tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1320438766855852970.comments2023-09-05T02:12:57.445-04:00The Busman's HolidayBob Mayohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15284393139608821650noreply@blogger.comBlogger693125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1320438766855852970.post-42028943559545022002013-05-24T11:52:45.403-04:002013-05-24T11:52:45.403-04:00Run Darlene RunRun Darlene RunHugh MaGoughnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1320438766855852970.post-42919968745518173692013-02-26T16:15:54.122-05:002013-02-26T16:15:54.122-05:00The paramedics run ~60000 calls per year. Fire goe...The paramedics run ~60000 calls per year. Fire goes to less than 30000 and half of those are EMS calls, check their stats, they're online. No other EMS agency in this county runs nearly that many calls. If you or Luke or Huss honestly think that any agency can just step up and handle that call volume they are insane. As far as mutual aid goes, the times an outside agency comes to pittsburgh is only a few per week. Not 160 times/day. No agency/municipality is going to allow their areas to be stripped of coverage in order to handle the call volume of the city of pittsburgh. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1320438766855852970.post-76442387110077138672012-10-16T16:14:59.601-04:002012-10-16T16:14:59.601-04:00Sure! This is my read on it:
http://pghcomet.blog...Sure! This is my read on it:<br /><br /><a href="http://pghcomet.blogspot.com/2012/09/marcellus-playbook-zone-baby-zone.html" rel="nofollow">http://pghcomet.blogspot.com/2012/09/marcellus-playbook-zone-baby-zone.html</a><br /><br />And here is an example of the sort of opposition Dowd's legislation is engendering. It includes a 90-minute video of the Councilman defending his legislation to constituents.<br /><br /><a href="http://cornmaiden.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=eco&action=display&thread=136&page=1" rel="nofollow">http://cornmaiden.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=eco&action=display&thread=136&page=1</a><br /><br />And I should really say, welcome back.Bram Reichbaumhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05620172942925293407noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1320438766855852970.post-5584371064580789412012-10-16T11:40:38.883-04:002012-10-16T11:40:38.883-04:00Agreed, Bram. That's why I used the "lan...Agreed, Bram. That's why I used the "landed on their desks" metaphor. It was an opportunity to link to Chis Potter's story and Shields' comments also posted at the City Paper link.<br />You've been posting on this topic recently; care to share some links here?<br /><br />Bob Mayohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15284393139608821650noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1320438766855852970.post-21563240429527230282012-10-16T11:27:14.104-04:002012-10-16T11:27:14.104-04:00The day things get "read" at the Plannin...The day things get "read" at the Planning Commission is just that -- in fact, they read the title and number. Discussion and deliberation could begin in a couple of weeks (or also could not).Bram Reichbaumhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05620172942925293407noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1320438766855852970.post-70410672151360379892010-11-08T21:48:40.729-05:002010-11-08T21:48:40.729-05:00All I have to say is wait until election day....th...All I have to say is wait until election day....there are going to be some very unhappy council members.....Parking really thats all thats going up??? Who cares......He should stand by the unions, they are the ones that are protecting this city.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1320438766855852970.post-73471870958771880292010-11-08T14:58:44.976-05:002010-11-08T14:58:44.976-05:00When is the issue of reducing pensions or having a...When is the issue of reducing pensions or having a 401K going to be addressed. Selling off Public assets to benefit a few is absoltely ridiculous. It appears the "Boy" Mayor is afraid of the Fire, police, unions. Time to face the harsh realities, the good old days are long gone. Time to pay the piper.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1320438766855852970.post-57007329398048332922010-03-01T11:26:14.965-05:002010-03-01T11:26:14.965-05:00I love Doven's snippy assumption that someone ...I love Doven's snippy assumption that someone on council has a "concern". Typical yinzer attitude: "Somebody's doin' it to us again!" Very unprofessional.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1320438766855852970.post-57568638577014531082010-03-01T11:23:05.266-05:002010-03-01T11:23:05.266-05:00Similarly, why does Public Safety have its own dro...Similarly, why does Public Safety have its own drop down menu? Isn't it a Department?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1320438766855852970.post-3611032540159533452010-02-25T13:52:27.062-05:002010-02-25T13:52:27.062-05:00Where is the pointer to the Motznik blog now?Where is the pointer to the Motznik blog now?Mark Rauterkushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17157914569686528007noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1320438766855852970.post-65860531197213760362010-02-24T02:16:46.545-05:002010-02-24T02:16:46.545-05:00Who cares? Isn't this being a little hypersens...Who cares? Isn't this being a little hypersensitive?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1320438766855852970.post-80738782446891877852010-02-23T12:23:38.750-05:002010-02-23T12:23:38.750-05:00Actually it appears the site has changed again, an...Actually it appears the site has changed again, and now has City Council on the top menu. <br /><br />If I were you, I would take all the credit.EdHeathhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09109361235271107574noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1320438766855852970.post-31273776462573066622010-02-18T19:39:20.100-05:002010-02-18T19:39:20.100-05:00Mayor Ravenstahl has become an embarrassment to ou...Mayor Ravenstahl has become an embarrassment to our city. Apart from his lack of accessibility, poor forward planning, including but certainly not limited to snow plowing, apparent "coziness" with certain businessmen that will expect something in return for their support and accommodations, lack of common sense in attempting to tax students, etc. etc., his recent testiness to reporters (underwear, socks) speaks to his overall lack of class.<br /><br />Luke, time to be gone - voluntarily or otherwise!Better Gvmtnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1320438766855852970.post-71276023402842624632010-02-16T13:06:48.800-05:002010-02-16T13:06:48.800-05:00Yeah, what anonymous said.
No, those were absolu...Yeah, what anonymous said. <br /><br />No, those were absolutely valid points (s)he made. I have never been to Philly or Baltimore, but they do seem like they are of our approximate age and there fore have similar streets. Boston would be another one. And we could certainly look at Buffalo, Ithaca, Rochester and even places like Burlington to see what cities that get *more* snow do. The cities we look at do not have to match us exactly in geography, age and snowfall. <br /><br />I didn't see your report, so I don't know what all you asked Kaczorowski. But from what you posted, it seems like there are answers screaming for a follow up. For example, "RouteSmart at that point, wasn't all that useful to us." What does that mean? How was the software not useful? Did it look at the number of plows and advise the user to call in the National Guard? Was the software not able to accept crucial parameters like the locations of important elected officials (excluding Peduto, Shields and Kraus) and important party committee-persons? Next, "the part of the legwork we did took us about two years"??? Ok, the City tasked two people for the "war on snow"? That seems more like a "mild dislike of, timidly expressed so as not to annoy, snow". Two people, working for two years? What were they doing, using a ruler to measure curbs every foot of every block of street? Did the dog grab their work and they had to chase him for a year? Did the one armed man kill Dr Richard Kimble's hamster ... you get the idea. <br /><br />The really insulting thing is that even though the Mayor is blowing a fair amount of hot air over this, he would answer your questions and will do nothing concrete to make sure this doesn't happen again. That's because he just won a re-election (relatively recently) and doesn't have to worry about this hurting him.EdHeathhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09109361235271107574noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1320438766855852970.post-11369425980833742412010-02-16T10:38:31.958-05:002010-02-16T10:38:31.958-05:00That is classic. One lame, even dismissive, excuse...That is classic. One lame, even dismissive, excuse after another for why a city department couldn't do what it is supposed to do, or what it promised to do. <br /><br />They found that in the 1970s--1970s!--plows on garbage trucks caused problems?! Then why didn't somebody tell the mayor that before he said in 2008 that they would do that?<br /><br />They couldn't find any city with comparable geography? Bull. Philly has steep hills, so does Baltimore. Even Cleveland has hills for goodness sake. Yeah, no city is exactly like any other city, but try, just try at least, to find some commonalities that might help improve things here at home. But no. Instead, give a stupid answer that you know is stupid and is essentially the same as saying, "Shove it. We do what we want and if you don't like it, shut up."<br /><br />It's kind of along the lines of the buck passing excuse that local public officials often employ--oh, councilman X can't do that, public safety has to sign off, oh, public safety can't do it, that's DPW's job, oh, DPW can't do it cause of state laws, oh, if the mayor signs off it will get done, oh, the mayor can't get in involved, call your councilperson ...<br /><br />And so it goes.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1320438766855852970.post-23885806413728863072010-01-22T05:20:57.927-05:002010-01-22T05:20:57.927-05:00Burgher Jon, I can't speak for other reporters...Burgher Jon, I can't speak for other reporters, but I know that by necessity my TV stories on Monday focused on the breaking news of the flight and it's status, not the back story of the efforts of the previous days.<br /><br />I quoted Mary Beth Buchanan's statement -- which Bram e-mailed on her behalf -- in the live close to my 6pm story on Monday. Earlier that day, I'd tried to arrange to interview Buchanan, e-mailing her that morning. She e-mailed back that she would call me shortly but she didn't do so, despite my followup attempt to reach her. Her written statement to all media followed later in the afternoon.<br /><br />Congressman Altmire's aide Tess Mullen was tightlipped throughout the day. In response to my repeated e-mails and calls Monday morning, she would say only -- in general terms -- that the congressman was working on the issue of helping the orphans. She refused to confirm or comment on the existence of any flight to Haiti, even in the face of reports that Altmire was sighted at Pittsburgh International Airport.<br /><br />All Monday morning and through most of that afternoon, Rendell's press secretary Gary Tuma and UPMC's VP of public relations Paul Wood each refused comment and would not confirm the flight. Tuma's eventual confirmation did not come until 3:17pm Monday and is detailed in my post here. At that point it was the only official word on the existence of the flight and became the primary source for details.<br /><br />My first confimation of the flight came not from government sources, but from people connected with the medical personnel on board. Virginia's most recent blogs posts and her tweets at the time on Monday made clear she was choosing -- apparently by necessity or by request -- to be off the radar for the story of the flight in progress.<br /><br />I think the statement from the McMutrie family that Virginia released on their behalf late last night addresses their view of the dovetailing of efforts on their behalf. I hope this answers your questions. Sorry for the delay in getting back to you.<br /><br />BobBob Mayohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15284393139608821650noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1320438766855852970.post-218342156035291622010-01-19T15:59:32.741-05:002010-01-19T15:59:32.741-05:00I had noted the lack of any mention nationally or ...I had noted the lack of any mention nationally or locally of MBB, Virginia or Bram. Do you have any speculation why they would be left out?<br /><br />Was the effort of the governor truly seperate? The result of a call for help directly from the McCultrie's to the governor?Burgher Jonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02769535812529539535noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1320438766855852970.post-68401389290570922132010-01-14T12:50:24.055-05:002010-01-14T12:50:24.055-05:00I think Lavelle's choice on this has long-term...I think Lavelle's choice on this has long-term consequences for him (http://bit.ly/57OtVY). His belated sign-on as co-sponsor for the prevailing wage, however, is a sign he's either attempting rapprochement or he can simply see which way the political wind is blowing.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1320438766855852970.post-91208083629232643872010-01-04T09:20:41.975-05:002010-01-04T09:20:41.975-05:00Kraus needs to stay right where he is -- and nothi...Kraus needs to stay right where he is -- and nothing more. He should stay with Public Safety Committee, where he is buffered the most.Mark Rauterkushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17157914569686528007noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1320438766855852970.post-71788682122243861882010-01-04T09:20:14.012-05:002010-01-04T09:20:14.012-05:00This comment has been removed by the author.Mark Rauterkushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17157914569686528007noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1320438766855852970.post-88340463492091305802010-01-03T21:27:01.841-05:002010-01-03T21:27:01.841-05:00I agree that Lavelle is key here. I wonder if Krau...I agree that Lavelle is key here. I wonder if Kraus is still a possible compromise?EdHeathhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09109361235271107574noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1320438766855852970.post-48715057706460634752010-01-03T18:18:30.928-05:002010-01-03T18:18:30.928-05:00Lavelle stood before the voters. He is on day 1. B...Lavelle stood before the voters. He is on day 1. But, the OVERLORDS rule the city and are on their 800th day ZERO as they have never stood before the voters. But, who's counting? How long have the overlords been here?Mark Rauterkushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17157914569686528007noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1320438766855852970.post-32516536996731627142010-01-03T15:28:00.800-05:002010-01-03T15:28:00.800-05:00No indication on that, Bram.No indication on that, Bram.Bob Mayohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15284393139608821650noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1320438766855852970.post-18783753055661764132010-01-03T15:00:12.259-05:002010-01-03T15:00:12.259-05:00Would I be correct in surmising that the Harris ca...Would I be correct in surmising that the Harris candidacy is Team Peduto's attempt to stave off a total loss?Bram Reichbaumhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05620172942925293407noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1320438766855852970.post-13225542578649817142010-01-02T18:55:03.229-05:002010-01-02T18:55:03.229-05:00Law or no law, it's dismaying to see Councilma...Law or no law, it's dismaying to see Councilman Dowd treating this as a big game, talking about maneuvers and whatnot. Politics may be about tactics but governing isn't, or shouldn't be. Clearly Patrick doesn't understand the difference. I'm sorry now that I supported his bid for mayor. For him to start throwing around high-handed rhetoric about fascists (misusing the concept as badly as the dimwit Tea Partiers) is just ridiculous and his behavior in council chambers was juvenile and unseemly. He owes the people of the city and his council colleagues a sincere and swift apology but I won't hold my breath.Amadihttp://twitter.com/amaditalksnoreply@blogger.com