A couple interesting notes from around the city:

• The most important note is the bankruptcy of Vallejo. Chris gave a nice overview of all of his previous coverage. Mike Madison also covered the event. They both mentioned how Vallejo is both relevant and not relevant. On the one hand it means that bankruptcy might be possible in Pittsburgh, but it doesn’t seem Pittsburgh is in quite as bad of shape (at least from a cash flow perspective). Mike also pointed out that Vallejo is not to California as Pittsburgh is to PA, implying the old “too big to fail” point. It would be interesting should we (though I’m hoping we won’t) face the cash flow difficulties that Vallejo faces.
• I was surprised at how limited the coverage of the statewide smoking ban was. Bram picked it up on the Comet, but mostly it was left to the newspapers. Kudos to Bram for seeing the implications to the local Cigar scene. This is interesting to me, as a cigar smoker. I’m going to bring it up with the owner of my local cigar shop and see what he has to say. More to follow this weekend or next week.
• 414 Grant Street was pissed about the apparent URA Corruption. I think that the corruption at URA, while inexcusable, is not THAT big of deal. The problem is that it is just one bullet point in a very shady looking line of history for this administration. It will be interesting to see how things like this play out in next year’s election.
• Jonathan Potts is leaving the Conversation. While he hasn’t been as active lately as he once was, his voice will be missed in the Blurghosphere.
• Great article on a couple of Pittsburgh Venture Capatalists. Boy would that be a sweet job.
• Last post about John Doctor and the field in Bird Park. The man coached my brother in baseball, and made an impact on everyone he met.
• Mike Madison made a post on Blog Lebo about the “new” politics of Mt. Lebanon. It really is pretty interesting. What it makes me wonder is whether this is reflective of a change in the type of people who live in Mt. Lebanon or a change in the type of person who is a Republican or Democrat?
• Lastly, a comedic note from PittGirl.