Today's most interesting article on timbering South Mountain begged one question; although it says the Pawlowski administration had not mentioned the lumber survey publicly, the reporter knew about the project? I answered that question on the article's topix comment section, only to find it deleted, comment #5, much like the credit which should have appeared in the article.
I was first informed of the project on June 27th, and again, by a second source a few days later. I withheld publication until I could confirm the story through a document on July 2nd. Although I usually post in the morning, I published "Timber" that evening.
The Morning Call article, ten days later, had much more information than I knew, which was only that the inventory was complete on the east side of Rt. 78/309, and the west side fieldwork was expected to be complete by July 10th. I declined to reveal my sources, which the reporter fully understood. I don't know if there is an established protocol for Newspapers acknowledging blogger originated stories. I do know I was told this blog would be credited, but I realize a reporter is subject to an editor. I do know my comment was deleted.
As someone mentioned in a prior discussion, professional logging requires a wide berth to permit trucks and equipment. That's even before the actual cutting takes place. If permitted to take place, this park land will look like the large mountainside electric pole cut-a-ways we all see.
ReplyDeleteWhile Mayor and his staff selling park treets, another woman was killed over the weekend. Where are priorities?
ReplyDeleteThe permits required will cost the city far more then any money generated. I can't find my previous research on this but just at the federal level it involves the..
ReplyDelete*The US Forestry Service
*Environmental Protection Agency
*The U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA)
*the Omnibus Public Lands Management Act (HR 146)
& a whole host of bureaus & agencies
Who knows what at state level as well.
You don't just chop down a few trees w/o a whole lot of approvals. That takes a lot of paid consultants, expert federal lawyers, financial/environmental impact studies, etc.
Hell I'm supposed to get a city permit just to cut a dead limb off the tree out front!
Placing structures in a wetland and or floodplain need permits from PADEP- that includes playground structures. Cedar Creek has TMDLS for the creek, Allentown is an Level 2 for their NPDES permit and all of this will violate their own permit and ordinances. Time to attack them from the regulatory end. I think you will see how quick they backoff on these ideas of placing playground equipment at cedar beach. By the way , this will increase the geese population which will cause more diseases among the children play in in goose crap.
ReplyDeleteTimber harvesting is a bad idea and the mayor should be called to the carpet on this issue. Sounds to me like Sunshine laws were violated to make this contract work. Who the hell is the guy from Muncy and what are his credentials?
Oh they'll kill the geese.
ReplyDeleteNewspapers hate blogs.
ReplyDeleteBlogs are competition that do not have to worry so much about unions or donating money to the 'right' (or left) people.
Blogs can freely express themselves and gather their own documentation, sources and quotes and do not have to worry about potentially pissing advertisers off.
Quality reporting and journalism is NOT all that tough. At the end of the day, a fact is a fact.
If blogs did not do a decent job, no one would ever come and the blogs would go away quickly.
Blogs did not die quickly and, most likely, never will.
Newspapers hate this fact.
Sooner or later, the government will get around to regulating blogs...egged on by the 'professional' newspaper people, of course, seeking to salvage their OWN SPECIAL INTERESTS
I'm terrified that as we get closer to the election Mr. Mayor will grasp at whatever wild straw he can since his pet projects from 4 years ago have failed. Unfortunately he can control what happens in the park system. He can't control a developer who abandons a highly visable never to be finsihed 8th street project with filled in foundations (newly poured and filled in). He can't control an abandon restaurant in one of the finest new buildings in town Mannas in PPL). He can't control an unfinished bare steel skeleton on 6th street for a business that will probably never really happen and definately won't happen by election day.But he can change the visible landscape of our parks, oh yes he can-- and he will, with our without our approval.
ReplyDeleteThey are not improvements-- they change the visisible landscape but there are other parts of the park that are in deep trouble with beautiful WPA buit walls crumbling- brush growing in water area, poor drainage and standing water in fields that were recently "redesigned". And lately- no police - and recnetly a suicide with a hand gun and a probably murder.
Right now Peter Lewnes of 7th Street Development Group has more visible success than the Mayor.
So it's catch up for Mr. Mayor and he has the cort advantage--our tax dollars. Mr. Mayor will change what he can change in order to divert attention from the failures...from now until the next election.
iron, i was able to verify a tip, and determined only the project's timeframe. i'm pretty sure none of the people involved would have answered questions for me. i'm grateful that the reporter had the motivation, skill and credibility to uncover the entire scheme.
ReplyDeleteanon 1:53, i believe the project on 6th st. is proceeding, however i will soon be writing about a couple more subsidized businesses that failed, despite our taxdollars.
PigPen-
ReplyDeleteI agree with you about blogs. The problem is some people use them, much like the established press does, to spread an agenda, and for character assassination.
I don't always agree with Mike, but he tries to be fair, and tell the story fairly. Many bloggers don't do that. I hate that people attribute things to me I did not do, or distort things I did do.
That is the danger of blogs, how ironic that it echoes the dangers of a press with an agenda.
I have business in Allentown wednesday night. If I can conclude it early enough, I will try and stop by City Hall. I wish you well in getting a spotlight on these plans for the parks, at the very least, there needs to be an open discussion.