Susan Morgans, always a delight, threatened the editor of The Almanac over a Tweet that I had posted here on Lebo Citizens. Susan feels that Lebo Citizens, is "filled with lies, insults and profanity, and misinformation and has served only to encourage the media to inflate the 'controversy' surrounding deer management."
"Deer management." Susan, call it what it is. Killing. Violence. Putting Mt. Lebanon residents in danger.
This morning, I approved a comment about you in an earlier post, "Just documenting "toxic."
"Until then, I would bet that the commission will continue to treat the 25 pledgees as personae non gratae." Why is that, exactly, 4:02? Casting our lot with the blog's author? You must be pretty well connected to make such an assertion, an assertion which is vaguely threatening. As a citizen with a voice in my community, a citizen opposed to gunfire in my backyard and violence in any form, I don't see how anyone could NOT get on board with promoting a little harmony in our dysfunctional little hamlet, regardless of the circulator of the pledge. Sycophant? Hardly. Furthermore, Susan Morgans has behaved more like a petulant child than an adult putting her foot down.As a municipal liaison to the Community Relations Board, I would think you would "be on board with promoting a little harmony in our dysfunctional little hamlet." For this reason, the personal pledge to coexist is being circulated offline. Completed pledges are being mailed to me, Elaine Gillen, P.O. Box 14873, Pittsburgh, PA 15234. You should spend a little less time reading my blog, Susan, and more time at your job. For someone who doesn't read my blog, I find it interesting that you know that we call you the "Public Misinformation Office."
Keep up the good work, Susan. We don't pay you over $100,000 per year plus benefits for nothing.
45 comments:
The media did not create our culture of violence in Mt. Lebanon. Mt. Lebanon created it. We are doing what we can to promote a peaceful and safe environment for our citizens---- adults and children, alike. Please do not knock us for caring about the common good.
BTW, the pledge does not belong to Lebo Citizens. Elaine was kind enough to place it on her blog until we can find additional resources by which we can spread the word that Mt. Lebanon will not tolerate further violence.
The pledge belongs to you, and you, and you, and you, and you, and you......
The Coalition for Coexistence
Just one more post in a one-sided debate.The ML government rejected a petition from an identified list of 4,000. Now you have only 30 signers - what a joke.
Thank you, Susan. Your comment makes my tax bill in today's mail sting just a little bit more.
Elaine
Elaine, thanks for pulling the curtain back. I'm not surprised, but to see it in black and white is disturbing.
It's disturbing to see Susan Morgans, who is paid with our tax dollars, attack and threaten Katie Green, the editor of The Almanac, in an effort to censor the newspaper from making any negative comments about the Mt. Lebanon administration.
If The Almanac publishes anything negative about Mt. Lebanon's administration, The Almanac reporters will not get access to or professional treatment from the Mt. Lebanon administration. The Almanac reporters must allow Morgans to spoon feed them her propaganda, or they're cut off.
This is how the power brokers censure the free press. As a small local newspaper, The Almanac needs access to Mt. Lebanon's admin. to report on local stories. Susan Morgans threatens that access.
In addition, Susan Morgans' email was very mean, nasty, condescending, and unprofessional.
It was sad to see Katie Green apologize for tweeting the truth.
So I guess we can't expect to see objective or investigative news reporting on the deer issue from The Almanac in the future.
Hey Katie, if you roll over and do what you're told, Susan Morgan might offer you a nice cushy job with benefits, i.e. Laura Pace Lilley, ex-PG reporter. However, I think Linda Fuoco, Post Gazette columnist is in line ahead of you.
No doubt, John Hayes, the PG's hunting columnist, gets Christmas cards from Susan Morgan.
Our PIO is a piece of work. She seems to lament the media circus created by the controversial deer cull. Isn't her job to get in front of those issues to prevent the circus? I also like how she mentions that Mt. Lebanon isn't the only municipality that is culling. Well, they were the only ones corralling deer in a confined space and shooting at them multiple times with rifles. Amazing that the commission, manager, and PIO didn't understand how that might be especially controversial. And inhumane and ineffective as well.
This is the tip of the iceberg. It's not just the PIO that does this sort of thing...people have closed their businesses and moved out of town due to the actions of elected officials and municipal staff. People have ended up in court due to lies. There is evil in this administration.
I hope to become a documentary filmmaker and come back to Lebo. There are remarkable stories of corruption here.
Hope to see you at the Denis Theatre in a few years.
The Almanac, the rest of the media and especially this blog didn't bring the circus to town.
As 2:26 wrote, the commissioners, manager and PIO, brought it to town and failed to oversee it. Hopefully, they learned some lessons before they attempt toerect another Big Top over the commission chambers.
They better learn how to come to terms with the Internet and social media. The days when some PR maven can run rough shod over the media and run rough shod over public information and events is long gone.
Real facts, figures and expert opinion are available to all at the click of a mouse.
That doesn't mean everything on the Internet should be accepted as fact, but it does mean everything can be checked for accuracy.
Other communities who kill deer have nowhere near the high population density of Mt. Lebanon.
1:15---We are not keeping score. This is not a petition. It's a personal pledge. The number of signatures is not relevant. We are trying to raise the public's consciousness. It's working.
We certainly do not need a petition for the commission to grasp the import of the clear, factual data, do we? Density. It's a public safety threat to all of us, including the commissioners. The density numbers are our primary concern.
http://study.com/articles/Public_Information_Officer_Job_Description_Duties_and_Outlook.html
Notice the average pay for a local government PIO.
Mt. Lebanon - The Twilight Zone Episode
Anne Serling, Rod Serling's daughter, is a Facebook friend of mine. She lives in the Upstate NY area, and is a good friend of a good friend of mine from the area. BTW, she wrote a great book about her dad, "As I Knew Him: My Dad, Rod Serling", that was recently published, just in case you're a Rod Serling fan.
Anne was active in the opposition to a similar deer killing program in her community, and she said that her dad would have been on the front lines fighting the good fight too. In addition, Ann Druyan, Carl Sagan's wife, a novelist and film producer (one of the main writers of the Cosmos TV series), was also on the front lines fighting the good fight against the same deer killing program. They live in the same area. Ann Druyan went on Jane Velez-Mitchell's TV show to talk about her passionate opposition to the deer killing program in her community.
If still alive, I could definately see Rod Serling writing a black and white Twilight Zone episode about Mt. Lebanon. The episode would feature the handful of dead-souled, elitist, pro-kill Lebo ladies, who sit on the boards of charitable institutions in an effort to establish false respectability, and who continue to push for this inhuame deer slaughter to protect their tulips. The morning after celebrating their victory to kill the deer they find themselves transposed into the bodies of the deer that are about to be trapped and killed, and they experience all the fear and trauma that the deer do. Wouldn't that be perfect karma, and a great episode of the Twilight Zone. This is exactly the kind of moral story that Rod Serling loved to use for Twilight Zone episodes.
I always like the movie "Powder", where Sean Patrick Flanery "Powder" transfers the pain and suffering from the deer to the hunter. See the youtube clip below.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Uz80zTMO40
I'm just wondering what kind of treatment Katie from The Almanac could have expected had she not fallen in line.
Would she be subjected to name calling, would she be ignored, kept out of the loop, give segments of information??
Just curious because that is a thinly veiled threat coming out of a "public" information office.
5:18 PM, "According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the mean salary for a public relations specialist in May 2013 was $63,020 (www.bls.gov). The BLS reported the mean pay for a public relations specialist working for the federal government was $88,040 in 2013, while those working for local governments made an average of $57,580 a year."
Elaine
As long as The Almanac reports accurate facts, They are covered by the 1st Amendment. Perhaps The Almanac needs to report that the PIO is engaging in bullying and suppression tactics, which I believe is illegal. Along with harassment and intimidation. That needs to be reported to the Post Gazette, or Senator Murphy!
Correction: Congressman Murphy.
Correction: ACLU
Wonder what the knowledge, skills, and ability requirements are to be hired as a PIO in Mt. Lebanon. After all, the position does pay a 6 figure salary. And, yes, it is tax payer money.
I remember seeing an article that showed Steve Feller making more money than any other manager in the south hills. i believe the article was kind of dated, but that was the fact at that time. So how are they getting away with this? I'm sure the retirement packages are out of this world too.
The "media circus" was such a rousing success the commissioners aren't wasting any time bringing in another expert to do another one.
Brilliant!
There's nothing illegal about Susan acting like an idiot. It's her right to behave like a pubescent teen. I will say I'm disappointed in the Almanac writer. She has every right to tell Susan to get lost. And should.
I am fairly new to Mt. Lebanon and to this region. Thus, I don't know all the characters that are often mentioned on this blog. I am glad that my friend told me about LeboCitizens. It is contemplative and current. I can't say that I agree with everything I read here. I guess that is the point of the blog, people can and do respectfully disagree.
I do not know Susan Morgan. However, from what I've read about her and by her under this topic today, she seems to be driven by a thousand forms of fear. Fear is the basis, I think, of her ultra-controlling maneuvering. I pity her yet I am also sorry for those of us who pay taxes to a government that would allow her and pay her to be the voice of the community. When is her probationary period over?
9:53 Susan doesn't need your pity. She needs to retire immediately or be fired. She perpetuates lies, elitist attitudes, and propaganda that actually -- BELIEVE IT OR NOT -- directly impacts the lives of residents here and in this region. It's not that everyone reads her magazine, it's the influence of those that do coupled with their behavior toward others.
8:01, not only do you get a $101,000 income, you also receive a $12,000 per year health insurance plan and are entitled to a taxpayer funded cell phone with all the free usage you could ever want paid for by you know who, the taxpayers of Mt. Lebanon. I wish I knew how to get on on that gig too.
Nick M.
8:40, Steve Feller base salary, $144,000. Bill Peduto (mayor of Pittsburgh) base salary, $108,000. Does that make sense to you?
Nick M.
She didnt threaten the writer with anything but the Troll Wrath. So chill out. The level of drama regarding the dumbest things is what drives people away from real discussions. I will sat it again--Susan did nothing illegal. Dirty, pathetic, unprofessional, yes. But she is only capable of pushing as much as others allow.
What a shame the Almanac thinks Susan is relevant.
And who allows it to continue? Steve Feller. John Bendel and the rest of the commission who Steve Feller reports to. And why the heck did Susan copy Rudy Sukal? I can understand why Susan copied Laura and Rita They work for Susan.
Elaine
The problem here in Mt Lebanon is that certain people have forgotten the meaning of public servant.
The people and especially the press, do not exist for their pleasure.
The Almanac seems to have forgotten that too.
http://i.word.com/idictionary/public%20servant
public servant
noun
Full Definition
:a government official or employee
Examples
When are residents going to 1) demand Morgans is fired and 2) demand our Commissioners step down,
from the podium? It can be done in less than 5 minutes.
Troll wrath is social aggression designed to control and censor. Acceptance of such behavior contributes to the toxic and hostile environment we are experiencing living here. Furthermore, her behavior is unprofessional.
No lawyer, but I'd think Elaine could make a case for a defamation suit.
To say her blog is filled" with lies simply isn't true.
It also contains a lot of facts supported by evidence.
The blog may contain opinion and information that makes the PIO uncomfortable or that she doesn't want shared with the public, but that doesn't make it lies.
She at the very least, owes Elaine and the blog readers a public apology.
7:58 AM, I don't recommend demanding any commission resignations unless you are willing to accept the consequences. Been there. Done that.
8:36 AM, Susna Morgans owes me quite a few apologies. Susan doesn't apologize. She never does anything wrong. Oh wait, we did get an apology for her offensive "to market to market" article.
Elaine
The example that somehow didn't appear in 7:36 comment.
"Examples
the new governor vowed that he would always remember why he was called a public servant and not the people's master"
I'm still trying to imagine what Morgans was telling the Almanac.
Was she going to keep them out of the loop? Deny a newspaper access to community information and meetings? Not talk to their reporters? Send them false information? What?
If she does any of the above she's no longer fulfilling her duties as "PUBLIC" Information Officer.
How can this kind of entrenched administrative corruption, where they have bestowed upon themselves outsized salaries and cushy retirement packages, where they live off the dole of the community before and after retirement, in which there seems to be no accountability, be changed.
It's not easy to change this situation. New Commissioners typically don't have the gravitas to take on this white elephant, and usually have their own self interests in mind.
The only time I saw fear in the eyes of Steve Feller and Susan Fleming Morgans was when Dan Miller (D) and Raja (R) got elected as Commissioners. These two guys no only had the gravitas but were proactive alpha dogs, and were ready and willing to shake up the existing administrative government processes and sacred cows to cut the budget.
BTW, these were the only two Commissioners that started asking real questions about the USDA Wildlife Services deer killing program, and the blank check that the administration had given them, and were the Commissioners than canceled the program.
After Miller and Raja left office, Feller and Morgans regained their control of the Commission and the new Commissioners, and everything went back to the status quo royal family running Mt. Lebanon. Everyone felt safe in their jobs again, their arrogance returned, and the crisis passed.
There must be some way through a petition or referendum that the citizens can demand and get Morgans and Feller fired.
*Susan, not Susna.
Elaine
There's a tradition of harm in Mt Lebanon and it won't be solved from the inside out. If you want to change it, you will need outside non PA governmental partnerships. Serious ones. If the government cared, the problem would be solved by now.
Well said 10:01!!!!! But, how do we start an effective, serious partnership here in Mt. Lebanon.
Many of us have tried and failed. Do you have any ideas?
I remember attending my first Commissioners meeting. I can't believe it was only 16 months ago. Adrian Soriano, who led a brilliant and highly-successful insurrection against The Newcomers Tax, had urged all in the affected group to attend that meeting.
I had no plans to become politically active in MTL. I didn't know who anyone was. Kristen was running the meeting. She constantly looked back at some older guy throughout the meeting -- for affirmation, information, and for company in mocking people who they disagreed with during Citizens Comments. I then noticed that all the commissioners were deferring to this gentleman. I concluded that he was one of the commissioners - and perhaps the most experienced one, with the most longevity.
I was wrong. That was Steve Feller running the meeting. That was Steve Feller running the town. Steve Feller was, and still is, the de facto mayor.
- Jason M.
Perhaps the proper response from The Almanac should have been-- do what you must Ms. Morgans, but it would be a shame if all the articles on Mt. Lebanon, its residents and their achievements disappeared from our paper.
Defamation cases go nowhere. A situation like this involving prior restraints, mixed with state action, goes to Federal Court where the judges have a particular disdain for First Amendment, Free Speech Suppression.
But, the Almanac is the only entity that could file a case, in this instance.
Unfortunately, the Almanac, which is privately owned (I assume), seemingly does not mind being run by Mt. Lebo government. If only Susan had pulled this crap on City Paper. They would have already filed a complaint in Federal Court.
Unfortunately, I think Katie Green is a very young and an inexperienced editor of a small local newspaper, and likely just a nice person. This was like Dorothy vs. the Wicked Witch of the West (South). Of course, Morgans can threaten fair and equal access to the PIO's office for stories and comments, but Katie Green really holds all the power, and she doesn't even realize it. One bit of wisdom I've learned in life is that you don't pick a fight with someone who orders ink by the barrel. Morgans can block fair and equal access to the PIO's office for information, and be mean and nasty to The Almanac reporters, but Katie Green has the capacity to rip Morgans and the current Mt. Lebanon administration to hell and back in the headlines and editorials. The Almanac is delivered for free to every home in Mt. Lebanon, and is the most widely read and thus influential newspaper read in Mt. Lebanon. If Morgans wants to declare war with The Almanac, she would lose that war. I wish Katie Green understood the power that she has, and was willing to wield it, and would have responded accordingly. Morgans is the one who should be groveling here, not Katie Green.
Well put 1:56!
The Almanac is a nice little community newspaper that certainly has the potential for bigger and better things and shouldn't kowtow to the MTL PIO.
If Katie Green does not realize her power, she has no power. Morgans knew that when she sent her email to Green.
Note to June 4, 7:58 AM: many have already made such demands of the sitting Commissioners and their ever-loyal hired help and have been met with cold stares and silence. This is NOT a group impacted by righteous complaints of aggrieved citizens; they have their own agenda and are quite adepts at stone-walling. Are we going to storm the castle and take back control of our hamlet, or are we going to whine and complain as the hapless peasants they think we are? WHY IS IT SO EASY FOR YOU FOLKS TO GROUSE ON THIS BLOG AND SO DIFFICULT FOR YOU TO WALK TWENTY FEET FROM A CHAIR TO A PODIUM AND TAKE THEM ON?
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