On the day after he won a long and bitterly fought campaign to impose two new taxes, Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato sought to heal the wounds of restaurateurs and business owners who believe they will be penalized by the taxes.

"Take the emotion out of this and you see this made sense," Mr. Onorato said at a press conference. "Other cities have had this tax for many years and it has not hurt them. Based on the history, it shouldn't be as hard as [restaurateurs] think it's going to be," he said.

Mr. Onorato yesterday successfully pushed through Allegheny County Council a 10 percent tax on poured alcoholic drinks and a $2 a day tax on car rentals, which he proposed as dedicated revenue streams for the county's $30 million subsidy of the Port Authority.

His administration, he said, together with council will lobby the state legislature in Harrisburg on behalf of restaurateurs and other business owners to increase the state's discount of wholesale liquor from 10 percent to 14 percent.

Mr. Onorato said he would also support a sense of council action by county Councilman Mike Finnerty, D-Scott, who has proposed to lobby the state legislature to authorize other counties in the state to adopt similar drink and car rental taxes.

But even as he pledged to reach out to the hospitality industry, Mr. Onorato held his ground that the two taxes were the right solution for the county's fiscal troubles at the moment.

Furthermore, he argued, "[these new taxes] are not unusual. Many cities and counties . . . have had a drink tax for many years."

More details in tomorrow's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.