Lies and liars

You tell a lie often enough, and eventually, even you start to believe it. Maybe that is what's happened to former Pittsburgh Mayor Tom Murphy, who keeps trying to hoodwink Tampa officials into believing that he reversed Pittsburgh's decline, and did not contribute to it:

Speaking to Tampa business and civic leaders, Murphy acknowledged his master plan to redevelop Fifth and Forbes avenues in the Downtown core was "one of the failures" of his administration. But he blamed historic preservationists and others who fought his plan.

He talked about attracting Lazarus-Macy's and Lord & Taylor to town, but not about the subsidies that lured the department stores, or the fact that they eventually left.

He claimed as successes the development of the city's cultural district, North Shore sports stadiums, the expanded David L. Lawrence Convention Center, riverfront walking trails and the emergence of Downtown housing.

He did not mention that the city fell into junk bond status during his 12-year tenure, or that federal prosecutors are investigating his handling of a contract with the firefighters union.

Of course, Downtown is not the only place where the reality falls far short of Murphy's fantasy. Things are not all they seem on the North Shore, either.

Remind me to stay out of Tampa.