Reviewing Raja's Budget Message

Over the holidays, Commissioner Raja sent out an email (and posted to his web site) explaining why he voted for the 2010 municipal budget. This was particularly interesting to me since Commissioner Miller had previously posted his comments in opposition to it.

A couple of issues caught my eye:

First, Commissioner Raja seems to trumpet the savings of limiting COLA raises for employees in 2010 by pegging the COLA to the current low inflation numbers. Forget that fact that this seems to treat people differently just because they don't have a union, does anyone really think that inflation is going to stay low? Or regardless of how it goes up and down, are we now saying to the employees that whatever the inflation number is at the end of the year you will get that raise when the number exceeds 3%?

Commissioner Raja also made a reference to paying for “expenses from the fund balance.” He said that he would “have preferred to implement organic changes that could have funded these increases on a sustainable basis going forward.”

An example of his “organic changes” seems to be the merger of the Assistant Manager and Finance Director positions. If I understood the budget broadcast, the merger of the two positions was unanimously approved by the Commission. The debate seemed to be about what would happen to the Assistant Managers HR duties. Raja wanted those duties distributed amongst other staff while the majority supported the managers recommendation of hiring a new HR person. It was said that having a separate HR position was one of the Matrix report recommendations.

Commissioner Raja said that if the majority had agreed with him we would have saved annually $141,000. Commissioner Miller said that the 2011 budget shortfall is already $3.14 million.

Commissioner Raja said that he recommended “organic changes” (notice the plural) that “could have funded these increases on a sustainable basis going forward.”

Anyone else interested in knowing what his organic suggestions were that would solve our problem? It would be great for Commissioner Raja to post his suggestions that were rejected by the Commission so we could evaluate them ourselves -- and if necessary -- lobby other Commissioners to adopt them!

Additionally, I saw that the majority did not support a strategic planning process in 2010. Given the size of our problem for 2011, I wonder why this was not supported. Doesn't the municipality need a plan - and need it quickly?

Versatile, Veteran Duo Propels Mt. Lebanon

In football, fans often talk about a team having thunder and lightning in the backfield. In the swimming pool, Mt. Lebanon coach Dave Schraven has pretty much the equivalent.

He has senior sprinter, Sho Sugimoto and junior long-distance swimmer, John Nappi.

Both helped Mt. Lebanon to a second-place, Class-AAA finish at the WPIAL championships last season and will be the driving force for the Blue Devils boys' team this season.

Read more: www.post-gazette.com/pg/09365/1024687-364.stm

Mt. Lebo Knocks Off High-Ranked Monteverde

Mt. Lebanon boys basketball coach Joe David said his team was "shell-shocked" early in its game Tuesday in the Junior Orange Bowl Tournament in Miami. But the WPIAL Class AAAA No. 1 Blue Devils recovered and rode Evan Pierce's 26 points to a 56-44 victory against Monteverde (10-3), the No. 12 team in the ESPN Rise rankings.

Read more: www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/highschool/s_659986.html

Foreclosure Rates Spike In Upper-, Middle-Class Neighborhoods

Foreclosures increased in several upper- to middle-class neighborhoods even as the numbers dropped overall in Allegheny, Butler and Westmoreland counties in 2009.

Affluent communities in Allegheny County saw a five-year high in the number of residential foreclosures this year, said Dan Murrer, vice president of RealSTATS, a real estate information company based on East Carson Street in Pittsburgh. The same trend holds true in Westmoreland and Butler counties.

Seven communities in Allegheny County saw the highest numbers of foreclosures in 2009, including Mt. Lebanon, Avalon, Bridgeville, Oakmont, Fox Chapel, Bell Acres and Pitcairn.

Read more: www.yourplum.com/plumadvanceleader/article/foreclosure-rates-spike-upper-middle-class-neighborhoods

Service Project To Help Poor Nicaragua Families

Fourth-graders at Foster Elementary School in the Mt. Lebanon School District recently listened to a presentation about Project Chacocente, a charity that helps folks in Nicaragua who are homeless and living in the Managua City Dump.

Omar Hernandez, who is from Nicaragua, is international relations director with Project Chacocente and he spoke to students about the organization.

The presentation Dec. 17 at Foster Elementary was a kick-off of the fourth-graders' service project for the school year. All fourth graders in the district will participate in the service project. The students have started making "worry dolls," which they will sell for 50 cents each. The money they earn from the sale of the dolls will go toward Project Chacocente, mainly to purchase books and shelving for the library in Nicaragua that the project helped to build.

Read more: www.thealmanac.net/ALM/Story/12-23-2009-Mt--Lebanon-Project-Chacocente

School Board Approves Design Plan For Renovation

After much debate, the Mt. Lebanon school board has approved a design development plan for the high school renovation project and authorized the start of construction drawings.

The school board Monday voted 8 to 1 with James Fraasch against. The board requested that the Pittsburgh Celli-Flynn Brennan architecture firm examine recommendations from the Community Advisory Committee, which conducted a review of the design

Read more: www.post-gazette.com/pg/09358/1023199-55.stm

Mt. Lebanon Catering Class Makes Special Deliveries

On the third floor of Mt. Lebanon High School, a small group of cooks are quietly churning out cookies, breads, coffee and tea for customers within the school district. The business, 341 Catering, is a class within a class that teaches special needs students baking, customer service and other skills needed to run a catering or other foods business.

If Santa wants take-out, he just might stop here.

Read more: www.post-gazette.com/pg/09358/1023117-55.stm

Real Lebo

I'd like to welcome fellow Mt. Lebanon residents Elaine Labalme and Kristen Linfante to the Lebo blogosphere with the launch of their web site "Real Lebo" this past Tuesday.

Their site description, "RealLebo.com -- A blog about what's really happening in Mt. Lebanon, PA.", is interesting considering that it is the same description that Mike and I used for this blog for years except for the "really" that has been added. Not "really" sure (pun intended) what that's supposed to mean, but I'll make sure to follow their blog and see what they post!

Mt. Lebanon Library To Close On Sundays In 2010

Dramatic funding cuts in the 2009-2010 Pennsylvania Library Access Appropriation has local libraries making adjustments to provide services to their patrons.

Mt. Lebanon plans to close Sundays next year while Peters Township will be closed on Sundays next summer. Both libraries, along with Upper St. Clair, plan to increase fees.

When the Pennsylvania General Appropriations Act of 2009 was signed into law this past October, it included $3 million in funding for Library Access Appropriation, down 72 percent from last year's $10,542,000. Funding for POWER Library was cut 58 percent, the Electronic Library Catalog (including Access PA) was cut 53 percent, and the Statewide Library Card was cut 100 percent.

When Cynthia K. Richey, director of Mt. Lebanon Public Library was asked about the budget cuts, her reply was simple: "It's awful. The loss of funding for public libraries is catastrophic."

Read more: www.thealmanac.net/ALM/Story/12-23-2009-South-Hills-library-cuts

"In Mt. Lebanon" Magazine

This past weekend, I opened my mailbox, and thought we had received the newest mtl-Mt. Lebanon Magazine. Imagine my surprise when I looked and saw that it was't "mtl" but rather a new magazine called "IN Mt. Lebanon" published by a company called IN Community Magazines.

I wasn't the only person confused about this new publication. mtl-Mt. Lebanon Magazine made sure to promptly put out a press release stating the differences between their magazine and this new one we all received. They stated that they had received numerous phone calls and emails asking about this new magazine and wanted to set the record straight.

Their publisher, Wayne Dollard, made a point of stating that their magazine was completely advertiser supported with no burden to taxpayers -- yet mtl-Mt. Lebanon magazine says basically the same thing -- "...it is published at no cost to taxpayers, so long as we meet our advertising goal for the year."

So what do you think about "IN Mt. Lebanon" magazine?

Man Targeted In Drive-By Gunpoint Robbery In Mt. Lebanon

A man was robbed at gunpoint by two people in a black pickup truck on Cochran Road in Mt. Lebanon, police said.

The victim told police that he was leaving a friend's apartment shortly before 8 p.m. Monday and walking across Cochran to Lansdale Place when the truck pulled up to him and stopped, and the driver got out with a gun.

Read more: www.thepittsburghchannel.com/allegheny/22037730/detail.html

Obituary: John Biery, Founder of Beverly Service

Imported cars were oddities in 1949 when John Biery staked his life to them. Mr. Biery had returned from war and, with a wife from California and a growing family, opened a shop for European cars, Beverly Service, in Mt. Lebanon.

The niche business grew so popular that he couldn't take new customers. Some stayed loyal for decades. Sixty years later, Beverly Service still shapes the lives of Mr. Biery's family and friends, even without him in the garage.

John W. Biery, an Army Air Corps veteran who ran Beverly Service for 40 years before turning it over to a son, died Sunday, Dec. 20, 2009, from natural causes. He was 87. "(He) was an institution in Mt. Lebanon," said George Fechter of Mt. Washington, a customer since the 1970s.

Read more: www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/pittsburgh/s_658864.html

Gatorade Likes Kate

Mt. Lebanon's Kate Begor has been named the Gatorade Pennsylvania Volleyball Player of the Year. Begor, a 5-foot-11 setter and WPIAL setter, averaged 13.5 assists per game while leading the Blue Devils (22-2) into the semifinals of the PIAA Class AAA tournament. She also had 297 digs, 242 kills, 149 blocks and 113 service aces.

Read more: playeroftheyear.gatorade.com/winners/2009-10/girls-volleyball/list

Group Serious About 'Light Up Night' Name

"Light Up Night" in Mt. Lebanon will be no more, thanks to a cease-and-desist letter that the municipality received from the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership (PDP), the group in charge of the "Light Up Night" held in downtown Pittsburgh.

According to this article in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Mt. Lebanon was the first of up to 20 more towns to receive these letters since the PDP owns the federal trademark for the name.

Our commercial districts manager, Eric Milliron, was interviewed about the article where he refers to ours as being a "Mayberry event". While I understand that the PDP wants to protect their trademark (and has every right to), I disagree with the comment from Michael E. Edwards, the PDP's CEO (also a Mt. Lebanon resident), where he states the following:

"We were a little concerned, with Mt. Lebanon in particular, that they were advertising theirs (to be held) the night before ours. We thought it blurred our brand a bit," Edwards said.

Is there anyone that quite honestly would confuse the two events or think that they were offering competitive programs that would make people decide between attending one or the other? As Mr. Edwards states, the Mt. Lebanon event is held the night before the Pittsburgh event, so if anything, I'm betting a number of people actually attended both events instead of picking one over the other.

Read more: www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/s_658168.html

Mt. Lebanon Fund Balance Fills Gaps In Budget

Mt. Lebanon's municipal commission approved a $30.7 million general fund budget for 2010 by a 3-2 vote on Monday.

"Despite the shortfalls, we found a way to make it work this year," said D. Raja, who voted in favor of the budget. As incoming commission president, he said he would look for ways to increase revenues over the next year.

The approved budget will not change real estate, earned income and deed transfer tax rates in 2010 as compared with 2009.

Read more: www.post-gazette.com/pg/09351/1021458-55.stm

CAC Documents Now Available Online

The documents from presentation given by the Community Advisory Committee for the upcoming high school renovation have been released on the school district web site. They can be viewed at:

www.mtlsd.org/highschoolrenovation/cacdocuments.asp

Mt. Lebanon Survives Butler Burst

Mt. Lebanon still can carry its national recognition into its nationwide road trip. Madison Cable and Lauren Arborgast made sure of that.

Cable scored a team-high 24 points and Arborgast scored nine of her 13 in the fourth quarter to fend off Olivia Bresnahan and Butler for a 69-59 victory in Mt. Lebanon's opener at Butler on Monday night.

Mt. Lebanon, the defending PIAA Class AAAA champion, is ranked No. 9 in the country by USA Today, and the Blue Devils will travel to Arizona and Alabama over the next two weeks to test themselves against some of the country's top competition.

Read more: www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/s_657789.html

So Where Do We Go From Here?

Well, as you read yesterday, Mike has ridden off into the blogging sunset. He will be back from time to time to guest blog and to definitely chime in as a commenter as well. But what happens now?

As Mike said, I fully intend to keep this blog going. Mike and I have heard from Lebo people everywhere -- not only here in our own town, but expatriates from around the country. They told us that they really enjoy keeping up on the news "back home" as well being able to "feel the pulse" (hence our tagline) of their community as our fellow residents engage in civil (and sometimes not-so-civil) debate regarding issues facing our hometown or chosen place of residence.

Any good businessperson will elicit feedback regarding their store, restaurant, etc. -- and this blog is no different. Please let me know what you like about Blog-Lebo; what you don't like; and what you'd like to see here -- whether it is different content, pictures, more opinion and less articles or vice-versa. I want this blog to continue for a long time, but I want to make sure to engage my readers and keep you coming back.

I really love this town. I was raised here and continue to live here. It's not a perfect town (none of them are), but it's my (our) town and we have the power to control its future -- through the election of our public officials, our ability to volunteer to serve others here and to speak our mind when it needs to be spoken.

Mike did this town a great service by starting Blog-Lebo in the first place. It has forever changed our community and I want to make sure that it exists for a very long time. Thank you for your previous (and future) readership. I can't do this without you!

Done.

As a early holiday gift to myself, I am calling off my blogging at Blog-Lebo.

Joe Polk will be carrying on here. The blog will not be shutting down.

The reasons for my signing off are not worth explaining here in detail; let us say that I keep a running cost/benefit blog accounting in my head, and over the last several months the costs of my blogging have outpaced the benefits by a considerable margin. In recent months, there has been far more melodrama associated with my writing for Blog-Lebo -- and more melodrama in Mt. Lebanon -- than there has been in all of the rest of my blogging life "put together." (You don't get the full impact of the phrase in quotes unless you put on your Jean Hagen, Singing in the Rain accent.) As some of you know, I post on a semi-regular basis to five blogs, including this one. With this post, that number becomes four. (As some of you also know, I shut down one of my other blogs -- Pittsblog -- in 2008, only to bring it back a few months later. I was on the right track in rebalancing my blogging; I erred in choosing the wrong blog as my target!)

Melodrama? In Mt. Lebanon? What I mean is this: Inside the well-oiled machine that produces the public posts and comments at Blog-Lebo is a back channel of email and phone calls, some thoughtful and constructive, many whiny and angry. These come from our elected officials, their friends and enemies, all manner of other Mt. Lebanon residents for whom the blog isn't a good enough forum, and some for whom the blog serves its purposes quite nicely. Those of you who follow the School Board or Commission closely are undoubtedly on the receiving end of even more of those messages than I am; some of you probably also send them. Mt. Lebanon has no monopoly on bad behavior by its citizens, but it certainly has its share. Dealing with all of that bad behavior on the blog is part of the bargain; dealing with all of it off the blog is a ceaseless hassle.

That said, there are a lot of wonderful people here in Mt. Lebanon, people whose time and passion for Mt. Lebanon far exceeds my own. The best part of my blogging experience has been meeting many of them. Some of those wonderful people have taken to blogging themselves, and that's good, because their blogging shakes things up, and Mt. Lebanon certainly still needs to be shaken up. Whether or not I'm blogging here, the shaking will continue (until morale improves, to borrow the old joke). To those who will carry on, I say, with my best faux Latin, Non illegitimis carborundum. Don't let the bastards, or the drama queens, get you down.

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa, Happy Festivus, and best wishes for whatever holiday that you and your family do or don't celebrate this season.

$54.5 vs $115 (Million)

MASD needs $54.5M for new schools. That's the title of the article from Friday's McKeesport Daily News where three new school projects are discussed. Am I reading that right? THREE projects for 1/2 of what we are spending on one? Two brand new elementary schools and a renovation to a third?

Junior Batteer Came Up Big For Mt. Lebanon

Mt. Lebanon junior forward Zach Batteer led his team to the WPIAL Class AAA boys soccer championship in the most significant way possible. Batteer scored the winning goal in a 1-0 double overtime victory against Upper St. Clair. It was a free kick from 30 yards.

"It was pretty cool," Batteer said, in massive understatement. For the second consecutive season, Batteer was named all-WPIAL and all-sate, finishing with 23 goals to give him 44 for his career. He also was named a Region II (East) and national All-American by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America.

Read more: www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/s_657555.html

When We Used To Allow Anonymous Postings

In the past, Mike and I used to allow anonymous commenting on this blog. For those of you that have been blog followers for a long time, you know that we encountered a serious problem with this policy and made a decision years ago to only allow postings with verifiable names.

Mike and I were both told that this was a bad idea and that it would squash opinions being aired via our blog. This was, of course, coming from people that "thought" they they were immune to any reprecussions as a result of their anonymous postings on our blog.

Well...you may want to think again about that. It will be very interesting to see how this plays out.

Mt. Lebanon Teams In National Spotlight

The Mt. Lebanon boys' and girls' basketball squads were easy picks as No. 1-ranked teams in their respective WPIAL divisions. Both were highly successful last year and both return almost all of their top players. But the Blue Devils' boys and girls aren't content to see how they do in district play this season. Both teams are playing schedules with a national flavor.

The girls' team will play in two tournaments this month against some of the best competition in the country. Mt. Lebanon will play in the Nike Tournament of Champions Dec. 18-22 in Phoenix. The Blue Devils girls also will play in the T-Mobile Invitational Dec. 29-30 in Birmingham, Ala. Their first game Dec. 29 will be against St. Mary's (Calif.), the No. 1-ranked team in the country in USA Today.

The Mt. Lebanon boys will play in the Junior Orange Bowl Classic Dec. 27-30 in Miami. The boys also will play in two Prime Time Shootout events Jan. 24 in Morgantown, W.Va., and Jan. 30 at Villanova University.

Read more: www.post-gazette.com/pg/09345/1020009-361.stm

Mt. Lebanon Runner Advances To Nationals

After finishing second to North Penn's Brad Miles at the PIAA Class AAA cross country championships, Mt. Lebanon senior Rad Gunzenhauser said he needed a rest. He planned to take some time off before gearing up for the indoor track season. Gunzenhauser had no intention of competing in the Foot Locker Cross Country Championships.

Then he got to talking to former Mt. Lebanon runners Miles Becker and Jim O'Toole. It's interesting what a conversation with guys who have been-there, done-that will do for someone.

Read more: www.postgazette.com/pg/09344/1019521-364.stm

Fiddling While Rome Burns?

While the members of the Mt. Lebanon School Board bicker in public about who has been nice to whom (see this post and the comments), a sharp-eyer BL reader sent me a link to the recent USNews survey of the Best Public High Schools in the United States. These surveys are always flawed and biased in some respects (even many respects), but given Mt. Lebanon's proud history and commitment to the schools, it's fair to expect that our schools would show up among the top schools in the region.

Two years ago, USNews included Mt. Lebanon among its "silver" scorers in Allegheny County.

This year, Mt. Lebanon is nowhere to be found. The top scorers in Allegheny County are Mt. Lebanon's perennial public school competition: Upper St. Clair, Fox Chapel, and North Allegheny.

Perhaps someone else can wrangle the data to figure out where Mt. Lebanon has gone off the rails. Or where USNews has gone off the rails, which is entirely possible.

Mt. Lebanon Hospice Accepts Memorial Donations

Family Hospice and Palliative Care of Mt. Lebanon is accepting $20 donations for people who want to have a loved one's name on a dove adorning one of 15 trees that will be on display until Dec. 26 at seven local malls: The Galleria at Pittsburgh Mills in Frazier, Century III Mall in West Mifflin, Ross Park Mall in Ross, Monroeville Mall, The Mall at Robinson, Shenango Valley Mall in Hermitage and Clearview Mall in Butler.

The hospice started its "Memorial Tree of Love" in 2001 with a single tree in The Galleria. Last year the trees had almost 1,500 names on them. Donors are able to choose the mall at which their doves will be displayed.

Proceeds are used to support the nonprofit's services. To purchase a dove, contact the hospice's development office at 412-572-8812. More information about the hospice is available on-line at www.familyhospice.com.

Link: www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/pittsburgh/s_655490.html

High Expectations For Mt. Lebo This Season

Nt. Lebanon coach Joe David says he welcomes the high expectations for his team this season. The Blue Devils' schedule alone makes that apparent.

Mt. Lebanon travels to Miami on Dec. 28 to play in the annual Junior Orange Bowl Basketball Classic. The Blue Devils, with five starters returning from last year's WPIAL runner-up and state semifinal team, will play their first-round game against Miami Coral Reef, the reigning Florida 6A state champion and MaxPreps' No. 48-ranked team in the country.

Link: www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/s_656449.html

Mt. Lebanon's Christa Owens Heads To The Climate Conference In Copenhagen

All eyes will be on Copenhagen this month, and Mt. Lebanon resident Christa Owens will be there covering the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP15) as a new media reporter.

The Pittsburgh native was selected by the Sierra Student Coalition to serve as a youth delegate to COP 15. A political science major at Carleton College in Minnesota, Owens is one of 18 college-aged students in the delegation traveling to Denmark next week along with Sierra Club volunteers and staff.

Link: www.popcitymedia.com/innovationnews/owens1202.aspx

Bad Behavior at the Mt. Lebanon School Board?

Updated 12/10/09 at 9:40 am: The Mt. Lebanon Accountability Organization (MLAO) prepared a transcript of the School Board's "reorganization" meeting, which is the subject of this post. You can find the transcript here.

The Mt. Lebanon School District's website reports:

School Board Elects New Leadership
The Mt. Lebanon Board of School Directors held a reorganization meeting on December 7, 2009 to elect board leadership for 2009-10. Edward Kubit was elected president in a vote of five to four and Sue Rose was elected vice-president in a vote of five to four.

Five to four? Five to four? This can't be good news for Mt. Lebanon. And School Director James Fraasch confirms that it's not:

When I was younger and played sports in high school and then in college, it was always a given that every member of the team was to be on their best behavior at all times. When we traveled we would wear ties and when we stayed in hotels our coaches would even check our hotel rooms before we checked out to make sure we cleaned them up. We were part of a team and when you are part of your team your actions are a reflection of the entire team. When even a single teammate out of 40 would leave his hotel room a mess he is implying that the entire team is a mess. All the players understood this simple lesson. Unfortunately, last night we had far too many board members leave their hotel room a mess. ...

The Board is not a reality TV game show. It should not be a place where board members decide to publicly air their dirty laundry about their gripes and grievances against other board members. It should not be place where board members can publicly make up unfounded accusations and level them against other board members. It should not be a place where parents have to put their hands over their kids eyes and ears because some of the behavior that goes on is so reprehensible and distasteful that the parent just doesn't want their child to see that adults can behave this way.

I haven't seen a tape of the meeting, and after this report I seriously doubt that I want to waste a bunch of my time watching it. Last night I spent the evening at an event on the North Side where a writer I know read from his reporting on the brutally repressive regime in Burma. You want melodrama where the stakes really matter? Read the work of George Packer and check out the Pittsburgh City of Asylum. You want melodrama where people who have money and safe places to live can't figure out how to work together? Come to Mt. Lebanon.

Updated 12/8/09 at 6:50 pm:

School Director Josephine Posti summarizes the reorganization meeting in terms that point only obliquely at possible disagreements among Board members:

Last night’s meeting was a chance for the Board to share concerns some members, including myself, have had regarding the responsibilities Board leadership have fallen short on during the past two years and to recognize the division this has created among the team. Mr. Kubit offered a commitment to improve communication with constituents, Board members and stakeholders, work on team building and correct gaps some of us have observed in governance.

Reading her description and James Fraasch's description, I come away thinking that there were *two* meetings last night.

What's Up?

Joe's been holding down the fort at Blog-Lebo with characteristic reliability; I've been focusing on work and family and other things (including my other blogs, at times). Mt. Lebanon is chugging along nicely these days, it seems to me. Soon enough there will be more to discuss regarding the high school renovation.

There are small things of note: There is Mt. Lebanon's decision this year not to hire deer sharpshooters (the uptick in the number of deer in my neighborhood is already noticeable). The number of ad pages in MTL magazine is obviously down; the issue that arrived the other day was the thinnest in my memory. The number of quality homes sitting unsold on the Mt. Lebanon market strikes me as unusually high, even for this slow time of year. I went to Casey Smith's Pittsburgh Rare blog to see the latest statistics - and the blog is gone. I hope that Casey is OK.

But no town is spared the Great Recession. If you have a buck to spare, buy something at a Mt. Lebanon business. The dresses in the windows at Anne Gregory these days are especially nice. And if we can find a convenient day and a willing host (Rich and Melanie, how about it?), perhaps we'll organize another one of our occasional winter-time Blog-Lebo meet-and-greets.

Welcome KousKous Cafe, Goodbye Michael B's

The times are a changin' on Washington Road -- at least for food. Last week brought the opening of the new KousKous Cafe in the space where Enrico Biscotti used to be. According to their web site, "KousKous Cafe is a small family owned restaurant serving authentic Moroccan cuisine. The chef owner, Abdel Khila hails from Morocco and has a wide range of experiences in the restaurant and tourism industry having worked in such well regarded establishments such as Walt Disney World company, Baum Vivant, Cafe Zinho and La forêt."

Unfortunately, we also learned that Michael B's (the former Caruso's Pizza) will be closing its doors at the end of December. A sign was recently posted in the front window of the establishment stating that their cooking equipment is for sale. No word yet on what might be taking its place in the future.