There is a stable of editorial writers at the Morning Call who head our local development agencies. What they seem to have in common is the ability to write decently, and no real business experience. Under that disguise of expertise, the real movers and shakers of the area find them useful tools...Don Cunningham is the prime example.
Another bottling company is on its way to the giant aquifer west of Allentown. Don has been welcoming this type of industry for over twenty years. While they suck our most precious commodity dry, they provide few jobs. The Lehigh Valley has become mecca for both bottling and warehousing under Cunningham's tenure in various public positions. He is the king of congestion and low paying jobs. Along Don's climb up his career mountain, he was Secretary of General Services under Ed Rendell. During the recent controversy, when J.B.Reilly landed the large state hospital parcel in a non-competitive handoff, Donny, although a former insider to Harrisburg shenanigans, didn't have one word to say.
If he is the king, Becky Bradley is the queen. Like Donny, she rose up the through the non-profit business agency sector. Years ago, right of ways were acquired to widen the highly congested Rt. 22. While those funds were instead diverted to create another exit for a warehouse baron, Becky recently suggested that grant money be used to plant pretty bushes and trees along the right-of-way. This way drivers have better scenery while they sit in line during rush hours. Never mind that it will increase expense cutting the grass around these new plantings.
You can read about development in the valley, written by the king and queen, on a regular basis in the Morning Call. I was hoping that with some recent personnel changes at the Morning Call, their Opinion Page would be more open to less-establishment type submitters....That has not happened.
Suggestion: change the name of the paper from Allentown Morning Call to Allentown Morning Propaganda.
ReplyDeleteAnother bottling company? Is anyone looking at the depth of the Little Lehigh during the summer?
ReplyDeleteI’d like to think that the City of Allentown would have objected to another bottling plant, since one of the three intakes for city water is from the Little Lehigh. But I guess that since the city leased the Water System to the LCA, they don’t see it as their problem. They should, since the lease eventually expires and it would be nice to have something other than a dry creek bed when it does.
That said, it’s funny how politicians that are “green” don’t seem as concerned depending on whose palm is getting greased. Needless to say, the only “green” they seem concerned about is money.
Mike, The Morning Call made itself irrelevant years ago, only us seniors even know what it is or cares what it prints. In the meantime other news outlets have finally moved in to fill the void. All this said, the real problem for Allentown remains the public's abject apathy to local news.
ReplyDeleteThe Call has been irreverent for years. The only thing they do is sports and obits. They recently changed obit servers and now that section of the paper stinks, too... Stick a fork in them!!!!
DeleteThe main problem with widening US 22 is the cost. Besides replacing all the bridges, realistically the highway needs to double its width from 4 to 8 lanes. That means buying the land along the right of ways as well as replacing all of the interchanges. That will cost several billion at least, and that isn't going to happen in our grandchildren's lifetime.
ReplyDeleteHowever Allentown, and Bethlehem as well, is a good location to be a logistics center. ABE airport is handling more and more cargo aircraft and the distribution centers that are lining route 22 are unpopular to homeowners and the trucks use the roads. However, Allentown has excellent limited-access connections both north and south, as well as east-west, that connect to all of the transcontinental interstates as well as the transnational ones that go north-south to Canada and Mexico. It costs less here than Philadelphia, and there is a large pool of workers to do the stocking and retrieval, as well as load and unload the trucks.
It can also use an upgrade to its railroad system with a rail-freight terminal and better right of way connections to the national railway network. Which, despite what is commonly believed, the one in the United States is one of the best in the world. This again, is a source of jobs and employment that should be pursued.
But that really is in the townships. Allentown itself, the NIZ in particular isn't involved in all that. It focuses primarily on office workers. If Allentown is to become home for high-tech jobs, the ASD will have to be overhauled to produce graduates that can work in the technology sector. That is really what holds back the city in many ways is the abysmal state of its public schools. As well as the poverty and crime. The suburban high schools, Emmaus, Parkland, Salisbury, etc... do a much better job in preparing its graduates for the technology jobs of today and the future. But those jobs are not around Allentown, so the graduates leave for other places.
Michael, recently on one of my drives through the “Forbidden Zone” A.K.A. Downtown Allentown. Sitting at the traffic light at 6th & Linden street my eye was drawn to the former Morning Call building. Seems the building has been renamed “The Pat and Heather Brown Building”!!!!!
ReplyDeleteI guess this is the newest version of status, to have a building with your name on it.
Soooo, what will we call the former PP&L building now that it’s no longer occupied by the PP&L?
My other question to you is… what building would you want your name on since you are a gentleman of status!!!!
Just a Dumb Dutchman
Re: renaming Morning Call - Perhaps they can get nostalgic and resurrect the name "Allentown Democrat."
ReplyDeleteGood one!
DeleteI think we can all agree, more readers will be happier with a BIG Morning Call refocus.
I'll predict that the former Morning Call building lot will include Strata Flats with first floor business spaces for trendy eating /drinking establishments that will open to great fanfare in the Morning Call and then close in a year with barely a mention.
ReplyDeleteI remember the days of the mid 2000’s when Don Cunningham thought he was going to be Governor of PA someday. Then he was almost beat by Scott Ott in the 2009 county executive race, even when Cunningham had a large war chest and spent way, way more money than his opponent. I would say that effectively ended his statewide ambitions. He probably would’ve been the next Bethlehem Mayor for Life until he got the gussy job with the LVEDC. I even remembered he vetoed the county reassessment just because west Bethlehem houses were going to see an increase in taxes and he didn’t want to screw up his potential election (and re election) hopefuls in the Christmas City. The guy just loves to hear himself talk.
ReplyDelete"The guy just loves to hear himself talk."
DeleteHow true, but the worst part of Donny is his wetting his finger and sticking it in the wind. My friends had him at their house and I personally asked specific questions and received the "right" "finger waving" answer... and he did precisely 180 degrees what he said... A LIAR!!!
And then the schnook leaves the county for yet another government job. Does this mean he'll have 3 government pensions???
Michael,
ReplyDeleteVell Nah! I chust read my paper this morning. An article said that the “Market Place” that Trendy Gathering Spot in Daaawn Taawn Allentown was cutting back on its hours. Also, two of the venders were leaving.
JEEZ!!!! I can’t get over this news!! Bell Hall closing up, along with many other restaurants and businesses, over the last couple of years.
Chust can’t believe this news!
As I like to say” Git the Heck ooouut”!!!
Looks like they are!!!
Looks like the bloom has come off the Rose. If you know what I mean!!!
Just the Dumb Dutchman
You must have missed the part where they said it was OK to eliminate all the evening hours because there were "so many other good choices" down there.
Delete1:04 - Yeah, thats it. The eateries in the Downtown Market closed because of all the other good choices downtown. And Bell Hall closed for the same reason, I guess.
DeleteIt seems like just yesterday we were being told how the downtown would be flooded with visitors to all the exciting events the downtown would be having.
At least that was the reporting from Fantasyland, where the Call reporters apparently spend a lot of time writing their articles. It’s quite a contrast from what’s going on in Realville.
So while MM rightfully takes the Call to task for its stable of guest writers being too Establishment, the Call’s “professional” staff just seems to reprint the press releases directly from the Establishment.
I see little difference between the two, and don’t see a sign of any real scrutiny coming from the Call in the future.
So if we’re renaming the Call, I’d suggest “The Daily Regurgitator.”
9:13, has got it right as per your stable picture, butt the horses are facing the wrong way. That is not saying much for Allentown elite or so they think of themselves.
ReplyDeleteWorry not. All will be solved when we get the train to New York. But remember, it also comes back to Allentown.
ReplyDelete