You Know What Really Grinds My Gears...?

Two thoughts this morning as I look out over the increasingly bleak greyness that has enveloped this city like some sort of grey envelope:

 

First, I see that the Sherrif's Office of Allegheny County used deputies to perform landscaping work at the home of Chief Deputy Dennis Skosnik. 

Instead of going to work, he and another deputy planted bushes and laid seven to eight tons of river rock at Skosnik's house in North Fayette.

Gavin said he and three other deputies did more work at the house the following year.

The allegations came during prosecution questioning about a 2003 meeting organized by Schiralli in which deputies said Skosnik threatened to fire any deputies who didn't support Sheriff Pete DeFazio.

Absolute ridiculousness; doesn't the Sherrif's Office know that this is what interns are for?  A 30 year old Deputy can't be nearly as useful as a 21 year old Communications Major, who's only goals in life are attending a Star Wars Convention and rolling a 12 on D&D.  I'm using one as a foot rest right now, while another is transcribing this blog.  

 

Second, a big "Fuck You" to the residents of Summerset who don't want the intrusion of a busline into their neighborhood.  I've repeatedly defended the Summerset project as a good use of public resources as it reclaims property which otherwise would have sat unused and is now providing needed tax money for the City.  The residents, however, feel no need to be actually a part of the City and would rather just insulate themselves.  Are they afraid that their nice little gated community might be visited by, gasp, brown people... that is, brown people that aren't maids, gardeners, or nannies?  Are they afraid that the neighborhood will fall into decay like Squirrel Hill or Shadyside, also served by buslines.

 

While this may not be the most efficient use of PAT resources, as Port Authority spokesman Pat Grove said,

One of our lines, the 59U, will be extended to the South Side Works, but we don't poll the SouthSide residents to see if it's OK. These are public roads, these are city neighborhoods.

So Fuck You.