THE SKY IS FALLING

According to The Record's ace reporting, he repairs to the January water main break will cost the City $73,000. This amount is slightly less than the 'millions' projected by City Council President Carmella Mantello:

Mantello, a Republican, said the water main also served homes and businesses across the Hudson River in Menands. She said repair costs will be in the millions of dollars...

Mantello, a graduate of the Chicken Little School of Leadership, made this announcement the very day of the break, with little or no information to back up the estimate.

Mantello describes the characterization of her estimate as unfair. "I have repeatedly emphasized that everything I say has a 87% +/- margin of error." Mantello went on to say that any criticism of her leadership style would cost the city millions.

RADIO DAZE

We listened to District 2 Councilman Mark McGrath on Talk1300 with James Franco yesterday. We found McGrath quite enjoyable, despite the fact the we were out of laudanum. We were surprised that McGrath took a swipe at former Mayor Tutunjian and himself.

McGrath blamed, at least in part, Troy's fiscal problems on the amortization of pension bill increases. This, of course, was a practice highlighted by the Tutunjian administration, particularly in Tutunjian's last budget. McGrath, a sitting Councilman at the time, did not argue against the practice.

There are some problems with McGrath's argument on amortization being the culprit, but the swipe at Tutunjian and the admission of his own responsibility for the fiscal problems was refreshing. And no Mussolini quotes.

We turned the show off when McGrath and Franco began to discuss the plight of white men in America.

 THE BOYS ARE BACK IN TOWN

Yes, the Environmental Protection Agency is back again. This time, they would like to speak with some current administration officials. The EPA's focus is the King Street demolition.  The agents intend to wrap up the investigation soon, before President Cruz eliminates the agency.