Office of Councilman Patrick Dowd - August 2011 LETTER FROM COUNCILMAN DOWD Dear friends in District 7, Pittsburgh City Council recently voted 6-3 to pass Bill 2011-1939 which would authorize a referendum amending the Home Rule Charter. I was one of three council members who voted against it. Please know that a ban on drilling in the city is already in place and even if successful this referendum would provide no additional protection for our citizens or our environment. As a community, we are better off channeling our energies and resources adding multiple layers of protection instead of more of the same. These additional layers would include a zoning code amendment and a noise ordinance as well as working with municipal authorities up-river encouraging them to refuse even initiating processes that would allow them to accept contaminated wastewater. I am working on these bills and hope to bring them to a vote this year. While this was marketed as a Marcellus shale drilling ban, there was a lot of additional language denying the legitimacy of state or federal laws as well as rights guaranteed under the Pennsylvania and US Constitutions. These sections, among others, make the legislation illegal and will likely keep it off the ballot. I supported the drilling ban back in November as an interim step while we established other layers of protection. Our goal should be to add more layers of protection for citizens and the environment and not to be satisfied with the thin layer of the ban. Sincerely, To read the legislation in its entirety please go to the City of Pittsburgh Legislative Information Center <http://pittsburgh.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=927047&GUID=EA EA5EEB-1C9A-40C5-BB4C-B8DC70449947&Options=ID|Text|&Search=referendum> and click on the attachment "2011-1939.doc." NEWS AND UPDATES Today is National Night Out Tuesday, August 2 marks the 28th Annual National Night Out <http://www.nationaltownwatch.org/nno/> , an annual celebration held around the country to raise awareness around issues of community building and crime prevention. There will be a cookout in Lawrenceville, sponsored by Lawrenceville United, from 5pm-7pm at the intersection of McCandless and Natrona in the 10th Ward and Mellon's Orchard Neighborhood Association (MONA) will recognize National Night Out from 7pm-10pm on Rippey Street in the City's East Liberty neighborhood. For other National Night Out events in the City please go to http://www.pittsburghpa.gov/publicsafety/nno/events.htm. Heth's Run Cleanup a Success On July 5-8, Allegheny CleanWays and the Office of Councilman Patrick Dowd, along with other local service organizations, led approximately 200 volunteers from the Mennonite Church USA Convention in a large clean-up effort in Heth's Run. The Run, stretching from Heth's Run Bridge on Butler Street to the Pittsburgh Zoo in the Morningside and Highland Park neighborhoods of the East End of Pittsburgh, was covered in garbage, appliances, construction debris, and car parts. Over only 4 days of cleaning, the volunteers removed almost 100 car tires and half a dozen enormous truck tires from the area. Overall, several tons of refuse was collected from Heth's Run. To learn more about Allegheny CleanWays, please visit their website <http://www.alleghenycleanways.org/civicrm/event/info?reset=1&id=91> . To see some photos of the clean-up effort, check out the City Council District 7 Facebook page <https://www.facebook.com/#!/Pittsburgh.Council.District7> ! For special note, City Council will be on recess and not meeting from August 2rd through August 26th. The District 7 office will have limited phone and office hours. Please leave a message in the event that we cannot directly answer your call and we will return it promptly UPCOMING EVENTS AND MEETINGS Council to Go Join Councilman Patrick Dowd at Council to Go, his mobile district office, to voice your concerns, ideas, and questions about local government and services. Lawrenceville - Friday, August 26, 7:30am - 9am - Perk Me Up, 4407 Butler Street Morningside - Thursday, August 25, 7:00pm - 8:00pm - Representative Dom Costa's Office, 6808 Greenwood Street, Suite 2 Community Events Fridays through August 26, 2011, 7:30-10pm - Free Movies in Arsenal Park @ Dusk <http://www.lunited.org/calendar_of_events.php> , Lawrenceville Saturdays through October 29, 2011, 9:30am-1pm - Lawrenceville Farmers Market <http://www.lunited.org/> , Lawrenceville - 52 Street & Berlin Way (Goodwill Industries Parking Area) Sundays, August 7- 28, 2011, 5:00 - 7:00 p.m. - Reservoir of Jazz <http://www.city.pittsburgh.pa.us/parks/reservoir_of_jazz.htm> , Highland Park - Highland Avenue & Reservoir Drive Sundays, August 7- 28, 2011, 7:00 p.m. (right after Reservoir of Jazz) - Summer Soul Line Dancing <http://www.city.pittsburgh.pa.us/parks/soul_blast_line_dancing.htm> , Highland Park - Highland Avenue & Reservoir Drive (following Reservoir of Jazz concerts) Tuesday, August 9, 2011, 7:00 p.m- 9:00 p.m. - Zone 5 Citizen's Public Safety Council, Highland Park - Union Project, 801 N. Negley Avenue August 12-21, Bike Pittsburgh's Bike Fest 2011 <http://bike-pgh.org/events/bikefest/> , various times and locations If you know of any free community-oriented events in your District 7 neighborhood that we should publicize through our monthly newsletter and District 7 website <mailto:District%207%20website> , please email Jennifer.thoma@city.pittsburgh.pa.us by the 1st of each month. DID YOU KNOW? If you weren't already aware, Councilman Dowd is a huge baseball fan and 2011 marks the 40th anniversary of a Pittsburgh baseball milestone. The 1971 World Series matched the defending champion Baltimore Orioles <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baltimore_Orioles> against the Pittsburgh Pirates <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pittsburgh_Pirates> , with the Pirates winning in seven games. Game 4, played in Pittsburgh, was the first-ever World Series game scheduled to be played at night. The two teams proved to be evenly matched, as the Series went the full seven games, with the Pirates' Steve Blass <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Blass> pitching a complete game four-hitter in winning Game 7, 2-1, against Mike Cuellar <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Cuellar> and the Orioles. The Pirates' Roberto Clemente <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roberto_Clemente> , who turned into a one-man gang in the Series, became the first Latino player to earn World Series MVP honors. Clemente hit safely in all seven games of the 1960 World Series <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1960_World_Series> and all seven games of the 1971 World Series. (From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1971_World_Series) 2011 also marks the 125th anniversary of the founding of the Pittsburgh Pirates (they were founded as the Pittsburgh Alleghenys). View a 125th anniversary video here <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tobfpxgT0e4> . To unsubscribe from Council District 7 updates, please notify Jennifer Thoma at jennifer.thoma@city.pittsburgh.pa.us <mailto:jennifer.thoma@city.pittsburgh.pa.us> and you or your organization will be removed from our contact list. --- JENNIFER THOMA | Administrative and Communications Director Office of Councilman Patrick Dowd | Pittsburgh City Council District 7 City-County Building, Rm. 510 | 414 Grant Street | Pittsburgh, PA 15219 Tel 412.255.2140 | Fax 412.255.2419 jennifer.thoma@city.pittsburgh.pa.us District 7 Schedule of Events Google Calendar <http://www.city.pittsburgh.pa.us/district7/> | <http://www.city.pittsburgh.pa.us/district7/assets/2008-Newsletter.pdf> 2010 Annual Report <http://www.city.pittsburgh.pa.us/district7/assets/2010-Newsletter.pdf> [pdf]