Thursday, August 09, 2007

Ravenstahl putts for Chicago expo - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

How ironic.

The mayor is in the promotion mode, again, with golf as a back-drop. Meanwhile, for the past year the only public golf course in the city, at Schenley Park, recently named for the late Bob O'Connor, is on the brink of closing. The course is bankrupt. The course does not make money. The course does not pull its own weight. The course is a drain on the city's budget. The nonprofit group that runs the course can't get the job done.

Pittsburgh has plenty of golf course around the region. We have some nice public venues. But, we are also known for plenty of 'country clubs.'

The other ironic mention, putting. Might as well say put-put. Puttering, floundering.

The word, putter, as in puttered and puttering:
To occupy oneself in an aimless or ineffective manner.
v.tr.
To waste (time) in idling:


The city has wasted plenty of time by not looking at, thinking about and doing acts that tackle the countless list of problems in the city and the region. The Bob O'Connor golf course is a prime example of how nothing has been done to insure that it can survive without another last minute bailout.

End the puttering.

Ravenstahl putts for Chicago expo - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: "Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl said a marketing campaign showing a cartoon of him chipping a golf ball onto a putting green is a hole-in-one.

'Meet our Mayor: And putt your way to Pittsburgh,' says a headline above the cartoon of a rolling golf course and wedge-toting golfer. Beneath the drawing, the ad touts Pittsburgh's 'eco-friendly convention center, #1 airport in the U.S., unique meeting venues, world-class hotels, 212 Downtown eateries and walkable city.'"

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Is it arrogance or stupidity that compels Luke to allow a cartoon of himself on a golf course be the focus of a Visit Pittsburgh campaign? I am baffled by this decision considering the investigation of the City Ethics Board into his conduct a a golf outing. He also believes the U.S. Open (that he crashed) is something he should be discussing. Hmmmmm.... Hey Dems!!! Wake up. You have to get this kid out of the mayor's office.

Mark Rauterkus said...

Why does it have to be either arrogance OR stupidity. Could it not be both?

I feel it might be a lack of creativity and vision.

When you are without real messages, the gimmicks and trite statements are all you have.

Anonymous said...

Agreed.