Boys Lose WPIAL Basketball Championship

Peters Township collected the first-ever WPIAL boys' basketball championship in its school history with a 60-54 win against Mt. Lebanon tonight at Duquesne University's A.J. Palumbo Center in the Class AAAA title game.

Peters Township (23-2) was led in scoring by Craig Wolcott, who scored 20 points. Peters Township led, 28-21 at halftime and 35-30 at the end of the third quarter.

The teams --- both members of Section 4 --- spilt two regular season meetings.

Link: www.postgazette.com/pg/09059/952494-100.stm

Link: www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/breaking/s_613960.html

Lebo School Superintendent on the Way Out the Door?

Mt. Lebanon Schools Superintendent John Allison has applied for another job -- in Kansas.

According to a story in yesterday's Wichita (Kansas) Eagle,

Wichita school board members this afternoon named two finalists for the superintendent position: Denise Wren, the district's assistant superintendent for high schools, and John Allison, superintendent of the Mount Lebanon school system in Pennsylvania.

No one should begrudge anyone the right to think about what's best for him, his career, and his family. Wichita is a bigger pond than Mt. Lebanon. It may be a terrific place to live. But Dr. Mr. Allison arrived in Mt. Lebanon less than two years ago, and the middle of a major review of a renovation project is an odd time to be looking around for other options. The Mt. Lebanon School Board can't be looking forward to yet another search for a superintendent.

I've never had much directly to do with him, but when I've met him I've found Dr. Mr. Allison to be likable and professional. Is this a case of an accomplished educator looking for a bigger stage? Or is there a back story here?

Link to the Wichita story

Link to Post-Gazette article

Update The post went up at around 9:15 am EST; it's now about 10:15 am EST, and in my In box I received a copy of an email that Dr. Allison circulated yesterday to the School District staff. In that message, he noted that a headhunter had reached out to him regarding the Wichita opportunity, and he expressed his desire to be closer to his parents and family in Kansas.

Another update I am advised that John Allison has not received his doctorate. I've changed the post accordingly.

Mt. Lebanon Girls Basketball Rolls Into Final

Underdog Oakland Catholic kissed its chances for an upset good-bye when its top player -- senior guard Colleen Kiss -- was held to four points in last night's WPIAL Class AAAA semifinals against top-seeded Mt. Lebanon.

The unbeaten Blue Devils (25-0) rolled to a resounding 49-32 victory against the Eagles (17-8) at Chartiers Valley. Mt. Lebanon coach Dori Oldaker believes an unblemished record is not a burden to carry through the playoffs.

"It's not pressure," she said. "We don't think about it because right now we think about getting a banner on our gym wall. So it doesn't matter what our loss total is. We're just thinking about that banner."

Link: www.post-gazette.com/pg/09057/951817-361.stm

Link: www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/s_613611.html

Studying Speed Bumps In Mapleton Corridor

Commissioners decided Monday to have engineers pursue further study of the installation of speed humps in the Mapleton corridor. This was the mildest of three options considered; others included adding no-turn signs and diverting traffic.

"The majority of the commission approved what we considered to be the less restrictive measure," Commissioner Dan Miller said. "I was just pleased we've made some progress in this. It's a very difficult and sensitive issue."

The commission also agreed to re-evaluate a traffic calming policy that had been established four years ago.

Link: www.post-gazette.com/pg/09057/951708-55.stm

South Hills Communities Hope To Hasten Traffic Flow

Driving through the South Hills could get easier as four communities seek money to synchronize traffic signals and relieve stop-and-go crawl along Route 19.

Mt. Lebanon, Bethel Park, Upper St. Clair and Peters are chipping in a combined $71,000 for the $355,000 project, seeking the rest in federal money distributed by the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission, said Mt. Lebanon Municipal Manager Stephen Feller.

The municipalities will contribute to the project according to how many traffic lights have to be upgraded or reprogrammed within their borders. Mt. Lebanon has budgeted $35,000; Bethel Park, $2,500; Upper St. Clair, $12,500; and Peters, $21,000.

Link: www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/s_613224.html

Steal, Free Throw Lift Mt. Lebanon

Years from now, Luke Hagy's scoreline won't be impressive from last night's WPIAL Class AAAA semifinal. A Mt. Lebanon freshman guard, Hagy had just three points; a layup in the first quarter and a late-game free throw.

But there was more to his performance -- plenty more. Hagy had seven assists and three steals, two of those coming in the final 28.8 seconds, to seal a 36-35 victory for Mt. Lebanon (21-4) against North Hills (17-8) at Chartiers Valley.

Link: www.post-gazette.com/pg/09057/951818-361.stm

Commissioners Approve Amended Plans For Hotel

Commissioners in Mt. Lebanon approved amended plans for a 108-room, seven story SpringHill Suites hotel located on property owned by the Mt. Lebanon Parking Authority (MLPA).

Commissioners on Feb. 23 approved the developer's plans which include more municipal zoning waivers for parking spaces and landscaping at the site. The property is located between 607 and 615 Washington Road. The proposed building also exceeds the maximum 80 percent lot coverage by 2,039 square feet (10 percent) and exceeds the maximum building coverage by 5,794 square feet (32 percent).

The developer, Mt. Lebanon Hospitality Suites, sharing a partnership with Kratsa Properties of Harmar, went to court to overturn a rejection earlier plans by the Mt. Lebanon Zoning Board. The court sided with the developer.

UPDATE: 5th Ward Commissioner Dan Miller contacted us and asked if we could post this correction:

Mt. Lebanon neighbors-

I think it's great that we in Mt. Lebanon are lucky enough to have a publication like the Almanac that brings us so much local news coverage. I definitely appreciate their coverage on the Washington Road hotel project which I believe will be the cornerstone our main business district needs.

I did want to point out one item in the article that may be confusing- and I will gladly take the fault for the inaccuracy.

The original time frame that I heard for the grand opening of the hotel was for December 2009. However, after my recent discussion with the developer, a more likely opening would be September 2010.

The developer has a great reputation for completing high-quality projects and I believe they have a strong desire to get this project up and running as soon as possible.

Thanks,

Dan Miller

Link: www.thealmanac.net/ALM/Story/02-25-ML-hotel-B

Mt. Lebanon Book Store A Treasure

If you are one of those readers who love books so much that you hate returning them to the library or you just love owning the books you enjoy, you may want to head for The Book Cellar, a new nonprofit used book store in the Mt. Lebanon Public Library that was opened to benefit the library. The Book Cellar just opened in December, but business is brisk.

Link: liwww.thealmanac.net/ALM/Story/02-25-SH-library-support-book-cellar-pix

Mt. Lebanon Attorney's Sports Celebrity Clientele

Pittsburgh attorney Jay Reisinger has become a heavyweight in the field of sports law.

The Mt. Lebanon resident, a partner in the firm of Farrell, Reisinger and Stallings, LLC, was part of the legal team that represented baseball slugger Sammy Sosa when he testified before Congress in 2005 regarding performance-enhancing drugs. Reisinger also has worked with Andy Pettitte regarding the pitcher's admission last year of having used human growth hormone.

Now, Reisinger has been reunited with James E. Sharp as part of the legal team for Alex Rodriguez, who tested positive for steroid use in 2003 and since has admitted to using the banned substance.

Link: www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/s_613280.html

Smith And Gastgeb Hosting Drug And Alcohol Awareness Event

From Representative Matt's Smith's office:

I'd like to invite you and anyone else who'd be interested to attend a drug and alcohol prevention and awareness event I'm hosting next month with Allegheny County Councilman Vince Gastgeb, R-Bethel Park, and several local officials.

The event will be held from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday, March 12 at Mt. Lebanon High School’s auditorium, 7 Horsman Drive in Mt. Lebanon. This event is open to the public.

We've arranged for several speakers from the county Health Department and local groups such as the Mt. Lebanon Police Department, and a question-and-answer period will follow their presentations. We'll also have several resource tables from the county, state and teen outreach organizations.

Councilman Gastgeb and I are hosting the event along with Dr. Bruce Dixon, director of the Allegheny County Health Department, and Pat Valentine, deputy director of the Allegheny County Department of Health and Human Services.

LA Fitness Planned For Mt. Lebanon

Green Tree-based Kossman Development Company plans to bring an LA Fitness location to Mount Lebanon. The company will present the proposal to the Mt. Lebanon Planning Board, seeking a change to the zoning ordinance of its overlay district, which would allow a health club as a conditional use.

In a prepared release, Kossman described the presentation as the first step in the process to secure L.A. Fitness International LLC as a tenant for the proposed development.

Kossman plans to build two 40,000-square-feet speculative office buildings at the intersection of Mount Lebanon Boulevard and Castle Shannon Boulevard. If approved, the LA Fitness location is expected to bring 60 to 80 jobs and would have a full-service health club with covered parking that would feature racquetball, basketball, a broad range of group fitness programs and an indoor swimming pool.

Link: www.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/stories/2009/02/23/daily13.html

Community Mourns Passing of Municipal Manager's Wife

On behalf of Mike Madison and myself, I would like to offer our condolences to Steve Feller, Municipal Manager of Mt. Lebanon, on the death of his wife Jill who passed away over the weekend after a long battle with cancer. Her obituary from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette is as follows:

Jill Diane Feller, 51, of Mt. Lebanon, died February 21, 2009. Beloved wife of 32 years of Stephen M. Feller. She was born July 29, 1957 in Napoleon, OH. She is the daughter of Gweneth Lefler of Mt. Lebanon and the late James Lefler. She is survived by her son Daniel R. Feller and his wife, Samantha Feller of Elkridge, MD and her daughter Lindsay R. Seal and her husband, Jacob Seal of Melrose, MA; her brother Brent Lefler of Portville, NY and her sister Julie Perrott of Tarpon Springs, FL. Jill was a 1980 graduate of Washington & Jefferson College, she was the manager of Laboratory Information Systems at St. Clair Hospital in Mt. Lebanon. Friends will be received Tuesday 4 to 7 p.m. at WILLIAM SLATER II FUNERAL SVC., 1650 Greentree Road, Scott Twp. A Memorial Service will be held Wednesday 10 a.m. at the Baptist Homes Chapel, 489 Castle Shannon Blvd., Mt. Lebanon. Interment will be private. In lieu of flowers the family suggests that memorial gifts may be made to the St. Clair Hospital Foundation, 1000 Bower Hill Rd., Pgh., PA 15243 or the Baptist Homes Foundation, 489 Castle Shannon Blvd., Pgh., PA 15234.

Our thoughts and prayers are with Steve and his family as they mourn Jill's passing.

Are Malls A Dying Breed?

The Galleria of Mt. Lebanon was mentioned in an article in today's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette regarding the state of malls across the nation and in the greater Pittsburgh area. They also did a profile of the Galleria itself.

Link: www.post-gazette.com/pg/09053/950837-85.stm (main article)

Link: www.post-gazette.com/pg/09053/950659-28.stm: (profile of The Galleria)

Mt. Lebanon, N. Hills Win A Pair Of Thrillers

UPDATE: Mt. Lebanon will be playing North Hills in the WPIAL semifinals this Wednesday, February 25 at 8 PM at Chartiers Valley High School. LET'S GO LEBO!

Mt. Lebanon and North Hills, two of the hottest teams in the WPIAL, found themselves down by significant margins and fighting for their playoff lives yesterday.

Both survived ... barely.

In two thrilling finishes decided by just five points, both schools earned WPIAL Class AAAA quarterfinal victories.

Paul Lang made a reverse layup at the buzzer to lift Mt. Lebanon (20-4) to a dramatic 45-43 win against McKeesport (14-10) at North Hills. It was the Blue Devils' ninth consecutive victory.

Link: www.post-gazette.com/pg/09053/950884-361.stm

Traffic Calming 101

I was sent this web page recently by one of our Blog-Lebo readers and I wanted to share it with everyone since this has been an issue that has been discussed for a number of years here in town. It's titled "Traffic Calming 101" and is provided by the Project for Public Spaces, which according to their website:

PPS's staff is trained in environmental design, architecture, urban planning, urban geography, urban design, environmental psychology, landscape architecture, arts administration and information management. The staff also collaborates on projects with architecture, landscape architecture and engineering firms, graphic design firms, transportation consultants, retail planners and community organizations. All of our staff is committed to the cause of communities throughout the United States and abroad."

The article discusses all of the various ways that traffic calming can be attempted and hopefully accompished. It's worth the read.

Link: www.pps.org/info/placemakingtools/casesforplaces/livememtraffic

Wander The Lincoln-Era White House On A Big Day In History

The White House Historical Association and two Pittsburgh companies have teamed up to create a web-based game that takes students into the Civil War-era and the Lincoln White House.

Mt. Lebanon-based Argentine Productions and Semiotic Technologies collaborated on the concept, creating a computerized world of talking historical figures and avatars. While it’s for children of all ages, it was designed with students from 8 to 12 year in mind, explains Peter Argentine.

Lincoln’s son Tad is the game’s host. Players pick their characters, dress them and talk to people from history as they move through six different White House rooms, learning hidden facts.

Players ultimately finish in the Oval Office where the president signed the second part of the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, the day that slaves were officially declared freed. A beta-version was tested by a Mt. Lebanon School District class.

Link: www.popcitymedia.com/timnews/argentine0218.aspx

Commissioner Wants Municipalitywide Approach To Traffic

There are no easy solutions toward fixing/calming/rerouting burgeoning traffic loads on the streets of Mt. Lebanon, but Commissioner Dan Miller is hoping that, for starters, the municipality can avoid the quick-and-expensive route.

"We need a municipalwide approach," said Mr. Miller, a first-term commissioner for the 5th Ward, which includes some of Mt. Lebanon's busiest roads.

Residents at a recent commissioners' meeting spoke of frightening encounters between cars and pedestrians, of vehicles hitting trees and running up onto sidewalks.

Link: www.post-gazette.com/pg/09050/950090-55.stm

Board Finds Compromise For High School Project

From the moment that options for either renovating or building a new high school in Mt. Lebanon were unveiled last summer, there has been talk by school directors and community members of finding a middle ground between minimal renovation and a completely new building.

It appears that middle ground was found at Monday's school board meeting when the board voted to authorize its architects, Celli-Flynn Brennan, to move ahead with schematic drawings of the alternative that has become known as Option 2.

That option calls for a project that would include 67 percent new construction and 33 percent renovation. It would provide a new academic wing and sports facilities, a renovated auditorium and fine arts theater and would retain the original Building B that preservationists have lobbied to keep.

Link: www.post-gazette.com/pg/09050/950089-55.stm

Hospice Center Marks First Year

Throughout this last year, many patients and their loved ones have watched the telltale signs of each season - snowflakes falling, flowers opening, and leaves changing to brown and burnt red - through the French doors at The Center for Compassionate Care.

Since the opening of its doors in the fall of 2007, Family Hospice and Palliative Care's Center for Compassionate Care has offered many in the community the comfort and compassion they are seeking while living with a life-limiting illness. Located in Mt. Lebanon, the center offers 12 private rooms. As the only inpatient hospice facility in the South Hills, the center quickly became busy, caring for 363 patients in its first year.

Link: www.thealmanac.net/ALM/Story/02-18-ML-Family-Hospice-caregiver-pix

Looking for Lebo in All the Wrong Places

With apologies to Waylon Jennings (and thanks to retrorenovation.com). . . do you recognize this 1960s kitchen?

It's been lovingly preserved and restored in Mt. Lebanon:

A South Hills Fable

Once upon a time, there was a suburban community that fancied itself the most attractive and livable community there could ever be.

Townsfolk feared, however, that a certain public resource in their community was not up to par, and but for a major and expensive upgrade, the community's attractiveness and livability would be forever compromised.

So the community screwed up its courage and spent millions of dollars to replace that public resource.

And lo, when the construction dust had settled and the smoke of courage had cleared, the town found itself charging its residents and outsiders alike a boatload of money to use that public resource, because there was no other way to cover its cost.

And the townsfolk wondered why, in fact, they had constructed a private club in the middle of their town.

An afterword:

In today's mail I received a flyer for Upper St. Clair's new "Community Recreation Center," "a true recreational haven for all ages and the perfect expression of creating a new quality of life." The price of admission? An astounding $810 per year for an Upper St. Clair family and $1,215 per year in "Surrounding Community Fees" for a non-Upper St. Clair family.

For $1,215, I can drive my family to the Rocky Mountains and camp and hike there for a week -- and have money left over.

USC's example -- major fees for public services -- makes me wonder:

Could Mt. Lebanon offset much of the cost of a new high school by charging tuition?

Figure 1,800 students at the high school, at $12,500 per student per year (that's a bargain compared to Winchester Thurston, and some people would opt for Catholic schools, as they do now). That's more than $20 million per year, likely well more than enough to make the interest payments on a $100mm-plus wrap-around bond issue. In fact, a complete $150mm rebuild could be financed in full over about 10 years. Using those assumptions, a referendum -- with no tax increase, of course -- would pass, without no question.

Option 2

Updated at 9:50 am:

See additional posts on last night's School Board meeting and decision by

• Director Josephine Posti
• Director James Fraasch
• Pittsburgh Post-Gazette article
• The Pittsburgh Channel article

Their posts confirm my reaction: This is not a final decision -- there are no meaningful details on the table -- but merely another milestone on a long and bumpy road.

My In Box this morning featured the following:

Dear parents and students,

At the Board of School Directors' meeting last evening, the following resolution was passed by a vote of 7-2: RESOLVED, that the Board directs the architects to proceed to the schematic phase of the High School Project based on the assumption that a
portion of the High School will be renovated, and a portion will be new construction (known as Option 2 but subject to changes in that plan as directed by the District as the project proceeds).

I would like to thank the community-at-large for their involvement in the process leading up to this decision, and thank the Board of School Directors for considering the varying perspectives before reaching a decision that they felt is best in terms
of building design options and fiscal responsibility.

Ronald P. Davis, EdD
Principal

So:

How much money are we talking about?

How much money is the District going to invest in upgrading the educational program, aside from the buildings?

Is a referendum in the works?

And why on earth is the High School Principal making this announcement?

Any White Picket Fences In Town?

I honestly can't think of a house that I've seen in Mt. Lebanon that has white picket fences but a woman named illyrias says that those of us in Lebo or Shadyside have these fences to separate us from the crime that parts of the City of Pittsburgh face.

While we don't have drive by shootings in our town, we definitely have had gun related violence (Baumhammers/Constant) and we most definitely have drugs being used in the community as well as other crimes that any town faces. Just take a look at the pages of the police blotter to read about the crime that our police department has to respond to on a daily/weekly basis.

People have joked about the "bubble" that we've always believed has insulated us from the "real world", but the real world is definitely alive and well in Mt. Lebanon whether you choose to believe it or not. I just wish that people outside of Mt. Lebanon would get rid of this "well to do and zero crime" mentality about our town that is still believed. With the exception of drive by shootings, I don't see how Mt. Lebanon is truly different than the city of Pittsburgh or anywhere else.

Link: pghisacity.blogspot.com/2009/02/21st-century-here-we-come.html

Decision Coming on the Lebo High School

There is a meeting tonight of the Mt. Lebanon School Board (7:30 pm in the High School Library), and there will be a vote on the direction of the renovation project. Read the updates at the High School Renovation blog. Much ado was made earlier this month with the formation of the "Build Our School Now" group. The Board is also hearing from residents opposed to a large-scale project. One of them is former School Director Gracelyn Ratay, who sent the following message to the current Board president Alan Silhol. She copied me and gave me permission to post it.

I'm putting this up not because I agree with all of it (I agree with some points, don't agree with some points, and don't have enough information with respect to some others), but because for some time I've urged people privately to speak up in public if they have an opinion about the matter. (Some people have spoken publicly, and thanks to them. But we could use more comments from folks we haven't heard from yet, at least not in public.) Public statements promote other public statements, and eventually, I hope, we keep a good public dialogue going. Not every statement goes in a post; many go into comments. We need a mix of both to keep people engaged.

Here is her message:

Dear Mr. Silhol:

As a former school director, I don’t spend much time watching school board meetings on TV. I did have an opportunity to see part of the meeting that was broadcast last week, especially your comments.

I really want to thank you for being realistic and level headed. You have done a good job of trying to communicate the realities of the high school renovation project in combination with the truth about the economic picture in our community. Many people who live in Mt. Lebanon as you know, live here with a false sense of security.

Another school director commented along the lines of school directors roles in ‘managing a business’ – the ‘business of education’. I have been hearing that line for a few years now and quite frankly, it is creepy. Perhaps a review of the oath of
office each school director took would be a good beginning to the meeting this
evening.

It seems that the pending referendum decision is a referendum on two fronts: first, of course on the financial implications of the high school project; but second, a referendum on senior citizens. There are older people in our community who have always generously supported the direction of the school district and paid higher tax rates. Most people in Mt. Lebanon have always supported the schools without question. It occurred to me that perhaps some school directors don’t realize that many of our older citizens who have always loyally paid taxes are now suffering. Many senior citizens fund their retirements through monthly income from stocks and bonds. Do the school directors you serve with realize that those people have suffered catastrophic losses to their retirement income streams?

It would appear that tonight’s decision is also a referendum on forcing senior citizens, loyal unquestioning taxpayers, out of their homes. I don’t think they will like it and it smacks of elitism.

Meanwhile, as the school board has been wrapped up in the high school building issues, my husband and I believe there have been serious errors made in the direction of the science and math curriculum at the middle school and high school. So much so that we have sent our fourth child to Central Catholic High School.

Tonight I wonder if anyone will be thinking of the decision in terms of the tools selected to measure progress in Mt. Lebanon Schools as it relates to the enormity of the financial implications before the board. Does it even occur to any board members that the basic measures of student success are common assessments and the PSSA? How is Mt. Lebanon now any better than other school districts? It certainly paves the way for Governor Rendell’s plan for consolidation of school districts! We will have a green building that is energy efficient? Has anyone thought of calculating how much carbon dioxide will be released into the environment through de-construction? How many years will it take the environment to recover from de-construction?

We won’t be better, we’ll just be different because we’ll have so much
debt.

Thank you for your time and the sincerity in which you embrace your role as board president.

AB Charles

Dave & Dave, over at WQED, blogged about their recent visit to the basement at AB Charles, where they discovered what generations of South Hills boys and men (and likely more than a few girls and women) have known for a very long time:

The name itself sounds like a cross between one of the early Presidents of the United States and perhaps an eccentric billionaire who runs his own circus. Turns out, A.B. Charles has been delivering the hobby goods to our area for 60 years… and the place is huge! If model cars, miniature railroad and stuff like that is up your alley, then the big barn building should be a planned stop for you. It’s right next to Atria’s and used to house the old Rollier hardware store. You can’t miss the place if you’re ever on
Banksville Road near the Dormont Pool.

Okay… slot cars? If you were thinking pine wood derby, forget about it, but if you were thinking hot wheels, you are in the ballpark. And if you’re a dude and over the age of 20, then you might remember having an AFX track as a kid. It was like having electric-powered hot wheel or matchbox cars. You set up the track, plugged it in, put your car in a lane (or slot as it’s properly called) and let it rip with your hand controller. Now you remember!

Well guess what… the lower level at A.B. Charles is a giant slot car room. There are 3 huge tracks set up that range from easy Sunday drive to fierce Indy 500! They also have a straight-away drag strip to separate the men from the boys and I guess the boys from the girls?

Third-Seeded Mt. Lebo Disposes Of Kiski Area

The Kiski Area Cavaliers knew a solid effort was needed in order to upset third-seeded Mt. Lebanon Blue Devils in the opening round of the WPIAL boys Class AAAA playoffs.

The effort came, with the exception of a few minutes in the third quarter. Kiski Area committed six turnovers in seven possessions during one stretch of the third period.

That was enough to allow Mt. Lebanon to break open a close game and roll to a 60-45 victory over the Cavaliers at North Allegheny High School.

Link: www.pittsburghlive.com/x/valleynewsdispatch/s_611815.html

Full Names, Please

[Putting on my best Mr. Roarke voice] Full names, everyone. Full names.

There are some lively conversations going on at Blog-Lebo, but I've rejected a number of well-written and thoughtful comments today solely because they were signed only with a first name. In a couple of cases I knew the comment was coming or know the commenter personally and could clear up the confusion immediately, on my own. But those are exceptional cases. Your Blogger ID isn't enough if your Blogger ID doesn't lead everyone to a real full name. The easiest solution is simply to type your name at the end of your comment.

If you submitted a comment and you don't see it on the site, then odds are that you didn't include a full name. Feel free to submit your comment, signed.

To avoid possible ambiguity, and for the benefit of first-time readers, I have moved our existing Comments Policy to the top of the right column.

[Update 2/13: Based on email from a number of readers, it seems that Blogger is eating comments without forwarding them to me and Joe. If you submit a signed comment and it doesn't appear on the site within a few hours, please email one of us. The Google Fairies may have taken it hostage, and resubmission may be the only way to liberate it.]

The Economic Crash and the Future of Mt. Lebanon

[Update 2/15: Responding to my Pittsblog post about Floridian economics, my "Return to Pittsburgh" and Pittsburgh Diaspora colleague Jim Russell is bullish on Pittsburgh's future.]

Today I came across a new long article by Richard Florida, the former Pittsburgher and CMU professor who made a name for himself several years ago with a book called "The Rise of the Creative Class." Florida's thesis was that the future belonged to cities that could nuture young "creatives," whose energy and economic metabolism was already evident in newly vibrant urban economies from Seattle to the Research Triangle.

The new article, titled "How the Crash Will Reshape America," appears in The Atlantic Monthly. I've excerpted bits of it over at Pittsblog. It is required reading for everyone with a serious interest in making the best decision for a future Mt. Lebanon High School, as well as a future Mt. Lebanon of any kind. School Directors and Mt. Lebanon Commissioners, this means you.

Florida's points:

The current economic crisis -- which he refers to, probably correctly, as a Crash -- will fundamentally reshape geographic patterns of economic activity, including, but hardly limited to, where and how people live. Translation: There can be no assurance at all that in five or ten years, Mt. Lebanon's population will be the same (more or less) as it is now, or that its demographics will remain the same (even more or less).

The economic and population declines associated with Rust Belt cities (read: Pittsburgh) likely will continue and may, in some contexts, accelerate. Some places (possibly: Pittsburgh) will continue to manage their decline well and even exhibit a degree of civic vibrancy. Urban centers will succeed at the expense of suburbs, especially the farther flung suburbs that have popped up over the last 20 to 30 years (that's good for Lebo!). The urban centers that are the most likely to succeed are those that orient their economies to higher "velocity" sectors (tech, arts, financial services) rather than to manufacturing and agriculture. (There is some good and bad in there for Pittsburgh.)

I've always been skeptical of the details of the Creative Class thesis. My view is that Florida confuses cause and effect. Vibrant economies attract young creatives; young creatives don't make vibrant economies. So don't take this new article as given, especially in all of its details.

But Florida's broader point, and one that is not part of the Creative Class thesis, is that planners, local governments, and private firms alike should not be looking to the future end of the economic crisis with the expectation that once the economy rights itself, things will go back to the way that they were. Things won't go back to the way they were.

Bringing this back to the example right in front of us:

Here in Mt. Lebanon, lots of people who support a major, early reconstruction of the high school do so on the traditionally plausible assumption that in the long run, returning economic prosperity will make the painful near-term investment worthwhile. Lots of people who are skeptical of a major, early reconstruction of the high school are skeptical because they look at the near term budget numbers and cannot fathom how to process the expense until the economic storm clouds clear and things return more or less to normal.

Maybe, however, both groups are working from a flawed assumption. Maybe things never will get back to normal. Maybe the $150mm construction alternative never will pay for itself in home values and community charm, because the town's taxpaying population will decline by 20% (I'm picking numbers out of a hat), the school age population may decline proportionately, and home values will suffer a long-term (what economists would call "secular") decline. Maybe the $10mm "bandaid" solution isn't really a bridge to a better future, but all that the town ever can afford.

This is all speculative, and I don't raise it in order to offer arguments that favor any alternative over any other. But those in charge of spending the taxpayers' money, and the taxpayers themselves, should be thinking critically about the future of the town overall.

Discuss.

Mt. Lebanon Resident Showcased for Work/Life Balance

The current issue of the ABA Journal, the magazine of the American Bar Association, highlights Lebo residents Art Stroyd and Elizabeth Stroyd Windsor:

Sometimes in the evenings, while her husband watches sports on the flat-screen and her 2-year-old dashes around the family room in his Lightning McQueen pajamas, Elizabeth Stroyd Windsor looks up from her laptop and thinks about her dad.

He, too, was a lawyer who would work in front of the television at night. But he often went back to the office after family time, while Windsor, 33, is instead snug in her black leather Barcelona chair in the Pittsburgh suburbs, connected to her colleagues at Morgan Lewis & Bockius by wireless Internet and BlackBerry.

An employment litigator and pregnant mother of one, Windsor represents a shift in the struggle for work-life balance. She’s part of a new generation of attorneys who are changing what it means to be “at work.”

Savvy and assured, these lawyers are building reputations, then deftly leveraging their clout to get the flexibility they need. Technology has provided a bit of an upper hand, allowing them unprecedented control and creativity in maneuvering the tenuous balance between work and family.

The full story, including some nice photos, is online here.

Mt. Lebanon Home Sales Update

At Pittsburgh Rare, Casey Smith reports on home sales in Mt. Lebanon during January 2009. 18 homes sold in total. All but 2 sold for less than the listing price.

Hotel Builder Has Suite Plans For Site

In the past, "boutique" was rarely mentioned in the same breath as "hotel chain," but a public hearing presentation at the Mt. Lebanon commissioners' meeting Monday was a reflection of the new age.

Harmar-based Kratsa Properties plans to build a 108-room SpringHill Suites by Marriott on the Washington Road site across from Rollier's Hardware. The seven-story structure would have an indoor pool, a public lounge with wireless Internet access and a parking garage integrated into the hillside behind the hotel.

"We really liked the boutique nature of the market," said David Cocco, Kratsa vice president of operations.

Link: www.post-gazette.com/pg/09043/948552-55.stm

Mt. Lebanon Split On School Revamp

The Mt. Lebanon school board is poised to vote on a construction or renovation alternative for the high school on Monday night. But just what the options are at this point aren't entirely clear.

During 3 1/2 hours of meetings Monday -- first an architect's update and then a board discussion meeting -- the board heard from a group of residents who are pushing for a newly constructed high school and a community referendum that would be required by state law to approve the financing of the project.

During the architect's update, it was announced that the estimated price of a new high school has been lowered to $146.1 million from $157.9 million.

Link: www.post-gazette.com/pg/09043/948374-55.stm

Real Wonkiness About Financing a HS Renovation

My Pittsblog and University of Pittsburgh colleague Chris Briem has a post up at his Null Space blog today on real but hidden costs of municipal finance:

1. Interest rates in the municipal bond market may be strikingly low, which makes the prospect of the Mt. Lebanon School District borrowing $110 million or $150 million or something other massive sound relatively appealing. Money seems cheap. But bond insurance, which may be a mandatory part of any offering, is expensive and difficult to get, and the bond insurance market is, as Chris has written before, on the brink of collapse. I'm not suggesting that the Mt. Lebanon School District would not be able to float a bond issue, if one were approved by the Board and/or by the voters. But this is a sometimes hidden cost that has to be reckoned with.

2. Super-low Treasury rates mean that public authorities will be seeing less revenue than expected as proceeds of invested tax money decrease to near-zero. Again, I don't know where the School District stands in this regard, but this may be a budget shortfall waiting to happen.

New Lebo Mexican Restaurant?

In today's economy, it's hard to know exactly what to believe, but if this video is accurate, then I'm a happy guy:

Lebo's New Girl

Lebo newcomer Elaine LaBalme is launching a series of "New Girl in Town" posts at Pop City. From her first piece:

I'm quick to beat a path to Uptown Coffee in Mt. Lebanon for the best brownies this side of the Mississippi. The baking at Uptown is largely done by owner Elizabeth Boyd, who isn't much for recipes and can still turn out a pumpkin pie that would make your grandma cry. More good eats come from Jeannine Hine and two gal pals at Coca Cafe in Lawrenceville. After a stint at The Inn on Negley in Shadyside, the three amigas opened their own restaurant along up-and-coming Butler Street. The breakfast menu features challah French toast stuffed with brie, fig jam and berries and every table is topped with a piece of glass art by Jeannine's husband, Drew, who recently opened Vessel Studio on East Carson Street as a place to showcase his work.
...
I look forward to continuing the exploration in the weeks and months ahead and will tell the tales here at Pop City. Pittsburgh is on the verge of a renaissance and I refuse to be the only one believing it! There is much to be savored in these parts and, sure, some things that need tweaking (I'd settle for even respectable Mexican and Chinese cuisine) and I welcome the opportunity to engage our readers.

Hey Elaine -- Check out Cocina Mendoza.

Resolved: Mt. Lebanon Should/Should Not Build a New High School Now

With the emergence of the something called "Build Our School Now" advocating for a full-scale new high school facility in Mt. Lebanon and for a referendum to approval the borrowing necessary to pursue that plan, Dave Franklin's questions in a comment to that post seem appropriate for more discussion. Dave asks:

1. If both proposals under consideration would exceed the debt threshold, thus requiring a referendum, how do you vote for one or the other and NOT vote for a community-wide referendum? What would be the point of that?

2. It seems likely that a referendum would fail. Sorry, that's just my gut. In light of that reality, why not give more attention to a proposal that comes in under the debt threshold?

3. When taking into consideration the tax increase that is surely coming without any construction, what is the long term tax impact (to John Q. Public) of taking on a record level of debt?>

My quick eyeballing of the numbers led me earlier to conclude that the answer to Question 3 is "a permanent 20% increase in your school taxes." No one wrote in to correct my estimate, so let's go with that number for now (of course, it may be less -- or it may be more!). In an offline comment, one resident suggested to me that opposing this plan would be akin to hanging an "I'm Poor!" sign around your neck. Fine: If being skeptical about a near-term and permanent 20% tax increase makes me poor, then I'm poor!

Of course, I don't really claim to be poor, but this is plausible logic (opposing tax increases signals low status in Mt. Lebanon), and that fact tells me that something is rotten in Denmark. The terms of the debate need to change. Otherwise, it's just "to be, or not to be," and that doesn't answer the question.

So, please (and this question is directed especially to "Build Our School Now"):

Can we discuss Dave's questions, in the Comments and elsewhere, without implying that school construction skeptics don't care about the future of our children (we do), that we are ignoring the value of our houses (we know how real estate markets work), or that we don't understand that the current facility is falling apart (my children and I have seen it with out own eyes)?

$150 million is a sizable investment (even $100 million is a sizable investment). I emphasize the word "investment" because this is basically a business decision. Make the business case that this is a wise investment in 2009 and 2010.

Undefeated Mt. Lebanon Earns Top Seed

The Mt. Lebanon girls basketball team (22-0) claimed its initial prize for an undefeated season by landing the No. 1 seed in the WPIAL tournament, which begins Friday at various sites.

In one of the winningest combined seasons in Class AAAA history, the girls were joined in the playoffs by the Mt. Lebanon boys (18-4), who claimed a No. 3 seed after sharing the Section 4-AAAA title with Peters Township.

"You have to beat four good teams to win this thing," Mt. Lebanon boys coach and former Pitt player Joe David said. "There is no easy road, so my attitude is that we're happy to be here. We look forward to playing those teams. If you're going to be a champion, you have to prove it."

Link: www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/s_611177.html

Details Disclosed For Proposed Hotel

A public hearing conducted by Mt. Lebanon commissioners last night provided details for a proposed boutique hotel on Washington Road.

The 12,600-square foot parcel is a parking lot but developer Kratsa Properties of Harmar is promising a seven-story SpringHill Suites by Marriott that will echo the architecture of major buildings surrounding it. James McMullan of architects Burt,Hill said the 108-room hotel will provide "the smallest footprint possible" at the ends of what is considered downtown Mt. Lebanon.

The stone-and-brick facade will be fronted by 10 feet of green space, with an indoor pool area and hillside parking garage in the back along the area known as Parse Way.

Link: www.postgazette.com/pg/09041/948124-100.stm

Some Lebo Residents Ask For New High School

A group of Mt. Lebanon residents last night asked the school board to consider building a completely new high school, a move that would require the community to approve a referendum on the matter.

Group members, who said their organization is called Build Our School Now, asked the board to vote for building a completely new high school rather than renovating the current structure and to put the issue to a referendum, which would be required under state law.

State formulas for debt limits hold Mt. Lebanon to spending no more than $110 million on the high school project without getting a referendum approved by the community. A new high school would cost about $150 million.

Link: www.postgazette.com/pg/09041/948123-100.stm

LAXapalooza

The Mt. Lebanon Lacrosse Association will host its annual LAXapalooza from 7 p.m. to closing Feb. 21 at Cafe Euro, Cochran Road. The Shelley Duff Band will play retro dance favorites. Other activities include raffles and silent and ticket auctions. Free hors d'oeuvres; cash bar. For tickets, e-mail camandgregallen@verizon.net.

Link: www.post-gazette.com/pg/09036/946790-55.stm

Planet Art Gallery To Close Doors, Continue Business Online

With a mix of works by regional artists and crafts people, Planet Art Gallery opened on May 1, 2006, along a popular stretch of Washington Road in Mt. Lebanon.

Over time, gallery owners, potters and glass artists Gregory and Linda Mitchell assembled close to 100 artists and artisans who sold on consignment creations including paintings, jewelry, blown glass and turned wooden items.

The gallery site at 632 Washington soon will be history, but sales will continue online. "The gallery had been doing fairly well, but we experienced a definite slowdown in sales from September on, presumably due to the recession," Mrs. Mitchell said.

Link: www.post-gazette.com/pg/09036/946984-55.stm

Students Move Forward To Serve Community

Mike Bressanelli laughed with classmates Friday morning as he leaned over a worktable, putting finishing touches on his orange watercolor painting. Other students lounged on the floor nearby, completing their own creations.

To the casual observer, it might have been an ordinary high school art class. But this was an extended homeroom period planned by Mt. Lebanon High School's Moving Forward club.

Founded last year, the club seeks to improve peer interaction, addressing issues of student prejudice and ostracism while encouraging involvement in community service activities.

Link: www.post-gazette.com/pg/09036/946981-55.stm

School Board Preps For Tax Hike

School board members in Mt. Lebanon have begun the process of seeking a tax increase for 2009-2010 beyond that which is permitted by Act 1, the state Taxpayer Relief Act.

While the move doesn't preclude the school board will follow through with such a hike, it leaves the option open which is what the board wants, said President Alan Silhol. Act 1 outlines a multi-step process school boards must follow if they wish to raise taxes beyond pre-set limits.

Governor Ed Rendell (D) signed the Taxpayer Relief Act (Act 1) into law on June 27, 2006. Mt. Lebanon agreed to abide by the law, which aims to ease the financial burden of home ownership by providing school districts the means to lower property taxes to homeowners, especially senior citizens, via the funding provided by gaming revenue.

Link: www.thealmanac.net/ALM/Story/01-28-ML-referendum-exmpt-B

Jefferson Awards: Woman Fights For Amy's Army

Kate Rosenthal's father raised her to be a doer, not an observer. When her best friend's daughter, then 10 years old, was diagnosed with a rare form of childhood leukemia five years ago, she found inspiration in his words.

The upshot was the formation of Amy's Army, a group of volunteers who have helped to find bone marrow donors for 23 people scattered all over while continuing to look for one for Amy Katz, who is now 16.

"My dad used to tell me when I was a kid: Most people sit back and watch things happen and wait for things to happen," said Mrs. Rosenthal, 49, of Mt. Lebanon. "He always said to me, 'Be the kind of person who makes things happen.' I think that was my motivation with Amy's Army."

Link: www.post-gazette.com/pg/09033/946255-51.stm

Lebo High School Construction Update

Some important notes on the state of planning for the Mt. Lebanon High School renovation process:

1. Over at his blog, School Director James Fraasch continues to post his thoughts about the economics of the project. One thing that seems clear is that whatever form the anticipated federal stimulus package takes, it's not going to generate much money for Mt. Lebanon.

2. Meanwhile, and probably recognizing the political reality that the Board faces, Directors Remely and Silhol have assembled a $90 million plan. (At the one public meeting that I attended, a project of this scale was vociferously opposed by all but a handful of residents who attended.) That plan should get specified in more detail so that the public can scrutinize it, though time is short.

3. As Bill Matthews points out in an important comment to this post,

It turns out, this financing proposal adopts the cowardly and fiscally irresponsible scheme of minimizing millage, while MAXIMIZING interest expense -- by “wrapping” the bonds.

Bond Wrapping pushes substantial principal payments into the future when expiring debt service on older bond issues is freed up to satisfy the new debt. Despite the fact this heaps a generous helping of interest onto the project; the contention is that this method is desirable because the funds do not “all” come from a tax “increase” -- the Community is already paying it. In Eveready Bunny style - we just keep paying, and paying, and paying.

Besides, if the district did not wrap the bonds, when the old debt expired we would face the conundrum of using the funds for education or (say it softly) lowering taxes.

The financial folks’ proposal has about $10,000,000 of superfluous interest in the plan compared to financing the issue with simple, more traditional bonds.

Obviously, there are other means to finance the issue, however when you are singularly focused on minimizing millage, you do dumb things. As an alternative, one additional latte a month on a $200,000 property, could wipe out this $10,000,000 waste of interest expense.

4. My private polling of neighbors and Blog-Lebo readers continues to run heavily against undertaking a major renovation right now, when the economy is tanking. Email from Blog-Lebo readership may well display selection bias. My general response to these folks, however, is speak out! Supporters of a large-scale project have no problem getting air time at the public fora that the Board hosted. If you're skeptical, then sending messages to me doesn't do a thing. Maybe there will be a referendum, and residents will speak then, in private, with their votes. But the Board may be looking for ways to move forward without a vote of the taxpayers.

When I say "speak out," I again hear what I've heard in other contexts: If I'm a critic, then other people will be mean to me, and teachers will be mean to my kids.

If that's really true, then the Mt. Lebanon School District has problems that are far, far worse than a crumbling high school building. It has teachers inflicting their personal agendas on kids, rather than teaching; it has principals looking the other way. In my years in the District, that hasn't been my experience. Has it been yours?

As the saying goes, you pay for what you get.