Et Tu, Chris Potter?

Oh, Chris Potter, how could you? At the end of a perfectly nice column in City Paper you had to take a gratuitous slap at Our Fair City:

And that's just the beginning. As state law spells out, "No change in classification ... shall become effective until 10 years after the certification" of the population loss. In the meantime, the courts would appoint a commission to recommend changes to the government structure. Pittsburgh would become a third-class city only if city officials did nothing to act on those changes.

Granted, city officials doing nothing is a foregone conclusion -- especially if taking action might threaten their jobs. But there's another, much more likely, option. The legislature could rewrite the definition of a second-class city, so it included cities with fewer than 250,000 people. Harrisburg did this after the 2000 Census, to protect the status of Lackawanna and Fayette counties.

Still by 2030, it's at least possible we could have a whole different city ... a place like, say, McKeesport. Reformers take heart!

Now, just what is that supposed to mean?

For the benefit of Mr. Potter, we asked Dr. Pica Pole, director of Tube City Online's research and development department, to compile a chart comparing McKeesport with its slightly larger, noisier neighbor 12 miles north:

Pittsburgh has ...		while McKeesport has ...
a symphony		a symphony
a public library system		a public library system
a public park system		a public park system
a waterfront		a waterfront
Pittsburgh also has ...		while McKeesport has ...
a city-school combined wage tax rate of 3 percent		a city-school wage tax rate of 1.7 percent
a mayor who’s a former college football player and ... er ... that’s it		a mayor who’s a former vice president of Mellon Financial Corp. and old enough to shave
Act 47 distressed status		a budget surplus

You know, Potter is onto something. If Pittsburgh works hard and really applies itself, by 2030 it might be up to McKeesport's standards.

. . .

OK, I'm being facetious. But you get my point. McKeesport has long been the butt of Pittsburgh's jokes, just as Pittsburgh has long been the butt of ... well, everyone else's jokes.

One of the goals of Tube City Online since its founding in 1995, and the Almanac, which went online in 2003, has been to promote things that McKeesport and the Mon-Yough area have now, in the present, instead of pining for what's lost. It also tries to foster pride in the community, because frankly I'm damned tired of people feeling apologetic because they're from the Mon-Yough area.

The region has a lot of problems, but it also has a lot of opportunities. We need some of the young people who have been educated at McKeesport or South Allegheny or Serra or West Mifflin or Duquesne or East Allegheny to go to college and raise their families here, instead of moving to Cranberry or Murrysville or Peters.

And we need people who have moved away to come back and start businesses here. The nonprofit and government sectors can't carry the entire load. Why plow up 20 acres of woodland in North Versailles when we've got lots of buildable land, cooperative local officials, and big tax incentives in McKeesport, Duquesne, Clairton and elsewhere?

If you're a native of McKeesport and the surrounding area, consider doing something for your community. Nostalgia for the "good ol' days" (which weren't always that good) is nice, but let's plan for tomorrow.

After all, we don't want Pittsburgh to catch up with us.

. . .

In Other Business: If Jefferson Hills rejects a planned Wal-Mart Supercenter, the developers are ready to build in Clairton. So report Marge Smykla in the Post-Gazette and Pat Cloonan in the Daily News.

The last thing we need is another Wal-Mart --- by 2010 we'll be able to drive from Pittsburgh to Greensburg through the parking lots of Wal-Marts --- but this seems like a win-win situation for Clairton residents.

. . .

To Do This Weekend: Decide whether Chris Potter is best served with white or red wine. The Two Rivers Amateur Radio Club joins ham radio buffs from around the country in celebrating "Field Day" near the water tower at White Oak Park. Radio fans with ham licenses can check in on the club's repeater at 147.120 mhz, while scanner buffs can listen. ... McKeesport City Fair continues through tomorrow night at Helen Richey Field, Renziehausen Park. There's a petting zoo, rides, games, and food. Ride all night for one price ... Animal Friends holds a rabies clinic at McKeesport Fire Department Station No. 2, Eden Park Boulevard. Cost is $8, and hours are 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday. Dogs must be on leashes and cats must be in carriers (except tigers). Call (412) 847-7076.

To Do Next Week: The first "lunch on the lawn" event of the summer will be held at J. Clarence Kelly Park (the old railroad tower on Walnut Street) at 11 a.m. Wednesday ... McKeesport Heritage Center holds its book release party at 7 p.m. Tuesday.