Here Comes the Money

The federal stimulus money has begun its influx into this region. So far, we have new money for biking and walking paths, airport runways, and potholes. Not so glamorous. High on the mayor's original wish list was money for the equally-unglamorous PWSA, which Dowd has been attempting to pin down as of late. Hopefully, when more stimulus money flows in, the current complex issues surrounding the PWSA bonds (which most of us will never understand), that money won't sweep these issues under the rug. Maybe we can spend some of the money on a consultant to actually figure out all these bond shenanigans?

On the flip side of the coin, as null space points out, construction prices have continued to rise in the region in spite of nationwide drops in fuel prices and construction materials. If we have a hope of spending all this shiny new stimulus money, we need more construction workers in this region. The best way to do that? Offer competitive salaries. Wouldn't it be nice if Allegheny County had the highest paying construction jobs in the nation?

In the meantime, if you can hold off on re-roofing your house, you might want to.

Unfare To Me

The Port Authority needs to hire someone to work on their marketing. You don't say this:

A fare increase "in line with inflation" is likely Jan. 1 in any event, he [Steve Bland] said.

In the next 18 months, Port Authority will be unveiling the results of their big study to streamline the bus routes and make them more efficient and profitable. Yet "in any event", we can expect a fare increase???

Give me a break.

However, I'm really excited to see these new plans introduced. There has been an extremely thorough investigation of all of the existing bus routes in Pittsburgh with some very practical recommended results. My favorite? Run the 28X every half hour. People getting off a flight shouldn't have to worry about looking at a schedule and meeting the bus at 9:42.

I'm sure there's going to be some major kick-back on a major re-routing of the bus routes in this city. I only hope that Port Authority sticks to their guns and actually implements the new plan without some major compromises. It would help if it got some local leadership support to push it through.

F****ing Equitable - or why my gas bill is going up 7% this winter.

The price of natural gas has plummeted. I've been over-paying through the nose for my natural gas rate which has not plummeted on my gas bill. Where is this extra money going?

Dominion has dropped their gas rates significantly.

Equitable is trying to raise their extraneous rates. Do they want people to freeze to death this winter?? Don't they know dead people don't pay bills??

Now I know why my neighbor opted to heat his house by wood burning stoves... in the city.

Ahh... state-approved and managed pseudo-monopolies. Gotta love them.

Now That's Inflation

After 20 years, in the middle of a recession, E&O Partners has decided to raise the rent at the Penn Brewery location by 360%.

Potential reasons?

a) The rent was ridiculously low here.
b) There's some ridiculous feud going on between the owner and brewer.
c) E&O has someone lined up to move in and pay this new price.
d) E&O is stupid.

Real estate hasn't really declined in Pittsburgh versus the rest of the nation, and we're a good place to ride out a recession, but filling a niche market location at a new much-higher rate isn't easy.

End Result?

A cool building will be vacant for at least a year or some, but there's a chance Penn Brewery will eventually move to the South Side and I'll be able to walk there. I recommend the as-yet untouched South Side High School location. A brewery/condo partnership in a former school would be a perfect fit for this well-educated city of drunks.

ComcastCares

Comcast really does care. They care for the cost of gas and the cost of health insurance. That's why they're raising cable rates in the Pittsburgh area this December just in time for the holidays. That's an extra 4% or so on top of the 4.5% they raised rates in February.

Recently I was made aware (via the Pittsburgh City Paper) that the city of Pittsburgh actually makes 5% of the Comcast yearly revenue in return for allowing them to sell us their cable here. Some city councilors are concerned that if Verizon comes to town (even if they also take that 5% off the top), the city will end up losing money because competition will cause the rates to drop. Boo-hoo, Pittsburgh. Stop letting us get fleeced by this "caring" monopoly. Give us at least one other choice for high speed internet in this city! Ever think that more people might be inclined to hop on the internet if it didn't cost $57.95 per month for this luxury?

Thanks to Twitter, I got this news directly as it was published by WPXI. Maybe that is a dangerous thing?

What a Surprise?

With prices of asphalt and dirt skyrocketing, it's really no surprise that the North Shore Connector mega-project is coming in over budget. With $700 BILLION federal bailout plans and $18 BILLION in earmarks making the news daily, we've become de-sensitized to a paltry sum like $15 million. Of course, even if the budget for the connector comes in at 10% higher than planned or $43.5 million, we have a long ways to go to "keep up with the Jones'" over in Boston. Their Big Dig came in almost $10 BILLION over budget or 250%.

Now, where is the media pressure for the transit union talks? This North Shore Connector won't be going anywhere in 2011 or any time if there's no one to drive the train.

(reference: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08290/920282-147.stm)