Pittsburgh City towed my vehicle from a legal parking space, almost in front of my house while I was on vacation this past week.
I pulled up to my street after a nice drive back from Niagara Falls to find my vehicle no where in site. Several large steel plates were on the street where I parked it - which was a perfectly legal parking spot not more than 30 feet from the front door of my house. As I was carrying my bags into the house, I saw the lady who owns the office building next to my apartment. I asked her if she had any idea what happened to the truck that was parked out front 2 days ago. She said that there was a water leak under the street leading in to their office and the water company towed it.
I then called the Pittsburgh Police department to see if they had a report of the vehicle being towed. The officer I spoke with couldn’t have been more helpful. He said they took it down to the city impound lot. I then asked if I would have to pay for the towing and impound fees and he said I would until I was able to appeal it in court. He then stated he had no idea why they couldn’t just move vehicles in my situation down the street. Mine really only had to be moved about 3-5 feet so they could access the spot where the leaking pipe was.
I then had to go down to the impound lot and talk with the ever-so “polite” attendant who was “more than happy” to answer any questions I may have had. And by that I mean the attendant was very cold and answered my question in quick 1 word, rude responses. This is not the first time I’ve had to go to the impound lot, but that’s another story all together…
I paid the towing and impound fees and they released my vehicle. They also conveniently left a citation under my windshield wiper for “Illegal Parking”.
$128 for the towing and impound fee and $94.50 for the citation. Total cost $222.50.
I plan on fighting this. At least in order to fight it, you still have to pay the full amount, schedule a court date and miss work. I’m going to write a letter to my ward councilman, Bill Peduto, about this as well.
It was announced today that Pittsburgh Mayor, Luke Ravenstahl, wants to change his name to “Steelerstahl”, in support of the upcoming AFC Championship game between the Steelers and the Ravens.
The mayor this morning began, but did not complete, a Verified Petition for a Name Change.
I was actually in the City Council offices today and noticed a “Steelers” logo taped over the mayor’s office door name plaque. It was stated best by an unnamed office employee, “I’ve worked for 5 years, fighting with election reform, crime, and taxes. The mayor decides to change his name and all of a sudden he’s a hero.”
We have 16 year old kids invading citizen’s homes, daily SWAT team standoffs, students that graduate from local universities leaving for other cities at an alarming rate and this is what people in Pittsburgh care about. I’m glad people have pride for their local sports team, but if things like this are what people relate to Pittsburgh, we have a long way to go before people take our city seriously.
I just want to extend a big thank you to Mayor Ravenstahl for continuing to proliferate all the bad stereotypes of Pittsburgh. Thanks Mayor “Steelerstahl”!
Pittsburgh Councilman Patrick Dowd announced today that he is “very seriously, very carefully and very thoughtfully” considering running for mayor this year.
Councilman Dowd, representative of Pittsburgh Council District 7, said he’s considering running because the city “deserves a mayor with a vision who can manage, and who can lead to that vision.” He said last year’s highest-in-15-years murder count, and “stories emerge monthly, sometimes weekly, that serve as distractions,” have been inspiring his run for mayor, against Luke Ravenstahl.
Mr. Dowd’s campaign account contained $5,477 early this year. Ravenstahl’s is believed to contain around $1 million.
Council President Doug Shields is also giving strong consideration to a bid. Carmen Shields, of the Hill District, has also started her campaign for Pittsburgh mayor.
Pittsburgh Police Chief Nate Harper said a SWAT marksman was justified when he fatally shot a man who barricaded himself inside a North Point Breeze apartment, where he threatened to shoot officers while holding guns in both hands.
This kind of thing makes me sick. Not because of what the police had to do to end this horrible situation, but how our communities are so quick to turn on our law enforcement personel. Here are some quotes from the victims families.
“They wouldn’t let us in to talk to him, to end it peacefully,” yelled a man who said he was Mr. Smith’s uncle. “The police killed him because of a domestic dispute, because of nothing.”
Because of nothing? Last time I checked it’s not a good idea to run at a SWAT team with guns in both of your hands… let alone after a 9 hour standoff where you repeatedly fired at officers.
A younger brother of Mr. Smith, who declined to give his name, described him as a family man, a loving father to two daughters, ages 6 and 9, and a more responsible member of their family.
A more responsible member of the family? This was taken from the Post-Gazette, “Mr. Smith had a lengthy criminal record that included convictions for drugs, assault, robbery and firearms violations and had served a sentence at the SCI Graterford after one conviction. Between 1998 and yesterday, he had been held in the Allegheny County Jail eight times, including one complaint of intimidating a witness. At the time of yesterday’s standoff, he was being sought by Penn Hills police on an outstanding warrant related to drunken driving.”
What are the less responsible family memebers up to, if this “fine and upstanding” citizen is the more responsible one?
I personally want to thank the Pittsburgh SWAT team for a job well done with this one. I’m sorry that a person had to die, but it’s pretty clear to me that there was no other way to end this standoff. Lesson learned - Don’t barricade yourself in an apartment, shoot at police and then run at them with two guns like you’re in a movie. It’s going to end poorly for you, even if you are “the more responsible one in the family”.
A judge ruled yesterday that excess revenue from the county’s drink and car rental taxes can only be spent on the Port Authority.
Common Pleas Judge Judith F. Olson granted a preliminary injunction. County Councilman Charles McCullough and three local restaurant owners filed a suit against the county claiming that spending the excess revenue on roads and bridges is illegal.
In their first year, the drink and car rental taxes generated about $44 million for the county. The amount needed to fund the Port Authority was $27.5 million.
Although the injunction is not final, it could force county lawmakers to reevaluate the 2009 county budget.
“Either massive layoffs or increased property taxes,” said Council President Rich Fitzgerald. “There’s no other solution to that.”
“I think the judge got it completely wrong,” County Solicitor Mike Wojcik said. “If this stands, it will likely lead to a property tax increase.”
I love how they immediatly threathen the two worst scenarios - you’re going to lose your job or you’re going to get your property taxes increased. I scorn Fitzgerald and Wojcik for the use of scare tactics. This whole thing wouldn’t be an issue if they would have calculated to revenue the drink tax would have generated initially. They have their money for the Port Authority - they should be thankful for that.
A Western PA Class III Firearms dealer had $200,000 worth of automatic and exotic firearms stolen from his truck on Sunday night. The truck was parked at a restaurant in King of Prussia when the firearms were taken. The dealer had just left a gun show at the Valley Forge Convention Center and had stopped for dinner before heading back to Western Pennsylvania.
Good thing Philly has such strict firearms regulations to prevent this type of crime from happening. At least they were reported within 24 hours…
My real question is why the dealer didn’t have some sort of alarm system on his truck. If I was hauling around $200k of badass automatic rifles, I’d sure invest in at least a dog.
The $762.7 million 2009 operating budget was approved unanimously by Allegheny County Council. This is an increase of over $30 million dollars when compared to last years budget of $727.5 million.
The budget reduces the drink tax from 10 percent to 7 percent, but is expected to generate about $26.5 million.
Councilman McCullough, like several council members who ultimately voted for the budget, said the drink tax reduction fell short of what small businesses and consumers deserve. It also continues to collect money that the Port Authority might not actually need, he said.
The $45 million the county has already collected with the 10% drink tax sits unused, in a bank account somewhere. The county hasn’t paid a cent to the Port Authority since May 2007, he said.
“Who really cares about it being unconstitutional?” said Councilwoman Tonya Payne.
This was the quote the initiated me to write a little bit about this…
This legislation is designed to keep so-called straw purchasers from buying firearms, selling them to people who can’t pass background checks and then claiming the weapons were lost or stolen when police recover and trace them.
The Westboro Baptist Church (the “God Hates Fags” people) is planning several demonstrations tomorrow in the Pittsburgh area. I urge everyone to totally ignore these demonstrations. Organizations like this thrive on attention. Ignoring them strips them of their power and will encourage them not to come back.
As many of us that live in Allegheny already know, as of December 4th, the County Council passed the 2008 budget which includes a 10% drink tax on all alcoholic drinks served at all bars within the borders of Allegheny county. The money taken in from this new tax, that goes into effect on January 1st, 2008, is supposed to go to help fund the Port Authority of Allegheny County. I am not going to go into all of the facts and figures explaining why this is a step in the wrong direction and will undoubtedly do nothing but allow the council, and County Executive Dan Onorato to continue to shovel money into the poorly run Port Authority, as this information can be found in the “Newsroom” section of www.StopDrinkTax.com.
