Wednesday, January 3, 2018

Yes, sad day

Mt. Lebanon Magazine

Congratulations to new Commissioner Craig Grella, who was sworn in this evening by his good neighbor District Judge Blaise Larotonda.



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JoAnne Bova Mt Lebanon Magazine you can’t even get the right ward. Really? Sad day!
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Mt. Lebanon Magazine Sorry, Ward 4. Once elected, however, a commissioner is charged with making good decisions for the entire community. We do not identify commissioners by ward or party in Mt. Lebanon Magazine for that reason.





Nice try, Mt. Lebanon Magazine. The original post read Ward 2. As someone wrote to me privately,
"This is just another example of the bias flip flopping of this magazine. You can not trust this magazine. They either have things wrong or it's out dated. Maybe they should research into the depths of the Commissioners "Good" neighbor and how he has the power to dismiss violations."

Tuesday, January 2, 2018

For Posterity UPDATED 010318

I belong to a closed group on Facebook called "Just" a Mt. Lebanon Housewife. There are over a thousand members in the group. It is a good group, with lots of suggestions, tips, and support. Last night, there was a lively, but civil discussion about school delays. It boiled down to the pros and cons of 10:00 AM starts vs. two hour delays. It brought back lots of memories and reminded me of how tough parenting can be, especially when trying to juggle family responsibilities and work.

A couple of members had several threads going at the same time, both pertaining to today's delay.

This post, however, got ugly.
Original Post 
Diane Wissler Rattay
Mt. Lebanon schools will have a 10:00 start for students and a modified Kindergarten schedule on Tuesday, January 2, due to weather conditions.


[Asking group members to sign up for Twitter and Tweet the Superintendent]

This would be an awesome reason to sign up! You know you want to!! All your friends are doing it! </Peer pressure>

When it was originally called, the wind chill advisory was until 9am, so I get it. It has been extended until noon on Weds, now.

Diane Wissler Rattay I would tweet, but can't. He blocked me on Twitter.








Elaine Trigg Gillen - if you criticized, name called & publicly humiliated me, the way you have him & others, I'd block you, too.

And now it gets ugly. He is a public servant who is blocking a taxpayer from a School District Twitter Account. Give me a six percent raise and pay me over $200,000 a year, and you can call me anything you want. Heck, people do it to me now and I don't get paid a cent.

There's nothing ugly about my statement, it's truth. Not once have I seen you at a school board meeting, offering your opinions. Hiding behind a keyboard & monitor, making veiled threats, accusations & bullying is what's ugly. I'd be careful, if I were you. Someday, someone is going to strike back & sue you for slander, defamation of character, and a slew of others. But what do I know? I'm just a Mt. Lebanon Housewife.

Diane, you might want to check all the recordings of every school board meeting from 2010-2014 on my website lebocitizens.com. Guess who recorded them? Me. I attended every single meeting until the school board directors were so rude that I stopped going. Take the time and listen to them. I was polite. They were not. I don't hide behind a keyboard. I don't make veiled threats. I back up everything I say with facts. It isn't slander or defamation of character if it is true.

That's just golden who liked your comment.
[Libby Windsor, Susan Morgans’ daughter]

I'm sure she doesn't like her mother being called names.

Again, pay me over $100,000 a year and get paid to go to NYC, and write about drinking in Napa, you can call me anything you want. I don't get a dime. Her mother has gone after me several times at commission meetings. It has all been recorded. Again, facts.

Dozens of people I know are paid to travel. And many of them make more than $100,000. Maybe Ms. Morgans deserves a raise.

That may be true. I am sure she will get one. Do you feel better now?

I was never feeling poorly.

You have taken a post about a 10:00 AM start and turned it into bashing me.

Actually, I haven't said one negative thing about you.

Please stop. It is going on an hour.

Have a good evening, Ms. Gillen.

******

The post, in its entirety, was removed by the administrator of the group. I don't believe I know Diane Rattay, but she sure knew me. It turns out that she is a PTA Vice President. She also chairs half the committees at that school. 

I have decided to post this thread on Lebo Citizens for posterity. I hope that the readers were not turned off and still wrote to the school board, asking them to consider going back to two hour delays, instead of 10:00 AM starts.

Update January 2, 2018 8:47 PM Peters Township is leaving the final decision up to parents.  District says students who are absent or tardy will be excused.

Update January 3, 2018 7:20 PM I have been kicked out of the Secret Facebook Group.
You are unable to see the contents of this group because you are no longer a member.
The group was not happy that I shared the deleted post on this blog. They wanted me to remove it, and just keep it our little secret. Diane published a link to this post and shared it with the thousand members. Diane also asked me to remove the name of the school where she is PTA Vice President, which I did. In addition, the PTA President of the school asked me to delete the post, which I won't. She was defending Diane for all the wonderful work she does for PTA. I guess she didn't realize that we had kids at Foster School from 1973-2004. We outlasted Barbara Float! Both my husband and I were members of PTA. When he was disabled, he went to all the Mellon PTA meetings. Instead of focusing on the hour long bashing of me, the "ladies" were upset with how I reacted to the bashing. Why does it remind me of an abusive relationship where the victim is told not to tell anyone what happened? I have a feeling that Diane is still a member of "Just" a Mt. Lebanon Housewife and they can continue to bash me and this blog. I loved how the members were thanking the two administrators of the secret Facebook group for all the work they do keeping the Facebook page going. I thought that was pretty funny. The administrator then removed Diane's link to my blog and the comments that went with it and said to knock it off. Then I was kicked out of "the sisterhood."

The moral of the story is that PTA rules this town and don't mess with them. One woman was very concerned that I would post their inner most secrets on the blog. I told her that I only shared what was directed toward me and my comments. Not good enough. I was kicked out. 

Sunday, December 31, 2017

Predictions for 2018

I see some major changes in 2018. Here are my predictions:

Jan Klein will retire. Finally. See Goal #10. http://www.mtlsd.org/page.cfm?p=703

The Stormwater Fee will be challenged. Small uprising in a local Facebook group.

Commissioner Grella's case for Public Drunkenness and Similar Misconduct will be closed. I hope.

Timmy will start working for a change since the Board majority has higher expectations of him.

Less Right To Knows will be needed for School District information requests. Municipality - not so much.

One Ethics Complaint will be finalized with more complaints filed in 2018.

Mt. Lebanon Residents will realize that they have been duped by Tony DeNicola.

The Capital Campaign will be shut down.

The Municipality will pay for more artificial turf.

Susan Morgans will retire. No, that will never happen.

Here is to a transparent and accountable Mt. Lebanon government in 2018.

Happy New Year.

Friday, December 29, 2017

Just peachy

Remember the case that Blaise Larotonda dismissed on December 27, 2017? Summary Trial with next door neighbor begins tomorrow at 9 AM UPDATED  The Honorable(?) Blaise Larotonda is swearing in this clown at Tuesday's commission meeting. January 2, 2018 Commission Agenda Good thing Blaise dismissed Craig's case since he will be the commission liaison to the Parking Advisory Board. Also a given, he will be the Sports Advisory Board liaison.

Craig's September 5, 2017 Public Drunkenness and Similar Misconduct arrest remains active. Maybe he can get that dismissed too since he will be the Alternate for SHACOG.

Blaise is also swearing in Treasurer Joe Senko. Joe is not a popular guy these days.

"Disgusted with Government..."

Thursday, December 28, 2017

"Disgusted with Government" UPDATED 12/29/17

That's what Mt. Lebanon resident and Lebo Citizens Reader, Rudy Bies had to say yesterday when he tried to prepay his taxes.

Residents could have save thousands of dollars had Mt. Lebanon cooperated with its taxpayers. It would have been a win-win situation.

But Miss High and Mighty Morgans said that Mt. Lebanon can't violate its Home Rule Charter.

We NEVER make exceptions, do we? What would have happened if we had? If you want reasonable government, consider moving to Upper St. Clair, Peters Township, or Bethel Park. They look out for their residents.

Read more: New tax rules befuddle some property owners, make early birds out of others

Update December 29, 2017 8:51 PM I wanted to share the following with Lebo Citizens Readers. Rudy Bies emailed some more of his thoughts on this topic.

I am sending this just for the record to support why I believe the residents of Mt. Lebanon were treated very poorly by our very own local government. 

Below is the link for a PDF of the
LOCAL TAX COLLECTION LAW
Act of May. 25, 1945, P.L. 1050, No. 394

This is the law that Joe Senko, Mt. Lebanon Treasurer gave to me and it was his excuse as to why he could not accept any 2018 tax payment in 2017.

 

http://www.legis.state.pa.us/WU01/LI/LI/US/PDF/1945/0/0394..PDF

To make it easy -I have highlighted below what is found near the bottom of page
19 of 37, of the attached PDF, which is a copy of the law.
 
 
Section 15. Receiving County Taxes Not Assessed and Adding
Names to Duplicates Prohibited.--It shall not be lawful for any
county treasurer, county commissioner or any tax collector, nor
for any other person, on his or their behalf, to receive payment
or give any receipt for the payment of any taxes that have not
been duly assessed and returns of said assessment made according
to law, nor shall any such treasurer, commissioner or tax
collector, or other person on his or their behalf, receive
payment or give any receipt for the payment of any taxes from
the collection of which the tax collector has been exonerated
according to law....  


I have bolded above and underlined the key provisions.

In short - it is unlawful to "receive payment or give any receipt"...

CONCEPT ONE
Most of us taxpayers are quite content to use our cancelled check as a receipt.
So we as taxpayers are not asking anyone one to give us a receipt, at least not at this time, as many are concerned about their federal tax deduction.

CONCEPT TWO
Notice above - how poorly the law is written - it states that the collector is not allowed to receive payment.

The collector has no control over the taxpayer.  When a taxpayer chooses to mail their tax payment to the tax office and the tax office opens the mail, the tax payment has obviously been received. That fact can not be changed.

SUMMARY
Please don't read the above law with an approach for what it should say or what may have been intended - I ask that you simply read it for what it actually says and to read it from a perspective of how you could accommodate the taxpayers if you were in a position of "authority".

Notice above that I have highlighted in red that the law also includes the County, yet Allegheny County was quite helpful in accommodating the tax payers - Joe Senko was not.

It would seem that there was absolutely no effort made to accommodate  the taxpaying residents of Mt. Lebanon, not by our local government, not by our state legislature, and not by our governor, who could have easily issued an executive order.

Wednesday, December 27, 2017

2018 tax payments | Mt. Lebanon does not want your money


Based on recently passed tax legislation, the Mt. Lebanon Tax Collector has received inquiries from residents regarding their ability to prepay their 2018 property taxes prior to the end of 2017. While the Municipality and the Tax Collector understand resident’s desire to prepay their taxes, current statute prohibits the collection of these taxes before they have been duly assessed. Taxes cannot be "duly" assessed because we will not receive the certified county assessment docket until late January or early February of 2018. Therefore, the prepayment of 2018 property taxes in 2017 is unfortunately not something that can be legally accommodated. The Municipality’s Solicitor has reviewed this matter and concurs with this position.

http://mtlebanon.org/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=822

The PG reports: Allegheny County is accepting prepaid taxes and has for years as a courtesy to its residents. County taxes are due tomorrow. Postmarks do not apply in this case. They must be in the County tax office no later than tomorrow.

Tuesday, December 26, 2017

Summary Trial with next door neighbor begins tomorrow at 9 AM UPDATED

This might be awkward. Soon to be commissioner of Ward 4 will be facing his next door neighbor tomorrow morning at 9 AM.

Craig Grella's Summary Trial begins tomorrow morning in front of Magisterial District Judge Blaise P. Larotonda, Craig's next door neighbor.

Craig's November 9, 2017 hearing for public drunkenness and similar misconduct is still active.
https://ujsportal.pacourts.us/DocketSheets/MDJReport.ashx?docketNumber=MJ-05217-NT-0000326-2017 I can't understand why it is taking so long.

Ward 4's new commissioner will be sworn in on January 2, 2018 at 8 PM in the Commission Chambers.

Update December 27, 2017 4:25 PM DISMISSED. Blaise dismissed Craig's case.
https://ujsportal.pacourts.us/DocketSheets/MDJReport.ashx?docketNumber=MJ-05219-TR-0003661-2017

https://ujsportal.pacourts.us/DocketSheets/MDJReport.ashx?docketNumber=MJ-05219-TR-0003662-2017

Sunday, December 24, 2017

Elf hopped up on sugar loose in Bridgeville!

Buddy the Elf has gone rogue in Bridgeville! Bridgeville's finest caught it all on video!

https://www.facebook.com/bridgevillepolicedepartment/videos/1617651051654822/

Merry Christmas!

Bill Baldwin UPDATED



BALDWIN

WILMER "BILL" K.

Age 81, of Mt. Lebanon, passed away on December 23, 2017, with his dear family at his side. He was born September 9, 1936, in Wilkinsburg, the son of the late Dr. Wilmer and Elizabeth Baldwin. Bill was the beloved husband for over 55 years of Jean (Similo) Baldwin; devoted father of son, Allen (Julie); and daughter, Drs. Maria Baldwin Konitsky (William); loving grandfather of Ryan Baldwin (Brianna) and Alexander Konitsky; great-grandfather to Ayden and Aryzona Baldwin; brother of the late Mary Elizabeth. Bill graduated from Wilkinsburg High School in 1954. He received his B.S. from University of Pittsburgh in 1957. He completed a Master's degree in public administration in 1958 at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. He was a veteran of the U.S. Army serving as a captain in the infantry, active duty 1959-1960 and active reserve 1961-1966. Bill was dedicated to public service through his professional and volunteer work. His career in public government began as assistant city manager in Wilkinsburg (PA) in 1959 until 1964. He then became the first city manager in Wilkins Township (PA) and served from 1964-1987. In 1987, Bill and his family moved to Mt. Lebanon where he was assistant and then city manager. He retired in 2001. Bill also taught at University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public and International Affairs in the 1990s. Bill was an active supporter of a number of organizations. He participated in the Boy Scouts of America for many years and was given the Silver Beaver Award. Bill had a great passion for trains. He volunteered many years at the Carnegie Science Center Miniature Railroad and Village display and was an active member of the South Hills Model Railroad Club. Bill particularly enjoyed involvement in his community of Mt. Lebanon and was active in the Mt. Lebanon Lions Club and the Mt. Lebanon Historical Society. He had great fondness for the Mt. Lebanon Library and was an avid supporter. He will be remembered as a great educator and mentor, dedicated public servant and loving family man. Friends will be received at LAUGHLIN CREMATION & FUNERAL TRIBUTES, 222 Washington Rd., Pittsburgh, PA 15216 Tuesday from 4-7 p.m. A Funeral Mass will be held Wednesday 10 a.m. at St. Bernard Church (everyone please meet at church), with an interment service to follow in Homewood Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, please make donations to the Mt. Lebanon Public Library, 16 Castle Shannon Boulevard, Pittsburgh, PA 15228 or the Historical Society of Mt. Lebanon, 794 Washington Rd., Pittsburgh, PA 15228.


Published in Pittsburgh Post-Gazette from Dec. 24 to Dec. 26, 2017

Update December 27, 2017 6:45 PM Mt. Lebanon Magazine finally posted something on Facebook today at approximately 2:30 PM. That is disgraceful.


Monday, December 18, 2017

And the appointed school board director is... UPDATED 122017 @2:50 PM

Cappucci wants Moorhead.
Strotmeyer wants Frioni.
Beal wants Frioni.
Larry wants Moorhead.
Olbrich wants Frioni.
Cooper wants Moorhead.
Diamond wants Wood.
Riemer wants Frioni.

Al Frioni is the newly appointed school board director.  Not yet.

Discussion.

They voted again.

And Al Frioni is the newly appointed school board director.

Update December 20, 2017 5:37 AM The District has chosen not to air the meeting, or at least at this point, the video has not been uploaded. Thanks to David Huston, the meeting was recorded. Here is a link.
Shared via OneDrive
Update December 20, 2017 2:50 PM The video has been uploaded to the MTLSD website and can be viewed here.

Sunday, December 17, 2017

While we're talking about election campaign finance reports

This is the document portal for viewing campaign finance reports mentioned in an earlier post.

https://documents.alleghenycounty.us/publicaccess/DatasourceTemplate.aspx

It is a little tricky to search for school board director candidates. Under Select Search Type, select Campaign Finance Reports from the drop down menu.  Leave the Candidate/Committee Name section blank. Enter 2017 for Report Year. For Office Sought, enter School Director.

To find their campaign committees, under Select Search Type, select Campaign Finance Reports from the drop down menu. Leave the Candidate/Committee Name section blank. Enter 2017 for Report Year. For Office Sought, leave that blank too.

The first group is the Cappucci Caste Remely Birks committee.

Campaign Finance Statement - MT LEBANON SCHOOLS COMM FOR OUTSTANDING - N/A - 2ND FRIDAY PRE-ELECTION - 2017
Campaign Finance Statement - MT LEBANON SCHOOLS COMM FOR OUTSTANDING - N/A - 2ND FRIDAY PRE-PRIMARY - 2017
Campaign Finance Statement - MT LEBANON SCHOOLS COMM FOR OUTSTANDING - N/A - 30 DAY POST-PRIMARY - 2017

The second group is the Riemer Strotmeyer Diamond committee.

Campaign Finance Statement - MT. LEBANON EDUCATION FRIENDS OF - N/A - 2ND FRIDAY PRE-ELECTION - 2017
Campaign Finance Statement - MT. LEBANON EDUCATION FRIENDS OF - N/A - 30 DAY POST-PRIMARY - 2017
Campaign Finance Statement - MT. LEBANON EDUCATION FRIENDS OF - N/A - 2ND FRIDAY PRE-PRIMARY - 2017
Campaign Finance Statement - MT. LEBANON EDUCATION FRIENDS OF - N/A - 30 DAY POST-ELECTION - 2017

I see that Mrs. Janice Frioni did not "give a ton of money" as a previous anonymous commenter claimed. She made a contribution of $450 on October 30, 2017. She was not the largest contributor of either campaign.

I am glad that someone brought up the election campaign reports because there appear to be some violations. The CCRB committee failed to file a 30 Day Post Election Campaign Finance Statement. That is a no-no.

Another big no-no is the illegal campaign contribution accepted by the CCRB committee. Under no circumstances can they accept contributions from businesses. The RJL Group, LTD contributed $100. See page 24/42 of the Campaign Finance Reporting Law

The treasurer of the CCRB campaign is also the treasurer of Outreach, at the recommendation and request of Mary Birks. Also from ADMINISTRATION CAUGHT IN COVER-UP UPDATED
Anonymous said...
Elaine Cappucci's longtime campaign treasurer and friend is Nancy Dapper. Nancy's daughter just got a dream teaching job with the Mt. Lebanon School District. Surprise! I'm sure it's just another remarkable coincidence or is this a pattern of behavior? Is this best for the children?

Saturday, December 16, 2017

Pittsburgh's oldest news station going off the air

KQV, Pittsburgh's oldest all-news station, to go off air Jan. 1

This is sad news for the news business. Our own Richard Gideon is an alumnus of the station - part of the original 1975 NBC News and Information Service crew.

Before their all-news format, we would all listen to Jim Quinn, Chuck Brinkman, and others for their top 40 list that would be available at National Record Mart weekly. I just came across an old one that I had. August 10, 1971 - August 17, 1971 Hit Parade I was a rising senior at Mt. Lebanon and back in the day when we used baby oil to get darker tans.

Sorry to hear that a Pittsburgh reliable news source is going off the air.

Friday, December 15, 2017

Board Candidate Interviews Monday Evening UPDATED 121817

December 18, 2017 Special Board Meeting Agenda

Interviews start at 7:00 PM. Yes, that's the same Bill Moorhead who didn't want to run for re-election.

Update December 18, 2017 7:53 AM Here might be two reasons not to vote for Bill Moorhead.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B9r_1biKte_bYV81NlB4MTFfZDg/view?usp=sharing

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B9r_1biKte_bNmJzV3M4elhMek0/view?usp=sharing