Lehigh Parkway's Forgotten Island

Director Harms Lehigh Parkway
February 04, 1993|The Morning Call
To the Editor:

The WPA in the 1930s created a three-acre island by diverting water from the Little Lehigh Creek. The island had remained a source of joy for birders, naturalists, and nondescript strollers. No one foresaw Marushak arriving on the scene with wrecking tools to rip up the bridge, terminating public access to the island. Three masonry piers remain in place. Also remaining are 12 discarded auto tires gathering silt in the small stream.

BERT LUCKENBACH
ALLENTOWN (February 4, 1993)

20 years later......
Most people have long ago forgotten that there was a bridge to the island, although the stone piers still remain, obscured by overgrowth. The curved wall and landing of the Boat Landing, shown in the lower right of the photograph, are buried. In 2009, with help from others who appreciate our treasured parks, I had the privilege to rescue the steps which lead to the landing.  Over the decades, the debris and silt mentioned above has enlarged the island, almost to the boat landing.  This Saturday, April 6, in conjunction with Friends of The Parks, I will conduct a tour of current and former WPA sites remaining in Lehigh Parkway. 

Michael Molovinsky

 reprinted from April of 2013

Hurricane Diane, 1955

Hurricane Diane hit the Lehigh Valley in August of 1955. Living in Little Lehigh Manor, I remember huddling in the house, while the metal garbage cans of the era flew around the neighborhood. My father, whose meat market was on Union Street by the Lehigh River, worked throughout the night. Fortunately for him, his market had an second floor backup cooler, and a small freight elevator. While the retail business district on Hamilton Street is elevated enough to be unaffected from flooding, center city Easton was devastated by the Delaware. The next morning was rather surreal for a nine year old boy. A large willow tree on the corner of Lehigh Parkway South and Catalina Ave. was lying on it's side. Although the Little Lehigh receded quickly, the park road and basin had been flooded. Diane remains a record in flooding and damage. Let us hope it remains that way.

reprinted from August 2011

photo from August 1955. Delaware rising up Northampton Street in Easton.

Allentown, What a revoltin' development

There are two articles in the paper that have me shaking my head.  One is that the mayor may escape prosecution,  because of the recent supreme court case outlining what the new legal threshold is for corruption. I personally don't have much attitude about Pawlowski's situation, one way or the other. But, when we think about how much time and effort was taken, not counting the collateral charges filed against others, we can just see our taxdollars sucking up in the vortex of government.

Talking about evaporating taxdollars, we learn that it will cost us a $quarter million to have the school superintendent not work. I noticed the news reports that the school board approved Mayo's sabbatical. The reporters know full well that Mayo didn't request this situation, it was forced upon him by the school board. I enjoy being a blogger, and not having to mince my words.

The photograph shown above, and the post title,  are inside jokes for the older baby boomers.

Forsaking General Harry Trexler

In 1928, Harry Trexler hired  Philadelphia's prestigious landscape firm Meehan and Company to design the park system for Allentown. When the depression struck the next year, the plans were put on hold. However, when Roosevelt announced the WPA in mid 1930's, because of those plans, Allentown was shovel ready. Thousands of men worked throughout Allentown's new parks, creating masterpieces that normally would have taken fifty years to build, and cost untold millions of dollars. Allentown ended up with an iconic park system, virtual picture postcards, which lured tourists here for the next 75 years.

In 2006, Ed Pawlowski became major, combined the park and recreation departments, and started hiring directors from out of town with a background in recreation. Although, not one thing was done for the traditional park system, we started buying whole catalogs of playground equipment. We have been named Play City of the country by the playground equipment manufactures association. Through my advocating, Karen El-Chaar from Friends Of the Parks, was able to secure a grant from the Trexler Trust to restore the steps at Fountain Park. I was able to prevail upon the current park director, Lindsay Taylor, to allow the masons to also repair the stairwell at Union Terrace. The Parkway wall in now being repaired, but only because it's necessary in able to open the road.

Park strategy, aside from recreation, is now being decided by the Wildlands Conservancy. The Conservancy has been instituting current environmental fashion, even if it's not site specific to Allentown. Consequently, the park streams have become riparian buffer zones, even though the storm runoff is piped directly into the streams, and bypasses the buffers. The WPA ornamental dam has have been demolished, even though the streams are stocked from General Trexler's fish hatchery. Even the fish hatchery dam, which regulated the amount of water entering the fish ponds, was demolished, resulting in a massive fish kill.

What is most discouraging in my battle to preserve the icons of our traditional park system is that the Wildlands Conservancy is being funded by the Trexler Trust.  Although,  sacred cows and good old boy networks working together is nothing new, how ironic that the Trust is funding the main reason that Harry Trexler's park designs are now being ignored and neglected.

For decades the park system was a favorite scene on souvenir postcards from Allentown.

Banner Year For The Wildlands Conservancy Park System

The Wildlands Conservancy now effectively runs both the Allentown and South Whitehall Park systems.  While Allentown's official director is reduced to placing new park signs throughout her park system,  in the township, their boy shows outdoor movies.

The rains have been good for the Wildlands specified riparian buffers along the creeks in Allentown. Although they serve no environmental purpose, because the storm sewers are piped directly into the streams,  they do succeed in keeping both pets and children away from the water.  Although, still only June, in many places the creeks have been completely obscured. The other day I saw an elderly woman and her old dog trying to access the creek. Her frustration would have brought smiles to the Wildlands and their lackey park directors.

With both the Robin Hood and Fish Hatchery Dam demolished,  the bulldozer now turns to Wehr's Dam.  South Whitehall says "Who needs history and beauty, when we can soon show children's movies by the former dam."

photo of Cedar Creek by Allentown Rose Gardens

Lehigh County's Twisted Priorities

Lehigh County isn't sure how much it should commit to the historic cement kilns in Coplay. The Saylor Kilns are some of the oldest of their type still existing in the world. The county is currently restoring one of the nine kilns. Meanwhile, the retiring farmland preservation official regrets only preserving 22,000 acres of farmland. There is nothing unique about farmland in Lehigh County, but its preservation is the current  ecology fad.  Little details, like who will farm this land, is not considered. These organic types confuse going to a farmers market once a month with the daily hard work of farm life. Perhaps, Lehigh County can start a share cropper program? I'm not joking, they actually want to do such a thing. Meanwhile, things unique to the county are discarded. My plea for Wehr's Dam fell on deaf ears.

photograph by Mexx69

The Puppets of South Whitehall

If anyone doubts that the South Whitehall Commissioners are merely puppets, serving one special interest or another, just read this article about the Jordan Trail, being supervised by the Wildlands Conservancy. Close to a $Million dollars will be spent on this project to appease the Wildlands, while the same commissioners felt the voters should decide about Wehr's Dam. The referendum on Wehr's is as disingenuous as local government gets. They know that the voters will reject a tax increase to keep the dam, while for a Wildlands pet project, the public gets no say. The Wildlands has its own agent in the township, who is paid as park director by South Whitehall.  He hopes to have all the funding in place by year's end for the Wildlands trail. While tens of thousands of people visit the historic dam every year, how many will walk the Wildlands trail?

The Misconception of Hamilton Street

There's not many mid size cities that can boast having two national chain stores within one center city block, Allentown could. Not too many cities could say that one of those stores was one of the biggest producers in a chain of over 7000 stores, Allentown could. There's not many cities that are ignorant enough to tear down their most successful block, a virtual tax machine, Allentown is. This horrible mistake took a combination of political arrogance and public misconception. The arrogance is well known, so let me concentrate on the misconception. The perception was a few undesirable people, buying cheap things. The reality is Family Dollar sells the same merchandize in their suburban and rural stores. Rite Aid fills the same prescriptions and sells their standard merchandize. The new upscale stores, visioned for the arena front, will never produce the sales tax produced by Family Dollar and Rite Aid. The arena will never have that amount of employees, nor produce that much earned income.* The traffic congestion and lack of parking for arena events will destroy the new restaurants. Welcome to the white elephant, welcome to the ghost town.
Shown above and below is the early morning delivery to Family Dollar, every week of the year.
*sales tax and earned income currently going to city and state will now go to debt service for arena
reprinted from December 5, 2011

ADDENDUM: While The Morning Call promotes Allentown's new NIZ zone, only this blogger documented the reality of the former Hamilton Street. While the Moravian Book Store could be restocked from a small hand basket once a month, the previous Family Dollar Store needed a full tractor trailer every Sunday.

NIZ Return On Tax Dollar

Call it Allentown's NIZ, or J.B. Reilly's City Center Real Estate, by either name it's subsidized by the tax payers of Pennsylvania. That $70 plus Million Dollars a year would be going into education or infrastructure, instead of into the arena and Reilly's debt service.

On Saturday, I visited our business district both in the afternoon and evening. For the afternoon excursion, I can report that there was absolutely more foot traffic and activity before the revitalization. Although, there is some more activity during the weekend evenings, the return on the taxpayer investment is meager by any standard. I guess my best image on Saturday night was Don Saylor standing in front of Roar, explaining to some street person that the restaurant has valet parking. That's a sight you would have never seen when he operated the Shanty on 19th Street.

If we already spent a $Billion for the little we got, what would it cost to duplicate all those people walking around in the artist renderings approved by the ANIZDA, and promoted by the Morning Call?

Shown above waa a time when people came to Hamilton Street on their own,  without our taxes subsidizing private business interests.

City Council Votes NO

In a action that was unthinkable for the past 10 years, Allentown City Council voted NO on an administration proposal. The park department wanted to commission a study on their parcel behind the Hamilton Family Diner, to see if it was feasible to again reuse that area for their trucks and machinery. The buildings were flooded in Hurricane Sandy in 2012, and a number of trucks were destroyed. Some council members, rejecting the study proposal, claimed that because the facility was in a flood plain, nothing there should be renovated. I disagree. Until the early part of the 20th century, almost every industrial building was built in a flood plain, both for power and transportation. Hurricane Sandy did not ruin those buildings, they were ruined by neglect. The roof singles on the older brick building were in a terrible condition, with large bare patches. I posted about this neglect years before the flood. The mold contamination came from normal rains, not the flood. Just as the city allowed the former 15th Street Bridge to decay from neglect, it was the same with that park building.  Likewise, the trucks should have been moved prior to the storm, as they had been for years before.  Although, I agree that they can save the $3,950  consultant study, my vote would be to replace the roof, and rehabilitate the building.

On a side note,  the sentencing for those that Pawlowski led astray, has now been postponed from July until November.  That would suggest that the mayor may be charged later than sooner. Maybe the no vote was city council rehearsing for the long haul.

ADDENDUM:  The blogger at  LVCI disagrees with my take on the issue.  Yes, although it is in what is now referred to as a flood plain,  at one time the brick building was the Pepsi Cola bottler, and serviced by the Barber Quarry rail spur.  The location is near both Cedar and Trexler Parks, and proved an ideal location for decades.  The issue isn't whether to locate a facility there, but rather to take advantage of an existing facility.  Currently, the heavy park trucks are stored in Lehigh Parkway,  and it is believed that their weight  may have contributed to the WPA wall collapse.

The Lehigh Valley, From Factory To Warehouse

I was born in late 1946. Growing up in the 1950's, the Lehigh Valley was teeming with factories. Near my home in South Allentown was Mack Trucks and General Electric. Lehigh Structural Steel was along the river, and just beyond was Western Electric. Dozens of sewing factories employed thousands of women. Up to 30,000 people once worked at Bethlehem Steel, which stretched from the Hill To Hill Bridge down to Hellertown.


The next generation of business, like Kraft Food, was less industrial, and located here because of location and the ethic of the residual work force. Yesterday, we learned of a proposal to tear down Kraft, and replace it with warehouses. If not for our central location in the dense northeast, I fear we would be in dire straights. We are now becoming a major distribution center. Too bad that almost of the products being distributed are made in China.

Lehigh Valley Sold Down The River

While Nestlé Water is finding resistance all across America, one locality sold it's residents out, and we be it. When Don Cunningham was County Executive, he welcomed this siphon of natural resources with open arms. Although Donny and his easy smile remains popular, he's the ultimate go to boy for corporate interests. He has been rewarded, being appointed executive of the regional development authority. Nestlé has been further legitimized in this locality by the Wildlands Conservancy. This bastion of hypocrisy hosts children education days, sponsored by Nestlé, where children are taught by the good environmentalists of the water corporation. Nothing says nature like water bottled in plastic.

You won't read these truths elsewhere in the local media.  While you have to be both independent, and a bastard, to tell it like it really is, truth is most people don't care.  Give them a free bottle of water and they're OK with it.  Give them some free music, BBQ, and beer, they'll dance in the street.

The NIZ and Affordable Housing

Ce-Ce Gerlach has been trying to wrestle some concessions from the ANIZDA concerning affordable housing, more less as a community benefit for the little people. After all, big bucks are piling up in Reilly's account. So far, she has gotten a little lip service, but I'm afraid that's all that's coming her way. As Sy Traub likes to point out, Allentown has a lot more gentrifying to do before it need concern itself with the little people. She should have have been at the Business Matters NIZ debate, when a NIZ spokesman called the former merchants and their customers a cancer. Sy Traub was on the show and didn't object. The only objector at the time was this blogger, and i don't even agree with Ce-Ce on the affordable housing. Allentown has an abundance of affordable housing, that's why poor people keep moving here. Besides, the little people will be living in Strata 1 and 2 soon enough. It's one thing to induce companies to locate downtown, but it's another thing for those office workers to want to live there. Ce-Ce need not worry about gentrification forcing lower income people out of center city. Reilly did dislocate some tenants with his failed attempt to build a mega project along Walnut Street, but even he knows that the revitalization has peaked.

NIZ Debate: l to r;  Tony Iannelli, Steve Thode, Sy Traub, Michael Molovinsky, Mike Fleck

Anti-Gun Rally At Allentown Gay Bar

Last night I went to what I thought would be a vigil for the Orlando shooting victims at Candida's. It turned out to be a anti-gun rally, and political speech opportunity for the valley politicians. Perhaps none took more advantage of the event than Ed Pawlowski. He kept asking if the crowd was with him and when is enough, enough? He hasn't been cheered like that lately. He was also one of the most ill-informed about firearms, referring to the AR-15 as an automatic weapon. I could tell that he thinks that the gun functions like a machine gun. However, needless to say, he was speaking to the choir. While every speaker addressed gun control, not one called the shooting what it actually was, Islamic terror at a gay club. I believe that if the gay club door was locked, the terrorist would have gone somewhere else,  and killed non-gay people.

Now, I understand that homophobia is a very real thing. I also understand that there has been mass shootings, unrelated to Islamic terrorism.  I even believe that gun regulations should be tightened,  and that it would not be a slippery slope against the 2nd Amendment.  However, we jeopardize our security without acknowledging that Islamic terrorism was the main factor in this mass shooting.

Among those in attendance and speaking last evening were Ed Pawlowski, Peter Schweyer, Mike Schlossberg, Pat Brown and Charlie Dent.

Allentown Begging For Startup Failures

After announcing the loan contest last fall, Allentown is now begging for applicants for the Shark-Tank type business loan program. As you can tell from the sponsors, this is essentially geared for minority applicants, although such a thing would never be actually printed in our politically correct era. Ed Pawlowski titled his facebook post, City Seeks Retail Entrepreneurs. Real entrepreneurs don't have to be sought. The next step will be actively recruiting people to apply. No non-profit bureaucrat worth his salt would ever let a gift horse get away unused. In the molovinsky world, if someone doesn't have the volition to get funding on their own, who needs them. Imagine a contest where nobody comes forward even for free money. Rather than say, OK, no worthwhile applicants, you now try and create them. Mayor Ed calls this program a fanastic use of CDBG funds. Actually, it's a colossal waste of our federal taxdollars. Welcome to Allentown. Welcome to Pennsylvania's premiere poverty magnet. Welcome to the place where even a $Billion dollars of taxpayer money hasn't really kick-started the town.

Toast Your Worms In Harrisburg

Our elected officials in Harrisburg are patting themselves on the back because they passed some legislation making it easier to buy beer and wine in Pennsylvania. While buying beer in Pennsylvania has never been difficult, expanding the sale of wine to select licensed grocery stores is new. The switch is expected to yield about $150million yearly in taxes.

It was difficult seeing the state house midgets not pass a budget for 18 months. It is difficult seeing useless commissions cost taxpayers $millions of dollars, decade after decade, administration after administration. It is difficult seeing the degree of cronyism is a state which can only be called corrupt, anything less is mincing words. Where else than Pennsylvania can you have an Attorney General's sister suing the state for equal pay from her sister's office. How is that for nepotism gone wild?

Although,  the new liquor bill seems to be win/win for both the state and residents, in Pennsylvania, the devil is always in the details.

Molovinsky's Sacred Mission

I must confess that it can be a little fatiguing fighting the politically correct sacred cows in this community. Now, that the new towers are up on Hamilton Street, the sanctioned activists are speaking out against gentrification. Four years ago, when I was defending the former merchants,  I was called a naysayer, trying to impede Allentown moving forward.

As my rage against the hypocrisy continues, I take note of the political landscape. While I point out how the Wildlands Conservancy blocks the creeks in Allentown Parks with their riparian buffers, the Trexler Trust bestows large grants upon them. While the Conservancy degrades the original park designs paid for by Harry Trexler himself, they are funded by his very trust. I continue the battle against these absurdities for two reasons; I know that my complaints don't go unheard. They do result in small repairs to the traditional park system. Secondly, if I don't speak out, who will?

Although I'm Jewish,  I wore a cross for dramatic effect in this photo.

Wildlands Conservancy Thrill of Hypocrisy

Yesterday, was the last day of the Conservancy's Annual Lehigh River Sojourn. The event was well covered by The Morning Call, with both a reporter and photographer on board one of the rafts. The three day event started with a talk by Chris Kocher, President of the Wildlands. The group gets grants during the winter to demolish dams, and grants during the summer to conduct this educational sojourn on the Lehigh river. Last year, Wildlands spend over $250,000 in grant money on just a study, promoting the removal of Wehr's Dam. Their website stated that the Lehigh Sojourn would take place rain or shine, but doesn't explain why. What Chris Kocher and The Morning Call fail to reveal is that their raft adventure is scheduled to coincide with the water release from the Francis E. Walter Dam in White Haven. It is only because of this dam that the Lehigh has a steady flow of water, and that these hypocrites can get their whitewater thrill.

photo of Wildlands Conservancy hypocrites enjoying dam release by Harry Fisher of The Morning Call

reprinted from June 30, 2015

ADDENDUM: This past Sunday, June 5, 2016,  Chris Kocher had an editorial in The Morning Call praising the accomplishments of his organization.  Although he mentions their upcoming river trip this summer, he doesn't use the word dam.  Additionally, although he mentions stream miles open for fish passage,  he still doesn't use the word "dam."  He doesn't mention demolishing a 10 inch high WPA dam, and dumping the ruble around the beautiful stone bridge piers.  He doesn't mention contributing to the largest fish kill in Lehigh Valley history, by demolishing the Fish Hatchery Dam, which regulated the water flow into the fish ponds during storm flooding.  He doesn't mention spending  $259,000 on  a taxpayer funded engineering study, to greatly inflate the cost of repairing Wehr's Dam.  He doesn't mention reneging on his own pledge to back away from trying to demolish Wehr's Dam.   The Wildlands Conservancy remains a sacred cow, allowing people to feel politically correct about the environment,  even if the Conservancy tells a few fibs along the way to pay their own salary.

Allentown Business Journal

We learned last week that the NIZ board gave preliminary approval to J.B. Reilly's plan for Tower 6, his office condo at 6th and Walnut. How they can go through the charade of such procedures, and the Morning Call can report it as news, is beyond me. I don't suffer nonsense well. Also, in last weeks news we learned that J.B. purchased the Morning Call building. In that article, even the newspaper acknowledged the obvious, that he now essentially owns the NIZ district.

The Talen sale to a private energy firm headquartered in NYC could throw a wrench in Janidl's Waterfront project.  Although, he stated that they're not dependent upon one particular tenant,  we know from uptown in Reillyville, that tenants are not growing on trees.  If Allentown loses Talen at the end of the Plaza lease in 2018, it will indeed be a loss.   I for one, was sorry to see PPL spin off Talen in the first place, despite the fluctuations of that sector. Somehow, a PPL which no longer produces electricity,  seems far removed from the company that built that ionic tower in 1928.

Muhammad Ali and King Levinsky

In 1964, a young Cassius Clay trained in south Miami Beach for his first fight against Sonny Liston. At that time, this section of the city was home to mostly retired Jews on fixed income. The hotels, decades after their prime, became pension rooming houses. Decades later, these same buildings would be restored to their art deco splendor, creating today's South Beach. As Clay trained, a middle aged punch drunk necktie peddler told him, "After Liston punches your head, you'll be selling ties with me." The street peddler was a fixture in Miami Beach. He didn't ask, he told people they were going to buy a tie. The future champ probably didn't realize that the heckler was none other than King Levinsky, legend of the 1930's, and veteran of over 118 heavyweight fights. Levinsky was born Harris Krakow in Chicago, and worked at his parent's fish market on Maxwell Street, the Jewish section during the roaring twenties. Although he never got a title shot, and weighed only 185, he fought all the leading heavyweights of his time, including the 265lb. giant, Primo Carnera. Managed by his sister Lena, he was known never to turn down a fight, including those against Max Baer.
copy reprinted from Jan. 23, 2010
photo shows Levinsky with sister/manager Lena in 1932

retitled and reprinted in memory of The Greatest, Muhammad Ali

Fisherman Robbed By Fit Man At Jordan Park

While Mayor Pawlowski and his compliant park director brag about catalog equipment which won't last 3 years, a fisherman was thrown to the ground and robbed at gunpoint early Thursday morning in Jordan Park. While the Allentown Police are too short manned to properly patrol our existing parks, Mayor Pawlowski and his compliant park director are seeking a grant to develop another park, at the former incinerator plant near Basin Street. Who is going to maintain an additional park after the grant runs out in year one? Who is going to provide safety at such an out of the way place? It's time for our park director, Linday Taylor, to seek the counsel of people familiar with Allentown and the parks. For her information, that would not include Ed Pawlowski.

I'm sure that Ms. Taylor saw a recent letter to the paper criticizing the grow zones along our park creeks.  She should realize that the next mayor will most likely have more familiarity with the traditional park system, which does not include weed zones, that block both access and view of the streams.  Allentown parks were created along the streams to add to the park experience, not to be a science experiment for the Wildlands Conservancy.  Although the mayor may praise the new park signs, even they are symbolic of the new superficiality,  which is not appreciated by most Allentonians.  Ms. Taylor would do well to realize that soon  there will be a new mayor, with an appreciation of Allentown's iconic park system.  By that criterion, there will be a lot to mow and repair.

An Allentown School Primer

While Morning Call readers learned yesterday that Allentown School superintendent Russ Mayo would not be seeking another contract, molovinsky readers already knew that since early last week. However, today's post is a lesson in recent history. Before Mayo, the superintendent was John Zahorchak. The board that hired him thought very highly of themselves for that choice. Zahorchak was former Secretary of Education under Rendell. What the board didn't realize was that while the Rendell administration was a case study in cronyism, it was not concerned with expertise. Zahorchak came to town and turned the school system inside out, and upside down. He instituted every new concept ever written in the education magazines. Among one bad move after another, he transfered Allen High's very effective principal to desk job on Penn Street. In wake of the mess, the board was then glad to hire Mayo, who was familiar with the system before the chaotic changes.

Allentown School System has been suffering from the same problems which affect all urban systems with high poverty rates.  Why the board thinks that a new superintendent will change the parameters of that reality escapes me.  The district just announced that there will be another year with no tax increase, which would be considered welcome news in most communities.

Now some older history;  Shown above is Dorothy Taliaferro, as pictured in the 1920 Allentown High School yearbook.  Dorothy was a vocal supporter for woman suffrage, and hoped to become a doctor. She was the first black girl to graduate from Allentown.  Although Dorothy did not fulfill that career ambition,  she had two younger brothers who did become physicians.  The family lived at 450 Union Street, which was later demolished in one of Allentown's misguided urban renew projects.

Thanks to Dan Doyle, for loan of the 1920 Comus.  

The Damn Dam and Damn Blogger

When I made my presentation to the County Commissions on Wehr's Dam, I was preceded by Farmland Preservation advocates.  I knew that farmland preservation is a fashionable topic, and even referenced it in my speech.  In addition to being met with silence at that time, I have heard since, that the commissioners are not taken with the idea of adopting the dam.  But,  I have just learned that while they want to dwell on the farmland topic,  Lehigh County has already preserved 22,000 acres, at up to $5,000 an acre. It's hard for me to imagine spending so many millions of dollars preserving land that may not be developed anyway, but not caring about preserving an irreplaceable historic structure of beauty, which has been treasured by generations of people from Lehigh County.

For those new to this blog, I'm no diplomat.  I tend to become somewhat blunt when it comes our historical structures which cannot be replaced, once gone.  Readers may be surprised, especially the ones who comment with a pseudonym,  that I see and talk to the officials that I criticize.  Yes, it can be awkward, but along the way I saved a couple of structures, and caused a few more to be repaired. Could I have done it more diplomatically, perhaps, but I'm an old dog.

The Wildlands Conservancy are hypocrites, who harvest state dam demolition grants because they're allowed to keep 15% for administrative fees.  The South Whitehall Commissioners are reneging on their 2014 vote to keep the dam, and are disingenuously greatly inflating the repair cost,  to accommodate the Wildlands and justify a referendum.  Let us hope that the County Commissioners show more respect for the things that matter to the residents of Lehigh County, and save the dam.