Meet the new boss...

...same as the old boss:

Mayor Bob O'Connor's administration has asked City Council to start approving aid for development of the proposed PNC Financial Services Group tower, Downtown.

Council yesterday received a resolution that would allow the Urban Redevelopment Authority to craft a plan to borrow $18 million to help finance the tower.

The URA would pay the debt using most of the new parking and property taxes from the development that would otherwise go to the city, Allegheny County and Pittsburgh Public Schools, in a process called tax-increment financing, or TIF.

Hopefully, one of the three taxing bodies need to approve this obscenity--the city, county or school district--will say no. Then again, listen to what our new City Council president has to say:

City Council President Luke Ravenstahl called the tower "the shot in the arm our Downtown needs," and said he plans to support the financing plan.

He may be a young man, but he's determined to perpetuate the same old ways.