Late this afternoon, city councilor Bill Peduto formally requested the city's Ethics Board to look into Adam Ravenstahl's being named to the board of Alcosan. Adam Ravenstahl, of course, is the brother of mayor Luke Ravenstahl.  

Addressed to board chair Sister Patrice Hughes, the letter notes that tby the terms of the city code, "no public official or public employee shall appoint, hire [or] advance a member of his direct family to a positionthat is under the juridiction or control of the city."

The city solicitor has argued that this language does not apply to Alcosan, because it's an independent authority whose mayoral appointees must be confirmed by council. When I talked to Peduto about that earlier this week, he called it a "half-ass legal interpretation."

His letter counters that, in fact, "the Mayor and City Council have jurisdiction over the nomination and appointement of all Board, Authority, and Commission members. The Mayor has the sole responsibility of nominating candidates to these positions and Council has the sole responsibility of approving [them]."

A copy of the letter is here. Anyone want to take bets on how much the brother has to fear from the Sister?