Allentown, Pawlowski and Molovinsky

When I started this blog over ten years ago, one of the things that motivated me was the direction Allentown would be going in under Pawlowski.  The Morning Call writes today that Pawlowski began his political career defeating William Heydt in 2005 for mayor.  There was actually a third candidate, an independent,  also on the ballot that year.

Although, The Morning Call denied me equal coverage,  I held underreported and unreported news conferences on what would become Allentown's most pressing problems in the coming years.  While the paper held interviews and debates with seven Democratic primary candidates this year, they claimed that three was too many when they excluded me from their sponsored debate in 2005.

Back in this blog's earliest beginnings,  I was a chorus of one.  Even bloggers Bernie O'Hare and Chris Casey assumed that the issues I was raising were just sour grapes on my part.

I will not be reporting on the nuts and bolts of the indictment.  To me it's already old news.  I will be reprinting some of my early posts.   Despite the tone of this post,  I take no satisfaction with the current events.  Despite all these new buildings, Allentown has been depreciated over the last ten years.  Our center city streets have become danger zones.  Our schools are failing.  Even our famous parks are falling apart.

above reprinted from July of 2017 

ADDENDUM AUGUST 8, 2022:Although five years have passed since I wrote the last paragraph in the above post, little to nothing has changed. As for the local government, there isn't much to say, except that no one can accuse them of not being progressive. As for the local media, while there is no longer any institutional knowledge, there are fewer and fewer readers who would know or care. The NIZ, essentially a private club for a few connected gentlemen, continues to build a privately owned empire with our public funds. 

While of late much material on this blog is mined from the archives, I still return to present time, when such reportage can even possibly make a difference.