Tuesday, May 31, 2011

P-G: Transit Tunnel work in Mt. Lebanon will affect boarding

Construction in the Mt. Lebanon Transit Tunnel will start Thursday night and cause a change in boarding procedures for Red Line passengers at Mt. Lebanon and Dormont stations.

Installation of new track in the outbound tunnel will cause single-tracking of trains from 8 p.m. Thursday to 4 a.m. next Tuesday.

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Trib: Local doctor finishes third in Van Cliburn field of 77

By the time he turned 18, Barry Coutinho had to choose between a life in music or a life in medicine.

Coutinho chose the greater stability and financial security of medicine, eventually becoming a family physician at UPMC Shadyside, but never gave up his love of the piano.

On Sunday, he took third place in the Van Cliburn Foundation's sixth International Piano Competition for Outstanding Amateurs in Fort Worth, Texas, one of the most prestigious contests for nonprofessional musicians.

"I had considered (entering) 10 years ago, but it was too much trouble with the pressures of work and raising small children," said Coutinho of Mt. Lebanon. "Now that the kids are a little older, that gave me more time to practice."

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WPXI: Groundbreaking Ceremony Held For New Veterans Memorial In Mt. Lebanon

A groundbreaking ceremony was held in Mt. Lebanon on Monday for a new veterans memorial. Students from the Mt. Lebanon School District helped dig the ceremonial scoops.

Vietnam veteran and former Pittsburgh Steeler Rocky Bleier was one of the event's speakers.

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Sunday, May 29, 2011

Trib: Mt. Lebanon recaptures WPIAL lacrosse title

The rubber match in the game played with the rubber ball goes to Mt. Lebanon.

After winning the 2009 WPIAL Division I boys lacrosse title, the Blue Devils allowed Sewickley Academy to hoist the trophy last year.

Given a chance to snatch it back, top-seeded Mt. Lebanon did just that by holding Sewickley Academy star Ed Lally, a Towson-bound attackman who had scored 190 career goals prior to Friday's game, to two goals during to a 10-8 win yesterday at Chartiers Valley.

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Thursday, May 26, 2011

Trib: Work to resume on $15M hotel in Mt. Lebanon after gas find

Construction was expected to resume this week on a $15 million hotel in Mt. Lebanon after contractors discovered an abandoned underground storage tank with what appeared to be gasoline inside.

Contractors from Robinson-based Carl Walker Construction were clearing the Washington Road parcel last week for the construction of a Mariott Springhill Suites when they struck two buried storage tanks, one filled with sand and another with gas. All work had to be halted until the Department of Environmental Protection could test soil samples from around the site to see how much gas may have leaked, said Commercial Districts Manager Eric Milliron.

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P-G: Despite smacking hurdle, Lebo's Simone prevails

Anna Simone is a senior at Mt. Lebanon High School and a first-year hurdler on the Blue Devils track team.

That does not seem like such a big deal but the two -- senior and first-year hurdler -- usually do not go together.

"I was always afraid of them. I'd never tried hurdling before because I thought [hurdlers] were always hurt all the time," Simone said.

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P-G: Mellon Middle School students prepared at retreat

Growing up can be hard, and especially difficult is the jump from middle school to high school, said Kara Berman, a counselor at Mellon Middle School in Mt. Lebanon.

"Middle school to high school is huge because [students] are really coming into who they are as a person," she said. "They spent all their middle school years figuring it out, and now I think they have a little better grasp on it."

To make the transition easier, Mellon has designed retreats for its male and female students. The programs, now in their fifth and sixth years respectively, are attracting the attention of other school districts.

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Wednesday, May 25, 2011

YouTube: Smith Honors Mt. Lebanon Girls Basketball Team

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KDKA: Mt. Lebanon Hammer Attack Defendant Still Under Court Supervision

A Family Court judge says it’s not automatic that Robertino DeAngelis will go home once he’s released from the hospital for undisclosed treatment. DeAngelis was released from a juvenile facility last month but is still under court supervision.

He was found delinquent after trial on charges he attacked his girlfriend with a hammer and then tried to commit suicide by throwing himself in front of a light rail car in Mt. Lebanon in 2007.

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Tuesday, May 24, 2011

P-G: Mt. Lebanon Schools approve no-tax-increase budget

The Mt. Lebanon school board approved a district budget for 2011-12 on Monday night that includes no millage increase.

The $78.3 million budget was passed by a vote of 6-0. School directors Dan Remely, Elaine Cappucci and Larry Lebowitz were absent from the meeting, according to a news release from the district.

Board members and administrators had said in previous meetings this year that, after passing a 10.5 percent property tax increase for the 2010-11 budget last year, they didn't want to raise taxes this year.

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Monday, May 23, 2011

Raja resigns (Update 3)

Blog-Lebo has just learned that D. Raja has resigned his seat on the Mt. Lebanon Municipal Commission, effective immediately. His term was to end December 31, 2011.

In the primary election on May 17, 2011, Raja won the Republican nomination for Allegheny County Executive.

Update: Ward 5 Commissioner Dan Miller has more information on his blog.

Update 2: The municipality is now calling for candidates to fill the vacancy:
Seeking Ward I Commission applicants
LEGAL NOTICE
MT. LEBANON, PENNSYLVANIA

The Mt. Lebanon Commission is seeking letters of interest with resumes from residents of the First Ward of Mt. Lebanon who would like to be appointed to fill an unexpired term as a Commissioner.

At the time of appointment, a Commissioner shall be a citizen of the United States, shall be at least twenty-five years of age, shall have been a registered voter in the Municipality for at least two years, and shall be a bona fide resident of the First Ward of Mt. Lebanon. The term of this appointment shall continue until January 2, 2012 or until the installation of the person elected at the next general election.

First Ward residents who are interested in this position should submit a letter of interest and resume to: Stephen M. Feller, Municipal Manager, 710 Washington Road, Pittsburgh, PA 15228. Letters of interest shall be in a sealed envelope marked “COMMISSIONER APPLICATION” and must be received by the Manager no later than 4:00 p.m. on Thursday, June 9, 2011.
Update 3: More coverage:

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Trib: Mt. Lebanon falls in state tennis tournament

Mt. Lebanon coach Augie Garofoli is the first to admit that he does not have that one dominant tennis player on his team.

The Blue Devils won their first WPIAL title in 17 years this season by utilizing seven guys who know both their roles and how to win. But that wasn't enough in their first-ever appearance in the PIAA Class AAA quarterfinals Friday. They lost to District 1 runner-up Unionville, 4-1, at Hershey Racquet Club.

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Trib: Mt. Lebanon knocks out No. 4 seed Franklin Regional

Mt. Lebanon's Ashley Darabant knew she had to catch this fly ball, or things were going to get interesting.

"I wanted that ball coming to me," said Darabant, who sprinted across centerfield chasing down the final out in Thursday's 6-4 first-round victory in the WPIAL Class AAAA softball playoffs.

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Thursday, May 19, 2011

P-G: Changes could save $14 million in school upgrade in Mt. Lebanon

A month after bids for the Mt. Lebanon High School renovation project came in more than $15 million above estimates, the school board heard its high school principal, construction manager and architect describe 16 changes to the project that could yield potential savings of $14 million.

The changes included eliminating the rifle range, ending pursuit of LEED certification, changing the kitchen plans, raising the loading dock, reducing theater improvements, reconfiguring buildings B and G, shortening the phasing of the project and creating an on-site location for construction equipment.

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Letter: Incumbent school directors should resign

Steve Diaz wrote the following letter to editors of Blog-Lebo. —Ed.

To the Editor:

Re: High School Renovation and the Election

The results of the election this week confirm that despite the continuing use of nasty personal attacks and gang mentality by the incumbents, an open, honest evaluation of the high school renovation fiasco necessarily reveals a sloppy, inadequate, and prejudged rush through a complex project with no regard for the facts or legitimate public concerns. How embarrassing for the “officially” endorsed Republican candidates that an outsider, James Cannon, outpolled all of them, and the Democrat cross-filers as well. He beat all comers, incumbent and newbies, by a significant statistical margin. In the general election he has every opportunity to garner the top final vote, which should, by any fair and reasonable measure, make him the next president of the Mt. Lebanon school board.

The article in the Post-Gazette today underscores why James Cannon is so popular. First, the incumbent “officially endorsed” candidates are scrambling to do a complete volte-face. Mr. Kubit and Mr. Remely are quoted to the effect that many of the project elements as to which they articulated absolute support and commitment, such as renovations for the high school theatre and LEEDS certification, now are stated by these board members to be either not as economically viable or productive as they previously claimed without doubt (see the infamous flyer mailed to us by them at our own tax-paid expense). In fact, if they addressed such matters as seats and sound system in the theatre and other items of deferred maintenance (such as wiring or wireless upgrades and disability access), they would not need to spend anywhere near the scope of their planned project budget.

Second, they omit to mention how throughout the Act 34 public hearing process, these two, and indeed all of the incumbent school board members (save Mr. Fraasch, whom they bullied unmercifully), opposed and ridiculed ANY criticism of the plan that produced the calamitous bid results. Specifically, Mr. Kubit, Ms. Capucci and all the then incumbents who now seek re-election, loudly and consistently accused those who raised similar and other points of concern of “being against the children” and “not understanding” the needs they “had” to address. Who doesn’t seem to understand now?

Third, in an unbelievable exercise of hubris, the school board members yet seek to salvage as much of their discredited approach to school maintenance as possible (see the Post-Gazette this morning). Even now, after the petition of “The 4,000,” after the disastrous bidding, and after a primary election in which an outsider opposed to the program out-polled all the incumbents he opposed on the ballot, the board persists as if only some cutting and trimming will salvage their ill-conceived, vain, and wasteful project. We are supposed to accept that the “irreducible minimum renovation” can now somehow be reformed by the same clueless gang-that-couldn’t-shoot-straight in the first place. Pardon my candor, but I find it unlikely to be so.

Moreover, the school board persists in planning a high school renovation in a vacuum, pretending we do not also have a major, as yet unquantified, teacher pension funding obligation that will likely easily compete with or exceed the proposed cost of the White Elephant project the school board will not give up. The school board has given no accounting of how we will pay for both their grandiose spending on unnecessarily monumental building schemes and for the promised labor benefits we offered to secure the best teaching faculty possible. This from a school board that had done nothing to support the scholastic program even as our academic performance and standing has continuously and seriously deteriorated.

Finally, I object to the lack of accountability and responsibility. Why do none of the incumbents apologize to the opponents they savaged during prior public debate as they now proceed to incorporate many of the very suggestions the opposition offered before the project was finalized? Why do the incumbents, who were so strident in their “leadership” before, not accept any personal fault for the decisions they themselves made? It’s all well and good to blame the consultants, but who hired them and who took their advice while refusing to consider any criticism? The incumbent members of the school board had a clear field and made the policy choices that followed their own judgment, in the face of strong community opposition. Why does the school board fail to meet the No.1 priority of arresting and turning around our slipping academic program and why do they fail to accept any responsibility for it ? They don’t even talk about the academic record, let alone campaign on it. Now that the numbers are in, it is time for the same power brokers who want to lord it over this community by raising our taxes to unsustainable levels, to take “credit” for what they have “achieved.”

It is not good enough for failed decision makers to just posture a cosmetic change of direction. They must admit their failures and take responsibility for them. The members of the school board need to be adult enough to accept the failure of their policy and of their policy making process. It is time to step aside and let new leadership clean up. Not only those incumbents on the ballot, but the entire incumbent school board should resign to demonstrate good faith in their promise to look after the best interests of this community. As things stand now, no one has gained anything under the guidance of this school board; the only responsible course of action for them now is to go, not to sit tight and make new promises they can’t keep (or if they do “keep” them by whatever means, only spend us into oblivion when the bill comes due on the teacher pension fund).

Respectfully,

Steve Diaz
Mt. Lebanon

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Trib: Sibling rivalry possible on Mt. Lebanon board

Small-town government is notorious for its bickering. In Mt. Lebanon, a sibling rivalry could ratchet the drama to new highs -- or lows.

School board candidate James Cannon won his race in the primary Tuesday on a platform of change. His big sister, Josephine Posti, is the board president.

There's more:

-- He's a Republican. She's a Democrat.

-- He opposes the controversial renovation of the high school. She supports it.

Neither Posti nor Cannon would discuss their relationship, or even the last time they talked or saw each other.

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Trib: Shell-shocked Mt. Lebanon District continues eyeing cost-saving reductions

A first pass at cutting costs of renovating Mt. Lebanon High School has left some board members questioning the impact of reductions on programs and left others calling for even more savings.

Fred Watts of the architectural firm Celli Flynn Brennan and project manager Dana Damon of P.J. Dick on Tuesday appeared at a school board discussion meeting to report that they could cut $14 million from project design without impacting education. All of the proposed cost-cutting would occur in aspects of the project that fall in base bids for bricks-and-mortar construction, not so-called "soft costs," such as insurance and contingency fees

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Trib: Mt. Lebanon boys halt WPIAL tennis title drought

Mt. Lebanon junior Josh Smith took a look at the other four courts at Alpha Tennis and Fitness of Pittsburgh.

As he was about to begin the third set of his No. 3 singles match against Shady Side Academy's Chris Grubbs on Friday, he got a pretty good idea of the situation.

"I saw that our second singles player had lost, and our first singles player was ahead. I knew it was going to come down to my match," Smith said. "There was a lot of pressure."

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WTAE: Mt. Lebanon's Cable Named PARADE All-American Team

Madison Cable, last year's High School Playbook girls basketball Player of the Year, has another award for her trophy case.

Cable, a senior guard at Mt. Lebanon, was selected to the 35th-annual PARADE Magazine All-American team, as mentioned in this week's issue. The senior guard was one of only 40 players in the country selected and the first WPIAL honoree since Meg Bulger of Oakland Catholic (2003).

Read the full article:www.wtae.com/high-school-playbook/27929661/detail.html

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The Almanac: Lebo responds to pressure

How much does Josh Smith relish pressure? Enough that he answered the call when Mt. Lebanon needed a victory to clinch its first boys' team tennis title in 17 years.

With the match at Alpha Tennis and Fitness of Pittsburgh tied, 2-2, Smith conferred with his coach Augie Garofoli after having split sets with rival Chris Grubb at No. 3 singles.

"If you like having the match on your racket, then let's go for it," Garofoli told Smith.

With aplomb Smith breezed to victory in the third set to complete a 6-1, 3-6, 6-1 win that sealed Lebo's 3-2 triumph against Shady Side Academy in the WPIAL Class AAA championship.

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Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Pop City: Construction starts on $15 million Marriott Springhill Suites in Mt. Lebanon

Construction started last week on the Marriott Springhill Suites on Washington Road in the heart of the main business district in Mt. Lebanon. At seven stories, the hotel will be the area's largest structure. It will feature three levels of on-site parking and in its location in front of the T, have easy access to the light rail.

Kratsa Properties acquired the former North Parking Lot space (adjacent to Howard Hanna Real Estate office) from Mt. Lebanon Parking Authority and proposed the Springhill Suites location. The project will give the South Hills area a welcome addition to its sparse selection of hotels, says Eric Milliron, manager of commercial districts in Mt. Lebanon.

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The results of the May 17, 2011, primary election

From the relevant Allegheny County elections page, here are the summary counts from last night’s Primary Election. For convenience, I have listed the candidates in order of descending votes:
       ********** (Republican) **********

School Director MT LEBANON       Votes     %
Vote For Not More Than  5
 James Edmund Cannon .  .  .  .  1,542   20.51
 Scott D. Goldman .  .  .  .  .  1,302   17.32
 Ed Kubit.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  1,300   17.29
 Elaine L. Cappucci  .  .  .  .  1,194   15.88
 Lawrence Mark Lebowitz .  .  .  1,099   14.62
 William L. Cooper.  .  .  .  .  1,014   13.49
 WRITE-IN.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .     67     .89
                                 
Commissioner MT LEBANON WARD 1   
Vote For Not More Than  1        
 Thomas Michael Brown.  .  .  .    320   91.95
 WRITE-IN.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .     28    8.05
                                 
Commissioner MT LEBANON WARD 3   
Vote For Not More Than  1        
 Joseph J. DeIuliis  .  .  .  .    318   61.15
 Elaine T. Gillen .  .  .  .  .    176   33.85
 WRITE-IN.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .     26    5.00
                                 
Commissioner MT LEBANON WARD 5   
Vote For Not More Than  1        
 William L. Hoon  .  .  .  .  .    244   90.04
 WRITE-IN.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .     27    9.96


       ********** (Democratic) **********

School Director MT LEBANON
Vote For Not More Than  5
 Elaine L. Cappucci  .  .  .  .  2,074   22.55
 Lawrence Mark Lebowitz .  .  .  2,034   22.11
 William L. Cooper.  .  .  .  .  1,795   19.52
 Ed Kubit.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  1,561   16.97
 Scott D. Goldman .  .  .  .  .  1,513   16.45
 WRITE-IN.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .    221    2.40
                                 
Commissioner MT LEBANON WARD 1   
Vote For Not More Than  1        
 John Bendel.  .  .  .  .  .  .    484   99.38
 WRITE-IN.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .      3     .62
                                 
Commissioner MT LEBANON WARD 3   
Vote For Not More Than  1        
 Kristen Linfante .  .  .  .  .    440   93.62
 WRITE-IN.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .     30    6.38
                                 
Commissioner MT LEBANON WARD 5   
Vote For Not More Than  1        
 Kelly Fraasch .  .  .  .  .  .    431   75.48
 George Jackson.  .  .  .  .  .    135   23.64
 WRITE-IN.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .      5     .88

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Monday, May 16, 2011

WPXI: South Hills Homes Targeted In Burglary Spree (Updated)

Police said a group of homes in Pittsburgh's South Hills have been targeted by thieves.

Investigators said several burglaries have been reported within a 3-mile radius around Bower Hill Road. So far, homes in Upper Saint Clair, Scott and Mount Lebanon have been hit.

"They take what little bit you have and then you don't know if they are going to beat you up or what their gonna do," said Francis Swartzwelder.

Swartzwelder said many homes in her neighborhood have been hit. She said the area is made up of mostly retirees and many fear they'll be next.

Read the full article:
Update 2011-05-17 22:20: A reader has written to Blog-Lebo with a first-hand account of what the reader suspects may be burglary-related activity. —Tom

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Trib: Use of fund balance may be stopped in Mt. Lebanon

Mt. Lebanon commissioners debated this week whether the municipality should continue spending its savings in order to pay for operating expenses or whether prohibiting the practice could make it harder to balance the budget in tough times.

Commission president Dan Miller said the municipality has been leaning on its undesignated fund balance for the past three years in order to handle day-to-day costs of operation, instead of building it up or treating it solely as a "rainy-day fund." While Miller did not introduce legislation at the Tuesday night meeting that would prohibit that process, Commissioner Joe DeIuliis said taking the fund balance off the table at budget time could leave the commission having to contemplate service cuts or tax hikes.

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P-G: Mt. Lebanon will get a chance to defend its title

The defending WPIAL and PIAA champion Blue Devils are headed back to the playoffs.

Mt. Lebanon softball coach Nicole Fajtak is not sure if her team will be viewed as the reigning queens of the diamond or viewed more by their 7-10 overall record.

"I hope we have earned respect even if our record looks very deceiving," Fajtak said. "I don't know how we are going to be viewed, but what happened last year gets forgotten really quickly."

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Letter: School-board candidate James Edmund Cannon on recent events

The following is a letter to the editors from school-board candidate James Edmund Cannon. —Ed.

I recently became aware of an email with attachments circulating in our community regarding my school board campaign. They level accusations and impugn my integrity. Here are the facts:

On May 5th, my treasurer, Charlotte Stephenson, sat at the desk of the Allegheny County Elections Division and completed an expense report, as required by law. She asked if there were any other forms to complete and was told no. The following Wednesday, May 11, I received in the mail a letter from the County stating I was late filing my expense report and would be fined $20.00 a day. I obtained a blank copy of said form, left work, signed the form and had it notarized, then personally handed it to the clerk in the Elections office along with a check for $80.00. If one were to actually examine the publicly available information, one would note I still have not reimbursed myself to the tune of $329.56.

Having never run for office, I was not aware of the requirement to fill out a separate but duplicate copy of the expense report. And once it was brought to my attention, I corrected it. In the end, I take full responsibility. It was what we in the real world call an innocent mistake. It hardly rises to the level of a scandal. Yet some in our community seek to use this as political fodder two days before an election. It is silly, desperate, and far below the standards I expect from sitting elected board members.

Recent letters written by Lisa Borelli Dorn and Mary Birks, Board Director, and being circulated by Mary Birks, include the following statements:
It leaves the voter in the uncomfortable position of having to wonder who is backing this candidate and what is their agenda? … Cannon’s yard signs claim transparency, integrity and fiscal responsibility. Unfortunately, by either failing to know what was required or perhaps ignoring it for whatever reason, this candidate falls short on those hallmarks. As a veteran, James Cannon deserves our respect, but on May 17, he does not deserve our vote. [From letter by Lisa Borrelli Dorn]
And Mary Birks, sitting board member, is openly rallying for other candidates? For example, in Mary’s own words, she states
Only 5 candidates made certain to have all of their campaign forms completed on time and correctly, as well as turning in their individual candidate finance forms, as required by law: Cappucci, Cooper, Lebowitz, Kubit and Goldman.
And
Only 5 candidates value a representative government system, and expect to be held to a standard set forth by its citizenry: Cappucci, Cooper, Lebowitz, Kubit and Goldman.
It’s sickening and epitomizes the unethical sheen of modern day politics. I am profoundly disappointed with the behavior of a sitting school board director, and her actions are telling. They are also reflective of all that is wrong with the current board. The lack of integrity and honesty on the part of Mrs. Birks, and the other board members who are as complicit by remaining silent, only underscore the reasons behind my campaign. Our system is broken and I want to start fixing it. We have a sitting board member sending email from her personal e-mail account in an attempt to damage someone else's campaign.

I've seen firsthand the result on a society of tiny, petty individuals with only a minuscule dose of power operating unchecked and unaccountable. Dictators and despots throughout the world capitalize on apathy and fear. Well, I possess neither. I want to do what’s right for our community. This missive illustrates my desire to do so. And this, friends, is what transparency is all about.

Our current board does not want a dissenting voice, a different opinion or even input from the community – the very community supplying the money for the school district’s budget. That’s clear based on the email from Mrs. Birks. It’s akin to putting your paycheck in a bank only to be told a week later by the teller that you’re buying a new boat whether you want one or not.

I won’t spend much time or energy pointing out she tried the same thing with previous candidates only to be shrugged off. But this entire issue should have a chilling effect on voters since we have school board members who actually feel emboldened enough to act this way with no fear of repercussion.

The bigger issue is, as I’ve pointed out during my campaign, the Board’s priorities. Obviously the current directors are solely focused on the renovation. Again, that’s disappointing. The focus should be on academics. I’ve said as much and intend to make that my number-one goal should I be elected.

I look at the board as a volunteer position, one designed to help the community and a position free from partisanship. Unfortunately, objectivity and the focus on children has been relegated to the back burner in favor of pursuing an ever-ambitious and costly high school construction project. I see the current Board’s attitude as dismissive and destructive and hope that my presence on the Board will start to turn that attitude around to be more accepting of dissenting voices.

I am running a campaign based on transparency and am showing that here today by admitting that my campaign made a mistake. This type of humility is sadly missing from the current board.

On May 17th our community will decide whether we want to be bullied and cower in fear or take back control from an out-of-control local entity and reestablish open, representative government. I have faith that my fellow Mt. Lebanon residents will choose correctly.

Thank you for your attention.

James Edmund Cannon
Candidate for Mt. Lebanon School Board

Attachments

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Letter: Thank you for allowing me to be heard

The following letter comes from reader and frequent commenter John Kendrick. —Ed.

To the editors of Blog-Lebo:

Newly formed communication channels have radically changed the political landscape. Whether we are watching changes at the national level or even in our small community, we have seen a profound change in political communications as the Internet assimilates into our lives.

In Mt. Lebanon, we have three channels that target community news: (1) MtL, a municipal publication; (2) your website [Blog-Lebo] that publishes public opinion; and (3) another website that promotes an alternative interpretation of community events. My purpose in writing to you is to thank you publicly for permitting me to express my views on your website. Whether or not you agreed with my views, you let me be heard.

Not every channel of communication in our community permits a free and open exchange of ideas. Sadly, while you have openly embraced a policy not to censor, others openly censor – even if the reason is capricious.

The question in my mind is, “If my views are censored, how many others are not being heard?” Which leads to the next question, “How credible is the information provided from a channel that censors?”

Again, I want to publicly thank Tom Moertel and Joe Polk for never censoring a single post that I submitted. I know when I read the information on this site that those who chose to express their opinions are given that opportunity. The fact that everyone can be heard makes me feel that the information that I read on this site is credible.

This is something that everyone needs to think about very carefully as they make a decision about how our community will be governed in the years ahead. Do we want transparency and an open exchange or ideas, or do we want to select candidates who stifle free speech?

Sincerely,
John David Kendrick
Mt. Lebanon, PA

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Thursday, May 12, 2011

The Almanac - Dream chaser - Mt. Lebanon native takes a risk and follows her dream to Nashville

When we're young, we dream big. We're told 'the sky is the limit'. Yet, as we grow up, college visits start and decisions about careers come into the picture, and many abandon those dreams and instead reach for the realistic.

We realize we may not be drafted into the NFL or that dream career won't make us enough money to support a family in the future. We look at life more intellectually, matter-of-factly, and accept our options.

However, if we're to understand anything, it's that life is about taking risks for the things we love; and if we're lucky enough to feel that passionately about something, we shouldn't take the easy way out.

Melanie Meriney took a risk and followed her dreams all the way to Nashville.

Read the full article:

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Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Construction Has Begun On SpringHill Suites


Construction on the new SpringHill Suites hotel has finally begun on Washington Road. As you'll see in the picture, protective fencing has gone up around the entire construction area and the sidewalk is closed between the Howard Hanna offices and the Executive Building. It's great to see new construction on the street, especially something like this that will bring more people to our main street.

Note: While taking the picture, I saw a number of people walking and running along the fence -- which is a lane of traffic. Please be smart and cross the street and use the sidewalk there!

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Monday, May 09, 2011

P-G: Mt. Lebanon senior Tyler Anderson wins top prize in video contest for polio awareness

Tyler Anderson's video about a high school student writing a letter to her hero -- her grandfather who had been afflicted with polio -- won the $5,000 grand prize and a spot on the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation website in a contest that aims to teach the younger generation about the crippling disease.

The Mt. Lebanon High School senior was one of 265 students who entered a total of 79 short movies in the "Take a Shot at Changing the World" viral video contest. They were asked to submit videos that connected the historical development of the Jonas Salk polio vaccine in Pittsburgh with current efforts to rid the world of polio.

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Trib: Hall calls early for Mt. Lebanon's Cable

Mt. Lebanon senior Madison Cable didn't expect a hall of fame to come calling quite so soon, yet one did.

Cable's dark blue No. 22 jersey will be displayed at the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in Knoxville, Tenn., beginning this month. The hall has more than 100 jerseys in its ring of honor, including high school and college All-Americans.

For the next year, Cable's will be among them.

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Friday, May 06, 2011

P-G: Directors want answers for costly bids for high school

For the second time in two weeks, the architect and the construction manager for the Mt. Lebanon High School renovation took questions from the school board about why bids for the project came in 16.5 percent higher than expected.

Board members showed frustration as neither Tom Celli of Celli-Flynn Brennan architecture firm nor John Taormina of construction management firm P.J. Dick could give a detailed explanation for why their estimates had been wrong, or provide a detailed solution for how to bring the numbers in line.

"This board needs more," director Larry Lebowitz said.

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P-G: Family's donation aids glass project for St. Bernard

After suffering brain damage at birth, Angela Colella was left blind and in a fragile state. When she died last year at age 25 of respiratory failure, her mother, Joanne Kosar, was at her bedside.

"I told her now you can run and play and talk and do all the things you never did," Mrs. Kosar said. Her daughter's death Sept. 10 also bequeathed a whole other legacy.

While in life she could not help herself do the most simple things, "now she can do something for everybody," said Mrs. Kosar of the gift she and her husband, Mark Kosar, gave to St. Bernard Parish in Mt. Lebanon.

In Angela's memory, the couple donated $115,000 to the church for the first restoration of its more than 100 stained glass windows.

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Thursday, May 05, 2011

Trib: New voices seek spots on Mt. Lebanon commission

Turnover on the Mt. Lebanon Board of Commissioners has been high in the past few years, and this year's election could result in relative newcomers leading the board once again.

Three of five seats on the commission are up for re-election, and only one commissioner who has served a full term, Ward 3 representative Joe DeIuliis, is running again. In Ward 5, Dan Miller is not seeking re-election to a second term and in Ward 1, first-term commissioner D. Raja is running for county executive instead.

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