Thursday: Your Local News

Myspace Glitter Graphics; h/t Trib, Andrew Russell

Lest we forget. Now today, here is the Trib's take:

Pittsburgh's strategy to lure people to live Downtown with the promise of 10-year tax abatements is showing signs of success, city officials said Wednesday.

Bearing a gift basket of Merlot, biscotti and bags of gourmet coffee, Mayor Luke Ravenstahl welcomed Todd and Dorna Palcic to their new two-bedroom condominium...

Darned if that isn't the news. Now in the P-G's take, compare this:

The 16 families that have bought at 941 Penn are the first to get the benefit Downtown; a handful of homeowners in other neighborhoods are enjoying it.

"We have to do a better job of marketing it," said Mayor Luke Ravenstahl, as he visited 941 Penn yesterday. "Long term, we're going to have families living here in Downtown and some of our other neighborhoods that are eligible for the tax abatement."

To this:

"We're getting a lot of out-of-towners" who like the proximity to Downtown and the tax break, said Mr. DePasquale. "I don't think it would move forward as rapidly" without the break, he added, noting that he's now planning a 30-home project.

We're getting the impression this was a lot of sound and fury signifying rather little in the grand scope of encouraging residential growth.

But wait!

Mr. Ravenstahl said there's a "larger-scale development" under way in the West End that will use the program.

Smells like news.

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No mention here of gentrification and the apparently rapid transformation of East Liberty. It's a complicated subject -- a Target in town, taken on it's own, does seem pretty positive. (P-G, Mark Belko)

PNC continues to be um ... good. (P-G, Patricia Sabatini)

I'm already convinced. Now what about our many commonses that are not piled high on Wood Street? (P-G, Edit Board)

A sign of life on county council! (Trib, Jim Ritchie)

Oh, now I see why Ruth Ann Daily doesn't get Barack Obama! And why the Post-Gazette seems so sullenly resigned to its fate! (P-G, Ruth Ann Daily)

AND FINALLY: Malik Rahim just came to town from New Orleans to receive honors from the Thomas Merton Center. So you think you know what to expect, right?

What was your reaction to Barack Obama's victory?

None, other than to say that history was made. And now it's: How we can really come up with a plan to clean our environment, and then second, do something to save our economy without just giving bailouts to the rich?

Read it. (CP, Adam Fleming)

The Band: Whispers

The song: Rock Steady

Hump Day

The cherry on top. (NYT, Susan Saulny)

Fortunately, some of the rest of us are blogging:

If you haven't read and really thought about the Angry Drunk Bureaucrat posts here, here and here, you're not processing events optimally. (ADB)

You want to start reading at, "If you want to be of value to local readers..." (Nullpsace)

These pictures are freakin' adorable. Freakin. Adorable. (Pgh Hoagie)

Pgh Is A City agrees with Michael Lamb. It doesn't quote Michael Lamb directly, but it's saying the same thing as Mike Lamb. Mike Lamb! (PghIsACity)

Maybe it is time for some hard questions. Maybe it's time to move the FACToids onto greener pastures, like this stuff and more. (Allegheny Institute)

Our Lesbian terms it a "protest", but the flier clearly identifies it as a "rally against". We find nothing at all untoward about the prospect of showing up to this Rally. (PghLesCor)

"Making it 'cool' for our young people to be intellectual, articulate and poised" is a hopeful observation indeed. Glad to have seen it in the P-G. (Diondega 412)

Speaking out of turn and unasked for: the best thing bloggers can do to be of benefit to the region is to produce extremely excellent blogging. Not to go about PR-ing. (Burgh Diaspora)

Dear Matt Drudge: I can't stay mad atch'ya. You're out of the doghouse! (Slate, Jack Shafer; h/t AS)

Mayor Delivers Annual Budget Address

Mayor Luke Ravenstahl used his Budget Address to press the case for unity, optimism, unity, family-style governance and unity -- while frequently invoking the election of Barack Hussein and the birth of Cooper Luke. (Video: P-G, Nate Guidry)

"IF WE ARE TO CONTINUE OUR SUCCESS AND OVERCOME FUTURE OBSTACLES," said Ravenstahl, "WE MUST UNITE AS ONLY A FAMILY CAN. TOGETHER, WE ARE ONE PITTSBURGH FAMILY."

"LIKE A PITTSBURGH FAMILY," the Mayor continued, "WE WILL PUT PERSONALITIES ASIDE TO FIGHT FOR THE FUTURE OF A CITY THAT DEPENDS ON US. LIKE A PITTSBURGH FAMILY, WE WILL WORK TOGETHER IN THE SPIRIT OF THIS HISTORIC ELECTION, TO RESIST THE URGE TO SAY 'NO WE CAN'T' AND INSTEAD SAY "YES WE CAN."

After touting past accomplishments such as improving some community and recreational facilities, demolishing vacant buildings, developing green spaces in their places and reducing crime to "40-year historic lows", the Mayor highlighted initiatives for 2009 such as the relocation of a South Side police station, the installation of video surveillance cameras, a two-percent slimming of the city workforce by attrition, and the expectation of continued street paving and snow removal services.

"OUR PROGRESS IN RESTORING PITTSBURGH'S FINANCIAL HEALTH HAS NOT GONE UNNOTICED," Ravenstahl said, in what is sure to become a familiar refrain as he approaches the end of Mayor O'Connor's first term as chief executive. "FOR THE THIRD TIME IN MY TWO YEARS IN OFFICE, THE CITY'S BOND RATING HAS BEEN UPGRADED BY NATIONAL RATING AGENCIES."

On the flip side, the Mayor says that the city budget will be "balanced" for the third consecutive year. The distinction between a merely balanced budget and our two consecutive structurally balanced budgets of years past is as yet unclear.

Council's finance chair, Bill Peduto, urged Ravenstahl to develop a five-year financial recovery plan with state overseers that puts Pittsburgh on stable financial ground permanently.

"We cannot operate a city government the way that we have in the past and expect anything less than budgets that continue to go into the red," Peduto said. (Trib, Jeremy Boren)

There does seem to be general agreement that budgets will return to the negative in several years as pension obligations come due -- but there is as yet no consensus on whether, when, how and to what degree anybody should concern themselves with that. As such, it's hard to make it an issue.

Mr. Ravenstahl had planned to put $54 million in the fund next year, or 15 percent more than the state-mandated minimum. Now he's scaled that back to $49.7 million, or slightly more than 5 percent more than the minimum.

"I wish they would have stuck with the 15 percent commitment," said Mr. Lamb. (P-G, Rich Lord)

Elsewhere, Our Controller speaks of bank balances "getting crushed," and of our not being out of the woods quite yet.

Although the mayor's budget address, coming as it does after the oversight boards approve his budget proposal, lends his proposal the air of finality, that blueprint must still be ratified by City Council. It will be interesting to see if anyone finds room in this for improvement.