December 2017 Behind the Bubble | Leaving Mt. Lebanon

This is Jason's final Behind the Bubble submission. Thank you for a whole year of this unique perspective of life in Mt. Lebanon, Jason. Your series was edgy, thought provoking, and always popular. I'm sad that it is coming to an end. 

December 2017 Behind the Bubble

by Jason Margolis

The genre came to me – I did not choose it.  My final BtB is a poem called

Leaving Mt. Lebanon

There is little to say,

when it’s over.

It’s

just

over.

The sparkled streets

are now strange.

The meetings of the warlocks

a distant, bad dream.

Only through small keyholes

is there light.

There are three I hold dear.

And a park.

And a teacher.

And a solitary newsroom

with a dire story few want to hear.

We are all in a bubble

but not all bubbles are the same.

Some float out, others crash down,

many just implode.

And then

it’s

over.

November 2017 Behind the Bubble: Why MTL Must Choose Teachers Over Bleachers UPDATED

While Elaine Cappucci continues her political campaign PR, I decided to publish Jason Margolis's November 2017 Behind the Bubble in October. Thanks, Jason!

November 2017 Behind the Bubble:

Why MTL Must Choose Teachers Over Bleachers

** Special Early Pre-School Board Election Edition **

Sports are a wonderful thing for children – really, for people of any age.  They can encourage a spirit of healthy competition, a sense of team, and a lifelong love of fitness.  But sports are not the primary function of schools.  Schooling’s primary purpose is to advance students’ learning and love of learning.  This is why, when a choice is to be made, a community must choose teachers over bleachers.

For the past 20 years, we have repeatedly heard the refrain that there is nothing more impactful on a child’s education than the quality of the teachers they encounter.  But why is this?  Isn’t all knowledge available on the web these days – on Youtube, in Ted Talks, in the Khan Academy?  Doesn’t this make teachers obsolete?  Absolutely not.  In fact, teachers – good teachers, and plenty of them – are more important than ever.  And here is why:

1. Learning is primarily a relationship-based endeavor, as humans are hard-wired to learn with and from each other.  The more teachers can relate to and with a student, the more they will help the student form their own relationship with the content of the classroom.  This makes teachers indispensable.  It also is supported by research which illustrates that class size does matter, as the quality of the relationships go down the more the teacher’s relational energies are spread out amongst more humans.   
2. All kids learn differently – in a sense, everyone is on an IEP.  Because of this, a teacher must get to know a child’s mind and being in order to meaningfully teach (and learn with) a child.  This requires time, which requires a low teacher:student ratio.  
3. Technology is being over-used and mis-used in countless classrooms.  This is the case when it supplants teacher-student interaction.  Instead, good teachers use technology as a tool to support learning, not as an activity onto itself.  This, in turn, teaches kids how to master technology – not to be mastered by it.  
4. There is a growing mental health crisis among our youth.  According to several recent studies, nearly half our children will be or have been on anti-anxiety or anti-depressant medication by the time they graduate high school.  This is, at least in part, due to kids’ misusing and even forming addictions with technology.  Teachers, and specifically low teacher:student ratios, can help to maintain a social presence in kids’ lives when it is sorely needed.  They can also better monitor social activity in the classroom, and stem off bullying before it happens.  Teachers are essential to developing students’ social well-being and interpersonal intelligences.  

While it is true that sports and other extra-curricular activities can motivate kids who feel marginalized in schools to even show up, this is more a call for better teachers than for more frills.  Good teachers integrate physical activity, creativity, music, art, movement, and a sense of team into their science, math, English, and social studies classrooms.  The more good teachers you have, the more students are receiving their inherent motivation to attend school from the joy of learning connecting to the core mission of schools.

Now, some might say – But MTL is wealthy, can’t it have both?  Apparently not.  Class sizes are on the increase and are approaching dangerous territories in schools like Lincoln Elementary, where parents recently appealed to the school board for more teachers – to no avail.  And further, there appears to be some sort of shell game involving a MTL fund-raising Capital Campaign which, at minimum, is failing – and at worst, could be engaging in shady activities to funnel monies from the taxpayers to special interest groups in the Sports and Recreation community.  One would have to ask: If the money is there, why do you need a capital campaign with a $6,000,000 target in the first place?

But the money is not there, and so clearly a choice needs to be made.  And this brings us to the upcoming School Board elections.  I suggest all MTL citizens concerned with public education put forth the following two related questions to all candidates – both in public forums, and in private conversations:

If there were only $60,000 to spend – would you support more teachers or more bleachers?

What evidence is there from your previous work to show us that you would indeed do what you say you will do?

Update October 28, 2017 3:27 PM There seems to be a little controversy going on Lincoln's Nextdoor. JoPo is against Jason's post. Of course.

Josephine Posti, Lincoln Mt. Lebo·1h ago

Jason, this type of post can be seen as political campaigning and may violate NextDoor's Community Guidelines. Please consider taking those posts elsewhere.

Jason Margolis, Lincoln Mt. Lebo·1h ago

Hi Jo - Thanks for your suggestion. This has already been considered, and has been discarded. Reminders about elections writ large are important, and just because there is no presidential election this year doesn't mean people shouldn't vote. Many areas within the South Hills and beyond have important votes coming up - school boards are one of the most important, although also one of the most forgotten. I am pretty sure MTL Nextdoor is not anti-democracy. I guess we will find out.

October 2017 Behind the Bubble UPDATED

Jason Margolis goes a bit deeper into why traditionally eschewed communities (like Dormont) are now looking a lot more attractive rather than loony, expensive places like Mt. Lebanon.

Needle & Pin Welcomes You to The New Dormont

INTRO

As evidenced in the brilliant satire of Facebook’s Fake Lebo 

Do you like the new addition to my deck? Sorry about the chair.
I had people from Dormont over last night and it got a little crazy.

(https://www.facebook.com/fakelebo/photos/a.429819744928.190887.302688029928/10155626967049929/?type=3&theater), Mt. Lebanon’s sense of superiority in part rests on the inferiority of other nearby communities.  Dormont, perhaps more than any other, has been one of Mt. Lebanon’s primary punching bags.

Our series Behind the Bubble promised to both address issues within Mt. Lebanon as well as those “just beyond the bubble’s rim” (December, 2016).  In April 2017, we interviewed the mayor of Green Tree.  October’s BtB will take a look at the recent rise of Dormont, and feature one particular new establishment that is emblematic of its growing economic and cultural base.

DORMONT NO DOORMAT

According to local officials and public documents, Dormont – a community often mocked by Lebo-ites for being economically and culturally inferior – is on the rise.  While property values dollar-to-dollar are still much lower than Mt. Lebanon, the percentage-wise increases are now outpacing traditionally wealthier South Hills communities.

Amidst and supporting this increased economic activity is a growing “foodie” scene.  Over the past five years, newer restaurants like My Thai on Liberty Ave. are replacing older drinking establishments and bringing out a combination of locals from the neighborhood and patrons from around Pittsburgh.  Perhaps the best example of Dormont’s economic, cultural, and restauranteur rise is the opening of Needle & Pin this past summer.

COLIN SMITH and NEEDLE & PIN

Needle & Pin owner Colin Smith working the well-stocked bar area

Needle & Pin proprietor Colin Smith is connected with other restaurants around Pittsburgh, including Wingharts.  But when it was time to open up a restaurant of his own vision – one that drew on his 15 years studying cocktails and food through intensive study as well as side-by-side apprenticeships with some of the beset restauranteurs around the world – he chose Dormont as the location.   The neighborhood, Smith commented, provided an “excellent welcome – they have been very kind.”

The concept of Needle & Pin is Anglo-Indian cuisine with one of the most stocked and diverse gin bars in the United States.  It was inspired by a cookbook from an English woman living in India in the 1920s, from which Smith began to learn the “hybridizing” process.  

The hybrid nature of NEEDLE & PIN’s cuisine serves as a nice metaphor for the restaurant’s presence in Dormont.  NEEDLE & PIN’s place within the community combines a highly innovative cocktail program and menu with accessible, warm, and people-friendly service.  Dormont, Smith explained, hearkens to his past while also mapping out his future:

I grew up in Washington, PA, and I knew cultured people there… people hold on to the bad raps long after its gone… Dormont sees the coming tide of growth in Pittsburgh, the residential areas pushing out.  Dormont is hot.  I just bought a house here and saw people writing checks for the asking price or more.  Not every place that has a bad rap deserves it.  The bad rap lasts long after it should.

When Smith was asked what Dormont offers new businesses and restaurants that other surrounding communities do not, he responded, “Hope.”  He continued:

Dormont used to be known as the place you have to drive through to get to the rest of the South Hills…. But once I saw Potomac Ave., it became apparent that Dormont was ready to invest in self. I started studying the demographics, and I have never seen demographics that screamed as much YES YES YES. 375,000 people live within 4 square miles, almost no one is upside down on their mortgage, and outside my window there is a triple intersection. I don’t need to advertise. There is so much traffic, regardless of whether or not “cultured” or not. Smith added that he could have never gotten this type of property in a more “expensive neighborhood.” Speaking to his belief in the future of Dormont, he added, “If I had the money, I would buy up the block as far as the eye can see.”

If you visit Needle & Pin (3271 West Liberty Ave.), you can expect to learn about the chemistry behind your cocktail, the natural and organic ingredients in your drinks and foods, and the geo-political history that shaped your appetizer.  It is also likely that you will have a darn good time with good people.

With a strong mix of hope and humility, Needle & Pin is a tangible and tasty symbol of “the new Dormont.”  It is likely that Dormont’s image will remain fixed in the eyes of some others in the South Hills, and provide some good guffaws on Fake Lebo.  But it is even more likely that its residents attending increasingly successful schools, living in affordable and appreciating homes, and dining in world-class restaurants just blocks from their front porch, will not care.


Update October 1, 2017 11:25 AM Since the time that Jason had submitted his October BtB, Pittsburgh Business Times featured the Booming Housing Markets by Zip Code. Look at my zip code, which our municipal engineer labeled 15234 as the "outskirts of Mt. Lebanon."

September 2017 Behind The Bubble UPDATED

I would have titled this, "Sounds of Silence," but Jason wanted to write a positive story. Kudos to John Bendel, the only one to submit a response. Thanks, John.

                                                                                                     -Elaine

September 2017 Behind The Bubble

MTL’s Good Things

by Jason Margolis

Within the comments in response to August 2017’s Behind the Bubble, I was encouraged to focus more on the “good things” about MTL and write a positive story. I thought that this was a fair critique and endeavored to do so in this article.

I began by identifying 13 prominent MTL residents/figures who would be well-positioned to speak to MTL’s best qualities. Here is the list I compiled:

Susan Morgans – Public Information Officer

John Bendel – Commissioner

Steve Silverman - Commissioner

Stephen McLean - Commissioner

David Brumfield - Commissioner

Kelly Fraasch - Commissioner

Keith McGill – Municipal Manager

Andrew McCreery – Director of Finance

Laura Pace Lilley – Senior Editor, MTL Magazine

Aaron Lauth – Police Chief

Rudy Sukal – Public Works Director

David Donnellan – Recreation Director

Timothy Steinhauer – Superintendent of Schools

Each of the individuals above received the following question via email:

If someone from out of the area were considering moving to MTL, what would you say is MTL’s greatest strength or asset as a community?  Why is MTL a good place to move to and live in at this time?

Of the 13 email recipients, 9 did not respond.

3 responded to decline participation – Susan Morgans, Keith McGill, and Laura Pace Lilley.

I received only one response – from Ward 1 Commissioner John Bendel:

Our greatest strength is an excellent quality of life that comes from friendships with neighbors, positive residential engagement, and access to quality resources – schools, amenities, and services. Mt. Lebanon is a smart investment in: Your family – a top notch school district, youth activities and caring neighbors, all within a safe environment that allows your family an opportunity to grow and thrive. Your quality of life – access to transportation, quality municipal services and many assets, including vibrant business districts, library and recreational facilities. Your finances – our properties are in high demand, which drives values higher, building equity in your home.

… One could hypothesize a number of reasons for the lack of responses to this question.  But it is impossible to know for sure.  The only thing that is certain is that John Bendel gets the last – and only – word in response to why MTL is such a good place to live.

Update September 1, 2017 8:00 AM It would have been Sounds of Silence Part II: The Return of Crickets. Remember January 2017: The Sounds of Silence? - Jason

Behind the Bubble – August 2017: Mt. Lebanon’s Forgotten Families

Behind the Bubble – August 2017:

Mt. Lebanon’s Forgotten Families

by Jason Margolis

After the publishing of the June 2017 BtB’s Beyond Brownies, I was contacted by multiple MTL residents. One, a MTL stay-at-home-mom and personal friend, said the piece did little to truly advance the dialogue or bridge the social gap between women in MTL. Most, however, said it shed light on an important issue by articulating what many experienced but were afraid to share.

During this time, I was also contacted by several families related to another, perhaps more insidious, issue in the community. They also wanted their story told.

It began when one family met me at a coffee shop to share horrific stories of how their child with special needs was treated in MTL. They spoke of bullying, sexual harassment, and then retaliation against the kids themselves by teachers, classmates, and other parents. School psychologists were said to make things so miserable for these families that they would move out – a tactic designed to maintain the gap between MTL’s “haves” and “have nots.”

Then, days later, I received an email from another family with a similar story. They had a child diagnosed as “mildly autistic,” later to be re-diagnosed as “high-functioning Asperger’s.” He was said to experience cruel and unrelenting bullying by administrators, teachers, and peers. A once-happy child became depressed, stressed, and lonely. As the bullying evolved into shunning, the family finally moved out of MTL and only then did things change – dramatically. Once out of MTL, the family found more “real” diversity, and their child blossomed into a happy, successful, young adult.

Both families, after sketching out their stories which spanned over a decade in MTL, then decided that this emotional catharsis was enough. They did not want to risk re-experiencing the pain and bullying and shunning by being “the story” again.

At that point, I thought my August BtB would be about the “almost” telling of stories in an icy climate of fear – a similar theme across several of the BtBs. But then, I was contacted by Charma – who wanted to go a little further.

Charma had initially introduced herself in an email to me which largely echoed the stories of the other families: “My eldest is also special but his needs are invisible. Some of the reaction and treatment from the hens [my term] is just saddening.” While Charma had originally moved to MTL, like so many others, for the well-funded school district – she quickly became disillusioned. Charma found herself forced to the “outside” for being a mother who has to work for her family to pay the bills and for being a mother with a special needs child:

As a parent of a special needs child, we aren’t included. Because I work, we can’t go to ‘lunch time spinning class’ and coffee brunches. I work not by choice, I have to work. My front lawn is covered in kids’ toys, no lawn guy comes, no maid comes. We do it. I don’t have the luxury to talk about house additions and its ‘architectural integrity’.

 Charma added that it was the “mother hens” – those who collect friends like they are in high school by designating who is “in” and who is “out” – who did the most excluding based both on class and “difference.” She explained:

They have private patio conversations about renovations, vacations, multiple camps for kids, housekeepers, lawn service, how successful their kids are… which is great, we should all be proud of our kids …But there is definitely a concerted effort to exclude those who do not fit that mold. They are like a vulture on meat to decide who is included. 

And yes, there is a master plot … delineated by class … If you are on the ‘in street’, you are included … if you meet the criteria, money-wise, you can be included … otherwise, they physically create a physical barrier that you cannot get into … to give you the feeling you are wasting their time, that you are not to their caliber. They are the cattle corral. The hens. Because you can’t join in the remodeling or housekeeping
conversation, you end up standing there, with nothing to say … and they never invite you
in… and I am an extroverted person. But when I try, I get cut out.

Charma’s stories of groups of MTL residents socially and physically creating barriers to exclude others not in their clique echoed that of several working mothers I spoke with for June’s BtB Beyond Brownies. So did Charma’s growing feelings of isolation, in part based on class and relatedly, because she had to work during the day.

But it was what has happened to Charma’s child in MTL that was most notably severe. As one example, she told a story of a visit to a MTL coffee shop where it became clear that “Special needs kids are not accounted for well by the school or community …A groups was irritated by our presence … they scoffed and sneered at us because the kids were ‘too loud’. One of them said ‘good riddance’ when we left.”

Ironically, it was the MTL school system they had moved here for where her child received some of the worst treatment. Charma explained:

The schools are not good with special needs kids. They engage in public shaming. They tried to put him on pills as the first intervention when he was 6 … Many principals are not well-trained. After years of trying, we finally got an IEP in. I emailed the Principal and nothing happened. Then, I emailed the Special Ed Director and told them that I know the law. Then things started happening. 

So why did Charma tell her story more publicly, when the others – with similar stories – had started and stopped? Charma wants to help things change – and she hopes this will start a conversation.

June 2017 Behind the Bubble

I want to encourage work outside the home moms who didn't get a chance to share their story, to do so in the comments. In 1985, I had to get special permission from the principal so that my child could stay for lunch since I was working full time. At that time, the principal "encouraged all children to go home for lunch because it was better for them." In the early 2000's, my husband was a stay at home dad since he was disabled. He was involved with the PTA, while I was working two jobs. Oh the stories he shared with me! Thank you, Jason for highlighting the difficulties that working outside the home moms have been experiencing for years.

Beyond Brownies – Mt. Lebanon Moms Who Work 

Outside The Home Tell Their Story

by Jason Margolis

The title of this article, as well as the idea for it, came from 3 different Mt. Lebanon (MTL) residents. They are all women who work outside the home, and shared with me the difficulties they have faced with the Stay At Home Mother (SAHM) culture they see as glorified within MTL. Specifically, because their contributions to school events (like bake sales) were often necessarily different from others, they said they were often made to feel like outsiders.

In trying to understand whether this was an idiosyncratic 3-woman phenomenon, or a sign of a larger and more problematic social trend, I put out a call on MTL Nextdoor to see if any working-out-of-the-home MTL moms wanted to share their experiences.

Dozens of women responded to Private Message me on Nextdoor, or contacted me directly. Several, however, just gave a quick 1-2 sentence response supporting the idea of the article and to briefly mention their experience, then stating that they would not have time to complete the full survey.

Ten women agreed to respond to the full survey – and most had a lot to say. This article is their story (* note: while 2 of the respondents approved the use of their real names, to help de-identify those who wished to remain unnamed, all names used here are pseudonyms).

Because of space limitations, I cannot publish in full each response but instead excerpt sections that represent the essence of their experiences – both individually and collectively.

While most of these women enjoy and appreciate living in MTL, there are several common, somewhat harsh, lived realities they endure. This includes: 1) being socially ostracized by SAHMs; 2) the lack of affordable and varied after school care for their children; 3) frustrations with half-day kindergarten, with these feelings being partially ameliorated by the privately-owned Mt. Lebanon Extended Day Program; and 4) Facing additional differential treatment if they are single working moms and “transplants” to MTL.

Overall, these women do not regret their working-and-parenting-related decisions and the positive example they believe they are setting for their children.

Adeline – Why isn’t daddy at the pool?

“… the moms at the school and cheerleading (and we are talking about girls in 2nd grade) definitely have their clique. I've tried to be friendly and join in conversations but they are not interested in adding new people to their circle. Not only do I work full-time but I'm a divorced single-mom who is self-supported via an excellent job. Many people in MTL (not just women) seem baffled that I (1) would get divorced and (2) that I could support myself. One example I remember is when I went to purchase a pool pass for myself and my 2 kids. The woman couldn't understand that it was only 3 people total, 1 adult and 2 children. She kept asking about a husband or father. It was a bit annoying. When I moved into my previous residence many neighbors didn't seem to understand that I was separating from my husband and looking for a safe place for me and my kids … I've never lived in another community where being divorced was such a foreign concept. As for the PTA and volunteer events at the school, most of those occur during work hours and then when you don't volunteer and participate you're ostracized.

The school district definitely is not in favor of working moms. I've been fortunate enough to have my daughter enrolled in the MTL Extended Day program but that isn't affiliated with the school. Being a single mom means I don't even have the option to stay at home and take care of my kids as I refuse to "live off the system" when I am capable of working. The fact that they still have half-day kindergarten is causing me heartburn as my son will start in the fall. I'm praying I can get my son into the Kindergarten care at EDS because if I don't I have no idea what I will do. I'm not from the area so I don't have a big network or moms or friends or family that could help in that situation.

Despite my complaining I LOVE living in MTL … My only complaint living here has been the way the other ("non-working") moms treat newcomers and working moms. I am proud to be a working mother and I want my daughter to see me as a strong independent woman and know that she can grow up to be the same way.”

Ella – Eating Cupcakes With A Plastic Spork

I was born and raised on the North Side of Pittsburgh to two high school educated parents. I was not born with a silver spoon in my mouth, more like a plastic spork. We were a typical blue collar family, who lived pay check to pay check … Mt. Lebanon seemed light years away from where I grew up in the 80's. I used to sell beer out in this area in the early 2000's. I used to drive around the neighborhoods while working out here, just in awe of the beauty. I loved the stone homes and community feel. It felt like a country setting only 15 min away from the city. Although, I was young, single, with no kids, I knew someday that all would change. I remember driving around repeating to myself, "I want to raise a family here someday, I would love to live here." I never told anyone and kept my thoughts to myself. It seemed like an unattainable dream, at the time, in a land far far away from my reality.

When we moved here we only had one daughter at the time ... I worked at a restaurant in the Galleria and this is where I started to understand my new community. Many people from Peters, USC, and Lebo dined at the restaurant. Although I felt that "The Housewives" looked down upon me as a server, I was too old to feed into their bullshit … Instead of commenting on their 6 carat diamond rings and black card, I commented on their children's respectful behavior or how beautiful their family was. My comments brought huge smiles to their lonely hearts and botox faces. I got a "feel" of what is important to people around here and it wasn't even on my radar. People would tell me that they paid $500 for a bookshelf at a galleria shop, and I used to say, “wow, I got the same thing at the thrift store for $10 and a can of paint.” I knew that I was always going to stick out like a sore thumb in my new area.

I remember the day that I had to take my daughter to her first day of Kindergarten. She went to the afternoon class, since I am not a morning person. That also meant that she would be dismissed with the rest of the school … As we were nervously waiting at the front door, with the rest of the K parents, I heard a dad say to his son, "If you do that again, I am going to strangle you." My jaw dropped. My jaw dropped not because I was offended by what he said, my jaw dropped because I knew that he was not born and raised in Lebo. I didn't know if I was about to hug him or I was about to High 5 him!

He proceeded to tell me that he grew up East of the city and attended a familiar city school. Like myself, he grew up getting his ass beat … We still remain good friends 3 years later.

This "Time Out" and "Play Date" [stuff] was all new to me. In the city, the only "Time Out" that you got was when your ass got hurt from getting beat. We didn't have a "Play Date," kids just played outside with the kids in the neighborhood, until the street lights came on. It was a whole new world to me Livin La Vida Lebo, as I refer to it. It is no surprise that my circle of good friends in the area were also born with a plastic spork in their mouths.

Fast forward to now, my daughter is finishing 3rd grade and my son will enter K this fall. So much has changed with our family. My no-nonsense attitude and entrepreneurial spirit finally lead me to where I belonged, being a Mom'preneur … I have been renting my whole life because I am a rolling stone. Now that I am a mother, I finally have found a place that I want to grow roots and it is Mt. Lebanon. I cannot see myself anywhere else. The education, the location, the community, it's the perfect tri-fecta! I need to work on my dreams so that I can plant those roots deeply for my children, buying a cool home in a beautiful neighborhood and creating a family business that I can pass along. I love Mt. Lebanon. I still get jokes from my North Side friends and family about living in "Cupcake Land." I love my Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Peanut Free, Cupcake Land. Although we have been renting, I love that the trolley is outside my door. I love that my neighbors are down to earth and caring. I love that I found more of "My peoples." When the time is right, we will purchase our home in Lebo and that will be icing on the Cupcake, fo sho! It doesn't take a village to raise a child in Mt. Lebanon, it takes a Bakery. Being a Mom is never easy, even in "Cupcake Land."

Florence – Sometimes An Emptiness In The Air

“I used to hear a few comments at PTA meetings, like “The stay-at-home moms do all the volunteering”, even though that wasn’t true. And I was never intentionally ostracized, but my experience at PTA meetings and in school activities was that all the other moms knew each other and formed little cliques, whether they were working moms or not, and if they didn’t know you, they didn’t make you feel welcome or invite you in.

Because I worked for 36 years, I never had time to get to know people in the neighborhood and all my friends were co-workers who lived all over the city. I got to know a few of my son’s friends’ moms, and became actual friends with one of them, but other ones were not responsive when I reached out in attempts to form a friendship. Were it not for my husband and son, I would feel very alone in my house, because all my neighbors are introverts and no one invites anyone to their houses or makes any attempt to reach out. I don’t feel a part of the community or any sense that this is a community at all because the neighbors all stick to themselves. It may depend on who lives on your street.

I am aware that some streets have “block parties” and the neighbors seem to all know and enjoy each other and frequently socialize. Not so on our block … I was very glad that Mt. Lebanon had a great daycare center in “Kids Are Us” … They watched my son for two years before he went to kindergarten. My sister watched him up to age 4. Also glad they had the Mt. Lebanon Extended Day Program through the fifth grade. My son went there after school and I was always secure in the knowledge that he was safe.

Mt. Lebanon is a wonderful, picturesque, safe neighborhood with plenty of resources and activities … [except the] lack of community feeling and closeness in my neighborhood where everyone keeps to themselves and there is sometimes an emptiness in the air.

Hazel – A Social Pariah At Pick-Up

“I've had a couple of experiences that I would label as gentle shaming, which has included another mother saying to me, "I don't know how you go to work. I don't think I could leave my daughter with someone else." Another mother commented, "You just seem so busy that we didn't know if we should contact you about (scheduling a group play date, contributing to the teacher's gift, organizing a bake sale, etc.)". I've definitely felt the ostracism. When I am able to pick up my daughter from school, since I don't know the other parents as well as they seem to know each other, I feel disconnected and a bit like a social pariah …

I would love it if Mt. Lebanon could sponsor all day camps for elementary children in the summer. The camps they offer are generally morning camps, and it is difficult to occupy the day for your child when you only have the mornings scheduled. I wish they would also offer a greater diversity of camp opportunities - based upon specific themes or skills - like I have seen offered by the JCC.”

Holly – Of Course I Miss Them

“Most recently, I sat at kindergarten orientation with a mom I kind of know. She sat with other SAHMs, and I was the only working mom. When I began asking questions (that identified myself as working) of the principal, the mom I know shifted in her seat as if to separate herself from me. Now this could have been because I was asking hard questions of the school district and of the “way things have been done” and had nothing to do with the fact that I work full time in addition to being a mom. What I found really interesting about this setting was that it was quite clear that most of the parents in the auditorium that day had taken time off of work, as I had. More often than not, I find myself among parents who also have jobs, either full or part-time. This leads me to wonder about the actual numbers of SAHM in MTL – are they really the majority? Of course this could depend on cohorts…perhaps this is true of moms whose first children are just now entering the public schools? Or perhaps it’s true of particular neighborhoods?

In other settings, I’ve been shamed, perhaps unintentionally, by moms who often wonder how(if) I do it…meaning both balance work and parenting. There often seems to be an underlying message: well, if you didn’t work maybe you could cook more/clean more/get more creative with your kids, etc. Other moms also want to know how I leave my kids for long periods of time every day. I get asked a LOT, “Don’t you miss them?” It’s a frustrating question. Of course I miss them – I didn’t have kids by accident but my circumstances and my desires are such that I work full time. And guess what? I still parent full time, too. It’s not a role that can be switched off just because I head to the office.

And that means I’m not likely going to fundraise, bake cookies, or spend a whole lot of time on evening and weekend events, especially those that my kids aren’t interested in doing … So, don’t take it personally when I reject your offers or your requests, and certainly don’t assume that I don’t prioritize my kids …

And yes, we all need to be supportive of one another. But it’s not enough to say that “we’re all mothers” because we are all different. To ignore difference is ignorant. We face different challenges based on our personal and social contexts. We approach those challenges differently based on so many different things. MTL might not be a racially diverse place, but is has its diversity of situation. In our neighborhood we have working moms, stay at home moms, single moms, moms whose husbands are not present for one reason or another, and even moms who have nannies who are home with them… and that just scratches the surface … It would be easier if we stopped judging others and ourselves.”

Ladora – It Helps My Mommy Guilt

I think my son feels the effect of me being a working mom in MTL. Sometimes he would like to participate in MTL activities associated with the recreation center with his friends but the majority of activities are during working hours.

As a working mom, I truly appreciate the Mt Lebanon Extended Day program. My son attends both morning and afternoon care. He loves it which helps with my mommy guilt knowing that he spends a good amount of time at school during the week.

In addition, I appreciate my [particular] PTA. They balance meetings and events to accommodate both working and stay-at-home mothers.

Linda – Stuck In The Middle Without You

I was just finishing up grad school to earn a master of science in counseling psychology when I found out I was pregnant after being married 17 years and told I could not become pregnant. I was working full-time throughout my schooling as a computer programmer for a large corporation. It took me seven years, year round, 2 classes per semester to complete the required 48 credits … Because much of my education and experience focused on sexual trauma and abuse and thus learned how much more prevalent abuse was (tragically), my husband and I were reluctant to have others care for our child. Thus, it was decided that one of us would stay home to raise our child. As I had planned to transition into another occupation already, I was the person chosen to be that stay-at-home parent.

After being home for 6 months with the baby, I returned to school to complete my internships working only 15 works per week. Once I obtained my degree, I began working towards acquiring my license. As strenuous as working towards my degree was while maintaining full-time employment, work towards licensure was much more arduous! Adjusting to a baby within the marriage, at the age of 43, and facing the prospects of maybe never obtaining licensure was stressful.

As a part-time worker outside the home, I've also been shamed/ostracized by full-time workers for wanting/needing to be a stay-at-home mom (even if part-time) as my contributions to the occupation doesn't warrant much weight or is not taken seriously. I've experienced this attitude from both women and men in my occupation … Comments like "well, I'm not sure you are really dedicated to this field," or "you can't be very effective then" are said. Other times, I am simply not invited to participate in the peer consultation group again.

As far as feeling outcast by the stay-at-home moms, I haven't experienced or heard any direct comments by any one person, although I am often not included in various events -- only after someone might realize that I've found out about the event, then I might be extended an invitation.

Martha – Good Luck Being Let Into That Group

When my daughter was in elementary school, it was staggering how many mothers stayed at home. On the occasions when I took a day or afternoon off for an appointment or to help out at the school, I frequently heard from one of the Stay-At-Home-Moms, "What are YOU doing here? I thought Sally went to Extended Day!" as if I was encroaching on their turf.

Some of the moms who stayed home had my back. But I can count on one hand the number who did.

The good news is [my daughter] has grown to be independent and responsible and a very well-adjusted young lady.

I think that each family makes the choice that is the best for them. Whatever that choice is, we all need to respect that. I never felt internally as if I was abandoning my child or slighting her in any way for not being there to pick her up after school. By working, I am showing her that you can have a family and a job at the same time.

I felt a lot as if I were back in high school with the cliques, like I just didn't measure up. They were all friends, and since I worked, I wasn't part of that. Good luck being let in to that group. I hope that this survey will encourage those who do not work outside the home to be more accepting of those who do. We need to support each other and not tear one another down. What example are we setting for our children?

Rae – I Don’t See A Community Here

I have lived in MTL for a little over two years …I have a love/hate relationship with Lebo … I would rate the environment at a 3 for any type of mother that is not a SAHM and married.

I am a single mother in addition to being a working mother. I was ostracized at my own child's birthday party. I feel that most of it is more subtle. What I experience most is people simply acting as if they don't hear you. It's really rather amazing. I would also say that my child's father is not treated in the same manner as I. It is more acceptable for him to be a single and working father. In chaperone and birthday events, I am generally ignored completely. Working mothers do speak to me.

I have seen the same practice in my neighbors. I grew up in rural PA and lived in various neighborhoods within the city of Pittsburgh for 15 years prior to moving to Lebo. I do not know my neighbors. I did when I lived anywhere else. We spent time together and helped one another. I do not feel the same sense of community here … the level of entitlement and poor treatment of others I have experienced here is mind blowing and not something I have experienced anywhere else. This is my personal experience and the experience of those close to me.

I'm here for the school district and I truly hope now that I haven't done my child a disservice in allowing her to grow up in this environment rather than one with more diversity. All I can do is instill values that are important to me and my family and hope that resonates with her more strongly than what she may experience as a member of this "community." I don't see a community here and if it exists it feels a bit too Stepfordish for my liking.

Behind the Bubble | Special Primary Double Edition

Special note: Due to the upcoming primaries, BtB will appear in May as a special double edition.  We will then be taking June off, and return in July with the second half of this year’s BtB.

Craig Grella to Run Unopposed in Primary – To Face Bob Fischer for Open Ward 4 Seat

By Jason Margolis

For Grella, this election is as much about decision-making processes as the decisions themselves.  As Commissioner, Grella plans to use his technology background to make the MTL government more transparent and responsive to the community as they work through important community issues.

Grella believes that the MTL Commission needs to do an overall better job of communicating with the public.  He commented, “They do this when they make a decision, but they need to do a better job of communicating not just the decision but the thought process leading up to the decision.  They need to do this more often and more open.”   Specific areas Grella is targeting for improvement includes more letters to the public, more open forums, and improvements in a “website that needs to be much better … it is outdated, and needs to be more open and accessible.”

While Grella has recently worked with technology in the non-profit community, the Pennsylvania State Democratic party, as well as volunteering for the ACLU, he is now ready to serve the MTL community he has lived in for 5 years.  With his children now here in the MTL community, Grella said he “will be best be able to have a say in and impact local policies through the commission.”  Additionally, sitting commissioner Dave Brumfield is not running again.  Grella described Brumfield as “relatively popular and has done a pretty good job” and that he would not have challenged him in the primary.

Grella on the Issues

On the issue of deer management, Grella says he has “No issue with lethal control of deer,” although at the same time he believes that “As a commission, we can do a better job of exhausting non-lethal options.”  Nevertheless, Grella has “no problem with the way the commission has voted so far.”  At the same time, Grella is open to a change in policy if the data is there to support it.  He said, “We need more measurement and analytics in place to understand what is working and what is not.  DVCs are going up, we need to know more.  If it isn’t working, we need to pivot.  We should not just stand on ceremony.”

As for taxes, Grella compared MTL to his experiences on Long Island, saying, “In Suffolk County, we had more taxes.  And we get more here in MTL in terms of services and school district.”  Grella said that when considering issues like taxes, you must weigh: risk vs. reward and benefit to the community vs. cost.  “Some services you have to pay for,” he added.  In regards to the highly controversial MTL Newcomers Tax, Grella said that “The Commission needs to be clear when they are going to re-assess, and the real estate agents need to be clear that a sale can trigger a reassessment.  And it should be in the documents.  Also, people need to understand what their rights are.  The Commission needs to tell people how to appeal, and assist them.”

On the issue of artificial turf, Grella said, “I probably would have voted for it – I was an athlete myself.”  He sees the investment in artificial turf as similar to the investment in Mt. Lebanon High School.  He added, “We have to do some things like that to maintain [MTL’s] stand-out status.”

As for PAYT, Grella said that while he is “not completely against it,” he has many concerns.  These included that it “doesn’t pay except for a small subset of people in MTL,” and that without the collective bargaining MTL can have with other municipalities, there can be astronomical increases for individual residents down the road.  “I have lived in areas where this happened,” Grella added.

The Bigger Picture

As Commissioner, Grella is looking to increase communication – with the individual resident and with the entire community.  As for individual residents, Grella said that “A Commissioner must get back to the resident no matter what, even with a past history.”  More broadly, Grella said he “would love to see a community forum – an on line community forum that is moderated by the commission.  With community input, and partnership with community leaders.”

Grella added, “We need more interaction between the community and the commission – and not just at the meetings.  But not for bitching – to move things forward, with break out groups.  To build coalitions, which is not happening, but it should … We’d find we are not so different, but right now we are very polarized.”  

Emphasizing that most of the issues the community faces are not partisan issues, Grella said he believes that “Even though we live in an increasingly partisan world, we have to be able to separate that when we come to make sure our communities are safe and economically viable.”

Behind the Bubble – May – Special Primary Double Edition

Behind the Bubble – May – Special Primary Double Edition

by Jason Margolis

Special note: Due to the upcoming primaries, BtB will appear in May as a special double edition.  We will then be taking June off, and return in July with the second half of this year’s BtB.

Bob Lee, Democratic Candidate for Ward 2, Forced to Work Around Own Party While Promising to Re-work Local Government

The comparisons between Bob Lee and Bernie Sanders’ campaigns in relation to the Democratic Committee structures are striking, and Lee is not running away from them.

As there is now ample proof that Sanders was undercut by National Democratic Leadership, Lee says he has been similarly “let down” by the MTL Democratic Committee.

A former Independent, Lee says he joined the Democrats because he “thought he could make a difference.”  But the local MTL Democrats did not listen when he and others asked them to endorse their candidate after the Democratic primary.  Instead, according to Lee, they endorsed Silverman in a vote only conducted amongst the endorsement committee, and then proclaimed that any Democrats on the larger committee must support Silverman. This left Lee feeling “kicked off” the local Democratic committee which he is no longer part of (although he is still a member of the Democratic party).

Yet Lee does not feel this incident has hurt him in terms of his hopes of becoming the local nominee, and in fact, has instead energized his supporters.  Lee said that as soon as candidates could file in January, he received 41 phone calls in 10 days from local Democrats encouraging him to challenge Silverman.

Ironically, Lee campaigned for Silverman just 3 years ago.  He said he did so because “[Silverman] said he was going to be an environmentalist … but he has not been.  He went wrong on deer, PAYT, and artificial turf.”  Lee also feels that Silverman could be stronger in terms of representing his constituency, and in the strength of his leadership.

On The Issues

Lee launched into his thoughts on deer management before the question was even asked.  His position is complex, as he said that deer density did need to be reduced by “culling of some kind.”  At the same time, he expressed his distrust of the sharpshooting process in terms of safety and effectiveness, and explained that a longer-term policy was needed.  He also said that in some ways MTL was a “sanctuary city” for deer given its ample food sources (plants, hostas), water sources, and parks with little traffic.  One new solution Lee offered was to sterilize the bucks (who can impregnate many) instead of the does.  He added that many of these does are now having twins in the “bounce-back effect.”

On the issue of taxes, Lee said that he himself faced the Newcomers Tax and, if elected, will advocate for “fair assessment … Someone’s going to have to pay the debt and bonds eventually.  It shouldn’t be on the backs of Newcomers.”  He also explained how more grant funding (as opposed to increasing taxes) can come to “a community that is a leader … people feel we are a well-to-do community, but people forget that many [residents] are not.”  Lee added that MTL needs to think more about the ongoing “overhead” on things they spend money on, and he believes that in many cases MTL has “over-extended” themselves based on “short-term thinking.”

One specific area where Lee believes MTL could be more as a leader is in garbage collection.  He expressed strong support for what some call “Pay As You Throw,” which he believes was mis-packaged to the public.  He added, “Marketing slogans should not start with the word ‘pay’.”  But his passion on the issue was clear, as Lee expressed, “If we start when they are little, and teach them every bit makes a difference [for the environment] – and they make a difference …We should be leaders in the MTL.  Cranberry has this.  Over 9,000 communities have it.  We need to promote it as leadership.  We like to be the #1 in things … which is a good thing … it increases property value and the income base.”  

As an example of what he sees as the frequent short-term thinking by the MTL Commission, Lee turned to the issue of artificial turf.  While acknowledging that as a soccer player he “likes the way it feels,” Lee cited numerous problems with MTL’s turf: “It has a drainage issue.  There are higher banks around there.  We had problems with the other turf, and yet we still built another.  They should have put it on hold as all these bad stories came out about turf.”  Lee also proclaimed that our local government needs to think more about “longer term costs” and that he would “think about the next 10-20 years, not just the 4-year term … In a township, you must think beyond your lifespan.”

More broadly, Lee believes a greater number of local issues should “go through referendum rather than hierarchical managers – civil or commission,” and used PAYT as an example.  He also expressed concerns about the slant in MTL Magazine, and that overall the MTL local government needed more transparency as “transparency is what makes government legitimate.”  

Bob Lee the Person

Lee is running because “I have helped people all my life, my grandparents were deaf mutes.  I was their representative.  It feels good to help people.  That is part of who I am.”

Having grown up in a poor family, and then joining the marines, Lee hopes that “we will get back to what I thought I was defending on those ships.  We have to go in as if we are all trying to get to the same place, just through different means.  We have to talk and listen.  Rs and Ds must learn to work together to solve a common problem … that’s the world I want my grandkids to inherit.”

A self-described “IT geek,” Lee built his own first solar power radio at 8-years-old, and realized “you can change the world with technology.”

Lee and his family have lived in MTL since 1995.

April 2017 Behind the Bubble

At The Bubble’s Edge: Interview with Green Tree Mayor Edward Schenck

 by Jason Margolis

In my December 2016 introduction of the Behind the Bubble column, I promised that the series would examine “what lies behind the surface just below, and beyond, the bubble’s rim.”  This month, we take a look at MTL by talking to the leader of its immediate neighbor, Green Tree Mayor Edward Schenck (D).  In this article, we talk with Mayor Schenck about what it is like to be MTL’s neighbor, what a mayoral system looks like, and learn more about how local controversial issues (like taxes and deer management) are viewed in very different ways – just across the yard.

Green Tree Mayor Edward Schenck, who is about to complete his first 4-year term, is getting ready to run again in the May primary.

A trial attorney for over 35 years, Schenck has lived in Green Tree since 1982 and participated on numerous commissions before being elected twice for the Council beginning in 2006, again in 2010, and then as Mayor in 2013.

Governmental Structure

Schenck commented that although Green Tree has a mayor, and Mt. Lebanon does not, the governmental structures are more alike than dissimilar.  He said that the mayor is more of a “figure head,” and is only really “in charge” of the Police Chief (although even with the Chief, the Mayor does not have the power to hire, fire, or even determine raises).   There are 7 Council members elected at large – which is different from Mt. Lebanon’s 5 “Ward” system. 

Similarly, however, elected officials receive small stipends.  Whereas MTL Commissioners earn approximately $3,500/year, Green Tree Council members earn about $1,500/year with Mayor Schenck receiving approximately $4,200/yr.

While Green Tree’s population is about 5,000 people vs. MTL’s 33,000, Schenck explained how both entities are in the “mid-range” of size for a municipality, which generally means that the elected officials receive smalls stipends and people in key full-time positions (like the Borough Manager and Director of Public Works) make close to 6-figures and run the day-to-day operations.  In contrast, Schenck explained how it is either very small municipalities in rural areas or big ones in urban areas that are more likely to have full-time elected officials running the operations.

Similar to MTL, Schenck said it is the Council’s job to keep close watch over the work of the non-elected Green Tree employees.  With about 1/6^th of MTL’s population, Green Tree has 7 Council members and a mayor for this oversight, whereas MTL has only 5 Commissioners.

Taxes

Green Tree has a budget of about $8M and Schenck says they “haven’t raised taxes in 10 years.”  When Allegheny County conducted its reassessment program several years ago, Green Tree lowered the millage and “still made more money.”  When asked whether Green Tree engaged in a spot reassessment program, like MTL’s Newcomers Tax, Schenck said they did this “only with a couple of businesses – not individual residents.”

Schenck further explained that Green Tree has a number of revenue sources that make raising taxes on individual residents unnecessary, including a Business Privilege Tax and Real Estate Transfer taxes.  Additionally, Green Tree focuses its budgetary priorities on “excellent road and recreational programs,” while placing extra money from windfall years in a “fund for a rainy day … when we are tight on the budget.”

Mayor Schenck says this fiscal strategy has not only allowed Green Tree to maintain taxes at their current level, but also to recently be raised two notches in S&P’s bond rating to AA+ (the 2^nd highest possible).  In 2014, Moody’s lowered MTL’s rating to Aa2 (the 5^th highest rating), citing concerns over a “declining fund balance.”

Schenck was particularly proud of how Green Tree’s strong rating recently allowed the borough to refinance their debt at a lower rate, saving the taxpayer’s significant amounts of money over time.

Deer “Management”

As we began to discuss the issue of deer management, Schenck couldn’t help but to smile and quip that he “thanked Mt. Lebanon for putting up ‘vacancy signs’ for the Green Tree deer” by seeking to get rid of their own.

Schenck also recalled when Green Tree was at a crossroads with this issue: “In 2005, they were going to hire archers to kill deer.  The council meeting was packed with deer lovers … the council backed off, and decided it’s not worth fighting all these people.”

While acknowledging that deer pose a minor risk, Schenck says that there has never been a major deer-vehicle-collision (DVC) accident in Green Tree (there has never been one in MTL either) and that with no cull last year there were actually fewer DVCs than the previous year (with a cull, MTL’s DVCs increased by about 50%).  Schenck also expressed concerns about the use of rifles to kill deer as “that poses some danger … if you don’t have a clean kill, what does the deer do?  It can run and cause an accident.”

Schenck added, “In my opinion, [the MTL cull] is not about car accidents.  It’s more that people don’t want their shrubbery damaged.”

What Is It Like Being MTL’s Neighbor?

Mayor Schenck spoke to the positive things about being next to MTL.  These included Green Tree’s proximity to the shops, the restaurants, and the overall MTL business community.  He compared it to being an individual homeowner where “If you own a house, you want the house next door to be in good shape … it increases your value.”

Schenck had nothing negative to say about being next to MTL, adding that there is “no real competition” between Green Tree and MTL.  “It’s just accepted as a higher economic area.  That’s just the way it is.  They [MTL] might compete more with Upper St. Clair.”

Looking Ahead

Thinking about some of his goals during a second term as mayor, Schenck said that he was not planning any “drastic changes.”  He added, “We want to keep recreation continuing, keep up our parks, continuing our road program … We are also proud of our library.  We want to keep the businesses happy too.”

To end the interview, I asked, “Green Tree – one or two words?”  Chuckling to himself for a minute, Mayor Schenck replied, “The borough is two words, but the street is one word.  I once had someone insist to me that it was otherwise.  He did not know I was the mayor.  I just let it go.”

February 2017 Behind the Bubble

Parent Outrage Halts “Hundred Years” Battle In Mt. Lebanon School District

By Jason Margolis

After being made aware of a potentially stereotype-promoting elementary school assignment, planned for Friday, February 3rd, the Mt. Lebanon School District has decided to discontinue this type of activity.

Dr. Timothy Steinhauer, Mt. Lebanon Superintendent, said “I have contacted the principals and this type of activity will not be continuing. It is never our intent to facilitate activities that may be considered to promote stereotypes.”

Several parents who had been deeply disturbed by the “100 days / 100 years old” assignment were relieved.

Initially, when Dr. Rachael Woldoff, Professor of Sociology at West Virginia University and MTL parent, was handed an assignment by her son on the walk home from school, she asked with deep concern, “What is this?”

The assignment asked students at Washington Elementary School to “dress up like they are 100 years old” to celebrate the 100th day of school. Additionally, girls were encouraged to encourage to dress in “pearls” and “purses” and boys in “flannel shirts” and “suspenders.”

“There’s a million things they could do with the number 100. This is the dumbest,” Woldoff commented. “This is an opportunity to do something cool with the number 100 – but who thought of this? Is this educational? What does this have to do with what you are teaching the children?”

Dr. Woldoff, who has authored several books about “aging in place” and the plight of older people trying to keep their homes, said “I feel like I have quite a bit of expertise in the stereotyping of old people … and the challenges they face to be seen as whole people, not as people who can’t make decisions for themselves. They have agency – not just caricatures that we mock.”

The Mt. Lebanon parent also said she was concerned about the “gendered” nature of the assignment. “No one I know dresses like that. My grandmother died looking nothing like that – I have no idea what they are talking about.”

Problematizing stereotypes is particularly important to Dr. Woldoff, who is both Jewish and the parent of an African American child. “As a parent of a black child, you [the school] are undermining everything I am trying to do about not stereotyping,” Woldoff added.

But Dr. Woldoff has experienced some resistance in problematizing issues in Mt. Lebanon in the past, and this has continued in the case of the “100 years” assignment. When bringing up her concerns that the assignment is ageist to other Washington Elementary parents, Woldoff said responses ranged from “I have never thought of that” to “It’s just a fun thing” to “Why do you have to be so yucky and say what you don’t like about the school district?”

However, other Washington Elementary parents agree with Woldoff. Dr. Laura Crothers, Professor of School Psychology at Duquesne University and Washington Elementary parent, said she remembered the same assignment from the previous year as being “offensive.” She added that this was a task asking young people to stereotype “when the diversity of those who live to 100 years old is infinite.”

When asked if she would formally speak out against the assignment, Woldoff said she was hesitant. She added, “I am happy it’s a good school, and I have been made some good friends here [in Mt. Lebanon], but there are problems here and I refuse to be quiet about it. The answer isn’t ‘and you should just move’ which I hear all the time.”

From the School District’s swift response, however, Dr. Woldoff’s concerns as well as those of other parents, were both validated and addressed.

A letter went home with children on Monday, January 30th, saying that students would “not be participating in the previously planned, optional activity to ‘dress as a 100 year old’.” Instead, Washington Elementary had designed “multiple, curriculum-based activities planned for the students which reflect our celebration of the day and the number ‘100’.”

January 2017 Behind The Bubble

Behind The Bubble

January 2017: The Sounds of Silence

By Jason Margolis

As when I moved to Mt. Lebanon in July 2011, I began my quest to get “behind the bubble” with high hopes. But things, as they often do, did not go as planned.

I wanted to begin by writing a profile of a Mt. Lebanon individual, because it is people that make up communities. The intention was to look deeper into the essence of a person in our community of some stature, and to have them reflect on life in Mt. Lebanon past, present, and future.

I first approached Dave Brumfield. I thought this would be a good person to start with, as he was incoming Commission President and beginning what would likely be his last year as Commissioner. Additionally, he and I always have had a relatively affable relationship. I emailed Dave both before and after the holidays regarding a potential interview. I never heard back. Silence.

Then, I emailed Mt. Lebanon Public Information Officer Susan Morgans. I thought that this high-profile, in-the-know local public figure would be an excellent individual to launch this monthly series, in an attempt to raise new understandings and build new bridges in Mt. Lebanon. To her credit, she did respond with a short email that declined the interview, while copying Municipal Manager Keith McGill. I then followed up with a ‘reply to all’ asking for any suggestions regarding who they might suggest I talk to, in the spirit of this new column, and never heard back. Silence.

Finally, I decided to approach an individual who a couple of years back was very active in Mt. Lebanon politics. In fact, this individual (who I will not name as they are not a public figure) had previously emailed me for an endorsement of their planned candidacy for Commissioner. I quickly responded to that email two years ago. They did not, however, do likewise in January 2017.

So, why all the silence?

There are three main reasons people bring silence into the world:

1) As a means of power and control, as men often use silence over women in abusive relationships.

2) Out of fear, as a child who somehow did not get caught with his hand in the cookie jar chooses not to tell his parents that his hand was indeed the cookie jar to avoid the consequences of the truth.

3) Because of a disability, as someone who was born, or has become, mute.

It is not clear which of the above apply in this case. Perhaps these individuals feared I would twist their words, although they certainly could have sued me for libel if I did. In fact, as a private citizen I have been threatened with being sued in the past for things I have written about controversial issues in Mt. Lebanon.

Perhaps, looking around the bubble’s edge, it is because one of the most divisive issues in Mt. Lebanon is its silence. As someone who has had to request basic public information and documents from the municipality through “Right To Knows” – and having watched numerous escalating legal battles over releasing the locations of where government-funded deer “management” is taking place – silence does seem to be the common default in Mt. Lebanon. And if this is not a policy borne of fear or disability, it must be one of power and control.

But silence by the powerful comes with costs. In a 60 Minutes interview in 1966, Martin Luther King Jr. warned America, “A riot is the language of the unheard.” Silence infers disengagement and dismissal. It is carried out by those wishing to hold on to something, and not share it, with those who have less. And when people with less feel they are not being listened to, and that this silence is hurting their well-being, sooner or later there will be consequences.

Thus far, the bubble’s walls have been thicker than I thought. But every wall of silence has a trap door – a door that lets people in and lets the truth out.

In February, I hope to find one of the bubble’s hidden trap doors.

Behind the Bubble - New Feature Coming To Lebo Citizens

Behind the Bubble – New Feature Coming to Lebo Citizens

by Jason Margolis

I am pleased to announce a new monthly feature coming to Lebo Citizens: Behind the Bubble.  

Through news and feature stories, this series will look take a journalistic stance towards one of the most fascinating, and often divisive, places to live in Western Pennsylvania.  Additionally, it will do so in a spirit of inquisitiveness, not partisanship.  I will be writing one story a month for one year beginning January 2017.

Behind the Bubble will ask questions and seek insight about what lies behind the surface just below, and beyond, the bubble’s rim.  Just below the bubble are the people, histories, aspirations, fears, and relationships that move Mt. Lebanon.  Just beyond the bubble’s rim is the bigger world that Mt. Lebanon models, eschews, interacts with, and turns away from.  Through more closely examining these cultures, Behind the Bubble will seek to expand the understandings of both the people within and outside this community.

On a personal note … When I was asked to contribute to Lebo Citizens, I initially declined.  First, I am busy parenting three young children.  Second, I have a demanding and intense job as a professor and department chair at Duquesne University.  

However, ultimately I saw this as an opportunity to return my roots as an English teacher and journalist in New York City.  There, I wrote articles for community newspapers, taught journalism, and was the faculty advisor to the student newspaper.  I remember how journalism – real journalism – could be a light in the darkness.  Journalism asks why and how, when others won’t even touch the what.

Unfortunately, here in Mt. Lebanon and beyond, real journalism is in some serious trouble.  While we wouldn’t expect anything other than gloss from municipal publications like Mt. Lebanon Magazine, many of our local papers have fallen short of asking these important questions.  This is not a phenomenon unique to Western Pennsylvania, as newspapers are shuttering their doors everywhere, or keeping only a safe, skeletal staff that supports on-line advertising.

The new real journalism is on line, in a flat world, though to get there you have to sift through a sea of “fake news.”  In creating and maintaining Lebo Citizens, Ms. Elaine Gillen – say what you will about the messenger’s manner – has turned over rocks for insight.  Anyone interested in learning more about journalism in today’s world should read through these pages carefully.  

I am honored to join Lebo Citizens for one year to contribute to this mission of real journalism within and beyond Mt. Lebanon – just below and beyond the bubble’s rim.  

Behind the Bubble - New Feature Coming to Lebo Citizens

Three Ways a Trump Presidency Could Be Good for American Education

Dr. Jason Margolis, Professor of Education; Chair, Department of Instruction and Leadership in Education at Duquesne University; and Lebo Citizens reader has published this commentary in Teachers College Record titled, "Now What, Professor? Three Ways a Trump Presidency Could Be Good for American Education."

Now What, Professor? Three Ways a Trump Presidency Could Be Good for American Education by Jason Margolis — November 14, 2016

This commentary outlines three related ways that a Trump presidency could be very good for American education and how education professors can play a more important role in educational improvement.

As I write this, just hours after Donald Trump was declared president-elect of the United States, my social media feeds are lighting up with despair. Many of my friends and colleagues across the country on Facebook, Twitter, and blogs are expressing deep anxiety, shock, and anger at the outcome of the election.

But these electoral results are what they are. The question is: Now what, professor? In this commentary, I will outline three related ways that a Trump presidency could be very good for American education and how education professors can play a more important role in educational improvement.

Read more: http://www.tcrecord.org/Content.asp?ContentID=21736

The Trib's featured commentary tonight is by Lebo Citizens reader and Mt. Lebanon resident, Jason Margolis.

Resolving Mt. Lebo's deer management

 

By Jason Margolis

Monday, July 13, 2015, 9:00 p.m.

The Mt. Lebanon deer-management issue is about to erupt again as the commissioners' “cooling off” period has come to a quick end. To some, the Mt. Lebanon deer “problem” is a mirage — a phantom notion of the vapid and excessive. To others, it is a real public crisis, threatening both property and life.

While there are serious questions about whether it is possible to target deer within a particular community (deer know no borders and, unlike children, are not assigned to school districts) rather than a larger area (e.g., an Allegheny County deer-management plan), it is time for the two warring sides to meet in the middle.

With this in mind, I propose the following:

(1) No lethal methods be used within Mt. Lebanon. Killing strategies that would target only the deer in parks are too inhumane and ineffective (e.g., culling — which failed in March 2015) and other methods like sharpshooting are too dangerous to humans in such a densely-populated area. Rejecting lethal methods of deer management will also remove many of the moral and ethical objections articulated by those opposed to past Mt. Lebo management means.

Taking deer-killing off the table is the only way to keep our family-oriented parks and backyards peaceful, enjoyable and nonviolent, as they were intended.

(2) Use sterilization as the primary management method, supplemented by other approaches (promoting deer-resistant plans, enforcing the speed limit, public education). Methods of sterilization have advanced significantly. This method certainly is safer for humans and more humane for animals.

(3) Supplement the greater expenses for this approach with privately raised funds and veterinarian volunteers.

There is a model for such private-public partnerships in Mt. Lebo (for example, the also highly controversial artificial turf project). The Mt. Lebo deer cull in March was infamous regionally and nationally. A “GoFundMe” campaign likely would garner significant donations at this point.

The approach outlined above honors both those who believe the deer are truly a problem in Mt. Lebanon as well as those against guns and bloodshed for humans and animals. It is also fiscally responsible.

Inevitably, some from both sides will argue that sterilizing deer is against nature. But I would expect that very few would claim the same about a woman taking the pill or a man getting a vasectomy. These approaches have evolved to assist humanity in controlling the population in humane ways.

As humans, we are hardwired to solve complex problems through individual ingenuity and community collaboration. Unfortunately, we are also hardwired for conflict — particularly when in a state of fear.

At the apex of our human capabilities, we bring together multiple viewpoints to find a reasonable middle ground.

A community like Mt. Lebanon should give us no less than the best we have to offer.

And in the case of Mt. Lebanon deer management, this middle, reasonable path would be: sterilization partially funded through private donations.

Jason Margolis is an educator. He lives in Mt. Lebanon.

Copyright © 2015 — Trib Total Media