This morning, Ledcat and I toddled down to Millvale to try out their incarnation of Pamela's Diner.  I expected to be thrilled and amazed by yummy strawberry pancakes, but turns out it took a chair to slay me.

Michelle Obama's chair.

Well, she doesn't *own* the chair.  She sat in it. When she stopped by Pamela's during the G-20 (I'm ducking so don't hurl anything at the computer).

We were both a little giddy that we were seated at Michelle Obama's table and got in each other's way vying to get the perfect Facebook photo op.  Our server patiently waited for us and confirmed that pretty much everyone does the same thing.

Then I was like "hold up, Sue." Well, I didn't actually say that so much as "May I have coffee and ice water, please?" as I settled into the chair NEXT to Michelle Obama's chair.  But it was swirling around in the pre-caffeinated brain of mine somewhere.  (Word: Ledcat beat me with the photo-to-Facebook thing).

It dawned on me that I was pretty giddy about a chair even as I feel rather despondent about the Administration.  So I'm making this chair the piece de resistance in my November 2, 2010 attitude -- something sturdy upon which to cast my Democratic votes ... perhaps, the sturdiest thing the Democrats have offered this little lesbian in the past two years? 

As reported in today's Rich Lord article, the attitude of Public Works Director Robert Kaczorowski pretty much exemplifies the worst type of entitlement so many public <ahem> servants exhibit.

The piece is on the official report on how to make things better if we have another snowmageddon.  Mr. Kaczorowski didn't even read it, but is quick to dismiss the findings. 

Mr. Kaczorowski said the city has purchased new trucks as part of its ongoing fleet build-up. If the city decides to spend proceeds from a proposed parking garage and meter lease on capital needs, he may buy more, he said.

He rejected any suggestion that the February storm revealed departmental inadequacies.

"There was a noisy minority" of complainers, he said, "and a quiet majority that knew the magnitude of the historical event we were up against and appreciated our efforts."

In February, he said, "We saw our shortcomings, and we're correcting them."

The storm cost the city $3.64 million, of which just one-third was reimbursable by state and federal governments. Curtis L. Mitchell, of Hazelwood, died waiting for an ambulance during the storm, and the city's response to 911 calls from him and his girlfriend is the subject of a negligence lawsuit filed Thursday in Common Pleas Court.

I wonder if he thinks the repeated calls to 911 from an African-American household count as a noisy minority?  Is he being flip in the face of someone's death or just flip in the face of criticism period?  Criticism from a <gasp> woman!?!

What a sad reflection on the lack of professionalism and maturity among the Ravenstahl Administration leaders.  It is embarrassing that this sort of childish tantrum doesn't get filtered through a spokesperson. 

Read the article.  Good stuff and plenty of positives about the hard-working women and men of DPW who helped us weather the storm.  The problem seems to be the attitude and forethought on the Administrative level, not the efforts of those in the trenches. 

I'll be honest though.  If they banned parking on my street, I'd probably ignore it.  Where do they expect us to park?  That's the piece I need to know.  Where can I park? 

sdf

Congratulations to the honorees in the upcoming "Women in Media" celebration sponsored by the Women and Girls' Foundation of Southwestern Pennsylvania.  The celebration is set for Saturday, November 6 at the August Wilson Center and promises to have some social media twists, including lots of live tweeting (!) and a slideshow of local women's blogging excerpts. 

Special Award of Distinction

Virginia Montanez Honorees Cynthia Closkey President, Big Big Design, Co-Founder, PodCamp Pittsburgh Developer, iTwixie.com Elaine Effort Radio Newscaster, KQV Radio Vanessa German Multimedia artist, writer, sculptor, performer, and photographer Sally Kalson Columnist, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Lauren Lawley Head Editor, Pittsburgh Business Times Beverly Morrow-Jones Executive Director of Marketing, VisitPittsburgh Debbie Norrell Lifestyles Columnist, New Pittsburgh Courier Mary Robb Jackson News Anchor, KDKA-TV Cindy Skrzycki Journalism Professor, University of Pittsburgh Heather Starr -Fiedler Creator, PIttsburghMom.com New Media Professor, Point Park University Heide Waldbaum Technical Production Manager for the film Avatar Visiting Professor, Carnegie Mellon University Robotics Institute Shaina Wallace Hip Hop Artist High School student, Westinghouse High School Carolyn Wean Retired Media Executive Rosemary Welsch Radio DJ, 91.3 WYEP

Congrats!

sdf