Last night was another high school football night in the Mon Valley. This morning I stopped at a dairy store to get a newspaper and a cuppa. Two middle-aged fellows --- I'd have to say one was in his 40s, the other in his 50s --- were standing at the counter, talking:
"Didja hear about TJ?" (TJ, for those of you not from the Mon-Yough area, in this case means Thomas Jefferson High School, not Lubinsky or Maxx.)
"What about?"
"Two players got hurt. One got a busted collarbone, the other got a busted arm."
"Oh, that's great!"
"Oh, yeah. I can't f---ing stand TJ. We're gonna f--king kill them."
"Who, West Mifflin?"
"Yeah. I eat out a lot on Route 51 and you oughta hear what they say about us out there. They talk about us like we're s--t."
And I thought to little old self: You're gloating over the fact that two teen-agers --- kids, really --- have broken bones, and they're the ones who talk about you like you're excrement?
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In other news, last month The Daily News reported that attorneys for Kennywood Park had sent a letter to West Mifflin officials, demanding a partial refund for amusement taxes levied against the facility.
It seems the lawyers had learned that Kennywood has been providing virtually all of the borough's receipts for that tax for the last several years, instead of levying it against all of the other amusement facilities in the borough, including golf courses, driving ranges, sports facilities and clubs. Kennywood wanted the refund money paid into a scholarship fund, and the borough to repeal the tax.
Well, according to David Conti in the Tribune-Review, the borough never responded. So this week, Kennywood filed suit in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court, asking a judge to order the borough to refund the money and alleging that the law has been selectively enforced, which is unconstitutional. They also want the law overturned.
I've already said what I have to say on the matter, and I tend to agree with Kennywood President Pete McAneny. If what the park alleges is true, then there's a smell wafting across Kennywood Boulevard these days, and it's not coming from the stagnant water in the lagoon.
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To Do This Weekend: Haler Heights Crime Watch hosts "Public Safety Day" from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. today at Serra Catholic High School, 200 Hershey Drive. Residents are invited to bring their children to tour the city's Fire Safety House and learn what to do in the event of a weather emergency. They can also meet Sparky the fire dog or tour the city's mobile police station. Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh will be providing free coloring books and other handouts ... McKeesport Symphony Orchestra kicks off its fall season tonight with "Autumn Sketches," including music by Smetana, Mascagni and John Williams. Call (412) 664-2854 or visit http://www.mckeesportsymphony.org.
Nits, notes, nuances, rants and observations:
When Dan Onorato ran for Allegheny County Executive, I was underwhelmed. He was a young guy, and there are darned few young Democrats in public life in Pennsylvania. And he had a reputation as an honest cop. But watching him stump, he just seemed ... well ... dull and unimaginative. I didn't always agree with Jim Roddey, but he at least seemed dynamic by comparison. And Onorato, a former Picksberg councilman, seemed a bit too close to the power structure on Grant Street that had helped send Pennsylvania's second-largest city into bankruptcy.
Yet over the past year or so, I have been increasingly impressed with Onorato. He shoots from the hip, has solid ideas and goals and gets out into the communities to pitch them, and he isn't afraid to defend himself. And Onorato isn't afraid to reach across county borders or political party lines to get help, which puts him head and shoulders above most of the elected officials in the state.
Plus, he genuinely seems to like people. You might think that's a prerequisite for getting into politics, but it isn't. Jim Roddey is not what you'd call a warm and fuzzy guy, in my experience. Cordial and professional, yes. Chummy, no. I admired Roddey, but didn't necessary like him. I kind of like Onorato.
That said, I think Onorato is all wet on his ideas for property tax reform in Allegheny County, and the Republicans on county council are closer to right. Freezing the assessments at 2002 levels only locks in unfair assessments --- both ones that are too high and too low.
Until we find a better way to fund schools and local government in this state than property taxes, we ought to be reassessing property in this county every year. That way, there wouldn't be the kind of nasty surprises that many property owners got when the entire county was reassessed a few years ago; if property values went up, they'd go up at a rate much closer to the rate of inflation. Conversely, if properties in economically depressed areas went down in value, they'd go down gradually, leaving local municipalities and school districts with more time to adjust their budgets accordingly.
And another thing: If a property has been sold recently, the assessed value should be within 5 percent of the sales price. Indeed, the sale of a property should automatically trigger a reassessment by the county. (In my own case, this would hike my property taxes, but I'm willing to take my own medicine.)
It pains me to say it, but Onorato's professed opinions on property tax assessment smack of pandering to elderly voters in hopes of using his "brave stand" as a way to get re-elected in a few years. If not, then he's got a deeply warped view of the reasons for assessing property values in the first place. I'm not sure which I like less; the idea that Onorato could be so wrong on this issue, or that he's deliberately misleading older voters. Perhaps that's just the price of running for office.
In any event, even if I think Onorato's off-base on this subject, it hasn't changed my overall favorable opinion of him. In fact, Democrats in this state could use a few more Onoratos --- male and female, black and white --- and a few less Vince Fumos and Bill DeWeeses.
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Speaking of Bill DeWeese, every time I think of him --- particularly in light of the state legislative pay raise, and his punishment of people who voted against it, like Irwin's Jim Casorio --- I am reminded of "Senator Bedfellow," the fictional legislator from the old "Bloom County" comic strip. Am I the only one?
While DeWeese doesn't appear to share Bedfellow's predilection for fermented beverages and white linen suits, he does share Bedfellow's love of oratory.
DeWeese also seems to share Bedfellow's love of shady, backroom politics. So perhaps the number one reason I think of Bedfellow whenever I think of DeWeese is the legendary profile of Bedfellow that ran in the local newspaper in "Bloom County." If you weren't a fan of the strip, I won't spoil it, but you can find it here. Then, go write your own punchline.
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And speaking of pay raises, this photo of state House Speaker John Perzel by the Tribune-Review's Phil Pavely is worth many, many more than 1,000 words, I think.
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And speaking of all of this, perhaps we're overdue for a reminder that opinions expressed at the Tube City Almanac are not those of my employers, or of anyone else, for that matter. I'm not even sure they're mine.
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On a lighter note, those of you familiar with the work of Tom Lehrer will want to visit this webpage, I think. It collects never-released recordings, lyrics and photos from a review that Lehrer and his colleagues in the physics department at Harvard (or is that "Hah-vahd"?) staged for their students in 1951 and '52. (Tip of the Tube City hard hat to Mark Evanier's News From Me.)
Those of you who aren't familiar with the work of Mr. Lehrer ... well, I feel sorry for you. But there's no time like the present to start, I suppose. Here's an excellent place to start.
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