Another Pittsburgh area school district sues FieldTurf

New Castle School District v FieldTurf

School board reorganization meeting on Monday

I have been waiting for this day. The Reign of Terror will be over, according to the Reorganization meeting agenda.

Also on the agenda is the appointment of the solicitor, that Thomas P. Peterson be appointed School Board Solicitor for one year. Remember, he didn't see a conflict of interest with a former school board director approving contracts with her employer. I hope the school board keeps that in mind when they appoint Peterson again.

I am hoping for some big changes with the reorganization. We're long overdue.

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.

This is my 2,416th post.

I had a crazy idea to start this blog on November 29, 2010. Tomorrow marks the start of my eighth year.

Some Statistics

I published 44,590 comments.

I chose not to approve 863 comments, which are still sitting in my spam folder. Those are mostly anonymous and hate-filled. I did approve the most hurtful comment which came in at 12:06 AM.

The true spam comments were deleted.

1,891,460 pages were read by you.

My most popular post of all time is still Parent offended by article in The Devil's Advocate.

The second most popular post is Photos from tonight's meeting. Those photos were from a time when we thought that attending a commission meeting actually mattered. Silly us.

How I start my day.

I made a lot of friends along the way, but also lots at the other end of the spectrum. My expectations include transparency, accountability, honesty, and fairness. That is where I lose some people.

I am hoping that 2018 is the start of a new beginning. Two of our biggest bullies in local government are at the end of their terms. I'm optimistic that our new leadership will regain control of our administrators by insisting that the administrations act promptly on letters and requests sent by the public and to make documents accessible and transparent for the public. When that happens, I'm calling it quits.

Readers, thank you for your support. I really appreciate it.

"Sharpshooting" 2018

I watched enough of last night's commission meeting to know that I had to file a Right To know for the proposal and contract between White Buffalo and Mt. Lebanon.

Kelly Fraasch made a point to voice her opinion about the cost of this program. Not only is she against the "sharpshooting" program in general, she thought the cost of $771.10 per deer for up to 100 deer was outrageous. When the commissioners first came up with the idea that we had too many deer in Mt. Lebanon, the cost was estimated to be around $250 per deer.

The vote was 3 to 1 in favor of continuing the deer killing program. Dave Brumfield checked with Steve McLean and Craig Grella before he voted yes. Steve "Fiscally Responsible" McLean supported it. We're still waiting for Craig's decision to be published.

Want to be on the school board?

The Mt. Lebanon School District is seeking residents* interested in applying for an anticipated two-year vacant position on the Board of School Directors. Residents 18 years old and older who have been residents of Mt. Lebanon for a least one year are invited to submit a letter of interest and resume to the Office of the Superintendent, Mt. Lebanon School District, 7 Horsman Drive, Pittsburgh, PA 15228 or email the Superintendent's Administrative Assistant, Jeanine Szalinski, at jszalinski@mtlsd.net. Applicant information will be accepted through December 11, 2017 until 3:00 p.m. Interviews are anticipated to be held at a Special Board meeting on Monday, December 18, 2017.

*without any conflict of interests, please. 

Public Notice

Execute the execution

Our brilliant commissioners are still under Tony DeNicola's spell. The commissioners will be voting on November 27, 2017

Consideration of a contract for a white-tailed deer management utilizing sharpshooting. The Municipality desires to follow the controlled hunt archery program currently occurring with a sharpshooting program under a PA Game Commission political subdivision permit. This activity would occur from February 1, 2018 to March 31, 2018. 

The Municipality received a proposal from White Buffalo, Inc., to provide deer management sharpshooting services. Under the contract up to 100 deer could be removed at a cost of $77,110. 

Recommended Action: Move to authorize the execution of this agreement with White Buffalo, Inc., for the removal of up to 100 deer at a cost not to exceed $77,110, subject to the approval of the manager and the solicitor.

Do we even have 100 deer? As in the past, we have no idea how many were killed by the archers, during Archery Season. Last year, the taxpayers paid Tony $9,000 to have "volunteers" kill 36 deer.

According to my blog posting from November 23, 2016  Tony, please return the commissioners' brains, 

Recommended Action: Move to authorize the execution of this agreement with White Buffalo, Inc., for the removal of up to 100 deer at a cost not to exceed $83, 477, subject to the approval of the Manager and the Solicitor.

55 deer were killed last year by "sharpshooting," at a cost of $815.78 per deer.

Year	Deer Removed	Cost of Removal
2007	79	$19,900  (USDA)
2008	146	$50,837 (USDA)
2015	6	$3,000  (Wildlife Specialists)
2016	101	$15,460 (White Buffalo -Archery)
2016	114	$74,375 (White Buffalo –Sharpshooting)
2017	36	$9,000 (White Buffalo- Archery)
2017	55	$44,868 (White Buffalo -Sharpshooting)
Total	537	$217,440

Here is the breakdown by year:

2007 $288.41 per deer
2008 $348.20 per deer
2015 $500 per deer
2016 (archery) $147.24 per deer
2016 ("sharpshooting") $652.41 per deer
2017 (archery) $250 per deer
2017 ("sharpshooting") $815.78 per deer

Brumfield's legacy will be to approve another year of killing deer with high powered rifles in undisclosed areas of Mt. Lebanon. He once said that he will only vote for shooting deer when the deer carry rifles, to even the score. I wrote that

Both Steve Silverman and Craig Grella want to continue doing business with that scoundrel, and will vote along with John Bendel and Steve McLean to keep Tony DeNicola. Killing deer causes collisions to increase, but they will continue to bring in lethal weapons because deer are scary.

Craig Grella didn't have to vote this year. Brumfield will get it passed. Parents, expect another CYA letter in January from Super Timmy and Keith McGill like this one sent last year. Bullets never cross sidewalks We'll hear how there hasn't been an accident. Will they only stop when there is? 

To Hell with those with PTSD.

Happy Thanksgiving

Traditionally, Thanksgiving has been a time to express gratitude for what we have and to spend time with the ones we love. But for many years, Thanksgiving has meant the start of a very stressful holiday season of buying stuff, instead of doing stuff with our friends and family. We've starting to put presents before presence.

1. Participate in Buy Nothing Day on November 24. Take the pledge to avoid crowded malls on the busiest shopping day of the year, and invite your friends to do the same!
2. Start a conversation about Stuff. Talk with your friends and family about where our Stuff comes from and where it goes – and the impacts on people and the planet along the way. Sharing The Story of Stuff movie on social media is a great icebreaker!
3. Give a non-material gift like event tickets or membership to a local museum.
4. Gift something home-made or second-hand like baked goods, upcycled art, or quality used items.
5. Volunteer with a local charity or community organization – and bring your friends along, too.
6. Make a plan to relax. Holiday obligations and activities can leave us with little time to truly recharge. Set aside some time to get out into nature or to simply curl up with a good book.

https://catalogchoice.org/

Thanks for doing your homework, MLRC

From Facebook:

Mt. Lebanon Magazine shared Local Government Academy'sphoto.

Third from the left, Mt. Lebanon's newly elected commissioner, Craig Grella, is pictured at the opening session of the Local Government Academy's course for newly elected officials. This course is a great way for officials to review the basics of local government, ask questions, meet some of their peers and be ready to hit the ground running when they are sworn in in January. Thanks for doing your homework, Mr. Grella!

But we still don't know about Mr. Grella's arrest, do we? And what about that conflict of interest? From March 29, 2017 Is this odd or what? UPDATED 2X We can thank the MLRC for that one. They would rather photograph an excellent candidate in front of a fire engine, than inform the public about these irregularities. Just keep blaming the Democrats, MLRC. What a crew!

Password required? UPDATED

I have been trying to log in to the MTLSD website and also access the meeting videos. Any ideas on how to log in, now that a user name and password are required for authentication? I have emailed the school board directors, but you know how that goes.

Any news on last night's meeting?

Update 7:22 AM

Dear Ms. Gillen.
We’ll have Mr. Stengel take a look.
Thank you for letting us know.
For the Board,
Mary D. Birks

Update 8:12 AM That was quick! It has been corrected. Still showing Timmy's 2016-2017 Goals with his 2017-2018 Goals Missing in Action. (Saved in Google Docs) I guess the 2017 board leadership forgot about that.

Update 9:48 PM Fixed!

Democratic Caucus results in

Conor Lamb won. He beat Mike Crossey, Pam Iovino, Gina Cerilli, and Bob Solomon. I wasn't aware that there were others running too. A gardener from Mt. Lebanon and a professor from Cecil also ran. 

Conor Lamb get Dem nod for 18th Congressional seat election

I hate this time of year.

3Ws is playing Christmas music 24 hours a day. I changed the station, only to hear an interview from Travis whats-his-face from the PA Game Commission to talk about killing deer. And then I get this anonymous comment:

Watched the discussion session on turfing the Rock Pile. Just curious why Penn State - that they rely on for so much info - hguses natural grass on its football, soccer and lacrosse fields if artificial turf is so superior. They also use natural grass on many heavily used fields for practice, clinics and summer tournaments available to outside organizations. http://www.visitpennstate.org/meeting-sports-planners/sports-planners/field-hockey-lacrosse-soccer/ It’s obvious the board is dead set on artificial turf and being that anonymous info/comments aren’t welcome here, this will be my last.

On November 29, 2017, I will begin my eighth year of this blog. I have published 44,543 comments to my 2,407 posts. I can't even guess how many of those 44,543 comments were anonymous. I have approved countless comments from Giffen Good, Dick Saunders, and more. I have posted lyrics to songs, lame quotes, links to outdated articles, and comments that are off topic. The anonymous comment above was submitted under "What is Variatiability?" after I wrote:

4:53 PM, while I truly appreciate all the studies you share here on Lebo Citizens, it is really a waste of time. We have three attorneys lobbying for artificial turf - Dave Franklin, Bill Moorhead, and Larry Lebowitz. We are also hearing from directors and parents. Paula asked for the vote to be tabled until the December reorganization meeting. I don't know what the board is afraid of. The board has committed to a full size regulation field. Actually, Mary Birks will not be able to vote on the artificial turf because it would be a conflict of interest with her husband/older gentleman who refs on those fields. The PA Ethics Commission is aware.

So thanks for all the studies and links, 4:53 PM, but no thanks. It didn't work with the municipality. It is not going to work with the school district. The board needs to hear from real people at the microphone. Not stuff posted here. They claim that they don't read the blog, but we all know they read every word. I don't need the speech about anonymity. Speaking at next week's meeting is the only thing that will be effective.

So 4:53 PM, you might want to take a look at tomorrow's agenda. You are the only person I know who has to announce your "last comment." I started this blog this time of year, many years ago, to try to bring transparency to Mt. Lebanon and do something constructive during the holidays. I ran "Dress 4 Work" every November for six years. I don't need you to tell me that anonymous info/comments aren't welcome here.

End of an era

Monday, November 20, 2017 will be Mary Birks' final school board meeting. It is also Bill Moorhead's and Dan Remely's last meeting. Traditionally, Mary takes a swipe in her Board President's Report. She has gone after resident after resident in her reports. Will she go out in a blaze of glory or will she go out with dignity? We will soon find out.

 I wish them well.

Still nothing

https://ujsportal.pacourts.us/DocketSheets/MDJReport.ashx?docketNumber=MJ-05217-NT-0000326-2017

Ward 4, way to go! The lack of transparency has already begun with your new commissioner.

Throwback Thursday 2017

Looking for some gift ideas for teachers, groomers, hair stylists, etc.? I have over 500 different kinds, so I am not limited to these colors or tags. Prices range from $5 for small key fobs to $10 for the large bag tags. Email me at EGillen476@aol.com if you are interested. Looking for something in particular? I probably have it. Just ask.

You've seen these:

 I just made these and have soooo many other new ones available.