Hope you're stowing away milk and bottled water for the upcoming Snowquester...

1. U.S. Rep. Tim Murphy, R-Upper St. Clair, is opposing a new medal for drone operators that rates above the Purple Heart and Bronze Star. He argues that a pilot sitting in a trailer in Nevada doesn't deserve greater credit than a soldier who has had legs amputated in the line of duty. Meanwhile, cartoonist Matt Bors envisions a few more medals, including the "Slippery Slope Medallion: For the Slightly Worrisome Bombing of a U.S. Citizen."

2. Farewell, C-TIPS, gone but not forgotten: Pittsburgh PD Interim Chief Regina McDonald has disbanded former chief Nate Harper's crack team of ... well, we don't know. A bizarre mashup of the bomb squad, the D.A.R.E. program and a few other units, the squad's responsibilities ranged from making drug busts to policing high school football game, Liz Navratil reports. Oh, and some were Harper's friends, which we suppose was a full-time job itself.

If indeed the Pittsburgh mayor's race turns into a 1989-style cage match, state Sen. Jim Ferlo appears ready to resume his no-holds-barred approach to both policy and his political rivals – in this case fellow 1980s/90s-era city Councilman Jack Wagner.

Ferlo said today he is still considering whether to circulate petitions over the next week to get on the May 21 Democratic ballot, and if he does, he said it will be a challenge finding the time (it's state budget season) and the vigor (he's diabetic) to campaign full-throttle like in his community activist days. But at a state Senate appropriations hearing this afternoon he showed he still has much of his old fire.

The target was the funding for the Pittsburgh's convention and tourism agency Visit Pittsburgh. At a hearing on budget plans by the Department of Community and Economic Development Ferlo called it "a waste of an organization" giving unduly high salaries to its staff and filled with "graft and patronage," though of a legal sort practiced by pols of both parties. He then hit Wagner, who is also mulling a late mayoral run, saying the former auditor general "looked the other way" when he was on the agency's board and never audited it. (There's some ancient history ancient history between the two going back to the city council days.)

"I'm on a holy terror about them, I have been for some time," Ferlo said in comments directed to DCED Secretary Alan Walker. ". . . I wish somebody would look into [the salaries] because nobody else has been willing to. The previous AG when he was on the board – Mr. Wagner – he looked the other way. I don't know what the heck's going on.

Visit Pittsburgh had a $9.9 million budget in 2011 (the last year available) with $7.9 million coming from Allegheny County hotel tax revenue, followed by $762K in advertising and sponsorship revenue. It spent $3.5 million for convention sales and services, $2.3 million promoting tourism and cultural heritage and $890K on operations.

Pittsburgh's mayor is an ex-officio member of the agency's board and the county exec (like the mayor) can send a representative to its board sessions. According to Visit Pittsburgh data the agency in 2011:

- booked 538 meetings, resulting in 243,678 convention room nights for 2011 and beyond, worth a (conservatively) estimated $229 million in direct spending from outside sources to the local economy.

- helped to generate 236,881 convention room nights within 2011, which brought 324,766 convention delegates to the City and generated an estimated $203 million in direct spending from outside sources.

Ferlo has made similar comments before, such as in this WPXI-TV story on Visit Pittsburgh's salary structure. The agency is funding an outside study to look at its salary and pay structure to see if they are in line with similar tourism boards.

Reached this evening Visit Pittsburgh president and CEO Craig Davis said "the state legislature has not funded Visit Pittsburgh for four years, so I am curious as to why this became a topic at a state appropriations committee meeting.

"By all measures Visit Pittsburgh is extremely successful at what we do."

Former county Executive Dan Onorato is not running for mayor.

His name found a prominent place amid the cascade of speculation that followed Mayor Luke Ravenstahl's surprise announcement that he would not seek re-election.  Some Ravenstahl associates identified Mr. Onorato as the unnamed potential candidate that the mayor referred to in his withdrawal statement last Friday.  But the Highmark executive released a statement late Monday disavowing the idea.

"I am not a candidate for mayor of Pittsburgh,'' Mr. Onorato said in the statement.  "I enjoy being part of the Highmark management team promoting affordable, quality health care.'' 

Another day, another name -- or two or three.

 State Sen. Wayne Fontana, D-Brookline, said he is considering joining the roster of candidates running for the Democratic nomination for mayor of Pittsburgh.  Mr. Fontana added, however, that he would defer to his colleague, state Sen. Jim Ferlo, D-Highland Park, if he were to press forward with a mayoral candidacy.  

After Mayor Ravenstahl upended local politics with his announcement Friday that he would not seek re-election, Mr. Ferlo had said that he is considering the race, but added that he would encourage other Democrats to look at the race.

Another Harrisburg lawmaker, Rep. Jake Wheatley, D-Hill District,  is also reportedly poised to circulate nominating petitions, a development that could be particularly noteworthy in that he could end up the only African-American hopeful in a multi-candidate field.  Some speculation has also identified City Councilman Ricky Burgess, another African-American office-holder, as a potential candidate, but Mr. Burgess has not made any visible moves toward a candidacy.  

Former Auditor General Jack Wagner, issued a statement over the weekend saying that he was considering a bid for the seat he sought unsuccessfully in 1993.  Mr. Wagner was reportedly planning to cut short a vacation in Israel in preparation for a primary campaign.  His niece, county Controller Chelsa Wagner said she was optimistic that he would run, but added that she was likely to run herself if he chose not to. City Council President Darlene Harris is also circulating nominating petitions for the primary, while Dan Onorato, the former county executive, ruled out a return to Grant Street.