

Running for Public Office: Emerging Leaders in Public Service is an experiential learning program of the Coro Center for Civic Leadership. Standing for election to a public office is an important form of civic engagement and one of the highest forms of public service. The vision of Running for Public Office is to strengthen citizen participation in public elections and to increase the diversity and level of preparation of candidates running for office in Greater Pittsburgh.

Our goal is to recruit, select, engage and prepare highly motivated individuals to lead successful electoral campaigns in Greater Pittsburgh. The course is open to prospective candidates and campaign staff who are now contemplating running for office.

Coro does not seek to advance any particular ideology, political party or policy agenda. We strive to assemble a class of 20 participants that represents the diversity of Greater Pittsburgh in terms of race, gender, religion, political affiliation, neighborhood location and economic status.

Learn more and apply here.

While an application has been submitted to the Planning Commission from developer Rich Costanzo, his application will not be the focus of this meeting.  Councilman Shields and representatives from the City’s Law and Planning Departments will be present to answer questions.

Image via Wikipedia

WATER’S WAYS: A Presentation & Discussion of Local Water Issues and Public Health

When: Monday, June 6, 7:00pm
Where: Jewish Community Center, 5748 Forbes Ave, Pittsburgh 15217 (Squirrel Hill near Murray Ave)

Web Site: http://www.jccpgh.org/page/ajm

In conjunction with the exhibition Too Shallow for Diving: the 21st Century is Treading Water, participating artists Ann Rosenthal and Steffi Domike have organized a discussion of local water issues and public health with environmental and academic leaders:

• Dr. Patty DeMarco, Director of the Rachel Carson Institute, Chatham University will discuss water issues and choices for the 21st Century.
• Dr. Charles Christen, Director of Operations for the Center for Healthy Environments & Communities (CHEC) at University of Pittsburgh’s Graduate School of Public Health will address the public health implications of water and Marcellus Shale development. Dr. Christen worked closely with Dr. Conrad “Dan” Volz who recently resigned as Director of CHEC.

This event is free and open to the public. Those attending will have the opportunity to ask questions of the speakers and artists, and will be able to view the exhibition.

The exhibition Too Shallow for Diving: the 21st Century is Treading Water, guest curated by artist and educator Carolyn Speranza explores the environment, especially those issues surrounding water and its impact on our planet, human health and public welfare.

Friends,

Thank you for your support and encouragement throughout our campaign
for Magisterial District Judge. Briget and I cannot fully express our appreciation.
Your support was not just in words– it was also in actions. You knocked
on doors, called friends and family, held informal fundraisers, and stood
by us every step of the way. We waged an aggressive and energetic
campaign that we can all be proud of. I congratulate Hugh McGough and I
know that he will do a fine job.

I don’t know what the future will bring, but I know that I
will always be in the fight to make Pittsburgh — the city we love– a
better place. For me, public service has always been about helping
people. Please know that I will continue to work tirelessly on
Pittsburgh City Council in my remaining months in office.
Representing the people of District 5 has been a privilege of a
lifetime and I am grateful for having the opportunity to serve.

Over the coming weeks, I hope to personally reach out to each of you to
thank you for your support and friendship.

Sincerely,

Doug Shields

info@shieldsforjudge.com