Sunday, November 30, 2008

Postpone Mt. Lebanon's High School Project?

Way back in September, I posted a quick note wondering whether the collapse of the financial markets meant that the Mt. Lebanon School District should reconsider its plans to renovate or rebuild Mt. Lebanon High School.

No one commented on that post, but I was hardly the only person asking that question. School Commissioner Director James Fraasch has been crunching the numbers and, more important, has been working on an alternative proposal.

Read Commissioner Director Fraasch's proposal at his blog.

His starting points:

In putting this proposal together I used some principles to guide me to my conclusion. The criteria I used were the following:

1) We need a project that does not require a 15-20% millage increase next year

2) We need to do some things immediately with the high school to ensure the safety and proper education of our students

3) Over the longer term we need to put a plan in place that will reduce debt and put us in position to tackle large scale construction projects going forward


The bottom line is that Commissioner Fraasch proposes to

(i) invest a significant amount of money in near-term capital improvement projects at the high school;

(ii) minimize near-term property tax increases, which otherwise may run in the neighborhood of 20%;

(iii) pay down some of the District's already very high debt; and

(iv) postpone a large scale renovation project for roughly ten years.

The departure from "all is well" thinking is refreshing. The plan makes sense to me.

Your thoughts?

Updated (December 3, 10:30 am): In response to a comment that questions the assumption that a significant tax increase would be called for if the School Board goes ahead with a $100-million-plus construction/renovation project, James Fraasch sent me this note:

According to the Costs slide at the July forum (which I had nothing to do with).
[http://www.mtlsd.org/highschoolrenovation/stuff/july22hspresentation-07-costs.pdf]

$225,000 house pays $65 more per month for $130,000,000 school

$65 more per month = $780 per year

$225,000 * x = $780

$780/$225,0000= .0035 or 3.5 mills

2007-2008 Millage of 23.56 plus increase of 3.5 mills equals 27.06 mills.

That is equal to a 14.9 % tax increase.

When you consider that we have been told that soft costs are not included in the $130,000,000 project and Bethel Park added 12% for cost escalations alone, the project cost for a new high school according to the July estimates would far exceed the $130,000,000 construction only cost estimate. I think in most of my presentation I state that there will be a 15-20% tax increase. In fact, the minimum tax increase for a new school according to the numbers presented at the forum would be 15%. A new school would easily fit into the 15-20% range after furniture, fixtures, equipment, and escalation costs. Mind you, this millage increase calculation is ONLY for a school project and does not take into consideration any other possible budget concerns.

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Saturday, November 29, 2008

Howard Hanna Holiday House Tour - Dec. 10

Howard Hanna Real Estate Services' 18th annual Holiday House Tour will feature six houses in Mt. Lebanon, open from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The tour includes Chinese and silent auctions, bake sale and lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. provided by Max & Erma's at the Hanna office, 607 Washington Road. Tickets are $20 in advance, $25 at the door, available at the Hanna office or area businesses. Proceeds benefit Children's Hospital Free Care Fund. Information: 412-561-7400.

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Coldwell Banker Holiday House Tour - Dec. 6

The fifth annual Holiday House Tour of six Mt. Lebanon homes is run by Coldwell Banker Real Estate's Route 19 South/Galleria office. The tour is from 9:30 a.m. to noon and is followed by an Atria's-catered luncheon with silent auction, raffle and boutiques at Bower Hill Community Church, 70 Moffett St. Tickets, $20, are available at Rollier's Hardware or the Coldwell Banker office, 1539 Washington Road. Proceeds benefit Make-A-Wish. Information: 412-344-0500.

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Friday, November 28, 2008

High School Class Rank Loses Luster

Bethel Park dumped the rankings after the experience its principal, Zeb Jansante, had as principal of Mt. Lebanon High School.

Mt. Lebanon stopped ranking students three years ago when Brown University, an Ivy League school in Providence, R.I., denied a Mt. Lebanon student a full scholarship based on his high school class rank.

"If we heard any concerns, it would have been students from the very, very top of the class," said Peter Berg, supervisor of guidance at Mt. Lebanon. "For the vast majority of students, it was a beneficial move."

Link: www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/cityregion/s_600502.html

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Thursday, November 27, 2008

Holiday Worries Local Merchants

Art is one of the first things that worried consumers cut out of their budgets, said Greg Mitchell, of Mt. Lebanon, who owns Planet Art Gallery with his wife, Linda. The store is at 632 Washington Road in Mt. Lebanon.

His business has seen a "definite downturn" the past three months compared with the same period last year, he said. The two weeks before Christmas are the store's busiest time.

Link: www.post-gazette.com/pg/08331/930667-55.stm

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Students Aim To Include Pets In Gift-Giving

In a holiday season when some folks will be struggling to buy gifts for the two-legged members of their families, Animal Friends, along with students from Mt. Lebanon High School, want to make sure that their four-legged family members find something under the tree as well.

Animal Friends kicked off its Presents for Pets program on Nov. 12, asking the public to donate new toys for dogs and cats to be distributed along with the pet food that the agency collects and provides to local food pantries via its Chow Wagon program.

Link: www.post-gazette.com/pg/08331/930732-55.stm

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Happy T-Day

Wherever and however you celebrate Thanksgiving, be happy, safe, and grateful today, for all that you have and for all of those who enable you to have it.

Giving thanks in the US:



(h/t: Gizmodo)

Giving thanks in Afghanistan:



(h/t: New York Times)

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Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Learning English

At her Center Court blog, School Commissioner Jo Posti has a provocative post up about English instruction in the public schools, and specifically about the relevance to Mt. Lebanon of a debate posted elsewhere regarding reading, literacy, and the role of English teachers:

While I attribute a great part of my and my husband's decisions to major in English in college to our experience at Mt. Lebanon, I'd love to hear how today's students feel about our current English curriculum. Today's curriculum has evolved into survey courses, introducing students to a variety of authors and genres based on a common theme rather than courses developed around a common genre. While I'm much more interested in knowing what students are learning rather than whether they enjoy it (a requisite, according to Schnog, a consequence, according to Morris), I hope there's some enjoyment, too! I look forward to the feedback.

The underlying debate focuses on the role of text and the role of what Kevin Kelly called "visuality" in last weekend's New York Times. Should students continue to be taught the basics of the former; to what extent should "visual" literacy education be part of the curriculum; what about reading and great books, and so on.

Jo's blog doesn't allow comments, so here's my feedback. My observation is that there is nothing amiss with what kids (at Mt. Lebanon, to continue the local example) are being asked to read or watch. We live in an increasingly visual society. Visual literacy *is* important. "Reading" imagery is as difficult as "reading" text; it can be taught; and it should. There are differences in kind but also differences of degree, and I don't doubt that our current teaching staff is and will continue to be up to the task of learning and teaching them.

There is much more to be said here, but I'll cut to my own personal chase:

There *is* something amiss in English education, and not just at Mt. Lebanon.

Our kids can't write. They can't write for beans.

I know this in part because I see some of the best and brightest of Mt. Lebanon (and USC, and Bethel Park, and other Pittsburgh area districts) in my classes at Pitt Law. Most of them can put nouns together with verbs. Few of them can construct a paragraph of analysis, let alone string several paragraphs together in some logical order.

When I ask whether they learned how to organize their research and prepare an outline of a paper (even a short paper, let alone a long research paper), the answer is universally "no." Diagram a sentence and learn how to use syntax to make a point? Bah. It's all pre-writing and free-writing and editing to suit.

I do not know the details of how composition is taught in Mt. Lebanon. I know what I observed with my own children, which is that they get and got well-intentioned, thoughtful guidance that did *not* focus on outlining and structure.

This is an area where pedagogy can make a difference, in part because ensuring that high school students learn the basics of literacy means that those same students can more effectively engage with advanced materials in college and beyond. Instead, they are often condemned to repeat their uncorrected errors -- or be subjected to teachers like me, who try to fix them at the last possible moment before the students are launched into the world of work.

In my own teaching, years ago I gave up offering exams to students and started assigning writing projects -- lots of writing projects. Because in law as in the rest of professional life, you need to know how to communicate effectively and how to communicate effectively in writing. With my students -- even students who have degrees in the humanities! -- I do a lot of remedial work on sentence structure, word choice, paragraphing, and outlining. I do it because no teachers did that in these students' earlier careers, and it's too important to leave entirely undone.

When I talk with English teachers and with teaching educators, I learn that "free-writing" and "pre-writing" and editing is the accepted method. Outlining and sentence structure disappeared years ago; students who learn to write today benefit from teachers who remember the old days, parents who remember the old days, and writers who involuntarily (but thankfully) serve as models to budding writers. Some people remember teachers who instilled a love of learning; I also remember teachers who taught me something concrete that I use every day. I remember the first of my teachers who taught me writing, as well as reading: Mr. McPhaul, in seventh and eighth grade English. I'm not alone in my memories or in my gratitude. One of my junior high school classmates won a Pulitzer Prize last year (for biography). If you read his book, you'll see that he, too, thanked Mr. McPhaul for teaching him not how to read, but how to write.

Update (11/26/08): I wish that I could post some of the anonymous comments that have come in, responding to this post. But I can't (see our policy on anonymous comments!). One anonymous commenter is apparently a Mt. Lebanon HS parent who is quite unhappy with poor writing instruction. A second sees irony in a law professor's critique of writing; law school allegedly aims to teach lawyers how to write poorly. (We don't teach badly; allegedly we teach bad writing.) On that second point, the anonymous critic is obviously no lawyer. Well-trained lawyers know that poor writing is the bane of the profession.

But any good writer knows the audience, and vagueness or incomprehension (or at least lack of narrative clarity) is sometimes the goal. That good writer therefore sometimes writes incomprehensibly on purpose. You don't need to stereotype lawyers to find greatness in incomprehensibility; re-read your dog-eared copy of James Joyce's Ulysses. The problem, in other words, is people who write carelessly or vaguely but who think that they are writing clearly and carefully.
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Saturday, November 22, 2008

Mt. Lebanon Library News

From our friends at the Mt. Lebanon Public Library:

A Friends’ Book Shop to Open at the Library in December
2008!

Just in time for the holidays and the long winter ahead: The Friends of the Mt. Lebanon Public Library will open the doors of a year-round used book shop on the lower level of the library on Thursday, December 4th from 6 to 8:30 pm. Please drop by! Other December opening hours will be announced at that time.

In addition to selling our wonderful used books and AV materials--in fabulous condition and at unbeatable prices--, we will offer gift certificates and some brand new items. Plan to do some holiday shopping with us! Pick up a gift certificate for the book shop as a stocking stuffer, as well as a good book or movie for someone special on your list.

Think about this… By supporting our library’s book shop, you are “going green.” Shopping locally, supporting your community, buying recycled products, and keeping more “green” in your wallet… What could be better?

If you would like to help us at the book shop, we’d love to hear from you! Simply leave your name at the Circulation Desk or send an email to booksale@mtlebanonlibrary.org.

In order for the book shop to be open to the public, we need friendly volunteers. You may work as little as one 2-hour shift per month or as often as you like. We’ll train you, too!If you would donate books, we welcome salable, good condition donations throughout the year. Just leave them downstairs and, if you need a tax receipt you can get one at the Circulation Desk.

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Thursday, November 20, 2008

Mt. Lebanon Native Wins Top Navy Honor

U.S. Navy Cmdr. Robert Emmett Smith, a Mt. Lebanon native, is one of two recipients of the 2008 Vice Admiral James Bond Stockdale Award for Inspirational Leadership.

Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Gary Roughead presented the U.S. Navy's highest leadership award to Mr. Smith on Nov. 4 in the Hall of Heroes at the Pentagon.

Link: www.post-gazette.com/pg/08325/929123-55.stm

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Blue Devil Shop

Mt. Lebanon resident Ryan Valdiserri, who owns Avete Osservato Shirts has opened an online store called the Blue Devil Shop which is dedicated to selling -- you guessed it -- Mt. Lebanon Blue Devils t-shirts! Please take some time to check out his store and help promote the home team!

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Mt. Lebanon Celebrates Work Of Dedicated Volunteers

Mt. Lebanon recognized eight people Wednesday night for volunteer work in the 17th annual "This Community Would be Different Without" awards.

"In tough economic times like these, volunteerism is going to be even more important to the community as state and federal funding for community organizations disappears," said Susan Morgans, spokeswoman for Mt. Lebanon and editor-in-chief of "MtL Magazine," which put the winners on the cover of its November issue.

Nominees are reviewed by a panel of past winners, who pick between five and 10 to win each year, Morgans said.

Link: www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/today/s_599226.html

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Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Can We Talk?

There is gnashing of teeth in Mt. Lebanon over whether all of our Commissioners pay appropriate homage to the true spirit of the town: The idea that nothing is too good or too expensive for our children's welfare. Precisely, as Commissioner Dan Miller writes, the question is whether one or more unnamed Commissioners agrees that pools and playing fields are "essential" to the community, when the question of more investment is called.

On that question, it may be the case that the comment and its implications can be understood in different ways. If Raja is the Commissioner-to-be-named-later, then his explanation of the comment is plausible. Our kids and the town's spirit are intact; it's our budget that can't afford the extra cost.

Looking at the mini-brouhaha in this narrow light means that we can continue avoid talking seriously about some of the more challenging tradeoffs implicated in the current budget round. Mt. Lebanon developed its "no expense is too great for the well-being of its pampered citizens" reputation in an era of apparently unlimited resources -- including ever-expanding access to bond markets. When the budget gets better, things will be well again.

Look again and look more broadly. The party is over. Do not take Raja's explanation to mean that we can build new fields when the flow of money resumes. Take Raja's explanation to mean that the era of serious tradeoffs has begun. It is likely that never again will this town -- or this country -- have all of the resources that it needs in order to do and to buy all of the things that it wants. We cannot have the best of everything for ourselves or for our children.

To make this concrete, and for discussion, and not as a recommendation, consider some very specific and very difficult questions:

Does Mt. Lebanon need all of the full-time police officers and all of the full-time firefighters that we currently employ?

I love our public safety departments. They are, in my experience, great people, well-trained, dedicated, and responsive to a fault. They are also very, very expensive. (There is a standing joke in my neighborhood in which folks stand around wondering when the Mt. Lebanon Police Department will buy a helicopter.) Not long ago I poked around the Internet to see whether there are any established standards for measuring the size of public safety departments relative to community population. There are. It turns out that Mt. Lebanon is within national norms, both as to police and as to fire.

But the statistics are misleading, and they are only a beginning of an analysis. They do not conclude it. Police and fire departments should be considered separately.

On the police department side, Mt. Lebanon is a very, very safe community, with a very low crime rate. However, once in a great while, something traumatic and catastrophic happens in Mt. Lebanon. A police department is a kind of insurance policy: We pay a high premium so that when the metaphoric hurricane hits, we're prepared. For the little stuff -- traffic control, drug education in the schools -- we like the services a lot, but we don't necessarily need every last bit of them. We could reduce our premiums -- pay for fewer police department resources and use that money elsewhere -- and arrange for different kinds of protection in the event of a metaphoric hurricane. For the smaller scale, shorter term, less traumatic neighborhood-level issues, things like Neighborhood Watch programs could make up some of the shortfall.

On the fire department side, Mt. Lebanon is like much of Pittsburgh: filled with very old homes that present unusual risks. Neighborhood Watch programs aren't as effective; it is more difficult for many people to see and respond on their own to the kinds of risks that these homes create. Still, it is worth wondering out loud whether Mt. Lebanon and neighboring communities collaborate on capital investments, staff, and training to the maximum extent that they might. Mt. Lebanon is very proud of the fact that we have a "real" firefighting force, supplemented by a collection of well-trained volunteers. With fewer paid professionals, more volunteers, and especially more collaboration with neighboring communities, could we have the same level of security without spending as much money? It is a conversation worth having.

Public safety is something of a sacred cow, which is why I lead off with it. Get the difficult stuff out on the table first. If that's not your cup of tea, then how about some lower hanging fruit:

How much money does Mt. Lebanon Public Works pay for leaf-sucking? The cost of the vacuum devices and the cost of the staff may be sunk, so it may be that the marginal cost of leaf pick-up every Fall is fairly small. But it is surely a luxury, and the town wouldn't be different without it.

Likewise, the fact that we have unlimited sidewalk garbage disposal (as many cans, boxes, and sofas as you can throw away in a given week) is both fiscally luxurious and environmentally wasteful. If you really want Mt. Lebanon to get Kermit's seal of approval ("It isn't easy being green"), then the next garbage disposal contract should limit each household to a single can of trash per week. Sofas and extra cans cost more.

To reiterate: These are public conversation starters. There are other things that you might prefer to raise; go ahead, in the comments. I'm confident that the Commissioners and the Municipality staff have long been involved in comparable discussions. It's time that the town talked about them too, and in public.

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Officials Want Solution To Keep Tax Rate Steady

Officials in Mt. Lebanon are trying to find creative solutions to make up for dwindling revenues, but some residents are unhappy with the budget cuts recommended by municipal administration.

If commissioners in Mt. Lebanon on Dec. 15 approve the proposed 2009 budget, the municipality will be one of few in the South Hills which holds the line on taxes.

Both Bethel Park and Upper St. Clair have already announced property tax hikes as high as 30 percent for 2009.

Link: www.thealmanac.net/ALM/Story/11-19-ML-budget-issues-B

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Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Raja Comments on McNeilly Property and 2009 Budget

1st Ward Commissioner Raja has published two new postings on his blog regarding selling the McNeilly property and the 2009 budget.

Link: www.joinraja.com/2008/11/17/selling-mcneilly-to-fund-mellon-turfinglighting

Link: www.joinraja.com/2008/11/17/increasing-revenue-to-mt-lebanon-with-zoning-changes/

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Saturday, November 15, 2008

Fields and Pools Update

5th Ward Commissioner Dan Miller has published a lengthy post on his web site regarding the proposed improvements to our athletic facilities and pools.

Link: www.danmillerward5.com/commissioner-miller-fields-and-pool-update

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District Poised To OK Stadium Lighting Change

With "green" as the badge of progress, Mt. Lebanon School District will take a step ahead of Upper St. Clair and install energy efficient lighting at the high school stadium. The new lighting, which will come on in the off hours when there are no school events scheduled, will save taxpayers about $5,000 a year. Mt. Lebanon presently has a full complement of lights on at the stadium until 6 a.m. According to data provided by Mt. Lebanon's administration, lighting at the stadium alone is burning 51,000 kilowatt hours per year.

Link: www.thealmanac.net/ALM/Story/11-12-ML-USC-conserve-power-B

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Friday, November 14, 2008

Groups Appeal For Restored Funds

Mt. Lebanon businesses and community organizations asked the Board of Commissioners Monday to restore funding for their groups and uptown events in the 2009 budget, fearing many would collapse without the public share.

Municipal Manager Stephen Feller cut the town investment in most community groups and events to balance the proposed budget without raising taxes or cutting emergency services and garbage collection.

Link: www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/cityregion/s_598095.html

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School Board Sets New Timeline For Renovation/Building Options

The Mt. Lebanon school board has set a new timeline for sharing information and making decisions on the district's high school renovation/construction project.

A community forum with information about the five options for the high school and updated cost estimates will be held at 7 p.m. Jan. 14 in the high school auditorium.

That meeting will be followed by a series of three other community meetings, Jan. 20 at Markham Elementary, Jan. 21 at Howe Elementary and Jan 22 at Jefferson Middle School, all starting at 7 p.m., said school director Elaine Cappucci, co-chair of the board's high school renovation committee.

Link: www.post-gazette.com/pg/08318/927324-55.stm

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Canine CPR Taught By MRTSA

When it comes to pets, "mouth-to-snout" resuscitation saves lives. Medical Rescue Team South Authority (MRTSA) in Mt. Lebanon is offering once-a-month sessions on canine CPR that also cover the basics of first aid for dogs.

The classes, which run about 2 1/2 hours, are standalone events offered by Steve Kiray, a search-and-rescue expert and dog trainer. Joining him is Rick Weisner of Castle Shannon, who also works in search-and-rescue as well as serving as full-time Emergency Medical Technician and firefighter in Castle Shannon.

Link: www.post-gazette.com/pg/08318/927323-55.stm

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Mt. Lebanon Ponders Budget Cuts

Distinguishing among what the people of Mt. Lebanon want, what they need and what they can afford is the task at hand for municipal Manager Stephen Feller.

At a commissioners meeting Monday, residents were given the first of two public opportunities to state their suggestions and complaints about Mr. Feller's 2009 proposed operating budget of $45.7 million, which has been available for review since Nov. 1.

Many in the standing-room-only crowd had much to say.

Link: www.post-gazette.com/pg/08318/927364-55.stm

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Thursday, November 13, 2008

Thoughts on the Proposed Lebo Budget

I haven't had time to read the proposed 2009 Mt. Lebanon budget, but voices of concern and opposition make it clear that the municipality proposes not to pay for or to cut a number of programs that the community has come to expect and value.

The question isn't only whether those programs will continue to be supported.

The question is also who will support them and how.

By supporting these programs through the budget, the message is that all of the taxpayers of Mt. Lebanon will bear some of the cost. If you want this money to go back into the budget, then at least one of two things will have to happen: Either some programs that you don't favor will get cut to pay for the ones that you do, or your taxes will go up. Everyone's taxes will go up.

By not supporting these programs through the budget, the message is that those who promote, produce, and value the programs need to find resources themselves, by fundraising, grants, volunteer labor, and other sources. You get what you pay for, in other words, with an emphasis on the "you." Customers, consumers, and other Mt. Lebanon residents will have to open their wallets and find time in their schedules to make direct contributions, rather than passively investing via their tax payments. There is no such thing as a free lunch.

Will this work? I don't know. I have no opinion to share regarding any specific program or budget cut. But the money has to come from somewhere. One way to see the choice is between money that comes involuntarily from all of us, and money that comes voluntary from a few of us. As the commercial says, "What's in your wallet?"

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Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Groups Decry Budget Cuts In Mt. Lebanon

Mt. Lebanon's proposed 2009 budget would cut funding for several community activities and organizations as well as five municipal staff positions.

At a public hearing Nov. 10, stakeholders in programs with funding on the cutting block, such as the Historical Society, Teen Center, First Fridays, and tennis tournaments, made their voices heard.

"I am desperate for funding," said Margaret Jackson, president of the Historical Society of Mount Lebanon. Its $5,000 request from the municipality for 2009, the same amount received last year, was rejected.

Link: www.thealmanac.net/ALM/Story/11-12-ML-NEW-budget-story-B

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Businesses Help Family Hospice

Three local business owners are helping others to get into the spirit of giving. Vicki Hauptmann, owner of Jake's Java, Peters Township, Rachel Reynolds of Cookies By Rachel, Bethel Park, and Tom Allen of A Taste of Chocolate, Collier Township, will host an open house with coffee, cookies, biscotti and chocolate at Mt. Lebanon's Light Up Night on Nov. 20.

The open house will be held from 5 to 10 p.m. at Discover Organizing, 672 Washington Road, in Mt. Lebanon's business district.

Link: www.thealmanac.net/ALM/Story/11-12-ML-Light-Up-Night-pix-must

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Grant Will Support Denis Theatre project

The Denis Theatre Foundation received its first six-figure gift for the extensive $3 million renovation and planned re-opening of the Mt. Lebanon landmark as an independent film house and community cultural center.

Anne Kemerer, the foundation's executive director, announced the $100,000 gift, given by David and Donna Gerson of Mt. Lebanon, at an Oct. 29 event celebrating the upcoming start of the 27th annual 3 Rivers Film Festival. The Denis will serve as a South Hills venue for the festival's two-week, city-wide film series.

Link: www.thealmanac.net/ALM/Story/11-12-ML-Denis-theatre-grant-w-pic

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Sunday, November 09, 2008

Conservancy Chapter Thinks Big

The Nature Conservancy's fight for worldwide conservation and protection of natural resources has brought changes to Mt. Lebanon. But not the environmental kind.

The local branch of the non-profit organization has hired Roy Lenhardt as associate director of philanthropy, and Amanda Cherry as senior donor relations manager in the conservancy's office. They have an audacious task: raise $5 billion dollars by 2015.

Link: www.post-gazette.com/pg/08314/926231-140.stm

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Friday, November 07, 2008

Suspect Accused In Mt. Lebo Mugging Arrested

Police in Mount Lebanon arrested a man on Thursday who is accused of mugging an elderly woman last month. Police said an 84-year-old woman was walking along Washington Road last month when someone snatched her purse.

Investigators said they found a phone at the crime scene with an outgoing text message saying, "I'm ready to grab some old lady's purse." Police said the phone belonged to Nicholas Greenly, who faces several charges, including theft and solicitation.

Link: www.wpxi.com/news/17925634/detail.html

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Mt. Lebanon Needs Pittsburgh

Buried in yesterday's Post-Gazette story about an inter-governmental cooperation meeting in Oakland ("City tries to link with 35 close neighbors") was this quotation:

Mr. Miller, who spurred the meeting, offers the idea that the city and its neighbors -- from tiny Ingram in the west to big Penn Hills in the east -- may have areas of interest that differ from some of their farther-flung suburbs.

"What happens to the city of Pittsburgh is a lot more important to Mt. Lebanon than what happens in Upper St. Clair," he said. Public safety and traffic problems know no borders, and the core communities have more of a stake in services like Port Authority transit than do most of the county's other municipalities.


The speaker was David Miller, director of the Innovation Clinic at the University of Pittsburgh's Graduate School of Public and International Affairs, who convened the meeting.

There are fewer and fewer reasons these days to read the Post-Gazette (and that's too bad), but this was a good story, and Mr. Miller is on to something important.

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Thursday, November 06, 2008

Smith Coasts To Easy Win in 42nd District

It was an early night in the race for District 42 seat in the state House of Representatives. Freshman incumbent Matt Smith of Mt. Lebanon, 36, took the election with roughly 65 percent of the vote over challenger Jim Blazeck, according to unofficial results.

"By 9:30, 10 o'clock it was obvious Matt had won. I called him and congratulated him, then I just went home after that," said Mr. Blazeck, 56, of Mt. Lebanon.

Link: www.post-gazette.com/pg/08311/925740-57.stm

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How Lebo Voted For President

According to the Allegheny County web site, Mt. Lebanon as a whole voted for Barack Obama. School board member James Fraasch has taken the time once again to break down the votes by ward and by district.

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Tuesday, November 04, 2008

2009 Manager's Recommended Budget

Municipal Manager Stephen Feller has published his 2009 Manager's Recommended Budget which is now viewable on the official Mt. Lebanon web site. Some particular items of note:

  • No reduction in fire or police personnel.
  • 5 full time positions will be eliminated -- two police record clerks, one golf course maintenance position, one public works laborer and one recreation center assistant manager.
  • Funding will be cut for the following community activities -- Summer Concert Series ($17,270), First Fridays ($16,190), Farmers Market ($4,130) and parades ($14,640), West Penn Tournament ($2,000) and other community special events ($4,320) for a total of $58,550. According to the budget, "Staff will need to work with volunteers, the business community and other to try to keep essential events solvent.
  • The deer management program will be eliminated at a savings of $60,000.
  • Discontinuation of alarm receiving and covering of non-emergency police phone calls. This will be done by the elimination of the two full time clerks mentioned above as well as the reduction of part time hours. Residents that have used the municipal alarm service will have 60 days to find a new private firm.

Please take the time to review the proposed budget and voice your concerns to your respective commissioner. Make your voice heard regarding the direction of our community!

Link: www.mtlebanon.org/DocumentView.asp?DID=2695

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How Mt. Lebanon Voted For President in 2004

School Board member James Fraasch did some research and posted a map of the 5 wards and how each one voted in the 2004 presidential elections.

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Sunday, November 02, 2008

Senator Hillary Clinton To Visit Mt. Lebanon

Senator Hillary Clinton will be visiting the Mt. Lebanon field office of Barack Obama for President on Monday, November 3 at 9:30 AM as part of a "Get Out The Vote" event which will be followed by canvassing of the South Hills.

Link: techandpolitics.blogspot.com/2008/11/hillary-clinton-to-kick-off-last-two.html

Link: www.postgazette.com/pg/08308/925008-100.stm

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Hue and Cry

More sign shenanigans in Mt. Lebanon: Signs stolen, signs defaced. Undoubtedly Obama and McCain supporters are both to blame. What a town this is.

Sign theft and sign defacement is shameful. The people who take the signs and those who deface them are cretinous thugs.

But.

The problem with sign theft and sign defacement is *not* that it is theft of private property, or that it is vandalism. It is both of those, but in the scheme of things, those sins are relatively minor. If you paid for a sign, you didn't pay much, and after the election, most people will throw the signs away anyway. I've heard people invite sign theft: steal my sign, and I'll buy another. More money for my candidate! Thanks!

The *real* problem with sign damage is that it deprives the sign owner of the one single thing that Americans have and prize in greater quantities than do the citizens of any other country: voice in the political process. Those signs represent our speech, and they represent the most important speech we have: political speech. Signage is citizenry, on a massive and important scale.

Regarding speech, sign theft is bullying and intimidation, cowardly (like all bullying) and fundamentally anti-American. Not just un-American, but anti-American. All victims of sign theft can weep for their lost property, but they should really cry over the implicit message directed their way: You tried to speak, and you were told "no." If the police catch the perpetrators, the district justice should sentence them to democracy training: 30 days to read and report on The Federalist Papers.

On Tuesday, whoever you support, speak out. Use signs, buttons, t-shirts, bumper stickers, and above all your vote. Make yours count.

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Lebo Girls Win 6th Soccer Title

Senior attacking midfielder Sam Kovarik scored two goals to pace Mt. Lebanon to its sixth WPIAL girls soccer championship with a 3-2 victory over Peters Township on Saturday at Elizabeth Forward.

"All along, I've been telling them they're a great team because everybody knows their roles," Mt. Lebanon first-year coach Jeff Holliday said.

"I've said it all year, and I'll say it again: In order to be collectively successful, everybody must be individually effective."

Link: www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/s_596458.html

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Saturday, November 01, 2008

Lebo Couple Exemplifies Election Gender Gap

Before even entering, passersby can tell that the Grandinetti house in Mt. Lebanon, Pa., is a divided one. Signs dotting the front lawn proclaim support for both John McCain and Barack Obama.

"We are the Grand Canyon of differences here," Nick Grandinetti said of his wife, Donna, and him. "There is no common ground that I can think of [that] Donna and I have in this election."

Nick Grandinetti supports McCain and Donna Grandinetti supports Obama. The Grandinettis illustrate a national trend: Women are more likely to be Democratic and men are more likely to be Republican.

Link: abcnews.go.com/GMA/Politics/story?id=6154232&page=1

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