Too Close For Comfort

Last night at the sketchy bar up the street in Allentown, one man was shot and killed. One man was shot and wounded. Another man dislocated his shoulder from jumping over the bar in the middle of this madness. Thanks to these villains, both UPMC South Side and UPMC Mercy got some extra business last night.

Here's my official plea to UPMC, don't close the UPMC South Side hospital UNTIL the homicide rates drop in this city. We need you more than ever with the homicide rate on schedule to be the highest in a decade. There have been 55 so far this year.

From the homicide rate article, "Of the victims, 50 were black and 47 died in gun violence. The average age was just over 28."

I'm in the right age group, but fortunately, I have minimal exposure to guns in this city. I also prefer the bars on Carson St and I'm white as snow, so I think I'm still pretty safe.

As I've mentioned before, there is a police station scheduled to open in January, on the same block as last night's shootings. I have a suspicion the violence will be less prevalent in that location after the cops move in.

Of course, one sketchy bar shutting down won't solve our problems. Hopefully, the Pittsburgh Initiative to Reduce Crime (PIRC) will make a big dent though. If it does, it'll be the best $200,000 this city ever spent.

(reference: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08294/921365-100.stm)