Summary: A water-main break spells T-R-O-U-B-L-E and high fashion on the Parkway East! Reporter: Amber Nicotra, WTAE Channel 4 Airtime: 2 minutes on Aug. 13 Highlights: * When Nicotra squawks, on site, "Well, the good news behind me ... the road is now re-opened, traffic is moving along, much to the relief of drivers. However, I wanna show you where this water-main break happened. Behind this home, you can see crews are still very busy trying to pump out the water. They are making progress, but it's been a very rough morning." * When Nicotra narrates, "A traffic nightmare first thing in the morning: Drivers who get on the Parkway East inbound at Beechwood and Monitor did a lot of this -- sitting and waiting." * As a car inches by, an occupant hollers, "We're miserable!" * When Nicotra repeats (and elaborates), "Traffic back-ups the result of this -- a 20-inch water-main break. Water gushing behind these two backyards and flooding the ramp. It's the fifth time they've been through this, which is why [this man] carved out holes in his garage to protect his cars and prevent more water from seeping into his basement." * When the homeowner says, "Last time, there was about $70,000 of damage -- they didn't pay a penny 12 years ago. I just hope that this time they will at least pay for my damage." * When Nicotra blissfully reports, "Crews from Pittsburgh Water Authority brought in backhoes and heavy equipment. They were able to isolate the leak, but about 25 homes are without water." * When a man tagged as "Without Water" says, "I do have somewhere to go today, so I have a little bucket of water in the basement that I saved for filling up my birdbath, so maybe I can use that to get cleaned up a little bit before I go out." * When a woman in her car tells Nicotra, "It's Friday the Thirteenth, whaddya expect?" What We Learned: There is nothing that complements a live, on-the-scene water-main break replete with mud, caution tape and heavy equipment more than a bejeweled "bib" necklace (all the stars are wearing them!), a scallop-edged black cami that says, "I'm sexy but tough-as-dirt" and a lipstick-pink, three-quarter sleeve jacket with a boyfriend collar tailored with pleated feminine details. Unanswered Question: Do you think there were a lot of unhappy, dirty birds in Squirrel Hill last Friday? News Value: 2. What would the news do without our city's crumbling infrastructure? The real story here isn't the traffic, or the water-main break, or even Nicotra's outfit -- but the man who had to shell out $70,000. That kind of money can ruin most people. I want to know more about that -- and less about all the Wendy and Willie Whiners on the Parkway.
