Minding the Virtual Mailbag

Several correspondents have inquired regarding my recent discussions of the boy mayor's appointment of Zoning and Stadium Authority board members to replace members who appear to have been inadequately pliant for the mayor's taste.

A couple of friends and/or colleagues of S. Manoj Jegasothy have assured me that Mr. Jegasothy is a wise person of high integrity who does not deserve to be depicted as a puppet controlled by strings.

Another person, apparently somewhat less a friend to Mr. Jegasothy, asked whether I knew that Mr. Jegasothy's home is assessed at a value less than the purchase price. (Scant research indicates that this claim appears to be true, but that the discrepancy approximates five percent. Given the grotesquely huge underassessments that are common in Allegheny County (at least until Judge Wettick picks up his hammer), five percent reminds me of Phil Hartman's -- as Bill Clinton -- Saturday Night Live response to a Secret Service agent who begs that Mrs. Clinton not be informed that the security detail acquiesced regarding an impromptu stop at McDonald's: "Jim . . . there's gonna be a whole bunch of things that we don't tell Mrs. Clinton. Fast food is the least of our worries, OK?")



Assessment rap?Swing and a miss.

Another correspondent asked why I neglected to mention, after referring to Kirk Burkey's well-connected spouse, that Mr. Jegasothy is married to a UPMC executive. I have not researched this point exhaustively, but this University Times list of UPMC executives indicates that a Michele P. Jegasothy was UPMC's corporate secretary a month ago.

UPMC tie? Long drive, deep right field . . . going . . . going . . . gone! And you can kiss it goodbye!

Despite the disparate perspectives, I perceive a unifying thread among these correspondents. They all agree that I do not know what I am talking about.