Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Thanksgiving marks Season for Gratitude, New Budget Talks, Turning of the Calendar


Hubpages
I don't even want to describe to you the web surfing excursion which brought me to this old article, but I was thinking...

Mr. Huss said that the Zone 3 station was built without backup power due to budgetary constraints, and there were no plans to fit city facilities with generators. "We simply can't afford to outfit all of our stations with emergency power," he said (P-G, Rich Lord)

Hey! A new year, a new budget. How about we try to get emergency power going at all our major public safety facilities? The weather out there isn't getting any less terrific!

This year the Comet offers thanks to all the people who play a role laboring at, training and managing, or thinking about keeping us safe from all sorts of crazy things. I can't... I can't even. We'll get back to the blogging and prodding in short order.

Monday, November 19, 2012

SEA insists Steelers overreaching

Gene J. Puskar, AP

Great news, everyone!

SEA attorney Walter DeForest told Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Joseph James that the proposed expansion does not meet the definition of a capital improvement under the Steelers' stadium lease. (P-G, Mark Belko)

Sounds like the Steelers really, really should have called Jonathan Dwyer's number more regularly last night. Or at least thought more about subbing in Charlie Batch after a certain motley point.

To comply with the definition, the capital improvement must be in place in at least half of all NFL stadiums where at least 25 percent of the cost is funded by federal, state, or local government. (ibid)

The Steelers had a share of adversity to overcome in that game, but they hung with Baltimore all the same. The bottom line is that better decision making could have resulted in one or two of those pivotal plays capable of turning a "nip-and-tuck" contest against a divisional rival, and Pittsburgh is about to lead a movement to stem the rate of public spending and better safeguard public resources in development connected with major league sports franchises.