Satellite dishes on the Isle of Dogs, a Creative Commons Attribution (2.0) image from Steve Bowbrick’s photostream

As required by Congress, every four years the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) reviews its rules about media ownership. The Commission is expected to complete their 2010 review this fall. In the last review, the FCC set aside an all-out ban on newspaper/broadcast cross-ownership — allowing mergers to be made on a case-by-case basis. Media consolidation — whereby a larger share of the mass media is owned by progressively fewer people — is the opposite of diversity. While it’s often said that the public owns the airwaves, real ownership of what is broadcast is in the hands of less and less people. This is, of course, especially concerning when it comes to protecting the public interest in terms of in-depth investigative reporting and quality local news. Add to that the attempts by Congress to end funding for PBS stations (including, now, a “super committee” charged with trimming the federal budget who will weigh cuts to public media) and you have a citizenry who should be rightly concerned about who really owns the airwaves.

If you share these concerns, you’re invited to attend a public forum on Monday, September 26. Free Press and SaveTheNews.org is holding the “Owning Our Airwaves: A Community Dialogue with Media Policymakers” community meeting that evening. You can speak about the state of the media with Rep. Mike Doyle, Federal Communications Commissioner Michael Copps and others. Event co-sponsors include Carnegie Mellon University, Common Cause, Pittsburgh Black Media Federation, SLB Radio Productions, Inc., Tube City Community Media, Inc., and Urban Green Growth Collaborative.

What: Owning Our Airwaves: A Community Dialogue with Media Policymakers
When: Monday, Sept. 26 at 7 p.m. Doors open at 6:30.
Where: McConomy Auditorium, Carnegie Mellon University, 5000 Forbes Ave., Pittsburgh
Who: Rep. Mike Doyle (D-Pa.), FCC Commissioner Michael Copps, Free Press Policy Director Matt Wood, President and CEO of WQED Multimedia Deborah Acklin, Khari Mosley of the Urban Green Growth Collaborative , Chris Ramirez of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, Jon Peha, Carnegie Mellon University and Marge Krueger, Communications Workers of America. 

 You can find out more information about this event and R.S.V.P. here.

Generation Gap, a Creative Commons Attribution (2.0) image from xflickrx’s photostream

We often hear that Pittsburgh has a relatively high population of elderly residents. However, the latest census data showed a drop in the city’s median age — bucking a longtime trend. How does our area really compare to the rest of the nation? The Brookings Institution’s State of Metropolitan America is an ongoing effort by the Brookings Metropolitan Policy Program to chronicle the demographic shifts transforming America’s metropolitan areas and to discusses what these trends imply in terms of public policy. The report has a section devoted to the age of the population. Some key findings from that report can be found here. They note vastly different trends around the country in what they call ‘The Uneven Aging and “Younging” of America.’ Some of their findings may surprise you.

While it’s not surprising that Baby Boomers account for an overall nationwide growth spurt of those in the 45 and older category, the areas of the country — including Pittsburgh — which have the highest concentration of elderly residents are not the areas which are experiencing the most rapid growth of seniors. This is in part due to the phenomenon of “aging in place.” In other words, people who flocked to the Sun Belt from the Snow Belt/Rust Belt for jobs in the last couple of decades have remained there and are now aging there. Whereas, cities like Pittsburgh — which lost population over the years — do not have a large percentage of people now crossing over into their senior years. (We do, however, have an increase in residents who are 85+).

The State of Metropolitan America looks at trends in areas other than age. The report includes breakdowns on the following demographics: population and migration, race and ethnicity, immigration, households and families, educational attainment, work, income and poverty, and commuting. You can read the full report here. Additionally, you can see a breakdown specifically for Pittsburgh on all of the above key indicators here.

Lego Color Bricks, a Creative Commons Attribution (2.0) image from 713 Avenue’s photostream

Councilman Peduto with Tech-Link teams BioHazard and Grey Matters

Tech-Link is an outreach program of the University of Pittsburgh School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences. Their mission is to “introduce students with physical, visual and hearing disabilities to careers in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).” One activity that they sponsor is the FIRST LEGO League Robotics Camp for students with and without disabilities. The FIRST LEGO League (FLL) is an international competition for elementary and middle school students. The kids use LEGO Mindstorms kits to build and program small robotic devices. The theme for this year’s competition is Body Forward™ and has the kids explore the world of biomedical engineering. The models that they planned and built are meant to solve real life problems.

There are two Tech-Link teams: BioHazard and Grey Matters. Team BioHazard took on the challenge of prosthetic robotic arms/hands. Team Grey Matters project was to improve a left ventricular assist device. Heady stuff! You can view videos of them explaining their projects below.

On November 20th, they presented their ideas in preparation for the December 2010 Body Forward™ FIRST LEGO League (FLL) Robotics Competition in Pittsburgh. Councilman Bill Peduto was a guest speaker at that event. Additional photos from the day are posted below and you can view more videos of the kids at the “Bill Peduto for Pittsburgh” YouTube channel here.

Amazing kids doing amazing work!

Tech-Link Team BioHazard Presentation:

Tech-Link Team Grey Matters Presentation:

Photos:

Team Grey Matters presenting their project

Team BioHazard being filmed

Bill Peduto speaking to the Tech-Link teams

St_Pauls_Cathedral (5), a Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike (2.0) image from camrich345′s photostream

On September 6th, Pittsburghers joined Bill Peduto and special guests on a leisurely bike ride around Oakland and Pittsburgh’s East End as part of the Pedal Paddle Peduto Hike and Learn Series. Peddle Paddle Peduto is a series of three hiking, biking, and kayaking trips around Pittsburgh. Participants learn about Pittsburgh’s history and the vision for its future by key organizations involved in building the city’s next renaissance.

On this particular ride, they visited the religious institutions that call Oakland and the East End home. You can sign up for future Pedal Paddle Peduto events at Venture Outdoors.

Here’s a recap of that outing:

Today, Councilman Bill Peduto will speak at the 2009 Mahatma Gandhi Birthday Celebration,
presented by the Alliance for Humanitarian Initiatives, Nonviolence and Spiritual Advancement.

The goal of the Alliance is to  celebrate Mahatma Gandhi as a global humanitarian figure, promote his legacy of nonviolence, and engage youth in appreciating Gandhi’s powerful message.  The event will include dance performances, cultural activities, and inter-faith religious practices to celebrate the birth of Gandhi and his message.  Topics of discussion will include “Gandhi on a New Generation” and “Gandhi and Martin Luther King,” and the keynote speaker will be Professor Varadaraja Raman, Emeritus Professor of Physics and Humanities at Rochester Institute of Technology.

Councilman Peduto also issued a City Council Proclamation in honor of this event.

On Sunday night, Councilman Bill Peduto was a guest at the Turkish Cultural Center of Pittsburgh, formerly known as the Pittsburgh Dialogue Foundation. This organization supports peace through interfaith dialogue between followers of the Christian, Islamic, and Jewish faiths.

The group was joined by leaders from all religious communities, and the keynote speaker, Dr. Jon Pahl of the Lutheran Theological Seminary in Philadelphia, gave a great presentation.

District 8 is home to numerous synagogues and temples, Roman Catholic and Byzantine cathedrals, the Islamic Center, and all denominations of Christianity, including the Korean Christian church.

Over 2 terms in office, Bill has actively engaged with all faiths to strengthen the East End community, and to make Pittsburgh a welcoming city for all.

At the dinner, Bill was asked to speak about his travels to Turkey, during which he participated in a peace mission to promote interfaith dialogue. A video of that speech will be posted in the near future.