West Side Free for all

By: PrideofWA on 9/14/09
Does WA really have 484 employees? WHY? That's 1 employee per 5 students!!

By: WestSideWaldo on 9/14/09
Saw all the material on 6th St for the sewer project. What will the cost per house be?

By: WAkid on 9/15/09
Here's an observation: If Billy Rowe tried to work with Goldy instead of always buckin the good mayor a few years back, Rosencrance and company would still have control of the Garden Village.

By: Bill_Rowe on 9/15/09

Dear Who Ever Kid,
Like I said the first time that I wrote back, feel free to contact me any time, and I'll be happy to discuss with, and demonstrate to you my side of my time in borough government (council and treasurer).
I can be reached at: 654-4353 (feel free to leave a message if I don't answer) or 200-5155 (mobile), my email is BRowe420@verizon.net, and I live 420 Liberty St. in WP. Hey, in spite of what you may have been led to believe, I won't bite. So, give me a holler. But, don’t look for any further response in this blog. Please do not call after 9pm or before 8am. I nibbled at your bait, now let’s see if you truly want to reel me in, to have an open, and frank discussion. Again, that discussion won’t be here, online, with a ghostwriter.
As for you Joe, has my alleged lack of cooperation with Goldsworthy been verified or substantiated by you? Isn’t that your own rule? Did I miss your call? I'll be happy to hear from you, too, any time. If you and guests feel like using my name, have a ball with it. Like an old friend used to say, worry when they stop talking about you. In any event, there two sides to be heard.
Sincerely, Bill Rowe
"Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in."

By: JValenti on 9/15/09
Hey Bill
Wil Toole used that quote ("Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in." ) a few years back.
Anyway, its no secret you and the mayor didn't see eye to eye. Please correct me if I'm wrong.
Joe

By: Bill_Rowe on 9/15/09
Joe,
Please refer to the above contact information. I look forward to hearing from you, BR

By: JValenti on 9/15/09
Bill
You and I have had spoken many times about your differences with the mayor. I'm not looking to rehash those discussions. However, you felt I approved an unsubstantiated blog. If you and the mayor are and were never at odds, then please correct me if I'm wrong.
Please keep in mind, I'm not taking sides here. I would just like you to point out where I erred.
Thanx
Joe V

By: imtickedoff on 9/15/09
ROWE, ROWE, ROWE, YOUR BOAT---RIGHT OUT OF TOWN.....JV IS RIGHT, YOU ANSWERED IN THE BLOG, SO RESPOND...GOT SOMETHING TO HIDE....BELIEVE ME, NOBODY IS PULLING YOU BACK IN (all you had to do was not log on to this site and you would never have seen your name....but you can't stay away).....IF YOU IGNORED IT, THERE WOULD BE NO DISCUSSION RIGHT NOW, CORRECT?..DID YOU AUTHORIZE OR VOTE FOR ANY RIDICULOUS (be honest)EXPENDITURES BEFORE YOUR BUNCH LEFT OFFICE?

PART OF THE CURRENT COUNCILS PROBLEMS STARTED WHEN YOU GUYS LEFT THEM WITH AN EMPTY CUPBOARD AND IT'S ABOUT TIME THE WP TAXPAYERS KNOW ABOUT IT.

MERRILY, MERRILY, MERRILY, LIVE IS BUT A DREAM.

By: Bill_Rowe on 9/15/09
Joe, Positively my last "nibble at the bait." Let's TALK again sometime, face-to-face, we both may learn something new. The ball is in your court. Your old friend(Hopefully), BR
Bonus PS: It is no secret to anybody how both Goldsworthy & I regard one and other, suffice it to say we won't be exchanging Christmas cards any time soon. BR

By: MadammVP on 9/15/09
bill, news flash, you aint that important. get off your high horse. nobody really cares.

By: MartinLuther on 9/15/09
Hey I'mTickedOff, What expenditures do YOU feel were ridiculous?

By: Diogenes on 9/15/09
Let's audit them all!!!

By: sdogood on 9/15/09
I heard that BR is going to help Goldy with his campaign for state rep. Anything to get him out of WP.

By: xAufan on 9/15/09
Jeez, everybody is mad at everybody in this town. And the taunting, yikes (I know -guilty). But, with the exception on Mr. Thornton, I haven’t heard a word from any council candidate, not here, not in the “Patch” in a Letter to the editor, not in the CV or the TL. Not even a word. And that’s scary, because doesn’t council really run the town? Time to put all the cards on the table. And what does Mr. Rowe have to say? Call me? I just may.

By: Bill_Rowe on 9/15/09
Hey Imtickedoff,
You know sometimes you just can’t resist looking at a train wreck. Anyway….,
You forgot to mention that I’m that bald, way overweight & nearsighted. Looks like you forgot your name, too. If you’ve got any credibility and an ounce of character, end the graffiti & playground ranting, and speak to me one on one. Hope to hear from you soon, until then I’m through with you, too.

By: discusted on 9/15/09
Who is Bill Rowe?

By: bretfavre on 9/16/09
Bill call the police department and you might get IMTICKEDOFF to answer the phone

By: imtickedoff on 9/16/09
Hey Bret,

Your grasping at straws. I do not answer the phone at the boro building, nor I have ever worked at or for WP boro, and I do not live there anymore (sewage in my basement made me move).

I read this blog with much amusement and at times, dismay, as the Garden Village I knew, is going by the wayside.

Nice try though.

I'm just a guy who was around long enough to know and hear things. I didn't believe what I heard back then until it came true. Honestly, it was disheartening, because the old bunch was all about what was best for the boro, or at least that's what I thought.

WA KID struck a nerve with BR and then he acts all high and mighty now, when truthfully, he knows all that happened on his watch.


So, don't tell your neighbor his windows are dirty, if you can't see out of yours.

By: PrideofWA on 9/16/09
Stop-Look-Listen. The candidates that need to be targeted and removed from office is Simple-
Goldy, John L, Jerry Wall (Already Gone), and the two yes votes ( Bolin and Marianacci). This would be a good start from some change and leadership. God knows we need it.

By: xAufan on 9/16/09
Bret, for a minute I thought you nailed IM, and you still might be close. Remember Orwell's words, "Big Brother is watching." Now there's a thought. I bet there will be a "Bee Hive" of activity now.

By: MartinLuther on 9/16/09
HEY IMTICKED OFF - Please help me here - what were the ridiculous expenditures?

By: TopTen on 9/16/09
And the band plays on.... mayor got hit last week, I guess it's BR's turn. Sounds like friends of mayor are tryng to divert attention; I could see rhetorical tirades against BR if he was proactive with is post, but his name was brought up by someone other than himself.

The point (madam VP) - he is still relevant by the mere fact that people bring him up almost 4 years after he left the political stage. BR, sorry, but you took wakid's bait, which only pays into the hands of your detractors. Note, while we would not agree on everything regarding the past, I do believe you and your compatriots were not as bad as some people still believe. I am not going to call you, though.

Take some comfort in knowing that you don't have to be a poltician in order to serve the community. Stick to things like the library and historical society. You likely won't see mayor there.

By: sdogood on 9/16/09
The Bill Rowe banter is comical. I thought that he said he doesn't read this blog? And won't answer it? Anyway, he's gone. He's not a factor in this election. Why bother with him? However, he could give valuable insight on our current mayor's actions.

Anyone considering to run for WP Mayor should look at how Mayor Bainbridge conducted himself. Show up for parades and pictures and let Council and Borough employees do their jobs. I would like to have seen Goldy screw with Tommy Dale or Worthie Hood. It's discraceful how he has treated the most recent Police Chiefs: Ralph Zezza, Dave Smith, and most Recently Paul Porfirio.

By: Stalin on 9/16/09
Hey PrideofWA ,you forgot to mention Mayor Bob Boyer and a few Wyoming Councilmen that need to be targeted and removed!!!!!let's clear the slate!

By: TopTen on 9/16/09
Speaking of relevance, there has been very little in terms of a poltical post-mortem regarding events surrounding last May's primary and their repective implications.

First, how do we even define "Mayors Team" in the modern era (09)? I mean, should we have even called it "mayors team" this time around. Thorton, Lescavage, and Mashinski did most of the formal communicating, and all of the legislating. Guess that's why Barry 1 (500+ vote-getter) decided to run for council (and not mayor) since real change comes through the vote and not the making of the police schedule an appearing in photo ops.

Second, the once harmonious mayors team (at least in 05 and 06) failed to elect Lescavage this time around. Like him or not, he put his time in over the last 4 years. I never would have guessed his vote totals to be in the same league with Ron Orth (no offense, but you did not have an organization behind you, Ron). How is it that a once, well-MACHINED (for you Xauf) organization as mayors team not have a uniform vote for between its' three original members?

Specifically, I believe there was 60-vote delta between Kevin and Brian. Mushinski was about 30 votes behind Brian. Even more interesting, Barry 2, who spent nothing in terms of messaging, was a few votes shy of Brian, and just missed being the 2nd highest vote-getter behind Barry 1. BTW, BR, wasn't Barry 2 a big part of your old organization at one time?

See, if mayor was the dedicated father of his team, he should have had the persuasive juice to convince Barry 2 to stand down, since Barry 1 had committed himself to running for the open seat. He had to know that 5 guys scrambling for 4 seats leaves one man out. Looks like the odd man out was Kevin, an original member of mayors team. Still, no one has vetted Barry 2 (once organizational operative of old council) as to why he wanted to run, and how he managed to pull in machine-like numbers - even though his name was not on he machine's sign.

On the other hand, let's imagine that Mushinski and Lescavage were on the outs with mayor over some chiefly important issues. It may explain the lower vote tallies. In essence, rid the team of one, marginalize another, and form a new majority.

Now, could a new majority (as possibly mayor envisions) develop consisting of Barry 2, Hood 2 (he forked you guys too BR), Albano (puppet strings could lead to the WEST SIDE of the upper Luzerne Ave section of WP), and Rose 2. Note, Rose 2 is up in 2 years and the message to him may be (moving forward) "see what happens to guys like Kevin when they don't go along."

Then again, if Thorton, Mushinski, Rose 2 team up, they could pick up a vote from Barry 1 on key issues, making him a potential ally. With four votes there, Hood 2 could become an easy target to flip as a 5th vote.

One thing is for sure, if Barry 1 remains neutral, mayor has no guarantee of controlling 4 votes. Laslty, if Vandy can turn up the heat, low primary vote-getters Mushinski, Lescavage, and Orth unite, along with WP democrats uniting behind a democratic candidate, mayor could have short-term problem.

By: JValenti on 9/17/09
Top Ten - Who the hell is on first?
Joe V

By: WestSideWaldo on 9/17/09
C'mon Joe, Did the Hot Chocolate affect you that much. Post the WA item, or at least explain why you won't.

By: MartinLuther on 9/17/09
It appears Imtickedoff is ignoring my request for a list of "ridiculous" expenditures - which leads me to believe there really weren't any. Am I the only one who remembers there were other council members other than BR? What about current councilman John Hood's actions as a former councilman who served with BR? Didn't the council act together? I don't remember any dissention with them. Why is it BR is always the target? He couldn't have acted alone in his decision making. I know a big factor in the old guys oust from council was a certain police officer. The Team made him their poster boy. A few years later, they saw him in the same light as the old council did. So why all the harping on BR? Seriously, you don't see him at Valenti's, Cheers or the Moose, he's not on any town boards, he doesn't go to council meetings, he doesn't write letters to the editor, he doesn't work the polls or is a judge of elections, really, what gives? Remind me, what did BR and his gang do that was so bad? They fired a cop. Was that it? I don't get the four year anger-fest. Move on! There are other targets. Anybody hear any rumblings about the FBI in town? Now there is a topic for discussion.

By: JValenti on 9/17/09
WWW - I checked down the county to verify and your allegations is wrong.

By: imtickedoff on 9/18/09
HEY ML,

I answered, but I guess JV must have found somethings questionable.

Maybe ridiculous was a bad choice of words,as you can justify all of the work that was done. Why wasn't it done before is a question that I (and others) had.....that's all.

Short story is this---would the projects have been done and the money have been spent if the old bunch won? The roof leaked for years and the mold didn't grow overnight, and so on.... Check the records and see how much $$ was spent the year they got beat vs. the previous 6-8 years.

The newly elected guys would have looked really good if they had that bank account back then, and the incumbents that lost were afraid of that.They thought it was there $$$$$$, so they spent it.

By: MartinLuther on 9/19/09
HEY IMTICKEDOFF,

You are right, they were a fiscally tight group and didn't like to spend money, hence the reserve. I doubt there would have been a spending spree/flurry of repairs if they won. I'd like to think they would have addressed the roof and mold after the election. There weren't any grants for those projects -they already looked for them and held their hats out looking for cash. Not to be had.

I also agree the newly elected guys would have looked good spending EVERY dime of reserve on improvements, the Hitchner, Clyde St, sewers, street lights, fireworks. I don't think WP's financial picture would be any different today if the Team had that reserve to work with. It would be gone by now. I also think the Team and any other losing incumbents would have done the same. Human nature.

Why don't you hold John Hood accountable? Ask Jim Rose about his father's actions? My point is BR did not hold the checkbook and could not act alone. I'm tired of hearing about the guy, he's out of it. He's not that entertaining. I've moved on, you should too. I stopped bringing up Goldy's bridge lights. Ask what we pay a year in electricity for those things.

The roof and mold situation should have been taken care of months/years before the election. They were forced to action the day Goldy's campaign flyer came out with pictures of the ceiling and brought the issue in front of the voters eyeballs. How many people knew about the leaky ceiling and the moldy firehall prior to the election?

I think it was one last shot to rectify years of neglect. Yeah, they saved the money and yeah, they were going to spend the money. They might as well get the credit for leaving the buildings in good repair. I don't think either one of us is arguing the roof didn't need replacing or the mold didn't really exist. Hence my exception to the use of the word "ridiculous".

There is no doubt, they saved the money, they spent the money - but on worthwhile projects that Goldy used to show blight all over his campaign literature. Obviously, he and the team felt they were important repairs too.

Personally, I would have liked the money to be spent on the roads. But a leaky roof and mold trumps potholes.

By: imtickedoff on 9/21/09
Final comment on this.

They are all accountable, the whole bunch.I only responded to BR, because he was part of that group and cannot throw stones.

You nailed it "forced to action", that was my point. They took credit for fixing the buildings, but most of them were there for years, watching them deteriorate.

The lights turned out to be the joke that everybody thought they would. Don't stop bringing it up, it costs $$$$, just like fireworks that were not 100% paid for....they cost $$$.

Bottom line is no matter who sits in those seats...they are supposed to manage everything to do with the boro, in all of the residents best interests. Will there be differences, you bet, but some of the old stuff was blatantand it's timing was questionable if not, RIDICULOUS.