Gov. Edward Rendell has appointed a man from the Pittsburgh area to the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission's Boating Advisory Board.

Andrew Talento of Verona, is general manager of the Tri-River Marine Trade Association in Pittsburgh, and a former member of the Marine Environmental Education Foundation and the National Marine Trade Council. He fills advisory board position formerly held by Rex Beers.

Also appointed was Delaware County's Michael LeMole, a naval architect, marine engineer and owner of LeMole Naval Architecture, which handles commercial vessel design, modification and analysis. LeMole replaces Michael Lentine on the board.

Talento and LeMole join three other appointed members.

The Boating Advisory Board has no regulatory authority. It serves in an advisory role to the Commission on matters related to boats and boating.

Unpaid members are appointed to five-year terms.

Boating Advisory Board meetings are open to the public and coincide with the Commission's quarterly meetings.

Blessing of the fleet

Construction at Point State Park won't interfere with the 14th annual blessing of the fleet, a ceremonial event that draws boaters to the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers.

Clergy from various faiths will convene at 2 p.m. June 22 on the top deck of the Gateway Clipper Liberty Belle, docked along the Allegheny wharf at Point State Park, to deliver ecumenical blessings to recreational boaters gathered below.

At noon that day, the United State Coast Guard Auxiliary and United States Power Squadron will offer free voluntary vehicle safety checks and pass out free Allegheny, Monongahela and Ohio river navigation charts. And the ABC Fire Extinguisher Company will inspect and refill marine fire extinguishers.

Road show

Folks from the non-profit groups Trout Unlimited and Save Our Wild Salmon have hauled in a big one -- a 2-ton, 25-foot fiberglass salmon, which they're towing through 20 states to draw attention to efforts to aid Northwest salmon and steelhead migration.

The push for hydroelectric dam removal in the Columbia-Snake River Basin pulls into the Pittsburgh Zoo 9 a.m.-5 p.m. tomorrow and Tuesday. Penn's Woods West Trout Unlimited president Walter Reineman said he will join them Tuesday at Sen. Arlen Spector's Pittsburgh office to sign a petition urging the removal of some Western dams.