This page was last updated on November 1, 2010.
Radio talk touches on county’s ‘what-ifs?’; Gino Piroli; Beaver County Times; November 1, 2010.
Below is a detailed critique of the subject column.
“On Oct. 24, I was a guest on Beaver County native Rob Pratte’s KDKA radio show at 6 a.m. I didn’t even tell my family because it was rather early.”
[RWC] My experience with Mr. Piroli’s “facts” is you need to check them. This column is no exception.
“I’m not sure why he asked me, but I did enjoy doing it because it dealt with the steel industry, its downfall and other local matters. In preparing for the segment, I went to books written and published by Beaver County natives who were gracious enough to send me autographed copies.
“For those truly interested in Beaver County history, I would direct them to ‘Portraits in Steel,’ an illustrated history of the Jones & Laughlin Steel Corp. written by Don Inman and Dave Wollman; and ‘Rivers of Destiny,’ a history of Beaver County published by the Beaver County Historical Research and Landmarks Foundation for the county bicentennial. It was compiled and edited by Denver and Eugenia Walton and former Times staff writer Bob Bauder, and the photo editor was Charles Townsend.
“Both books were published in 1999 and have a wealth of historical data and hundreds of photographs. They have been useful in my studies, and I rely on their reliable information.
“Some of the material I gathered refreshed my memory, while some of it was unknown to Pratte. For instance, at one time, Aliquippa had a population of almost 30,000. In 1967, J&L Steel had 14,889 employees at the Aliquippa works. Some estimate that our county had almost 30,000 people working in steel plants and thousands more who relied on the industry for related employment. All suffered when the plants closed.
“What led to the demise of the local steel industry was an important question Pratte and I discussed.
“The Aliquippa plant’s decline began in 1968 when the conglomerate Ling-Temco-Vought, LTV Corp., bought the plant. The complete history of the demise is outlined in ‘Portraits In Steel.’ One statistic that caught my attention was that as late as 1981, almost 10,000 were still employed at the Aliquippa plant, which was considered one of the most modern in the country. By 1985, fewer than 2,500 remained when LTV closed most of the facilities.”
[RWC] My recollection (from years ago from my late father who was an industrial engineer at the Aliquippa Works) differed from Mr. Piroli’s so I asked my steel industry expert about this paragraph. My expert started his detailed comments with, “In 1981 the Aliquippa Works was one of the most antiquated steel plants in the United States” and concluded them with, “NOTHING at Aliquippa was ‘state of the art’ or ‘world’s most modern.’ Get me some of what Gino is smoking...”
“Some blame the United Steelworkers of America union, but it gave LTV every major concession sought.”
[RWC] Sure.
The U.S. steel industry began its decline in the mid-1950s. I covered the main points in a 2002 letter to the editor and in a 2005 letter critique.
“Another subject Pratte and I touched on was what happened to the proposed improvements to Freedom-Crider Road in New Sewickley Township.
“There was a $20 million federal grant set aside to improve the road and build a bridge across the Ohio River from Baden to Aliquippa and go eventually to the Route 60 expressway. The grant was obtained by former U.S. [Rep.] Joe Kolter, but went unspent.”
[RWC] Mr. Kolter (D-4) served in the U.S. House from 1983 to 1993. Mr. Kolter was sentenced to six months in prison for his part in the Congressional Post Office scandal.
“I’ve written a number of times that the proposed improvements and bridge could have saved the Northern Lights shopping center in Economy and helped our economic base. Why there hasn’t been any activity in that area is very simple: We’ve been underserved by those we’ve elected to represent us in the county, Harrisburg and Washington, D.C. It seems that anyone in office in those seats of government has one primary concern: being re-elected.”
[RWC] I don’t know if Mr. Kolter obtained a $20 million “earmark” (pork) for the bridge, but the estimated cost in 2002 was at least $100 million. I attended a public meeting regarding the Aliquippa-Ambridge/Baden bridge in 2002. After the presentation, I asked if I could see the cost-benefit analysis. The presenter looked at me like I had two heads and explained to me cost-benefit analyses were not part of the process for road and bridge projects. This seemed incredible to me, so I asked then-PA Rep. Susan Laughlin (D-16) about a cost-benefit analysis. Eight years later I’m still waiting.
Does Mr. Piroli believe saving Northern Lights is worth $100+ million? Let’s remember in the county’s heyday we had a lot more traffic than today and we did pretty well without a second Aliquippa-Ambridge/Baden bridge.
“That should remind everyone that Election Day is tomorrow and we should all vote.
“Millions of dollars from many unknown sources have bombarded us with ads and sound bites. Try not to be confused and consider who’s creating this huge difference in money spent.”
[RWC] If Mr. Piroli had done his research he would find Democrat/Republican spending is pretty even this year. In 2008, Democrat candidates ($686 million) for Congress raised more money than did Republican candidates ($548 million). In the 2008 presidential election, Mr. Obama raised $745 million vs. John McCain’s $368 million. Oops.
“I keep looking in vain on the ballot for Nancy Pelosi, a target in most ads, because as one writer said, no doubt tongue in cheek, that she is blamed for the plague, war, pestilence, unemployment, recession, depression, earthquakes and tsunamis.”
[RWC] Maybe Mr. Piroli should tell this to the Democrat candidates running from Ms. Pelosi as fast as they can, including Rep. Jason Altmire.
“Newspapers are still the best source of information because they go into detail on the major subjects.”
[RWC] Mr. Piroli must not read his employer’s product.
© 2004-2010 Robert W. Cox, all rights reserved.