Yesterday, Rendell came to Bethlehem to squeeze the udders of our new cash cow, The Sands Casino. Somehow, through interior design, this money vacuum cleaner is portrayed as having something to do with the former occupant of that parcel, Bethlehem Steel, which actually produced something. Already, we are being primed for table games; their fear is that some people may still have some money left when they leave the parking deck to go home. On the way to the ribbon cutting and his free steak dinner, Bam, he stopped to stroke Renew Lehigh Valley, progressive advocates for regionalism. The sermon was that somehow they and Rendell have a plan to save us money, down the line, by consolidating water systems and avoiding repetition of capital expenses in projected upgrades; and of course they would do all of this, cognizant of "smart growth". Last year, a chemical truck overturned on the turnpike entrance and contaminated a nearby well, one source of South Whitehall's water. Fortunately, our current "dumb growth" still had additional sources. By their recommendations, Trexlertown and Fogelsville could look forward to Allentown's fluoridated water. Now only if those old Dutchmen still had their baby teeth, the fluoride might have done them some good.
UPDATE: NEW AND IMPROVED VERSION
I can't wait for table games. Then I may actually visit this casino. Not sure what casinos have to do with cavities, but I don't think it's the end of the world to have a casino in town. Would you have rather seen another Wal-Mart there?
ReplyDeleteWould you have rather seen another Wal-Mart there?
ReplyDeleteI can't wait for Ed to promote cat houses and opium dens.
MM -
ReplyDeleteI don't have the exact figures handy, but I read that Rendell's water plan would end up doubling an average user's annual cost to almost $1,000. Of course there would be savings because of consolidation that would be about $250 per year.
My easy math tells me that $500 in additional costs less $250 in savings is still costing me a net of $250 more.
With plans like this, is it any wonder that Harrisburg and Washington are in such trouble?
Nestles has its' water bottling operation out there and then there is Coke Cola Plant which uses huge quantities of water to make their soda products.
ReplyDeleteThe old Schaeffer Brewery is bottling water as well along Route 78.
It was always a GREAT concern of the "original and LONG TIME" inhabitants that all these operations would MAKE TOO GREAT A DEMAND ON THEIR AVAILABLE WATER RESOURCES!!
This has started to impact the water table and available springs as the "Long Time Residents" feared.
I worked with a lot of folks from Fogelsville and Brieningsivlle and farmers who all shared this fear that one day their water
resources would dry up.
Those bottling operations and the manufacturing operations use huge quantities of water daily. Sharp Pharmacies also uses lots of water to operate and to
clean.
Between their manufacturing and their Sanitation Shifts that use lots of water to clean their machinery the amount of water required and used in almost
unfathomable.
When Ancient Oaks was first build they had contaminated water (Nitrates) in their water and wells from the fertilizers.
Children under a certain age would suffer injury to their bodies' systems if they drank the water from their wells.
The entire Ancient Oaks Development had to be tied into our city water.
As you mentioned there are many many more developments out there trying to fill up their tubs and pools now then ever.
Everything the farmers and original residents stated about that "used to be rural area" is coming to be. Their water resources are drying up for their farms and families. Some have been farming out there for at least a century.
Now their water is being bottled for some new arrival from NY OR NJ who have no family traditions except for breaking the law and going to jail.
Their livelihoods are drying up for the big businesses who all got TAX breaks to operate out there.
Do any of you remember when Allentown had that awful smell on hot humid summer nights? It smelled like a Pig Farm.
Mayor Daddona promised to sleep on Adams Island until the smell was eliminated.
I don't think he slept one night on the Island and the smell continued to impact
that area of Allentown for sometime.
They had tied the County sewage systems into the brewery and other manufacturing plants out there to our sewage plant.
It quickly became too much to handle and the city suffered with that smell.
Finally the companies were made to treat their own waste and Lehigh County had to build an additional sewage plant on Snow Drift Road.
ALL THIS IS TO MAKE NESTLES, COKE COLA AND THE OTHER MANUFACTURING PLANTS HAPPY OUT THERE. To KEEP THEM RUNNING AND PASSING THE COST ON TO THE private citizens,
again!
Nestles' water bottling plant just got a "GREEN AWARD". THEY ARE ON A LIST OF PLANTS TO BE TAKEN CARE OF FOR THEIR EFFORTS TO OPERATE GREEN!
Yes development has been good for everyone but the "original and long time" residents of the valley.
The Pig Farm Smell is nothing compared to the smell of crime and criminals that now infects our valley daily.
At least the PA. Dutch could and did learn the English Language.
No one had to put Home Depot signs or voting ballets in their native language.
They learned the English language and did not expect the rest of the valley to learn their language.