Trash Talking

Let's Redd Up Pittsburgh! It's time to Redd Up Pittsburgh, 'cause company's coming!' That was something I said referring to cleaning up the city for the Major League Baseball All-Star Game. But, in reality, my goal is to make Pittsburgh one of the cleanest, safest cities in...

But, if reality said that the goal was to make Pittsburgh one of the cleanest and safest cities, say that at on the first pitch.

Don't put lipstick on a pig.

Don't fall into the hype trap. Or, pull us OUT of the hype trap, already.

You could NAG as Tom Murphy did and get the same results as Tom Murphy. No thanks.

Or, you could lead by example, something that Bob O'Connor has been doing with plenty of gusto. Fine.

The deck chairs on the sinking ship are sure to be boarded up some time soon. But, it costs the city a lot to board up a property, to take it over, to maintain it, to do the title clearing and so on and so forth. The budget has 300 houses set for demolition -- but the list is presently at three to five -- if not more -- times that.

And, in two more years, the list is going to be even larger.

The Redding Up effort makes for a 'no win battle.' Rather, some big ideas are needed to turn the tide. Rather than walking away from properties, we need to see a rush to Pittsburgh from near and far. That's what I wonder about -- and what Bob O'Connor has not been able to deliver.