Active Network Sponsorship

The City of Pittburgh will solicit sponsorship deals with the help of a firm called The Active Network, reports the P-G's Rich Lord. This assistance will cost the city $75,000 plus 12% of the take.

"We raise revenue without raising taxes," said Don Schulte, director of The Active Network's properties division. "This isn't about signage. It's about having corporations find ways to give back to the community without being offensive."

Original Research: Don Schulte was president of the Public Enterprise Group, before that firm was purchased as a division of The Active Network. Some of their work involved selling space on "municipal furniture," which can include everything from lavatories to parking-space blocks. But the firm seems most proud of their work making Coca-Cola the "Official City Beverage" of Huntington Beach, California. All public vending machines and snack bars now sell only Coke products.

What the Comet finds most interesting is that many Huntington Beach public concerts and events now take place on something called the Coca-Cola Main Stage. It reminds us of the controversial renovations being made for the purposes of providing a larger, better stage at Point State Park. We wonder if this is why the Fort Pitt preservationist objections are being met with "BUDGET ... DEADLINES ... LA LA LA I CAN'T HEAR YOU!!!"

Public Safety Alert!!!

Vice President Dick Cheney will be hunting this morning at the Rolling Rock Club in Ligonier Township.

"During a 2003 trip to Rolling Rock, he bagged more than 70 pheasants and mallard ducks" reports the Trib, putting him in an elite class of legendary huntsmen including Orion and Gilgamesh.

The Vice President has no public events scheduled. He will meet only with "unidentified hunting companions," meaning the Comet will buy a beer for anyone who can "out" one of these brave souls.

Casino Countdown

"Members of the Pittsburgh Gaming Task Force have said they would prefer a first-rate architectural product in perhaps 16 to 18 months rather than something of inferior quality put up in 14 months."

Here we quote Dan Reynolds of the Pgh Business Times, taking the temperature of that same Task Force which well neigh endorsed PITG's North Shore project in the months prior to its victory, drawing the ire of their underwriters at the Heinz Foundation. Reynolds' article describes a mad dash to get those pesky permits out of the way, and get those slots cranking as fast as possible.

Transit Cuts

"I have no problem with what they are doing," said Sewickley's John Strahsmeier, who doesn't ride Port Authority buses. "But why are they putting that hole under the river that will serve nobody in any manner?"

Quote courtesy of the Trib's Jim Ritchie, in a decent wrap-up of What It's All Likely to Mean. Although such incredulous voters will mean little to Onorato, as we recently noted, the sentiment may affect others: see state senator Jane Orie's reintroduction of her bill to cap funding for the North Shore Connector Project in anticipation of cost overruns (KDKA).

We now place the controversial subway extension, in some murky, deeply hypothetical way, back on the table.

Meanwhile, a P-G editorial calls the gutting of PAT transit "as necessary as it is disturbing," a position with which the Comet is not in accord, at least until someone makes a similar case against garbage collection, fire protection, or the Pennsylvania National Guard as not-sufficiently-profitable enterprises.

County Executive Race

There is none. Lucky stiff.

"And remember," Mr. (Jim) Roddey added, "when you're running for office, there are two constituencies -- voters, and, of course they're important, but there's also the business community, the people who write the big checks, and downsizing Port Authority would probably win with those folks nine to one."

This money quote care of the P-G's James O'Toole, suggesting that with Dan-O's sights set on Harrisburg in 2010, the whole Port Authority bru-ha-ha can really only help him, since its not like unions have anywhere else to go.

The McNeilly Case

"Mayor Luke Ravenstahl, who maintained Thursday that her punishment was justified, appears to be oblivious to the injustice done and the bad precedent set." So concludeth a brief P-G editorial aside, putting one of America's great newspapers in rough accord with the Comet. The case was therein framed as an illuminating window into the practices of Dennis Regan, of whom whistle-blower McNeilly (NOT pictured) saved us a lot of grief. But the low prominence and lukewarm rebuke of Ravenstahl reflects our agreement that until further notice, this was a "scandalette" at best.

Save the Penguins

KDKA's Andy Sheehan adds some much-needed perspective to the whole Penguins arena imbroglio. Most of us forget that Mario Lemieux is not the majority owner of the Pens -- that honor goes to billionaire Ron Burkle, pictured. Not only is Burkle described as a friend of former President Bill Clinton, but also of Governor Ed Rendell, to whom he has made significant campaign contributions. So although Lemieux (R-Sewickley) might be getting a little fed-up with the prevailing politics and politicians of our region, there is reason to believe, as the Comet has insisted, we should all calm down and let the little dance play out.