Dem reps rebuke Ravenstahl

In case you missed it, check out this remarkable rebuke of Mayor Ravenstahl from all the city's state reps -- with the exception of his brother Adam -- over city library funding, in this story by Joe Smydo:

Eight state House members from the city of Pittsburgh have sent Mayor Luke Ravenstahl a strongly worded letter complaining that he hasn't lived up to a commitment to provide Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh with $1.2 million over two years.

City Council last year approved, and the mayor signed, a bill giving the library system $600,000.

But Mr. Ravenstahl returned unsigned a bill council passed June 1 allocating the system another $640,000 -- money the system says it needs to keep all branches open through December. The bill now becomes law without his signature.

"This is an issue that we have all worked collectively on as elected officials, and we hope we may rely on you to finalize your piece," said the June 8 letter signed by Democratic Reps. Dom Costa of Stanton Heights, Paul Costa of Wilkins, Dan Deasy of Westwood, Dan Frankel of Squirrel Hill, Joe Preston of East Liberty, Harry Readshaw of Carrick, Chelsa Wagner of Beechview and Jake Wheatley of the Hill District.

By June 8, however, the mayor already had returned the bill unsigned, according to council records.

At the time the letter was written, the signers were all of the House members representing city neighborhoods. Mr. Ravenstahl's brother, Adam, of the North Side, was sworn in the next day to serve out the term of Don Walko, now an Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge.