Costa primer

With the news that state Sen. Jay Costa (left) has been picked to be the Senate Minority Leader -- while another Costa got pinched for weed -- we think it's about time for a brief playbill, so we can tell apart the characters among a last name that gets more ink in this town than other than one called Flaherty.

Jay is the brother of Paul (right), the state Rep. who apparently got his own leadership position as head of Allegheny County's House delegation on the same day that news broke that police charged him with misdemeanor pot-possession before the Oct. 3 Steelers-Ravens game.

Their other brother is Guy Costa (left), the city's long-serving Public Works director who resigned last year. (Remember this story about their well-connected mom?)

Another state Rep, Dom Costa, is a distant cousin. Dom (below) is largely known as the former city police chief shot during a standoff in Homewood in 2002, which left a bullet still lodged in his brain.

Another distant cousin is Ron Costa, a district justice in Bloomfield