Category: default || By jt3y

Cluttered items from an empty mind:

I'm sure you're as relieved as I am that the Penguins finally have a deal for a new arena. Wow! That's a load off of my mind. It means that we won't have to hear any more news stories about how the Penguins need a new arena.

I'm sure glad that this arena is being built at no expense to the taxpayers. Well, except for:

• $10.5 million in cash the state is paying the Penguins "in recognition of delays the team suffered while it was negotiating for a new arena," and,



• $7.5 million for the next 30 years that the state will contribute from its economic development fund, and of course, the



• $290 million bond issue that's being underwritten by the taxpayers of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

Other than that, yes, there's no taxpayer money involved!

. . .

Auditing Dep’t.: If you live in the country, where you rely on the state police, you may be interested to know that $7.5 million per year would pay the salaries (not including benefits) of 150 new troopers.

If you live in the city, where you or your neighbors rely on public transportation, $7.5 million per year would make up more than 10 percent of Port Authority's projected budget shortfall.

You may say that the $7.5 million is coming from gambling revenues, so it isn't really tax money. But I thought that we legalized slot machines to reduce property taxes in the state. Did I miss the part where it said, "reduce property taxes, or maybe build an ice rink for Canadian and Russian millionaires"?

. . .

Economic Impact Dep’t.: I know about 17,000 people attend Penguins games, and spend money in downtown Pittsburgh for parking, meals, giant foam rubber fingers, etc.

But I also know that about 3.3 million people rely on the Pennsylvania State Police for their regular police protection.

And I know that about 200,000 people ride Port Authority buses and railcars every day.

And I know that the rehabilitation of the Homestead Grays Bridge is costing about $29 million (PDF link) and I would suppose that rehabbing the Mansfield Bridge or the Jerome Avenue Bridge would be in that same ballpark, and $7.5 million would go a long way toward those projects, too.

Perhaps you think it's worth trading off those kind of projects or public services so that 17,000 people can enjoy a hockey game, and because Pittsburgh might get to see a Stanley Cup again.

Just remember to yell "Let's Go Pens!" when you need a cop, can't get a bus or blow out a tire on a pothole.

. . .

We Have Our Priorities Straight Dep’t.: Does it bother anyone else that we're tearing down the old Central Medical Center in the Hill District to build the new hockey arena?

I also notice that the former Brownsville General Hospital, which closed in 2006 after losing money for several years, is being liquidated. Patients who formerly used BGH during emergencies must now drive to Uniontown (21 minutes), Waynesburg (41 minutes) or Monongahela (22 minutes).

It seems to me that the health, safety and welfare of citizens is a more important function of local and state governments than professional hockey. And it seems odd that we can find $290 million to build an arena, but not to keep hospitals open. But I could be wrong, you know.

. . .

National Affairs Desk: Nebraska Sen. Chuck Hagel, supposedly planning to run for president, called a press conference recently to announce that soon he's going to announce ... something. Way to show decisive decision-planning, Chuck. That's the kind of wishy-washy leadership this country cries out for.

Former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson, who currently plays the district attorney on Law & Order, is also considering a run. (Personally, I was holding out for Jill Hennessey, but she's Canadian. Sam Waterston is too busy with his insurance career, and Steven Hill declined to run, saying "we got no case --- cut a deal.")

And New York Sen. Hillary Clinton (motto: "Pushing Republican fundraisers forward since 1992") is still be pushed as the Democratic front-runner by the Washington press corps despite running on a platform of one banality after another.

Clinton hasn't used the line, "We must move forward, not backward, upward not forward, and always twirling, twirling, twirling towards freedom," but she's come close. (Tube City hard-hat tip: Jonathan Potts.)

. . .

How Can We Miss Him If He Won’t Go Away Dep’t.: I heard a radio ad for some charity fundraiser that's bringing Newt Gingrich to Pittsburgh. It billed him as "one of the world's best-known statesmen."

They mean the Newt Gingrich who:

• Served his wife with divorce papers while she was dying of cancer in the hospital



• Was having an affair while he was impeaching the president for lying about his affair



• Shut down the U.S. Government rather than negotiate a budget compromise

Apparently, they're not making statesmen like they used to.

. . .

Won’t You Come Home Disraeli Dep’t.: Hagel, Thompson, Clinton and Gingrich are what passes for political leadership in this great country. Someday we're going to look back on the Ford Administration with fondness as a golden age in American political life ...

Oh, wait, we already did.