How many are afraid to try to stop the turf project for fear that Mt. Lebanon will counter sue? I have heard that over and over. Look at what neighbors are currently faced with:
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Little, if any, construction since before Thanksgiving. The contractor is waiting for payment for Change Order Number 1 with more to follow. Pools of mud. OSHA visits. Neighbors protesting. Planting anti turf signs in their yards. Speaking at commission meetings. Parents speaking about health and safety issues. National and local pediatricians speaking out. Environmentalists opposed to the turf project. All powerless. All fearful of getting sued by outspoken Mt. Lebanon attorneys.
So what can we do? The following is for informational purposes only. It is not legal advice. I have found the Pittsburgh ACLU to be quite helpful.
31 comments:
Another resident opposed to the turf project. The Almanac 12.03.14
Elaine
In addition to the resources mentioned by Elaine, the Institute for Justice has taken on local governments successfully, especially in the areas of property rights, suppression of free speech, and civil forfeiture. IJ is a libertarian oriented, civil liberties law firm. From the Institute's mission statement: "Our four pillars of litigation are private property, economic liberty, free speech and school choice. Simply put, we seek a rule of law under which individuals can control their destinies as free and responsible members of society."
WWW.IJ.ORG
Not to dismiss SLAPP and all the legal ramifications, there is a more sinister and underground mindset at work here in the bubble. Contrary to a certain individual's claim they were interested in building a sense of community, they've and their friends have continually tried to undermine any efforts to commune with people that don't share their views, in my opinion.
From vocabulary.com--
"shun
If you purposely stay away from someone, you shun that person. A sensitive baker may ask why you are shunning her cookies.
Although the verb shun means to deliberately avoid anything, it has a specific meaning in certain groups and communities. In this case, it means to ostracize or expel from that group or community. The Amish, for example, may shun members of their order who repeatedly ignore the beliefs and rules of Amish society. The word may also be used in more casual group settings. After many attempts at being polite, you and your friends began to shun the obnoxious woman who never let you get a word in edgewise."
Remember the infamous email attacking the Cannon, Stephenson, Bies, Werthem run for school board.
Recent letters to the Almanac attacking turf opponents? The repetitive calls to get out if you have a problem with sports or school spending?
Remember the attacks on Hart, James Fraasch. The unneccesary and shitty public humiliation of Goldman.
Mt. Lebanon is not a nice place to live in any more and it is getting worse. IMO
One way to overcome your fear of Mt Lebanon and lawsuits, is to go to a meeting and listen. After listening for a half hour, you will be compelled to SPEAK UP and AGAINST the insanity that is pervasive in this municipal administration.
Plus, don't forget the Public Information Office's jealous shunning of Lebo's most cost-effective and popular blog.
If they only came close to providing the amount of information Elaine provides to the community.
9:33 AM, actually, you are dismissing being SLAPPed. I am talking about threats of lawsuits, not malicious emails. I had to spend thousands of dollars to protect my assets, thanks to Brumfield and Morgans. I am not too happy.
Elaine
I said I wasn't dismissing all the ramifications of being SLAPPed. In fact, there are several attempts being made at the Federal level to restrict fee speech as we write.
One was written up up in the WSJ this summer.
"Harry Reid Rewrites the First Amendment
When politicians seek to restrict speech, they are invariably trying to protect their own incumbency."
SLAPP is just another another attempt to silence critics. It is not a joke and it is not to be dismissed.
The threat of being SLAPPed is not being taken lightly, believe me Elaine.
That is part of the reason you have so many anonymous comments.
Looking at your photos here, Elaine, I wonder if anyone is keeping track of the number of days lost for play on these fields due to the installation of artificial turf?
By my count since the start of the project on Oct. 20th, we've had a number of nice sunny days that teams could having been using this facility.
I'd guesstimate 2 weeks at least. So the question to be asked, what have we gained. How many rainouts did we have in a year with the grass field.
So for over $1.2 million+ we're already in the hole on lost field availability.
Good going, commissioners!
Yep, those kids are going to really enjoy the NEW conditions down at the "crown Jewel" from now, well into the new year!
Where do Smith and Miller stand on the anti-SLAPP legislation?
1:57 Let me put it this way.... Who helped Dumbfield get elected? Who IS helping Dumbfield further his political career? Can you say Miller & Smith. Elaine Dumbfield is looked upon as a joke by other lawyers. After 20 years he is still a Jr lawyer and there's a good reason why that is. I'd say more but I don't want to cause more office "issues" at Christmas time.
OK... Nothing is going to stop this now. Let's figure out how to stop their next step. They are telling the kids that more fields are going to be turfed and a new indoor field is already being planned. There isn't enough FREE money now with all the changes needed at the park. That means another bond will need to be written. There is another large tax increase coming. We face a massive State Income tax increase too. As a business owner I don't see the economy getting any better. So hopefully voters will again want change. I know people in Sunset Hills do! They don't want Howe School's field lighted. There are homes right against it. Sure others around the other school fields feel the same.
The urbandictionary.com provides this definition for 'slap happy.'
"term used to describe one's mood when sleep deprived or tired. Signs of being 'slap happy' include inane rambling, strange remarks, odd random behavior (such as giving oneself a wedgie), uncontrollable laughter at one's own jokes."
Rambling, strange remarks, odd random behavior! Aren't these the symptoms exhibited by some of our "SLAPP Happy" leaders and muni employees?
Elaine Counter their lawsuits with your own! There are Conservative groups that will help including providing you lawyers that will wipe Dumbfield fat a$$. He isn't in their league!
I loathe Brumfield.
That's all I can say.
If Miller & Smith are helping Brumfield, then they are disgusting, absolutely disgusting, too.
http://www.padisciplinaryboard.org/attorneys/rules/pennsylvania-rules-of-professional-conduct.php
You can make complaints about Brumfield and Weis via complaint form on this website. I can’t take the corruption. See the website for more info.
8:23 Dumbfield is a jr lawyer so I doubt anything would result from a complaint. What scares the bully is media attention. We need to get his behavior out in the open. Same with the President Princess. I'm waiting for the next accident to happen on Bower Hill. The media will jump on how money was taken from that project to build Dave's son a lacrosse field. Time for the rest of Western PA to see what our priorities are! Health and Safety are at the bottom and the Democrat love of Global Warming doesn't apply in the bubble.
Elaine I saw Dave at the grocery store several weeks ago. Another woman was talking to him about the deer so I felt it was alright to ask him about all the money being spent for sports. The majority of residents will never step a foot on any of these expensive projects but all will travel on our horrid streets. Our curbs are a mess. Our garbage collection is a joke. Half the time they leave our trash sitting at the curb. He was so unprofessional. Being told to move if I couldn't pay my taxes is not an answer. And I didn't appreciate his other comments. But guess bullying a 83 year old woman made his day. Hope he doesn't treat his mother in this manner.
That makes me sad, 10:18 PM. He is despicable.
Elaine
9:58 It doesn't matter if he is a jr lawyer; he is licensed to practice the law.
"Lawyers holding public office assume legal responsibilities going beyond those of other citizens. A lawyer's abuse of public office can suggest an inability to fulfill the professional role of lawyers".
If you see something, say something.
9:58 PM:
Was the money actually taken from the Bower Hill project or was the project completed under budget and the remaining funds transferred to the turf project? If it was taken, what was pulled out of the Bower Hill project that would cause an accident?
9:58 AM Why don't you submit a Right To Know request, find out and let us know about the funding.
1:56 PM,
Because I'm not making any accusations that incomplete work will cause an accident. In fact, it looks to me like the project was completed.
4:20 I don't know if the project is complete. It's still a hazardous intersection, though. I also know that St. Clair hospital made a substantial contribution to the project. Yet, the "leftovers" are being used for turf. I guess once you "give" to Mt Lebanon, don't expect to "get back".
"It does not take a majority to prevail ... but rather an irate, tireless minority, keen on setting brush fires of freedom in the minds of men." — Samuel Adams, American statesman and political philosopher
Off topic, I know, but certainly part of the whole Lebocitizens picture.
Sen. Smith, the Almanac published this story recently: "Sen. Matt Smith: be wary of rebates"
I wonder if this warning applies to state high school project reimbursements, gambling revenue reimbursements, Homestead exclusions, seniors property tax reduction and last, but not least Obamacare subsidies?
Just curious. Perhaps a topic for another day now that the incoming governor is crying about $2 billion state deficits while sticking to pledge to send more money for public education.
When you hear one of our elected representatives claim that this or that is a local or school board issue and they can't get involved remind them of this tip from Tip.
"This was the only race I ever lost in my life, but in the process, I learned two extremely valuable lessons. During the campaign, my father had left me to my own devices, but when it was over, he pointed out that I had taken my own neighborhood for granted. He was right: I had received a tremendous vote in the other sections of the city, but I hadn't worked hard enough in my own backyard. 'Let me tell you something I learned years ago,' he said. 'All politics is local.' " — Tip O'Neill
Several made complaints after all those parking tickets went AWOL and what happened? Nothing! Dumbfield is still a free man.
3:01 AM Much as it pains me, it was not Brumfield's fault that the $800,000 in delinquent, unpaid parking fines were not discovered until 2012, a few months after the muni dissolved the parking authority and assumed direct ownership and control. It was the combined fault of (a)the former executive director of the parking authority - he hid and did not book the delinquent or unpaid fines in accounts receivable, nor attempt to write them off as he did in very limited amounts as uncollectibles every year, and (b)the outside auditor (also for muni and school district) who did not probe the books and balance sheet in sufficient detail. Scary that no one went to jail or was penalized ! Muni attitude was *Oh well, things happen*. Sad isn't it.
Tip O'Neill took that expression from Washington D.C. AP bureau chief Byron Price.
And the next time I get a parking ticket, Im going to refuse to pay. Let's see a judge issue a bench warrant for that one. My legal counsel will start by requesting a subpeona related to municipal records related to the unpaid parking tickets.
Just think-if the scofflaw had just paid the damn fines, the turf could have been funded.
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