Luke Ravenstahl acted like a fool and lied to the public.  Sad, but predictable.  Hundreds of words have piled up around the Burghosphere calling him to task for his shameless disregard for truth (and his job). 

Meanwhile, five children in Larimer were killed in a horrible house fire.  Someone blamed a non-existent teenage babysitter.  Now it appears as if the two mothers of the children left them home alone.  Actually, they left seven children under the age of eight home alone.  The oldest two escaped and had to witness their siblings' screams and pleas for help, a memory they'll carry with them to the grave.  Police believe these two boys were playing with matches, another thing that will haunt them. 

No arrest.  Yet.  But well-known criminal defense attorney Jim Ecker is on the scene, representing one of the mothers. (Ledcat called that one last night). 

Is this political?  Does the intersection of race and poverty have anything to do with this horrific tragedy or can we simply lay it at the feet of two African-American women and call it a day?  We have no way to know until more information comes to light.  But I'm saying that a 25 year old mother of four and 20-something mother of three need some support to parent well under the best of circumstances.  What kind of supports did these women have that they chose to leave their children alone?  What kind of supports even exist in Larimer?  Last time I checked, no retired Steelers are building restaurants in Larimer.  Last time I checked, East Liberty morphed up into Eastside. Last time I checked, the agencies who came to a local community event brought abstinence brochures while the Army seduced kids with personalized dog tags. 

It may not be sexy political like Luke chasing after Tiger Woods or Bill Peduto taking on self-styled anarchists.  But five African-American children died in one of the worst fires in Pittsburgh's history in one of the region's poorest neighborhoods.  It deserves some attention.  The political future of Pittsburgh is as much tied up in the lives and deaths of these five children as in Luke Ravenstahl's dereliction of his duty.

Those children, all of region's most vulnerable children, need someone to hold the higher ups accountable for their welfare and their lives.

Bloggers, where for art thou?

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UPDATE:   One Pittsburgh blogger covered this story.  Her name is PittGirl and she is a self proclaimed non-political blogger.  Still, she captured a moment of the underlying human aspect.