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A policeman was there as a speaker. He basically said that in the past Sonnys has not had many calls from neighbors etc. to warrent a nuiance bar title. I guess it takes more shootings. He also mentioned that Detective John McBurney does handle these cases.( I think I saw his phone number yesterday) The owners of Sonnys and some of his friends (2 of which are on the board) were in attendance to support them. The owners were very defensive and said this kind of thing could have happened anywhere and promise to be more active in the community etc etc etc

also, I don't know about you guys, but I would be MORTIFIED if something like this happened in my business. Not defensive.

I would probably shut down for a while, try to regroup, work with the CDC, take responsibility etc.

I drove by last night and they were open AS IF NOTHING EVER HAPPEND. AS IF SOMEONE JUST DIDN'T DIE THERE THE NIGHT BEFORE.

WTF????

Who are the two board members defending Sonny's? We need to make sure they aren't on the board next year.

Nope I disagree, they (the board memebers) want to keep the nuisance bars in Mt. Washington?? that's crazy. One of them even tried to help Sonny's block Packs and Dogs from getting a liquor liscense because it would be competition.

Sorry, but competition is the name of the game and it goes to show how short sited the owners are and how unaware they are. I heard the councilmen basically laughed at them when they said that.

We need better more qualified people on the board and we need people on the board that don't want to keep Mt. Washington stuck in the 60's.

I have a friend that buys pot at Sonny's. Has been for years. And if his connection dries up he just goes to Sonny's and waits for the next dealer to walk in. NO LIE, told me this on more than one occasion.

Huh?

I live right up the street from Sonny's, not even a block away, and if you view my comment on the main page you can read about my run-in with the police. That being said, I don't see why everyone is hell-bent on having Sonny's shut down. I've lived in some of the worst areas of Pittsburgh including the Hill and North Oakland. In no way do I view Sonny's as a nuisance bar. If you think Sonny's is bad I suggest you check out places such as Luna, Chiefs, and Mitchell's. I've personally been to Sonny's a number of times and in no way is it even comparable to the bars I just listed. I've never seen any type of violent behavior in or around Sonny's in the three years I've lived on the Mount, and I hang out at the Shiloh bars every Friday and Saturday night.

I think we all tend to forget that responsibility starts with indivduals and not the establishment. Crime can happen anywhere. We should be focusing our efforts on eliminating violent behavior, not attempting to close a family business from which someone makes their livelyhood. Why has all the focus been placed on Sonny's as opposed to finding the individual who commited the crime and bringing him to justice? As a student at Pitt I often stopped by the McDonalds where two individuals were shot this week. The patrons there are much worse than Sonny's yet I'm sure no one in Oakland is rallying to shut down McDonalds or blame the shooting on the establishment. Closing Sonny's will do nothing more than create yet another vacant storefront on the Mount, and I feel that is one of the last things we need at this point.

In response to Steve O. The board members were elected to represent the whole nieghborhood, not just a select few. If you are ask to speak on someone's behalf, it is your responsibility as a board member to do so!!!! As for Sonny's, (which has never had a incident before this), Anne Scarpaci and her family have been active members of the community for 25yrs., I would like to know, if the people who are writing on this blog, and damaging the reputation of this family and thier business have done as much for the community as Anne and her children. . This is an unfortunate incident that could have happened anywhere. If people are angry, then do something about the situation. Join our board, sit out on your porch and watch, turn your porch lights on, come to the recreation center and speak to the children, donate your time in the community, instead of trying to eliminate a long standing business in the community. All business owners in Mt. Washington should be aware that this could happen at anyone's establishment, should you be held responsible for incidents beyond your control.

15211 Advocate… how could you even think the owners of Sonny's were anything less than mortified when this happened? As if they expected this. There has never been an incident like this in their history. They, along with any other business owner, were in disbelief that this happened in their establishment. But after the recent outcry of trying to close them down… how could they not be defensive? The first question at the CDC meeting was 'How can we close this nuisance bar down?' They have to defend their business. You are trying to take their livleyhood away because of a non-preventable crime. Its not like the bartneder pulled out a gun. This is one terrible incident… not a pattern of problems. Ask any poilice officer… they are not a nuisance bar… they never have been.

You, along with Stev-O, talk on the site as if Sonny's caters to 'bad people'. The owners are local people, with a local business, serving local, residence for 25 years. To think they want to cater to 'less desirable' people is uderly ridiculous…

You two sound nieve and misinformed… to think this same incident could not happen anywhere on the mount is ludicrous.

Why is anyone taking what Steve-O says to heart, when he's openly admitting his FRIEND buys and sells pot? Ha!

And Mountain Girl - I am affraid to leave the house. I have a 4 month old baby, and heaven forbid I am in the wrong place at the wrong time.