Although we can all benefit from a parable now and then, somehow the real victims were overlooked, the citizens of Allentown. If Pawlowski's trust was misplaced, how about the taxpayers. Although it's wonderful that J.B. Reilly's wish-list was fulfilled beyond his wildest expectations, we all have things we would have liked improved in the city. I would have liked if $1.3 million spend on Atiyeh land that we don't need, was used instead to repair the WPA structures. Homeless advocates would like a shelter properly funded and staffed. Better housing advocates would have liked to see more blighted properties rehabilitated.
The Pawlowski's may have been betrayed by Mike Fleck, but there's nothing biblical about them. Local drug dealers and thieves cheat and steal from each other all the time, but the paper doesn't portray them as Robin Hood. Maybe, by the time the whole story is told, the paper will get a grip on itself.
ADDENDUM: This morning, Bill White defends himself and the paper against blogosphere accusations that he and his associates have pampered both Pawlowski and the NIZ. I don't know anybody who reads the blogosphere, but Ramblings and molovinsky are widely read. Yes Bill, the paper has been late to the game. The Raid On City Hall could not be glossed over, but you're still promoting Reillyville like it's news. You need only look at this weekend's coverage of the Artswalk.
Good post, and I thought the part where you mention drug dealers and thieves was particularly appropriate.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, for those who still think the Pawlowskis are innocent, "BETRAYED" is not what an innocent person writes when something like this goes down. "Liar" or something similar would have been written if the Pawlowskis had no knowledge of what Fleck was doing. They are both involved.
As to Bill White's article, when I first was online and saw the headline that the Call's Pawlowski news coverage has been thorough and fair, I assumed it was a Letter to the Editor. I immediately clicked on the link to see what idiot would attach their name to such a moronic statement and saw that it was not a Letter to the Editor, but rather a Bill White article.
I should have known.
The biggest enabling factor in creating the predicament Allentown finds itself was the lack of independent checks and balance.
ReplyDeletePawlowski, his administration, and various insiders who operated within that bubble were never really challenged. Regular media refused to ask the difficult, more probing questions that COULD have kept things in better control. All citizens ever received were 'press release type' statements and promotional materials. A little like reporting of Musikfest numbers. Everything accepted on it surface.
Even now, media research efforts are overly cautious. Many interviews not conducted, processes not fully explained. Where are specific, demonstrable numbers? It's as if spending real taxpayer dollars, creating future debt obligations, and responsible decision-making were never a concern.
Sorry, Bill White. Your employer DID come up short here. Citizen journalists stepped-in to fill the void. Allentown politics and the current downtown development scheme represents non-violent LOOTING. A plundering of Pennsylvania.
So, as the city slept . . . . . .
but now, ENOUGH!
Fred Windish
At what point does the Morning Call step up and have the courage to say what the Express Times already has - that Ed Pawlowski needs to resign?
ReplyDeleteBill White cites a handful of articles over the past DECADE that may have been critical of Pawlowski as evidence of the newspaper's "thorough", "fair" coverage. What he fails to mention is the lack of follow-up and the many articles written to counteract those few negative pieces.
White also reveals his end-justifies-the-means attitude that I believe pervades the Call. We now have shiny new buildings that have "revitalized" downtown. But at what cost? It's helping to blow a hole in the state budget and robbed health care funding for children; it's hurting surrounding municipalities and even other parts of the city; and we've overpaid for everything from the arena to office buildings that the developers are claiming aren't worth the cost that the buildings are assessed at. But it's all ok since Bill White now has another venue to eat his way through.
This whole story is literally unfolding in the Call's backyard. Yet we have to rely on other news outlets to get the whole story.
The Call seems as comfortable as Allentown City Council to wait a long legal process out while the evidence is clear that something went very, very wrong here in Allentown. That's ridiculous! Where are the interviews with Council members asking them what they're doing to fix the situation? Where are the questions about a city council and controllers office that has been bought by the person they're supposed to be over-seeing? Where are the behind-the-scenes interviews with City Hall employees to find out what really was going on? If the employees don't want to talk because they fear for their jobs, isn't that also newsworthy?
Yet they don't see themselves as part of the problem. What would it take for those at the Call to step back and take a look in the mirror? The Call has failed this City for at least the past 15 years. We were recently reminded that the Call endorsed Afflerbach when he ran for Mayor (something White conveniently forgot). The Call was too late in reporting the problems with the math on the police pension issue. The Call supported the sale of the city's water system that will end up costing the taxpayers a half of a billion dollars more than the problem it was supposed to solve. The Call hasn't even asked the question about why the City, supposedly flush with cash from the water deal and its 'revitalization' feels the need to shake down a financially-strapped school district to help pay for crossing guards. Never mind that that same school district will now be paying higher water and sewer rates because of the city's "solution" to its financial problems.
They need to get something right. It should start with a simple statement that Pawlowski needs to resign. Immediately.
Any defense of the Morning Calls reporting on Allentown only highlights it's glaring inadequacies.
ReplyDeletethere were 2 thieves on Christ side when he died,a good thief and a bad thief.the 3 wise men were running away from the kingdoms they fled from known as the 3 wise men. king herod put a price on their capture, so when they left Bethlehem the 3 went to different directions that's because they stole from their peoples kingdom .these are true facts never talked about much. you will see these stories are based on facts in biblical history. the story means we are born surrounded by thieves and the son of god died surrounded by thieves, the un-American public trust thieves who began the downtown projects knew they were thieves and were interested in personal gains rather than serving the tax payers for the good of the tax payers.i know because I used to be one of them.and people like you mr. molovinsky can change people like me. because of your honesty. I look to you on your blog for the truth and I find it every time,the hands of my good are in your words. we beg you ,never to stop printing the truth .may god be with you. sincerely brother andrew
ReplyDeleteJust heard yet another department head is abruptly retiring.
ReplyDeleteI think the Morning Call newsroom is lazy above anything else and they want to be friends with everybody. They could do real work but it's easier to have Bill write up a quick column and Alan is always around for a quote.
In a way, who cares what Bill White thinks? It's the editorial board that matters.
ReplyDeleteWhat Bill White ignores in his column is that the milquetoast Morning Call editorial board has turned their blind eye to everything that's coming to light in Allentown. This board doesn't like getting in anyone's way.
Sure the articles are written but the editorial board never took a position based on the articles. There's no followup. There's no criticism.
However, glowing good things to say about Allentown are always flowing from the board. They can't write that stuff fast enough.
This editorial board is weak and silent. I don't think a guilty plea is required to be of the opinion that the mayor is only going to be a drag on the city from this point forward and that he should do his residents a solid by resigning immediately.
The Morning Call, like Allentowns City Council,
ReplyDeletethe Mayor, and Alan Jennings, is incapable of thoughtful introspection.
This is slightly (well, OK, entirely) off topic, but I'm hoping to get it around widely and quickly. I just had a chat with the City Solicitor about Chicago Eddy Pawlowski banning from the Facebook "Allentown: City Without Limits" page anyone who dares to ask a question about the current pay-to-play fiasco. For example, my "infraction" leading to banning was simply asking for the names of the donors to the mysterious PAC "Latinos for a New Lehigh Valley."
ReplyDeleteIf you've been banned simply for speaking out, maybe give her a call to turn up the heat on Hizzoner a bit...
Jeffrey Anthony
8:50 AM poster and I share similar thoughts. The Morning Call failed local residents when they needed a 'guardian' most. Clearly, it's a politically motivated operation. That's OK, but for certain local issues that affect everyone, most readers expect critical thoughts and more reliable information .
ReplyDeleteWhat WAS our voice of the people is no longer trusted, nor respected. This, at a time when alternative sources of news and discussion are readily available. There are MANY 'papers' in town these days. We have better options.
Fred Windish
Earth to Bill White, your once excellent newspaper has become a public joke.
ReplyDeleteGreat post with some most excellent comments, this post and the accompanying comments are of a much higher quality than found in what is left of our local paper.
ReplyDeleteMike,
ReplyDeleteIt is worth pointing out to Mr. White that the Call has rotated reporters in and out of important beats such as The City of Allentown and the ASD with astonishing regularity.Why? One might think they didn't want the reporters to actually get to familiar with the whose, whats, and whys of their assigned subject.
Scott Armstrong
Bill knows his paper has become a rag.
ReplyDeleteHe's one of the few left standing.
Like Pawlowski, he needs the paycheck.
He's not a bad guy.
I can almost forgive him.
I am going to defend the Mcall, because I believe that the locals have their hands tied by their ownership in Chicago when it comes to the amount of local content. That is why over all local coverage is so lean. Hell, Bill was at Atown Council last night, because hardly anyone else is. I have criticized their lack of coverage, but I don't think it is from lack of want, but from lack of conviction with financial reasons an easy target to blame. Sort that thought out for yourselves, it shouldn't need explaining.
ReplyDeleteSo here is some food for thought: Was J B Reilley's conversations with Ed some of the one's taped by Fleck? Wouldn't that be interesting? The apologists are still whining that Ed did nothing wrong, but now that Haddad has plead guilty and admitted how it all went down, and don't see any way out short of resignation. (But likely only after conviction)
He is a bad guy if he allowed evil to happen. Remember the old adage, evil only needs good people to do nothing to triumph. That sounds like Bill White/ the Morning Call to me.
ReplyDeleteScott Armstrong
Where is the "Road Warrior" in all of this. He was one of Fleck's acolytes. Who is running his campaign now? Amazing how the 'journalist' leaves the Morning Call and an hour later is a Democrat candidate for county office. It seems he has 'swerved' into some trouble.
ReplyDeletechris@8:33, emily opilo covers city council on a regular basis. if bill white was there, i can tell you that it was one of his very seldom appearances. i have no problem with local coverage, my issue is the spinning involved. up to the Raid At City Hall Pawlowski received little to no scrutiny. the NIZ receives outright promotion.
ReplyDeleteScott@8:41, despite white's treatment of me, I consider him a good person. i think it was inappropriate of him to allude to criticism in the local blogosphere, but not note Ramblings or molovinsky by name.
anon@10:18, i would expect the morning call and bill white before the election to promote dan hartzel. they seem to rank personal loyalty right up there with objective journalism. white alluded to daryl nerl in his piece, but failed to mention nerl's dirty tricks for the fleck machine.
BOH would not mention Nerl either.
ReplyDeleteWhy protect these hacks?
......and you?
"I have no problem with local coverage."
It sucks and you damn well know it MM!
bernie had mentioned daryl nerl before in regard to the whitehall controversy. i take it on face value that he giving him a break because he's looking for employment, but i agree it's a break not deserved. nerl truly is a hack, i don't know a story that he didn't spin when working for the morning call.
ReplyDeleteas for "local coverage". i think that the allentown coverage by emily opilo of city council has been fair. the kraus/assad NIZ features have been outright advertisements. occasionally, opilo has a by-line with them, which isn't up to the integrity shown on her separate pieces. yes, the morning call's coverage could certainly be better. i'm personally offended by the failure to provide attribution to this blog on several stories.
Attribution?
ReplyDeleteThe Call should be sending you a damn check.
The Morning Call looks like an unindicted co-conspirator her from my vantage point.
ReplyDeleteI say this in complete sincerity.
Yes, you cannot expect incisive coverage of complex issues unless you assign the same reporter to the same beat for a period of time. When reporters are rotated in and out, they will just be re-writing press releases or writing minutes of a public meeting.
ReplyDelete