 |
| finnegan2749 |
Three major stories.
1. Wednesday's meeting of the ICA is set to be held in Pgh. City Council Chambers, and be pretty hairy.
One of Pittsburgh's state oversight boards is demanding that city officials explain this week why they haven't implemented a financial management system that was supposed to be in place by the end of last year. (Trib, Bill Vidonic)
We've been waiting on the purchase and implementation of this transparent, unified financial software longer it seems than we've been waiting on road and bridge funding. Only natural to begin assuming: maybe it's the transparency and unification that is being resisted by the administration. That's at least what the ICA is getting at in referencing its own "ongoing forensic invistigation" of the Harper affair (see also P-G Early Returns).
A disquieting thought, moving into...
2. InvestigatePGH has taken a new turn towards the Urban Redevelopment Authority
Though the process outlined in the requests called for a vote of the URA board before any lease award, and set maximum rental payments as the first goal, neither occurred. Instead, in June [2008] the URA staff, then led by Rob Stephany, picked the winners [incl. William Penn Parking] based on other considerations in consultation with Mr. Zober. (P-G, Lord & Balingit)
Frodo lives!
At the times this parking lease RFP was conceived, issued and the bids first reviewed, Pat "Patrick" Ford was the director of the URA under Zober and Ravenstahl. At that same period, during the height of the billboard scandal which led to his fiery resignation, Ford pointedly demonstrated to City Council that he keeps "copious" notes on every meeting, every interaction, every phone call he takes a part in.
"The mayor directed Pat to issue the [request for proposals] at issue," Lawrence Fisher, Mr. Ford's attorney, told the Post-Gazette on Aug. 26. (P-G 9/08/08)
If federal investigators have any questions, Ford's own records would surely fill in a more complete picture of how these contracts came to be, and how many other things dated to that time period came to be. Of course today he has business interests which may make a seamy spectacle undesirable.
My own notes on the supercharged five-hour Council meeting in which Ford brandished his notes can be found here:
Introductions, Legalese and Anticipation
The Problems Surrounding Mr. Specter
Who's Running Things?
Having fun at Patrick Dowd's expense
Pat Ford arrives
On Blogging, Part I
 |
| bradjenson.net/bardlog |
The second lesson I take is, Pat Ford took copious notes on his every interaction. This parking lease with Mr. Gigliotti's company would be reflected in them.
3. On the North Side, long-simmering tensions are boiling over in advance of a community development vote.
Proponents said expanding the historic district would raise property values and prevent developers from destroying historic homes. Detractors said it would force out low-income residents who can't afford home improvements to meet the historic district code.
I think they should expand it. Owners should take care of their properties,” said Eliza Carey, 77, who has lived in the neighborhood for 57 years. Her home on Jacksonia Street is in the proposed expanded zone.
“It will keep the property values up. I'm having problems with a Section 8 mess around me,” she said. (Trib, Bobby Kerlik)
If this is what proponents sound like, I'm not surprised there is so much organized opposition. See also P-G.
I've never understood, in a Roshomon sort of way, whether Pat Ford was a good guy who was going to blow the whistle and was sent away, a pragmatist who tried to go with the flow and finally got fed up, or part of the problem.
ReplyDeleteI would imagine that in his career field, whistleblowing is professional suicide. Nobody's going to hire the guy who put his last boss in jail.
It does seem as if the entrenched rentiers paid him to go away and stay quiet unless (until) subpoened.
He was part of the callous cabal that took the soft chunk of clay that was a newly minted young mayor and helped formed him into the leader he is today.
ReplyDeleteInvestigatePGH. That's a keeper Bram.
ReplyDeleteFrom today's PG, Ravenstahl advised Peduto in their meeting yesterday of "the need to find trusted, close advisers."
ReplyDeleteTrue that. No one likes to look back feeling they've been misled or bamboozled.
DeleteIt is too bad articles like that typically do not do a good job explaining what historic designation actually means. Instead they often rely on the he-said/she-said style of reporting, which allows misconceptions to be perpetuated.
ReplyDeleteWhen Theresa Smith ran for Council the Mayor told her that Bob Gigliotti and Bobby P were HIS men in the South Hills. (I do believe that was told to her in the Lamont.)
ReplyDeleteSo,yes the Mayor is VERY close to the owner of
William Penn Parking.
This is getting interesting.
Supposedly Lamont has a whole room laid out where the political dignitaries are invited to hold their sit-downs. Like, circles within circles. Maybe it's an exaggeration.
DeleteCorey's getting married next Saturday. Reception at the LeMont. Circles within circles.
DeleteWhat are city police doing using city police cars to provide free taxi service to retired cops? Yellow Cab could learn a thing or two. Here's the nugget from today's Trib coverage of Fred Crawford's grand jury testimony ...
ReplyDelete"As Crawford left the courthouse, a city police car pulled alongside the sidewalk, with its light bar flashing, and Officer Robert Swartzwelder offered Crawford a ride. He got into the car and left.
“I give rides to retired officers all the time. I offered Fred a ride. He was free to decline; he did not,” Swartzwelder said.