Gene Knight has bought, rented and sold dozens of properties in Pittsburgh over decades, but after City Council voted yesterday for more rules and punishments, the Carnegie-based landlord said he’ll buy no more.

“I’ll do my business outside of the city,” he said. “The city has a total vendetta against landlords.”

Not so, said council members, who explained they’re just trying to teach residents to respect each others’ quality of life.

They gave final approval to Councilman Bruce Kraus’ measure compelling landlords to get tenants to initial a list of rules on when and how to put out trash.

Read the rest of the article here.

Lose a gun in Cleveland and fail to report it to police and you could face a $250 fine and 30 days in jail. But in the 12 years that ordinance has been on Cleveland’s books, only two people have been taken to court for failing to report a lost or stolen gun.

That experience, and those of other cities, suggests that Pittsburgh’s proposed ordinance on reporting lost or stolen guns and others cropping up all over the state and nation warrant neither the fear they are engendering in foes, nor the hope they inspire in advocates.

Read the rest or Post-Gazette’s Rich Lord’s article here.

The Oct. 27 story “State Hopes New Prisons, Early Release Cut Crowding” is an excellent look at the difficulty our state prison system is having with a prison population bursting at the seams and the attempts being made to reduce it.

Unfortunately, no one can say for sure whether the state can reduce the population, and the opening of new state prisons is still several years away. Hope is one thing. History tells us the population goes only one way — up. While the state prison population is zooming past 47,000 inmates, the Department of Corrections is planning on adding nearly 1,500 beds to accommodate prisoners who have had their parole blocked by Gov. Ed Rendell.

Read the rest of the letter here.

Some city landlords are overreacting to new rules designed to ensure that tenants know how and when to dispose of their trash and that they follow the rules

A measure proposed by Councilman Bruce Kraus mandates that, when landlords sign up new tenants, the property owners must advise them of when trash is collected, when it is to be placed at the curb, what items are to be bagged for recycling and what is not suitable for residential collection. All of this is to be accomplished by having tenants put their initials to a series of statements that spell out the details of city garbage collection. Then the tenants and landlords are to sign the form and submit it to the city.

Read more of this Pittsburgh Post-Gazette article here.

An Allegheny County deputy sheriff was named Crime Prevention Officer of the Year by the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency.

Deputy Jason Tarap received the inaugural award Tuesday at the annual Crime Prevention conference in Grantville, Dauphin County.

An 11-year veteran of the sheriff’s office as a crime prevention officer, Deputy Tarap has been responsible for a variety of initiatives. He is co-director of Camp Cadet, a weeklong law enforcement camp for children. In addition, Deputy Tarap has set up more than 30 crime watch groups in the county and is responsible for holiday season gift drives for children and the infirm. Read more here.

Citizen Alert

FREE SAFETY ESCORT SERVICE DOWNTOWN

The Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership offers a free Safety Escort Program designed for anyone looking for a little help or extra security walking from one location to another Downtown. Upon request, and with at least 30 minutes advance notice, a PDP Safety Ambassador will accompany an individual to a requested destination, such as a parked vehicle, an office or a bus stop.

Since January 2008, the Safety Ambassadors have assisted over 700 individuals, providing them with extra security walking to their Downtown destinations.
Hours as follows:
Monday thru Friday 9am to 11pm
Saturday and Sunday 11am to 9pm
Call 412-325-0156, 9am to 6pm or 412-589-0110 for assistance

Squirrel Hill Urban Coalition to spread word about efforts through magazine

Although the Squirrel Hill Urban Coalition was founded in 1972, it’s a fair bet that a lot of East End residents — even those in Squirrel Hill — are unfamiliar with what the nonprofit group does.

But coalition President Steve Hawkins, speaking at the organization’s recent annual meeting, said he hoped that soon, everyone in the East End would know about the group and its work.

Read more in today’s Post-Gazette.

The Cleveland Neighborhood Development Coalition has a list of tips you can use to increase your neighborhood’s safety. The topics it covers are:

• Abandonment (Commercial, Residential, Vehicle), At-Risk Youth, Burglary & Theft (Commercial, Residential, Vehicle)
• Commercial Redevelopment
• Community Apathy
• Community-Police Relations
• Drugs (Dealing, Houses, Use)
• Dumping
• Gangs
• Graffiti
• High Crime Rate
• Litter
• Loitering
• Noise
• Panhandling
• Problem Properties
• Prostitution
• Public Intoxication
• Trespassing
• Truancy
• Unsafe Walk to School
• Vandalism

Redd Up Crew, meet the Hokey Patrol.

Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl is launching a new initiative today to clean up business districts citywide, using a “neighborhood SWAT team” of city workers to overhaul them in intensive, weeklong visits.

Read more in today’s Post-Gazette

National Night Out (NNO) is holding its 25th annual nationwide celebration this coming Tuesday, August 5th, 2008. It is a unique crime/drug prevention event sponsored by the National Association of Town Watch (NATW).

From their website: ‘Last year’s National Night Out campaign involved citizens, law enforcement agencies, civic groups, businesses, neighborhood organizations and local officials from over 10,000 communities from all 50 states, U.S. territories, Canadian cities and military bases worldwide. In all, over 35 million people participated in National Night Out 2007.’

The GOALS of National Night Out are to
*Heighten crime and drug prevention awareness;
*Generate support for, and participation in, local anticrime programs;
*Strengthen neighborhood spirit and police-community partnerships; and
*Send a message to criminals letting them know that neighborhoods are organized and fighting back.

Communities celebrate NNO by leaving their porch lights on throughout the night and joining together with thieir Neighbors and Blocks to ‘celebrate’ many different activities, including block parties, cookouts, picnics, and other neighborhoods events.

Some local NNO celebrations include:
Hill District;
Oakland; and
Beechview

Just last friday, the Tribune-Review published an article encourgaing communities to start block watches – you can use next Tuesday’s Nationwide Celebration to generate momentum in your neighborhood.

For local information or support, contact one of National Night Out’s local PIttsburgh Community Organizer’s:
Marlene Jackson of the Dinwiddie Community Alliance at dinwiddie_comm-alliance(at)yahoo.com, or
Lt. Nelson Mitchell of the Port Authority Police at nmitchell(at)portauthority.org

Enjoy your National Night Out!