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The Angry Drunk Bureaucrat

  • County Submits Reassessment Plan to Judge Wettick



    In motions before the court, County Solicitor Mike Wojcik added "Swivel on it."

    Judge Wettick ordered the County to do something anatomically impossible, even for a medical student. [...]
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    Posted: December 02, 2009, 10:50pm EST

  • Taxes, Little Taxes on the Hillside Made of Ticky-Tacky

    And so it came to pass that the Council of the City of Pittsburgh postponed a motion on a proposed tuition tax, and there was must rejoicing.

    Or something: The 7-2 tally on a motion to postpone the first of two votes needed to enact the 1 [...]
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    Posted: December 02, 2009, 9:34pm EST

  • World AIDS Day 2009

    Image Hosted by ImageShack.us
    [...]
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    Posted: December 01, 2009, 12:01am EST

  • And Now...

    WKRP Turkey Drop - Watch more Videos at Vodpod.

    Happy Thanksgiving! [...]
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    Posted: November 26, 2009, 4:00pm EST

  • That Which May Not Be Named

    PittGirl or Virginia or Ginny or whatever nom de blog she wants to go by now made an excellent point about lawyers and the suing off of pantalones and what not and so forth. But, still here are some points that I feel to be salient... apropos of nothing [...]
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    Posted: November 24, 2009, 11:56pm EST

  • Whither the ACCD Meeting

    I've been busy the last several months doing end/beginning of the Federal fiscal year junk, so I only got around to realizing that I couldn't find my invitation to the Allegheny Conference on Community Development's annual meeting, which we narrated in 2005, 2006, and 2007. We didn't do it in' [...]
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    Posted: November 24, 2009, 10:54pm EST

  • A Bureaucrat's Aside Re: Prevailing Wages (pt. 2)

    So, if the City ponies up $600,000 to the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, would they be subject to prevailing wage requirements as well?

    I suppose it depends on when they try to enact legislation, I suppose. [...]
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    Posted: November 23, 2009, 9:41pm EST

  • 5 on 4

    So I saw this here picture in the P-G

    and I said to myself, "Self: which of those councilpersons have universities or large numbers of university students residing in their districts and are also going to be in office come January?"

    The answer didn't' [...]
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    Posted: November 19, 2009, 11:42pm EST

  • A Bureaucrat's Aside Re: Prevailing Wages

    I find it interesting that this story and this story broke in the same week.

    I wonder what impact the former is going to have on resolving the latter, or, more fundamentally, if there's even a grocery store out there willing to go into the Hill [...]
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    Posted: November 18, 2009, 7:16pm EST

  • Ravenstahl Proposes City Budget Gap to be Plugged with "Magic"

    On the heals of its rejection by the Intergovernmental Cooperation Authority, Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl has announced that he will fund the City's budget through a combination of tax increases, service fees, and magic.

    "We've tapped every source of funds that are available," said the Mayor speaking to' [...]
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    Posted: November 17, 2009, 11:27pm EST

  • PG+ Tour

    In case you missed it, the Post-Gazette was running a free promotional PG+ tour today. Here's a sneak peek: Database Error: Unable to connect to the database:Could not connect to MySQLAh. OK, let's try that again:jtablesession::Store Failed
    DB function failed with error number 145
    Table './plus_joom/jos_session' is marked as crashed [...]
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    Posted: November 16, 2009, 11:47pm EST

  • *Clonk*

    And the can gets kicked down the road again:Allegheny County will appeal a Common Pleas Court order to complete a reassessment of all property over the next four years, County Executive Dan Onorato announced this afternoon.

    Mr. Onorato said the appeal would give the state Legislature time to [...]
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    Posted: November 16, 2009, 8:29pm EST

  • A Bureaucrat's Aside Re: Bonusgate (Part II)

    Wouldn't it be easier for Tom Corbett to indict everyone in Harrisburg and just figure out what they did later? There's enough of them; statistically, they're all guilty of something.

    Alternatively, anybody want to bet that Auditor General (and potential opponent for the Governorship) Jack Wagner releases a' [...]
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    Posted: November 12, 2009, 9:27pm EST

  • Lest We Forget


    In Flanders fields the poppies blowBetween the crosses, row on row,That mark our place; and in the skyThe larks, still bravely singing, flyScarce heard amid the guns below.We are the dead. Short days agoWe lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,Loved, and were loved, and now [...]
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    Posted: November 11, 2009, 11:00am EST

  • Tonight's Episode: "Brain Pain" or "Taxing your Knowledge"

    So by now, you've heard about this: Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl plans to propose a 1 percent college-education privilege tax to council today, in a move that's likely to set off a fight with the city's schools of higher learning.

    College and university representatives met with the mayor' [...]
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    Posted: November 09, 2009, 10:23pm EST

  • Please do not Read the Last Post

    OK, a bit of a confession/apology to make here:

    I was rushed on Friday and didn't have a chance to read the post in full. Now, apparently this post contained some very hateful, mean, and disturbing things (which I will not go into here). Most of the time' [...]
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    Posted: November 07, 2009, 10:30pm EST

  • Election Day

    Vote already!

    ...dammit!
    Unless, of course, you're not voting for my candidate. In which case, our votes will offset, so neither of us should bother going to the polls. I'll hold up my end of the bargain if you will, I swear. [...]
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    Posted: November 03, 2009, 8:00am EST

  • Something About Where the Choo-Choo Goes

    The city's newspaper of record finally caught up with its not-being-sued-by-Mylan rival and published a story about last week's East End Rail proposal to Council, which can be found here in all of its sic transit gloria.

    This proposal is appealing in that it seeks [...]
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    Posted: November 02, 2009, 6:47pm EST

  • A Bureaucrat's Aside Re: Halloween

    Last night on Halloween, I swear I saw the ghost of the late Councilwoman Tonya Payne on Grant Street.

    It was scary. [...]
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    Posted: November 01, 2009, 11:28pm EST

  • You've Got Mail!

    Well, by now all of yinz have heard about this little bit of alleged cyber-snooping:Some Pittsburgh City Council members think someone's peeking at their e-mails. Mayor Luke Ravenstahl's administration insists the alleged snooping is a figment of council's imagination.

    That's the standoff that emerged yesterday from debate on [...]
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    Posted: October 29, 2009, 10:30pm EDT

  • Pittsburgh Foundation Match Game

    As you may have heard, yesterday The Pittsburgh Foundation matched donations for Pittsburgh not-for-profits in a whirlwind online event. The available pool of matching funds of $300,000 was tapped out in 23 minutes with many potential donors locked out of the system and left unable to donate.

    [...]
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    Posted: October 29, 2009, 10:19pm EDT

  • SWM 29 ISO BBI Chief

    This should surprise no one: Sergei Matveiev, head of Pittsburgh's Bureau of Building Inspection, has resigned effective Nov. 20, he said today.I haven't received a copy of the job description yet, but I imagine it to read (in part) as: A qualified candidate must
    - be able to [...]
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    Posted: October 27, 2009, 11:08pm EDT

  • PA State Rep. Daryl Metcalfe Believes Dwarves Are Stealing His Socks

    In an official interview to ADB+, PA State Rep. Daryl Metcalfe has admitted to our editorial board that he believes that dwarves are stealing his socks.

    "I´m not saying that all dwarves are stealing my socks -- the longbeards and firebeards are particular exceptions -- but my socks" [...]
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    Posted: October 23, 2009, 5:51pm EDT

  • John Verbanac Responds to Acklin Debate Allegations

    Cranberry businessman John Verbanac today denied allegations that he was, in fact, exerting influence on the Ravenstahl administration.

    In a televised debate last night, candidate for mayor Kevin Acklin suggested proof that Mr. Verbanac was a Dark Lord of the Sith, as evidenced by emails intercepted by Bothan [...]
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    Posted: October 22, 2009, 8:12pm EDT

  • Allegheny County Names Ego After Cyril Wecht

    Allegheny County has officially renamed its County of the Second Class Ego after forensic pathologist, local Democratic Party fixture, man about town, and former coronor Cyril H. Wecht.

    Earlier this year, federal prosecutors dropped corruption charges against Dr. Wecht, 78, who had been accused of using his former [...]
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    Posted: October 22, 2009, 7:15am EDT

  • ADB Responds to Proposed Public Drinking Ordinance

    Hey Bruce Kraus! You don´t know me! You don´t know any of me! Why should I, when you with your hair, and your big words look after and I when I knew you before... You used to be cool man! you used to be cool! And then, you with [...]
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    Posted: October 21, 2009, 6:03pm EDT

  • Judge Wettick Orders Reassessment of Monopoly Board

    In a stunning break from board game common law, Allegheny County Common Please Judge Stanton R. Wettick Jr. Ordered Parker Brothers, Inc. to reassess the value of its properties on its classic board Game Monopoly

    "It is our determination that property values on the Monopoly Board, which have not" [...]
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    Posted: October 18, 2009, 7:43pm EDT

  • Senate leaders boycott Senate leaders' budget proposal

    (AP) Harrisburg - State Senate leaders today boycotted a conference committee meeting organized by state Senate leaders to discuss a state budget proposal and to introduce their own budget plan.

    Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi, R-Delaware, said today that Senate Republicans are fashioning a revised budget bill to compete [...]
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    Posted: October 05, 2009, 11:25pm EDT

  • 312,819th Pittsburgher Interviewed

    The 312,819th and final Pittsburgher was interviewed today as part of a documentary about the media coverage of the media coverage of Pittsburgh during the recent G-20 conference.

    After an interview with documentarian Eric Stoll, Chuck Bridgeman of Brookline and an auto mechanic on Banksville Road said that [...]
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    Posted: September 29, 2009, 10:35pm EDT

  • A Bureaucrat's Aside: G-20 Post Script

    In retrospect, Danny and Lukey should have called for a region-wide black & gold week, and tailgated the conference.

    That would have made the protests a bit more interesting and coherent. [...]
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    Posted: September 28, 2009, 11:15pm EDT

  • Riots Break Out on North Side

    Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.usThousands of Distraught Steelers Fans Pour into Street After Loss to Cincinnati

    Half of West Allegheny Vandalized G20 Police Force Nowhere to be Found - Citizens FrightenedShouts of "Dammit Jeff Reed!" Echo Through Nervous CityAnarchists Denounce Holding Penalties [...]
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    Posted: September 27, 2009, 11:25pm EDT

  • G20 Protest Still Missing

    The Pittsburgh Organizing Group and the Pittsburgh G20 Resistance Group are still looking for a group of protesters that apparently got lost during last Thursday's protest in Lawrenceville.

    According to official accounts, after a confrontation with police at Arsenal Park, protesters made their way up 39th Street to' [...]
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    Posted: September 27, 2009, 8:07pm EDT

  • G20 Protesters Still Missing

    The Pittsburgh Organizing Group and the Pittsburgh G20 Resistance
    Group are still looking for a group of protesters that apparently got
    lost during last Thursday's protest in Lawrenceville.

    According to official accounts, after a confrontation with police at
    Arsenal Park, protesters made their way up 39th Street to Liberty
    Avenue. While most of the group [...]

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    Posted: September 27, 2009, 2:34pm EDT

  • An Open Letter to G-20 Protesters

    Go home children.

    Because of labor protests, our ancestors -- Pittsburgh's ancestors -- got shot by Pinkerton Guards. That's right: shot. Not yelled at by police, not smoke bombs, not pepper spray, not sound cannons, not tear gas: shot. You know what they wanted? It wasn't the end' [...]
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    Posted: September 24, 2009, 11:36pm EDT

  • Official G20 Map

    The only G20 map you'll ever need:


    Click here to embiggen' [...]
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    Posted: September 23, 2009, 9:30pm EDT

  • And Now...

    A brief overview of what this whole G20 thing is about, courtesy of The Animaniacs

    Enjoy!

    [...]
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    Posted: September 23, 2009, 8:05pm EDT

  • G-20 Protest Updates

    Our intrepid spies have been following the twitterbookfeeds, or something, and have cobbled together a list of tomorrow's pre-G-20 protests: People Unclear on the Concept Against Teabaggers - 9:00 AM, Grant Street - "Down with James Lipton!"

    Pyromaniacs United - 9:30 AM, corner of Frankstown and Larimer Avenues -' [...]
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    Posted: September 22, 2009, 10:39pm EDT

  • Pittsburgh Welcomes the G-20, but...

    Don't be a G 20 Jackass
    This message was brought to you by your local Yinzer contingency.' [...]
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    Posted: September 22, 2009, 1:39pm EDT

  • G-20 Visitors Guide (Pt. 4)

    In which the author
    "O"
    the self titled
    Angry Drunk Bureaucrat
    discuffes miscellaneous miscellany
    that did not quite fit the other parts of his
    Guide to the Pittsburgh Region
    and which were
    Cobbled Together
    at the
    Last Minute
    and at
    Great Expense
    Fit the Fourth
    Language
    [...]
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    Posted: September 21, 2009, 10:27pm EDT

  • The Travails of Government Service

    I guess I shouldn't be wearing my "I'm from the Government and I'm Here to Help" T-shirt this week. From the Trib: Hazmat and emergency medical service workers examined two city Public Works employees this morning after a woman made a gesture as if throwing something on them near' [...]
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    Posted: September 21, 2009, 9:59pm EDT

  • Judge Rules on G-20 Camping, Rallies

    From the folks at the P-G (with a special h/t to the Blackberry-dextrous Bob Mayo for giving us the blow by blow on this story):U.S. District Judge Gary L. Lancaster ruled today on a suit against the city regarding G-20 protest activities, saying that the city was within [...]
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    Posted: September 17, 2009, 10:27pm EDT

  • We Get Junk Mail

    I was cleaning out my inbox today and found this little gem:

    OK, first, somehow I doubt that British Telecom has a .cn domain level. Call it a hunch.
    Second, I've been "given 1,000,000 Pounds" reads like the beginning of an Office Space quote' [...]
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    Posted: September 17, 2009, 10:14pm EDT

  • Baucus Healthcare Plan "Mostly Filler"

    (Reuters) Washington D.C. - Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus unveiled a much anticipated health care reform plan Wednesday containing nearly 90% filler, including graphs, charts, pictures, and other miscellaneous items.

    The plan does not call for a government run insurance option, as advocated by President Obama and [...]
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    Posted: September 16, 2009, 10:00pm EDT

  • Special Additional G-20 Notes for Visitors

    Here's the nitty-gritty for members of the media, dignitaries, protesters, and assorted anarchists. If you're coming in from out of town, you should be aware of a couple of situations:

    First, as much as I like Pittsburgh, there is a strange strain of (let's say) xenophobia about it's [...]
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    Posted: September 15, 2009, 10:08pm EDT

  • City Council Strikes Down Mask Ordinance

    Pittsburgh City Council is expected to vote tomorrow on a series of security ordinances related to the upcoming G-20 economic summit. Council already has moved to a final vote to strike down an ordinance that would have allowed protesters to watch the 2005 "comedy" Son of The Mask.

    "The" [...]
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    Posted: September 15, 2009, 8:50pm EDT

  • Obama to Congress: STFU & GBTW



    From transcript of address: "OMG! LOL! WTF? BBQ!" [...]
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    Posted: September 09, 2009, 9:10pm EDT

  • OK, This Pissed Me Off...

    From the P-G:Pittsburgh's city code has no provision against using streets, sidewalks, parks, parking lots, stairwells and doorways as impromptu bathrooms, so city council today tentatively approved a proposed ordinance that would fill that gap...

    The new city code plank would bar urination or defecation in any public [...]
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    Posted: September 09, 2009, 8:47pm EDT

  • Soy un Perdedor

    If the weather had just cooperated and it had rained a little harder, the City of Pittsburgh could have been spared the ignominy of watching it's beloved Pirates slouch their way to the record breaking seventeenth straight losing season. Alas, it was not to be, and the literally dozens of [...]
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    Posted: September 07, 2009, 9:49pm EDT

  • G-20 Visitors Guide (Pt. 3)

    [Part 1 of the G-20 Visitor's Guide is found here and Part 2 is found here.]

    Things to Do in Pittsburgh...

    * Sports

    The City of Pittsburgh is home to two world class professional sports teams and the Pittsburgh Pirates. Levels of devotion to the' [...]
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    Posted: September 03, 2009, 8:35pm EDT

  • G-20 Visitors Guide (Pt. 2)

    [Part 1 of the G-20 Visitor's Guide is found here.]

    Getting Around...

    There's an old saying in Pittsburgh: "You can't get there from here." In other Cities this may be a metaphorical expression, but in Pittsburgh it is true. As a visitor to Pittsburgh, you will look' [...]
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    Posted: September 02, 2009, 12:45pm EDT

  • Introducing ABD+

    We're happy to announce that we here at The Angry Drunk Bureaucrat are launching a new pay version of this site, with exclusive extra content and interactive features.

    ADB+ will not replace The Angry Drunk Bureaucrat, which will continue to offer the same news, satire and random pictures of' [...]
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    Posted: September 01, 2009, 8:57pm EDT

  • G-20 Visitors Guide (Pt. 1)

    Hello and Welcome to the Official G-20 Pittsburgh Visitor's Guide. We hope that you find this guide useful during your stay here or that you plagiarize large segments of it back in your country of origin.

    Overview

    Pittsburgh is a city of about 350,000 people in the Southwestern' [...]
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    Posted: September 01, 2009, 12:43pm EDT

  • A Bureaucrat's Aside Re: Transit Development Plans

    Halfway through the last post, I realized that the Port Authority is part of a larger experience to keep me fat.

    Looking at the proposed system map, I noticed that a whole lot of routes are probably going to get axed and a whole lot of routes [...]
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    Posted: August 31, 2009, 10:23pm EDT

  • PAT Announces New 9000 ALL Line

    As part of its new Transit Development Plan, Port Authority CEO Steve Bland today announced at a news conference the creation of the new 9000 ALL line which will service every neighborhood in the City of Pittsburgh.  After two years of planning, thousands of comments from the public and numerous [...]
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    Posted: August 31, 2009, 9:52am EDT

  • A Proposal For Resolving the State Budget Crisis

    You know, I'm all about the State Legislature being a "deliberative" body, but if they "deliberate" any longer on the budget, I have a feeling that we're actually going to bore into another dimension and somehow wind up back in time. I also think that the longer they dick around [...]
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    Posted: August 27, 2009, 11:27pm EDT

  • A Bureaucrat's Aside Re: Ted Kennedy

    (So, if you're one of those folks that doesn't like to joke about the recently deceased, you might want to skip this post. Just saying.)

    A few, er, ah, reflections on the death of Ted Kennedy...

    Around here, we always like politicians that like their liquor, so we're' [...]
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    Posted: August 26, 2009, 11:57pm EDT

  • Really?

    I remember playing Kick-the-Can as a child. Little did I know at the time that, if I wanted to play it professionally, I could have been a State Legislator: House Bill 1661 would prevent any Pennsylvania county from carrying out a court-ordered property reassessment until June 30, 2011. That [...]
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    Posted: August 25, 2009, 8:59pm EDT

  • And Now...

    ...There's this item: Mallo Cups and Smoothies won't be rolling off the Boyer Candy Co.'s production lines for a few days because of a machine fire at the plant in central Pennsylvania.

    Plant supervisor Gary Himes said a coconut-roasting machine caught fire about 12:25 a.m. today. The fire' [...]
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    Posted: August 24, 2009, 9:40pm EDT

  • Other Things Tom Ridge Didn't Tell Us

    In case you didn't know, there's this: Tom Ridge, the first head of the 9/11-inspired Department of Homeland Security, wasn't keen on writing a tell-all. But in The Test of Our Times: America Under Siege...and How We Can Be Safe Again, out September 1, Ridge says he wants to [...]
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    Posted: August 20, 2009, 11:22pm EDT

  • A Brief Aside

    Oh no, not again:



    This year, they threatened to shave off all my hair, dye me pink, and install me as public art if I didn't plug their annual event.

    I can't afford the time off from work, people! [...]
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    Posted: August 20, 2009, 10:52pm EDT

  • G-20 Updates

    OK, if anyone tells you that they know what's going to be going on for the G-20, they're lying. Viz:City planners for the G-20 summit said today they want city residents, workers and businesses to start planning in earnest for the late September summit, but could not say exactly' [...]
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    Posted: August 18, 2009, 11:56pm EDT

  • And now a Nutritional Interlude...

    Oh dammit:Penn Brewery has closed.

    Jack Isherwood, managing principal of Birchmere Capital that owns the North Side business, confirmed in an e-mail that the restaurant "is closed indefinitely while future options are being evaluated," but he declined to elaborate.Could this get any worse?

    Oh double dammit!Country [...]
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    Posted: August 18, 2009, 7:28pm EDT

  • New Healthcare Plans would Provide Democrats with Backbones, Balls

    (Reuters) Washington D.C. - High ranking Congressional Democrats have apparently agreed to an amendment to the current health care bills that would provide their party leadership with backbones, spines, and balls.

    Speaking on behalf of a joint House-Senate caucus, Senate Majority Leader said that a final compromise will [...]
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    Posted: August 17, 2009, 10:38pm EDT

  • iPothole

    So ADB's doppelganger The Surly Inebriated Manager sent a quick little note this morning: Hey, check out the new iBurgh App for the iPhone. Pretty sweet!Tim McNulty has the non-fanboi story:An application called iBurgh became available via Apple's iTunes store Saturday night that allows residents to snap iPhone photos [...]
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    Posted: August 17, 2009, 8:14pm EDT

  • Bottom 9 Health Care Lies

    My email box, facebook account, twitter feed and carrier pigeon roost is filled with forwards outlining the top five lies about Health Care reform: Lie #1: President Obama wants to euthanize your grandma!!!

    Lie #2: Democrats are going to outlaw private insurance and force you into a government plan!!!
    [...]
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    Posted: August 14, 2009, 10:53pm EDT

  • Two Minutes Hate

    Please include in your daily Two Minutes Hate State Senator Jim Ferlo: The city of Pittsburgh's development arm plans to get back in the business of backing beer, after the Urban Redevelopment Authority board voted today to lend $300,000 to an investor looking to buy Penn Brewing Co. and [...]
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    Posted: August 13, 2009, 9:28pm EDT

  • Property Assesments Part 4,328,489

    Well, we're back to square one: the courts have ruled that Allegheny County's base year property assessment system is unconstitutional because of the gross inequities it creates in property values and we're going to see another re-re-reassessment maybe soon enough for the 2010 tax year.

    But first, a [...]
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    Posted: August 13, 2009, 9:17pm EDT

  • Adding to the Noise

    Per Maria's post, I think I'm going to go to Specter's Town Hall meeting and heckle Arlen. Of course, in order to lighten the mood and throw everyone off, I think I'm only going to shout out positive things or non sequitors.

    For example: * "HEY ARLEN!" [...]
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    Posted: August 12, 2009, 11:44pm EDT

  • A Kennywood Aside

    After the last post, I got to thinking: what would be a good name for the Roller Coaster that will be replacing the Turnpike at Kennywood?

    I think the answer is obvious: the Mon-Fayette Expressway.

    I think the Roller Coaster will have more annual riders [...]
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    Posted: August 12, 2009, 9:25pm EDT

  • Kennywood Announces Privatization of Turnpike

    (Reuters) West Mifflin, PA - General Manager Jerome Gibas announced today that Kennywood Park's 43-year old Turnpike ride will be sold to Barcelona based infrastructure firm Abertis for $12.8 billion dollars.

    "We are excited about this synergistic partnership, and we look forward to creating a new memory with" [...]
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    Posted: August 12, 2009, 8:59pm EDT

  • G-20 and Traffic

    In the P-G, Michael Fuoco posits the question "Could yesterday's traffic jam be a harbinger of G-20 problems?"

    The short answer is yes. The long answer is HOLY CRAP ON A CRACKER YES!

    If you've tried to get in touch with pretty much anyone on the' [...]
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    Posted: August 12, 2009, 8:32pm EDT

  • A Revenue Aside

    I find it interesting that people are willing to voluntarily plunk down $1.29 million to a casino, with a 10% probability of maybe, possibly being one of the very few that share the benefits of a radical wealth transfer, but that an increase of State income tax to fill [...]
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    Posted: August 11, 2009, 11:10pm EDT

  • A Haunted Specter

    I have to say, I feel bad for Arlen Specter: hated by the left wing of his current party, hated by his former party, and hated by folks who, by some miracle, manage not to soil themselves throughout the day. At a crowded community college, Mr. Specter heard from [...]
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    Posted: August 11, 2009, 10:57pm EDT

  • Casino News Cycle

    Well, when I saw this I was pretty pissed: Cyclists who endured the lengthy closure of the trail during the casino's construction were upset to learn, over the weekend, that they had to walk their bikes in front of the slots venue...

    "Many folks in the bicycle community" [...]
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    Posted: August 10, 2009, 9:31pm EDT

  • MFX IV: Mason v. Dixon

    For all of you that are looking forward to going nowhere fast, there's this: Pennsylvania, West Virginia and federal officials gathered here today to break ground on the final West Virginia section of the Mon-Fayette Expressway.

    The four-mile stretch will connect Interstate 68 outside Morgantown with the section [...]
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    Posted: August 03, 2009, 8:30pm EDT

  • USDA NOFA

    The folks at the USDA sent this NOFA to me today:

    ###

    DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
    Rural Business Cooperative Service
    Notice of Funds Availability (NOFA)
    Inviting Applications for the Federal Ornithological Wing & Leg (FOWL) Program A/K/A "Cash for Cluckers" Program for Fiscal Year 2009
    AGENCY: Rural Business [...]
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    Posted: August 03, 2009, 7:43pm EDT

  • A Bureaucrat's Aside Re: Beer

    Is it just me, or do both a Cambridge police officer and a Harvard professor have better taste in beer than the President of the United States?

    Couldn't Ambassador Rooney hook the guy up with some Iron City* or something? I mean, they have cases of it just' [...]
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    Posted: July 30, 2009, 9:11pm EDT

  • A Bureaucrat's Aside Re: Baseball

    Is there anyone left on the Pirates' roster to trade, or are we going to be trading the peanut vendors next?' [...]
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    Posted: July 30, 2009, 9:08pm EDT

  • A Bureaucrat's Observation Re: G-20 Protesting

    Pittsburgh sure has a lot of high points from which one could surreptitiously hang a giant banner, visible to the entire city.

    $10 says that come late September there's a big sign on Mt. Washington that advocates the freeing of Tibet, or something. [...]
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    Posted: July 30, 2009, 9:02pm EDT

  • Sarah Palin: Beat Poet

    "What an Absolutely Beautiful Day it Is"
    by Sarah Palin

    It is always great to be in
    Fairbanks, the rugged.
    Rugged hardy people that live up here
    And some of the most patriotic people whom you will ever know live

    Here.

    And one thing that you are [...]
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    Posted: July 28, 2009, 11:26pm EDT

  • Pittsburgh G-20 and the Unexploded Medical Device Industry

    OK, so after not being able to get back to work this afternoon because of a blood pressure cuff, I got to worrying about the upcoming G-20 thingamagigger and counter-thingamagigger.

    Now, having been a veteran of more than one protest in the past, I know that the [...]
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    Posted: July 27, 2009, 9:16pm EDT

  • A Bureaucrat's Aside Re: G-20 Beautification

    Am I the only one that thinks that the easiest way to "redd up" the City during the G-20 is to keep our local elected officials hidden away in an undisclosed location?

    I mean, I know that Government is Hollywood for ugly people, but dammmmmn!

    Although, we [...]
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    Posted: July 22, 2009, 11:22pm EDT

  • Obama Denies His Birth on the Moon was Faked by NASA

    (Reuters) Washington D.C. - Amid increasing clamor from talk radio, the White House again denied claims that the President was not born in Hawai'i but instead on a Kenyan soundstage that NASA used to fake the moon landings.

    Spokesman Robert Gibbs called the claimed "preposterous" and "barely warranted recognition".' [...]
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    Posted: July 21, 2009, 9:01pm EDT

  • A Heck of a Guy

    I've been mulling over the sudden resignation of Publics Work Director Guy Costa over the last week.

    Let me step back for a minute though. A couple months ago on NPR a high ranking Federal Official (I can't recall which) offhandedly remarked that there are two reasons why a [...]
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    Posted: July 16, 2009, 11:36pm EDT

  • An Open Letter to Luke Ravenstahl

    Hon. Luke Ravenstahl
    414 Grant Street
    Pittsburgh, PA 15219

    Dear Mr. Mayor,

    As you are undoubtedly aware, it is your responsibility, with the resignation of Ms. Heather Arnet, to appoint someone to fill the remainder of her School Board term. There are, assuredly, many people in the [...]
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    Posted: July 14, 2009, 11:12pm EDT

  • A Bureaucrat's Aside Re: Sen. Roland Burris

    It is disappointing that Sen. Roland Burris will not be seeking another term, mostly because we won't get to hear the incredibly descriptive term "Blagojevich's taint" anymore.' [...]
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    Posted: July 10, 2009, 11:13am EDT

  • A Bureaucrat's Aside Re: eGovernment

    I'm not particularly enthused about this eGovernment (or is it iGovernment?) that the Councilman from the 8th Council District is trying to push. I mean, I'm all for a handy Pittsburgh Council District Bullcrap Detector application for my Blackberry Sturm und Drang, but after reading some of the comments left [...]
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    Posted: July 10, 2009, 8:42am EDT

  • A Bureaucrat's Aside Re: Sen. Jane Orie

    If Sen. Jane Orie (R-eally Large Bangs) does, in fact, decide to run for U.S. Senate, the real loser is going to be Luke Ravenstahl. Sen. Orie has made a name for herself being (and let's be nice here) a gadfly when it comes to City of Pittsburgh Government. Running [...]
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    Posted: July 10, 2009, 8:33am EDT

  • A Bureaucrat's Aside Re: Visiting Harrisburg

    There's this story (I'm not sure if it's apocryphal or not) that Jay Ward and the geniuses behind Rocky and Bullwinkle went to the White House one day in the early 1960s with a petition to make "Moosylvania" a state. Unfortunately, the day they chose to visit was the first' [...]
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    Posted: July 07, 2009, 11:55pm EDT

  • Planning to Plan (Part the Next)

    From the P-G: The city of Pittsburgh is looking for consultants to help it plan future uses for its open spaces and preserve its historic places, officials announced today.

    Those would be the focuses of the first two chapters of what could grow into the city's first true [...]
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    Posted: July 07, 2009, 9:35pm EDT

  • On Vacant Land and Demolition

    Chris Briem inadvertently tied a couple things together for me the other morning.

    First, there's this article from the P-G, which Monsieur Briem references, regarding the hazards of landslides to property owners in the City.

    Second, there's another "woe is us" themed article [...]
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    Posted: July 06, 2009, 11:54pm EDT

  • A Bureaucrat's Aside Re: Alaskan Politics

    Given today's announcement, does anyone else think Sarah Palin's been "Hiking the Appalachian Trail"... or is she just as politically savvy as a bag of moose poop? [...]
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    Posted: July 03, 2009, 10:08pm EDT

  • A Bureaucrat's Aside Re: PA State Budget Impasse

    Do State employees get not paid double if they work today, or is that like dividing by zero? [...]
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    Posted: July 03, 2009, 7:43am EDT

  • A Bureaucrat's Aside: Furries

    You know, I have nothing against Anthrocon's yearly pilgrimage to the Burgh, however, with all the rain we've been having, several hundred wet, Furries sounds unappealing at best.

    I mean, *real* wet dog smells bad enough, but imagine the stench from a giant wet beaver. ' [...]
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    Posted: July 02, 2009, 2:07pm EDT

  • A Bureaucrat's Aside: Media Notes

    You know, if your sole source of news was the Tribune Review's website, you probably wouldn't know that Minnesota had a new Democratic Senator this morning.

    Why do I get the feeling that the Editorial Board has its fingers in its collective ears shouting "LALALALALA! If I don't know" [...]
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    Posted: July 01, 2009, 7:46am EDT

  • Addendum: A G-20 Idea

    I would just like to reiterate for the folks from the FBI, the CIA, the NSA, et al who regularly visit this site, that the previous post was satire, and I am, in no way, advocating the kidnapping and brainwashing of G-20 leaders.

    Everyone knows that the Illuminati, [...]
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    Posted: June 28, 2009, 9:38pm EDT

  • A G-20 Idea

    I did not have time to go to the G-20 Idea Roundup that was held last week. Sadly, real life intervened; although from the sound of it, no really decent, interesting, or otherwise good ideas were presented. For example:

    The city should send journalists a YouTube video showing how [...]
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    Posted: June 28, 2009, 9:03pm EDT

  • Governor's Mistress Identified

    (Reuters) Columbia, SC. - Fighting pressure to resign, new revelations emerged yesterday about the mistress of South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford and her involvement in a major international criminal organization.

    The two term Governor had apologized to his cabinet and the State for his marital infidelity, but lingering questions [...]
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    Posted: June 27, 2009, 10:58pm EDT

  • Train of Thought

    The Burgh Diaspora has a nice little post about the Amtrak high-speed rail plan and how it relates to the Burgh. Pittsburgh is increasingly isolated. The historical geography of the region lends itself to a particularly fierce form parochialism and is partly to blame for anemic in-migration. Pittsburgh desperately [...]
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    Posted: June 23, 2009, 9:30pm EDT

  • A Bureaucrat's Aside re: Politics

    Back in the late 90s early 2000s, my bureaucratic mentor the One-Eyed Fat Man, when faced with the milquetoast-eries of the upper management of the Federal Government, was fond of saying that he held no political allegiances and that his boss was the U.S. Constitution.

    I think that's' [...]
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    Posted: June 21, 2009, 5:24pm EDT
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