Can an angel get a frickin’ pair of wings?

You know that picture. That’s George Bailey in It’s a Wonderful Life (aka Jimmy Stewart) who jumps off a bridge only to find that his beloved Bedford Falls has been replaced by Pottersville! All the friendly businesses had been replaced by juke joints and bars and speakeasys… you know, like the South Side.

Now it feels like I fell off the 40th Street bridge only to find that my Pittsburgh is building casinos and buying the police all kinds of riot gear and experimental sonic cannons, but we can’t seem to find anything left to keep several branches of our Carnegie Libraries open. Included in the potential closures is our own historic Lawrenceville branch–the very first of the Carnegies. This cannot stand.

Write letters, call Mayor Luke’s 311 line, call your county council rep… yes, you have one.

3 Rivers, 6 Rings, 19 Branches… No Less!

Come on, civic leadership. Let me awaken on January 1 and run through the snow down Butler street shouting, “Hello, Arsenal Bowl! Hello, Hambone’s! Hello, Star Discount! Hello, you beautiful, ol’ Carnegie Library!”  Give us a happy ending on this one!