I read a lot of blogs.  One that I read regularly is Slog, The Stranger’s blog, based in Seattle.  I usually skip over their local politics, but every now and then something just keeps coming up.  And in this case, it reminds me of Pittsburgh (I may get some facts wrong here, even though I do follow this story more than their other local news, it’s still a bit foreign for me).

Bear with me, a bit of background, then the Pittsburgh connection.  There is a political debate going on (mostly about usefulness and cost, so a typical one I suppose), about the “Deep Bore Tunnel,” a proposed tunnel that would be an underpass for the entire downtown area.  It’s projected to run over budget (wouldn’t that mean they should change the budget?), and some people think it’s not necessary.  See where I’m going with this yet?

It’s like their very own Northshore Connector!  Over budget.  Not necessary: we’re really, really good at bridges.  Tunnels, not so much (see: any tunnel at rush hour).

The entrance and exit, to an outside observer are oddly placed.  I don’t think they’re really in the best places, they seem kind of cramped, thrown in.  Here’s one of the latest Slog posts about it.  And here’s the video (which is so strange without any sound) they included.  I’d like to draw your attention to the 2:00 mark.  The animation is pretty cool, you’re driving, you’re driving into the tunnel, you’re driving, OH MY GOD A MERGE INSIDE THE TUNNEL:

If you can see this, then you might need a Flash Player upgrade or you need to install Flash Player if it’s missing. Get Flash Player from Adobe.

I like to imagine the explosions we would have on a daily basis if we tried to merge inside the Squirrel Hill Tunnel.

Warm ups before the second game of the doubleheader.

The baby Pens went on to lose 0-1.  I’ll have a post up later about the ridiculous escalator situation and the small girl that almost got trampled because of it.

Remember when I posted about Conflict Kitchen and how they needed our help on Kickstarter?  I like to think I really helped.  That story got passed around by a bunch of people, even Bill Peduto (Thanks, Bill!), and they made their goal.

Now here’s the deal.  I gave money because it’s a really awesome project that I wanted to support.  I don’t want to sound ungrateful, that’s what charity is for, to help others.  However, I gave a specific amount because of what the backer gifts were.  I love music, and am interested as to what contemporary Iranian music is.  I also really wanted to read the facts and see the layout of the food wrappers, since I wasn’t able to get down during Kubideh Kitchen.

But still, I have not seen any of those.  I’ve tried contacting both Conflict Kitchen and Waffle Shop, but to no avail.  Maybe they’ll read this and maybe I’ll get my stuff.  I sure do hope this is resolved.

More cuts are coming, in case you haven’t seen it yet, here’s the chart.  No specific details yet, so we’re left to wonder what “Service Reduced” means for each of the 50 or so routes.  And to be fair, some will actually see “Service Increased,” so there is still reworking of the TDP going on (which from my perspective can only be a good thing).

We were told before, and I wrote about the fact (and at the time, I was optimistic that these cuts would not happen), that PAT loves to play the victim: but who they point the finger at has changed.  It used to be the State.  PAT wrote on their blog:

It is the most responsible option available at this time — short of resolving the statewide gap in transportation funding.Port Authority, along with other stakeholders in the Commonwealth’s road, bridge, mass transportation and overall transportation network, continues to seek a meaningful discussion with the new State Administration and Legislature starting in January about long-term transportation funding.

But if you read the FAQs about these cuts, we get a different version of the story:

The State Legislature took a bold step in 2007 by creating a dedicated transportation funding source in Act 44. Unfortunately, the federal government denied the state’s plan to toll Interstate 80, which has created this statewide shortfall.

I guess at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter which government you blame, as long as you blame government.

But I think what saddens me the most, is this overlooked (and in my opinion, buried: it wasn’t even mentioned in their blog post) fact:

The buses I usually take come from Harmar Garage, and except for two, all the drivers I’ve met are awesome, kind and go out of their way for the riders.  There will be many that I will miss, not to mention the mechanics, traffic coordinators and office staff at Harmar.  I think this is the biggest shame of the whole situation.

More information will be released here as PAT makes it available.

Just a quick note to everyone: we’re back!

Something went kaplooie with the Metblogs database and we were down for about a week and a half.  We’re back up though, and I’m very glad to be back.  Five stories were lost, but I had saved copies of them elsewhere, so they now appear below (although one is missing a graphic I deleted, and another is missing the links to two videos).  Some things are still being worked out, videos that were embedded I don’t think are working at the moment, so I’ll adjust accordingly.  The comments from those posts are gone (at least I think), which is a shame, there were some nice conversations going on in the YinzCam and Conflict Kitchen posts.  But, we live to blog another day, so I couldn’t be happier.  Once again, I would like to make mention of my post, “A note on Metblogs.”

Also, in case you hadn’t noticed, the Steelers are playing in the Super Bowl this weekend.  I had a bunch of things to post about that, I’ll try to get a Steelers recap post up later today.

As always, thanks for reading.

Okay, I’m not a huge football fan.  Don’t get me wrong, I will only root for the Steelers, but as a general rule, I don’t like football, I’d rather watch hockey (or soccer, or the Olympics).  I’ve watched very few minutes of football this season, but of course, I’ll be watching this Sunday.

So I decided that this year, even if I didn’t watch the games (and since they were winning, I’m going to assume that me not watching is what propelled them to victory), I would still try to be more involved somehow.  Really, my goal was to be able to have a conversation at work about the games.  You know, instead of my deer in the headlights stare.

It was suggested that I check out ‘Yinz luv da Stillers’ on Youtube, and it’s amazing.  Also, I’m probably the last one to realize this, but Jim Shearer is on VH1, so that was cool to see him this morning while I made a sandwich.

Here is their latest episode:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Q2idq2NPG4[/youtube]

I apologize for the lack of embedding, still getting all the dust settled…

Next up, is Coke Cheers.  Coke is going to donate a whole bunch of money to the local Boy and Girls Club, but right now, Green Bay is way out in front of us.  Go check it out and add your cheers and support a great cause.  Beating Green Bay.  Oh yeah, and the children.

And lastly, Twerrible Towel.  With a little bit of magic (that I will let Ginny explain through her interview here), anytime the hashtag #steelersnation is used on twitter, a real-life Terrible Towel is waved automatically.  It’s been fun to watch, which you can do here.  No go to twitter and get cracking!

I’ll be back next week with Pens news, a lot going on between goalie fights, the upcoming trade deadline and Malkin’s injury, there is a lot to cover.  But for now, we all bleed black and gold for the Steelers.

What a weekend.  Here is the list of Pittsburgh Fail:

• Pens lose 3-0 to the Caps
• Christina Aguilera botched the National Anthem
• Steelers lost to Green Bay

But we move on, as we must, and as we always have.  It was a fantastic season and we still have a lot more of the NHL season to go.  The weekend could have been better, but I hope you at least got to spend it with family and friends, like I did.

Congratulations to this year’s #PGH shorty awards, including second place Linsday of I heart Pittsburgh!  Also up there, Sally Wiggin’s Hair and Ginny from That’s Church.

Congratulations to everyone, and thanks to Lindsay and I heart Pittsburgh for spearheading the push for a Pittsburgh category!

Mario has made a statement in response to the Islanders game shitshow.  Here is a small portion:

“Hockey is a tough, physical game, and it always should be. But what happened Friday night on Long Island wasn’t hockey. It was a travesty. It was painful to watch the game I love turn into a sideshow like that.

“The NHL had a chance to send a clear and strong message that those kinds of actions are unacceptable and embarrassing to the sport. It failed.

From what I just saw, “Mario Lemieux” is trending worldwide on twitter, which is pretty awesome, so this is getting lots of coverage.

Bylsma will not be suspended, although, with enough of the team gone, this graphic by The Pensblog is still fitting (and awesome):

There will be a rally on Tuesday, beginning at 4 p.m. at the County Courthouse (Grant and Forbes, downtown).  The evening will continue with the 5 p.m. county council meeting.  Everyone is welcome to attend.

There should be an e-mail list going up over at the Transit Union’s website, but right now, it’s a bit of a mess, I’ll keep you posted.

In the meantime, and additionally, everyone is encouraged to contact their elected official:

State Rep. Frank Dermody (724) 274-4770

State Rep. Joe Markosek (412) 856-8284

State Senator Jay Costa (412) 241-6690

State Senator James Brewster (412) 380-2242

County Council Member Rich Fitzgerald (412) 350-6575

Governor Corbett (717) 787-2500

Please remember these cuts will affect all of us: roadways will be much more congested (drivers on the Parkway East and Route 28, good luck), parking will be harder to find downtown and jobs will be lost with the closing of the Harmar Garage, which Port Authority has mentioned once and kept silent about.