On Thursday I was a guest on Lehigh Valley Discourse, WDIY's program hosted by Alan Jennings. Despite some distractions, I was able to bring up one of Lehigh Valley's biggest problems, cronyism. Cronyism and sacred cows run the valley. An Op-Ed piece in this weekend's Morning Call illustrates the point. Because they hire veterans, Nestle is lauded for its plans to build another large plant, this one in central Pennsylvania. Their Lehigh Valley plant is at capacity for water usage. Of course hiring veterans sounds like a good thing, but sucking the water out of Pennsylvania to fill plastic bottles all over the world is a problem. The Op-Ed is essentially a public relations piece for Nestle, presented as an editorial.
Here in Allentown we face higher water prices because LCA wants to implement a back door price hike, by increasing the residential billing cycle. (each bill contains a minimum charge, effectively resulting in an increase) We are in essence subsidizing the profit margin of Nestle and other commercial users.
Nestle was bought to the valley by Don Cunningham, now director of Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation. Apparently, the Morning Call has no problem with a Nestle feel good editorial piece, but try and submit something critical about the local sacred cows and cronyism to the paper. Expect no reply, much less seeing it printed.
This bottled water is the water use in satisfying the EPA's tests leaving LCA's public drinking water!
ReplyDeleteInteresting, Nestle's is bottling tap water and selling it? LOL I was unaware of that.
ReplyDeleteIf it is water from Lehigh County it is horrible. Surely, Nestle's is doing lots of purification. They must have a water softener the size of the space shuttle.
ReplyDeleteAbout the Parkway-- not on subject, but as a parks defender I thought you ought to know. I observed 4 very large and visible cracks in the faux-stone segment of the recently repaired wall supporting the parkway drive. The concrete has noticeable cracks that would lead me to think they should be investigated.
ReplyDeleteSo why is it okay for the LCA to raise my water bill from $28 a quarter to $70 a quarter (For using less water than we ever have) yet not okay to raise Allentown residents' rates? I think that LCA customers outside the city now have a case to pursue as well. O'Connell is so far over his head as Mayor he is literally drowning. (PUN INTENDED) This action opens the door to some seriously unintended consequences. What stops the outer municipalities from suing the LCA as well? That will cost the LCA even more money and make it harder to make the debt payments to Allentown. So we will have several public funded entities suing each other over their own stupidity and paying lawyers several million dollars in fees. Government run wild. I think that having the LCA purchase the Allentown Water authority was the least of all evils at the time, but I doubt anyone thought those in charge were as ignorant of what it all entailed as we know now.
ReplyDeleteJosh,it is just ran through a filter of charcoal substance to take the foul smell and taste away. This process has nothing to do with allowable parts per million solids, too include but not limited too fecal matter solids.
ReplyDeleteMaybe that should be an advetisement play by the local fake news and full page add on the edited out news paper.
Hey, so long as all the Democrats on the former Mayor Pawowski's All-Star Council of Rubberstamp Apparatchiks are happy with the glorious New Water Deal, then why shouldn't the rest of us non-essentials here in the City of Allentown be satisfied, too?
ReplyDeleteOn the subject matter at hand, is there even the slightest bit of chance that NIZ Free Money Guru J.B. O'Reilly, PA State Senator Pat Browne and The Morning Call superstar columnist Bill White all being seen slapping each other on the back whilst tossing down drinks at Bell Hall could be potentially misconstrued as Cronyism?
And just exactly why did Poverty Magnet Champion Alan Jennings, certainly not known for his love of Conservative ideology, clearly have such a hard time coming to grips with the fact that convictions on 47 counts of felony corruption simply won't fly no matter who his friends are?
The grant grab specialists will be coming up with a fix for this water train wreck soon!
ReplyDeleteChris Casey said...
ReplyDelete"I think that having the LCA purchase the Allentown Water authority was the least of all evils at the time, but I doubt anyone thought those in charge were as ignorant of what it all entailed as we know now."
All of the "solutions" to the Pension Crisis were evil just like the pension deal was "evil". There was a very small group that was very vocal about the IGNORANCE of City Council and Mayor Pawlowski's ignorant supporters. Those that tried to point out the ignorance were ignored by Council and the press.
How is this water deal with the LCA not considered criminal yet? What will it take to prove the criminal nature of this deal?
The lease deal was carefully thought out by Ex Mayor Pawlowski and approved by the 'Bobble Heads' on city council.The L.C.A. knew it would have to drastically raise rates to pay the lease and make mandated repairs and up grades.Mayor O'Connell certainly knew water rates had to go up
ReplyDelete